D&D (2024) How many combats do you have on average adventuring day.

[UngeheuerLich]

Actually the average is unimportant here. It usually is the threat of maximum possible encounters that balances long vs short vs no rest classes.

This is why fall back options for classes like the ranger or paladin or emergency recharge options are way more powerful than some people like the OP give them credit.

One is way more confident to spend your resources if one knows that they have always some fuel in their reserve.

It is only in groups where you can reliably predict the number of encounters where such abilities are worthless.

 

[Zardnaar]

Same for me. The hard part about this question is that it is up to my players whether it turns into a combat or not. Sometimes they run and hide, sometimes they talk and diffuse tensions.

Only in dungeons do I feel like I can force many such in a row, that often lead to combat.

Well even outside 5E we had two last night and start of last adventure was 5 followed by 3-5. In a dungeon (1992 BECMI in C&C).

 

[Minigiant]

Actually the average is unimportant here. It usually is the threat of maximum possible encounters that balances long vs short vs no rest classes.

This .

It's less important how many encounters you have per long rest and more how many encounters you have per long rest you DM might throw at you.


5e is designed under the assumption that all PCs are

1. Spending resources carefully
2. Spending resources conservatively
3. Taking short rests occasionally

It doesn't matter if you have 1 combat encounter or 4, or 6, or 8 or 10.
The players are supposed to play under the threat of 4 combat encounters or 6, or 8 or 10.

PCs shouldn't be novaing unless the DM signals that they can get away with it via hints or locations.
Players should always run PC as if they might have 7 combat encounters even if they usually only have 3.

 

[Plaguescarred]

In most campaigns i run average 3 combats per encounter day, some days it's more or less but i would say it's a good approximation.

In any given day may be other exploration or social encounters as well but i exclude anything not combat.

 

[Zardnaar]

This .

It's less important how many encounters you have per long rest and more how many encounters you have per long rest you DM might throw at you.


5e is designed under the assumption that all PCs are

1. Spending resources carefully
2. Spending resources conservatively
3. Taking short rests occasionally

It doesn't matter if you have 1 combat encounter or 4, or 6, or 8 or 10.
The players are supposed to play under the threat of 4 combat encounters or 6, or 8 or 10.

PCs shouldn't be novaing unless the DM signals that they can get away with it via hints or locations.
Players should always run PC as if they might have 7 combat encounters even if they usually only have 3.

Dangerous assumption. I've seen a few waste their spells in 2 encounters then throwaway their hit points burning spells on healing

More or less tanked by encounter 3 or 4.

Generally I'll use a 10 minute duration spell and try and get 2 or 3 combats out of it or 1 spell a combat depending on level.

 

[kunadam]

I never understood why not assume 1 per long rest and design the system around that assumption.

 

[Minigiant]

Dangerous assumption. I've seen a few waster there spells in 2 encounters then throwaway their hit points burning spells on healing

More or less tanked by encounter 3 or 4.

It's up to the DM to make the players create the correct base assumptions.
Once you got them on the right place, you can change it.

For example, the starting adventure 1 run assumes
5-7 encounters & ~2 SR per LR in dungeons.
1-3 encounters & ~1 SR per LR in wilderness.
1-2 encounters & "infinite" SR per LR in towns.

The first few sessions are strict about this.

After that I can change it up.
I can have a 2 fight dungeon. But the players still think there might be 3-4 more fights. And when nothing happens, they think they got lucky.

But will already meter out their resources to match their surroundings and how often they expect to be able to rest.

This place looks like a dungeon, no Nova.
The inn is a 5 minute walk away, Empty the clip on these fools.

 

[Minigiant]

I never understood why not assume 1 per long rest and design the system around that assumption.

It'll use a different resource pool.

AKA you'll have to cut resources by a LOT

SEE 4e or PF2 which can work 1 encounter per day.

The 4e wizard has 1 daily spell per day at low levels because it was designed that you can run <4 encounters a day and as few as 1.

AKA it would have to work like a ARPG video game where you run OOM fast.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I never understood why not assume 1 per long rest and design the system around that assumption.

Because that is terribly boring.

Even 1 encounter per short rest as it was in 4e was a boring assumption.
Combat felt as if you had to always spend everything in the right order or you did something wrong.
Felt kinda like CRPGs where often you had a standard routine of oressing buttons.

I know I will get pushback for this comment. But that feeling grew by playing 4e for several years, not by just reading the rules.

 

[aco175]

I tend to loosely make 5-room dungeons (or 10ish) and this make for 4-6 encounters per day. I tried to make 1-night of game time fit and copy the book of encounters from 4e with just 3 encounters, but that proved a bit easy and predictable.

I also now try to skip travel encounters for fighting unless I think the players just want a fight. I try to add NPCs with information or foreshadow something upcoming. The whole thing of fighting a random encounter then traveling another 2 days to reach the dungeon again at full strength is kind of meh.