Around (And Over and Under and Through) the Table

A GM wants every action encounter they run to be memorable and exciting.

Mechanics often sideline that desire. If you want a scene that isn’t the usual set of skill checks and attack rolls, you must add something mechanically relevant and new to the encounter. But if you do that for every encounter, not only do the additions lose flavor and uniqueness (“Oh look, another fight over a lava pit…<eye-roll>”), they also add more cognitive load and rules burden to the game.

What if I told you that the answer to your problems was a table?

Think about how ubiquitous the table is in action movies and literature. In the lexicon of action movies, one can find a table:

• jumped on

• slid under

• used as cover

• used as a weapon

• used as a tool

That’s just for starters. What makes a table so great?

Ubiquitous. Tables are commonplace, and make fun parts of set pieces because they normally blend into the background.

Multiple points of interaction. If you use a gun for anything other than shooting, it’s an “off-brand” use. But a table is versatile by design. That versatility offers many ways to be creative. A table can be a weapon, terrain, obstacle, hazard, or positioning tool.

Mechanically Flexible. in TTRPG terms, the usage of the table defines what mechanics you recruit from your system of choice. Nothing needed in advance, . If someone ducks behind, use system mechanics for cover. If a character breaks off a leg and starts swinging, they are making an attack.

Opt-in. I didn’t mention all the movies where tables play no role. This represents another significant feature of the table: you have to opt-in to use it in the encounter. Decades of GMing have taught me the best encounter design spice is the ones players choose to interact with. When you force mechanics on the players, they often spend most of their time trying to make the mechanics irrelevant. When they make the decision to interact with the element, they buy-in to the friction and consiquence.

A Seat at the Table

The biggest problem with the table’s opt-in approach would seem that people just don’t use it. Depending on the playgroup style, they might never use the table. Wouldn’t that be a shame?

The simple way to “invite” players is to have your NPCs use your tables. Once players see it is a possibility to use these flexible prompts, it opens up their mind to using it for themselves.

Not Literally Tables

If I literally only meant tables, this post would have limited use. Fortunately, there are lots of tables that you can use for your game. A short list:

• a chair (often found near a table!)

• a ladder

• a bookshelf

• a crowd

• a hedge

If the element can be used for at least three things on this list, it is a good table to use.

• weapon

• terrain

• obstacle/hazard

• positioning tool

Look forward to hearing about tables you’ve used in the past or plan to use in the future!