So, the DM Wants His Girlfriend to Play....

[Balgus]

Am i the only one who thinks you guys are taking this WAAAYYYY too seriously? gaming is meant to be a fun gathering, and the game is secondary to us spending the day in friendly fun. If one happens to be your GF - good... that doesnt change anything.

Then again - i only enjoy gaming with firends, so it may be a lil different. Otherwise, just treat her like any other player and let the dice do the story telling.. and the people have fun.

 

[Yalius]

Can I offer a somewhat tongue-in-cheek piece of advice that nonetheless works great for me?

Before we sit down and play, I run off a few rounds of 1-on-1 Deathmatch UT2k4 with my wife. That puts us in the proper no-favorites mood, and the rest of the game sails nice and smooth.

 

[Nifft]

Am i the only one who thinks you guys are taking this WAAAYYYY too seriously?

Depends what kind of game they're running. Different folks get different things from the game.

In games where people favor the deep-immersion style of play, or one favoring the tactical combat skirmish aspect, I could see favoritism impacting verisimilitude or sense of fairness.

In a beer & peanuts style of play, you're 100% right -- everyone is "on the same side", and out of character enough to not really worry about anything except hanging out.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

My advice won't help a bit, but here it is: My gaming group is men only. I find this works just great for us. YMM obviously V.

So, are you arguing that womenfolk don't belong in roleplaying groups, or that he should switch sexual persuasions?

 

[Phlebas]

I DM for my significant other, and so far she has been the only fatality in 2 years of playing......

the only problem I have is that she always pesters me for explanations after the session has finished and tries to trick me into revealing plot clues. Its a hard life being a DM at times

And the only complaint I have ever heard from other players (& then not very seriously) is that occasionally i'll run catch up sessions for players who've been away and have missed adventures (& xp) and she'll always try to play in those as well - before the fatality and loss of XP she was a few thousand xp ahead of her nearest rival

aside from that, it was only her second go at RP'ing so all the normal advice for newbie PC's plus make sure you both understand how this is going to work with her just one amongst equals and not your highest priority

 

[CharlesRyan]

I think a lot of these replies--and perhaps even the original poster--are thinking too hard about this.

You game to have fun with a bunch of your friends, right?

Your SO is, presumably, a friend?

Unless one of you is really unreasonable or irrationally star-crossed, where's the problem?

I've been playing in groups that included spouses and SOs for years, and I've never once seen an issue arise--in fact, I don't recall anyone even thinking that an issue might arise. If anything, I think you're in danger of creating a problem by shining a spotlight on the issue.

My experience. YMMV.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

My girlfriend has been playing in my games for a long time, but she dipped her toes in before we were going out, so that might be different. Good luck!

 

[JustinM]

My advice won't help a bit, but here it is: My gaming group is men only. I find this works just great for us. YMM obviously V.

That's...an interesting take on the matter. I'll leave my comment at that, because saying what I mean will get me suspended, or worse.

My GF plays in my games. She's actually been RP'ing longer than I have, but she wasn't the one who got me into it. Anyway, I treat her fairly, but I certainly do not favor her, and while she might joke about deserving extra loot because of her personal status, she knows perfectly well that fair and equal is the way the table needs to be because of bad experiences she's had in other games where it wasn't that way at all.

 

[Dragon-Slayer]

it could be a trap!

When isn't it a trap?

 

[pawsplay]

My wife is in my regular D&D group. About the only issue we've had is that no one but me remembers she's a male dwarf.

"I cast heroism on her."
"Him."
"... him."