Daily Encounter Management in D&D 5e: Less Can Be More

Source: Leonardo.AI

Daily Encounter Management in D&D 5e: Less Can Be More

Hello everyone!

On Dungeons & Dragons subreddit /r/DnD, there is reiterately huge arguments about how many combat encounters an "adventure day" (e.g. before one long rest) should exist. And, indeed, the official books are kinda shitty at explaining this stuff, suggesting several different numbers in different sections of the books.

Officially, the D&D 5e rulebooks recommend including 6-8 "medium" encounters per long rest. While this can be a great way to create a sense of realism and resource management, many players and Dungeon Masters have found this guideline to be somewhat tiresome and repetitive.

The reason is simple: playing through 6-8 medium encounters in a single adventuring day often leads to a feeling that the initial encounters are trivial. The first 5-6 encounters can feel almost like a warm-up, and that can make the whole experience a bit, well, boring. They just exist in order for the characters spend their resources (spell slots, magic items' charges, potions, etc.). There's no actualy danger on those: everyone knows that the characters will be safe and alive by the end of the fight. The "actual" fights end up being the last 2 or 3, because the resources are already used up and, finally, there's danger.

While it works, mechanically, it's an incredibly shitty experience for everyone on the table. Also, it takes A LOT of time, real-world time: everyone sitting there for hours, rolling dices, rolfstomping several easy encounters.

So, what's the solution? Many seasoned DMs have turned to a more streamlined approach that focuses on 2-3 hard or deadly encounters per adventuring day. This approach maintains the challenge, but without the fatigue of numerous less significant battles.

Mechanically, 2-3 hard or deadly encounters can provide just as much difficulty as a series of medium encounters. This streamlined approach allows the characters to thrive in the mechanical sense (eg using their powers, yadda yadda), but also allows the players to have free time to roleplay.

ROLEPLAYING? IN MY ROLEPLAYING GAME? You wouldn't believe it!

Dungeons & Dragons is about having fun with your friends. While the official guidelines provide a framework for encounters, it's essential to adapt and customize the experience to suit our lives. And, in the real world, we all know that everyone is time-constrained and, thus, going for 2-3 deadly are usually way more challenging and fun to play, as players are always on their toes, having to fight actually hard battles.

Thanks for reading this post, and until next time!

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