D&D 5E (2024) High Level 5.5E: Building Encounter Chains

[tetrasodium]

4 encounters works reasonably well in 5.5 depending on how strong they are.

Thats around 12 rounds.

5 and players would be running low on stuff unless they're conservative with resources.

I'm guessing most here haven't actually used the rules or DM a game. Hell I'm not even sure nost here have actually played 5.5 vs interjecting their own assumptions and previous editions stuff onto it.

I've been running encounters RAW for over a year.

Uhh...

Makes the problem worse everyone will want to nova.

Short rest classes can't nova without cost and demand a smoke break to repeat it next encounter like they are playing half minute hero instead of d&d if short rests are simply removed. Long rest classes have a higher bar to rest that doesn't require a half minute hero tuned doom clock and are not designed to encourage a nova loop.

5MWD is a player problem and newer players are doing it more. 4E would have the same problem everyone would want to blow their dailies and rest.

A problem players are encouraged encouraged to engage in by short rest class design that evades reasonable pressure from the gm. That makes it a design problem

The solution is on the DM or you would have to rewrite D&D entirely removing dailies and putting everyone on at will and encounter. Then you don't have D&D.

There isn't much "rewriting" to simply remove short rests. Do warlock and monk lose the ability to nova loop? Yes good, they still have significant at will abilities like hexed agonizing repelling Eldritch blast firing 3 bolts at level 15 and the monk can use magical versions of monk weapons on top of its various at will abilities. There is no step two rewrite needed in simply removing short rests.

New encounter rules actually work as long as you don't 5MWD. My groups don't do that as I run living world/consequences if they do. Rarely a hard time limit (rescue the princess by midnight). Time taken IRL is approaching 4E if you do though (30-60 minute fights tier 2 maybe 3).

5.5 is more reliant on battlemats so more time taken to set up or draw it in. If you rush you might be able to squeeze in 3 or 4 fights a session but you won't be doing much else.

Its very grindy later on though at 12th level I had 10 encounters just to see what happens low/medium/high in equal numbers.

Its a question of real life time vs DM patience and how players tend to play.

Kinda like 4E grind with 3.5 rocket tag later on IMHO. Heres some big bad with +10 or 15 initiative here comes a 20d6 AoE I can't counter. Kinda balances out the classes. Squashies get nuked.

Obviously by your own admission in that bolded bit, they very much do not work "reasonably well".

 

[kigmatzomat]

My 5E 2024 (5.5E) campaign is reaching its climax. The PCs are currently 15th level, and depending on whether they decide to tie up some loose ends, or decide to rush the BBEG, they will either be 15th or 17th level for the "final battle". A detail that may be important: there is no cleric in the party.

tl;dr: Help me figure out what a 15th level 5.5E encounter chain to stress resources looks like. Thanks!

So without any strong context we can't suggest specific numbers as it comes down to the creature types that make sense.

But look at it from the other side. If a bbeg of some kind wants to ablate attackers, what should they do?

1. A noisy outer perimeter with good perception. Enough of them spread out sufficiently that a single quiet spell can't take them all out. They aren't expected to even be speed bumps but they have horns, gongs, etc to summon reinforcement. Maybe they drop a portcullis, which makes a huge racket. They should have a chance of alerting the defenders prior to invaders of the most likely kind hitting the perimeter. "Of the most likely kind" could be goblins, the group of paladins that keep driving out the bbeg, whatever. Odds are it isnt the PCs. (2% of xp budget)

2. A couple of groups of middle-tier reinforcements that come from different paths. These should have a chance to stop whatever counts as "most likely kind of invaders." Again, that's probably not the PCs. They have the advantage of known terrain and some kind of tactic, which could be as simple as "trolls attack from west, orks attack from east and goblins fire arrows from the rooftops to the north" (8% of xp budget)

3. The reserves. These are a couple of heavy hitters that are expected to finish off whatever the reinforcements are chewing on. Maybe a smaller giant in plate mail, spellcaster, and a sneaky-sniper type. (20% of xp total)

4.the underboss and their personal guard. The person the bbeg will be mad at. (20% of xp total)

5. The bbeg and their guards/minions. (50% of xp total)