Quasqueton
First Post
I used to play with a D&D3 group that took extraordinary amounts of time to do *anything*. Combat was especially maddening for me. A single combat round took about 20 minutes to play out. The worst situation was a 2 hour battle against 5 normal skeletons. And we were 7th level! Insanity.
Each Player took many minutes to decide exactly what he wanted to do in his round. The DM answered a barrage of questions for each potential action: "Is the BBEG looking at me? If I move over here, will he get an attack of opportunity? Can I sheath my bow and pull out my greatsword and charge him?" Etc. Players would move their mini on the battlegrid, get told that movement draws an AoO, and then change their minds. They'd count out the movement from one point to another to get the exact measurements. They'd draw area of effects out on the battlemat before deciding whether to cast fireball.
I mean, it was absolutely absurd. Unbelievable. And terribly frustrating for me. I can't stand sitting on my hands for 20 minutes waiting for my one 6-second action to come back up. The DM had some really cool combat encounters, but what should have been fast and furious and exciting action bogged down into long, drawn out ordeals listening to all the Players calculate out every possible action for each Player in turn. It even took a ridiculous amount of time for someone to decide just to do another full attack.
Out of an 8 hour game session (every other week), we'd have 6 hours spent on 2-4 combats. Maybe a total of 10-15 rounds. After a couple combats, I started timing them with my watch. I noted and recorded the time, so my statements here are not guesstimates. I had hard evidence. I had to quit that group because I just couldn't take it.
When I started my new group, as DM, I was determined not to let combat times get ridiculous like the above. This group runs through combat rounds in about 6 minutes. 4-6 PCs, 1-2 NPC allies, and 1-12 (sometimes more) NPC enemies. Most of the time each round is taken by me having to think and act and roll for the multiple NPCs. I regularly time our combats, so I know exactly how long this takes.
We've had numerous epic combats of 20+ rounds that took just 1 to 1.5 hours to play out. We had one combat of 55 rounds that took less than 2 hours to play out.
Other than the note cards for moving through initiative (thank the Designers for cyclical initiative), we have a "no talking outside of your turn in the round" rule. This keeps the action debates out of the game. No one discusses their or others' actions to death during the fight. People pay attention to whats going on before I call their name to act.
Also, people feel free to delay or ready when they don't have anything obvious to do at their turn. I can't tell you how much time it saves when a Player gets rid of the urge that he *must* do *something* every round of a combat. If you are at the back of the party, and the front liners are doing fine with the enemy, you don't *have* to figure some way of getting up in the action.
This all creates fast-paced and exciting combats that take minimal time. None of this is a sacrifice. No one is rushed in their round. There is no timer hanging over anyone's head. None of this is difficult conceptually. 3 hour combats are not the norm for D&D. It really is not *that* difficult.
If you complain about D&D taking too much time to resolve combats, you simply are playing the game wrong.
Quasqueton
Each Player took many minutes to decide exactly what he wanted to do in his round. The DM answered a barrage of questions for each potential action: "Is the BBEG looking at me? If I move over here, will he get an attack of opportunity? Can I sheath my bow and pull out my greatsword and charge him?" Etc. Players would move their mini on the battlegrid, get told that movement draws an AoO, and then change their minds. They'd count out the movement from one point to another to get the exact measurements. They'd draw area of effects out on the battlemat before deciding whether to cast fireball.
I mean, it was absolutely absurd. Unbelievable. And terribly frustrating for me. I can't stand sitting on my hands for 20 minutes waiting for my one 6-second action to come back up. The DM had some really cool combat encounters, but what should have been fast and furious and exciting action bogged down into long, drawn out ordeals listening to all the Players calculate out every possible action for each Player in turn. It even took a ridiculous amount of time for someone to decide just to do another full attack.
Out of an 8 hour game session (every other week), we'd have 6 hours spent on 2-4 combats. Maybe a total of 10-15 rounds. After a couple combats, I started timing them with my watch. I noted and recorded the time, so my statements here are not guesstimates. I had hard evidence. I had to quit that group because I just couldn't take it.
When I started my new group, as DM, I was determined not to let combat times get ridiculous like the above. This group runs through combat rounds in about 6 minutes. 4-6 PCs, 1-2 NPC allies, and 1-12 (sometimes more) NPC enemies. Most of the time each round is taken by me having to think and act and roll for the multiple NPCs. I regularly time our combats, so I know exactly how long this takes.
We've had numerous epic combats of 20+ rounds that took just 1 to 1.5 hours to play out. We had one combat of 55 rounds that took less than 2 hours to play out.
Other than the note cards for moving through initiative (thank the Designers for cyclical initiative), we have a "no talking outside of your turn in the round" rule. This keeps the action debates out of the game. No one discusses their or others' actions to death during the fight. People pay attention to whats going on before I call their name to act.
Also, people feel free to delay or ready when they don't have anything obvious to do at their turn. I can't tell you how much time it saves when a Player gets rid of the urge that he *must* do *something* every round of a combat. If you are at the back of the party, and the front liners are doing fine with the enemy, you don't *have* to figure some way of getting up in the action.
This all creates fast-paced and exciting combats that take minimal time. None of this is a sacrifice. No one is rushed in their round. There is no timer hanging over anyone's head. None of this is difficult conceptually. 3 hour combats are not the norm for D&D. It really is not *that* difficult.
If you complain about D&D taking too much time to resolve combats, you simply are playing the game wrong.
Quasqueton
