How many rounds does combat last in your group?

[philosophyguy]

For your group, does combat last for a typical number (or range) of rounds, or is it wildly variable? Does it change based on your campaign?

I'm interested in typical gaming experiences to see if my gaming experiences are representative, unusual, or if there is no such thing as normal.

[johndallman]

It's pretty variable, but it tends to be brief, 3-5 turns.

Combat is treated as something that has to be done sometimes, but is risky and best avoided when possible. When it's necessary, an ambush or similar tactic is preferable. It is not seen, except by one character, as a prime chance to be awesome - GURPS combat is too risky for that.

My favourite combat of recent years was at the end of our Madness Dossier campaign, where the villain we'd been hunting for some time was happily sitting at his desk in his home on a small Scottish island, completely secure in his knowledge that nobody knew where he was. And died without ever knowing differently. His guards tried to fight back afterwards, but the important part was over before they were aware there was a problem.

[Sam Baughn]

Most of the combats my players get into tend to use the Action 2 chase rules more than the usual combat rules. The combat rules tend to be used either at the start or end of the chase and generally seem to last 1-4 rounds.

Combats without chases tend to consist of one party getting the drop on the other and either tasering them until they can't fight back followed by handcuffing them or riddling them with bullets until they are sure that they are dead, both usually taking about 4-6 rounds to resolve (typically two or three to take the initial shot, followed by either a grapple and pin or anther burst of shooting to seal the deal; chases usually happen when the initial shot misses).

EDIT: chases tend to be pretty short, I'd guess about two or three rounds on average.

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by philosophyguy

For your group, does combat last for a typical number (or range) of rounds, or is it wildly variable? Does it change based on your campaign?.

It's definitely campaign (and game system) dependent.

In games with realistically deadly combat or where fighting isn't the focus, few combats last more than a handful of exchanges of blows. One or two good hits usually settles the issue after all. That's not necessarily just a few seconds of game time, there can be lulls in there where people are moving around or waiting for somebody to break cover - but it's a few rounds of actual fighting.

In campaigns where the boss fight is the highlight event, or games with attritional combat systems, everybody can avoid or stand up to multiple hits and fights can easily last dozens of round. They're *supposed to* that's what the designer balanced the game for, the fights are the highlight of the game. Who would play a wargame that simulates the entire war with a single die roll?

[Phantasm]

Most of the combats my group gets into only last 3-5 rounds. It may or may not help that they favor Move-and-Attack and All-Out Attack (Suppressive Fire)....

[weby]

4-12 rounds is normal in the current campaign with about 50% being 10+ rounds thus the range is weighted on the upper end. It was a bit lower in the previous campaign with very few combats being 10+ rounds.

[D10]

Well, it depends on combat difficulty.

Easy to medium combats, usually around 5-7 turns.

Medium to hard combats, usually around 9-12 turns.

Hard combats, usually 12+

When the combats start lasting more than that our resources get strained, great haste spells start ending, fatigue starts being a problem, luck runs out, etc.

[VariousRen]

I've found combat comes in phases. This comes from my experience with low fantasy.

Phase 1 - Setup: Everyone draws weapons, tries to line up with allies, block corridors, ect. Ranged characters may have a chance to fire off a few shots if combatants need to close distance. Anywhere from 1 to 6 seconds depending on distance, usually 3 seconds.

Phase 2 - All out combat: General melee is joined, sword blows dealt, wizards picked off, and enemy groups broken up and wounded. Depends greatly on the number of enemies and power level of the party, but ranges from 4 to 8 seconds, usually about 6.

Phase 3 - Clean up: The battle has been decided, but a few lucky or skilled opponents are still up. The party piles on whoever is left, and generally takes care of business. Wounded characters hang back to avoid an unlucky death. Could be reversed if the party lost badly. If both groups took heavy casualties, go to phase 3.a. Takes 4-8 seconds.

Phase 3.a - Desperate battle: One or two characters are still up, but wounded. Others are crippled or dead, and are unable to contribute to the fight. The enemy is likewise injured, but committed to finish the fight. Rounds can go quickly, as most characters must Do Nothing. The fight may depend on a heavily injured but otherwise stronger opponent failing a health check, while survivors AOA(Defend) and hope they don't fail their defense. Can last a surprisingly long time, 4 to 12 rounds averaging about 5.

Phase 4 - Recovery and Negotiation: The main fight has been decided, either by complete victory or retreat. The party has time to bandage wounds, cast healing spells, and otherwise catch their breath. They do not have time to sleep or recover FP, as people who ran away may be back with reinforcements within a minute or two. Takes about 2 minutes, but may be up to 10. If there are more opponents in the immediate area, cycle back to phase 3.

Phase 5 - Complete Victory: The party has either destroyed all opposition, or found a secure location to fortify while resting. They now have time to recover all FP, spam healing spells, fish out backup weapons, and other very long actions. Generally lasts as long as the party wants, but at an hour or two for regaining FP.

[Kalzazz]

On average about 2 rounds, sometimes more, sometimes less

[(E)]

Wildly variable in my games. Though I will admit to glossed over details for faceless goon battles when the players aren't into it and I'd rather get on to more plot stuff.

Also how do you define combat? Running battles with long range exchanges of arrow/gun/sling fire that have moments of stealth and tracking that go on for days? Or toe to toe "first guy to die loses" battles? Luls and movement use up a lot of time.

One memorable fight was basically over before it started when the player used acting to fake having his overly ornate looking sword stuck in its sheath. . . .