D&D 5E Balancing Around Fewer Combats Per Day

[Yaarel]

Toward a different solution.

All rests are short rests, whether 10 minute breather, 1-hour lunch, 8-hour sleep, etcetera.

However, twice per level, the player can choose to treat any one of these short rests as if a long rest − to do a full refresh.



The rationale is:

There are about fifteen encounters per level to advance to the next level. Actually, the leveling rate depends on the experience points required to gain the next level, and the experience points from each standard encounter at that level. The number of encounters varies depending on tier: from about 5 encounters at level 1, up to about 15 encounters to get from level 4 to level 5, then plateauing, until going back down to about 10 encounters at level 12 thru level 20.

So, if the "sweet spot" tiers are about 15 encounters for the next level, that works out to be roughly two long rests per level.



This way, the two long rests become a precious resource that the players choose when to use and must utilize wisely.

Suddenly. The players become responsible for resting, and the DM can mostly ignore resting and focus entirely on the adventure narrative. Time becomes irrelevant. If the DM plans an adventure where 15 combat encounters occur across one hour, fine; and if the DM plans an adventure where 15 combat encounters occur across one year, fine too.



Relatedly, I dont use experience points. I simply count the number of successful encounters before leveling. (Encounters that turn out to be easy count as half an encounter, difficult as one-and-half, and a near TPK counts as two encounters.) I start off at 4 encounters to reach level 2, increase by 4s until 16 encounters to reach level 5, then stay at about 16. Encounters just need to feel challenging and dont need to be combat encounters.

So it is easy for me to let players use two long rests per level. I plan to do this rest variant, but havent done it yet.

 

[Charlaquin]

We know that few groups follow the 8 encounter template and that makes Challenge Rating seem a little on the easy side.
My group is wanting to embark on a series of one-shots, likely facing 2-3 combat encounters per adventure. How would you adjust for that? Would you make most encounters hard or deadly?

If you expect to have 2-3 encounters per day, yeah, I’d say making them all deadly will probably do the trick, though keep in mind the results will be swingier than if you had more, easier encounters. You probably also only want them to take one short rest in that time, but obviously that’s harder to control for, short of making a one short rest per day house rule.

 

[Blue]

Conceptually, this isn't too far from

If you expect to have 2-3 encounters per day, yeah, I’d say making them all deadly will probably do the trick, though keep in mind the results will be swingier than if you had more, easier encounters. You probably also only want them to take one short rest in that time, but obviously that’s harder to control for, short of making a one short rest per day house rule.

Curious on the single short rest. If the idea is to have the amount of deadlines of more encounters, but compressed down, and the long-rest-recovery classes will still be getting all of their slots/uses per day, why reduce the short rest total uses when you can grant what they have to match the long rest classes - 2 per day.

 

[Charlaquin]

Curious on the single short rest. If the idea is to have the amount of deadlines of more encounters, but compressed down, and the long-rest-recovery classes will still be getting all of their slots/uses per day, why reduce the short rest total uses when you can grant what they have to match the long rest classes - 2 per day.

Hmm… I started writing an explanation and then realized the math of it didn’t work out like I thought it did. Yeah, I guess it should still be 2 short rests per day.

 

[Xeviat]

Making sure to have 2 short rests per long rest, or 1 to 3 with an average of 2, helps ensure interclass balance. Then you can use hard and deadly fights. Just stick to the daily XP budget, and push things a little harder for the first encounter, and don't use solos (unless they're mythic).