D&D 5E So what % of D&D IS combat?

[Morrus]

You can use whatever metric you want when voting. Playing time, amount of rules text, space on character sheet, whatever you feel best answers the question.

So, what percentage of D&D is about combat?

 

[DND_Reborn]

LOL double threads again, huh? Well, more closely related I suppose...

D&D 5E - Dungeons & Dragons is X Percent Combat

On average, what percentage of D&D is combat? Or to put it more specifically, how much of every gaming session is spent in combat? Vote for the correct percentage. (This is obviously inspired by recent threads about the upcoming Dr. Who 5E game.)

www.enworld.org

Ah... the poll I was expecting before.

My response was to the question: "On average, how much time (as a percentage) of your gaming sessions are devoted to combat."

Our sessions are typically 6 - 8 hours, sometimes as long as 12 hours, and I would estimate about 2/3 of the sessions (after catch-up time, recap from prior session, etc.) are combat or combat-related (planning and such).

Due to how long our sessions can go, we've had as many as probably 12-15 combats in a session, but most are probably closer to 5-7.

 

[overgeeked]

D&D as played by most groups I’ve been in, around 30-40%.

D&D as written, between 70-100% depending on edition.

 

[OB1]

D&D as played by most groups I’ve been in, around 30-40%.

D&D as written, between 70-100% depending on edition.

I think this is right on. While an occasional session might go as high as 80-90%, my groups tend to have more session with 0% than that high, and the majority of sessions spend less than 50% in combat.

IMO, the rules focus heavily on combat due to the inherent stakes (ie character death) and so are focused on making that part of the game the most detailed and controlled section to ensure fairness of outcome. Social and Exploration challenges can afford to be more loosely ruled.

 

[Iry]

Whatever you want. D&D has very strong DNA from wargaming, and a large chunk of the game is framed around this. The fact that so much of D&D is a wargame is just part of its identity. But you don't ever need to actually use it for combat if you don't want.

I don't see the "Enormous Shrug" answer.

 

[overgeeked]

I think this is right on. While an occasional session might go as high as 80-90%, my groups tend to have more session with 0% than that high, and the majority of sessions spend less than 50% in combat.

IMO, the rules focus heavily on combat due to the inherent stakes (ie character death) and so are focused on making that part of the game the most detailed and controlled section to ensure fairness of outcome. Social and Exploration challenges can afford to be more loosely ruled.

For me it tends to be higher, generally, as the longest standing group I’ve played with is focused on combat. But it also depends on edition. For us the entirety of 4E was easily 95-99% combat. After the literal first few minutes of the first session of roleplaying and getting a quest, etc the entire rest of our time playing 4E was nothing but combat and rests between combats. Combat simply took too long so it took all our time at the table. We played 4E from release up to the 5E playtest.

 

[Oofta]

For me it tends to be higher, generally, as the longest standing group I’ve played with is focused on combat. But it also depends on edition. For us the entirety of 4E was easily 95-99% combat. After the literal first few minutes of the first session of roleplaying and getting a quest, etc the entire rest of our time playing 4E was nothing but combat and rests between combats. Combat simply took too long so it took all our time at the table. We played 4E from release up to the 5E playtest

That was our experience as well, especially at higher levels. It's one of the reasons I wouldn't play it again for more than an occasional one off.

 

[Jer]

I mean, I could mark every single one of those bubbles. Depending on the campaign I've run/played in I've seen all of those mixes over the years.

It very much depends on the table. If you want a game that has no combat and you're talking your way out of every situation you get into, you can play it that way. If you want a game where it's nothing but kicking open the door and killing orcs to take their pies one after another you can play it that way too. Usually you end up with a balance because few people are at those extremes.

My kid, for example, would be perfectly happy to play in a game where they used clever spellcasting and negotiation to get out of every single encounter. My wife, on the other hand, would be happiest to play in the theoretical campaign that I joked about with them where everyone got a 10th level character and we started going through fights alphabetically from the Monster Manual. The game can actually support either playstyle, and what you get in actual percentages in an emergent property at the table based on the personalities sitting around it.

 

[Nebulous]

Our sessions are typically 6 - 8 hours, sometimes as long as 12 hours, and I would estimate about 2/3 of the sessions (after catch-up time, recap from prior session, etc.) are combat or combat-related (planning and such).

Oh Lord, I remember those days. I can't do games that long anymore. Hour and a half to 2 hours is about all we -all of us - want to invest.

 

[overgeeked]

That was our experience as well, especially at higher levels. It's one of the reasons I wouldn't play it again for more than an occasional one off.

Same. Every few years I think it might be fun and give it a go…only to have a real quick “oh, right…” moment. Which is too bad because everything about 4E except how it actually played is hands down my favorite edition.