James and Chuckie tackle one of the most underrated GM skills — pacing. Not going fast. Not going slow. Knowing the difference between a scene that's supposed to breathe and a scene that's just bleeding out.

What We Get Into:
- Slow isn't always wrong. A scene that feels slow might be doing exactly what it's supposed to do. The question is whether it's moving the story forward, not whether it's moving fast.
- The silent timer trick: James puts a kitchen timer on the table without saying what it's for. Players immediately start making decisions. No explanation needed.
- When players are genuinely stuck vs. when they're just spinning their wheels — and how to tell the difference by watching the table
- How to introduce new information without being obvious about it: NPCs, matchbooks, news reports, a name on a character sheet the player forgot they wrote
- Quick encounters and dramatic tasks: taking a whole scene that would eat three sessions and collapsing it into one meaningful roll per player
- Lay out two hooks at the end of every scene. Not one. Two. Give them the library and City Hall. Now they're moving.
- Don't be afraid to throw the villain at them when they're stalled. Nothing unsticks a table like a surprise attack.
- Shane Hensley's combat countdown: if a player isn't ready when their turn comes, smack the table, count down from five, and move on. Chuckie thought it was harsh until he tried it.

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