Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad goes to Greyhawk

[s.j. bagley]

as a pc, the group i was in had to deal with at one point.
there was a riot at the docks and we were stuck in the middle.
after quite some time had passed, with us getting nowhere, i finally just started stabbing.
(which is quick way to go from a chaotic neutral rogue with a somewhat heroic reputation to a chaotic evil rogue reviled as a villain.)
it was not one of my high points.

 

[Jesus_marley]

I am reminded of a quest in the Pool of Radiance video game where the party, which is new to the town is tasked with clearing out a section of the town (the slums) that is overrun with goblins. As a linear game, you pretty much had no choice but to do so in order to advance. BUT....

Consider transplanting that scenario into a PnP game. At first glance, it would appear that the town council is correct, that the goblins have taken over the slums and are making life unlivable. but as the party undertakes the mission it becomes clear that the whole story wasn't told. The Goblins were slaves. In a revolt they took over the slums where they were living. The council and the Goblins are now locked in a battle for the town. The party can decide how this plays out.. do they try to broker a peace between the factions? Slaughter the goblins? Destroy the council? The possibilities are endless.

 

[Rabelais]

Demagogues are fun, and almost universally evil, so make excellent long term villains. I had a Shadowrun villain Humanis Policlub/Alamos 20k demagogue, and a professor at the University of Washington. Brownshirted fratboys and sycophants as mooks. Much fun to be had there.

 

[dmccoy1693]

I had a Shadowrun villain

That's the thing, doing it in non-d20 fantasy isn't as uncommon as in D&D. Rules for handling mass quantities of people didn't exist, at least AFAIK, until 3.x. Most adventures that I know of don't involve the townspeople preparing to storm the local baron's home because they are tired of being bleed to death by taxes and the baron is willing to kill a leader or two as an example but still needs the mass population so he has something to lord over.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

The only protest I've ever been even close to being remotely involved in took place when the Chinese Prime Minister* came to visit my college. My involvement was trying to get past the protesters to class.

That being said, it stuck in my head that the aspect of the protest which made it so ... interesting ... was the counter-protest.

So, while having a bunch of peasants yelling for reform as the Duke's carriage passes by, and being subdued by the Duke's arsmen, is interesting, I think it gets even more interesting when the other side of the road is lined by an equal (or roughly so, at any rate) number of pro-Duke supporters.


* - If I've got the title right; it happened several years ago.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

To drag reality into the discussion ( ) when peasants did revolt there was never anything peaceful about it. Nor was the the response. And after enough peasants had been killed to put the revolt down, the 'nobles' went peasant hunting. There was nothing chivilrous about the Age of Chivalry.

 

[Lobsopdoy]

Would any amount of commoners even be able to do any damage to a high-level adventurer? Say a Level 10 fighter. Would a mob of 100 people be able to get through his/her AC?

 

[dmccoy1693]

Would any amount of commoners even be able to do any damage to a high-level adventurer? Say a Level 10 fighter. Would a mob of 100 people be able to get through his/her AC?

How many people does it take for it to fall under environmental damage? I mean a landslide of mud, vs a mob of people charging. What's the difference?

 

[Kraydak]

Would any amount of commoners even be able to do any damage to a high-level adventurer? Say a Level 10 fighter. Would a mob of 100 people be able to get through his/her AC?

One of the problems with running an actual riot against high level PCs is the fact that for a commoner 1, attacking a high level PC is much akin to the PC's player attacking a tank barehanded. There are people out there who will stand in front of a tank, but they are the exception to the rule. Which makes DMing a riot hard. Sane people don't charge tanks without appropriate weaponry, so running such a scene can cause massive suspension of disbelief issues.

 

[Mirtek]

Aren't there special rules for mobs in DMG II?

Or just use the rules for swarms.