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Blog Post 43: I'm sleepy
Posted 1st July 2009 at 05:23 AM by MichaelSomething
Updated 23rd September 2009 at 11:35 PM by MichaelSomething
Updated 23rd September 2009 at 11:35 PM by MichaelSomething
Today, we’re gonna tackle some issues; issues regarding the “15-minute adventuring day“. This is one of those issues that people talk about, but no one has talked about it in a while. Grab some coffee before you start reading this because this is gonna take a while.
Let’s start by defining the “15 minute adventuring day.” It’s when a group of adventurers in an RPG setting are active for a very short period of time in a day. It's can also be when a party fights one encounter, expels all of their resources defeating it and then goes off and rests until tomorrow.
What are the causes of the “15 minute adventuring day?” This is due many factors. The first factor is having a system where you are given daily resources you can expend. Once you spend a daily resource, you can not use it again until you rest or wait until tomorrow. The second factor is situations like combat or other encounters that require players use resources in order to pass. Also, the more resources you are willing to spend overcoming a situation, the more likely you are to succeed at it. The third is that having less of those resources equals being more likely to lose (which can lead to your character dieing and all sorts of bad things). This type of resource system can encourage players to use many daily resources in a few situations and then simply wait until tomorrow to regain said daily resources. Players can and will act in this way in order to ensure that they are successful.
Now some people consider this a problem. I’m not sure that many people explain why this is a problem to them but it’s been a while since there’s been a topic discussing it. I guess I’ll have to explain and/or figure it out. One type of complaint is the story-based complaint. Rarely do you see a fictional hero stop doing heroic deeds simply because they lack the ability to continue the adventure. The “15 minute adventuring day” does not fit some people’s ideas on how fantasy should be. The second is a game preference issue. Many people prefer to play a game of resource optimization. They want to play a game where the goal is to do as much as possible with as few resources as possible. They want to play a game where problems like, “should I spend this resource to overcome this encounter or save it for later where it could be needed more?” and “how can I manage these resources to get the most bang for my buck?” exists.
I would like to take the time to note that the “15 minute adventuring day” may not always be a problem. During a 3.5 campaign, a 6th level party entire day was once traveling to one CR 10 encounter, defeating it, and then resting after the encounter because they had no resources left. Despite the fact they only had one fight that whole day, the decision to end the day after that fight was a smart decision. In fact, they would have been foolish to continue afterwards. In 3.5, a party is suppose to defeat 4 encounters of CR equal to their level. Four encounters at the same level are equal to the one encounter that is three CR higher then those four encounters. That means that the one CR 10 encounter is equal to 4 CR 6 encounters. Once in a while, the “15 minute adventuring day” can’t be avoided.
Now, assuming you want to not have a “15 minute adventuring day,” how would you go about doing so? Really, the most important thing is that you do something about it. Don’t assume the “15 minute adventuring day” won’t happen. You may need to take some type of action to prevent it. Luckily, there are many in game ways to do so. For one, you could simply limit how much a PC party can rest. Be sure to come up with good reasons like not having a safe place to rest or something like that. You could also provide some incentive to not rest. The best way to encourage something is to reward it. Time sensitive tasks are yet another method. There are many ways you can alter your game to eliminate the “15 minute adventuring day.” As always, the adventure and system you use has an effect. Adjusting/changing the gaming system you play can solve this or any problem you may have. Like many problems, it can be fixed.
Feel free to post your opinions, questions, and corrections. I suspect there is something I overlooked or missed.
Let’s start by defining the “15 minute adventuring day.” It’s when a group of adventurers in an RPG setting are active for a very short period of time in a day. It's can also be when a party fights one encounter, expels all of their resources defeating it and then goes off and rests until tomorrow.
What are the causes of the “15 minute adventuring day?” This is due many factors. The first factor is having a system where you are given daily resources you can expend. Once you spend a daily resource, you can not use it again until you rest or wait until tomorrow. The second factor is situations like combat or other encounters that require players use resources in order to pass. Also, the more resources you are willing to spend overcoming a situation, the more likely you are to succeed at it. The third is that having less of those resources equals being more likely to lose (which can lead to your character dieing and all sorts of bad things). This type of resource system can encourage players to use many daily resources in a few situations and then simply wait until tomorrow to regain said daily resources. Players can and will act in this way in order to ensure that they are successful.
Now some people consider this a problem. I’m not sure that many people explain why this is a problem to them but it’s been a while since there’s been a topic discussing it. I guess I’ll have to explain and/or figure it out. One type of complaint is the story-based complaint. Rarely do you see a fictional hero stop doing heroic deeds simply because they lack the ability to continue the adventure. The “15 minute adventuring day” does not fit some people’s ideas on how fantasy should be. The second is a game preference issue. Many people prefer to play a game of resource optimization. They want to play a game where the goal is to do as much as possible with as few resources as possible. They want to play a game where problems like, “should I spend this resource to overcome this encounter or save it for later where it could be needed more?” and “how can I manage these resources to get the most bang for my buck?” exists.
I would like to take the time to note that the “15 minute adventuring day” may not always be a problem. During a 3.5 campaign, a 6th level party entire day was once traveling to one CR 10 encounter, defeating it, and then resting after the encounter because they had no resources left. Despite the fact they only had one fight that whole day, the decision to end the day after that fight was a smart decision. In fact, they would have been foolish to continue afterwards. In 3.5, a party is suppose to defeat 4 encounters of CR equal to their level. Four encounters at the same level are equal to the one encounter that is three CR higher then those four encounters. That means that the one CR 10 encounter is equal to 4 CR 6 encounters. Once in a while, the “15 minute adventuring day” can’t be avoided.
Now, assuming you want to not have a “15 minute adventuring day,” how would you go about doing so? Really, the most important thing is that you do something about it. Don’t assume the “15 minute adventuring day” won’t happen. You may need to take some type of action to prevent it. Luckily, there are many in game ways to do so. For one, you could simply limit how much a PC party can rest. Be sure to come up with good reasons like not having a safe place to rest or something like that. You could also provide some incentive to not rest. The best way to encourage something is to reward it. Time sensitive tasks are yet another method. There are many ways you can alter your game to eliminate the “15 minute adventuring day.” As always, the adventure and system you use has an effect. Adjusting/changing the gaming system you play can solve this or any problem you may have. Like many problems, it can be fixed.
Feel free to post your opinions, questions, and corrections. I suspect there is something I overlooked or missed.
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