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Do NPCs in your game have PHB classes?
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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 6890392" data-attributes="member: 22779"><p>And, of course, that's the kicker right there. Was the decision to "randomly" kidnap the mom an in-character decision or a metagame one? Well, the honest answer has to be "both". It's an action that makes sense for the goblin, so, it satisfies believability, while, OTOH, the DM's motivation is 100% meta-game - making a good story line. The idea that it has to be all one and none of the other is just not how the game is played.</p><p></p><p>It would be just as unsatisfying to go 100% the other way. I'm choosing stuff without any eye for the in-game reality and simply using whatever I think might be "fun". While it's perfectly understandable for the goblin to kidnap the mom, it's a bit of a stretch to have a bear do the same thing, even though a bear might be a more interesting combat encounter than a goblin. </p><p></p><p>Ok, that was a bad example, but, I think you get my point. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /></p><p></p><p>To me, the issue lies in the lines that get drawn in the sand. Trying to separate NPC decisions from the DM's role as the person who makes interesting adventures, is, IMO, impossible. For one, NPC's can't make decisions, thus the "N" in the NPC. Any decisions that an NPC makes will always be driven by the DM and the DM has multiple criteria for choosing which action an NPC takes. After all, it makes the most sense for NPCs to always coup de gras (or attack a helpless) PC. In a D&D world, healing is pretty common, and any healing brings you back on your feet. So, every time a PC goes down, the NPC's should dog pile that PC and make sure he stays dead. Every time.</p><p></p><p>Thing is, that makes for sucky games. I certainly don't want to play that way. It's mechanics driving narrative and even I'm not that big of a fan of that. The NPC's are killing the PC, not because it makes in game sense for them to do so, but, because of the mechanics of the game. And it makes for bad games. IMO, of course. So, by and large, DM's don't deliberately target downed PC's, even though it would make more sense, if we follow the idea that the mechanics are the "physics of the world" that any intelligent enemy would do so.</p><p></p><p>Reminds me of an excellent short story by Ferrett Steinmetz, My Father's Wounds (found <a href="http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/my-fathers-wounds-by-ferrett-steinmetz/" target="_blank">here at BCS #75</a>) Here's a quote that I just love and it really does fit with the idea of D&D healing:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Bloody fantastic story.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 6890392, member: 22779"] And, of course, that's the kicker right there. Was the decision to "randomly" kidnap the mom an in-character decision or a metagame one? Well, the honest answer has to be "both". It's an action that makes sense for the goblin, so, it satisfies believability, while, OTOH, the DM's motivation is 100% meta-game - making a good story line. The idea that it has to be all one and none of the other is just not how the game is played. It would be just as unsatisfying to go 100% the other way. I'm choosing stuff without any eye for the in-game reality and simply using whatever I think might be "fun". While it's perfectly understandable for the goblin to kidnap the mom, it's a bit of a stretch to have a bear do the same thing, even though a bear might be a more interesting combat encounter than a goblin. Ok, that was a bad example, but, I think you get my point. :p To me, the issue lies in the lines that get drawn in the sand. Trying to separate NPC decisions from the DM's role as the person who makes interesting adventures, is, IMO, impossible. For one, NPC's can't make decisions, thus the "N" in the NPC. Any decisions that an NPC makes will always be driven by the DM and the DM has multiple criteria for choosing which action an NPC takes. After all, it makes the most sense for NPCs to always coup de gras (or attack a helpless) PC. In a D&D world, healing is pretty common, and any healing brings you back on your feet. So, every time a PC goes down, the NPC's should dog pile that PC and make sure he stays dead. Every time. Thing is, that makes for sucky games. I certainly don't want to play that way. It's mechanics driving narrative and even I'm not that big of a fan of that. The NPC's are killing the PC, not because it makes in game sense for them to do so, but, because of the mechanics of the game. And it makes for bad games. IMO, of course. So, by and large, DM's don't deliberately target downed PC's, even though it would make more sense, if we follow the idea that the mechanics are the "physics of the world" that any intelligent enemy would do so. Reminds me of an excellent short story by Ferrett Steinmetz, My Father's Wounds (found [url=http://www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/my-fathers-wounds-by-ferrett-steinmetz/]here at BCS #75[/url]) Here's a quote that I just love and it really does fit with the idea of D&D healing: Bloody fantastic story. [/QUOTE]
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