I was running a game for two of my "face to face" players. Playtesting the new system and one of the things that was discussed was something not in the rules.

While trying to quietly move through a ruined "tunnel" (partially collapsed, castle wall) to investigate goings on at this rather uniquely placed castle; the characters had several large millipedes (about the length of a normal man's arm) scurry across their feet--and D&D was mentioned in passing "if this was D&D we'd have to fight those things."

It struck me as odd--very odd, I've never been one to turn every interaction with creatures into a fight, even when I was running D&D. But I may spend some time when discussing "What do player characters do" in the game covering the idea of "set dress" of both objects and creatures that exist to create the world, but may not have any direct need for conflict with the PC's.


Have others had the experience of every creature encountered is either a battle/plot event?


In older drafts of the rules, there were even "stats" for animals that amounted to "if hit thing dies" for small birds, snakes, etc. Pretty much that's still true, but I probably won't bother with stats for such things (why I did in the first place is beyond me.)

Quote from: SilverlionWhile trying to quietly move through a ruined "tunnel" (partially collapsed, castle wall) to investigate goings on at this rather uniquely placed castle; the characters had several large millipedes (about the length of a normal man's arm) scurry across their feet--and D&D was mentioned in passing "if this was D&D we'd have to fight those things."

Well, to be fair, if I was playing in your game I would have killed those things just on principle because they creep me out in real life.  

I think the attitude is probably a holdover from the days of AD&D and OD&D.  I remember more than one published adventure, particularly low-level ones, where the players seemed to spend a lot of time fighting random small animals and large insects under the theory of "Gotta Put Something In All The Rooms."

Creatures offer some kind of "interaction" potential, so some players will automatically assume that they have some importance for the adventure. This goes beyond living creatures sometimes, every objet d'art, every weapon hung on a wall, everything with a _remote_ possibility of triggering something or of being part of the backstory will get examined. Depending on what adventures you started with, there might be no such thing as 'window dressing' for the particular player...

Yeah, I think that there's some level of meta-gaming going on in with a lot of players; it's difficult to completely commit to the role-playing experience and just "forget" that you're playing a game where plot evolution largely depends on the characters meeting one criteria or the other.

I like to screw around with this sometimes. I have a big list of "alternative treasures" that is in most points just random, nonsensical junk: stuff like tiny coffins with little wax corpses in them, lengths of chain, etc.

Sometimes I just stand back and let my players end up creating an entire baroque backstory for these items simply because they "know" if they're encountered in the game then they have to "mean something."

Meanwhile, I stand back with pen and paper, picking and choosing which of their musings I might wish to pursue by either incorporating it into the overall story or saving it for an adventure all of its own.

Here's a different one. While playing Blood Games - a modern horror occult game - one of my players' characters kept turning on the TV and watching it. Turns out he was convinced that whenever the TV was on, something important came on the news. Huh?

-clash

I think TV and movies are more to blame for this than D&D. If something's introduced in a script, it will be used in the end. And yes, TV's always show news of the current situation...

We should collect those cliches in a "list of shame", so if you really use something like that, your players can lock you in the pillory.
(Or you could base a rockin' adventure on those cliches. Whatever floats your boat)

Nah, literature of all sorts do the same thing. You don't see too many events happening for no reason at all in many books.

Plus, it's just plain human nature. We want to make sense out of chaos.

Quote from: JDeMobrayWell, to be fair, if I was playing in your game I would have killed those things just on principle because they creep me out in real life.  

Yeah, but if you kill off the 3-foot millipedes, then you'll be swarmed over by whatever they used to eat.  That might not be better.

Quote from: JDeMobrayWell, to be fair, if I was playing in your game I would have killed those things just on principle because they creep me out in real life.  

"Squish, Squiggle, Squish" the end. Its not like it be effort. I just find the whole idea amusing that some games have this "and suddenly, COMBAT' (sad thing is when I imagine it I hear the Final Fantasy series "transfer to combat" sounds)

Quote from: SilverlionIts not like it be effort. I just find the whole idea amusing that some games have this "and suddenly, COMBAT'

You, Sir, have obviously never been critted to death by a rat in RoleMaster.

Quote from: SosthenesYou, Sir, have obviously never been critted to death by a rat in RoleMaster.

No. Rolemaster was never one of the games I played. and I'm thankful for that.
Because honestly short of mutant rats, rats unless in hordes--shouldn't be a threat for people who survive in the wilderness where wolves that bring down a caribou, alone, must survive with a thin wool blanket and stick with bit of metal strapped to it.