Questions...

[CrispinAugustus]

I am a new DM playing through War of the Burning Sky with a few friends who are new to D&D. We have met and played about six times (four hours each time). We are playing 4th ed. All that being said, we finally just started scene three of adventure one. It seems like we are going really slow. Maybe it's because we are new, maybe it's because we are using Fantasy Grounds, but either way, I was just wondering how far along we should be in the campaign after about twenty-four hours of play.

Any comments?

 

[Morrus]

I guess everybody plays at their own speed and in their own style. I've never used any online gaming tools like FG, but I imagine that goes a *lot* slower.

For my own weekly tabletop game, we were well into the second adventure after 24 hours of play.

 

[talarei07]

i have been running it three hours a session once a week for 4 months give or take and we are in the second part of adventure two.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

4E and short sessions don't go too well togther. My group is limited to one session a month that is usually 4 hours. That generally means setup, encouter #1, explore a bit, encouter #2, close out.

With about 10 to 13 encounters to level, your talking half a year to get from 1st level to 2nd!

We are on module #6, and if we were playing it as written... we would be looking at module #7 in about a year or so. We started this campaign when the original 3x module got published.. so its almost two years worth of play now. I hope to finish the adventure arc before I retire!

But like Morrus said, each group has its own pace and style. I have been in groups that could spend the first 24 hours of play and not yet have gotten to the Rotten Apple... they would be too busy with thier backgrounds and intra-party interactions. I have also been at groups that *start* at the Rotten apple and expect to be on to the next combat before breaking out the snacks.

My recommendation.. go at the pace you and your group enjoys.
Welcome to 4E and to the boards!

 

[Blackbrrd]

4E and short sessions don't go too well togther. My group is limited to one session a month that is usually 4 hours. That generally means setup, encouter #1, explore a bit, encouter #2, close out.

Personally I have run a hack-and-slash Tuesday campaign with 4 complex encounters per session in 3-4 hours. An encounter usually takes about 30-45 minutes. In other words, how quick 4e combat is depends on the group.

What 4e does well regarding combat length is that in 3.5 we usually have combats that last 2 rounds, in 4e they last 5 rounds, but take as many minutes. In other words, you get to act 2.5 times as often.

Knowing my group when it comes to inter character relations, planning, etc a session usually has less than 50% time spent in encounters. Most of the time is going to be used by the characters deciding what to do next. This probably is a symptom of a 6-8 player group (+1 dm).