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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Argyle King" data-source="post: 5753204" data-attributes="member: 58416">Speaking generally, and not specifically about D&D...I think one of the solutions to the 15 minute adventuring day is to allow game flow to be more organic rather than so tied to a mechanical formula.  Also, allow the game world to react in a way that seems natural to the PC's actions.  Example?  In the game I'm currently running, I decided what was in a dungeon.  I had no pre-decided path which I expected the PCs to take through it.  Yes, this meant I designed a few encounters which they never encountered.  What this did was allow the players to choose their own path through the dungeon.  As a DM, I never had to 'punish' the PCs for resting too much or not enough or whatever.  I handed control of their fate over to them and their choices.  If in the process of exploring the dungeon they made poor choices and this lead to an encounter being tougher (or lead to them facing more than one encounter in one instance,) that came from their choices.  Likewise, if in the process of exploring the dungeon they made wise choices and this lead to an easier engagement then so be it.  An example of an encounter being made easier from this is there was a point in which two monster groups were natural enemies; this made an encounter somewhat easier because -even though there were two encounters going on- the attacks were not all directed at the PCs.However, one important aspect of doing this is to make sure the players have information that their characters would be able to observe.  Maybe the party member who has goblin as a language can understand what is being said on the other side of the door and realizes that an ambush is being planned.  That's just a simple arbitrary example, but I think it gets the idea across.  All this being said, I am running a D&D 4E game, so I did adhere to some semblance of encounter design when designing the various rooms in the dungeon.  I say 'some semblance' only because the guidelines I use -while based on the 4E books- have been heavily modified.  (Ditto for when I do skill challenges.)I never tell the PCs they cannot attempt to rest.  I may hint to them that I do not believe it would be a good idea for them to rest somewhere -as was the case when they wanted to take an extended rest in a ritual chamber where an evil god's presence was very strong, but I never outright forbid it.  However, my players are also aware that -while I do not go out of my way to hurt or maim them- I DM in such a way that choosing to rest in the middle of the aforementioned evil god's chamber may not lead to the desired effects.  (I did allow the party cleric to attempt a skill challenge to purify the area.  He asked, and it seemed like a reasonable idea.)Part of the organic reactions of the world would be things others have mentioned such as having the enemy not become static while the party rests.  If it makes sense for the guards at a castle to call for reinforcements, then giving them more time to do so may mean they do.  Likewise, while a Magic Circle might protect you, you eventually need to come out.Though, to be fair (and to get back on topic,) I do recognize the problem of the 15-minute day.  One of the things that I found when I first started playing D&D 4th Edition was that there really wasn't much of a reason for the PCs not to rest a lot of the time.  Even if you tried to curb it by making encounters tougher, the PCs were still so strong in relation to everything around them (especially having their daily powers refreshed) that it was no problem to squash encounters which were -by the book- supposed to be difficult.  I actually saw this happen yesterday night during the conclusion of a campaign.  In an attempt to make the final boss battle more balanced, the DM used what the RAW encounter guidelines and XP budgets said should have been a level 37 encounter.  (Level 30 party.)  The party cleared the fight in 4 rounds; only 1 of the PCs had been hurt enough to require healing.</blockquote>

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