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The Importantance of Time
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<blockquote data-quote="tetrasodium" data-source="post: 8987505" data-attributes="member: 93670"><p>I think that some of these problems stem from shifting to 6s rounds from 1min rounds. There used to be pretty good guidance for a wide range of things that could be done in one round back in the 2e dmg that was also largely present in the phb. Here are a few examples</p><p>[spoiler="2e dmg176 Concealed & secret doors"]</p><p>Concealed and Secret Doors</p><p> In addition to all other types of doors, the arcane archi-</p><p>tects of most fantasy buildings like to include a few secret</p><p>and concealed doors. These can range from simple priest-</p><p>holes to pivoting bookcases opening into hidden crypts. The</p><p>only limit is your imagination.</p><p> Secret doors operate differently from normal doors. First</p><p>and foremost, they must be found. This isn’t something that</p><p>happens without effort (if it did, the door wouldn’t be very</p><p>secret!). With the exception of elves, characters must search</p><p>for secret doors to find them.</p><p><strong> Searching a 20-foot section of wall takes about 10 min-</strong></p><p><strong>utes, during which the characters tap, thump, twist, and poke,</strong></p><p><strong>looking for secret catches, sliding panels, hidden levers, and</strong></p><p><strong>the like. The exact amount of time can vary according to the</strong></p><p><strong>amount of detail on the wall.</strong> A relatively barren wall section</p><p>will go fairly quickly, while one loaded with shelves, ornamen-</p><p>tation, sconces, and other fixtures will require more time. A</p><p>character can search a given wall area only once, although</p><p>several characters can search the same area.</p><p> Normally, when a character discovers a secret door, he has</p><p>found the means to open it. Therefore, no roll must be made</p><p>to open the door. In very rare cases, the character may dis-</p><p>cover that the secret door exists (by finding its outline, for</p><p>example) but not know how to open it. In this case, a sepa-</p><p>rate check must be made to open the door.</p><p> Secret doors cannot be forced open by normal means</p><p>although they can be bashed down with rams (at half the</p><p>normal chance of success). Indeed, it is even possible for</p><p>characters to see the secret door in operation and not know</p><p>how it is operated. (“You burst in just in time to see Duke</p><p>Marask, the vampire, disappear from sight as the sliding book-</p><p>case swings back into position.”) In such cases, knowledge</p><p>that the door exists will increase the chance of finding its</p><p>opening mechanism by 1.</p><p> It is a good idea to note how each particular secret door</p><p>works and how it is concealed. While such notes have no</p><p>effect on the mechanics of the game, they will add a lot of</p><p>flavor and mystery at the expense of a little effort. Which is</p><p>more exciting—to say, “You find a secret door in the north</p><p>wall,” or “You twist the lion-headed ornament over the mantle </p><p>and suddenly the flames in the fireplace die down and a </p><p>panel in the back slides up?”</p><p> Furthermore, colorful descriptions of secret doors allow </p><p>you to place the burden of remembering how a given door </p><p>works on the player characters—”What, you forgot what to do </p><p>to make that secret door open? Well, I suppose you’ll have to </p><p>search again.” If used in moderation, this will help keep them </p><p>involved in your game, encouraging them to make maps </p><p>filled with all manner of interesting notes.</p><p> A concealed door is a normal door that is purposely hid-</p><p>den from view. There may be a door to the throne room </p><p>behind that curtain or a trap door under the rug. The door </p><p>isn’t disguised in any way or opened by secret catches; it is </p><p>just not immediately obvious.</p><p> Any search for concealed doors will reveal them, and </p><p>once found they can be opened normally. Elves can some-</p><p>times sense concealed doors (if they make their die roll) </p><p>without having to stop and search. No one knows how this </p><p>is accomplished, although some theorize elves notice </p><p>subtle temperature gradients when they pass near these </p><p>doors.</p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p>[spoiler="2e dmg pg76 the combat round"]</p><p></p><p>The Combat</p><p>Round</p><p></p><p>If an encounter escalates into a </p><p>combat situation, the time scale of </p><p>the game automatically goes to </p><p>rounds (also called melee rounds, </p><p>or combat rounds). Rounds are used to measure the actions </p><p>of characters in combat or other intensive actions in which </p><p>time is important.</p><p> A round is approximately one minute. Ten combat rounds </p><p>equal a turn (or, put another way, a turn equals 10 minutes </p><p>of game time). This is particularly important to remember for </p><p>spells that last for turns, rather than rounds.</p><p> But these are just approximations—precise time measure-</p><p>ments are impossible to make in combat. An action that </p><p>might be ridiculously easy under normal circumstances could </p><p>become an undertaking of truly heroic scale when attempted </p><p>in the middle of a furious, chaotic battle.</p><p> Imagine the simple act of imbibing a healing potion. First a </p><p>character decides to drink the potion before retiring for the </p><p>night. All he has to do is get it out of his backpack, uncork it, </p><p>and drink the contents. No problem.</p><p> Now imagine the same thing in the middle of a fight. The </p><p>potion is safely stowed in the character’s backpack. First he takes </p><p>stock of the situation to see if anyone else can get the potion out </p><p>for him. However, not surprisingly, everyone is rather busy. So, </p><p>sword in one hand, he shrugs one strap of the pack off his shoul-</p><p>der. Then, just as two orcs leap toward him, the other strap </p><p>threatens to slip down, entangling his sword arm. Already the </p><p>loose strap keeps him from fully using his shield.</p><p> Holding the shield as best as possible in front of him, he </p><p>scrambles backward to avoid the monsters’ wild swings. He </p><p>gets pushed back a few more feet when a companion shoul-</p><p>ders past to block and give him a little time. So he kneels, lays </p><p>down his sword, and slips the backpack all the way off. Hear-</p><p>ing a wild cry, he instinctively swings up his shield just in time </p><p>to ward off a glancing blow.</p><p> Rummaging through the pack, he finally finds the potion, </p><p>pulls it out, and, huddling behind his shield, works the cork </p><p>free. Just then there is a flash of flame all around him—a </p><p>fireball! He grits his teeth against the heat, shock, and pain </p><p>and tries not to crush or spill the potion vial. Biting back the </p><p>pain of the flames, he is relieved to see the potion is intact.</p><p> He quickly gulps it down, reclaims his sword, kicks his back-</p><p>pack out of the way, and runs back up to the front line. In game </p><p>terms, the character withdrew, was missed by one attacker, made </p><p>successful saving throw vs. spell (from the fireball spell), drank </p><p>potion, and was ready for combat the next round.</p><p><strong>What You Can Do in One Round</strong></p><p> Whatever the precise length of a combat round, a charac-</p><p>ter can accomplish only one basic action in that round, be it </p><p>making an attack, casting a spell, drinking a potion, or tending </p><p>to a fallen comrade. The basic action, however, may involve </p><p>several lesser actions.</p><p> When making an attack, a character is likely to close with his </p><p>opponent, circle for an opening, feint here, jab there, block a </p><p>thrust, leap back, and perhaps finally make a telling blow. A </p><p>spellcaster might fumble for his components, dodge an attacker, </p><p>mentally review the steps of the spell, intone the spell, and then </p><p>move to safety when it is all done. It already has been shown </p><p>what drinking a potion might entail. All of these things could </p><p>happen in a bit less than a minute or more, but the standard is </p><p>one minute and one action to the round.</p><p> Some examples of the actions a character can accomplish </p><p>include the following:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Make an attack (attack rolls up to the maximum number allowed the character class at a given level)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">cast one spell (if the casting time is one round or less)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Use a magical item.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Drink a potion</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Light a torch</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Move to the limit of his movement rate</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Attempt to open a stuck or secret door</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Bind a character's wounds</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Search a body</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Hammer in a spike</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Recover a dropped weapon</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"></li> </ul><p><strong>There are also actions that take a negligible amount of </strong></p><p><strong>time, things the character does without affecting his ability to </strong></p><p><strong>perform a more important task. Examples of these include </strong></p><p><strong>the following</strong>:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Shout warnings , brief instructions, or demands for surrender -- but not conversations where a reply is expected</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Change weapons by dropping one & drawing another</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Drop excess equipment such as backpacks lanterns or torches </li> </ul><p></p><p>[/spoiler]</p><p>Much of that can also be found on 2e phb pg122. Not only did a whole bunch of stuff get condensed down to instantaneous rainman like efficacy with the 1min -> 6s shift the amount of stuff that could be done as a free action done alongside some other action kept growing (either explicitly implicitly or by rule zero & badly set player expectations using rule zero to plug holes in the ruleset)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="tetrasodium, post: 8987505, member: 93670"] I think that some of these problems stem from shifting to 6s rounds from 1min rounds. There used to be pretty good guidance for a wide range of things that could be done in one round back in the 2e dmg that was also largely present in the phb. Here are a few examples [spoiler="2e dmg176 Concealed & secret doors"] Concealed and Secret Doors In addition to all other types of doors, the arcane archi- tects of most fantasy buildings like to include a few secret and concealed doors. These can range from simple priest- holes to pivoting bookcases opening into hidden crypts. The only limit is your imagination. Secret doors operate differently from normal doors. First and foremost, they must be found. This isn’t something that happens without effort (if it did, the door wouldn’t be very secret!). With the exception of elves, characters must search for secret doors to find them. [B] Searching a 20-foot section of wall takes about 10 min- utes, during which the characters tap, thump, twist, and poke, looking for secret catches, sliding panels, hidden levers, and the like. The exact amount of time can vary according to the amount of detail on the wall.[/B] A relatively barren wall section will go fairly quickly, while one loaded with shelves, ornamen- tation, sconces, and other fixtures will require more time. A character can search a given wall area only once, although several characters can search the same area. Normally, when a character discovers a secret door, he has found the means to open it. Therefore, no roll must be made to open the door. In very rare cases, the character may dis- cover that the secret door exists (by finding its outline, for example) but not know how to open it. In this case, a sepa- rate check must be made to open the door. Secret doors cannot be forced open by normal means although they can be bashed down with rams (at half the normal chance of success). Indeed, it is even possible for characters to see the secret door in operation and not know how it is operated. (“You burst in just in time to see Duke Marask, the vampire, disappear from sight as the sliding book- case swings back into position.”) In such cases, knowledge that the door exists will increase the chance of finding its opening mechanism by 1. It is a good idea to note how each particular secret door works and how it is concealed. While such notes have no effect on the mechanics of the game, they will add a lot of flavor and mystery at the expense of a little effort. Which is more exciting—to say, “You find a secret door in the north wall,” or “You twist the lion-headed ornament over the mantle and suddenly the flames in the fireplace die down and a panel in the back slides up?” Furthermore, colorful descriptions of secret doors allow you to place the burden of remembering how a given door works on the player characters—”What, you forgot what to do to make that secret door open? Well, I suppose you’ll have to search again.” If used in moderation, this will help keep them involved in your game, encouraging them to make maps filled with all manner of interesting notes. A concealed door is a normal door that is purposely hid- den from view. There may be a door to the throne room behind that curtain or a trap door under the rug. The door isn’t disguised in any way or opened by secret catches; it is just not immediately obvious. Any search for concealed doors will reveal them, and once found they can be opened normally. Elves can some- times sense concealed doors (if they make their die roll) without having to stop and search. No one knows how this is accomplished, although some theorize elves notice subtle temperature gradients when they pass near these doors. [/spoiler] [spoiler="2e dmg pg76 the combat round"] The Combat Round If an encounter escalates into a combat situation, the time scale of the game automatically goes to rounds (also called melee rounds, or combat rounds). Rounds are used to measure the actions of characters in combat or other intensive actions in which time is important. A round is approximately one minute. Ten combat rounds equal a turn (or, put another way, a turn equals 10 minutes of game time). This is particularly important to remember for spells that last for turns, rather than rounds. But these are just approximations—precise time measure- ments are impossible to make in combat. An action that might be ridiculously easy under normal circumstances could become an undertaking of truly heroic scale when attempted in the middle of a furious, chaotic battle. Imagine the simple act of imbibing a healing potion. First a character decides to drink the potion before retiring for the night. All he has to do is get it out of his backpack, uncork it, and drink the contents. No problem. Now imagine the same thing in the middle of a fight. The potion is safely stowed in the character’s backpack. First he takes stock of the situation to see if anyone else can get the potion out for him. However, not surprisingly, everyone is rather busy. So, sword in one hand, he shrugs one strap of the pack off his shoul- der. Then, just as two orcs leap toward him, the other strap threatens to slip down, entangling his sword arm. Already the loose strap keeps him from fully using his shield. Holding the shield as best as possible in front of him, he scrambles backward to avoid the monsters’ wild swings. He gets pushed back a few more feet when a companion shoul- ders past to block and give him a little time. So he kneels, lays down his sword, and slips the backpack all the way off. Hear- ing a wild cry, he instinctively swings up his shield just in time to ward off a glancing blow. Rummaging through the pack, he finally finds the potion, pulls it out, and, huddling behind his shield, works the cork free. Just then there is a flash of flame all around him—a fireball! He grits his teeth against the heat, shock, and pain and tries not to crush or spill the potion vial. Biting back the pain of the flames, he is relieved to see the potion is intact. He quickly gulps it down, reclaims his sword, kicks his back- pack out of the way, and runs back up to the front line. In game terms, the character withdrew, was missed by one attacker, made successful saving throw vs. spell (from the fireball spell), drank potion, and was ready for combat the next round. [B]What You Can Do in One Round[/B] Whatever the precise length of a combat round, a charac- ter can accomplish only one basic action in that round, be it making an attack, casting a spell, drinking a potion, or tending to a fallen comrade. The basic action, however, may involve several lesser actions. When making an attack, a character is likely to close with his opponent, circle for an opening, feint here, jab there, block a thrust, leap back, and perhaps finally make a telling blow. A spellcaster might fumble for his components, dodge an attacker, mentally review the steps of the spell, intone the spell, and then move to safety when it is all done. It already has been shown what drinking a potion might entail. All of these things could happen in a bit less than a minute or more, but the standard is one minute and one action to the round. Some examples of the actions a character can accomplish include the following: [LIST] [*]Make an attack (attack rolls up to the maximum number allowed the character class at a given level) [*]cast one spell (if the casting time is one round or less) [*]Use a magical item. [*]Drink a potion [*]Light a torch [*]Move to the limit of his movement rate [*]Attempt to open a stuck or secret door [*]Bind a character's wounds [*]Search a body [*]Hammer in a spike [*]Recover a dropped weapon [*] [/LIST] [B]There are also actions that take a negligible amount of time, things the character does without affecting his ability to perform a more important task. Examples of these include the following[/B]: [LIST] [*]Shout warnings , brief instructions, or demands for surrender -- but not conversations where a reply is expected [*]Change weapons by dropping one & drawing another [*]Drop excess equipment such as backpacks lanterns or torches [/LIST] [/spoiler] Much of that can also be found on 2e phb pg122. Not only did a whole bunch of stuff get condensed down to instantaneous rainman like efficacy with the 1min -> 6s shift the amount of stuff that could be done as a free action done alongside some other action kept growing (either explicitly implicitly or by rule zero & badly set player expectations using rule zero to plug holes in the ruleset) [/QUOTE]
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