Making extended rests less desirable

[Asmor]

True... if you put a gun to my head I'd probably end up saying 15% is a better number, but I'm gonna try it with 10% just because I can chop off the final digit of the normal XP and automagically end up with 10% rounded down, no math: 475 XP + 10% = 475 + 47 = 522 XP (ok maybe a little math ).

A simple trick for finding 15% (useful, for example, when leaving a tip when the service was satisfactory but not exemplary) is to take 10% like that, then add half again as much.

So 475 + 47 + 24 = 546.

An even simpler trick is using a calculator.

475 * 1.15 = 546.25

I think a calculator's pretty much a necessity when it comes to handing out an experience, and I'm a math major. Just because I can do the work on paper or in my head doesn't mean that's the best use of my time or concentration!

djdaidouji: A simple way to remedy that might be to just give out less experience. Lots of people prefer slower games anyways and give out some fraction of the normal experience points. If you wanted to keep it close to normal experience gain, just start them off at 90% instead of 100%.

Encounter 1: 90% exp
Encounter 2: 100% exp
Encounter 3: 110% exp

That way as long as they go 3 encounters on average, they're working out to the same amount of exp.

 

[djdaidouji]

Well, that makes sense, and I might actually adapt it for my game, but I'll have to think about it. I would prefer to give the players a game reason as to why they should keep going.

The King's son is going to die the PCs don't travel to the Zombie Forest and get some herbs, and the doctor says that he only has 2 or 3 days left. After the first encounter with vampires (Zombie Forest is just a name, after all) the PC's could take the rest of the day off and tend to their scratches, but if they want to get any reward from the King, they should ration their time carefully.

 

[Harr]

Encounter 1: 90% exp
Encounter 2: 100% exp
Encounter 3: 110% exp

That way as long as they go 3 encounters on average, they're working out to the same amount of exp.

Nice! I hadn't thought of that.

I also agree that story-driven urgency is important, as well as the plausibility of spending 6 hours in a dungeon without something bad creeping up on you. It's just nice to have mechanics for it as well.

 

[pnewman]

x

Won't this just encourage players to look for fights with weak foes? The first group of Kobalds might not give enough XP's to bother with, but the tenth group sure will. All the players have to do is figure out how strong a group of foes they can always beat with no Daily powere or healing surges and then fight them ten times in a row.

 

[hong]

x

Won't this just encourage players to look for fights with weak foes? The first group of Kobalds might not give enough XP's to bother with, but the tenth group sure will. All the players have to do is figure out how strong a group of foes they can always beat with no Daily powere or healing surges and then fight them ten times in a row.

Hmm.

Your arguments sound familiar. You haven't heard of the six billion chickens in Greyhawk by any chance...?

 

[Asmor]

x

Won't this just encourage players to look for fights with weak foes? The first group of Kobalds might not give enough XP's to bother with, but the tenth group sure will. All the players have to do is figure out how strong a group of foes they can always beat with no Daily powere or healing surges and then fight them ten times in a row.

At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite (since I'm pretty vocal against balancing mechanics with roleplaying), how the hell are players supposed to do that? They can't exactly spawn camp the kobold caves while they wait for the +2 Longsword to drop.

I find it difficult to envision a scenario where the PCs have more than a very small amount of control over who they encounter.

 

[mattdm]

First, after every extended rest, you start with 0 action points. You get an action point at the end of every encounter. So, in essence, you can spend an action point in every encounter except for your first every day. This gives players a very strong incentive to keep going instead of resting.

I agree with the others that messing with healing surges is going to be tricky. The XP thing is clever, although that also might be more unpredictable than is convenient for a DM. (One suggestion: start with 90% XP for the first encounter, 100% for the second, and 110% for the third — with actual reward only kicking in at the fourth encounter.)

But I think the action point thing might really be the way to go. In addition to the change you suggest above, or maybe just instead of it, allow players to spend more than one action point per encounter. This increases the incentive to accumulate them, which you can only do by not taking an extended rest.