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<blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 5454983" data-attributes="member: 99">I agree that targeting the maximum is a mistake.&nbsp; But this part of your post brought something to mind that I think plays into the pacing of games.Four hours is generally how long the &quot;slots&quot; are at most of the Cons or Game Days I've ever been to.&nbsp; It seems to be a sort of universally accepted block of time for how long an RPG should take to get something &quot;significant&quot; accomplished.Having run a lot of these games I'm used to designing stuff to fit within that window and I think that has been a big aid to my ability to GM with an eye toward keeping the game moving.&nbsp; I don't run my regular campaigns in strict adherence to this kind of schedule.&nbsp; But I often do urge new GMs (who, IME, often struggle with pacing) to run games &quot;as though you're running it at a Con&quot;.&nbsp; In other words, plan a beginning, a middle and an end of the session and make it clear to the whole group that you WILL get that all accomplished.And I sometimes shoot for this ideal myself.&nbsp; It can be powerful GM stuff to end a session at a dramatic moment rather than having to simply leave off when the clock strikes done.&nbsp; That said I also use some other &quot;tricks&quot; like the cliffhanger ending if we just don't have time for the climactic combat that I'd planned for the end of the night.&nbsp; Instead I'll have the bad guys (or PC's) make their dramatic appearance and then call things over right there so that the next session we start with initiative.My point is that at a Con or Game Day, the group is focusing because they know that there is fun to be had and only 4 hours to have it in.&nbsp; I think that if you instill that concept with your regular campaign group, even if you don't do it every session, then it may get them working together to make sure that they do their best to get to the &quot;end&quot; of the session rather than move at whatever pace happens with all of the typical interruptions, asides and distractions.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rel, post: 5454983, member: 99"] I agree that targeting the maximum is a mistake. But this part of your post brought something to mind that I think plays into the pacing of games. Four hours is generally how long the "slots" are at most of the Cons or Game Days I've ever been to. It seems to be a sort of universally accepted block of time for how long an RPG should take to get something "significant" accomplished. Having run a lot of these games I'm used to designing stuff to fit within that window and I think that has been a big aid to my ability to GM with an eye toward keeping the game moving. I don't run my regular campaigns in strict adherence to this kind of schedule. But I often do urge new GMs (who, IME, often struggle with pacing) to run games "as though you're running it at a Con". In other words, plan a beginning, a middle and an end of the session and make it clear to the whole group that you WILL get that all accomplished. And I sometimes shoot for this ideal myself. It can be powerful GM stuff to end a session at a dramatic moment rather than having to simply leave off when the clock strikes done. That said I also use some other "tricks" like the cliffhanger ending if we just don't have time for the climactic combat that I'd planned for the end of the night. Instead I'll have the bad guys (or PC's) make their dramatic appearance and then call things over right there so that the next session we start with initiative. My point is that at a Con or Game Day, the group is focusing because they know that there is fun to be had and only 4 hours to have it in. I think that if you instill that concept with your regular campaign group, even if you don't do it every session, then it may get them working together to make sure that they do their best to get to the "end" of the session rather than move at whatever pace happens with all of the typical interruptions, asides and distractions. [/QUOTE]

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