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Is D&D Too Focused on Combat?
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<blockquote data-quote="Ovinomancer" data-source="post: 7733622" data-attributes="member: 16814"><p>As someone running a 5e exploration focused game with one exploration focused houserule (I changed rests to move hp gain from long rest to a new category full rest that requires 24 hours in a safe location), I kinda disagree.</p><p></p><p>The core books offer some great suggestions for exploration: tasks. One Ring expanded on this, but the core 5e rules still have the suggestions. When travelling, everyone does something. For me, I have navigating, trailblazing, foraging, mapping, being alert for danger, looking for points of interest, and other. You can do one job at a time. Foraging works just as the PHB says. Navigating works pretty much as the PHB says. Trailblazing is trying to reduce the travel time through terrain by picking paths. Being alert for danger means you don't have disadvantage to notice hostiles like everyone else doing something else. Looking for points of interest means you can roll to discover things that may be hidden while you travel (not all things are on the map visibly). Other is for things like tracking, or tending to a wounded comrade, or carrying the wounded comrade, etc. This means that players have to organize and make choices on what's important to them when they travel. Add in random travel encounters (I build mine base on the area but you can use those in Xanthar's) and you have a neat, pretty much by the book exploration subsystem. Set some DCs and roll out (pun semi-intended).</p><p></p><p>For social encounters, I have a few rulings I fall back on. Social rolls are only made once a player has stated a goal and a method to achieve it. This can be 'I try to bribe the guard 50g to let us in' to 'I try to convince the King to grant me a patent of nobility or I will reveal that his Queen is having an affair with his Royal Advisor!" The ask has to be reasonable -- the King would never give you all of the money in the vault, for instance, and the guard won't let you in armed to the teeth. The DC is set based if the attitude of the person towards you. Friendly is DC 10, indifferent is DC 15, and hostile is DC 20. This is modified by whether the ask is dangerous or trivial to the individual. For trivial things the DC is lowered by 5. For things that are neither trivial or dangerous, no change. For things that are dangerous -- either physically or to social status -- the DC is raised by 5. </p><p></p><p>If the player can leverage a trait, bond, flaw, or ideal in their ask that the target has, they gain advantage. If the target can leverage one of the player's trait's, bonds, flaws, or ideals, the player gets disadvantage. This would mean that if a character that had loyalty to the King as a bond trying to blackmail the king would be at disadvantage. If the player can provide some other kind of leverage, they can also gain advantage for that. If the player making the check isn't the one that benefits from the check - ie, you're asking for someone else - the check is at disadvantage -- asking a friend to help your other friend is harder than asking them to help you, for instance. So, if you're 'facing' for another player, you can, at best, get a straight roll against the DC if you can gain leverage in the situation. This encourages players to do their own thing, if they can work it. Also, the DC is set for the person asking, so if you try to get the face to help you convince your friend, their DC is already 5 high than yours and it's at disadvantage.</p><p></p><p>I've run out of time, so I'll leave this here and pick it up when I can get back. There are a few more things like consequences for failure I'd like to touch on.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ovinomancer, post: 7733622, member: 16814"] As someone running a 5e exploration focused game with one exploration focused houserule (I changed rests to move hp gain from long rest to a new category full rest that requires 24 hours in a safe location), I kinda disagree. The core books offer some great suggestions for exploration: tasks. One Ring expanded on this, but the core 5e rules still have the suggestions. When travelling, everyone does something. For me, I have navigating, trailblazing, foraging, mapping, being alert for danger, looking for points of interest, and other. You can do one job at a time. Foraging works just as the PHB says. Navigating works pretty much as the PHB says. Trailblazing is trying to reduce the travel time through terrain by picking paths. Being alert for danger means you don't have disadvantage to notice hostiles like everyone else doing something else. Looking for points of interest means you can roll to discover things that may be hidden while you travel (not all things are on the map visibly). Other is for things like tracking, or tending to a wounded comrade, or carrying the wounded comrade, etc. This means that players have to organize and make choices on what's important to them when they travel. Add in random travel encounters (I build mine base on the area but you can use those in Xanthar's) and you have a neat, pretty much by the book exploration subsystem. Set some DCs and roll out (pun semi-intended). For social encounters, I have a few rulings I fall back on. Social rolls are only made once a player has stated a goal and a method to achieve it. This can be 'I try to bribe the guard 50g to let us in' to 'I try to convince the King to grant me a patent of nobility or I will reveal that his Queen is having an affair with his Royal Advisor!" The ask has to be reasonable -- the King would never give you all of the money in the vault, for instance, and the guard won't let you in armed to the teeth. The DC is set based if the attitude of the person towards you. Friendly is DC 10, indifferent is DC 15, and hostile is DC 20. This is modified by whether the ask is dangerous or trivial to the individual. For trivial things the DC is lowered by 5. For things that are neither trivial or dangerous, no change. For things that are dangerous -- either physically or to social status -- the DC is raised by 5. If the player can leverage a trait, bond, flaw, or ideal in their ask that the target has, they gain advantage. If the target can leverage one of the player's trait's, bonds, flaws, or ideals, the player gets disadvantage. This would mean that if a character that had loyalty to the King as a bond trying to blackmail the king would be at disadvantage. If the player can provide some other kind of leverage, they can also gain advantage for that. If the player making the check isn't the one that benefits from the check - ie, you're asking for someone else - the check is at disadvantage -- asking a friend to help your other friend is harder than asking them to help you, for instance. So, if you're 'facing' for another player, you can, at best, get a straight roll against the DC if you can gain leverage in the situation. This encourages players to do their own thing, if they can work it. Also, the DC is set for the person asking, so if you try to get the face to help you convince your friend, their DC is already 5 high than yours and it's at disadvantage. I've run out of time, so I'll leave this here and pick it up when I can get back. There are a few more things like consequences for failure I'd like to touch on. [/QUOTE]
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