Tiny Hut is literally the 'no need to set a watch' spell. Mounts are beasts of burden, beasts of burden can be harnessed to do work. The real problem is that you have no real idea of what your monsters are doing in the dungeon - essentially, they're sitting around forever doing nothing, until PC's show up to kill them.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Tiny Hut isn't the "no need to set a watch" spell, it's the "not going to get interrupted by combat & not going to freeze to death" spell. Setting a watch costs the party nothing, so there is no reason not to do it - especially when in hostile territory.
Alarm, and Faithful Hound are the "don't need to set a watch" spells.
I see tiny hut as "Hey, GM, us players don't want to engage with your game for the next 8 hours."
As a GM, I have two choices.
First, force them to engage. Have the foes do something.
That might be throwing paint or mud over the dome so people can't see out, followed by piling up wood and setting it on fire. That might be having a spellcaster casting dispel magic. For extra ickiness, the foes throw disgusting stuff on the dome before it is dispelled, so the digusting stuff drops onto the PCs and their gear.
Second (my preference), have the world go about its business. Let the PCs have their rest.
That busines might include finishing the ritual the PCs were supposed to stop. It might include moving out, taking all the loot. Or spending the 8 hours piling rocks and logs to wall in the passage where the PCs are. Building traps and ambushes.
Maybe foes just make lots of movement and noise, denying the PCs a good night's sleep.
If nothing else, the foes all get their own long rest and recover all their resources.
A couple of rules notes:
If the PCs shoot arrows and bolts out then foes can collect them and shoot them back into the dome.
If the caster has the dome currently set to darkness then all outgoing attacks are at disadvantage (depending on things like darkvision).
If the caster has the dome currently set to dim light then all Wisdom (Perception) checks are at disadvantage (again, depending on darkvision).
Second (my preference), have the world go about its business. Let the PCs have their rest.
In principle, I agree. However, it is in direct contradicting of another of my principles: Dungeons are places that are alive and active. It's not just a place where monsters wait for PC's to come along and kill them.
I don't always remember it, or prioritize it, but if I'm doing my work right, any dungeon will somehow be a living place. I mean unless it's a cemetary full of the restless dead. But there'll be ongoing construction, or hunting parties or patrols away from the place that might return and fall in the back of the PC's. Maybe there are women and children. Maybe the cook is working in the kitchen.
When the PC's attack - if that's how they go about it - the inhabitants of the dungeon will do something about it. I had a dungeon once where the inhabitants (if I remember correctly, humans and goblinoid hirelings) mounted an initial defence, found it untenable, and all fled. To the rear of the dungeon, where they had a bolthole through which they could all leave. Then they sealed it behind them, circled around, and entered behind the PC's. And smoked them out - giving the NPC's a substantial advantage (although still not enough to actually win - but it was a very credible, unexpected and nominally effective choice of tactics).
Generally, in a dungeon, you'll have like .. a room with ghouls, and a room with carrion crawlers, and a room with bugbears. And neither room reacts in any way to the fight going on next door. Or ... something like that. It varies by GM too.
I just like NPC's to put up a believable fight, to show some initiative - rather than be a pile of passive HP for the PC's to chop down to zero.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Second (my preference), have the world go about its business. Let the PCs have their rest.
In principle, I agree. However, it is in direct contradicting of another of my principles: Dungeons are places that are alive and active. It's not just a place where monsters wait for PC's to come along and kill them.
I don't always remember it, or prioritize it, but if I'm doing my work right, any dungeon will somehow be a living place. I mean unless it's a cemetary full of the restless dead. But there'll be ongoing construction, or hunting parties or patrols away from the place that might return and fall in the back of the PC's. Maybe there are women and children. Maybe the cook is working in the kitchen.
When the PC's attack - if that's how they go about it - the inhabitants of the dungeon will do something about it. I had a dungeon once where the inhabitants (if I remember correctly, humans and goblinoid hirelings) mounted an initial defence, found it untenable, and all fled. To the rear of the dungeon, where they had a bolthole through which they could all leave. Then they sealed it behind them, circled around, and entered behind the PC's. And smoked them out - giving the NPC's a substantial advantage (although still not enough to actually win - but it was a very credible, unexpected and nominally effective choice of tactics).
Generally, in a dungeon, you'll have like .. a room with ghouls, and a room with carrion crawlers, and a room with bugbears. And neither room reacts in any way to the fight going on next door. Or ... something like that. It varies by GM too.
I just like NPC's to put up a believable fight, to show some initiative - rather than be a pile of passive HP for the PC's to chop down to zero.
Obviously I agree with you - but then again, some people really enjoy the tactics side of the game, and don't really give much of a damn about what Mr. Gnoll McGnollson was doing 10 minutes ago, before the PC's rendered him into mist. So at least I can appreciate that some people aren't too concerned with the fluff side of things.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Second (my preference), have the world go about its business. Let the PCs have their rest.
In principle, I agree. However, it is in direct contradicting of another of my principles: Dungeons are places that are alive and active. It's not just a place where monsters wait for PC's to come along and kill them.
I agree. I should have written my post a little better to emphasise it.
The world doesn't stop while the PC's attempt their 8 hour rest.
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Tiny Hut is literally the 'no need to set a watch' spell. Mounts are beasts of burden, beasts of burden can be harnessed to do work. The real problem is that you have no real idea of what your monsters are doing in the dungeon - essentially, they're sitting around forever doing nothing, until PC's show up to kill them.
Unsubscribed.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Tiny Hut isn't the "no need to set a watch" spell, it's the "not going to get interrupted by combat & not going to freeze to death" spell. Setting a watch costs the party nothing, so there is no reason not to do it - especially when in hostile territory.
Alarm, and Faithful Hound are the "don't need to set a watch" spells.
I see tiny hut as "Hey, GM, us players don't want to engage with your game for the next 8 hours."
As a GM, I have two choices.
First, force them to engage. Have the foes do something.
That might be throwing paint or mud over the dome so people can't see out, followed by piling up wood and setting it on fire. That might be having a spellcaster casting dispel magic. For extra ickiness, the foes throw disgusting stuff on the dome before it is dispelled, so the digusting stuff drops onto the PCs and their gear.
Second (my preference), have the world go about its business. Let the PCs have their rest.
That busines might include finishing the ritual the PCs were supposed to stop. It might include moving out, taking all the loot. Or spending the 8 hours piling rocks and logs to wall in the passage where the PCs are. Building traps and ambushes.
Maybe foes just make lots of movement and noise, denying the PCs a good night's sleep.
If nothing else, the foes all get their own long rest and recover all their resources.
A couple of rules notes:
If the PCs shoot arrows and bolts out then foes can collect them and shoot them back into the dome.
If the caster has the dome currently set to darkness then all outgoing attacks are at disadvantage (depending on things like darkvision).
If the caster has the dome currently set to dim light then all Wisdom (Perception) checks are at disadvantage (again, depending on darkvision).
In principle, I agree. However, it is in direct contradicting of another of my principles: Dungeons are places that are alive and active. It's not just a place where monsters wait for PC's to come along and kill them.
I don't always remember it, or prioritize it, but if I'm doing my work right, any dungeon will somehow be a living place. I mean unless it's a cemetary full of the restless dead. But there'll be ongoing construction, or hunting parties or patrols away from the place that might return and fall in the back of the PC's. Maybe there are women and children. Maybe the cook is working in the kitchen.
When the PC's attack - if that's how they go about it - the inhabitants of the dungeon will do something about it. I had a dungeon once where the inhabitants (if I remember correctly, humans and goblinoid hirelings) mounted an initial defence, found it untenable, and all fled. To the rear of the dungeon, where they had a bolthole through which they could all leave. Then they sealed it behind them, circled around, and entered behind the PC's. And smoked them out - giving the NPC's a substantial advantage (although still not enough to actually win - but it was a very credible, unexpected and nominally effective choice of tactics).
Generally, in a dungeon, you'll have like .. a room with ghouls, and a room with carrion crawlers, and a room with bugbears. And neither room reacts in any way to the fight going on next door. Or ... something like that. It varies by GM too.
I just like NPC's to put up a believable fight, to show some initiative - rather than be a pile of passive HP for the PC's to chop down to zero.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I love that line of thinking.
Static NPC,s are not enjoyable at all.
Obviously I agree with you - but then again, some people really enjoy the tactics side of the game, and don't really give much of a damn about what Mr. Gnoll McGnollson was doing 10 minutes ago, before the PC's rendered him into mist. So at least I can appreciate that some people aren't too concerned with the fluff side of things.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I agree. I should have written my post a little better to emphasise it.
The world doesn't stop while the PC's attempt their 8 hour rest.