Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 PerfectTommy Jun 29, 2011 14:36:49	My regular gaming group has become irregular due to schedules and obligations, so I'm toying with the idea of forming a group at work, and running sessions during the lunch hour.  Seeing as combat encounters can take upwards of 2 hours, is this even a possibility? Has anyone tried this before?  I'm thinking a small group (3 players) and party scaled encounters would make things faster.  One encounter per lunch, or one RP session and some exploration/etc. Any tips, thoughts, or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
#2 slobo777a Jun 30, 2011 5:34:04	Used to play a lot of lunch-break games at school. No 4E then of course (mostly it was AD&D, Runequest and Traveller). Remember if you are using battleboard and props, you'd also need to set that up. If memory serves me correctly, the school games were more free-form, less dice rolling, more RP. My best advice would be to play some other RPG if you can, something that requires less *stuff* and less time for mechanics-heavy encounters. But if you are well-organised, and big fans of 4E, then yes a smaller group would be the simplest answer. Another idea occurs to me: use a VT, and save state between sessions. Less stuff to carry around, not a big deal if an encounter runs over and you need to get back to work.
#3 ubbersheep Jun 30, 2011 13:59:24	I ran a 3.5 campaign at my school back when I was in High School.  We had about 50 minutes a day to play.  It was definitely fun.  We made the combats quick and to the point, mainly since we didn't have a lot of time. The only problem is the size of the party.  I was lucky in that I usually had only 3 people a day, so I could combat at a quick rate.  That's the main hitch. I'd definitely try to do it!
#4 PerfectTommy Jul 05, 2011 8:56:29	Hey thank you for the feedback/advice!  I'm going to give it a shot and see how it goes.  Maybe I'll enlist my Manager as a player so I don't have to worry about coming back from lunch LATE! Small party.  Low enemy/complexity encounters.  Simple storyline.  Should work. I've never had to "Pause" a game mid encounter due to running out of time, but I imagine marking character/enemy positions on the battlegrid would work.  Notes on initiative order, whose turn it is, what conditions....buh...sounds complex but doable!  If only I had a laptop... Here goes nothing!
#5 ubbersheep Jul 05, 2011 9:29:30	Getting one of those erasable mats and a pad of graph paper makes it so much easier....just write everything onto the graph paper, erase the mat and have it all there, just on a smaller scale for next time...
#6 Krusk Jul 05, 2011 10:00:25	I recomend using a digital tabletop somehow. Save yourself all the prep time for any fights. Ideally, you find a system that doesn't use a map or grid. There is a good one for IPad I have seen reviews and demos of. There are loads of good ones for PCs. Bring a laptop and run them on there.
#7 PerfectTommy Jul 05, 2011 13:57:17	Unfortunately I don't have a laptop or tablet, and probably couldn't justify the purchase of one for D&D...though it would be sweet.  I've got Masterplan on my PC at home, but haven't used it much, and am pretty much a pen and paper DM at this point. I found a PDF of 1" graph paper online and I made many copies, which I tape together and draw my map on.  Works out pretty well, and all my maps roll up nicely.  Eventually I'll invest in one of the eraseable mats...but I'm trying to curb my spending enthusiasm as a relatively new DM. Just got word that my group can meet for a long session on Saturday night, so...apparently the planets aligned or something.  Lunchtime gaming will move to Tier 2 planning until after this next session.