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<blockquote data-quote="Reynard" data-source="post: 3972742" data-attributes="member: 467">For my own part, I try and aim for about 25%, with exploration and NPC interaction taking up the bulk of the play time, but usually hit closer to 1/3 combat and 2/3 other stuff.&nbsp; Sometimes combats run longer than expected, and sometimes dealing with the trap or the informant do too, so I think it mostly washes out.One thing to note is that I don't reduce many things to a simple die roll -- searching for and disarming a trap, for example, isn't just a Search and a Disable Device roll in my games.&nbsp; Where are you looking?&nbsp; How are you trying to manipulate it?&nbsp; That kind of thing.&nbsp; The same can be said for interactions as well -- if a players wants to use Diplomacy or Bluff or some other active interaction skill, it can only happen after the player role-plays the situation.&nbsp; I tend to be more rewarding than punishing though -- really clever or good roleplaying nets a bonus, rather than their being a penalty for not being up to snuff.&nbsp; This kind of thing, I have found, is a sure fire way to reduce the time spent moving minis around on the battleboard if you feel too much play-time is being wasted on fights, and has the added benefit of engaging the players in every aspect of the game, not just the fights.Also, mook rules help -- giving &quot;mooks&quot; 2 or 3 hp per hit die is a great way to have bad guys that still threaten the PCs but aren't expected to be around long. (Of course, doing the opposite with the big guys is a good way to make sure those &quot;end boss&quot; fights don't fall flat -- barring save or die effects or really awesome and/or lucky players -- and in the latter case, good for them!)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Reynard, post: 3972742, member: 467"] For my own part, I try and aim for about 25%, with exploration and NPC interaction taking up the bulk of the play time, but usually hit closer to 1/3 combat and 2/3 other stuff. Sometimes combats run longer than expected, and sometimes dealing with the trap or the informant do too, so I think it mostly washes out. One thing to note is that I don't reduce many things to a simple die roll -- searching for and disarming a trap, for example, isn't just a Search and a Disable Device roll in my games. Where are you looking? How are you trying to manipulate it? That kind of thing. The same can be said for interactions as well -- if a players wants to use Diplomacy or Bluff or some other active interaction skill, it can only happen after the player role-plays the situation. I tend to be more rewarding than punishing though -- really clever or good roleplaying nets a bonus, rather than their being a penalty for not being up to snuff. This kind of thing, I have found, is a sure fire way to reduce the time spent moving minis around on the battleboard if you feel too much play-time is being wasted on fights, and has the added benefit of engaging the players in every aspect of the game, not just the fights. Also, mook rules help -- giving "mooks" 2 or 3 hp per hit die is a great way to have bad guys that still threaten the PCs but aren't expected to be around long. (Of course, doing the opposite with the big guys is a good way to make sure those "end boss" fights don't fall flat -- barring save or die effects or really awesome and/or lucky players -- and in the latter case, good for them!) [/QUOTE]

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