Guts, Glory & Goblins

Most Game Masters have one of two problems with combat: it’s either too safe or it’s just plain cruel. Either your players yawn through fights knowing there’s no real risk, or they’re getting TPK’d in the first round with no warning. I’m here to tell you there’s a sweet spot in the middle—where combat actually feels dangerous, but death is earned.

The Goblin Problem

Let’s start with a simple truth: most TTRPGs have the goblin problem. Goblins are meant to be cannon fodder, but if your dice are hot and your players’ planning is cold, those goblins can wipe a party before anyone has time to say “this is bullshit.”

The answer isn’t to fudge dice or suddenly have the goblins make tactically stupid decisions. The answer is to design your encounters with dramatic escalation in mind.

Rule #1: Don’t Kill From Stealth

First blood in an ambush? Fair. Surprise round that drops a PC instantly? That’s not drama, that’s just being a dick. An ambush should be dangerous, but it should also give players a chance to respond. Make the first round about establishing the threat, not ending it.

Rule #2: Design Three-Act Combat

Every meaningful combat should have three phases:

• Act 1: The Setup – Establish the threat, the environment, and potential complications.
• Act 2: Escalation – Something changes—reinforcements arrive, the environment shifts, or a hidden threat is revealed.
• Act 3: Resolution – Victory conditions become clear, and players have the tools to achieve them (or realize retreat is the only option).

Your typical “bandits in the woods” encounter lacks escalation. But what if those bandits were just the scouts, and halfway through the fight, their captain arrives with backup? What if the forest itself was rigged with traps that activate in round three?

Blood Without Tears

Players need to fear combat without fearing you. Here’s how you create that atmosphere:

The 2-Hit Rule

As a general principle, no creature should be able to drop a healthy PC in a single turn unless:

• The creature is significantly stronger than the party (boss-level)
• The PC has already taken damage or is ignoring obvious danger
• The PC has specifically been warned about this threat

Design your monsters’ damage output with this rule in mind. When players know they’ll at least get a chance to react before going down, combat feels fair but still dangerous.

Telegraphing Danger

Before any lethal attack, there should be a warning sign. The dragon rears back, its chest glowing red before the breath weapon. The cultist spends a full round drawing power before the explosive ritual. The assassin’s poisoned blade glistens unusually in the torchlight.

This isn’t coddling—it’s storytelling. The players still need to react appropriately, but you’ve given them the information they need to make meaningful choices.

Glory Comes From Bleeding

Now for the flip side: combat should hurt. Players should be burning resources, taking significant damage, and making hard choices. Otherwise, there’s no glory in victory.

Resource Depletion, Not Character Depletion

The best combats leave players alive but drained—out of spells, special abilities, potions, and maybe even hope. This creates tension for the next encounter without requiring a character sheet to go in the shredder.

Scars Tell Stories

Introduce lasting but non-crippling consequences from brutal fights. Scars, minor penalties that can be overcome with time, lost items that need to be reclaimed—these all add weight to combat without being punitive.

A paladin who lost their family sword to a demon now has a personal quest. A ranger whose leg was broken by a giant now walks with a slight limp until they complete a healing ritual. These aren’t punishments—they’re story hooks.

Making Death Matter

When death does come—and it should sometimes—make it matter. Some principles:

• Death should come from a combination of bad luck, bad decisions, and worthy threats—rarely just one of these
• Death should be dramatic—give the player a final action, last words, or a chance to save others
• Death should change the world—NPCs react, enemies capitalize, power dynamics shift

And most importantly: resurrection shouldn’t be trivial, but it should almost always be possible if the party is willing to pay the price. That price might be literal treasure, a dangerous quest, a deal with a power, or a combination of all three.

The Bottom Line

Combat should feel like a horror movie—dangerous, tense, occasionally lethal, but always fair. Your players should walk away from encounters with their hands shaking and stories to tell, not with frustration or boredom.

Next session, when your players encounter those goblins in the woods, make them fear for their lives—then give them the tools to earn their survival. That’s where the real glory lies.