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1 year ago ::
May 01, 2012 - 2:04AM
#11
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> pre-roll your dice and do the math while others are taking their turns. This is reliant on the DM providing the creatures' defensive stats, which not all of them do... but probably should. Yes, many of us can flap our gums about 'the old days' when such information was a closely-guarded secret, but that doesn't change the fact that the game runs FAR more quickly if the players can resolve things without needing a constant back and forth about basic things like a monster's AC.
It also relies on the honesty of the players because if everyone is rolling the dice, the DM can only pay attention to one person at a time...
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1 year ago ::
May 01, 2012 - 8:21AM
#12
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outlaw cellphones at the table. The two females in my group are constantly checking txts, playing games etc. It drives me crazy, because I generally know what I want to do, and get it done with a quickness...then have to wait while the chicks put down their phones, dig through their character sheets...and at the end of the day, decide to MBA.
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1 year ago ::
May 01, 2012 - 9:44AM
#13
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Date Joined:
Oct 24, 2001
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It also relies on the honesty of the players because if everyone is rolling the dice, the DM can only pay attention to one person at a time...
I was always under the assumption that playing D&D relied on the honesty of the players.
Here are the PHB essentia, in my opinion: - Three Basic Rules (p 11)
- Power Types and Usage (p 54)
- Skills (p178-179)
- Feats (p 192)
- Rest and Recovery (p 263)
- All of Chapter 9 [Combat] (p 264-295)
A player needs to read the sections for building his or her character -- race, class, powers, feats, equipment, etc. But those are PC-specific. The above list is for everyone, regardless of the race or class or build or concept they are playing.
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1 year ago ::
May 01, 2012 - 10:40AM
#14
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Date Joined:
Jun 15, 2004
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You might also check out the Compilation Thread of Combat Accelerators
This. fwiw, my biggest accelerators are:
1) Use average damage
2) For area attacks: roll a d20 next to each affected miniature.
3) Run initiative swiftly: tell people when they are on deck, move onto the next PC if one isn't ready, etc. For me, I just have all monsters act on the same initiative. Player initiative determines who goes before the monsters on the first round, but after the monsters act the players can generally go in any order they wish (thanks to delaying and such).
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1 year ago ::
May 01, 2012 - 1:52PM
#15
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I think one d20 roll for an area or close attack would make combats much quicker, but only if you have bursters and blasters in your games. I'm not sure how you handle critical hits in that situation.
mvincent's initiatve order makes a lot of sense, especially the part about delaying unready players.
Except for crits, using average damage sounds good.
Pre-rolling is great. You don't have to tell your player's whether their attacks hit until their turn, and savvy players will have an idea of the defenses they care about within a couple of turns of attacking the same target.
Halving HP is a good way to go with your monsters.
I've played in serveral speed runs of heroic tier LFR modules. It can be a blast. Black Knight of Arabel was the one I think we've done this with the most.
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1 year ago ::
May 01, 2012 - 11:31PM
#16
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Date Joined:
Oct 19, 2008
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I have a current rule where bloodied value or more damage at once drops a target to 0 hp. For monsters, this means death (or unconsciousness if the player decided to knock the target out), and for players it means dying. The strikers of the party in particular seem to just outright slay things with this one, but crit on a 2d6+int flaming hands spell torched a guy in a hit.
My players are indeed lower level, just to note.
"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody." --Bill Cosby (1937- )Vanador: OK. You ripped a gateway to Hell, killed half the town, and raised the dead as feral zombies. We're going to kill you. But it can go two ways. We want you to run as fast as you possibly can toward the south of the town to draw the Zombies to you, and right before they catch you, I'll put an arrow through your head to end it instantly. If you don't agree to do this, we'll tie you this building and let the Zombies rip you apart slowly. Dimitry: God I love being Neutral. 4th edition is dead, long live 4th edition.Salla: opinionated, but commonly right. fun quotes
Show
You have to do the work first, and show you can do the work, before someone is going to pay you for it.
If you can't understand how someone yelling at another person would make them fight harder and longer, then you need to look at the forums a bit closer.
quote author=56832398 post=519321747]Considering DnD is a game wouldn't all styles be gamist?
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1 year ago ::
May 02, 2012 - 10:02AM
#17
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Date Joined:
Jun 15, 2004
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Except for crits, using average damage sounds good.
Crits are still max damage of course, but you can still average the extra crit damage. Interestingly: average crit damage (thanks to extra dice and such) is often similar to double regular average damage.
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1 year ago ::
May 02, 2012 - 11:53AM
#18
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Date Joined:
Feb 14, 2009
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i use different coloured dice and have some area attack dice on the table with corresponding pegs (small versions of clothes pegs from a craft shop) that are the same colour. when making an area attack, or even just multiple attacks, the pegs are placed next to the targets and then all dice are rolled. this makes enemy attacks on the party quicker, one damage roll as normal and you can just read out "vs fortitude hit deals 20 points of poison damage" or whatever. whoever controls the initiative tracker informs a player that they are next as the player before starts their turn. i am considering using forced delays too. as dm damage i use matching dice there too, if there are 5 minions attacking the party pegs get placed next to whoever is getting attacked and i roll all the dice in one go, works for non-minions too you just end up with big fistfuls of dice.
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1 year ago ::
May 02, 2012 - 1:54PM
#19
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Date Joined:
Oct 24, 2001
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I like just about all of the suggestions others have offered here except for one:
one d20 roll for an area or close attack would make combats much quicker
This makes every area/close attack into an all-or-nothing attempt, and in my opinion defeats the purpose of these kind of attacks. It creates "swinginess" in order to gain speed. Instead, I would consider having the player roll all of the attack dice at the same time and even go so far as to let them arrange them toward whichever opponents they wish. Adding meta-game to gain speed is more acceptable to me than adding swing.
Here are the PHB essentia, in my opinion: - Three Basic Rules (p 11)
- Power Types and Usage (p 54)
- Skills (p178-179)
- Feats (p 192)
- Rest and Recovery (p 263)
- All of Chapter 9 [Combat] (p 264-295)
A player needs to read the sections for building his or her character -- race, class, powers, feats, equipment, etc. But those are PC-specific. The above list is for everyone, regardless of the race or class or build or concept they are playing.
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