D&D 5E Aren't Short Rest classes *better* in "story-based" games rather than dungeon crawls?

[Mordhau]

No wonder there's a shortage of DMs if DMs are supposed to do all the work of calibrating the game all the time.

 

[Asisreo]

If the princess needs rescuing, she needs it now. The lich could have been ten years ago, it doesn't matter if it's been more than two days. But rescuing the princess is probably not a single encounter that can be resolved with a single spell slot.

Right, but what about the bits in-between? I consider the time between the lich's defeat and the princess's rescue as downtime that gives the warlock exceptional time to shine. Which could easily spill over into the adventure in more ways than flavor, though it depends on how it's structured.

But from my head, the warlock can use that time to constantly cast Suggestion on whatever NPC they want and have them do his bidding ranging from handing them a magic item to giving information to the party.

THESE are the days I'm most referring to. Because the adventure isn't just the adventuring day, it's the culmination of those days, and those days matter.

Well, they're supposed to matter, but if a DM doesn't let them matter, it can be disappointing that the DM strings one-combat adventures but doesn't let characters capitalize on the time.

 

[Stoutstien]

No wonder there's a shortage of DMs if DMs are supposed to do all the work of calibrating the game all the time.

Without support from the books yes that's basically the problem.

 

[Lyxen]

No wonder there's a shortage of DMs if DMs are supposed to do all the work of calibrating the game all the time.

Well, seeing that the number of DMs has risen by about the same factor with 5e as the number or players, I would say that it's not really an issue.

Moreover, who tells you that you have to calibrate the game ? That is a constraint that you are imposing purely on yourself, most DMs just play the game and enjoy it without calibration, just making sure on the go that players had fun, and that it was never just one guy hogging the spotlight. And by the way, previous editions still required you to calibrate the game, it was just easier in some respect and way harder in some as you had to drag all these constraints with you. So yes, more tools, but also more things to learn and to take care, artificial things that are absolutely not needed to enjoy the game (some people enjoy them, good for them, but they are not necessary).

Finally, the reason some players have trouble finding DMs is that they have acquired bad habits from previous editions. DMing for 5e is way simpler than in previous editions, not only do you have fewer things to master, but you have way fewer people stopping you and trying to explain to you that what you are doing is not what the rules say (or at least their more or less personal interpretation of it).

Do you really think that if it was that difficult, and if support was really needed, we would have seen an explosion of players and therefore DM like we did ? Certainly not. Once more, if you stop imposing constraints from previous editions on 5e, it's a way simpler but still really efficient game for roleplaying and storytelling.

 

[Mordhau]

Moreover, who tells you that you have to calibrate the game ?

You did.

 

[Lyxen]

You did.

Where exactly?

 

[Mordhau]

Where exactly?

...The right solution is to deal with it globally, as a DM, with all the reins in his hand to make sure that everyone has the same opportunity for fun, and without being constrained by smaller subsystem imposing local constraints that prevent an optimal solution. And maybe intrinsically some classes can save resources for the BBEG and others can't, but it does not matter when the DM has all the tools at his disposal, circumstances of the fight, characteristics of the BBEG, magic items, spells, minions whatever to compensate for it ? ...

 

[jmartkdr2]

Right, but what about the bits in-between? I consider the time between the lich's defeat and the princess's rescue as downtime that gives the warlock exceptional time to shine. Which could easily spill over into the adventure in more ways than flavor, though it depends on how it's structured.

But from my head, the warlock can use that time to constantly cast Suggestion on whatever NPC they want and have them do his bidding ranging from handing them a magic item to giving information to the party.

THESE are the days I'm most referring to. Because the adventure isn't just the adventuring day, it's the culmination of those days, and those days matter.

Well, they're supposed to matter, but if a DM doesn't let them matter, it can be disappointing that the DM strings one-combat adventures but doesn't let characters capitalize on the time.

The spells cast during downtime? Like, how many spell slots did you use during two weeks of rest where nothing happened?

Does anyone track spell slots during downtime?

 

[FrogReaver]

I asked why your comparison was between a warlock and a [quantum] wizard who "has just the right high-level spell" rather than a warlock and a sorlock has just the right high-level spell & has the warlock's big thing on top of the wide array of spell slots and highlighted the relevant abilities to show why the comparison should have been warlock/sorlock.

That wasn't my comparison. Even in your link it links to a different poster.

So what about the wizard specifically that it deserves such ire to be held up so many times in this thread rather than a long rest class that steals the short rest benefits with a dip?

1. Wizard is iconic.
2. Wizard is almost purely long rest so makes a better comparison for short rest vs long rest benefits.

Is your point that you think a sorlock is better than a warlock and maybe even a wizard?

 

[Scott Christian]

And the reasonable thing is to consider that not everything can be balanced, that some situations will also more favorable to some classes, or some types of adversaries, etc. Ot to some players or type of players for that matter.

So it's absolutely pointless to ask the system to provide exact balance. 4e tried it and still failed, despite having a way more constrained system. This is why the DM is needed to make sure that players have equal opportunities to shine and participate, despite all the varying factors in circumstances, out of which the rest elements are only a very small fraction anyway.

Just so you are aware, I agree with everything you say here.