[RPG] How to handle lengthy (days+) actions without slowing the game

dnd-3.5egm-techniques

I run a D&D 3.5 game. Some of the characters have various crafting abilities, ranging from things like Alchemy, Scribe Scroll, Woodworking, Craft Wondrous Items, to Legendary Weapon Rituals, etc… The mechanics of which require days (and some weeks, or more) of prep time. How do I put that into a game?

It doesn't make sense to put the party (or the game) on hold and just say "one month later". What about the "big picture" the world is alive, things are happening… but at the same time I do not want to leave one character behind while the others play on…

This dilemma is troubling because I do not want to empower the characters too much by speeding up their actions, but at the same time I want them to be able to use them… They need to be able to use them, its part of the game. But slowing down, or stopping in a city to "prepare" for more than a few days makes no sense.

Without getting into a repetitive loop that always comes down to the same question, since I assume most here know what I am talking about… What are ways you have dealt with this, or would deal with this? Any hot tips? House rules? Hidden gems of secret lore?

Best Answer

I think this shouldn't be a dilemma for you, the GM. It should be a dilemma for the players.

If a player can craft a super-secret Alchemy Stone which will single-handedly turn the tide of battle against the forces of evil, then they will want to craft it. However, if it takes two months of intensive work to create, then the forces of evil are still moving against them in the meantime. This causes an interesting issue for the players to solve in-game. Do they take the time to build the super-secret Alchemy Stone? Do the forces of evil know that they are attempting this and try to stop them? Perhaps that would be an interesting session idea; the one character is trying to craft the MacGuffin, while the others defend his efforts from the adversary.

If it's less plot-related or dramatic crafting (like just a decent potion or other "nice-to-haves" for the characters), then you can consider simply allowing the following understanding: every night before bed, the character spends an hour performing whatever their craft is. You don't have to play this out every time. Then, after an agreed upon number of in-game days, they get whatever their trinket is. Even this is somewhat of a stretch, though, since for most crafts it would take at least an hour just to set up their equipment properly.

With that said, this is the very reason that crafting skills generally don't mix very well with an adventuring party if you're attempting to be realistic about the time frames. That's why every fantasy video game simply glosses over the crafting with a blacksmithing sound ("clang-clang-clang") and perhaps a very short timer. The amount of effort it takes simply to smith a sword is enormous, never mind whatever complex things your PCs are likely attempting. So you can either compromise your realism slightly in order to maintain the fun of the game, or you can let it be an interesting in-game dilemma.

To address the specific issue mentioned in the comments below: If you want your Wizard to be able to scribe spells into his spellbook faster but don't want to directly manipulate the rules-as-written (RAW), let them go on a quest for a magic quill which allows faster scribing or something. This would be a (hopefully) interesting in-game solution to a problem that the characters face.

You seem to be looking for an out-of-game, sort of meta-game solution to what is ultimately an in-game problem. And it's in-game problems which make games interesting. No amount of meta-game shenanigans will change the fact that in the real world it takes a week to simply forge a sword, so you will need to either bend reality, change the rules, or trust your players to handle it. For me personally as a GM, I would never force my Wizard to spend an entire day putting a new spell in his spellbook, because it's my opinion that the RAW are not the most important thing. My job as a GM is to remove obstacles that are in the way of everyone having fun.

Related Topic