Grod_The_Giant
2020-08-17, 12:42 PM
Many balance complaints can be boiled down to one source: rests, and how classes rely on them. Warlock players struggling with not having enough spells? The Paladin smiting everything to death in a single round? Surprisingly often, the problem is not with the classes themselves but with the underlying assumptions of the system.
The game was written with the assumption that one “adventuring day”—the time between the party waking up and setting out into the world and their next long rest—would consist of six to eight encounters, broken up by two short rests.
After two or three encounters, classes that depend on short rests, such as the Monk and Warlock, could expect to be out of resources, while those that depend on long rests, such as the Barbarian and Wizard, would still be going strong. On the other hand, as the day wears on and long rest classes run begin to run low on power, the short rest classes are still refreshing their resources and fighting at full effectiveness.
That’s the balance…on paper. In practice, many games will never approach the expected number of encounters. Short adventuring days with just one or two combat encounters are common, and significantly favor classes like the Paladin who can burn through their full daily allotment of resources very quickly.
What’s the solution? Well, there are basically two approaches: change the way rests work, or change the way classes work.
Rest Changes: Safe Havens
One easy way to artificially extend the adventuring day is to declare that characters can only benefit from long rests while in a Safe Haven—a place of peace and support where they are unlikely to be threatened. Generally, this means a friendly town, or at least an inn.
Such a rule extends the “adventuring day” to cover an entire journey. The day begins when you leave your home base, continues through your trials and dangers, and ends when you return to safety. It doesn’t matter how long the adventure takes within the context of the setting—whether spending a few hours of fighting goblins in a cave or a few weeks travelling through the wilderness, the party still face the same level of attrition.
"All day" spells and abilities, such as the Darkvision or Mage Armor spells, should be allowed to last until the character completes a long rest.
The advantage of this rule is simplicity—the change is almost entirely conceptual. It fits well with classic adventure types such as the huge dungeon crawl or wilderness exploration, where regular returns to town to sell loot and buy more supplies are part and parcel of the experience. It also makes as much sense to the characters as to the players. Of course you can’t fully heal with a few hours of sleep in a deep forest or while barricaded in a single room deep in a dungeon; you’re short on supplies and comfort and need to be ready to confront danger at a moment’s notice.
The downside is that it doesn’t work for all game types. While Safe Havens work well for campaigns where the party frequently has to travel into dangerous situations, they make less sense in urban or intrigue-based games. If you need to sleep in an inn to recover, well, you’re in a city—there are dozens of options, and even the most distant is unlikely to take more than an hour or two to reach.
This can be partially mitigated by making the concept of Safe Havens more abstract. If long rests can only happen at the end of one “episode” of the campaign, no matter what happens during the individual session or sessions, the GM’s job becomes much easier. It doesn’t matter how often the players retreat to rest; they’ll still have to deal with the same encounters with the same pools of resources. But doing so can offend the sensibilities of players, whether they’re bothered by the abstract nature of the rule or by their lack of control over rests.
Class Changes
The alternative to changing rests is to change classes—to convert long-rest-based resources like spell slots to short-rest-based ones, or to extend short-rest-based resources to cover an entire adventuring day. Doing so can be finicky, but does ensure that everyone is on a level playing field.
Long Rest to Short Rest
Going from long rests to short rests is mostly a matter of reduction—abilities should be used about one-third as often as originally written.
In terms of spellcasting, there are two options for handling this:
You can convert all spellcasters to use Pact Magic mechanics, with two or three spell slots of their highest available level per short rest.
You can use the Spell Points variant in the Dungeon Master’s Guide (page 288-289) and simply reduce spell points by a third, giving you a progression something like so:
Level
Spell Points
Max Spell Level
1st
2
--
2nd
4
1st
3rd
5
2nd
4th
6
2nd
5th
9
3rd
6th
11
3rd
7th
13
4th
8th
15
4th
9th
19
5th
10th
21
5th
11th
24
6th
12th
24
6th
13th
28
7th
14th
28
7th
15th
31
8th
16th
31
8th
17th
36
9th
18th
38
9th
19th
41
9th
20th
44
9th
In terms of other abilities…
Those that can normally be used a small number of times per long rest—two times, three times, a number of times equal to an Ability Score modifier—should reduce to being used once per short rest.
Those that can normally only be used once per long rest still require you to complete a long rest before using them again.
In addition, a few classes will require additional tweaking to function under the new rules, or at least to function elegantly.
Class
Class Features
Alchemist (GGtG)
Use one of the above spellcaster adaptation rules for the Alchemist’s casting. Once brewed, extracts are viable for three hours.
Artificer
You may infuse one item at the end of a short rest.
Barbarian
You may Rage once per short rest. Beginning at 11th level, you may Rage twice per short rest.
Bard
No special adaptation needed.
Cleric
No special adaptation needed.
Druid
No special adaptation needed.
Fighter
You may use your Indomitable feature once per short rests beginning at 13th level.
Magewright (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Monk
No special adaptation needed.
Paladin
Your Lay on Hands pool only contains a number of hit points equal to your Paladin level + your Charisma modifier, but is replenished by taking a short rest.
Ranger
No special adaptation needed.
Rogue
No special adaptation needed.
Sorcerer
You gain a number of sorcery points per short rest equal to one-third your level, rounded up.
Steelsworn (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Summoner (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Warlock
No special adaptation needed.
Wildling (GGtG)
You may use Primal Surge once per short rest. Beginning at 11th level, you may Surge twice per short rest.
Wizard
No special adaptation needed.
Short Rest to Long Rest
Conversely, changing a short rest dependent class to a long rest one is a process of addition—abilities should be usable three times as often as written. That one rule will work for almost all character types, but there are a few classes that merit extra thought.
Class
Class Features
Artificer
No special adaptation needed.
Barbarian
No special adaptation needed.
Bard
At 5th level, Font of Inspiration grants you an additional two uses of your Bardic Inspiration per point of your Charisma modifier, for a total number of dice equal to three times your modifier (minimum 3).
Cleric
Channel Divinity may be used a number of times per long rest equal to your Wisdom modifier +1.
Druid
Wild Shape may be used a number of times per long rest equal to your Wisdom modifier +1.
Fighter
Action Surge can only be used once per turn.
Magewright (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Monk
No special adaptation needed.
Paladin
Channel Divinity may be used a number of times per long rest equal to your Charisma modifier +1.
Ranger
No special adaptation needed.
Rogue
The Rogue is almost entirely rest-independent. As such, it suffers from similar issues to short rest based classes when the game features very few encounters per day. Thus, beginning at 2nd level, they gain the ability to double their sneak attack damage dice a number of times per long rest equal to their Dexterity modifier +1.
Sorcerer
No special adaptation needed.
Steelsworn (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Summoner (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Warlock
The Warlock can have their Pact Magic slots tripled as described above, or they can use normal spellcasting rules and progression.
Wildling (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Wizard
No special adaptation needed.
Alchemist (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
So... thoughts? Things I've missed? Points of particular friction that need closer examination?
The game was written with the assumption that one “adventuring day”—the time between the party waking up and setting out into the world and their next long rest—would consist of six to eight encounters, broken up by two short rests.
After two or three encounters, classes that depend on short rests, such as the Monk and Warlock, could expect to be out of resources, while those that depend on long rests, such as the Barbarian and Wizard, would still be going strong. On the other hand, as the day wears on and long rest classes run begin to run low on power, the short rest classes are still refreshing their resources and fighting at full effectiveness.
That’s the balance…on paper. In practice, many games will never approach the expected number of encounters. Short adventuring days with just one or two combat encounters are common, and significantly favor classes like the Paladin who can burn through their full daily allotment of resources very quickly.
What’s the solution? Well, there are basically two approaches: change the way rests work, or change the way classes work.
Rest Changes: Safe Havens
One easy way to artificially extend the adventuring day is to declare that characters can only benefit from long rests while in a Safe Haven—a place of peace and support where they are unlikely to be threatened. Generally, this means a friendly town, or at least an inn.
Such a rule extends the “adventuring day” to cover an entire journey. The day begins when you leave your home base, continues through your trials and dangers, and ends when you return to safety. It doesn’t matter how long the adventure takes within the context of the setting—whether spending a few hours of fighting goblins in a cave or a few weeks travelling through the wilderness, the party still face the same level of attrition.
"All day" spells and abilities, such as the Darkvision or Mage Armor spells, should be allowed to last until the character completes a long rest.
The advantage of this rule is simplicity—the change is almost entirely conceptual. It fits well with classic adventure types such as the huge dungeon crawl or wilderness exploration, where regular returns to town to sell loot and buy more supplies are part and parcel of the experience. It also makes as much sense to the characters as to the players. Of course you can’t fully heal with a few hours of sleep in a deep forest or while barricaded in a single room deep in a dungeon; you’re short on supplies and comfort and need to be ready to confront danger at a moment’s notice.
The downside is that it doesn’t work for all game types. While Safe Havens work well for campaigns where the party frequently has to travel into dangerous situations, they make less sense in urban or intrigue-based games. If you need to sleep in an inn to recover, well, you’re in a city—there are dozens of options, and even the most distant is unlikely to take more than an hour or two to reach.
This can be partially mitigated by making the concept of Safe Havens more abstract. If long rests can only happen at the end of one “episode” of the campaign, no matter what happens during the individual session or sessions, the GM’s job becomes much easier. It doesn’t matter how often the players retreat to rest; they’ll still have to deal with the same encounters with the same pools of resources. But doing so can offend the sensibilities of players, whether they’re bothered by the abstract nature of the rule or by their lack of control over rests.
Class Changes
The alternative to changing rests is to change classes—to convert long-rest-based resources like spell slots to short-rest-based ones, or to extend short-rest-based resources to cover an entire adventuring day. Doing so can be finicky, but does ensure that everyone is on a level playing field.
Long Rest to Short Rest
Going from long rests to short rests is mostly a matter of reduction—abilities should be used about one-third as often as originally written.
In terms of spellcasting, there are two options for handling this:
You can convert all spellcasters to use Pact Magic mechanics, with two or three spell slots of their highest available level per short rest.
You can use the Spell Points variant in the Dungeon Master’s Guide (page 288-289) and simply reduce spell points by a third, giving you a progression something like so:
Level
Spell Points
Max Spell Level
1st
2
--
2nd
4
1st
3rd
5
2nd
4th
6
2nd
5th
9
3rd
6th
11
3rd
7th
13
4th
8th
15
4th
9th
19
5th
10th
21
5th
11th
24
6th
12th
24
6th
13th
28
7th
14th
28
7th
15th
31
8th
16th
31
8th
17th
36
9th
18th
38
9th
19th
41
9th
20th
44
9th
In terms of other abilities…
Those that can normally be used a small number of times per long rest—two times, three times, a number of times equal to an Ability Score modifier—should reduce to being used once per short rest.
Those that can normally only be used once per long rest still require you to complete a long rest before using them again.
In addition, a few classes will require additional tweaking to function under the new rules, or at least to function elegantly.
Class
Class Features
Alchemist (GGtG)
Use one of the above spellcaster adaptation rules for the Alchemist’s casting. Once brewed, extracts are viable for three hours.
Artificer
You may infuse one item at the end of a short rest.
Barbarian
You may Rage once per short rest. Beginning at 11th level, you may Rage twice per short rest.
Bard
No special adaptation needed.
Cleric
No special adaptation needed.
Druid
No special adaptation needed.
Fighter
You may use your Indomitable feature once per short rests beginning at 13th level.
Magewright (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Monk
No special adaptation needed.
Paladin
Your Lay on Hands pool only contains a number of hit points equal to your Paladin level + your Charisma modifier, but is replenished by taking a short rest.
Ranger
No special adaptation needed.
Rogue
No special adaptation needed.
Sorcerer
You gain a number of sorcery points per short rest equal to one-third your level, rounded up.
Steelsworn (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Summoner (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Warlock
No special adaptation needed.
Wildling (GGtG)
You may use Primal Surge once per short rest. Beginning at 11th level, you may Surge twice per short rest.
Wizard
No special adaptation needed.
Short Rest to Long Rest
Conversely, changing a short rest dependent class to a long rest one is a process of addition—abilities should be usable three times as often as written. That one rule will work for almost all character types, but there are a few classes that merit extra thought.
Class
Class Features
Artificer
No special adaptation needed.
Barbarian
No special adaptation needed.
Bard
At 5th level, Font of Inspiration grants you an additional two uses of your Bardic Inspiration per point of your Charisma modifier, for a total number of dice equal to three times your modifier (minimum 3).
Cleric
Channel Divinity may be used a number of times per long rest equal to your Wisdom modifier +1.
Druid
Wild Shape may be used a number of times per long rest equal to your Wisdom modifier +1.
Fighter
Action Surge can only be used once per turn.
Magewright (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Monk
No special adaptation needed.
Paladin
Channel Divinity may be used a number of times per long rest equal to your Charisma modifier +1.
Ranger
No special adaptation needed.
Rogue
The Rogue is almost entirely rest-independent. As such, it suffers from similar issues to short rest based classes when the game features very few encounters per day. Thus, beginning at 2nd level, they gain the ability to double their sneak attack damage dice a number of times per long rest equal to their Dexterity modifier +1.
Sorcerer
No special adaptation needed.
Steelsworn (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Summoner (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Warlock
The Warlock can have their Pact Magic slots tripled as described above, or they can use normal spellcasting rules and progression.
Wildling (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
Wizard
No special adaptation needed.
Alchemist (GGtG)
No special adaptation needed.
So... thoughts? Things I've missed? Points of particular friction that need closer examination?