Gorgon Zee
Hero
Thinking over the game systems I play regularly, three rounds does seem about right for a combat-heavy game. For a combat light game, one roll (or none, in DramaSystem where typically my players agree who wins combat without rolling ...).
In D&D 4E, your cool thing takes a round to set up, very often, so you have a set-up round, a cool thing round and a round for your fallback / regular routine.
In 13A, similar, except that characters have varying approaches. My monk, for example, really likes to get to the third round for their finishing move!
Deadlands Classic (pre Savage Worlds) is slow fiddly combat. Three rounds often have characters doing the same sort of thing, but the first round is engagement and often causes much confusion.
Fate -- I'm not honestly sure here. Combat isn't as defined a thing, but when I care about people taking actions in turns, three rounds seems normal before it gets boring.
Throwing my memory back, Since Jonathan Tweet is the OP, when I ran Everyway combats were typically short -- one or two rounds maybe; four would have meant a major battle or a cascade of activity.
So, overall, I think I like the idea of having a default ending mechanism after three rounds, with a caveat that if the players are having fun, it can continue.
In D&D 4E, your cool thing takes a round to set up, very often, so you have a set-up round, a cool thing round and a round for your fallback / regular routine.
In 13A, similar, except that characters have varying approaches. My monk, for example, really likes to get to the third round for their finishing move!
Deadlands Classic (pre Savage Worlds) is slow fiddly combat. Three rounds often have characters doing the same sort of thing, but the first round is engagement and often causes much confusion.
Fate -- I'm not honestly sure here. Combat isn't as defined a thing, but when I care about people taking actions in turns, three rounds seems normal before it gets boring.
Throwing my memory back, Since Jonathan Tweet is the OP, when I ran Everyway combats were typically short -- one or two rounds maybe; four would have meant a major battle or a cascade of activity.
So, overall, I think I like the idea of having a default ending mechanism after three rounds, with a caveat that if the players are having fun, it can continue.