Do you ever "call" fights?

[Bootlebat]

meaning when it's all but certain the PCs will win but it's taking way too long do you ever just say "after a long battle you manage to kill (whatever)"? I do but I would NEVER do the same in the reverse situation (i.e it looks for sure that the PCs will lose so I just say "you all get killed") as I doubt there is a player alive who wouldn't get mad if you did that.

 

[cmad1977]

All the time.

 

[Morrus]

Absolutely. Nothing more boring than going through the motions of a fight which is clearly over.

 

[Bootlebat]

What about if it's a final boss fight? I'd be reluctant then as that would kind of cheapen it in my mind. That said, if they already killed the actually final boss guy and just his minions were left I may call it.

 

[Celebrim]

A couple of times when the party has turned undead which are now cowering, I've just called the fight after a round or two because it's literally just hacking apart zombies until they stop moving at that point. Basically, if there is no chance the party will take further damage or need to spend further resources, it's over but the narration.

 

[billd91]

I have been known to call fights when they're particularly lopsided and the conclusion can't easily be changed. It generally requires the outclassed NPCs to be unable to take a PC down with their remaining abilities before I'll do it.

 

[cmad1977]

What about if it's a final boss fight? I'd be reluctant then as that would kind of cheapen it in my mind. That said, if they already killed the actually final boss guy and just his minions were left I may call it.

At that point I think about what the ‘boss’ would do because they’re smart enough to known when they’ve lost. If surrender/flight is an option they would take I go that route.
If not... kind of depends. Is the boss injured badly? Next blow kills him. If not I’d circle back to flight. If uninjured and not willing to flee... probably just play it out for a couple turns. If the conflict is so one sided that I’m considering calling the fight it’s not likely to last long anyways.

 

[Legatus Legionis]

.

 

[zztong]

meaning when it's all but certain the PCs will win but it's taking way too long do you ever just say "after a long battle you manage to kill (whatever)"? I do but I would NEVER do the same in the reverse situation (i.e it looks for sure that the PCs will lose so I just say "you all get killed") as I doubt there is a player alive who wouldn't get mad if you did that.

Sure. Calling fights can save time and keep player interest levels up. It depends on the situation. Sometimes you just know its time. Othertimes, you can ask your players. "This fight seems settled; shall we call it?"

As for calling a fight when its going bad for the PCs, I understand why you might not want to do so as that would keep them from turning it around. I will point out that calling a fight going poorly against the PCs might prevent a character death. You could summarize and escape or a capture, making it possible for some/all of the characters to continue a story. There certainly are players that would go for that.

TPKs don't always go well, summarized or not. Some groups are actually okay with TPKs. I know one. We usually pick up the pieces somehow.

 

[MoutonRustique]

A good approach is to use a larger scale application of the now famous "How do you want to do this?".

So basically, ask the players how they envision the next round or two. If you're feeling inspired, you can add rewards and consequences for the players to opt-in/out of :

"Ok, you've clearly overwhelmed them. How do you see this concluding over the next two rounds ?

If you allow St. NOTSlaughter to escape, he reveals a secret about NOTSmaug's lair. Also, the shaman still has a recharged HexOfDoom available, you guys get an extra standard creature worth of XP if at least 3 of you eat a full blast of it."

Or something.