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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Man in the Funny Hat" data-source="post: 3364806" data-attributes="member: 32740">3rd edition BY DESIGN assumes that if all encounters are of a level EQUAL to the PC's level then you'll only get 4 encounters before the party needs to rest.  That assumes a lot of averages and so forth but it's reliable.  If you have a short dungeon corridor with 6 doors along its length, behind each of which is an EL=Party Level encounter then you will NOT get to the end of that corridor before your PC's need to rest (again, assuming other variables are equal).Look at your adventure or dungeon design.  Do you have a string of bunches of encounters of EL=PC Lvl?  If so then you should not be surprised when the PC's make such slow progress.  If you have a decent sized dungeon or adventure with a couple dozen equal level encounters then what do YOU think is going to happen?  Not only will they need to REPEATEDLY rest and recover but they'll have to level up once or twice as well!This IS the 3rd edition paradigm for adventure design.  There are two practical ways to push it to work more in your favor:First is to OVERstock the PC's with disposable "refreshments" to keep them going strong through the earliest parts of your dungeon/adventure.  Hand out a lot more healing potions, bulls strengths, and other "powerups".  Let the PC's rely on these disposables rather than their personal reserves to keep moving long enough to get to the REALLY tough parts where their mettle will genuinely be tested.Second is to remember that you need a VARIETY of EL strengths.  In particular, in the earlier stages of an adventure you'll almost certainly want to provide a LOT more UNDER-powered encounters punctuated only by a very few equal or higher strength fights.  You want to PULL the characters deeper into the adventure or the dungeon to where it makes MORE sense to forge ahead than to try to REPEATEDLY go back or hole up in a closet for 8 hour stretches.   Although you CAN do that too - just be sure that your adventure design will make that practical or that the dungeon you've prepared will provide secure places for resting and that the dungeon will NOT have to be entirely re-written when 8 hours goes by as PC's rest (or perhaps that you CAN reorganize the entire dungeon to a "war-footing" after the PC's start moving again.)These things really cannot be done with off-the-shelf products used as-is.  This requires the expertise of a DM who knows what the PC's strengths and tendencies are and how to manipulate them at least minimally on the fly.  That's going to be different for EVERY gang of PC's.  And when you put all this planning into appropriate pacing you STILL have to be prepared to adjust your adventures when play actually proceeds and you either need to slow it down or speed it up.</blockquote>

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