How do you run or play your games?

[Aryes]

I just came from my local gaming store for the first time (just moved to the area) and witnessed what I would consider a fiasco of a gaming session. The DM had no materials, he was "winging" every bit of it, as far as I could tell. Half the players didn't have character sheets and the other half were playing Diablo II or painting minatures and yelling from the other room when they were addressed. Besides that there was the constant interuption of people coming in watching and making loud comments disrupting the already chaotic game. I understand you're there to have fun and socialize with your friends, but when I run my game I like a bit of order and quiet, the occasional tangent or joke non-withstanding.

I guess my question is is do you guys and gals play serious or just f*** around and power game?

Oh!! Did I mention the races? There was a doppleganger (she was an 8th level doppleganger?), a nymph, centaur, two somethings that had wings, and a half fiend monk. Yeesh. I could understand it if they were young, but I'd estimate the average age in the group was about 23 or 24.

So, yeah, the question above.

Ummm... rant over, thank you.

 

[Crothian]

Hey, more power to these people who allow all sorts of silliness and craziness in their game. We need them to keep the industry going. We play in an apartment with only the gamers present. We have a serious campaign. THe DM has everything he needs and a planeed out adventure, all the PCs have a PHB plus other books they reference along with a fully functional character sheet. We have fun, we joke and tangent. But we get through what we need to do.

 

[Darkness]

Moved to General Discussion.

 

[William Ronald]

My group is serious, but we have a lot of fun.

I believe each group has the right to run the sort of game that id fun for them. Of course, I like to believe that power has to be earned. (I have legitimately run one character into what would be considered epic levels. He started his existence in 1983.)

My group has had a few odd ball characters. The main question, besides is everyone having fun, should be how does it fit into the campaign.

I prefer to have some degree of preparation but I can wing it fairly well.

 

[jollyninja]

i my group, the pc's tend to be fairly normal (ocasoinally a character concept calls for something bizzarre but mostly human characters) my group ranges from 22-35 in age (i'm 24) so the mood in the room tends to reflect how serious the events in the campaign are (if we're all playing chaotic neutral bards or gnomes, it can get downright silly, if we're all playing lawful holy warrior types the mood tends to be quite sober) however, distractions are virtually nonexistant, two of the members are roomates and we play at their apartment. The idea of gaming at a hobby store baffles me, i have only seen younger people doing it and i allways assumed that their parents were not accepting of the roleplaying game thing or did not like their friends.

 

[Umbran]

You are actually asking two separate questions - taking the session more seriously and powergaming are two independant things. Though, personally, I think real powergaming requires more than just funky race/class combinations. It takes attention to detail at the table.

My group doesn't powergame much, but we tend to keep fairly focused on the session. We generally don't get uptight about out-of-game comments, though.

But, really, who cares what other groups do? Did these guys seem to be having fun? That's all that matters. If you wouldn't call it fun, just don't play that way.

 

[fenzer]

In my games, there is a wide range of behavior. One player, the monk, likes to have his charater make large Bruce Lee style manuvers and swings his little minurature around to illustrate. Another, the cleric, plays seriously using thought out tactical movement and action. The theif is bent on discovering anything before anyone else and often leaves the "brutes" to deal with the baddies while she looks for treasure. The point is everyone plays the game there own way and for the most part I am not going to stand in their way. If things get a little too crazy I call for order but jokes and off topic conversation always creep in and if the group is having a good time, I'll let most slide.

Hey William, good for you sticking with a character that long, wow 1983. I am insterested to know what the charcter is. I have a character, a human fighter, that was rolled out for me on Holloween day 1980. I now use him as an NPC, 13th level, not quite epic, because the DM who rolled him out died. I couldn't let the chatacter go in honor of my friend. I have only used him a mumber of times and aged him accordingly. He is in his mid fourties, his hair is white, he is scarred and his joints ache. He is my favorite character.

 

[Nifft]

There's a broad range of gaming behavior, from what you describe to the opposite ("iron fist of dystopian silence"). Games are like music -- there are lots of different kinds, and you're bound to dislike some of them.

From your distaste for the boisterous atmosphere and the non-Tolkein racial selection, you're more of a straight-laced Classical listener, to impose on the earlier analogy. The cacophony of a freeform Jazz session is just not your thing. That's groovy, man.

- - -

But all that is unrelated to "power gaming", whatever that's supposed to mean. Having wings (or whatever) surely can't prevent a character from being well played.

Cheers, -- N

 

[coyote6]

Couldn't have waited a few weeks, to resurrect it on the 8th anniversary of the original post?

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

I just came from my local gaming store for the first time (just moved to the area) and witnessed what I would consider a fiasco of a gaming session.

Could have been a silly one-shot, not a regular campaign.

I guess my question is is do you guys and gals play serious?

Pretty much serious, but our main goal is to get together as friends, so tangents abound.

Oh!! Did I mention the races? There was a doppleganger (she was an 8th level doppleganger?), a nymph, centaur, two somethings that had wings, and a half fiend monk. Yeesh. I could understand it if they were young, but I'd estimate the average age in the group was about 23 or 24.

For evidence for me that this might have been a one-shot game. And 23-24 is young.

The idea of gaming at a hobby store baffles me, i have only seen younger people doing it and i allways assumed that their parents were not accepting of the roleplaying game thing or did not like their friends.

There are many reasons to game at a hobby store. You may be on your own and not have a parent's home to game in. You and/or your parents might not have the room to host. You might game with acquaintances that you don't feel comfortable inviting into your home. You may want to attract other players outside of your current group of friends. The store may host a club, much like others with similar interests joining clubs and meeting in public places. The store owner may have scenery that he loans out for more visually dynamic games that you can not afford to buy or store. The owner could be a friend that could use live gaming to draw interest to his store. Those are just off the top of my head.

I have only used him a mumber of times and aged him accordingly. He is in his mid fourties, his hair is white, he is scarred and his joints ache. He is my favorite character.

Yeesh! I hope your character is like this either because of in-game hardships or you view mid-forties as old in the world the character resides. Because what you described is more mid-sixites in the modern world than mid-forties. I'm not at my mid-forties yet, but don't write me off like than man.

Edit: Although, apparently I'm getting too old to spot thread necromancy.