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General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
Running 4E combats quickly
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<blockquote data-quote="MerricB" data-source="post: 4992129" data-attributes="member: 3586"><p>More tips...</p><p></p><p><strong>KNOW YOUR DICE:</strong> When it gets to your turn, don't start scrambling through your dice to find the ones you need. You can probably find them ahead of time, or at least have the selection of dice you're likely to need in front of you. Very, very few people will need more than a d20 and two other dice sizes.</p><p></p><p><strong>USE A STANDARD WAY OF ANNOUNCING DAMAGE:</strong> This will come in handy when you start coming up against creatures with resistances and vulnerabilities. Saying, "I deal 24 lightning damage" means the DM won't have to ask you later. This is another thing to make sure you have on your power summary.</p><p></p><p><strong>DON'T BE AFRAID TO LET THE PLAYER'S KNOW THE DEFENSES OF THE MONSTER!</strong> It can be fun to let the PCs flail about, targeting a low-Will monster with all their reflex attacks, but it will slow the combat down. I compromise a bit and tell them the defense they attacked for future reference. "I roll a 24 vs Will." "Alas, it has a 28 Will". "Oh, I need a 12 to hit then!" Comparing a roll to a target number is a *lot* faster than adding a number to the roll and then announcing what you hit.</p><p></p><p><strong>GET IN THE HABIT OF GOING THROUGH ALL PARTS OF YOUR TURN:</strong> It's Start of Turn (Regenerate/Ongoing Damage), My Actions, End of Turn (Saves). Once you get used to the turn sequence, you won't have the DM looking at you wondering why you're still alive when you were taking Ongoing 20 Poison damage... and wasting time asking if you saved. For the DM, repetition and practice make you faster.</p><p></p><p><strong>LEARN THE RULES:</strong> Yes, we all have them: players who are here for the social aspects and not the game play. Even they can learn the basic parts of the turn and how to attack. Spamming an "at will", even if not optimized, can be something to encourage if otherwise they take 5 minutes for each turn.</p><p></p><p><strong>HELP YOUR FRIENDS:</strong> It's even better if each "casual" gamer has a partner who helps them plan their next turn ahead of time. Also works with new players. This should be another player if possible and not the DM, as the DM has enough to keep track of.</p><p></p><p><strong>DON'T WORRY ABOUT LONG COMBATS IF EVERYONE HAD FUN:</strong> Some combats in 4e are going to take a while to resolve. Not every combat could or should be run in 20 minutes. You need the big combats to balance small combats. For some people, the combat is the really important thing, and thinking about combat is an important part of that as well. If everyone is having fun, <em>don't rush combats</em>. They might be the best part of the session!</p><p></p><p>Cheers!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MerricB, post: 4992129, member: 3586"] More tips... [b]KNOW YOUR DICE:[/b] When it gets to your turn, don't start scrambling through your dice to find the ones you need. You can probably find them ahead of time, or at least have the selection of dice you're likely to need in front of you. Very, very few people will need more than a d20 and two other dice sizes. [b]USE A STANDARD WAY OF ANNOUNCING DAMAGE:[/b] This will come in handy when you start coming up against creatures with resistances and vulnerabilities. Saying, "I deal 24 lightning damage" means the DM won't have to ask you later. This is another thing to make sure you have on your power summary. [b]DON'T BE AFRAID TO LET THE PLAYER'S KNOW THE DEFENSES OF THE MONSTER![/b] It can be fun to let the PCs flail about, targeting a low-Will monster with all their reflex attacks, but it will slow the combat down. I compromise a bit and tell them the defense they attacked for future reference. "I roll a 24 vs Will." "Alas, it has a 28 Will". "Oh, I need a 12 to hit then!" Comparing a roll to a target number is a *lot* faster than adding a number to the roll and then announcing what you hit. [b]GET IN THE HABIT OF GOING THROUGH ALL PARTS OF YOUR TURN:[/b] It's Start of Turn (Regenerate/Ongoing Damage), My Actions, End of Turn (Saves). Once you get used to the turn sequence, you won't have the DM looking at you wondering why you're still alive when you were taking Ongoing 20 Poison damage... and wasting time asking if you saved. For the DM, repetition and practice make you faster. [b]LEARN THE RULES:[/b] Yes, we all have them: players who are here for the social aspects and not the game play. Even they can learn the basic parts of the turn and how to attack. Spamming an "at will", even if not optimized, can be something to encourage if otherwise they take 5 minutes for each turn. [b]HELP YOUR FRIENDS:[/b] It's even better if each "casual" gamer has a partner who helps them plan their next turn ahead of time. Also works with new players. This should be another player if possible and not the DM, as the DM has enough to keep track of. [b]DON'T WORRY ABOUT LONG COMBATS IF EVERYONE HAD FUN:[/b] Some combats in 4e are going to take a while to resolve. Not every combat could or should be run in 20 minutes. You need the big combats to balance small combats. For some people, the combat is the really important thing, and thinking about combat is an important part of that as well. If everyone is having fun, [i]don't rush combats[/i]. They might be the best part of the session! Cheers! [/QUOTE]
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