D&D General Why Exploration Is the Worst Pillar

[mrpopstar]

I wonder if they put tracking light sources and time in the early surveys and found not many people do it so they just didn't bother to include it in the design. I don't even do it for every adventure or campaign, just the ones where I'm trying to put the classic town-to-dungeon delve experience front and center. In a pulp action Eberron game, by contrast, I'm just not going to bother with stuff like that.

Seems like a simple thing to include either way!

Good to know it’s getting better, but it still has a long way to go. They really need a Dungeon Apprentice’s Guide

That would be a fun reference!

 

[Vaalingrade]

To me the reward is “meaning” the exploration provides much of the “why” the adventure is happening. It is the context within which the combats and social encounters have meaning. Without exploration providing that context (or connective tissue) then the other pillars become meaningless, disconnected challenges. But this also means that exploration should absolutely have XP rewards. Revealing a major clue for example should feel awesome and should have a reward.

I'm going to need something better to put up with encumbrance, rations and random encounters.

 

[mrpopstar]

I'm going to need something better to put up with encumbrance, rations and random encounters.

Encumbrance is a variant rule. You don't have to put up with it if you don't want to be that detailed.

 

[Ovinomancer]

As a huge 4e fan, I disagree that 4e's tools include any exploration tools. A Skill Challenge is an obstacle, not exploration. I've tried to do exploration in 4e and it is a lot trickier than in ye olde editions, or even 5e.

I... what? Skill challenges are a tool to string together fiction while trying to accomplish something. It's neither an obstacle nor exploration. It can be used with/for/as either.

 

[iserith]

I'm going to need something better to put up with encumbrance, rations and random encounters.

Is it the math?

 

[Vaalingrade]

Is it the math?

I'm fine with math. I'm in favor of going back to actual bonuses instead of advantage.

I just don't like the pointless bookkeeping. If I'm not willing to do it for Vancian casting, I'm certainly not going to do it for the boring parts.

 

[iserith]

I'm fine with math. I'm in favor of going back to actual bonuses instead of advantage.

I just don't like the pointless bookkeeping. If I'm not willing to do it for Vancian casting, I'm certainly not going to do it for the boring parts.

It's not actually pointless in the right game. It might just be pointless in the games you play. But if part of the premise of the game involves having a limited inventory and making meaningful choices between what you bring into the adventure location, how deep and dangerous you can go with what you have, and how much you can carry out, suddenly variant encumbrance rules make a lot of sense. That's not all games though, as I've mentioned before.

 

[Hussar]

Let's take the "tracking light sources" thing for a moment and pick it apart.

Now, first off, half the party probably doesn't even need a light source - they have darkvision - so, even at first level, the exploration pillar element only applies to half the party. Then, we get into mundane light sources. A torch, sure, lasts for 1 hour. You're going to need quite a lot of those. But, by 2nd level you can afford a lantern pretty easily. Now, you have 6 hours of light per pint bottle. 4 bottles a day if you really want to keep that lantern going all the time. Let's say 3. How long is the group actually going to spend in the dungeon? Two days? Three at the absolute outside? I mean, a 2nd level party probably isn't even up to camping in the dungeon if they can avoid it, but, sure, 3 days.

A gallon of oil to power a lantern for three solid days. Not exactly hard to carry.

Now, let's add magic into the mix. Let's see, cantrips: Light, Dancing Lights, Produce Flame, so, every caster save Warlocks can completely bypass the need for tracking light sources.

This was the point made much earlier in the thread. The reason that exploration in D&D is largely ignored is because it is ridiculously easy to bypass. To the point where it can be pretty much assumed that the party will have the means to bypass nearly all the elements of exploration. Need to scout - well, we've got this flying familiar that can UAV all around all day long. Makes getting lost pretty hard. Need to sneak? There are a shopping list of spells that put rogues to shame. So on and so forth.

The problem with the 5e DMG is that it in no way actually accounts for this. They talk about setting up "interesting encounters" in the wilderness, (DMG p 106), and talk about setting a "marching order". But, absolutely no advice on how to deal with the mountain of resources that your party very likely has to bypass any challenge you want to set out. Oh, noes, there is a narrow, rickety bridge. One Tenser's Floating Disk Ritual later and poof, we're across the bridge with no problems.

The 5e DMG is written with the idea that the group will never actually use any of the renewable resources it will have available. For some bizarre reason, all the advice seems to be grounded in the assumption that groups will consist of 3 fighters and a rogue.

 

[Hussar]

It's not actually pointless in the right game. It might just be pointless in the games you play. But if part of the premise of the game involves having a limited inventory and making meaningful choices between what you bring into the adventure location, how deep and dangerous you can go with what you have, and how much you can carry out, suddenly variant encumbrance rules make a lot of sense. That's not all games though, as I've mentioned before.

But, see, this is the problem.

Inventory resources is one of the easiest things to skip over. Food is no problem. Water is no problem. Light is no problem. Ammunition maybe? But, that's combat pillar, so, not really something we need to worry about here.

What in a typical adventurers inventory can be depleted through exploration that can't easily be replaced by a cantrip or a first level spell?

 

[Lanefan]

Let's take the "tracking light sources" thing for a moment and pick it apart.

Now, first off, half the party probably doesn't even need a light source - they have darkvision - so, even at first level, the exploration pillar element only applies to half the party. Then, we get into mundane light sources. A torch, sure, lasts for 1 hour. You're going to need quite a lot of those. But, by 2nd level you can afford a lantern pretty easily. Now, you have 6 hours of light per pint bottle. 4 bottles a day if you really want to keep that lantern going all the time. Let's say 3. How long is the group actually going to spend in the dungeon? Two days? Three at the absolute outside? I mean, a 2nd level party probably isn't even up to camping in the dungeon if they can avoid it, but, sure, 3 days.

A gallon of oil to power a lantern for three solid days. Not exactly hard to carry.

Now, let's add magic into the mix. Let's see, cantrips: Light, Dancing Lights, Produce Flame, so, every caster save Warlocks can completely bypass the need for tracking light sources.

This was the point made much earlier in the thread. The reason that exploration in D&D is largely ignored is because it is ridiculously easy to bypass. To the point where it can be pretty much assumed that the party will have the means to bypass nearly all the elements of exploration. Need to scout - well, we've got this flying familiar that can UAV all around all day long. Makes getting lost pretty hard. Need to sneak? There are a shopping list of spells that put rogues to shame. So on and so forth.

Which maybe means some of those spells and abilities that butcher exploration need to be given a long hard look.

One quick and easy fix: turn all those light-producing cantrips into first-level spells. Boom - as spell slots are a precious resource at low level, always-available magic light pretty much goes away until someone can cast Continual Light in the field.

Lanterns - I'm fine with a lantern or two in the party, but oil is a finite resource (usually) even if you bring a lot of it; and in my game oil is often weaponized: more of it goes into Molotovs than into lanterns. They're constantly running out.

Darkvision: yes, too many species have it; and to cut it back (or better, get rid of a lot of those species as PC-playable) would likely elicit howls of protest.

Another option is to rule that "darkvision" for any surface creature works like what we call ultravision - you're seeing by starlight. Great outdoors when it's clear (i.e. good for several hundred unobstructed feet), not bad outdoors when it's cloudy (half-range), but utterly useless indoors or underground. Do this and suddenly it's only the underground-dwelling species - Dwarves and Gnomes, mostly - that can see well when underground; and even then this vision doesn't work if there's a light source nearby to spoil it (which there almost certainly will be unless the rest of the party are supposed to do their exploring blind).

The Ranger's food-finding ability can easily enough be nerfed such that it only grants the Ranger the ability to always keep herself fed; being able to forage for anyone else isn't in the least bit guaranteed.

The problem with the 5e DMG is that it in no way actually accounts for this. They talk about setting up "interesting encounters" in the wilderness, (DMG p 106), and talk about setting a "marching order". But, absolutely no advice on how to deal with the mountain of resources that your party very likely has to bypass any challenge you want to set out. Oh, noes, there is a narrow, rickety bridge. One Tenser's Floating Disk Ritual later and poof, we're across the bridge with no problems.

If one allows it. I long ago ruled that the Disc always follows the caster around, close enough for the caster to reach what it's carrying but impossible for the caster to board and ride; in part to specifically prevent its use as cheap flying transport for the caster. I also ruled it maintains a constant height above the ground below it equal to that of the caster's waist.