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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Scott Christian" data-source="post: 9417463" data-attributes="member: 6901101">There are two rabbit holes on violence in D&D: <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Players who care about the world and NPCs won't be murder hobos</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Encounters per day has a lot to do with how violent your games are</li> </ul>I know when I run my games, there is often a bit of exposition to get them to care about people. I often romanticize when needed, such as the gruff first mate on the boat that secretly reads romance novels and keeps letters from his kids and wife pinned up above his hammock, or the stable owner that named all his kids after horse names: Foal, Colt, Yearling and Filly. And the kids all read bedtime stories to the horses at night. That, or have the adventurers catch the NPC in a state of emotion: the Prince crying because his uncle that he loved just passed away. These little things help decrease needless violence. Encounters per day, at least at my table is limited to one or two. There are only so many things you should be killing. I prefer the monsters to be just that, monsters. I have a reason, both ecological and lore, why they are there. So an encounter should be something the adventurers understand. For example, in my last campaign the adventurers heard rumors from the shepherds of all the goats heading west. The fay tree also spoke (in riddles) of rumblings underneath felt in her roots. When they met the miners in the area, the mine was closed and no one could work. They did not know what it was, but one person died while trying to work, so they needed someone to investigate the mines. An umber hulk had also migrated west and stumbled into the mine. His burrowing passage clearly went east, but had caved in. To me, the encounters should connect to one of the story threads. If not, what's the point.</blockquote>

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