I was doing some reading of an old thread, and came across Ben's statement:



In re-reading this two years + later I thought it might be a good time to have a positive discussion.  (And also because we need some dang traffic on here   )

"Dithering" in combat, for me, suspends the action and takes away from the enjoyment.  Each character has a 6-second time frame in which to act.  Although speech is included in there, at times we've all seen discussions of 5 or 10 minutes or even more about what characters should do in the next combat round, and what a certain character's actions should be.   

Perhaps this comes from the fact that some may not be paying attention, so don't have an idea of the situation and what their options are.  We're all human, and I've certainly been guilty of not paying attention at times.  However at that point some guidance is in order, as the character would be fully engaged in the combat.  But a full-on discussion of tactics between the players? Nope

IMO a short suggestion to the other player (if they've been paying attention) should be all that's needed.  If they've been out of the room or not paying attention, a quick recap of the current situation would be the right thing to do, followed by a short suggestion if there is one.  Ultimately, each player is running their own character and will do what they wish; but a quick, timely suggestion may help improve things, while a long, drawn out discussion of who should do what and when is a negative.

There has been a lot of improvement in this aspect, in Joe's campaign.  Perhaps it's that the characters are used to working together, or everyone has a clear job to do in combat, I don't know.  But the last few sessions have been pretty darn good, and I hope that it will carry over to Dan's campaign when we start back.


After the end of an adventure, discussion and dithering are normal, to some extent.  I agree with Ben that it's irritating.  In the simplest terms the group splits up the treasure then decides what to do next. 

If there is no clear goal established for the group, then there's argument and dissension.  In the older thread there was some mention of taking a vote for the next goal and that seems to make good sense.  Perhaps in the future if we find ourselves in this situation, each person/character can put forth an idea, and having a vote would solve the issue and minimize grumbling.  [Role playing was also mentioned, so IMO the ideas should match the character's goals, but that's another thread]     

If there's a clear goal however, then continuing with that is easy, and little if any discussion is required.

Any thoughts?

No. 

well there it is then