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<blockquote data-quote="Gargoyle" data-source="post: 289785" data-attributes="member: 529">Re: The character thing is resolvedCool.&nbsp; The MA makes a better fighter substitute than a monk, but remember that he will still get hit more often than a fighter at low levels.&nbsp; His AC tends to catch up with fighters later though.An encounter for my group could be a roleplaying encounter, or it could be a fight or chase, or traveling across a wilderness or dealing with NPCs in town;&nbsp; I tend to think of encounters like scenes in a movie.Most of my players are married with kids and don't have a lot of time to game, so we make the most of what we have.&nbsp; A typical session for our group begins with a good fight, sometimes in medias res.&nbsp; (I'll start with &quot;Roll for initiative&quot; then describe the scene.&nbsp; Gets things going.)&nbsp; A combat for us could take an hour or two, depending on how many players are there and the size of the fight.&nbsp; Then we'll usually have a couple of non-combat encounters, such as a bit of dungeon crawling, dealing with wilderness hazards, or roleplaying in a town, then I try to finish with a good fight.&nbsp; We play from noon to five, then I award XP and figure out what they want to do next time.&nbsp; If you have more time, theoretically you'll get more encounters in, but I've found that sticking to a quitting time causes them to stop fooling around and get on with the game.&nbsp; Once you play a couple of sessions, you'll know how much preparation you really need to do.&nbsp; Edit:&nbsp; As far as &quot;where does all the time go?&quot;, D&amp;D just takes longer to play than most people plan for.&nbsp; Roleplaying takes time.&nbsp; Six seconds of combat can take several minutes of time.&nbsp; This is ok, as long as the game doesn't bog down in looking up rules, and the DM isn't neglecting any players, and as long as your combats aren't too slow from using too many house rules or 3rd party products.&nbsp; And don't forget that people are going to want to get snacks, use the restroom, and be social.&nbsp;&nbsp; That's part of why I play.&nbsp; It's an excuse for me to get together with my buddies, as much as it is a fun game.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Gargoyle, post: 289785, member: 529"] [b]Re: The character thing is resolved[/b] [B][/b] Cool. The MA makes a better fighter substitute than a monk, but remember that he will still get hit more often than a fighter at low levels. His AC tends to catch up with fighters later though. An encounter for my group could be a roleplaying encounter, or it could be a fight or chase, or traveling across a wilderness or dealing with NPCs in town; I tend to think of encounters like scenes in a movie. Most of my players are married with kids and don't have a lot of time to game, so we make the most of what we have. A typical session for our group begins with a good fight, sometimes in medias res. (I'll start with "Roll for initiative" then describe the scene. Gets things going.) A combat for us could take an hour or two, depending on how many players are there and the size of the fight. Then we'll usually have a couple of non-combat encounters, such as a bit of dungeon crawling, dealing with wilderness hazards, or roleplaying in a town, then I try to finish with a good fight. We play from noon to five, then I award XP and figure out what they want to do next time. If you have more time, theoretically you'll get more encounters in, but I've found that sticking to a quitting time causes them to stop fooling around and get on with the game. Once you play a couple of sessions, you'll know how much preparation you really need to do. Edit: As far as "where does all the time go?", D&D just takes longer to play than most people plan for. Roleplaying takes time. Six seconds of combat can take several minutes of time. This is ok, as long as the game doesn't bog down in looking up rules, and the DM isn't neglecting any players, and as long as your combats aren't too slow from using too many house rules or 3rd party products. And don't forget that people are going to want to get snacks, use the restroom, and be social. That's part of why I play. It's an excuse for me to get together with my buddies, as much as it is a fun game. [/QUOTE]

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