D&D 5E Resting and the frikkin' Elephant in the Room

[Ovinomancer]

Oh yeah, once the PC's hit lvl 15 or so they are a traveling holocaust. Bizarrely powerful creatures are just attracted to them, and if they avoid the encounter or don't finish all of them off...well whole towns have been wiped off the map after the group travels past, even if they never enter it.

By lvl 18 whole towns are depopulating overnight as the citizens flee, except for convicted criminals forced to stay behind and sell them ale and iron rations.

How else do you play D&D?

Typically, I don't put 3 deadly encounter a day near settled areas. But I've been told this isn't a problem if you pick the right encounter types, so I'm just following up. As I've yet to actually understand what scale this works within or what encounters I have to pick to make it work, I'm still curious as to how Imaro does it.

 

[Ovinomancer]

He doesn't agree with you?

I can't, I don't even know what you asterisked (word, not a word, I dunno, let's run with it).

ETA: oooh, sneaky ninja edits, I hates you, I does.

 

[Caliban]

Typically, I don't put 3 deadly encounter a day near settled areas. But I've been told this isn't a problem if you pick the right encounter types, so I'm just following up. As I've yet to actually understand what scale this works within or what encounters I have to pick to make it work, I'm still curious as to how Imaro does it.

Since you don't do it...why does it matter? It's a game. Maybe they just ignore the whole issue because it doesn't add any enjoyment to their game. Either method (use the narrative to explain or limit high CR encounters, or just have them happen wherever the PC's are) is a valid way of playing D&D.

 

[OB1]

Unless you lost me, BA reduces the implications to the world of challenging high-level characters, no? You don't need to upgrade from Orcs to Drow to Swordwings* as you go, just more orcs do the trick.
* don't ask.

Well, I would think that whether there is one orc or one hundred orcs in the woods to Mt. McGuffin certainly has implications for your world and the citizens of Happy Town. BA answers the question as to why the Mayor of Happy Town doesn't need to be a leveled character, as he can use an army of soldiers to protect him from small groups of high level threats or large groups of low level ones.

 

[Tony Vargas]

BA answers the question as to why the Mayor of Happy Town doesn't need to be a leveled character, as he can use an army of soldiers to protect him from small groups of high level threats or large groups of low level ones.

Yep, that's what I meant.

 

[Ovinomancer]

Since you don't do it...why does it matter? It's a game. Maybe they just ignore the whole issue because it doesn't add any enjoyment to their game. Either method (use the narrative explain or limit high CR encounters, or just have them happen wherever the PC's are) is a valid way of playing D&D.

I agree, which means you missed the start of this. I said using 3 deadly encounters a day exclusively has world building implications. [MENTION=48965]Imaro[/MENTION] says I'm wrong, it's trivially easy to do this without impacting worldbuilding. I'm curious as to how that works. I might learn something.

 

[Caliban]

I agree, which means you missed the start of this. I said using 3 deadly encounters a day exclusively has world building implications. [MENTION=48965]Imaro[/MENTION] says I'm wrong, it's trivially easy to do this without impacting worldbuilding. I'm curious as to how that works. I might learn something.

Yeah, I did. Although I kinda like the idea of common citizens fleeing the presence of the PC's because of all the incredibly strange and powerful creatures that appear wherever they go. Maybe I'll work a deity level curse into my next campaign.

 

[OB1]

Do you know how I know you don't actually read my posts...?

I asked no such thing, in fact, I was very specific about the party traveling the Nevertrouble Way and the immediate settlements thereabouts. That's, like, a few miles, maybe a dozen, not an entire campaign world.

But, sure, fine, whatevs. Let's settle it into a single town, outside of which is a dungeon, and the party travels from town to dungeon a day away for Adventure!(tm). The players have (planned) or (random) encounters, as you wish, with creatures you wish, provided the encounters are deadly and come in 3's. Do you have what they encounter ever be an issue for the town, or is it just something that happens to the PCs and no one every notices how increasingly dangerous the area around the town becomes as the adventurers have Adventure!(tm).

If anything is bothersome or too restrictive a choice above, or if the town is too big or too small, or if the dungeon is too far away or too close, or if the monsters are too many or too few or just not the right [-]Scotsmen[/-] monsters, feel free to make adjustments.

If you don't mind my jumping in here, I'd like to weigh in here.

In the above scenario, I would tie these elements together if I wanted to provide a challenging adventure day for the travel to the dungeon. An Orc war band has laid siege to the town and will sack it if a ransom is not paid. The only hope for the town is to retrieve the gems at the bottom of the Quiet Caverns, which was abandoned earlier in the year due to an undead infestation. The Heroes must travel across Orc infested woods to reach the cave, and then defeat the undead threat there to retrieve the gems and save the town. Traveling through the woods, the players have x chance per hour to come across an Orc patrol, which means that resting increases the chance for additional encounters. They also have only three days to retrieve the gems and make the payment, so no dawdling about in the Quiet Caverns either.

If the adventurers succeed, the Orcs move on and the town goes back to its steady state.

 

[Imaro]

Do you know how I know you don't actually read my posts...?

Sorry I have trouble getting through the snark some of the time to reach the actual point...

But, sure, fine, whatevs. Let's settle it into a single town, outside of which is a dungeon, and the party travels from town to dungeon a day away for Adventure!(tm). The players have (planned) or (random) encounters, as you wish, with creatures you wish, provided the encounters are deadly and come in 3's. Do you have what they encounter ever be an issue for the town, or is it just something that happens to the PCs and no one every notices how increasingly dangerous the area around the town becomes as the adventurers have Adventure!(tm).

So one days worth of encounters...I need 3 deadly encounters to take place between said town and the dungeon (24 miles worth of distance)... what level are the adventurers... nevermind I'll make them 3rd since we're dealing with a simple dungeon and town a day away? Also Party size... classic 4 member? Rogue, Wizard, Fighter, Cleric... so 1600 for a deadly encounter

Deadly Encounters
CR 1/2 Orcs (7)
CR 1 Dire Wolves (4)
CR 2 Giant Boar (2)/ CR 1/2 Young Giant Boar(2)...use Giant Goat Stats)

So we have our 3 deadly encounters in an area that extends out to a total of 24 miles from the town... A small tribe of Orcs, a pack of Dire Wolves and ill tempered Giant Boars.

I could see the Orcs being a problem for the town people... but maybe they are tracking the party because they slew some of their brethren earlier...or perhaps their total numbers are small (unless I want to make them a problem for the town and then their numbers are big... see how I did that??) while the Dire wolves may ambush a lone traveler... they very much would shy away from confrontations in the actual town or near it unless starving. The Boars are ill-tempered but would probably be hunted by the townspeople for food. Yeah I'm not seeing the implications these encounters force on my world building. And yeah I don't see this as all that extraordinarily dangerous since I as the DM decide the frequency the NPC's encounter these things... I decide how many total there are and so on. This is all outside of building he encounter... that's worldbuilding to me.

If anything is bothersome or too restrictive a choice above, or if the town is too big or too small, or if the dungeon is too far away or too close, or if the monsters are too many or too few or just not the right [-]Scotsmen[/-] monsters, feel free to make adjustments.

Nope... I filled in everything that wasn't given that I needed. If you want me to fill in some more encounters for that 24 mile stretch just let me know... but I figured I only really need 3 for when they head to the dungeon.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Sorry I have trouble getting through the snark some of the time...

Get your bat-snark-repellent and lock yourself in your snark-cage because it's always Snark Week, here on ENWorld.