Six encounters? How the heck are you not killing PC's?
and
Again, to all those who are managing to keep the party running on fumes, how are you not killing PC's?
I told you how- basically, it boils down to playing smart. You only fight when you have to. Your spellcasters only cast as many spells as they need to, and then only at the hardest of targets.
Instead of relying entirely upon divine casters for healing, use your party's wealth to purchase magic items that heal or prevent damage. Then your divine casters can concentrate a little more on ending the fight than preserving the life of this PC or that.
For example, I know that a lot of people will open an encounter with a mage dropping a major spell on the foes while their warriors close. They then continue dropping spells until the fight is done.
In our group, the mage may or may not drop a big spell on the foes. Whether he does so or not depends upon what he sees- some foes just simply aren't worth expending mana on. The warriors may or may not close, depending upon the tactical situation. Sometimes, its better for the foe to come to you, if you happen to have a bottleneck at your disposal. In addition, most PCs carry some kind of ranged or reach weapon- sometimes both- meaning they can contribute to the battle without actually being engaged in melee. Sometimes its a ranged/reach sunder, trip, or disarm that turns the tide of battle permanently in the PC's favor.
Even non-magical alchemical weapons can be of use- even to higher level parties- when resources start running thin. A little unanticipated alchemists fire can be just enough distraction to an enemy spellcaster- especially one who is shrugging off magical attacks. A tanglefoot bag can slow down enemy reinforcements long enough to make a difference.
(I've mentioned my Dex-based polearm-wielding Githzerai monk and other similar PCs in other threads- they have proven to be key in multiplication of force.)
When you combine spellcasters who conserve their spells with warriors minimizing the number of foes they face at any one time, your spellcasters tend not to run out of spells, and your warriors tend not to run out of HP.
Look, the math's pretty straightforward. A creature, by and large, can do CRx10 damage as a max per round. If you go into a fight without full hit points, the dice gods WILL roll max (or close to) damage on you eventually and you die.
Many times, whether your PCs live or die is decided before you roll for initiative. You have to be aware of the situation.
If you're running on fumes when you encounter something like this, you have lots of options. Avoid the fight if you can. Deception & doubletalk may let you walk by the encounter. Strategic use of illusion, enchantment & obscuration spells may provide distractions while you disengage. Negotiation or surrender may be an option, depending upon the situation.
Also, how do you explain that the vast majority of modules out there allow parties to rest pretty much whenever they want to?
The cynical answer? The module writers are buying into that playstyle and write their adventures accordingly.
Personally, we don't use a lot of modules.
But, if you look back at the earlier incarnations of the game, you'll find that playstyle wasn't supported at all. If you found a good place to rest, you marked it on your map and made sure nobody cut you off from it...or knew you were using it as a base (if that is what you decided to do).
Judges' Guild products were notorious for being merciless- I know of one that had an island that looked nice and inviting...and was infested with trolls. Get too far from your ship, and you were virtually guaranteed a TPK.
