Bjarkmundur
2019-07-23, 07:54 PM
"Eat your broccoli" vs. "Do you want one or two pieces of broccoli?"
"When are you free?" vs. "Would you like to meet Wednesday or Thursday?"
I have a 6 year old son who, like most children, always wants to challenge the rules. Bed times, snacks, computer-time. These are things he will climb mountains to get more of. This lead to a pretty interesting system. I have learned that no matter how much computer time he gets he will always ask for more. Give him 30 minutes, he ask for 10 extra. Give him 45 minutes, he asks for 10 extra. When you explained to him that he just got 15 extra, he still wants 10 extra. Now, I simply calculate his "extra" into everything, and include it as positive reinforcement. He now only gets 30 minutes, but can put away 5 toys into his toy box, dishes to kitchen or dirty clothes to laundry to get his "10 extra".
We are both VERY happy with this system xD
Presentation of options affects how we see those options. If we are assume getting 10gp from a quest, but only get 5gp, we feel disappointed. If we expect nothing and get 5gp, we are pretty happy.
One player-DM negotiation that I am completely sick of is the rest argument. I don't like confrontations. I know I can talk to each player individually or make a declaration of "I am the storyteller and the game master, I decide when your characters rest and when they will not".
Or, I can simply adjust the presentation. You see, wanting something and getting nothing sucks. That's why I've created two additional rest periods which you can serve as compensatory rests for Rest-hungry players. Now when a player initiates the "I want a long rest" debate, you simply reply with "You can't, but I will allow you to set up camp for the night". Which is, admittedly and objectively, better than nothing.
Breather
A breather is a short period of downtime, just long enough to catch one’s breath. A breather is typically 10-15 minutes, and during it PCs can use hit dice to regain hit points. It is advised to not take a breather where a battle has taken place, since the sounds of battle might have alerted nearby enemies.
Short Rest
A short rest is a period of downtime, typically 1-2 hours long, during which a character might have a meal, clean his weapons, read over his prepared spells, perform a ritual, take a nap, or prepare for the day ahead in any other way. During a short rest, a PC regains expended uses of some of his abilities and can expend hit dice to regain lost hit points. Be careful, however, since short rest in a hostile environment might trigger a random encounter. Each character can benefit from a maximum of two short rests before either setting up camp or taking a long rest.
Setting up Camp
Finding a place to stay the night involves a period of downtime that lasts at least 8 hours where the PCs take turns standing watch. At the end of the resting period the PCs regain all their lost hit points, a single hit dice and the use of their short-rest abilities.
Long Rest
A long rest is a period of extended downtime in a safe environment and is defined as at least a 24-hour break from adventuring. At the end of a long rest, PCs regain all lost Hit Points, all expended uses of their abilities, half their total number of hit dice (minimum 1) and their exhaustion level is reduced by 1. You can gain these benefits again after another 24 hour period, in order to fully regain expended hit dice and lower your exhaustion level by an additional level.
Hostile Environments & Random Encounters
Some environments are simply too dangerous to risk a rest and a DM might specify that the players cannot benefit from a rest while in certain locations. During a rest in a hostile environment, the players make a single luck roll. On an unlucky result, there’s a random encounter. Players may gain advantage or suffer disadvantage, based on various factors.
"When are you free?" vs. "Would you like to meet Wednesday or Thursday?"
I have a 6 year old son who, like most children, always wants to challenge the rules. Bed times, snacks, computer-time. These are things he will climb mountains to get more of. This lead to a pretty interesting system. I have learned that no matter how much computer time he gets he will always ask for more. Give him 30 minutes, he ask for 10 extra. Give him 45 minutes, he asks for 10 extra. When you explained to him that he just got 15 extra, he still wants 10 extra. Now, I simply calculate his "extra" into everything, and include it as positive reinforcement. He now only gets 30 minutes, but can put away 5 toys into his toy box, dishes to kitchen or dirty clothes to laundry to get his "10 extra".
We are both VERY happy with this system xD
Presentation of options affects how we see those options. If we are assume getting 10gp from a quest, but only get 5gp, we feel disappointed. If we expect nothing and get 5gp, we are pretty happy.
One player-DM negotiation that I am completely sick of is the rest argument. I don't like confrontations. I know I can talk to each player individually or make a declaration of "I am the storyteller and the game master, I decide when your characters rest and when they will not".
Or, I can simply adjust the presentation. You see, wanting something and getting nothing sucks. That's why I've created two additional rest periods which you can serve as compensatory rests for Rest-hungry players. Now when a player initiates the "I want a long rest" debate, you simply reply with "You can't, but I will allow you to set up camp for the night". Which is, admittedly and objectively, better than nothing.
Breather
A breather is a short period of downtime, just long enough to catch one’s breath. A breather is typically 10-15 minutes, and during it PCs can use hit dice to regain hit points. It is advised to not take a breather where a battle has taken place, since the sounds of battle might have alerted nearby enemies.
Short Rest
A short rest is a period of downtime, typically 1-2 hours long, during which a character might have a meal, clean his weapons, read over his prepared spells, perform a ritual, take a nap, or prepare for the day ahead in any other way. During a short rest, a PC regains expended uses of some of his abilities and can expend hit dice to regain lost hit points. Be careful, however, since short rest in a hostile environment might trigger a random encounter. Each character can benefit from a maximum of two short rests before either setting up camp or taking a long rest.
Setting up Camp
Finding a place to stay the night involves a period of downtime that lasts at least 8 hours where the PCs take turns standing watch. At the end of the resting period the PCs regain all their lost hit points, a single hit dice and the use of their short-rest abilities.
Long Rest
A long rest is a period of extended downtime in a safe environment and is defined as at least a 24-hour break from adventuring. At the end of a long rest, PCs regain all lost Hit Points, all expended uses of their abilities, half their total number of hit dice (minimum 1) and their exhaustion level is reduced by 1. You can gain these benefits again after another 24 hour period, in order to fully regain expended hit dice and lower your exhaustion level by an additional level.
Hostile Environments & Random Encounters
Some environments are simply too dangerous to risk a rest and a DM might specify that the players cannot benefit from a rest while in certain locations. During a rest in a hostile environment, the players make a single luck roll. On an unlucky result, there’s a random encounter. Players may gain advantage or suffer disadvantage, based on various factors.