ezo
Hero
Meaning... what???
D&D 5E Handling Morale Checks
- Thread starter jayoungr
- Start date
Your system is interesting! I'm not sure I will remember the math enough to do it quickly on the fly. If I have it right, you figure the difference between the enemy and the PCs, and if the PCs are higher level you subtract the difference from the save DC, and if the enemy is higher level, you add it? But then it's a straight wisdom roll to beat the DC?
What do you do for groups of enemies? Say your level 8 PCs are attacked by a gang of level 5 bandits, and the bandits outnumber them. Do you treat each individual bandit the same as the single Hill Giant, or do you make any modifications for having numerical advantage?
How do you figure the DC?
Yaarel
🇮🇱 🇺🇦 He-Mage
I use the Intimidation skill for both imposing Frightened in this way, as well as for morale that resists this Frightened.
It is useful in urban settings, so players can win a combat encounter without killing, thus avoiding the worst of the problems with the authorities.
Right before the fight a DM can make a morale check to see how willing to fight are the monsters. On a fail then the DM use any event he judge appropriate to make monsters retreat, flee or surender.
The same way DM can use a tactical check (int) to to make monsters more or less efficient or coordinate togheter.
The same way DM can use a tactical check (int) to to make monsters more or less efficient or coordinate togheter.
Yaarel
🇮🇱 🇺🇦 He-Mage
I do similar. I view all hit points before the Bloodied condition as strictly nonphysical. Bloodied is the moment a confrontation "gets real". That is when a morale check can happen.
ezo
Hero
The math isn't too bad, and frankly I know 99% of the time since CR vs. Level is often within 5, for the most part a roll of 15 or better nearly always makes it and a roll of 5 or less pretty much will always fail. However, I have the CR listed for each encounter in my notes, so the math isn't too bad for me, personally.
Yes. PC higher level, subtract the difference... the creature is more likely to flee when it gets beaten down (often quickly) to half HP. PC level lower, add the difference... the creature is less likely to flee since it is stronger and likely is giving as good as it takes.
After that, base 10 DC and straight Wisdom check (not a saving throw like 2014 DMG says!!!).
I generally use the adjusted XP value for the encounter and determine an encounter CR. In a recent encounter I had 10 quicklings (CR 1) worth an adjusted XP 5000, making them a CR 9 encounter. So, the base DC is 11 vs. 8th-level PCs.
I make checks on the first death, at half strength, and if there is a clear leader, whenever the leader is defeated.
In the quickling encounter, a PC dropped first before a quickling, and frankly it looked bad for the PCs. So, when a quickling dropped I made the check with disadvantage--the quicklings were "winning" clearly. IIRC the low roll was a 6, so +1 WIS mod for the quickling totaled 7, failing vs. DC 11. The quicklings pressed the attack.
Later, when two PCs were hasted, and started killing quicklings, I made the check when 3 were left. I would have made it at 5, but the PCs killed two before the quicklings turn happened. At this point, it looked bad for the quicklings as their speed was not helping as much, so I made the check with advantage and easily beat the DC 11. The 3 remaining quicklings fled successfully (120 feet speed helps!).
If this sounds too complex it really isn't for me because I do enough prep work for encounters I generally know the DC with a glance at the encounter CR. However, you could do a base 10 DC and then +/- 5 for the difference in tiers between the party and the creature. Or, simply make it advantage on the check if the creature is lower CR (it will likely flee so you want to roll high) and disadvantage if the creature is higher CD (it will fight because it believes it can win).
There are really lots of ways to handle morale that can work--it just depends on how complex you want it?
I agree to your view, but sometime retreat is not a matter of hit points.
Some monsters may reason that they won’t win the fight
and sometimes morale flinch even before loosing hit points due to magical effects or the like.
the Jester
Legend
I don't much care for checking morale on a d20 (though I do it for simplicity); I always liked the Basic version of having a morale score and rolling 2d6, since there was a real but not too extreme bell curve that made more cowardly creatures far less likely to make their check and braver creatures far more likely.
Bringing this back would require adding a morale score to every monster, though- and that's a lot of work.
Bringing this back would require adding a morale score to every monster, though- and that's a lot of work.
Yaarel
🇮🇱 🇺🇦 He-Mage
Perhaps, combatants can use an Intimidation action to "force surrender", but I only if Bloodied has happened. Restraints would typically be required to maintain the surrender.
I say perhaps, because I like the idea, but am cautious about an at-will "Frightened" or "Charmed", even tho these effects are appropriate sometimes.
Advanced Squad Leader?
Go and try to understand the morale systems in the original Chainmail rules!
Cheers!
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