So I am currently rung a crew of 7 through Skull and Shackles.
I need some help.
I know that I have bitten off a lot of work and I know that adjusting action economy and up the CR for a group of that size will be needed and the 3 extra players is going to effect the timing of the game. We are aware that the extra 3 players over the expected 4 PCs effects
Currently we do a few things.
1- People generally roll before their turn so a lot of math is done.
2- One of the players tracks initiative and warns who is on deck.
3- We have lots of copies of the books/phone apps ready if something needs to be looked up.
4- Make provisional rulings and look up sticky issues later.
Things I am thinking of adding a few things.
1- I am thinking of using a white board to track initiative this creates room to track rounds of lasting effects and so on.
2- Telling spell casters to have the spell they will be casting looked up and opened before their turn. This also goes for special abilities. This way if I have questions as DM or there is something unclear its right there to look at.
3- Egg timer bonus. Giving a +1 bonus on the player's next turn if they resolve their turn inside of 1 minute.
I like the egg timer rule. I may even bring that up at my game. We don't use summoning in our group because we've found it to be the greatest time killer in combat. Many groups probably wouldn't go for this, but it makes a big difference.
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I try and speed up combat in several ways.
First is remove any and all clutter. That includes rule books.
Have each player print a copy of ALL applicable rules for his character. Start with all racial rules, then class features, and feats. Should a character want to use an ability and not remember how it works, I have them look it up, during which time their character Delays its action.
Spellcasters use spell cards. This removes the temptation to browse through spells and not pay attention to what is going on.
No web browsing, no Facebook, no texting.
Other things I do to speed up combat is to lessen the rolling I do as GM.
I do this in a couple of ways. First, when I make my notes before the game, I include a FULL stat block for every NPC. I preroll initiative for everyone and write the total amount for initiative. If the NPC is not named I always assume a roll of 10 and just go with it. Named NPCs actually get a d20 roll. BBEG get a d20 and d6 roll for initiative. Every NPC with the same init modifier always is run as a group this way.
Second thing I do is when making my stat blocks, I change skills to skill total plus 10, and use that number and do not roll even for BBEGs. So an NPC will Perception +6 is written as Perception 16. Same thing for Saves.
The next thing I do in combat is have the PCs roll my attacks. Wait, you say, that is ridiculous! Well, not really...
Let's say I have a NPC with a melee attack of Long Sword +8 (1d8+4/19-20). I rewrite that attack as Long Sword 18 (8/1-2). The PC rolls his DEFENSE against my attack score. So, I have the fighter (AC = 10+ 8 for armor and +2 for Dex)) make an AC roll of 10 ( armor and Dex) plus d20, against my attack of 18 ( as above). If the PC rolls a 1 or 2 it is a potential crit. If the confirmation roll fails to block the attack it IS a crit. I do this for each type of AC, so if I need to make a touch attack, I have the PC roll his Touch AC against my attack. The dame is an average amount for a hit, so often this is how I ask for the roll:
"John make an AC roll against an 18 long sword attack, 8 damage." John rolls a 16 and knows to automatically apply 8 damage. If he rolled a 1 or a 2 I would ask him to confirm his miss. He still does not get above an 18, I get a crit. In this case, the crit would result in 16 damage.
The only exception to this is Named N{PCs, I run them as usual.
Why do this? It gives me time to focus my attention on WHAT the NPC is doing rather than on the dice rolls. It also forces players to pay attention when it is not their turn.
I MIGHT steal your egg timer rule. My version would be if they do not tell me their action within one minute they delay action as their character is indecisive. I think I would reward resolving the action within one minute by allowing them to move their initiative up one place. So if the initiative was BBEG, Skeleton, Fighter, I would allow the player of the Fighter to move up, so it was BBEG, Fighter, Skeleton. He could move up before the BBEG the next round if he was quick. In a way it makes sense, the action is so quick compared to the other combatants that you move sooner next time.
The major rule I'm using is 'no take-backs'. If a player fails to factor in his Haste-bonus, or morale-bonus for the bard, he cannot add that after his turn is done.
"I forgot to add my +1 AC from haste, so your to-hit didn't hit me after all". To which my reply would be "to bad, done is done".
This is course also applies to the bad guys. Done is done, even if I forgot to add flanking or whatever.
The biggest slow down for games I have been in seems too often come from the GM. Nothing breaks the pace of the game like the GM spending 5 minutes looking up the stats of a monster, or how a particular rule works. You can’t blame the players for getting bored and starting to do something else when all they have to do is to sit there and watch the GM read the rules.
When I run I treat NPC like player characters and have character sheets available for any major NPC. This includes spells memorized and I read each spell they have before the game to refresh my memory. Knowing what the enemy is capable of doing means I don’t have to spend time looking up the abilities of the NPC.
I also use hero lab and require that I have a copy of all characters. The copy on my computer is the official copy and anything not on in before the game starts they do not have unless of course they find it during that game. The first thing before the game starts I make sure that the player’s characters are up to date. Knowing what the players are able to do not only allows the game to run smoother, but also helps when I am planning an adventure.
The tactical console of Hero Lab is a huge help. It automatically sets up the initiative and displays most of the important stats for everything including the monsters. If I know an encounter is going to happen create a portfolio with all the enemies in it so I can quickly import anything I need.
With Hero lab I do not have to have any books in front of me or worry about any dice. I can look up anything I need for the encounter directly from the relevant character including monsters. Being able to look up the abilities of any creature in the encounter in seconds is extremely helpful. Also the ability to apply and condition to any creature in the encounter and automatically adjust its stat bock without having to worry about remembering the details really moves combat along.
The only down side is the cost because you have to pay for each package. The good news is they update it on a regular basis so when new supplements come out they are usually available quickly.