D&D 5E How many combat encounters per adventuring day does your group have?
- Thread starter Malmuria
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pming
Legend
Hiya!
This question doesn't make any sense in an RPG if you ask me. An RPG is not a video game, or a board game, card game, or any other sort of game where there are "set events that happen at specific times in specific orders and in specific numbers". So the question of "how many combat encounters" is like asking a hockey player "how many shots per period do you get?". If you're only out 1 shift...probably not many. If you're out as often as possible, probably more. If you are playing against a tougher team...less again. Weak team...more. Unlucky day...less. Lucky day...more. Full of energy...maybe more. Dog-tired from a 14 hour bus trip...probably less.
Same thing with TTRPG's. For my Players, they make decisions based on their "roleplaying of the situation in the game" FAR more than "what is, rule mechanics wise, the best tactical thing to do?". I've had sessions where an adventuring day in the dungeon is a single encounter...then the next adventuring day is 12 encounters....then the next back down to 3, then the next 0, then the next 6, etc. It ALL depends on the unfolding story narrative and the RP'ing that the Players do.
So I had to go with "It's Complicated".
^_^
Paul L. Ming
This question doesn't make any sense in an RPG if you ask me. An RPG is not a video game, or a board game, card game, or any other sort of game where there are "set events that happen at specific times in specific orders and in specific numbers". So the question of "how many combat encounters" is like asking a hockey player "how many shots per period do you get?". If you're only out 1 shift...probably not many. If you're out as often as possible, probably more. If you are playing against a tougher team...less again. Weak team...more. Unlucky day...less. Lucky day...more. Full of energy...maybe more. Dog-tired from a 14 hour bus trip...probably less.
Same thing with TTRPG's. For my Players, they make decisions based on their "roleplaying of the situation in the game" FAR more than "what is, rule mechanics wise, the best tactical thing to do?". I've had sessions where an adventuring day in the dungeon is a single encounter...then the next adventuring day is 12 encounters....then the next back down to 3, then the next 0, then the next 6, etc. It ALL depends on the unfolding story narrative and the RP'ing that the Players do.
So I had to go with "It's Complicated".
^_^
Paul L. Ming
commandercrud
Hero
Sometimes 20. Sometimes none. It varies wildly depending on what's going on.
Bitbrain
Lost in Dark Sun
It’s complicated. I usually have two combat encounters of hard to deadly difficulty in each session, with a short rest between them. Any more than two combats (regardless of difficulty) and I get bored.
My dad typically runs three combat encounters per session. I don’t know if he uses the combat encounter difficulty chart in the dungeon master’s guide, but they seem less challenging overall.
The guy currently DMing for our home game tends to have only one combat encounter per session, but I would argue this is because he uses a battle map rather than theater-of-the-mind.
My dad typically runs three combat encounters per session. I don’t know if he uses the combat encounter difficulty chart in the dungeon master’s guide, but they seem less challenging overall.
The guy currently DMing for our home game tends to have only one combat encounter per session, but I would argue this is because he uses a battle map rather than theater-of-the-mind.
werecorpse
Adventurer
I’d say 1-5 with a lot more 1’s than 5’s. Probably an average of 2
I use the alternate rest rules as well, and number of combats just depends. Sometimes the group flubs some checks and I have more, sometimes the current story arcs means there aren't many at all.
I'd guess that it's somewhere between 4-10 because sometimes there's a lot of little fights sometimes it's just a few big ones. I like mixing it up so we have a variety.
I'd guess that it's somewhere between 4-10 because sometimes there's a lot of little fights sometimes it's just a few big ones. I like mixing it up so we have a variety.
aco175
Legend
I like to have at least one combat per night of gaming. Sometimes the party is in town and researching, looking for clues and such. Travel on a road with some roleplay and such, but one combat can still be thrown in to satisfy some of the players who like that over some of the other aspects.
In an area where they are at the 'dungeon', I like to make something that can be handled in one night so maybe the 5-8 encounters with a couple maybe being traps and puzzles over just combat. Maybe 1/4 of the traditional dungeons are 2 night with 10-12 encounters.
In an area where they are at the 'dungeon', I like to make something that can be handled in one night so maybe the 5-8 encounters with a couple maybe being traps and puzzles over just combat. Maybe 1/4 of the traditional dungeons are 2 night with 10-12 encounters.
Grendel_Khan
Hero
Most of these answers are incredibly wild to me. I've never played or run a game with the volume of low-stakes combat you guys are talking about. How do you set up dramatic tension over time if the game is packed with cakewalk fights? I've never watched Critical Role but I'm guessing Mercer isn't just setting up these kinds of MMO grinds, right?
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