oh god I have a terrible schedule

[BIGMamaSloth]

so my school is running a D&D 3.5 and pathfinder club and I joined and as having the most experience out of people there i kind of got shoved into being dm. whatever, I thought, I just started receiving the new jade regent pathfinder adventure path so I'm going to run that. then I heard when we'd be playing. twice a week on tuesday and thursday. at lunch. this means we get two one hour and 15 minute sessions a week and there while people are eating there lunches. oh, oh, oh and heres the kicker we playing with either 5 or 6 people plus me! one may or may not be in my group. this kinda sucks. But most of them are my friends or at least people I know pretty well, so I can't let them down. we may be able to get the occasional 2.5-3 hour sessions in after school but I wouldn't count on them being frequent

TL;DR I need help maximizing my time at very short 6 player sessions. cutting down the group isn't an option as the group has already been cut down. twice.

[Bearpunch]

Make sure you let people know that their turn is next (like, p1 is going, p2 is on deck). Also, get an hourglass for one minute turns. This will force players to go fast and plan ahead. Don't allow electronics, either. Nothing wastes time better than electronics. Ipods are the biggest offenders. Attempt to cut down on talking during combat as well, that'll eat some time, as well.

[JonRG]

A friend today praised the benefits of having his players pre-roll their turns. For instance, if Bob the fighter is coming up, he can roll his attack beforehand and note the results. Then when it comes around to him, he can just say, "I hit AC 23 or lower for 10 damage" and be done. It takes some getting used to, but it could be worth it.

Team initiative can also be a big time saver. Players can go in the strategically optimal order, and are less likely to get bored waiting for someone else to do their turn.

[Kaun]

it sounds like you would be better of playing an Encounters style game but failing that i would do things like.

- Get the players to roll iniative at the start of a session to be used for all combats that session and just take actions clockwise around the table from the person who gets the highest result.

- At one stage i used a rule called the hit rule rather then keeping track of proper hit points on a monster i would just give them a certain amount of HIT's. For every 10 damage delt to a monster (rounded down) in a single attack the monster took a HIT, when they ran out of HIT's they died much like normal hit points. Big tough monsters may have as many as 20 HIT's some week minions only had 1.
It wasn't perfect but it made the game a lot quicker when i new an oger had 2 of its 3 HIT's left then trying to figure out how many of its 29hp it had lost.

- The 30second rule is a must - which is basicly the players have 30 seconds when it becomes their turn to declare there actions for the turn and start rolling, If they dont declare in time they miss their turn. In your case you may even want to drop that to 20seconds.

- Force the plot along - Make sure there is no BS chatting at the table. When i run a game i usually let the players talk crap with each other for the first 30mins but if you only have an hour to play you have to stamp this out quickly. Also if they spend to much time talking about what they are going to do next in game, move the game along with out them (keep the action going.)

- Set a start time and location in advance (like in room 3 at 1pm) and when that time comes get started regardless of who your missing (unless nobody else is there.)

[BIGMamaSloth]

it sounds like you would be better of playing an Encounters style game but failing that i would do things like.

- Get the players to roll iniative at the start of a session to be used for all combats that session and just take actions clockwise around the table from the person who gets the highest result.

- At one stage i used a rule called the hit rule rather then keeping track of proper hit points on a monster i would just give them a certain amount of HIT's. For every 10 damage delt to a monster (rounded down) in a single attack the monster took a HIT, when they ran out of HIT's they died much like normal hit points. Big tough monsters may have as many as 20 HIT's some week minions only had 1.
It wasn't perfect but it made the game a lot quicker when i new an oger had 2 of its 3 HIT's left then trying to figure out how many of its 29hp it had lost.

- The 30second rule is a must - which is basicly the players have 30 seconds when it becomes their turn to declare there actions for the turn and start rolling, If they dont declare in time they miss their turn. In your case you may even want to drop that to 20seconds.

- Force the plot along - Make sure there is no BS chatting at the table. When i run a game i usually let the players talk crap with each other for the first 30mins but if you only have an hour to play you have to stamp this out quickly. Also if they spend to much time talking about what they are going to do next in game, move the game along with out them (keep the action going.)

- Set a start time and location in advance (like in room 3 at 1pm) and when that time comes get started regardless of who your missing (unless nobody else is there.)

I like the 30 second rule, I could use a board game hourglass for timing! I have already made plans for the last one. everyone's suggestions are awesome. I'm sure this thread or a variation thereof has been madee a thousand times, but I got some great advice from you guys so far, so thanks!

[Gavinfoxx]

Also tell them in no uncertain terms that this is going to be a railroaded game, due to necessity, and to just roll with it.

[Kol Korran]

this may not be what you want to hear, but i seriously suggest you speak with the people in your group and tell them something on the lines of: "look, we can meet at lunch, but it will be for too short a time, some of it will go for socializing and such, and getting lunch and so on will really disturb the game. this means i can offer you, as game manager, an experience that will be far less than it could be.

if you're willing, why not try to schedule another meeting time, for a longer time, preferably in a better place (though i have no idea where you're meeting really...), when people aren't distracted (too much). i promise it will be better, and far more worth it."

if you people get together and try and work something out, you're quite likely to find better conditions. "don't let conditions dictate you, you dictate conditions" (or something of that sort)

i've tried meetings that were that short. they were an utter DISASTER.

also, 5-6 players are fine, but don't go over 6. few DMs handle such amounts well.