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<blockquote data-quote="Sword of Spirit" data-source="post: 6753203" data-attributes="member: 6677017"><p>About adventure pacing:</p><p></p><p>Ever since I started running 5e (around the time the PHB came out--I ran Next before then), I've been working on refining my ability to get as much done as I can in the amount of time I've allotted. It has been a difficult road, but I feel I'm mostly there. I've learned a few things.</p><p></p><p>1. My players (thankfully) love to get into their characters and interact with the world, rather than some meta-concern about what the DM has planned (although most of them are still cognizant of the latter).</p><p>2. Because of this, my players are prone to spend way more time than I think they will considering options and possibilities of what's going on in my world. It's actually a great feeling when my world evokes in-character discussions of all sorts of possibilities (that aren't actually what's going on), and causes the characters to seriously consider their course.</p><p>3. Because of that, if I want them to get something done in a set amount of time, it has to be clear exactly what they need to do by when.</p><p>4. All extraneous distractions need to be removed.</p><p>5. This is generally considered "railroading", and should be used in moderation, but it is a tool one can use.</p><p></p><p>Example: I've been running some stand-alone adventures to get a better feel for various elements of the 5e system, as well as to run certain scenarios that aren't in need of a full campaign. The latest one was Questing Knights. The pitch on the adventure was very clear (a group of honorable knights pursuing a quest, lots of race/class restrictions, etc) and I had player buy-in for those who were there. At the beginning of the adventuring, the PCs all showed up at the same castle. A blind seer came into the courtyard and prophesied to them. I typed it up so they could see exactly what was said. He told them that they needed to go west to a certain place, then east to another place, would face certain tests, needed the holy armaments, and needed to travel a full day's ride for 7 days to avoid being too late to stop the evil event.</p><p></p><p>Pretty darn specific. I made sure it was as clear as possible, and they got it. Then, I made sure the paths to travel were extremely clear. I only mentioned one place where the road even split (because it made sense geographically) but it was clear which way they had been directed to go after a little discussion. There was a tiny optional side-quest to rescue a princess, but it was easy for them to find where it was.</p><p></p><p>It worked. Not only did I get everything I had planned for the adventure done within the alotted time (target 8 sessions, max allowed 10), but I actually finished it up a session earlier than intended (7 sessions). That's the best I've ever done, and it took me a long time to figure out how to pull it off. Everyone seemed to have a good time with it.</p><p></p><p>In a more sandbox campaign (which is how I prefer a long campaign), that just isn't going to happen. I let the players run around and go wherever, and they probably will.</p><p></p><p>So if you want to fit into an allotted time, you either need to railroad or pray for a miracle.</p><p></p><p>But it sounds like your players might not have made characters that are really right for the campaign in any event. Nothing to do about that but to start over with new characters, new campaign, or new players.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sword of Spirit, post: 6753203, member: 6677017"] About adventure pacing: Ever since I started running 5e (around the time the PHB came out--I ran Next before then), I've been working on refining my ability to get as much done as I can in the amount of time I've allotted. It has been a difficult road, but I feel I'm mostly there. I've learned a few things. 1. My players (thankfully) love to get into their characters and interact with the world, rather than some meta-concern about what the DM has planned (although most of them are still cognizant of the latter). 2. Because of this, my players are prone to spend way more time than I think they will considering options and possibilities of what's going on in my world. It's actually a great feeling when my world evokes in-character discussions of all sorts of possibilities (that aren't actually what's going on), and causes the characters to seriously consider their course. 3. Because of that, if I want them to get something done in a set amount of time, it has to be clear exactly what they need to do by when. 4. All extraneous distractions need to be removed. 5. This is generally considered "railroading", and should be used in moderation, but it is a tool one can use. Example: I've been running some stand-alone adventures to get a better feel for various elements of the 5e system, as well as to run certain scenarios that aren't in need of a full campaign. The latest one was Questing Knights. The pitch on the adventure was very clear (a group of honorable knights pursuing a quest, lots of race/class restrictions, etc) and I had player buy-in for those who were there. At the beginning of the adventuring, the PCs all showed up at the same castle. A blind seer came into the courtyard and prophesied to them. I typed it up so they could see exactly what was said. He told them that they needed to go west to a certain place, then east to another place, would face certain tests, needed the holy armaments, and needed to travel a full day's ride for 7 days to avoid being too late to stop the evil event. Pretty darn specific. I made sure it was as clear as possible, and they got it. Then, I made sure the paths to travel were extremely clear. I only mentioned one place where the road even split (because it made sense geographically) but it was clear which way they had been directed to go after a little discussion. There was a tiny optional side-quest to rescue a princess, but it was easy for them to find where it was. It worked. Not only did I get everything I had planned for the adventure done within the alotted time (target 8 sessions, max allowed 10), but I actually finished it up a session earlier than intended (7 sessions). That's the best I've ever done, and it took me a long time to figure out how to pull it off. Everyone seemed to have a good time with it. In a more sandbox campaign (which is how I prefer a long campaign), that just isn't going to happen. I let the players run around and go wherever, and they probably will. So if you want to fit into an allotted time, you either need to railroad or pray for a miracle. But it sounds like your players might not have made characters that are really right for the campaign in any event. Nothing to do about that but to start over with new characters, new campaign, or new players. [/QUOTE]
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