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Always with the killing
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<blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 5296556" data-attributes="member: 58197"><p>As others have said, this is clearly an expectations issue. The RPG market has always been dominated by D&D, and D&D evolved from a wargame, so one has to expect that the majority of RPG players are at least okay with the idea of going around slaughtering stuff, and have come to expect it. D&D promotes this approach with intricate and detailed combat rules, while everything else is handled in a vague, "Yeah, roll some dice so we can get back to the killing" way if it's addressed at all.</p><p></p><p>If you want to draw players away from that model, you need two things:</p><p></p><p>1. Players that are not <em>actively</em> committed to killing stuff. Some folks game to solve puzzles or to explore mysteries or to roleplay social interactions. Other folks game for combat or to stir up trouble. Make it clear up front that the latter are not going to be happy in your game, and be prepared for some players to walk away. (Be prepared also for some players to stick around but whine and complain and pick fights with every passing town guardsman. You may have to give these people the boot.)</p><p>2. A clear and well-defined alternative. Even players who aren't combat-monkeys by nature may fall back on it if it's not clear what they're supposed to be doing. It's a rare gaming group that can deal well with a total sandbox scenario; most require some direction from the GM.</p><p></p><p>Question: Can you give us an example of a non-combat-oriented adventure you would like to run? Just a rough sketch of the storyline, so we can see what interests you and give better targeted advice... "non-combat-oriented" covers a lot of ground.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dausuul, post: 5296556, member: 58197"] As others have said, this is clearly an expectations issue. The RPG market has always been dominated by D&D, and D&D evolved from a wargame, so one has to expect that the majority of RPG players are at least okay with the idea of going around slaughtering stuff, and have come to expect it. D&D promotes this approach with intricate and detailed combat rules, while everything else is handled in a vague, "Yeah, roll some dice so we can get back to the killing" way if it's addressed at all. If you want to draw players away from that model, you need two things: 1. Players that are not [i]actively[/i] committed to killing stuff. Some folks game to solve puzzles or to explore mysteries or to roleplay social interactions. Other folks game for combat or to stir up trouble. Make it clear up front that the latter are not going to be happy in your game, and be prepared for some players to walk away. (Be prepared also for some players to stick around but whine and complain and pick fights with every passing town guardsman. You may have to give these people the boot.) 2. A clear and well-defined alternative. Even players who aren't combat-monkeys by nature may fall back on it if it's not clear what they're supposed to be doing. It's a rare gaming group that can deal well with a total sandbox scenario; most require some direction from the GM. Question: Can you give us an example of a non-combat-oriented adventure you would like to run? Just a rough sketch of the storyline, so we can see what interests you and give better targeted advice... "non-combat-oriented" covers a lot of ground. [/QUOTE]
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