RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Okay, a survey for you all out there: How long does your TYPICAL D&D/Vampire/Rifts/etc. gaming session last? I know we've all had our record-setting games (for myself, the longest single game session was 32 hours), but I just want to know how long your games usually take. Mine typically start at about 9 pm and run until about 3 am, so my gaming sessions are usually 6 hours long, give or take an hour. Sometimes we start a little early, sometimes we run a little late, but for the most part, 6 hours is about it.
I want to know, then, the habits of the other gamers out there. Any people who ROUTINELY run 12, 16, or 20 hour game sessions? Anyone who manages to cram a night's adventure into 4 hours? Or even 2?!? Discuss and post your usual playing time here. Also, include the hours your games span like I did so that we can tell if you're an all-nighter, a bright-and-early type, or a mid-afternoon gamer.
Director of Narrative
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Our games run on Sunday afternoons. We aim to meet up at 5pm and wrap up near midnight. Take into account that there is almost always someone showing up late or having to leave early. I used to play and run after-game games before I got this day job, and those would run anywhere from 3-5 hours.
I would say that we play about 5hrs total time with the smoke breaks and talking taking up the remainder.
Our games run most Fridays from 7 to midnight, so about five hours tops. Sometimes we go over, but more often we'll start late cuz someone has to work late. We shoot for every Friday, but summer and Nov/Dec holiday season it's more like 3/month. Back in grad school, we'd start at noon on a Friday and go til whenever people started passing out, usually early am Saturday. Those were the days!
We start around 7 every week on Fridays and go until about 10. It works well because it's very easy to set aside a small block of time each week, and big marathon sessions are life-drainers. We can sleep in on Saturday if it runs late, and since all of us have time-consuming, stressful jobs, the idea of doing anything that requires energy after work is a pretty fantasy (our DM works 60+ hour weeks, his wife works in a lab, my fiancee and I are both teachers, etc.).
We're all adults and we play Friday nights after work, so games end in yawns more often than not.
We start around 6:30 pm, end around 11:30 pm, and usually have a distracted half hour of pizza consumption in the middle.
-- Scott
We play once every month or 6 weeks and we typiclly start at 11:00 or noon and play till we can't think straight...usually around 1 or 2AM.
As ever,
ACE
I run my GH campaign from 1pm to about 7pm, then we all switch characters and I switch DM chairs and get to play in my friend's FR campaign from about 7:30pm to about 1am.
Last weekend we played until 4:10 a.m. but that was most certainly an abberation.
We play every other weekend on Saturdays.
We typically play on a Wednesday or Thursday night, from 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. until 11:30 - 12:30. Thus, the average session lasts 4-5 hours. We're lucky if we can play once every 2 weeks. And often, we'll play what should be a short adventure over the course of a month or 2 (real time), and then not play for months afterwards due to other commitments... which totally stinks, but such is life. I daydream D&D everyday, though!
Longest session ever was someting like 16 hours I think, back when I was in high school (or junior high???)... ah, those were the days...
My group gets together every 3 to 4 weeks (that's more an indictment on the DM - me - than my players, some of whom would love to play every week, I just don't have the time). But when we do meet, it is on a Saturday and we play from 9 to 6. Long enough to advance the storyline, but no so long as to wear us out.
Our game sessions last roughly 7-8 hours, once a month on Sundays. 1 ish to 8pm or 9pm.
If we all can coordinate (lot of stuff going on between all of us, our personal lives, careers, and the like), we get together on Tuesdays from 7:30 to 11:00 pm. For a while we managed to do this weekly, but it more or less averages out to a bi weekly game.
Last game was 6 hours (Friday night) and that is pretty typical. Nights with long fight scenes tend to be bit longer; or if someone is going out of town; perhaps a bit less.
Hi All,
My one group gets together every other Sunday and our games run from 1 PM until 7 PM or 6 hours.
My other group gets together about once a month on a Saturday. We typically start around 10:30 AM and go until around 11 or 12 PM. We usually eat lunch at the table and take an hour and a half to two to go out and grab dinner and take a break. So all totaled we get in around 10 hours or so.
Good gaming,
Mark
We play two seperate campaigns with two seperate DM's (FR & GH back to back) every other Saturday from 1pm till about midnight. Last Saturday we played until 4:00 hrs. as we were finishing up a climactic battle to finish up the Pool of Radiance module.
I also run a weekly SCAP game every Wednesday night from 7:00PM to about 10:30pm.
We play from noon to around 6 pm on Sundays, twice a month. The system has broken down a bit over the summer, but those who can meet, do. We've shifted to an "alternate game" until we can get back on track. Hopefully next month.
For now, we are hitting a fistfull of different old school White Wolf games. Most of which have very tight plot arcs, so a "mini-campaign" lasts 4-6 sessions, then we move on to another game. So the sessions are fairly continuous. The hit and miss summer game is very episodic.
Last time we played D&D it was weekly, Mondays, starting at 7pm and started wrapping up after 11 pm.
my group meets on tuesday nights and tries to run for at least three hours. We usually manage four to five, buton a few occasions it's only been two hours
We have two games a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays. Games start at 3 in the pm and last until 8ish-11ish depending on the day and the crowd.
We have games split up by what group of gamers are available. Right now we are running:
Forgotten Realms
Fantasy 1920's game
Shadowrun
Tyranestra (Hard scifi setting)
Saratiel (Gestalt D&D setting)
We have a few games on deck too, slated to start soon:
Doom3
Crimson Skies
Halflife
Legend of the Five Rings: Iron Crysanthimum Era
Cybergeneration (alternate setting based on a novel one of our players is writing)
Every Sunday, starting at 5pm to about 11pm. Alternating between Star Wars (d20) and my Forgotten Realms Campaign.
We try to game every other Saturday. Players start arriving at my house at eleven a.m. and we start to play around noon. We stop around six o'clock... Either to just stop playing for the day or to eat supper and continue afterwards t'ill around ten o'clock. It depends if players have other plans and if I have enough material ready.
Ultradan
My group plays every Saturday.
We used to get together at 4:00 and play until midnight or so (8 hours, broken up by dinner in the middle), but my 2-year-old son is such a huge distraction that we ended up getting nearly nothing done. Now, we start at 7:00, he sticks around until 10pm or so (when we break for half an hour to drive him around the neighborhood until he passes out) and then get a lot of serious game time in until around midnight.
Given this speed, we took almost 2 months to finish the Whispering Cairn in the Age of Worms AP.
Syrinx
We have two groups:
First plays on Saturday. Starts between 3 and 5pm and runs about 6 hours.
Second plays on Tuesdays after work. Runs about 6-9pm
My group plays every Saturday.
We used to get together at 4:00 and play until midnight or so (8 hours, broken up by dinner in the middle), but my 2-year-old son is such a huge distraction that we ended up getting nearly nothing done. Now, we start at 7:00, he sticks around until 10pm or so (when we break for half an hour to drive him around the neighborhood until he passes out) and then get a lot of serious game time in until around midnight.
Given this speed, we took almost 2 months to finish the Whispering Cairn in the Age of Worms AP.
Syrinx
Distractions? During our game, we have so many children around that distraction takes on a whole new meaning. I think I've forgotten what it's like to play without kids around. One time, I counted 15 children running around our house while we gamed.
You know how an internet video is choppy or fragmented because it's "buffering" while you're watching it? That's how our games are, it seems.
We had two new players for a while who were childless...they stuck around valiantly for part of a year, but now are nowhere to be found.
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Every other Friday from 5:00 to 11:00.
We too have a number of children (ranging from 6 mos. to 5 years) running (or rolling) around creating distractions. The kids like seeing their friends again and the childless adults like to see the kids and be reminded why they don't want any. ;)
Actually, to help the game go a little smoother when we get together, we have been doing a fair amount of information gathering and other roleplaying via email. This has been working very well and it is taking three sessions to get through the TFoE.
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Every other Friday from 5:00 to 11:00.
We too have a number of children (ranging from 6 mos. to 5 years) running (or rolling) around creating distractions. The kids like seeing their friends again and the childless adults like to see the kids and be reminded why they don't want any. ;)
Actually, to help the game go a little smoother when we get together, we have been doing a fair amount of information gathering and other roleplaying via email. This has been working very well and it is taking three sessions to get through the TFoE.
I always wanted to bring a class of high schoolers to Wal Mart with me to buy formula and diapers, and look at what the register says. I think it would perhaps help stem teenage pregnancy rates in this country.
The email for info gathering sounds like a really good idea.When I ever dmed, it drove me crazy that the first 45 minutes of any session existed for bookkeeping and scut work.
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I run my game every sunday from about 3pm to about 10 or 11pm. My group has another ongoing campaign that has just ended that they were playing on thursday nights from about 5 or 6 till 11pm. We have a core group of players who has been in both of these and then a couple others who play in either one game or the other. As for marathon sessions about once a month we get together on a saturday and will just spend the whole day doing a game, normally either using a premade adventure or playing in a system that we don't often play(something like heavy gear or shadowrun or the like). Its fun and lets us get a long game out of our system, normally of the screw around variety, before going back to our more serious campaigns.
I always wanted to bring a class of high schoolers to Wal Mart with me to buy formula and diapers, and look at what the register says. I think it would perhaps help stem teenage pregnancy rates in this country.
I don't think it would stem the rate because of all the WIC, welfare, food stamps (lone star card) and other benefits that people get. (I'm not saying there shouldn't be any of that, don't get me wrong--I don't care how irresponsible the parents are, I don't want their kids to suffer because their parents were idiots)
When I worked in the field during my early years on the PD, we had entire cheap apartment complexes full of nothing but 19 year olds with 3-4 children. There was no motivation to get a job or even finish high school--just keep having kids and stay at home--someone will feed you. Is it wrong to create a society of government dependency? Yes, but I don't have a solution because the kids end up being made anyway and they would just suffer if we got hard core on the parents.
My Age of Worms game meets in a game store and is run on 1st and 3rd Saturday; 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.;
When I worked in the field during my early years on the PD, we had entire cheap apartment complexes full of nothing but 19 year olds with 3-4 children. There was no motivation to get a job or even finish high school--just keep having kids and stay at home--someone will feed you. Is it wrong to create a society of government dependency? Yes, but I don't have a solution because the kids end up being made anyway and they would just suffer if we got hard core on the parents.
Ugh. Welfare Queens. *froths at mouth*
Don't get me started. >:(Anyway game time and kids - the kid that is around during game knows not to disturb us unless it's an emergency during game, but she's of the age where she can entertain herself. (A portable DVD player helps. :D )
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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I suppose I forgot to mention what DAYS we played and how frequently we play. I noticed that a lot of people here only play once or twice a month. I think I would go crazy if I had to wait that long between games!
I play every single Friday and have been for 3 years running. Currently, I'm running a Trinity game (old White Wolf) for 7 players. 2 of those players are moving out of state in a month and I want to finish the story arc before they leave. After they leave, I'll either continue the game for the remaining 5 or we might let one of the players take the DM seat for awhile and run a Star Wars d20 game (because I've been itching to play).
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[I don't think it would stem the rate because of all the WIC, welfare, food stamps (lone star card) and other benefits that people get. (I'm not saying there shouldn't be any of that, don't get me wrong--I don't care how irresponsible the parents are, I don't want their kids to suffer because their parents were idiots)
I always have thought that there should be an "entrance exam" before someone would be allowed to have children.
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I suppose I forgot to mention what DAYS we played and how frequently we play. I noticed that a lot of people here only play once or twice a month. I think I would go crazy if I had to wait that long between games!
We would like to play much more often. Life and practicality get in the way. (A couple of our players live 60 miles away and with the current gas prices, it is hard to justify the cost simply to play a game.)
I nearly did go crazy -- I took off around 4 months after child number 2 was born. It was necessary and good, but I really missed playing and getting together with friends. The every other week thing seems to be a good balance for our group.
We play for two hours most wed. evenings. Currently we are playing space marines and I don't have to GM & I like it.
I suppose I forgot to mention what DAYS we played and how frequently we play. I noticed that a lot of people here only play once or twice a month. I think I would go crazy if I had to wait that long between games!We would like to play much more often. Life and practicality get in the way. (A couple of our players live 60 miles away and with the current gas prices, it is hard to justify the cost simply to play a game.)
I nearly did go crazy -- I took off around 4 months after child number 2 was born. It was necessary and good, but I really missed playing and getting together with friends. The every other week thing seems to be a good balance for our group.
4 months isn't so bad...try seven years. Two years doing post doc work in Washington state where we couldn't find anyone who wanted to play...and then five years of diapers and general exhaustion...Finally, my other half found a bunch of single guys at work who were willing to come to our house so we didn't have to worry about sitters and such...now the kids are hooked and want to play, too.
--Fang
I'm currently playing in the SCAP. That game is on Saturdays and runs for about 5 hours. I'm also playing in another friends personal D&D campaign world on Sundays which runs for about 5 hours as well. On Thursdays I run a Dark Sun game after work that runs for roughly 4 hours. So I guess about 4 to 5 hours is the average for my groups which are made up of people ages 25+.
My old (around this time last year) gaming group would meet usually-every-other-Saturday, starting around 1:00/2:00pm, and wrapping around 11:00pm. There was a definite meal break, and one of the players was a smoker, so we had a few breathers (no pun intended) in there, but it seemed to work out since we all had a handful of other commitments (family, work, other creative projects, etc.).
My current situation is made up of two ongoing games. One group runs every Saturday from 1pm-6pm. Everyone's encouraged to eat beforehand, so we don't have the meal break, and we seem to make progress every week. Every other week, after the main game, we do have a second game (called the "Second Shift") that runs from 7-ish to around 11:00pm.
I'd love to get more game time in (especially as I keep working on my homebrew setting - gonna need to find a time to run that!), but there's the whole work-family-other-projects thing again . . . !
Every Sunday, starting at 5pm to about 11pm. Alternating between Star Wars (d20) and my Forgotten Realms Campaign.
Somebody who plays star wars d20! What up with that? Tell them LIlith, star wars d20 works and is fun. I have been trying to get others to play, I think d20 and star wars should work well and be fun.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Somebody who plays star wars d20! What up with that? Tell them LIlith, star wars d20 works and is fun. I have been trying to get others to play, I think d20 and star wars should work well and be fun.
It is a really cool system, but my only complaint is how they handled Force powers. They're really quite weak. Force Lightning, for example, (the thing that Emperor Palpatine uses all the time) does 3d6 damage at its worst and allows a Reflex save for half. It would take forever to kill anyone but the lowest level characters with that thanks to the hit point system (even if you are using wounds/vitality like SW d20 says to) and nothing prevents them from just running at you and attacking you. In the movies, Force Lightning brought even strong people like Luke Skywalker and Mace Windu to their knees and made them writhe. I think there should be an effect added to it that says a character struck with Force Lightning should have to make a Fortitude save DC 10 + damage taken in order to take any action in the following turn.
That's really my only gripe. The rest of the system is cool.
Every Sunday, starting at 5pm to about 11pm. Alternating between Star Wars (d20) and my Forgotten Realms Campaign.Somebody who plays star wars d20! What up with that? Tell them Lilith, star wars d20 works and is fun. I have been trying to get others to play, I think d20 and star wars should work well and be fun.
It does work, but I wish WotC would release a sourcebook for setting it during the Knights of the Old Republic era. That would rock, a lot. I've found that reading the supplemental, non d20 books are a real assist, especially if you're trying to get a grasp of the bigger picture.
Star Wars d20 is FUN! d20 Modern is FUN! You need the right DM to pull it off, though!
(For the record, the Star Wars DM isn't a big fan of the films, but loves the books and the games. :P )
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Everyone in my group has Saturday and Sunday off, and we pop smoke around 3PM on Friday. Every other week we play Friday, and every even week we play Saturday. Always D&D or AD&D 1E (more often than not, 1E). Games run somewhere in the neighborhood of six hours, on Saturdays (7PM to 1 or 2AM), but can go for 10 hours and more on a Friday session, simply because we start so much earlier (although, our wives make no allowances the next day for sleepy husbands who stayed up too late!). On the off chance one of us has weekend duty (we're all military and hospital), we usually don't play at all. We all have children (and very understanding spouses), so the best gaming usually doesn't happen until 9PM, after the tykes have all gone to beddie-bye.
we pop smoke around 3PM on Friday.
Pop smoke? Is this something new the kids are doing with soda these days?
We don't get to play as often as we'd like. We usually get to play once every other week, from about 6:30 PM until 11:30 PM. Usually it ends up being a weeknight, so it can't go too late.
With highly busy lifestyles, it makes things tough.
I wish we could play every week.
Okay, a survey for you all out there: How long does your TYPICAL D&D/Vampire/Rifts/etc. gaming session last?
weekday games => 3 hours (7 pm to 10 pm)
1/month sunday games => 7 hours (2 pm to 9 pm)
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we pop smoke around 3PM on Friday.Pop smoke? Is this something new the kids are doing with soda these days?
Sorry to all—‘Pop Smoke’ is military colloquial. Smoke grenades, canisters and other pyro have many uses in a combat environment. One use of smoke grenades (they are literally the size of a coke can with a pull ring) is cover and concealment for evasion. Soldiers ‘pop smoke’ when they need to conceal movement, usually in the form of a hasty withdrawal. Soldiers use the term colloquially to mean, ‘go away fast’, and outside of combat the term is almost exclusively used to mean leave a meeting/office/formation, etc. as fast as possible (and hopefully without anyone noticing you’re gone …ha, ha…).
We get together every other Saturday from ~5:30-~11pm, so..around 5.5 hours. Gone are the days of the 24 hour gaming sessions we used to have back in college.
Granted there are times I get together with the college friends, for a weekend of gaming.
Friday Night = Shadowrun for 8 hours.
Saturday = Warhammer 40K for 12 hours
Saturday Night = Shadowrun for 8 hours
Sunday = Warhammer 40K for 6 hours
Sunday Night = Shadow Run for 6 hours
Monday = Drive home on VERY little sleep.
(we're all military and hospital)
I was a medical specialist (old 91-A) back in the 80's in the USAR and we used to game a lot during our 2 week AT, especially when we were in the field. Even our First Sergeant gave it a go for a little while, which was cool to all of us 19-22 year old enlisted brats.
During AIT at Ft. Sam (1985)I used to run a Top Secret game on weekends when we were broke (most weekends, unfortunately) and while on firewatch duty. Great times...(one of our platoon sergeants actually made a young soldier join our game on the weekends because he was borderline alcoholic and he wanted him to do something on the weekend other than drink--he honestly tried to join, but I learned that you can't force someone to play RPGs)
(If you're not in the U.S. military, I apologize, this stuff doesn't mean much to you I'm sure)
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(If you're not in the U.S. military, I apologize, this stuff doesn't mean much to you I'm sure)
USAR-United States Army Reserve
91-A-a military occupational specialty code (e.g. 11B is infantryman).AT-annual training-usually 2 weeks for reservists/guardsmen.
First Sergeant-senior non commissioned officer at the company level
AIT-advanced individual training-usually after basic training, this is where you learn your m.o.s. It takes 5 weeks to 6 months or longer even, depending on your m.o.s.
Firewatch-guard duty in the barracks, to make sure the "barracks don't burn down." Broken up into hourly, 2hour, or 4hour shifts; depends on who's in charge and what people want. GREAT time to do laundry in AIT.
Heathansson (keepin it real for the civvies).