D&D 5E (2014) DMs: How do you handle purely combat-focused groups?

[Hand of Evil]

I always found character interaction with the game world important, the characters are impacting the world and they should see those changes and are impacted by them.

I use this example a lot: if the characters burn down a tavern, for the few months they will see construction or just the ruins, maybe they see a little girl placing flowers on the brunt steps, maybe they start to be "known arsonist", or all the above.

Just remember there is a reaction for their actions and tales run faster than the characters. I guess you can call it reputation and decide for yourself if it is good or bad. Oh, if the group does not have a name for itself, start calling it by the character's name with the highest CHR and just insert their adventures into the gossip of the land.

Just ask, what happens now that the adventures have killed all the bad guys...what fills the void?

 

[Joddy37]

Ok, let me pop in here to add some details. Actually I don't think all the players in my table are absolutely enjoying this kind of hack and slash. In fact, one player is completely unhappy with it. When I personally talk to him, he says he is in the same camp with me about more role playing less fighting. The other players, however, behave like they are eager to have combat the whole session, but when they encounter an enemy and it comes to actually resolving the combat rounds, they quickly start to feel bored if their characters fail to hit or deal some damage for a couple of turns, (mostly they don't try much interesting things in combat to gain advantage, upper hand etc. althogh I constantly remind them of such clever tactics) then it becomes like "well, it took us too long, when will we finish this stupid fight?" Hearing that I feel really at a loss but don't reflect my mood around in order to avoid a negative athmosphere around the table.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Ok, let me pop in here to add some details. Actually I don't think all the players in my table are absolutely enjoying this kind of hack and slash. In fact, one player is completely unhappy with it. When I personally talk to him, he says he is in the same camp with me about more role playing less fighting. The other players, however, behave like they are eager to have combat the whole session, but when they encounter an enemy and it comes to actually resolving the combat rounds, they quickly start to feel bored if their characters fail to hit or deal some damage for a couple of turns, (mostly they don't try much interesting things in combat to gain advantage, upper hand etc. althogh I constantly remind them of such clever tactics) then it becomes like "well, it took us too long, when will we finish this stupid fight?" Hearing that I feel really at a loss but don't reflect my mood around in order to avoid a negative athmosphere around the table.

So most of your players only want combat, and when they get combat, they want to hurry up and get it over with. To get to what exactly? Yet another fight that they hope ends immediately?

Sounds like most of your players would be happier playing an MMO than tabletop. Find better players.

 

[Nebulous]

I recently begin to experience the dillemma of a DM that ended up with a lot of adventure material and role playing hooks, interesting scenes and colorful NPCs due to a group who are totally ignoring all this stuff and trying to find and kill the bad guys (that means those whoever is evil by race stereotype) and hurry the adventure towards the final goal. Too many times they just blundered into enemies, ran them through, killing nearly all those they captured, hiding behind the dull concept of ''we are good, they are evil, so we kill them''. Until now, because some of them are new to role playing games and coming from MMORPGs, I let them do whatever they like, but changed the development of the scenario according to the results of their actions. These results mostly include the bad guys changing tactics, relocating, scheming different plots, NPCs acting differently and following new agendas etc.. But although I worked hard to steer the PCs to a more exploration-interaction oriented play, they just dismmised my hints and advices, continuing the same stuff of doing things with the blade. Until now they were very lucky in the combat scenes, noone died because of their carelessness, they have abundant healing abilities (which I find way too much in this edition). But they were very slow to progress through the adventure (it is the Starter Set), since they were unable to get enough information from any source. Now I wonder, what can be done to make them see that there is a whole different part of the game, to make them think combat is not the only way to solve issues? Any ideas?

This is quite a dilemma, because if YOU, the DM is not having fun, then what's the point? (and vice versa, if the DM is a gloating god of doom, the players don't have fun either) Now, I am also running through Lost Mine of Phandelver and not having any problems, and in fact, death has not happened yet but it very easily could. Bumping up the number of enemies even slightly (or adding 2 ogres instead of 2 bugbears) will change the outcome drastically.

As someone else mentioned, you need to explain to them, out of game preferably, that the kill-kill-kill mentality is not exactly the kind of game you want to run. And I would also make encounters more lethal, so that they will be tactically forced to try something else. Like running away, or diplomacy.

If, however, these players are hardwired to do this (which is possible) you might want to recruit some new players.

 

[Nebulous]

Ok, let me pop in here to add some details. Actually I don't think all the players in my table are absolutely enjoying this kind of hack and slash. In fact, one player is completely unhappy with it. When I personally talk to him, he says he is in the same camp with me about more role playing less fighting. The other players, however, behave like they are eager to have combat the whole session, but when they encounter an enemy and it comes to actually resolving the combat rounds, they quickly start to feel bored if their characters fail to hit or deal some damage for a couple of turns, (mostly they don't try much interesting things in combat to gain advantage, upper hand etc. althogh I constantly remind them of such clever tactics) then it becomes like "well, it took us too long, when will we finish this stupid fight?" Hearing that I feel really at a loss but don't reflect my mood around in order to avoid a negative athmosphere around the table.

Ugh, Joddy, I'm sorry. That actually sounds like a tough situation, even when they GET THE COMBAT they want, if it's not 100% full on destructo-mode, they're unhappy. I think you need to take the player that has your playstyle and try to find some new blood. I know, that can be very difficult to do, but it wouldn't hurt to look around.

Edit: I invited my roommate to play D&D, he is young, 20s, and only knows MMORG, he plays in raids every night of the week and has never played a table top rpg. Your post now has me wondering exactly what kind of approach or mindset he would bring to the table...hmmmm

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

That sounds like a pretty awful group to be honest but people like different types of games. Talk to them and if they don't think your concerns are valid I'd bow out of the game. Seems like they want to spam the main attack button but do little else and if combat isn't super quick they get mad/bored. Maybe a table top miniatures combat game would be better suited to what they want? Or as others have said a MMO game may be better since it seems that is how they are approaching D&D.

Maybe you and the players who are on the same page should try to put a new group together?

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

And this is less a combat focused group and more an incredibly impatient group who apparently have no patience for missing attacks or having to do anything more interesting than stand there and doing the same thing over and over. My group is combat focused, but they are nothing like this.

 

[Chocolategravy]

For that kind of group I play D&D which has manuals of monsters to murder. The game is designed around this. If the group wants a more story or exploration based game I use a different system.

 

[Greg K]

As a DM, I hate pure hack n slash games and refuse to run them. Life is too short to waste time running a game that I do not enjoy. Therefore, I would take the one player whom enjoys a style similar to mine and have the other players find another DM more suitable to their preferred style of play. Then, to fill the group with the one player, I would find other players whom enjoy something close to a style that I prefer.

If the player pool in the area I lived was severely limited, I would gladly run one-on-one for that one player with similar tastes.

 

[Nebulous]

That sounds like a pretty awful group to be honest but people like different types of games. Talk to them and if they don't think your concerns are valid I'd bow out of the game. Seems like they want to spam the main attack button but do little else and if combat isn't super quick they get mad/bored. Maybe a table top miniatures combat game would be better suited to what they want? Or as others have said a MMO game may be better since it seems that is how they are approaching D&D.

Maybe you and the players who are on the same page should try to put a new group together?

Right here. Hand them a couple boxes of the 4e miniatures battles and just walk away.