TFT Dungeon Crawling

[Jim Kane]

Originally Posted by Skarg

Exactly! It makes the opponents seem more alive and the situation more dynamic.

One adventure that really made it clear to me that the game was a whole different thing (far more interesting and dynamic and challenging and consistent) if the foes cared about their lives and would retreat and possibly go for help was . . . Tollenkar's Lair. Though it took me a while (at about age 12 or 13 with a year of two of GM experience) to learn it - The first time I ran it without studying the whole thing, and without considering retreats or noise or dynamic movement much, and it was just piecemeal grinding through fairly easy simple situations. Later I had studied it and read and considered the parts about the NPCs doing things dynamically including going for help, and it was an entirely different and far more interesting experience for everyone.

RIGHT!!! And I distinctly - as the GM - am (and always have been) uncomfortable with "making the call" as to when and how the NPCs reacted to the Adventure Party and their actions (interactions, more properly in the context of a Labyrinth). So when I took (okay, Stole) the tip from AH's Squad Leader, and created for TFT the NPC Morale Reaction Roll During Combat, not only did the whole game literally POP into another dimension of believably, but it allowed me to stay in the zone of impartial REFEREE who is judging the action for BOTH SIDES; and not any reason to be perceived as "on the side of the monsters".

I AM SO GLAD YOU BROUGHT THIS UP!

ADDENDUM: I forgot to say, in the NPC REACTION/MORALE COMBAT CHART, the results table just does not indicate if the enemies continue to fight-on normally, fight defensively, surrender, or run-away, but it also tells if they go into a BERSERKER RAGE and pick up ALL the bonus (+1DX to Attack Rolls, No reduced DX from weakness or wounds, and +2 MA - TFT:AM Page 20) and REALLY go after the party,.... After all, when someone gets hit with a weapon and it hurts, they don't always run-away, or just fight-back,... sometimes they get REALLY ANGRY AND CHARGE.

So the formula, chart, and results table not only shows you IF the NPC's fight on, but HOW they fight on.

Sorry Skarg, I almost left you hanging with half the deal.