Category: D&D at Work

Today’s article is a guest post by the talented Craig Robertson, focused on scenarios that might be more appropriate to the workplace.

Dungeons and Dragons has a long and bloody history, full of epic battles and crushing defeats. Since its creation in the 1970’s, billions of orcs, goblins, and kobolds have died at the hands of brave and/or foolhardy adventurers. And the carnage goes both ways. Old-school gamers such as myself fondly remember the heroic demise of beloved characters, not to mention the occasional dreaded TPK (total party kill).

This makes sense when you look at the literary and gaming inspirations from which Dave
Arneson and Gary Gygax drew when creating D&D. On the literary side, D&D grew out of the heroic mythology of the ancient Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Celts, and other cultures. In these traditions, a hero such as Hercules, King Arthur, or Beowulf faced mortal danger with sword (or club or axe) in hand. In fact, some weapons are as famous as the heroes who bore them, such as Arthur’s Excalibur or Thor’s Mjölnir. As for its gaming roots, D&D started out as an extension of a medieval wargame ruleset called Chainmail. Since then, the attack roll has been a core mechanic of most roleplaying games, and even now, most RPG rulebooks feature full chapters devoted to combat and weaponry.

Why Limit Violence in D&D?

However, in a workplace setting, there are good reasons to limit violence or even remove it
altogether from the game. First, many players (and organizations) may have moral or philosophical objections to using force to solve problems. Second, some of your players may have endured traumatic experiences that involve violence. These people may have been refugees, combat veterans, or victims of crime or abuse. Finally, the unfettered use of violence in many roleplaying games doesn’t correspond to the types of solutions available to corporate problem-solvers. In fact, unfettered violence is not even available to military personnel, who have to work within the rules of engagement. In my experience, most HR departments strongly discourage bringing flamethrowers and battleaxes to business meetings.

On the other hand, there are positive reasons to encourage nonviolent approaches to
challenges. First, peaceful solutions often work out better in the long run, enabling rivals and opponents to eventually find common ground. Secondly, those solutions are often rooted in or lead to a deeper understanding of the root causes of the problem. Finally, the use of force isn’t particularly creative in itself, and the added challenge of finding a nonviolent solution just makes the game more fun.

Baking Peaceful Solutions into your Game

The simplest solution to this dilemma is to just ban violence at the table. However, there is a
better option: Build nonviolent solutions directly into the scenario. A creative GM has several options for removing combat from a scenario, including using the physical environment as the primary adversary, making combat detrimental to mission success, and creating situations in which a peaceful solution is inherently necessary.

Struggling against a hostile environment:

Shipwrecks, plane crashes, and sudden storms are staples of literature and films such as Alive or The Poseidon Adventure. Another type of hostile environment can be manmade, such as toxic spills or nuclear meltdowns. Finally, the D&D staple of dungeon traps and hazards also falls into this category. The Death Star trash compactor in Star Wars: A New Hope is a perfect example of a dungeon trap. You can try these scenarios:

• An alpine glacier begins growing at an unnatural pace, threatening a small mountain village. The players must negotiate the shifting, treacherous ice as they travel to perform the ritual that will restore the glacier to its original state.
• A scientific research station has begun to descend into the lower layers of a gas giant. So far, the hull is managing to maintain its integrity, but for how long?
• The barrier between faerie and the mundane world is beginning to thin, bending the rules of reality around the players. They must struggle to maintain their sanity as the work to strengthen the barrier and return each world to its rightful place.

Violence will make things worse:

Perhaps using force may be possible, but circumstances or mission parameters make it a counterproductive choice. For instance, a patron or employer may require that the mission be completed without causing injury or damage to bystanders or the environment. In other cases, such as espionage or infiltration, the ruckus caused by a firefight or melee will lead to discovery and the failure of the mission. Some scenarios could include:

• A benevolent ruling family has been deposed and imprisoned after a coup. The players are hired to rescue them, but since the family still loves their nation and people, they reject any effort that may hurt or kill any of their former subjects.
• “The Company” hires the party to recover an automated mining base which has been taken over by a rogue AI. However, since the Company has invested considerable sums into the base, the players are forbidden to do anything which may cause damage to the base or its equipment.
• During a scientific expedition, a gargantuan creature swallows the players. They have a limited time to escape the belly of the beast before being slowly and painfully digested. Unfortunately for the party, the creature is unique or endangered and killing it would be an ecological tragedy.

Violence is not a viable option:

Some problems inherently preclude a forceful solution. This includes investigations, diplomatic missions, first-contact scenarios, and any other situation that requires persuasion as a key skill set. Try the following as examples:

• The players are selected as neutral brokers during a tense border dispute. In order to earn the trust of the rival nations, they must complete a series of challenges to prove their strength, intelligence, and character.
• The party encounters a destructive poltergeist. Since they lack the ability to physically affect or harm the intangible haunt, they must rely on investigation and persuasion to discover what the doomed soul needs in order to move on to its final rest.
• The players must infiltrate a crime syndicate’s secure computer system to disrupt an imminent cyberattack. Since all the action is remote, the players’ skills are front and center.

Reducing the lethality of D&D games at work can be a challenge, but it’s a good way to test
your creativity. However, increased player engagement and direct, real world problem-solving applications will make it worth the effort.

Craig Robertson is a technical writer and former Chief Game Developer for 1A Games. He has been playing and running D&D, Traveller, and other RPGs since the early 80’s. His chief export is opinions, of which he has many.

Thanks to Craig for such a thoughtful article. If any of our readers would like to submit an article feel free to reach out via the usual channels.