Player Distractions.

[DragonLancer]

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.

But depending on the group you then get told either you're not roleplaying (they haven't told you IC) or that you are metagaming.

 

[Umbran]

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?

I can fiddle with dice, or doodle, and still be paying full attention to the game - rather like I can pay attention to driving and an audiobook at the same time. Different sections of the brain, or something. My wife often has handwork - crochet, most commonly - for much the same reason. Keeping the hands busy can actually increase attention span for some folks.

As a player, I prefer a physical character sheet. As a result, I don't really need (and thus don't have) a laptop, tablet, or other computing device at the table. I only open rulebooks when I'm looking up something relevant for the game.

When hosting the game, I will occasionally step into the adjacent kitchen when it seems play isn't really centered on my character - but that's because I'm playing host, and I feel it is my responsibility to keep the water pitcher filled, hot tea available, or last bits of game-dinner prepped, etc.

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?

I joined a group recently where my wife and I are the only ones who don't have a device at the table. The GM, I'll grant, has use for it.

But one of the others regularly drifts off into dealing with e-mails for other online games, or chat rooms, and loses track of the game events. This player has some other behaviors that just don't go well with my playstyle, though, so I can't tell if my annoyance is really just about the chat.

But, given my annoyance, if I did drift into a behavior that others found annoying, by the gods, yes, I'd want my GM to tell me! I would want to correct my behavior ASAP.

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

See above. I find players who drift too far off from the game at hand to be pretty rude. So, if your distraction means the others have to say your name several times to get your attention, or you frequently need recaps of the action, there's a problem. If one of my players was doing so, I'd want to find out why, and discuss the matter.

Some folks are just addicted to connection - those folks just need to put the device away. But, if the problem is that the game is not really floating your boat, then we need to talk so we can see if we can make the game more to your liking, so you don't need extra entertainment at the table.

 

[S'mon]

As a player I would never play other games, text on my phone, roll random dice(!) etc. A GM might consider random dice-rolling to be a set up for cheating!

As a player last Tuesday, I worried I was being distracted - by paying too much attention to other people's turns! The problem is we all started at 12th level in 4e D&D, and in paying attention to what other people were doing, I did not pre-select my own actions from the several pages of options on the 4e sheet. So several times I was only deciding what to do when my turn came up, which slowed down the game. It was embarrassing to be a player I'd disapprove of if I were GMing! OTOH the GM & group didn't seem to mind, and everyone was somewhat slow due to the high level PCs.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

My wife often has handwork - crochet, most commonly - for much the same reason. Keeping the hands busy can actually increase attention span for some folks.

When my wife used to play, and we played in the basement near the laundry room, my wife used to fold laundry during the game. I had to pointedly ask her hot to fold my underwear in front of my friends.

-rg

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

One way tech devices make the game inarguably better is in secret communications between players or players & the DM.

 

[Drowbane]

I only text during a game if its important. I will check the time with my phone every once in awhile.

Last night I played a hundred turns of Civ IV while playing D&D (PF, whatever) and still managed to pay attention to what was going on, and chime in when relevant.

Generally I use my laptop at the table to access the SRD (d20 and PF's) as the rest of the group are all recovering 4e players who constantly get rules confused and PF has some strange rules changes that differ with my extensive 3e knowledge. And to reference my PC, which I keep on online rather than waste paper on a character sheet.

...

I do stack dice but not because I am bored but to have something to do with my hands instead of reaching for the junk food.

Ditto, I stack dice when bored.. but that is fairly rare unless the party is shopping in game.

 

[Lwaxy]

One way tech devices make the game inarguably better is in secret communications between players or players & the DM.

Not really. Scraps of paper do as well

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I disagree- paper depends somewhat upon an honor system, emails or text messages do not.

Plus, I can pass messages from anywhere in the building. I need not be adjacent to the DM.

 

[Barnabas]

I think this kind of question really depends on what your players are like. I get restless sitting down and just listening for long periods on end (for instance, while other players are running through their turns) so I often fiddle, like playing with dice or knitting, but I'm always listening with interest.

I know plenty of people who only fiddle around when they're actually board though, so it really depends.

As for electronic devices: I can appreciate the convenience of secret messages, but I would probably ban them. Unlike purely tactile distractions, electronic devices always steal my attention away from the game completely, whether I mean them to or not.

 

[Troll Lord]

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?[/QUOT]

This happens at my table from time to time....mostly due to phones. And I know only one way to bring them back to the table and put their devices down...

a sudden, utterly unexpected, bone crushing encounter of biblical proportions. If they fail to react quick enough due to text or what have you I mangle their character. One doesn't have to kill them, that just wrecks the game (to do so on purpose) but for certain wound them, destroy magic items, equipment and the like. Batter and bruise the characters, exchange high damage for some broken bones etc etc.

Its like seeing a police car on the highway, when you do you slow down for a good five miles. A bone shattering encounter will wake them up for at least an hour or such.

Steve