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<blockquote data-quote="Mustrum_Ridcully" data-source="post: 5077202" data-attributes="member: 710">It is less of an issue in 4E, I think. Even a full round of attacks can be survivable for PCs and monsters alike. And of course, 4E has more options that make &quot;focusing fire&quot; more difficult, thanks to stuff like conditions and marking - and also more reactive abilities. Of course, all these aspects also increase the length of play, since you need to track or resolve them. (But with &quot;group initiative&quot;, this would probably become a lot easier)I also tend to think that 3E had a lot of &quot;hidden&quot; time to combats. Those handy Excel Spreadsheets didn't make themselves, for example, and you didn't always know what your allies would provide you with. I seem to remember every game session starting with distributing spell slots and buffs. I think one of the more fundamental differences between 3E and 4E is that 4E has more things &quot;happening&quot; only at the game table, while 3E allowed - and forced sometimes - to make important decisions before the game session (or at its start). The Character Building mini-game in both editions are a good example of this. You could spend a very large amount of time creating a 3E character and fine-tune a lot of things. Some of it had a large impact, some not. 4E is a lot more &quot;restrictive&quot; and the impact you have - while certainly not fully negligible- is a lot lower.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mustrum_Ridcully, post: 5077202, member: 710"] It is less of an issue in 4E, I think. Even a full round of attacks can be survivable for PCs and monsters alike. And of course, 4E has more options that make "focusing fire" more difficult, thanks to stuff like conditions and marking - and also more reactive abilities. Of course, all these aspects also increase the length of play, since you need to track or resolve them. (But with "group initiative", this would probably become a lot easier) I also tend to think that 3E had a lot of "hidden" time to combats. Those handy Excel Spreadsheets didn't make themselves, for example, and you didn't always know what your allies would provide you with. I seem to remember every game session starting with distributing spell slots and buffs. I think one of the more fundamental differences between 3E and 4E is that 4E has more things "happening" only at the game table, while 3E allowed - and forced sometimes - to make important decisions before the game session (or at its start). The Character Building mini-game in both editions are a good example of this. You could spend a very large amount of time creating a 3E character and fine-tune a lot of things. Some of it had a large impact, some not. 4E is a lot more "restrictive" and the impact you have - while certainly not fully negligible- is a lot lower. [/QUOTE]

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