D&D 5E Would you play in or run a 2 hour pick up game of D&D ?

[Tovec]

I am kinda surprised by the number of people who think a 2-hour session would be a "waste of time". I am not saying that's an illegitimate position to have, just for me it's a surprising one.

I think that in your questions you might be confusing "waste of time" with "too much effort" and for me at least that isn't the case. It isn't a matter of taking too long to set up, or being too difficult to keep people on target, or anything like that. For me, it is a waste of time I could be spending on doing a session of a campaign. Please note that when I answered No/"waste of time" I was responding mostly to Gundark's EDIT (assume this isn't your normal game night. More an evening where a bunch of friends came over and people wanted to play a game.)

So, assuming it isn't a small session of my normal campaign, then No I don't have an interest in playing DnD as a one off at that length.

I like campaigns because they have purpose they have drive. I feel accomplishment over the course of the game that something has been done or advanced through play. If I'm going to do a one-off adventure then it had better be dripping with atmosphere or very well clear end goal. I have no interest in a single dungeon (assuming I could do a full dungeon in 2 hours) with a boss at the end. It is like asking me if I would like to play a single world/level Mario that has no context on my regular save/progress, instead of playing where I currently am (with all the unlocked worlds and stuff still needing to be collected). And certainly a short game can be fully completed in that time but that will probably be a one-off that I can complete quickly or be something that is dripping with atmosphere that I've done before and will do again because I like the feeling I get while playing it - that's why I've played in WOD/WhiteWolf rulesets during special events at Halloween, but in general (up until recently) have no interest in playing a regular WOD game over my scheduled DnD game, or even just playing it "just because" over my regular game. It isn't that it can't be perfectly fun, because I'm sure I could have some fun defeating a random enemy. But the problem is that in 2 hours of an unrelated game that is all it is .. a random enemy. Not one I care about defeating and so it isn't giving me catharsis for beating him like I would even a SBEG in a regular campaign. And none of that has to do with how long it takes to set up, M prep, or anything like that.

So to answer each of your questions/assumptions in turn:

1) Are some of these claims based on an assumption that the game involves an extensive run-up to get started?

IE Are you expecting time to generate a character, or for extensive DM prep while the players are present, or people talking a lot before the game starts, or a re-cap of recent events in the game, or buying and selling stuff in town before the adventure begins, or other stuff like that?

2) Are some of these claims based on the quantity of time it takes for the DM to prep before the players arrive?

3) Are some of these claims based on the idea that random encounters cannot further a longer cohesive campaign?

1. Nope.
2. Nope.
3. Random encounters (in an unrelated game) cannot beat a regular campaign or even random encounters in a regular campaign, so.. Nope. Or Yes? (yes they cannot beat, no since they are not better? Double negatives are tricky.)

And these can be linked together as the party travels towards their destination as a series of encounters during that travel. No run-up time, no prep time, part of a larger campaign, and lots of fun.

Gundark specifically said, "[A]ssume this isn't your normal game night. More an evening where a bunch of friends came over and people wanted to play a game." So, I don't think the condition you set here is valid.

It isn't matter of not being able to get enough done in 2 hours. It is a matter of not feeling satisfied versus other options in playing DnD that has no relation to anything else (unless dripping.. oh you get it by now).

Whether running/playing a 2-hour, pick-up D&D game is "worthwhile" is a completely subjective thing that depends on the sensibilities of the individual.

Absolutely agreed. Everything I just said above applies to ME, I'm not trying to prescribe it to others.

I can say this: I have been contracted by Wizards of the Coast in the past to create 2-hour events to run as pick-up games at conventions like PAX, GenCon, Comic Con, etc. These events were events that used low-level pre-generated characters, all of which that contained detailed backgrounds that tied the characters to the adventure specifically. Players would sit down, have 10-15 minutes to read the character backgrounds and get acquainted with the rules, and then play. The events were played by both experienced D&D players and people new to the game (either 4e or 5e). I attended some of these conventions, but not all of them. I talked with the DMs who ran these events, and I talked to players who played them.

My issue is this. I wonder which is more satisfying or enjoyable or whatever to the average player:

A draft (opening boosters and attempting to build a deck from those cards) or building a well thought out cohesive deck? One might be fun occasionally or at a convention, but I suspect most build decks (multiples if my friends are any indication) and add cards they want or need for that deck instead of getting random ones from boosters - not to mention the lesser cost of not having to buy boosters all the time in order to play.

I think that a 2 hour adventure is fine. It can even be fun and exciting. It probably even can inspire people to go out and try a full campaign. But it doesn't translate that well when compared to a full campaign. I think there is no comparison at all at that point.

I will also note that I do not use adventures, never have. I see some value in them, but by in large I just pilfer ideas from them more than anything more concrete. So the value in writing adventures is lost on me. Instead I run homebrews, I was brought up on homebrews - especially homebrewed campaign worlds entirely from imagination. I've played briefly in Eberron (one, short lived game) and Faerun (so far one session), so even then I don't use the published material much. But even in those official worlds the DMs have always used homebrewed adventures in the world so take what I said with a grain of salt.

 

[smerwin29]

My issue is this. I wonder which is more satisfying or enjoyable or whatever to the average player [snip].

I will also note that I do not use adventures, never have. I see some value in them, but by in large I just pilfer ideas from them more than anything more concrete. So the value in writing adventures is lost on me. Instead I run homebrews, I was brought up on homebrews - especially homebrewed campaign worlds entirely from imagination. I've played briefly in Eberron (one, short lived game) and Faerun (so far one session), so even then I don't use the published material much. But even in those official worlds the DMs have always used homebrewed adventures in the world so take what I said with a grain of salt.

The issue here is that there is no such thing as an average player. Which is why the vagueness of the question has spawned so many side discussions.

I only played/DMed in homebrew campaigns for 20 years. Then I had the opportunity to write, so I did. Countless people only do homebrew settings and/or homebrew adventures. And countless people only play published adventures in published settings. I was only trying to point out to some people why certain players might actually enjoy a 2-hour pickup game. I don't think anyone is saying that such pick-up games would be preferable to a long-term home game. We're just saying that it is an option that has been enjoyed.

 

[am181d]

D&D is best when it's played over a campaign... so save it for the campaign unless you have no other choice (IMO.)

As someone who has played plenty of absolutely crackerjack convention games spanning 2-4 hours with pregens, I can say: That's a very limiting view point you have there.

Campaigns are also good, but one does not preclude the existence or appreciation of the other.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Even in that scenario, "because it's fun".

By your logic, nobody would ever bother just sitting down and playing RPGs at conventions.

Or perhaps it's just that HE would never sit down and play an RPG at a convention.

Just because a post doesn't include "For me..." written in it, doesn't mean it's not implied.

 

[DEFCON 1]

As someone who has played plenty of absolutely crackerjack convention games spanning 2-4 hours with pregens, I can say: That's a very limiting view point you have there.

Campaigns are also good, but one does not preclude the existence or appreciation of the other.

Yup. If I have 2 hours, I'd prefer to play Fiasco rather than a one-off D&D game. You want to call that limiting, that's fine.

By the same token... if you're all about playing 2-hour convention games, I'd ask why you are limiting yourself to those when there are so many board game options you could try too. One-off con games are also good, but one does not preclude the existence or appreciation of the other.

 

[am181d]

Yup. If I have 2 hours, I'd prefer to play Fiasco rather than a one-off D&D game. You want to call that limiting, that's fine.

By the same token... if you're all about playing 2-hour convention games, I'd ask why you are limiting yourself to those when there are so many board game options you could try too. One-off con games are also good, but one does not preclude the existence or appreciation of the other.

I do those things too, of course. You seem to be making my point for me!

If you go to a convention, odds are you're going to want to do a mix of many different things. When I was at GenCon last year, I played: D&D, Pathfinder, Fiasco, Champions, Weis Marvel RPG, old school DC Heroes, Star Wars, Settlers of Catan, King of Tokyo, a FANTASTIC card game called Love Letter, some Hanabi, and... um... Probably a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting.

Certainly if I had played three days of Fiasco it would have worn on me after a while!

 

[Agamon]

It's all a matter of taste. I personally don't like adventure board games like Descent, Mice & Mystics, Runebound or the WotC D&D games. They bore me. I think a really well run, different, and exciting convention RPG game would be fun. But a short, typical RPG session with no context would bore me, as well.

But those board games I mentioned are popular, so a lot of people have differing opinions. Go figure.

 

[Mistwell]

Or perhaps it's just that HE would never sit down and play an RPG at a convention.

Just because a post doesn't include "For me..." written in it, doesn't mean it's not implied.

I assumed "why bother" was a question. not a statement of personal preference.

 

[Primal]

Why can't you have two-hour pick-up games as part of a larger campaign? I just outlined how that's done (and how I have done it) above. I assume your players sometimes travel overland from one location to another, and a pickup game can be encounters in various hexes they travel through while on the way to the distant location. You can do the same with a dungeon as well, though the structure is slightly different.

I simply don't think two-hour sessions are worth all the trouble, from everyone's perspective -- especially as half the players in my group live in different towns. If you have to drive three hours to play, a two-hour session might not seem like worth it. And even if you decide to do it, every second has to be dedicated to RPing. It takes time to get into character, and there's always off-game discussions, so how much of that time is really spent on gaming? An hour? Perhaps hour and a half? And just when you're getting excited about playing, it's time to pack up and head home.

I and my friends prefer gaming on weekends, usually approx. 8-10 hours per day. Even though we don't get to play that often these days, I still prefer it this way to more frequent but shorter sessions.

 

[Henry]

Okay picture the scene, you've got a few friends over and you decide to play a game. You've only got a few hours together and you have a few options. You could play a board game, or you could have a game of Magic the gathering or you could play a game of basic D&D.

So how many of you would op for the game of D&D?

EDIT: assume this isn't your normal game night. More an evening where a bunch of friends came over and people wanted to play a game.

Operative word: Friends. If I like the people I'm gaming with, I'm up for a two hour session of Tic-Tac-Toe: the RPG. Hell, if D'shai is running, it's probably because he found a way to make games of tic tac toe into a fun resolution mechanic for one of his custom RPGS.