I often do “I am starting a timer. When it goes off, something interesting will happen”
If the players are still fucking around, then the fire bears show up (or whatever).
Unless you’re willing to do a TPK, this feels like an ultimately hollow threat.
There’s a wide range between tpk and something interesting happening.
Like, the players are dicking around and can’t decide how to ask the bartender if they can have access to the secret occult library in the basement. Just really spinning their wheels and being total PCs. Fine. Timer runs out. Their rival shows up, doesn’t acknowledge them, says something quietly to the bartender and is being lead to the basement.
Sorry, my mind was adding an implicit idea that this was about ‘during combat’. Yeah, during RP you have more wiggle room.
