Shadowdancer
First Post
OK, I just couldn't stand it any more. I was the only person in my gaming group who had seen "Fellowship of the Ring," so a I talked them all into going Sunday night. It was my third time to see it.
They all wanted to see it, but were all like, "I'm waiting for the crowds to thin out," or "I don't have time to sit through a three-hour movie. I'll wait for the DVD." But I kept after them. It was for their own good. And I felt that, as their DM, it was my responsiblity to maket them go. I OWED it to them. Otherwise I would be remiss in my duties. I would not be doing my job.
A big problem for us was finding a time when we all could go together. The theater is in another city, a 30-minute drive away. And we wanted to eat dinner before the movie. So we needed a 7-hour block of time for this little outing. And when everyone involved is over the age of 40, it's difficult to find a free 7-hour block of time in everyone's schedule. But we finally got it worked out. We even bought the tickets a day early so no one would back out at the last minute.
And they LOVED it! But I guess most of you already knew they would. But it was a lot like our gaming sessions. They kept asking me questions -- "What did he say?" "Why did Bilbo do that?" "What the hell was THAT?" Only one of them had ever read the books.
Before the movie, one of my friends had asked me "Are there any slow parts where I can go to the bathroom if I need to?"
"Well, there is a respite when the reach Rivendell, but you might miss some of the exposition and character development."
"Screw that. I just don't want to miss any fights."
So when they reached Rivendell, my friend turned to me and whispered "Is this a good time to go to the bathroom?"
"Wait just a minute, there's a good part coming up you don't want to miss."
I made him wait for Bilbo's little "surprise" for Frodo. Then I told my friend "OK, you can go now."
Then, when the Fellowship reached Moria, I told everyone "Now comes the GOOD stuff!" They all looked at me like, "Well, the stuff so far has been pretty good. How can you top that?"
I just sat back and smiled, and watched out of the corner of my eyes as they were all amazed.
I'll never forget after the battle with the cave troll, when the Fellowship is making its mad dash through the grand hall. When all the orcs started chasing them from behind, my friends were all whispering "Holy sh**." Then when the orcs started coming out of the cracks in the floor, they were all saying "Holy Sh**!" Then when the orcs started pouring out of the ceiling and started spider climbing down the columns, they were saying "HOLY SH**!"
When the orcs all ran away when the Balrog starts coming, one of my friends says, "Uh-oh, that can't be good." And when the Balrog finally appears, my friends were all sitting there wide-eyed, caught up in the moment.
Before the movie, I had warned one of my friends she better bring her box of Kleenex, because there were some sad parts. She thought I was joking, but brought the tissues anyway because of her allergies. After Gandalf's standoff with the Balrog at the bridge, she needed those tissues for the tears in her eyes. She also cried later, when Boromir dies. I nearly joined her both times, even though I'd already seen the movie.
After the movie, one of my friends couldn't even wait for the credits. She was like, "I'll meet ya'll in the lobby. If I don't pee right away, I will have to hurt someone." Later she told me she first had to pee about an hour into the movie, and had held it for two hours so she wouldn't miss anything.
Then, of course, on the way home, they started up with more questions. "Legolas shot an arrow when the orcs were only 10 feet away, or less. How come you told me I couldn't shoot an arrow at that range? And he was shooting more than one arrow a round. And he fired two arrows at once. And one time he killed two orcs with one arrow. How come you won't let me do that?"
"If you take the appropriate feats, you can. You don't have those feats yet."
So now they're all pumped up, ready for our next gaming session. But I know that when we do get together, they will want to spend three hours rehashing all the cool things they saw in the movie. And I know that as DM, I'm going to have to come up with things in our adventures to match the images now dancing in their heads because of the movie. A DM's work is never done.
Oh well, at least I did get to see the movie again. I guess it was worth it.
They all wanted to see it, but were all like, "I'm waiting for the crowds to thin out," or "I don't have time to sit through a three-hour movie. I'll wait for the DVD." But I kept after them. It was for their own good. And I felt that, as their DM, it was my responsiblity to maket them go. I OWED it to them. Otherwise I would be remiss in my duties. I would not be doing my job.
A big problem for us was finding a time when we all could go together. The theater is in another city, a 30-minute drive away. And we wanted to eat dinner before the movie. So we needed a 7-hour block of time for this little outing. And when everyone involved is over the age of 40, it's difficult to find a free 7-hour block of time in everyone's schedule. But we finally got it worked out. We even bought the tickets a day early so no one would back out at the last minute.
And they LOVED it! But I guess most of you already knew they would. But it was a lot like our gaming sessions. They kept asking me questions -- "What did he say?" "Why did Bilbo do that?" "What the hell was THAT?" Only one of them had ever read the books.
Before the movie, one of my friends had asked me "Are there any slow parts where I can go to the bathroom if I need to?"
"Well, there is a respite when the reach Rivendell, but you might miss some of the exposition and character development."
"Screw that. I just don't want to miss any fights."
So when they reached Rivendell, my friend turned to me and whispered "Is this a good time to go to the bathroom?"
"Wait just a minute, there's a good part coming up you don't want to miss."
I made him wait for Bilbo's little "surprise" for Frodo. Then I told my friend "OK, you can go now."
Then, when the Fellowship reached Moria, I told everyone "Now comes the GOOD stuff!" They all looked at me like, "Well, the stuff so far has been pretty good. How can you top that?"
I just sat back and smiled, and watched out of the corner of my eyes as they were all amazed.
I'll never forget after the battle with the cave troll, when the Fellowship is making its mad dash through the grand hall. When all the orcs started chasing them from behind, my friends were all whispering "Holy sh**." Then when the orcs started coming out of the cracks in the floor, they were all saying "Holy Sh**!" Then when the orcs started pouring out of the ceiling and started spider climbing down the columns, they were saying "HOLY SH**!"
When the orcs all ran away when the Balrog starts coming, one of my friends says, "Uh-oh, that can't be good." And when the Balrog finally appears, my friends were all sitting there wide-eyed, caught up in the moment.
Before the movie, I had warned one of my friends she better bring her box of Kleenex, because there were some sad parts. She thought I was joking, but brought the tissues anyway because of her allergies. After Gandalf's standoff with the Balrog at the bridge, she needed those tissues for the tears in her eyes. She also cried later, when Boromir dies. I nearly joined her both times, even though I'd already seen the movie.
After the movie, one of my friends couldn't even wait for the credits. She was like, "I'll meet ya'll in the lobby. If I don't pee right away, I will have to hurt someone." Later she told me she first had to pee about an hour into the movie, and had held it for two hours so she wouldn't miss anything.
Then, of course, on the way home, they started up with more questions. "Legolas shot an arrow when the orcs were only 10 feet away, or less. How come you told me I couldn't shoot an arrow at that range? And he was shooting more than one arrow a round. And he fired two arrows at once. And one time he killed two orcs with one arrow. How come you won't let me do that?"
"If you take the appropriate feats, you can. You don't have those feats yet."
So now they're all pumped up, ready for our next gaming session. But I know that when we do get together, they will want to spend three hours rehashing all the cool things they saw in the movie. And I know that as DM, I'm going to have to come up with things in our adventures to match the images now dancing in their heads because of the movie. A DM's work is never done.
Oh well, at least I did get to see the movie again. I guess it was worth it.
