Alchohol During A D&D Game?

[Dextra]

Drinking and Drugs and Gaming

Around our gaming table, drinking hasn't ever really caused problems of late. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that we game mostly with our kids now, and I'm not that much into the whole alcohol thang. But a beer or two certainly doesn't affect our DM.

I do remember a few nights of cyberpunk games where one person smoked up at the beginning of the evening, so started off a little slow on the uptake (and prone to giggles). Everyone else was drinking- mostly beer, but some mixed drinks, or whiskey chased by beer. As the effects of the drug wore off the pot-head, that person seemed to become smarter, whereas the drinkers progressively got stupider.

In another gaming group I know of, they tried playing Vampire on acid. Apparently it made for an interesting experience, but not one worth repeating.

Just say no thank you (hey, I'm Canadian, I'm polite) to drugs and gaming!

 

[Rackhir]

I'm noticing a pattern to responses to this kind of thread.

Generic Response to "Is <Blank> Okay?"

[Insert : Observation that reasonable behavior with regards to <Blank> doesn't cause problems]
[Insert : Statement that excess <Blank> can cause problems]
[Insert : Optional amusing personal story]
[Insert : Conclusion that if people behave like adults things will be fine]

 

[wingsandsword]

In my games, held at my apartment, if a player asked to . Typically, I have a player or two who like to drink recreationally, but they reserve their drinking for after the game. They show up, put their drinks in the fridge and wait until after the game to drink up. If somebody wanted to have a drink during the game, I wouldn't have a problem as long as they didn't become so intoxicated it interfered with their ability to game or disrupted the game.

I know one DM who insists on drinking while gaming, even to the point of leaving a local game convention when told he couldn't drink at the table (since it was being held on university premises), and I know gamers who game best when they've had one or two to relax (like a game I'm in with somebody who goes to a local bar and has a beer or two before walking to the game). There is a reason that there is the term "Beer & Pretzels" to describe informal, friendly gaming where it's more about hanging out than calculating modifiers to your roll.

I'm also very much of the "put off is anybody told me I couldn't do it" mindset. Now, this is of course presuming that people are gaming at a house, apartment or some place where if somebody wants to have a beer or a rum & coke it's all good. I know several gaming groups that play in meeting rooms on the local university campus, which has a strict no-alcohol policy, so it's perfectly understandable that they can't imbibe while they game.

Gaming is about fun, it's about hanging out with some friends and doing something you like together, if that includes a drink or two in the process, then have a blast.

 

[loki44]

Our games start at noon on Sundays.....generally not a good time to start drinking. The issue has never come up before that I know of.

 

[Ranger Rick]

Some people are a little shy/uptight and drinking a few beers can lower inhibitions enough so that they try to talk in accents and become more like an actor and less like a lecturer.

I also think how old you had to be to start drinking will also affect your views. The drinking age was 18 when I started HS so even though we where several years to young, we started drinking long before anyone thought to buy the D&D books and figure out how to play.

Contrast that with someone who has grown up under the tyranny of enforced DWI laws and being 21 to legally drink. That meant that they spent several years playing and not drinking.


I am sure those who drank 1st than learned how to play, are much more accepting than those who played before they drank.

 

[kenobi65]

Our games start at noon on Sundays.....generally not a good time to start drinking.

Clearly you've never been to a Renaissance Faire.

 

[Waldorf]

I have been in games where personal twelve packs are downed in a few hours time, where the bongs are passed both ways to save time, and the players can't remember their character names (or purposes) whatsoever. Full-scalle brawls have actually broken out, with the less aggressive diving for cover while the main attraction plays out their battles in real time.

This is something you can't imagine, nor is it the sort of thing youn want to do on a weekly basis, but if you've seen it once, boy oh boy, is it a tale to relate.

 

[Mercule]

My current group has no problem with it. I don't usually drink alchohol as a DM, but that's because I'm usually drinking something with ginseng in it, instead. Honestly, I'm not even sure how often anyone drinks beer rather than soda -- it's just a non-issue.

Obligatory amusing anectdote: I tried going through the original Temple of Elemental Evil once. The DM called together pretty much everyone he knew who gamed, ever. The more casual people each brought a friend or two with them. We had 24 PCs, with no more than one per player, and only about half the players were even marginally sober. In five hours, we managed to get from Homlet to the Moathouse. The first encounter (a green slime) killed about half the party because of truly stupid things being done, even by the sober people. Not a fun time.

 

[was]

We usually game for about 4-5 hours. I've found that one or two alcoholic beverages in a session isn't really a problem. However, we've stuck to beer and wine (nothing all that hard). More than that has caused trouble. Once I had to make a guy crash on the couch and not drive home.

 

[Woas]

I have two distinct 'circles' of D&D gaming friends.

With the first group, having a brewski or three.. maybe even four over the course of a 5 or 6 hour game is totally fine. In fact, I feel its a good thing because sometimes it can be real hard to get the group to Role-Play past, "My characters wants a Chainmail shirt. I assume theres a blacksmith in town right?". They are also really wussy in combat, and take every move action to its fullest potentioal, cause lord help us if they need to waste a move action to put away a weapon or anything! So the beer gets them a little more sociable and daring in combat so I think in the end, hey, we're all having fun.


In group two, D&D has become a drinking game. Roll a Auto-Miss 1 on an attack?! Get out the shot glass and J-D bottle! DC means something a little different to us too. Player 1: "Krozan is going to jump from building to building following the thief!" DM: "Ok, DC: Chug two beers!"
Hehe, yeah.. that game doesn't progress very far...