DnD 3.x encounters per day

[Man in the Funny Hat]

If, even at a minimum, you have only one encounter per day (on average) you're doing it wrong. If I were a player in such a campaign I would rebel. If I did that to my players they'd hang me for sure.

3E has a fairly well-established dynamic - 13.5 encounters per level. By the standard of averaging even just 1 encounter per day then every 2 weeks of in-game time the PC's will level up. That assumes they do not enter a dungeon or have other encounter-INTENSIVE occurrences. In less than a year of game-time they will be 20th level.

3E is NOT about the endless parade of encounters in between adventures - unless you're really wierd and you actually want it to be.

 

[lgburton]

Usually only one or two. We only get to play for about four hours a week.

i'm assuming that's not counting the giant frogs




all sillyness aside, there's lots of ways for many more encounters than just 13.5 / level, especially when considering that many encounters are of a slightly lower ECL than the party.

 

[genshou]

Pledge of Tyranny, as a D&D game with vitality/wounds in place of hit points, lends well to quicker "healing" of a character's primary damage track. However, anytime the party members take wound damage, they're fairly incapacitated. Also, the game is less combat-focused.

 

[Hussar]

Since I've started running the World's Largest Dungeon, we've been having anywhere from 3-5 encounters per session, including traps. Without traps, about 2 or 3, but, then again, my guys just ticked over to second level, so are still pretty fragile. I figure that should bump up soon enough to around 4 or 5 actual combats per day.

Then again, I'm in the World's Largest DUNGEON, it's pretty much all about the hack.

 

[JamesDJarvis]

when I DM it can be no encounters per day or maybe dozens, yes dozen with an s. It all depends on what the pcs are doing and where they are. My usual player group also seems to play with the philosophy "why resolve one encounter when you can have two or three more at the same time?"

 

[S'mon]

1-2. Unless the initial encounter was trivial, PCs will understandably want to rest & recover before the next one. Basing the game on 4 fights/day was a design mistake IMO.

 

[the Jester]

It varies too much to answer, based on what the party is doing. Sometimes weeks or months go by with no encounters; sometimes the party has six or more in a day. It just depends on what's going on.