I've been DMing nonstop for about 3 years now. And even though I really like DMing there are certain things my players do that really get on my nerves - especially bogging down gameplay and slowing down the pace to a near crawl. Not all of the players do this - most of the group actually likes taking actions and doing things.
So I'm wanting to create a document of expectations and general gamer etiquette rules.
There are also some gameplay house rules in here to help facilitate the game.
I would appreciate any comments.
1. The game starts at the designated time and ends at the designated time. Out of character conversations should be done away from the gaming table during breaks or on your own time. Since we take two weeks between each session, it's expected that players will level up their characters and purchase mundane gear between sessions. If your character isn't ready to go by the designated time, you may sit in another room until you're finished and jump into the game when you're ready. (We only get 4 hours every two weeks to play, so I want to cut down on the wasted time.)
2. Please test roll your dice away from the main gaming table if the game has started. Do not roll your dice constantly while the DM and other players are trying to play the game - it is rude. If you cannot control your urge to roll dice all session long, the DM will gladly take your dice for the remainder of the session and roll for your character. (This has gotten to be a problem as players drop dice while I'm describing areas, relaying information from NPCs, etc., and it's distracting for me and for the other players who are trying to pay attention.)
3. While planning is important to success in the game, sometimes the debates go on too long. Once the DM thinks all positions have been thoroughly explained (which usually takes a couple of minutes), he will call on the party to immediately put it to vote. Thereafter, for each minute the group continues to debate the topic, the DM will deduct 100 XP per character. (It's not unusual for our group to discuss a topic to death. Sometimes all they do all session long is discuss plans - which results in a few of our players calling it "Discussions and Debates." This happens more often than not when the bulk of the session is Out of Character discussions among the players.)
4. [Initiative has been a problem in my game. Sometimes the initiative keeper skips over my monsters. Always, every session, in every combat, about half the group forgets about when their turn is coming up. They do not think about what actions they want to do while others are performing their actions. A single, straight-forward combat can drag on for well over an hour, because people are looking up spell effects (to decide if they want to cast them), counting and recounting movement squares on the battlemat, and being generally indecisive. If this rule seems a bit harsh, it's because I think it's necessary.]
We're going to be grouping initiatives to speed up combats. Each round a player rolls for the entire group, adding the highest initiative modifier of a player character. I do the same with NPCs or monsters. The group with the highest initiative acts in segment one. The other group acts in segment two. Characters who have held action go in segment three.
Before segment one, players must declare their actions - even if giving a basic description (cast a spell, fire a ranged weapon, fight with melee weapon, charge, run away, etc.) A player is free to change his character's action after it is declared, but his character will now act in segment three of the combat round.
Within the combat round segment, individual combatants will act in the order of their Initiative modifier (highest to lowest). Each player will have 10 seconds to decide upon a specific action and perform that action. It is therefore wise to plan in advance during the other players' actions. If the player doesn't act within 10 seconds, his character is dropped down to segment three as if he had held action. If you are in segment three and you take longer than 10 seconds, you lose your action for that combat round.
What do you think? Do all of these sound too harsh?
Retreater
So I'm wanting to create a document of expectations and general gamer etiquette rules.
There are also some gameplay house rules in here to help facilitate the game.
I would appreciate any comments.
1. The game starts at the designated time and ends at the designated time. Out of character conversations should be done away from the gaming table during breaks or on your own time. Since we take two weeks between each session, it's expected that players will level up their characters and purchase mundane gear between sessions. If your character isn't ready to go by the designated time, you may sit in another room until you're finished and jump into the game when you're ready. (We only get 4 hours every two weeks to play, so I want to cut down on the wasted time.)
2. Please test roll your dice away from the main gaming table if the game has started. Do not roll your dice constantly while the DM and other players are trying to play the game - it is rude. If you cannot control your urge to roll dice all session long, the DM will gladly take your dice for the remainder of the session and roll for your character. (This has gotten to be a problem as players drop dice while I'm describing areas, relaying information from NPCs, etc., and it's distracting for me and for the other players who are trying to pay attention.)
3. While planning is important to success in the game, sometimes the debates go on too long. Once the DM thinks all positions have been thoroughly explained (which usually takes a couple of minutes), he will call on the party to immediately put it to vote. Thereafter, for each minute the group continues to debate the topic, the DM will deduct 100 XP per character. (It's not unusual for our group to discuss a topic to death. Sometimes all they do all session long is discuss plans - which results in a few of our players calling it "Discussions and Debates." This happens more often than not when the bulk of the session is Out of Character discussions among the players.)
4. [Initiative has been a problem in my game. Sometimes the initiative keeper skips over my monsters. Always, every session, in every combat, about half the group forgets about when their turn is coming up. They do not think about what actions they want to do while others are performing their actions. A single, straight-forward combat can drag on for well over an hour, because people are looking up spell effects (to decide if they want to cast them), counting and recounting movement squares on the battlemat, and being generally indecisive. If this rule seems a bit harsh, it's because I think it's necessary.]
We're going to be grouping initiatives to speed up combats. Each round a player rolls for the entire group, adding the highest initiative modifier of a player character. I do the same with NPCs or monsters. The group with the highest initiative acts in segment one. The other group acts in segment two. Characters who have held action go in segment three.
Before segment one, players must declare their actions - even if giving a basic description (cast a spell, fire a ranged weapon, fight with melee weapon, charge, run away, etc.) A player is free to change his character's action after it is declared, but his character will now act in segment three of the combat round.
Within the combat round segment, individual combatants will act in the order of their Initiative modifier (highest to lowest). Each player will have 10 seconds to decide upon a specific action and perform that action. It is therefore wise to plan in advance during the other players' actions. If the player doesn't act within 10 seconds, his character is dropped down to segment three as if he had held action. If you are in segment three and you take longer than 10 seconds, you lose your action for that combat round.
What do you think? Do all of these sound too harsh?
Retreater
