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General Tabletop Discussion
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How do you think Wandering Monsters fit into modern 5E styles?
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<blockquote data-quote="MNblockhead" data-source="post: 7931398" data-attributes="member: 6796661"><p>Depends on the campaign. For my first 5e campaign, a home brew, it was mainly a way to add some spice to the exploration pillar and make travel more than a handwave. The encounters would not only be monsters but non-hostile NPCs or just interesting scenes. Maybe they come across the carcass of a gutted animal, a corpse hanging from a noose or spike to a tree, an injured fey being, etc.</p><p></p><p>Normally I would not write any back story, otherwise I'd be tempted to shoe horn it in, in which case it is just a normal encounter. I would instead write a short evocative snippet that I could improv from developing it, or not, based on the player's reactions. </p><p></p><p>My second campaign was Curse of Strahd. I pretty much kept to the random encounters as written. I though they were well done. </p><p></p><p>Currently I'm running Rappan Athuk, and old-school inspired mega-dungeon where random encounters play a major role in creating the flavor of the adventure. In most areas of the dungeon you are rolling every 30 minutes of in-game time for a 20% chance of an encounter. This serves to sap character resources, make resting uncertain, and drive home that this is a dangerous place---keep moving, keep watch, keep quiet, and scout ahead. </p><p></p><p>Moreover, most (but not all) of said encounters result in combat if not avoided. So, if not careful it can become a slog. </p><p></p><p>There are times I'll skip a roll just for time management or because it would serve to ruin a suspenseful or otherwise engaging moment, but I try to avoid this. The wandering monsters serve an important role in this campaign and are part of what makes it the massive and massively enjoyable sandbox it is. </p><p></p><p>What I find helps avoid slogginess the most is that I'm running this as a GP for XP campaign. There is little to no advantage to the characters to fight every wandering monster. Having wandering monsters in a game where you don't get XP for defeating them (or very little, ghouls and zombies don't typically carry loot) completely changes the dynamics making it more cinematic than any railroady, story-driven can. </p><p></p><p>I find that when I play in Adventurers League games, players never have their characters hide from patrolling antagonists or to try to find their away around some monster they come across, thus missing out of entire tropes common to action and suspense stories.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MNblockhead, post: 7931398, member: 6796661"] Depends on the campaign. For my first 5e campaign, a home brew, it was mainly a way to add some spice to the exploration pillar and make travel more than a handwave. The encounters would not only be monsters but non-hostile NPCs or just interesting scenes. Maybe they come across the carcass of a gutted animal, a corpse hanging from a noose or spike to a tree, an injured fey being, etc. Normally I would not write any back story, otherwise I'd be tempted to shoe horn it in, in which case it is just a normal encounter. I would instead write a short evocative snippet that I could improv from developing it, or not, based on the player's reactions. My second campaign was Curse of Strahd. I pretty much kept to the random encounters as written. I though they were well done. Currently I'm running Rappan Athuk, and old-school inspired mega-dungeon where random encounters play a major role in creating the flavor of the adventure. In most areas of the dungeon you are rolling every 30 minutes of in-game time for a 20% chance of an encounter. This serves to sap character resources, make resting uncertain, and drive home that this is a dangerous place---keep moving, keep watch, keep quiet, and scout ahead. Moreover, most (but not all) of said encounters result in combat if not avoided. So, if not careful it can become a slog. There are times I'll skip a roll just for time management or because it would serve to ruin a suspenseful or otherwise engaging moment, but I try to avoid this. The wandering monsters serve an important role in this campaign and are part of what makes it the massive and massively enjoyable sandbox it is. What I find helps avoid slogginess the most is that I'm running this as a GP for XP campaign. There is little to no advantage to the characters to fight every wandering monster. Having wandering monsters in a game where you don't get XP for defeating them (or very little, ghouls and zombies don't typically carry loot) completely changes the dynamics making it more cinematic than any railroady, story-driven can. I find that when I play in Adventurers League games, players never have their characters hide from patrolling antagonists or to try to find their away around some monster they come across, thus missing out of entire tropes common to action and suspense stories. [/QUOTE]
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How do you think Wandering Monsters fit into modern 5E styles?
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