Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 thewilderness Feb 13, 2015 13:19:06	Just looking for some ideas on how other DM's handle this...   Do you allow the party to short rest in a dungeon? Especially if you (the DM) know that there are more enemies in the next room/a few rooms away.   I've been rolling a die behind the screen and if it's even they are good to go, if it's an odd number they are interrupted by a monster.
#2 iserith Feb 13, 2015 13:48:14	"We want to rest for one hour uninterrupted."  <-- That's a goal.   Since I'm the DM, it's my role to place obstacles between the PCs and that goal. So if they want to achieve uninterrupted rest in a dungeon for an hour, they have to earn it. That might mean exploring to find a safe place, clearing out a section where they can hole up, or negotiating safe haven with some other dungeon denizen, for example. Once the've earned it, I'm not going to then interrupt their rest.
#3 pukunui Feb 13, 2015 14:21:54	iserith wrote:
#4 Rhenny Feb 13, 2015 14:24:04	I agree with iserith.   For me, it's basically a question of story.   If it makes sense that the PCs can rest without getting interrupted, I let them.   If it seems like there is too much activity in an area, or the foes know that they are there, then it gets pretty difficult to find an place that's safe.     That said, Rope Trick basically gives the party a chance to rest when they like.
(Reply to #4) feartheminotaur	Rhenny wrote:
#6 Onelostroad Feb 14, 2015 17:56:59	Your question implies that you're thinking of granting your players something as a courtesy to aide their characters.   Me, personally, I don't "allow" the party anything. The get the natural results of their actions. Sometimes, it's very easy to take a short rest (in the wilderness after a random encounter) other times, it's very difficult to take a short rest (the enemy is aware that you're in the dungeon and they're actively searching for you).    Several factors would dictate the success of a party's attempt at a short (or long) rest in my campaign. They would be:   1) selected location. If it's a high traffic location, chances are that barred door is going to be noticed. 2) Status of enemies (number, position, intellegence, awareness, etc.) 3) Other random or pre-planned events that are outside of the party's control (if the chamber floods at high tide or perhaps the vilain takes tea at 6 o'clock and the characters are hiding in the place where the villain would go) 4) Some dice rolling (perhaps a perception check for the enemies, or a random encounter table).   I do not consider the status of the party (HP and resources remaining) when determining if the party successfully completes a rest.   In general, I think you'll find that pressing your players (and characters) to act intellegently and giving them reason to take their surroundings seriously will increase the feeling of genuine danger at your gaming table.
#7 DM_HEEGZ Feb 14, 2015 18:50:19	I always roll for an encounter when they rest in a hostile area such as a dungeon or wilderness. I don't roll if they sleep in an inn though. If they go to some length to secure a safe place to rest, I adjust the random encounter table to make it less likely. Also, the party is much less likely to be surprised in the first round of combat if they secure a safe zone and place sentries, etc. There is no free short or long rest in my games if there is even a hint of danger. It is just much less likely to occur if they are careful.
#8 Archon007 Feb 14, 2015 20:26:56	DM_HEEGZ wrote:
#9 TheNovaLord Feb 15, 2015 7:16:17	Yeah. Game assumes 2 or 3 per day so if it's logical and safe who am I as GM to disallow. It helps some pc's more than others but that's the game
#10 iserith Feb 15, 2015 10:30:32	Let's look at some math, too. If you roll for wandering monsters every 10 minutes in a dungeon and they happen on a roll of 18-20, then there is a 62% chance of at least one encounter during an hour-long rest. On a 19-20, that decreases to 47%.   So really it's just a matter of making your players aware of the odds of an encounter and letting them decide whether they want to chance it or take steps to rob randomness of its power by finding a secure place to lay low.
#11 Archon007 Feb 15, 2015 10:27:40	iserith wrote:
#12 iserith Feb 15, 2015 10:30:10	Archon007 wrote:
#13 TheNovaLord Feb 15, 2015 10:39:25	It's a bit metagamey but maybe increase chance of random encounter / number short rests? 1st short rest.......only on a 20 2nd short rest......15+ 3rd short rest......10+ 4th short rest......5+   ?
#14 iserith Feb 15, 2015 10:41:59	That's not "metagamey." It's just part of the challenge. Let the players know that's going on and see what they do in the face of that challenge.
#15 Psikerlord Feb 15, 2015 14:27:59	iserith wrote:
#16 Psikerlord Feb 15, 2015 14:30:39	Onelostroad wrote:
#17 sirkaikillah11 Feb 16, 2015 13:39:37	iserith wrote:
#18 crimfan07 Feb 16, 2015 13:50:19	thewilderness wrote:
(Reply to #13) crimfan07	TheNovaLord wrote:
#20 Imaculata Feb 16, 2015 15:55:40	I just use common sense.   Is the area in which they rest patrolled by enemies? Then they'll probably be attacked. I'd definitely require a player to stand guard, and have him roll perception checks. Did they clear out the whole area? Then, unless there are reinforcements, they are probably fine. Are they in the wilderness? Then they are probably fine, provided they make a campfire to keep wild animals at bay, and maybe have someone on guard. Are they hiding in a spot where enemies are very unlikely to find them? I'd still probably require one player to stand guard, but they are probably fine.
#21 Kayal Feb 16, 2015 17:27:52	Everyone seems pretty much on the same page with this. If the story or circumstances allow for it, then sure, the party can takea short rest. On the other hand, if the circumstances don't allow for (or call it in to question), then maybe not.
#22 Rhenny Feb 16, 2015 18:51:39	I think that the WoTC designers made the default 1 hour rest just so that it would force people to think the way we are thinking.   You can take a rest if it makes sense...not if the enemy is up in arms and right around the corner.   A shorter rest mechanism (5 minutes, etc.) basically makes it so that after any encounter the party can rest.   Some people might like it that way, but I'm digging the 1 hour rest although, I have to say it took a bunch of games and playtesting for me and my group to get used to it.
(Reply to #22) FrogReaver	Rhenny wrote:
#24 Oriet Feb 17, 2015 6:19:03	I'm debating reducing the short rest time to 30 minutes for my current campaign, and could see going down to 15 minutes per short rest for combat or action heavy campaigns without reducing the time needed for a long rest, but I wouldn't do away with short rests entirely.  Characters need time to spend hit points to recover health outside of combat (recuperating while resting makes perfect sense for this), itentify or attune to magic items, regain class abilities, and so on, and the rules are built for 2 short rests for each long rest.   Just giving a low level warlock 6 spell slots instead of 2 that recharge on a short rest would drastically change what they can do in one combat, as would a lot of other abilities in other classes.  It could maybe work if they face fewer, tougher fights in a day, but then you really run the risk of character death being commonplace.  While I'm perfectly fine with my characters dying and making new ones, a lot of players highly dislike that idea, and it makes any story continuity hard when the the party consists of different people each in-game week because of a high rate of attrition.   Besides, the short rests can be times when the characters decide to eat and relieve themselves, which is something living creatures tend to need.  People also do not like to spend 16 hours without rest, and I see no reason characters would either.  To put it on a schedule of sorts, you could assume most long rests are between 10 pm and 6 am (as they would want to take advantage of daylight), and short rests could easily fall around 11 am to 12 pm and 5pm to 6pm, with the exceptions being when they're doing a lot of strenuous activity (like combat).  This would put an adventuring day like so: morning encounters, noon rest, afternoon encounters, late rest, evening encounters, long rest.  It allows for a lot of activity during an entire day, and also gives descriptive times to give players a better feel of passing time in the game.
#25 Vahnyu Feb 17, 2015 19:04:05	FrogReaver wrote:
(Reply to #2) JohnLynch	iserith wrote:
#27 sirkaikillah11 Feb 17, 2015 22:42:10	Rhenny wrote: