D&D General Why Exploration Is the Worst Pillar

[Tales and Chronicles]

I think the Exploration Pillar covers a lot more than is usually granted.

For example: navigating a dungeon, searching for treasure, and managing traps are all navigation. They also offer opportunities for characters to be good at their skills and tools, like Perception and Thieve's Tools.

For the overland travel side of Exploration, I long ago gave up on trying to implement a cost. The truth is, between Utility Magic, Goodberry, and outdoor backgrounds, the characters are usually going to find ways to be rested and fed.

Instead, I try to add opportunities in overland travel to gain rewards: treasure, knowledge, allies, etc.

If a DM switches Random Encounters from "a chance to lose HP" to "a chance to get more treasure," I think players will enjoy them a lot more!

This is a great idea.

Searching for a hidden cache in an abandoned roadhouse during a terrible storm is way more than yet another encounter against gnoll brigands.

Or DM should try to target different resources than HP.

Let HP be the resource you track for battle. Make them lose HDs due to the strain caused by a blizzard, gaining more than 1 exhaustion level, give them diseases or poison that only allow a save after X days, reduce their max hp until X, reduce their speed until X, steal their equipment while they sleep etc

Given, some classes can circumvent those things at mid-high level, but that's the prerogative of higher level PCs.

 

[guachi]

Problem is that the 5e DMG is crap.

Not that it doesn't have some good content, but it's structured and organised so badly that it's easy to forget most of what is in there by the time you need it in your game design.

I've found myself inventing rules for things more than once before remembering that 5e already has rules for them, buried somewhere in that unintuitive mess of a book.

The latest WotC survey about M:TG and D&D asked about if I would recommend either. I said I'd recommend D&D but the books look like they are written for people who have played the game before, which was fine for 2014. I also mentioned how poorly laid out the DMG is. It's not a good book on how to actually run D&D.

 

[Nefermandias]

I think the Exploration Pillar covers a lot more than is usually granted.

For example: navigating a dungeon, searching for treasure, and managing traps are all navigation. They also offer opportunities for characters to be good at their skills and tools, like Perception and Thieve's Tools.

For the overland travel side of Exploration, I long ago gave up on trying to implement a cost. The truth is, between Utility Magic, Goodberry, and outdoor backgrounds, the characters are usually going to find ways to be rested and fed.

Instead, I try to add opportunities in overland travel to gain rewards: treasure, knowledge, allies, etc.

If a DM switches Random Encounters from "a chance to lose HP" to "a chance to get more treasure," I think players will enjoy them a lot more!

Gritty Realism fixes the lack of lasting consequences.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Gritty Realism fixes the lack of lasting consequences.

I prefer a mix of Natural Slow Healing and Healer's Kit dependency.

I normally use those and it makes travelling much more dangerous without the need to change the pace of adventuring too much. A good middle-ground, IMHO.

 

[iserith]

This is a great idea.

Searching for a hidden cache in an abandoned roadhouse during a terrible storm is way more than yet another encounter against gnoll brigands.

Or DM should try to target different resources than HP.

Let HP be the resource you track for battle. Make them lose HDs due to the strain caused by a blizzard, gaining more than 1 exhaustion level, give them diseases or poison that only allow a save after X days, reduce their max hp until X, reduce their speed until X, steal their equipment while they sleep etc

Given, some classes can circumvent those things at mid-high level, but that's the prerogative of higher level PCs.

Notably, the DMG goes into how a "random encounter" can be an exploration encounter rather than a fight. The random encounter tables in Xanathar's also have these exploration encounters right on them (page 92 - 112).

 

[Mort]

I prefer a mix of Natural Slow Healing and Healer's Kit dependency.

I normally use those and it makes travelling much more dangerous without the need to change the pace of adventuring too much. A good middle-ground, IMHO.

I think this is heavily group dependent.

I find, for many groups, too much grittiness hurts exploration - or at least the enjoyment of it.

If the group thinks that engaging with the environment will cause them to be delayed/out of commission for a significant time then they don't do it as much. In other words, if smart play is playing it safe - then groups do that and much of the fun of exploring the wild environment is missed.

 

[BookTenTiger]

Gritty Realism fixes the lack of lasting consequences.

But players will always look for ways to get out of consequences. I think it's an unrealistic expectation for Exploration to reliably cost something - I find players will put a lot more energy into negating the cost than actually Exploring.

So I think it would be a lot more fun for Exploration to be about rewards instead of costs. You could have a Random Encounter table with things like Treasure, Shelter, Resources, Shortcut, Knowledge, Allegiance etc on it. Then you roll or decide what's opposing the characters: dangerous creatures, natural threat, difficult to find, etc.

Maybe even steal from Level Up and roll up some Signs.

So let's say as a DM I roll Shelter, Dangerous Creatures, and Gossiping Travelers as a sign.

The characters encounter two traveling monks who tell them about an abandoned tower nearby. It would make a great, secure camp, except they heard the cries of some great creature inside and ran away.

The ranger searches for tracks and finds the sign of a griffon!

The group decides to kill the griffin and take the tower for themselves.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I think this is heavily group dependent.

I find, for many groups, too much grittiness hurts exploration - or at least the enjoyment of it.

If the group thinks that engaging with the environment will cause them to be delayed/out of commission for a significant time then they don't do it as much. In other words, if smart play is playing it safe - then groups do that and much of the fun of exploring the wild environment is missed.

I had a rule I did not get much time to thinker with before the pandemic, but in short, the PC regained all their stuff with a long rest, as usual, but need to make a CON check at the end of the long against a DC set by their lifestyle level (both in city or in the wilderness) as per the PHB. On a failed save the PC did not benefit from the rest and regained nothing.

 

[Asisreo]

There can be lasting consequences as well in the form of a very rare but unusually deadly encounter placed in the encounter tables.

I know its taboo to have very strong and threatening single encounters just on a table, but having the necessary foreshadowing and leniency before the fight commences can be a palpable threat of not just resources, but death that may be permanent.

For example, a 15th level party passing through the elemental plane of water has been warned that its dangerous because there's a Kraken that roams the area. Well, put that kraken on your 1d8+1d12 encounter roll as a 20 rolling every day and night. Sure, they could rest in the area all they want but there's a non-zero chance they'll end up facing something they can't handle. And the kraken can be hostile as long as there's reasonable opportunities to avoid combat.

Kraken's Encounter:

The kraken is both a force of nature and an extremely intelligent creature. It roams the seas of the elemental plane of water searching for creatures in which it can subjugate through fear. It finds the hubris of those that don't fearfully accepts its offer of subjugation as offensive and may attempt to subjugate such foolish creatures by force. It doesn't wish to kill, but will to prove a point.

Realistically, there's a 2% chance they'll even encounter this within a day, but having it actually exist makes travel and its consequences interesting.

 

[SkidAce]

...

Searching for a hidden cache in an abandoned roadhouse during a terrible storm is way more than yet another encounter against gnoll brigands.

...

"Why not both?"

/insert meme pic