I would avoid running any combat where the party is forced to lose. That would make any time spent on it feel like a waste. A short narrated vision would be fine, but if you want to make this a bigger encounter, you should give the party a goal that they can actually accomplish. I can think of a few ways you could do this:
- The party could locate survivors among the dead to gain information about what happened.
- Survey the wreckage, the party could use investigation skills to look at debris and piece together what happened. Think, crime scene investigation on a grand scale.
- The BBEG may be showing a true vision of the future, but not a complete vision. Perhaps there is something that the BBEG is trying to hide, such as a clue to how to defeat them. For example, the party could use some kind of magic detection to see through an illususory water fountain and reveal a magic MacGuffin or a person who knows the BBEG's weakness.
Path Hider