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WarKitty
2010-09-04, 09:24 AM
I need some ideas here. My group tends to talk - a lot. I almost got my character killed last session because I couldn't hear the DM say there was an area effect active. My group said they're sympathetic but they're not sure how to keep up the RP convos that they like and not bog the game down indefinitely while avoiding this problem.

Aotrs Commander
2010-09-04, 09:29 AM
I usually kill one of the players at random when things get out of hand...



Failing that, the DM shouting "guys, shut up and pay attention to the fight!" is favourite. Convasations are fine, but not if they are actually interupting the game. The DM should be making sure the players show some decorum when talking (be it in or out of character.)

Still, I suppose it could be worse, if they're taking IN character...Most of the time this problem is usually people talking about non-game related things.

HunterOfJello
2010-09-04, 09:29 AM
throw dice at them

or throw small pieces of paper in their face until they get really pissed off

WarKitty
2010-09-04, 09:30 AM
I usually kill one of the players at random when things get out of hand...



Failing that, the DM shouting "guys, shut up and pay attention to the fight!" is favourite. Convasations are fine, but not if they are actually interupting the game. The DM should be making sure the players show some decorum when talking (be it in or out of character.)

Still, I suppose it could be worse, if they're taking IN character...Most of the time this problem is usually people talking about non-game related things.

They are in fact talking in character. It's just that I can't hear the DM very well - almost got fried last time by a group of shocker lizards because I didn't hear the DM saying it was an area effect.

KillianHawkeye
2010-09-04, 09:35 AM
This is why, when I'm the DM, I always double check player actions. For instance, I would have said "are you sure you wanna move there? there's electric lizards gettin their mojo on!"

That being said, I have extremely poor control of the table chatter in my group. :smallsigh:

Paladineyddi
2010-09-04, 09:42 AM
I usually dont start the game until we have finished most of our in game related chatter then we sit down put some music on and get gaming

after that its thrown dice and -xp

valadil
2010-09-04, 09:45 AM
They are in fact talking in character. It's just that I can't hear the DM very well - almost got fried last time by a group of shocker lizards because I didn't hear the DM saying it was an area effect.

Sit next to the GM.

I don't even try to control it. My players are all louder and more garrulous than me. I usually try to give them 15-30 minutes to get OOC chat out of their system and then I start game. That doesn't really help your IC chat problem though.

WarKitty
2010-09-04, 09:48 AM
Sit next to the GM.

I don't even try to control it. My players are all louder and more garrulous than me. I usually try to give them 15-30 minutes to get OOC chat out of their system and then I start game. That doesn't really help your IC chat problem though.

Believe it or not that's already where I am sitting.

What doesn't help is that I have a minor processing disorder that means it's extra-hard to separate out different stimulii.

FelixG
2010-09-04, 09:59 AM
as the DM i give two warnings then start deducting XP from players who insist on chattering OOC.

Also the GM should remember that the "talking" in character should be limited to short snipits as immediate actions, or used as actions on their turns, other than that everyone should STFU during combat to make things clear or risk XP loss as noted above.

On my online games it is easier, if i have an expressive chatty player i mute them and i tell them they can message me with their characters actions and words and i will dutifuly repost them as they cant be trusted to talk to the whole room apparently. Doing this once or twice usually gets them in line.

Alternative you could sit closer to the DM if you are a player so you can hear them over the other players shenanigans.

Spiryt
2010-09-04, 10:02 AM
Say " bla bla bla" one more time, I dare you, I double dare you!

http://www.empireonline.com/images/features/100greatestcharacters/photos/19.jpg

Grendus
2010-09-04, 10:05 AM
When I GM, I usually stop the story until the chatter dies down. It usually works, as most of the conversation is about the game anyways (we eat first, so that gets most of the non-game talking out of the way).

Gorgon_Heap
2010-09-04, 10:13 AM
I encourage IC conversation, but if it gets out of hand I will say some akin to, "Ok, paraphrase the rest or save it for later" or, if they're in combat, I will simply ignore them and let them be in awe and wonder of my magnificent cruelty when they start getting their asses kicked because they weren't paying attention.

Of course, I virtually always GM, so I'm not sure what I'd do as a fellow player aside from ignore the otehrs. Maybe write notes for GM eyes only so that you/I at least would be communicating effectively and he/she knows who is paying attention.

Booyah! Brownie points!

Halaster
2010-09-04, 10:22 AM
Control IC chatter? Not usually necessary. I let it run for a few minutes, then gently push the action along. Once or twice players complained about not having time to talk IC, so I keep trying to adapt my pace to the group in question and strike a good balance between adventure pacing and player needs.

What you seem to have on your hand is a somewhat different situation, though. My groups usually alternate between talking to the GM, talking to each other IC and listening to the GM. Your group seems to be mixing these activities rather liberally. I can't really see that working among optimally adjusted players. Now if you have processing issues, that must be hell. So, I think one of two options might work:

a) the salami approach: slice the game time. Whenever there's a hot IC conversation going on, the GM holds his horses, Likewise, while there's GM-side action - like shocker lizards running around - the group stops talking. If your GM is good at what he does, he should find time for player conversation without the story grinding to a halt.
b) the apples approach: make up a safeword (like "apples") you can use if you have trouble following what the GM says. Whenever you say that word, your fellow players pipe down for a moment and the GM repeats what he just said.

Tyndmyr
2010-09-04, 10:52 AM
I usually kill one of the players at random when things get out of hand...


And I thought killing off characters was a good way to get attention.

In general, I find that saying "init" is a great way to get attention. However, Its rare that I have a problem with too MUCH roleplaying.

As a player, Id suggest you, in character, yell at your comrades to knock off all the chatter in combat and focus on the job at hand.

LibraryOgre
2010-09-04, 11:00 AM
They are in fact talking in character. It's just that I can't hear the DM very well - almost got fried last time by a group of shocker lizards because I didn't hear the DM saying it was an area effect.

One thing is make sure you sit closer to the DM. While them talking all the time (during a fight? There's gonna be some modifiers if you're chatting instead of fighting) is a problem, you also need to make sure you're close to the DM if you can't hear him, and close to the board if you can't see things.

One thing we instituted was a certain number of words per action. I think it was 5 words on your action, three words off. So, you can yell brief advice to your wizard buddy ("DON'T SHOOT ME!") on his turn, and be a little bit more verbose on your turn ("Chief is mine! Hit ogres!"). It was applied to everyone, but Hzurr (aka the DreamMasher) only got picky about it when the table chatter got a bit much.

arrowhen
2010-09-04, 11:01 AM
First of all, you shouldn't be talking about "controlling" the talking at the table if you're the only one who has a problem with it. If everyone else feels like you're trying to make them stop doing something they enjoy just to accommodate you, it's going to lead to resentment.

Instead, sit down with the group and try to come up with ways that they can help you get the information you need to participate. That's going to depend on the specifics of your condition. Maybe it's something as simple as training them to wave at you and make eye contact before saying something that you need to hear. Maybe the DM needs to use visual cues or notes on a whiteboard pointing out things like area effects. Or maybe something completely different; I'm certainly no expert in the matter.

You might consider finding an online forum for people with your particular disorder and asking people there for advice. Even if there aren't any gamers there, the mental and sensory demands of a gaming session are similar enough to those of, say, a meeting in a typical office environment (with the one exception that unlike any meeting I've ever been to, the players in an RPG session actually want to be there) that you'll probably get plenty of helpful suggestions.

Ihouji
2010-09-04, 12:31 PM
I'm all for random RP between PCs, but if its during combat I do put a limit on the chatter basically if that persons turn comes around and they are talking and don't realize they delay there turn until they shut up and realize "hey you skipped my turn". Same rule applies to the indecisive caster who is looking over his or her spell list for 5 minutes every time its that persons turn, after so long you just have to say "your turn is delayed until you figure out what you are doing".

Its poor table etiquette to talk over the GM at any rate, especially during combat when life or death information is being given.

Person_Man
2010-09-04, 01:10 PM
During combat, give each player (but not the DM) a timer. There are plenty of little plastic "hour glasses" in various board games, or you could use a chess clock, or whatever. 1-2 minutes per person per turn. If your time runs out, you loose any unused actions. This tends to make everyone focus and cuts down on interruptions.

Out of combat, I do my best to write down and email all the players the background information before the game. "You are in the town of Whatever. Population 1,000. Mostly humans. And so on." In general, the DM should never read aloud any description that is more then a few sentence wrong. Exposition should be accomplished through dialogue between players and NPCs, not monologue between the DM and players.

If there is an NPC present, all discussion is considered "in character." So if someone starts mouthing off with Monty Python quotes to the king, the king thinks he's insane.

Now I understand you're not the DM, but you could talk to the DM about instituting the above suggestions. They work.

Halaster
2010-09-04, 01:24 PM
Those suggestions quite emphatically don't work with players who care about IC talk and playing their characters. Do not suggest them to your GM or your group if you want to keep their respect. It's a roleplaying game, not timechess, not kindergarten group. Don't try to fight fire with nuclear weapons. A little more talk than you can handle is decidedly better than turning your group into something that resembles Jeopardy.

Players should have time to think their actions through in combat. Particularly those with special needs. I play a game with a stutterer. If our GM tried to set him a clock, he'd miss every other turn. As long as the game doesn't grind to a halt, let people think a bit.

Likewise, if the relaxed, pleasant gaming atmosphere is getting lost by disallowing OOC injections, everyone will lose their fun. If the game is not intense enough to make the players quit OOC talk, it is by definition relaxed enough to take them.

The one thing in the above post I can agree with is that overly long descriptions ought to be avoided. They'll bore your players to death in no time. But that was not the problem.

Ihouji
2010-09-04, 01:50 PM
Those suggestions quite emphatically don't work with players who care about IC talk and playing their characters. Do not suggest them to your GM or your group if you want to keep their respect. It's a roleplaying game, not timechess, not kindergarten group. Don't try to fight fire with nuclear weapons. A little more talk than you can handle is decidedly better than turning your group into something that resembles Jeopardy.

Players should have time to think their actions through in combat. Particularly those with special needs. I play a game with a stutterer. If our GM tried to set him a clock, he'd miss every other turn. As long as the game doesn't grind to a halt, let people think a bit.

Likewise, if the relaxed, pleasant gaming atmosphere is getting lost by disallowing OOC injections, everyone will lose their fun. If the game is not intense enough to make the players quit OOC talk, it is by definition relaxed enough to take them.


I GM a mix bag of players and I have to disagree. Some of my players would simply lose interest and walk away if I let the 2 that come for RP talk through the whole combat or let the indecisive caster take 5 minutes to pick a spell.

I think a timer is a bad idea but at some point you do have to say pick a spell or the next person is going. I don't just skip that persons turn(unless it comes all the way back to them) just delay it, and the same applies to someone talking and not paying attention. It adds a sense of urgency to what is again supposed to be combat IE you react or you die, you have to make a fast decision.

Likewise I don't just run dungeon crawls as the combat people would love it but the RPers (and me) would be bored out of our minds.

As for running with someone with a speech problem that is again why a timer is a bad idea once you start talking no one is going to cut you off, its the guy who sits and stairs at his spell list not saying anything for 5 minutes, or the guy not paying any attention that bothers me.

ShadowsGrnEyes
2010-09-04, 02:16 PM
boffer bat. nerf bat or equivalent. . . nerf projectiles work too. . . but only if YOU are the dm. . . as a player, you can ask people to focus and occasionly remind them but thats really it unless you talk to the DM about reigning them in.

Halaster
2010-09-04, 02:20 PM
No need to disagree, we're on the same page. Like I said before, a good mix and a sense of pacing are what matters. Rigidly enforced rules like the ones I disagreed with are not going to accomplish anything but make people feel bored and treated poorly.

I said nothing about giving anyone 5 minutes, but setting them a timer is ridiculous. Sometimes you need a little longer, sometimes you go a little faster and after a while you know needs some encouragement to make a decision and who you can trust to take no longer than they need. This goes for both action and RP. There's a time for everything, and the players and GM need to get a sense of when that time is. The GM in particular.

I get the impression that the OPs group is getting a little carried away with the RP part sometimes. But since they've recognized that, they should be able to handle it without a buzzer.

Thefurmonger
2010-09-04, 02:31 PM
Man, I guess my old group would be thought of as a bunch of &^%$%*s,
When it came to your turn you had 6 seconds to declare what you were doing. the dice rolling and other crap could take longer then that but you only had 6 to declare.

It made for some REALLY fast conversations between ppl. at least to us it felt more real. and really its funny as hell to watch a Wiz fire off a spell that cant actually reach the BBEG.

*It's worth pointing out that none of our players had any special needs*

Halaster
2010-09-04, 03:02 PM
I'm not saying it can't be fun. But it's not a good way to improve pacing or control conversations at the gaming table. In fact, if your fellow players are making it difficult to hear the GM, it won't help if you have only 6 seconds, or a minute, to make a decision, on the contrary, it will make things that much more frustrating.
"Could you please repeat wha..." - "Sorry, turn's over, next!"
Not so cool.

DabblerWizard
2010-09-04, 03:34 PM
For the most part, I didn't have much trouble "controlling" talk during the game session.

When we all arrived at the host's house, I would intentionally give them about half an hour to chatter before starting the game. If they wanted to start sooner, that was fine too.

I would provide a very discrete transition between 'game hasn't started', and 'game has started' - "Are we ready to start now?" would often be enough to get everyone to quiet down, and listen to me (1) giving background on what's currently happening or (2) listen to a summary of the previous session(s).

It's also worth noting that my players were good about listening intently to what I had to say. They were courteous enough not to interrupt me, and if they did, I would tell them to not do that. If they had continued ignoring me, or only half listening, I would have just stopped the game until they were ready to pay attention. Since my play style is fairly RP heavy, players (and characters) need to be engaged or they will miss the story.

Another point along these lines has to do with DMing style. Some DMs know how to set pace well. They quickly move past boring elements to a story, and focus on those parts that interest their players. Whether that means story, or action, or treasure, or choices, etc, the players are almost always engaged because they are interested in what is happening. Throwing in plot twists and tense moments and other dramatic effects can be quite fun too.

Also, some players have better attention spans than others. Some of these less attentive players are better at keeping their cool and not being distracting. This partially has to do with age, temperament, etc.

WarKitty
2010-09-04, 07:46 PM
Ok here's how things stand:

I've expressed to one or two of the other players that it's very distracting and that I had several problems last time because I was missing information and/or trying to do something in-game at the same time other people were talking. Two of the other players have expressed emphatically that they do not want limits on talking as that's what keeps combat from being boring. I'm already sitting next to the DM so there's nothing to do there. Our DM says he doesn't want to allow retries if I get confused because he's afraid it'll be abused.

I'm really not sure what to do here. I kind of feel like I'm pushing too much on my group to not have the kind of fun they want. I really don't think some of the other players get what I'm saying at all, that it's not something I can just learn to deal with. If anyone has any brilliant ideas I'm open to them - this is the main thing our group does together, and I don't want to be between "engaging in an activity I don't enjoy" and "missing our main times as a friend group."

Edit: I have no idea what the disorder's named, apparently I'm one of those people that has something funny going on but doesn't really meet the criterion to be diagnosed with anything.

awesomessake
2010-09-04, 07:57 PM
Surprise your players with a great wyrm red dragon.

Keep punishing them until they get the picture...

WarKitty
2010-09-04, 07:59 PM
Surprise your players with a great wyrm red dragon.

Keep punishing them until they get the picture...

Dude, I said I'm a player.

Kish
2010-09-04, 08:05 PM
My immediate reaction is, "Lots of in-character talking is a problem?"
My second reaction is, "Wait, is it realistic that they're talking a lot while fighting shocker lizards? What is this, Marvel Comics?"

You might have some luck questioning the realism angle.

Ormur
2010-09-04, 08:07 PM
I find it a bit interesting that they're having such long conversations in character in combat that it distracts you. Combat usually just takes a few seconds so there's only time for so much worth of free actions, even if they are free.

At least you could ask them to keep quiet when the DM is speaking. It's not like it takes a long time for him to tell you that the NPC just cast freezing fog. If you have a battle map I also suggest that he mark the boundary of area effect on them. You could then always ask what that circle on the grid is before you walk into it.

awesomessake
2010-09-04, 08:10 PM
Dude, I said I'm a player.

Sorry, must've missed that part...

But i agree with Kish. It all depends on what you're talking about, and how obnoxious you're being.

Thiyr
2010-09-04, 08:29 PM
Is it that you can't hear him at all, or that you know he's talking but you can't tell what he's saying? If you can't hear him at all, ask the players to hold on for a second for you to ask what's going on (because you couldn't hear before). It's your turn, so they should hopefully be willing to stop for a few seconds while you get an update. If you know he's talking, do the same thing, but only when he says something you don't catch. "What did you just say?" being my phrase of choice. The goal is mostly to buy yourself the five-ish seconds to hear, and then let them resume.

Captain Six
2010-09-04, 08:31 PM
IC banter I encourage as much as I can, I love the breather and it is the highlight of my day listening them react to what goes on around them. I also allow the characters to be as silly or snarky as they want to be. Just because I run the world around them seriously doesn't mean the individuals within it have to be serious. It is a bit odd to see from supposedly dark age characters but letting them get it all out IC only means less is spoken OOC. OOC banter is fairly well controlled through a system I adopted from LARP. If you want to say something OOC you must put your hand on the top of your head to leave character. First of all it feels silly which discourages it, second of all even the minimal effort that action takes is enough to make irrelevant references and mood shattering one-liners not really worth it.

Mnemnosyne
2010-09-04, 08:44 PM
If the characters are having an at-length conversation mid-combat, then they should lose their turns once they start blathering on excessively. One, two sentences, at most, per combat round, is all that the DM should allow in-character. How much can you say in six seconds, anyway, unless you talk like the Micro Machines guy? Hell, even more realistically, spellcasters should be unable to say more than three seconds worth of words in the same round they're spellcasting in, (assuming the spell is a standard action) otherwise they're cutting into the time those Vocal components require. If you're yammering to your party you're not intoning magical syllables.

This, I should note, was actually a pretty big point of adjustment for me in going from AD&D 2nd Edition's 1-minute round, to 3rd Edition's 6-second round. The amount of talking you could do mid-battle went way down (and I'd say by and large it's considerably more realistic this way).

Furthermore, out of character conversation shouldn't be allowed to convey in-character information. The players should never be allowed to come up with some complex plan by commiserating out of character, then carry it out in character without the characters ever having had time to discuss it.

Only if the entire group is under some sort of mindlink (which is possible in a few methods of course) should the characters be allowed to carry out complex plans without discussing them in-character. I'm not talking, by the way, about things where the next guy's part in the plan is self-evident by what's going on, but a plan where two or three individuals do seemingly unrelated and non-obvious things in order to come together for a larger plan/effect.

Beyond that, if you don't understand what the DM has said, I would say to just say that you didn't understand. Loudly. Ask everyone around to shut the bloody hell up for a moment while the DM talks, then they can go back to their chatter, but when the DM is explaining the situation and the conditions of the area, everyone needs to shut the hell up so you can hear what your character is seeing and experiencing.

Never declare actions until you're sure you've heard the DM correctly, and ask for clarification as often as necessary until you understand what the situation is.

Dr.Epic
2010-09-04, 08:46 PM
Speaking item (bottle, stick, anything that isn't large and can be held in one hand easily). Only whoever has it can speak. Also, the DM should be the person with the first speaking rights and should be able to tell others to shut up.

FelixG
2010-09-04, 08:47 PM
Speaking item (bottle, stick, anything that isn't large and can be held in one hand easily). Only whoever has it can speak. Also, the DM should be the person with the first speaking rights and should be able to tell others to shut up.

This is a good idea. Though there would have to be some way to punish the people who dont respect the item

Dr.Epic
2010-09-04, 08:51 PM
This is a good idea. Though there would have to be some way to punish the people who dont respect the item

Deduct XP. Maybe 10 points for every word. It's the solution to pretty much anything. This won't work on the DM, but really, they should be able to speak whenever.

Grendus
2010-09-04, 09:52 PM
As a player, you can either talk to them or talk to the DM. You can't punish them or anything unless you take turns DMing, in which case you could deduct points for acting out of character (would your characters really discuss complex strategy at lightning speed to fit in a six second round, probably at the top of their voice so they can be heard) or skip their turns if they miss them.

WarKitty
2010-09-04, 09:58 PM
As a player, you can either talk to them or talk to the DM. You can't punish them or anything unless you take turns DMing, in which case you could deduct points for acting out of character (would your characters really discuss complex strategy at lightning speed to fit in a six second round, probably at the top of their voice so they can be heard) or skip their turns if they miss them.

Yeah, I'd just rather have a concrete idea to take to the group instead of just the problem. Although it's a bit off-putting that some of the players seem to just not get what the problem is.:smallannoyed:

Mnemnosyne
2010-09-04, 10:18 PM
Well you could basically say, either you guys shut up for twenty seconds while the DM talks, or I'm going to spend ten minutes every combat round asking the DM to repeat and re-clarify everything to make sure I heard correctly.

FelixG
2010-09-05, 01:03 AM
Well you could basically say, either you guys shut up for twenty seconds while the DM talks, or I'm going to spend ten minutes every combat round asking the DM to repeat and re-clarify everything to make sure I heard correctly.

or: Airhorn, if their jabbering stops you from hearing something important tap an airhorn to shut them up then ask the GM to repeat :P

Halaster
2010-09-05, 02:59 AM
Well, I'm getting a little worried about your group. I mean, these guys are your friends, they should know about your personal situation, and still they don't want to compromise. Particularly the GM, he sounds like he thinks you using your condition as an excuse. Not very nice of them, is my reaction. But you know them better than I do.

Well, I guess all these strict rules stuff (no talking in combat or you miss your turns) and whatnot isn't going to help, even if your GM would be willing to implement it, since your talkative friends have such a need to relieve the tedium of combat.

I still say some kind of signal might work, something you can say or do to signal that, now, right now, for just five seconds, they should shut up. If they can't live with that, they're being jerks. I mean, it doesn't happen all the time, does it?

Another approach might be to team up with them. They find combat boring, you get confused, it's not really fun for 3 players in your group (which would be the majority in any group I played in) - just ask the GM to have less combat encounters and more RP opportunities. You could also suggest a system with less elaborate combat rules, so there's less to bore your fellows and less for you to miss. Hero Wars/Glorantha comes to mind, or Warhammer FRP. That might speed up combat, take the boredom and confusion out and add to everyone's fun.

As for making them see the problem: point out such scenes as the one with the lizard. Ask them if they think you would have done that, if you had known. Wait for other such situations to come around and say: "Right guys, this is it. I just missed something important." to show them what situations bother you.

Dig a little for material on processing disorders in general. Try to find something similar to what you have and give them material on it. I wish I could help you, but I don't know much about this.

Kaww
2010-09-05, 05:36 AM
Speaking item (bottle, stick, anything that isn't large and can be held in one hand easily). Only whoever has it can speak. Also, the DM should be the person with the first speaking rights and should be able to tell others to shut up.

I tried it as an experiment. It did not work that well. I just clap my hands loudly and everybody just shuts up. I usually play with same people (every party is different, but has 5ish out of 10 from my usual group), so I can stop them talking when I raise my hand (which we adopted as shutthehellup sign) works on DMs too.:smallwink:

Thefurmonger
2010-09-05, 08:42 AM
I hate to say it, but it really sounds like everyone else is having a blast the way they play. Even the DM

And agian it sucks, but it seems like for you to have fun would make them not have fun.

I know I may get flamed here but if 5 people have one kind of fun and one person has another then the anwser is fairly easy.

I would either deal with it, or find a new group.

You have tried talking to the DM, you have tried talking to the group. both either don't think its a problem, or just don't care.

Deal or walk.

liquid150
2010-09-05, 09:08 AM
From the information I'm gathering reading this thread, the problem runs a little deeper than it first appears.

Players chatter so much IC because they feel, if they don't, then combat is boring.

So, why is combat boring? This may be the problem you need to solve to get this matter resolved properly.

Likely, combat is boring because it takes too long for the turns to get around the table (this is really the only way I can see combat being boring). Talk to your DM if you agree with me. Tell him that instead of players talking in-character, they really ought to be considering what their next move will be. Place a hard time limit on action decisions. Some groups make it 6 seconds, others make it 30, and others make it 1 minute. Players get bored when people sit there for a long time deciding, then pull out a book to figure out a rule, etc. etc.

The DM will have to enforce this hard rule. Encourage players to analyze the situation rather than chat, so they can make a quick decision and have their books open to the appropriate pages.

I have a feeling the problem is a double-edged sword. Players chat because combat is boring, and combat is boring because players chat too much and deliberate their moves for too long when their turn finally comes up. The best way I can imagine solving this is giving players 10 seconds to declare their move. If they don't declare in that time, they are moved to the bottom of the initiative order to represent their indecisiveness in-game (if they are so adamant about being in-character, they would be paying attention in combat since you don't chat during battle). Give them 1 minute to produce any rules they might need to resolve their turn, if they cannot do this in that time frame the results of their action is delayed until they can produce the necessary rules.

The net result of these rules should be that players pay more attention to the task at hand, and combat will run faster in general.

I am sorry about your condition as well. That must be hard and I pray that it can be improved upon. Soldier On.

WarKitty
2010-09-05, 09:22 AM
I hate to say it, but it really sounds like everyone else is having a blast the way they play. Even the DM

And agian it sucks, but it seems like for you to have fun would make them not have fun.

I know I may get flamed here but if 5 people have one kind of fun and one person has another then the anwser is fairly easy.

I would either deal with it, or find a new group.

You have tried talking to the DM, you have tried talking to the group. both either don't think its a problem, or just don't care.

Deal or walk.

I would accept that if it was just a gaming group. Although the point of this thread was to see if we could come up with a way that wouldn't impinge on anyone's fun. This is a friend group though, so...my choices end up being "put up with a game that's stressful for me" or "don't participate in the main activity my friends have," if there isn't a solution. I'd...rather not end up holed up by myself because I got the raw end of the mental spectrum.

Edit: I've talked to 2 of the other players (out of 5). One of them - yeah we always have problems with each other off and on. I'm not going to count talking to the DM because it was mid-game and he was trying to hurry things along. One of the players did point out part of the problem was 2 brand-new players and 2 who have only played one other game, which leads to a lot of "oh I have sneak attack! how do I make this work again?" type stuff. Hopefully that'll improve with time.

Tyrmatt
2010-09-05, 12:00 PM
As a DM, I start rolling lots of dice out of sight and consulting tables while I do it, scribbling sums etc.
Players soon pay attention when I start doing that.

Another favourite is "What's your armour class?"
"Umm...it's X...why?"
"Oh no reason" :biggrin:

Reis Tahlen
2010-09-05, 12:09 PM
How can PCs CHAT during a fight?

If it was the players, ok, but the characters?...

That boggles me.

It's a DM problem, following my opinion. I see so many solutions to this, it belongs to the Realm of Obvious.

Tyndmyr
2010-09-05, 12:13 PM
Oh, you spent your entire turn chatting about strategy. That's too bad.

Im ok with brief shouted commands. However, if it took you thirty seconds to say it, it's not a free action in a six second turn anymore.

And I tend to assume that unless specified otherwise, it's IC chatter. I allow obvious exceptions for rules questions and the like, naturally. Not for monty python quotes.

Gnaeus
2010-09-05, 02:57 PM
During combat, give each player (but not the DM) a timer. There are plenty of little plastic "hour glasses" in various board games, or you could use a chess clock, or whatever. 1-2 minutes per person per turn. If your time runs out, you loose any unused actions. This tends to make everyone focus and cuts down on interruptions.

Or use one timer for the table, with a time limit for the entire battle, and let the players know that more enemies may arrive if the battle takes too long. Whenever the chatterbox starts up, watch the other players demand that he shut up and take his turn.

WarKitty
2010-09-05, 03:03 PM
Or use one timer for the table, with a time limit for the entire battle, and let the players know that more enemies may arrive if the battle takes too long. Whenever the chatterbox starts up, watch the other players demand that he shut up and take his turn.

Main issue there is we still have a fair number of inexperienced players. So there's a bit of inevitable "ok how does this work again?"

Gnaeus
2010-09-05, 03:06 PM
Main issue there is we still have a fair number of inexperienced players. So there's a bit of inevitable "ok how does this work again?"

You can always stop the clock if you have a really involved rules question, or just give a longer time.

Emmerask
2010-09-05, 03:14 PM
SRD:
Speak
In general, speaking is a free action that you can perform even when it isn’t your turn. Speaking more than few sentences is generally beyond the limit of a free action.

If they talk too much IC it costs them actions :smallwink:

OOC use a clock

Reis Tahlen
2010-09-05, 04:18 PM
Don't even have to use a clock. I know, for etsting it, that using a clock just slow down the game and the DM has better things to do than timing PCs.

It's basic common sense: one round is 6 seconds. D&D is not a manga episode where opponents talk about their life and all the horrible things they will do each other between each strike (although I love when they do this); in combat, IC, you CAN'T use long and complicated sentences: it hinders your attention and fighting capacities, and also it is bad roleplay (seriously, who starts to chat when someone tries to decapitate you? Come on...)

Kaervaslol
2010-09-05, 08:09 PM
Sit closer to the dm, duh!

Lolzords
2010-09-05, 08:14 PM
Shut up you (words I can't say on Giantitp).

Newbieshoes
2010-09-05, 08:26 PM
We have a D20 the size of your fist nicknamed the gavel. There has also been threats of "Next person to say something when I'm trying to explain this loses a level."

I replied to the DM one time with "Naugahyde" (bonus points if anyone can guess the reference). Cost me a level but was worth it.

Zhalath
2010-09-05, 08:35 PM
An icy stare. Seriously.

If it's one person, I keep going without them. Like, continue plot-speak, continue combat, as if they're not there.

WarKitty
2010-09-05, 09:15 PM
Somewhat related question that has come up several times:

We've had a couple of instances where two players (out of combat) both declare that they are doing something at the same time, when it's important to know which one goes first. How do you resolve instances like that?

mobdrazhar
2010-09-05, 09:26 PM
Somewhat related question that has come up several times:

We've had a couple of instances where two players (out of combat) both declare that they are doing something at the same time, when it's important to know which one goes first. How do you resolve instances like that?

Roll Initiative between the 2 players

FelixG
2010-09-06, 05:10 AM
Somewhat related question that has come up several times:

We've had a couple of instances where two players (out of combat) both declare that they are doing something at the same time, when it's important to know which one goes first. How do you resolve instances like that?

Roll initiative, or if it is a rare occurrence you can just go with whomever has the higher initiative modifier to save time.

Quincunx
2010-09-06, 10:25 AM
Train your ears so that the DM's non-conversational voice doesn't get filtered as 'background noise', WarKitty. It can be done. Giving the DM and the DM alone a speaking item (a large die, a sceptre) to grasp at times of importance will focus your attention if you're visually focused. Ask the DM to gesture when beginning to speak about layout if your attention is kinesthetic (just a finger-snapping motion will do, even without noise). Also, this is the Internet, and it's lousy with people with attention disorders. There's plenty of other advice to be had about finding what your attention locks onto and how to get your attention back under conscious control.

WarKitty
2010-09-06, 10:34 AM
Train your ears so that the DM's non-conversational voice doesn't get filtered as 'background noise', WarKitty. It can be done. Giving the DM and the DM alone a speaking item (a large die, a sceptre) to grasp at times of importance will focus your attention if you're visually focused. Ask the DM to gesture when beginning to speak about layout if your attention is kinesthetic (just a finger-snapping motion will do, even without noise). Also, this is the Internet, and it's lousy with people with attention disorders. There's plenty of other advice to be had about finding what your attention locks onto and how to get your attention back under conscious control.

Thanks. I should mention I'm in a bit of an odd spot - I always knew there was something funny, but I didn't have anything past that till about a year ago, and I still don't have any sort of official diagnosis, just a it-sort-of-sounds-like-this thing. Given that my educational format always favored small classes with lots of individual attention, the processing stuff got chalked up to "being a loner." Also up to this year I pretty much dealt with it by avoiding group activities - D&D is really the first time I recall actually enjoying being in a group of more than 2-3 people. So still very new to how to cope. Ironically I am an auditory person, it just works better if there's only one auditory stimulus or if the stimuli are sufficiently different.

Have been slowly looking stuff up, haven't had much luck yet unfortunately. Most seems geared to how to avoid social situations and/or how to get through school.

Grogmir
2010-09-06, 10:46 AM
To the OP - (As I haven't read all the replies)

Your problem is that your fellow gamers are RPing so well / loudly that you cannot here the DM / combat over the ruckas? :smalleek:

I really wish i HAD this problem. 1 missed instruction is worth a lifetimes of decent roleplaying imo :smallwink:

WarKitty
2010-09-06, 11:56 AM
To the OP - (As I haven't read all the replies)

Your problem is that your fellow gamers are RPing so well / loudly that you cannot here the DM / combat over the ruckas? :smalleek:

I really wish i HAD this problem. 1 missed instruction is worth a lifetimes of decent roleplaying imo :smallwink:

It's mostly the "loudly" part. Especially since I'm trying to play a super-observant, cautious character who ends up doing something in-game that is totally against her character because of missed instructions.

Also you've never gamed with some of the rp drama queen types, have you? :smallyuk: Most of my fellow players are pretty good, but it does sometimes get into a battle of who can get the most stage time.