Hi to everyone my dear... posters? Forumers? Forget me XD

Here's my doubt. Our forum mate Lorne posted a really good page talking about encounters and a few more interesting things http://angrydm.com/2013/05/four-things-youve-never-heard-of-that-make-encounters-not-suck/ The question is the next one:

- What is the usual concept of time (aka: duration) that you use to define your Encounters?

My own is a cinematic one. Every time the scene "fades out and goes black" or clearly changes the scene, the encounter ends.

For example, in episode IV, the Tatooine scene can be separeted in:

- Gather information (Cantina) Encounter 1

- Combat in hangar and scape Encounter 2

- Halcon turret fight Encounter 3

Some people would consider this three parts as the same Encounter. Whats your point? (Don't focus just on this sample please).

Thanks!

IMO, your narrative/cinematic concept is absolutely correct. Don’t need to go any further than that.

I agree with Bradknowles. That's more of a defined stop and start for the GM, though. For us players, it just feels like the encounter changes when our focus changes. That's generally the same for the GM. Sometimes an encounter might be set up to include that sort of shift, though. Rarely, the players cause the shift... like we THINK we're sneaking into a building but the PC's ability to sneak isn't as good as he let on (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!)

For me, an encounter ends when the goals of the scene are resolved (immediate conflict settled, clues found, Countess wooed, etc.).

So if you get into a fight with someone, the encounter doesn't end until the all combatants on one side or the other are down, surrendered (and have been questioned, if that immediately follows the fight) or have successfully fled (if they flee and you pursue, the scene hasn't ended – you’re still in conflict).

I like this definition of a scene which I got from Google.

a subdivision of an act of a play in which the time is continuous and the setting fixed and which does not usually involve a change of characters.

That matches your definition pretty much spot on, an encounter is a scene in a play. Every time the setting shifts and/or there is a small time skip we move onto the next encounter.

Now add some fun stuff in like montages which change time and setting but are still one scene. A montage makes for a great "encounter" when you want to do a bunch of rolls over an extended time period.

I agree with Bradknowles. That's more of a defined stop and start for the GM, though. For us players, it just feels like the encounter changes when our focus changes. That's generally the same for the GM. Sometimes an encounter might be set up to include that sort of shift, though. Rarely, the players cause the shift... like we THINK we're sneaking into a building but the PC's ability to sneak isn't as good as he let on (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!)

I'm sorry! I mixed up the character sheets! I- I- I-...

Oh, wait. You're not talking about me.

I think the encounter ends when the players move on. For example, if the goal is to kill Teelo the Warlord BAMF in his palace, the fight with the guards, the fight with the secondary guards, and the fight with Teelo may all be considered one encounter or three, depending on duration and importance. Slicing down a couple of B-1's (and my oh MY how they are easy to kill with lightsabers) isn't an encounter, while attacking twenty of 'em might be, if it's long enough ad important enough. A boss fight should always be one encounter, no matter how long it is, while multiple minion fights (through my rules, which means they each last a few minutes) would combine into one as well, unless they are larger fights.

A political negotiation could be an encounter a day, an extended negotiation could be one encounter of multiple checks, a week long travel through the forest with little occurrences could be one encounter. It all depends on what is going on.

To use the latest example of storming Teemo's palace: that's, to me, an adventure and the acts within it are the encounters.