I am DM-ing Curse of Strahd right now. In the last session, my players just entered one of the "dungeons" featured in the campaign setting. After clearing out a few of the first rooms, they stepped outside the entrance and took a long rest. Because they weren't far from the entrance, hadn't been in the location for very long, and took steps to ensure they could rest safely, I had no issue with them taking a long rest. That being said, I want for the dungeon to be difficult for them once they get deep into exploration, and want to try and keep them from taking another long rest.
I already have an idea of how I could potentially "block" the entrance so that they cannot exit the location as easily again (in the form of a powerful NPC who can optionally be at this location), but I am wondering what other DMs usually do in dungeon settings to prevent the players from taking a long rest (or to use descriptions in such a way that the players may feel it would be dangerous to attempt one in the first place)
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That's some slow progress. You cannot benefit from a long rest more than once every 24 hours. So if the party is knocking out a few encounters, then calling it a day, there is a LOT of downtime where random encounters (or not-so-random encounters) could happen. If the party continues doing something predictable and repetitive, think about what other creatures might take note and take advantage of the situation.
In Ravenloft you could easily send the players nightmares, makeing it impossible to gain the benefit of a long rest. I would even play it out. Have the fighter suddenly face to face with a huge hulking evil being, and let him roll a attack roll, and miss, then miss again even if he rolls a nat 20. Do the same with the other party members. Spells fail, locks are impossible to pick as the walls are closing in on the party. So on and so forth.
Allright, I would be interested to ask Why do the players feel there's time and space available for this?
Is it because they are burning through their spells to quickly compared to the game you set up? --> Don't let them rest
Is it because in general you are accommodating mostly everything they want to do? --> Change your way of DM'ing and...Don't let them rest
Is it because the adventure allows for them to rest and this is a good strategy? --> Learn to be ok with it
And then if you're asking how to DM this, there are multiple tools to your disposal to persuade them in choosing not to rest:
1st & best - creat incentive to move : Pending doom! Timebound drastic events are happening, if they take a nap, it still happens: they fail miserably, people die, the creature becomes even bigger etc.
Make it realistic: Start being strict on rations, carrying capacity, fatigue, exhaustion effects etc. that will limit the time they have between visiting towns and make it cold outside, they don't rest well when they're cold and even though they have rations they gain a level of exhaustion
Punish stalling: Ask them for guard rotations during rests, introduce randomized events that disturb their rest until they get ur point: MOVE!
Especially if they're resting in day-time, introduce random bystanders, NPC's, people passing by, guards, animals that disturb them
Offcourse there's more drastic measures to force movement, as you mentioned collapsing the entrance, I like these less. What could be a simple way to do it is before your next session, you just mention "I noticed we've been making a lot of rests in between. I feel this lowers the tention and it wasn't designed for this - I will be more strict on the rules for this from now on. Just to give them awareness and a heads up, preventing discussion on why you're making changes.
Finally take into account that they are not allowed to take more than 1 long-rest every 24 hours. So if they would have done that trick once, for the remainder of the next couple of sessions, unless traveling or staying at a village they wouldn't be allowed to.
I think this is something that should be handled at much in-game than out-of-game. First of all, an adventuring party that would spend ~1 hour in a dungeon then go out to rest would quickly become extremely bored. That's 15 hours a day of absolutely nothing to do. You should point that out to them, and say that's it's not the heroic behavior you wish to see in your game, and encourage them to keep going forward.
In-game, several ways have been pointed out, I would just add the classic "entrance collapsed, we have to keep going forward" with a secret exit somewhere in the dungeon. Maybe's there's a water stream in there they can swim in that would get them to an outside river (I would make the stream in a rocky bowel, so they can't stop for air, and it makes it hard to use it as a way back).
I just can't imagine Strahd letting a group of adventurers act like a bunch of layabouts. Instead, I could see wolves harassing the camp all night long. No one gets any sleep. For good measure, I wouldn't be surprised if the wolves follow the party into town and stay within range to have their piercing howls penetrate the walls and prevent another nights sleep. Exhaustion has set in.
I would like to point out that CoS is a dark adventure, meant to put the players on edge, keeping them guessing what threat is coming next, having them worry about death at every turn. It's from the classic "Gygaxian Meat Grinder" days and should be treated as such. Wolves harassing the players, nightmares cropping up in places that have evil absorbed into the marrow, Strahd himself showing up and toying with them, all of this and more.
Describe the eerie nature of where they are, the foreboding atmosphere, the weight of fear on them, the dreary grey days taking it's toll. Drive the fear of Strahd and his minions deep into their minds, wolves, dire wolves, werewolves, ravens, scarecrows, and so many other creatures are at his bidding. Have them show up randomly, Strahd is playing with his toys so why would he let them be at peace for two or three long rests in a day? Only in the Vistani camps should they feel any relaxation and jubilation, every where else should feel oppressive, everywhere else should feel like Strahd's sandbox where he tosses a threat at them whenever he's bored.
Thank you everyone for your contributions so far. Honestly, I had forgotten to consider that there would be a large period of time between when the party is even allowed to take another long rest per RAW, and I think this alone will quell the problem. That being said, many of the suggestions so far have been very interesting and I appreciate the input and ideas.
One thing I would like to specify with my original comment is regarding blocking the entrance. I do not plan on just randomly having it collapse, but putting an obstacle in their way in the form of a powerful NPC who has the possibility of being at the location anyway
The location the party is exploring is the Amber Temple. In the adventure guide, there is an optional encounter in which the players find Rahadin (Strahd's dusk-elf chamberlain) who is praying to the dark powers. My plan is simply to morph the encounter to where instead of finding Rahadin already at the temple, he instead arrives as the players proceed back to the exit. Rahadin does not want to harm the party (as he is aware of their importance to Strahd) but is more than capable of dishing out damage to a party of weakened adventurers should they choose to try and plow through him to get to the exit.
In this way, the exit isn't physically or magically blocked, but an obstacle has been introduced which could dissuade a character from approaching the exit haphazardly. As per the instructions regarding this character, it would not necessarily turn into a violent encounter if the characters did choose to approach them, but I think it would keep the party from simply dashing towards the door whenever they feel like it.
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I would add that stirges, oozes, and magic mouths or shrieker mushrooms (that the party cannot get to) would also be effective in preventing long rests.
I figure all games are open world and not static. If my players did that I'd quickly change the dungeon around. Most of my areas have patrols. I roll on patrols as well to help them be more random. If the right number came up the patrol would come across where the players have been. Then alerted the others which begin to fortify the dungeon with more patrols and new traps.
Players entering the area probably will think that since they cleared the rooms that they are safe to just walk through them. The world is supposed to be as close to a living and breathing world as possible.
So think up some consequences for their actions. They came into an area, created a ruccus and expect to leave, full rest and not have a consequence? Sounds like a fun way for me to create some real havok when they enter the dungeon again.
Agreed! I’m running Ghosts of Saltmarsh right now and my players are 1st level in the haunted mansion and are in dire need of a long rest. I have actions planned while they rest based on the module and what I have planned is going to happen no matter what they do, how they rest, or where they rest.
The only thing that will change is how, or if, they interact with the light that is going to appear in the window or the strange noises inside of the mansion.
My players once rested in a dungeon. The bad guy's minions scouted out the location and the party, and then set a pretty nasty ambush (invisible demons) in an area the players thought they'd cleared. (Demons got the tank down to 0 HP and were in melee with the casters, PCs definitely felt some pain there.) It made sense.
Came here to read responses on this topic. I am running my first campaign since the 80s. We're running the LMOP campaign and it has been a fun journey. There is only one spellcaster in the party (a Warlock/Sorcerer Divine Soul) The player tends to coach the others into when they should take a long rest. Many times due to his spells being depleted. The other players don't really need the rest but the player is always able to convince them that it is a good idea. Now they have "cleared" Thundertree. It is dusk and despite my constantly telling them about the uneasiness of the area, the spellcaster player has convinced them to take a long rest and decide whether they should proceed to Castle Cragmaw or Wave Echo Cave with Reidoth's assistance. The session ended there (before final decision of long rest). I suppose I can have more Twig Blights/Zombie/Giant Spiders arrive but I was trying to think of other things. I don't want to use the dragon again as I had something planned for Venomfang later in the campaign.
Maybe random Orcs/bandits who have nothing better to do could attack. Or a storm could be looming on the horizon ready to chase them onward.
Came here to read responses on this topic. I am running my first campaign since the 80s. We're running the LMOP campaign and it has been a fun journey. There is only one spellcaster in the party (a Warlock/Sorcerer Divine Soul) The player tends to coach the others into when they should take a long rest. Many times due to his spells being depleted. The other players don't really need the rest but the player is always able to convince them that it is a good idea. Now they have "cleared" Thundertree. It is dusk and despite my constantly telling them about the uneasiness of the area, the spellcaster player has convinced them to take a long rest and decide whether they should proceed to Castle Cragmaw or Wave Echo Cave with Reidoth's assistance. The session ended there (before final decision of long rest). I suppose I can have more Twig Blights/Zombie/Giant Spiders arrive but I was trying to think of other things. I don't want to use the dragon again as I had something planned for Venomfang later in the campaign.
Hey there. I played in the 80s myself and just started playing again recently. The question I would ask is what is the motivation for wanting the party to move along? “Clearing” Thundertree of zombies, twig blights etc. and chasing off a dragon should be a very taxing day’s work for thirdish level adventurers. It is approaching dusk as you say. Assuming the party has found a defensible place to rest (like the barracks for example), it seems reasonable that the party would consider taking a long rest at that point. From the party perspective, the alternative would be to head out into the wilderness as dark is approaching, at less than full strength, and with the knowledge that they will have to make camp soon anyhow.
I feel your pain though. Those warlock/sorcerer types are annoying.
Short rests are entirely fine in my book. They're just an hour long. Imagine having a fight to the death against all sorts of terrible fiends, multiple rooms across, and then a chance to sit down and take a breather comes up. Would you take it? I sure as hell would.
My flavour for short rests in dungeons is very Darkest Dungeon'esque, to use a more thematic comparison. Huddled around a small campfire, trying to catch their breaths, maybe eat something to calm their uneasy stomachs. Share a small tale, maybe discuss how the fights went and what could be done to make them go better. Y'know, roleplay. I like to interweave roleplay and combat. Maybe one of the party has to stand guard and doesn't get the benefit of the short rest?
Also keep in mind that warlocks rely on short rests to stay relevant in dungeon crawls. Their limited spellslots may be powerful but don't starve your warlock of usefulness by letting them run on empty for too long. The warlock player wants to have fun as well. That said, if they're stupid enough to blow everything on the first encounter then that's on them, obviously.
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I am DM-ing Curse of Strahd right now. In the last session, my players just entered one of the "dungeons" featured in the campaign setting. After clearing out a few of the first rooms, they stepped outside the entrance and took a long rest. Because they weren't far from the entrance, hadn't been in the location for very long, and took steps to ensure they could rest safely, I had no issue with them taking a long rest. That being said, I want for the dungeon to be difficult for them once they get deep into exploration, and want to try and keep them from taking another long rest.
I already have an idea of how I could potentially "block" the entrance so that they cannot exit the location as easily again (in the form of a powerful NPC who can optionally be at this location), but I am wondering what other DMs usually do in dungeon settings to prevent the players from taking a long rest (or to use descriptions in such a way that the players may feel it would be dangerous to attempt one in the first place)
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
Re-imagining unpopular subclasses as part of FIFY WotC. Let us know what you think of our changes!
That's some slow progress. You cannot benefit from a long rest more than once every 24 hours. So if the party is knocking out a few encounters, then calling it a day, there is a LOT of downtime where random encounters (or not-so-random encounters) could happen. If the party continues doing something predictable and repetitive, think about what other creatures might take note and take advantage of the situation.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
In Ravenloft you could easily send the players nightmares, makeing it impossible to gain the benefit of a long rest. I would even play it out. Have the fighter suddenly face to face with a huge hulking evil being, and let him roll a attack roll, and miss, then miss again even if he rolls a nat 20. Do the same with the other party members. Spells fail, locks are impossible to pick as the walls are closing in on the party. So on and so forth.
Allright, I would be interested to ask Why do the players feel there's time and space available for this?
And then if you're asking how to DM this, there are multiple tools to your disposal to persuade them in choosing not to rest:
Offcourse there's more drastic measures to force movement, as you mentioned collapsing the entrance, I like these less. What could be a simple way to do it is before your next session, you just mention "I noticed we've been making a lot of rests in between. I feel this lowers the tention and it wasn't designed for this - I will be more strict on the rules for this from now on. Just to give them awareness and a heads up, preventing discussion on why you're making changes.
Finally take into account that they are not allowed to take more than 1 long-rest every 24 hours. So if they would have done that trick once, for the remainder of the next couple of sessions, unless traveling or staying at a village they wouldn't be allowed to.
I think this is something that should be handled at much in-game than out-of-game. First of all, an adventuring party that would spend ~1 hour in a dungeon then go out to rest would quickly become extremely bored. That's 15 hours a day of absolutely nothing to do. You should point that out to them, and say that's it's not the heroic behavior you wish to see in your game, and encourage them to keep going forward.
In-game, several ways have been pointed out, I would just add the classic "entrance collapsed, we have to keep going forward" with a secret exit somewhere in the dungeon. Maybe's there's a water stream in there they can swim in that would get them to an outside river (I would make the stream in a rocky bowel, so they can't stop for air, and it makes it hard to use it as a way back).
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I just can't imagine Strahd letting a group of adventurers act like a bunch of layabouts. Instead, I could see wolves harassing the camp all night long. No one gets any sleep. For good measure, I wouldn't be surprised if the wolves follow the party into town and stay within range to have their piercing howls penetrate the walls and prevent another nights sleep. Exhaustion has set in.
Much of what has been said is great advice.
I would like to point out that CoS is a dark adventure, meant to put the players on edge, keeping them guessing what threat is coming next, having them worry about death at every turn. It's from the classic "Gygaxian Meat Grinder" days and should be treated as such. Wolves harassing the players, nightmares cropping up in places that have evil absorbed into the marrow, Strahd himself showing up and toying with them, all of this and more.
Describe the eerie nature of where they are, the foreboding atmosphere, the weight of fear on them, the dreary grey days taking it's toll. Drive the fear of Strahd and his minions deep into their minds, wolves, dire wolves, werewolves, ravens, scarecrows, and so many other creatures are at his bidding. Have them show up randomly, Strahd is playing with his toys so why would he let them be at peace for two or three long rests in a day? Only in the Vistani camps should they feel any relaxation and jubilation, every where else should feel oppressive, everywhere else should feel like Strahd's sandbox where he tosses a threat at them whenever he's bored.
Thank you everyone for your contributions so far. Honestly, I had forgotten to consider that there would be a large period of time between when the party is even allowed to take another long rest per RAW, and I think this alone will quell the problem. That being said, many of the suggestions so far have been very interesting and I appreciate the input and ideas.
One thing I would like to specify with my original comment is regarding blocking the entrance. I do not plan on just randomly having it collapse, but putting an obstacle in their way in the form of a powerful NPC who has the possibility of being at the location anyway
The location the party is exploring is the Amber Temple. In the adventure guide, there is an optional encounter in which the players find Rahadin (Strahd's dusk-elf chamberlain) who is praying to the dark powers. My plan is simply to morph the encounter to where instead of finding Rahadin already at the temple, he instead arrives as the players proceed back to the exit. Rahadin does not want to harm the party (as he is aware of their importance to Strahd) but is more than capable of dishing out damage to a party of weakened adventurers should they choose to try and plow through him to get to the exit.
In this way, the exit isn't physically or magically blocked, but an obstacle has been introduced which could dissuade a character from approaching the exit haphazardly. As per the instructions regarding this character, it would not necessarily turn into a violent encounter if the characters did choose to approach them, but I think it would keep the party from simply dashing towards the door whenever they feel like it.
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
Re-imagining unpopular subclasses as part of FIFY WotC. Let us know what you think of our changes!
I would add that stirges, oozes, and magic mouths or shrieker mushrooms (that the party cannot get to) would also be effective in preventing long rests.
I figure all games are open world and not static. If my players did that I'd quickly change the dungeon around. Most of my areas have patrols. I roll on patrols as well to help them be more random. If the right number came up the patrol would come across where the players have been. Then alerted the others which begin to fortify the dungeon with more patrols and new traps.
Players entering the area probably will think that since they cleared the rooms that they are safe to just walk through them. The world is supposed to be as close to a living and breathing world as possible.
So think up some consequences for their actions. They came into an area, created a ruccus and expect to leave, full rest and not have a consequence? Sounds like a fun way for me to create some real havok when they enter the dungeon again.
Agreed! I’m running Ghosts of Saltmarsh right now and my players are 1st level in the haunted mansion and are in dire need of a long rest. I have actions planned while they rest based on the module and what I have planned is going to happen no matter what they do, how they rest, or where they rest.
The only thing that will change is how, or if, they interact with the light that is going to appear in the window or the strange noises inside of the mansion.
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Whenever they back out to rest have those "cleared" rooms repopulate a little bit with recycled minions.
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My players once rested in a dungeon. The bad guy's minions scouted out the location and the party, and then set a pretty nasty ambush (invisible demons) in an area the players thought they'd cleared. (Demons got the tank down to 0 HP and were in melee with the casters, PCs definitely felt some pain there.) It made sense.
The video game approach :)
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Maybe random Orcs/bandits who have nothing better to do could attack. Or a storm could be looming on the horizon ready to chase them onward.
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They’re sure to recognize it for what it is.
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Hey there. I played in the 80s myself and just started playing again recently. The question I would ask is what is the motivation for wanting the party to move along? “Clearing” Thundertree of zombies, twig blights etc. and chasing off a dragon should be a very taxing day’s work for thirdish level adventurers. It is approaching dusk as you say. Assuming the party has found a defensible place to rest (like the barracks for example), it seems reasonable that the party would consider taking a long rest at that point. From the party perspective, the alternative would be to head out into the wilderness as dark is approaching, at less than full strength, and with the knowledge that they will have to make camp soon anyhow.
I feel your pain though. Those warlock/sorcerer types are annoying.
Short rests are entirely fine in my book. They're just an hour long. Imagine having a fight to the death against all sorts of terrible fiends, multiple rooms across, and then a chance to sit down and take a breather comes up. Would you take it? I sure as hell would.
My flavour for short rests in dungeons is very Darkest Dungeon'esque, to use a more thematic comparison. Huddled around a small campfire, trying to catch their breaths, maybe eat something to calm their uneasy stomachs. Share a small tale, maybe discuss how the fights went and what could be done to make them go better. Y'know, roleplay. I like to interweave roleplay and combat. Maybe one of the party has to stand guard and doesn't get the benefit of the short rest?
Also keep in mind that warlocks rely on short rests to stay relevant in dungeon crawls. Their limited spellslots may be powerful but don't starve your warlock of usefulness by letting them run on empty for too long. The warlock player wants to have fun as well. That said, if they're stupid enough to blow everything on the first encounter then that's on them, obviously.
Let chaos rain... uh, reign!