Is it a good idea to have a time limit on players' turns

>>52077844
>Is it a good idea to have a time limit on players' turns in combat?
Yes.

>How long should they have to decide what to do?
One second.
To start talking, that is.

I just make it arbitrary...
>Come on, man, you're on combat, do something!!

>>52077844
There are two distinct problems here.

1. The player is uncertain what to do, or is very indecisive.

2. The player's character/the game system necesitate very long turns (see 3.5 D&D).

For the 1st situation, if a player isn't sure what to do, give them a moment, then suggest they delay their turn. If it's just a matter of picking between 2 or more options, the delay might give the player more information and narrow their choices. If they have no ideas, then they should absolutely delay until they have an idea for an action.

Just make sure they don't feel "punished" for being too slow. After the next player's actions, go back to them, "Want to take your action now?".

New players especially can feel punished for not knowing what to do, forcing them to delay can make them feel like an idiot. Counteract this by returning to them and encouraging them to take a turn.

Especially for new players, don't be afraid to give them a suggestion for an action. But don't do this all the time, or they'll stop thinking and just wait for you to take their turn for them.

If your problem is turn length, because of bulky game mechanics, all you can do is ask that players are prepared to quickly use their abilities, possibly require spreadsheets for very complex mechanics (I made a shapeshifting druid player do this, his turns were too slow otherwise).

I wouldn't worry about hard time limits. Just keep things moving, time limits will just create unneeded pressure.

>>52077844
If it takes really fucking long, I start counting down like an autistic before I "skip their turn"
I don't do this often, and so far, every time I've had to do it, they decide a course of action before I hit "0".

I don't mind if it takes a bit for them to ask "what's around me" or "would I know if X", but if they start asking other players or just stare into space for longer than like 10 seconds I'll say something like "yo, your character is in a life or death situation, make your move" and it'll usually work without further prodding.

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>>52077844

I do not do time limits with my players but i do give them grief if they wait 5 minutes until its there turn to look up how to use a spell or ability. Or if they want me to be the rule book for them because they are being lazy .Players dont see the large scale of things, in a 4 person party + dm turns if each person takes 2-3 mins per turn the last player could wait almost 9-10 minutes just to do a simple action.

If they are being lazy assholes i usually will bump them to the last initiative to keep the game going.

I've found that if everyone is on board with it timed turns can actually be pretty fun as it makes what would otherwise be simple encounters feel more intense. It depends on the system though and some are just not capable of doing it.

>>52077844
>Is it a good idea to have a time limit on players' turns in combat?
Yes.
>How long should they have to decide what to do?
30 seconds, as determined by a chess clock.

>>52078523
>One second.
>To start talking, that is.
'Uhh...'

>>52079535
Talking, not stalling.
If they start describing the situation of the battlefield to stall for time, that's beneficial to the rest of the group.
'Uhh...' just gets the turn skipped.

I once had a player that loved doing long exposition on what they did in combat. Players in my group privately told me that it was boring and ate up time. How would you guys go about enforcing a time limit on that?

>>52077844
>Is it a good idea to have a time limit on players' turns in combat?
Yes

>How long should they have to decide what to do?
Depends on the type of game you're trying to run and the system you're running it in.
For horror games I put the time you need to think & act to a minute and below.
For more casual games, I keep it at a minute and a half and get generous if they run out.
I do not recommend the Paranoia route of "the first thing you say, you do and if you don't say anything coherent you do nothing" unless you're playing Paranoia.