I've got from RPGNow my PDF version of the latest edition of Labyrinth Lord by Goblinoid Games. This new effort by Dan Proctor has more artwork, which I fancy a lot, and corrects some minor details from the previous version. I hope to have it printed and binded soon. I also find really handy Lord Kilgore's idea of printing booklets with pages 1-60 for the players.
If we continue to play every weekend, I hope to end our current campaign (3.5e) before the end of the year. And I say "hope" because we spent last session (9 PM to 3 AM with 1 hour break for dinner) in just one combat. Man, this is so wrong. I guess we're not playing a roleplaying game anymore but a tactical wargame. In combat every decision taken by the players is the result of a maximizing algorithm, and that's what makes the pacing so slow. I have nothing against wargames (hey, RPGs evolved from them and their creators were wargamers first) but it's not what I want to play. At least for now.
I think that kind of thing is a side effect of D+D. I have spent many hours enjoying it, but inevitably we spiral into that mindset. Other games seem less liable to spawn that kind of thinking in my view.
ReplyDeleteSteve.
@Steve - What other games specifically are you talking about? Would you care to share your experiences on the subject? I find it very interesting. Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDelete16 years later and just now reading this post... I have not yet implemented it, but a pending solution to try (as DM) is setting a time limit for player decisions/declarations during combat. Resolution of the mechanics may necessitate looking up rules and spending additional time but the actual decision is where I find players gobble up time too liberally. There can be allowance for lack of clarity from the DM and so in these instances players can be credited "extra time" to understand what they face, but actual choices should be "ready on the line" or the player ought to simply default to a "ready action" for attack on the nearest opponent. Playing Battletech these days, but when I inevitably start a new 3.5 campaign, I'm gonna try to implement this sort of decision time limit idea somehow. Back when I ran 2e, I had players declare their actions as a note on piece of paper at the beginning of each round... maybe something like that but with a 30 second limit added. Players ought to be thinking about their action well before it's their turn to act anyhow. Have you noticed in games, especially now (in 2025), people are spending more time scrolling through cell phones than focussing on the tabletop?
ReplyDeleteExactly! Players should spend their idle time thinking their next move ahead, not start thinking about it when the DM asks. That's why I like AD&D 1e where they declare their actions before initiative. I mostly play online now but in a F2F game I ask for no cellphones at the table. Thanks for your comment!
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