How do you add more combat to a campaign?

[Crothian]

Very simply, the players want more combat. My games focus more on the players and on role playing. I like conflict, but I dislike conflict that has to be settled with violence all the time. So, my encounters while they can erupt in violence usually have a non fighting solution. The players are smart and have been doing the non violence more then not, but have stated that they would like more fights. I also use a lot of greys with NPCs. There really aren't that many true good or true evil people. They all have good and bad points. I think since there are few clear cut bad guys it has caused the party to refrain from killing everything that opposes them.

So, any good ideas to add combat to a game?

 

[Ruined]

I've sensed this problem from time to time in my campaigns. I have capable players who are good at negotiating and befriending people, and I have a lot of 'greys' in the campaign, as you put it. They wound up with tons of friends and not as many combat encounters.

I've pushed myself to have just as many situations where the opposition is quick to react, and won't give the PCs a chance to talk their way out of it. Perhaps they've made up their mind before a word was uttered, or they think they can get the jump on the PCs. Or maybe they're just bad guys, and this is how they usually deal with situations.

And then there are always ninjas. Crazy assassins leaping out of the woodwork, fully intent on returning with the PCs heads in a duffle bag. =)

Seriously though, I find this approach works better than lots of wandering monsters.

 

[Henry]

One must always remember to occasionally have NPCs for whom diplomacy is NOT an option. Just as in real life, you sometimes have situations for which someone has decided there is only one route to take; in those cases, the players can feel a little justified in dispensing some firepower without having qualms about doing the right thing.

I enjoy drama and diplomacy in a game - but I also recognize those among my players who just had a heck of a work-week, who are tired of talking nicely and being diplomatic to all concerned, and just want to vicariously throttle the out of those things in life which they cannot do for real.

For these people, a round of Unreal of Half-life or Castle Wolfenstein will not fulfill quite as satisfactorily as receiving thanks from the local burg for removing the road bandits, or receiving gifts from the Wizard for acquiring local lore from some ancient tomb (after first obliterating the 14 stone golems which guard it).

I accomplish it by making a select few situations thoroughly black and white, or at least monochrome enough that they don't have to worry about more than one or two options. It's pretty easy to tell just before the game whether your group is "in that mood," and so I keep at the least a side trek on hand that is both easy to drop in, and simple in execution. Kill the opponent, win the gratitude.

I then let the more thoughtful players sort out the repercussions later.

 

[Kugar]

It seems wierd to actually have to put more combat into a DnD game

1) Ambushes / Paid Mercenaries: Cannot get too much more combat than when when you start the day with a call for inititive!
2) Put in an arena: (no not the spider thingies) Let the party fight if they want to.
3) Demons: At least one player will amost always attack a demon they think they can take.
4) Hungry Monsters: Man you ever try to parley with a dire bear on a very empty tummy?
5) Backstabbing 101: Have the combat option actually be the most effective. If the non-violent path always yields the best results then the PCs will take it. Having a bad guy dupe them after the PCs befrend him/her will really shift the way the party interacts with your world.
6) Expendable mooks: If combat is a better option for the bad guy why wouldn't they take it. Fill a room with orcs and you set and expectation for combat. It is also easier to order someone to attack than it is to loosen your own sword.
7) Outlaws: If the PCs are wanted by the law for a trumped up (or real) charge there may be bounty hunters in the future.

 

[Halivar]

More combat? Sounds like you need to give them some "Angband" flavor!

Send them to a "layer" of Carceri that is nothing but dungeon north, south, east, west, up and down. There are always monsters around every corner. If you absolutely must have a plot, just throw in some randomly reoccurring NPC's that... I don't know... provide plot.

 

[Pielorinho]

I've had this problem sometimes, too -- especially if you're running mystery or politics adventures, finding a plausible fight can be difficult.

Does your campaign have room for Ravening Monsters? These can be ancient lurking vermin that terrorize a town, or can be the undead, or can be fire spirits inadvertantly set loose by an overconfident wizard. Creatures that aren't humaniform might be easier for them to kill and harder to negotiate with.

You could also consider a long-term villain who notices the PCs' penchant for diplomacy and uses it against them. She figures that if the PCs discover her plans for taking control of the country's military, she'll just strike a compromise with them that leaves both sides happy -- and then she'll hire some assassins posthaste to deal with a certain set of too-trusting PCs.

Daniel

 

[Mark]

Nothing wrong with having negotiations break down more often. This way you don't have to abruptly change styles.

Perhaps the NPCs have no intention of negotiating honorably from the start and merely are stringing the PCs along to see how much they can gain, or even to maneuver into a stronger tactical position.

The NPCs can claim to have things for trade as a way of discovering the items that the PCs have and strengthen their strategic position in a battle.

NPCs can use negotiations to gain information only to cease them abruptly with a battle.

Perhaps they will give the PCs false information that leads therm to dire trouble, or trade them items that turn out to be false, thus leading to a battle the next time they run into one another.

Maybe the NPCs are generally neutral and use time interacting to provoke the PCs into combat, feeling justified in fighting if they do not begin the combat themselves. Have NPCs become increasingly obstinate, taunting or demanding.

On another note, do you use much non-lethal combat? Sometimes that is a good way to avoid all-or-nothing battles and still create some excitement that a mostly-roleplaying campaign lacks.

In any event, just trying to point to some less drastic solutions that might mesh more readily with the current themes of the campaign.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Is there someone they have thwarted diplomatically (I should think there almost must be)?

Unless all of their encounters have ended in they and their opponents reaching a mutually agreed-upon consensus, then someone out there has bad feelings.

If that person has bad feelings and money, then that person can have assassins...and they aren't going to want to chit-chat

Barring something like that, if they are diplomatically dealing with someone to achieve a goal, that ususally invovles give and take. If they want something, then I suggest that the only person capable of providing it should want something as well...something like the destrcution of a Bugbear village, or somehting hidden inside a wizards tower.

The possibilites are endless.

I know it's a popular view here (and even moreso over at RPG.net), but don't get into the habit of replacing all of the Action in the game with the more "Mature and Nuanced" inter-character roleplay (deep immersion) and thinking this is a guaranteed winner.

With the right group it can be, but honestly these groups tend to gravitate toward different games than D&D (yes, yes, I know..."That's a Generalization Billy"/"Roleplay is about the players not the game"/"My group's not like that" etc etc etc)

Try and mix it up. Your players have asked for it.

 

[KenM]

You add more combat very easily, just run them though Temple of Elemental Evil. Its all combat.

 

[Desdichado]

It seems a bit disingeniuos to choose the non-combat option of a potential combat encounter and then complain that the game doesn't have enough combat. That said, there are some things you could do.

• PCs make enemies in diplomatic games. Some enemies hire assassins or goon squads on occasion. This way you get to have a little combat but you can refrain from making it gratuitious.
• Even the most urban and civilized areas get vermin. Giant rats in the sewer, or something like that. Sometimes you need to step away from the grind of the game of politics and just take care of some straightforward business.
• How about some "challenge combat?" Either a PC is challenged to a duel, the PCs enter some kind of "gladitorial" competition, lethal or otherwise.