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Yeah, your right. In this particular encounter the Players are likely trying to avoid detection. So, when time starts flowing forward again they are left with the knowledge of how they tripped the alarm--a pressure plate under the Stone of Dignity one of the Players' Characters have pocketed...

I like the idea of having limited spell slots. I also like the idea of bargaining for slots. I expect this encounter might need some more straightforward interactive elements. So, at the beginning of the encounter, after they have been introduced to the scene, I would ask the spellcasters to...

Yeah, it seems this encounter can't be lost. It would inevitably move backward until all of the guards disengage. I suppose that is by design, so the encounter doesn't go on indefinitely. I mean, the Players could do weird things like stop attacking, let their opponents push them to full hit...

Maybe they can bargain with me in mid-combat, and say something like "my character flies up to the ceiling on this turn and I will be bound to cast the spell spider climb in the next round after that."

Okay yes! There should definitely be chandelier on the floor with bodies under it (maybe even a Player Character?). A rope nearby. Was it cut? Was it burned? Maybe blood and hungry rats?!

Yes, the culmination of this encounter is that they get to redo the encounter in forward time with the knowledge of how to avoid triggering the response from the guards. And yes, I agree, this encounter can only last a few rounds as it has a lot of potential for frustration.

I haven't mention yet that I am running this encounter with Pregenerated Player Characters. It wasn't pertinent until now. So, Experience awards won't matter much. But, I could make it clear that an alarm has been tripped (instead of keeping that information from the Players), and getting all...

The best I've been able to come up with for that is, No. We cannot attack our allies, nor can we heal our enemies. This is a one-of-a-kind encounter. I expect it will require some Player cooperation and buy-in, but I want to make it fun and give them some tactical things to think about. But not...

Perhaps the signs of chaos about the chamber server as clues to what spells and other powers can be used or used as a plausible excuse to use a power. "Looks like we only get one use of fireball folks. Let's see who gets to it first, Phlogiston the Wizard or Solasta the Sorceress."

Yes, when an opponent is raised to maximum hit points they disengage from combat backwards (as a Reaction?) and leave the chamber. Perhaps a charge bonus for Disengaging from an opponent to attack another opponent would give the Players a motivation?

I thought about having some exploded furniture, burn scars, and other signs of arcane combat around. With the possibility to give the Players' Characters a boon for incorporating then into the encounter. However, like Rune wrote, how would they know what they can do? I think I'm going to have...

I am going to run a combat encounter in reverse time. Do you have any advice for doing this? I'm going to run initiative order from lowest to highest. Everyone starts the encounter dead, with 0 hit points. We will roll for attacks and damage but any damage will add to our hit point total...

I Stayed with 5e because I like the game, but I chose 'other reasons' because I don't want to support Wizards of the Coast. I quit supporting Wizards of the Coast and switched to Pathfinder when they came out with 4th edition. I tried it and didn't like it so I switched. I quit supporting Paizo...

Try the Crimson Oubliette from Kobold Press. Warlock’s Apprentice: The Crimson Oubliette It is essentially a one-room dungeon in the shape of a giant pit that can't be easily explored because it is filled to the brim with red slime that retreats 20' from a fire source. I think it is three...

Candlekeep Mysteries has a heat metal hot plate and explosives with plunger style detonators.

I sometimes play archers but I often feel guilty afterwards. I don't think it's necessary to bring in other situations like digging around in your backpack for an item, administering aid to a fallen comrade, or drinking a potion. Like it has been said, "5e doesn't really lean into realism."...

I voted for the general Monster Manuels. My favorite is the Monstrous Menagerie from Level Up. I like the supporting material in each entry for running the monsters.

I think Shemshime's Bedtime Rhyme from Candlekeep Mysteries is a great one shot adventure. It slowly unwinds ike a good psychological thriller, revealing the antagonist over time.

Hell Yeah! My fantasy world doesn't even have atoms. That pesky idea just crushes fantasy.

Gosh, I would hope the technological landscape that enables genetically modified humans to photosynthesize would also enable said humans to avoid hyperglysemic shock from all of the sugars produced. Maybe just stick your arm out in the sunlight every ten minutes. Or, maybe not every skin cell is...