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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pawsplay" data-source="post: 5520348" data-attributes="member: 15538">The claim was that it would add "significant" time. I don't see a strong relationship between tactical choices and time. Irrespective of its merits as a game, and I understand a lot of people are big 4e fans, 4e has a particularly poor combat length/tactical interest ratio. GURPS is nittier-grittier and faster, Hero System offers a similar level of tactical interest and variation in abilities with a significant boost in combat speed, and so forth. 4e's slow combats are directly a result of: low lethality, relatively modest and situational bonuses to damage and accuracy, an assumption that powerful attacks will be the result of several PCs working in concert, and a monster tiering system that assumes numerous, high competency but low durability monsters at one end, and high competency, very high hit point monsters at the other end. Slow combats are the price 4e has to pay for avoiding swinginess, avoiding showboat moments, and an encounter structure that favors drawn out resolutions (i.e. grindiness). Tactical choices are just not that "significant" compared to those factors.</blockquote>