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2 years ago ::
Feb 22, 2011 - 9:39PM
#1
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Date Joined:
Apr 27, 2006
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 Dragon 396
Unearthed Arcana: Fight or Flight?By Richard Baker Not every offer to parlay is rejected, and not every fight is someone's last. Talk about this Article here. 
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2 years ago ::
Feb 23, 2011 - 5:15AM
#2
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Date Joined:
May 12, 2009
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I really liked the article and how to introduce Encounter Check Status. Sure enemies could Attempt To Flee before and Offer to Parlay or Demand to Surrender, but having it turn into a Skill Challenge while they get pursued using Athletics or Diplomacy to talk them into surrender takes a fun twist in a concrete manner.
I'll add this to my Toolbox. It fits in the Unearthed Arcana line of articles very well.
A good reminder too that not all encounter need to end in blood bath.
Cookie Mr. Baker.
Yan
Montréal, Canada
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2 years ago ::
Feb 23, 2011 - 5:58AM
#3
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Date Joined:
Feb 12, 2004
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I like it, though I might call for diplomacy checks or intimidate checks from the party if they want to call for parley or demand a surrender (possibly replacing the usual surrender rules for the intimidate skill). Or an appropriate knowledge check if trying to break off combat with a non-intelligent creature (dungeoneering check - toss some meat next to the gibbering mouther, it might go after the easier prey! Or a nature check to calm a raging animal or the like).
In any event, yeah, I really like this. It will totally see use in my games.
Necromancy: Friendship is MagicSpoiler:
Show
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2 years ago ::
Feb 23, 2011 - 8:32AM
#4
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Date Joined:
Oct 25, 2009
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Excellent article, and I'm very glad this is Dragon and not Dungeon magazine. This is the kind of info many new players need to read. Too often when I play with new players they assume that every fight is a fight to the death or flat out retreat. I suspect this comes from the influence of video games where those are really your only options. The idea of stopping a battle to parlay with the enemy is something that many players don't ever think about. In my experience, these situations create some of the most memorable encounters that have the possibility to really shake up a campaign.
I've just emailed all my players with a link to this article and recommend they read it. Well done Mr. Baker, thanks.
Want to know more about the history of D&D, especially how to play older editions of the game? Check out Crazy Monkey's "Tour through the editions":
http://community.wizards.com/crazymonkey/go/forum/view/133793/225799/Asylum_Play-by-Post
The current edition is BECMI, the most popular form of Basic D&D and the adventure is the classic Red Box quest to kill Bargle the evil magic user. Check it out, learn about the games roots, and enjoy the story as it unfolds.
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2 years ago ::
Feb 23, 2011 - 3:05PM
#5
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- Dragon Slayer
- If only he would apply himself
- Dammit Jim, this is Star Trek, not D&D!
Date Joined:
Jan 31, 2006
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Good point, Style75, I had not realized this was Dragon instead of Dungeon. The article is written for DMs, but you are right that there is utility in it being presented to players. You need your players "in on it" to be able to use the options effectively.
Overall, I am really impressed with this month's offerings. This article was really useful and I liked that the author had the space to explore the topic in depth. By going longer it presented more options for a DM and provided more examples. I think many DMs will benefit from this article. In a lot of way, it resembles the outside-the-box thinking many good bloggers are employing, and I want more of that from WotC.
That it came from Rich Baker is no surprise. Fantastic.
Follow my blog and Twitter feed with Dark Sun campaign design and DM tips! Dark Sun's Ashes of Athas Campaign is now available for home play (PM me with your e-mail to order the campaign adventures).
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2 years ago ::
Feb 23, 2011 - 8:27PM
#6
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Date Joined:
Oct 19, 2007
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Great article. I'm going to give this a try in my Dark Sun campaign this weekend. The Dark Sun monsters deal a lot of damage. So far every encounter has been a fight to the death, forcing me as DM to pull a punch here or there to prevent a TPK. It seems more interesting to keep attacking full strength and remind the PCs that they could flee at the end of a round.
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2 years ago ::
Feb 24, 2011 - 4:25PM
#7
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Date Joined:
Aug 12, 2006
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Fantastik article! One of the best for sure in a long time. I will certainly use this option in my campaigns. Plus I'll convert it to 3.5, because it can be used in either game effectively. More importantly, my monster will benifit from this process as well. Its so good, I think it should become a CORE rule.
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2 years ago ::
Feb 24, 2011 - 9:08PM
#8
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I have to agree with everyone else, great article. My only complaint... it's "Unearthed Arcana" and not core. This deserves to be core imo.
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2 years ago ::
Feb 25, 2011 - 1:35AM
#9
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I have to agree with everyone else, great article. My only complaint... it's "Unearthed Arcana" and not core. This deserves to be core imo.
It is not really a game rule IMO. It is more about how to run your game than adding a new rules game mechanic to the game. It suggests adding a decision moment at the end of a round which you could always have done, and use skill challenge mechanics to check success or failure as opposed to moving the miniatures around on the battlemap. The reason I really like the article is exactly because of the fact that it does not include new game rules  Anyway, you can certainly use it for example in an organized game play like LFR without much of a problem.
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2 years ago ::
Feb 25, 2011 - 6:22AM
#10
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Date Joined:
Aug 13, 2007
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I think this should be core.
I am definately gonig to be using this for my games.
 Never Point a loaded party at a plot you are not willing to shoot. Arcane Rhetoric. My Blog.
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