transcript
show notes
Has this ever happened to you?
Your party makes its way room to room through the dungeon fighting monsters at every turn. And then the climactic battle with the evil wizard and their minions. Three hours of dice rolling combat later you finally win.
As your characters stand around and survey all the damage they have caused and gather the loot, the GM says “The volcano you’ve been fighting in is about to explode. Without the wizard’s power to keep the lava at bay you only have minutes before the chamber is filled?”
And the players answer with “We grab the stuff and run out”
Good job, way to beat the big bad guy, on to the next adventure.
Wow, that was boring
For far to long in far too many adventures the only action has been seen as combat. Inside the initiative rounds the players have to make decisions, use resources, and the stakes feel very high. Outside the initiative rounds, nothing has any stakes.
That is what we call a wasted opportunity.
On this episode we are going to talk about action and combat and why the two terms are not synonymous. When you can master action outside of combat you open an entirely new world of roleplaying. One where tension, stakes, suspense, and decisions mater and the game feel way more immersive.
Christina, With Leviathan Rising coming out soon this topic seemed right on point, because in Leviathan Rising you can’t really fight the monsters, can you?
[Kick to Christina]
