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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Remathilis" data-source="post: 6698371" data-attributes="member: 7635">Kinda a spinoff of the elf as a drow slave thread <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?468339-Thoughts-on-playing-Elf-in-Out-of-the-Abyss-SPOILERS" target="_blank">here</a>, in which the following exchange was had...It makes a lot of sense for the drow to do this. Out of six captured, perhaps one of the six would actually make a good slave. The elves would be killed on sight. The renegade would be mercilessly tortured for going against his people, the dwarf is a priest and has magic, the human is both physically weak and knows magic (knowing magic in 5e wold be a liability for slaves; especially with at-will cantrips). In reality, the drow would take the half-orc (who is strong but controllable) and murder the rest (either there or painfully later). Drow, unlike orcs or goblinoids, are supposed to be smart and cunning and would be able to understand said liabilities. BUT that doesn't make for a fun experience, especially for 5 our of 6 PCs. Instead, OotA creates the infamous James Bond scenario; put the heroes in an elaborate death or imprisonment rather than just putting a bullet in their heads and be done. In D&D, as in most fiction, that is done to create tension and drama. Still, it leaves the "smart and cunning" villains holding the idiot ball as clearly if the shoe was on the other foot (that is, the PCs captured a drow raiding party) they most likely wouldn't leave them with a chance of escape. (To be honest, they'd probably be killed by the PCs and take anything of value.) So that leads to an interesting dilemma: how do you balance the "fun" aspect (that is, giving the PCs a fair shake and not "bullet-to-the-head" them) with the "smart" aspect of said monsters? Should it even be balanced, seeing as how the PCs rarely give such considerations to their foes (turnabout is fair play when the drow kill you and take your stuff)? Or do the PCs deserve the James Bond treatment because they are the protagonists and the story is about them, not the random drow raiding party who ambushed them. Note, this doesn't have to be just about drow (or OotA). You can replace this with any smart creature like dragons, sentient undead, demons, etc and any "cunning" plan that lets the PC's live or escape and the point would stand. Is it fair to play the monsters "smartly" and have them kill the PCs or should they grab the idiot ball and let them live in the name of "fun"?</blockquote>

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