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Message: <blockquote data-quote="LeapingShark" data-source="post: 2350655" data-attributes="member: 15618">The characters and the players are not the same.     If Joe from Cincinnatti leaves the table to visit the bathroom, or picks at a bag of cheetos, that doesn't mean his Wizard must pee on the orc's leg or eat fried-halfling-fingers from his spell pouch.   When the accountant, the nurse, and the tire mechanic in Joe's apartment take 2 minutes to discuss some of the options they see on their character sheets or point out locations on the battle map; that doesn't mean that the fantasy characters have said or done anything yet. When players take extra time to discuss meta-game strategies,  or to dial for pizza on a cellphone, or to talk about Maria Sharapova's diamond-studded shoes; time and combat is frozen in the fantasy world.I don't want to make the heroes of the story think and act like non-combatant civilians from planet Earth year 2005. The characters are expert fighting heroes in a fantasy medieval universe, fictional supermen who stand face to face with goblins and elves on a daily basis. The conclusion of a 2 minute meta-game conversation between Wilma, Fred, and Barney in Cincinnatti, is the equivalent of what a magically-enhanced Fighter, Cleric, and a Rogue will do in 6 seconds without opening their mouths to speak a single word.</blockquote>