Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="pickin_grinnin" data-source="post: 6300013" data-attributes="member: 6697674">Getting back to the original question...There are a huge number of things to do in a high fantasy rpg campaign (regardless of the system) other than combat, and there are any number of ways to play a non-combat oriented character.  Just look to real life for some good examples.There is a tendency to confuse the concept of player and non-player characters with certain classes.  Though most players tend to have characters that fall into one of the stereotypical classes, there's no reason you have to do that.  Though many non-combatant/magic/healing characters in a party tend to be hireling packbearers and such, there is no reason that a party can't hire or adventure with a non-PC 15th level paladin (just to use one example).If you or your players want to play a non-combatant character, there are a lot of ways to go, some of which have been mentioned by others.  If you look at real world armies and adventuring parties, you will find that there are a lot of important positions that have nothing to do with combat - mapping, navigation, scouting, driving/flying etc.  There are also positions that are related to combat, but do not require the person in those positions to be an active combatant (various types of leadership, tactics, etc.).  You could even have a set of non-fighting player characters who help to turn the tide in an extended siege or a war-torn region.  For example, merchants can wield considerable political clout, even if it's not formally recognized by the leadership, and may be skilled at setting up secret supply lines that run into a city under siege.  If you are mainly looking for things for your standard player classes to do in addition to combat, look again to the real world.  In both ancient and modern times, people need to eat, sleep, get equipment repaired, find entertainment, shop, deal with social issues, deal with political and religious issues, learn new skills, study (in some cases), travel, hunt, fish, etc.  In hack-and-slash campaigns a lot of that tends to get relegated to the background, and may not be played out at all.  In campaigns with a stronger roleplaying element, at least some of those things may be a part of the individual game sessions.For example, let's say that a character's weapon gets broken or armor gets damaged.  Finding someone who can repair it can be a real challenge.  Most small villages will have a blacksmith, but that blacksmith doesn't necessarily have skills related to fixing chainmail, and may not be skilled enough to fix a particularly fine weapon.  Not all villages will have horses for sale that are suitable for warfare.  Few will have stores where you can get magic components.  Etc. etc.  The characters may have to make a side trip to a relatively large town to get the items or services they need, and chances are that towns of that sizes are few and far between.  Haggling, traveling, and other such mundane things can actually be very entertaining when done well, and can help hack-n-slash players to think of their characters as more than simple wargame pieces on a board.</blockquote>

Verification