D&D 5E Countering Rest Spells (Tiny Hut, Rope Trick, et al)

[ChaosOS]

Rope trick isn't a ritual, so it costs a 2nd level spell slot. There's lots of good utility at that level - see invisibility, enhance ability, lesser restoration - and your players are giving up that opportunity to Rope Trick. I don't see the problem with a meaningful resource expenditure of that nature guaranteeing a short rest.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

It pretty much always makes sense, though. Why risk trouble when you can hide for an hour and get your short rest pretty much scot free? And I will never, ever be adversarial. Nothing the players can do will cause me to stoop that low. If something is a problem it will be changed or banned so that it is no longer a problem.



There are lots of short rest resources.

And the game doesn’t break or even come close to it if they can get their short rest stuff back fairly easily by spending a long rest resource.

As for it always making sense, giving the party reasons to not spend several hours a day doing nothing while things happen without them is...literally just basic adventure design.

 

[gyor]

A way to make sure the tiny hut has a floor, leave a large blanket outside the hut when you cast it, then toss that blanket on top of the hut afterward, then step on top of the blanket (which because it was outside the dome when cast, will not go thru the dome, but rest on top of it), then cast a second tiny hut on top of the first hut.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

In my experience, since it does happen from time to time, the players will use Rope Trick every time they need to short rest so that they virtually guarantee that they will not be interrupted. It would be stupid to take the risk and just rest in the open.

So they spend a 2nd level slot every time they short rest? Neat!

Still, if there aren’t meaningful time considerations, why does it matter that they take a short rest?

And they’re still spending HD, which means they’re still drawing closer to the limit of an adventuring day.

And potentially missing out on information.

And letting the allies of whoever they just fought have an entire hour to figure out that Bob and Gurda are missing, and maybe they should be on alert for a while and send out the sneaks to check it out.

Idk man, the passage of time within a day is very important in most games I’ve run or played in or observed.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

They can cast it as a ritual (PHB p. 255) and not expand a spell slot (not even need to memorize it). But it would take them 10 minutes to cast.

 

[Maxperson]

If your encounters involve more than ‘fight random bad guy to 0’ these spells are never a problem.

Speaking in absolutes means you are wrong here. My encounters are more than that, and they are a problem. Avoid absolutes.

 

[Asisreo]

Speaking in absolutes means you are wrong here. My encounters are more than that, and they are a problem. Avoid absolutes.

What are you? A jedi?

 

[cmad1977]

So they spend a 2nd level slot every time they short rest? Neat!

Still, if there aren’t meaningful time considerations, why does it matter that they take a short rest?

And they’re still spending HD, which means they’re still drawing closer to the limit of an adventuring day.

And potentially missing out on information.

And letting the allies of whoever they just fought have an entire hour to figure out that Bob and Gurda are missing, and maybe they should be on alert for a while and send out the sneaks to check it out.

Idk man, the passage of time within a day is very important in most games I’ve run or played in or observed.

Yup. Basically if a 2nd level spell breaks your game, maybe it isn’t the spell that’s the issue.
The heroes are using resources in order to survive/thrive. Having fewer resources for later/more dangerous encounters seems like an important risk/reward. To me, that’s a win.

Dynamic worlds are important in general. Static worlds and ‘mobs’ run into all sorts of problems. The encounters I ‘plan’ often change based upon the actions of the PCs and when they encounter... the encounter.

 

[Maxperson]

What are you? A jedi?

Rational. Absolutes in something like this virtually always(see no absolute) makes you wrong.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Yup. Basically if a 2nd level spell breaks your game, maybe it isn’t the spell that’s the issue.
The heroes are using resources in order to survive/thrive. Having fewer resources for later/more dangerous encounters seems like an important risk/reward. To me, that’s a win.

Dynamic worlds are important in general. Static worlds and ‘mobs’ run into all sorts of problems. The encounters I ‘plan’ often change based upon the actions of the PCs and when they encounter... the encounter.

Yep, and IMO the Hut is only “problematic” in that I enjoy making hidden camps as a PC, and LTH means the wizard makes that impossible a lot of the time. As a DM, no problems. They either get a long rest when they probably would have anyway, or they rest and the danger of the area has increased, or they rested in enemy territory with no attempt to hide their camp, and natural consequences will ensue.