D&D 5E Resting in a mega-dungeon?
- Thread starter Tobold
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I'm about to start DotMM and I'm planning to use the Tension Pool by good ol' Angry: Why’d You Have to Go and Make Things So Complicated?
Except I'm calling it the "Doom Pool" because that's cooler and I try to avoid mechanics that tell the players how to feel.
Except I'm calling it the "Doom Pool" because that's cooler and I try to avoid mechanics that tell the players how to feel.
I flat out don't allow long rests in a megadungeon.
You go in with what you have... Make it count.
I believe that one of the major challenges and tensions of the mega dungeon is the idea that resources are limited and that you are actively being opposed by the environment as well as whatever creatures and traps it may contain. Managing time and resources is part of the experience.
If you do want to allow long rests, make random encounter checks while they rest. I don't know what Dungeon of the Mad Mage suggests for random encounter frequency, but my standard is once every 20 minutes of game time. So that would be 24 random encounter checks at a 1 in 6 chance, which practically guarantees 4 encounters.
If they want to have to deal with that let them, my guess is eventually they will decide that pushing on is a more efficient and effective use of their time.
You go in with what you have... Make it count.
I believe that one of the major challenges and tensions of the mega dungeon is the idea that resources are limited and that you are actively being opposed by the environment as well as whatever creatures and traps it may contain. Managing time and resources is part of the experience.
If you do want to allow long rests, make random encounter checks while they rest. I don't know what Dungeon of the Mad Mage suggests for random encounter frequency, but my standard is once every 20 minutes of game time. So that would be 24 random encounter checks at a 1 in 6 chance, which practically guarantees 4 encounters.
If they want to have to deal with that let them, my guess is eventually they will decide that pushing on is a more efficient and effective use of their time.
I guess my megadungeon 'scale' is much larger tha yours... the MEGA connotes to me a truly expansive dungeon system that would take literal days, if not weeks/months, to traverse... it would be somewhat akin to saying: you go into Neverwinter or Sigil with what you got... Make it count... This comment isnt intended to be mean just merely a query concerning what kind of scale you (or 'we') have in mind when we use the word "megadungeon?"
Nope, not mean at all. I understand the question.
I'm running Stonehell dungeon. 15 levels, about 100+ rooms per level. I also add on my own sub-levels and additional mini-dungeons... I'm constantly expanding it.
I think our concept of megadungeon is consistent, but I failed to properly communicate how I approach running one.
A typical session goes like this:
1. Party forms up in town... players buy any equipment they need, hire henchmen or followers. I have about 9 players in my group, but not all of them show every week (although now they can).
2. Party picks a goal or location they intend to focus on. It can be as simple as lets try to find stairs to level 4, or lets investigate that weird statue. The point is that I try to encourage a clear objective.
3. Party delves into the dungeon and explores. I use an explicit procedure for dungeon exploration. X amount of movement or X amount of time spent searching is tracked. This time triggers periodic random encounters.
4. Party explores as far as they are able and I tell the players when there is about 45 minutes remaining in the session.
5. Party uses the remaining time to push out further or exit the dungeon. Once they exit the dungeon, the session is over.
Once back at town, the party gets xp, sells any loot and takes any notes on things discovered for next session.
The point is that the exploration of the dungeon is handled in multiple delves. Each session is about 3 maybe 5 hours of real time and each delve usually is about 4-6 hours of game time. During that delve, short rests are permitted, but long rests are impossible.
Sometimes the session ends while they are still in the dungeon. In this case we stop for the night and pick up from where we left off, next session. I try to discourage that, however. I track time spent in the dungeon. At beyond 8 hours of dungeon exploration, I start requesting Constitution checks for forced march every hour. So, if session 1 they spent 5 game hours in the dungeon, then next session they have 3 more hours of free activity before they start pushing themselves and start taking Exhaustion.
Its like a work day. They delve for a time and then clock out. You don't go to work and then take an 8 hour nap at lunch time. Ha.
Also, I have a strict rule where if the players leave the dungeon, the session is over.
They can't go in, leave, rest, and then go back.
If they spend an hour playing and get their butts kicked, they are discouraged from leaving if they want to keep playing. If they want to leave they can do so and we can do town activities or even just socialize, but the delve is over.
They can't go in, leave, rest, and then go back.
If they spend an hour playing and get their butts kicked, they are discouraged from leaving if they want to keep playing. If they want to leave they can do so and we can do town activities or even just socialize, but the delve is over.
Ahh I see your explanation above greatly clarifies... and yeah it seems our concepts are consistent (although our dungeon delving procedures differ)...
To follow up on this excellent point: When i first started running 5e I didnt take this rule into account; a player was pulling off some odd stuff exploiting spell durations, magic jars, simulacra and clones and spells/moves that augment needed rest times, to do weird stuff that was illegal (cant recall his exact tricks but they were awesome and powerful and partially worked legit but were tempered by this limit in spell slot regain capability; afterall we are talking about spell slots here I would imagine; I was not so secretively happy to read (and notice) the clause you mention above... In som forms of play this seemingly fluff rule is actually a very serious (mechanical) power limitation to higher level play...
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