tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post1673357661850968300..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: Rounds 10 Through 13Alexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-83215008698448265962010-05-07T07:40:57.944-06:002010-05-07T07:40:57.944-06:00Yes, Carl, I am in fact using ordinary rules, runn...Yes, Carl, I am in fact using ordinary rules, running this combat exactly like any other combat ... only bigger.<br /><br />In fact, I’ve given up on using excel to roll the dice. We tried it, but there are too many variables, too many different kinds of dice to be rolled and this takes too long to change the spreadsheet. I mistakenly thought that there would consist of dozens and dozens of rolls all corresponding to one another - but in fact, no. Instead, too much human interpretation of the rolls (saving throws, to hit, abilities checks and so on) is required.<br /><br />So, with some discussion, we have agreed to use a ‘round robin’ technique for rolls. This consists of the party each rolling a d20, and ‘holding’ the result on the table until I ask for it. Thus, I call out the person, get a result, they roll damage (sometimes, when it is obvious they they have hit, they can roll the damage ahead of time also), and I make the recording.<br /><br />You mention record keeping. A considerable amount of this can be done right on the map, since each participant is represented by a text box. Thus, instead of hunting up a sheet or a page somewhere that tells me what the hit points are, I am simply changing them on the map as I move the view past that creature. You will note that many of the little boxes feature numbers like 16/11; the second number is their present hit points, the first number is their maximum hit points. When someone dies they are removed from the map and pasted in a different place, where I can then assess them later for X.P. purposes.<br /><br />As such, I can pretty much fly through a twenty person combat in little time. I have surrendered the dice entirely at this point, letting the party roll for the enemy as well as themselves, so as to allow me the freedom to bookkeep and nothing else.<br /><br />The bookkeeping is not a huge issue in slowing things down. Moving is, as anyone knows who plays a wargame ... it is always moving the little icons. And, it is decision making, which I don’t insist happens in the six-second time frame - but about 15 minutes a round can be wasted with decision making, about a fifth of the total time.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-47017702929288360962010-05-06T15:49:26.942-06:002010-05-06T15:49:26.942-06:00Alexis, if I may summarize what's going on her...Alexis, if I may summarize what's going on here in terms of game mechanics, you are using the regular combat rules to conduct mass combat.<br /><br />The biggest drawback I can see to this is the amount of record-keeping that you, the DM, have to do.<br /><br />Have you discovered any streamlining techniques during this 19-round journey aside from using Excel? It still seems like a ton of data entry during a given round.Original_Carlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03521777462227997158noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-19157674246568597182010-05-05T15:09:49.396-06:002010-05-05T15:09:49.396-06:00The rounds are taking less time than they were, ap...The rounds are taking less time than they were, approximately 70 minutes for a complete turn around. This compared with more than 90 at the beginning. We are, at present, in the 19th round. The reason would be a combination of greater efficiency and, of course, less combatants.<br /><br />We expect that at some point, magically, we will complete the whole combat in one night.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-40011842304128953862010-05-05T12:08:47.505-06:002010-05-05T12:08:47.505-06:00This gentle reader sees no problem at all. How lo...This gentle reader sees no problem at all. How long has a single round been taking you to execute lately and how does this compare with the first several rounds?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com