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I read it again and again - people quoting a certain number of encounters you are being able to play during a given amount of time (usually a 4h gaming evening).
Are these experience values?
Or is there some secret rule of thumb?
Or is this a part of the DMG, I keep on missing when reading it?
Thanks for your help!
Günther
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Gunther,
I honestly can't remember where I saw it, but I believe in the DMG somewhere it states that an encounter of an EL equal to the party's average level should consume about 20% of the parties resources (spells, hit points, consumable items, etc.). Therefore, unless you are favoring fewer more powerful encounters or more, weaker encounters, the average in-character day will allow for 4 (5 if you're feeling mean) encounters.
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If you are talking about how many encounters can be played in a 4 hour session of play, that is totally dependant on the DM and the players. Different levels of gaming experience and familiarity with the rulesets are deciding factors in how many encounters can be crammed into a 4 hour span. Roleplaying opportunities can vary in length from 10 minutes to hours depending on how much joy the group is getting from the experience and the creativity of the DM. I have had whole sessions(4 hours) that were 1 roleplaying encounter. I have also had sessions that were mostly combat oriented and we managed to cram in 8 encounters (low level for the most part).From what I hear most groups average around 4-6 encounters a session or 1 every 50ish minutes. DISCLAIMER!!! This is derived from my experiences and may not reflect what someone else is experiencing. If your group is doing better or worse than previously stated, then a holy whoop-dee-doo for your group.
FH
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I think it depends primarily on the game in question, and the players involved. I've had like combats over in 1/2 hour, combats go on for hours and hours; sometimes a battle that really takes 3-4 rounds goes long because people are strategizing and I let them do that if they're having fun.
Some dungeonmasters don't do that because it's not authentic; they want to play it like speed chess or something. So that way you can end it quick.
I like to end a session on the verge of a massive brou ha ha, so everybody can take their time (1 or 2 weeks) and figure out what they're going to do, and it hangs there for a while, building upon itsself. And I can figure out what to do too. Let's say I'm dming as Strahd the Vampire. He's smarter than I am, so due to his intellect AND 500 years of firsthand experience he'll come to a brilliant plan of action in 15 seconds that might take me a week to come up with.
I like a lot of encounters in a session. The way I see it, the players built there characters for a reason, with specific arrangements of skills, feats, and planned progression into prestige classes. Ergo, I try to keep the dice rolling, and the pencils scribbling. I like a lot of combat, so a good night for me is at least four encounters in a four to six hour block.
But, in truth, various game events come in to play that take up time. A good balance is important, too. Like having too much red meat can be as bad as not having any. (No offense to any D&D vegans out there.) My friends all run a game, and there is a wide spectrum of "encounters per night" amongst us. Some have no problem with no encounters in a session, whereas I, as a player, need at least one, if not more.
I try to throw in at least one combat encounter early in the gaming session so my players will shut up about "let's go kill something" and can focus on RP a little bit.
Mind you, 4 out of 6 of my players are female, LOL....so whatever stereotypes female gamers tend to be categorized in, my personal experience is quite different.
We average about 3 combat encounters per 6 hour session, so it's about 65% combat/35% RP, which my players seem to be happy with.
In my experience, it differs widely. Sometimes I have only one encounter a whole evening, sometimes three or four. On the average, I would say its around three. My group likes to take their time role-playing and decision-making, and I let them just run as they want to.
Stefan
I like 1 encounter an hour. I play between 1 to 5 hours. Many in my group love combat and things can get bogged down in looking for rules. If I see an encouter taking up an hour I start making on the fly rulings so we can get to some roleplaying before