Any good morale systems for 3.x/Pathfinder?

[Terath Ninir]

Some enemies will fight to the death. The horde of zombies will keep coming until the PCs have defeated it; the construct guarding the crypt will not stop until it is a pile of rubble.

Some enemies will run at the drop of a hat. The goblins WILL skitter off as soon as they hear the Balrog coming.

But a lot of encounters are somewhere in between. There are four times as many orcs as PCs. At what point are they going to realize they're dropping like flies and their numbers are *not* an advantage this time?

I can handwave this and make guesses, but I'd like something a little more rules-based. I could come up with my own morale rules, but I hate reinventing the wheel when there are perfectly good wheels out there. So does anyone know of any good morale systems out there that I could yoink? Anything for 3.0, 3.5, or Pathfinder could work. Now that I think about it, other d20 systems could work, too, as long as they're not *too* far off of D&D.

 

[techno]

I have been using the following simple morale rules for awhile and they have worked quite well. They were specifically developed for 4e but I think they might also work, with a few adjustments, for 3.5 or PF just as well.

 

[Terath Ninir]

I have been using the following simple morale rules for awhile and they have worked quite well. They were specifically developed for 4e but I think they might also work, with a few adjustments, for 3.5 or PF just as well.

Hmm. Not perfect for my needs, but I could run with that. What exactly is "bloodied?" I don't have the 4e books.

 

[techno]

Bloodied = 1/2 hit points lost.

 

[Terath Ninir]

Bloodied = 1/2 hit points lost.

Ah! Okay. I remember that now. That's easy enough to port over to Pathfinder. So, outside of this morale system, what effects does it have in 4e? What is "bloodied" under the base rules?

 

[howandwhy99]

I have been using the following simple morale rules for awhile and they have worked quite well. They were specifically developed for 4e but I think they might also work, with a few adjustments, for 3.5 or PF just as well.

Interesting system! I like it, very simple rules and easy to remember modifiers. Plus, it scales well and conforms to the system as presented in the 4E rules set.

I also like how easy it is to add or remove modifiers to the system for individual games/campaigns and how those who flee and escape do not add to the XP awards.

I think I would include a few other elements, like loyalty, temporarily lost Leader (e.g. to sleep or stun, etc.), and surrendering when no escape is possible.

I also think you'll need some Pursuit & Evasion rules, if you use this - that is, if 4E doesn't include these already. The players are bound to chase after monsters running away with "their" treasure.

 

[techno]

Certain powers and effects in 4e work against a bloodied target or work better against such a target. Some monsters have special attacks or abilities that are triggered when they are bloodied.

 

[howandwhy99]

New Powers should have morale effects too, whatever their source be it character, magic item, location, etc.

Clerics are a shoo in for this and other divine-oriented classes. Turning Undead is a kind of inducement of morale checks in a way anyways.

 

[frankthedm]

Problem with any morale system in 3.X is that enemies are worth far too much XP NOT to fight to the last HP. Previous editions had lower XP awards per creature and generally higher numbers of creatures, so "Free XP" of a few foes fleeing while it could still provide a chance of consuming some resources was not as bad. With 3E, almost every creature's actions is literally worth 100's of XP. Throwing those actions away on running is giving the players free XP.

 

[NewJeffCT]

I have been using the following simple morale rules for awhile and they have worked quite well. They were specifically developed for 4e but I think they might also work, with a few adjustments, for 3.5 or PF just as well.

The only thing with that is that a standard 4E goblin warrior has 29 hit points, despite being a level 1 warrior. You're still going to need 2-3-4 hits to drop it. The equivalent standard one HD monster in PF or 3.5E is going to have 4-5 hit points.... and can easily be dropped with one blow.

I might not use bloodied - I might use when the monsters' first ally is dropped (goblin is thinking, "they just killed Gornok, but have lost nobody - we can't win, I better flee!!!")

Also, a bloodied foe might stick to the combat if they think they have a good chance of winning ("The killed Gornok and Borq, but we just killed the elf and the robed human...only 2 of them remain, while there are six, um, seven, um, lots of us")

I like the saving throw idea overall, though, as it gives a bonus to "Elite" and "Solo" monsters, the equivalent of leaders in PF/3.5E.