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<blockquote data-quote="Mark Hope" data-source="post: 4557984" data-attributes="member: 27051">This is why I agree with the idea that a clock is one of the DM's most important tools.&nbsp; You need to know how much time you're spending on any one kind of scene.&nbsp; If you want to have session focussed on roleplaying but find that your combats are stretching out to 30-40 mins or more, you can address the problem and reign the combats back in.&nbsp; And vice versa.A recent Pathfinder homebrew session set in a muddy dungeon (Torrents of Dread from Dungeon 114) featured 6 combats in rapid succession (plus three other encounters that could have gone that way).&nbsp; Keeping a solid pace was paramount (and Pathfinder's streamlined system was a big help in doing so.)The number of PCs and opponents is also a big factor in how many you can fit in, as is preparation and play-aids.&nbsp; My new Dark Sun game gained a sixth player at the last minute.&nbsp; A large battle at the end of Tuesday's session verged on the unwieldy: 6 PCs and 5 sets of opponents (wizard, a pair of kreen, a trio of belgoi, two half-giants and about 20 warriors.)&nbsp; The battle (set in a blazing noble's estate) kept moving at a good pace, but largely due to pre-prepated monster stat cards, Paizo's Combat Pad and the players being on the ball and generally very skilled gamers.&nbsp; It struck me after the game that it was a fine balance that could have become very messy.&nbsp; Glad it didn't but I think it'll be a few sessions before I tax myself like that again, lol.By comparison, I once ran a 2e game with 12 players.&nbsp; Bloody awful.&nbsp; No matter how fast you crack through the rounds, each player is going to sit idle for 5+ minutes between each go.&nbsp; Never again <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink&nbsp; &nbsp; ;)"&nbsp; data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />&nbsp; Two combats in one 6 hour session.&nbsp; Ouch.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mark Hope, post: 4557984, member: 27051"] This is why I agree with the idea that a clock is one of the DM's most important tools. You need to know how much time you're spending on any one kind of scene. If you want to have session focussed on roleplaying but find that your combats are stretching out to 30-40 mins or more, you can address the problem and reign the combats back in. And vice versa. A recent Pathfinder homebrew session set in a muddy dungeon ([i]Torrents of Dread[/i] from Dungeon 114) featured 6 combats in rapid succession (plus three other encounters that could have gone that way). Keeping a solid pace was paramount (and Pathfinder's streamlined system was a big help in doing so.) The number of PCs and opponents is also a big factor in how many you can fit in, as is preparation and play-aids. My new Dark Sun game gained a sixth player at the last minute. A large battle at the end of Tuesday's session verged on the unwieldy: 6 PCs and 5 sets of opponents (wizard, a pair of kreen, a trio of belgoi, two half-giants and about 20 warriors.) The battle (set in a blazing noble's estate) kept moving at a good pace, but largely due to pre-prepated monster stat cards, Paizo's Combat Pad and the players being on the ball and generally very skilled gamers. It struck me after the game that it was a fine balance that could have become very messy. Glad it didn't but I think it'll be a few sessions before I tax myself like that again, lol. By comparison, I once ran a 2e game with 12 players. Bloody awful. No matter how fast you crack through the rounds, each player is going to sit idle for 5+ minutes between each go. Never again ;) Two combats in one 6 hour session. Ouch. [/QUOTE]

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