tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post8176941677392525345..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: The Decision QuandaryAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-66994216385471904652018-04-23T07:59:52.487-06:002018-04-23T07:59:52.487-06:00There's always "what if?", I suppose...There's always "what if?", I suppose, hence the title of the post being what it is. As I recall the remainder of the battle was pretty taxing on the party, though:<br /><br /><i>"... I used every spell at Andrej's disposal, all of the healing salves and all but 9 of my many hit points."</i><br /><br />Had they fought the dragon, one could reasonably argue the party wouldn't have been able to take out the magical weapon firing on Hornung's men from the tower and might have died trying. Without that action does the bishop win? Maybe some other part of the force would have acted in the party's stead, and maybe the dragon should have reneged and helped with the defense anyway. But given the info the party had and how it played out I remain happy with the choice. I seem to remember getting a lot of XP from both winning the battle and looting the bishop, above and beyond our combat XP. I wonder how that would have compared to the dragon's horde.<br /><br />The dragon reneging and attacking at some inopportune time would have been a disaster and other than somewhat undermining the Conflict! rules you were still trying to work out, I suppose would have been fair game. I'm not sure I understand the dwarf's "abandoning" the party, though. What would they have done? Attacked the dragon anyway? Left the tunnels in a tiff? Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04701068052580688441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-36948951579572688412018-04-19T20:37:18.248-06:002018-04-19T20:37:18.248-06:00Writing personally, and not as a DM, I can't h...Writing personally, and not as a DM, I can't help feeling that the party's conservation of resources figured too highly in the minds of the players. It's clear the party viewed the dragon as a drain on their resources, whereas I believe that the dragon could have been a tremendous increase: in experience gained from treasure; in weapons and other magic that I had included in the dragon's horde; and in the morale and good will of the dwarves, who could have bonded more closely with the players while participating in an act of valor.<br /><br />More to the point, the party was, at that moment, in the midst of a military operation. And it must be said that there are mandates that should not have been ignored. First, to kill the enemy. Second, to deny the enemy resources, such as the piles of food, pitch and beer that were simply left behind. And third, to be willing to sacrifice one's own life in order to carry out 1 and 2.<br /><br />It is true that the dragon gave a story that made it seem that it was not the party's enemy. But the dragon might have been lying. It does not matter whether or not that was the case. The dragon was a denizen of the castle; a castle occupied by the enemy, identified as evil by several events leading up to the battle, and certainly considered as such by the benefactor of the party leading the charge on the surface. It was the party's duty to kill anything and everything that they found, and to destroy everything they could not acquire and carry out, if only to ensure that whatever was left behind would be neither a threat to anyone else, nor have the capacity to help unseen threats with succor such as food, treasure or material.<br /><br />None of that was considered in the conversation before the dragon. To be honest, I could have had the dwarves desert the party, quite fairly, over that very issue ... but I did not think of it at the time. I don't regret playing it out as I did; but I wonder it I would have considered these other things if I ran the same encounter today.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-79093502642336077932018-04-19T08:48:06.025-06:002018-04-19T08:48:06.025-06:00It's hard for me to believe this was played ne...It's hard for me to believe this was played nearly six years ago. This encounter and the larger conflict (Hornung and the party vs. the evil Bishop) took place during this particular campaign's heyday. As I recall, the party braced themselves to fight the dragon only to change their minds and parley at the last moment, using the Conflict! rules to do so. I think it was a wise move, as resources needed to be conserved for the coming battle in the bishop's castle. I'm sure your break-down is worth the read, Alexis. Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04701068052580688441noreply@blogger.com