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Comments on What kinds of encounters besides for combat can I include in a game?

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What kinds of encounters besides for combat can I include in a game?

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I'm looking at starting to DM a game in the near future, and I'm trying to prepare myself as best as possible (I've only played as a player one time, so I'm not the most experienced RPG player out there). One thing I'm looking at is encounters.

My players are fairly young (teenagers). I'm trying to think of interesting events where the players can interact, plan, strategize, that are not combat scenarios. Combat is fun and interesting, but when it's the only type of encounter that the players have, the game isn't very interesting.

What other kinds of encounters, besides for combat, can I throw at my players to spice things up?

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seeds (1 comment)
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I love throwing my players a good ol’ Goblin Tollbooth. It’s an idea I found on Reddit some time back; alas I lost the link.

You approach a big city, preferably one that’s walled with limited entry points. As you draw near the gate, you see three goblins. Two are holding a plank of wood across the path, and one is standing on the side with a sign: “Pay Toll.”

Your players, of course, are free to attack the goblins or just go around them. But that’s no fun.

“How much is the toll?”

The goblins nervously look at each other, whispering frantically. “Five,” the one holding the sign concludes.

“Five what?”

“Five.”

If your players pay (mine paid with pebbles), the goblins will attempt to extort more out of them. Keep it going for as long as you can. After they first raised the price, I had them poorly calculate their current sum (“five…six…four… One! One!”) and simply get lost in their celebrating as the party walked by.

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Or maybe some trolling? (1 comment)
Or maybe some trolling?
Lundin‭ wrote about 3 years ago

Another version of this tool booth could also be a huge troll guarding a bridge - dangerous to fight, no way around. Suggestion for sign: "pay troll toll". You can make all manner of amusing dialogues from there. "How much is the toll?" "Troll? Uh... me one troll." "Not troll, toll" "Yes... pay troll toll." "How much?" "One troll". And so on... :)