A Little DM Help

[DJ_Lycos]

I have been having a little touble with combat in my game either their isnt enough per session or there is way to much (some of my players get bored cause all they want is combat and others are the other way around)...my quest is this what is a good medium for how much combat there should be per game session?

Note: my group usually plays around 5+ hours per session

[maestrodesigns]

When searching for a balance like that it's mostly 'feeling' out the needs and wants of your players. But more importantly: get interactive with them.

Try to get the roleplaying-focused guys involved in combat by making it less straightforward and by 'deepening' it with flavor, interesting situations, and npc's / monsters with a personality. A roleplaying-focused player is far more likely to actually like a combat with a monster that has just insulted him, or that is involved in the abuse of some friendly villagers you met before.

And now for the combat-focused players; same story, other way round; try to get them more involved in the roleplaying and puzzle stuff by specifically targetting them. Make them feel important, think of stuff only they can solve, etc.

It takes a little practice to 'perfect' this, but when you're able to blend the various aspects of the d&d game together in a tasty mix it won't really matter what you throw at them in in what amounts.

Our sessions generally take an hour of 4-5, and just like you we have players that end most of their sentences with "Ok, I charge!" and players that would love to spend an entire session bartering with the blacksmith to get a new sword.
Yet some of our sessions have been entirely without combat, but with all players on the edge of their seats, and others had huge combatscenarios spanning an entire session or more without losing interest of the roleplayers.