How long do you like your D&D battles to last?

[Quasqueton]

How many rounds would you *like* combats to last?

Do you like combats to last only 1-4 rounds -- a quick flury of action.

Do you like combats to last 5-9 rounds -- allowing some tactics (beyond just "win initiative") and movement.

Do you like combats to last 10+ rounds -- opening up battlefield strategies, and seeing ebb and flow on the field.

Quasqueton

 

[diaglo]

at least a full clip's worth... 30 rounds or more.

 

[rogueattorney]

Shouldn't this entirely depend on the combat situation?

Face to face battle between a small number of small and/or inexperienced foes shoud be quick and deadly. Whoever gets the first sword stroke in will probably win the day.

A professional army laying siege to a well-provisioned and defended city will take days or even months.

Obviously, this is the two extremes of the question. I guess what I'm saying is that combat should take as long as it needs to take. A well-planned ambush that's over in one or two rounds can be just as satisfying as a thirty round epic battle featuring multiple waves and tide-turning shifts. Variety is the spice of life (or death in this case).

R.A.

 

[JDJarvis]

I'd like the amount of time to vary from 10 minutes to an hour but the number of rounds really doesn't have a lot to do with how long it takes to fight every time.
A hour long fight that only covered 4 rounds would be annoying while one of 20 rounds or so would be fine.
a 10 minute combat of but 2 or 3 rounds is always fun.

 

[Rel]

I'd probably say in the 5-9 round range in general.

Our record for a single, contiguous combat was 38 rounds and it took the whole 4-5 hour session. That was fine by me as it was a pretty epic battle.

My tendency as a GM is to have fewer fights of greater magnitude so they often run in the 1-2 hour range in real time but last 10 rounds or so in the game. I think the time it takes to run is directly proportional to the level of the PC's and enemies in question. If you're running a fight with 1st level PC's against a band of orcs, their combat options are fairly limited. When I was running 11th level PC's vs. small hordes of Demons, spellcasters and an occasional demigod, it took longer to figure out what each combatant was doing and to resolve the iterative attacks.

 

[fett527]

I'd probably say in the 5-9 round range in general.

Our record for a single, contiguous combat was 38 rounds and it took the whole 4-5 hour session. That was fine by me as it was a pretty epic battle.

My tendency as a GM is to have fewer fights of greater magnitude so they often run in the 1-2 hour range in real time but last 10 rounds or so in the game. I think the time it takes to run is directly proportional to the level of the PC's and enemies in question. If you're running a fight with 1st level PC's against a band of orcs, their combat options are fairly limited. When I was running 11th level PC's vs. small hordes of Demons, spellcasters and an occasional demigod, it took longer to figure out what each combatant was doing and to resolve the iterative attacks.

I will agree with Rel. The middle ground is usually the most desired, sometimes combats are fun when longer, sometimes shorter.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I prefer combats to last in the 5-9 round range, maybe a little longer, and hopefully take about 1 hour real time. In reality it seems combats last 1-4 rounds and yet take even more real time.

 

[Ourph]

I like the whole range. A 2-3 round battle against a group of mooks is fun. A 20 round epic battle vs. a horde or a couple of really tough monsters is really fun too.

My only constraint is that if it takes more than 2 minutes to complete a round, things are moving too slow. So even the epic 20 round battle shouldn't last over 30-40 minutes.

 

[Kalendraf]

Of your choices listed, I prefer fights lasting in the 5 to 9 round range. That gives both the party and the foes a chance to use some spells, tactics and so forth.

In terms of time spent, I prefer each combat to be resolved in 30 minutes or less. If each round takes about 3 minutes (that works out to be 30 seconds each for 6 players), then things are moving along ok for me. So a shorter 5 round fight might go 15 minutes while a longer 10 round fight goes 30 minutes. I've seen some really long fights lasting over an hour that have spanned dozens of rounds and that is just too long.

 

[CalicoDave]

I like battles that last a good, long while. This gives a chance to do some tactics and not just run up and bash. My group, though, is a bunch of wargamers at heart so we enjoy the minitures and the squares and the moving stuff around.

We had a new player new to our group once and he made a comment that he had never spent an entire 5 hour session in combat rounds before! That's just the way we play!

D.