D&D 5E "As a DM I don't pay all that much attention (if any) to the PCs' remaining resources." (a poll)

[Reynard]

Not my job.

 

[Seramus]

A mix. I don't want to keep track of every HP and spell slot, so that my challenges are fairly presented and fairly defeated. But I have a hard time NOT memorizing everything my players can do. It's like a narrative running in the back of my head like "Player A could do this, and this, and then Player B could do that, and still have enough left over for the next challenge."

I try to turn it off, and just enjoy the moment. Success varies.

 

[aco175]

I tend to give out enough healing potions to not have to worry too much. Maybe if the group was new to D&D or even 5e, but not the group I have now.

 

[Umbran]

Vaguely, yes I do. I am not tracking every hit point or spell slot, but I keep aware of generally how beat up they are, or if they are running low on magical oomph. As GM, whether I like it or not my choices have a lot of impact on the pacing and mood of a session. I prefer to make those choices informed.

 

[tetrasodium]

I'd like to say true, but there's a glaring exception where the system demands that I do it. Specifically when players engage in rest overuse to 5mwd nova and I need to make the adventure react to avoid a 2-3hr session being completed in tens of minutes

 

[Bill Zebub]

But... that's the best time to bring out the meat grinder.

In my last two sessions (as a player), with two different DMs, we faced combat encounters that were pretty unfair. One was Deadly, and the other...well, I guess the scale tops out at Deadly.

Two of the best fights I've seen in a long time.

 

[Steampunkette]

I am in a bit of a minority...

There's a couple of resources I personally keep track of as I find them the most crucial from behind the screen:

1) Hit Dice. Seems silly to do, but knowing how much recovery your party can get during a short rest can tell you whether they're gonna take one or not. If a series of events have burned their hit dice while the long-rest characters still have most of their resources, there's a good chance they'll skip a short rest unless the warlock begs.

2) Healing Items. How many are still in play because a forgotten healing item can result in an anticlimactic PC death because of a faulty memory. "Hey, Tim? Go ahead and roll intelligence for me." Tim rolls a 15 "You could probably save Thag with that healing potion you got two months ago from the Swamp Witch's Hovel. Yeah, the mossy green potion no one wanted to drink 'cause it smelled like swamp water."

 

[iserith]

In my last two sessions (as a player), with two different DMs, we faced combat encounters that were pretty unfair. One was Deadly, and the other...well, I guess the scale tops out at Deadly.

Two of the best fights I've seen in a long time.

Hell yeah, that's the spirit!

 

[Lanefan]

I am in no way interested in attrition or resource management, so True.

Quite the opposite: I'm very much interested in (the players having to pay attention to) attrition and resource management, so True.

What awaits the PCs awaits them, regardless of their current situation. It's up to them (via their players) to be wise about their resource use and-or recovery.

 

[DND_Reborn]

As I said in the other thread: the world is organic--it is what it is. The PCs interact with it as best they can, but it makes no difference to me how many spell slots, hit dice, or uses of a feature a PC might have remaining when I plan an encounter--the encounter is planned according to the narrative of the world/story and the world-building itself.

For example, tonight was a harsh night for the PCs. Two were killed outright by a critical hits after their hp was reduced, another was knocked unconscious, and the other two fled. An NPC was also killed (but by the party LOL!). Their resources were fair, but they should have run, only one tried before going unconscious.

Anyway, the encounter was there because it made sense for the world-building that it be there. That is all that matters, for me, anyway.