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<blockquote data-quote="Shiroiken" data-source="post: 7195468" data-attributes="member: 6775477">Even with decades of experience, it's really hard to determine how long an adventure will take IRL. Because of this I don't even try, but have each adventure go for multiple sessions as needed. I simply watch the time, and look for a good time to wrap up a session. As a rule of thumb, don't start a significant combat with less than a half hour to go. You'll probably be able to finish it, but it might push you over your time limit a little.If you're wondering about overall length, I have two different methods, depending on the campaign type. If I'm running a sandbox game (where the world is disconnected from PC abilities), I usually design the dungeon, then populate it with whatever makes the most sense. This creates more challenge for the players, because it may be quite harder than the default assumptions. If I'm designing an adventure specifically for the PCs, I figure out how much experience I want to give out, and build the encounters with that budget.A quick word about puzzles and trick. Never build an adventure where the players MUST solve a puzzle or overcome a trick. Not only does the grind the session to a halt, but it can ruin the adventure if the party can't figure it out to continue. Also, it's advisable to have an ability check prepared in advance that will give a hint on how to solve a puzzle (optimally, you want multiple hints for multiple successes, but not all puzzles will work well that way).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Shiroiken, post: 7195468, member: 6775477"] Even with decades of experience, it's really hard to determine how long an adventure will take IRL. Because of this I don't even try, but have each adventure go for multiple sessions as needed. I simply watch the time, and look for a good time to wrap up a session. As a rule of thumb, don't start a significant combat with less than a half hour to go. You'll probably be able to finish it, but it might push you over your time limit a little. If you're wondering about overall length, I have two different methods, depending on the campaign type. If I'm running a sandbox game (where the world is disconnected from PC abilities), I usually design the dungeon, then populate it with whatever makes the most sense. This creates more challenge for the players, because it may be quite harder than the default assumptions. If I'm designing an adventure specifically for the PCs, I figure out how much experience I want to give out, and build the encounters with that budget. A quick word about puzzles and trick. Never build an adventure where the players MUST solve a puzzle or overcome a trick. Not only does the grind the session to a halt, but it can ruin the adventure if the party can't figure it out to continue. Also, it's advisable to have an ability check prepared in advance that will give a hint on how to solve a puzzle (optimally, you want multiple hints for multiple successes, but not all puzzles will work well that way). [/QUOTE]

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