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<blockquote data-quote="zakael19" data-source="post: 9673676" data-attributes="member: 7044099">I don’t think of anything I do right now as encounters, because the games I’m running don’t either. At most, I’m framing a scene that may or may not include a danger (a stalking beast, a babbling brook with a nature spirit, an ancient ruined tower, a demanding loved one), and asking “what do you do?” If the players go quiet and sneak away from the beast, or walk past the tower, or admire the brook but don’t invoke the spirit I’m not thinking in terms of “bypassing.” They chose to do something in response to the situation, where I had 0 up front expectations.I do think a lot of this circles back to a) advancement rules and b) GM prep and expectation. If the advancement rules demand overcoming challenges for progress, “encounters” become part of the ruleset. 5e’s play culture move towards milestone leveling would suggest devaluing that sort of thing, but&nbsp; the time it takes to set up and run interesting combat keeps the notion on the table (plus the emphasis in AP culture on encounters of all sorts).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="zakael19, post: 9673676, member: 7044099"] I don’t think of anything I do right now as encounters, because the games I’m running don’t either. At most, I’m framing a scene that may or may not include a danger (a stalking beast, a babbling brook with a nature spirit, an ancient ruined tower, a demanding loved one), and asking “what do you do?” If the players go quiet and sneak away from the beast, or walk past the tower, or admire the brook but don’t invoke the spirit I’m not thinking in terms of “bypassing.” They chose to do something in response to the situation, where I had 0 up front expectations. I do think a lot of this circles back to a) advancement rules and b) GM prep and expectation. If the advancement rules demand overcoming challenges for progress, “encounters” become part of the ruleset. 5e’s play culture move towards milestone leveling would suggest devaluing that sort of thing, but the time it takes to set up and run interesting combat keeps the notion on the table (plus the emphasis in AP culture on encounters of all sorts). [/QUOTE]

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