Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go right now!

[rowport]

I totally disagree with the OP's premise that doing nothing may conserve party resources. Not taking actions is always counterproductive. Every skipped player turn just increases the odds of an enemy action that damages the party.

Even if the action is simply to move into a flank, using aid another, or similar "passive" assistive cooperative actions skipping turns entirely is always a bad idea.

And, in 4e games, At-Will Powers use no resources anyway.

 

[Wormwood]

I've found that when everyone in the party has options they can use each round, they are even more reluctant to sit and do nothing when their turn comes up. As someone with a short-attention span (and a very tight gaming schedule), I really want to participate in the game to the fullest of my ability.

 

[Wormwood]

I totally disagree with the OP's premise that doing nothing may conserve party resources. Not taking actions is always counterproductive. Every skipped player turn just increases the odds of an enemy action that damages the party.

Even if the action is simply to move into a flank, using aid another, or similar "passive" assistive cooperative actions skipping turns entirely is always a bad idea.

And, in 4e games, At-Will Powers use no resources anyway.

. . . And this in its entirety.

 

[the Jester]

Do you ever see Players hold back or delay when their action or abilities aren’t needed? Do you, personally, hold back or delay when you aren’t really needed?

My group is incredibly tactically-minded, and I would say that we have someone- or multiple pcs- delay or ready to act when the moment is right, rather than just because their turn comes up, almost every session. Heck, I bet we average more than 1 delay/ready/hold back/whatever per fight, much less per session.

 

[Skallgrim]

I guess my group doesn't have this problem, but they do have the associated "Lookit Me!" problem. That is to say, regardless of how tough a monster is, the party would rather die than Aid Another in combat.


H2 Spoiler Alert!
[sblock]


They were fighting the Bronze Warder, which has a REALLY good AC (for their level). Rather than a few of the players Aiding Another player, who would then unleash a high damage power (getting through its Resist 5 all, too), they would all rather throw attacks that miss at it over and over in hopes of getting lucky.


[/sblock]
They aren't tactically inept otherwise. They will maneuver to give combat advantage, use Leader benefits tactically, delay, hold actions, etc. However, it KILLS them to not do something PERSONALLY with their action.

 

[genshou]

You can always Aid Another. There's no reason to do absolutely nothing during a potentially lethal combat situation.

 

[Barcode]

IME, I've always found it to be a warning sign when the players are not taking their turns.

1) Player is sulking. The one in mind was continually disturbed by class imbalance (3.5 game) and mad that his character had nothing to contribute.

2) Player really does have nothing significant to contribute and is just wishing the combat to be over. Rogues fighting undead come to mind.

3) I played with methods to get players to prepare for their turns ahead of time to keep the game moving. One involved an egg timer. Passive-aggressive player (who also happened to be the one delaying the action at times) would simply pass in protest.

1 and 3 were the same person. Yes, I tried many honest methods to keep him engaged, unsuccessfully, and no, he was not invited to join my next campaign.

 

[Twowolves]

I see a lot more delaying from spellcasters than any other class. Every time we play, the party wizard will, at least once, do next to nothing while the fighting men mop up. There is no need to blow a fireball to kill a half dozen mooks that 3 more rounds of melee can handle. And you know what? It doesn't bother the player in the least.

All this attitude of "I gotta do something, anything, every single round or I'm useless" smacks of "mash the button, lather, rinse, repeat" gaming. No thanks.

 

[Lord Xtheth]

My players used to hold their actions all the time in 3.5
when 4E came out they kinda stopped holding back at all... mostly because the combination of always having somthing to do, and if they do nothing, they'll probably lose the encounter.

 

[caudor]

I recall a game in which our wizard ran out of spells, and then desperately threw his bedroll at the water elemental in hopes of soaking up some the water.