Baggage at the Table?

[cinderblock]

Serl, what do you mean by the "ruin" comment?
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[dungeonfish]

People who don't drink make me nervous. You can never tell what they're gonna do.

[Steerpike]

I had group members who were dating, and had been for some time, and got into a very heated and angry debate and promptly broke up over something that happened in game. They didn't speak to each other at all for about a year, and though they were able to become friends to some degree, they never got back together or really got on all that well.
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[serleran]

Quote:
Serl, what do you mean by the "ruin" comment?

Whatever you like it to mean. Like C&C, I reserve the right to be vague on purpose.
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Serl's Corner

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I typically don't drink while gaming, especially when I'm running a game. I'm not opposed to it, but just want to be as clear-headed as I can when I play. Most of my players don't crack open cocktails at the table either. We all pretty much drink when it's time to drink and game when it's time to game.

Although, right after Dave Arneson died, I started out my game having all the players (and myself) roll a d20. I wrote the results down and got into the game, leaving them wondering what the deal was with the die roll. They'd ask, I'd dodge through the morning. When we sat down for lunch, I passed the relevant chart around the table. Their roll corresponded to what they were going to drink in salute to Dave. You didn't want to roll a 1.

[CharlieRock]

I had a game session almost dip into the "bad game" category just recently. We were playing a point-build RPG system with an overall cap to a characters abilities based on campaign level. (i.e. no one can get a better result then '30' on a die roll with all modifiers counted)

One guy had a real problem with this set-up. He even stalled a combat sequence just to complain that he couldnt effectively roll higher then everyone elses character.

When I explained that the incentive wasn't to make a "more uber character" with your points but to just "hit the ceiling and then go back and fill them in to be interesting".

He wasn't buying any of it. If you couldn't use your points to get a higher bonus/"more plusta" then they were useless and the game was stupid for using such a system.

I told him to (a) stuff it somewhere, (b) the rest of us, including the pre-teenage children, were having fun, and (c) why couldn't he act more like the afore mentioned children and "get over it."

He grumbled (a lot) but finally got over his hang-up and we finished the game.

hmmm, now that I have typed all this out, I may not be inviting him to play our next C&C session. He is usually a fun guy to game with. A bit of a powergamer, but overall pretty fun.
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The Rock says ...

Know your roll!

[CharlieRock]

Sir Osis of Liver wrote:
I typically don't drink while gaming, especially when I'm running a game. I'm not opposed to it, but just want to be as clear-headed as I can when I play. Most of my players don't crack open cocktails at the table either. We all pretty much drink when it's time to drink and game when it's time to game.

Although, right after Dave Arneson died, I started out my game having all the players (and myself) roll a d20. I wrote the results down and got into the game, leaving them wondering what the deal was with the die roll. They'd ask, I'd dodge through the morning. When we sat down for lunch, I passed the relevant chart around the table. Their roll corresponded to what they were going to drink in salute to Dave. You didn't want to roll a 1.

I hadn't gamed with my brother for several years to one point when I invited him and his girlfriend over to game. They both accepted. his girlfriend was a cool woman I had known for years who just never gotten into gaming. So this was going to be a big to-do. Her first game and my first in many years with my bro.

I knew something was wrong when she came in frowning. She quickly made her way towards me and whispered "he's been at it since last night."

My brother was, as we used to say, "well done" and spent half the rest of the game trying to not fall out of his seat until we finally convinced him that his character died and he took a nap on the couch.
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The Rock says ...

Know your roll!

[Hrolfgar]

anglefish wrote:
Yes!

That was driving me crazy! Good stuff! A must read for those who have endured a recent case of "baggage at the table."

Agreed, but is scaring me away from looking for a new group.

[Arazmus]

As with a lot of things, drinking is a matter of personal preference. What is disastrous to a game in college is just mood lightener later on in life. Once the "drinking to get drunk" phase ends it's not as big a problem, in fact it helps a bit with breaking down some inhibitions and role-play can actually improve.

If people are arguing at the table it has one bright spot...they care enough about the game to want someone not to ruin the fun.

I don't like rules lawyers so my solution is either play a game 20 years out of print that only I have the rules to or make it clear ahead of time that I'm not going to stop the game to have rules quoted at me.
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[nightstorm]

As far as drinking goes my policy has always been Never at my house. If I go to a game in someone else's house where it's allow that's fine untill it becomes an issue. Elswhere on these boards I talked about a fight that ended when one of the players threated a girl. That same Dm also had a drunk that would come to the game, proceed to drink a six pack and pass out. He was thrown out.

So want to know when you are an alcholic? It's when you cannot function without a drink.

Cannot sit through a four hour game without a drink? thats a sign your drinking is taking over your life.
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[commanderFuron]

I personally don't mind drinking at the table as long as it is not disruptive.

I did run a game of Robotech about 10 years ago that involved taking a shot of jack on a critical hit to increase the multiplier. It didn't work out well for the DM(me) as you tend to roll a lot more dice than players. I am told that it was a fun session but I don't recall all that much other than the cheering when a critical hit was rolled.

Now have a strictly no drinking policy when I DM, either before the game or during.

[Treebore]

commanderFuron wrote:
I personally don't mind drinking at the table as long as it is not disruptive.

I did run a game of Robotech about 10 years ago that involved taking a shot of jack on a critical hit to increase the multiplier. It didn't work out well for the DM(me) as you tend to roll a lot more dice than players. I am told that it was a fun session but I don't recall all that much other than the cheering when a critical hit was rolled.

Now have a strictly no drinking policy when I DM, either before the game or during.

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[Omote]

commanderFuron wrote:
I personally don't mind drinking at the table as long as it is not disruptive.

I did run a game of Robotech about 10 years ago that involved taking a shot of jack on a critical hit to increase the multiplier. It didn't work out well for the DM(me) as you tend to roll a lot more dice than players. I am told that it was a fun session but I don't recall all that much other than the cheering when a critical hit was rolled.

Now have a strictly no drinking policy when I DM, either before the game or during.

KILL INVID!!!

~O
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[Piperdog]

Never had any crazy experiences with disruptive players....but then again, my circle of fellow gamers is small, and most are married professionals (a mid-level exec, a lawyer, an accountant, etc) so we are a pretty tame group. Drinking is actually a norm at our adult games ,but drunkeness is not tolerated. We average two beers each throughout the night, and mix it up with coffee binges, so the only real consequence is having to pee every 15 minutes. lol. When I run games for my kids, including my teen son and his buddies, I just drink soda!
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