Comments on: 6 easy ways to make your next D&D session better

By: Gerd

Gerd — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:31:39 +0000

We had the perfect game store set-up back in college. In 1982, yikees thats a while ago, the owner of The Galaxy in Stevens Point Wisconsin would close at 7:00pm on Tuesday and we would play from 7:15 till 11:30 pm or so. Plenty of space, the latest game aids and modules, tons of dice, character sheets and a group of about 6 regular players + a DM. Excellent situation while in college.

By: Blue

Blue — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:17:26 +0000

Phaestus,

Your group still going to be meeting in Dec? Going to be arriving IZ then and will be looking for a local group… What days of week y’all meet?

By: Phaestus

Phaestus — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:54:59 +0000

I prefer game stores because it pulls in more new players- if somebody stops by the table and asks questions, I invite him/her to take a seat and watch for a while, then try to chat when we take a break. I have about a 20-second limit on interruptions to a game session, then I say, “Sorry, but I really have to get back to the game,” hoping the players aren’t boring holes in my head with their eyes. It is also handy to make a quick reference from a book you forgot to bring by slipping over to the merchandise bookshelf, but I try not to abuse it because the store owner is cool and he wants to sell that book, unmangled, to someone. It also helps that the FLGS owner has plenty of long folding tables for all the other games, but the heavy wooden table in the corner is reserved for RPGs (us.) That cuts down on some traffic and ambient noise from the Warhammer 40K/mini game of the month crowd.

My current public D&D game place is the (Saddam’s) Palace Lounge in Baghdad- it’s a beautiful venue open 24/7, and they set up folding tables for us in advance. Noise isn’t a problem, except when some “entertaining” band sets up on the stage and turns the former ballroom into a cacophonous echo chamber.

By: ScottM

ScottM — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 21:56:43 +0000

I have played at the library meetup, at a game store, at a coffee shop, and (normally) at someone’s home.

The game store was most distracting, largely because the other tables nearby were filled with other games in progress, and exuberant people at other tables could be heard in the middle of our scenes.

Library meetups are tricky you have to remain reasonably quiet even when you roll a critical, which can be a bit of a downer. If you’re at one of the two back to back tables, it can be a strain to hear the GM at the far end of your table if the other table is talking– because your GM can’t easily raise his voice to be heard.

Playing in a coffee shop was OK, though the small tables aren’t ideal for gaming. That, and people popping up and down, ordering caffeinated drinks and getting rid of them, made it a bit more difficult to sustain focus.

For me, someone’s home is the best bet if everyone is friends. Though in all cases, the quality of the game far outweighs the location.

By: Sandrinnad

Sandrinnad — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:52:54 +0000

We played at a store one summer – it had good points and bad ones (imagine that! :) )

good points were a big table with enough chairs and enough space to fit everyone easily. Also I think we all felt a little more focussed because it wasn’t a normal hangout and chat area. No cleaning up before or after was nice too – one player had a habit of leaving a ring of garbage around him after a game….but not at the store!

bad points were people hanging around to watch (it was in the main room) and noise, particularly from other games but also from the store itself (again, it was in the main room).

generally it was pretty good though….and “great” if you find you just need that new book to _really_ run that game….