D&D (2024) The new playtest Exhaustion rules has already fixed the exploration pillar a lot.

[Baron Opal II]

This doesn't really 'fix' exploration for me as there's really not much to exploration aside from a list of punishments and penalties for trying to leave town.

Yeah. That fits the travelogues, diaries, and adventure fiction I've read.

 

[Gorck]

No, unless it is acceptable to have all levels of exhaustion removed on a long rest. Which then obviates exhaustion, you might as well just make it a -2 penalty with some hp damage. There isn't any rule or guidance on how many short rests you can take each day, as far as I know.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say . . . 24 max

 

[Baron Opal II]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say . . . 24 max

I would have said 16, but there's the rub.

 

[Lycurgon]

I prefer the new rules over the old/current rules. I think no matter what the final rules end up I will use a houserule adding a few of the Old to the new. At Exhausted 5 or 6 I will add Half Speed; at 7 or 8 I'd add Half Max HP; and at 9 add Speed becames 0.

But ever without my changes I think the new rules are better. But I think part of why it is better is that it can be handed out more often with grinding the game to a holt. I think there needs to be more things that cause Exhausted. Monsters can do attacks that cause it (possibly as recharge abilities) or poisons that cause it. But with the less severe rules it makes it a much more acceptable form of damage/punishment that can be thrown at PCs. It also instantly fixes the Berserker Barbarian although I would add that while frenzying they ignore any Exhausted penalty.

The less severity means use it more often. I think the New rules without adding in more causes for it is not ideal, but I would add it in more often if the rest of the New rules didn't.

 

[Lycurgon]

I have some questions for people, especially the fans of the old/current rules... How often have you seen PCs with more than 1 or 2 level of Exhaustion? What is the most Exhaustion you have seen on PCs? And how did the party react to when a party member(s) ended up with a higher amount of Exhaustion?

My answers are that I have only seen more than 2 levels of Exhaustion once, when the party was doing a test set by a God and we had to just keep going and roll Con Saves or get Exhaustion. Several PCs ended up with 4 levels while others had only 1 by the end of the test (Those with 4 levels were considered to have failed the test). Once we were finished we had to change our plans because of how bad it was. We didn't want to do a tough fight we were originally planning with our frontline warrior so debilitated. So we abandoned our plan and left the area, travelling to another place to achieve something else. Travel involved riding flying creatures and was enough time to recover so we were ready to go once we arrive at the new location. Basically it stopped us from continuing in a dangerous area and changed our plans to deal with something else instead.

So how has it worked in your game?

 

[Bill Zebub]

I have some questions for people, especially the fans of the old/current rules... How often have you seen PCs with more than 1 or 2 level of Exhaustion?

I’ve never seen more than two.