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Isolated fights in D&D

Started by jhkim, February 12, 2015, 06:13:19 PM

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Omega

#15
February 15, 2015, 09:42:29 PM
Quote from: jibbajibba;815924Does it not strike you and un-immersive to think that the Rangers might guard the backwoods of the north for a dozens of years slaying hundreds of orcs, gobins, trolls and the like and never getting past 2nd level because none of the things they killed were rich?

Won't bandits always be higher level than lawmen?
What if the players killed a bunch of creatures and skinned them and made their hides into clothes and armour? Would they get XP for the value then? Is the expereinced then gained a result of their excellent combat tactics and courage or a recult of their excellent craft skills and seemsmanship?

Least in AD&D you had to actually collect the treasure to get the EXP.
Also. Alot of treasure from a relatively weak monster actually devalued the EXP gain. (PG 85 A level 10 MU vs 10 kobolds and looting 1000gp would get only 50 EXP for the treasure.)

Gold Roger

#16
February 16, 2015, 10:28:12 AM
One of the natural healing options is a full night for a short rest and a few days in comfortable lodgings for a long rest, if I remember correctly (no DMG handy).

It is attributed as a "gritty" option, but I'd rather say it is an option to support campaigns where you don't fight multiple combats in a single day, making it more an option on pacing rather than a direct playstyle option.

In campaigns where isolated fights are pretty much the norm, I'd consider this option, or some variation thereof, pretty much mandatory. It is the only way I can see that keeps 5e rescource management in effect.

Larsdangly

#17
February 16, 2015, 11:07:36 AM
Quote from: S'mon;815855I guess this is why old-school D&D wilderness encounters are "30-300 orcs", where the dungeon might have 3-30.  One more bit of Gygaxian design elegance that got overlooked in more recent 'encounter balance' design.

A concise version of what I was going to post. Basically, the game is just too easy if you play it as instructed today.

matthulhu

#18
February 16, 2015, 11:11:26 AM
Quote from: Gold Roger;815958In campaigns where isolated fights are pretty much the norm, I'd consider this option, or some variation thereof, pretty much mandatory. It is the only way I can see that keeps 5e rescource management in effect.

I'd second this and go a step further and suggest the other "gritty" options in the DMG go hand-in-hand with making each fight a consideration (and really kill the "campaign of encounters" play-style I abhor). Permanent injury, removing inspiration, extended long rests, healer's kit dependency, spending HD to heal even on long rests... they all add up to "maybe we should work out some tactics before we run into these goblin caves," or even "maybe we should work out how to get the treasure without fighting at all..."

The hallmark of a great player is a wariness of being in a position where dice are being rolled in the first place. The dice are cruel. With a good impartial DM, they are the sole enemy.

Old One Eye

#19
February 16, 2015, 05:33:44 PM
I have always found my players to enjoy the occassional battle where they can go all out without worrying about holding anything back.  Let them cream the opposition and include the XP in the total.

Wilderness travel is rarely one of those occasions.  In most instances of wilderness travel, at least two encounter rolls a day.  Else the party realize the structural lack of threat and will game the system.

jhkim

#20
February 18, 2015, 06:39:52 PM
Quote from: Old One Eye;815997I have always found my players to enjoy the occassional battle where they can go all out without worrying about holding anything back.  Let them cream the opposition and include the XP in the total.

Wilderness travel is rarely one of those occasions.  In most instances of wilderness travel, at least two encounter rolls a day.  Else the party realize the structural lack of threat and will game the system.
I can see this for certain sections of particularly dangerous wilderness.

In the case that inspired my OP, the PCs were traveling for some weeks along established roads, and we averaged one encounter every 4 days or so.

It would pretty thoroughly break my suspension of disbelief if we more frequently encountered life-threatening situations to us (as a party of 5th level characters). As it is, it seemed like travel between cities should be nearly impossible for ordinary people, because they'd just be slaughtered.

S'mon

#21
February 19, 2015, 06:45:56 AM
Quote from: Old One Eye;815997I have always found my players to enjoy the occassional battle where they can go all out without worrying about holding anything back.  Let them cream the opposition and include the XP in the total.

Wilderness travel is rarely one of those occasions.  In most instances of wilderness travel, at least two encounter rolls a day.  Else the party realize the structural lack of threat and will game the system.

I like 1 check per 4 hours, 6/day, if I'm going to roll at all. 1 in 6 or 1 in 10 is good. Not all will be hostile, and some hostiles can be avoided, but there is a chance of several hostile encounters.

If the PCs are travelling in safe areas, usually fast forward to arrival, or else scripted encounters.
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