I wish my group was as cool as this...

[Oryan77]

I was reading through the PHB2 and I liked how they gave an "Example of Play" (pg 189) to give you an idea of what players & DM's might say while playing their game. But it was pretty funny to read. Those players were tossing names around and reminding each other of events that happened "1 month ago" in game time. I would kill to have players that were involved in a campaign and roleplayed with such skill like that

So I thought it would be funny to compare my groups table talk to the PHB2's Example of Play table talk.

This is my group as if they're playing the same WotC characters:

William (Redgar, Fighter):
Wendy (Lidda, Rogue):
Leigh (Mialee, Wizard):
Matt (Jozan, Cleric):
Me (DM):

Me (DM): While in the tavern, you each notice a Satyr having a drink at a table. He looks very familiar.

William (Redgar): We only met one Satyr before, so who's this guy?

Wendy (Lidda): Maybe it's the one we've been looking for.

Matt (Jozan): *has his nose in the Spell Compendium book looking at spells he can memorize the next day*

Me (DM): Well I did say he looked very familiar.

Leigh (Mialee): I go buy a drink and sit next to him and say, "What are you doing here?"

Me (DM): He says, "Heh, so you're back for more huh? You couldn't get enough of my lips the last time we met?" BTW, the drink costs you 5 cp.

Leigh (Mialee): I give the bartender a gold piece & say "Keep the change". Then I tell this guy, "You weren't that good of a kisser, I've had better."

Me (DM): "I've had better also; from much uglier females than yourself!"

Leigh (Mialee): "I throw my beer in his face, pull out my Wand of Fear, throw my 50' rope to Wendy so she can tie him up, and then I shoot my wand at him and run upstairs to the balcony to get out of range."

William (Redgar): Wait, where did we first meet this guy? I forget.

Wendy (Lidda): I think it was in that one game where we were at that big mountain. He killed Ream.

William (Redgar): So why are we here?

Matt (Jozan): *still looking in books*

Wendy (Lidda): We were hired to capture him.....who are we supposed to give him to again?

Me (DM): Well, the big mountain was Mt. Olympus. You played 5 sessions on "that big mountain"! You have the map handout I gave you, it's even labelled there. You were hired by the Harmonium faction and they are giving you a reward. And for the last time, the guys name was Rheen, not Ream...he isn't reaming juice out of anything.

Players: HAHAHA, oh yeah, RHEEN!

Matt (Jozan): Cool, if I memorize Circle Dance I can find the location of that guy Ream we were looking for.

William (Redgar): Dude, we already found Ream.

Me (DM): It's Rheen. And this guy killed Rheen, he's not Rheen.

Wendy (Lidda): What's the Harmonium faction again? Those guys that talk all funny & act crazy?

Me (DM): No that was the Chaosmen or Xoasitects. The Harmonium are the guys in red armor that were bossing you around and basically threatened you into doing this mission.

Leigh (Mialee): So what happens when I run up the balcony?

Me (DM): You have to roll initiative first and you can't do all of those actions in one round.

Leigh (Mialee): But I surprised him! He didn't expect me to throw a beer in his face!

Me (DM): He's not surprised because he was aware of you. If you beat his initiative, you can still throw your beer in his face first and make a move action.

Leigh (Mialee): But I was already holding my beer and he was about to say something so he shouldn't be expecting it!

Me (DM): Please don't start arguing, you do this everytime. If you'd just read the PHB sometimes you'd get a better understanding about surprise rounds and the amount of actions you can do in a round!

William (Redgar): I'm going to try to pick a drunk guys pocket.

Wendy (Lidda): You have points in Sleight of Hand?

William (Redgar): No, but it'll be funny to see what happens.

Matt (Jozan): If we ever come to a ledge that we can't cross, I can memorize this spell called Dark Way and create a bridge for us.

Me (DM): Uhg, everyone roll initiative please.

So what does your group sound like at the table?

 

[Gundark]

That sounded all too familiar....I think I died a little inside

 

[Henry]

Well, our last session of supposedly Pirate Horror in the Caribbean was filled with Carlos Mencia jokes, South Park references, gay pirate humor, and innuendos involving how to best explore an abandoned Mayan Temple. Not one of our finer moments.

 

[Joshua Randall]

I agree that the example of play in the PH2 is cool. Kind of cheesy in an over-acting, scenery chewing way, but still cool.

Currently I'm DMing for 7 PCs. It goes something like this:

DM (me): You open the door, and see...

Random Player: Wait, we search it for traps first.

DM (me): *sigh* Like I said, if you'd establish a standard operating procedure for doors, I could just roll some dice and get on with it.

Other Player: Can I take Practiced Spellcaster twice and have it stack?

DM (me): [to Other Player] No. [to everyone else] You open the door, and see a dusty room. There's a ruined four-poster bed in one corner, a bureau in another corner, and a table in the center. Standing near the table is--

Player1: I quickdraw my longsword and charge.
Player2: Wait, delay until I cast haste.
Player3: [is surfing the web on his laptop]
Player4: Can I drop the level of Wizard I just took and go into the Shadowdancer PrC instead?
Player5 & Player 6: [are talking loudly to each other about the Transformers movie]
Player7: I activate my cloak of displacement.

DM (me): [shouting] You cannot interrupt the DM's description of the room in order to gain a surprise round!

Etc....

 

[Arnwyn]

That sounded all too familiar....I think I died a little inside

DM (me): [shouting] You cannot interrupt the DM's description of the room in order to gain a surprise round!

I think I just spit up my lunch laughing.

After dying a little inside.

 

[GlassJaw]

Our group is pretty much the same except one guy says "they took our jobs" a lot.

 

[edemaitre]

Real groups in play

Yeah, I've had groups that paid attention to continuity/plot, setting and history, and to Player Character development, and I've had those where people were impatiently waiting for their turn to kill and loot, distracted by books or electronics, or more interested in cracking "Brokeback Mountain" jokes than acting like a party of heroic adventurers...

As a role-player, I've created characters with detailed backstories, participated in amazing quests through memorable worlds, and collaborated in creating lifelong tales. But, I have to admit, I've also driven my share of Game Masters crazy with inappropriate humor (especially in angst-ridden games like "Vampire") or joined in crosstalk about the latest episode of such-and-such television show or movie, even as G.M. myself. As long as everyone has fun and eventually gets around to real role-playing, I don't mind some digressions, but maturity is always a plus.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

Digression is hard to avoid, I find. I used to let it get to me, but I've done it enough times as a player myself, so I'm trying to let it roll off my back. Part of that is not being able to laugh at myself. I'm getting better at that too.

 

[Oryan77]

I don't mind out of game talk. I just thought it was funny how the PHB2 players were so focused on the game and knew every detail of the campaign. It would be great to have players that payed attention to detail like that. I can't get players to read my Planescape Player guides much less care to know what each faction is about. Heck, they don't even care to read up on the different planes even though they're playing in a planar game.

I always thought it was interesting reading brief summaries about each plane

 

[Razz]

I was reading through the PHB2 and I liked how they gave an "Example of Play" (pg 189) to give you an idea of what players & DM's might say while playing their game. But it was pretty funny to read. Those players were tossing names around and reminding each other of events that happened "1 month ago" in game time. I would kill to have players that were involved in a campaign and roleplayed with such skill like that

Man, I wish my players act like that in our games. I think WotC knows the reality of the situation, so they snuck that scenario in there to ~hopefully~ motivate the player's reading the PHB2 to RP more.

I'll post a scenario of me and my group in a bit, I have to think up the most memorable scenario that my group is commonly known for doing consistently.