What are good ways to make my sessions move faster and my plot to develop quicker?
I like to keep a balance between roleplay and dungeoncrawling, and don't mind spending hours in a dungeon on purely hack n slash adventures or at a city-based political conflict. But my new group is terribly slow both at plot development and strategic decisions. They spend hours discussing smal things, like if it's better to get in the front door or backdoor from the lord's mansion, or if they should cross the bridge or swim through the river. Similarly, they check rules repeatedly to decide what combat maneuver to do or what spell to use, and combat goes as slow as half an hour per turn.
They all have a lot of fun with the game and are very happy with the campaign, and they don't agree with my complaints that the plot advancement is too slow.
What I really need are some key tips to make the game seamless faster, without changing much of the mood of the game. How can I push them, and myself, to a quicker pace?
Best Answer
1) Don't.
Seriously. If everyone is having fun, let them.
That said, you are also a player. If you're not having fun and really need to move things along in order to have fun...
2) Interrupt
The joke is "suddenly, ninjas attack!" But interrupting with something new and unexpected can move things along.
"Suddenly, rough men push into the bar. They see you and one of them points at you. "There they are! Get them!" They rush to attack you, clearly intending to do you harm."
"The phone rings. Your [father/sister/ex-wife/old college roommate] pleads for help, then the line goes dead."
"As you sit outside debating whether to go in through the front or the back, the front door opens and the wizard steps outside. He asks, "Are you going to be long? Because I have shopping to do." He crosses his arms impatiently.
"While you're debating the best way to attack the camp, you hear clash of steel on steel and shouts coming from the camp!"