D&D (2024) What would your ideal rest mechanic look like?

[Crimson Longinus]

I pointed out it was gamey, but opens up a world of difference in class design and play. My requirement is "not easily under player control" which includes generically time based because without requiring the DM to do anything special (like put time pressure in every adventure) that is effectively under rough player control.

So, just as you dismiss this as gamey, I will equally dismiss resting.

Let's explore together everything else that it might be.

For example, Adventures in Middle Earth (the 5e adaption of The One Ring) doesn't allow resting during the Journey phase generally unless you stop by a sanctuary like Elrond's.

So, where can we find a medium that meets

Ultimately what I want is that whatever the method of resource recovery is, it is something that works on consistent setting-based logic rather than on meta logic (even if the reason for selecting that particular setting-based logic would be game balance.) If one character asks a wizard when they can cast their powerful spell again, I want there to be a consistent answer that makes sense from in-character perspective.

Long rests only in sanctuaries seems fine enough. But whether that is the case or not depending on some gamey 'phase' the characters cannot have knowledge of is not fine.

 

[dave2008]

We use 5min short rest and normal long rest, but we have added Extended Rest. An extended rest is a week in a safe place. And you need an extend rest to heal 1 BHP (bloodied hit point).

 

[Yora]

Short rest of 8 hours once per day, and long rest of "several" days limited to secure towns, castles, and friendly strongholds feels pretty good.

 

[dave2008]

I'd hate this. It is just gamey and utterly disconnected. "Quick, find some goblins we can fight so that we heal and get our spells back!"

I want the rules to be at least somewhat connected to the fictional reality the characters inhabit, so that the players can make informed choices in character.

Its not my cup of tea, but I understand the appeal from a purely game design perspective. I also understand why some would want that, but it is not what I want in my D&D.

 

[Blue]

Ultimately what I want is that whatever the method of resource recovery is, it is something that works on consistent setting-based logic rather than on meta logic (even if the reason for selecting that particular setting-based logic would be game balance.) If one character asks a wizard when they can cast their powerful spell again, I want there to be a consistent answer that makes sense from in-character perspective.

Long rests only in sanctuaries seems fine enough. But whether that is the case or not depending on some gamey 'phase' the characters cannot have knowledge of is not fine.

We can let go the "gamey" part - I've accepted you aren't going for it.

I was hoping for more suggestions instead of just reiterating mine. What else can you come up with that fits your requirements but it's under the player's rough control? Be creative.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

We can let go the "gamey" part - I've accepted you aren't going for it.

I was hoping for more suggestions instead of just reiterating mine. What else can you come up with that fits your requirements but it's under the player's rough control? Be creative.

Why I need to be creative? I'm relatively satisfied with my slightly altered gritty rest rules. So I'm not quite sure what the problem is we're trying to solve...

 

[Blue]

Why I need to be creative? I'm relatively satisfied with my slightly altered gritty rest rules. So I'm not quite sure what the problem is we're trying to solve...

I made the mistake of assuming on a discussion board people wanted to discuss. You had engaged by responding to me, and we had strong opinions that left a lot of fertile ground between them. I didn't realize "creative" wasn't worth the effort trying to answer Yarell's question about ideal rest mechanics.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I made the mistake of assuming on a discussion board people wanted to discuss. You had engaged by responding to me, and we had strong opinions that left a lot of fertile ground between them. I didn't realize "creative" wasn't worth the effort trying to answer Yarell's question about ideal rest mechanics.

Your attempts at discussion confuse me, it seems you're mostly dissing me. I am also not sure that choosing some middle point between diametrically opposed views is so much fertile ground for creative solutions, rather than a recipe for incoherent compromise that pleases no one. Though I of course would be glad to be proven wrong on that.

But in sprit of attempting to be, if not creative, at least constructive, I repeat my question: what is the problem you feel the 13th Age's encounter count based rests solves? And why you find gritty rests unsatisfying?

 

[Blue]

Your attempts at discussion confuse me, it seems you're mostly dissing me.

Apologies - my first response to you was inviting you to brainstorm from a field of possibilities that met both our requirements, and I took the tone of "why, I have my answer already" a bit negatively.

I am also not sure that choosing some middle point between diametrically opposed views is so much fertile ground for creative solutions, rather than a recipe for incoherent compromise that pleases no one. Though I of course would be glad to be proven wrong on that.

I don't see how there can be a middle point because there's no axis. It's like one of us saying "I don't like fried foods" and the other saying "I don't like sherbet" - our requirements don't fall on a spectrum, but rather just black out sections of a large field.

I quoted one published solution that you found acceptable, so we know there is room for something besides "incoherent compromise".

But in sprit of attempting to be, if not creative, at least constructive, I repeat my question: what is the problem you feel the 13th Age's encounter count based rests solves? And why you find gritty rests unsatisfying?

I though I had detailed that - I want power refresh not to be under the control of the player, even roughly such as by passage of time.

To go into more detail, I want the pacing of power refreshes to be a tool for the DM, without assuming that every DM will force the issue every adventure, such as putting a time limit in. That could be because it's regular and the DM can plan around it (like what I quoted from 13th Age), because it irrelevant (like pre-essentials 4e where all of the characters had the same power refresh structure sans a few utility powers), or even more directly under the DM control (like only taking refreshing powers at a sanctuary or between adventures).

I just went back and read your altered gritty rest mechanic. It is close to fitting my requirements to, except for the issue that some classes mostly refresh their expendables on a short rest like the warlock or monk, while others really don't, so there's still a significant player-controlled gap.

BTW, since the beginning I have been breaking out power refreshes - that is only half of the rest rules in 5e with the other half being spending HD (short rest) or fully healing and recovering long-term attrition (1 level of exhaustion and half your HD). How would you feel about this adjustment to your gritty rest rules:

All short rest refresh abilities move to Proficiency times per long rest, as seems to be the current trend.

Short rests still retain importance in spending HD, but there's no power refreshes under player control via time.

 

[Oofta]

Ultimately what I want is that whatever the method of resource recovery is, it is something that works on consistent setting-based logic rather than on meta logic (even if the reason for selecting that particular setting-based logic would be game balance.) If one character asks a wizard when they can cast their powerful spell again, I want there to be a consistent answer that makes sense from in-character perspective.

Same here

Long rests only in sanctuaries seems fine enough. But whether that is the case or not depending on some gamey 'phase' the characters cannot have knowledge of is not fine.

The problem I have with the sanctuary idea is that for me anyway that still wouldn't help much. I regularly want to limit long rests even though the current story arc is set in the party's home city where they go to bed at night to sleep snug in their beds. Safe sanctuary limits only seem to help for exploration and dungeon crawls.