I think mixing in some shorter format adventures into the library of modules could be good for the camapaign. Thes would be adventures correctly scaled to run around 2.5 to 3 hours that would supplement the current library of mods written and planned to be written already. Presumably, they would offer less treasure and xp.
Why it should be done:
~Allows convention planners to allow for longer mods by being able to fill the partial slots with campaign content.
~Would make for a less imposing first time/early career DMing experience than a typical "full" mod and probably draw in a few more people to DM and give them a better first time experience.
~Would be a popular option for midnight madness slots. many players would like to play more in a given day but, find a full mod a little too much and it would have the added beenifit of getting those players and DMs to be a bit earlier which would only help for a better scenario for all.
~Would better facillitate weekday night play. I know typically constructed mods force many tables to either start before people can arrive after work reliably or run later than many players can aford to. this probably helps many stores with in-store gaming and home tables.
~Presumably would be cheaper to get written as they would be less work.
~Some folks would just prefer to play for shorter periods.
~Could also be populated with more optional RP-indulgent aspects and hooks for those seeking to take their time and explore their characters in a regular length slot.
~Would offer another option for play groups to balance XP across a regular party.
It might not solve all the campaign's issues but, I personally know alot of people for whom this would make LFR more enjoyable and/or make play more frequent.
You know, this is actually a fantastic idea, and one that I'm surprised I hadn't thought of before. I'd love to see this.
I thinka dventures are already short enough. I find it hard enough to make stories that fit within 4 hours, let alone ones that fit within 2.
Gomez
Why it should not be done:
~ Currently, there are no "longer mods." Or, if the argument is that some mods take longer to play, I would counter that there already exist "shorter mods" that can be done to "fill a slot."
~ I encourage new/rookie judges to first judge a mod that they have already played. Also, trying to rush through a mod in 2-3 hours puts even more time pressure on new judges.
~ Even with a shorter mods, players who "want to play more in a given day" - even with midnight madness - are still going to want to play more. 
~ Many players find it worthwhile to travel to a game for a 4-hour experience. I know of few players that would choose to travel for a game that can be completed in under two hours
~ There are lots of 2-hour games on the market already for those who can't sit still for 4 hours. ;)
~ No matter the structure, RP will always suffer in a time-controlled environment, provided the group intends to experience the whole adventure.
~ Challenge level becomes unbalanced. 1-2 encounters means daily power use early and often. Items and powers that rely on reaching a milestone become less useful.
If a group of players can REALLY only play for 2-hours, then your session doesn't have do be done at one sitting! You could schedule two nights for the game, take a break after the first milestone - noting down spent surges, daily powers, etc. - and pick up to finish the adventure at the next session.
I think the occasional mission where you go do a job for X party to build favor with them would be fine. They could be similar to many of the adventures already out there but with a few less twists and turns and one less battle encounter. Done right, they could be very good in bolstering existing plotlines. They might even make for good expansions to the My Realms system.
I think it's a mistake to assume that "shorter format" necessarily means a standard 4 hour mod type story just with fewer combat encounters. There are lots of other possibilities.
One such possibility would be to have a very strong combat focus and run it like the Gen Con delve. Most parties I participated in were able to complete the Delve in the 45 minutes alloted with the abysmally designed pregen characters provided. And as I recall, the delves usually had 5 combats. So, even if we were to assume that players would take twice as long in a different setting (especially one where judges did not have all the dungeon tiles for all the combats prepared and laid out on the table before the round starts and all of their minis in front of them), we could still have a half hour for introduction/hook and party discussion of one puzzle or in-character choice (like, do we rescue the princess or ensure that the bad guy cannot escape). If successful, this might have the beneficial side-effect of encouraging players to step up their time-efficiency in combat. At the tables I have played recently (Pacificon, etc) probably half of the combat time was spent dithering about what to do or adding up dice. More efficient play could easily shave an hour or so off of the time spent in combat and allow characters to explore a more involved story.
The standard mod with fewer combats is also a possibility but it is not the only one.
One such possibility would be to have a very strong combat focus and run it like the Gen Con delve. Most parties I participated in were able to complete the Delve in the 45 minutes alloted with the abysmally designed pregen characters provided. And as I recall, the delves usually had 5 combats.
I can only speak to the 2009 GenCon Delve, but those had two combats, to be completed in roughly 1 hour.
Indeed, the only thing with "45 minutes" and "5 combat encounters" in common is the Ultimate Dungeon Delve, which is 5 combats of 45 minutes each. Although a lot of groups finished that in 45 minutes, it is not because they successfully completed things, in fact it is because they did not finish the first encounter in 45 minutes.
Also, the group I've been playing with just recently have no problems completing most adventures in 2 1/2 to 3 hours. It all depends on who is running the game and how well organised the players are.
I guess I'll go against the tide. I'd love to see adventures designed for 2-3 hours, that you can expand to 3-4 for RP, rather than some that are 'designed for 4' that really means 5, so you cut out all the RP so you can finish in time.
I know I've had to mostly stop playing at one venue because if I don't finish playing in 4 hours or less I have to wait 90 minutes for a bus home... so I'll play with certain DMs, certain parties, or for adventures I really really want to play... and I usually make the bus by seconds, literally.
I don't believe the LFR Excursions are shorter play time adventures. They are the mini-campaign, with, I think, the tweak that intermingled play of other adventures will be accommodated. Not sure what implication that gives for xp and level band progression. With Undermountain exploration, that format may be more suitable, than the continuous, long story arc as in Returned Abeir.
Keith
LFR Excursions (which is partnering with the second Mini-campaign series) Adventures are definately not filling this role. They are three round adventures meant to be played in 12-18 hours and have multiple ways to be expanded for home play or as part of a My Relams adventure.
For a shorter play experience, you may be thinking of the new D&D Lair Assualt program which is made up of adventures with one or two really large encounters (think roughly the entire xp budget of a normal adventure, but spent on one or two fights; but not by throwing super high level monsters at you, but rather lots and lots of roughly level appropriate monsters). I believe this program is expected to be LFR compatible and I expect will likely be somewhat shorter to play than a regular adventure since you attacking a small monster lair with a limited number of rooms. Of course this vary based on how tactical skilled your party is and how efficient your DM is.
If a group of players can REALLY only play for 2-hours, then your session doesn't have do be done at one sitting! You could schedule two nights for the game, take a break after the first milestone - noting down spent surges, daily powers, etc. - and pick up to finish the adventure at the next session.
I think that gathering the same 5-7 people back before any of them want to play a different adventure with that character is a larger obstacle to many groups than you might expect. breaking a mod in half would probably be a good answer in some situations but, could be difficult logistically for many. Not to mention, many folks would just rather finish up the mod before they have to leave.
Lee
Why it should not be done:
~ Currently, there are no "longer mods." Or, if the argument is that some mods take longer to play, I would counter that there already exist "shorter mods" that can be done to "fill a slot."
~ I encourage new/rookie judges to first judge a mod that they have already played. Also, trying to rush through a mod in 2-3 hours puts even more time pressure on new judges.
~ Even with a shorter mods, players who "want to play more in a given day" - even with midnight madness - are still going to want to play more.
~ Many players find it worthwhile to travel to a game for a 4-hour experience. I know of few players that would choose to travel for a game that can be completed in under two hours
~ There are lots of 2-hour games on the market already for those who can't sit still for 4 hours. ;)
~ No matter the structure, RP will always suffer in a time-controlled environment, provided the group intends to experience the whole adventure.
~ Challenge level becomes unbalanced. 1-2 encounters means daily power use early and often. Items and powers that rely on reaching a milestone become less useful.
If a group of players can REALLY only play for 2-hours, then your session doesn't have do be done at one sitting! You could schedule two nights for the game, take a break after the first milestone - noting down spent surges, daily powers, etc. - and pick up to finish the adventure at the next session.
Aside from the challenge aspect of less than 3 fights in a single day which is valid one but, not something that couldn't be worked around, your reasoning hinges more on why such shorter offerings might not need to be done more than should't be done. There probably would be a fair amount of players who might not have a need for shorter mod but, I don't really see where opening up such opportunities would cause problems and I really believe they could open up the campaign to more frequent play by a larger population of players and perhaps even improve the enjoyability and flexibility of convention play. The way I see it, there are a lot more advantages to opening the door to shorter mods than there are two keeping it closed.
The LG parallel might be mini-missions at interactives. These were often constructed similar to normal adventures, but were much shorter. A typical 4-hour interactive might have 1 hour of LARP, 1-2 hours of mini-mission(s), and 1 hour of LARP conclusion. (Though, interactives were anything but typical... each was generally unique).
For those, it wasn't atypical for the mini-mission to be rushed. For there to be a story there is typically enough to do and find out and at least one combat, that you end up easily using 2 hours. And it feels brief... it is more like a vignette or short mission than a real adventure. It works well as a filler to a story. You learned in mod X that the evil cleric was behind the problem. Now, in this mini-mission, take him out!
It can work, but I think it has limited appeal.
I think it's a fine idea. I certainly think it will have enough appeal that a small number of such mods would be a good thing. After all, we have 'long' mods (the double round Specs and Minis, and also the ADAP mods). Why not a few 2-2.5 hour scenarios?
There may be balance issues, but the lower XP and rewards will presumably compensate for this (lower level average treasure bundles?)
Personally, I find in my local group that it is hard to fit a 'standard' mod into 4 hours on a weeknight (given time constraints for people arriving and leaving) if we do want to do any RP. Almost invariably the conclusion is skipped over, as we finish the final fight, everyone looks at the time and starts packing up their dice in anticipation of having to run for the bus, and the reporting has sometimes had to be sorted by e-mail afterwards.
Oh, and there are some 'standard' mods that really will always run long, unless the GM deliberately cuts them short.
I think it's a fine idea. I certainly think it will have enough appeal that a small number of such mods would be a good thing. After all, we have 'long' mods (the double round Specs and Minis, and also the ADAP mods). Why not a few 2-2.5 hour scenarios?
There may be balance issues, but the lower XP and rewards will presumably compensate for this (lower level average treasure bundles?)
Personally, I find in my local group that it is hard to fit a 'standard' mod into 4 hours on a weeknight (given time constraints for people arriving and leaving) if we do want to do any RP. Almost invariably the conclusion is skipped over, as we finish the final fight, everyone looks at the time and starts packing up their dice in anticipation of having to run for the bus, and the reporting has sometimes had to be sorted by e-mail afterwards.
Oh, and there are some 'standard' mods that really will always run long, unless the GM deliberately cuts them short.
I know with the gaming community I am involved with, there is a local store that runs a weekly LFR night. Some people work until 6 and can't get in much before 7pm while others really need to be out by 11pm. Still others simply don't like playing so long or find themselves tired after a long day at work but, really can only free up a weekday night to play due to very legitimate family and parenting issues.
While many of us play in a very intense hardcore style, there are those who'd like to play at a more relaxed pace consuming smaller bites of the LFR experience in a given sitting. I see no reason why that player should't be accommodated when it could be done fairly easily. Especially when you considered that it's very common for a player customer with deeper pockets than they might have free time on their calendars, it makes good business sense for the RPGA as a marketing endeavor of Hasbro to include them.
It's opening doors to more players which I beleive is always better for the campaign.
Lee
Most parties I participated in were able to complete the Delve in the 45 minutes alloted with the abysmally designed pregen characters provided.
I ran the Delve, and only one party managed to finish the two 'classic delve' combats in the hour - and only just. Most barely got half-way the second combat. And these fairly simple are all-combat, no roleplay whatsoever, encounters.
Gomez