DnD 3.x encounters per day

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

How many encounters do you generally (on average) have per day?

By encounter, I'm only talking about encounters that cost you resources. Combat encounters fall into this category if they aren't really weak, puzzle solving and investigation may take up resources, while social encounters rarely do.

By average, I mean if you had three encounters last day, and five the day before, you have an average of four. This still applies, even if the answer should really be "however many it takes to run a good game".

And by day, I'm talking about a game day, not a gaming session.

I started this poll because, when I was running DnD, I found it very difficult to come up with four compelling and exciting encounters in a single day. It was far easier to use fewer encounters with more powerful opponents, even though this amplified the power of spellcasters compared to other characters.

 

[Crothian]

It can vary a lot. Some times they can have up to 8 or ten encounters in a day, other timnes they are lucky to live through one. I like variety of things in my games, so encounters per day is something I vary a lot.

 

[lukelightning]

I'd say around 3, depending on if it is a wilderness or dungeon adventure.

 

[Troll Wizard]

I answered 3, but it varies

In town it can be weeks between encounters

Not all encounters need to be resolved via melee, diplomacy can also work - and there are spells that can benefit said diplomacy - xp is awarded for this type of encounter resolution.

In dungeons or hostile areas, melee encounters can be heavy up to 8+ per day.

• 3+ encounters per day allow the non-spell casters to really shine.
• some encounters are small e.g., 5th level party runs into CR 1 party of orcs (1 round encounter)
• some encounters can take 10+ rounds
• Some of the best encounters IMV are the one's that play out almost continuously, this tends to happen a lot in dungeons, where the bad guys retreat or call for help... as the initial encounter battle flows, more and more bad guys show up - sometimes there is but one or two rounds (if any) between groups of opponents - the spell casters have to learn to conserve their spells never knowing when a signficant threat may appear next.
• sometimes the mook is just a mook and sometimes the mook is the BBEG in disquise, while in appearance the BBEG is just a mook
  

 

[Sammael]

It varies, not so much by level, but by the current environment and adventure style. I've had periods of time when there wasn't a single "encounter" (as per your definition) in several days, whereas the current pace and adventure style dictates that there should be at least one (and up to 3-4) encounter per day.

 

[The Shaman]

However many it takes to run a good game.

 

[Slobber Monster]

It varies quite a bit depending on circumstances, but I usually try to construct environments and scenarios such that four or five per day is average while "on adventure". For extended down time or uninteresting travel time it becomes more like one per session if needed for the sake of game pace.

As an aside - I find that social encounters still use up party resources. The party bard likes to cast Glibness or use the bard song to fascinate, the cleric might case Zone of Truth, someone in need of help might require a cure spell, resolving the encounter might require a bribe, etc. I think if the PC's are never willing to use resources in social situations than they should definitely miss opportunities, get fooled or taken advantage of, or make bad decisions based on incomplete information.

 

[Wombat]

This is really impossible to answer.

During a session the session itself may be part of one day or span over a couple of months. Sometimes we have no (zero) battles in a session, much less a day. A few times the sessions have merely been a string of combats.

If you took all of this and averaged it out, the number would be something around 1/2 combat per day (not 1-2, but rather 0.5), possibly even a bit less. And for a session we might have anywhere from 0-6 combats, averaging around 2.

I'm not sure which (if any) of these answers fits your question...

 

[shilsen]

For both of my Eberron campaigns, I'm usually doing an encounter or two a session, so it usually works out to less than an encounter a day. A particularly busy day in this area may have a pair of encounters, but I don't think we've had three in a day yet. This means that there are few or no easy fights, with most being in the tough to very tough category.

 

[MonsterMash]

It can vary a lot - not just by level of the encounters, but also by how they go - sometimes a party can be lucky and knock over their opponents with minimal use of resources, but at other times an encounter with an EL at party level or below can reduce one or more characters to negative hit points and the party will hole up and wait to replenish their spells and hit points.