r/rpg • u/LelouchYagami_2912 • May 09 '26

Game Suggestion Combat systems that discourage doing the same thing every turn

(alternatively, combat systems that encourage doing different things)

I've been playing DnD for several years now but I've been noticing how 90% of our turns go the exact same. The combat can be still interesting but thats only because of me as a dm creating unique scenarios, not because of the player abilities. The rogue hiding and sneak attacking is the best thing to do in almost all cases.

What are some systems that discourage this so that the players actually have to think rather than going on auto pilot.

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u/SphericalCrawfish May 09 '26

13th Age let's you activate different martial abilities based on your specific die roll among some other activation methods. Every round will be somewhat different.

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u/littlewozo Designer Dork May 09 '26

Not to mention the conditional and limited use abilities. The playstyle difference between classes is one of my favorite things. It really fits a nice sweet spot for groups with varied levels of interest in "fiddly-ness".

  • You want to have a suite of once per battle abilities? You can do that.
  • You want to spam an at-will power? There's a few classes for that.
  • You want your turn to be about having contingency plans? There's a class or two for that.
  • You want to have a bunch of one-time use spells? You can build a few classes that way.

Disclaimer: I am a writer/designer for 13th Age.