D&D 5E (2024) Mike Mearls explains why your boss monsters die too easily

[Micah Sweet]

I mean, if you’re doing those things, you don’t really need combat to be balanced. Combat is balanced around adventures where combat is happening regularly. If it isn’t happening regularly, obviously you would need to make up for that in the way you design the few combat encounters you do have.

How do you suggest that be done?

 

[John Lloyd1]

It seems very quick to most people. It probably doesn’t help that they’re overtuning their encounters because they’re trying to challenge parties with less than half the recommended number of encounters per day. Are your combats taking more than 3 rounds each? I would bet based on your 45 minute assumption they’re taking closer to 9 or 10 rounds.

As with anything, it varies, but I would say around 3-4 rounds per encounter. I DM at a FLGS, so player skill is probably different.

 

[pawsplay]

The game plays better if the DM is ready for the boss to go down quickly sometimes, and if the players are sometimes attacked when they haven't had a chance to rest.

 

[John Lloyd1]

5E fights taking 45 minutes??? That seems a bit much.

I assume that the scene includes more that just the combat itself (on average).

 

[Charlaquin]

How do you suggest that be done?

Compensating for fewer encounters per day? Either by changing the rules for resting so you can’t take them as frequently, or by making the encounters harder so they take more rounds. Though, the problem with the latter approach is that it makes those combats swingier. The difficulty is coming more from the risk of the dice not falling in your favor, rather than from needing to make good decisions about how best to use your limited resources. So, I would be more inclined to go the former route personally.

 

[pawsplay]

I usually only make major encounters hard. It's okay for things to be a bit swingy, when the PCs know the fate of the kingdom/universe/ etc. is at stake. Conversely, for normal encounters, they might use less resources, use ambush tactics. etc.

 

[touc]

...Rest Update: You cannot take a long rest until you've had ~20 rounds of combat....

It's wondrously simple. It removes the guess work.

I'm brainstorming if this might work. Rather than the DM throwing needless encounters that don't make sense to get to 6-7 "combats" to drain resources in a day, or guessing what might drain resources, the party knows in advance they won't get that long rest until exactly 20 "meaningful" rounds have passed (this means no shoving the last unarmed goblin down and dodging until you get your 20, or counting attacking sheep as your combat). We might give the DM discretion to count difficult encounters (e.g. a puzzle trap that damages characters) towards this progress. We might also give the DM discretion to give the party 1d4 rounds of credit if the party cleverly avoided a surefire combat so that we don't turn the game into a murderfest (e.g. the party set traps or used terrain or enticed one enemy to attack another to end the encounter before it began).

We could also add in "gritty realism" wherein you get a long rest 1 week after your last long rest, regardless of that 20 round counter (e.g. for groups traveling overland with no threats), and maybe a long rest resets if you gain a level. I'd leave short rests alone.

I'd have concerns at 1st level trying to reach 20 combat rounds, but as already pointed out, 1st level is designed as a beginner level and most 1st level modules I've run or read contemplate getting to 2nd level rather quickly, perhaps with 1-2 short rests.

 

[Charlaquin]

By the way, anybody notice how monster recharge abilities are almost always Recharge 5 or 6? That’s a 1 in 3 chance, in a combat that’s expected to last 3 rounds. Meaning, the designers expect it to recharge exactly once, so they will use the ability twice. You could replace every “Recharge 5 or 6” monster ability with “2/day” and not only would it not negatively impact encounter balance, it would probably make the CR guidelines more reliable for those monsters, because they wouldn’t sometimes randomly only get to use their breath weapon once before being killed, or get to use it three times in a row. Honestly, I’m kinda surprised they didn’t make exactly that change in the 2024 rules, given how many other things they changed to reduce variance in monster combat effectiveness.

 

[Zardnaar]

I usually only make major encounters hard. It's okay for things to be a bit swingy, when the PCs know the fate of the kingdom/universe/ etc. is at stake. Conversely, for normal encounters, they might use less resources, use ambush tactics. etc.

I use 1 maybe 2 low encounters rest are mediums or high in 5.5.

That's roughly high and deadly+ in 5.0.

I cant stop them after level 5 or so playing remotely fair encounters. I either break the rules or incorporate terrain a lot that doesn't directly change CR.

Fighting in water, ice, lava etc. Dragon fly by uses its breath weapon and doesn't return until it recharges.

 

[Charlaquin]

I've noted online and IRL they blow spelks a lot faster.

Side note, I find a lot of old school players take this too far in the opposite direction and are way too precious with their spells. If you’re playing optimally, you should be using your last spell slot during the last combat of the day. Taking a long rest with spell slots still left over is a sign you could have cast more spell during the day and probably finished faster and easier.