Chaldfont
First Post
Players take a long time to decide what to do in combat for several reasons. Sometimes it's not the player's fault. Here are some of the reasons (and my solutions):
* Ignorance of the rules: 3e has a lot of rules. They may be looking up an ability they just gained and they aren't familiar with. Or they are trying to decide the optimal way to use it. In this case, I just make a quick judgement call (if I don't know the rule) or I suggest a good action (if I do know it). Then I tell the player to look it up during some downtime or between sessions.
* Encumbered by Bonuses: 3e has a lot bonuses. Once you get in the mid levels, its not uncommon to have several spell effects going on your PC at once. It takes time to recalculate these and if you aren't organized, you are lost. We try to fill out 3x5 cards with common effects ahead of time. Another thing to do is just make the player roll. Obviously if they roll really low or really high, you can just declare the outcome and move on without calculating the actuall roll.
* Powergaming/Minmaxing: Some players just like to make the most optimal move. These are usually powergamer tacticians (I make that sound bad, but its not--its just another way to enjoy our hobby). If they take too long to decide what to do, I tell them that a suboptimal choice is usually good enough. If they still take too long, I have them make an Int check or lose their action. If the next time the do a good job and decide quickly, I reward them with a positive comment, more spotlight time for their PC, bonuses on their next action, or more XP.
* The Best Laid Plans: Many times another player's action has totally invalidated the current player's plan. He needs time to react to the new situation. This is actually pretty fun because it gives the feeling of the chaos of battle. In this case I rush the player and encourage him to make a snap judgement, reminding him that usually your first instinct is the best.
* Ignorance of the rules: 3e has a lot of rules. They may be looking up an ability they just gained and they aren't familiar with. Or they are trying to decide the optimal way to use it. In this case, I just make a quick judgement call (if I don't know the rule) or I suggest a good action (if I do know it). Then I tell the player to look it up during some downtime or between sessions.
* Encumbered by Bonuses: 3e has a lot bonuses. Once you get in the mid levels, its not uncommon to have several spell effects going on your PC at once. It takes time to recalculate these and if you aren't organized, you are lost. We try to fill out 3x5 cards with common effects ahead of time. Another thing to do is just make the player roll. Obviously if they roll really low or really high, you can just declare the outcome and move on without calculating the actuall roll.
* Powergaming/Minmaxing: Some players just like to make the most optimal move. These are usually powergamer tacticians (I make that sound bad, but its not--its just another way to enjoy our hobby). If they take too long to decide what to do, I tell them that a suboptimal choice is usually good enough. If they still take too long, I have them make an Int check or lose their action. If the next time the do a good job and decide quickly, I reward them with a positive comment, more spotlight time for their PC, bonuses on their next action, or more XP.
* The Best Laid Plans: Many times another player's action has totally invalidated the current player's plan. He needs time to react to the new situation. This is actually pretty fun because it gives the feeling of the chaos of battle. In this case I rush the player and encourage him to make a snap judgement, reminding him that usually your first instinct is the best.
