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Message: <blockquote data-quote="billd91" data-source="post: 5604824" data-attributes="member: 3400">There were styles of play for which the 15-minute day became a pronounced phenomenon in 3e, but it's incorrect to conclude that there weren't elements of a 15-minute day in earlier editions that could appear. In those editions, it was running out of hit points (and the means to heal them) that tended to trigger the effect. If the first fight or two of the day ground out too many hit points and the party healers couldn't compensate, the day could be pretty short. You identify some factors that contributed to a 15-minute day style of play, but those were never the only factors involved. The primary issue is finite resources and how the players evaluate those resources (a major issue with casters going nova on the 'worthwhile' spells in 3e and calling it a day). In 1e/2e, the most limiting resources were hit points and healing spells. 3e alleviated some of that with easy access to healing wands and potions, leaving the issue mainly to high DC, encounter ending spells. 4e healing surges and the relative difficulty of bringing in external healing puts the game back in the realm of healing/hit points being the major factor in 15-minute day play styles.</blockquote>