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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ilbranteloth" data-source="post: 7192050" data-attributes="member: 6778044">To the last point - I worded it too vaguely. I like it to be more consistently tied to the passage of time in the game world, rather than the arbitrary/abstract notion of number of encounters, number of XP gained, etc. OK, so back to the OP version. It only works if the DM is using the XP system to design the adventure. The more non-XP challenges such as traps, or long term effects, such as mummy rot, poison, that you introduce, the less it's going to work like people expect 5e to work. On the other hand, it will start to be more and more like AD&D.What you are essentially doing is giving the PCs a total pool of resources, but spreading access to it over time. They only get one long rest between 1st and 2nd levels, or between 2nd and 3rd levels. So essentially you're saying they have double their hit points, and 1 1/2 times their Hit Dice to work with, plus magical healing to extend that.If that's too tough, then double the number of rests allowed between levels. Let's look at examples where this might be a problem:Tomb of Horrors (TftYP version): Since there are multiple paths to get to where there is a potential combat encounter, I'm going to just go in numerical order. Room 8 is a potential combat encounter (450 XP - one would think it's more, but they didn't alter the number of attacks). Potential damage in rooms 1-7? 27 (5d10) + 12 (2d10 poison +1) + up to 5 pits (19 + 11 + 22 poison or 42 possible from each) + 65 (10d6).That's a lot of damage and dealing with poison and since this is for 10th level characters or so, you'll need 21,000 XP (each, or 84,000 for the party) to get to the next level. So the expected long rest is about halfway through, or at 42,000 XP.Granted, the pits are almost certainly a non-issue since a 10th level party that can't spot DC 15 pits with passive Perception is pretty pathetic. And it's also not designed using the DMG adventuring day guidelines. But I also don't think it would work with this system. The most difficult "combat" encounter is Acererak himself, and he's worth less than 1/4 the XP that the party as a whole needs (20,000 of the 84,000 XP needed).At the very least, the DM will need to use the Non-combat XP variant in the DMG. However, that will require a lot of work on the DMs part, because they'll have to calculate the appropriate XP for each trap, they can't just look them up.So to be more fair, how about a dungeon designed for 5e?Curse of Strahd will be tough too. Strahd himself might appear multiple times, and consume some of the PCs resources, but not be killed himself, so they won't gain the benefits of any XP from those encounters. There are a lot of social encounters, some of which can have an impact on resources (Vistani curses, for example), but most of the encounters that will consume resources are combat encounters. However, with the amount of undead, there are a lot of things that might be problematic (Life Drain lasts until completing a long rest, for example). Something like OotA will probably work fairly well. Not too many traps or other non-XP resource draining encounters.My assessment right now? It sounds like for certain adventures and approaches it will add a lot of work for the DM. At the very least, it assumes that the system as outlined in the DMG is being used. I'm not convinced that all of the published APs do, much less most DM written adventures. It will make certain types of adventures more deadly, requiring the PCs to retreat to home a la AD&D more often. Or the DM will need to add in XP for non-combat encounters, again with limited guidelines in the DMG and more work.In addition, for me, the disconnect from the narrative and the game world are a big issue too. A hurdle that I haven't overcome just yet. The idea that the PCs are resting (potentially in the same spot) several nights in a row, but only one of those counts as a long rest. That's one example, anyway.Alternate Ability Recovery SystemWhat if we separate recovery from rests altogether, and model it after the Barbarian's Relentless Rage ability?To recover short or long rest abilities, you must make an ability check using your character's primary ability. You make a separate check for short rest abilities and long rest abilities. The base DC is 5 for a short rest ability, and 20 for a long rest ability. It increases by +5 each time you attempt to recover the ability. See "Rests" below for resetting this DC.You regain the use of all short rest abilities (or long rest abilities) on success or failure, but also suffer exhaustion if you fail the saving throw. You suffer 1 level of exhaustion for a short rest ability, or 3 levels of exhaustion for a long rest ability.We'll need to modify the rest system as well:Short Rest. 10 or 15 minutes long. Roll available Hit Dice.Long Rest. 8 hours long. You regain 1/2 of your Hit Dice. You regain 1 level of exhaustion. The base DC for your short rest and long rest recovery checks are reset but increased by 2. Your first short rest and long rest recovery checks for the day are made with advantage.Full Day Rest. A full day rest is 24 hours of uninterrupted rest. No strenuous activities, no combat, etc. You regain all Hit Points. You regain all Hit Dice. You regain all abilities, and the base DC for ability recovery is entirely reset. --A few additional thoughts:Tying the saving throw to the class makes it easier (and more fair).Another alternative is to make it a d20 check with no modifiers. That means it's harder (since everybody will typically have a bonus if it's tied to their primary ability), but it won't suffer disadvantage on the saving throw if they reach an exhaustion level of 3.The Base DC may need some tweaking. The intention is that a player should expect to be able to use a short rest ability 3 times/day and a long rest ability once/day without much risk to closely match the RAW. It addresses long-term attrition. You are only gaining the potential of half of your maximum hit points each day, and you still might fail your recovery check. In addition, each day the base DC is 2 points higher. The players remain in control of their rests and recovery, and have more flexibility. In addition, as characters raise their ability scores, they'll have a better chance of regaining abilities a little more frequently.I think it works with game balance fine. Even gaining your long rest abilities for a second time in a day isn't really any different from the group that decides they will wait it out and get their long rest before that next encounter. In addition, I think it discourages that type of approach to some degree - taking more long rests makes future recovery tougher. So waiting is encouraged a bit more, and taking a risk instead. I suspect most will stop taking the risk once they are suffering a level of exhaustion, although this aspect can be countered to some degree with greater restoration. If your players are the type that will attempt to game the Full Day Rest, then make it a Full Week Rest instead. I think 24 hours should be sufficient to discourage most abuse, though.</blockquote>

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