In an attempt to develop a system to speed up combat for my party I have been thinking of this core question.
Why Does combat take so long in D&D?
A) Is it because players have so many options? B) Is it because the "encounters" have too many pieces on the board? C) Is it because the combat abilities take too many steps to resolve their outcome? D) Or is it because the players spend too much time on their "move"? E) ? F) ?
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
In my experience, the number one factor is player's taking too long to take their turns. This can be for a number of reasons ranging from general indecisiveness, not knowing their class well enough or because they weren't paying attention.
It is incredibly frustrating.
Use the time on other people's turns to watch the combat and be thinking about what you are going to do on your turn.
However, with that said, I'd say the 2nd reason is when you start getting to the higher levels where not only the players but enemies have multiple attacks. That's why many regard levels 3-10 as the sweet spot.
In my experience it’s the players taking too much time for their turns for a variety of reasons.
There are 200 different solutions to that ranging from using an egg timer to time how long each player has for their turn to reminding everyone which player is up next during combat so they’re prepared.
My suggestion is work with the people you’re playing with to try to speed things up.
Talking during combat should be by "short utterances". Planning is not allowed, and everyone at my table is expected to be ready on their turn. To help with that, I try to tell people when they are on deck.
90% of the time it’s player speed. As a dm we often run 4-10 creatures at a time. Some with varying abilities and bonuses. And often we are done before some players who have a single turn.
it’s a combination of indecision, not paying attention, not knowing your character, and some other factors. Even when you have a metric tonne of stuff at like 20th level it doesn’t take that long to do a thing. A wizard casts a spell. Maybe a bonus action. Sure maybe they need to do some maths to add up dice but provided they thought about their turn beforehand it’s just a matter of picking a spell and a target.
Fighters, rogues and other martial s just have to think about positioning, and who gets hit first. And if you have 4-5 turns between each of yours that’s plenty to have a provisional plan.
don’t get me wrong. Dms occasionally decide to take ages with hordes but even then you can make that faster. Roll a bunch of d20s at once and for each hit take the average damage. Done. Use horde rules where if they take damage they die (if they are a swarming tiny minion). No tracking anything.
Overcrowded tables also slow things down too. 4-5 players is the sweet spot imho. And playing in games with 7 or more really does make things slower. If even a single person isn’t ready things grind to a halt. If it takes half an hour between your turns you mentally check out, and that slows your turn down.
ideally turns should take between 30-60 seconds (not a hard and fast rule but a good goal excluding if someone just threw something that requires a lot of addition, or for throwing description or roleplay around). If people start having to wait 10-30 minutes between turns, that’s a problem.
One of the methods that has helped me speed up my own playing is to build a "cheat sheet" for my character similar to how I would build an NPC Statblock. I have a pair of preferred combat actions, melee and ranged, and a generic strategy. I'll skim my spells between rounds, but if nothing specifically jumps out at me, then I'll automatically roll with my default options when my turn comes around. By not worrying about "optimizing" each round of combat, a player can easily move the story along as quickly as they can roll dice.
The most common issue is that the average player shows up to be entertained and doesn't bother putting the same effort into their characters that good DMs put into the rest of the world. A player who does homework between sessions will be both more engaged and better prepared.
90% of the time it’s player speed. As a dm we often run 4-10 creatures at a time. Some with varying abilities and bonuses. And often we are done before some players who have a single turn.
Overcrowded tables also slow things down too. 4-5 players is the sweet spot imho. And playing in games with 7 or more really does make things slower. If even a single person isn’t ready things grind to a halt. If it takes half an hour between your turns you mentally check out, and that slows your turn down.
I am developing a mass combat table to address the occasional need for DMs to roll for a handful of minions that attack with the same weapon and the same proficiency. This table can be used to roll for Town Guards that are helping the players as easily as it may be used for the goblin horde.
On the second point, crowded games, this creates two problems. First, as you stated, it means that many more players with their wide array of abilities have to act each round. It also means the DM often throws in a horde of enemies instead of four or five. The battles are more prone to develop into a front line and a protected rear area, which ends up making combat same-ish every time.
It sounds like the general consensus is it is on the players to bring their A-game.
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Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Combat in all RPGs is slow, because "okay, each side roll a die; whoever rolls higher wins" is unpopular gameplay, despite not being significantly different from how most noncombat skills work. It is made slower by players agonizing over their decisions, which is again because it's perceived as very important to get right. You can speed combat up by using glass cannon monsters that do their damage and then die.
Talking during combat should be by "short utterances". Planning is not allowed, and everyone at my table is expected to be ready on their turn. To help with that, I try to tell people when they are on deck.
This really solved a lot of problems at my table just by itself. We also have a rule that if you haven't made any meaningful attempt at resolving your turn within 60 seconds, it gets skipped. If we can see you moving your figure, or asking questions to the DM about rules that is whatever.
As a player at the table, if you know a slower person is coming up before/after you, talk to them about what's happening before their turn or during your turn. Communicate with them so that they are engaged. It's just like raid calling in a MMO. You might have a player who isn't that great at mechanics but once someone is calling them out they never miss a beat. Don't be afraid to do the same, just make sure it's wanted.
90% of the time it’s player speed. As a dm we often run 4-10 creatures at a time. Some with varying abilities and bonuses. And often we are done before some players who have a single turn.
Overcrowded tables also slow things down too. 4-5 players is the sweet spot imho. And playing in games with 7 or more really does make things slower. If even a single person isn’t ready things grind to a halt. If it takes half an hour between your turns you mentally check out, and that slows your turn down.
I am developing a mass combat table to address the occasional need for DMs to roll for a handful of minions that attack with the same weapon and the same proficiency. This table can be used to roll for Town Guards that are helping the players as easily as it may be used for the goblin horde.
On the second point, crowded games, this creates two problems. First, as you stated, it means that many more players with their wide array of abilities have to act each round. It also means the DM often throws in a horde of enemies instead of four or five. The battles are more prone to develop into a front line and a protected rear area, which ends up making combat same-ish every time.
It sounds like the general consensus is it is on the players to bring their A-game.
The DMG already has this in Chapter 8. It's a pretty simple table for running mob combat. If you're running 15+ monsters, running all 15 individually is going to be cumbersome. It's also going to swing stuff against the PCs. There are definitely times and places for that, but as a player, no one wants to sit there and watch the DM roll 15 D20s to see what hits.
Perhaps this is not going to make a massive difference in larger tables, but it's helped ours a bit. As DM, I have several sets of dice of different colours. Whenever I have multiple monsters acting in a row or they have multiattack, or even both, I roll them all at the same time. U just remember what colour belongs to what, and then read off the results. If something happens that I wasn't planning for with the first monster, then I either repurpose the roll or reroll. I find that my turn goes much faster and it doesn't affect the results. The other thing I do is pre-rolling. Things like initiative (for my characters) will have been rolled beforehand, it's just the PCs that need to roll. Health, if being rolled, will be done before hand.
I haven't had to do this yet, but if players are doing inappropriate things duringntheir turn, they lose it. Forming battle plans? That's your turn. Next please. Obviously, asking about game rules etc is fine, but if they are using their PC to do thigs, like discussing tactics, then that becomes their turn. I warn them beforehand that the time for planning is before battle not during. If anyone has any ideas for positive reinforcement that make sense with lore, that wouod be great. It would be nice to reward them rather than saying "...or else".
There is a fair amount of fat you can trim though, it just depends on the spirit of the table. Pushing too hard for people's tolerances can sick the fun out of it.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
In an attempt to develop a system to speed up combat for my party I have been thinking of this core question.
Why Does combat take so long in D&D?
A) Is it because players have so many options? B) Is it because the "encounters" have too many pieces on the board? C) Is it because the combat abilities take too many steps to resolve their outcome? D) Or is it because the players spend too much time on their "move"? E) ? F) ?
Combat takes so long for many reasons when players don't follow the game by distractions, don't prepare their turn in advance, don't know their feat, features and spells enought and must look them up during their turn, when they argue with the DM, when they take an eternity to choose which dice to roll among their preferred sets, when they miscalculate roll results etc
Combat takes so long when DM also run many monsters and don't prepare their turn in advance, don't know their traits, attacks and spells enought and must look them up during their turn, when they don't limit out of turn discussions, argue with the players, when they take an eternity to choose which dice to roll among their preferred sets, when they miscalculate roll results etc
When everyone know their stuff, follow the game, plan their action in advance, don't argue too much and quickly roll attack and damage altogheter, combat usually speeds up.
I've played/dm'd a tables that were fast and at tables that advanced at a snail pace. Most of the time it's a player problem, some player get overwhelmed and have a though time deciding on their course of action. Others don't know their character. And then you have the ones who argue about rules.
All require a different approach.
The first case needs a gentle hand and the whole table needs to find a way to help that person without being heavy handed about it.
The second case, will or go away after a few sessions or will need a more firm approach. By the DM or a friend of the player. Talk to them maybe even go over the abilities before the session starts, this works for the first case as well.
Third case is the most simple and most difficult at the same time. If (you) the dm is not sure listen to the player and decide, if it's rules lawyering, shut them down immediately, if you're not sure, shut down the discussion and pick it back up after the session. If they were right make a ruling for next sessions.
Usually, In my experience, combat slowdowns are a result of either "decision paralysis" and not taking time to think ahead about what to do during others' turns, players (or DMs) being unfamiliar with their own characters' abilities and stopping to read the sheet and ask questions or look something up every turn, or both. Basically, it's usually because people don't have their $%&# together.
I have been reading the responses on this as it seems like my players take forever to decide what they are going to do and I thought of some of the ways discussed here to speed it up. However, they are having fun and are fairly new, so they still don't have their preferred approaches already known. I decided as long as we are having fun, they can take as much time as they need.
If there's a legitimate chance that the players are about to piece together something epic I'm more than happy, on occasion, for them to take loads of time. The characters know each other and, depending on personalities, could have had the chance to work out various set-piece strategies in advance. They also haven't had a week's break between sessions.
On other occasions, it can be especially useful to cut chat. Why is that player trying to speak for their character for one minute on a turn where they are also using their full movement and taking multiple combat or casting actions?
In many situations, just tell the prevaricating player "so decision or dodge action, 3 - 2 - 1".
Just so people are aware: While DnD 5e combat can take long due to different player and DM problems, 5e has a pretty streamlined system compared to some other ttrpgs out there.
Before I played 5e I was in a group that played DSA (a german TTRPG that has a lot - A !LOT! of rules and tries to be as realistic as possible) and a normal combat - mind you not even a particularly special bossfight, just some goons - would take a whole session of multiple hours. (That game had a block mechanic that I see as a big problem, but let's not get into this)
5e is pretty straight forward in that case.
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In an attempt to develop a system to speed up combat for my party I have been thinking of this core question.
Why Does combat take so long in D&D?
A) Is it because players have so many options? B) Is it because the "encounters" have too many pieces on the board? C) Is it because the combat abilities take too many steps to resolve their outcome? D) Or is it because the players spend too much time on their "move"? E) ? F) ?
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
In my experience, the number one factor is player's taking too long to take their turns. This can be for a number of reasons ranging from general indecisiveness, not knowing their class well enough or because they weren't paying attention.
It is incredibly frustrating.
Use the time on other people's turns to watch the combat and be thinking about what you are going to do on your turn.
However, with that said, I'd say the 2nd reason is when you start getting to the higher levels where not only the players but enemies have multiple attacks. That's why many regard levels 3-10 as the sweet spot.
In my experience it’s the players taking too much time for their turns for a variety of reasons.
There are 200 different solutions to that ranging from using an egg timer to time how long each player has for their turn to reminding everyone which player is up next during combat so they’re prepared.
My suggestion is work with the people you’re playing with to try to speed things up.
Professional computer geek
Talking during combat should be by "short utterances". Planning is not allowed, and everyone at my table is expected to be ready on their turn. To help with that, I try to tell people when they are on deck.
90% of the time it’s player speed. As a dm we often run 4-10 creatures at a time. Some with varying abilities and bonuses. And often we are done before some players who have a single turn.
it’s a combination of indecision, not paying attention, not knowing your character, and some other factors. Even when you have a metric tonne of stuff at like 20th level it doesn’t take that long to do a thing. A wizard casts a spell. Maybe a bonus action. Sure maybe they need to do some maths to add up dice but provided they thought about their turn beforehand it’s just a matter of picking a spell and a target.
Fighters, rogues and other martial s just have to think about positioning, and who gets hit first. And if you have 4-5 turns between each of yours that’s plenty to have a provisional plan.
don’t get me wrong. Dms occasionally decide to take ages with hordes but even then you can make that faster. Roll a bunch of d20s at once and for each hit take the average damage. Done. Use horde rules where if they take damage they die (if they are a swarming tiny minion). No tracking anything.
Overcrowded tables also slow things down too. 4-5 players is the sweet spot imho. And playing in games with 7 or more really does make things slower. If even a single person isn’t ready things grind to a halt. If it takes half an hour between your turns you mentally check out, and that slows your turn down.
ideally turns should take between 30-60 seconds (not a hard and fast rule but a good goal excluding if someone just threw something that requires a lot of addition, or for throwing description or roleplay around). If people start having to wait 10-30 minutes between turns, that’s a problem.
One of the methods that has helped me speed up my own playing is to build a "cheat sheet" for my character similar to how I would build an NPC Statblock. I have a pair of preferred combat actions, melee and ranged, and a generic strategy. I'll skim my spells between rounds, but if nothing specifically jumps out at me, then I'll automatically roll with my default options when my turn comes around. By not worrying about "optimizing" each round of combat, a player can easily move the story along as quickly as they can roll dice.
The most common issue is that the average player shows up to be entertained and doesn't bother putting the same effort into their characters that good DMs put into the rest of the world. A player who does homework between sessions will be both more engaged and better prepared.
I am developing a mass combat table to address the occasional need for DMs to roll for a handful of minions that attack with the same weapon and the same proficiency. This table can be used to roll for Town Guards that are helping the players as easily as it may be used for the goblin horde.
On the second point, crowded games, this creates two problems. First, as you stated, it means that many more players with their wide array of abilities have to act each round. It also means the DM often throws in a horde of enemies instead of four or five. The battles are more prone to develop into a front line and a protected rear area, which ends up making combat same-ish every time.
It sounds like the general consensus is it is on the players to bring their A-game.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
Combat in all RPGs is slow, because "okay, each side roll a die; whoever rolls higher wins" is unpopular gameplay, despite not being significantly different from how most noncombat skills work. It is made slower by players agonizing over their decisions, which is again because it's perceived as very important to get right. You can speed combat up by using glass cannon monsters that do their damage and then die.
This really solved a lot of problems at my table just by itself. We also have a rule that if you haven't made any meaningful attempt at resolving your turn within 60 seconds, it gets skipped. If we can see you moving your figure, or asking questions to the DM about rules that is whatever.
As a player at the table, if you know a slower person is coming up before/after you, talk to them about what's happening before their turn or during your turn. Communicate with them so that they are engaged. It's just like raid calling in a MMO. You might have a player who isn't that great at mechanics but once someone is calling them out they never miss a beat. Don't be afraid to do the same, just make sure it's wanted.
The DMG already has this in Chapter 8. It's a pretty simple table for running mob combat. If you're running 15+ monsters, running all 15 individually is going to be cumbersome. It's also going to swing stuff against the PCs. There are definitely times and places for that, but as a player, no one wants to sit there and watch the DM roll 15 D20s to see what hits.
Hot take here but: 9/10 times it's because players aren't paying attention/haven't read how their abilities work.
Our former barbarian, now paladin, took 3 minutes to decide on what to do. As a barbarian.
Some players probably just dont pay attention.
Nugz - Kobold Level 4 Bloodhunter/Order of the Mutant - Out there looking for snacks and evil monsters.
Ultrix Schwarzdorn - Human Level 6 Artificer/Armorer - Retired and works in his new shop.
Quercus Espenkiel - Gnome Level 9 Wizard/Order of Scribes - Turned into a book and sits on a shelf.
Artin - Fairy Level 4 Sorcerer/Wild Magic - Busy with annoying the townsfolk. Again.
Jabor - Fire Genasi - Level 4 Wizard/School of Evocation - The First Flame, The Last Chaos. Probably in jail, again.
Roll attack and damage at the same time
also if the player hasn’t made a decision quickly then they have taken the dodge action by default
Perhaps this is not going to make a massive difference in larger tables, but it's helped ours a bit. As DM, I have several sets of dice of different colours. Whenever I have multiple monsters acting in a row or they have multiattack, or even both, I roll them all at the same time. U just remember what colour belongs to what, and then read off the results. If something happens that I wasn't planning for with the first monster, then I either repurpose the roll or reroll. I find that my turn goes much faster and it doesn't affect the results. The other thing I do is pre-rolling. Things like initiative (for my characters) will have been rolled beforehand, it's just the PCs that need to roll. Health, if being rolled, will be done before hand.
I haven't had to do this yet, but if players are doing inappropriate things duringntheir turn, they lose it. Forming battle plans? That's your turn. Next please. Obviously, asking about game rules etc is fine, but if they are using their PC to do thigs, like discussing tactics, then that becomes their turn. I warn them beforehand that the time for planning is before battle not during. If anyone has any ideas for positive reinforcement that make sense with lore, that wouod be great. It would be nice to reward them rather than saying "...or else".
There is a fair amount of fat you can trim though, it just depends on the spirit of the table. Pushing too hard for people's tolerances can sick the fun out of it.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Combat takes so long for many reasons when players don't follow the game by distractions, don't prepare their turn in advance, don't know their feat, features and spells enought and must look them up during their turn, when they argue with the DM, when they take an eternity to choose which dice to roll among their preferred sets, when they miscalculate roll results etc
Combat takes so long when DM also run many monsters and don't prepare their turn in advance, don't know their traits, attacks and spells enought and must look them up during their turn, when they don't limit out of turn discussions, argue with the players, when they take an eternity to choose which dice to roll among their preferred sets, when they miscalculate roll results etc
When everyone know their stuff, follow the game, plan their action in advance, don't argue too much and quickly roll attack and damage altogheter, combat usually speeds up.
I've played/dm'd a tables that were fast and at tables that advanced at a snail pace. Most of the time it's a player problem, some player get overwhelmed and have a though time deciding on their course of action. Others don't know their character. And then you have the ones who argue about rules.
All require a different approach.
The first case needs a gentle hand and the whole table needs to find a way to help that person without being heavy handed about it.
The second case, will or go away after a few sessions or will need a more firm approach. By the DM or a friend of the player. Talk to them maybe even go over the abilities before the session starts, this works for the first case as well.
Third case is the most simple and most difficult at the same time. If (you) the dm is not sure listen to the player and decide, if it's rules lawyering, shut them down immediately, if you're not sure, shut down the discussion and pick it back up after the session. If they were right make a ruling for next sessions.
Or that's what I do anyway.
Usually, In my experience, combat slowdowns are a result of either "decision paralysis" and not taking time to think ahead about what to do during others' turns, players (or DMs) being unfamiliar with their own characters' abilities and stopping to read the sheet and ask questions or look something up every turn, or both. Basically, it's usually because people don't have their $%&# together.
I have been reading the responses on this as it seems like my players take forever to decide what they are going to do and I thought of some of the ways discussed here to speed it up. However, they are having fun and are fairly new, so they still don't have their preferred approaches already known. I decided as long as we are having fun, they can take as much time as they need.
If there's a legitimate chance that the players are about to piece together something epic I'm more than happy, on occasion, for them to take loads of time. The characters know each other and, depending on personalities, could have had the chance to work out various set-piece strategies in advance. They also haven't had a week's break between sessions.
On other occasions, it can be especially useful to cut chat. Why is that player trying to speak for their character for one minute on a turn where they are also using their full movement and taking multiple combat or casting actions?
In many situations, just tell the prevaricating player "so decision or dodge action, 3 - 2 - 1".
Just so people are aware: While DnD 5e combat can take long due to different player and DM problems, 5e has a pretty streamlined system compared to some other ttrpgs out there.
Before I played 5e I was in a group that played DSA (a german TTRPG that has a lot - A !LOT! of rules and tries to be as realistic as possible) and a normal combat - mind you not even a particularly special bossfight, just some goons - would take a whole session of multiple hours. (That game had a block mechanic that I see as a big problem, but let's not get into this)
5e is pretty straight forward in that case.