How to prepare for players return


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Darksol the Painbringer wrote:
I also question how a mindless gelatinous cube is defying the laws of physics by effectively standing 30-40 ft. above the pit's ground level in one round, and then all of a sudden being forced to abide by the laws of physics the next round. Did the dungeon BBEG buy this trap from ACME Industries that allows it to defy the fact that there's a jelly cube floating in mid-air? Did he super-glue the damn cube to the walls so it wouldn't move? Is there a permanent Fly spell cast on this gelatinous cube that allows it to ascend and descend? If so, where's the Fly checks for it to actually maintain its ability to defy the laws of obvious gravity?

10'x10' pit. 10'x10' cube. Think of it like a man climbing up a large chimney, with his feet on one side and his back on the other side, bracing. He could stay like that for hours. So can the gelatinous cube - more than house since it doesn't even have muscles to get tired. So it's not defying gravity, it's just a DC0 climb check to sit there. No "floating in mid-air", no Fly spell.

Next round, after its mean fell completely through it, it follows the food, on purpose, not because it suddenly falls. Even a mindless creature can follow its food.

The BBEG drops food down there often enough that even the mindless cube learns where to wait for its next meal.

Can a cube do this stuff? Well, the description doesn't say it can and doesn't say it can't. But the climb check is easy enough that it should be no problem. I guess it's GM's fiat, so it seems perfectly fine to me.

Silver Crusade

My stupid simple Suggestion is asking them what they want to do.
WHy do they need a full Rest?
A Wizard needs his Spells back? Or against Fatique? Do they need healing Potions?

For SPell and something like that let them Rest for 8 Hours with someone Guarding it. For Fatique less Time.

The Enemys should be alarmed but only a little better.

Leaving the Area should have harscher consequences.


Thanks everyone for your a,asking ideas! I'm very happy with the help that I've gotten so far! Thank you all for your time.


How did it go? What did you go with?


I have strictly told my players to avoid the whole 15 minute adventuring day. They know that leaving and resting is a bad thing and, as such, it gives time for enemies to prepare for them or ambush them while they rest. I do however have certain house rules that help out the PCs. For one: If a dungeon will take more than one session to complete and I know they will level mid-way through, I say that upon leveling (xp calculated after each session, or per encounter depending on the situation and how close to leveling/death they are) restores a portion of health and spells. This can give them the boost they need to keep going without having to leave. In some ways it doesn't make sense that they are suddenly healed and whatnot, but I chalk it up to the group getting a second wind.

Typically before they set out, or when they have down time I poke them to make sure they stock up on resources they might need, or craft things like scrolls and potions. I can't count how many times groups I have played with have gone into serious encounters and completely forgot to stock up on healing potions, scrolls, wands etc. Usually I am the one that remembers; it's sad when the rogue or wizard does a better job at healing than the cleric. :P

One other thing I do, since my group is relatively new, is help them in combat. If I see they are about to make a serious tactical boo boo, I usually point it out so they can find a better option. I am not out to murder the PCs, I am out to make sure that everyone has fun! One other option, is to provide expendable loot and subtract it form the final hoard. Say they find a few healing potions or spell scrolls in a storage room. It will keep them going and they won't know that it was subtracted from the gold in the treasure hoard in the end.

Be flexible and keep things fun!


Thanks ArtlessKnave, that was very insightful. And yes, I try to keep things fun too but I really enjoy realism in these games. That's why I started this thread. I really liked the idea of a second wind! Thanks for the idea!

TPK... No I didn't (no I didn't TPK (; ). I had he enemy leave. I figured out another goal that they BBEG could have and the players will encounter an upgraded version of him later on. But for now, they have no idea what he looks like so they won't even know when they encounter him haha. I'll do something so they understand who it is when they meet him again.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber

My party plans ahead for long dungeon campaigns such as this. Plenty of Wands of CLW (cheap way for mass healing between fights without using up spells/channels), Potions to handle middle of the fight emergencies, scrolls of napstack so that (at least once a week) they can barricade themselves into a room for a two hour refresh when things are dire.

If they do leave, they encamp nearby so that the martials can maintain a watch on the location while the casters recover spells, etc... Even so, remaining bad guys inside will definitely consolidate forces, create chokepoints for defense, change out spells if possible to better adapt to the party's tactics, etc...

This has the benefit of encouraging players to conserve resources. You can't just nuke every room full of bad guys. You will likely need those high-end spells later. They have to weigh the efficiency of annihilating a room full of mooks with a fireball, vs. the consumption of healing resources if they just let the martials bash it out.

Nobody talks about the games where they strolled through the dungeon wiping out dozens with each swing and fireballing everything in sight. They recount the stories where they were down to their last few HP, out of channels and almost all spells, fighting a desperate battle against overwhelming forces in which only their creativity and teamwork saved the day. THOSE are heroic stories worth telling.


Eventually I hope my players will do that too, Shroud. Thanks for you input!

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