I would love to see an article giving players and DM's a like strategies to increase the pace of combat and/or offer rules to improve this.
Currently as the party rises in levels the amount of attacks each gains also increases. A Ranger can have as much as 7 attacks a round and a wizard can cast two spells.
Monsters number of attacks and abilities also increase making combat a slow and extremely lengthy ordeal. Many fights can take the whole gaming session to complete.
Any article addressing this problem will be extremely helpful.:)
Delvesdeep:b:
I would love to see an article giving players and DM's a like strategies to increase the pace of combat and/or offer rules to improve this.
Currently as the party rises in levels the amount of attacks each gains also increases. A Ranger can have as much as 7 attacks a round and a wizard can cast two spells.
Monsters number of attacks and abilities also increase making combat a slow and extremely lengthy ordeal. Many fights can take the whole gaming session to complete.
Any article addressing this problem will be extremely helpful.:)
Delvesdeep:b:
I agree with you - the pace of the game is one of the biggest deterents in our group from playing games past 9th or 10th level.
the only solution I have found so far, is I have made an "encounter management sheet" which keeps track of ebv\verything in combat. I am presently working on the same thing for the PCs, so they will have a sort of "list" of options they lie to use and are more likely to take advantage of some feats.
i am toying with an idea, however, which is based on a single attack roll to hit, regardless of the number of attacks, and then the result of that die roll determines how many attacks (if any) hit their mark. Something like, using the same attack roll for all 2 or 3 or 4 attacks, just applying the different attack modifiers to each. So if you roll a 14 on your attack, and have 2 attacks, +7/2, say, then the one roll gives you two results: A 21 on the first attack, AC 16 on the second.
I'm still working out the particulars, like what if the PC rols a critical threat... But I AM toying with the mechanics and as soon as I have something, I'm sending a query!
As a DM myself I am often faced with this very same quandry.
Over time I have come to realize that it is truly all in the pre-game preparation. I always know the scenario that I am running inside out to the point where I could recite in in my sleep if asked. I have stat cards written up ahead of time for all of the monster as well as the PC's so that I don't have to say "Hey Rob, what's your AC again?" or "Yo Sarah, did your reflex save get lowered by that spider poison?"
I don't know how far back you guys go with Dragon magazine, but there was an article on this very topic within the past two years. I don't have my stuff right next to me right this second, but I'll check my archives and I'll post the issue and such. I hope it'll help...
--OneWingAngel--
Ahh, I found it! Took me a little while but I did find it. Don't know if you have it, but there is an article in Dragon issue #309. The Article is titled: "Shut Up And Roll! 15 Ways to Speed Up Combat" It offers quite a lot of good advice on general speeding up combat.
I applaude all of your efforts and I mean no offense when I say that I think that rolling all attacks in a round as one is a mistake. It increases the randomness and chance of combat. And as the DMG says for almost all such Variant Rules, anything that increases randomness generally favors the underdog. And that is not the PC's. So, think carefully before doing so. Tip #13 from the article suggests that you roll attack and damage dice at the same time for each attack., Even if it misses, you still cut down on the number of rolls, and it is easier to keep track of what weapon you are attacking with (at least for the DM anyway).
I do hope that this has helped somewhat.
--OneWingAngel--