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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chimera" data-source="post: 2604565" data-attributes="member: 2002">"We want a lot of combat""Ok, but to speed things up with this many players, I'm going to need to institute a 15 second rule on combat turns.  You have that much time to make a decision.  If you don't, then you do nothing and I move on to the next player.""WHAT???""Hey, look at it this way.  With eight players, it really means that you have a couple of minutes to figure out what you're going to do next.  Get to know your character and what s/he can do and it won't be a problem!""But, but, but...""Do you want to spend all night on one combat?"++Then follow up with a huge first battle involving all of the PCs and a horde of Kobolds or Goblins.  Lots of enemies, lots of choices, a lot going on.  (I also like those kinds of combats because it gives everyone a chance to shine by killing an enemy or two - even the Wizard should be able to drop a couple of Kobolds with spell and crossbow).Stick to your guns during this first combat and let them see how it flows.  If they complain heavily or certain people have a lot of problems, let them heal up and restock, then hit them with a similar combat where you let them take as long as they like - which will probably be the rest of the session.  Make sure to time the combats, then discuss how long each combat took, including how long it took for each round.Make a note of people who didn't make any effort to pay attention until it was their turn.  If they are the ones complaining, point out in front of everyone that they had all the time in the world and chose to spend it screwing around and not paying attention.  "Hey, you could have been figuring out what you wanted to do while Fred and Bob were doing their moves, but you were reading your book every time."  Let peer pressure take care of the rest and move on.Then negotiate with the entire group, discounting the slackers.  More time for decisions?  Fewer combats?  What do they want now that they see how it's going to work?  Don't let the screwoffs control this negotiation.  Deliberate ignore them and concentrate on speaking to and listening to those who paid attention.  They're the ones who are going to be leading the group and driving your storylines.Beyond that, don't let the sessions get bogged down in one person, or even partial party efforts.  If Roy the Rogue goes off to do something while the rest of the group cools their heels, you can spend some time on it, but not half the session.  Likewise if Suzy Shopper wants to spend half the night role-playing a trip to the market, that's something to put the kibosh on, unless you have significant encounters planned there.  Sure, that means glossing some things over and maybe upsetting the player, but better one miffed player than seven others bored out of their skulls.</blockquote>

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