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

[Charlaquin]

I've had players rage quit because their long rest was interrupted. I've also had players rage quit over taking one point of damage. I've had players rage quit when LTH was banned. I've had players rage quit when enemies gathered forces outside the LTH. My infinite dragons are, apparently, many players' line that the referee shall not cross.

Who the heck do you play with? Like, every time I hear you talk about player behaviors you’ve seen, it sounds like an r/RPGhorrorstories post I wouldn’t believe if I read it there.

 

[Vaalingrade]

People believe the trite piles of stereotypes they put on r/rpghorrorstories?

 

[Minigiant]

Time to pull in some of those infinite dragons you have at your disposal. The rules have little to do with how often your PCs are attacked or whether they have someplace safe to rest.

There is only so many time you can do this before rest interruption becomes more unrealistic than the 5MWD.

Because a band of adventurers won't be attacked by a serious threat every time they spend 8 hours in the wild. Because if that were true, they wouldn't be able to survive a "normal" workday.

That's why the 5 minute workday happens. To be realistic, the DM has to eventually not consistently interrupt the party's rest or use a timer.

 

[overgeeked]

Honestly? If someone rage quits because they want to run the game, I would discuss it with them and if they don't accept how I run a game happily show them the door. I try to accommodate players when I can, but the game has to make sense to me. Playing the game on easy mode and assuming you can rest whenever you want because you can in some video games doesn't make sense to me.

I can't be the right DM for everyone, there have always been plenty of people willing to play.

Absolutely.

Who the heck do you play with? Like, every time I hear you talk about player behaviors you’ve seen, it sounds like an r/RPGhorrorstories post I wouldn’t believe if I read it there.

Honestly, I think people who are far more enamored with the idea of playing D&D than they actually want to play D&D. I spell out my expectations very clearly so there's generally no surprises in the hows and whys of me running a game. For some reason, 5E players, in my experience, simply do not want challenges or difficulties in their games. I have a dozen or more posts about various incidents on the "describe your last game in 5 words" thread, and the longer commentary thread.

I have decades of experience running games of all kinds, for all kinds of players, in all kinds of settings. One-shots, conventions, home games, years-long campaigns, etc. And I did not have this much or this kind of trouble before 5E. I started in '84 with B/X, moved to AD&D, skipped 2E and 3E, played 4E through until the Next playtest, and have played 5E since. In all that time ('84 to official launch of 5E) I did not have these problems to this degree. Now...it's a nightmare.

 

[Oofta]

There is only so many time you can do this before rest interruption becomes more unrealistic than the 5MWD.

Because a band of adventurers won't be attacked by a serious threat every time they spend 8 hours in the wild. Because if that were true, they wouldn't be able to survive a "normal" workday.

That's why the 5 minute workday happens. To be realistic, the DM has to eventually not consistently interrupt the party's rest or use a timer.

Which is why most days are uneventful and just narrated. If you don't want 5 minute work days, don't set up t minute work days. Don't use random encounters from a chart, set up a sequence of encounters, potentially even ones that the PCs can totally avoid.

 

[Oofta]

Absolutely.

Honestly, I think people who are far more enamored with the idea of playing D&D than they actually want to play D&D. I spell out my expectations very clearly so there's generally no surprises in the hows and whys of me running a game. For some reason, 5E players, in my experience, simply do not want challenges or difficulties in their games. I have a dozen or more posts about various incidents on the "describe your last game in 5 words" thread, and the longer commentary thread.

I have decades of experience running games of all kinds, for all kinds of players, in all kinds of settings. One-shots, conventions, home games, years-long campaigns, etc. And I did not have this much or this kind of trouble before 5E. I started in '84 with B/X, moved to AD&D, skipped 2E and 3E, played 4E through until the Next playtest, and have played 5E since. In all that time ('84 to official launch of 5E) I did not have these problems to this degree. Now...it's a nightmare.

That's too bad. I've never hit the issue, sounds like you've had a lot of bad luck.

 

[Zardnaar]

I've kinda seem it but it's not exactly deliberate and it's probably more like 1-3 fights vs 1.

Newer players don't have that expectation of pacing so often lead with big boom first

 

[Luceilia]

I do think there is a design issue here. Many casual players I run for or with don't perceive D&D as a resource management game and/or don't enjoy managing their resources at all. But the design expectation does seem to be that resource management is the primary mechanical challenge of 5E really.

Hasn't that been the case going all the way back to OD&D? Managing spells, hitpoints, torches, rations, encumbrance, henchmen.....

A few things left the pile for convenience sake, but that's basically Dungeons and Dragons isn't it? Lol

 

[Zardnaar]

Hasn't that been the case going all the way back to OD&D? Managing spells, hitpoints, torches, rations, encumbrance, henchmen.....

A few things left the pile for convenience sake, but that's basically Dungeons and Dragons isn't it? Lol

5E downplayed a lot of that side effect is a hit point grindfest.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

By the "5-minute workday" I mean the phenomenon in which player characters have one combat encounter use enough of their renewable resources (whatever that means to them) to immediately look to get a long rest.

Not litterally a single encounter, but I have seem groups stop to rest because of game mechanics, even when the story would suggest they keep going.