101 Non-Combat Adventures?

[takyris]

Okay, so let's say that your d20 Modern campaign is an episode of Alias. You've got secret codes and gunplay and a whole lot of people really good Bluff checks. Question:

What do you do with the player who wants to play Marshall the computer geek?

Or, similarly, you're doing "Buffy". In Act Two, Buffy and Spike go off to investigate a haunted house and fight some campis, while Anya and Willow do a magical incantation to summon a demon and get information. Xander and Dawn stay at the house to do research.

What do you do with Xander and Dawn?

It's not that I don't like the non-physical heroes -- in fact, I love the fact that, for the first time, it's possible to have someone with almost NO combat value whatsoever. Sure, you can make a Charismatic Hero and go the "distract opponents" route, and you can make a Smart Hero and go the "make a plan and use Int bonus against opponents" route, but you can also go for seduction and computer hacking. This makes it possible to have a character who is just plain useless in a fight. Can't hit people, can't cast spells to knock them out.

So what do you do with those guys?

One option is to keep the party together at all times -- but that quickly gets unrealistic in a lot of campaigns. Sure, in Stargate: SG-1, it makes sense for the party to stick together, because they all need to get back through a wormhole -- but even then, Daniel Jackson often goes off by himself, or with Major Carter, to do scientific or cultural research. And Daniel and Sam don't suck in a fight, so they're not great examples.

It's OCCASIONALLY fun to play "protect the helpless computer geek" during a commando raid -- the geek is the only one who can hack the mainframe, but they have to get him past the guards and TO the mainframe first. Fun every once in awhile, but frustrating as an "every week" game plan.

So, at some point, the party is going to have to split up. The Strong and Fast people are gonna have to go check out those rumors of Walking Eggplants in the sewer tunnels, and the Charismatic, Dedicated, and Smart people are going to be left to "do research" or "talk to people". In most TV shows, this means that the camera stays on the Strong and Fast folks while they fight some low-level bad guys, and then they come back, and the Charismatic/Smart/Dedicated folks tell them what they've found.

But I don't want that. I want fun adventures for all classes. If the party splits up, I want both sides to be excited.

So there we go. That's what I'm asking for. 101 Non-Combat Adventure ideas, suitable for Charismatic, Smart, and Dedicated folks.

To get the ball rolling:

1) Smart: The research gets more complicated than usual, as the book the hero knows she needs has been replaced with a dummy copy -- all blank pages. A local embassy has the information in a book in its original language, but it requires some research and information-gathering to find the embassy that has the information, some knowledge of cultural intricacies to convince them that you're sincere in your desire for knowlege, a little forgery to convince them that you are indeed a museum researcher, and then a decipher script check to actually get the information from its original Sumerian dialect. Alternatively, the Smart hero could try to piece the dummied book back together by using footnotes from a bunch of other books that reference that book. It would be an absurdly difficult riddle or puzzle -- probably Smart Level check + Int.

2) While the Strong and Tough heroes race off to catch the fleeing fugitives in a daring rooftop chase, the Dedicated hero stays to analyze the scene of the crime from which the bad guys fled. Officers on the scene have searched thoroughly and have amassed the clues, and it's up to the Dedicated hero to figure out how everything went down. A good Investigate check reveals that the first bullet -- which took out a window -- had to have been fired by a very tall person. A Spot check helps our hero remember that none of the fugitives were tall -- but one of the victims was. So the victims actually started this fight. Then the Dedicated hero goes to analyze the bullets, only to be informed by the nice man in ballistics that the bullets are unusable because of their impact. Something isn't right in his voice, and with a good Sense Motive check and some persistence, the hero can force matters out into the open. The ballistics officer was once in a gang, and these bullets have been altered in a manner that only his old gang could do. Without that information, the party would be going after the wrong people.

3) Charismatic: An exclusive restaurant is likely a front for an evil organization. The hero thinks that her buddies have been captured after a fight, and that they might be held at the restaurant. She grabs a few different outfits and heads to the restaurant, where she bluffs her way in as a restaurant critic. Once inside, she ducks into a closet and disguises herself as a waitress. She gets back through the kitchen and finds a secret back chamber, which has an exclusive room complete with musical performers and dancing girls. She changes outfits again, this time ito something black and shiny, and bluffs her way in as the singing talent. After her vocal performance, she catches the eye of a thug, who asks her to come back to one of the private rooms. As she goes with him, she compliments his sunglasses, which she recognizes as belonging to her buddy the Fast hero. He says that he got them from some guy who's "feeling a little low right now", chuckling as he glances down at the basement. The hero bluffs her way out of a romantic liason with the thug by altering her personality so as to remind him of his mother, gets out of the restaurant, and tells her buddies that their friends are being held in the basement and need a rescue.

 

[takyris]

Well, pooh.

40-something views and no replies. Am I all alone in having trouble coming up with good, challenging, interesting non-action scenarios for Charismatic, Dedicated, or Smart Heroes? Or am I just all alone in caring about it?

 

[Bismark]

Personally I find it hard to think of specific examples outside of the context of a campaign.

We don't always split up in our D20 game. In fact, until recently we didn't have a single strong, tough or fast hero. Sure, we all had our strengths. When it came time for the front man, one of the charismatic heroes would do the talking. Somtimes. Sometimes the smart person would jump in and take over.

Sometimes it was our tough hero who did all the talking. It depended on the situation. We all took part in most aspects. It was just that those whose 'specialty' it was, such as the smart hero doing research, usually outshone the others.

When it came time to combat, we were all usually present, it's just the tough hero dominated.

So really, there were no predefined roles. Some people were better than others at certain things, but no one was assigned to just research, or just combat.

 

[Sixchan]

Well, pooh.

40-something views and no replies. Am I all alone in having trouble coming up with good, challenging, interesting non-action scenarios for Charismatic, Dedicated, or Smart Heroes?

It may suggest that everyone else is too...

I really liked the above ideas, but I'm not exactly a fountain of my own ones. Sorry.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

I really liked the above ideas, but I'm not exactly a fountain of my own ones. Sorry.

What he said, I'm afraid.

 

[takyris]

Alright... let's try some more...

4) The Smart Hero is the only one who can handle a tough infiltration assignment. They don't have much information, but they know that electronic cameras make it pretty much impossible for someone to sneak in. The Smart Hero has to study the blueprints carefully in order to figure out that the building has to have a secret entrance through a small maintenance hatch in a parking lot. From there, he can get in, patch into the security cameras, get the timing of the security guard movements, loop the cameras so he isn't spotted on tape, walk blithely through the corridors while the guards are on other floors, pick the lock to the lab, and get in. Then he must steal Chemical X and replace it with something he cooks up on the fly -- a Chemistry check to make something similar enough to pass a few rudimentary tests and cover up all signs of the theft for a few critical days.

(more when I've got the book in front of me -- I know that the above deal is doable with nothing but Smart Hero skills, though.)

 

[snak]

Personally I find it hard to think of specific examples outside of the context of a campaign.
So really, there were no predefined roles. Some people were better than others at certain things, but no one was assigned to just research, or just combat.

Try developing scenarios that aren't non-combat, but where combat won't achieve the pc's goal(s).

1. Seduce adversary to get access to their mcguffin (secret code, hall pass, lucky charms, etc...) This could include various activities ranging from gambling, witty banter, bicycle riding, perform checks. Researching the targets backgound or just what interests the target. If combat/intimidation occurs target calls for help, fights, takes cyanide pill and pc's loose.

2. Pc's are sent as emmisaries to broker a deal or peace. This could include combat (i.e. go wack Tony three legs as a gesture of good faith) or the pc's act as moderator. Again diplomacy and investigative skills come in handy.

3. Pc's are assigned a VIP to protect and "show a good time." It could go the combat route, especially if the VIP is a drunken loud mouth. It could play out more like the secret service. They research possible threats and if something goes down they take their package and run, they don't stick around to see what's up.

4. Pc's need to steal 10 specific cars in one hour.

I'm not really making these class specific because in my games the really mind blowing stuff usually happens when the Tough guy has to finesse his way out of a situation and the geek has his hand on the glock.

The most important this as the GM is to keep the pacing up and go back and forth between groups. Even if you end up giving one group 'busy work' red hering stuff, don't let on that it is filler to keep them occupied.

 

[takyris]

9) Dedicated: The Crash

The party is on its way to a daring assault on the evil villain's remote wilderness fortress, but something goes wrong. The plane carrying the the Dedicated Hero is shot down and crashes hard in the wilderness.

The Dedicated Hero wakes up to see that she and the pilot are the only ones who survived -- and the pilot isn't looking so good. He needs medical attention pronto -- a Treat Injury check. Good, he's stable for the moment, but he's still in bad condition, and he's got an infection that needs treating. An Earth&Life Sciences check helps the Dedicated Hero find a plant with natural antiseptic properties, and she uses it for another Treat Injury check. Even with her improvised tools, she's got enough skill (through skill emphasis) to help the pilot recover.

When the pilot finally wakes up, he thanks our hero gratefully, and asks for help in figuring out a way back to civilization. Our hero helps with the maps and charts star positions at night (Improved Aid Another), and helps the pilot figure out which way to go and where they're at. She then uses her childhood camping skills (Survival) to craft a makeshift litter and drag the pilot in the direction he indicates.

A few days later, our Dedicated Hero didn't help take down the evil villain -- but she survived, and she saved the pilot as well.

 

[takyris]

10) Charismatic: A Day with the Horses

Our Charismatic Hero has left his buddies to make an assault upon some thug's hideout. He's not really so good with the guns, and he suspects that even if they do find information, it'll be incomplete. The party needs better information about the real boss of all the information. So he heads to the racetrack, where his street sources tell him that a toady for some big new player likes to hang out.

First, he gathers information to find out where the toady likes to do his business and what his habits are. With his skills, he finds out that the toady hangs out in a box where the rich and powerful congregate and place bets through box attendants without having to go to the booths. He also learns that when the toady goes over a certain money limit, he always makes a call and gets nervous -- probably a call to his boss asking for more money. Our charismatic hero hatches a plan.

First, he finds one of the box attendants. It's a simple matter of bribery and intimidation to get him to give up his uniform and press card, and then it's a simple disguise check (an easy one because he has the uniform) to get up to the exclusive box and bluff his way past the security guards -- "Hey, they moved me up here 'cause (mumble) didn't show up for his damn shift, thanks, seeya."

Then he's into the box, and taking orders from everyone, including the Toady. One specially aimed Diplomacy check -- "Wow, betting a little money on the obvious front-runner. Very daring, sir. I'm sure the ladies admire your courage," and he gets the toady pissed enough so that he changes his bet to a huge amount of money on the front runner. Our hero grins and takes all the bets.

Then he dashes down to the stables and changes into his normal clothes. Some bluffwork gets him past the guards and clears the stables for a moment ("Hey, some health dude says everyone has to go give urine samples..."), which is long enough for him to use his skill with handling animals to dope up the horse that our toady had bet on. That horse is gonna be going sideways as much as forward now...

Back into the serving clothes, where he gets back to the box just in time to grab drink orders and watch the race. The toady's horse comes in dead last, prompting the toady, purple-faced, to make a fast and furious and very quiet call on his cell phone. The toady puts the cell phone in his jacket pocket, and a short time later, our hero accidentally spills his drink on said jacket and, as the toady vents his frustration on him, promises (bluffing) to get it laundered while the toady waits. Our hero leaves the scene with a nice new jacket (slightly stained) and a cell phone that he knows made its most recent call to the big boss. Once he gets the number to his Smart Hero buddy, he's sure that the information will help.

 

[ThoughtBubble]

Sorry man, I keep trying, and nothing.

I get little half formed ideas, like using a smart to try to work his way into the good graces of a group of computer hackers (as the only potential guy who knows enough not to be ostricised). But nothing nearly so fleshed out as what you've got.