Keldryn
Adventurer
Mike Mearls' latest Legends and Lore column is up:
Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (Combat and Other Forms of Violence)
He talks about combat length, tactical options, and how D&D should allow players to find a balance that suits them.
Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (Combat and Other Forms of Violence)
He talks about combat length, tactical options, and how D&D should allow players to find a balance that suits them.
Ideally, a DM could adjust an encounter to make it run from a few minutes to several hours, depending on how the group likes to play, while also scaling its threat as desired. If AD&D combat was fast but presented few options, modern D&D combat is slow and presents lots of options. Why not let the continuum rest in the group’s hand, or even in a player’s individual hands? Let some players opt for simple characters, and allow others to build complex ones regardless of class. Let some groups speed through fights to get to the roleplaying or exploration, while other groups focus on tough, complex tactical problems.