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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Crimson Binome" data-source="post: 7731685" data-attributes="member: 6775031">I am aware of Gygax's intent, as silly and out-dated as it may be. It is simply the case that measuring success in terms of wealth acquired is as-reasonable of a metric as measuring in terms of monsters slain; both numbers correspond in a significant way to how well the PCs have accomplished their task, for a certain sub-set of tasks that we care about modeling. Gygax may not have cared about the model, but that doesn't make it invalid.You could, and some editions will award the same amount of experience for befriending a monster as you would get from killing it. The idea, here, is that you learn through the process of overcoming obstacles. In either case, experience is still just experience (by the common definition).Given that the reaction tables and charm spells provide for a less-detailed interface than the combat rules, and only a few characters may end up participating in that - either the Bard uses Diplomacy, or the Wizard casts Charm - this is likely to result in an unsatisfactory play experience for many. One benefit of using the combat metric is that every player can participate in combat.If a hybsil magically appears because they sense an elf with the PC flag, then that's contrived framing and only a bad DM would ever do that. What it sounds like is that the hybsil is there regardless, and it is in a position where it would approach an elf when it sees one, which makes it a case of a world-building. Good DMs build worlds where interesting things are likely to happen.I haven't mentioned why the dungeon exists, or why the party would want to go there. Obviously, there must be logical reasons for these, or else the entire game would be pointless. The party needs to weigh their motivations against what they can determine of the dungeon, in order to decide whether they want to enter and how they want to approach it.One common mistake of bad DMs is that the PCs don't have sufficient motivation to enter a dungeon; or they have some motivation, but it's contrived rather than arising naturally from the setting and the characters.</blockquote>

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