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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Keldryn" data-source="post: 5913362" data-attributes="member: 11999">I'm not saying that D&D doesn't work.  I agree that sandbox play and ancient tombs filled with traps and undead are both important parts of the traditional D&D experience.  I'm just saying that if a DM builds a setting mostly populated by abandoned tombs just waiting to be plundered by the PCs and runs it as a "go anywhere you want, when you want" sandbox, then he should expect the players to adopt a strategy resembling the 15-minute adventuring day.  It's an effective strategy that minimizes risk to their PCs.Ultimately, the key to overcoming the 15-minute adventuring day is to make it clear that the rest of the world isn't stopping to wait while the PCs explore a dungeon one or two rooms a day.  Any monsters in the dungeon with a hint of intelligence will adapt and respond after a couple of incursions.  Wandering monsters will still ... wander.  Rival adventurers and villains will continue to pursue their goals.  Maybe one of them will take advantage of the path cleared by the overly-cautious PCs and enter the dungeon while the PCs are sleeping or traveling to and from town.The key to making it work is to think about how others will logically respond to what the PCs do.  Planning it out beforehand (even in broad strokes) helps to avoid the feeling that you're just doing it to screw with the players.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f60e.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":cool:" title="Cool    :cool:"  data-smilie="6"data-shortname=":cool:" />If it's vital that a BBEG not go down on the first round, then the DM should give him some sort of protection spells or items.  Or simply make it difficult to reach him that quickly.  Attrition through encounters with the BBEG's underlings helps keep the PCs from fighting the BBEG at full strength.If the DM puts a lot of work into a BBEG's plans and the PCs dispatch him easily, then the BBEG's protege takes over.  Somebody steps in to fill the void.  Or, with the BBEG out of the picture, his underlings become disorganized and end up attacking merchant caravans and villages.  Or the underlings look to the PCs to lead them.  When the BBEG is taken down unexpectedly or anticlimactically, turn it into a new adventure hook.And again, if it takes me 15 minutes to stat up a BBEG and not 2 hours, I don't care if the PCs take him down quickly.  If I've put a lot of detail into his plans and his organization, I'll find a way to keep using them.Sounds like the early days of Ultima Online (late 1997).</blockquote>

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