Skipping to the Big Scene


Advice


I have a group that's big and meets infrequently, every 2-3 weeks. I've been toying with an idea: what if I skipped to the big scene, rather than play out every encounter on a battle board?

I'm toying with one of two ways

1. Still do the encounters round by round, but just use verbal description and imagination, rather than a battle board and minis. Anything that requires precise positioning, we allow unless there's a reason not to that's been previously described.

2. Narrate the party cutting their way through the minions, soldiers, and so forth, but playing out the special moments and big combats the regular way

Does anyone do anything like this? What's the pros and cons, in your experience?


This is often a very good idea. #1 is tricky if you're used to battle boards, but is very much a legitimate style, and if you can get all your players in on it, it's absolutely worth trying. #2 is always viable, though I would suggest adding in a few checks and throwing the party some choices to make so that it doesn't come off as railroading.

That said, the big hazard I ran into in my last campaign is that I cut a little too much out of the AP I was running and some immersion was lost. I actually ended up slowing down a section of the Adventure Path- it was a grand total of four minor encounters on an overland map, but has taken four sessions due to random encounters, rival factions, etc. While it's slowed down the time between the players and the ultimate payoff, it's been worth it for extra immersion and memorable sessions, and I think the party is finally fully invested in the world.

So as a general rule, I'd say don't cut anything that you think might create some interesting roleplaying moments, build up the setting, or be otherwise memorable. The journey is, after all, the real reward. But sometimes otherwise pointless combat can be cut out or changed into cinematic encounters, and it's not a problem.

Sovereign Court

#1 is not in itself crazy, but if you want to do it, you should do it before any player rolls up a character that does rely heavily on the grid - like a polearm warrior focused on controlling the battlefield with AoOs, or a wizard specializing in battlefield positioning/area denial stuff.

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