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Discuss: Combat as War in D&D
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<blockquote data-quote="Ancalagon" data-source="post: 8266991" data-attributes="member: 23"><p>Dragons very, very rarely appear out of the blue - I mean they might successfully ambush you, but their presence is generally known by the locals. Knowing where dragons roam (and are probably "no go" areas) is important. And you have to consider how did the dragon hear about the goblins' troubles with the PCs - she might not be able to show up instantly.</p><p></p><p>So adding stuff to a fight "because it's not hard enough" spontaneously is preeeety iffy as a GM, <em>particularly</em> if you are playing in a combat as war format, because it defeats the PC's ability to plan and prepare. A little bit to spice things up is ok I think (2 goblin archers have flanked the group and are shooting at you from the trees!), but "suddenly dragons!" no. That's not what I was trying to convey.</p><p></p><p>But let's say that the players didn't do their research and don't know about a dragon. They have been hitting the goblins in a series of hit and run (too many goblins to deal with at once) skirmishes, and are close to moping them up. The goblins send a runner to the dragon Vitriola to get help. The dragon shouldn't just show up at the PC's camp and breathe on them and murderize them...</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Perhaps a dying goblin snarls at the PC that Vitriola will destroy them all. Who is Vitriola? The PCs don't know, but they now know the goblin have <em>some</em> kind of dangerous ally.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Perhaps Vitriola doesn't care <em>that much</em> about the goblins, and will try to get something from the PCs instead of destroying them all. Tribute? Service?</li> </ul><p></p><p>In a "combat as war" world, fair encounters are not guaranteed... <em>for everyone</em>. This means that although combat can be very cut-throat, it also means that the motivation of NPCs are important. They make mistakes, and are more interested in survival than killing the PCs. The PCs may not have known that the goblin tribe had a dragon patron... but the dragon patron doesn't know if the PCs are level 3 or 10...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ancalagon, post: 8266991, member: 23"] Dragons very, very rarely appear out of the blue - I mean they might successfully ambush you, but their presence is generally known by the locals. Knowing where dragons roam (and are probably "no go" areas) is important. And you have to consider how did the dragon hear about the goblins' troubles with the PCs - she might not be able to show up instantly. So adding stuff to a fight "because it's not hard enough" spontaneously is preeeety iffy as a GM, [I]particularly[/I] if you are playing in a combat as war format, because it defeats the PC's ability to plan and prepare. A little bit to spice things up is ok I think (2 goblin archers have flanked the group and are shooting at you from the trees!), but "suddenly dragons!" no. That's not what I was trying to convey. But let's say that the players didn't do their research and don't know about a dragon. They have been hitting the goblins in a series of hit and run (too many goblins to deal with at once) skirmishes, and are close to moping them up. The goblins send a runner to the dragon Vitriola to get help. The dragon shouldn't just show up at the PC's camp and breathe on them and murderize them... [LIST] [*]Perhaps a dying goblin snarls at the PC that Vitriola will destroy them all. Who is Vitriola? The PCs don't know, but they now know the goblin have [I]some[/I] kind of dangerous ally. [*]Perhaps Vitriola doesn't care [I]that much[/I] about the goblins, and will try to get something from the PCs instead of destroying them all. Tribute? Service? [/LIST] In a "combat as war" world, fair encounters are not guaranteed... [I]for everyone[/I]. This means that although combat can be very cut-throat, it also means that the motivation of NPCs are important. They make mistakes, and are more interested in survival than killing the PCs. The PCs may not have known that the goblin tribe had a dragon patron... but the dragon patron doesn't know if the PCs are level 3 or 10... [/QUOTE]
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