Player Distractions.

[Jhaelen]

Because sometimes other people's turns go like this.
[...]

Have you discussed this with your DM? Why don't you 'attack' this problem at its root, instead of silently suffering through it?

In our game we also have/had this kind of player which is why we started using an hour-glass. I.e. every player (including the DM) has one minute to formulate his actions; if time runs out without him or her making a decision, the pc either takes a default action (definable by the player) or delays.

We expect players to be ready when their turn comes up. I guess that alone makes sure opportunities for getting bored are greatly reduced.

 

[DragonLancer]

I know why you do this but it can be really annoying for the other players who have to waste time recapping everything for you, rather than getting on and doing other stuff. I regard it as a selfish style of play and I'd advise you to think of others and try to break your habit.

It depends on the group. My group has no problem with this, and I have played with groups who would get irked if I acted upon something my character hasn't been told by them. I wouldn't call it selfish at all.

 

[bouncyhead]

I've played in rpg games where some players fell asleep during the game, even during the day or outside in the sunlight.

This is the most definite sign that the players are really bored.

We have a player who is notorious for falling asleep at the table. We have wondered if it might be something medical. There are also suspicious silences on the skype call during our online sessions. We call it Weekend at Bernies syndrome.

 

[UselessTriviaMan]

I've also had to deal with a player falling asleep, but in his defense, most of those incidents were on nights where he'd come straight to the game after a 12-hour shift in the factory. We couldn't blame the guy for that.

 

[TheYeti1775]

Think I would be kicked out of most of your groups.
I get paid to have my phone on me 24/7 and answer it. Though I do leave it on vibrate sitting beside the laptop or character sheet and step out to answer it.
I can pay attention to multiple conversations going on at once while answer texts and/or emails.
It's very rare I miss my turn or don't have a plan of action when it comes up.
The only time I might pause is when something just happened to alter what my plan was, i.e. was going to fireball that group of goblins but the fighter just waylaid them, o ok pause I'll scorching ray the leader.

I bore very easy, and most have learned that of me. Work long ago realized if they keep a constant flow coming at me I'm a pretty happy individual. They were kind of shock when I put in for a whole week's vacation during the Summer this year.

At the gaming table I will have the printed character, my dice, pencil, smart phone, and laptop.
One the laptop the character sheet is open to apply the condition modifiers as needed.
The group website is open for quick reference of past actions.
Facebook is open on a tab, as well as EnWorld, D20 SRD, my email, my work email, Google for searches, folder of PDF's(cause I don't feel like lugging my home library of books with me), plus a half dozen other forums.

We have a larger group, 6 players 1 DM, so it makes combat a little slower, but it isn't hard to keep things on track.

About the only time it becomes a disctraction is when towards the end of the session (10-10:30pm on a friday) my friend the bartendar sends me notes how she wants m&m's or something of that nature when I stop by. Since it is a regularly occurring text it does become the usual poking of fun of talkign about me and her.

 

[Mallus]

Why do you not enjoy watching what other players are doing when it is not your turn?

I do. My whole group does, in fact. We can, and do, spend hours listening to one another gad about in character. But sometimes, people's mind wander, occasionally as far as the World of Warcraft . Most of us bring laptops and the host always allows wifi access.

There's no contradiction is this. It's never been a problem for us. Actually, my one friend who could be counted on to log into WoW during any given session, could also recap a sessions', or the whole campaign to date for that matter, better than the DM (ie, me).

The most distracting thing about our games is the (in-game) humor, and if we removed that they'd play a smidge faster but lose all their charm (such as it is).

 

[S'mon]

I have played with groups who would get irked if I acted upon something my character hasn't been told by them. I wouldn't call it selfish at all.

Certainly, but: not acting on stuff your PC has not been told has nothing to do with whether you, the player, should be aware of what has happened. Your OOC awareness should facilitate play, because other players can say "We tell you what happened", rather than have to take time to go through it in detail. IMO it's very important to be able to separate IC and OOC knowledge, for just this kind of reason.

Now there may be players who truly love repeating the events of the game IC, and it could well be fun for many occasionally, but all the time?
Of course if you are truly unable to separate IC and OOC, then your ignorance may be better than you misusing OOC knowledge. But it definitely seems a second-best option.

 

[merelycompetent]

Our group has low tolerance for "distractions."

Having said that, we also understand that Real Life (tm) requires phones, texting, and the occasional mad dash to the parking lot because the server room is on fire, or a family member just had a meltdown. So the below assumes that there is not a known medical condition or temporary Real Life (tm) situation causing the inattention.

Otherwise, it's no TV or radio, unless it's mood-setting. Surfing the web is irritating. Playing games, other than the one we've all taken time out of our lives to play, is downright rude. Stack as many dice as you want, so long as they don't get knocked over into the chips or drinks. Fiddle with knitting, cups, miniatures, or whatever, so long as you are not wasting our all-too-short gaming time.

The first couple of distractions get a gentle reminder. Repeat offenders quickly find that no one wants to waste game time recapping the last 15+ minutes of play for the benefit of one person's Facebook addiction. That quickly results in in-game consequences - your character still takes damage in combat while staring blankly at the fire giants, you miss important plot points, and the powerful NPCs you're negotiating with may get very offended and refuse to help your character. No one likes being blown off.

If that doesn't get the message across, one or more players have a "Talk" about the problem. If I'm the DM, and it lands in my lap, the problem either disappears immediately after speaking to the problem player, or I put up notice at the local gaming spots that I've got an opening in an ongoing campaign.

Yes, that's harsh. Yes, that rubs some people the wrong way. But my time is valuable. My gaming time, even more so. I do my best to treat the people at the gaming table with courtesy and respect. I require the same in return.

 

[Sunseeker]

This is a question to the players.

When you are reading, texting, playing video games on your handheld device, stacking dice, doodling, or doing anything else other than paying attention to the game, does that mean you are bored? Or are you just fidgeting and still paying attention?

As a DM, we would like to know if you are bored. When I see a player doing these things, I immediately think I must be boring them. Especially if they are playing video games or texting.

How often is that true with you and your DM? If you are not doing it out of boredom, would you be upset if the DM asked you to stop? Not so much the fidgeting stuff (stacking dice, doodling), but would you be upset if the DM asked you to stop texting or reading a book?

A question for DMs; do you feel it is rude if a player is doing these things? Would you ask him/her to stop?

I don't really care what you're doing as long as it's not actively disruptive. Tapping pencils or repeatedly rolling dice for no reason can get annoying because of the noise. When I turn to my players and say "The Zombie attacks you Jon" If Jon comes out of his haze and plays fine, I really don't care what he's doing in between. When Jon's turn comes up and he sits there finishing his text or says "okay what's going on?" that's where I start having a problem.

Sometimes people pay attention by paying attention to 17 unrelated things at the same time. Sometimes people can only pay attention to one thing at a time. As long as you can get your head in the game when the game demands it, I really don't care what else you're doing.

 

[SnowleopardVK]

I fidget. It's not boredom at all, generally, I just find sitting still and focusing on only one thing to be very uncomfortable, so I multitask. In an odd way, it helps me pay attention.

I imagine it could be annoying to have me as a player. I tend to only play online and GM in face-to-face situations though, so I just habitually roll and reroll d20s. It actually helps for GMing, as the players can't easily tell whether I'm making a secret roll for something or just fidgeting.