D&D 5E Would you play D&D if you knew there would be no combat?

[Derren]

It's called non-mechanical freeform roleplaying, backed up if needs must by at most one or two existing skills (e.g. Perception), and it can be done every bit as well in 5e as it can in any other RPG.

For "non-mechanical freeform roleplaying" you do not need D&D.
So if you want to do non combat campaigns you would be better of with a system which offers more than one or two existing skills or don't use a system at all.

 

[Aldarc]

No. I play D&D to replicate classic action Swords and Sorcery. I like a good bit of RP but at heart I'm in it for the action.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure if D&D would even be in my Top 5 TTRPG systems I would turn to if I wanted "to replicate classic action Swords and Sorcery."

 

[Jacob Lewis]

A D&D game without combat is like a game of checkers without the checkered board. You can probably pull it off, and it might even be fun for a while. But eventually you'll realize that using the board just makes more sense.

 

[Nebulous]

I'll be honest, I'm not sure if D&D would even be in my Top 5 TTRPG systems I would turn to if I wanted "to replicate classic action Swords and Sorcery."

Honestly, i would also like to run some other less heroic games than D&D as well but I cant find local players. (DnD is still my top 5 though). Any newbie just wants DnD it seems like. I post alternate suggestions on gaming sites and just hear crickets.

 

[Umbran]

My counter is that it isn't 5e if one of the pillars is missing.

That seems a little extreme, and One True Way. How about you leave some space for people to play in ways you don't, hm?

The rules are a tool. Folks can use them lots of ways, and we shouldn't go branding them with "Not Our Game" just for that.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Given 5es weakness in skills and non-combat options, the answer would be no.

A different system would generate a different answer.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I'll be honest, I'm not sure if D&D would even be in my Top 5 TTRPG systems I would turn to if I wanted "to replicate classic action Swords and Sorcery."

I see your point, D&D is pretty much D&D at this point and granted I run an OGL knock off game now. But we play it for a band of freebooters descending into forgotten temples of evil gods and pits of unspeakable horror in search of the big score and it does OK. I'm not really doing the modern day heroes save the world type campaign, its more of too bad going for that huge gem ended up freeing Tsathoggua.

 

[Esker]

Yes, but probably only for a one-shot or a mini-campaign, and if I had confidence that my character choices would still be relevant often. What I wouldn't particularly like is if it just wound up being loose RP with few opportunities to use skills or utility magic in ways that actually impacted what happened.

 

[hawkeyefan]

How in the 19 hells am I making up any houserules here?

It's called non-mechanical freeform roleplaying, backed up if needs must by at most one or two existing skills (e.g. Perception), and it can be done every bit as well in 5e as it can in any other RPG.

But then you’ve essentially removed the system from the equation. If it’s pure freeform RP with no mechanics, then it’s not really D&D at all. I don’t even know if it would even really be a game at all....sounds more like collaborative storytelling.

So the question then becomes why not use a system where the mechanics support the desired gameplay experience?

What if there was a game that is to social encounters as D&D is to combat? Just as combat in D&D is supported by player choices for class and other features, which then grant them meaningful choices to make in combat, what if there was a game that worked that way for espionage and court diplomacy and intrigue?

Wouldn’t such a game then be likely to work better for a low-to-no combat game?

 

[Warpiglet]

Hard No.

my friends would laugh if I proposed a non-combatant game given our preferences. We’ve had several role play only sessions (not by design) but because the story and characters dictated what happened

Necessary, good in some ways but not the goal.

I live to play a role and to swing swords and sling spells...plunder hoards, fight feuds...really base stuff and there is no disguising or apologizing for it.

***edited for typos