Hello everyone,
It’s time for the final feature discussion of 2025 for Revenge of the Firstborn! This month I thought we’d take a deep dive into the main feature that people think of when they think of D&D-based games, the combat!
More Than Just “Push Button, Kill Monster”
Despite its origin as a tabletop game, Dungeons & Dragons, especially the 3.5 edition, has a complex set of combat rules, supporting a lot of interesting options. Revenge of the Firstborn aims to incorporate as many of those options as possible. From readied actions, to counter-spelling, to tripping and grappling and, of course, mounted combat, which we’ve talked about in-depth in the past.
Revenge of the Firstborn includes all of the combat feats you’d expect from the 3.5 ruleset. You can trip your enemies and get a free attack on them using the Improved Trip feat, you can take their weapon away from them using the Disarm attack, you can even throw weapons such as daggers and spears, making these often-ignored weapons much more useful. Keep an eye out for magical Returning versions of these weapons that reappear in your hand each time you throw them.
Off the top of my head, the only other game I can think of that supports grappling is the Knights of the Chalice series. Ever since I played them, I wanted to have grappling in my own game. Grappling allows you to prevent enemy spellcasters from performing the movements required to cast most of their spells, which is a great way to neutralize them. Many monsters in the 3.5 SRD also have the ability to Grapple characters if they hit with the primary attacks. This makes enemies like owlbears and barbed devils much more dangerous, since not only do they damage grappled characters automatically, but the target of the grapple can only use a light weapon to fight back. This potentially takes your best frontline warrior out of the fight if they can’t escape the grapple.
Revenge of the Firstborn also includes the full range of readied actions. Not only readying for an enemy to approach, but readying for an enemy to start casting a spell, which you can then attempt to interrupt. You can also set your weapon to receive a charge, for when you’re facing mounted enemies who you can’t otherwise catch up to.
Watch Where You’re Going
In addition to all of the above, positioning matters in Revenge of the Firstborn. Having a creature flanked that is, with an enemy on either side of them, grants you a +2 bonus to hit and opens them up to Sneak Attacks from your Rogue. You will have access to the full array of tumble skills to move around enemies without provoking Attacks of Opportunity or to roll through their occupied space to get behind them.
If you’re more than ten feet away from a target, you can perform a Charge Attack, gaining +2 to hit, but losing your Dexterity bonus until your next turn. You can also Bull Rush enemies, to move them where you want them, including off the edge of a cliff if you have one handy. Don’t worry, any quest items they are carrying will be dropped where they were last standing, so you can still retrieve them.
You’ll need to watch your step as well. In many old ruins, you’ll find rubble and other things that make for rough terrain, slowing you down as you try to get where you’re going. Spells such as Solid Fog and Grease can make movement more difficult as well.
Environmental Interactions
Speaking of Grease, be careful with fire when you’re standing in or near a Grease spell. Many spells in the game interact with each other, either dispelling or enhancing them. Grease, in particular, can be set on fire with spells such as Burning Hands or even a thrown torch.
Fire can also be used to burn away webs (or cut through them, in the case of a burning weapon). Gusts of Wind can be summoned to clear out fog spells such as Cloudkill and ice and fire spells affect each other logically, usually destroying each other’s persistent effects.
The combat system is the bedrock upon which the majority of computer RPGs are based on, doubly so for those based on flavors of the D&D rules. Revenge of the Firstborn is no exception; from the very start, the game has been built around intricate combat that flows smoothly and provides plenty of depth to dive into.