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<blockquote data-quote="Count_Zero" data-source="post: 9578606" data-attributes="member: 40164">The thing is, what you want to have happen in play, in the situation where the player is casting the spell (for this example, in combat), is for the GM to come to the player, ask them what their action is, the player responds, and then we quickly resolve.Even in Deadlands, with the Huckster's poker hand rules, at the start of combat in general, or the combat round in particular, the player can shuffle their deck of cards, and then when casting the spell deal the relevant number of cards and then use a poker hand progression cheat sheet to quickly put together either the best hand, or the hand for the spell effect the situation requires - which can be resolved in probably less than a minute.On the other hand, if the GM slides a random Sudoku puzzle or tosses a Rubiks cube across the table, that could take significantly more time, at which time either the rest of the players are waiting (and getting bored), or the spellcaster's player is not only functionally out of combat - but by the time they've completed the puzzle, the situation has changed to such a degree that the declared action is no longer applicable, and potentially might even endanger party members. In either situation, you're punishing the group with boredom, or you're punishing a player with frustration, or both.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Count_Zero, post: 9578606, member: 40164"] The thing is, what you want to have happen in play, in the situation where the player is casting the spell (for this example, in combat), is for the GM to come to the player, ask them what their action is, the player responds, and then we quickly resolve. Even in Deadlands, with the Huckster's poker hand rules, at the start of combat in general, or the combat round in particular, the player can shuffle their deck of cards, and then when casting the spell deal the relevant number of cards and then use a poker hand progression cheat sheet to quickly put together either the best hand, or the hand for the spell effect the situation requires - which can be resolved in probably less than a minute. On the other hand, if the GM slides a random Sudoku puzzle or tosses a Rubiks cube across the table, that could take significantly more time, at which time either the rest of the players are waiting (and getting bored), or the spellcaster's player is not only functionally out of combat - but by the time they've completed the puzzle, the situation has changed to such a degree that the declared action is no longer applicable, and potentially might even endanger party members. In either situation, you're punishing the group with boredom, or you're punishing a player with frustration, or both. [/QUOTE]

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