Hey there everybody, I'm looking for ideas for non-combat encounters. Combat's fun and all, but I like mixing things up with other challenges that aren't just "attack thing until it stops moving", so I'm always on the look out for new ideas. I figured I'd start a thread to talk about that kind of stuff. I've seen stuff like dealing with forces of natures like floods, creating circus acts to infiltrate parties, to portals locked by puzzles. I'm curious about what kind of things the community has seen, anybody seen anything interesting?
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Generally, I find it interesting to take two different kinds of non-combat challenges and mash them together. Like; the players need to build a contraption, but there's an angry mob outside that they need to convince to leave them alone. Or they need to navigate a storm with their boat while also performing a delicate ceremony. Really, take any two things that would be a non-combat challenge, and mash them (incoherently if possible) together.
Don't forget about social encounters! Have your party work to sway a person/group from their original intention. There was a posting here where setting up a trial was mentioned, which may invoke inspiration. You can dice things up by having the players caught between opposing factions, each eyeing a central resource or objective. Perhaps the encounter would be settling a dispute between two tribes/towns before things came to bloodshed.
There is also a full thread on puzzles, with excellent examples. Have a look for ideas.
My original encounter included some references that may have caused offense. I've since learned a lot and have changed my style of encounter creation to not include encounters like this, so have removed this post.
I will be running a rescue a house that's caught fire side vignette at some point, and I know one of my players is big into intrigue so I've got to build at least one non-violent rival enchanter encounter. Musical challenges can be worthwhile.
I've heard of drinking competitions, capture the flag style races where acrobatics and sleight of hand skills are tested. (think flag football without the ball) I wanna go meta at some point and see if I can get a group of adventurers to teach a group of actors a choreographed fight sequence based on one of their own adventures to please a corrupt noble. (a combat against his minions they don't know at that point and the noble is judging their honesty by how much they exaggerate the mock battle)
My DM is fond of puzzles, particularly ones involving pictographs or sliding runes/rooms.
Well, if they're big into intrigue, what's better than trying to solve the mystery of the burning house while it's burning! After all, there could be a lot of evidence that might be destroyed by the (magical? intelligent? helforged?) flames.
I like the idea of one of those quick talking, gotta go merchants, having their wagon tipped over on the road and you can either help him, ignore him, or kill him and steal his stuff
I see that it is an old post. Are you still working on it and is it OK to post there with it being so long ago? I have a couple of ideas from a boat storm I ran a few months ago.
This was for a sea storm after they had left an island heading for the mainland.
I'll post more tonight when I get home, but I divided the boat into 5 areas (Crows nest, sails and rigging, fore, aft, hold) Moving between areas required athletics or acrobatics checks (whichever made more sense) once the storm started. Players decided where they were in the ship when the storm hit. If they moved they needed to make the check. In the game they were all on deck or in the crows nest when the storm hit. So they had to rush to the hold when a wave smashed a log through the side of the hull. Also using more than one effect at a time can keep everyone busy (waves crash over the boat as one of the sails starts to rip).
I'll post the events table I used when I get home. (It also helped to have some NPC crew to take the fall on some of the events).
Here is the table I used. The numbers to select the event are in the when column. The storm lasts 8 events. (if a failed or passed skill adds or removes an event then it might last longer or shorter).
Event
When
Ability
DC
Location
PASS
FAIL
Crashing wave
1-3
Dex(acrobat) or Str (athletics),
If on the deck
12
Deck, rigging,
Hold on
2d6 damage Bludgeoning, if on the rigging fall to the deck.
Damage to the hull
4
Str (advantage if proficient in woodwork, etc)
14
Hold
Seal the hole
Ship takes on water
1d6 damage. 1d6 items lost.
Repeat test till the hole is repaired
Sailor is washed overboard.
5
Grab the sailor with Str Athletics.
14
Deck
Sailor is safe
Sailor is lost
Snapped rigging
6
Dex to grab the rig before the sail rips, Str to reattach it to its mooring
Dex 12
Str 12
Deck
Passed dex and Str: Sails are good.
Failed Dex sail is torn. Failed Str: Make a Str roll each round till success at re-tieing, Add 1 more event
Seeing approaching danger
7
Per if in a position to see the danger
10-18
(Call out warning to give advantage to everyone who can hear you.)
Forward deck, Rigging, adv in crows nest.
Get advantage on the next skill check
Surprise
Navigate through the storm
7
Nature or survival. (adv to rangers/ people with sailor background)
12
Aft deck/ Navigator.
Get advantage on the next skill roll.
Add 2 more events. as it takes longer to get out of the storm
Crew lose spirits
8
Persuasion/ Intimidate will auto fail
12
any
Crew more focused, remove 1 event
Add 1 event
Torn sail
9
Str to hold the sail together
12
rigging
Each action from then on they need to hold the sail together (DC10) until the sail is repaired.
Sail is gone and Add 2 events.
Lighning strike
10
Dex to reduce damage.
16
Crows nest, rigging
Take 2d6 lightning damage to the character.
4d6 lightning damage to the character.
Events
Below
Can be used
During any of
The events
Seeing approaching danger
-
Per if in a position to see the danger
Can be made at the start of any event
10-18
(Call out warning to give advantage to everyone who can hear you.)
Forward deck, Rigging, adv in crows nest.
Get advantage on the next skill check that the person was warned about.
I made a puzzle encounter for 3.5 that was used to protect a phylactery, but it can be repurposed for anything. In a small room, there is a poem written on a wall above 10 crystals embedded below it. The crystals are set in a way that they cant be removed. The poem consists of 6 lines, each one in a different, very obscure language (like aboleth and such):
One bright day in the middle of the night/Two dead boys got up to fight/Back to back, they face each other/Drew their swords and shot each other/The lone deaf guard who heard the noise/Came and killed the two dead boys
The puzzle requires you to cast a specific sequence of spells (or metamagic) to continue. Any spell cast in the room is absorbed by the first available empty crystal rather than its normal effects. If the spell is the correct one, the energy is stored in the crystal, causing it to glow. If an incorrect spell is cast, all the crystals release their stored energy (including the energy of the incorrect spell), dealing 1d6 damage of raw untyped energy damage per spell level stored at the time of release (DC 20 Reflex for half) to everyone in the room. The PCs then have to start over.
The poem gives clues on what to cast. A DC 15 Intelligence can reveal how many clues in each line: 2/1/2/2/2/1.
Here is the solution:
Daylight, any darkness spell ,Animate dead ,any spell with the Twin metamagic feat applied, Mirror Image, Summon weapon, any ray spell, Blindess/Deafness, Ghost Sound, Undeath to Death
The PCs can use scrolls if necessary.
I'm not sure how this will work in certain editions, but I hope it can give you some ideas :3
Use non-DnD related objects to create real life puzzles. Examples include: Legos, a challenge (try not to laugh to represent a situation in which they need to react calmly), digital/irl challenge like a riddle-based scavenger hunt to represent a large puzzle, or even a real-life fetch quest. Another good idea is to have them do your dishes (or other chore) for some dumb challenge. Or maybe even a game of cards to represent a game of cards.
A firey wreckage fell from the sky and debris fell over the village. Several buildings caught fire and the PCs were tasked with saving what they could. Which buildings or people were lost could have a big impact. I had them roll initiative though there were no enemies. They could locate buckets, use water from the well, direct towns folk.
I didn't put much thought into it. I was simply trying to introduce the mysterious wreckage/teleportation mishap. Years later my players bring up the fire fighting part as a memorable and exciting session, and don't remember the wreck they found afterward.
I attribute this to being in initiative and limited by action economy, yet being out of combat.
The world I have my players in uses a continent wide competition to find out who the strongest, most intelligent, and luckiest guilds are across the land. The are allowed to challenge any other participating guild in the area, and upon both guilds accepting the challenge there is a small amount of arbitration, then a 3 day event follows where they compete. Each day holds a different challenge, and the challenges vary from place to place, day to day, event to event. The guild which comes out victorious is rewarded by the ruler of the land.
The first challenge my players had was a re-enactment of a fable, the gods and the titans were at war, in this instance the gods were being routed from the home of a fire titan. The players had to race down the side of a volcano while the magma, titan, and a handful of fire giants harassed them on the way down. To make matters worse, the challenging guild was present along side them, so you had the volcano and the pc/npc guilds all working against/with each other.
The way this is set up allows you or the players to instigate a guild challenge, and with a bit of influence from various media, you can create any type of scenario you want to fit into the session(s). My next challenge for the group is basically a capture the flag/lazer tag type game but based on the same "gods vs titans" lore and hunting for an artifact.
-You have to deliver an item from (a) to (b) -Help a lost child find their parents -Search for a book on _______ -You find a malnourished animal -Find a bag of gold on the road (players get really suspicious; its hilarious) -A small goblin is being bullied by bugbears -You keep hearing something behind you (its just a rat or bird) -Someone in the party smells really bad...
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Hey there everybody, I'm looking for ideas for non-combat encounters. Combat's fun and all, but I like mixing things up with other challenges that aren't just "attack thing until it stops moving", so I'm always on the look out for new ideas. I figured I'd start a thread to talk about that kind of stuff. I've seen stuff like dealing with forces of natures like floods, creating circus acts to infiltrate parties, to portals locked by puzzles. I'm curious about what kind of things the community has seen, anybody seen anything interesting?
I am trying to test this idea of mine. Let me know what you think:
http://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/dungeons-dragons-discussion/homebrew-house-rules/2119-a-storm
Generally, I find it interesting to take two different kinds of non-combat challenges and mash them together. Like; the players need to build a contraption, but there's an angry mob outside that they need to convince to leave them alone. Or they need to navigate a storm with their boat while also performing a delicate ceremony. Really, take any two things that would be a non-combat challenge, and mash them (incoherently if possible) together.
Don't forget about social encounters! Have your party work to sway a person/group from their original intention. There was a posting here where setting up a trial was mentioned, which may invoke inspiration. You can dice things up by having the players caught between opposing factions, each eyeing a central resource or objective. Perhaps the encounter would be settling a dispute between two tribes/towns before things came to bloodshed.
There is also a full thread on puzzles, with excellent examples. Have a look for ideas.
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My original encounter included some references that may have caused offense. I've since learned a lot and have changed my style of encounter creation to not include encounters like this, so have removed this post.
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I will be running a rescue a house that's caught fire side vignette at some point, and I know one of my players is big into intrigue so I've got to build at least one non-violent rival enchanter encounter. Musical challenges can be worthwhile.
I've heard of drinking competitions, capture the flag style races where acrobatics and sleight of hand skills are tested. (think flag football without the ball) I wanna go meta at some point and see if I can get a group of adventurers to teach a group of actors a choreographed fight sequence based on one of their own adventures to please a corrupt noble. (a combat against his minions they don't know at that point and the noble is judging their honesty by how much they exaggerate the mock battle)
My DM is fond of puzzles, particularly ones involving pictographs or sliding runes/rooms.
Well, if they're big into intrigue, what's better than trying to solve the mystery of the burning house while it's burning! After all, there could be a lot of evidence that might be destroyed by the (magical? intelligent? helforged?) flames.
I like the idea of one of those quick talking, gotta go merchants, having their wagon tipped over on the road and you can either help him, ignore him, or kill him and steal his stuff
It is OK to post your ideas here.
Yep still working on it, I tested it only once.
This was for a sea storm after they had left an island heading for the mainland.
I'll post more tonight when I get home, but I divided the boat into 5 areas (Crows nest, sails and rigging, fore, aft, hold) Moving between areas required athletics or acrobatics checks (whichever made more sense) once the storm started. Players decided where they were in the ship when the storm hit. If they moved they needed to make the check. In the game they were all on deck or in the crows nest when the storm hit. So they had to rush to the hold when a wave smashed a log through the side of the hull. Also using more than one effect at a time can keep everyone busy (waves crash over the boat as one of the sails starts to rip).
I'll post the events table I used when I get home. (It also helped to have some NPC crew to take the fall on some of the events).
Here is the table I used. The numbers to select the event are in the when column. The storm lasts 8 events. (if a failed or passed skill adds or removes an event then it might last longer or shorter).
Event
When
Ability
DC
Location
PASS
FAIL
Crashing wave
1-3
Dex(acrobat) or Str (athletics),
If on the deck
12
Deck, rigging,
Hold on
2d6 damage Bludgeoning, if on the rigging fall to the deck.
Damage to the hull
4
Str (advantage if proficient in woodwork, etc)
14
Hold
Seal the hole
Ship takes on water
1d6 damage. 1d6 items lost.
Repeat test till the hole is repaired
Sailor is washed overboard.
5
Grab the sailor with Str Athletics.
14
Deck
Sailor is safe
Sailor is lost
Snapped rigging
6
Dex to grab the rig before the sail rips, Str to reattach it to its mooring
Dex 12
Str 12
Deck
Passed dex and Str: Sails are good.
Failed Dex sail is torn. Failed Str: Make a Str roll each round till success at re-tieing, Add 1 more event
Seeing approaching danger
7
Per if in a position to see the danger
10-18
(Call out warning to give advantage to everyone who can hear you.)
Forward deck, Rigging, adv in crows nest.
Get advantage on the next skill check
Surprise
Navigate through the storm
7
Nature or survival. (adv to rangers/ people with sailor background)
12
Aft deck/ Navigator.
Get advantage on the next skill roll.
Add 2 more events. as it takes longer to get out of the storm
Crew lose spirits
8
Persuasion/ Intimidate will auto fail
12
any
Crew more focused, remove 1 event
Add 1 event
Torn sail
9
Str to hold the sail together
12
rigging
Each action from then on they need to hold the sail together (DC10) until the sail is repaired.
Sail is gone and Add 2 events.
Lighning strike
10
Dex to reduce damage.
16
Crows nest, rigging
Take 2d6 lightning damage to the character.
4d6 lightning damage to the character.
Events
Below
Can be used
During any of
The events
Seeing approaching danger
-
Per if in a position to see the danger
Can be made at the start of any event
10-18
(Call out warning to give advantage to everyone who can hear you.)
Forward deck, Rigging, adv in crows nest.
Get advantage on the next skill check that the person was warned about.
Event happens with no warning.
Move between locations
-
Acrobatics or Athletics
10 under, 12 on deck, 14 rigging/ crows nest,
any
Move to new location
Stay where you are or move and take 2d6 damage.
Exhaustion
-
Con
10, 12, 14, 16, 18
Every 3 events
Fine
Take 2d4 damage
I made a puzzle encounter for 3.5 that was used to protect a phylactery, but it can be repurposed for anything. In a small room, there is a poem written on a wall above 10 crystals embedded below it. The crystals are set in a way that they cant be removed. The poem consists of 6 lines, each one in a different, very obscure language (like aboleth and such):
One bright day in the middle of the night/Two dead boys got up to fight/Back to back, they face each other/Drew their swords and shot each other/The lone deaf guard who heard the noise/Came and killed the two dead boys
The puzzle requires you to cast a specific sequence of spells (or metamagic) to continue. Any spell cast in the room is absorbed by the first available empty crystal rather than its normal effects. If the spell is the correct one, the energy is stored in the crystal, causing it to glow. If an incorrect spell is cast, all the crystals release their stored energy (including the energy of the incorrect spell), dealing 1d6 damage of raw untyped energy damage per spell level stored at the time of release (DC 20 Reflex for half) to everyone in the room. The PCs then have to start over.
The poem gives clues on what to cast. A DC 15 Intelligence can reveal how many clues in each line: 2/1/2/2/2/1.
Here is the solution:
Daylight, any darkness spell ,Animate dead ,any spell with the Twin metamagic feat applied, Mirror Image, Summon weapon, any ray spell, Blindess/Deafness, Ghost Sound, Undeath to Death
The PCs can use scrolls if necessary.
I'm not sure how this will work in certain editions, but I hope it can give you some ideas :3
Use non-DnD related objects to create real life puzzles. Examples include: Legos, a challenge (try not to laugh to represent a situation in which they need to react calmly), digital/irl challenge like a riddle-based scavenger hunt to represent a large puzzle, or even a real-life fetch quest. Another good idea is to have them do your dishes (or other chore) for some dumb challenge. Or maybe even a game of cards to represent a game of cards.
black market quest or going shopping,walking merchant around were your players are
Some of my favorite non combat encounters that have come up in my group that you could work in include!
Gambling/games of chance (sometimes with rewards of coin or information that helped a quest)
Bathhouses (can get weird) - remind your players how filthy they are after a dungeon
Talking/enchanted animals - doesn't have to further the story. Just a fun thing to remind players the world is magical
Tax collectors / toll collectors on a toll road
Arriving in a town to find a seasonal festival occurring - MINI GAMES!! (feats of strength like ringing a bell with a hammer or armwrestling)
A goose that wears a hat (turns out he is a shape shifted gnome)
Misunderstood pirates that just want look and smell nice
A misunderstood troll that just wants someone to wish him a happy birthday
A friendly hill giant
A mage who has been blinded needs the party's help looking up a spell using only his verbal descriptions
An actors guild asks the party with help in a performance
A unicorn needs help recovering his stolen lunch and shows a passage to the feywild
A message is received by the party that is said to be cursed (they'll be PISSED when they figure out it's a chain letter)
A firey wreckage fell from the sky and debris fell over the village. Several buildings caught fire and the PCs were tasked with saving what they could. Which buildings or people were lost could have a big impact. I had them roll initiative though there were no enemies. They could locate buckets, use water from the well, direct towns folk.
I didn't put much thought into it. I was simply trying to introduce the mysterious wreckage/teleportation mishap. Years later my players bring up the fire fighting part as a memorable and exciting session, and don't remember the wreck they found afterward.
I attribute this to being in initiative and limited by action economy, yet being out of combat.
Extended Signature
The world I have my players in uses a continent wide competition to find out who the strongest, most intelligent, and luckiest guilds are across the land. The are allowed to challenge any other participating guild in the area, and upon both guilds accepting the challenge there is a small amount of arbitration, then a 3 day event follows where they compete. Each day holds a different challenge, and the challenges vary from place to place, day to day, event to event. The guild which comes out victorious is rewarded by the ruler of the land.
The first challenge my players had was a re-enactment of a fable, the gods and the titans were at war, in this instance the gods were being routed from the home of a fire titan. The players had to race down the side of a volcano while the magma, titan, and a handful of fire giants harassed them on the way down. To make matters worse, the challenging guild was present along side them, so you had the volcano and the pc/npc guilds all working against/with each other.
The way this is set up allows you or the players to instigate a guild challenge, and with a bit of influence from various media, you can create any type of scenario you want to fit into the session(s). My next challenge for the group is basically a capture the flag/lazer tag type game but based on the same "gods vs titans" lore and hunting for an artifact.
Small mini quests are fun! Some examples are:
-You have to deliver an item from (a) to (b)
-Help a lost child find their parents
-Search for a book on _______
-You find a malnourished animal
-Find a bag of gold on the road (players get really suspicious; its hilarious)
-A small goblin is being bullied by bugbears
-You keep hearing something behind you (its just a rat or bird)
-Someone in the party smells really bad...