Non-combat encounter ideas?

[Rickenbacker]

Nothing makes me wanna yank my hair out than "DM's writer's block" for non-combat encounter ideas.

What have we got?:

puzzles
terrain challenges
found objects...

What else?

 

[Quickleaf]

Are you kidding me? There's so many possibilities...

Mystery/investigation
Chase
Negotiation
Infiltration
Haunting
Exploration

... Did you just want a list?

 

[Manbearcat]

Are you kidding me? There's so many possibilities...

Mystery/investigation
Chase
Negotiation
Infiltration
Haunting
Exploration

... Did you just want a list?

Yeah. Bit baffled here. My home game is probably 60 (noncombat):40 (combat) ratio with respect to conflict resolution. There are so many headings for non-combat conflict tropes and deep sub-headings underneath those.

[MENTION=82829]Rickenbacker[/MENTION] Is this a thread for help on your home game or is this a general thread? If you provide a modicum of backstory or thematic material for your PCs, coming up with relevant non-combat conflicts should be a pretty mundane exercise. The robustness of the mechanics to support your efforts at resolving them may be a different issue, however.

 

[Rickenbacker]

For my own game. I was fine for ideas on the overland portion. But fell short for the dungeon crawl.

* brief backstory- 3 young adventurers-in-the-making tell PCs of a dangerous, abandoned mine said to be brimming with precious metals & gems within the walls...except a strange race of humanoids (among other creatures) make it difficult to just descend & grab. The 3 will take the PCs to the general area if they take them on as hierlings.

 

[Manbearcat]

For my own game. I was fine for ideas on the overland portion. But fell short for the dungeon crawl.

* brief backstory- 3 young adventurers-in-the-making tell PCs of a dangerous, abandoned mine said to be brimming with precious metals & gems within the walls...except a strange race of humanoids (among other creatures) make it difficult to just descend & grab. The 3 will take the PCs to the general area if they take them on as hierlings.

1) Within the mine there is a group of young spelunkers that breached the mine via another cave system. They are hopelessly lost and need to be escorted to safety. These are effectively 1st level Expert NPCs and therefore exceedingly vulnerable to natural hazards or enemy attacks.

2) There is a dispute over ownership of the mines. The deed paperwork lies deep inside in a vault. The rival mining companies have dispatched hired crews to retrieve the deeds. The PCs must arbitrate an in situ dispute between the companies before things turn into a bloodbath. The crews don't realize it but the entirety of the mine is a colony of molemen/grimlocks. A loud bloodbath between the rivals will bring the entire colony down upon all of them (and you), leading to ultimate doom. Think of the movie The Descent. These creatures are the perfect predators (Spider Climb, Blindsight, the works) for this environment and there are thousands of them skulking the mine/cave system.

3) The mineral deposits are the result of a localized extinction-level-event meteorite collision ten thousand years ago. However, while within the mine, it becomes clear to the PCs that the meteorite isn't an extraterrestrial rock. Its actually a Primordial or a powerful entity banished from the Far Realm. The original owners of the mine found this out just before they violated the mineral boundary layer that serves as the creatures tomb. They shut down the mine and worked feverishly to erase the history of its existence so as to save the world from apocalypse. If this creature awakens, it will be end times. Uncovering the truth of the sudden shutdown, keeping the Primordial/Far Realm entity asleep, and convincing those staked to its ownership will separate success from failure.

4) Catastrophic earth movement opens up a crevasse. The PCs fall deep, deep within the earth and must find a way back to the mines. The natural complex they are trapped in is without light, scorching hot or freezing cold and toxic gas threatens them at every turn.

5) A long lost golem or clockwork excavation technology is discovered by the PCs. If they can figure out how to "turn it on", they will revolutionize the current era's mining infrastructure.

There is 5 for you.

 

[Sadras]

* brief backstory- 3 young adventurers-in-the-making tell PCs of a dangerous, abandoned mine said to be brimming with precious metals & gems within the walls...except a strange race of humanoids (among other creatures) make it difficult to just descend & grab. The 3 will take the PCs to the general area if they take them on as hierlings.

If you are in the mood for undead...
The mines have been haunted ever since the original miners, dwarves, were butchered by jealous human miners all those years ago. The haunting targets only the humans within the party - making it impossible for them to rest and trust their own senses. Locating and sanctifying the bones of the dwarves ,which are scattered all over the mines, would stop the haunting.

The dwarvern spirits are strongest at their place of death, imagine all sorts of physical, mental &/or pragmatic hurdles the PCs might need to overcome in order to sanctify the bones, as the spirits would try disrupt the rituals.

 

[Cyclone_Joker]

Do these humanoids have int above 3? If yes, then they can be reasoned with. You should be able to get several encounters in that alone, and that's not going into the many traps or dungeon obstacles printed

 

[Nagol]

Do these humanoids have int above 3? If yes, then they can be reasoned with. You should be able to get several encounters in that alone, and that's not going into the many traps or dungeon obstacles printed

My preferred approach is to design encounters/situations and the PCs can determine which become combat encounters. I've had PCs try to negotiate with humanoids, outsiders, "monsters" like mimics or wargs, and animals (with appropriate magic) -- pretty much anything they think they can communicate with, really.

 

[athos]

For my own game. I was fine for ideas on the overland portion. But fell short for the dungeon crawl.

* brief backstory- 3 young adventurers-in-the-making tell PCs of a dangerous, abandoned mine said to be brimming with precious metals & gems within the walls...except a strange race of humanoids (among other creatures) make it difficult to just descend & grab. The 3 will take the PCs to the general area if they take them on as hierlings.

Strange race of humanoids huh? Well then, have the PCs find and rescue a young member of this species on their way to the mine. When they return the youngster to his/her folks, that introduces a lot of RPing possibilities. Now the race isn't just an obstacle to kill, they actually have personality. Maybe the solution becomes finding them a new home so the party can have the mine. Lots of possibilities here. Good luck,

 

[Grogg of the North]

Tommyknockers live in the mine. Anyone that doesn't gain their friendship has a series of minor mishaps such as missing tools and other practical jokes. By offering them treats, the Tommyknockers will be willing to help the miners and may even warn of cave ins.