Looking for advice from other GMs...

[merkvah]

I've been using Fantasy Grounds for... a lot of years now... and the thing that continually frustrates me is getting my players to pass their turn in combat.

For YEARS now I've been politely saying "Is that the end of your turn, Sir?" when the player has stopped taking actions.

When I'm teaching players to use FG, I ALWAYS stress the "pass your turn" button at the bottom left corner of the Combat Tracker.

For a while I decided to just do it myself... just click the bubble on the left edge of the combat tracker, but my players get frustrated when I do... "I wasn't done," or "Hey, can I still move my token?" or "can you give me my turn back so I can roll a bonus action?" or something. They cannot, for the life of them, figure out that the combat tracker doesn't lock them out of the map.

Recently I made a big bright red and yellow image that I can share with them that reads "Is that the end of your turn, Sir?" but that really just feels obnoxious.

What do other GMs do? How do you teach your players that one thing you've been telling them for TEN FREAKING YEARS that they just refuse to learn?

My players aren't stupid... they're just... I dunno... stupid?

[LordEntrails]

lol, I'm lucky, after the first 6 months or so I only have to remind them every few turns :) No, not that bad, but it definitely is something many people seem to struggle with.

Try getting them to add the button to the F1 position on there hotbar. That might help.
The other thing to consider is the turn timer extension, forget what its called, but might help them as I think it gives a visible timer.
Finally, maybe you can encourage them to remind each other?
Or maybe give out an inspiration point or other reward at the end of the session if you don't have to remind them that session?

[merkvah]

Or maybe give out an inspiration point or other reward at the end of the session if you don't have to remind them that session?

I've been giving these same players inspiration points for years... they almost never use them.

I love these folks... I really do... but I just can't figure out how to get this right. Really makes me want to stop GMing for a while, man.

Thanks for the advice. =)

[damned]

I often let 2 players run combat together. If they are slowing you down set the next character. If slowmo objects tell him to hurry up and finish his turn and then tell the new guy he can start his actions too.

There is also a Combat Timer it can be your arbitrary and impartial friend that sets the pace.

[Griogre]

You might try the timer and if they go over time take off an inspiration if they aren't using them anyway. If they don't have inspiration then tell them their turn is done. This might work for your guys, even though they don't seem to use inspiration since losing something tends to motivate players. It might have the side benefit of getting them actually use their inspiration for something other than being over the time limit.

I would be cautious of using the timer in major boss fights until your guys are really use to it.

I have used the two players go. I think it works better in larger groups, but it can be abused since the players can sometimes effectively switch initiative order. As an alternative you could use the timer and when the time is up instead of cutting off the current player, just tell the next PC to go, or start a monster's turn and cut them off the first player when the next creature finishes.

[WinterSoldier7]

Wait, players can end their turn themselves??

I've been asking them for years, too!

[The Decepticon]

I have been a DM for almost 2 1/2 years now on FG and I always ask "is that the end of your turn" or "anything else" because once they hit that button there really isn't anything else they can do unless they hurriedly say "can I move here?" Maybe after 10 years it will bother me, but right now no issues with it as I find it almost polite to ask.

Depending on how tight knit your group is maybe the ones that don't hit the button get a light Vicious Mockery from the group?

[Agamon]

Odd. It did take a little bit for my players to get used to it, but only a couple sessions or so of passive-aggressive long silent pauses followed by, "Ya done?" Now it's pretty much automatic for them.

[Nylanfs]

Use peer pressure. Give inspiration points or a luck roll or what ever to the first player that point it out to the offending player they need to hit done. :)

[Griogre]

A carrot-stick approach often can work best. :) It's mostly just a habit thing.

[Nick Frost]

Since I usually have the CT open during combat, this is something I don't really mind doing for them. I tend to always ask "Any other action? / Anything else?", which is the same thing I do in "physical" games.

If I wanted to encourage my players to click themselves on the "finish turn" button I would tell them beforehand and just let the game stall if someone doesn't, until they click on it. Knowing my players, they would probably get the hang of it quickly. But as I said, it's not something that bothers me...

[indavis]

Try getting them to add the button to the F1 position on there hotbar. That might help.

Holup!! Holy cow, you can do that? (goes off to check) Holy cow, you can do that!

[Marquis_de_Taigeis]

the first thing i do when joining a campaign as either a GM or Player is drag the next turn to the first slot on my hot bar, and the second slot be the initiative roll (if system applicable)

the hot bar makes life so much easier

[Mytherus]

Lol yeah the pass your turn is the vtt equivalent of people that don’t use turn signals when they drive. I mean cmon it’s not hard .

But anyway my players are actually pretty good with passing their turn maybe they forget once in a while which really isn’t a big deal to me.

I just throw out a random “and please click the button when you are done to pass your turn”

But that’s rough if even awarding inspiration does not help them remember.

Maybe just more verbal reminders after so nany times make a light hearted joke about it might make it memorable to them.

[Nylanfs]

I almost hit 5 of those people last night while I was delivering. :)

[Marquis_de_Taigeis]

if positive reinforcement doesnt work

could give NPCs advantage on the next round of attacks against someone who repeatedly forgets to end their turn
maybe disadvantage on player saves against spell and effects

assuming this is dnd 5e

[indavis]

As a player mostly the issue I see with the 'pass your turn' button is this. When it's our turn, we do our actions and make our rolls, and then most of the time, we get to explain how things go down, which can be a little immersive. Then you have to break out of that and go back to reality and click a button. So it's not as simple as not putting on a turn signal. I always use my turn signals, but can't tell you how many times I have to be reminded to click the button, because my head is still in a different space.

If there was a set time (adjustable by the gm) where the Turn button would pop to the top of the screen and blink, that might help, because my other issue is that a lot of the time I am not watching the combat tracker directly. I will usually use my screen real estate for the current map and my char sheet. Or if after a set time, something like an outline of the main window would blink. Just something to jolt me back into reality, other than everyone at the table.

[WinterSoldier7]

Now that I know it exists, I tried to encourage my PCs to use it in the last session. They generally remembered, but I found that combat kept it's pace better when I did what I always do - ask 'are you done' and do it myself.

[Ram Tyr]

It's the little things that define reality.
:)

Something I know has impacted me and the end turn button over the years...

Some people do it (advance the turn) for the players and some people don't. If, as has happened to me, you are a player in more than one group and the practice is inconsistent between groups... you can click when you shouldn't and you can fail to click when you should. Remember if you click when you shouldn't and the GM also clicks it results in the turn getting moved twice... and the GM has to bring the tracker back to the skipped character or NPC.

I also admit that sometimes I fail to hit the button due to my own failing. Sometimes this is inexplicable. This is sometimes me learning a new system. (As I am currently doing with a PF2e.) I hope this is forgivable and I would certainly endeavor to correct it if the GM seemed annoyed or made a point to establish a practice. Ignoring another player's intentions (whether it is the GM or a player playing a character) is always a problem.

Edit: If there was a suggestion, I might think allowing the GM to hide and disable the player's end turn button if they don't want players to hit the button might be nice. It is such a small thing that I am not sure it is a wise use of development time, but people obviously have a reaction. That at least prevent the double click problem when the GM wants to do the clicking.

[jasonthelamb]

"take 1d6 psychic damage every time i have to press the next turn button" :P


But really, I just have it hotkeyed to F1, and just ask "are you done?" and hit next.