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Any good morale systems for 3.x/Pathfinder?
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<blockquote data-quote="Herremann the Wise" data-source="post: 5597588" data-attributes="member: 11300"><p>I'm not a fan of rigid morale systems as every creature and encounter is different with its own nuances. I think instead it is one of the areas where the DM/GM really gets to put some thought into the combatants that they throw at the PCs and roleplay it to the hilt.</p><p></p><p>For example, animals and most "monsters" are generally after only a few things: food, protecting their young, protecting their territory and so on. A wolf in a pack might attack a single PC but as soon as the wolf is injured it is going to back off growling in pain - unless of course it is half-starved and the PC represents a meal the wolf they can almost taste, then it might fight to the death. Or when the pack leader is taken down, the rest of the pack scampers off. There are a whole heap of opportunities here to make the players think their way through a combat to find the optimal strategy for success (determine and take out the alpha male for example).</p><p></p><p>In the same breath, a soldier might turn tail and run or they might stay and fight in some deity or lover's name. Let PCs sense motive to guess at a combatants sticking power and morale. When is it possible to get them to lay down their sword and surrender, and how is this most easily achieved?</p><p></p><p>To my mind, getting into the minds of the creatures and NPCs at your command is how I derive a lot of enjoyment DMing and how I introduce elements of roleplay into combat. You can fight a horde of goblins, or you can take down the leader holding them all together. You can demoralize or antagonize your foes to elicit a desired response (and of course you have the NPCs do the same thing back to the PCs - particularly in a combat where the PCs know they may be bested). You design combats to have a short cut and a long way - and let the PCs work out what's going on... if they can. This to me is more fun than following a general morale formula for all combatants.</p><p></p><p>Best Regards</p><p>Herremann the Wise</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Herremann the Wise, post: 5597588, member: 11300"] I'm not a fan of rigid morale systems as every creature and encounter is different with its own nuances. I think instead it is one of the areas where the DM/GM really gets to put some thought into the combatants that they throw at the PCs and roleplay it to the hilt. For example, animals and most "monsters" are generally after only a few things: food, protecting their young, protecting their territory and so on. A wolf in a pack might attack a single PC but as soon as the wolf is injured it is going to back off growling in pain - unless of course it is half-starved and the PC represents a meal the wolf they can almost taste, then it might fight to the death. Or when the pack leader is taken down, the rest of the pack scampers off. There are a whole heap of opportunities here to make the players think their way through a combat to find the optimal strategy for success (determine and take out the alpha male for example). In the same breath, a soldier might turn tail and run or they might stay and fight in some deity or lover's name. Let PCs sense motive to guess at a combatants sticking power and morale. When is it possible to get them to lay down their sword and surrender, and how is this most easily achieved? To my mind, getting into the minds of the creatures and NPCs at your command is how I derive a lot of enjoyment DMing and how I introduce elements of roleplay into combat. You can fight a horde of goblins, or you can take down the leader holding them all together. You can demoralize or antagonize your foes to elicit a desired response (and of course you have the NPCs do the same thing back to the PCs - particularly in a combat where the PCs know they may be bested). You design combats to have a short cut and a long way - and let the PCs work out what's going on... if they can. This to me is more fun than following a general morale formula for all combatants. Best Regards Herremann the Wise [/QUOTE]
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Any good morale systems for 3.x/Pathfinder?
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