This is similar to another thread on the subject here:
https://forums.larian.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=701456&nt=2&page=1My idea for better balancing long rests, copied from that thread is:
- Three short rests per long rest. At the very least there should be no fewer than two.
- A Fatigue meter is put into the game - usually hidden from the player.
- Fatigue is increased by distance traveled and from any source of healing except Short Rests.
- Distance traveled is the number of steps taken, divided by the number of active party members - basically attempting to average it out if you have one person scout ahead a lot.
- Distance traveled does not count movement in combat.
- Healing is defined as recovering hit points - not temporary hit points. Healing which overflows your maximum does not count towards Fatigue.
- You are not permitted to take a long rest until Fatigue passes a certain point. At that point, the fatigue meter becomes visible.
- Once the fatigue meter reaches the end, the characters receive a point of Exhaustion. If this happens during combat, the status doesn't apply until combat has ended.
- Exhaustion works mostly the same as it does in 5e.
- Continuing to ignore Fatigue will increase the Fatigue meter until an additional point of exhaustion is added.
- You automatically return to camp upon accumulating 5 Exhaustion points and are out of combat and dialogue.
- A long rest will remove all exhaustion points. (By the rules, it's just one, but this is better for the videogame adaptation).
Increasing Fatigue through distance traveled ensures that there is no soft-lock for lack of resources, or with a "random encounter" when you're already tapped out. Increasing Fatigue through Healing encourages several encounters before taking a long rest. Prohibiting long rests without sufficient Fatigue prevents spamming long rests before every combat.
Difficulty levels can perhaps adjust the amount of time needed before a long rest is permitted.
