D&D 5E deadliness and the Tomb of Annihilation

[CapnZapp]

(or any other adventure, really) Here's an idea:

The adventure supplement awards "encounter points" with easy encounters yielding zero points, medium = 1 EP, hard = 2 EP, and deadly or above = 3 EP.
The stingy EP awards are intentional. Part of what makes an encounter a "deadly" one is that it only gives 50% more EPs than a hard encounter, despite how it is likely to deplete more than 50% more resources.

For the Tomb of Annihilation adventure: let's call them Jungle Bravity Points.

Refreshed starts: If you start a day especially refreshed, the DM can award you 1-3 starting EPs. For instance, if you take a long rest during regular sleeping hours in an especially advantageous location (such as a comfortable city inn), you start the day with 1 EP. If you spend three whole downtime days in such an advantageous location, free of any disease or other debilitating effects, you start the next phase of the adventure with 3 EP to account for being entirely refreshed.

Light activity: If you spend eight hours doing light activity only, you regain one EP as if overcoming a medium encounter. You can only do this once per day.
If nothing else, this provides a safeguard - it means a depleted party caught in a bad spot where they can't even risk a medium encounter will eventually gain the EPs they need for a long rest.

Then the adventure supplement stipulates you need to spend <s>encounter points</s> jungle bravity points to gain the mechanical benefits of any resting you take in the depraved jungles of Chult.
- You need to spend 2 EP for an hour's rest to actually count as a short rest.
- You need to spend 6 EP for 8 hours rest to actually count as a long rest. Any unspent EPs are lost (but see refreshed starts above).
* Exception: a party consisting exclusively of elves and half-elves only need 4 hours.
* Note how the long rest cost is effectively reduced to 5 EP assuming you each day take advantage of the light activity clause above.

You can still rest up without spending any EP of course - this just doesn't allow you to spend Hit Dice, regain spells and so on. The time can still be used for crafting items, writing spell books and anything else that doesn't depend on the rest rules.

 

[CapnZapp]

Here's an idea:

Since this idea came out of another thread, here's the crosspost:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?568890-Characters-for-Tomb-of-Annihilation

 

[CapnZapp]

- You need to spend 6 EP for 8 hours rest to actually count as a long rest.

You may object this unfairly shortchanges short rest classes, since the long rest classes will now have an incentive in talking you out of them.

In that case, replace with:
- You need to spend 7 EP for 8 hours rest to actually count as a long rest. Each short rest taken earlier the same day reduces this cost by 2 EPs.

 

[OB1]

I think you are a bit to generous. Should be 3 EP for a short rest and 9 for a long rest. This coincides with 3 deadly fights equaling the daily XP budget. So Deadly-Short Rest-Deadly-Short Rest-Deadly-Long Rest would work out perfectly.
I think this is much more elegant than my suggestion for players to track and spend encounter XP for rests since the same set of numbers work regardless of level.


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[Quickleaf]

While the idea "you can't rest until you've taken adventuring activity you need to rest from" does solve the 5-minute adventuring day complaint... it creates a new problem.

There may be times when a party wants to rest but doesn't have sufficient points to cash in for the rest. For instance, a caster preparing different spells.

 

[OB1]

While the idea "you can't rest until you've taken adventuring activity you need to rest from" does solve the 5-minute adventuring day complaint... it creates a new problem.

There may be times when a party wants to rest but doesn't have sufficient points to cash in for the rest. For instance, a caster preparing different spells.

I'd probably allow a caster to prepare different spells when using this variant. The only thing not allowed would be getting back limited resources (HP, Slots, Abilities, etc.). Anything else you can do on a rest would be okay.

Also, in the version I proposed, I allowed for a short rest with 8 hours in a safe location and a long rest with 1 week in a safe location, with safe being defined as a location where you do not have to post a watch and are not attacked. IE if you post a watch or are attacked at any point during this type of rest you start over from zero time elapsed.

In fact, perhaps that is the simplest solution to all of this. Just change the resting rules to state that any interruption in a rest for combat requires you to start the rest over again.

 

[CapnZapp]

While the idea "you can't rest until you've taken adventuring activity you need to rest from" does solve the 5-minute adventuring day complaint... it creates a new problem.

There may be times when a party wants to rest but doesn't have sufficient points to cash in for the rest. For instance, a caster preparing different spells.

Then make that an exception and/or lighten the rules on spell prep.

Rather that, than throwing out the baby with the bathwater by backtracking on the hard encounter controls, I mean.

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[CapnZapp]

I'd probably allow a caster to prepare different spells when using this variant. The only thing not allowed would be getting back limited resources (HP, Slots, Abilities, etc.). Anything else you can do on a rest would be okay.

Also, in the version I proposed, I allowed for a short rest with 8 hours in a safe location and a long rest with 1 week in a safe location, with safe being defined as a location where you do not have to post a watch and are not attacked. IE if you post a watch or are attacked at any point during this type of rest you start over from zero time elapsed.

In fact, perhaps that is the simplest solution to all of this. Just change the resting rules to state that any interruption in a rest for combat requires you to start the rest over again.

No, since Rope Trick, Leomund's Tiny Hut & Co still exists.

Not to mention "Teleport back to the cosy safe Inn".

The idea is to focus on your resource management rather than focus on finding the loopholes that allow you to *not* be constrained by resource management.

To take the restrictions for granted. To simply assume they can't be circumvented.

To not make the game about finding ways around resource management since the game is so clearly balanced on the assumption they are in place.

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[Jester David]

First thought. If you play something like the Keep on the Borderland and play smart, having lots of small encounters that are easy, you lose the ability to rest.

Second thought. Resting is tied to combat. So if you do a trap based dungeon without combat but still losing hit points, you can't rest and regain then. Or if you do a lot of exploration, burning spells to overcome non-combat challenges, you also can't regain those spent resources.

Who determines if an encounter is easy, medium, hard, or deadly?
If it's just the experience portals, why not match it to the expected experience per day? That seems easier than adding another metric to be tracked.
-edit-
Conversely, if the DM determines what an encounter counts as - how many EP thet gain - isn't that just the same as having the DM determine if they can safety rest or not? If they've done enough adventuring. Why shackle yourself with hard rules then?

 

[OB1]

No, since Rope Trick, Leomund's Tiny Hut & Co still exists.

Not to mention "Teleport back to the cosy safe Inn".

The idea is to focus on your resource management rather than focus on finding the loopholes that allow you to *not* be constrained by resource management.

To take the restrictions for granted. To simply assume they can't be circumvented.

To not make the game about finding ways around resource management since the game is so clearly balanced on the assumption they are in place.

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I hear you. I think you could probably have several levels of the variant to choose from to fit multiple play styles and player skill levels.

Level 1 - When a rest is interrupted for combat, it must be restarted.
Level 2 - Encounter Point Variant - but allow an 8 hour short safe rest and a 7 day long safe rest
Level 3 - Encounter Point Variant - Only way to recover abilities is through encounters

Encounter Point Variant - Need 3 EPs for a Short rest, 9EPs for a long rest (reduced by 3 for each short rest taken to a minimum of 3)
Medium Encounter - 1 EP
Hard Encounter - 2 EP
Deadly Encounter - 3 EP