How to Host an RPG Session

bojac6

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Oct 15, 2009
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I've never had to resort to the XP for food, because it's sort of assumed that everybody (except the DM) brings snacks. The DM gets a pass because that's a lot more work. There's a strong shame element to it, if you don't bring stuff, people tend to be a bit rude to you. I am strongly in favor of social conditioning and always bring something when not running a game. Usually it's brownies and cookies, but almost every time somebody (not the same person) will bring a pot of chili or something wholesome. Works out well. Gives me an excuse to break out the crockpot or something sometimes. But I like the idea, if people start slacking I might institute it.

Our group tends to go for the biweekly marathon sessions. Start at 11 AM on Saturday, finish when people are pass out tired on Sunday morning. Not bad considering the youngest is early twenties, the oldest is mid-forties, and we all have jobs. Guess we're just hardcore like that.


blalien said:
You article was mostly good, but I strongly disagree against providing XP for being refreshments. Doing so gives a gameplay advantage to wealthier gamers who can afford to bring better food. In general, you shouldn't give in-game rewards for out-of-game actions, especially if those actions cost money.
Because three bucks for a bag of oreos is really going to break the bank, right? Should you as the DM also not encourage people to own their own dice, but instead annoy everyone by constantly borrowing dice? It's not like the best refreshment gets the most reward. Anyone who brought stuff gets a bonus. If you can't afford five bucks a week on snacks, I think your priorities should lean more towards getting a job than gaming.
 

blalien

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Jul 3, 2009
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bojac6 said:
blalien said:
You article was mostly good, but I strongly disagree against providing XP for being refreshments. Doing so gives a gameplay advantage to wealthier gamers who can afford to bring better food. In general, you shouldn't give in-game rewards for out-of-game actions, especially if those actions cost money.
Because three bucks for a bag of oreos is really going to break the bank, right? Should you as the DM also not encourage people to own their own dice, but instead annoy everyone by constantly borrowing dice? It's not like the best refreshment gets the most reward. Anyone who brought stuff gets a bonus. If you can't afford five bucks a week on snacks, I think your priorities should lean more towards getting a job than gaming.
First of all, what fantasy world are you living in that the job tree is just dropping jobs all over the place? You know, if the world is having one problem right now, it's that there are too many jobs and not enough people to work them. If you can't get a job, the only possible explanation is that you're lazy and not that we're in one of the worst economies in over fifty years.

And he specifically said, "To kick things off, you can even offer an additional bonus (+5% more) to whoever brings the best array of refreshments." A bag of oreos is not going to win the "best array of refreshments" award. He suggested you give XP awards to whoever can afford to bring the nicest snacks. I think this is wrong.
 

SilentWOLF9

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May 23, 2010
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Absolutely loved the article. Many good ideas to use especially set schedules. My group has tried to make things work by going off availability workarounds but it seems there is always something up. Your articles get me excited to find my dice and entice my friends to join the adventure again.
 

BrashHulk

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Nov 4, 2010
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Overall, I found the article to be pretty reasonable, with some occasional good insight. I've been running an ongoing D&D-type game for 20+ years, primarily on my own Toril/Krynn/Oerth-like fantasy world, and have adjusted my DMing style over the years, to wit:

Most GMs don't act decisively or swiftly enough to excise a bad player from their campaign. A single malcontent can ruin the enjoyment of the game very quickly for everyone else... but, as regular, reliable players are generally difficult to find, most GMs will avoid confrontation with a bad player. Take my advice: scrape 'em off quickly - your other players will thank you for it, profusely.

As for extra XP for bringing snacks and such... I'm not a believer in such things. The PCs get XP for role-playing, being heroic, playing smart, killing monsters, avoiding traps and similar scenarios. I keep real-world influences out of the game as much as possible, as it makes things much more equitable and pleasant at the table. Handing out XP penalties and bonuses for real-world actions is a slippery slope.

I don't allow alcohol at the table. I usually run a fairly large group, and not everyone drinks - or at least they don't while playing. If you want to divide a gaming group really fast, have half of them be "under the influence" during a big boss fight while the other half are trying not to die. It makes for a very testy evening.
 

Archon

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For the record, my spouse is Lawful Good. If anyone is the villain in our relationship, it's me!

GrinningManiac said:
"Villanous Spouse"???

Trouble in paradise, Mr. Macris?
 

nick_knack

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Jul 16, 2008
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Ooh, looking forward to the next article. I've started running the Deathwatch demo adventure (first time GMing) "Final Sanction" for some friends, and due to the unbalanced nature of the demo, and the PCs being Spess Mehrenes, I frequently find myself having to pull some visceral description of violence out of my hat, it has been surprisingly easy, I guess thats all those years of violence in movies, television, and games.
 

SirChazbot

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Feb 11, 2011
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I'm not a novice GM but I have a LOT of trouble designing sessions to last only four hours. They always seem to balloon to two sessions. Does anyone have any advice for designing with time in mind?