D&D 5E Every Fight a Nova: Consequences and Considerations

[Reynard]

It occurred to me that another way to do this if you still wanted that multiple fight experience from a storytelling perspective would be to just say "all PCs gain the benefits of a long rest at the end of every encounter." That way you could still have a dungeon romp -- it just wouldn't be about resource management.

 

[Vaalingrade]

If every fight was a 'Nova' meaning players could use all their fun abilities at once, then we can move away from combat encounters being the core of advancement and let fights just be fun setpieces instead of a job where you have to do X many before you can be rewarded. And we can be free of resource management.

 

[Reynard]

If every fight was a 'Nova' meaning players could use all their fun abilities at once, then we can move away from combat encounters being the core of advancement and let fights just be fun setpieces instead of a job where you have to do X many before you can be rewarded. And we can be free of resource management.

I think many people have moved away from from that and embraced milestone levelling -- which I am not a fan of in most circumstances -- and away from resource management -- which is too bad, since it is one of the founding principles of the game.

However, I liken the idea of a "nova campaign" to a super-hero one, which I like very much.

 

[Baron Opal II]

If every fight was a 'Nova' meaning players could use all their fun abilities at once, then we can move away from combat encounters being the core of advancement and let fights just be fun setpieces instead of a job where you have to do X many before you can be rewarded. And we can be free of resource management.

I'm sure some people would enjoy that very much. Fortunately, the game is quite adjustable.

 

[payn]

If every fight was a 'Nova' meaning players could use all their fun abilities at once, then we can move away from combat encounters being the core of advancement and let fights just be fun setpieces instead of a job where you have to do X many before you can be rewarded. And we can be free of resource management.

Its how my Traveller games have worked for decades.

 

[TheSword]

I have a strong preference for WFRP 4e where no abilities are limited in uses and can be used at any time. The limit to power is skill and time.

 

[Li Shenron]

Rather, I want to talk about what consequences and consideration should be taken into account ASSUMING that every fight is going to be a nova.

Should be taken into account by the DM or the players?

 

[Reynard]

Should be taken into account by the DM or the players?

I clarify in a later post that I mean it is above board -- that is, the players are fully aware of the assumption.

 

[Xetheral]

Nova fights can afford to last much longer than ordinary fights while still being fun, since the party has enough resources to last throughout the combat without resorting to basic attacks and cantrips. One can make longer fights without making them harder fights simply by making the battlefield larger.

In a sufficiently long fight on a sufficiently large battlefield, even a single encounter can feature hard choices about when/how to best employ top-tier limited use abilities rather than simply using them in descending order of effectiveness.

 

[Reynard]

Nova fights can afford to last much longer than ordinary fights while still being fun, since the party has enough resources to last throughout the combat without resorting to basic attacks and cantrips. One can make longer fights without making them harder fights simply by making the battlefield larger.

In a sufficiently long fight on a sufficiently large battlefield, even a single encounter can even feature hard choices about when/how to best employ top-tier limited use abilities rather than simply using them in descending order of effectiveness.

That is a very good point. It could be fun to make a whole (small) dungeon the battlefield for that single nova fight, with different elevations, terrain, traps and whatever the goal (outside of killing the BBEG) is.