Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 KaribouOfDoom Aug 24, 2014 14:59:43	This isn't really a 5e question, but was something that popped into my head as I was reading the new PH.  Just wondering how you all deal with the issue of, "blah-blah takes X number of hours to complete" or "requires a short rest (of 1 hour)."  It seems so anticlimactic that, at the end of a battle, when the PCs say, "okay, we're sitting here for an hour."  I mean, you can always throw more monsters/challenges at them, but eventually they're just going to sit for an hour, or four, etc.  Long rests and sleep are easier to turn into meaningful gameplay -- your casters need uninterrupted rest, your fighters can take watches, etc.  And downtime activities like crafting arms or researching are also pretty straightforward, as they happen "off-screen."  But for short-to-medium-sized periods of time, there doesn't seem to be a graceful way of including these gaps into the story.   I feel like there ought to be something more meaningful that should occur during that time passing.  Do any of you suggest/require things happen while that time passes?  Especially now that so many actions can occur after a short rest, I fear my PCs will just want to sit after every encounter to gain back their abilities.  I want to do something consistent that makes this wait more realistic.
#2 Atheosis Aug 24, 2014 15:33:08	Sometimes people just rest.  That said you and your players can find plenty to do during such times if you are creative. I often add little things to add flavor like having a (harmless) snake crawl into bed with a character or having players on watch see things that turn out to be harmless (though they don't know that immediately).  I also have players on watch make checks to see if they can stay awake if I feel like they should be exhausted.  And that's just the tip of the iceberg.  It's all about bringing life to your game, and that includes all the times they aren't in combat or talking to people.
#3 ankiyavon Aug 24, 2014 16:48:36	It seems like the direct answer to your problem is random encounters. Things happen in the world with or without the direct intervention of the PCs.  Sometimes this involves creatures wandering around or doing things.  Sometimes those things interact with the PCs.   As an example, let's say the PCs have just wandered into a goblin warren and slew the first room worth of goblins.  They made a whole bunch of noise doing so.  There are more goblins right in the next room.  What would those goblins do?  What would happen if the PCs just sat there for an hour?  (The answer is 'something', by the way.  There's a lot of options that the goblins could take, but sitting there and waiting to be pulled is not one of them.)   Random encounters are a way for dice to simulate these processes.  There's stuff going on that the PCs may or may not be aware of.  If you as the DM already know everything that's going on in the world, random encounters aren't necessary, because you already know what the monsters are doing.  If, however, you are a human and not a computer, you probably don't know every action every NPC is taking every second, and the random encounter dice let you abstract it out.
#4 Atheosis Aug 24, 2014 17:33:57	That is an interesting point.  Players sometimes can get a video game mentality where they think a place is safe and they can just rest.  But what if one of the enemies they defeated actually got away and ran to get reinforcements?  What if sounds were heard by other goblins for instance (as ankiyavon suggested) and they went to tell their hobgoblin or bugbear masters, who organize an attack in the middle of the party's rest?  If you start handling rests in this more rational way players will begin to realize that resting is not always a good idea or that they at least need to find some place safer than the site of their last battle.
#5 Noon Aug 24, 2014 18:07:42	Is this about story or realism?   They aren't really the same things (even with realism being subjective)
#6 KaribouOfDoom Aug 24, 2014 19:17:20	For my group, it's all about story.  We are a lighthearted group who doesn't worry tremendously about realism. (The thread in the other forum about a monk booting a Tarrasque actually would fit right into our campaigns, lol.)  I think I worry that there will be uninteresting gaps in the story where those "short rests" occur if I'm not proactive in filling them.  I like the suggestions so far.  It could be a good time to incorporate some more actual role-playing (not just hack-and-slash) activities.  (Snake in the bed is pretty funny!)  But I also like the idea that I could challenge their sense of "safety" when they're just sitting for an hour.    Random encounters are something I really should do more of as a DM.  I really like what random events/items bring to a game, I think I just need to get more organized about managing the random creatures.  When I'm planning an adventure, I try to choose monsters that are off-the-beaten-path, primarily to provide new challenges and experiences.  Let's face it, in older editions, the number of different monsters is practically limitless.  I then forget about normal "two orcs and a bugbear" encounters, which (while not very memorable) DO keep PCs on their toes. Maybe starting from scratch in 5e will help -- re-learn all the basic creatures and be comfortable punting with them anytime.  I'm also hopeful that there will be good online random-generator tools that will bring a monster, complete with stats, to my fingers at the touch of a screen.  That will be huge for me -- we're pretty old-school in my gang!  I started gaming back in 2e, and have been using 3.5 since it came out -- kinda skipped 4e, mostly for financial reasons, and because there was no interest in my casual group to learn new rules back then.  I'm excited about 5e, not just because I like the mechanics, but because I think there will be a lot of cloud-based tools for it.
(Reply to #6) Redbeard2	KaribouOfDoom wrote:
#8 iserith Aug 24, 2014 20:29:09	In my games, you're either in an action scene or a transition scene. Action scenes aren't necessarily combat - it just means some kind of tension and conflict is going on. Transition scenes, which are great for rests, still have questions to be resolved, but do not involve tension and conflict. Players will generally rest only after an action scene has concluded, so rests are good for transition. In these scenes, I spotlight a player who didn't get to act in the final round of combat in the last scene or who hasn't gotten much spotlight so far this game. The transition scene becomes about that character and we go into a few minutes of exploring the character together. We might have a flashback to something in the character's background or the character is talking about what he or she is thinking or we're resolving a bond between that character and another PC. I generally ask some questions to get started (or another player does), something I'm curious about with regard to the character as it relates to the fiction so far and that gets the scene rolling. Once we find a good point to end the scene, it transitions back to action.   Of course, I also do random encounters in wilderness and dungeons, so there's that threat hanging over the party's head. Plus, my adventures and campaigns always have countdowns built into the challenge. How much time and rest is taken is another resource to manage because Bad Things Are Going On Right Now. I talk about this a bit in one of my Re-Imagining Phandelver threads. Perhaps the time tracking and threat meter will give you some ideas.
(Reply to #7) KaribouOfDoom	Redbeard2 wrote:
(Reply to #8) KaribouOfDoom	iserith wrote:
#11 Noon Aug 25, 2014 0:20:02	KaribouOfDoom wrote:
#12 iserith Aug 25, 2014 7:56:27	KaribouOfDoom wrote: