Pointless quests

[Omegaxicor]

maybe a misleading title but I couldn't think of anything else...

Would you run a quest as a DM where if everything goes to plan there will be no combat or puzzle solving.

The idea is to introduce an enemy army (what they specialise in, melee combat, and how they are trained) and that they don't get on well with Goblins (picture LotR Uruk-hai and Orcs). The mission is strictly observe and report back to the Mage who hired the party. The mission would only have combat if the party fail their sneak checks and since the party, at the moment, lacks a stealth character that seems likely but if they succeed then there seems nothing for the party to do but have the DM explain to them what they do and roll the dice once and then tell them what they see.

if it matters (to me it doesn't) the party are new and this is a Level 1 quest.

Any thoughts/suggestions (please)/experiences would be appreciated...

EDIT: rereading that it might seem like the adventure is only two scenes long, there would be several dice rolls I assume and several possible chances to fight the enemy.

 

[Stormonu]

I have nothing against an adventure where there is no combat or puzzles to be solved, so long as it is not an adventure where "nothing happens" - in other words, the players sit on their hands and don't get to make any descisions.

The scenario you described can still have several interactions; meeting and getting orders from the wizard; finding a safe place to observe the army; avoiding enemy patrols; gathering intelligence (either by skill rolls or asking questions about what they see); finding a safe way back and actually making their report. There's plenty of stuff you can have the party do without having to make them fight or figure out any logic/obstacle puzzles.

Still, it might be a good idea to be mindful of the player's wants. Your players might not be much for "all this sneaking around," and may "prefer a stand-up fight" or two.

 

[Omegaxicor]

it wouldn't be a regular thing just while they are level 1, breaking up the fighting of rats and things like that...I guess

but they're some good ideas

 

[Warbringer]

Take a look at skill challenges in the DMG2 (4e) for a way to structure this...

 

[Hussar]

Looks fine to me.

The only issue I might see is that there are players who are programmed to solve every problem with the maximum application of force. This could go south very quickly if the players don't realize that that is not really a good idea.

 

[Warbringer]

We call that a life lesson where I come from

 

[Li Shenron]

Would you run a quest as a DM where if everything goes to plan there will be no combat or puzzle solving.

Absolutely yes!

There are different ways to play a game of D&D. You can play it combat-heavy if you actually enjoy combat, and this is especially true for players who like tactical combat. Or you can play it combat-light, where combat is more narrative and is just one of the many phases of the game.

I like both types of adventures, the most important thing is that the group agrees beforehand... nothing worse than the players expecting a game of tactical combat while the DM has prepared an investigation-based murder quest, or viceversa!

In my 5e playtesting, I had players constantly trying to avoid combat as much as possible. I don't think this was actually because they didn't like it, it was more because 2 out of 3 of them were newbies to the game and they were scared by combat because they thought they were going to make mistake and have their PC die.

 

[LostSoul]

I'd probably structure it like this:

Draw a quick map of the enemy encampment. Make sure to have some features that the PCs and players can interact with. Here are some ideas:

• The army needs a source of water so they are camped by a ridge with a waterfall. The climb is pretty steep but they have posted some guards up there.
• There's a limestone cave system in the ridge that leads to the waterfall/river.
• The trail the army plans to take leads through some gentle hills, some of which are forested.
• An old ruined tower full of birds is nearby.

Then write down what you'd expect the checks to be for each feature, and the failure results.

• Ridge: Hard stealth check, easy spot check. Failure: The guards spot them and raise the alarm.
• Caves: Moderate cavern exploring check, moderate spot check, easy listen check (if they speak the language). Failure: The PCs get lost in the caves and attract wandering monsters and/or the army moves on before they find their way back out.
• Hills: Easy stealth check, hard spot check. Failure: scouts spot the PCs and attempt an ambush.
• Tower: Moderate nature check, moderate spot check. Failure: The birds will flee and cause scouts to head towards the PCs, surrounding them and laying siege to the tower.

Failure on the perception check means that they couldn't get a good enough look to gather good intel. After each failure change something up: maybe it starts raining and the PCs get sick, or a wandering monster/animal sniffs them out, or scouts come near their position, or whatever. It'd probably be good to have a list of these as well. After too much time, the army moves on.

Let the players have their PCs do whatever they want. You could point out the basics ("It's easy to hide in the hills because you're far away, but it'll be hard to see much of what's going on") but tell them they can try whatever they feel like. They'll probably get creative and do something crazy.

 

[MetaVoid]

Double post.

 

[MetaVoid]

If they get restless give them small patrol of goblins to defeat quickly. Make at least one goblin initially hidden (with some perception rolls for players) and if the fight lasts more then say...two rounds, start planning a retreat of one goblin and/or start making enough noise so that another patrol comes to investigate...

You can make players plan an ambush so they get to kill some in the first round, but that hidden goblin (maybe just a straggler) is out of the killing zone.

So, at least there are skill challenges and quick and simple combat if player feel the adventure too passive...or maybe they ran into female badger/wolverine/rabid rabbit protecting their young