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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bagpuss" data-source="post: 5514246" data-attributes="member: 3987">That's because parties take an extended rest when the get low or run out of healing surges. Which they would continue to do in your system, it would just might mean leaving the dungeon. To continue on without any healing surges is fool hardy. Every game I've seen the party aim to take a extended rest after about four encounters, but if they all run out of surges before then they will rest, or if they all run out of daily powers they sometimes will as well (although we have carried on without daily powers if we had plenty of surges, rarely the other way round).Blocking short rests, just means that you will effectively have no healing surges sooner (well you will still have surges just no way to access them).The game is design deliberately like that, because that way it is easier to balance encounters. If you never know what Hit Points the party will be on when they face an encounter, and you don't know what powers they will have available thus you don't know what damage they can do, you cannot use the XP system to balance the encounter.This is pretty much standard practice in my experience.Just so we are on the same page blowing encounter powers (even all of them) in and encounter is not going nova. Going nova is (virtually every player) blowing all their daily powers, and their action points in an encounter, then hiking out the dungeon to do and extended rest and do it again at the next encounter. If this is happening it's normally because the challenges are actually too hard, and the player feel they need to do it to stay alive.If you don't want players to use their powers, or take short rests you make the encounters easier. So they don't feel they need to use them.So take your encounter and split it across several mini encounters. Other people have suggested this but here is a worked example.Party of five, 3rd level characters. (You'll need D&DI access to follow the links)Say your big bad for this level of the dungeon is <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dndinsider/compendium/monster.aspx?id=3195" target="_blank">Rolf the Butcher</a> (Level 6 elite brute), and he has his pet a <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dndinsider/compendium/monster.aspx?id=5216" target="_blank">Hungry Dire Wolf</a> (Level 4  skirmisher), two trusted commanders <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dndinsider/compendium/monster.aspx?id=238" target="_blank">Goblin Hexer</a> (Level 3 Controller, Leader), they command a group of goblins. You can have a mix of 10 Goblin <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dndinsider/compendium/monster.aspx?id=239" target="_blank">Cutter</a> and <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dndinsider/compendium/monster.aspx?id=5146" target="_blank">Snipers</a> (level 1 minions), plus a few actual skilled ones like a Goblin <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dndinsider/compendium/monster.aspx?id=4113" target="_blank">Cursespewer</a>, <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dndinsider/compendium/monster.aspx?id=4114" target="_blank">Sentry</a> and <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dndinsider/compendium/monster.aspx?id=242" target="_blank">Sharpshooter</a>.All that comes to 1850 XP, just over the Hard limit (1749 xp) for a level 3 encounter. If you through that at them all at once it certainly would be Hard 18 against 5, they would probably end up in trouble.But spread them out in a dungeon level, and the party won't feel the need to blow their Encounters, Daily powers and take short rests, especially if when they try to rest you throw the next wave at them.So the Entrance room might have 3 minions and the Sentry, just of that there is a room with a Hexer 2 more minions and the Cursespewer. If the PC dispatch the first four goblins quickly, using encounters make it clear that they can hear noises coming from the next room, do they want to press the advantage and attack now, or try and take a short rest. If they press on let them catch the other goblins still drawing their weapons if they rest, perhaps one goes to raise the alarm, and the others take flanking positions either side of the door.If they press their attack without resting and things look like they are going badly for the goblins then one of them runs off to trigger the next part of the Encounter, and so on until eventually The Butcher and the butcher's dog arrive.This way you've put break points into a large difficult encounter. You aren't always giving PCs opportunities to take Short Rests (and when you do it might not look worth it, if they are only down a few hit points and a few powers) and when you do their is a penalty to pay for their inaction, but by staggering the arrival of enemies you are keeping the pace and giving them an opportunity to back out if things look too tricky.__________________________________________________Saying that you can do the same thing with a series of Easy/Standard encounters, it's up to the DM and the player when a Short Rest or Extended occurs. If the players feel pressured all the time then they are more likely to withdraw and look for opportunities to rest.</blockquote>

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