Stone-Cold Abstract Combat

Before zooming into full turn-by-turn combat between the player characters’ party and their opponents, maybe you want to keep it abstract.

Try this.

Get a bag and some white stones and some red stones.

Start by putting one white and one red in the bag.
Add one white per uninjured member of the party.
Add one red per Strength of the enemy side (1 for minions, 2 for monsters, 4 for monstrosities).

Pull two stones from the bag in order:

• If you pull white then white, the party gets their way without cost. Great job!
• If you pull white then red, the party gets their way after choosing between two minor costs (ex: lose a resource like torches, a weapon, or a spell).
• If you pull red then white, the party gets their way after choosing between a major cost (ex: injure a party member) or three minor costs.
• If you pull red then red, the party loses someone.Then pull another stone, and if that one is red, the party loses another party member. Keep making pulls until you pull a white stone.