D&D 5E Do you allow long rests in the dungeon?

[Sacrosanct]

I allow them to try.

Players can attempt whatever they want. Whether it succeeds is another story.

If the players can find a safe and relatively comfortable place to rest, and they aren't interrupted by anything, then they will get the benefit of a long rest.

Yep. Players can try just about anything. But I run the dungeon as a living dungeon, and play the monsters as they would normally act in the situation. That means if the party has alerted the dungeon to their presence, the monsters will react accordingly (taking defensive measures, hunting the party, etc). And then you've also got wandering monsters. Those orcs won't say in room #33 forever. They will leave, eat, poop, etc.

 

[RogueJK]

It depends.

A couple rooms into a dungeon, with 90% of the dungeon still uncleared? Not likely. I mean, they can always try, but they almost certainly won't be left alone for 8 straight hours as the remaining residents continue to move about the complex.

After the dungeon is cleared? Sure, although there may still be a small chance that something may come exploring and stumble across them, just like when resting outside.

Mostly, it'll be driven by the party's situation. Are they on the verge of death after a series of well-fought tough battles? I would be more likely to allow it. Are they wanting to constantly nova and blow all their resources in every fight and then try to take a long rest after every fight? They're very likely to be interrupted frequently.

 

[HarbingerX]

I warn them if I think their characters would realize if it's not the best place to hole-up, for example while in the middle of clearing out enemies in a set of caves. Then let them decide. Then I'll decide how the enemy responds, generally it will go bad for the PCs if they have effectively blocked themselves into a room with no other exits.

 

[iserith]

Almost never in my games, but there's always the possibility that the players have some kind of spell or gizmo that will allow it to work. This is exceedingly rare though in my experience. Generally the understanding is that long rests are simply off the table when it comes to delving dungeons. They'll need to go back to the surface to camp or, if possible, back to town.

 

[Stoutstien]

One thing to consider is once players get certain ablities available, preventing long rest from a mechanical point becomes very difficult without DM purpose building counters. Tiny hut, teleportation, illusions, passive stealth buffs, non detection, stone shape, passwall, and so on all can almost guarantee a rest.

Better to control the consequences of the 8 hr rest than the rest itself.

 

[DemonSlayer]

They are allowed to try. If they are not in a safe place, it will not likely be successful, and I have warned my players that's how my game works.

 

[pogre]

It depends. It's pretty "mega-gamey", but one of the things I like to do is have the players make the random encounter rolls. In a normal traffic area for the dungeon it is typically a 1 on a d6 per hour generates an encounter. The players on watch roll the dice one at a time for their watch.

I justify it in game by saying the die type and frequency represents the noises and shadows they hear and see respectively. If they get in an out of the way cavern or other quiet spot the roll might be a 1 on a d12 once per a watch (3 or 4 hours). This also helps convey the sense that some places in the dungeon are safer than others.

I know this method is not for everyone and would break immersion for many. However, my group is deeply on the Game side of playing and they like it.

Besides, the moans that go up when that dastardly 1 shows up makes this rbdm grin!

 

[billd91]

I'm not doctrinaire about disallowing it, but I'm not necessarily going to make it easy depending on the circumstances. So, I answered that it depends.

 

[mrpopstar]

It depends on the features of the locale, but the threat of random encounters always looms.

 

[Waterbizkit]

I think most respondents, and the poll results as I write this seem to bear this out, will fall into the "it depends" camp. That's certainly where I land on it. Every situation is different and I like to let players try anything they can think up. It won't guarantee success, but if they want to try something I'll allow it.

Specifically with resting in dungeons, its entirely possible, though probably dangerous. If the dungeon inhabitants are hostile, and they almost always are, it's a risky move. If the inhabitants are hostile and intelligent then the players are probably asking for trouble, but I still won't stop them trying.

For me though, it's a similar situation to the party packing up and leaving the dungeon/adventure site. That will absolutely make resting peacefully a more likely outcome, but that doesn't mean the dungeon remains in some sort of limbo, unchanging until they return. The denizens of the dungeon could move around, reinforce strong points, reoccupy previously cleared rooms or completely scarper and leave the party with nothing but empty rooms to poke around in... bereft of loot & enemies to fight.

In the end, I'm a big fan of seeing what the players come up with in response to the situation I've put them in and then improving my end of things as a response... it helps make the world seem like it's reacting to their decisions. So that's the long answer, but in short, it absolutely "depends".