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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 4743446" data-attributes="member: 12731">@silverwhisper: Well, if it makes a difference to you, I am the one who quickly realized running lots of small fights didn't "do it" for me (considering my goals as a DM to generate excitement and tension at the table). It was only as a reaction to that the players started to explore additional ways to get healing.Which prompted me to turn to the forums for advice, once I realized two things:1) the game actively is working against my goals, by allowing the party to stock up on so many healing triggers even a hard encounter can't threaten the players.2) that how players expend very valuable daily powers such as the MC Healing Words actually work to magnify the problem with the 15-minute adventuring day. Not only does the game heavily penalize running out of surges, now I have made daily powers so powerful the players don't want to without them...@Cadfan: fair enough. Yes, it's crystal clear now that the game all but requires the DM to string out a few encounters before the ones where resources actually start running out; where the adventures actually might lack the powers to simply heal back up any lost hp.To everyone: To make my dilemma even more clear: yes, I can't muster any excitement for a game where the excitement consists of you trying to get as far as you can before you run out of surges. I want my games to consist of easy fights and hard fights, where the hard fights can actually threaten the PCs lives, even if the hard fight happens to be the first one for the day.And I don't buy the underlying assumption that PCs will press on even at low or no surges. This might work for some groups, but not mine. Sorry - they're far too good at math crunch and rationalizing their own odds to do that. What I specifically don't like is how the game couples together two things:1) choosing danger and excitementand2) willfully ignoring the maths of the gameI want the game to offer danger and excitement even if you don't accept the vastly worsened odds you get when your run out of surges.To me, surges make D&D 4e act just like D&D 3e, where the only way to achieve danger and excitement was to ignore either of two things:1) allowing danger to enter an otherwise easy win by not expending your best attack spells to blow the enemy away2) pressing on even after doing 1) despite the vastly lower offensive capabilities you have.Choices like that aren't choices at all. Drama, excitement and danger should not be the result of player choice.That is, the players should not have to choose danger (by pressing on despite low surges, by not using up powers that could end the encounter).Danger should come to them. The choice to press on should be motivated by story reasons and general "weariness" - but these are only choices if the story continues even if you say no or if you are still capable even when you've become "weary". Otherwise they aren't real choices.A game where "weariness" equals being unhealable and where the adventure simply stops if you don't press on is not a good game in my view. That is why I don't like the game as written as well as the advice I'm getting to restrict extended rests.</blockquote>

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