hel yeah. sometimes running the heck away is the best option. i remember several times when we had to do that.
We don't have the 15 Minute Adventure Day Problem
- Thread starter joethelawyer
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hel yeah. sometimes running the heck away is the best option. i remember several times when we had to do that.
we keep everybody's everything low. we took away buff spells, but the number of spells per day is less. DC is lower but saves are lower. AC is lower but attack bonus is lower. everything is pretty much lower, but on both sides of the equation. basically our 15th level guys are like someone else's low magic 10th level guys. that doesn't explain it though, since people have said 10th level guys have the 15 minute adventure day too. to those who have experienced it, it scales no matter what level you are.
note that this applies to all characters in our campaigns, both pc and npc. but not to monsters. so the monsters are all tougher if you use their official CR vs. our character levels. but as i said above CR doesn't matter to us anyhow, since we don't use killing and looting as a determiner of XP.
as to dragons, we haven't fought them yet. but if the DM throws a dragon at us with a CR equal to our level, i suspect we will be running our asses off.
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HelloChristian
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I once read something to the effect of, "People who are happy in their gaming could care less about 99% of the stuff bandied about on message boards."
So true...
Oh, abso-damn-lutely!
Not only do I have DMs that throw that kind of stuff at me, I throw that kind of stuff at my players when I GM. Part of life- thus part of being a PC in my campaign worlds- is recognizing authority and power, and when someone with one or the other or both is simply too much for you to handle. That means its time to talk, walk, run, or surrender instead of fight.
When the BBEG has you outclassed, you bide your time, go on journeys of self-improvement (OK...graverobbing, looting and pillaging, but in a GOOD CAUSE!), and return to confront the BBEG when you're more powerful.
It worked for George Lucas' storyline for Luke Skywalker, after all. Why shouldn't it work for you and yours?
And the same goes for non-BBEGs as well. Those city watchmen or the caravan guards aren't necessarily pushovers & idiots in my campaigns. They're going to use equipment and tactics appropriate to their training and level, so don't think your party is just blithely going to rob even the most evil merchant's treasure wagon.
Not like this should be a surprise to veteran D&D fans. If you look at 1Ed personalities and modules, there were definitely encounters & critters best avoided instead of confronted.
Stealing pages from Indian, Greek, Norse and Japanese legend, Bahamut's avatar routinely wandered the world disguised as an old man attended by a flock of seven little golden birds...each a polymorphed Gold dragon. Wander through Expedition to the Barrier Peaks and you'll encounter the police robots soon enough- you don't tangle with those without being well prepared.
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May I ask how?
I'm looking at the capability of a 15th level wizard right now and there's no way that said wizard wouldn't instantly WIN if it won initiative versus even a 10th level party much less a 5th level party.
Fifth Element
Legend
Not that I dispute the validity of your playstyle in any way, shape or form, but I subscribe to the "I get enough life from...well...life" school, and when I play D&D I prefer to kick ass and take names.
The answer that you're looking for is at the end of the language you quoted, namely "That means its time to talk, walk, run, or surrender instead of fight."
Just because you're encountering an NPC you don't like doesn't mean its an encounter your PC's can handle by combat.
A looooooong time ago, in a 1Ed game, a party in a tight situation couldn't figure out how to defeat an opponent. They started to fight him and quickly started losing. As things got progressively worse, they decided to take the "Fineous Fingers" way out- they started calling on gods to come help them directly. They got their 1% chance of divine intervention...in the form of Asmodeus.
They were supposed to negotiate (it was a simple toll booth kind of thing), but instead, initiated combat. If they had talked to the person they attacked, they would have lost a lot of gold, but they would ultimately have kept their souls.
Fair enough, but I'd be surprised if your PCs "bigfoot" their way through the world. Subconsciously, at least, you play your PC with an awareness of rank and power.
You don't just barge into the King's inner sanctum, do you? No, you wait to be announced, then enter, pay your respects, and then speak when given permission to do so.
You don't just rob the merchant who is offering you a lucrative mission, do you, even though you're surrounded by evidence of his success in business? No, you go on the mission and get paid. You might be able to kill the merchant, but his guards (mundane and arcaane) would probably take you down before you started celebrating.
This isn't uncommon, really.
Look at one of the classic legends of world literature- the Odyssey. Did the heroes of that story defeat Scylla and Charybdis? The Sirens? No, they avoided them.
Did Odysseus kill Polyphemus the Cyclops? No, he injured and tricked him, then escaped.
I mean, if you look at the "scoreboard," the heroes of the Odyssey come up pretty short by D&D standards. They lose more fights than they win. More of their number are killed than opponents. Of the many men who started out on their epic journey, only a few survive to the very end.
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him) 🇺🇦🇵🇸🏳️⚧️
Fair enough, but for a lot of us, the stomping is sweeter when we've earned it by paying our dues or if we've really had to push ourselves to accomplish it. If I can stomp everything right out of the gate, I don't really feel like I've accomplished anything other than spending time.
i was reading this, and some of the above posts, and chuckled thinking of the movie i just saw, gamers 2: dorkness rising. funny movie. anyhow, one of the gamers says to another something like "see, thats why i just always kill off all npc's i meet. you never know."
in our campaign we dont do it that way. the npc might be 10 levels above us. you never know.
the npc's who come across our group in the campaign world act the same way. we might be 10 levels higher than him. you never know.
we don't play it like everquest, where you see red above enemies' heads if they are tougher than you are, and you would likely be killed by them. no one knows who it is they are encountering, or what they may be capable of in our world, unless there is some tale of deeds they have acomplished which gives some indication.
just because you meet someone doesnt mean they are there to be killed for their XP. just because a 15th level wizard on paper could waste a 10th level player, doesnt mean they will even fight when they meet. how does one know what level the other is? why is combat always assumed to be the purpose of the encounter, or the best way to resolve the encounter? that's the approach we take, at least.
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