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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ourph" data-source="post: 4735252" data-attributes="member: 20239">I'm finding a lot of variance in how long the fights take based on the creatures used.A "standard" encounter, where I have one level-equivalent monster per character, usually lasts about 3-4 rounds.For every additional level I bump up the monsters (for example, a level 4 encounter vs. level 3 PCs with one 4th level monster per PC) it usually increases the number of rounds by 2-3.If it's a level equivalent encounter with a significant number of minions mixed in with other monsters, the fight can be much shorter. On the order of 2-3 rounds shorter most of the time. This usually doesn't change a lot unless you bump the encounter up to level+3 or more, then minions tend to stick around longer because they're harder to hit.If it's a level equivalent encounter against a solo or some elites, the length of the fight depends heavily on what kind of opponent it is and what tactics get used. I've had a fight against a level+2 solo last 4 rounds (the opponent was trying to escape, so the PCs went nova on him) and I've had another with a level+1 solo last 12 rounds (the PCs were being conservative and using mostly missile fire, since the opponent didn't have a good ranged attack but packed a big punch in melee).It also depends on whether any of the PCs get knocked out during the fight. If the striker goes unconscious, the fight is going to last longer because the big damage-dealer isn't contributing any longer.As for "in-game" time, I usually stick to the 1 encounter = 5 minutes rule of thumb unless there is a good reason not to.</blockquote>

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