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ShortQuests -- individual adventure modules! An all-new collection of digest-sized D&D adventures designed to plug in to your game.

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jacob Lewis" data-source="post: 9887367" data-attributes="member: 6667921">I've given this some thought. I have been going through this process myself with my own projects, so it has been on my mind for a while. It's possible, but I would not frame it that way.If combat is "important" to the game and takes up 200 pages of the manual, then an equal amount might be required to make the other parts at least as "important". And by "pages", I mean rules, options, etc. So rather than increase everything else to match the tediousness of a complicated combat system, reduce the emphasis for combat to make room at the table for more of everything else. Balance is the key.This goes back to what I wrote previously about <a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/lets-talk-about-character-resources-to-power-abilities.718368/post-9886916" target="_blank">The One Ring</a>. If a system creates more shared space to generate an equal amount of tension, engagement, and fun for the player in all parts of the game, then that would be a step in the right direction. (Or to me, a step in the right direction towards a kind of game I could enjoy more.)But more subsystems creates more rules and more game loops, things you have to learn, remember, and look up during play. If they can integrate themselves into a singular game loop instead of switching gears each time the players engage a different activity, that could make a huge difference. Ideally, it should allow fair and proportionate amounts of time to focus on each activity without feeling a prolonged shifting of gears during play.In games where combat is loaded with options, conditions, and bloated numbers, while everything else in the game is resolved with a single die roll, your time and attention in these different areas are disproportionate. You're not thinking about rations, torches, or the lock on a chest during a fight. You're waiting for your next turn to become a participant in the game again. After 30 minutes of a slogfest, you're probably forgetting the goal of the story, and perhaps even the plot. Long fights can be slow, boring, and pull players out of the narrative parts of the game.Anyway, I hope these discussions continue and help some folks to figure out a solution for themselves. Whether they find an existing game that meets their needs, or an idea they can steal to make their current one better, it's really about what we want to make ourselves happy. I should get back and work on mine now. Cheers! <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="🍻" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f37b.png" title="Clinking beer mugs    :beers:" data-shortname=":beers:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" /></blockquote>

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