Beyond the encounter: rules for pacing and downtime.

[Haldrik]

Why not define the benefits and requirements, then let players do these whenever they want? Whatever makes sense for the narrative.

• 5-minute “Breather” (Short Rest)
• 1-hour “Break”
• 6-hour “Sleep” (Extended Rest)

Make the 1-hour Break sufficiently useful to avoid the need for Sleep. Thus prevent the 3e “5-minute workday”, or the 4e “35-minute workday”.

Use these same time standards for rituals and spellbooks.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Problem? I don't see any problem.

Other parties are - or should be - the PC party's most dangerous foes.

I'm worried that the PCs would find it more lucrative to ambush other adventuring parties, and stop going down dungeons. It's a potential problem with gold as a reward. If there's an easier way to make gold than getting it from dungeons - taking it from other parties, becoming a merchant, investing in business, becoming the guy who hires parties: an adventurer manager rather than an adventurer - then there's a risk that the PCs could avoid dungeons altogether. That's a problem, because that's the most entertaining form of play, it's what D&D is geared for, and it's easier for the GM to create interesting content in that play mode.

Staying as far back as possible is the smartest of smart play in D&D - Tomb of Horrors was first beaten by sending in a small army of orc slaves to set off all the traps. Refusing to enter the dungeon at all is just that tactic taken to a higher level of refinement, imo.

A solution does occur to me though, which is only to award xp for gold and magic items the PCs acquire by dungeon delving. Xp for gold and magic items is a wholly gamist construct anyway, so it doesn't matter that this wouldn't be realistic.