I read this as time turner at first and was a bit confused.
I DM’d a group that tried to optimize every situation, and every turn off combat. That’s okay as long as it stays fun, but once they start spinning their wheels, or one player turns combat into a slog, then I take measures.
Outside of combat, that means the real world keeps ticking along. Usually that just means NPCs ask the PCs to stop blocking the street, or a beggar starts asking for money, or the person they’re chasing fades further into the distance.
Combat in 5e can be a slog (even with the usual DM busywork), so I’ll give players a visual countdown and then move their turn to after the next character in initiative order. As soon as they start doing something, I stop, but I want to set the expectation that this is a high stakes scenario and they need to keep up with the pacing.
I’ve spoken with my players and they’re cool with it.
I DM’d a group that tried to optimize every situation, and every turn off combat. That’s okay as long as it stays fun, but once they start spinning their wheels, or one player turns combat into a slog, then I take measures.
In my experience (and from what I’ve heard of other groups) optimisers are rarely the cause of this problem, usually it’s the more casual or inexperienced players.
I like shenanigans characters, where you always have a trick up your sleeves. I’m not a super-powerful D&D character in real life, so it will take me a moment to come up with those tricks and put them in my sleeves. As such, I think of turn timers as a problem, not a solution.
I saw advice which was just that, whenever someone starts their turn, give a nudge to the person next down the line. That way, they’ll have more time to plan before their turn starts, and it’s not like they were doing anything then anyway. Way better.
The idea of a timer is that you already do that, so that you’re ready to go when yours comes up.
And I don’t know any GM who won’t give you a break from the timer if the person who went before you changed something huge. Like, if someone summoned a demon, you blew up a bridge, you get some extra time to work out a new turn…
That’s not the point of the timer. The point of a timer is to cut off people taking too much time. As a side effect, people are pre-planning their turns so they don’t get cut off by the timer. The solution is the pre-planning, which does not need a timer, nor is it a guaranteed result of a timer.
There was a problem, and in trying to fix it, the DM created a second problem. The players then found the actual solution to the first problem to avoid the second. The DM then took credit for fixing the problem.
Do you remember that episode where Homer became Mr Burns’ assistant, and was so bad that Mr Burns became more independent so he wouldn’t need Homer’s help? It’s basically like that.
This was a weirdly aggressive comment.
The solution is the pre-planning, which does not need a timer, nor is it a guaranteed result of a timer.
You cannot make players pre-plan. The timer encourages pre-planning, or at least rapid decision making on the fly. Both have the desired result of the game moving at a quicker pace.
It also has the benefit of creating an impartial tool for measuring, instead of relying on subjective “You’re taking a long time.” It is harder to argue with a clock. This is an advantage.
There was a problem, and in trying to fix it, the DM created a second problem.
What is the second problem?
Wow that’s an incredibly snobby snobby answer, and I’ll just assume it just came out wrong somehow.
And honestly, I couldn’t agree less. I don’t want to make everyone’s problem that Sally Slowpoke isn’t paying attention or taking a super long time. I want them to fix it themselves.
Poking the next person creates a reliance, and worse, an excuse (“they didn’t poke me, how was I supposed to know?”), putting down a timer makes it clear that the onus is on you. If you didn’t pay attention, that’s your fault.
And I’ll go one further: I think it’s very disrespectful to make everyone wait while you read stuff that you could have read earlier. If you need to check the exact requirements of some obscure spell, sure. But if you need to look up Fireball for the 6th time this game and we all have to wait again while you do it, that’s kind of a dick move.
I run a 30 second timer before you have to start doing stuff. If you’re not finished, that’s fine, but you have to do a thing within 30 seconds. I don’t want everyone waiting because you didn’t prepare, when they all did.
A turn timer?? I’m out.
I don’t always run a timer, but it is a tool in my box.
Mostly it comes out when I feel like the players are spinning their wheels. Like, they know they need to get into the server room on the 10th floor. There’s a front door with security, a back door with an alarm, etc. The players are just going round and round with ideas but not doing anything.
I’ll say “I’m starting a five minute timer. If it hits zero, something interesting will happen”.
If it hits zero and they’re still stuck, then as foretold something interesting happens. A rival group rolls up and firebombs the entrance before heading inside. A security drone spots them and is calling the cops. Whatever. Something that forces them to act.
In combat rounds I sometimes do the same, but only if it feels like they’re not making progress. Maybe it’s a little rude sometimes, but I value keeping the scene moving forward. I don’t want to keep spending three minutes on “should I move? How far can I move again? Is there a range penalty? What if I use a spell first can I still shoot?” stuff. Especially if it’s rules minutia they should already know.
The amount of times I had to remind an old group’s bard that yes, in DND 5e you can move AND take an action was too high.
