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<blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 7910295" data-attributes="member: 97077">I don't see why it matters to pacing that they travel anywhere they want whenever they want in a location-based game. That's just part of the game. As long as Point A, Point B, and all points in between are rife with opportunity to adventure, then it's all good, right?You have some work to do to prove that the pacing is thrown off in the subsequent session by starting with action.Random encounters create urgency, establish atmosphere, drain character resources, provide benefits (because not everything is a fight), add interest, and reinforce campaign themes. They also make Activities While Traveling more relevant as some useful activities are trade-offs against keeping watch for danger.You don't have to like them or use them, but they do serve a purpose in a location-based game. I strongly recommend them in that context, especially since players can spend the whole night wandering around encountering stuff if that's what they want to do. In a plot-based game, I would recommend it less except as a means to drain resources ahead of the planned villain fight or whatever. There are never any random encounters in my current plot-based Eberron game, for example.It's probably because it's part of their understanding of the environment. Every 10 minutes in a dungeon (or whatever), a wandering monster may come around. Each day and night in overland travel, a random encounter may occur, for another example. You can plan for it and make informed decisions. The DM isn't just doing it during play for no established reason.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="iserith, post: 7910295, member: 97077"] I don't see why it matters to pacing that they travel anywhere they want whenever they want in a location-based game. That's just part of the game. As long as Point A, Point B, and all points in between are rife with opportunity to adventure, then it's all good, right? You have some work to do to prove that the pacing is thrown off in the subsequent session by starting with action. Random encounters create urgency, establish atmosphere, drain character resources, provide benefits (because not everything is a fight), add interest, and reinforce campaign themes. They also make Activities While Traveling more relevant as some useful activities are trade-offs against keeping watch for danger. You don't have to like them or use them, but they do serve a purpose in a location-based game. I strongly recommend them in that context, especially since players can spend the whole night wandering around encountering stuff if that's what they want to do. In a plot-based game, I would recommend it less except as a means to drain resources ahead of the planned villain fight or whatever. There are never any random encounters in my current plot-based Eberron game, for example. It's probably because it's part of their understanding of the environment. Every 10 minutes in a dungeon (or whatever), a wandering monster may come around. Each day and night in overland travel, a random encounter may occur, for another example. You can plan for it and make informed decisions. The DM isn't just doing it during play for no established reason. [/QUOTE]

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