JackOfAllTirades
Explorer
Probably about a 2. We go to great lengths to avoid combat, but it's motivated almost as much by a desire to conserve resources as by pacifism. If it was purely out of pacifism I'd call it a solid 1.
D&D 5E How Murder Hobo is Your Party
- Thread starter Azurewraith
- Start date
I'd say mine are about a 7, but used to be more like a 9. I haven't tried to discourage it so much as just encourage non-combat solutions and reward accordingly. Giving small boons like additional info, alliance opportunities, inspiration or hero points, and the "Other Rewards" on p. 227 of the DMG all go a long way to reducing murder hobo habits.
Awesome Adam
First Post
My group will gladly attempt nonviolent solutions but, when those fail, complete annihilation, desecration, salting the Earth, and poisoning the wells are all viable options. They are also paranoid, so sometimes things escalte out of proportion.
DM: It appears to be a sentient Gelatonous Cube communicating with you through telepathy.
Player: It's cleary a trap. ATTACK !!!!
... one spattered cube later
Player: I want to search for the source of the ventriloquism.
DM: It appears to be a sentient Gelatonous Cube communicating with you through telepathy.
Player: It's cleary a trap. ATTACK !!!!
... one spattered cube later
Player: I want to search for the source of the ventriloquism.
thalmin
Retired game store owner
Hmmm. Low level party went out to hunt the wolves that killed a shepherd. They put out bait for the wolves, but 2 characters were badly out of position. One saw a wolf too close to his position and panicked, tried to climb a tree but failed. The wolf killed him, the pack joined in. The rest of the party started killing the pack, several wolves were badly injured and ran off. The party chased down the wounded wolves to their lair. They found the 3 wounded and one fresh wolf, plus several wolf cubs. They quickly dispatched the wolves. Then got into a long discussion about whether they should kill the cubs. I'd say I'd rate the group about 4/10.
EzekielRaiden
Follower of the Way
Well, let's see, I'll consider a few of my past groups.
Dungeon World: My character is the voice of reason, who hugs the lower ends of the scale; he regrets ever taking a life, even really awful ones like slaver-goblins, so he's probably a 2 or 3. The other two started off extremely mercenary but at least willing to consider talking, probably 7 or 8. As things have gone on, my character has become more and more the moral compass of the group, earning their trust and demonstrating that there can be other answers, so I'd say we've shifted to 4 or maybe even 3. We will kill, but only after we tried being reasonable.
Hiatus 4e game: I'd call it a solid 3.5. We don't take kindly to violence, but we don't attack everything on sight either. We try the nice guy approach, and we take prisoners rather than kill 'em all, but we don't have much compunction against killing.
New sci-fantasy 4e game: A wavering 4. My character again regrets taking lives and such, but we're learning how difficult and dangerous taking prisoners can become. As our nominal party leader put it: "I couldn't help thinking the whole time...how much easier it would be just to kill him and be done with it."
Sounds like this is something that bothers you. Have you spoken about it with your players? It's always good to be open about things that bother you, especially if the group expects you to DM. It's all about that give-and-take.
I *strongly* recommend that you don't try to "mend their ways" without talking with them--if you haven't, that is.
Also, remember, for some people it's not at all a matter of "suppressing an urge." It's about catharsis, or about delighting in the crazy. I'm not one of those people, so my feelings on the subject are similar to yours--but that doesn't mean we should try to "educate" others to think or feel the way we do. Just gotta find a way for both sides to feel happy about what's going on.
In that direction, again IF you have already mentioned this to your players, consider making efforts in your world to reward offering trust, playing nice, being diplomatic, etc. Put the party in a position where they ARE outnumbered/outgunned/endangered, and actually DO need allies to keep them safe. Make it interesting, rather than heavy-handed: give them options of who to turn to, and make those options have their own quirks and issues (there ain't no such thing as a free lunch). And if they get in over their heads--particularly if they actually face a real TPK--consider giving them a second chance, by being rescued by genuinely noble, but strong, third parties.
It's a matter of wooing and enticing, rather than correcting. Show them how murderhoboism can have costs--and how nice it can feel to be met with the smiles and cheers of the villagers, rather than scowls, or worse, torches and pitchforks. How good it is, to know that you've got real allies, who have got your back and can help extricate you from a tight spot when you need the help. How empowering it can be, to find a new challenge and realize, "Hey, wow, we KNOW a guy that specializes in breaking devilish-law contracts...AND HE LIKES US."
You don't get people to stop being psychos just by slapping them on the wrists--or punching them in the crotch--whenever they behave like psychos. You get them to change by offering them a reason to want to change.
Eltab
Lord of the Hidden Layer
My PotA group is slowly moving downwards on the scale. In part due to my influence - Arcane Trickster, prefer to fool the enemy because I can't solo-nuke most.
In part because another PC is a Merfolk Sorcerer (based on SWAG half-elf option) and we are encountering the Water cultists. One officer tried to seduce her and two muscle guys tried to bully her due to she's a newcomer and fits into the group better than their old-timer selves. (The group's Assassin later met with them in a dark room.)
We had to kill the guy who was going to murder us by turning into a water snake, but I illusion'ed and fast-talked his boss into thinking everything was OK, long enough for us to escape pronto.
We even talked a Manticore into accepting ritual suicide rather than being the target of a hunt ! (Too late, I thought of illusion of a cave-in to 'seal him in' until the hunters left and he could sneak away.)
We were 6-7 but are heading towards 5-4. I think we will rise on the scale again once I persuade everybody to go back to the Earth cult and clean the place out good and proper.
In part because another PC is a Merfolk Sorcerer (based on SWAG half-elf option) and we are encountering the Water cultists. One officer tried to seduce her and two muscle guys tried to bully her due to she's a newcomer and fits into the group better than their old-timer selves. (The group's Assassin later met with them in a dark room.)
We had to kill the guy who was going to murder us by turning into a water snake, but I illusion'ed and fast-talked his boss into thinking everything was OK, long enough for us to escape pronto.
We even talked a Manticore into accepting ritual suicide rather than being the target of a hunt ! (Too late, I thought of illusion of a cave-in to 'seal him in' until the hunters left and he could sneak away.)
We were 6-7 but are heading towards 5-4. I think we will rise on the scale again once I persuade everybody to go back to the Earth cult and clean the place out good and proper.
Bawylie
A very OK person
Kids' group is heavily interested in charity and community rebuilding and infrastructure. They seem to see adventuring as a way to help people. They are not shy about fighting monsters nor monstrous humanoids, but they are rarely selfish.
They have a home, they have neighbors, they help those neighbors.
So, 1.
They have a home, they have neighbors, they help those neighbors.
So, 1.
Pvt. Winslow
Explorer
Right now, I'd say my group is about a 2-3. It depends greatly on the situation, but most often they try to reason with their enemies before violence ensues. It really has to do with their characters, however. All my players are pretty good at trying out different personality types with different character archetypes, so even though I have one player who once played a half-orc gladiator that loved ripping peoples body parts off as his SOP, he now plays a highly mobile monk that extends kindness to others and only fights if there's no other way.
And yet, despite that, I still sometimes have trouble engaging them with social or exploration scenes. I'm just not as experienced with them as I am with combats.
And yet, despite that, I still sometimes have trouble engaging them with social or exploration scenes. I'm just not as experienced with them as I am with combats.
AaronOfBarbaria
Adventurer
That doesn't actually indicate that they want to change as they might want to play Vampire to be monsters, and could be taking your warnings of "that'll get you hunted" as "that'll get you the you vs. the world play experience you are looking for."
You should probably have a conversation that takes your "I think" and makes it into "I know with certainty."
...I mean, this one time, I ran Hunter: the Reckoning and the natural consequences of the player's choices for their characters would be an FBI man-hunt (because the PCs mowed down a night club with machinegun fire, and then blew up the first cops to arrive on the scene with grenades... which is how they decided to deal with there being a vampire and some ghouls in a nightclub) and the players were greatly disappointed that I stopped the game for not being the kind of thing I wanted to be doing because it was exactly what they wanted out of a Hunter game.
Kind of hard to say. I've been running classic adventures (mostly dungeon crawls), so violence is the assumed response to (and by) most monsters. Overall I'd say they would normally be about an 6-7, with one rather humorous exception.
Every encounter they've had with the Baklunish (a human ethnicity similar to medieval Arabia) has gone horribly, horribly wrong. The first was an evil monk who betrayed the party to the Temple of Elemental Evil, who they hunted down and killed after his betrayal. The next was a Kettite noble and his bodyguard they found imprisoned in the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, who they left imprisoned (with no food or water) until after they finished clearing the dungeon 3 days later. When the noble was upset upon release and blustered about retribution for the disrespect shown him, the players killed them both. Finally, the party met a Hermit who had information they wanted about the Lost Caverns of Tsojacanth, but they interrupted his meditations and were moderately rude. When he rebuffed them and requested a cloak (specifically the paladin's very fine quality Cloak of Protection), they considered giving him a cursed Cloak of Poisonousness (basically kills the person wearing it) instead.
I'm certain the first Baklunish colored their views, which is fine because their characters would generally have a distrust of the Baklunish (which are known to raid the lands of the east). I just think it's hilarious how the cultural difference has been blow totally out of proportion
Every encounter they've had with the Baklunish (a human ethnicity similar to medieval Arabia) has gone horribly, horribly wrong. The first was an evil monk who betrayed the party to the Temple of Elemental Evil, who they hunted down and killed after his betrayal. The next was a Kettite noble and his bodyguard they found imprisoned in the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, who they left imprisoned (with no food or water) until after they finished clearing the dungeon 3 days later. When the noble was upset upon release and blustered about retribution for the disrespect shown him, the players killed them both. Finally, the party met a Hermit who had information they wanted about the Lost Caverns of Tsojacanth, but they interrupted his meditations and were moderately rude. When he rebuffed them and requested a cloak (specifically the paladin's very fine quality Cloak of Protection), they considered giving him a cursed Cloak of Poisonousness (basically kills the person wearing it) instead.
I'm certain the first Baklunish colored their views, which is fine because their characters would generally have a distrust of the Baklunish (which are known to raid the lands of the east). I just think it's hilarious how the cultural difference has been blow totally out of proportion
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