6 Types of Non-Combat Encounters for your TTRPG!

[@mapcrow]

I love that swordbreaker idea! The ideas in this video are wonderful!!

[@MastertheGamerpg]

I agree. It sort of matches a couple factions in my world. I’m probably going to apply this to that somehow in an upcoming game at some point.

[@OGEdger]

_"Conflict with no obvious solution."_ 3:45 Misunderstanding 5:30 Mystery 6:54 Threat 8:18 Game 9:13 Shop 11:05 A Surprise!

[@GeekPhilosophy]

These are awesome. "Conflict with no obvious solution" is great general advice for encounter design. Thanks for sharing this!

[@kythian]

One I like is having a kid on a tree branch munching on an apple, but it is bandit territory. Kid is a scout for the bandits and has a signal to indicate a ripe target. If PCs are well armed, the kid just chats up tge party, maybe asks to walk along for a while, but knows that the party is too dangerous for his gang. Great source of information for the party if they're on the ball.

[@mslabo102s2]

2:25 I once threw an encounter with no obvious solution and they were absolutely stuck. Consider yourself lucky as your players are smart enough.

[@gorschill8456]

My spin on the sword breaker mystery is that it's pixies/fairies/little magical creatures who are doing it for one particular swordsman. Basically the swordsman wanted to become the best swordsman in the town. He either made a deal with a fey entity to make him the best. Or little magic creatures just liked him and wanted to help out. The only problem was that he was absolutely terrible with a sword 😅 So instead of making him better, they decided to secretly break everyone else's swords. If he's the only one with a sword then he's the only swordsman in town, making him the best swordsman in town. 😂 This could be run two ways, where he made a deal with a fey entity, that decided to break swords to fulfill their end of the bargain. Instead of actually making him better. Or it's just small tricksy magical creatures who wanted to help him out but aren't very smart. So they did this instead.

[@optionsgoat9432]

I love all of JP Coovert's videos! I keep adding more and more of these wonderful zines to my binder, and I can just grab and Go for my Dungeon Crawl Classics home game. I plugged in Jacques the Vampire from Unscrupulous Emporiums a few games ago, and now he's become a great friend to our party.

[@JPCoovert]

Love it!

[@bestdungeonever]

In a world of blood and ale this is a wonderful breath of fresh air - bravo!!

[@danielstohr6391]

OH MY I NEEDED THIS ♥

[@willshow63]

I just found your channel and have found it so useful for the latest sessions of my campaign. Subscribed on Patreon - keep up the great work!

[@mattslater167]

I was startled at the title of this video: I usually find myself muttering, "this game would be great if people could just get over all the fighting."

[@SteakSlap]

I once had my party track down a half-elf with a bounty on them for being a cheating gambler. He was hiding out in his own gambling den surrounded by bodyguards and other gamblers and the party knew they weren't strong enough to fight through them all. They decided they either had to gamble against him until he lost so much money he would have to turn himself in or try to sneak him out in the middle of the night. Both would require clever planning and use of spells and magic items since he was cheating using magic anyways. They chose to sneak him out in the end and while he was restrained they stole the gold on him.

[@EcowarriorII]

When making random encounter tables I always resolve a third of the space to social encounters or encounters that do not immediately lead to a combat.

[@StorytellerTina]

I ran a one-shot without any combat encounters, and my players had a blast! We used Kids On Brooms and set our adventure in a summer camp for wizards. Complete minigames in exchange for badges type of deal.

[@JPCoovert]

that sounds so fun!!!

[@WilliamCoxGM]

So this may be redundant question, but have you ever drawn a modern city map for like a ttrpg set in modern times.

[@DaTux91]

Mysteries are a big favourite for me too. Almost to the point where I have to remind myself sometimes that not everything needs to be one 🙈

[@Mr.RobotHead]

There are some really great ideas in here! I'm looking forward to the full zine!

[@seanfsmith]

I've had a ton of fun recently with the kinds of people who'll stop characters on the street to try and get them to sign a petition, or invest in a scheme, or help spread a religion. Living in cities as long as I have, there's a ton of weird and wonderful folk I can pull from. What if that street corner preacher was a dragon who got angry when people ignored her!?

[@JPCoovert]

Yes! Perfect!

[@maatlock]

I love JP’s videos!!!

[@Giraffasaur]

#3: The Dragon, Karen. That is nightmare fuel! 😂

[@nathanaelthomas9243]

Thanks for the video, I enjoyed the content!

[@tinycastledesigns7110]

My favorite random encounter is called the Swordmaster. Players hear fighting and arrive just in time to see an Orc disarm a young elf. The orc is obviously powerful and intimidating. The elf if the PC's are familiar is definitely on the younger side. Now if the PC's wait they see several other come forward and help the fallen one to their feet. As the Orc begins to instruct them on the mistakes made and how to correct them. The Orc is a Master Swordsman hired to teach some young elven nobles. If the players jump in to fight the Orc without stopping to understand the situation or making any attempt to look around the elven apprentices jump to their masters defense and may even bring official consequences upon the party.

[@JPCoovert]

Love it!

[@Holtzorthegrey]

The man never disappoints

[@MPScrimshaw]

Earlier today I realized I needed more non-combat encounters in my current game. I thought to myself I wonder if JP has made any videos on this....lol

[@JPCoovert]

My divination magic at work!

[@MemphiStig]

Good video! I agree on the shops. Magic item shops are boring. Get inventive and weird. They don't have to be useful -- just look at most stores irl. Cool, expensive, basically useless stuff for people with excess cash to add to their "collections" and for the rest to just ogle and gasp at in awe. For that matter, museums and galleries can be fun too, especially in a fantasy setting.

[@ShaneKennedy-gt8nl]

Thanks

[@williamobraidislee3433]

Hah! These are actually really good!

[@deathmetalbard]

Hey JP, I was wondering if you thought of Flik doing a book on pantheon creation since you've done locations.

[@JPCoovert]

I’ve never used too much of that stuff in my games so I’m not sure. I think it will more likely show up in the one shot adventures like the Temple of the Waking Thread zine I made (in the shop soon).

[@burgerkingisslay]

My players travel through a Grimmish, rural, dark age world where metal is scarce and some animals talk. Travel usually happens along narrow woodland tracks or with generous boatmen. Encounters usually involve trading supplies, gossip about local happenings, and oddly specific fairy tale prohibitions. Good manners towards a stranger they meet (like an old crone, a little dwarf, or an animal in distress) between locations can lead to a magic tool gifted out of gratitude, help later on when they least expect it, or it could blow up in their face and lead to an unpleasant enchantment.

[@dylanfraser9136]

Cool ieas

[@devinthunderstrike]

Is Bustling Streets... still available on the patreon?

[@JPCoovert]

The PDF is, yes! The physical zine will be available in my shop in a month or two.

[@JiyanMajithiya_the_Great]

You should try out heroforge maybe you’ll like it

[@myautobiographyafanfic1413]

I think, the thing is roleplaying is fun. So it's very easy to make non-combat encounters fun. That's why people need advice on how to make maths fun. Cause frankly, tabletop roleplaying is at its best when it's creative problem solving and social. Imo combat is last-resort stuff.

[@JiyanMajithiya_the_Great]

Please make more dnd related maps

[@noahfreeman8115]

Misunderstanding and mystery! I feel like they just add a lot of depth to the game!

[@JiyanMajithiya_the_Great]

And make paper dnd characters plz

[@henriquecamboim]

Timestamps would`ve been helpful

[@zaneaguilar5274]

Very much so.

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks