diff --git a/.github/actions/setup-database/action.yml b/.github/actions/setup-database/action.yml
index 3bfce31d1b..0759914e25 100644
--- a/.github/actions/setup-database/action.yml
+++ b/.github/actions/setup-database/action.yml
@@ -51,6 +51,12 @@ runs:
           SET GLOBAL character_set_server = 'utf8mb4';
           SET GLOBAL collation_server = 'utf8mb4_unicode_ci';
         EOF
+        # Set InnoDB settings for utf8mb4 support (allows longer keys)
+        # Note: innodb_large_prefix is ON by default in MySQL 8.0
+        # Ensure default row format is DYNAMIC (default in MySQL 8.0, but explicit for clarity)
+        mysql -u root -proot_password -h 127.0.0.1 mysql <<EOF
+          SET GLOBAL innodb_default_row_format = 'DYNAMIC';
+        EOF
         # Ensure user exists and has proper privileges
         mysql -u root -proot_password -h 127.0.0.1 mysql <<EOF
           CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS 'evennia'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
@@ -58,10 +64,14 @@ runs:
           GRANT PROCESS ON *.* TO 'evennia'@'%';
           FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
         EOF
-        # Set database character set
+        # Set database character set and default row format
         mysql -u root -proot_password -h 127.0.0.1 evennia <<EOF
           ALTER DATABASE evennia CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
         EOF
+        # Set default row format for new tables (needed for long keys with utf8mb4)
+        mysql -u root -proot_password -h 127.0.0.1 evennia <<EOF
+          SET GLOBAL default_storage_engine = 'InnoDB';
+        EOF
       shell: bash
 
     # get logs from db start
diff --git a/.github/workflows/github_action_test_suite.yml b/.github/workflows/github_action_test_suite.yml
index eaa66397a7..0a27b08feb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/github_action_test_suite.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/github_action_test_suite.yml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ jobs:
           - python-version: "3.11"
             coverage-test: true
 
-    timeout-minutes: 10
+    timeout-minutes: 30
 
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
diff --git a/.github/workflows/mysql_settings.py b/.github/workflows/mysql_settings.py
index b5525dcd74..d85515e46d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/mysql_settings.py
+++ b/.github/workflows/mysql_settings.py
@@ -48,13 +48,13 @@ DATABASES = {
         "PORT": "",  # use default port
         "OPTIONS": {
             "charset": "utf8mb4",
-            "init_command": "set collation_connection=utf8mb4_unicode_ci",
+            "init_command": "SET collation_connection=utf8mb4_unicode_ci, sql_mode='STRICT_TRANS_TABLES'",
         },
         "TEST": {
             "NAME": "evennia",
             "OPTIONS": {
                 "charset": "utf8mb4",
-                "init_command": "set collation_connection=utf8mb4_unicode_ci",
+                "init_command": "SET collation_connection=utf8mb4_unicode_ci, sql_mode='STRICT_TRANS_TABLES'",
             },
         },
     }