Ramping Up 1/day Encounter Difficulty

[Retreater]

I'm new to running 4e. The players are in a city and are taking a long time between encounters, retreating and taking extended rests. This is okay because it gives them time to roleplay and slows down the pace a bit for a change (compared to the dungeon crawls we've been doing).

The problem is that the encounters are way too easy when they have all their action points, daily powers, etc., for every encounter.

Is there a rule of thumb for increasing the XP budget for an encounter when it's expected that a party will have a single encounter in a day?

Thanks,
Retreater

 

[Obryn]

Honestly? I'd just implement a house-rule that says characters don't get back Dailies, Surges, or Action Points until they pass two milestones, myself. Or some other narratively-appropriate point.

There's nothing magical about an extended rest - rests, surges, and powers are narrative tools and game devices, nothing more.

-O

 

[Blackbrrd]

I am with Obryn on this one.

 

[Mesh Hong]

Yes you could just re-define the time it takes to get back daily powers. Change it from "daily" to "episode"; where an episode is a narrative chunk of the story, as defined by you.

 

[Infiniti2000]

I think the rule of thumb in the DMG was the expected levels of encounters over a PC level. It was given as a example, something like 1 x L-1, 3 x L, 3 x L+1, 1 x L+2 (can't remember for sure). So, in your case, just always use the highest one! Basically, however, you and your players need to realize that they are effectively "abusing" the system by not following the expected number of encounters per day. That's fine, but as long as they realize that you will need to account for that -- which makes it hard on you, etc.

Sometimes there's just a really hard fight right out of the blocks in the morning, sometimes the PC's just make really bad tactical choices or perhaps have a massive unlucky string of dice rolls, but I that's not what's happened here, is it? They just want to keep using action points and dailies in every encounter?

 

[Theroc]

If they are repeatedly resting to recover all their dailies when they have most of their other resources, simply attack them while they rest, harry them until they move on rather than sit and rest.

 

[Doctor Proctor]

Well, there's a couple of things you could do.

1) Throw a fluff encounter to get them to blow dailies, then hit them with the second part of the encounter. For example, toss a lot of minions and low level enemies that they'll be in a rush to defeat, and then when the first wave is done have the LVL+1 come out of hiding to attack.

2) Ambush the party on their way back to wherever they're holing up. They're following a predictable pattern here, and the enemies are bound to catch onto it at some point. They would simply be waiting until the party is weakened and then striking while they're vulnerable. Hopefully, this would teach your PC's to hold back some.

3) Don't give them a choice. Get the PC's into an encounter deep inside of a building or something. When the PC's defeat the encounter, they'll find that their escape has been cut off and that they must fight their way out. Unless they have some way to magically teleport out of wherever they are, they'll be forced into multiple encounters.

 

[Ryujin]

Well, there's a couple of things you could do.

1) Throw a fluff encounter to get them to blow dailies, then hit them with the second part of the encounter. For example, toss a lot of minions and low level enemies that they'll be in a rush to defeat, and then when the first wave is done have the LVL+1 come out of hiding to attack.

2) Ambush the party on their way back to wherever they're holing up. They're following a predictable pattern here, and the enemies are bound to catch onto it at some point. They would simply be waiting until the party is weakened and then striking while they're vulnerable. Hopefully, this would teach your PC's to hold back some.

3) Don't give them a choice. Get the PC's into an encounter deep inside of a building or something. When the PC's defeat the encounter, they'll find that their escape has been cut off and that they must fight their way out. Unless they have some way to magically teleport out of wherever they are, they'll be forced into multiple encounters.

Agree on all counts. If the BBEG sees that the party is a threat to his plans and they are being predictable, then he would start messing with their 'schedule.' Even a few disposable minions can cause no end of trouble if they're properly utilized but a real BBEG might have the party run afoul of the local crime syndicate, frame them with The Watch, have their rooms robbed..... A knock on the door at 3:00am, by the local constabulary, can do wonders to harsh their calm

 

[Camelot]

All good advice here; it would be wise to heed it.

The idea of disturbing the PCs' schedule is a good one, but you seem to be content with their strategy. If you don't want to take that route and would rather challenge the PCs with one big encounter, here's my advice.

Go big, and when I say big, I mean really big. After they've been fighting minions and such the past few days, they have a lot of confidence. Set them up again with minions, then when they think they've won, have the bigger enemies come out, as Dr. Proctor suggested. But don't stop there. They'll still be able to beat those monsters, but while they retreat, give them time for a short rest, but block then block their way with an even more menacing monster. A good solo or elite group will shock them. I'd even go so far as to suggest making it too hard for them, but of course provide a retreat option. Perhaps to get away after they realize it's too much, they need to complete a skill challenge?

Basically, you seemed to have the right idea from the getgo. Go with your gut instincts on this one, and do what will be fun for you and your players.

 

[Mentat55]

A string of multiple encounters where you allow a short rest, but nothing more, is one way to go. Also, huge encounters, in stages, can be good. I've found that my paragon-tier party can handle level + 5 encounters if they have most of their resources available. These encounters are still largely composed of equal level monsters, just more of them, along with some elites, and some good synergies.