D&D 5E Drop your weapons situation

[Sebastrd]

If your planned scenario requires the players to react in a certain way or it won't work, you need to rethink the scenario.

Also, watch Unforgiven. Remember that in D&D terms, your PCs are generally going to be William Munny, not random civilians.

Also, also, real world people survive gunshot wounds all the time. In a world with magical healing, projectile weapons are a lot less scary. If your party has a good cleric, it actually makes sense for them to stomach an opening volley before pounding the NPCs into paste. Watch one of the many movies featuring Wolverine. It's gonna hurt to take a few shots, but they know who's likely to need a bandaid and who's going to be holding their own entrails.

 

[GMMichael]

D&D isn't life, it's a game - a game of heroes. . .They're supposed to be playing the characters who face overwhelming odds - and prevail.

You're right. But since you didn't understand my post...

GM: The king says, "welcome to my court, brave heroes! Your reputations precede you, which is why I present you with such a daunting task. The Blood Gargler Orc Tribe encroaches on our fair lands, and you must kill their chief to save us all!"

HumanPC: Um... (looks at orc PC.)

OrcPC: "Well, uh, your Highness? He's actually my cousin."

PaladinPC: "Yes, oh great king, we will slay the orc chief and all living, breathing, red-blooded orcs who stand between us! Prudence be damned!"

HumanPC: Wait, that doesn't sound very Lawful Good...

GM: The king's 18 spear-and-shield-wielding guards shuffle a bit when you don't immediately accept.

OrcPC: Hmm, I'll use MarkB's logic and just attack the king, so I can be a hero to my people. Rolling initiative...

 

[ArchfiendBobbie]

You're right. But since you didn't understand my post...

Arguing that why people do something, or the stupidity of them doing it, does not stop people from doing it. That's why we have warning labels on chainsaws about not trying to stop the blade with your genitalia or to hold them by the wrong end. And why it is the Darwin Awards exist.

The important question is not "is it smart for them to do it," but "how likely are they to do it anyway?" And unfortunately, both media and myth are filled with people who died needlessly and ended up hailed as heroes. And the number of times they're depicted doing it and both succeeding and surviving. So for a fantasy hero game, there really is a strong incentive to do it anyway simply because it's what you've seen countless fantasy hero characters do in other media.

That's why your argument is kinda missing the point of what MarkB, myself, and others have said. It's not that we necessarily think it's smart or a good idea. It's that we know most players will do it anyway.

 

[Ancalagon]

One thing to consider... the people who want to talk to the heroes... have they done their research at all? If so they might realize that a single messenger may work much better, esp if the party has a never surrender reputation.

That's why your argument is kinda missing the point of what MarkB, myself, and others have said. It's not that we necessarily think it's smart or a good idea. It's that we know most players will do it anyway.

Thank you.

 

[MarkB]

You're right. But since you didn't understand my post...

GM: The king says, "welcome to my court, brave heroes! Your reputations precede you, which is why I present you with such a daunting task. The Blood Gargler Orc Tribe encroaches on our fair lands, and you must kill their chief to save us all!"

HumanPC: Um... (looks at orc PC.)

OrcPC: "Well, uh, your Highness? He's actually my cousin."

PaladinPC: "Yes, oh great king, we will slay the orc chief and all living, breathing, red-blooded orcs who stand between us! Prudence be damned!"

HumanPC: Wait, that doesn't sound very Lawful Good...

GM: The king's 18 spear-and-shield-wielding guards shuffle a bit when you don't immediately accept.

OrcPC: Hmm, I'll use MarkB's logic and just attack the king, so I can be a hero to my people. Rolling initiative...

Wow, what an obscure and convoluted example. So, the only way the PCs are getting out of there is if one of them agrees to kill his own cousin? What if he lies and fails his Deception check, do they still die?

In that case, yeah, I'd rather play the character who refused to kill kin and went down fighting than the one who marched off to fight his own family. Either way, I'm not being given the option to play the character I want to play, and at least with the first option I get to bring in a new character.

 

[Ancalagon]

One would hope that at least ONE of the king's councilor would advise against hiring a party with an orc member to kill orcs... OR advise to use them for diplomatic efforts.

 

[Stalker0]

I'll throw another vote out there that says: "This usually ends badly".

Players are notorious on this scenario, many would literally rather die than surrender. Its something that seems very common in Dnd players, for good or ill.

Now for those who think its "stupid" that players act that way...it probably is. But as a DM, you got to work with your players. If you set this scenario up, don't be mad when they fight to the death instead of surrender. Its what you should have expected, because again for some reason....that's the way it is with most dnd players.

 

[Sebastrd]

This type of scenario can work, but there's a certain amount of trust you have to earn with the players first.

Players sign up to play D&D because they want to play heroes. They want to win! Yet, we see story after story of adversarial DMs that refuse to let the players earn a victory or spend the game playing Mother May I. Players tend not to play nice with losing weapons or being taken hostage. All of the most exciting options a player has on their character sheet for interacting with the world depend on those weapons/component pouches/holy symbols. They're the defining attributes of each class.

Once it's pretty well established that the players control their own destiny, they'll be more likely to cooperate and drop their weapons in the short-term, with the understanding and expectation that they'll be able to get them back and win big in the long-term.

 

[Ancalagon]

I'm looking forward to the OP's report!

 

[5ekyu]

I'm looking forward to the OP's report!

me too.