Greetings gamers from all systems, places and timelines.
According to the almighty Google, the average D&D game lasts somewhere between four and six hours. This may explain why scheduling is so difficult, because it’s like trying to get your friends together to watch not one but two full games of football back to back.
So what if carving six hours out of everyone’s weekend just isn’t going to happen? We’ve put together a list of tips which can help you run shorter, but still enjoyable, games. A game that still hits all the beats of a full session (but won’t require everyone blocking off a time slot four weeks in advance that someone will inevitably double book and tell you about the morning before the game). Instead, everyone will just hop on Roll20 or other VTT whenever they are available, for about an hour or two, so the adventure can continue.
1. Plan For The Time You Have.
While this sounds basic, you would be surprised how often someone may provide way too much material for a condensed game and then have to end in an awkward spot – the worst of them being mid combat. And I don’t mean when combat is starting, but somewhere in round seven. Because if you can remember exactly which spells and abilities you used a week later then you are better than most. So you can prepare a bit more than you need, but it’s advised to have a preselected stopping point before the session starts. Ideally, one which will transition nicely into the next session.
2. Focus On What Moves The Story Forward.
Any complex roleplay scenes, like extended battles, can easily slog and devour most or even entire sessions. This can especially be the case when game time is limited.
While you wouldn’t want a game devoid of banter or roleplay, you also wouldn’t want the whole game consisting of the party rogue haggling over the price of the silverware they stole either, because no recap of a game is as compelling as saying, “last session, everyone looked around the market and some even bought some things.”
Just give everyone the opportunity to have their cool moments as well, so the playing field is truly balanced. All of the other material can be handled in any number of ways, but I’m a fan of running the scene within a Google Doc so it’s nice and organized.
3. Just Say No To Monologuing.
You may think that a long recap couldn’t put a serious dent in your game time, yet I have sat recaps which have felt like a short eternity. Similar to when an important NPC starts spinning a yarn about the creation of the universe and I’m like, “whoa, buddy, I just came here for a drink.”
With that said, you don’t need to make everything simple, but keep your lore dumps concise. In this way, you don’t have to burn valuable game time clearing anything up. Or send everyone a nice robust email detailing everything which occurred so the players are on the same page.
4. Allow For Multiple Solutions.
One place you will not want to cut time out from is allowing the players to showcase their abilities, as this would leave more skill-based characters like the rogue and bard sidelined. Allow them to couple their abilities with some clever thinking and teamwork to bypass obstacles.
Go easy on puzzles, riddles or even skill challenges which potentially may leave them stuck and unable to advance to the next part of the story. Remember, you are also on that train which could potentially get stranded.
5. Avoid The Railroad But Have Structure.
Keep a good pace and nudge everyone along so the action doesn’t stall for long. And, yes, not every scene can be intense or dramatic, but you also don’t have the luxury to allow the players to burn too much time barking up the wrong tree either. Odds are some of the characters in the game are, literally, brilliant so allow them checks with things like perception, insight, or investigation which would allow for some subtle hints.
And while player agency is extremely important, this style of game probably won’t be a true open sandbox either. So after making one of those successful checks, explain where the right path may be. Not because the DM wants you to go in the cave but, rather, because it’s in theirs and the party’s best interests to do so.
6. Streamline Combat.
While combat done using theater of the mind is faster, it’s not also not for everyone.
But when you’re on a limited time frame, not every creature on the battle map should have eighty-five hit points either. Limit the amount of creatures you use in any given encounter so long as things will present a good degree of challenge while still being fairly fast-paced. Remember, not every battle needs to be super challenging or deadly. Once in a while, let the party roll some dice and smoke their opponents in short order. This way, they are nice and warmed up for whatever you have prepared for the final encounter.
7. Save The Best For Last.
Some of the best games have ended with a climactic finish. But you may have to keep your eye on the clock if someone has a hard stop time. Doing this without making the final battle feeling rushed can potentially be tricky.
To help you reach the last encounter with time to spare, establish which scenes are vital to the continuity of the story. Anything else is essentially a scene or combat which is thrown away or saved for a later time when your friend doesn’t need to leave for work.
To determine when to cut an encounter, you first should have an approximate idea how long the finale might take to wrap up. Then allow yourself extra time on top of that in case everything doesn’t go according to plan. In my experience, no one has ever complained about a mission being successful thirty minutes ahead of schedule.
Final Thoughts
Scheduling has been the downfall of countless campaigns . And while it isn’t ideal to play with less time than you would like, given the choice between a fast game or no game at all, I will always choose a fast game.
And for the quick rolls that you’ll need to make on those dice, check out our affiliate link at FanRoll Dice to get 10% off your entire order.
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