Dumb question...
Where are the morale rules? I've seen several references to it in the PCR but there is no entry in the index (I have the second printing.)
Yes, I'm probably staring right at them an just can't see^_^
Thanks for your help...
I'd look them up for you, but I'm too discouraged. :)
*chuckle* not the one I was looking for, but good answer;)
Checking on d20pfsrd.com, which I think is much easier to search, I found Glossary of Terms: Morale. I'm not quite sure this is what you were looking for, though...
Everything else seemed to reference specific creatures' morale.
Well, that tells me it is something to do with INT. Thanks, Aatea.
So example: p295 of the PCR says that Heroes' Feast give a +4 morale bonus against poisons and fear effects for 12 hours.
Ok, that I've got but what is Morale in Game Terms? Morale has something to do with Barbarians too, I guess...
As far as I know, there are no seperate morale rules.
'Morale' is a type of bonus, like dodge, sacred, armor, or profane.
It is listed so that , when adding bonuses, you do not add two of the same type, which is prohibited except for dodge bonuses.
As far as I know, there are no seperate morale rules.
'Morale' is a type of bonus, like dodge, sacred, armor, or profane.
It is listed so that , when adding bonuses, you do not add two of the same type, which is prohibited except for dodge bonuses.
Cool, gotcha, thanks much!
Dumb question...
Where are the morale rules? I've seen several references to it in the PCR but there is no entry in the index (I have the second printing.)
Yes, I'm probably staring right at them an just can't see^_^
Thanks for your help...
If you're referring to the old morale rules from previous editions that tell you when a monster or NPC will run away, there aren't any.
Many of the stand-alone adventures and adventure paths do incorporate something like it in stat blocks for opponents though. There's a combat section in the block that will give a basic description of tactics that usually include how hurt they can get before they surrender or flee.
Otherwise, it's up to the GM. Mindless things like golems and some undead of course will keep fighting until they're destroyed. Everything else depends on the creature and circumstances.
As stated by the other posters, the term "morale" refers to a particular type of bonus added to dice rolls.
There are no morale rules. Morale is a type of bonus (that makes you better at stuff because you become heartier), and there are fear effects (magical and supernatural fear effects like when a really big dragon is coming at you at full speed, and simple intimidation), but there is no rules that govern when a combatant has had enough and will run away just from being in a fight.
The adventure modules and Adventure Paths often have a tactics and morale entry that tells you if and when an enemy will stop fighting and run away or surrender, but there are no fixed rules.
It's basically up to the GM.
i do think they should re-introduce a morale system.Not just use the words for a buff excuse.
So how about something like;
Broken morale
When a battle begins turning against creatures, cooperation breaks down and fear of death or capture may force them to flee. A creature must begin making saving throws against morale breaks once it has lost 75% of its hit points, or when 75% of its group has been defeated (for this purpose, a creature is considered defeated for as long as it is captured or incapacitated, flees the combat, remains in surrender, or betrays its allies).
At the beginning of its turn, the creature must make a DC 15 Will save to act normally. Failure means the creature's morale breaks and it becomes Frightened. It must continue making this saving throw each round until it has above 25% of its hit points and more than 25% of its allies are undefeated. If a creature's morale breaks and it flees the combat, it avoids returning to the combat until it has spent one minute out of immediate danger.
Even heavily injured warriors can shrug off the urge to flee when victory is in sight. The Frightened condition resulting from broken morale is suppressed for as long as 75% or more of each group's combatants remain defeated.
Animal companions, eidolons, familiars, mindless undead, mounts, and summoned creatures do not count as allies for the purpose of determining when you must make Will saves against morale breaks.
If a creature follows a dogma, code of conduct or similar bond that forbids them from fleeing battles, and doing so would cause them to lose access to class features or divine spellcasting abilities, then the creature gains a +4 bonus on Will saves to negate morale breaks.
This is a mind-affecting fear effect.
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There you go, some quick and terrible rules. Okay, maybe not so quick. I got interested in it halfway through and spent more on a lark than I anticipated >.> But that's alright, you can just Paypal me when it's convenient. (To be clear, that is a joke, I am not soliciting payment.)
It's a really interesting exercise taking an idea, writing it down, making it clear what it does, proofing it against abuse and wacky behavior, and structuring it in a logical flow that's easy to remember. As clunky as it may look now -- this is already improved!
I really have to hand it to professional writers if they can do that consistently.
I too miss morale in the game.
Certain monsters -particularly humanoid - depend on leadership and discipline in numbers more than others. Kill the chief and the tribe of kobolds, orcs or beast of similar ilk is much more likely to scatter and flee than fight on.
now consider the tables turned, where the PCs rush into a battle they're outmatched in: THE PARTY CERTAINLY WOULD FLEE TOO, AS SOON AS THEY RECOGNIZE THAT THEY ARE OUTMATCHED
so why wouldn't the NPC's as well?
This gets into the Tyranny of Fun debate of old, and I won't bring it there, but this IS one of 3.x+ oversights; bordering on plain dumb. RAW, they expect you to want to kill everything. The only thing that is accomplished is that it somewhat simplifies solving XP problems.
Anything deviating from this tendency must now be identified then implemented by the GM entirely. It's rather disappointing. I've probably, stupidly wasted more time (attempting to) look it up than it would have taken a design team to adequately address the matter.
i do think they should re-introduce a morale system.Not just use the words for a buff excuse.
This should be role-played, not made a mechanical system. The monsters run if the GM thinks the monsters should run.
I agree it is a GM adjudication and not a hard&fast 'rule' to be enforced. But the designers act as though it doesn't exist as anything other than a special buff to tack on.
Morale is far more important than that - They could at least address it - this is a ROLE playing game, no? GM has to play the role of monster/NPC, too.
It's not even a suggestion in the so-called Game "Mastery" Guide. Yet there's page after page of fluff and extra rules that i'd never want to even try to use.
Priorities, priorities(and unfortunate oversights) *sigh*
I prefer the GM adjudication method. Not all creatures have the same motivations, and those motivations should determine when (and if) a creature will stop fighting and surrender/flee/selfdestruct/whatever. A GM could apply circumstance bonuses or alterations on the fly, but they'd have to do it so often that the rule itself would become meaningless.