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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 1654009" data-attributes="member: 177">Seating arrangements can and do play a big part in the dymanics of the group.  However, I think the "indoors, at a table" thing is broken so frequently that I'd hesitate to call it a convention of the genre.  Arranging players and GM so that they cannot comunicate easily is generally a very bad idea.  The "Last Supper" arrangement might well sink a normal session.  Use this sort of thing only when there's good reason to limit communication between players.There's slowing the pace, and seeming to slow the pace.  I expect that most folks are more likely to want the latter than the former.  Only rarely does one want players sitting around actually doing nothing at all.  The basic reason I see to do this is to influence the types of actions the players are taking.  When things are going fast and furious, events tend to be action oriented.  When things seem to slow down, they tend to be socially and intellectually oriented.  The best way I've seen to do this is with background music.  Through TV and movies, we've been trained to respond to musical cues in our fiction, and a DM who can use these cues well has an extra handle on the moods of his or her game.</blockquote>