It depends. Do you have anyone in the group who could be seriously harmed by a poor decision (I'm thinking Paladin)? Sometimes you need to give players a chance to really talk things through, especially if falling is on the table.
It does make sense to put players under time pressure sometimes, as long as the decision is fair. If the question is "how do we escape?" then fair play. If it is "do we allow the CN party member to execute an evil captive before the door busts down, in front of the Paladin?" then roleplaying it out has merits.
I'm pretty careful with this, myself. I recognize that the PCs have spent a whole lot more time together than the players have, so they have a better idea how each others' minds work, abilities work, and so on. So I allow a certain amount of table-talk to plan things.
That said, when the table-talk is about the latest cat video on the Internet, I poke them with a sharp stick.
So it depends.
Agreed with Corvino. If the punishment for failing to decide is "the NPC's get into the room and combat starts" then by all means set a timer. If the punishment for failing to decide is "our Paladin loses all his class features" then you should really let them think it through.
For all the deliberation, +1 to the sharp sticks idea! Sometimes you do need a real incentive to stop distracted players from wandering off-point. I guess it comes down to a balance between making the consequences of indecision real and screwing over the players. Erring on the side of "inconvenient but non-fatal" is always good.
You could also consider implementing a houserule like:
"No talking about off-topic stuff during game play."
And then you could have a break halfway the sessions of let's say 30 min. so that people can have a chat and gather their thoughts about the situations out of character.
Joking around is fine, just be ready to snap your fingers and grab the attention back the moment you feel it's dragging on. :)
It can be hard to keep some play groups focused on the game. I find this problem requires two different typs of solution, combat and non-combat.
During combat, I have a player keep track of initiative using cards with each character's names on them. There's also a card for each group of enemies, usually labeled things like, boss, minion, critter, etc. When someone "wanders off" during a fight, I just ask the initiative keeper who's turn it is. This trick has three benefits: it removes one responsibility from the GM (who's generally the slowest "player" since I have more than one character to control, and it's different for every encounter), it enlists a player in keeping the others on track, and it makes initiative visual (so everyone can see when their turn will be coming up and can prepare).
Out of combat, I do two things. 1) try very hard not to BE the distraction. 2) I roleplay with whoever is paying attention. Generally, if I stay on track and keep at least one player on track with me, everyone else will hop back on after a brief digression.
Something else I've found that works well is to call for a break occasionally. If I need to do a few minutes of preparation during the game, I'll send my players to gather the dishes, refill drinks, play with the dog, or whatever else gets them away from the table for 5 minutes. It makes my prep time go faster (fewer distractions) and keeps the players from being in a limbo of playing/not playing.
There are a few tips from an experienced, and I hope reasonably good, game master. Every group is different, so try out everything you can think of, and see what works!
I have that very problem, along with my players. Now, it's all right for a home game, but for timed games the propensity to suddenly lapse into a long kvetch about something completely unrelated to the game eats up a lot of time that you can't afford to lose.
Now, I'm a 4E D&D GM, but the system I came up with should work well for Pathfinder or really, any other game system.
The idea is this: I put out two small stacks of cards, red and green. I used colored construction paper cut into size and laminated. That's all they are, laminated pieces of construction paper.
A green card can be used, by the players, to reroll any one die roll. Be it a Hit Roll, a Saving Throw, a Skill Check, or even a damage roll. The die can be thrown by any player, including the GM.
A red card can be used to force a reroll of any one die roll rolled by a player or the GM. It cannot be used to force a player who rolled badly, to reroll for a better result. In other words, the green cards are good for the players, and the red cards are bad for the opposing side.
Green cards are a reward. If someone comes up with a good idea, makes the whole party laugh, or otherwise does well, a green card can be awarded as a prize. (Green cards must be used at the table and cannot be saved between game sessions.)
Red cards are a penalty. Losing focus is the main way that they're handed out. If the GM is the one to do this, then the party can take a red card on a majority vote of the players.
So, if I suddenly see the players reaching for a red card, I know I need to get back to the game.
Now, I know that Pathfinder Society has a system for rerolls already in place. My system is for me, to train me away from launching into a 15 minute conversation about Star Wars or South Park when I should be concentrating on D&D.
