DnD players! Answer me this....

[jimbob123432]

I personally prefer the more "random" style of gameplay. Set up a goal at the start, and then let the players decide how you're going to get there. I write one session at a time, and if my players don't accomplish the goal in time (it's happened before), bad stuff goes down.

I once had a party decide to enter a dungeon because they were bored (they didn't want to talk with the guy who would advance the plot) just to come out 5 sessions later with the oppressive regime of the bad guy starting to take shape. They smartened up and killed him, but it cost them 3 characters because it was a ton harder by that point.

 

[HellsingerAngel]

Ok, I am currently running a table with some good friends, with a mix of experienced and new players. They are rather enjoying the sessions, and the world thats being fleshed out, and the story that they are slowly unraveling. But as Im running it, Ive begun to notice how little combat I throw at them. (There are of course, other ways to challenge the players) So my question is this;

What do you like in a DnD adventure? Do you like a combat dungeon sprawler? Or more like being guided along in a story? What are your thoughts?

(Its a 3.5 adventure, just to answer that question)

You should be asking your players this question, not us. That being said, you need to understand what your players want. There are a wide variety of players out there, and I gotta tip my hat to 4th Ed for clearly illustrating this point. Below are the basic outlines of most -if not all- players:

Actor: Players of this type make very distinct and imaginative characters. They flesh they avatars out to be living, breathing things with hopes, dreams, fears and uncertainties. They enjoy social encounters where they can illustrate their hard work at creating a rich character. Please them by incorporating their character's backstory into the campaign, having good social encounters and emphasizing their personality choices. Beware of them become chatter-boxes with the NPCs or disrupting the flow of the game with the justification of "that's what my character would do!"

Instigator: These players need the campaign to move and move right now! They enjoy taking risks "just because" and are often the catalysts of those wild stories you'll be telling for years to come. They're often the explorers of the party and want to see what's over the horizon. Please them by putting the party at risk because of their actions (but never kill them), by having encounters that encourage experimentation and having another location or quest just around the corner to keep them moving. Be careful of making sure they don't get the party killed or bullrush through a more delicate moment.

Power Gamer: They relish in power, hence their name. They enjoy climbing the XP ladder and getting all those cool abilities and magic items that make them unstoppable badasses of legend. Feed a Power Gamer by putting emphasis on the rewards of completing a task, having plenty of options open for character advancement and tailor certain encounters to their specialties. Try to make sure their power doesn't get out of hand, however. While I'm one to believe that having a more effective character than the rest of the party is fine (you can have an ace in the hole to make sure they don't die or crush them to emphasize how powerful a bad guy is) make sure it doesn't get too out of hand that everyone else is useless.

Slayer: They like killing stuff. They're your typical door basher that just wants a steady stream of monsters to put a sword to. Arguably the easiest players to deal with. Keep them happy by having interesting combat mechanics come into play, springing combat suddenly onto the party and vividly describing what their character does in battle. Keep them reigned in, however, lest they turn the campaign into a meat grinder.

Storyteller: At the opposite end of the story spectrum from the Actor, a Storyteller enjoys the overarching plot as opposed to any single character. They enjoy a rich narrative and a well thought out world. Keep them engaged by using their character's background as some groundwork for an adventure or two, have recurring characters they can watch evolve and make sure to keep every quest at least plot related. Make sure that they don't hog the spotlight, though, or force other characters to curb their ideas to fit the story exactly.

Thinker: The problem solver of the group. They prefer to make cool and collected decisions that solve a problem with minimal risk and wasting the least amount of resources. They take their time to make actions to consider every possibility. Reward their planning with in game benefits, let a scenario become one sided in their favour due to planning and add puzzle solving sections to encounters to keep them happy. Ensure they don't start bossing other players around or stall the game by taking too long to act or you might be in trouble.

Watcher: These players aren't necessarily interested in the game, more so that they're interested in just being with the people at the table for the social aspects. They'll put as much effort as they need to, but aren't terribly invested in the mechanics or story. These players are great to have to help calm other, more invest, players down when things get heated, fill gaps in a party's glaring weaknesses and is generally a reliable player because they don't want to let the people playing down. Make sure you prompt them when need be but accept the fact they won't be as engaged as everyone else to keep them happy. Don't let them become a distraction, however, by letting their wandering attention distract other players.

Identify or ask your players which role they identify with the most and you can start to construct the game towards what they want to see out of it.

As for your question? I'm a bit of an instigator with a healthy dose of power gamer and slayer mixed in, so I enjoy large quests with exotic locations with many interesting battles that can test the limits of my character's abilities. As long as I can keep exploring and have a steady stream of challenge, especially combat, I'm a pretty happy camper and the rest of the traits -such as actor and storyteller- will flow from there.

 

[scotth266]

Ideally you want people to be role-playing all the time, even in combat. Sometimes that's just not possible though: some people enjoy divorcing their combat from their role-playing, and if it works for them, all the more power to em.

My players for instance enjoy a separated system: they don't role-play much while in combat, but outside of combat they've never failed to surprise me with how strange they can be.

"Can I dip him (the dwarven cleric) in the drake nutrient sludge and use him as bait?"
"Can I steal the armor from my team-mate and then plant it on someone else?"
"Can I hit on the blacksmith?"

Well, perhaps that last one was to be expected.

 

[GlorySeeker]

Ok, I am currently running a table with some good friends, with a mix of experienced and new players. They are rather enjoying the sessions, and the world thats being fleshed out, and the story that they are slowly unraveling. But as Im running it, Ive begun to notice how little combat I throw at them. (There are of course, other ways to challenge the players) So my question is this;

What do you like in a DnD adventure? Do you like a combat dungeon sprawler? Or more like being guided along in a story? What are your thoughts?

(Its a 3.5 adventure, just to answer that question)

I try to keep my games about 50/50 between combat and RP. I've played all types of games, games that are very combat heavy and games that are very RP heavy.

First things first, you gotta know your players. If they're all super interested in delving into dungeons and fighting monsters, then give them that. If they want to run around town, talk to people and make connections and solve mysteries, then that's fine too! But give them what they want. If your players are having fun, I guarantee you they will do stuff that will in turn be very entertaining for you, the DM.

Second, look at your party composition. Make sure that your story doesn't leave someone out because of the class they chose to play. Nothing makes me more unhappy than being unable to participate in a game because I'm playing a class where I rarely get to do what I'm good at. For some this could be a fighter stuck in an RP game, or someone who's chosen a very skill based class in a combat scenario. That doesn't mean that everyone has to be center stage all the time of course, but the longer someone goes without feeling like they are participating, the more unfun a game can be.

EDIT: How long have you been running?

This game has been going on for at least a few months now. Everybody started at level 1, and I sorta power leveled them, but were going by the EXP table now.
Consist of a Bard, whose prestiging to a Seeker of the Song
A Monk, who will become a Dragon Disciple.
A Druid. (Shes still fairly new to the game and keeping it simple)
A Duelist,
And a Fighter/Theif, who I think want to be a shadowdancer.

 

[GlorySeeker]

Ok, I am currently running a table with some good friends, with a mix of experienced and new players. They are rather enjoying the sessions, and the world thats being fleshed out, and the story that they are slowly unraveling. But as Im running it, Ive begun to notice how little combat I throw at them. (There are of course, other ways to challenge the players) So my question is this;

What do you like in a DnD adventure? Do you like a combat dungeon sprawler? Or more like being guided along in a story? What are your thoughts?

(Its a 3.5 adventure, just to answer that question)

You should be asking your players this question, not us. That being said, you need to understand what your players want. There are a wide variety of players out there, and I gotta tip my hat to 4th Ed for clearly illustrating this point. Below are the basic outlines of most -if not all- players:

Actor: Players of this type make very distinct and imaginative characters. They flesh they avatars out to be living, breathing things with hopes, dreams, fears and uncertainties. They enjoy social encounters where they can illustrate their hard work at creating a rich character. Please them by incorporating their character's backstory into the campaign, having good social encounters and emphasizing their personality choices. Beware of them become chatter-boxes with the NPCs or disrupting the flow of the game with the justification of "that's what my character would do!"

Instigator: These players need the campaign to move and move right now! They enjoy taking risks "just because" and are often the catalysts of those wild stories you'll be telling for years to come. They're often the explorers of the party and want to see what's over the horizon. Please them by putting the party at risk because of their actions (but never kill them), by having encounters that encourage experimentation and having another location or quest just around the corner to keep them moving. Be careful of making sure they don't get the party killed or bullrush through a more delicate moment.

Power Gamer: They relish in power, hence their name. They enjoy climbing the XP ladder and getting all those cool abilities and magic items that make them unstoppable badasses of legend. Feed a Power Gamer by putting emphasis on the rewards of completing a task, having plenty of options open for character advancement and tailor certain encounters to their specialties. Try to make sure their power doesn't get out of hand, however. While I'm one to believe that having a more effective character than the rest of the party is fine (you can have an ace in the hole to make sure they don't die or crush them to emphasize how powerful a bad guy is) make sure it doesn't get too out of hand that everyone else is useless.

Slayer: They like killing stuff. They're your typical door basher that just wants a steady stream of monsters to put a sword to. Arguably the easiest players to deal with. Keep them happy by having interesting combat mechanics come into play, springing combat suddenly onto the party and vividly describing what their character does in battle. Keep them reigned in, however, lest they turn the campaign into a meat grinder.

Storyteller: At the opposite end of the story spectrum from the Actor, a Storyteller enjoys the overarching plot as opposed to any single character. They enjoy a rich narrative and a well thought out world. Keep them engaged by using their character's background as some groundwork for an adventure or two, have recurring characters they can watch evolve and make sure to keep every quest at least plot related. Make sure that they don't hog the spotlight, though, or force other characters to curb their ideas to fit the story exactly.

Thinker: The problem solver of the group. They prefer to make cool and collected decisions that solve a problem with minimal risk and wasting the least amount of resources. They take their time to make actions to consider every possibility. Reward their planning with in game benefits, let a scenario become one sided in their favour due to planning and add puzzle solving sections to encounters to keep them happy. Ensure they don't start bossing other players around or stall the game by taking too long to act or you might be in trouble.

Watcher: These players aren't necessarily interested in the game, more so that they're interested in just being with the people at the table for the social aspects. They'll put as much effort as they need to, but aren't terribly invested in the mechanics or story. These players are great to have to help calm other, more invest, players down when things get heated, fill gaps in a party's glaring weaknesses and is generally a reliable player because they don't want to let the people playing down. Make sure you prompt them when need be but accept the fact they won't be as engaged as everyone else to keep them happy. Don't let them become a distraction, however, by letting their wandering attention distract other players.

Identify or ask your players which role they identify with the most and you can start to construct the game towards what they want to see out of it.

As for your question? I'm a bit of an instigator with a healthy dose of power gamer and slayer mixed in, so I enjoy large quests with exotic locations with many interesting battles that can test the limits of my character's abilities. As long as I can keep exploring and have a steady stream of challenge, especially combat, I'm a pretty happy camper and the rest of the traits -such as actor and storyteller- will flow from there.

I like this alot. Pretty much explains PC's to a tee.
Im more of the actor. haha. Which is great as a DM, so all the NPC arent blank slates with text, theyre interesting.

 

[GlorySeeker]

What's with this newer generation of d&d players that think it's either roleplaying or combat ? I don't get that.

"Roleplaying" just means you're just playing according to your character. Playing as a thief ? Sneak around, steal stuff, backstab. Magic-user ? Cast spells..

The two are not mutually exclusive.

As for the OT, a good DM knows how to mix things up.

Yeah, I have enough experience to know that they arent exclusive, that a good game will have a moderate dose of each. Kinda just looking to see what alot of the escapists say.
Admittedly, this is kinda helping me stay motivated, cause after awhile, DMs need something fresh to pull off of, or the game will get stale.

 

[Duggan1]

Indeed, no dungeon crawling is a problem in my book. The focus of Dnd should be the campaign, and if you run a low combat campaign, great. If the players are happy with a low combat campaign, prefect. However, some players are munchkins and rule lawyers (among others!) who really care about combat. Without serious dungeon crawls, wizards tend to be more powerful than sorcerers (more spells? Why don't I just wait a day?), barbarians are better than fighters (see those extra skill points? how about that increased land speed?), and bards will be bards. The rules of the game were designed and tested under the assumption that a large percent of playtime is spent in some obscure crypt or abandoned wizard's tower. If the rules are too difficult, you can always switch to 4th, which is much more simple. Pathfinder also simplifies the rules, but keeps them recognizable. That's all I have to say about that.

 

[BabySinclair]

For me it comes down to what the story and players call for. One campaign (that sadly died to college) involved almost 1-1 combat to non-combat encounters. It started with us convincing the king to give us a derelict tower that some wizards were using to use to wipe out the country from. King said yes and it ended with us partly playing SimCity, DnD style.

Other campaigns have also followed this style while some groups are very combat oriented and there was little non-combat plot progression.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

how about making diplomacy dangerous too?

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

I would recommend "skipping" any encounter that just has a few guys in a featureless hallway... one of the worst (and most persistent) facets of 3.5 Adventure Design.

But other than that I like my adventures relentless and nerve wracking, constant encounters, danger and adventure where the PC's constantly need to beat the odds to succeed. That said I don't like "character killing", it's more fun to have "consequences" like Capture or serious changes to story events emerge from defeat.