D&D General Why Exploration Is the Worst Pillar

[cmad1977]

Exploration isn’t resource management.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Random encounters aren't punishments. They are opportunities. They create urgency, say something about the flavor of the setting, they put pressure on resources, they incentivize smart play, and they aren't always fights. They can take the emergent story in directions you didn't plan for.

Nah, they're punishments. They're a thing that doesn't fit into the story that only serve to waste time, check the arduous 6-8 encounter boxes and suck resources. Also as a DM, they waste my time in running those instead of fun things. One per travel period because I'm not going to bother with more than that.

 

[Fanaelialae]

Nah, they're punishments. They're a thing that doesn't fit into the story that only serve to waste time, check the arduous 6-8 encounter boxes and suck resources. Also as a DM, they waste my time in running those instead of fun things. One per travel period because I'm not going to bother with more than that.

Random encounters are only punishments if you approach them as such.

Some of my favorite encounters were random. But we don't approach random encounters as punishments. The probability of a beneficial or neutral encounter is equal to that of hostile encounters.

 

[iserith]

Nah, they're punishments. They're a thing that doesn't fit into the story that only serve to waste time, check the arduous 6-8 encounter boxes and suck resources. Also as a DM, they waste my time in running those instead of fun things. One per travel period because I'm not going to bother with more than that.

As the DMG says, "you might find that [random encounters] distract from your game or otherwise causing more trouble than you want. If random encounters don't work for you, then don't use them."

But to suggest that they're punishments, period, is just a very negative way to look at this important tool in my view. Now, if you have a story you're trying to tell the players and random encounters make it harder for you to do that, that's one thing. But in games where there is no pre-planned story and random encounters are part of the procedure of play, they are excellent tools for supporting how the game system works and the emergent story produced simply by playing.

 

[Asisreo]

Nah, they're punishments. They're a thing that doesn't fit into the story that only serve to waste time, check the arduous 6-8 encounter boxes and suck resources. Also as a DM, they waste my time in running those instead of fun things. One per travel period because I'm not going to bother with more than that.

I'll give an example of a random encounter:

Mysterious Merchant


The party crosses paths with a strange wandering man. This man is, in reality, Lotus Kurog, a gold dragon taking the form of a potbellied merchant. He was once friends with "Lorgalis" (BBEG) before his corruption through the unseelie's curses. Thus, he knows that Lorgalis believes, above all else, that those in powerful positions in society are the cause for the horrendous sufferings to the commonwealth. He also knows how Lorgalis was a caring and honest man in his youth and Lotus has concluded that it was his dealings with the Unseelie that had changed that. Due to the politics of draconic society, he cannot pursue Lorgalis. However, Lotus has a scroll of Dispel Good and Evil that he wishes to impart to anyone he deems capable of saving Lorgalis before the cursed friend is killed by someone else.

This isn't a bad thing whatsoever. It is narratively relevant while not being necessary. It changes the party's goals but it didn't remove resources. In fact, the party gained a new resource so long as they don't do something like antagonize the merchant.

Having this in your random encounter table means that even you, as the DM, can look forward to things you didn't know were going to happen for sure while also investing the players into the game even more. Do they save him? Do they try but fail to save him? Do they just kill him and keep the scroll? Is there even anyone in the party that can use the scroll? Maybe they hire an NPC, maybe they refuse, or maybe someone multiclasses just to have the ability to cast Dispel Good and Evil.

Whatever happens is in the hands of the players, but you now have something interesting to play off of as well. Does Lotus return? How did Lotus figure out the unseelie was involved? Why does Lorgalis believe those in power are corrupt?

 

[Undrave]

The problem with the 5e DMG is that it in no way actually accounts for this. They talk about setting up "interesting encounters" in the wilderness, (DMG p 106), and talk about setting a "marching order". But, absolutely no advice on how to deal with the mountain of resources that your party very likely has to bypass any challenge you want to set out. Oh, noes, there is a narrow, rickety bridge. One Tenser's Floating Disk Ritual later and poof, we're across the bridge with no problems.

The only time I ever recall marching order mattering is in places where there is only a 5 feet wide corridor... any other time and it's basically forgotten...

 

[iserith]

The only time I ever recall marching order mattering is in places where there is only a 5 feet wide corridor... any other time and it's basically forgotten...

It matters for being able to determine whether threats can be noticed by PCs in a given rank of the marching order. A DM might decide, for example, that traps in front of the party can only be noticed by characters in the front rank and monsters sneaking up behind the party might only be noticed by characters in the back rank who are keeping watch for danger (not engaged in some other task).

 

[Yora]

It also matters in determining who triggers a trap.

 

[Nefermandias]

It matters for being able to determine whether threats can be noticed by PCs in a given rank of the marching order. A DM might decide, for example, that traps in front of the party can only be noticed by characters in the front rank and monsters sneaking up behind the party might only be noticed by characters in the back rank who are keeping watch for danger (not engaged in some other task).

Yes, that's actually RAW. Too bad people don't read the DMG.

 

[iserith]

Yes, that's actually RAW. Too bad people don't read the DMG.

This is actually in the PHB!