What do you do beyond combat?

[Ralif Redhammer]

We do a lot of simple role-playing between the characters and between the characters and NPCs. Exploring the PCs lives outside of the dungeon, so to speak.

Many years ago, what really opened up our campaign to activities outside of combat was the original Waterdeep sourcebook. There were such myriad possibilities. Soon enough, an adventure consisted of just letting the PCs wander around a city, letting events unfold. They had a lot of fun shopping for the best deal on weapons, dealing with colorful inhabitants, trying to one-up those snooty nobles, and so on.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

The phrase I most often see is "political intrigue." What exactly is this and how do you make it fun in an RPG? My guess is create a bunch of different power groups vying against each other, with alliances switching ... but after you create this web, what do the PCs actually DO in it? How is it fun?

personlly, I don't find it to be. As for other non combat options, I'd suggest either Exploration or Private Investigation.

Exploration is easy enough to set up. there's the known world, and you are moving beyond it to chart the way and scout for resources, both natural and social. While there are plenty of oppertunities for combat, theres also meeting new kinds of people, negotiating rights to move through a particular area, helping the people you meet - think Stargate. Yeah, most of the time they end up getting in fights with the people they meet, be there's often a lot more to it than that, and some eps have no combat at all.

Private Investigation is fun too. Set up the "party" as trouble shooters who can find things, find things out and solve problems. You could find combat in unexpected places (oops, the kings son isn't involved with an unsuitable woman, he's involved with a death cult) or diplomacy in places even less expected (you faked your kidnapping by orcs so you could marry your half orc lover in secrecy and you don't want us to tell your dad until the 3 day consumation makes him unable to challenge it.... um....) and get involved in any sort of traditional adventure. (lost family heirlooms are as good an excuse for a dungeon delve as any other).

D&D does have resolution systems for tracking, gathering information, sweet talking folks, etc, so the PCs can use their skills instead of just falling back on player puzzle ability, and you can use political intrigue as one of the possible plot points in either setup to see if your players like it. Thats the biggest advantage really, is that you can see what kind of challanges your players like and tailor future "installments" to their liking.

 

[Henry]

I have some other comments, based on the others' advice here:

1) der Kluge hit something vital: a good DM caters to the tastes of his players (not the characters, the players). Your group may be inexperienced enough to even know what those tastes are, yet. But after trying some fight scenes, some poltiical intrigue, some exploration, observe and think back to what things "light up" each player, and remember these. Some players are happiest in combat, or power accumulation, or both. Some are happiest when they make intricate plans that succeed without a hitch. Some are happy just by having their character shop with the general store owner for an hour. Find out what drives your players, including yourself as DM, and give each one a brief chance to shine.

2) There are some games with some quite innovative systems that replace or supplement combat: Spycraft 2.0 from AEG, is a good example. Its nicest new contribution to d20 games has been conflict resolution; it gives rules as beautifullly complex as the combat rules, and applies them to everything from chases, to brainwashing, to manhunts, to interrogation, to even seduction. Taking that vein, where what makes combat "combat" is the complex dance of tactics, dice rolls, and multiple small resolutions, Spycraft makes even things like interactions have some vibrance other than a single contested roll. E.N. Publishing's Tournaments Fairs and Taverns had a similar concept, but not as fully developed.

3) If this is the first time DM'ing, take it slow and simple - no need to try to craft some massive political intrigue or complicated combat, or massive dungeon exploration. THe biggest goal is the fun that comes from socializing with friends while creating a shared adventure together, same as anything else you do with friends. Dungeon magazine has a large number of adventures with a good mix of combat and involved plot that you could get the group's feet wet with.

Good luck in any case!

P.S. Nitpicky point - though Vampire's Mind's Eye Theatre Live Action Roleplay products does have some "rocks, paper, scissors type resolution, the tabletop version of the World of Darkness stuff does still use dice for resolutions (d10's).

 

[genshou]

Here's a little tidbit I keep stashed away in my signature (click the spoiler button for all sorts of goodies which change from time to time):

D&D is in fact a roleplaying game. The mechanics are mainly focused on combat, because that is mostly where they are needed.

Building upon that premise, the social skills are for the reason that Lela stated:

There aren't a lot of rules for non-combat because they aren't required. It's all talk.
[...]
Finally, I'd say the bluff/diplomacy skills are there for two reasons. First, to give gamers who aren't all that socially adaptive a chance to play a character who is. Second, to help give guidelines to those of us who can come up with flowing speaches on the fly. Playing a character who doesn't have a good Diplomacy? Dial it down, you're RPing. One who has a good Bluff? Toss a few lies into what you're saying now and then; see what you can do to keep it discreet. RPing to the character sheet. That's the hardest part about playing and the point of the whole experience.

Use the social skills to supplement your own role-playing. Find out how much "role-playing" your players want vs. how much "roll-playing" (or in layman's terms, how much character interaction as opposed to skill contests and combats and the like). If your group is skilled enough, there's no need to even make die rolls for social interactions (though then characters will not take ranks...). The gaming group I was in with Lela had a fair mix of interests. Oh, there was one player that could powergame like no other. But then there were others of us who liked role-playing almost to the exclusion of using rules. I fell somewhere in the middle, but have since learned to love role-playing for its own sake. Make sure if you have variable tastes in your group that you cater to everyone's needs at least once per session if at all possible. If you have someone that absolutely has to have a combat every session (as Lela spoke of), then try to get at least one in each session, so that player has a chance to have fun, too.

In short, just keep your eyes open for what they like and what they are bored with. Try to talk with your players before or after your sessions to find out what worked and what didn't. Most of all, be perceptive, fair, and open.

 

[Storyteller01]

Depends on the characters. We've had investigation, horror, mages researching spells, everyone building something, rogues pickpocketing for kicks, breaking said rogue out of jail, hunting down the black market, going to the family reunion (the best adventure ever ), the sorceress shopping at the worlds equivalent of Rodeo Drive...

 

[ThirdWizard]

Just thought of something.

One of the keys to a good intrigue game is interesting NPCs. And, in my oppinion, a fair number of them. The NPCs should be fleshed out, involve the PCs in some way, and infer plot hooks. This makes interacting with them both interesting and useful. How to make NPCs like this is a whole new topic in and of itself, but basically, if you make them three dimensional and the players feel like their PCs are taking part in their lives through their adventures instead of just going to the NPCs to find their next adventure, then you've got a really good thing going.

 

[Lela]

How to make NPCs like this is a whole new topic in and of itself, but basically, if you make them three dimensional. . .

Completely right, this can fill up a whole new thread, so I'll keep this brief.

Just in case you don't know the term three dimensional, it basically means a true to life character with personal conflicts. A quick example is someone who wants to marry the princess but doesn't want to be royalty. She wants/needs to be queen someday and he respects that (no cheap and easy run off and be bakers solution).

Another is your average 12 y/o kid. He wants to grow up and be treated like an adult but he doesn't want adult responsability.

To make it more true to life, the goals need to conflict with each other. Cleric Crel'kes is devistated that the gods have abandoned the world. He wants nothing more than to have them back but, frankly, they're dead and he knows it. There's a new god on the horizen, one who's principles he can agree with and would normally be able to serve. However, he loves his old, dead, god too much to go to the new guy. On a deeper level, he feels betrayed at the loss of his old deity and can't bring himself to look at a new one--though he'd never admit it.

NPCs get very rich and useful when they have such goals and conflicts, even if the players never see them. It lets you move the world around your PCs and create reactions that are reasonable and hard for the players to predict.

So much for brief.

 

[Agback]

der Kluge hit something vital: a good DM caters to the tastes of his players.

True. But on the other hand a good campaign only results from the GM running material that he or she enjoys and is enthusiastic about. You have to find common ground with your players, not pander to them, nor evn compromise with them.

 

[Agback]

personlly, I don't find it to be.

Nor do I. I find that political intrigue can be a good generator of mystery and motivator of action. But I don't much care for a game that focusses on the intrigue itself.

As for other non combat options, I'd suggest either Exploration or Private Investigation.

Don't overlook public investigation! You can run perfectly good adventures for the official detectives.

 

[Lela]

Don't overlook public investigation! You can run perfectly good adventures for the official detectives.

Or as the offical detectives. Great story hour, that one.