D&D 5E Avoiding the 15m workday.

[Jer]

Yeah, we did 2 PCs per player too. Mostly during my teenage years. Can't really point to any particular time when that stopped though, or for whatever reason.

Oh I can - it was when we started playing games that weren't D&D. Then when we switched back to D&D, playing multiple characters was weird and so we stopped doing it.

 

[Sacrosanct]

When to take a rest, or make sure there is no one left to call reinforcements, etc. are vital player decisions. Going on without a full tank of gas vs. resting and returning to a more vigilant prepared enemy force should be a difficult and meaningful decision.

This is 100% correct. Players should have that empowerment to make those decisions. Giving players a rest whenever they want effectively takes away their choice, because it becomes automatic, and anything automatic is not a real choice. DMing is more than controlling the monsters and NPCs from encounter to encounter during the encounter; it's controlling those monsters and NPCs in between, outside of, and independent of actual combat encounters.

IMHO of course, and YMMV.

 

[Dausuul]

If that's true, I've been doing it wrong. Can you point that rule out to me?

I also do not have a PHB handy, so can't provide the monk quote, but here are the relevant bits for off-hand attacks from the Basic Rules. First, from the general rules around bonus actions:

You can take a bonus action only when a special ability, spell, or other feature of the game states that you can do something as a bonus action. You otherwise don’t have a bonus action to take.

So, the bonus action only happens when something in the game explicitly gives it to you. Then in the Two-Weapon Fighting rules:

When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you’re holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you’re holding in the other hand.

Thus, if you don't take the Attack action, you never get the bonus action and can't make an off-hand attack. I assume the monk ability has similar wording.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Thus, if you don't take the Attack action, you never get the bonus action and can't make an off-hand attack. I assume the monk ability has similar wording.

Yep.

"When you use the Attack action with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon on your turn, you can make one unarmed strike as a bonus action."

 

[Andor]

I ran that encounter last night.

They had spent enough time chatting up the townsfolk to know about the tunnel, and came in through the cravasse. My players were within 2 intiative counts of throwing down with the Nothic when the cleric who (miraculously) rolled highest on initiative threw it some rations as a bribe. When it paused to devour them they threw it some more and he settled down. They made their way out of the crevasse and almost got into another fight with the Nothic when they started to try to loot his chest but backed off when he hissed at them.

They started to explore the cave however the sorcerer had cast a spell for some reason and wild surged himself into free teleports for 1 minute. He had been pestering the scouting monk all day with his message cantrip and now he teleported right behind him and whispered "I'm here." in his ear. Feeling jumpy the monk turned and attacked. The gnome monk turned and attacked him. With a dagger. To the groin. One failed con save later an ear-piercingly girly scream attracted the attention of the Bugbears who tried to sneak in to investigate, but botched their stealth rolls leading to a stand up fight over the crevasse. After tossing three bugbear corpses to the Nothic (and narrowly avoiding accdently feeding him the gnome who got dropped by a single solid hit from a bugbear) the party seriously discussed retreating to rest, but felt they couldn't risk give the Redbrands time to prepare or respond. Then the monk went, alone for some reason, through the back of the secret door and took a drink from the cistern. Unfortunately the Redbrands from the storage room had heard the sounds of the fight and had hidden themselves in the room and attacking from surprise almost dropped the poor Monk, again. He ran screaming to get the rest of the party and another fight ensued. This time the party had little trouble as my dice decided to take the rest of the night off.

We had to call it a night there, but I don't think they'll retreat yet. I do think they are probably going to deal with the Redbrands without pause but rest and come back another day to deal with the Nothic who has them a bit freaked out. They seem to have sussed out that he is not an invested member of the bandit gang and won't really care what happens to the rest of the cellar complex.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I love 5e, but I miss 4e's solution to this: milestones and action points. I found those to be quite effective at motivating players to push on unless they were truly on the edge of falling over. (Of course, the per-encounter powers didn't hurt, either.)

I'm rather hoping for a 5e-balanced AP system in the DMG.

 

[mcbobbo]

I think the module reflects that a straight up fight is tough going. There are multiple Charisma - based ways through encounters listed, and good places to rest are often called out in the module text.

It could be the group is used to encounters being balanced. Just FYI, they're not. And not to spoil too much, but there's a big one in your future that WILL result in death if you take it head on...

 

[pedro2112]

Yeah, we did 2 PCs per player too. Mostly during my teenage years. Can't really point to any particular time when that stopped though, or for whatever reason.

3E began the "it's too much work to have multiple PCs" era.

 

[herrozerro]

So the biggest point's I am gathering from here and other forums, is that low level 5e is really not that heroic of play. you need to be sneaky bastards or avoid fighting as much as possible.

 

[Sacrosanct]

3E began the "it's too much work to have multiple PCs" era.

I never really played 3e and stuck with 1e all these years. I have a feeling was just a getting older thing that made us stop playing more than one PC at at time.