D&D 5E "The so-called '5-Minute Workday' is Something I've Seen Regularly Playing 5E D&D" (a poll)

[Willie the Duck]

Not sure how to vote really, because Random encounters and time pressure aren't house rules.

Nor gritty rest optional rules, etc.

Anyways, yes, I have seen this. Regularly is subjective, but 'infrequent, but consistently' is one definition I'm guessing.

When doing wilderness travel, we usually have one encounter or less per day (so whether it is a 5-minute workday depends on if we align the recharge workday with the actual days). In dungeons or similarly structured set pieces, we generally stop it with some 'if you go rest, the enemies might discover your previous incursion and plan traps or just run off with the loot' guidelines. Both of these are relatively easy to make work (so it is mostly, as Vaalingrade alludes to, that you then have to include these pressures more than that they don't work or something). It's the messy middle where we see the most problems -- city adventures where there could be more than one potential-resource-draining-situation per rest cycle, but often not and rarely 3 or more.

 

[overgeeked]

If you're running RAW, it happens all the time. I've had players insist on a long rest after every fight. That the RAW supports the idea that you have to have an hour-long combat before it interrupts a long rest is also a problem. If you have a wizard in the party, once they reach 5th level they will take Leomund's Tiny Hut and they will long rest at their leisure. So yes, 5-minute workday exceedingly common in RAW 5E.

 

[WarDriveWorley]

My players are really old school so they tend to push on to the point of collapse. I've never had to worry about that as a result.

 

[Jer]

Where's the option for "I used to see it all of the time but now my players just don't do that anymore"? Hasn't really been a problem since the end of 3e for my regular group, and the kids I teach how to play aren't trying to play optimally and I try to set expectations with new players that long rests shouldn't happen until the end of the session unless there's a story reason otherwise.

Though I guess I technically fall into the house rules category, since I use the optional healing rules from the DMG for faster healing as well (with my regular group - not with the kids. I like to teach them as vanilla D&D as possible).

 

[Nikosandros]

This is an issue that I've read a lot about, but I've never experienced in my games.

 

[el-remmen]

Where's the option for "I used to see it all of the time but now my players just don't do that anymore"? Hasn't really been a problem since the end of 3e for my regular group

This poll is about 5e.

 

[Jer]

This poll is about 5e.

Right that's what I'm saying - it wasn't a problem in 4e and it's not a problem in 5e either for my group. 3e was the last time I saw an issue with it.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Right that's what I'm saying - it wasn't a problem in 4e and it's not a problem in 5e either for my group. 3e was the last time I saw an issue with it.

It wasn't a problem in 4e mostly when most of the players refused to blow their dailies and thus ended up not interacting with that bit of design.

In 5e everything is (or will soon be) shackled and brainboxed to the Long Rest.

 

[Mort]

If you're running RAW, it happens all the time. I've had players insist on a long rest after every fight. That the RAW supports the idea that you have to have an hour-long combat before it interrupts a long rest is also a problem. If you have a wizard in the party, once they reach 5th level they will take Leomund's Tiny Hut and they will long rest at their leisure. So yes, 5-minute workday exceedingly common in RAW 5E.

The 5 minute workday happens when players can dictate the pace of play. 5e RAW may have a bit to do with it because the default "recharge" mechanics (healing, ability recovery) are so fast, but IMO not really. If the DM doesn't let the PCs always dictate the pace - 5 minute workday goes away.

As for Tiny Hut? It's annoying, but without it, players would just take different precautions. If the hut is "in the open" it's not like baddies can't wait for it to drop (plus if the group has pack animals, mounts etc. - those are expressly not protected).

 

[Shiroiken]

My group isn't one that would utilize the 5MWD, but I haven't really seen it happen much in any edition of D&D. The one time I saw it happen was in a game with a new DM, where we failed to assault the entrance to the goblin's section of Sunless Citadel. We made several attempts, one per day, but the DM never once had them hunt us down and kill us (which they easily could have done). After the fourth failed attempt, we realized the DM wasn't going to kill us, so we just did a suicide charge, forcing the DM to either kill us or let us succeed when we didn't deserve it. It was a good lesson for him about both the 5MWD and letting players suffer for their own stupidity.