When I was playing WoW, 5-mans would take from 15 minutes to 1hr, depending on the dungeon and my group.
Naxxramas started out as a 4 hour ordeal, and just before Ulduar was released, we had gotten it down to 2 hours (both for 10 man and 25 man). My raiding group was pretty tight though. Before I started raid leading, I'd been in groups that took 6 hours and still couldn't finish.
When Ulduar was released, we easily spent 20 hours in a week, and didn't finish it. The increased time commitment was a contributing factor to me quitting. (The major factor was me getting a job).
For me, the major draw of the MMO is organizing a group, and getting respect for the ability to lead. (It escapes me why I can't do this in real life). Planning out your item set and getting that loot is also a big part.
The major draw of pen and paper is the development of a story with consequences for player choices. I would suggest, if you are trying to avoid overlap, giving your players as much freedom as possible to help define the game world through their own actions. This is partly avoiding "railroading', but mostly it is about creating in game consequences for the things players do.
Naxxramas started out as a 4 hour ordeal, and just before Ulduar was released, we had gotten it down to 2 hours (both for 10 man and 25 man). My raiding group was pretty tight though. Before I started raid leading, I'd been in groups that took 6 hours and still couldn't finish.
When Ulduar was released, we easily spent 20 hours in a week, and didn't finish it. The increased time commitment was a contributing factor to me quitting. (The major factor was me getting a job).
For me, the major draw of the MMO is organizing a group, and getting respect for the ability to lead. (It escapes me why I can't do this in real life). Planning out your item set and getting that loot is also a big part.
The major draw of pen and paper is the development of a story with consequences for player choices. I would suggest, if you are trying to avoid overlap, giving your players as much freedom as possible to help define the game world through their own actions. This is partly avoiding "railroading', but mostly it is about creating in game consequences for the things players do.
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