Ways You Simplify Your D&D Game?

RFisher said:
I try to have all my possible ACs, attack boni, & damage prefigured on my character record so I just have to pick the right line for the current situation. To speed up play, I roll attack & damage & multiple attacks all at once as much as possible.


That's a good one.

The main "rule" I have is that we assume the characters can make enough money doing little odd jobs around town - teaching music or playing in taverns for the bard, teaching swordplay to spoiled aristrocrats for fighters, etc. - to pay for basic living expenses. Therefore, treasure is for spending on adventuring. Saves having to remember to deduct living expenses, etc.

jtb
 

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RFisher said:
I try to have all my possible ACs, attack boni, & damage prefigured on my character record so I just have to pick the right line for the current situation. To speed up play, I roll attack & damage & multiple attacks all at once as much as possible.

I do the same basic thing. I'll have some typical combat actions laid out with all the modifiers already taken care of.

We also use a 32 point buy and the Half + .5 Hit Point System.
 

Thanks for the info, scargrad.



diaglo said:
coming from the guy who ambushed the BBEGal while she was getting reeady to take a bath.

Hey, that is not romantic fantasy. If we had a bard seduce her so that we could ambush her during the bath, that might qualify.
 

JoeBlank said:
Hey, that is not romantic fantasy. If we had a bard seduce her so that we could ambush her during the bath, that might qualify.

How is that supposed to work? "Hey, honey, I would consider having a rough night with you, but you stink. Go take a bath or something!" Doesn't sound as if it would work (unless the BBEGal is desperate, but that's not BBEGal-Like)
 

Keeper of Secrets said:
One of the major things I do is not totally stat out bad guys. If I need to have a higher level orc or something, I am not going to go through all the work of creating an orc class, then advancing him. I will just say 'well, he's got 4 levels higher, +4 higher BAB, an AC of 19, etc. It would simply take too much prep work to worry about a dude who is possibly going o be killed in 4 rounds.



I keep a document at-table with all of the monster stats I've made, printed off and ready to use. Lots of pages of fine print, but if I need a stat quickly, it's still better than the MM (already includes templated & advanced creatures, homebrews, and those stolen...ahem...borrowed from EnWorld).
 

Jeff Wilder said:
I play a 14th level mystic theurge. Do you have any idea just how many spells are available to that character? Finding them in the stack of index cards you require would waste far more time than looking them up in a book.

(On the other hand, I do note the source and page number for any non-core spell he prepares.)

31 cleric and 22 wizard, perhaps? Plus, arguably, another 6 for possible spontaneous cure/inflicts.

So a total of 53 cards on the table, which you can sort into two piles ordered alphabetically, by level, or by likely use.

Perhaps its because most of my players also play Magic: The Gathering, but they can get through a stack of 31 cards in about a tenth the time it takes them to look through one book that's likely to be in a box under the table - much less multiple books for non-core spells!
 

Another thing I do is use 1d10 for initiative, rolling each round, with the possibility of simultaneous initiative. Then I call down the round, and make players responsible for when they get to act. Of course, I have a party of eight.
 

Figure out take 10 for most skill checks and turning checks and use. Figure out take 20 when needed.

Rarely rely upon skill checks, usually just adjudicate based on ability, character, and situation.

Dodge is flat +1 bonus.

Powers, Feats, and Spells must be written out in text file for easy DM reference (we mostly game by yahoo group).

I've convinced the divine casters to take the spontaneous divine caster options from UA, it saves a lot of time in choosing daily assortments (only significant holdover is the wizard arcane trickster).
 

MoogleEmpMog said:
31 cleric and 22 wizard, perhaps? Plus, arguably, another 6 for possible spontaneous cure/inflicts.

So a total of 53 cards on the table, which you can sort into two piles ordered alphabetically, by level, or by likely use.

Perhaps its because most of my players also play Magic: The Gathering, but they can get through a stack of 31 cards in about a tenth the time it takes them to look through one book that's likely to be in a box under the table - much less multiple books for non-core spells!

Except that is only how many are prepared at one time in a game day. Since the character can change spells from day to day or leave slots open to fill in later in the same day the cards must include every one the character can choose to prepare. And there are a ton of cleric spells in the srd/PH alone.
 

Voadam said:
Except that is only how many are prepared at one time in a game day. Since the character can change spells from day to day or leave slots open to fill in later in the same day the cards must include every one the character can choose to prepare. And there are a ton of cleric spells in the srd/PH alone.

But the extra cards don't have to be on the table. They can be in a box, from which they can be retrieved at the player's leisure during a "rest period."

I haven't heard many complaints about d20's resting system being too slow, but a great many about its combat system.
 

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