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Message: <blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 6752818" data-attributes="member: 97077">On the subject of player tardiness or absenteeism, I noticed this is more prevalent with in-person groups than online ones. I started running mostly online in 2011 and only very rarely do players turn up late. They also tend to give plenty of notice if they can't make it. I'm not entirely sure why this is, but it's been my experience. My guess is that there are simply less obstacles to being present and on-time in an online game than an in-person one. Perhaps giving online play a try is worth some of your time, maybe even with a pickup group on Roll20. I found running lots of pickup groups (hundreds of players now) in addition to my regular group gave me a lot of great perspective when it comes to DMing.With regard to the pacing, it sounds like the party could have used some time on the front end to create cohesion between the characters and their goals. I have found that when the players are all on the same page from the beginning, future decisions comes faster and easier with little to no conflict. Encouraging players to accept and add onto the suggestions of other players - rather than contradict and debate them - speeds things up, too. I also encourage players to make decisions based on what they know and limit discussion on contingencies based on things they don't know, suggesting that they seek out information they need rather than speculate on and debate unknowns.Player indecision when it comes to combat is never an issue at my tables. When a player joins a game, I tell him or her the following: "When it's your turn in the spotlight, act immediately or ask for advice the first offer of which you must take (as long as it's reasonable even if not perfect). When it's not your turn, think of a Plan A and a Plan B, the latter of which is in case something change before your turn that affects Plan A. Your turn is for acting, not for thinking about what to do or asking questions. If everyone adheres to this, the game is more fast-paced, more engaging, and your turn will come around quicker." Once they see this in practice and how much faster and more exciting it makes the game, indecision goes away in favor of action.Finally, in terms of driving things forward, I recommend regular restatement of the stakes and any limitations on time the characters have, then making sure those things are hard-coded into the adventure scenario. Dick around and you will fail - no leeway whatsoever (unless you do something to alter the time limit in your favor). I have no problem with failure because it will always be interesting even if it's not the players' first choice of outcome. As well, I seek out the players' permission at the beginning of the campaign to engage in hard scene-framing from time to time to skip over givens and get to the interesting stuff, provided those things are based on choices the players have already made during play. The most frequently asked question at my table is "What do you do?" because there is almost never a time when there's not something in your grill causing you to make decisions.Sorry to hear things didn't work out for you and I hope my advice above can give you some things to address with the group and try out in future campaigns.</blockquote>

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