Alcohol and D&D

[Zarrock God of Evil]

I try to avoid drinking during RPG sessions since most other social events in this country feature massive drinking already (much to my personal liking I may well add - but I can be very drunk and still retain my dignity which really helps. Hangovers are not as bad as they used to be either - just different...).
We have gone nuts occasionally, though, rolled up some evil, crazy, over-powered characters and toured grim Cyberpunk settings whilst embarking on a major real-life bender....

-Zarrock

 

[Ulrick]

When I was 17, my best friend's parents left home for a weekend.

So his of aged connections got us some Busch Light, Scotch, Vodka, and Strawberry Brandi.

And we all headed over to his place to celebrate his 18th birthday by playing a game of Dark Sun. My best friend was the DM.

He'd downed a couple beers before even starting. Then during the game he started in on the Vodka.

I had some scotch mixed with some lemonade, but that was all I had.



Everybody else had varying amounts, but the DM had more than all of us...combined.

By the end of the game I was the only one who was still semi-sober. The DM kept forgetting to attack with his NPCs and monsters, so we'd slaughter them w/o much effort. I wound up with all the good stuff because everybody seemed to forget that I was searching around (I played a fighter/thief--I think).

The game ended when we beat the main bad guy. The DM said, "I'll calculate experience later." And then got up, and proceeded to pass out on the couch.

That was a good game.

Ulrick

 

[BigFreekinGoblinoid]

I with the not drinking at the table camp as well.

I don't at all nowdays, never like the taste of alcohol. ...

Are you sure you weren't drinking when you wrote this?

Just kidding Bagpuss. You must be young, cuz most alcohol seems to taste better the older you get.

I just realized that I drink less while playing RPG's than I do at my regular poker games. Hmmm... Not too smart.

 

[thegreatbuddha]

I used to play in a 2e campaign where we got incredibly drunk/stoned/whatever every night. i remember the basic plot of the campaign, but all in all, it wasn't very rewarding. I'm a hardcore drinking advocate, but not at the game table, it detracts from the experience. The only thing I remember with any clarity is paraphrased below:

[Me in regards to an initiative roll or somesuch] Can I roll now?

[DM] Yeah, and when you're done, pass it to me.

He wasn't paying attention and thought I was rolling a joint. Worst part is, we never smoked joints at the table, we used a proto-pipe.

 

[Undead Pete]

I don't even know why I'm surprised that this thread turned into a debate on the +/- of alcohol.



All I wanted were some funny stories to read.

Geez....some folks are major buzzkills

 

[Graf]

Oddly I've never gamed when ed up. One of my players now is morbidly uncomfortable with alcohol and I wouldn't really want to put him in that position. Another one of my players left another game for mine because we were more serious (read we weren't sloshed by mid-afternoon). I wouldn't be against it, just so long as I wasn't DM and it was moderate.

We had one Shadowrun game where the DM drank pretty heavily in college. The games itself were fine (if simple mostly B&E). When the GM can't recall what happened last night though it doesn't feel fulfilling as a game.

There's gaming for the sake of gaming (which is how most people here play probably) and then gaming as something to do.
As I've gotten older I've noticed that most of the gaming becomes the main focus; but in gradeschool/high school for some of the people it was just something to do.

I remember when alcohol tasted bad and I didn't like drinking, etc.. Its good to start later, can keep from developing bad habits I suppose.

 

[pogre]

Blueberry Hill Gang

Years ago I used to run a group from Blueberry Hill Tavern down in St. Louis. They were all bartenders and cooks who would come over Tuesday night after close. They would bring some beers and some food and the game was generally a lot of fun. I personally do not drink, and I could see where a drunk DM could be a drag. Anyway, one time one of the cooks got to drunk and threw a case of beer at one of the other cooks who was stealing a magic item. Chipped the guy's tooth and all hell broke loose. The only other time alcohol caused incident was in a fight over a pack of cigarettes.

Earlier I GM'ed a group through a WFRP campaign on New Year's Eve where they started taking a shot every time they killed something. About an hour or two into the game the wizard's apprentice charged a giant. That was the level of everyone's judgment by then.

These days my gaming group is teetotalers for the most part. I hate to be an old fuddy duddy, but it does make for a better game sober.

 

[tleilaxu]

Hey Edena

I just want to make an unsolicited comment. I've noticed over the past couple weeks or so that you have been having some family problems b/c of alcohol. I definitely sympathize with your situation, but if you allow I'd like to give a bit of advice.

I know people who have had problems with alcohol, or with men (a la terrifica... http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29833), or something else.

Some of them develop the attitude that they know "the truth" about something. For example, you obviously think alcohol is bad. I am just afraid that the next time you go to a party at U of M (or whatever) you are going to start pulling drinks out of people's hands.

My dad has been a smoker for decades and has mouth cancer. When I was younger I would ask my friends for cigarettes and then break them. I thought I was helping people by showing them "the errors of their ways". But all this does is cause problems and make people think you don't respect their right to make their own decisions.

I am just writing this in the hopes that you don't end up trying to do the same thing. People will drink. You have to get used to being around people who drink in social situations or life is gonna be really hard from you.

Now I admit that I know jack about your life, but please understand that this email has a friendly intent, and if I am way off base then forgive me.

 

[tleilaxu]

But let me tell a story that happened last weekend when I had some friends over to play illuminati (sjgames.com)

We had some beers. One of my friends (who lives in Shenzhen, which has a customs crossing as it is outside the Hong Kong SPecial Administrative REgion) forgot to bring any money. Strike 1. So I bought beers for him to drink, and apparently he drank more than his tolerance. Strike 2. At one point in the night he dropped $40 hong kong ($5 US) in the liquor store. It was my $40. Strike 3. Then, apparently plastered, misses the last train across the border. Strike 4. He has no money and no way to get to the crossing. Strike 5. So he wakes me up at 11 PM telling me how screwed he is. Strike 6 (I wake up at 7AM btw). I tell him he can come back and sleep on the couch. He gets off at the wrong bus stop, and wakes me up (now at about 12:30AM) asking me where he is. Strike 7. He finally gets to my place sometime after 1AM, and I let him in. The next day I find out that he yanked the door to my apartment building so hard that he permenently bent it with regards to the frame. The door was brand new, only two weeks old. Strike 8. THe building people and my girlfriend have banned him from returning.

 

[Bagpuss]

Are you sure you weren't drinking when you wrote this?

Just kidding Bagpuss. You must be young, cuz most alcohol seems to taste better the older you get.

I just realized that I drink less while playing RPG's than I do at my regular poker games. Hmmm... Not too smart.

Nope, just half asleep.

Actually I'm 32, but since I never took to drinking I haven't destroyed enough of my taste-buds to put up with the taste of the stuff. That's the only reason I can see for it tasting better the older you get.