Reaction Rolls

[Tavis]

Another optional rule I'd like to see is reaction rolls. These are optional because sometimes you know a monster will/won't attack on sight. However, I find that the possibility of rolling an unexpected reaction - so that unicorns attack and goblins hail in friendship - really stretches my imagination as a DM (because I have to think about possible reasons these monsters might have the full range of reactions) and as a player (because I have to wonder e.g. "is this goblin friendly because the DM rolled it, or because he wants to lure me into a trap: what can I do with a friendly goblin, and what can I offer it to help," etc.)

I think the reaction roll chart in Moldvay is just fine, but I'd also be happy with something like a spell check chart, giving more-detailed reactions for a range of results assuming it might be modified by Personality score, circumstances (ad hoc by FM or from a simple table), and so on.

I like how Moldvay gives an outline of the steps in an encounter that includes reaction rolls and morale, while calling them out as optional. I think that hits the right note: you can always ignore these, nut if you're using them to make the game more fun and surprising, here's where they go in the flow of things.

[Tavis]

The OD&D reaction roll is 2d6: 6-8 is neutral, higher than that is favorable, lower is hostile. I like that because it's simple enough to remember without looking anything up. (No modifiers are specified, and I don't think OD&D presents it as optional - it's just in an obscure place).

A similarly simple system - using roughly the same probabilities even - would be a DC 6 check: hostile if you fail, favorable if you succeed by 10 or more (DC 16).

Interesting how the flat probability curve makes it clear that the most common result is neutral - aka it's usually in how the situation is, and rarely automatically good or bad.

[goodmangames]

Wow, that's really a throwback. I'm so used to thought-through, deliberated adventures, where I've figured out every encounter and how it ties into others. It's been a LONG time since I've run an adventure where I actually rolled up monster reactions randomly. It reminds me of the random dungeon generation tables - shape of the room, what's in each room, etc. I agree that the random reaction rolls are fun to read, but does anyone actually use them in games?

[Tavis]

Both of the New York Red Box campaigns do, and so (likely) do Red Box Vancouver, Calgary, Niagara, and College Station, since reaction rolls are foregrounded in Moldvay.

In the campaign that I DM, I like it because it makes things more surprising & is a useful tool for when the players venture someplace I haven't thought through ahead of time - like the random dungeon generator you mention, having a system for letting the dice dictate reactions is a useful tool for thinking it through after the fact (hmm, seems the goblins are favorable, maybe that's because they see the PCs as potential enemies of their main enemy)?

In the one that I play in, I like it because I think I know how the DM normally roleplays his NPCs - so if they try to talk to us, I'm in the habit of saying "ah, they have important information." The random element pushes me to think beyone meta-gaming the DM, and gives me more leeway for player innovation - if I can come up with a plausible way of approaching a monster to parlay, there's a chance the dice might say they're favorable to my plan even if I suspect that the DM would prefer to shoot it down.

It's similar to a Diplomacy check in 3E, except there the focus is on the character's actions rather than the monster's reactions. If the possible range of skill modifiers in the DCC RPG stays low, that's not such an important difference; you won't get the situation where the party is like "send in the diplomancer to make everyone friendly", which is an uninteresting choice, rather than "let's be open to the unexpected possibilities of the monster's reactions", which can create lots of unusual choices.

As with morale, some DMs are probably good at varying the way they roleplay NPCs so that not all of them attack on sight, fight to the death, etc. and thus create a predictable pattern that the players can rely on. I'm not good at that, so I like relying on the dice to mix things up, keep me from getting into a rut, and force me to think on my feet.