Getting lost in the game

[Quasqueton]

A thread in the Off Topic forum about "Frank", a Player who's always lost on what is happening and what he is doing, prompted me to think on this.

Assuming you are a decent Player, and usually pay attention to what's going on, what is your worst case of getting lost in a game session?

And...

When your character is not involved in the game at the moment, assuming the "moment" will be a while, do you just sit quietly and watch the game, or do you do something else?

And how do you as DM or Players feel about someone tuning out when their character is "offline" for a while?

Quasqueton

 

[amethal]

A thread in the Off Topic forum about "Frank", a Player who's always lost on what is happening and what he is doing, prompted me to think on this.

Assuming you are a decent Player, and usually pay attention to what's going on, what is your worst case of getting lost in a game session?

And...

When your character is not involved in the game at the moment, assuming the "moment" will be a while, do you just sit quietly and watch the game, or do you do something else?

Quasqueton

I tend to pay attention msot of the time, but nobody's perfect.

My worst moment was when the main NPC patron was apparently explaining to the party that the mystery magic item we had found was known as the "Archtheurge's Claw".

Another player and myself had a subsequent conversation about this mysterious "Archtheurge's Claw", to increasingly puzzled looks from the DM and the rest of the players.

Turned out that the NPC was explaining that to get the item identified we needed to seek out someone called the Arch Theurge Claude.

If my character is out of the game for half hour or so I'll sit and watch quietly. Anything longer than that and I'll find something else to do which won't disrupt the others. (Probably plan the next adventure I'll be running - goodness knows they don't get enough planning time normally.)

 

[Rassilon]

*Sigh* . . . I've been wearing this one for about 10 years now, ENWorld may as well hear about it.

Rifts, and we were playing a toned down campaign, so 1000 MDC was a LOT of MDC for one guy to be toting.

My character got transformed in [DM Plot Device] super powerful angel / robot with religious conotations. He was transformed, but he was still "inside", it was a kind of a battle suit. It had 1000 MDC.

We were fighting a Demon leading his whole mercenary camp. Everyone knew the thing's rough stats, and that we basically couldn't take it. Rifts combat takes a long time, and I zoned out . . .

. . . To snap back with my named being called, and everyone was wearing a look of dread/expectation (turns out it was just expectation). I had made my decision, with my turn, to activate a twinked out explosive device that I was particularly proud of, with the Demon in the blast radius (but I would have to be also).

My friends tried to stop me.
Touched by their concern, and not having taken any damage, I assured them "Don't worry, I will only be destroyed if I roll MAX (1000 MDC) damage."

OF COURSE I DID - what did you expect - my naked newly human dude was left sitting on the ground with a head ache . . .

And the Demon ? It had completely passed me by that before my turn he had freakily failed a saving throw, and up till a large explosion, HAD been, in D&D parlance, Stunned.

Damn.


Rassilon.