Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Werwoelfin 02-27-08, 05:42 PM	A week ago, I was talking with someone about the different D&D worlds. She normally dislikes D&D, but said that playing in Eberron was okay - at least until the final fight. Her character was not combat-oriented and so she couldn't really do much. After that, I thought about the adventurers I've participated as a player myself and every one has had a final battle or was like a chain of battles (exploring a jungle etc.). I tried to think of something myself, but my brain is somewhat burnt out from all the intensive learning for the many tests I had during the last weeks. So, I'm posting here to kindly ask for some ideas for adventures that can be solved without any battle. (Neither me nor my players like the diplomacy variant to avoid a fight because it always seems a bit unsatisfying.)
nowiwantmydmg 02-27-08, 05:54 PM	A Mystery is probably the best way to do this. Ex: What's scaring away people from the x(a house or library is a good setting, somewhere with dust and cobwebs and old stuff for loot) And it turns out it's a good undead of some kind who only wants Y(company, something it had good memories of in life, etc) I don't know something like that. Hack and slashy types might get bored though, If it's not to combatty a couple of "traps" like wobbly bookshelves or weak floors would work great to spice things up.
Sinfire Titan 02-27-08, 05:56 PM	Played one of those campaigns due to a party member taking Vow of Peace. I was the party's Evoker. It didn't last nearly as long as the player hoped.
VulcanStormwrath 02-27-08, 08:27 PM	CSI: Waterdeep
Theuberkodama 02-27-08, 08:31 PM	A Mystery is probably the best way to do this. Ex: What's scaring away people from the x(a house or library is a good setting, somewhere with dust and cobwebs and old stuff for loot) And it turns out it's a good undead of some kind who only wants Y(company, something it had good memories of in life, etc) I don't know something like that. Hack and slashy types might get bored though, If it's not to combatty a couple of "traps" like wobbly bookshelves or weak floors would work great to spice things up. I think that's the best way for an adventure without a fight. Does the player like to get rewards or something like that? If so then, like nowiwantmydmg said, you could have some creepy haunted house thing with some traps and lota loot to find. The people I play with like combat, so I wouldn't know much...x)
Watsyurname529 02-27-08, 08:34 PM	Just tell the players before they make their character though, so you don't wind up with that Barbarian PC who becomes useless in a non-combat, thinking/rp adventure.
I_roll_ones 02-27-08, 08:39 PM	Don't guess, ask her! What does she want to do? Investigative? Diplomatic? Exploring? If she can explain not an adventure that she wants, but the type of stuff she wants to do, it's less shooting in the dark for you. OoTS has a decent Diplomacy variant, in my opinion. It makes bribery and sweetening the deal oh so much more important. It might not fix the issue, but it might add some flavor in if the skill comes up http://www.giantitp.com/articles/jFppYwv7OUkegKhONNF.html
danielinthewolvesden 02-27-08, 09:09 PM	Last DunDraCon I met with some old friends, dusted off some old 2nd Ed characters and spent almost 12 hours and 2 games having a LOT of fun- and no combat.
Etarnon 02-28-08, 04:28 AM	If you are not going to have a final battle have some situation where they are out of time, or out of options. There are many skills that could be used to resolve the climax of an adventure, besides diplomacy, that don't involve combat, either. Survival in the desert. Survival of a shipwreck at sea. Three chances to do something. Each uses up something else. A trip to four different portals, but you only have three power crystals to power the portals. Solve clues to figure out which portal to use. If you run out of crystals, figure out a way to gt a new one (nearly impossible, or beg, borrow or steal one, thus owing people a favor, money or be wanted.) A critical choice, between two employers, between two loves, between two places to live. Either one has both positives and negatives....which lead to other different situations. Drama. Seeking a missing person, before they are killed, as time runs out. Scaling down a mountainside, before an avalanche or rockfall threatens to kill them all. All sorts of things can be done.
iserith 02-28-08, 09:42 AM	You could also have a whole session where she audits her personal inventory and records, then fills out forms to pay her taxes to King Boranel. Player: "I'd like to take deductions on my potions of healing. Remember that trap I came across when I was investigating the murder of that warforged? I had to heal up after that. That's a business expense." DM: "I don't know if you can do that... you could have simply healed naturally. Make a Decipher Script roll to figure out the rules on the tax code. Then if it's iffy, you'll need to make a Diplomacy check when you hand in your tax return." Player: "Sweet! A 26. It looks like I figured out the loophole! Score one for the good guys!"
new_fashion_guy 02-28-08, 09:59 AM	This type of adventure is much more common in other games. I've run entire sessions of D20 Modern, DC Heroes, and many more that focus on personal relationships, suspicion between friends, investigating a crime, etc. The plot possibilities are endless. Just watch some non-action oriented TV drama, and you'll get plenty of ideas. For some reason, people often don't translate these ideas to D&D, but it would still work out well. Pick one of your PCs, and run an adventure focusing on something important in their life.
Zombie_Babies 02-28-08, 10:56 AM	Political intrigue is another fun option. Just don't allow the players to use their talky skill rolls instead of RP. Find situations for both. Let them be nobles of rival houses. Pit them against each other intellectually. You'll find that a lot of this will write itself, too. :D Shadowrun may be a game to consider trying as well. It's a game where talking and investigating are very important. You can never be sure who you can trust. There will be combat, of course, since that's a high probability on a "run", but you don't need to be built for it since a gun can solve your problems pretty quickly. ;) Damn I miss playing Shadowrun......well, except for char gen. Took forever!
Etarnon 02-28-08, 11:47 AM	Exactly what New_Fashion_Guy, and Zombie babies said... It doesn't have to be all about combat, add depth to the world by having interesting characters. Imagine a law passed in your world, nobody is allowed to use swords. swords are banned. What kind of stories would you write then? Then write those. The only thing with the tax idea, it needs some kind of tension...maybe all kinds of taxt records evidence needs to be collected before the tax man comes in two days, or the manor house is lost to the lord's treasury. Or all set up to pay, with a day left and the manor was robbed, now you've got a day to find the thief, and recover the gold, or else you 're hung for nonpayment of taxes, something like that. Not knocking the tax papers idea, it needs a threat and pressure to make it more than paper shuffling with dice, is all I mean to say.
iserith 02-28-08, 01:21 PM	The only thing with the tax idea, it needs some kind of tension...maybe all kinds of taxt records evidence needs to be collected before the tax man comes in two days, or the manor house is lost to the lord's treasury. Or all set up to pay, with a day left and the manor was robbed, now you've got a day to find the thief, and recover the gold, or else you 're hung for nonpayment of taxes, something like that. Not knocking the tax papers idea, it needs a threat and pressure to make it more than paper shuffling with dice, is all I mean to say. I was just putting that there as a joke, but it just goes to show you that a good DM can make an adventure out of even the most mundane of activities! My own players roleplayed out a meeting with the city council of Sharn last week and we happily gamed for 4 hours just on that and other various wheelings and dealings without so much as a dagger being drawn. We did one combat after that and I ended the session and everyone was like, "What? Was that a tease or what?" Suffice it to say, everyone was pushing for a second session last weekend...
kelvinaw273 02-28-08, 01:32 PM	There are a lot of options, it's just they are rarely used. As stated above, mystery and intrigue are very good themes for non-combat adventures. The only problems with these is that some adventurers keep their brains in their scabbards.
Jarsallen 02-28-08, 01:38 PM	I remember an adventure I was part of that was arguably some of the most fun I've had roleplaying ever, and we never attacked anything. I was playing in an all bard party, where we traveled together as part of a wandering menagerie/acting troupe. I was the group musician, another bard was an actor/animal handler type, and the third was a storyteller/actor. The first adventure, and the most memorable, involved us taking our show to the halls of a dwarven duke. We did our thing and made a bunch of friends, but before long we realized that the Duke's brother was planning something. We tried to figure out what it was in different ways. I seduced a the duke's brother's wife, who didn't like her husband much, and learned that her husband was meeting in secret with a bunch of other disaffected nobles in the Duke's court. The other bards used their particular specialties to sneak in and listen in on conversations or charm people into giving up info. We eventually ended up being seen while spying on one of the final planning missions so we fled like scared children to the Duke. Only our actions caused the usurpers to move up their time table and we got caught in the middle of an uprising. None of us wanted to fight it out with a bunch of dwarves so we ran from tunnel to tunnel with our little zoo in tow trying to avoid patrols or fighting. Finally we ended up climbing out of a chimney and hauling up the animals, but not before herding a bunch of dwarven children out of the way of the fighting. While I think some people shot at us, we never once made a single attack roll. And it was a lot of fun.
new_fashion_guy 02-28-08, 03:14 PM	Another thing you need to take into account is XP. The party is much more likely to become involved in non-combat adventures and enjoy them if they get a reasonable amount of XP for completing them. D&D does not do the best job of rewarding non-combat options. You might need to house-rule how you hand out XP related to such encounters. Personally, I tend to think about how much a given encounter makes the characters grow. Were they exposed to something new, or involved in something of great importance to the campaign world? If so, they should get a decent amount of XP for it.
iserith 02-28-08, 03:30 PM	Another thing you need to take into account is XP. The party is much more likely to become involved in non-combat adventures and enjoy them if they get a reasonable amount of XP for completing them. D&D does not do the best job of rewarding non-combat options. You might need to house-rule how you hand out XP related to such encounters. Personally, I tend to think about how much a given encounter makes the characters grow. Were they exposed to something new, or involved in something of great importance to the campaign world? If so, they should get a decent amount of XP for it. I don't even use the XP system anymore. I just threw it out entirely and level the characters as needed. This obviously requires a certain measure of trust from your players, but it has made for a marked improvement in our games.