PC Rest Times/Configurations

[starkad]

So here's the scoop.. I've been running D&D games off and on for 15 years or so.

I love running, and there used to be almost no stumbling blocks for me.. With 3rd edition, it resparked my interest in learning and keeping players interested.

The one thign I have problems with, in any edition or system, is how my PCs rest. I jsut don't see a group of 4-6 people resting for 10 hours. Each PC needs rest, and the wizards and clerics especially need to get theirs for their spells.

So how do you handle resting in your game?

And how do your PCs handle it?

 

[LostSoul]

So how do you handle resting in your game?

And how do your PCs handle it?

Either they are sleeping, or they're just hanging out, talking, eating, discussing what's been going on and what they're going to do. They're having a drink, a smoke, telling jokes and stories, polishing up their weapons and armour, that kind of thing.

 

[starkad]

Yeah, but do they set watches?

How long is their rest time?

How long does each person watch?

How much time do the mages/clerics get for resting and memorization?

 

[thullgrim]

It is a little hard to believe that for 10 hours or so a party of 4-6 people stop in an abandoned room and just hang out. I kind of did away with that by going to another magic system that requires mana points and you get some back depending on your activity level. My pc's can rest for an hour or two rather than 8 or 10. It works a little better this way when they are in a dungeon. I went this route for several reasons, including the fact that I dislike intensly the 'Vancian' system. beyond that, once the cleric of mage shoots their wad, they are done. It made for a situation where they would have one or two average combats, a major one, and the cleric would need to rest... I like this much better.

As to what they do in a 10 hour rest period, like the man said, polishing their weapons and armor, sharpening things, writing notes in a journal or practicing all the little things they need to do when they advance in level. All the 'off camera' chores so to speak.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

So here's the scoop.. I've been running D&D games off and on for 15 years or so.

I love running, and there used to be almost no stumbling blocks for me.. With 3rd edition, it resparked my interest in learning and keeping players interested.

The one thign I have problems with, in any edition or system, is how my PCs rest. I jsut don't see a group of 4-6 people resting for 10 hours. Each PC needs rest, and the wizards and clerics especially need to get theirs for their spells.

So how do you handle resting in your game?

And how do your PCs handle it?

You're really looking at this from a modern perspective. I would imagine that for any group of travelers in a medieval period, pretty much everything after dark would be "rest time," whether it be sleeping, eating, talking, whatever. The darkness is full of wolves and bandits and monsters, and there's a lot of psychological comfort to be gained from a simple fire.

It irks me how methodical my players are when it comes time to go to sleep. It's like "okay, Fighter, you take first watch. After precisely 2 hours, wake up Wizard. Then after precisely 2 hours, he'll wake up Rogue, who will wake up Cleric before dawn so he can get in his daily prayers."

I don't know about you, but I'd be hard pressed to keep track of time while sitting in the darkness.

 

[CCamfield]

Yeah, but do they set watches?

How long is their rest time?

How long does each person watch?

How much time do the mages/clerics get for resting and memorization?

Well, I would probably ask the players to set up a normal watch schedule (so they don't have to do it every time). If you ever want to have a nighttime encounter while most are asleep it seems necessary - unless you just roll randomly to see who is on watch at the time whatever happens.

Assuming four characters taking turns on watch, they need to watch for 4 hours each, increasing the total rest time to 10 hours for an 8 hour sleep, plus an hour if wizards need to memorize spells or clerics to pray, if they pray in the morning as opposed to some other time.

I do have problems with players having to rest at a possibly dramatic point in time in an adventure. But if you think about the Fellowship of the Ring travelling through Moria, that took several days and I think when they were in the room of Balin's Tomb, they barricaded the doors or something while they rested. Carrying some iron spikes or doorjambs would be a good idea for securing the place. Resting in an open room strikes me as somewhat foolhardy.

 

[starkad]

Meepo, that's exactly how my players do it!!! It irks me to no end, and thus prompted my post.

Any suggestions on how to rectify/change that?

I have one player in particular that loves to sit around and annoy the crap out of everyone with his rambling of numbers and trying to plan everything out and rest after every single fight...

Truly one of the most frighteningly annoying things he's ever done is threaten to have his PC leave the party if they didn't rest after this one fight... He had wasted all his good spells, the rest of the group was conservative... Resulting in him down to about 30-40% capacity, and they all sitting comfortably at about 80%... I loved it when they turned to him and said 'Go ahead and leave the group. You only buff yourself anyways, buff-boy."

 

[arwink]

My players split the night into quarters, spellcasters on each end so they can get enough sleep. They don't aim for exacting time-spans, but make sure the characters with higher cons are on longer watches.

They've also recently learned that this isn't enough - one person standing watch while everyone else sleeps is easy prey for an invisible assasin.

Now they're planning on learning spells to make resting places more secure.

 

[Tonguez]

The Moon is as good as the sun when it comes to telling the time.

Sunset to Midnight to Dawn is 2 blocks then cut those in half to make 4 blocks of roughly equal time.

As to resting in dungeons - either make sure you have a secure room or get out and return to town. Also DMs should always disturb PCs they sleep in unprotected rooms

 

[Mark]

Belated welcome to the boards, starkad!

I usually suggest that they rest 12 hours, with three watches, and all members getting a full eight hours sleep. This allows for cleaning of armor, mending of clothes, cooking (meals at the end of the day and at the beginning of the next), taking care of mounts, focusing on thei ongoing training with new weapons and magicks, etc. It's just a guideline, but if you figure that they're doing the kinds of things that adventurers do (traveling crosscountry for full days, fighting for their lives, etc.), it's hard to imagine them resting for less time and getting enough strength to do what they do.