4e DMs: Allow players a 5 minute rest after EVERY encounter?

[Storminator]

We've occasionally surprised our DM and pushed on without short rests (or extended rests) when he was expecting them. And that has sometimes made the next encounter EXTREMELY difficult. Arriving at the L+4 encounter without your encounter powers is nasty.

PS

 

[davethegame]

I almost always allow a short rest after a combat if the PCs ask for one, but will handwave the time requirement for what makes sense in the story. For example, when the villain ran and the PCs chased him, I allowed it to count as a short rest before they crashed into the next group of protectors.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

2 encounters with no short rest between them is one encounter.

 

[Woas]

I would hope you'd give the players a few minutes after each encounter. I hear 4E encounters take hours to resolve even simple situations an are super grindy so a few minutes afterward to hit the bathroom or refill their drink I think is courteous.

Whether you give the characters a rest between encounters, well that all depends on how hard you want to beat on them.

 

[S'mon]

I almost always allow a short rest after a combat if the PCs ask for one, but will handwave the time requirement for what makes sense in the story. For example, when the villain ran and the PCs chased him, I allowed it to count as a short rest before they crashed into the next group of protectors.

I would certainly never do that. My approach:

"You can chase the fleeing enemy, or let them go and take a short rest. Your choice."

 

[Ravellion]

I would hope you'd give the players a few minutes after each encounter. I hear 4E encounters take hours to resolve even simple situations an are super grindy so a few minutes afterward to hit the bathroom or refill their drink I think is courteous.

I don't really know what to make of this post. It seems like edition bashing, just to make a joke. I could reply that from level 1 to 22, I have never had a single encounter run into hours (each combat last one hour, whether it is easy or hard - which I do perceive to be a problem), or that combat is not "super grindy".

I any case, I usually give my players their short rest, but there have been occasions when I knew they would feel pushed to continue (breaking up a ritual), or I had reinforcements arrive the round after the original enemies were dead. When the player's have few ways left toa activate their healing surges, things can get quite exciting.

 

[Adso]

While I have not codified it as a house rule for either of my groups, here is how I deal with it.

1. Sometimes groups will trigger two encounters without taking a short rest, or I will load on another encounter based on their actions or just a narrative need to make the fight harder. When this occurs, I typically not give them a rest, but have each encounter count separately toward a milestone.

2. Sometimes I allow a rushed rest. If they have a few moments, but not nearly 5 minutes, I will give each player a choice. Their character can regain their encounter powers, or they can spend as many healing surges as they would like. I would probably let them do both if they spent an action point.

3. If they have at least 5 minutes, I let them take an extended rest.

 

[Oni]

Technically, for some characters, you're making them MORE powerful by doing this. For example, if a fighter takes a stance that ends at the end of the encounter, and the end of the encounter is defined by the short rest, then their stance can continue through to the next encounter - saving that character a standard action in the second encounter.

Heh, this reminds of this CO build.

The Restless Warforged

It's silly and gives me a good chuckle.

 

[Cadfan]

An encounter is defined as ending when the players get to take a short rest. This means that its impossible to not allow a short rest between every encounter. It would be like insisting that not every foot should end after twelve inches. Twelve inches defines the conclusion of a foot just as a short rest defines the end of an encounter.

What you're really asking is whether its ok to have longer encounters with more monsters who arrive in waves. And the answer is yes. Its not only ok, its often a good idea. A good way to make a level +3 encounter fun instead of overwhelming is to stagger the monster's arrival times.

 

[Mistwell]

I would hope you'd give the players a few minutes after each encounter. I hear 4E encounters take hours to resolve even simple situations an are super grindy so a few minutes afterward to hit the bathroom or refill their drink I think is courteous.

Well, you hear wrong. Sure, some take a couple of hours. But, after you get an experienced group of players gong, it does not take hours to resolve even "simply situations" nor are MOST combats "super grindy".

I'd say a lot of combats are done in 20 mins or less for us.