Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 6703813" data-attributes="member: 2067">I know that frequently in my games, a clever use of a ritual, an interesting use of the terrain, a successful skill check, or a clever strategy can win a combat without much in the way of attack rolls or initiative getting involved. In terms of pure damage efficiency, sometimes speak with animals and a good Charisma check will trump anything else you could've done with that pack of wolves. Yes, you can Intimidate that bugbear who was supposed to be the boss. You Stealthed in to get the MacGuffin? You clever hobbit, you! I know sometimes in my games, alternative solutions aren't easy to come by. Okay, you've charmed the demon, but he still wants to destroy the world, and if you're going to try and stop him, he's going to try and kill you. But I never have a fight that is meant to happen, a fight that I would rule can't be solved in a way other than with blades and fists. In my mind, every fight has at least a potential escape hatch, even if the characters don't want to or won't bother using it (maybe you Deceive the demon into thinking you're going to carry out the dark ritual for him so he can go home? Gimmie a Charisma check and pray, folks). I roll with the punches and I'm inclined to Say Yes. But I get the sense that not every DM is as free and loose with the possibility of a fight breaking out. In the hands of another DM, no, the demon who wants to destroy the world is going to attack you and there ain't nothin' you can do about it, sucka, this is a FIGHT TO THE DEATH and it will be HUGE. Don't roll for Deception, roll for Initiative, it ain't got time to listen to your monologue. Maybe you worked hard on your epic demon battle, maybe you've had a vision of this fight in your head for weeks, maybe you queue up the epic battle music and get pumped, and letting the party weasel out of that is going to be disappointing for *you*. I'm interested in how prevalent these modes of play are, and what people have to say about 'em.So how about you? Do you have fights that are supposed to happen, that will basically happen even if the party tries to avoid them? Or are you cool with your epic evil dragon being asked to kindly leave the town alone by the bard who rolls a 20?</blockquote>

Verification