D&D General Why are we fighting?

[Andvari]

And when PCs evade monsters, the DM can use the morale system to determine if the monsters wish to pursue. If they fail the morale check, they let the PCs go.

 

[Aldarc]

What Matt Colville is saying or advocating for in the video is not all that different from the advice that I hear from GMs and game designers, such as Hankerin Ferinale (aka Runehammer of Index Card RPG), about making combat the obstacle that is in the way of the players' goal or treat.

I also totally sympathize with Colville when he talks about checking-out mentally during prolonged action sequences in superhero movies that are just about action but lack any real stakes or dramatic tension.

 

[amethal]

That was an interesting video, but now I really want a C.H.O.A.M. t-shirt.

 

[jmartkdr2]

Sure, but how do you use those reasons without it being wildly obvious you're putting your thumb on the scale.

If the monsters are lawful evil, they'll still be inclined to keep their word. They know that if thhey play by the rules of being a prisoner, they'll live to sin another day. Ergo, hobgoblins don't say "I surrender!" unless they mean exactly that.

Or just have the pc's be part of an army or something so they can just send the prisoners back and someone else will deal with them.

Both of which are situational, non-universal solutions, I know.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I don't think its intrinsic to a D&D style game that combat is boring; I don't find it so in PF2e, and it wasn't really in D&D4e, either. But you can't make it interesting and something you can just do on autopilot at the same time.

 

[Baron Opal II]

Sure, but how do you use those reasons without it being wildly obvious you're putting your thumb on the scale.

Ransoms, just like for the knights of old.

Who brokers the ransoms? The temples. They are neutral ground and mediate the payment and prisoner exchange. Consider 20 gp/level, a flat 1000 gp if you're someone special. If you're important, you best have a friend ready to negotiate.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Ransoms, just like for the knights of old.

Who brokers the ransoms? The temples. They are neutral ground and mediate the payment and prisoner exchange. Consider 20 gp/level, a flat 1000 gp if you're someone special. If you're important, you best have a friend ready to negotiate.

That could work, in the right circumstances. Doesn't do anything for the problem of simply keeping prisoners though.

 

[Lanefan]

Ransoms, just like for the knights of old.

Who brokers the ransoms? The temples. They are neutral ground and mediate the payment and prisoner exchange. Consider 20 gp/level, a flat 1000 gp if you're someone special. If you're important, you best have a friend ready to negotiate.

The problem isn't what to do with the prisoners once back in town, the problem is keeping them safe and fed and watered for the rest of the adventure plus the trip to get back to town.

Or you could be like my lot, who put some prisoners - with a few days rations and water - in the dungeon cells of the castle they were clearing out, then a couple of days later went back to town (only a day's travel away) completely forgetting about the prisoners!

Two days after that there was a "wait a minute" moment, after which they went back and rescued the now-very-hungry-and-thirsty prisoners.

 

[MNblockhead]

Or they are like me and have read it multiple time but have trouble remembering what is in it.

Yeah. There were some things in the DMG that I would use because I took the time to put them onto my custom DM's screen, but DDB is what helped me the most to actually use a lot of the content in the DMG. Having the rules searchable and able to pull them up together with PHB and adventure content, made it much easier to integrate into my running of the games. I just feel that with the print book it became an "out of sight / out of mind" situation.

 

[Baron Opal II]

That could work, in the right circumstances. Doesn't do anything for the problem of simply keeping prisoners though.

The problem isn't what to do with the prisoners once back in town, the problem is keeping them safe and fed and watered for the rest of the adventure plus the trip to get back to town.

True. I'm fine with as long as there is someone, hench, page, apprentice, linkboy, whatever to watch over them it's okay. And, no hatreds involved. As long as you don't let a Montague stand guard over a bunch of Capulets things will work out fine.

It doesn't work if you encounter or are captured by an inimical species, naturally.