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<blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 5968903" data-attributes="member: 50987">This thread seems to be drifting away from 5th Edition discussion, and more toward a discussion of general roleplaying methods and styles...This might be off-topic, but these problems seem to come from an assumption that all encounters are &quot;balanced&quot; to the party's power level, or lower.&nbsp; And this is not always the case.When the party encounters a monster, they shouldn't just assume that combat is going to occur.&nbsp; And they certainly should not assume that if it does, it will be matched to their power level.&nbsp; They should always be wondering whether or not they can take that orc in a fight, or if they should try to sneak past it, or bargain with it, or trick it somehow instead.There are lots of ways to handle random encounters.&nbsp; I use the old-school rules from the BECM days:&nbsp; there is a 5% chance for a random encounter, modified by +/-5% depending on the location and the party's actions.&nbsp; The party is walking through a relatively safe town, keeping a low profile?&nbsp; 0% chance.&nbsp; They are sleeping in a vampire-infested crypt, and the party is building campfires and setting off flare guns (magic missiles)? 10% chance.Either way, it boils down to an average of 0 to 2 random encounters in any 24-hour period.The types of encounters vary by location, as well.&nbsp; In a large town, the party is likely to randomly encounter pickpockets, muggers, prostitutes, wandering merchants, thieves trying to sell stolen goods, and so forth.&nbsp; And just because they are called &quot;encounters&quot; doesn't imply that they should result in mortal combat.&nbsp; Instead, they are there to enhance the story and to make the setting feel more &quot;alive.&quot;For example, in one of my last adventures, the fighter caught a 5-year old street urchin trying to pick his pocket.&nbsp; Sure, he could have killed the thief with a flick of his knife, but the local officials would have arrested him for murder.&nbsp; So the player had to role-play that situation out, and I had to do some quick improv to compensate.&nbsp; He chased the kid down the street and into an abandoned building, where he discovered a group of orphans living in squalor.&nbsp; &quot;Where are your parents?&quot; he asked, and discovered that the kids had escaped from a band of slave traders, who had a lair just outside town.&nbsp; Boom, another adventure hook: destroy the slave traders.&nbsp; I try to remind my players that there are countless possible actions every round, not just the ones listed on their character sheets.&nbsp; Even at low levels, the characters have a lot more options than just saying &quot;I attack&quot; over and over again.&nbsp; And when they do, I ask them to be more specific.They are usually carrying a variety of weapons, after all, so I don't always know what they mean by &quot;I attack.&quot;&nbsp; Usually, I ask them to narrate their actions.&nbsp; Nothing too dramatic, just something along the lines of &quot;I attack the closest goblin with my crossbow,&quot; or &quot;I throw a vial of alchemist fire at the priest, hoping to interrupt his spell.&quot;&nbsp; Even when their usual action isn't possible (like when a character gets disarmed), they call actions like &quot;I shout insults at him while executing total defensive.&quot; S-B-T is problematic for a lot of reasons, and it can be hard to deal with when abused.&nbsp; The best way to handle it, IMO, is to keep the party guessing.&nbsp; By removing the assumptions that every encounter needs to result in battle, and that every battle will be evenly-matched to the party's level, they tend to be a little more cautious.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="CleverNickName, post: 5968903, member: 50987"] This thread seems to be drifting away from 5th Edition discussion, and more toward a discussion of general roleplaying methods and styles... This might be off-topic, but these problems seem to come from an assumption that all encounters are "balanced" to the party's power level, or lower. And this is not always the case. When the party encounters a monster, they shouldn't just assume that combat is going to occur. And they certainly should not assume that if it does, it will be matched to their power level. They should always be wondering whether or not they can take that orc in a fight, or if they should try to sneak past it, or bargain with it, or trick it somehow instead. There are lots of ways to handle random encounters. I use the old-school rules from the BECM days: there is a 5% chance for a random encounter, modified by +/-5% depending on the location and the party's actions. The party is walking through a relatively safe town, keeping a low profile? 0% chance. They are sleeping in a vampire-infested crypt, and the party is building campfires and setting off flare guns (magic missiles)? 10% chance. Either way, it boils down to an average of 0 to 2 random encounters in any 24-hour period. The types of encounters vary by location, as well. In a large town, the party is likely to randomly encounter pickpockets, muggers, prostitutes, wandering merchants, thieves trying to sell stolen goods, and so forth. And just because they are called "encounters" doesn't imply that they should result in mortal combat. Instead, they are there to enhance the story and to make the setting feel more "alive." For example, in one of my last adventures, the fighter caught a 5-year old street urchin trying to pick his pocket. Sure, he could have killed the thief with a flick of his knife, but the local officials would have arrested him for murder. So the player had to role-play that situation out, and I had to do some quick improv to compensate. He chased the kid down the street and into an abandoned building, where he discovered a group of orphans living in squalor. "Where are your parents?" he asked, and discovered that the kids had escaped from a band of slave traders, who had a lair just outside town. Boom, another adventure hook: destroy the slave traders. I try to remind my players that there are countless possible actions every round, not just the ones listed on their character sheets. Even at low levels, the characters have a lot more options than just saying "I attack" over and over again. And when they do, I ask them to be more specific. They are usually carrying a variety of weapons, after all, so I don't always know what they mean by "I attack." Usually, I ask them to narrate their actions. Nothing too dramatic, just something along the lines of "I attack the closest goblin with my crossbow," or "I throw a vial of alchemist fire at the priest, hoping to interrupt his spell." Even when their usual action isn't possible (like when a character gets disarmed), they call actions like "I shout insults at him while executing total defensive." S-B-T is problematic for a lot of reasons, and it can be hard to deal with when abused. The best way to handle it, IMO, is to keep the party guessing. By removing the assumptions that every encounter needs to result in battle, and that every battle will be evenly-matched to the party's level, they tend to be a little more cautious. [/QUOTE]

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