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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 8336380" data-attributes="member: 20323">I struggle with pacing the most.We have 3 hours to play – When do I speed things up by excluding / limiting details or encouraging the players along? What signs do I look for that this would be a good time to slow things down and indulge in more detail? When do I play fast and loose with the rules? When do I narrate the end up combat vs. let them fight to the last Hit Point? When do I let them ruminate and see what their creativity can summon up vs. when do I reinforce / repeat / reintroduce a clue? How do I hit that sweet spot so that by the time our session is up we've reached some kind of a satisfying conclusion or stopping point? How do I balance my desire to cover "a lot of narrative ground" with the players' desires to go deep down the rabbit hole of analysis & detail (or alternatively flights of fancy unrelated to the story)?Pacing is really elusive. Players know when it feels right because there's a sense of flow and dynamism, multiple bases are being hit (in terms of the players' interests / three pillars of play), and the excitement builds in a natural ebb and flow. But it's fragile, and I find myself often trying to get the pacing back or looking for natural opportunities to help the pacing along. Even the most skilled, respectful, and enjoyable players can have a tendency to prioritize their character interests or a particular whim over a sense of pacing. That's the DM's job – in my view – to hold that mindfulness about pacing so the players can enjoy cutting loose and being in the "cockpit" of their characters. It's just really tricky for me to get right.P.S. One of my favorite D&D YouTubers, Zipperon Disney, did a presentation on Pacing for DMs that I found really valuable: [MEDIA=youtube]WWrCxVW3_gg[/MEDIA]</blockquote>

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