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Message: <blockquote data-quote="delericho" data-source="post: 3575765" data-attributes="member: 22424">I have no problem speaking in public, but I don't like doing so without notice. I prepare myself differently depending on my expected audience. So, whenever I have DM'ed wih an audience I have absolutely hated it.My policy is this:1) If the game is taking place in a public place, then an audience of casual passersby is unavoidable. They should be ignored as best as possible. However, by preference I try to avoid gaming in public places. (This does not apply to game clubs, where the passersby are generally not random people, but rather composed primarily of gamers. That's less of an issue for me to deal with, since they know what's going on.)2) If the audience is there as a guest of a player, then I'll do my best to insert them into the game. I recommend DMs have a couple of level-appropriate characters that can be slotted into the game for the session (basically, 'guest stars'). The guest should be invited, nay encouraged, to play. And, although it may stretch suspension of disbelief, I waste no time writing them in or out - get them involved and get on with it. (If the person is a non-gamer, then the player whose guest they are should 'take them under their wing' to explain what's going on. Role-playing itself is actually quite natural to most people these days, so it's just the rules that are the primary issue... oh, but keep those 'guest star' characters fairly iconic and simple for the benefit of the non-gamers amongst us. Half-dragon drow ninja/artificers may sound really cool, but they'll bamboozle the newbie, where the human rogue/pirate will be instantly familiar.)3) If the guest declines to play then that's their prerogative. But, in that case then while I'm running the game that person does not exist in my world. I'm not being rude, just focussed. When there's a break, I'll speak to them, but not at other times. This is exactly the same as when I'm with my band; I have a job to do, and that person is not part of it.If the guest proves a distraction, then I'll take the player whose guest it is and offer them an out. If the guest is, for example, his girlfriend from out of town then I'll suggest that perhaps he should go be with his girl? Since I don't have any sanction about non-attendence (except that you miss what I like to think is a good game), there's no reason to bore the guest and disrupt everyone else's fun. I've never had a player not take this offer.4) If all else fails (perhaps the guest is actually the host's roommate, who actually objects to us being there but is being passive-agressive about it), then I'll cut the session short. I take the view that it's better to cut my losses than to try to continue with a failed session. Ultimately, if this means we need a new place to host the game, then that's what we'll have to do. I've never had things get that far, though.</blockquote>

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