New Attack Type: Beam

In addition to the normal melee, ranged, blast, and burst attack types, I created one more type which I have found adds interesting strategic challenges. The "beam" attack type starts one or more squares away from the attacker. It then targets creatures in a straight line, ending at some point along the line.

How Does It Work?

The illustration to the right shows how this works. Here, the beam attack begins one square away from the attacker, hitting targets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 squares away. Depending on the effect you want, you may decide as a DM whether this affects all creatures, allies, or enemies.

Line of sight limits where the beam starts and its affected squares. Simply put, like any ranged attack, if you don't have line of effect, you can't hit it. This makes pillars, rocks, and other blocking terrain come into play, since they can limit the squares where the beam can strike.

When Would You Use This Attack Type?

I use this type of attack when you want to introduce a new tactical element into a battle. Suddenly, players have one more consideration in where they want to position their characters. I give striker monsters abilities of beam attack type when I want to break up a crowd of PC's.

What this attack type does is to force the players to make choices. I find that the more choices that players have to make which affect a battle, the more engaging, challenging, and rewarding they are.

Do you find that your battles too often turn into been there, done that "tank and spank" encounters? Introduce a new combat element into the mix and your players must make more choices, and that's the stuff of great combat encounters.

Beam Attack Notation

You describe a beam attack with the following notation SxLy, where x is how many squares distant the attack begins (S for "start") and y describes the how many squares in a line are affected (L for "length").

The illustration to the right describes a S3L4 beam attack. This means that the attack begins 3 squares away and hits 4 squares in a row (this first affected square and the next three).

To specify a variable start point or length for the attack, use a range in the description, such as 1-3. For example, S1-3L4 would indicate that the start point could be between 1 and 3 squares away from the attcker, affecting 4 squares.

I use the following symbol for the beam attack, supplied here in a few sizes, for your convenience.

Using Beams to Terrorize... er... Challenge Your Players

I have given a couple of creatures beam attacks. I used a flying undead dragon-like creature with a beam breath weapon, which caused fear. Affected creatures ran away until they saved.

This proved an effective wildcard in the battle, since the dragon would make a pass every couple of rounds, scattering the ranks. It made what might have otherwise been a somewhat uneventful battle very challenging, since you never knew when the defenders would run away.

I also used this with some flying skull strikers with a necrotic beam, which was nasty, but became deadly when two or more were making the same strafing runs with their necrotic beams.

This really forced the players to think through where they stood, not only in relationship to the enemies, but also with respect to the other players, since the creatures would always strike in ways where they could hit the maximum number of targets. They worked in conjunction with others of their kind to double up on the same targets where possible, which could really rack up the damage. Blocking terrain features became much more important, since the beam could only extend via line of sight, limiting the number of affected squares.

Great Combat Encounters

If you ever feel that your battles are getting a little stale, you may not be forcing your players to make enough choices. The beam attack type does this, but there are a lot of other ways to spice up your combat encounters.

Click on the link below to learn how to make your combat encounters richer and more exciting. You'll find the formula I use to make battles feel like a battle ought to... without all the gore and mess.

Learn How to Make Your Combat Encounters
More Challenging and Fun