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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 7650059" data-attributes="member: 177">Keeping a meeting running on schedule with good pacing?  No problem!Keeping a gaming session running with good pacing - completely different beast.  But then, the goals are different, so that's not surprising.In my Deadlands game, I have a lot of pacing challenges, largely due to the length of my sessions.  I run on weeknights, which means I typically get about 3 hours of actual play-time in, and that's just not all that long.  The real issue being that last hour - if I can pace it so that I can wrap up-tempo action near the end of that final hour, I'm good.  If, however, things play out so that folks are *entering* an up-tempo action (like, say, a combat) partway through that hour, I have a problem - I either have to cut just before that action begins (which leaves us an unsatisfying short session), cut in the middle of the action (which can be equally unsatisfying, and a bit of a game-information logistical issue) or I risk having the session run long (and folks need to drive home, get sleep, and go to work the next day, so this is bad).Normally, if I know the party's goals and intended methods before the session start, I can prep to that, and have the pacing turn out well.  But, if the PCs don't know their plans at start, so that I'm not prepped to what they hope to do, I am much more at the mercy of how events fall out.</blockquote>