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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5780673" data-attributes="member: 42582">Even as a generalisation of tendency only, I'm not sure that this is true. It depends fairly heavily on what the expendable resources are, doesn't it? I can't ever remember the group breaking off in order to replenish their supply of iron spikes.Another factor is that the 15 min day is a matter of degree. I found it to be ubiquitous in my RM game. It does not come up in my 4e game. The scenario design in each game is similar. The systems are different - namely, (i) use of dailies is not crucial in 4e in the same way as PP expenditure is crucial in RM, and (ii) action points in 4e make a big difference (for my group at least).I'm sure it's true that you can't fix all problems in encounter design with changes to the system. But I know that it is possible to change a system such that encounters which are, from the point of view of variables that are salient to me as GM (variety of foes, story significance, likely challenge posed to the players and to their PCs, etc), the same, do or do not produce a 15 min problem.I know because I've experienced it.One key element is encounter powers which are designed in such a way as to make the decision to use them non-trivial. This non-triviality can result from a range of reasons, but one common reason is the need to set up a situation that makes the use of the encounter power effective. Which also has the virtue of making the players have to coordinate their PCs' actions - a further dimension of non-triviality. Rolemaster also has a species of encounter power for martial PCs - the Adrenal Move - and when it was announced that 4e would have encounter powers I hoped that they would do the same sort of work that Adrenal Moves do in RM. And happily for me, they do.</blockquote>

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