I've seen complaints that 4e combats take too long. I've occasionally felt it myself, and I've developed some techniques to avoid it. I'm sure they won't work for everybody, and if your game is going well, there's no need to change it based on what I'm saying, but if you feel as though combats are taking too long, give some of these a try and let me know how they work.
These tips are mostly for GMs. Players seem to be pretty good at figuring out the right strategies themselves, but as a GM you have a more responsibility and less immediate feedback, so it's a lot harder.
Fourth edition says that it "fixed the math", and for the most part it did. But it did so by making a lot more of the party's resources "per encounter". This creates a sort of a "sweet spot" and when you're in it, combats are dynamic, full of excitement, challenge and creativity.
There's two main contributing factors. First, the PCs have a bunch of per-encounter powers. These have interesting effects, and do more damage than usual. They may be situational, and as the PCs level, they'll have more of them, but they're typically used in the first few (2-5) rounds of a combat. When they run out, the PCs switch to at-wills, which do less damage and are more repetitive and less exciting.
Second healing via leader powers is also per-encounter. This lasts a while too, since PCs have a fair amount of hit points, but when it runs out PCs tend to go on the defensive. This stops them from dying, but also limits their offense.
When both situations happen, the combat enters what I'll call "slog mode". In slog mode, the PCs general lack of heavy-hitting offense can make what monsters are left last more than twice as long as they would otherwise. Slog mode can be good in dramatic situations. It can make a big bag guy appear even more menacing, and victory even more sweet. But when it happens too much against normal enemies, it sucks. Try to avoid slog mode.
While you're designing the adventure:
Right before combat:
During combat:
At least some of the monsters should be able to see the obvious--that the PC party is a superior force who is favored to win. Thus, to even get in a fight, the enemies should logically have to be risky, desperate or overconfident. Let the monsters act that way, and let this free you as a DM to keep your combats moving.
Those are my main techniques, or at least the ones I can think of right now. I'd love to hear if other people have similar or entirely different solutions. If things are running smoothly in your games, what have you done to make it that way?
These tips are mostly for GMs. Players seem to be pretty good at figuring out the right strategies themselves, but as a GM you have a more responsibility and less immediate feedback, so it's a lot harder.
Fourth edition says that it "fixed the math", and for the most part it did. But it did so by making a lot more of the party's resources "per encounter". This creates a sort of a "sweet spot" and when you're in it, combats are dynamic, full of excitement, challenge and creativity.
There's two main contributing factors. First, the PCs have a bunch of per-encounter powers. These have interesting effects, and do more damage than usual. They may be situational, and as the PCs level, they'll have more of them, but they're typically used in the first few (2-5) rounds of a combat. When they run out, the PCs switch to at-wills, which do less damage and are more repetitive and less exciting.
Second healing via leader powers is also per-encounter. This lasts a while too, since PCs have a fair amount of hit points, but when it runs out PCs tend to go on the defensive. This stops them from dying, but also limits their offense.
When both situations happen, the combat enters what I'll call "slog mode". In slog mode, the PCs general lack of heavy-hitting offense can make what monsters are left last more than twice as long as they would otherwise. Slog mode can be good in dramatic situations. It can make a big bag guy appear even more menacing, and victory even more sweet. But when it happens too much against normal enemies, it sucks. Try to avoid slog mode.
While you're designing the adventure:
- Not too many tough encounters in a row. I suffered from this when I first switched to 4th edition. My 3rd edition players were mostly optimizers and powergamers, and it came to be that encounter levels had to be at least two levels higher than the party just to offer the standard amount of challenge. I came to see extreme challenge levels as the only way to actually engage my players. Needless to say, I had to make some adjustments when we switched to fourth edition.
- Be careful of situations where multiple combats can combine. Too many enemies is the number one way to have a combat enter slog mode. Again, this is something I had to get used to with the 3e-to-4e switch. In 3e many of the PCs resources were daily or single-use, so when there were twice as many enemies, the party could use twice as many resources. In 4e, many important resources are encounter-based, so that option is just not available anymore.
- Mind the amount of solos and elites you use. With a group of normal enemies, unless the PCs spread the damage around a lot, the enemies will gradually die and lose offensive power. Elites and solos do not lose offensive power in the same way. Thus, they are at a higher risk of putting a fight into slog mode. I use them as more of a spice than a staple.
Right before combat:
- If you're short on players this session, be sure to lower the number of monsters. This is important. Do this. Again, too many monsters is the single easiest way to put a normal combat into slog mode. I put so much emphasis here, because it's an easy mistake to make, and one I've made myself too many times.
During combat:
At least some of the monsters should be able to see the obvious--that the PC party is a superior force who is favored to win. Thus, to even get in a fight, the enemies should logically have to be risky, desperate or overconfident. Let the monsters act that way, and let this free you as a DM to keep your combats moving.
- Act quickly. Get through the monsters turns as quick as you can. Don't worry too much about making mistakes, or of using bad tactics or whatever. Monsters that take forever are much worse than either of those things.
- Try not to take things back. Since it interrupts people, this can take a lot of time for little reward. Just let small things go and learn not to repeat the mistake.
- Don't be afraid to draw extra attacks. Monsters that are too afraid of opportunity attacks, or of the defender's reprisals are playing right into the defender's hands. Plus, if your monsters are taking too long to die, this is an easy way to change that.
Those are my main techniques, or at least the ones I can think of right now. I'd love to hear if other people have similar or entirely different solutions. If things are running smoothly in your games, what have you done to make it that way?
