D&D General Time Pressure and Adventures

[Flamestrike]

I wish I could get that type of commitment out of my players sometimes.

The first Dodge action or two usually works wonders.

 

[el-remmen]

Yeah, just like there is no time pressure at the start of an adventure when you're in town relaxing, but then comes the hook, enter the antagonist, and the race against time to stop them.

Name me a single Superhero, Action, Fantasy or Sci Fi movie where the protagonists just meander about, free from temporal constraints, free to do what they want.

The Heroes are always in a race against time, trying to foil the villains evil plan.

Almost always, but yes. I am not generally disagreeing with you. Just pointing out that this works to different degrees.

No, that's self evidently not true. They're as nuanced as you make them. 'Lack of nuance' is not an inherent property of a temporal constraint.

I really don't think you are reading what I posted carefully because I never remotely made that claim.

I am afraid that if you can't get it in the next five minutes I am going blow up the internet and no one will ever be able to post again! Hurry up! Clock's ticking!

 

[Flamestrike]

If you can't get it in the next five minutes I am going blow up the internet and no one will ever be able to post again! Hurry up! Clock's ticking!

And that would make for a much better story than 'Get back to me with a response later on whenever you get around to it, and there are no consequences if you dont'.

Get what Im saying?

Time limit + consequences for failure before the clock strikes midnight = actions matter, story moves forward, tension heightened, verisimilitude maintained.

No time limit = snooze fest.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Name me a single Superhero, Action, Fantasy or Sci Fi movie where the protagonists just meander about, free from temporal constraints, free to do what they want.

The Heroes are always in a race against time, trying to foil the villains evil plan.

Yeah, but interactive media are different and give rise to different styles of storytelling.

For example, it's not hard to find people who really enjoy dilly-dallying in GTA, Skyrim, Minecraft, etc.

Also, while I can't think of any movies that do this, there are plenty of Fantasy and Sci-Fi books about just discovery and exploration.

Keep doing how you're doing if you enjoy it, but there's definitely alternatives.

 

[Vaalingrade]

verisimilitude maintained.

All the more reason for me to avoid it like the plague personally.

More than the plauge, actually as we've discovered.

 

[R_J_K75]

The first Dodge action or two usually works wonders.

I've skipped people on occasion and have other DMs do it to but it's not something we've agreed to implement. I think we'd need buy in as a group and I don't think we'd get it. It's not worth the cries of unfounded pushback such as "I dont know the rules enough or as well as you"...blah blah blah....

 

[Flamestrike]

"I dont know the rules enough or as well as you"...blah blah blah....

My response is ''Learn them. I spend hours each week prepping adventures for you. If you spent a fraction of that time reading the rules, we wouldnt be here having this discussion.''

I go easy on them to start with, but if they're still confused how Cunning Action works after 3rd level, they're on their own.

 

[ad_hoc]

In game? Every adventure. The idea of not having time limits is weird to me. I just don't see the point of playing. I would never read a book or watch a movie like that. And the game aspect loses challenge too.

At the table? Lax. I hurry people up if they take long to take a turn in combat but otherwise we go at a leisurely pace and often get into side conversations.

 

[R_J_K75]

My response is ''Learn them. I spend hours each week prepping adventures for you. If you spent a fraction of that time reading the rules, we wouldnt be here having this discussion.''

I go easy on them to start with, but if they're still confused how Cunning Action works after 3rd level, they're on their own.

I agree and I've tried the same with various groups of players, and I usually get the same response either outright or passively. They just aren't invested enough to put the time in. So, my response is if that's how you feel then I have to ask myself if it's worth my time prepping anymore? Then the quality of the sessions rapidly decreases. Ultimately, I usually end up winging rules to accommodate their lack of knowledge and tell them to STFU or quit if they complain. That works too.

 

[CleverNickName]

Some of you seem to have very...tenuous...relationships with your players. Are ya'll okay?