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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Flamestrike" data-source="post: 7717962" data-attributes="member: 6788736">Dont blame me, blame the Devs. Im not a huge fan of the 6-8 encounter baseline either.The game does not expect 6-8 encounter every single day. It does not expect them every single adventuring day either. It does balance at that point. Although it also realises that enforced mechanical balance (that 4E hoisted on us) is boring and not what players of the game want.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Some days will feature 6-8 encounters/ 2-3 short rests</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Some days will feature 1 encounter, or 2.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Some days will feature 3 encounters, and 2 short rests, or 1 short rest</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Some days will feature encounters, followed by waves of more encounters, and little to no chance to rest at all.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Some days will feature 6-8 encounters, and the chance to short rest after every single one</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Most days will feature zero encounters.</li> </ul>With the way 5E has framed its encounter/ adventuring day paradigm (and its resource management paradigm with some classed being more long rest and others being more short rest focussed) it allows the DM to manage the adventuring day subject to his or her own campaign. The game doesnt force this paradigm on you, it just sets it as the rough average balancing point for the classes/ and encounters.You can throw more short rests at your group if your fighters, monks and warlocks are struggling. You can throw more encounters at your group if the full casters are dominating.Basically you (the DM) get to move the spotlight, from player to player, and from class to class. You have your hands on two 'dials' - rest frequency and encounter frequency. Tweak them from day to day as you feel appropriate. Some days its a single encounter, and the full casters/ paladins and barbarians are boss. Some days its the 6-8 encounter/ 2-3 short rest days and the classes alll balance sweetly. Some days its waves of encounters, no chance to long rest, and multiple chances to short rest, and the Fighters, Warlocks and Monks are Gods______________________________Example:Your average 'dungeon' (and most adventures take place in 'dungeons' or tightly zoomed in encounter areas of ruins, castles, keeps, forest trails with clearings etc etc) adventure goes:1) Week(s) in town doing dowtime. Get 'hook' for adventure/ quest (slay BBEG/ recover macguffin/ rescue NPC).2) Head to adventure locale (ruin/ dungeon). Generaly a fast forwarded montage. Possibly get an encounter or two on the way.3) Zoom in to the 'dungeon', featuring several combat encounters/ traps/ environmental challenges all tightly packed together, with a few chances to take a breather here or there.Within that broad meta, the DM polices the resource usage of his party and ensures they are challenged. Whether thats by placing time constraints on the quest (BBEG/ NPC/ Macguffin needs to saved/ killed/ rescued by [Time X] or [Consequence Y happens]) or via 'random' or 'wandering' monsters and/ or a reactive BBEG who comes looking for them, or via mechanical effects (Gritty realism rest variant), via the social contract ('Guys, if you abuse the rest mechanic, I simply wont DM anymore') or even simply via being heavy handed (you rest, and feel better, but nothing happens and you dont get spells/ HP back) is up to the individual DM.Heck, some days the DM can just sit back and let the players police it themselves. If they expect the DM to throw more encounters at them, they naturally police themselves, and hold back frok 'nova' strikes. They also refrain from nova 'builds' becuase the meta of the campaign makes them useless.Now you might run your games differently, and good on you, but the above is the default assumption of DnD as a game. If that doesnt work for you you are probably better off playing a different game with a different underlying assumption (Savage Worlds, Rolemaster, WHFRP or whatever).And dont blame me for this mate. Blame Crawford and co. Or even blame Gygax, seeing as DnD has always been a resource management game, and the '5 minute adventuring day' trope has been around since OD+D.</blockquote>

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