You know , the expectation in a game of 5 e DD is for there to be roughly six combat encounters per day , hence why monsters may seem a little weak to take on the party . An adventuring day is meant to whittle the adventurers down in terms of items and skills nonrecharging ones such as spells with the expectation of roughly six encounters any mix of roleplay , exploration encounters , or combat which force the players to use resources , and the difficulty rises as over the course of the day they have fewer and fewer spells , items , abilities , and hit points available to deal with each emergent threat . Granted , this isn ' t a formula that works precisely . My players would get bored if I ran six encounters per day , meaning it usually comes down to 23 . That said , a ' challenge ' does not necessarily mean every single encounter must be lethal . It can be a relatively fair fight that serves to drain their resources before the next encounter .