This does raise the question of what their actual plan should have been.

Listen from the tunnel a bit more, ambush with weapons drawn, and spells readied, and hopefully get them to surrender to to interrogation? Probably that, but I am not an experienced adventurer, so who knows what flaws with that plan I'm not considering.

The previous comic brought up the idea that the enemies are being knocked out instead of killed. That wasn't an intentional commentary on RPGs. I just think it fits the tone of this comic in general better if the people who stole a chicken are getting KO'd.

I should note that this is my personal preference, and not being done for some imagined person in the audience.

I think there are times when writers do things like this, and people assume it reflects the writer's perception of the audience, but it's actually what the writer themselves prefer.

Of course, the opposite happens, too.

A reader: "THIS is what you like?!"

The Author: "Not really, no. I thought it's what you wanted?"

A reader: "...How dare."