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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Monayuris" data-source="post: 8147817" data-attributes="member: 6859536">Modern D&D combat is slow. Way slower than old school D&D.Too many options, too many hit points, too many different ways to execute actions. Especially 5e where you have cantrips where some are attack rolls, but others are saving throws.Trash fights is only a concept that exists in modern D&D. Because older edition D&D, nearly any combat can be impactful there are no trash fights.1. D&D combat is slow in modern D&D. If you look at old school D&D (B/X for example) combat is fast, lethal, and exciting. 5E combat drags on... and is probably the worst of the modern D&D versions.  4E was much slower, but had more tactical depth which made it interesting.2. I do the following to speed up 5E combat.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Use morale rules from the older editions... most times combat doesn't go to the last hit point. Morale breaks first and sometimes combat ends on first blood.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Use side based initiative or over under initiative. Cyclical initiative creates natural lulls in player attention which slows things down and causes complacency.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">No 'do overs' or 'go backs'. This I learned from running 4E for so long. If a player is done with their turn, but they forgot to apply some effect, it is too late. They can't do a 'Wait, I forgot about this..." When their turn is done, their turn is done.</li> </ul>3. Not at all. I suggest you look at old school D&D. In older edition D&D, combat is fast and exciting. Old school D&D is streamlined. You have less hit point bloat and combat is more decisive. It moves quickly because it is less about choosing powers and abilities and more about making tactical choices. You don't have a suite of powers to choose from, so in order to succeed it is more about your own choices and actions. Old school has 'save or die' poisons and effects, which means even the most 'trash fight' can be dangerous. Combat is something you don't enter into lightly and it requires thought and tactics to survive.It is way easier to run as well. I have run a B/X encounter with over 40 combatants.... 6th to 7th level PCs and cohorts vs 30+ trolls (also throw in an efreeti). The encounter took 30-40 minutes to resolve. Combats take WAY less time in old school D&D, which gives you more time to accomplish more activities during a session. You can have much more adventure in a session, because one combat doesn't tie you up for 1-2 hours.I recommend <a href="https://www.basicfantasy.org/" target="_blank">Basic Fantasy Role-Playing</a> and <a href="https://necroticgnome.com/collections/old-school-essentials" target="_blank">Old School Essentials.</a>Both games are excellent entries into Old School D&D and in many ways are superior to 5E and other modern D&D rules.</blockquote>

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