D&D 5E If party short rests in a dungeon room

[Falcon10275]

DM question for ya.

If the party does a short 1 hour rest in a dungeon room they just cleared, can it be interrupted? if so what percent of the time should I interrupt it as a DM?

 

[Tormyr]

DM question for ya.

If the party does a short 1 hour rest in a dungeon room they just cleared, can it be interrupted? if so what percent of the time should I interrupt it as a DM?

It depends on how much traffic the area should expect. Determine a % of the time that somebody goes through there and then roll percentile dice. If they hit that percentage or less, then there is an encounter. If the party is doing a decent job of hiding, then there should also be a perception vs. stealth contest. There are not hard and fast rules for it. Just go with what makes sense.

 

[redrick]

The easiest way to do this is just to use wandering monster rolls. I roll 1d6 every 10 minutes for a busy area of dungeon and 1d6 every 20 minutes for a less traveled area. If I roll a 1, that's a random encounter.

Even if you don't have a wandering monster table, you can always just assume that somebody from a nearby room came by to borrow a sword sharpener or ask if they would still have normal guard duty for Monster Memorial Day. I know I never stay put at my desk for more than 30 minutes.

 

[Rabbitbait]

DM question for ya.

If the party does a short 1 hour rest in a dungeon room they just cleared, can it be interrupted? if so what percent of the time should I interrupt it as a DM?

The best answer is ... It depends.

It depends on how big, crowded and dangerous the dungeon is. It might depend on a random dice roll, it might depend on if you feel there should be an encounter. It might be story driven, it might be because as DM you want to increase the tension.

So, totally up to you in every respect.

 

[Sacrosanct]

DM question for ya.

If the party does a short 1 hour rest in a dungeon room they just cleared, can it be interrupted?

Sure. Any rest can be interrupted if you as the DM feels it makes sense for what is going on in the dungeon.

if so what percent of the time should I interrupt it as a DM?

I don't think there is a hard % you can assign. Is is a room that is hardly ever used? Then there's a good chance there won't be an interruption. Are there lots of monsters around and they know the PCs are in the area? Chance are pretty high the PCs will be interrupted. Just gotta go with what makes sense and is reasonable to you.

 

[Paraxis]

It looks to me that by the rules if they are interrupted with any strenuous activity like combat before the hour is over they don't get the benefit of the short rest and have to start the clock over again when the fight is done.

How often are random encounters? Up to the DM, we don't even have guidelines yet, this will most likely be in the DMG.

Personally, I don't do random encounters just what makes sense in the context of the story. So if they have been slaughtering their way through an enemy compound and decide to have a lunch break, more than likely the other residents of the place will notice and respond.

 

[was]

Yes, it can be interrupted by a random encounter. As others have stated, the frequency and type of encounter should be determined by the dungeon type and population density.

 

[Henrix]

Many old dungeons included a chance for a a random encounter, and an appropriate encounter table, for the specific dungeon.

I think 10% chance for a wandering encounter every hour was about the standard.

 

[dco]

The DM should know the monsters and people in the dungeon, if they are aware of the players and the actions they would take.
If they cleared the room but there were other guys in the other room who heard battle noise, cryes, etc they should prepare and go kill the players, direct approach or with stealth.
If the people or monsters killed in the room should meet another person or or monster somewhere this one should be suspicious that something is happening and take appropiate actions.
If no one noticed players should rest without external interruptions unless DM knows someone could pass and notice them, for example a guard patrolling or a random encounters if the place sees a lot of movement, with a random roll or without it if the DM wants to punish lazy players.

 

[Henrix]

Random rolls are perfect to keep the PCs on their toes - they never know what'll happen.
They're are thus encouraged to find a safe spot, say by becoming friends with the goblins next door.

Perfect for sandboxing.

And it makes Rope Trick really handy.