Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Snooze Aug 01, 2008 15:25:21	Anyone have a good mechanism for encouraging players to try to stretch through more encounters without an extended rest? Getting an Action Point every other encounter really isn't much of a motivator, since you get one when you rest anyway. I don't want to do anything *too* imbalancing, but I'd like something meaningful. Maybe a cumulative xp bonus for each milestone passed? Each milestone gives a cumulative 2% xp bonus for subsequent encounters. So the first two encounters give 100% xp, the next two give 102% xp, then the next two give 104% xp, etc.
#2 Xeviat-DM Aug 01, 2008 15:41:36	Time limits and urgency in the quests. If they're in a dungeon and they leave to rest, the residents fortify the entrance. If they rest in the dungeon, they're hounded through their sleep.
#3 AaronOfBarbaria Aug 01, 2008 16:52:41	I find that questioning their choice to take an extended rest in the same way that people would question the party wizard declaring that he attempts to wrestle a dragon, or subtly hinting that they are being "wimpy" by wanting to rest seems to work. My party doesn't rest until someone that can't just hang back and play it safe is out of healing surges... you know, like a defender or a melee based striker with very poor range options.
#4 Snooze Aug 01, 2008 17:48:05	To be clear, I don't feel like my players are abusing the extended rest. They typically finish 3-4 encounters and then take an extended rest, which is about normal. I don't feel like they need a kick in the head. My goal here is to try to create a bit of a meta-game, where the players are really trying to push their resources as hard as they can. Nobody has come close to running out of healing surges yet, and I think it would be fun to see how far they can extend a run.
#5 master-of-puppets Aug 01, 2008 17:56:54	think every encounter as 3 separate encounters: - you enter the room to fight the guards, they give the alarm, when they are done with the wards, reinforcements arive - summonings, beeing there no rules for sumonings, summoned monstars are just another encounter the bbeg is using to slow down the players before they face him - if they are under attack dont use one group, use 3, so when they are finished with the first group another one arrives - to get from point A to point B there are 2 encounters, another 2 to come back... no much safe traveling in a world of darkness with little points of light, goblins&kobolds, desperate human bandits, predator monsters... you dont have to do this and be boring repetitive 4e fight is thought more like modern warfare, where the players act like a comando and the monster like small armies, to save the hostages you need to deploy, render the dogs and bypasers in the surrounding dodge/defeat the guards in the garden (dogs again ****, didnt we render them before) dodge/defeat the snipers in the roof sneak in kill the hostage's guards face the boss get out dodge/defeat the reinforcements and now, only now you get extraction, oh, well after you manage to flee free of the prosecution force (dogs again? Mike you are mean) translate this into encounters, skill challenges, encounters that include skill challenges (the snipers), natural/supernatural threats, elites (its easier to fit a "random" encounter with 2 elite monsters than a full group of them tha's why 4e doesnt include random encounters, those were thought as lone encounters for XP rather than encounters than hinder the characters so that they use their resources, now you have to plan every "random" encounter to fit in your encounter-plans on the bright side, now it takes like 20 mins to make a docen encounters if you ask in the DM's forum youll get more anwers.... I think now, if you need a houserule to avoid them to take more long rests, ,make those limited to night, like: PCs - "so we take an extended rest" DM - "you try, but you arent sleepy, all the adrenaline makes you look at the ceiling and turn in your bed, but you dont sleep..." harsh but realistic... sorry couldnt come with a better rule... maybe change a little the rules per extended rest, not letting reset some of the things that annoy you until 24h DM - "no, you rested but your dalies/actionpoins/full hitpoints/whatever dont recover until tomorrow, now, the rest of the drow arround heard the fight and *roll roll* you take 14dmg and save 4 poison..." hmm funnier