Killing for convenience

[Anabstercorian]

Now, I'm not sure how most of you feel about this, but I've noticed a curious behavior among DnD players during games. This includes myself, mind you.
We are often willing to kill people (NPC's, not REAL people) simply because it is more convenient than leaving them alive. You have prisoners, but you need to travel. If you take them, you'll be more vulnerable to random encounters. So kill the prisoners. You're fighting creatures much less powerful than you, who are fighting you for morally respectable reasons (you just charged on to their land and descretated their fertility shrine), and you could easily strike consistently while using subdual damage. You kill them because you don't want to risk that -4 to hit.
Now, maybe it's just me, but this strikes me as definately a non-good act. The second one, eh, it's neutral, but the first one strikes me as the VERY DEFINITION of DnD evil: No respect for the sanctity of life. Really, if the only reason you don't kill people in town is because you fear the city guard, you're evil!

Do the rest of you experience this as well, or am I off base here? If you experience it, do you think it's a problem?

 

[MEG Hal]

Now, I'm not sure how most of you feel about this, but I've noticed a curious behavior among DnD players during games. This includes myself, mind you.
We are often willing to kill people (NPC's, not REAL people) simply because it is more convenient than leaving them alive. You have prisoners, but you need to travel. If you take them, you'll be more vulnerable to random encounters. So kill the prisoners. You're fighting creatures much less powerful than you, who are fighting you for morally respectable reasons (you just charged on to their land and descretated their fertility shrine), and you could easily strike consistently while using subdual damage. You kill them because you don't want to risk that -4 to hit.
Now, maybe it's just me, but this strikes me as definately a non-good act. The second one, eh, it's neutral, but the first one strikes me as the VERY DEFINITION of DnD evil: No respect for the sanctity of life. Really, if the only reason you don't kill people in town is because you fear the city guard, you're evil!

Do the rest of you experience this as well, or am I off base here? If you experience it, do you think it's a problem?

Another person figured out the kill 'em all and let the god's sort 'em out theory--now he must die!!!

Get 'em Crothian!!!!!!!!!!!



BTW-I agree for the most part with you.

 

[Mark]

Well, you've played for a while since you say "subdual" instead of "non-lethal" damage but...

I'd say that in the second instance it is also evil unless the "shrine creatures/people" are known to definitely be evil themselves. Nothing wrong with playing evil, I suppose, but it has its consequences. Especially if it is in a world where many folks can discern that you are evil and your best chance to survive a long time is by not making enemies in civilized locations. Depends on how highly the DM wishes to regard consequences for actions

Personally, I'm not a big fan of running "Evil Campaigns" because I do not find them to be satisfying, from a heroic fantasy perspective. Maybe one shots work out, but even with those I might run something on the order of a "Rogues Gone Wild" game before running an "Evil Runs Amok" game..

 

[ThoughtBubble]

Yeah. That does happen fairly often. Ultimately, if the specific game is about bashing things, then it's just plain easier to bash them than it is to worry about the problems caused by not bashing. Prisoners and moral dilemmas get tedious in a game where the players really just want to kill some monsters, and get some loot. If a game is setup where bashing is a prime focus, but someone's bothered by killing when prisoners could be taken, then there's a burden on the DM to set up those sorts of situations. That's why I like zombies. Killing a zombie releases a tortured soul. And that's the sort of bashing that leaves a warm fuzzy glow in everyone's hearts.

But, I'd argue that in many cases, it's more than a matter of convience. As invaders or not, leaving them to live is still very dangerous. And it's probablly a very mean world. Showing kindness to my enemies is a wonderful act. It's all the more wonderful because it isn't commonplace.

And, when involved in those bash-em-up games, I don't kill people in town because they're not my enemies.

 

[Wraith Form]

And that's the sort of bashing that leaves a warm fuzzy glow in everyone's hearts.

Hrrmph. I thought that was from the apocalypse that turned everything into Gamma World.

 

[hong]

If you don't kill them, how are you going to take their stuff?

 

[Oni]

If you don't kill them, how are you going to take their stuff?

heh, that made me smile.