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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GlassJaw" data-source="post: 3555810" data-attributes="member: 22103">Well I alluded to some potential problems earlier, most notably in-game elapsed time per session.But let's say you are designing a module for a system where the core unit of time for "recharge" is per session.  By core I mean it's the main controlling unit of time that the system is based upon.The first challenge is determining how many challenges the party can overcome before needing to recharge.  This has a great effect on EL.  The rule of thumb is that a party has a 50% change to overcome an encounter of equal CR and only spending 100% of their resources.  So I know in my module design, I want to space those difficult challenges out so the party is not overwhelmed.  I know that by placing such a challenge, I can space it out within the module so the party will be fully rested before encountering it.  I can do this because the rule of thumb for encounters is based on in-game time and resources expenditure.Enter per session recharge.As a designer, how do I know how many encounters a particular gaming group will get through in a session?  How do I know if a group plays in 2 or 4 hour blocks?  It also creates a system in which combat is weighted more heavily in terms of real time (because combat tends to take longer) than out of combat challenges (like disarming traps).  I could drain a group's resources quickly by throwing a lot of non-combat challenges at them versus one or two combat encounters.  It only compounds when the in-game time during a particular session isn't linear.  What if the party starts a session with a big battle (equal CR or higher) and then has to travel a week to another area and fight another big battle?  In a per day or per encounter system, the party will be at full strength for each encounter.  Will they be in a per session system?  Perhaps not unless you further complicate the system by adding expceptions to the rule (refresh per session unless in-game time elapsed is greater than a day, etc), in which case a per session mechanic does nothing to serve actual gameplay.The only thing that would work on a per session basis is something that is closely tied to the story itself - per scene, chapter, etc.  But per session can't be a core mechanic.</blockquote>

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