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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Alcamtar" data-source="post: 204270" data-attributes="member: 3842">I think it is an unfair advantage too. It is also easy for the players to out-think the GM tactically, since they have multiple brains each running one character, while the GM has only one brain running multiple characters.However, when I mentioned this and discussed (not proposed, mind you) a possible means of simulating the fog of war, my players went ballistic. They said that metagaming and counting squares is the whole reason for playing 3E (as opposed to a different RPG), and was what makes the game fun. They further argued that their characters were smarter and more experienced than they are, and therefore as players they need all the help (and time) they can get in order to make decent tactical decisions, otherwise they cannot "roleplay their character" properly. Plus they're heroes and they're supposed to out-think the DM at every turn.Personally I strongly disagree, and if they think THEY have a hard time making sound tactical decisions with a character they've been playing for a year, they should try running a new character every 30 minutes! Besides, a competent NPC should have just as good of a strategy as the players. But, my players would raise holy hell if I tried something like this with them. They routinely take 5 *minutes* in the middle of combat to precisely orchestrate a multi-character attack strategy, including estimating an opponents' strength and ability to react based on clues about his level, feats, and other resources. They also try to take back actions all the time, saying "I wouldn't have done that if I'd known the consequences" (well duh!)(sigh)FWIW, my suggestions were:(1) Speeding combat up to get everyone less time to think: when it's you're initiative you either state your action immediately or lose it. Once an action is stated, it cannot be withdrawn. If players still hesistate, count three seconds and move on. If you want more time, delay your initiative or refocus.(2) Reducing the tactical OOC kibbitzing between players: if you say it, your opponents can hear it and act on it just like the other players can. Also, you can only take actions you thought of yourself or which were communicated to you IC, and other players are not allowed to make suggestions unless their characters are actually present and capable of making the suggestion.Mike</blockquote>

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