Well, I don't think it has to be 'often' nor does it have to be a 'constantly running encounter'. It could just be that you have a strict time limit and every time the player's 'rest' to recover everything, there is a consequence.

It's great to try and come up with new ideas, but the world of Arcanis literally has very few limited resources.

Stamina (Replenishes to full with a short resting period)
Wounds (Cannot be reliably restore until Tier III)
Fate Chips (Limited per Adventure anyways and usually earn more)
Fate Score (Potentially could 'lower' this permanently for something)
Money
Gear (Some is easily replaced, some is irreplaceable)

That's about it. A lot of games have 'Healing Surges' or 'Mana' or 'Spell Slots' that provide a limitation on how far the characters can go in a day. Arcanis doesn't really have those. It's designed to be 'heroic' in that characters start every major fight with their full resources (other than consumables and wounds if any).

Therefore, challenging them in 'new' ways in a generic sense is going to be difficult without
A) Introducing new mechanics
B) Making people lose precious magic items

It almost has to be in the module. "Choices have consequences" needs to be used more extensively. The module could be set up that you can choose to save 1 of 2 people. Or save the 1 person or the group of people. Recover 1 of 2 items. Save someone and lose an item of immense historical significance. Some type of 'choices' is really what it boils down to and what type of choice the characters need to make can be almost anything.

John

John, I hear you, and yes those are the ways that the core rules allow, but adding on new things, spitballing new ideas is what this thread is all about.

Curses are a great idea, artificially scarce resources are good too, giving the Heroes something far beyond their normal means and letting be proxy powers are all good ideas folks.

way back in 2nd Ed Living City there was a mod that all the heroes took over demon bodies and were forced to battle it all out in a giant arena, it was a lot of fun and it got us out of the normal "these are the resources we have" mindset

Challenge people by forcing them into new situations

underwater combat is a great example of this if the rules are spelled out clearly and consistent, Aerial combat also, Dueling, charioteering, mountain climbing etc etc can all force people out of that "these are the resources we have" mindset

One thing I'd like to add is regarding the limited resource of time. I can't tell you how many times I've played in an adventure (in various settings and rules sets) where the bad guy has taken someone and is going to sacrifice them as soon as <insert triggering action here>. And the PCs are chasing him. But no matter what the PCs do, the final encounter is scripted such that they always arrive just at the right time. In situations like that, there needs to be a "decisions have consequences" moment. And maybe those 5-10 minutes that you spent resting after the previous combat just got the prisoner killed.

Now, I understand that this may leave a bad taste in the players' mouths. But let's face it, in many of these kinds of adventures, you knew that time was limited but someone chose to stop and rest anyway. When that kind of activity is constantly "rewarded" by giving the players the exact same encounter setup as the party the pushed ahead, bruised and battered, well... the sense of tension does leave the game. Maybe that final combat was easier to survive as a result of resting, but your goal just slipped away.

Now, this can't be done is the players don't know that time is of the essence. But when they do know, they have to be held accountable to those difficult decisions. And in some cases, the judges need to be told, "Don't tell the players what they should do here. Let them make a decision based on what they already know."

Scott

Scott at the same time as a judge I believe you should drop some hints that a short rest might be a BAD idea, lots of in game ways to do that, like that chanting getting louder as the sacrifice is about to happen etc.

I think part of the reason we don't do that is we as a group complain about that when its not obvious. I think it also sets up a situation of the players VS the judge and that is bad (IMO). but that is a play style argument more than anything.

Josh,
I think there was a misunderstanding on my part when this thread was written. I thought this was about renewable resources based upon your original post.



Situations where the normal renewal of [existing] resources is less effective includes things I've mentioned. However, If this is more about "What new and interesting situations can we put the players in," then I have way more ideas on that

John

I think those are both the same question, it just takes the long way around to realize underwater combat (particularly in this system) is a question of non renewable resources:

there are no magic items of "underwater action" or water breathing, at best I think is Dolphin chant, and shape change spells (or is that dolphin chant too? )

my first spell caster action as GM is unravel the thread.... and then its how much breath someone has.... and then how many scrolls of dolphin chant do they have?

its all about making things harder in the sense of challenging hero resources(mind you thats different than challenging player resources like time left in the slot)

Agreed. However sometimes judges "drop hints" like a piano falling on your head. There's a fine line between letting the players figure it out for themselves and gently guiding them to a beneficial conclusion. Each judge and each table is different. But ultimately, the decision should lie with the players. And (back to my original point) authors should make those decisions matter by taking them into account whenever possible.

Scott

I guess I see this as very module specific. If you're going to have an important underwater encounter, the module writer has to provide the means to breathe underwater. The campaign is set up as 'magic rare' in that other than runes, players can't really 'buy' magic items. A module writer can't assume that they the players are going to have Dolphin Chant available. Sure, holding your breath is a renewable resource (I can take a breath and continue) and can provide for some tense situations. However, if there's no way to take a breath, it hasn't become a resource issue but a "fight and die vs. flee and live" scenario. Same with the need to fly, climb, or other environment that requires special spells/magical means to traverse.

I may just have to watch the conversation instead of participant as I don't think I've really grasped what it is you're asking

John

The other way to make time a factor is to grant the bad guy his prep time. Add buff spells, additional minions, battlefield control elements, etc the longer it takes. The objective isn't out of reach unless they really delay but the challenge definitely goes up.

With a sweep of his...

Hat

I can't speak for Josh but I've had this though during several arcanis mods: these fights aren't really challenging. I have also had the the thought in BIs and the final fight in Desecration "Whoa!WHOA!!! If the dice go cold this could be a TPK." What I've come away is the thought: because there are no renewable resources PCs don't always feel challenged because they reset afterwards to full health ... unless they are taken to the brink ... which is very dangerous in this system since death is a one way ticket.

I know I am interested in rediscovering some kind of middle ground as a player, judge and author. I think broadly that this is what we're discussing on this thread.

My personal 2 cents