New Staff Blog: Run Away!

[Hussar]

In Mentzer Basic, (not sure about 1e), if an opponent makes two morale checks, it never has to check morale again for the rest of the encounter. I think that's not a bad idea.

Have a small number of times when morale needs to be rolled - 1st death, 50% HP, 50% casualties, 75% HP, 75% casualties, and once something has made two checks, you don't have to check again.

 

[mudbunny]

In Mentzer Basic, (not sure about 1e), if an opponent makes two morale checks, it never has to check morale again for the rest of the encounter. I think that's not a bad idea.

Have a small number of times when morale needs to be rolled - 1st death, 50% HP, 50% casualties, 75% HP, 75% casualties, and once something has made two checks, you don't have to check again.

While that is a great idea, it also adds a lot of times that the DM has to remember to check morale and it is likely to be tossed aside as more trouble that it is worth.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

how about
c) A morale value (1-20) somewhere in the monster entry, with an explanation at the front of the MM explaining that higher = better. And nothing more. Let the DM decide what it means, but have a guide as to the intended comparative morale of different creatures.

For bonus usefulness, the DMG could then contain a lengthy discussion on the different ways that morale CAN be used in the game, without putting bias on any particular method.

This could be ok. I think I would want a little bit more information than that though. If they went with something like that it would allow it to be quite modular. Those that didn't want to use it could just ignore the single line with the morale value listed, with more details on how to use the system listed elsewhere for those that wanted more guidance.

I think I would also want exceptions to this value (i.e. mother defending her offspring) listed in the entry or a couple of different values shown for different situations (i.e. a creature that could see in the dark could have morale 15 if it was night, 8 if it was day).

The exceptions is what makes it a bit interesting for me as the PC's discover the different things that change morale values (i.e. using fire against trolls will drop their morale value, making it easier to get them to flee). It gives designers another design space to mess around in.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Zustiur]

I think I would also want exceptions to this value (i.e. mother defending her offspring) listed in the entry or a couple of different values shown for different situations (i.e. a creature that could see in the dark could have morale 15 if it was night, 8 if it was day).

The exceptions is what makes it a bit interesting for me as the PC's discover the different things that change morale values (i.e. using fire against trolls will drop their morale value, making it easier to get them to flee). It gives designers another design space to mess around in.

Sounds good. However, I was thinking of it as being the simplest guide to morale on a racial level - Kobolds have 8 when goblins have 7? got it, kobolds are a little bit braver than goblins. Nothing more, nothing less. How the DM then interprets and implements that morale in game is up to the DM. Got a situation that this group of creatures wouldn't run away from? They don't run.

I'm happy to see morale purely as a racial thing in this way - a simple number value that reflects the comparative morale level between different types of creatures - so you know what the designers intended when creating the creature.

 

[LostSoul]

While that is a great idea, it also adds a lot of times that the DM has to remember to check morale and it is likely to be tossed aside as more trouble that it is worth.

It's easier if you have "end of round" points.

If you don't have 3E+ initiative, you have an "end of round." At that point you've got a natural stopping point at which point it's easier to remember to check a (hopefully short!) list of morale check triggers. Those triggers should fit on a small table on the DM screen or on a line in a monster statblock.

I use morale checks in my current 4E hack game, and I really enjoy them. They are one of the reasons why it's so effortless to run that game; I rarely have to rely on judgement calls for major, game-changing decisions when I, as DM, don't have that much information to base the decision upon.

 

[Cerebral Paladin]

[MENTION=386]LostSoul[/MENTION]: I always do morale checks in 3e or 4e on the monster's initiative. I find it quite natural. Do you find that the lack of an end of round makes that less intuitive?

As for system, my hack is simple: If it looks like a morale check is appropriate (more than half of the side is down, that particular monster is badly wounded, leader is dead, a PC just did something totally intimidating), I throw a d20, with high continuing the fight, really low surrendering, and low running away. Values for high, low, and really low depend on the individual monsters and the state of the battle (and of course, some monsters either automatically succeed (fight to death, typically constructs, mindless critters, or totally fanatical) or automatically fail (really cowardly critters)).