Drinking and gaming?

[Ozmar]

A beer or two is ok. Maybe even more depending on who you are, (my fat friends really). Liquor has been enjoyed in small doses or sometimes like rum and coke. I don't think I've ever seen wine at the table.

The only narcotic I've ever been aware of is pot. That was only with a certain couple and I'll avoid that mix if given the chance. Nobody could remember squat after and they just sat there like giggling idiots.

Yeah... I can't see pot and gaming working well together at all.

Even with the drinks, its got to be in moderation. Some gamers can't add their base attack bonus and strength together while stone cold sober. Can't sustain a game when people are wasted.

Oz the Moderate

 

[el-remmen]

Back in college days we had a couple of drunken gaming fiascos (actually, it was probably just one) which led me to a "no more than two beers a session" rule.

But these days we are all adults and none of my friends have a problem moderating themselves (at the gaming table that is). Also the fact that we play from noon to about 6:30 - most folk don't want to drink that early anyway.

 

[Tharian]

I marked always for my game. My group tends to go through about 4 bottles of wine during each session. For the five of us, that seems to work pretty well, particularly when three of the five do not have to drive anywhere after the session. The other two aren't allowed to drive until they've had enough time to really make sure they've reached a good point, but that hasn't been much of an issue. When we game at someone else's house, there may not be as much wine, but then we'll switch to other forms of alcohol (We even used Woodchuck cider bottles to simulate the trees for the one shot I ran over New Year's Eve weekend. They worked out really well).

In my GF's RL campaign, though, there is no drinking. I don't think there's a particular reason, but I think there's only been one or two sessions there where any bottles of beer have been opened. Of course, one of those players tends to have so much caffeine in him from Starbucks that he might as well be drunk some nights.

 

[Wombat]

Sometimes we do -- we always have celebratory rum when something amazing happens with one of our gamers (cool new job, birth of a child, etc.). A couple of folks drink wine now and again. For the most part, though, we are a tea and coffee group, light on the sugar.

 

[Random Axe]

On occasion I will have a beer when I arrive at the game. I think I'm pretty much the only one, though. It's usually Coke for the rest of the night for everyone.

 

[djrdjmsqrd]

Well...

Back home; Seattle/Bellingham, WA
The group:
There was always plenty of tea, coffee, local micros, wine, and.... Marijuana.

*Ages ran from 18-56; one 56yo male, I was the 18yo at the start and was the baby, most were 24-33yo: 7 total*

The tradition was Wednesday night (5-3ish);
5-6: gather, set-up, smoke
7-10: Gaming, no smoking, limited drinking.
10-11: Dinner cooked by DM's wife (54yo old women) - always with wine, beer if prefered.
11-1: Gaming.
1-3ish: Smoke, head to local coffee shop...

*Ages ran from 18-56; one 56yo male, I was the 18yo at the start and was the baby, most were 24-33yo: 7 total*

If it helps I was the only non-LARP'r, non-Film/Acting Major - though I always showed up on Sunday night to watch them LARP.

Indiana, about to start with a new group who knows...

 

[Nifft]

In the early days of my group (2002), we'd usually have a bottle or two of wine, or some beer, or even some ... relaxing herbal incense. The games were a blast.

Now we've got less time, so we tend to drink less, and it's usually a glass of scotch or maybe a beer.

So I marked "sometimes".

-- N

 

[hagor]

I voted "rarely".

In the past, as students during our sunday evening/night session, we usually drank a couple of beers. Since I had to drive home, alcohol intake was very restricted for me, however.

Nowadays, there very rarely are any alcoholic beverages at the table. We usually have orange juice. Sometimes there is some "table beer" (don't know the English term, so literally translated from Dutch), which technically contains some alcohol (1.5 - 2% or so), but in fact is more like lemonade.

Now about the "pretzel" part...: guilty as charged! More often than not our table is loaded with biscuits, cake, some pie, chips, .... Unfortunately, this gives a high circumstance bonus to the Hide skill of our dice...

Hagor

 

[Tinker Gnome]

The group I get to play with currently are all underaged. Even if we were not I do not think the DM would tolerate it due to the distractions it would cause.

 

[DaveyJones]

beer & pretzels as a player/referee
ale and whores for all my pcs.