D&D 5E Some Tips for Smoother, Faster Play

[Charlaquin]

I think this exchange is important. Pacing is a means to an end. You appear to value spending your session time on the content of an adventure, and prefer not to spend your session time on the IC deliberation of goals, IC strategic planning, or non-adventure-relatated inter-PC interaction. The pacing advice you gave in the OP is well-tailored to controlling pacing in a way that emphasizes how you and your group want to spend your session time.

I think pacing advice for a group that prefers to spend their session time on the game elements you're trying to demphasize would necessarily look very different. The good advice in the OP might be even more helpful if it explicitly acknowledged that it's intended for maximizing the amount of adventure content in each session, and that it comes at the cost of skipping over other types of IC interaction.

To be fair, the OP does specify that these practices were compiled in response to comments that Iserith’s group “covered more ground in 2 hours of text-based roleplay than [other DMs’ groups] covered in 5 hours of live play.” I would think if the idea of covering large amounts of game content in short periods of time didn’t appeal to someone, they would know the advice would not be helpful to them.

 

[iserith]

Right. If you're looking for more campfire discussions about orcs that last the whole session, I recommend getting to Lanefan's house around 8 pm when they're serving snacks and drinks. Game's at 7:30 pm, but they don't get started till 8:30 pm.

By 8:30 pm in my game, we're deep in the adventure.

But anyway most of my advice doesn't necessarily have to mean the same focus on pacing that I have. Even bold adventurers have to shop sometime. If you want to play that out, go for it.

 

[Xetheral]

To be fair, the OP does specify that these practices were compiled in response to comments that Iserith’s group “covered more ground in 2 hours of text-based roleplay than [other DMs’ groups] covered in 5 hours of live play.” I would think if the idea of covering large amounts of game content in short periods of time didn’t appeal to someone, they would know the advice would not be helpful to them.

Personally I didn't interpret "cover more ground" as necessarily referring to adventure content. Nor do I think that game content and adventure content are synonymous. Having read the thread and the expanded explanations therein, I can see how the "cover more ground" bit could be interpreted as limiting the advice to a particular playstyle, but that wasn't evident to me when I first read the OP. It came across as intended to be a list of generally applicable best practices.

 

[Shiroiken]

That happened a lot at in-person games back before I transitioned into almost exclusively online play. Personally when I want to play D&D, I prefer to do it online now.

My group is an online group! My last IRL group usually started 1-2 hours late because we were playing 3 Dragon Ante

I encourage my groups to get on Discord 15 minutes before the game to socialize and that works really well. When the clock strikes 7 pm, everyone snaps into game mode and it's on.

I may need to steal this. Our game officially starts at Noon, but usually doesn't start until until 15-30 minutes after (often it's usually 1 person running late). I'll probably start the call beforehand, even if the DM isn't ready, so that the socializing can get out of the way.

 

[MostlyHarmless42]

Perhaps, but if the low-stakes stuff e.g. campfire chats is completely cut out I think something is very much lost from a game.

Ironically enough, the forced switch to temporary online games due to the plague has actually helped us figure out a workaround for this. We use a discord server for game logistics and have set up several "fireside chat" text channels for any sort of scene one of us would seem as not necessarily essential to be played out mid session or any scene that only really involves one player. It has worked quite well so far and means that anyone can read the chats later if they wish, but also means that the game can keep flowing as well. I'd highly recommend it.

Also, for those people who have habitually tarried or unfocused players, I recommend that you deliberately give the group about 15 minutes to socialize at the start of each session. It helps to get people focused and remain on task and can be done before the official start time as well.

Honestly? For us the biggest slowdown is one of two things: either the party suffers severe decision paralysis for literally everything remotely resembling a choice as a party, or a frustratingly slow time adding up basic math when rolling dice. I myself and heavily guilty of this latter crime, and find keeping track of monster health to be incredibly difficult. I've tried just about everything I can think of but I am simply bad at math and it is much to my game's detriment.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Maybe @iserith's advice appeals to me because I think I share the same gaming preferences. I can't stand long deliberations about plans, or endless preparations, or shopping trips. I won't go into a long digression about roleplaying, but in general having players act out the aspects of their character that you already know, and do the things you already know they are going to do, is not very interesting. It's the surprising moments of roleplaying that are invaluable. So you don't need very much of it to establish a really rich character.

One thing I'll note regarding "call to adventure" and planning and even plot: I suspect preferences here relate to another debate that pops up from time to time about the nature of challenges and how they are resolved. When the DM has a particular solution in mind, e.g. "the players need to find the password that is written in draconic in the locked box in the captain's cabin" then the players know they had better find the right solution, or one of the right solutions, to the DMs puzzle, and therefore they'd better make sure their plan is a good one. Or they're going on the right adventure. Or whatever.

Conversely, when the DM only has challenges but not specific solutions in mind, then there is no correct course of action: all courses of action are equally valid. The players will (eventually) realize this, and spend less time planning and preparing and debating. Instead of needing to find the password written in draconic and locked in the box in the captain's cabin, the players just need to discover the password. Any approach they take to solving this has a chance of success.

 

[Lanefan]

Personally I didn't interpret "cover more ground" as necessarily referring to adventure content. Nor do I think that game content and adventure content are synonymous.

This.

It matters not to me whether an adventure takes two or five or fifteen sessions to play out as long as people seem to be enjoying themselves. There can, however, be much more to it than just the adventures; starting with (but not limited to) downtime activities.

 

[Lanefan]

Ironically enough, the forced switch to temporary online games due to the plague has actually helped us figure out a workaround for this. We use a discord server for game logistics and have set up several "fireside chat" text channels for any sort of scene one of us would seem as not necessarily essential to be played out mid session or any scene that only really involves one player. It has worked quite well so far and means that anyone can read the chats later if they wish, but also means that the game can keep flowing as well. I'd highly recommend it.

Sounds cool, though the concept of not-in-person play doesn't hold much appeal for me in general.

Also, for those people who have habitually tarried or unfocused players, I recommend that you deliberately give the group about 15 minutes to socialize at the start of each session. It helps to get people focused and remain on task and can be done before the official start time as well.

It'll happen whether I deliberately give 'em the time or not, I know these people well.

Honestly? For us the biggest slowdown is one of two things: either the party suffers severe decision paralysis for literally everything remotely resembling a choice as a party, or a frustratingly slow time adding up basic math when rolling dice. I myself and heavily guilty of this latter crime, and find keeping track of monster health to be incredibly difficult. I've tried just about everything I can think of but I am simply bad at math and it is much to my game's detriment.

Fortunately these two particular problems rarely crop up here; I'm good enough at simple math to get by, and I've players (one in particular, but he's not always alone) who if things grind to a halt won't let them stay that way for long: something rash will be done.

 

[Lanefan]

Right. If you're looking for more campfire discussions about orcs that last the whole session, I recommend getting to Lanefan's house around 8 pm when they're serving snacks and drinks. Game's at 7:30 pm, but they don't get started till 8:30 pm.

That's OK: you newcomers can roll up yer characters while the rest of us are pouring drinks and making snacks. Roll up two each, you might need them. Shouldn't take more than 15 minutes each if someone steps you through it; it'll take longer the first time or two if you have to read the instructions.

Though you'll have to wait until the plague passes; I'm on hiatus right now other than running a solo campaign with my wife as player.

But anyway most of my advice doesn't necessarily have to mean the same focus on pacing that I have. Even bold adventurers have to shop sometime. If you want to play that out, go for it.

Particularly if said shopping involves potentially acquiring magic items, hells yeah it's played out!

 

[MostlyHarmless42]

Fortunately these two particular problems rarely crop up here; I'm good enough at simple math to get by, and I've players (one in particular, but he's not always alone) who if things grind to a halt won't let them stay that way for long: something rash will be done.

One of my players can be a tad slow with the math as well, aside from them they are generally quick. The problem I run into is mostly with myself, especially when dealing with multiple monsters (i.e. hordes of goblins, kobolds, etc.). I tend to mitigate my slower combat speeds by using minion rules ala 4e and try to keep the roleplaying up even in combat.

My party tends to be much more into roleplaying, so thankfully it is not unheard of for them to go multiple sessions without combat. It's kind of amusing though because I've got several players who've literally played this game for years now and have never done nor have ANY desire to do a legitimate "dungeon crawl" game. The closest they've had was the Amber Temple in CoS.

Honestly if I could convince them to try savage worlds or call of cthulhu I'd switch systems in a heartbeat as I feel like those systems better fit our playstyle, but alas trying to find players for any game but D&D or pathfinder is like pulling teeth.