D&D 5E On Murderhobos

[Wiseblood]

Whenever they engage in your version of murderhoboism narrate it. No dice rolls no asking for mods. Have the rewards be fairly banal. Then when consequences come calling make the challenge high and the reward even more banal. Like a mountain man bounty hunter with a pack of vicious hounds. He is a crack shot with a mundane bow. He already spent his money on supplies for an extended foray in the wilderness hunting and trapping normal animals. A decent tent, foodstuffs rope, a goat, pack animals and so on but they are with a trusted and well like town guard of modest means. Each time they seek to extricate themselves with violence crank up the heat. Well liked guard has a black sheep in the family who is an assassins guild leutenant. Said leutenant is betrothed to the Archpriest of the God of Death. And so on...or you could just talk about it.

 

[hawkeyefan]

I think that, as others have said, have a conversation. I think comparing the campain to the Grand Theft Auto video game can help put things in perspective. Sure, it can be fun to just go off the rails and cause destruction and then try to avoid being shot down by the police...but is that where the true fun of the game lies? Or is it more about the missions and the unfolding story.

If everyone’s cool with it, then proceed as is. And just like GTA, have the reaponse to the PCs’ actions continue to escalate until finally the response is strong enough and they are all killed. It’s the only end possible, so it’s just a question of when.

 

[fuldry]

You can also check how Warhammer RPG messes with the heroic players in its various scenarii. It seems it is most likely a game more fitted to handle murderhobbos players.
Or, to make it shorter : give them obvious goals that are going to get them in trouble. As said before, 1 guard is not tough to handle, but if he can that guard is going to blow the whistle, then suddenly you have 10 guards, and if the town is big enough, suddenly you have 50 guards, then 30 more soldiers with tactics, like shield walls allowing lancers to hit them while being unable to hit them back (who just love to use reach weapons behind cover...) and archers and so on. Then put them up on the Most wanted list. Suddenly the local equivalent of Bobba Fett and friends are hunting for them...

As said before, if it is a game they and you enjoy, I see no problem there. If it's not the kind of game you wanted to run, talk with them, start over with new characters and clear expectations and if again it fails, find new players (I know easier said than done, but...)

 

[CleverNickName]

JonnyP71 and I have the same approach. Murderhoboery is always zero-gain for the PCs. Certain commoners and townsfolk are worth no XP, they carry nothing of value, and their shops and homes are full of uninteresting clutter. That usually gets the hint across to the players. (But if it doesn't, there is a powerful and well-funded order of paladins in town, sworn to uphold the law and protect the common man...)

 

[Gardens & Goblins]

Seems like a great time for a cult to step in.

''Donate your worldly goods! Protect yourself from the ravagers of this world! Roll around in mud to reach Nirvana!''

..after the third village is populated by naked, penniless peasants who spend there days rolling around in mud, they might get the point. On the flip side, they're making an impact on a living, breathing, mud-obsessed campaign world!

 

[Morrus]

The terminology seems to be shifting, I used to see it just used to refer to the general thing where PCs are typically homeless (in the sense of "no fixed residence") and do nothing much for a living but kill. Doesn't mean they kill random poor people for no reason.

Yeah, that’s how I understand the term. PCs wandering around killing innocent NPCs is something else entirely.

Characters with no home who kill orcs and stuff. This “murderhobo”.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Yeah, that’s how I understand the term. PCs wandering around killing innocent NPCs is something else entirely.

Characters with no home who kill orcs and stuff. This “murderhobo”.

Yep, I'm confused. We mostly play Murderobo style, roaming the land from ancient temple to foul cavern in the earth, killing the evil forces there and loading up on their stuff. Slaughtering the villages is evil campaign stuff.

 

[MarkB]

Play it flat and quick. Every time a player has his PC attack an innocent commoner, just say "You hit him. He dies. He has 1 gp." Answer any subsequent questions in 3 words or fewer without the slightest passion, ignore any attempt to make a die roll in connection to the incident, provide no narrative reward of any kind for the action.

 

[mikal768]

Yep, I'm confused. We mostly play Murderobo style, roaming the land from ancient temple to foul cavern in the earth, killing the evil forces there and loading up on their stuff. Slaughtering the villages is evil campaign stuff.

Yeah it's almost like the term is entirely subjective and meaningless or something...

 

[Caliban]

I usually go the route of "PC's are special because of what they choose to do, not because of their abilities." If they go the murderhobo route (as in start acting like criminals and serial killers instead of mercenaries for hire) in any major city, then they find out that they aren't the only ones with class levels, magic items, and tactics. (Doing it in an isolated area with no central authority and few witnesses has much less severe consequences.)

My home campaign has many prominent (and no so prominent) NPC's in the lvl 8-11 range. Most aren't higher level than that, but if the PC's are higher level and start acting like bandits rather than adventurer's, they will band together and pull out the big guns to take them down. Or just put a bounty on their heads and let nature take its course.

(I haven't actually had this problem, but that is how I believe I would handle it if it comes up. That or just tell them to stop it or we stop playing if they are being very obnoxious about it.)