PDA

View Full Version : Roleplaying while medicated?



Jon_Dahl
2013-08-07, 01:02 AM
How many of you have experiences on roleplaying under some heavy form of medication? Is it problematic for you? How do you cope with it? How does your medication influence your gaming?

I had a bit traumatic experience last Saturday, which I'd like to share. I've been having painful back problems lately and I have some Norflex 100 mg which eases the pain a little bit. Before our D&D session, I had to take one pill. I'm the DM, and I was flegmatic and absent-minded throughout the session and my mouth didn't seem to be fully mine. I felt embarrassed and uncomfortable, but I didn't want to admit to my players that I was medicated. I was thinking that admitting the situation would be the same as capitalizing the loss. Trying to act like that there's no problem would make the problem just go away. They didn't say anything, so it went all right, I guess... Nevertheless, it felt like the longest session I've ever had.

Anyone ever been to a same situation?

Mr Beer
2013-08-07, 01:26 AM
Playing doped up isn't a problem, GM-ing is of course a lot harder. I would have just said "hey guys sorry if I'm a bit slow, I'm taking pain meds", really there is zero reason not to tell them, unless they are total jackasses in which case why play with them?

Rhynn
2013-08-07, 01:26 AM
I've been prescribed heavy painkillers a couple of times, and I wouldn't play or run a RPG while on them, that's for sure. (Playing a little drunk can be fun if you're all adults - it loosens up most people I know.) If I had to take one unexpectedly before/during a scheduled session, I'd apologise to my players and call it a night. (And I'd sure tell them that, e.g., "My back hurts so bad I have to take one of these, and it's going to leave me all muddled, so that's it for tonight, sorry.")

Only a total jerk would hold your pain and medication against you if you explain it, but anyone might be a bit puzzled if you're acting weird and they don't know why.

Knaight
2013-08-07, 01:51 AM
Only a total jerk would hold your pain and medication against you if you explain it, but anyone might be a bit puzzled if you're acting weird and they don't know why.

Precisely. There's not much point to hiding being on medication - medicine is sometimes necessary, it has side affects, and that's understandable.

BWR
2013-08-07, 02:39 AM
I can't speak for myself but a friend of mine (ex-friend now, sadly) played and GMed on anti-psychotics for quite a while. The major issues we noticed, and which he admitted to, were feeling tired and sluggish (the guy would sleep 12 hours a day, easily) increased appetite and a reduced but never gone craving for the drugs he used to take.

He was a good DM though, and so long as we didn't rush him when he needed a moment to gather his thoughts (didn't happen all that often, not counting cigarette breaks) we had a blast. He just took his time and worked through things ahead of time and there were no more hiccups than usual for a non-medicated DM.

Based on his example, the thing to do is take your time planning, work as much detail out in advance and drink a lot of coffee before and during sessions.

Joe the Rat
2013-08-07, 09:27 AM
My online group is mostly of a certain vintage, so pain meds are an off-and-on thing. The GM gets a little silly. Well, sillier.

But it can have some interesting effects. One of our players is chronically unhappy, and complains about just about anything. Eeyore is an incredibly apt nickname. For one session, he was having some serious back pain, and was fairly doped up. He was far more engaging and interactive than usual. And downright giddy when it was time to apply fire to a problem. Mind you, he's playing a pyromancer, so every problem has a solution that involves fire. It was one of our better sessions that didn't involve nudity and/or petrification.

The important thing is to make sure you are actually up to your role (GM, player) on occasional medications, and make adjustments for long term meds. If there's something that makes you different than how you normally are, giving the rest of the 'table' a heads up is polite. The same applies to non-pharmaceutical influences on your attitude (work stress, illness, lack of sleep, etc.)

Gerrtt
2013-08-07, 09:30 AM
I've played drunk...which is kinda the same depending on the level of drunkenness you achieve.

Then again; it's almost going to help your roleplaying in some scenarios. Playing a drunken master for example, or a dwarf.