D&D 5E Players Only Poll: How Do You Feel About the Number of Encounters Per Session

[CleverNickName]

This poll is for players only (or for Dungeon Masters like me, who also happen to be players in other DMs' games).

The question: How do you feel about the number of encounters you have in each gaming session?

• By "encounters" I am referring to combat scenes, battles, random encounters, etc.
• By "gaming session" I mean the block of time that you and your friends have set aside to play for the day (or night).

This poll is just a rudimentary measure of your satisfaction, as a player...I'm not trying to make any kind of statement on the intent of the rules, or the importance of combat in the game, or any of that. I'm just curious how you feel about your game. And I know that no poll has a perfect list of options, so choose the answer that best applies and add any nuance in the thread.

 

[Charlaquin]

Generally when I’m playing and not DMing, I feel like there aren’t enough encounters in a typical session.

 

[iserith]

In the games of my regular and casual DMs, we get as much combat as we want. In random DMs' games, I find generally that there fewer opportunities for encounters than I would prefer, mostly owing to pacing issues or plot-based adventure design with an emphasis on filler scenes. Also, shopping.

 

[CleverNickName]

I'd like to have more, personally, but not until we can address the speed. So I voted "fewer," if only so we can do something other than combat for an evening. Hours-long combat is fun for grand finales and such, but not for every single battle.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

I voted for more.

Be ready on your turn, other players. For the love... know your character and be ready on your turn!

 

[Charlaquin]

I'd like to have more, personally, but not until we can address the speed. So I voted "fewer," if only so we can do something other than combat for an evening. Hours-long combat is fun for grand finales and such, but not for every single battle.

That’s interesting, I feel like 5e combats are pretty quick most of the time.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I'm fine with the number of encounters we have in the Pathfinder game I'm playing in, because we only have encounters when the story dictates an encounter is necessary. If we are at a point in the narrative when an encounter occurs, then it was the right time and the right amount.

Encounters for encounters sake (like random encounters) are more often than not unnecessary.

 

[schneeland]

I voted for "just right" - we probably have mostly one, sometimes two fights in most sessions (my guess is 2/3 to 3/4 of them), and that's about the level I enjoy for D&D (and generally for the adventuring type of RPGs).

 

[tetrasodium]

We usually play about 2-3 hour sessions give or take & gm or player we can only fit so much combat in a given period of time. Should this poll really be encounters per session rather than encounters per rest? The ratio of combat to RP is pretty group & GM dependent.

 

[aco175]

Some times we play and are in town for most/all the night and we roleplay more than combat, and other nights we are in a dungeon and all we do is combat. I would think that they average out to be about right.