How long do your battles take
- Thread starter bradikus
- Start date
cignus_pfaccari
Explorer
Depends. I put 30-45 minutes, but that's because I haven't played 6 - 9 in a while.
We just had a pretty big scrap in our al-Qadim campaign (~ 13th level average, average of three combatants/PC...PCs are casters, cohorts, etc. are non) that took about 2-3 hours. However, that meant it was going well, as the plan was to proceed cautiously and smother the enemy under evocation as they came out of hiding. There were turns where some of the PCs did nothing.
Usually, when we get our tails handed to us, it takes less time.
Brad
We just had a pretty big scrap in our al-Qadim campaign (~ 13th level average, average of three combatants/PC...PCs are casters, cohorts, etc. are non) that took about 2-3 hours. However, that meant it was going well, as the plan was to proceed cautiously and smother the enemy under evocation as they came out of hiding. There were turns where some of the PCs did nothing.
Usually, when we get our tails handed to us, it takes less time.
Brad
DonTadow
First Post
When I started out this campaign, my battles took 45 minutes to an hour. Now that i'm using software to track most of the stats, groups of npcs go on the same tour, and I make sure to tell players after every turn who the next three people are, it moves at about 30 to 45 minutes. However the big stuff still takes an hour. I have to balance my game whereas some players like long battles and hate rolling at all
toberane
First Post
It varies, largely depending on the level our characters are at. At low levels, you would be hard pressed to push a battle past 20 minutes, and at epic levels, a battle moving along at a good clip can easily take a couple of hours, since there is so much more that can happen, both for the player and the DM.
A lot of our battles take longer because the DMs in our group love to use strategy. The last battle we fought took about 2 hours and involved several near deaths for about half of the players. If it had been a straightforward battle in an open room, it would have been quick and easy, but we had hidden opponents, a room with obstacles we couldn't move freely around, and opponents who were aware of our presence and had strategically placed themselves to make it very hard to fight them. Add to that our almost total lack of spells since we had been going straight through this dungeon without a rest (we were trying to rescue a pregnant baroness who was about to be used as a sacrifice in a dark ritual. If we had rested to regain HPs and spells, they would have completed the ritual and killed the baroness.)
A lot of our battles take longer because the DMs in our group love to use strategy. The last battle we fought took about 2 hours and involved several near deaths for about half of the players. If it had been a straightforward battle in an open room, it would have been quick and easy, but we had hidden opponents, a room with obstacles we couldn't move freely around, and opponents who were aware of our presence and had strategically placed themselves to make it very hard to fight them. Add to that our almost total lack of spells since we had been going straight through this dungeon without a rest (we were trying to rescue a pregnant baroness who was about to be used as a sacrifice in a dark ritual. If we had rested to regain HPs and spells, they would have completed the ritual and killed the baroness.)
This is extremely interesting. I must admit that now having thought about this that I should have expanded the time options. We have also had many 5-6 hour battles as well, but those are usually at the higher levels (9-12) and/or are the climax battles. An interesting side thread to this would be what people do to streamline major battles.
Wombat
First Post
We have a standing house rule in our campaign -- "Any battle that takes longer than half an hour of real time to play through is BORING! As such, no combat shall last more than half an hour."
We like a good combat, with lots of leaping about, good use of tactics, magic whizzing by, etc., but after a while, we just lose the momentum and find that the whole process gets dull, dull, dull.
Long whittle-down combats are the worst...
We like a good combat, with lots of leaping about, good use of tactics, magic whizzing by, etc., but after a while, we just lose the momentum and find that the whole process gets dull, dull, dull.
Long whittle-down combats are the worst...
Kershek
Sci-Fi Newshound
We rarely have a combat that takes less than a half hour. In fact, they normally last between 1-2 hours. I think the major battles usually take between 2-3 hours. Our longest battle took about 10-12 hours split between two sessions, and that was a castle siege at 7th or 8th level.
Quasqueton
First Post
Out of curiosity, I've been actually tracking the number of rounds and the real time of our combats. The average seems to be about 6 minutes per round -- 4-6 PCs. Easily half the time is taken by me, the DM (having to think and act for 2-10 NPCs). The Players probably take 30 seconds each for their actions, and then I take 1-3 minutes for the NPCs.
So a major 10-round battle (4-6 PCs vs. 2-10 enemies) can last 1 hour. A 3-5 round battle lasts 20-30 minutes. Not bad in my book.
At 9th level, it is easy for a non-major battle to last just 1-2 rounds, ~5-10 minutes.
But there have been several 1-3 round battles that were over so quick I didn't even bother noting the time. Call it less than 5 minutes.
Quasqueton
So a major 10-round battle (4-6 PCs vs. 2-10 enemies) can last 1 hour. A 3-5 round battle lasts 20-30 minutes. Not bad in my book.
At 9th level, it is easy for a non-major battle to last just 1-2 rounds, ~5-10 minutes.
But there have been several 1-3 round battles that were over so quick I didn't even bother noting the time. Call it less than 5 minutes.
Quasqueton
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the Jester
Legend
It varies too much to say. Some major battles are quick and they're over, some take a session and a half.
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