the Dungeon Menu?

[Summer-Knight925]

I tend to ask these questions often, such as "does you're group do X?"

well this is the same question, what does you're group eat?

Do you all bring you're own food?
Do you all do a pot-luck type thing?
Do you all pitch in money for snacks?
I could ask a question on a poll and get numbers, but hearing you talk about your answer is much more useful, as I am workin on starting a weekly RPG group, using this as a sort of "if we decide to do this..." thread.

So what would do you do for food during sessions?


Also...do you enforce rules of eating for the characters?

 

[Nagol]

At my table, everyone brings his own snacks.

Occasionally, someone will spontaneously bring something for the group.

I'm not sure about your second question. The characters have to eat (assuming the game universe expects them to -- TOON, Gamma World, and CHAMPIONS characters may not need to eat).

 

[SkredlitheOgre]

No, we do not enforce eating for characters. Our group is really laid back, so our characters don't eat unless it's in passing, like 'Okay, we take a seat in the tavern and order some food until our contact gets here' or 'Okay, while Feargus is preparing his spells, I'm going to do stuff like eat and sharpen my sword.'

For our REAL food, we do a mix, really. Either I (who started the group) or the DM (if that's not me) will send out an email about a week ahead of the next session (we played every other week. Ish.) and we confirm date/time/location and if anybody has any ideas for food. Sometimes we order out or go get carry-out, sometimes someone will bring something to make for everyone, and sometimes we just chip in and get things like fixings for tacos or burgers or something like that.

However, it's hard to tell how things will work out now, because one of my players, who was hosting the game, decided he wasn't having fun and left the group, leaving us to find somewhere else to play. This past session, we went to a Walgreens to get snacks (where one of the other players said we went 'fourth grade stupid' on our snack choices...Twizzlers, JuJuBees, Starburst... like that) and then walked a few blocks later to get pizza. It's been suggested that we just brown bag our dinner, but I guess we'll just have to see.

 

[jaerdaph]

I prefer healthy, non-messy options at the table. Nothing freaks me out more than picking up dice with Cheetos dust or pizza grease on them.

I've become an advocate of the "snack break" *away* from the gaming table lately too.

OCD and Anal Retentive Powers, ACTIVATE!

Edit: Oh, and characters eat what they are given: they better purchase iron rations for the dungeon.

 

[howandwhy99]

So what would do you do for food during sessions?


Also...do you enforce rules of eating for the characters?

Food during sessions is taken care of outside of game. There really aren't any rules to it. We just do what we like. Some folks, including me, like cooking, so sometimes we bring something to show off. Other times we don't have anything. We've tried going healthier, but it's off and on again really.


PCs are not forced to eat. They simply starve, if they don't.

 

[Summer-Knight925]

Well...for my smaller group, that I've been playing with for a decade, I do not allow eating, and not to be mean, but I suffer from noise anxiety and hyper sensitivity, so loud chewing or crunchy founds bothers the f-bomb out of me, like to the point that I almost enter a 3e rage, it's not good, I'm working on it, but the small table we use makes it hard for me to endure.

With large groups, I tend to sit away from the players (like the other side of the big table) AND have epic music on, they enjoy the music, it masks the sounds.


But I am running gaming club events for my school, so catering is almost required, but i will figure that one out myself, as for my large table group, it is usually bring for yourself although I do get some things from the dollar stores.

so that is where I'm at.

 

[The Shaman]

You kill it? You clean it and fry it.

Waste no meat.

 

[SnowleopardVK]

At my old group we had several cooks, but one who was very picky (and combined it with lots of food allergies). She wouldn't eat anything the rest of us made, but was happy to cook for the group each time, so she did so.

At my current group, of which I'm the newest member, two or three people just brought stuff like chips and candy to the first meeting I attended, and it looked as though snack-bringing cycled around fairly evenly.

However I'm also the first member who actually knows how to cook real food in the new group, so I occasionally make big pots of stuff to bring in and share. They give some cash back for my expenses in doing so, and I seem to be well-liked for it.

So I guess in both my cases each group had one single player designated as the team chef.

(We've only had enforced eating for PCs once. That was in a commoners-only wilderness survival type of game where hunting down an animal for dinner was actually a fairly dangerous activity. At least at first anyways.)

 

[Jimlock]

D&D is very VERY unhealthy... nutrition wise.

but snacks are so damn tasty... especially while playing...

oh... it's like heaven.

 

[steeldragons]

I've experienced a bit of everything, talking group-wise, not food-in-play- wise.

I've had, what I think its the most common, everyone just brings whatever they want for snacks. This usually involves "junk food", chips, pretzels, the all-mighty Doritos, various candies. Generally speaking, I only ever played with friends, so pretty much anything was available for anyone to pick at. Every now and then you get someone who is "wonky" about sharing their food (OCD folks or whatever we'd cvall them nowadays).

In such groups (for me, mostly during the high school years), if we were in for a marathon session (an "all-dayer" or "all-nighter"), ordering pizzas or the like was not uncommon.

In college, the group was smaller (and obviously poorer) so "eating in" was more common. Snacks still appeared sometimes, but we got into a lovely ritual of a "dinner break" in which someone would cook for us. We get away from the table. Get to discuss what's been happening in game, what we want to do when we resume play, and perhaps most importantly socialize about stuff NOT in-game. This helped us all be more focused and game-oriented when the meal was done and the game resumed.

Around holiday times, it is not uncommon for there to be prepared foods or a "pot luck" thing for us all to eat and enjoy everyone's specialties.

AND, I had a DM who was an excellent baker (at the risk of boasting, I am an excellent cook, but baking not so much. I'm not really great with desserts.). She would occasionally, for some special occasion or for sometimes as an "in-game" prop (some special treat we found in the village we were in at the time or some magical cookie sitting on a table...for the latter, it had to be tried/tested in game by someone before we were all allowed to "dig in" without game consequences). Might be some homemade specialty, could be as simple as a roll of Pillsbury slice'n'bake cookie dough. Either it was still fun and appreciated by the group.

I always really enjoyed that...having real food props for game-food elements. It's amazing how it helps the immersion when you engage those extra senses (taste and smell). I don't really do it as often as I should but always thoroughly enjoyed it when I encountered it in other groups.

As for in-game/PC eating, I do both. Never much for book-keeping, but much for "realism", everyone did have to eat, at least once a day.

In a wilderness situation its usually a hand-waved "mark off your iron rations" before they broke camp or bedded down. Sometimes a ranger or other PCs might want to go hunting while the rest of the group sets up camp. I'm happy to role-play those moments and roll some dice to determine their success or lack thereof.

When they are in civilization the characters eat more, obviously. They typically get (assuming they can afford it) some real/hot breakfast (even if it's just porridge or bacon and eggs), a dinner that involves cooked meat along with staples of the region (breads, fruits, cheeses), that kind of thing. Whether it's ordering at the inn/tavern/pub, a feast at court or a festival going on in the town, there's just more opportunity for the characters to sample the local cuisine...and, for most players, having their characters who spend so much time away from civilization eating iron rations, they are happy to do so and seem to enjoy the options I offer them.

In those instances (probably because I am an avid cook) I try to describe at least a few of the foodstuffs available and describe things in as much detail as possible so the player (hopefully) gets a real sense of what they're eating...and thus a "realistic taste" of the region they are in.

Just as a note on that last point, never forget that people (even common folk) like to eat good food. Saying "they bring you a half of roasted chicken."...while good is not as good as "they bring you a plate of half a roast chicken stuffed with apple, sage and rosemary smothered in a thick brown gravy that smells of garlic and herbs." IOW, when describing the food of a region, always take into account the available herbs and spices that are common/available to the area....is the local cuisine "bland" or do the residents enjoy "hot/spicy" flavors, do they use "tomatoes in everything" or pride themselves on the local wines, etc.

Also take into account that all cooks are not created equal. The cheaper inn in town might bring you a chicken that is tough and overcooked...the skin is burned...etc. It's still edible! Still better than a self-prepared grouse on a spit over a campfire in the woods...But not as enjoyable as if you'd spent the few extra coppers to get the same meal at the pricier inn down the street.

Have fun and happy eating. (and good luck with the new group!
--Steel Dragons