Am I an atypical DM?

[Arnwyn]

Wait, why does using DM aids like pre-generated characters from the DMG for a random encounter make one "unambitious and cookie-cutter?" I mean, MerricB is using incarnum, weapons of legacy, taint, non-core monsters etc. Frankly, his campaign sounds really interesting to me, and if he wants to use pre-generated aids to make his job a little easier in some respects, how can you begrudge him?

I'm not sure it entirely does, honestly - I was just using the options and phraseology introduced by another poster. But I'm not one for using extremes - if one uses a whole bunch of different and unique classes, it might be enough of a difference to be unnoticeable. Who knows? All I know is that MerricB is completing NPCs in a fraction of the time of anyone else I've ever known, read about, or heard - and I'm willing to question that. *shrug*

I'm not "begrudging" anyone, in any case.

 

[Ghendar]

Prep-time: D&D is hard to prep for? I often use monsters straight out of the book, grab maps from anywhere (love the Fantastic Locations maps), traps likewise. NPC creation for the core classes is a dream thanks to the DMG info, and even when I have to create an unusual NPC (like the Frost Dwarf Soulborn 9 from last session), it doesn't take more than half-an-hour, and there's no need for many unusual NPC stats. The hard bit is coming up with the actual plot/story (and that's something that's edition-independent).

The only real prep time issues I've come up with is when trying to make higher level NPCs. I don't use any of the elctronic options and it gets rather time consuming.

 

[lukelightning]

I run an Arcana Evolved game, and what really slows it down is the magic; in D&D we've all got all the regular spells pretty much memorized. In AE I have to look up every spell, and so do the players. And then they have so many more spell choices because of the heightened and diminished rules.

Another thing that makes my combats long is the fact that the players roll terribly. 1's and 2's and 3's all the time! The BBEG was on his last 4 hit points for 6 rounds while they fumbled and stumbles around him!

 

[MerricB]

I'm not sure it entirely does, honestly - I was just using the options and phraseology introduced by another poster. But I'm not one for using extremes - if one uses a whole bunch of different and unique classes, it might be enough of a difference to be unnoticeable. Who knows? All I know is that MerricB is completing NPCs in a fraction of the time of anyone else I've ever known, read about, or heard - and I'm willing to question that. *shrug*

It takes me between five and sixty minutes to stat out an NPC, depending greatly on what it is. 4th level fighters are about five minutes. 10th level soulborn is about 40 minutes. Ogre Mage with extra Sorcerer levels? Longer.

Obviously, little details like height, weight and favourite food I ignore. For the most part, I'm not using multiple sources for one NPC, and I tend to give them feats I know well - that really speeds things up. If I give them uncommon feats, it's normally because its the main feature of the NPC.

The NPC tables in the DMG I reference primarily for what items they have. (Again, if I give them unique items, it's because it's meant to be a feature of the character). Skills, I assign. And if I assign max ranks to each skill they get, it is no different to how I create my PCs.

I'll see if I can't get someone to time how long it takes me to stat up a few NPCs.

Can someone give me three NPCs they'd like me to create? I'll limit the sources to core books, Magic of Incarnum, Complete Books and PHB2. Give me race/class/level and one unique hook. I'd like one low level 1-5 NPC, one mid-level (6-12) and one high-level (13-20).

It'll be an interesting experiment...

Cheers!

 

[Hussar]

Hrm, how many sessions? Well, my WLD game runs weekly, with only one or two breaks this year, so, there's been 33 sessions of that this year (I just checked the transcripts) and I played in a weekly game on another day, so that's another 25 (ish) sessions this year.

Ok, I'm not at Merric's level, but, I'm not all that far behind either. If I DM'd the other game, I'd be at exactly the same numbers.

From my experience, Merric's not all that strange for amount of play. I know that my players also DM or play in other campaigns as well, so, all six of us are around similar numbers. I'm 34 (today), my players range from 27 to 17, so, we've got a pretty broad range there.

I'll reiterate what I said before. If combat is dragging for you, take a couple or three sessions and do nothing but run combats. Use throwaway characters and set up four or five combat scenarios each session. That should get everyone on board with the rules.