Everyone, Tell us about your games, please!

[Lanefan]

1.) How many players in your group?

In one group, DM + 4. In the other, DM + 6. In the others I keep stats for but am not currently in, DM + 6, DM + 5, and DM + 6. Total of about 25 people, as there's some overlap.

2.) Do you DM?

Yes and no.

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?

In the sub-group I'm currently DM-ing, nobody else DMs at the moment (that may change). In the overall group of 25, there's 4 current DMs and about 5 others who could if they had to.

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?

Not counting DMs (all male), in the group I run 3M-1F; in the group I play in 3M-3F; overall about 3-1 ratio.

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?

Yes, Curious Comics and Yellowjacket Games, both in downtown Victoria.

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

For my DMing, mostly homebrew worlds (the last one was FR-based) and about half-and-half homebrew adventures vs. canned modules, though the canned modules get changed all over the place too.

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?

Since 1981, 47.

8.) Who taught you to play?

Various friends, one of whom was my first DM and still is; I'm off to his game in about an hour from now.

There's a couple of other questions that would be interesting to ask:

What edition do you play? DM? (1st and 1st, here)

What's your average party size including NPCs? (about 10, around here; we often play more than one PC at a time)

What's the usual male-female ratio in the party? (usually much closer to 1-1 than the player ratio)

Lanefan

 

[El Mahdi]

1.) How many players in your group?
Last group had 7, current group has 3 but looking to expand (5 max).

2.) Do you DM?
Yes.

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?
Last group had me and another guy alternating DM'ing, current group is just me.

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?
Last group: 4 male, 3 female. Current group: 1 male (me), 2 female - (and it's very fun).

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?
Last City - Yes (Plycon outside of Moody AFB), current city - Yes (Past Present Future Comics).

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?
Equal split of both.

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?
15 years, 40 years old.

8.) Who taught you to play?
Friends (coworkers in the Air Force).

Current game is a house ruled 3.5E (with elements of SAGA and 4E thrown in) campaign in a non-cannon Forgotter Realms setting. Also occasioinally use Greyhawk, Star Wars, StarDrive and DarkMatter settings.

 

[Leatherhead]

1.) How many players in your group?
Group 1, 5 players and me as the DM.
Group 2, 8 players and someone else as the DM (split up into two subgroups on alternating nights.)

2.) Do you DM?
Yes

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?
Yes, 3.

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?
In group 1 there are no females playing currently.
In group 2 the ratio is 2 males for every female.

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?
Great Escape Games in Sacramento.

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?
More homebrew, however I am running the H series for 4E for the group I am DMing in.

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?
About 11 years now. I am currently 26

8.) Who taught you to play?
I did, more or less. Myself, my brothers and a few friends from school started in with second edition with a starter kit we picked up after playing Magic The Gathering for a bit. (I can't remember the name of the set we started with for the life of me. All I can remember for sure was that it had an ogre for a "boss monster" and it was probably set somewhere in the Dalelands) Nobody else wanted to DM at the time, so it fell to me to figure out what stuff meant.

 

[DragonLancer]

1.) How many players in your group?
2.) Do you DM?
3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?
4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?
5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?
6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?
7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?
8.) Who taught you to play?

1. Including me, six.
2. Yes.
3. No.
4. Five male, one female.
5. Yes. Gamers.
6. Mainly modules, but some homebrew.
7. Since 1987. I am 34.
8. An old school friend.

 

[exile]

1. How many players in your group?

I actually play in two different groups. The first group which meets once a month consists of 12 players. Very, very rarely are they all present at the same time. The second group which meets weekly (though I can only play with them in person several times per year) consists of about 8 people.

2. Do you DM?

Yes, at times for both groups, but I am not the primary DM for either group.

3. Do other people in the group DM, and how many?

In the first group, there are three of us who DM. Our principle DM runs mostly fantasy, another guy does supers, and I do horror (this is a very loose generality). In the second group, three of us DM. Our principle DM does pretty much everything, I sometimes do fantasy or horror, and one woman does exclusively Top Secret SI.

4. What's the male/female composition of the group?

The group of 12 has two female players who have excellent attendance. My wife, the third female, shows up regularly, but actually played only for the first time last night (a Dread game that I ran). The group of 8 has three females who all also attend regularly.

5. Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?

I live in Somerset, KY. Several stores stock games without being true game stores. Collector's Comics sells primarily comics (duh), but has the best selection of games in the town, though by no means a great selection. Game King specializes mostly in used video games, but also sells WOTC books and minis. The local chain bookstore (can't recall the name) has a limited selection of mainstream gaming stuff (mostly WOTC and White Wolf).

The group that I meet with monthly plays in Louisville, KY. Louisville Game Shop (or is it Store?) carries a lot of minis (WH40K, Warmachine, Hordes, less so Reaper), boardgames, and pretty mainstream role-playing games. The Great Escape has the best selection of used game items in the city, and probably in the state. Check it out if you are looking for something old. They also carry tons of comics (new and used) and used music, a draw for my largely non-gamer wife. Comic Book World has the best selection of new gaming stuff in the city, carry some of the more obscure lines, though I believe they were hurt by the D20 glut, and still have a lot of stuff that no one seems to want.

I spent five years in Toledo, OH, and the group that I game with via computer (and in person a few times a year) is well served by Mind Games. They too have been hurt by the D20 glut, but will reliably special order everything that I want, sell it to me at a discount, and ship it to me for free. They rock, and I spend 95% of my very large gaming budget there. If you livenaywhere near NW Ohio, check them out.

6. Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

Almost all of us who run games for both groups homebrew. Notable exceptions include one DM's love affair with the Temple of Elemental Evil, and the time that I ran part of Night Below.

7. How long have you been playing and how old are you?

I'm 33, generally in the middle of the age range for both groups. I have been playing in some form since I was 8.

8. Who taught you to play?

A cousin by marriage who is no longer a cousin thanks to divorce. He got cool and quit playing not long after teaching me.

 

[Kzach]

1.) How many players in your group?
6.

2.) Do you DM?
Yes.

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?
Occasionally rotates.

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?
All male.

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?
No.

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?
Depends who is DM'ing. If it's me and a campaign, all my personal homebrew. Otherwise, rotating through a module.

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?
20 years playing, 33 years old.

8.) Who taught you to play?
A geeky friend introduced me to the Robotech RPG but my leanings were towards fantasy due to the Dragonlance novels so I picked up AD&D and learned that myself.

 

[EricNoah]

Looks like it's time for an update...

Three Games:

Game #1: Eric's Group (a couple of campaigns further down the line)
Game #2: Paul T's Homebrow (different campaign now but in same world)
Game #3: Paul M's Elemental Evil (almost done - maybe one more session to go!)

1.) How many players in your group?
1. me plus four
2. DM plus five
3. DM plus five


2.) Do you DM?
Yes, in group 1

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?
Two of my players are the DMs for groups 2 and 3.

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?
1. One female, the rest male.
2. One female, the rest male.
3. All male.

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?
Pegasus Games; Misty Mountain Games; and many regular bookstores around here carry RPG stuff. I buy online a lot, too. And I'm buying more PDFs than I have in the past. I have to say I haven't bought anything at a store in some time -- my steady trickle of RPG stuff comes from Paizo, and my impulse shopping is done with PDFs.

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?
1. Lite homebrew setting, mostly published adventures though some have needed heavy tweaking.
2. Mostly homebrew, though parts of his campaign have been based on The Rod of Seven Parts.
3. Based mostly on two mega-modules (RttToEE and Banewarrens).

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?
Been playing close to 29 years, and I'm quite close to 40.

8.) Who taught you to play?
Older brother; when he moved out, I DMed for neighborhood friends (all girls).

 

[The Green Adam]

Everyone, tell us about your games, please.

1.) How many players in your group?

Between 3-7. I basically have two groups. The size of each changes periodically with one group smaller then the other.

2.) Do you DM?

Always...or at least nigh always.

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?

Yes...2 or 3 though rarely when I'm there.

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?

My newer smaller group has no females sadly. My older, larger group has 2-3 on average.

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?

The Compleat Strategist baby! Oh yeah!

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?

Almost all homebrew. Modules are for ideas to homebrew with.

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?

I am 39 and I've been playing for 31 years.

8.) Who taught you to play?

A friend who was 7 when I was 8. His older brother taught him the rules.

Answer any or all of the above, please...

Done and done - That was fun!

Don't forget to chime in on the entire RPG Survey Round-Up!

OK I will.

AD

 

[FunkBGR]

1.) How many players in your group?
- 6 to 7, including me

2.) Do you DM?
- Yes

3.) Do other people in the group DM, and how many?
- Two others have run their own games at different times, but not this "group", or during this "time slot"

4.) What's the Male/Female composition of the group?
- All male. Multiple guys have s/o's that would like to play, but we thought it would be disruptive

5.) Got a good gamestore near you and what is it?
- Critical Hit Games, in Iowa City, IA

6.) Mainly modules or homebrew stuff?
- Modules that have homebrew elements and modifications

7.) How long have you been playing and how old are you?
- Since High School, 24

8.) Who taught you to play?
- A friend ran an In Nomine game I was asked to join. I had self-taught myself most of AD&D before that.

 

[Dykstrav]

1.) Seven to eight, depending on schedules.

2.) I'm the DM. I'm usually the DM.

3.) Other people in my group DM, but not for the same campaign. We have seperate campaigns.

4.) Four females, four males. It seems odd to me that people keep claiming that D&D is dominated by white males, I usually have close to an exactly even split in gender.

5.) Lost Goblin Games, Raleigh NC. http://www.lostgoblingames.com.

6.) Homebrew stuff. There are some good adventures out, but I have to change stuff around anyway because players have access to the same modules. So I figure it's better to do something completely original rather than try to change it enough to surprise my players. But I still like published adventures and buy them.

7.) Since 1987, I'm thirty years old at present.

8.) The 1E core books taught me to play. I checked the books out at my public library and read them, and when I found a game I basically knew the rules by then.