Time
Time is a very relative thing. You're likely looking at this because you went down some rabbit hole to figure out exactly how long a 'combat' is. Unfortunately for you, it's not that clearly defined. But for the sake of answering your knock upon the door of knowledge, here is a list of time-related terms you might come across in an attempt to keep the words somewhat consistent. Nerd.
Duration | Means… |
---|---|
Instant/Immediately | Right now, as in now now. |
Turn | About a span of 5-30 seconds. Putting toast in a toaster. Walking to a button and pushing it. Hitting a guy with a hammer. Player turns typically happen in parallel. |
Combat | The time from wheen fighting, struggling or conflict begins to when it stops. |
Scene | Roughly when players can interact with the environment/things. Usually starting and stopping between the points that the GM describes travel, or being somewhere else specifically. |
Session | A small part of an Adventure. Like a chapter (or three) of a book. |
Arc | A larger part of an Adventure. Like a movie, or season or book in a series, |
Adventure | From the kidnapping to the inevitable saving of the princess. |