Did you watch the opening? If that happened to me, and people described what's supposed to happen as flesh turning to gore and face splitting open, I would NOT be casually exploring the world. Id be rushing like crazy to find a cure, and my sleep would be MESSED up. I would have a hard time resting, not resting every 10 minutes of gameplay just so I can trigger all the character development.
The fact that people keep saying that they were told it's not urgent makes my point for me. They can say that you should not be rushed because there is no sense of real urgency in the game. There's no consequences for chilling and gibing other than being nagged by some people who even tell you that's nobody knows what is really happening. THEY DON'T KNOW.
Im sorry, if this was RL, I don't think a single person would be stopping to search every little container in the game. They'd be moving their butts, working as fast as possible to find a cure.
That is why, in other posts, I suggested 2 long rests a day. In D&D a long rest is 8 hours. Not 20. It least 2 long rests a day gives players the ability to rest twice in 1 day, recover spells and HP. This would slow down how much time you are actually expending by resting and recovering. So 2 long rests = 1 day, 6 = 3 days. Thus, after 6 long rests, gobbos attack the grove or something.
Now I'd like night play, but if they don't do that because it's too hard, fine. I can rise with the dawn, adventure for an hour or two, long rest 8, adventure and hour or two and long rest 8 with a few 1 hour short rests in there to equal 24 hours. I can even say I did all my adventuring during the day. But this way, at least, im not playing for 10 minutes, resting 24 hours, playing for 20 minutes, resting for 1 hour, playing for 5 minutes, resting 24...it makes no sense to me.
But, again, the point is reward me for pushing myself and challenging my character's. Give me more dialogue, better equipment, etc. for good gameplay, for staying true to the story. That is how D&D is supposed to be played. You don't reward players for trailing off on side quests and completely ignoring the urgency of the main quest. Good DM's are supposed to reward good role playing. They don't punish them for it.
The pace if this game would only be helped by consequences for playing the game casually. You take too long, people die. That's real life. That's how D&D is meant to be.
Last edited by GM4Him; 18/03/21 09:14 AM.