Community

It's funny, one of my groups has similar issues but we simply don't care.  There have been plenty of sessions where all we do is talk for five hours.  Why?  Because we are friends.  In my opinion so long as everyone is having a good time who cares how far the "adventure" goes

That being said, when this happens over a couple of sessions we have come to realize that as a group we are losing interest in that game/setting/etc.  At which point we change GMs and games and settings.  Maybe your group is in a similar situation.  Maybe a change in DM and game would be appropriate.  In my group, I run a D&D 3.5 campaign and another person runs a d6 Star Wars campaign.  Two VERY different systems and we as DMs leave things hanging when we switch so that we are all still interested in both games.

Lastly, the phone thing.  Playing with one's smartphone is modern day doodling and doodling is actually GOOD for one's attention span.  When someone doodles they are keeping their mind active in a lull.  In your group in particular, you said that the players break out their phones during combat after their turns.  Granted, they should be thinking about their next turn while they wait, but playing a game or texting on their phone does not mean they are not thinking about the D&D situation.  Now if you have to "remind" them when their turn comes up, that is a different story.

All I am saying is that all the distractions you talk about are not necessarily bad.

Jan 4, 2013 -- 8:10AM, Matyr wrote:

Jan 4, 2013 -- 7:11AM, DaBeerds wrote:

Lastly, the phone thing.  Playing with one's smartphone is modern day doodling and doodling is actually GOOD for one's attention span.  When someone doodles they are keeping their mind active in a lull.  In your group in particular, you said that the players break out their phones during combat after their turns.  Granted, they should be thinking about their next turn while they wait, but playing a game or texting on their phone does not mean they are not thinking about the D&D situation.  Now if you have to "remind" them when their turn comes up, that is a different story.

That would be fine if you are playing a character that does nothing on other people's turns (read: playing a bad character).  But the game is highly tactical and the turns should go fairly fast.  When I'm a player my turns take about a minute.  That means with 5 players and a DM you are looking at roughly 10 minute rounds if you all are playing quickly and effeciently.  So they really shouldn't have too much downtime and should be looking for somewhere to use their immediates in all that.

You are talking specifically about 4e where there are a lot of immediates.  in 3e (the games I usually play), and other RPGs, while there are immediates there are not nearly as many.

Jan 4, 2013 -- 9:48AM, mvincent wrote:

Jan 4, 2013 -- 8:10AM, Matyr wrote:

That would be fine if you are playing a character that does nothing on other people's turns (read: playing a bad character).  But the game is highly tactical and the turns should go fairly fast.  When I'm a player my turns take about a minute.  That means with 5 players and a DM you are looking at roughly 10 minute rounds if you all are playing quickly and effeciently.  So they really shouldn't have too much downtime and should be looking for somewhere to use their immediates in all that.

Although I agree with the sentiment in your last sentence, it may not be realistic for the OP. Some counterpoints:
- Most 4e games do not go that fast
- The OP's game definitely wouldn't go that fast
- DM's should not take as much time as all the other players combined
- Players that miss options on other players' turns tend be self-remedying (through peer-pressure), or not a problem.

I was under the distinct impression they were playing 4e.  If you aren't OP please correct me.

- Most 4e games don't try to.  I've brought some people into games with me as player / DM and shown what a combat can be like (generally a complicated combat takes about 30-40 minutes) and I've gotten very positive feedback.  Since complex 4e combats (and combats in one of my games) tend to take 1.5hours.
- No, but if they turned it into a game unto itself (how fast can we go) for just a combat or two it might help them stay focused.  If a group is used to Action movie pacing, or video game pacing you could try to introduce an element of that to keep them hooked.
- No, they shouldn't.  DMs should have simple monsters with strong, but clear abilities.  DM monsters should all roll the same kind of dice.  DM monsters should/could do nearly everything before the player gets to their turn.  The DM should be grouping monsters so he goes 2-4 times in initiative instead of 10.
-Not in my experience.  People who don't treat combat effeciency as a mini game and aren't at all paying attention normally don't tend to fix themselves.  At least not in my experience.

I forgot to respond last time to the doodling comment.  Keeping the mind active can work with doodling, but it needs to be something that takes a small amount of mental investment.  You don't generally have someone who is doodling and when they talk to you they raise their other hand and say "just one second" while the finish part of it.  For a phone call / text message that is pretty common.  You also tend to have people who doodle while actively listening, but the same is often not true for texting.  It takes more of our attention to text than to doodle, so it isn't really a good comparison.

Jan 4, 2013 -- 11:58AM, Salla wrote:

Jan 4, 2013 -- 8:53AM, DaBeerds wrote:

..."window.parent.tinyMCE.get('post_content').onLoad.dispatch();" contenteditable="true" />You are talking specifically about 4e where there are a lot of immediates.  in 3e (the games I usually play), and other RPGs, while there are immediates there are not nearly as many.

It's a good idea to pay attention anyway, so you aren't having to play catch-up when your turn rolls around.  "okay ... wait, when did this guy close with me?  Fred, why's your mini on its side, did you go down?"

To say nothing of simple things like:
"Fred, you took 15 damage from the blast."
"..."
"Fred?"
"..."
"FRED!"
"Buh?"
"You took 15 damage."
"From what?"

^  Yet again Salla gets the point
 

Jan 3, 2013 -- 4:24PM, mvincent wrote:

Jan 2, 2013 -- 10:34PM, GamingGoblin wrote:

One of my players has pretty much taken on the title of class clown, and ALWAYS distracts the other 3 players from the actual game. I tell him numerous times to just focus, and it's beginning to ruin the fun.

As the DM, you are the one that needs to maintain focus. The faster you are, the more focused the players will be. Tips:
- run combat faster. fwiw: setting a fast pace during 4e combat is indeed hard for a DM, so here are some ideas.
- focus on the players that are paying attention (the unfocused ones will start to take an interest)
- ignore jokers and ruthlessly keep the game moving forward
- combat (or action) tends to focus players, but if they still aren't taking it seriously, make things get real up in there by making it more dangerous/challenging (tough but fair).

whenever one of the players is done his turn, normally in combat, he will immediately pull out his phone.

That's ok. The game might not be running fast enough to maintain his attention, s'all (possibly because the others are slow taking their turns). If he's unready when it comes his turn, move on to the next player (allowing him to jump back in once he's ready). Same for the other players.

i think i am in love...