Guides, variant rules maybe even other systems that can be Incorporated into pathfinder that can speed things up ?
The Pathfinder Basic rules box I believe has quite a few things "streamlined."
Edit: Eep, it is called the Beginner Box. Left side of the page below the search boxes. But it might be useful to know what the "problem" is as well.
Have players bring a tablet or laptop and automate dice rolls. You can roll attacks, damage, concealment, etc. All at once. When I started using an automated website it made my turns take about 15 seconds.
Also, have your GM announce who's up next each turn. e.g. "Jim, your turn, Sally, you're up next." That way Sally can start figuring out what she wants to do ahead of time.
In my experience it's the players that slow down the combat, not the other way around, so just keep them moving fast.
Make sure players, especially spellcasters, know what they want to do before their turn
Martial characters usually have a plan thought out (usually, "run up and hit it"), while casters are often leafing through things trying to figure out what to do.
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You can also have something laid out that reminds martials of their options, particularly Combat Maneuvers and possibly Stamina, so that they feel like they're doing something more exciting than "hit it with a stick", especially compared to the casters.
Regarding player slowness, one thing I wish I was better at was getting players to not speak out of turn. I have one player in particular who often interrupts other player's turns to ask questions. I will often say, "It is not your turn, please wait," but she won't stop doing it even after I've asked and I recognize I've probably got to be more of a hardass about the situation. Often she has relevant questions but they're just poorly timed. I'm not running with her right now so it's not an immediate issue, but if I want to run a game with a certain group of players it's something I've got to learn to deal with better... part of the dilemma is I really like running games with her husband as a player but they won't play without the other. She's a good player in other respects, but she frequently talks out of turn or vies for attention inappropriately.
On more practical matters ---
While set-up takes time, I find battlemaps ultimately save time, because there aren't frequent questions/need to repeat where characters are positioned. Moreover, I also write the participants' initiative AND the enemies' AC, SR, and DR right on the board. This means everyone can see when their next turn is and saves eons of "did I hit? Did it work? Did I damage it?" and lets people move on quickly . I've got some blind players that is less useful for but they have good memories and usually if I read out the stats at the beginning of the game they will remember them.
SR and DR themselves also take a lot of time (extra die rolling, math, and forces you to roll damage separately), so I've started houseruling those out in lieu of other mechanics.
Otherwise without DR, you can let warrior-types with iterative attacks roll attack and damage all at once and that also saves a lot of time.
So when setting up, is there any monster aid card with short stat blocks for quick reference ?
We did away with iteritive attacks by using the suggestion from Trailblazer.
BAB reaches +6, you get 1 attack at full BAB or 2 at -2/-2
BAB reaches +11, you get 1 attack at full BAB or 2 at -1/-1
BAB reaches +16, you get 2 attacks at full BAB
I run my games online via MapTool and Skype, though strangely that seems to make combat slower.
I heard of GMs doing the battle map electronically using a projector.
Using methods like those described above can help out, but in my experience speeding up play comes down to the following factors:
1) Number of Players at Table
The more people sitting at the table, the longer people will have to wait for their turn, and the sooner they will get bored and start chatting with the person next to them. I like 4-5 players plus a GM, but 6 players is where the slow down really becomes noticable. On the rare occasion there are 3 players, we get an extraordinary amount of progress made. Combat is quick and so are group choices. I haven't actually kept track, but it feels like we get twice as much done.
2) Knowledge of your Character's Abilities and of the Rules
Yeah, I get it. Sometimes the situation changes and you need more time to reconsider your turn. Sometimes a situation comes up and nobody knows what penalty is applied or what the correct DC is, so you have to look it up. I'm not talking about exceptions. When your turn is done, start thinking about your next turn. Maybe decide on two different courses of actions you follow, depending on how the rest of the round goes. If your next turn comes up and you're not sure, then pick a good action or at least a safe one. There is no perfect action. If you didn't think of the absolute best tactical choice during the last two minutes, don't spend the next two minutes hemming and hawing over it and wasting time.
3) We're All in this Together
All sitting at the table have to be on board with speeding up combat, so talk to them and reach a group consensus on what measures you are all willing to commit to. One can't do it alone. Half can't do it either. The thing about speedy combat is that its not very important to every player. Sometimes a player has other things on his or her mind. Sometimes a player is hung over or tired. Some players love to game because its social time with their friends, so they chit-chat the whole time. I always think combat could go a little faster, but I write the group's journal, so I've got my nose in a notebook a lot of the time.
Good luck!
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Use cue cards for each character-it has any rolls YOU might need to make as GM (hidden perception checks, saves, notes on resistances/immunities). These cards are used also to show initiative results. I put a sticky note on the 'first person' so that when their card comes around again, we all make note that it is a new round.
Dry erase board showing order of initiative as well. Including monsters.
I have all monsters of the same type/stats go at same initiative.
MOST IMPORTANT:
Help players learn their characters, teach them the habit of paying attention to the fight so that they are ALWAYS planning their next action.
At my table, the average turn takes less than a minute to resolve, so that we can finish combat and get back to roleplaying our special snowflakes. :D
I find battlemaps ultimately save time, because there aren't frequent questions/need to repeat where characters are positioned.
For most combats that don't involve intricate terrain or hordes of combatants, I go the opposite route and throw out the mat. We just assume that everyone is where they imagine themselves being, if it's at all feasible, and don't sweat the details. It's amazing how much time you save when no one needs to decide where to put their doll every turn.
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Teach her to write down her questions and read them off to you right after her turn starts but before she begins doing stuff.
You know, that's a great idea. Thanks!
I find battlemaps ultimately save time, because there aren't frequent questions/need to repeat where characters are positioned.For most combats that don't involve intricate terrain or hordes of combatants, I go the opposite route and throw out the mat. We just assume that everyone is where they imagine themselves being, if it's at all feasible, and don't sweat the details. It's amazing how much time you save when no one needs to decide where to put their doll every turn.
I have played with GMs who wish this were the case for our broader group of players, and you're lucky that is the case for you and your friends. Unfortunately, we have found through repeated experience that in our case the mat causes fewer arguments and general confusion especially when it comes to things like area of effect spells and the like (one particularly notable case was of a player--whom, in fairness, none of us play with any more--deciding he was in an entirely different position than he was a moment before when a fireball went off and he would have been hit, and argued with the GM at length about where he "swore" he said he was standing; the claimed difference of positioning was a matter of several dozen feet, not a matter of being off a 'square' or two. While those sorts of dishonest shenanigans are rare, it still helps us avoid certain issues).
Folks are fortunately decisive enough about actual placement that losing time in that way is not an issue for us. For us, moving the mini or asking us to takes no more time than it would to say, "I move next to the goblin so I can attack him." Your mileage of course obviously varies.
And that leads to the fact that what works for one group doesn't for another and sometimes it's worth trying a couple different things to see what works best for a given group.