Illithidbix
Explorer
So I haven't played or run 4E for a few years but I do recall 4E was pretty much a breeze to DM.
But there was one piece of guidance that I recall was missed:
The encounter level and easy, standard and hard encounters was very clear and easy to use.
A 4E short rest between each combat encounter.
A milestone (with action points and magic item usage) when you complete two encounters without stopping for an extended rest
There was also the guidance on the spread of encounter difficulty across a level (see page 104 of the 4E DMG).
However the one thing I do recall missing is the number of easy/standard/hard encounters expected between extended rests, and how this changes between tiers.
The 4E DMG mentions
Now, I almost always ran and played heroic tier and used the very rough rule of thumb of two milestones (so four or five standard encounters) between every extended rest, if I wanted to create a sense of taxingness. Which seemed to work.
But I am curious; was there some later official guidance I missed?
What was the rough guidelines that other DMs used?
I find it amusing to a degree that the "standard adventuring day" was defined in 5E and has become a somewhat controversial part of it.
But there was one piece of guidance that I recall was missed:
The encounter level and easy, standard and hard encounters was very clear and easy to use.
A 4E short rest between each combat encounter.
A milestone (with action points and magic item usage) when you complete two encounters without stopping for an extended rest
There was also the guidance on the spread of encounter difficulty across a level (see page 104 of the 4E DMG).
However the one thing I do recall missing is the number of easy/standard/hard encounters expected between extended rests, and how this changes between tiers.
The 4E DMG mentions
(Hard) encounters really test the characters’ resources, and might force them to take an extended rest at the end.
andSince they rely on healing surges to regain lost hit points, heroic tier characters are likely to take an extended rest when surges get dangerously low
(Paragon Tier characters) also have ways to regain hit points beyond healing surges, including regeneration, so they can complete more encounters between extended rests.
(Epic Tier) characters can last through many encounters before resting and can even return from death in the middle of a fight.
Now, I almost always ran and played heroic tier and used the very rough rule of thumb of two milestones (so four or five standard encounters) between every extended rest, if I wanted to create a sense of taxingness. Which seemed to work.
But I am curious; was there some later official guidance I missed?
What was the rough guidelines that other DMs used?
I find it amusing to a degree that the "standard adventuring day" was defined in 5E and has become a somewhat controversial part of it.
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