It's time for elections 2011! One of the best recommendations I've come across for speeding up game play is to elect party members to hold official(ish) roles. The roles in question are Party Spokesperson and Rules Lawyer.
The PS is in charge of soliciting feedback from the party regarding the issue at hand and guiding them toward their next step. They answer the classis DM queston, "So, what do you do?" The PS should be a natural leader, decisive and yet inclusive. The PS shouldn't abuse their power, but in the case of a total deadlock they will be the deciding voice.
The RL is in charge of looking up stuff. They find out what a +1 Underpants of Tightness does, how far you can throw a dwarf and what does immobile really mean anyway. They answer the classic DM question, "So, which way does the giant fall?" The RL should be a good researcher and multi-tasker in that they need to be fully engaged in role-playing while doing rules checks. Also, the RL will be the only player allowed to access books and laptops during game play.
Now I know a couple of names immediately come to mind for each role, but please give it some thought. By the end of posting we should have a Party Spokesperson and a Rules Lawyer and two back ups for each role, just in case...
The PS is in charge of soliciting feedback from the party regarding the issue at hand and guiding them toward their next step. They answer the classis DM queston, "So, what do you do?" The PS should be a natural leader, decisive and yet inclusive. The PS shouldn't abuse their power, but in the case of a total deadlock they will be the deciding voice.
The RL is in charge of looking up stuff. They find out what a +1 Underpants of Tightness does, how far you can throw a dwarf and what does immobile really mean anyway. They answer the classic DM question, "So, which way does the giant fall?" The RL should be a good researcher and multi-tasker in that they need to be fully engaged in role-playing while doing rules checks. Also, the RL will be the only player allowed to access books and laptops during game play.
Now I know a couple of names immediately come to mind for each role, but please give it some thought. By the end of posting we should have a Party Spokesperson and a Rules Lawyer and two back ups for each role, just in case...