Thotas
First Post
Tand as far as 'combat is taking a ridiculous amount of time', I've found that the more your group plays, the faster combat gets. Ease of use comes over time with any given character.
I've only played Pathfinder itself once, I was running a demo at International Table Top Day and there was limited time for us to play at all. But there's a follow-up point to this that I feel confident making because it has been applicable to every single rpg I have ever played, from D&D (1e, 2e, 3e and 3.5, 4e), Top Secret (original and SI), Mayfair's DC Heroes game, Green Ronin's Mutants & Masterminds, what have you -- I assume it will apply in 5e or Next or whatever you want to call it, it's universal as far as I can tell. And that point is the game goes fast enough if players are focused on the game. I find that on the average, my turn takes about half of the time most of the other players' turns do. That's because I don't disengage from the game when my turn is over and then reengage when my turn comes around again. I keep playing, planning my next turn when one ends, watching to see if my plans get foiled or made superfluous by intervening events and changing my tactics if that happens. It doesn't mean I can't participate in joking around or snacking or what have you, it's just that I'm always aware enough of what's going on at the battle board to be ready to roll when it's my turn to roll (or describe my actions, anyway). I've seen cases where to many people weren't ready to play when their turn came around, and blamed the rule system when their game was a mess. Again, I can't say that this is happening at your table. But I would take a look if I were you to see it it isn't a factor.