LONG REST: let's add some realism.

[Pickles JG]

Also: I don't play D&D for the realism, otherwise I'd wonder why my 20-something female adventurers in a psuedo-medieval system aren't married and pregnant.

Chastity Belts

 

[underfoot007ct]

The Long Rest mechanic, if I've read it right seems pretty good but it doesn't seem entirely "realistic". Almost too cinematic.

Realistic? Realism. Really?

WE are playing a FANTASY game just how much realism do we need. Sure I don't want to violate the laws of physics, much. I still want common sense to make the world work mostly the way it does it REAL life. Let look beyond edition X did it that way, so it must be right. Yet, I don't think either side of the HP/REST arguements will change their stances. But...

Does a broken leg bone or serious gash to the arm, heal in Three days or a week, rather than a single night. Without a REAL doctor? A broken leg would disable you for weeks, then maybe never heal correctly.

But if we MUST have "realism" and some damage is real, let really have it be realistic, why only a few days of rest rather than a single night rest then. My brother recently took a fall on some uneven sidewalk, his knee was in a cast for 8 weeks, has 8-10 weeks of rehab, and may limp for quiet a while. Probable will use a cane for months. All this with modern hospitals.


So if we must have REALISM in our favorite FANTASY game. Lets role play 16+ weeks of not adventuring, while the Fighter is in bed or the Rogue is on the verge of death with infection. Lets have some infection roll or die rules. Lasting nerve damage, speed reduced by 5. Sight damage, -2 to attacks. So just where do we draw the line in the sand regarding REALISM.

 

[BobTheNob]

So if we must have REALISM in our favorite FANTASY game. Lets role play 16+ weeks of not adventuring, while the Fighter is in bed or the Rogue is on the verge of death with infection. Lets have some infection roll or die rules. Lasting nerve damage, speed reduced by 5. Sight damage, -2 to attacks. So just where do we draw the line in the sand regarding REALISM.

Or maybe we can have rules where we lop off limbs to stop infection spreading from that scratch. That was a valid medieval medical practice. No character would reach level 2 with a limb intact, but hey, we would be "realistic". Yes, lets do "realism" in a fantasy tabletop game and write off characters for minor battlefield scratch's.

Its HP people. Abstract system for a make believe game. We are trying to emulate reality, not simulate it.

 

[CM]

I used to be an adventurer like yourself--until I took an arrow to the knee...

It got infected and I got tetanus and lockjaw and trenchfoot from the long rest in the field. Then my leg got gangrenous and needed to be amputated.

Adventuring is just not worth it, let me tell you!

 

[underfoot007ct]

Or maybe we can have rules where we lop off limbs to stop infection spreading from that scratch. That was a valid medieval medical practice. No character would reach level 2 with a limb intact, but hey, we would be "realistic". Yes, lets do "realism" in a fantasy tabletop game and write off characters for minor battlefield scratch's.

Its HP people. Abstract system for a make believe game. We are trying to emulate reality, not simulate it.

Yes, lets not try to simulate REAL medieval medicine, but develop rules for a GAME that are playable. A single days of bed rest doesn't mend broken bones, but neither does Four or Five.

Lets have the game not insult our sense or reality, but compromise of everything involved. Please have the game be fun.

 

[Sunseeker]

I used to be an adventurer like yourself--until I took an arrow to the knee...

It got infected and I got tetanus and lockjaw and trenchfoot from the long rest in the field. Then my leg got gangrenous and needed to be amputated.

Adventuring is just not worth it, let me tell you!

The typical experience of most combatants up until the 1900's.

 

[Stalker0]

The typical experience of most combatants up until the 1900's.

Yep. Two most powerful inventions for warfare:

1) Canned Food
2) Pencillin/Vaccines


I believe it was WWII that was the first recorded war where more soliders died to actual fighting than to disease and starvation.

 

[fjw70]

Another idea is to have a wound mechanic similar to the SoIaF RPG (as an optional rule). Basically you could negate a hit by taking a wound instead. A wound would give you a-1 or 2 to all physical activity d20 rolls until it was healed by magic or week or two rest.

 

[JamesonCourage]

So if we must have REALISM in our favorite FANTASY game. Lets role play 16+ weeks of not adventuring, while the Fighter is in bed or the Rogue is on the verge of death with infection. Lets have some infection roll or die rules. Lasting nerve damage, speed reduced by 5. Sight damage, -2 to attacks. So just where do we draw the line in the sand regarding REALISM.

Or maybe we can have rules where we lop off limbs to stop infection spreading from that scratch. That was a valid medieval medical practice. No character would reach level 2 with a limb intact, but hey, we would be "realistic". Yes, lets do "realism" in a fantasy tabletop game and write off characters for minor battlefield scratch's.

If only. I do like 16 weeks of not adventuring. I like infections. I like lasting damage (penalty to speeds or attacks). I like lopping off limbs. These are things I want in my game!

Should they be in the assumed core of the game? No. I don't think they should, for a few reasons. But, I'd love that module to be an option. Give me random reasons why my plans are thrown out of whack and I'm delayed weeks and the world evolves (weeks of recovery, infections, etc.)! Give me more than just "scars" that remind me of the time I lived through that encounter with the ogre leader (speed loss, penalty to attacks, limb loss, etc.)! Give me some interesting, fun, and "realistic" combat effects that I can use randomly in my game!

But, make it a module. I don't think most people want it. And that's cool. It's not fun for them. It's not interesting to them. It's not realistic to them. And that's fine. To me, healing overnight every time from everything is not fun or interesting. Give me a module to change that, too.

Give me modules! As always, play what you like

 

[Mercutio01]

What Bloodied value? Let's not have to add back another new mechanic if it can be avoided.

Mearls already mentioned a split in an earlier article. He didn't use the term bloodied, but that was the general idea.