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General Tabletop Discussion
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Has D&D Combat Always Been Slow?
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<blockquote data-quote="Charlaquin" data-source="post: 8147848" data-attributes="member: 6779196"><p>It sounds like what you’re noticing is less a problem of combat being too slow in general and more a problem of encounters continuing on past the point where the dramatic tension in the scene has petered out. I think this is a fairly common problem when the outcome of an encounter has become clear, but the DM still feels obligated to “play it out.” This is understandable, as D&D’s heavy focus on resource management and attrition-based difficulty make ending an encounter “early” feel a bit like cheating. Sure, you might know that the players have won the encounter, but they might take a few more hits before that happens, which could become relevant in future encounters.</p><p></p><p>What I find helps with this is keeping in mind the players’ goals, the monsters’ goals, and the dramatic question that conflict between those goals sets up. The monsters are only going to keep fighting as long as doing so seems like a reasonable way to achieve their goals. When the dramatic question of the scene has been answered, the monsters should recognize that continuing to fight the PCs is not going to be a viable approach to trying to achieve their goals, and change tactics. Maybe they attempt to retreat, maybe they surrender, maybe they try to gain some kind of leverage over the PCs, such as by taking a hostage. Whatever they decide to do, this will naturally change the dramatic question, and combat may no longer be the best way to resolve that uncertainty. Or maybe it will be, but if it is, the change in dramatic stakes will likely keep the combat from getting stale.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Charlaquin, post: 8147848, member: 6779196"] It sounds like what you’re noticing is less a problem of combat being too slow in general and more a problem of encounters continuing on past the point where the dramatic tension in the scene has petered out. I think this is a fairly common problem when the outcome of an encounter has become clear, but the DM still feels obligated to “play it out.” This is understandable, as D&D’s heavy focus on resource management and attrition-based difficulty make ending an encounter “early” feel a bit like cheating. Sure, you might know that the players have won the encounter, but they might take a few more hits before that happens, which could become relevant in future encounters. What I find helps with this is keeping in mind the players’ goals, the monsters’ goals, and the dramatic question that conflict between those goals sets up. The monsters are only going to keep fighting as long as doing so seems like a reasonable way to achieve their goals. When the dramatic question of the scene has been answered, the monsters should recognize that continuing to fight the PCs is not going to be a viable approach to trying to achieve their goals, and change tactics. Maybe they attempt to retreat, maybe they surrender, maybe they try to gain some kind of leverage over the PCs, such as by taking a hostage. Whatever they decide to do, this will naturally change the dramatic question, and combat may no longer be the best way to resolve that uncertainty. Or maybe it will be, but if it is, the change in dramatic stakes will likely keep the combat from getting stale. [/QUOTE]
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