In tabletop roleplaying games, Game Masters often face the challenge of balancing combat encounters. One effective tool for creating engaging and realistic battles is using different levels of tactical ability for foes. By adjusting the tactical prowess of enemies, you can create varied challenges that feel fresh, immersive, and appropriate to your players’ skill levels. In this article, we’ll break down three types of tactical foes – Green, Seasoned, and Uncanny – and how you can use them to create dynamic encounters in your game.

Understanding Foe Tactics

Tactics in an RPG context refer to the strategic choices that enemies make to outwit or outmaneuver the player characters. Incorporating tactics into your encounters helps avoid repetitive, uninteresting battles where enemies mindlessly charge into combat. Instead, it transforms each battle into a thoughtful exercise, giving the players the sense that they’re up against opponents with real intelligence and cunning. To manage this effectively, we can categorize foes into three levels: Green, Seasoned, and Uncanny.

Three Levels of Tactical Ability

• Green Foes: The Inexperienced: Green foes are those who are inexperienced in combat. They’re timid, often overly aggressive in speech or body language, but hesitant when it comes to actual combat. They tend to telegraph their intentions, making it relatively easy for even novice players to anticipate their moves.These enemies often bluster or threaten, building up their courage before engaging, but rarely follow through with complex tactics. For example, a small group of town drunks may provoke a brawl, pushing and shoving in a disorderly manner before finally throwing a punch or drawing a weapon. Their lack of experience is evident in how they handle themselves—they rely on brute force and emotional reactions rather than calculated strategy.Green foes work well for low-level characters, providing early challenges that help players gain a sense of confidence. It is unnecessary to employ intricate tactics here – let the players feel their way through these encounters. Once your party becomes proficient at handling Green foes, you can escalate to more difficult challenges.
• Seasoned Foes: Battle-Hardened Survivors: Seasoned foes are veterans of combat. They’ve been through life-threatening situations, and as a result, they’ve developed a cooler, more composed approach to battle. Unlike Green foes, they rarely show fear or panic unless severely outnumbered or demoralized.These enemies use their surroundings to their advantage—they’ll hide their true numbers, conceal weapons, and keep their intentions unclear until the fight is unavoidable. Seasoned foes often belong to groups like mercenaries, hunters, or hardened criminals. Their understanding of combat means they won’t charge blindly into an engagement; instead, they’ll assess the situation, use terrain for cover, and try to exploit weaknesses in the players’ tactics.These foes are best suited for mid-level parties who are already familiar with the basics of combat. They introduce an additional layer of complexity to battles, making players consider positioning, ambush potential, and the wider tactical landscape of a fight. A typical ambush by a group of veteran highwaymen, for instance, might involve hiding their true numbers or attacking from multiple angles to confuse the party.
• Uncanny Foes: Masters of War: At the top of the tactical hierarchy are Uncanny foes. These are rare opponents, representing masters of warfare, such as legendary generals or skilled assassins. They don’t just fight well—they manipulate the battlefield in ways that make them appear stronger or weaker than they are, depending on the situation.Uncanny foes excel at trickery, misdirection, and mind games, making them dangerous adversaries even for the most seasoned player characters. They carefully plan their attacks, lure the party into traps, or feign weakness to lull the players into a false sense of security.These foes should be reserved for high-level encounters, where the players have already built up significant experience and power. Facing an Uncanny foe requires not just brute strength but sharp tactical thinking. Players must think several steps ahead, as their adversaries are capable of countering standard tactics and responding unpredictably. Such foes are often the players’ nemesis, capable of turning the tide of battle through sheer tactical brilliance and psychological manipulation.

Scaling Tactical Levels in Your Game

Adjusting the tactical level of your foes is one of the most effective ways to create tension and excitement in your encounters. Green foes offer players a chance to build confidence and learn the fundamentals of combat, while Seasoned foes challenge them to use strategic thinking. Finally, Uncanny foes provide a serious threat that tests the players’ ability to think creatively and adapt in the heat of battle.

By gradually introducing more complex tactical enemies as your players level up, you ensure that combat remains engaging and appropriately challenging. Your players will appreciate the sense of growth as they go from easily dispatching Green foes to struggling against the cunning of Uncanny foes.

This three-level system of tactical ability comes from Brian Jamison’s book Gamemastering, a valuable resource for Game Masters seeking to refine their craft. As you continue to run games, experimenting with these levels will not only make your battles more dynamic but also push your players to grow in their understanding of combat strategy.

By understanding the tactical proficiency of your enemies and tailoring encounters accordingly, you can keep your players on their toes and bring a new layer of depth to your roleplaying sessions.