My players are very much the "hit things until they die" type of players, how do I get them to be more creative? I've tried the "if you accomplish a task is a creative or funny way, I'll help you out later down the line as a reward" type thing, but they don't really care/ aren't very creative
Is there a way to remedy this?
Present problems where the solution is something besides hitting things.
Try playing systems that reward creative solutions more than just hack and slash.
Give them situations where hitting things until they die makes things worse.
They once walked into a room with a beast behind indestructible glass, and instead of doing the puzzle and then fighting it, they just sat around until it died of thirst. it was the most, and the least creative thing they could have done.
There are several thing wrong with you scenario, and I don't know which one I should start with.
You're retarded.
Give them an encounter where killing people makes the situation worse. Or where combat isn't even involved.
Well does it NEED to be changed? "If it ain't broke don't fix it" sort of thing. Maybe they really just enjoy fantasy hack 'n slash loot fests.
>My players are very much the "hit things until they die" type of players, how do I get them to be more creative?
Try playing a game system in which that is not always the best approach?
I've played with some people who grew up on AD&D 2e. Those guys pull some very clever stuff, and make a lot of great in-character decisions (like paying off bandits instead of attacking them, talking their way through encounters, avoiding extra risks, subtly distracting guards, etc). I imagine that enough brutal old-school play could eventually train players to that higher level of skill.
You need more liches. I don't mean mustache twirling necromancer villains,I mean a flat out threat-to-the-earth, 'I'm twenty steps ahead', nigh unstoppable force of death magic.
The more they kill, the more the villain raises. They narrowly prevented a town from getting massacred? The attackers get back up, the slain villagers get back up, and those skeletons that were buried in the graveyard fifty years ago get up. Make it a war of attrition they can't win just by fighting.
Make them get allies, figure out puzzles, find artifacts, anything. The Lich has all the time in the world to plan and prepare for a confrontation, and make it seem that way.
Liches almost always make good villains.
Examples people, examples! Off the top of your head can you think of one scenario where direct combat (not no combat) is the inferior scenario?
>Princess transformed into monster that the PCs are trying to escort home
>evil vizier has blamed national atrocities on said monster, has turned innocent populace against them
>PCs could directly kill attacking guards and villagers, but that would be a decidedly evil option
Have you tried simply outnumbering them? Yea sure kill these two guys, but he has 50 mates. Start silently murdering people? City guard steps up and following clues. Soldiers are brought in. Simply make combat a threat, make their actions have consiquences.
It can sometimes feel that all situations can be solved by a show of strength, and they regularly do have short-term bonuses. You can slay a king and declare yourself the new king because nobody can best you in a fight, but the old king's family will show up with a disciplined force of soldiers funded by a well-managed and structured economy and starve you out/ trebuchet you. In the long term, diplomacy and picking your fights is always better- its your job as GM to figure out how, without killing their enjoyment
Lich user here. Make a slow moving undead monster that has an unstable aura of decay, and have it attack a holy area that has access to various holy items.
The monster can't be approached by normal means, to do so would cause quick muscle atrophy to slow and death within moments as the victim is unable to escape. Basic ammunition is barely effective, as the monster will regenerate from bullet wounds and arrows will rot before they can hit. Non-holy magic is nullified just by the sheer amount of necromancy poured into this thing,
As such, the party must find various holy objects throughout the town to put the creature down before it makes the area rot to nothing. If they're weapons, make use of them. Books, read some chants. Household items that were blessed for some reason? Toss the damn things. But make the hidden, with very little to go off of on precise locations.
The catch: The monster actively avoids these objects and gives the a considerate berth, meaning that the party can lead it on until it changes its path for seemingly no reason.
>Off the top of your head can you think of one scenario where direct combat (not no combat) is the inferior scenario
Players are base-level human civilians in a modern-ish setting. The game's rules include lengthy prison sentences if caught by authorities for violent acts, and quite punitive lingering injuries (getting shot a few times can potentially cause problems the rest of your character's life). The are in an airport terminal, trying to reach a foreign country. They are unarmed and unarmored, have no skills in combat or flying aircraft, but have the necessary plane tickets, money, passports, and other relevant documents in addition to their non-suspicious luggage (mainly clothing and electronics). The terminal is patrolled by official-looking men with automatic weapons and body armor, who will not normally harass the PCs, but will call in dozens more in the event of a violent disturbance. If attacked, the guards will immediately fire on the PCs.
Step 1: Have you tried not playing D&D?
Step 2: Make the quest or adventure revolve around something not murder-oriented.
>Example: PCs are sent to a cavern that got infested with something they can murder.
>But... there are hints that the things it was infested with were put there on purpose.
>PCs are to find out who did it and bring them back alive.
Step 3: Players get angry they can't solve everything with murder-fucking.
Step 4: Players leave
Step 5: ???
Step 6: Enjoy your new group!
ITT: communists and pansies
>Present problems where the solution is something besides hitting things.
Not only that, but make sure hitting something provokes severe punishment. Something like a political setting where your task is to make sure the royal council votes a certain way. You can charm, sneak, blackmail, diplomance and even assassinate, but you can't just walk up to a motherfucker and hit him in the face because he actually wants reforms that aid the Third Estate.
Use that exact encounter.
The creature has infinite food or otherwise doesn't need it.
You don't. Let them play how they want. I don't see anyone trying to get you to GM more creatively.
Every time you kill this monster, it splits, resulting in two identical copies of the original. The copies also have this ability. The extra mass is created spontaneously. It's immune to dimension-shifting, petrification, wish, miracle, and direct divine intervention, and can travel any distance within or across planes instantly. It can track the players without error.
hellboymovie.png
never watched that, was it any good?
fucking this
Just run a slap happy adventure of death and merriment because it looks like that is what your players want to play.