Champions battles were epic. The slow pace was part of the fun, it felt weighty and meaningful. I think the problem isn't slow turns themselves, but the expectation of instant gratification. People are used to fast-paced games and struggle to focus on something that unfolds more deliberately. Solutions? Maybe shorter combats more often, or finding players who appreciate that slower, more tactical style.
Pace of Play, Engagement and "Excitement"
- Thread starter Reynard
- Start date
For my part, I have never had any problems whatsoever with slow combat sessions or even dice-rolled combat at all. Part of being an effective DM/GM is being able to adapt to the preferences of the player group as a whole.
But I think there's two sides to the argument of maintaining engagement. The first thing I ask myself when I see the phones being pulled out and the increased volume of side-conversations is "is my current style of GM-ing causing my players' eyes to glaze over?" After settling that question, of course, I begin the admonishments, finger-shaking, and scolding.
On a side note, I must confess to experiencing alarm at this rapidly-growing idea that there must be less time spent on combat resolution and more on whatever the group defines as role-playing. For some groups, that just isn't, and will never be, the case.
Over 20 years ago, I joined a newly-formed (and short-lived) gaming group where the genre was 18th-century piracy, trading, and political intrigue in the Caribbean islands. The GM did not inform me that, when he ran gaming sessions, dice-rolling as a means of combat resolution was a thing of the past. I forget exactly how he went about resolving said combat, but I do remember that he treated inevitable fighting as something akin to a visit to the dentist: necessary, and put behind us ASAP. Simply put, the fact being treated as if it didn't exist is that some adult gamers love their dice-rolling combat sessions just as much as they do their opportunities to take the role-playing stage. For them (ahem, us), the opportunity to roll dice is the same as having just a little part in deciding what direction the session takes afterward. Hey, we just slew the villainous overlord and saved the town! That means that, because of us, fate has been altered for this part of the world, for better or worse. That's not altogether an undesirable thing.
But I think there's two sides to the argument of maintaining engagement. The first thing I ask myself when I see the phones being pulled out and the increased volume of side-conversations is "is my current style of GM-ing causing my players' eyes to glaze over?" After settling that question, of course, I begin the admonishments, finger-shaking, and scolding.
On a side note, I must confess to experiencing alarm at this rapidly-growing idea that there must be less time spent on combat resolution and more on whatever the group defines as role-playing. For some groups, that just isn't, and will never be, the case.
Over 20 years ago, I joined a newly-formed (and short-lived) gaming group where the genre was 18th-century piracy, trading, and political intrigue in the Caribbean islands. The GM did not inform me that, when he ran gaming sessions, dice-rolling as a means of combat resolution was a thing of the past. I forget exactly how he went about resolving said combat, but I do remember that he treated inevitable fighting as something akin to a visit to the dentist: necessary, and put behind us ASAP. Simply put, the fact being treated as if it didn't exist is that some adult gamers love their dice-rolling combat sessions just as much as they do their opportunities to take the role-playing stage. For them (ahem, us), the opportunity to roll dice is the same as having just a little part in deciding what direction the session takes afterward. Hey, we just slew the villainous overlord and saved the town! That means that, because of us, fate has been altered for this part of the world, for better or worse. That's not altogether an undesirable thing.
KYRON45
Hero
If players aren't paying attention we skip them. If a PC is just standing in there in the middle of combat doing nothing, the enemy is going to focus on the guy who's not engaged in the combat. Am i too harsh? Maybe. Should you be paying attention? Yes.
It's usually pretty easy to tell if someone isn't paying attention if you're playing in-person. It's often much harder to tell if you're online, especially if you for whatever reason/s aren't using cameras. Is that player not responding because they aren't paying attention, or did their connection just drop out on them? I'd be really reluctant to punish someone for the latter.
There's also the fact different people will respond conversationally, decide on their actions, and process results at different speeds, and I don't find it worthwhile to try to push that, much.
Theory of Games
Storied Gamist
Yup. Horror rpgs IMO can be even more engaging if the pace is slow and ominous.
S0 (Session Zero): the group should set expectations (e.g., instead of zoning-out when it isn't your turn, pay attention so you can know how to better help PC teammates). I also found when a scene has something the player or their PC wants, engagement is higher.
overgeeked
Dragonbane
I think players would be engaged if the game were interesting to them. They check out when they’re not interested. It’s really hard to make sitting there doing absolutely nothing for 30-45 minutes between your turns anything other than excruciatingly boring.
Nope. Not at all.
It makes perfect sense for players to disengage when there’s nothing engaging happening.
Let it go. Accept that it will happen when playing games with long turns and fiddly, boring mechanics. The alternative is to play games with quicker turns, i.e. less mechanics to fiddle with.
KYRON45
Hero
No pushing required…be ready or we move on.
This misses the whole point of a complex and tactically satisfying system. You want people to take their time and make fun, good tactical choices.No pushing required…be ready or we move on.
KYRON45
Hero
Not paying attention and fiddling with your phone etc is not the same as paying attention and taking your time to work things out.
I’m all for everyone working together to optimize their actions but if you want to watch YouTube or play candy crush…stay home.
This I agree with. I think I read too quickly and just thought you were complaining about people taking too long on their turns. my bad.
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