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General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Creative combat objectives (other than "kill 'em all")
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<blockquote data-quote="Beginning of the End" data-source="post: 5410451" data-attributes="member: 55271"><p>I'm of the same mindset. My first impulse on reading the title of the thread was to think of tools which would either (a) empower the players to pursue non-killing goals and/or (b) give the GM flexibility in responding to those goals.</p><p></p><p>For starters, there are the old stand-bys: Monster reaction mechanics (so that all monstrous encounters don't default to "they're trying to kill you!"), morale rules (so that every encounter doesn't boil down to genocide), a and a functional chase system (so that disengaging from combat by either PCs or NPCs is a viable option).</p><p></p><p>With just these systems in place plus an understanding of how to design wave-based encounters I can duplicate everything in the OP on-the-fly.</p><p></p><p>But you could certainly go further than that by fundamentally changing the paradigm of combat so that it becomes conflict resolution instead of task resolution.</p><p></p><p>IOW, D&D combat has always been a task resolution system: The rules determine whether or not you kill the monster.</p><p></p><p>Change it up: When you deplete a monster's hit points you haven't automatically killed them; you've simply reached the point where the player can now determine the outcome of the encounter. Does the monster die? Run away? Surrender? Convert? Go flying off the cliff and disappear into the abyss?</p><p></p><p>Having done that, however, you can now open combat even more using pg. 42: Hit point depletion doesn't have to be limited to stuff that deals physical damage. All kinds of skills could be employed in creative ways to further your goals.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Beginning of the End, post: 5410451, member: 55271"] I'm of the same mindset. My first impulse on reading the title of the thread was to think of tools which would either (a) empower the players to pursue non-killing goals and/or (b) give the GM flexibility in responding to those goals. For starters, there are the old stand-bys: Monster reaction mechanics (so that all monstrous encounters don't default to "they're trying to kill you!"), morale rules (so that every encounter doesn't boil down to genocide), a and a functional chase system (so that disengaging from combat by either PCs or NPCs is a viable option). With just these systems in place plus an understanding of how to design wave-based encounters I can duplicate everything in the OP on-the-fly. But you could certainly go further than that by fundamentally changing the paradigm of combat so that it becomes conflict resolution instead of task resolution. IOW, D&D combat has always been a task resolution system: The rules determine whether or not you kill the monster. Change it up: When you deplete a monster's hit points you haven't automatically killed them; you've simply reached the point where the player can now determine the outcome of the encounter. Does the monster die? Run away? Surrender? Convert? Go flying off the cliff and disappear into the abyss? Having done that, however, you can now open combat even more using pg. 42: Hit point depletion doesn't have to be limited to stuff that deals physical damage. All kinds of skills could be employed in creative ways to further your goals. [/QUOTE]
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