While not Tembones, how quickly combat happens can be pretty easily calculated, depending on the foes toughness and players weapons.
If the players have low damage dealing weapons, and the foes have jacked up toughness, its gonna take forever.
Assuming the players are also innacurate and can’t do headshots or the like.
Or flank, or gang up, or gang tackle a foe and slide a dagger in their throat. I think some of the toughness of opponents is overcome with wild attacks (similar to all out attacks from GURPS), targeted attacks from the drop, etc. I appreciate that sometimes a head on assault wont get it done. I also think we have been somewhat programmed by D&D to keep attacking till we hit that critical as other than a rogue, there is not always big value in positioning or outnumbering a foe. I also found from a couple of games using SW against tough foes, magic is a serious force multiplier (smite, especially with a raise makes a massive difference for the grunts/warriors) in that many spells roll multiple dice (as well as the ranged spells seem to have better odds at getting a raise) and the chances of those aces make a big difference.
OK, I'll look into what you have mentioned (I've never seen "wild attacks," etc.). How do you help stop the "bennie hoarding" we started the conversation with, though? It still seems like bennies are best used to soak, with every other use being wildly inferior.
Oh man you're getting onto the path!
Oggs and Shrieking are pointing you the way!
Having someone in the party use Tricks and be "that guy" that slaps Shaken on enemies is a *huge* deal. And one that is overlooked all the time. Especially when considering things like "the Drop" and Assassinate as a lead-in.
Okay the Bennies thing is going to take some doing once your party has already settled into the Hoarding mentality. There are several ways to decondition players. I'm going to say this from a GM perspective first.
1) Start PROACTIVELY rewarding your PC's for playing their hindrances. Whether it's for their benefit or not. But especially reward them when it's for negative reasons.
2) When a player does something with their PC that you think defines that PC in your eyes, or their eyes (something you should talk about at Char-gen or it could be emergent in the game) - give them Bennies.
3) Do a good job describing a scene (especially if combat is about to ensue) and highlight environmental stuff that could effect the course of the fight. And if you have NPC's on the PC's side, have them queue their use if the PC's don't think of it. And don't hesitate for bad guys to do so too. When the PC's do it - give them a Benny.
4) Let your players describe narratively what they're trying to do and how it will look, and juice it up and make it heroic. If they get into it with you, they'll start unconsciously trying to do more and more heroic/crazy stunts that should give them Bennies.
5) Something I do is I crib Fate's Aspects for my players at Chargen. I have them give me three Aspects or things about their PC's and I reward them with Bennies anytime they act on them or I test them on it and they react in accordance with it. Weave them into their Hindrances. This gives you a lot of synergy that will encourage their engagement in roleplay and combat encounters.
6) Don't skimp on your encounters when they are hard. Making sure your PC's have lots of Bennies makes fights *more* epic. A hard fight can be any fight where Bennies are tight. But if Bennies are flowing - that fight with 5 Orcs under normal circumstances could be 20 Orcs and your players will fight like heroic bastards. Be mindful of what these numbers mean. If every monster is rocking a d12 to attack, that's pretty high-octane. Let the players be the heroes, that Parry rating means they're that good at deflecting/dodging attacks let your players describe it (or you do it) to let the gravity of how good your players are.
I had a new player in SW (Beasts and Barbarians) in his first game ever - rocking an 11 Parry fresh out of the gate (with his Shield and Edges) and after wading through a throng of enemy barbarians where he parried, deflected like 7 attacks on him and he proceeded to attrition them down single-handedly, he immediately understood why I moved to SW over D&D. It's not that I lowered the bar for him, it's that the mechanical choices of his character means he's THAT good to regular foes. It's higher octane.
Conversely this doesn't mean I have to put in a roided Ogre Captain just to beat him - I have to play my NPCs/Monsters smarter once the realization of how good he is, and what a danger he actually poses in order to deal with him. OR ruuuun away.
As a Player -
1) Be proactive about trying stuff that goes beyond the assumptions of "I attack". Yes by all means play the mechanics but the whole point of the system is to leverage whatever narrative examples are laid down to squeeze some dynamics out that lead to greater success - which makes it heroic in the mere attempt even if you fail.
2) Indulge in your Hindrances. Too many players pick up Hindrances thinking they're just there to give you your "free" 4 points. They're there to roleplay and if your GM is on point, pick up Bennies. What's the point of being Addicted and while on a binge in the Tavern you don't start a drunken bar-fight because you took Mean or Arrogant too? That's a fucking Benny-Factory at my table. Assuming you don't get yourself killed/maimed pursuing things like this.
3) No man is an island in a boss-fight. If you're out of Bennys, nothing prevents you from going all out in a fight and getting Bennys by doing crazy shit. AND you should do it with your party in coordination. A well coordinated party using good tactics can bring down heavy bosses that exceed the PC's individual power level. Called shots, Taunt, Tricks, Gang-up tactics are bread and butter. But don't forget using the environment - these become justifications to do heroic shit that you can always negotiate for a Benny.