I am coming up with a plan for an adventure and one part involves the party needing to get blood samples from a load of very dangerous awakened animals (any beasts I choose, based on their level) and I need to try and make this interesting as they are not going to need to kill the animals, only injure them enough to draw blood, and then somehow get that blood into a vial or something.
How do I make a fight interesting if they are not going to be fighting to the death? Most fights in dnd seem to revolve around either the enemies retreating or being killed, so I need to work out how best to end a fight if these aren't options!
The concept is that the animals are being controlled, and the party needs to get the blood to break the magic controlling them - they're trying to save the animals, so they can't be killing them if they get into fights! I'll allow them to try anything to get the blood, but I also need to be ready to make fights interesting and make sense! Obviously if the party gets mobbed by a hundred odd animals, it's going to be a TPK (they only need to get blood per species, so if there are 10 rhinos then they need 1 drop of rhino blood)
My main thought is to give the animals jobs to be getting on with, which will mean they will defend their location from interference but will not pursue (as they will not have been ordered to), and the one controlling them is either unaware of the party or sees them as unimportant.
Just plan out where the animals are and what they're doing, then leave the rest to the characters. They'll no doubt come up with some inventive ways to stealth-grab blood from the animal, e.g. put an arrow on a rope, fly above a rhino, shoot it and then pull the arrow back.
Wouldn’t the PCs just choose to deal nonlethal damage and fight it as usual? That’s what I would do. Then draw the sample while the critter is unconscious.
For these sort of Encounters, I typically dust off my 4e books and run Skill Challenges to achieve a more narrative/roleplaying process. Though I would probably run a couple of these encounters like Xalthu mentioned. That way you end up with a good mix of Skill expertise (figuratively - not mechanically) and Combat prowess.
Web DM just did a video on this. The title is a little misleading, as it's less about murder-hoboism and more about managing stakes in non-lethal situations.
The bad guy almost has to be a Druid to pull this stuff off. That would be how the animals got Awoken. It really shouldn't be that hard. Do the same things that Park Rangers in Yellowstone do. Use darts with a mild poison that puts animals to sleep and take blood samples. Use nets. There are rules for them, admittedly, they aren't all that useful most of the time, but they are a good option here. Probably shouldn't even bother to roll dice except for things that are very dangerous, like Bears, or things that will be totally unreasonable and refuse to back down, like wolverines or badgers. You might find some very interesting animals to use to surprise people.
I remember a long ago article about animals that were surprisingly dangerous. There are records or people being killed by the blows of a swan's wings. (keep in mind, those would be Commoners in D&D. Scores of 10, no significant skills, and 4 hit points.) The one that surprised me the most?
The Golden Anteater. They are kind of silly looking, they have a long snout, they kind of waddle along and all they like to eat is ants. But. That snout has teeth, and their jaws are a lot stronger than you would think. They also have claws and very strong arms. They break tree limbs with their teeth, and the have been known to break into termite mounds, which have the consistency of concrete. Another of their little tricks is to waddle up to a tree infested with ants, wrap their arms around it, sink in claws, and rip the tree in half.
Have something like that as the Druids main hench-animal. You could even use the Sidekick rules if you need to use a bear or something with listed stats and amp it up a bit.
Have an NPC train at least one PC in the net. Advise the PCs that this can work in their favor with the use of minor illusion for cover.
This method may not work for every animal but it could work for enough to break up the combat sequence. It may even lead to other creative solutions like pit traps, making tranquilizer darts, ambushes, using other predators (or illusions) for herding animals and possible "Hold" spells.
"Catch and Release" is going to be about as fun as it is in real life (which it ain't, it's tedious)*. Skill challenges for traps would be the most obvious, develop mechanisms to confine and sedate. Then sample, and let the creatures go.
I like the "subdue/nonlethal" damage option in D&D however I have a reasonableness standard, most damage inflicting magic, aside from psychic can't be used in this way. A lightning bolt isn't a taser. You can't burn someone into submission with fireball. Arrows and bolts and most missiles, same thing. You can do specially designed stun munitions, but they'll be harder to source or construct than the lethal norms (in fact maybe Oliver Queen-induced inflation exists on the market).
*To be fair, folks who do real life wilderness tagging as part of academic research, conservation groups etc. do enjoy the work, but they also have the luxury of cameras, drones and the like. I mean this could be a high magic operation but basically you're doing all the "hunting/stalking stuff" with the loot being basically a fingerprint. PCs better be really invested in the cause.
For some reason I'm wondering how a snipe hunt would play in D&D.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Wouldn’t the PCs just choose to deal nonlethal damage and fight it as usual? That’s what I would do. Then draw the sample while the critter is unconscious.
I think this too. But if they're awakened animals I think that gives the opportunity to turn this into a more social challenge. An awakened animal is basically a full on, intelligent npc. If the players were tasked with gathering blood from 5 different humanoid races they could easily just find five dudes, stab them and get on with their days, but they'd basically be weirdo psychopaths who just stab people. But in order to to not get arrested they need to approach the issue with some subtlety. These awakened animals could be the same ... Maybe they can make a deal with some of the animals to give their blood willingly, maybe it will lead to combat, but as long as they're awakened you get a lot of options beyond just the physical challenge of restraining the animals.
Maybe the characters are stuck in some sort of elaborate phantasmagoria and they are in fact a bunch of weird dudes stabbing people and collecting their blood.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
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I am coming up with a plan for an adventure and one part involves the party needing to get blood samples from a load of very dangerous awakened animals (any beasts I choose, based on their level) and I need to try and make this interesting as they are not going to need to kill the animals, only injure them enough to draw blood, and then somehow get that blood into a vial or something.
How do I make a fight interesting if they are not going to be fighting to the death? Most fights in dnd seem to revolve around either the enemies retreating or being killed, so I need to work out how best to end a fight if these aren't options!
The concept is that the animals are being controlled, and the party needs to get the blood to break the magic controlling them - they're trying to save the animals, so they can't be killing them if they get into fights! I'll allow them to try anything to get the blood, but I also need to be ready to make fights interesting and make sense! Obviously if the party gets mobbed by a hundred odd animals, it's going to be a TPK (they only need to get blood per species, so if there are 10 rhinos then they need 1 drop of rhino blood)
My main thought is to give the animals jobs to be getting on with, which will mean they will defend their location from interference but will not pursue (as they will not have been ordered to), and the one controlling them is either unaware of the party or sees them as unimportant.
What can you think of to keep this interesting?
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Just plan out where the animals are and what they're doing, then leave the rest to the characters. They'll no doubt come up with some inventive ways to stealth-grab blood from the animal, e.g. put an arrow on a rope, fly above a rhino, shoot it and then pull the arrow back.
Wouldn’t the PCs just choose to deal nonlethal damage and fight it as usual? That’s what I would do. Then draw the sample while the critter is unconscious.
For these sort of Encounters, I typically dust off my 4e books and run Skill Challenges to achieve a more narrative/roleplaying process. Though I would probably run a couple of these encounters like Xalthu mentioned. That way you end up with a good mix of Skill expertise (figuratively - not mechanically) and Combat prowess.
For a reference from DnDBeyond see: https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/285-traveling-with-style-skill-challenges
Web DM just did a video on this. The title is a little misleading, as it's less about murder-hoboism and more about managing stakes in non-lethal situations.
https://youtu.be/iQA3oC4NPuE
The bad guy almost has to be a Druid to pull this stuff off. That would be how the animals got Awoken. It really shouldn't be that hard. Do the same things that Park Rangers in Yellowstone do. Use darts with a mild poison that puts animals to sleep and take blood samples. Use nets. There are rules for them, admittedly, they aren't all that useful most of the time, but they are a good option here. Probably shouldn't even bother to roll dice except for things that are very dangerous, like Bears, or things that will be totally unreasonable and refuse to back down, like wolverines or badgers. You might find some very interesting animals to use to surprise people.
I remember a long ago article about animals that were surprisingly dangerous. There are records or people being killed by the blows of a swan's wings. (keep in mind, those would be Commoners in D&D. Scores of 10, no significant skills, and 4 hit points.) The one that surprised me the most?
The Golden Anteater. They are kind of silly looking, they have a long snout, they kind of waddle along and all they like to eat is ants. But. That snout has teeth, and their jaws are a lot stronger than you would think. They also have claws and very strong arms. They break tree limbs with their teeth, and the have been known to break into termite mounds, which have the consistency of concrete. Another of their little tricks is to waddle up to a tree infested with ants, wrap their arms around it, sink in claws, and rip the tree in half.
Have something like that as the Druids main hench-animal. You could even use the Sidekick rules if you need to use a bear or something with listed stats and amp it up a bit.
<Insert clever signature here>
Have an NPC train at least one PC in the net. Advise the PCs that this can work in their favor with the use of minor illusion for cover.
This method may not work for every animal but it could work for enough to break up the combat sequence. It may even lead to other creative solutions like pit traps, making tranquilizer darts, ambushes, using other predators (or illusions) for herding animals and possible "Hold" spells.
"Catch and Release" is going to be about as fun as it is in real life (which it ain't, it's tedious)*. Skill challenges for traps would be the most obvious, develop mechanisms to confine and sedate. Then sample, and let the creatures go.
I like the "subdue/nonlethal" damage option in D&D however I have a reasonableness standard, most damage inflicting magic, aside from psychic can't be used in this way. A lightning bolt isn't a taser. You can't burn someone into submission with fireball. Arrows and bolts and most missiles, same thing. You can do specially designed stun munitions, but they'll be harder to source or construct than the lethal norms (in fact maybe Oliver Queen-induced inflation exists on the market).
*To be fair, folks who do real life wilderness tagging as part of academic research, conservation groups etc. do enjoy the work, but they also have the luxury of cameras, drones and the like. I mean this could be a high magic operation but basically you're doing all the "hunting/stalking stuff" with the loot being basically a fingerprint. PCs better be really invested in the cause.
For some reason I'm wondering how a snipe hunt would play in D&D.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Have the last thing the quest giver says be "Beware of Stobor" and then watch the party try and figure out what that is.
<Insert clever signature here>
I think this too. But if they're awakened animals I think that gives the opportunity to turn this into a more social challenge. An awakened animal is basically a full on, intelligent npc. If the players were tasked with gathering blood from 5 different humanoid races they could easily just find five dudes, stab them and get on with their days, but they'd basically be weirdo psychopaths who just stab people. But in order to to not get arrested they need to approach the issue with some subtlety. These awakened animals could be the same ... Maybe they can make a deal with some of the animals to give their blood willingly, maybe it will lead to combat, but as long as they're awakened you get a lot of options beyond just the physical challenge of restraining the animals.
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Maybe the characters are stuck in some sort of elaborate phantasmagoria and they are in fact a bunch of weird dudes stabbing people and collecting their blood.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.