Non-combat, non-trap, non-magic encounters.

[iwatt]

Where did the piano come from, if they weren't already in the club?

The PC was trying out for a job as a lounge player. He had 1 rank in perform, and Cha 18. His roll.....a 20. The 25 he got as a 1st level character set him up for life as a virtuoso. From then onwards he just took 10 and said he would only play that weel for those worthy of his music

 

[reveal]

I usually try and throw a fair into every one of my campaigns and use the Tournaments, Fairs and Taverns sourcebook to flesh out the games.

 

[eris404]

Our characters were students at a magical college and decided to play a "prank" on the headmaster by swiping the snowglobe off his desk and replacing it with another. Well, that was our story in case we got caught - our motive was that we knew it was magical and suspected it was somehow connected to a larger plot (it was, just not in the way we expected). Then we had to invent an excuse to get back into his office and put it back without him noticing. Both times my (1st level) rogue had to do the Sleight of Hand skill check, so it was a bit nerve-wracking.

 

[reason]

...

Well call me an old-fashioned Real Roleplayer, but "non-combat, non-trap, non-magic encounters" describes something like 99% of my game time. The fun in gaming comes from the way in which PCs wander through the social ecosphere, upsetting the applecart, changing balances of knowledge, having sudden realizations that change their entire view of the current situation, encountering odd and memorable figures, all of that without swinging a blade.

Reason
Principia Infecta

 

[Fieari]

Last session, my players had an absolute BLAST trying to get down a mine shaft. There used to be an elevator there, but said elevator had crashed years ago, and now the 200 foot shaft had sharp bits at the bottom. They had 50' of rope. They were level 9 but the arcane caster did not have feather fall, nor any scrolls thereof. Half the party fell to their near death attenpting to climb down, support beam by support beam (Grim n Gritty rules makes falling painful). The last two party members were a little brighter, and used the rope by tying the rope to one of the fighters, having the other climb down as far as possible, tying the rope to him, etc. The strength DCs were easier to pass than the climb checks.

 

[Nifft]

My PCs met a Mercane in Carceri.

One of my PCs has a thing for cigars.

You know how much a pack of cigs is worth in prison? Well, imagine how much a chest of cigars is worth in Carceri...

A nice reward encounter, IMHO.

-- N

 

[Prism]

I can recall two encounters that fit this category

In our Celtic campaign we found ourselves on an orb of Carceri in the lair of a huge and evil Naga. The naga ruled was worshipped by a large clan of drugar. Full scale combat on any level was well out of the question even for our 10th level party. The goal of the encounter was to enter the Naga's lair via diplomacy and convince her to give up a powerful item. The main problems to this were that at first we didn't know why she had the item, why the dwarves revered it so, what it was worth or even what it did. All this had to be established through a series of diplomatic meetings with a highly suspicious and devious naga. To spice things up another 'evil' party was courting her for the same item and certain diplomatic connections to members of this other party who may be willing to betray their masters were possible

The basic premise of this type of encounter make it very clear that combat would be deadly and also that the party is initally in the dark about the back plot. Diplomacy, Bluff and Knowledge checks are all important plus a small sprinkling of divination/disguise spells

In another campaign we basically focus on high risk/high reward break and entry adventures. Although there are a few traps to deal with, a good deal of the campaign is planning, avoiding detection, gathering inside information through various informants and good old fashioned running away

 

[Macbeth]

My favorite would have to be the time my players spent in a little halfling village hiding out from a big empire. While they were laying low, various players:

Taught the local children to fish
Trained the town guard
Helped with the harvest
Had conversation with the mayor
Got to be great freinds with the innkeeper by tiping half the cost of the room (bad player math)
Investiagted a few odd occurances
Fortified the town, in case of an attack

Now all this great role-playing stuff with helping the town and making skill checks (Profession(Farmer), Profession(Fishing), Knowledge(tactics), plus tones of diplomacy and toher charisma skills) really payed off when the army the players were hiding from found them. 4 players versus a force of hunderds, marching into town.

After much of the town was slaughtered, the PCs took it upon them selves to avenge the deaths, and this led to a huge plan to take down the captial city of the government that was after them. The plan didn't work, but the PCs tried hard, and made some lasting enemies. One of the defining phases of my campaign.

 

[Andre]

Setup: Centuries before a group of mages known as the "Lords" created a magical guardian to keep others away from an underground region of enormous power. The creature was a guardian naga. It was granted immortality, so long as it remained true to its purpose.

Fast forward to the present day. An evil cleric has acquired a powerful item which allows her to get past the naga by mimicking a Lord (the item was specifically crafted with this power). As part of the glamer used, the naga would also forget that the "Lord" had passed by. The cleric walks past the naga and, upon reaching the area beyond, begins an evil ritual - drawing on the power of the region.

The party (3rd/4th level, IIRC) were pursuing the cleric for reasons I forget. They had tracked her through the Underdark when they encountered the guardian naga. The naga naturally refused to allow them beyond, as only a "Lord" was allowed to pass. The party, realizing they were badly outclassed, showed discretion and attempted to find another way through the tunnels. Failing, they returned to the naga and began to question it.

Through some good questioning, they learned the naga's purpose. But they also knew that the cleric had gotten past. And the naga kept denying it, at first vehemently, then tentatively, then plaintively. As the debate continued, the party saw the naga actually begin to dissolve, in great emotional pain. Eventually, convinced that it had failed in its purpose, it crumbled completely and the party were able to reach the cleric and (barely) stop the ritual.

The naga encounter had no combat/magical/skill use solution. The players had to figure out what was going on, then convince the naga that it had failed. But in doing so, they caused considerable pain to a basically good being. It worked out well and was quite memorable.

 

[Devilkiller]

Hmm, our old DM who moved away to a new job (waaahhhh!) had tons of noncombat stuff. My drunken master used to pull around a cart full of cooking supplies and would set up a noodle stand and BBQ in most towns we entered. Since he also carried around a barrel of homemade booze his stand was popular with all sorts of folks (except maybe the law). He once cooked the best BBQ ribs at a summer festival and met an air genasi gal we'll all long remember. Other characters took part in an egg hunt, danced the night away, and made romance. Ah, those were the days!

I've had a rather tough time really engaging the players in non-combat encounters in my own campaign. I think the shortage of female players might have soemthing to do with it. One of the players also feels I cheated him out of a Qaal's Feather Token through roleplay once, so he's loathe to talk to NPCs now. Our monk/cleric does take the time to describe her cooking exploits though, and the barbarian talks with a "barbarian" accent sometimes. What he mostly asks is where there's more treasure though...oh well