Would a few drinks relax the players more and allow for greater immersion?

[Kafana]

So, I've used alcohol as a prop twice now in my 1.5 years of DMing (both times I gave the player an "exotic" drink, which wasn't really exotic, just rare and most of the people at the table never tried it), where a given NPC would toast with the characters and I would prepare shot glasses with the drink. Eager players took two or three shots, but nobody got close to being drunk, neither was that the point.

That being said, the players were more relaxed after those two scenes and tended to laugh more. I wouldn't say they were tipsy, but they were definitely in a slightly better mood (which was even before really good), so I've been thinking about including this kind of thing more often, though I'm not sure how often. The youngest member of the group has 20 years, so no problem there, but I don't want to make the game about drinking either. With all of that on the table, what do you guys think? Does anybody play regularly with alcohol, perhaps setting a bottle near the table along with the soda, snacks and whatnot, so that players can freely drink, so long as they, obviously, don't overdo it?

[lytokk]

I don't think its abnormal to allow players a few drinks while playing. I've been known to have a couple of beers while playing or DMing. Not necessarily to get into character, but just because D&D is a social event, and if someone wants to have a few, have a few. Normal social rules apply though. Don't get too drunk, don't steal someone else's drink, and prb shouldn't drink around a recovering alcoholic.

[Airk]

I think it depends on the players, but it can't hurt to try it. :)

[Annay]

I love playing with booze! It often leads to some crazy role play. We had a half-orc barbarian who just got out of jail and he couldn't find a girl anywhere, so decided to rape our party gnome. Later he bluffed his way out of it, claiming he had some kind of a mental disorder and was out of his meds. Needless to say, the poor gnome was traumatized for life and even hired a guard. I think A FEW (don't want anyone throwing up on the table) drinks help people relax which results in scenarios like this not being weird.

[Angelalex242]

Drinks during a game?

Only if they're medieval. Like Ale, or wine, if they're playing nobles.

[Raphite1]

I love playing with booze! It often leads to some crazy role play. We had a half-orc barbarian who just got out of jail and he couldn't find a girl anywhere, so decided to rape our party gnome. Later he bluffed his way out of it, claiming he had some kind of a mental disorder and was out of his meds. Needless to say, the poor gnome was traumatized for life and even hired a guard. I think A FEW (don't want anyone throwing up on the table) drinks help people relax which results in scenarios like this not being weird.

Profoundly inappropriate stuff like this makes me incredibly glad that I'm not a female trying to find a gaming group.

[sktarq]

For us it depends on the flow of the game and the mood of the players. A couple rounds of beer/cider/wine is not at all abnormal for us. As much as anything I think it is the physical actions of handling the bottle that seem to drive as much of the additional role-play though as amount consumed seems to not matter very much.

[valadil]

Depends on the players and what kind of drinkers they are. I've seen booze loosen people up. I've seen it distract people who stop roleplaying and start drinking. And I've seen it have no effect whatsoever. I say try it and see what happens.

Personally I fall into the have a beer during game camp.

[Annay]

Profoundly inappropriate stuff like this makes me incredibly glad that I'm not a female trying to find a gaming group.

When I look back at it now it seems a bit stupid, but we had lots of laughs back then. I play with my girlfriend a lot (quite often with alcohol involved) and with her I behave myself. :smallsmile:

[AMFV]

It depends, if your players are having problems relaxing and getting into character a little bit of a buzz might not hurt, but if they're having other issues it wouldn't help. I'd make sure that anything calculation wise they need to do is as pre-done as is possible, to the point of writing up tables where things are added, especially if people are heavy drinkers. Also heavy drinking can ruin a game so I'd try to keep it light, the best way to do this is to supply the booze yourself, and then not supply enough for everybody to get completely lit.

[Sith_Happens]

Profoundly inappropriate stuff like this makes me incredibly glad that I'm not a female trying to find a gaming group.

Technically no indication was given as to the gnome's gender in or out of character. But let's not derail this thread discussing it, it seems to have been one of those rare cases where no one was particularly bothered.

[Erasmas]

Two of my real life groups definitely have drinking during the sessions, including the one at my house. Usually it's just some beers or mixed drinks like Rum'n'Cokes. Some nights get a little "funnier" than others, but for the most part it never is a distraction.

Although, not that long ago, we were playing a pirate-themed game and there was a whole lot of rum consumed. Luckily it was a very short-term game and it didn't matter if things got a bit off-track here and there.

I do not, however, prefer to partake in similar mind-altering methods while playing. Morality of whether or not one should do so aside, it is far too distracting from my experiences. Several of my past players would and it ended up dominating the table (both in focus and in smell) for those that were not 'participating'.

[AMFV]

Two of my real life groups definitely have drinking during the sessions, including the one at my house. Usually it's just some beers or mixed drinks like Rum'n'Cokes. Some nights get a little "funnier" than others, but for the most part it never is a distraction.

Although, not that long ago, we were playing a pirate-themed game and there was a whole lot of rum consumed. Luckily it was a very short-term game and it didn't matter if things got a bit off-track here and there.

I do not, however, prefer to partake in similar mind-altering methods while playing. Morality of whether or not one should do so aside, it is far too distracting from my experiences. Several of my past players would and it ended up dominating the table (both in focus and in smell) for those that were not 'participating'.

It's definitely not something you want to overdo, and probably one that's better if everybody is participating or if nobody does, at least that's been my experience.

[Palanan]

I once had a player who, after drinking a stronger liquor than usual, got up from the table and wandered off, to return a few minutes later with a loaded and cocked hand-crossbow.

"Loaded and ready to kill!" he declared proudly, waving it unsteadily around. At that point the game came to a brief halt.

This was someone who typically had a glass or two of wine while we were gaming, nothing more. That particular night, some part of me had noticed he was drinking vodka or something similar, but I hadn't paid it much attention; I was focused on running the game, and it didn't really register that he was having something different.

The first indication was more confusing than anything. As we were roleplaying, he suddenly stopped, shuffled through his notes, and said, "You're summarizing remarkably well from last week."

I was puzzled. I knew for a fact the scenario was unfolding as we were playing it; I'd only come up with the last details on the drive over.

"Yes," he continued, and kept insisting that we'd actually been through the entire in-character conversation last week.

After that he got up, for no particular reason, and went into the other room where his wife was watching a football game. For a while he drifted back and forth between the gaming table and the TV room, and eventually wandered into the back, returning soon after with the crossbow.

As you can probably guess, this wasn't someone who could hold his liquor very well. He liked to sound sophisticated about his wines, and he had a collection of rum bottles and the like, but he tended to get sloshed fairly easily.

[cougon]

My general rule when it comes to alcohol consumption during a game is to restrict it to breaks. If you want to drink a little before the game to loosen up or during breaks (including meal breaks), then go right ahead. But during actual game play, drinking isn't allowed. I find it's far too distracting, especially the stench. Plus there's the added factor that if someone spills a drink on the gaming surface then you risk having your books smell of whatever you're drinking.

[AMFV]

My general rule when it comes to alcohol consumption during a game is to restrict it to breaks. If you want to drink a little before the game to loosen up or during breaks (including meal breaks), then go right ahead. But during actual game play, drinking isn't allowed. I find it's far too distracting, especially the stench. Plus there's the added factor that if someone spills a drink on the gaming surface then you risk having your books smell of whatever you're drinking.

What are you drinking? If the stench is too bad to tolerate then clearly it shouldn't be going into your stomach... At least that's my viewpoint.

[VoxRationis]

My group has a hard enough time keeping on track and immersed. I think alcohol would completely break them out of immersion.

[cougon]

What are you drinking? If the stench is too bad to tolerate then clearly it shouldn't be going into your stomach... At least that's my viewpoint.

I don't drink at all, though some of my friends do. Oddly enough, even the smell of alcohol is enough to make my stomach turn, the taste does worse things to me. I suspect I may be allergic or something similar.

[Jermz]

Regarding whether alcohol would relax and allow for greater immersion, more so than the group, it depends on the individual people and how well they tolerate alcohol. We routinely drink beers when we play, and nobody even comes close to being tipsy, though I can imagine that a couple of beers among other people might put them in a slightly altered state of mind.

It also depends on the maturity level of the group. All of the players in my group are over the age of 35, have been playing and drinking for years, and know each other quite well. In a younger group, alcohol might be a bigger draw and might be a bigger impediment.

Personally, I don't think that there's any harm in tossing out a few beer bottles, especially if it's a larger group, and seeing what happens. As you're the DM, you're well within your rights to determine how much alcohol is consumed.

[Ravens_cry]

I think it would lead, on the whole, to more disruption, though drunk gaming sounds like a fun idea for a one off as long as you know everyone and their limits.
Like everything, you could make it a drinking game. Like, every time you drink a potion, you take a drink, and potions are the only form of healing.:smalltongue:

[CarpeGuitarrem]

It's definitely not a case of Gaming + Booze = Better Gaming.

It comes down to the group, as mentioned before. With some groups, a little bit of drinking is a great way to loosen everyone up and have a good time. With other groups, it's a terrible idea. I suspect it's related to their general actual maturity.

[some guy]

Yeah, it's just something for the individuals to decide if they're drinking alcohol or not.

I once ran the Tomb of Horrors as a drinking game. All dwarf party, with an artifact of the dwarven god of alcohol. Fail a check/saving throw/attack; drink a bit. When someone dies everbody needs to to finish their drink to resurrect the fallen. The party made it pretty far and was paying great attention to all the clues, especially considering the circumstances. That was fun and I need to do it some time soon again.

[Ravens_cry]

Yeah, it's just something for the individuals to decide if they're drinking alcohol or not.

I once ran the Tomb of Horrors as a drinking game. All dwarf party, with an artifact of the dwarven god of alcohol. Fail a check/saving throw/attack; drink a bit. When someone dies evertbody needs to to finish their drink to resurrect the fallen. The party made it pretty far and was paying great attention to all the clues, especially considering the circumstances. That was fun and I need to do it some time soon again.
That would be the only way I'd play Tomb of Horrors.:smalltongue: Oh, the accents, aye, they be coming thick and slurry, me laddie!

[AMFV]

I think it would lead, on the whole, to more disruption, though drunk gaming sounds like a fun idea for a one off as long as you know everyone and their limits.
Like everything, you could make it a drinking game. Like, every time you drink a potion, you take a drink, and potions are the only form of healing.:smalltongue:

I think the problem here is that many many people are taking "a few drinks" to mean "drunken orgy". It's like anything that needs relaxing, one or two beers will probably help you relax, any more and it'll start slumping downhill rapidly.

[Ravens_cry]

I think the problem here is that many many people are taking "a few drinks" to mean "drunken orgy". It's like anything that needs relaxing, one or two beers will probably help you relax, any more and it'll start slumping downhill rapidly.
I am a lightweight. Two drinks on an empty stomach and, well, I know I am feeling that, and I know a couple people even worse than me.

[AMFV]

I am a lightweight. Two drinks on an empty stomach and, well, I know I am feeling that, and I know a couple people even worse than me.

Well it's probably a personal call in any case, there was a time when I had to drink an entire six pack to even get to buzzed. Although I'm a bigger dude so that helps. In any case one or two drinks and food could probably make people more relaxed and help with roleplaying, if the problem people are having is that they're stiff or shy. Since alcohol does help with those things

[KillianHawkeye]

I agree with the general consensus that it depends entirely on the people and what sort of drinkers they are (including how their attitude generally changes when intoxicated) as well as the amount and rate of alcohol consumption.

Personally, I like to sometimes have a couple drinks while gaming. Usually not more than 4 or 5 mixed drinks in a 6 to 7 hour period; definitely not enough to make driving home a problem. The one exception is our group's Evil PC campaign: for that I need to maintain a slightly higher state of drunkenness in order to enable my character to do or say things that I would normally find uncomfortable.

It helps that there is a private bar in the same building where my gaming club meets. :smallwink:

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Come to think of it, I've often had a drink (as in, a bottle of ale or a mixed drink) while gaming. That usually loosens me up enough.

[Garimeth]

I love playing with booze! It often leads to some crazy role play. We had a half-orc barbarian who just got out of jail and he couldn't find a girl anywhere, so decided to rape our party gnome. Later he bluffed his way out of it, claiming he had some kind of a mental disorder and was out of his meds. Needless to say, the poor gnome was traumatized for life and even hired a guard. I think A FEW (don't want anyone throwing up on the table) drinks help people relax which results in scenarios like this not being weird.

Personally I wouldn't want to play or DM a campaign where this was considered acceptable, but to each their own.

[Garimeth]

... just because D&D is a social event, and if someone wants to have a few, have a few. Normal social rules apply though. Don't get too drunk, don't steal someone else's drink, and prb shouldn't drink around a recovering alcoholic.

This.

Also, there is a difference between drinking while gaming, and gaming while drinking. One of our group was an AA member and so we never drank at his house because he didn't want it around his kids, but if we played at my house he was perfectly fine with us having a few drinks. Now we have all moved across the States and we play on Roll20, and most of us drink while we play. Last session one of the guys had too much and it was obvious, we all called him on it, and he agreed he needed to tone it down from now on. When I was in my early 20s the dynamic would be much different for us I am sure.

[Ajacks]

I DMed a single campaign that lasted about 2 years and it was common practice amongst all the players to bring a bottle of booze or a 12 pack. And more importantly a bag of herb. No one would bat an eye if someone walked in with a bottle of Jim Beam. Business as usual.

Granted we all partied together and were able to hold our own pretty well. I always partook the least I would say in order to maintain focus and cohesion. On the other end of the spectrum though, when that game was over and it was someone else's turn to DM, I got pretty sloshed on the first night and had to walk home (as opposed to driving).

It was generally agreed upon as funny though. I was playing a bard and apparently did some role-playing singing (none of which I remember lol). I suppose it's all about your group, what you guys prefer, what you consider a good time, so on and so fourth.

[Kafana]

And more importantly a bag of herb.

I only once played D&D on weed and it was absolutely incredible. A friend was DMing in his homebrew world which was pretty dangerous (think Dark Souls). There was a dead PC every other session, and we pretty much avoided or fled from most combats. Anyway, it was my birthday and we were going to play a long session (about 8 hours) so I bought a bunch of snacks, drinks, cookies and brought some weed. The DM was toast, and a few of us got hit pretty hard but nothing we could handle. That session was mostly roleplay, and since the DM was in his own world it was incredibly random, fun and scary at the same time. Not something I would recommend on a regular basis, but definitelly something to try at least once and see how you manage :D

[CarpeGuitarrem]

This.

Also, there is a difference between drinking while gaming, and gaming while drinking. One of our group was an AA member and so we never drank at his house because he didn't want it around his kids, but if we played at my house he was perfectly fine with us having a few drinks. Now we have all moved across the States and we play on Roll20, and most of us drink while we play. Last session one of the guys had too much and it was obvious, we all called him on it, and he agreed he needed to tone it down from now on. When I was in my early 20s the dynamic would be much different for us I am sure.
Hear, hear.

[Winter_Wolf]

I know no one that I'd play with who can have "just a little" alcohol. I'd never play while drinking on account of our generally rambunctious natures and the tendency of certain people to become belligerent when alcohol is available. For us it would be a prelude to a real life brawl, so I'd elect to not be part of the game if people started bringing booze in.

I'm sure that people who can both handle their booze and are even keeled to start with would fare better, but that's not anyone I hang with. Not coincidentally I don't tend to participate in outings where booze willbe a factor anymore. I dislike becoming collateral damage.

[Mr Beer]

Doesn't come up, since most of the group drives to games and said games take place during the day. I sometimes have one beer with lunch when I host and that's the grand total amount of alcohol consumed by the entire group.

I would probably knock back a few if others were doing the same but various things would need to be different about the way things are set up at the moment; one of the bigger factors is I do a lot of the GM-ing and past experience tells me anything more than a mild buzz and my GM skill set is trashed. I could play a character half in the bag no problem, but not run a game.

[Gamgee]

My friend said with his group didn't mix because it derailed them and they couldn't focus. I don't think anyone at our group drinks other than on a rare occasion.

[Dorian Gray]

I'm friends with a guy who took a shot every time he took a hit to Wisdom or Intelligence. He knows his tolerance really well, so he had it "calibrated" so that when a mental stat hits 0, he can no longer play.

This one time, the DM had an enemy enchanter. The player doesn't drink like that anymore.

[LibraryOgre]

IME, some groups drink, some groups don't.

One group had a bad experience with a player who'd get a bit sloshed at the game and ruin the experience for everyone else. They instituted a strict no-alcohol policy.

Another group, it wasn't uncommon to have a couple of drinks over the course of the evening, especially if none of the kids were around.

If your group likes a bit of a drink, then go for it. Find what works for your group.

[Socksy]

I'm friends with a guy who took a shot every time he took a hit to Wisdom or Intelligence. He knows his tolerance really well, so he had it "calibrated" so that when a mental stat hits 0, he can no longer play.

This one time, the DM had an enemy enchanter. The player doesn't drink like that anymore.
That's amazing. :D

I'd say drinking while playing is fine as long as you're all over 14! (Or whatever the legal age is where you are, I only know the British laws for it)

[Thrawn4]

I'd say drinking while playing is fine as long as you're all over 14! (Or whatever the legal age is where you are, I only know the British laws for it)

Wait what? You are not allowed to drink at the age of 14 in the UK, are you?

[Elvenoutrider]

As a gm you are openly displaying your creative work, publicly speaking, and sometimes need to change personalities at a moments notice. I find a few drinks before and during a session help calm my nerves and make it easier for me to show off my work (come on I can't be the only one who gets to a description, encounter, or NPc they spent hours on only to think "oh my god this is stupid.") I also find I'm able to deal with standard PC nonsense And go with the flow a bit easier after a few drinks. Figuring how to get back on the tracks is for after the session. Might not work for everyone but hey it works for me.

As a player I'll drink heavier or less depending on my character. It's become a rule for me to never drink while dpsing ;)

[lytokk]

I added the recovering alcoholic bit because it did come up in one of our games. It was me and two other guys gaming and then a third joined us. When I grabbed one of the beers I kept in the host's fridge, the third let me know he was in AA, and I promptly put the drink back and made no more mention of it. All about being respectful to the group.

[Nagash]

I find most of my players and myself have better games when we all have a few drinks. RP is more immersive, people get more emotionally involved in the fights and if at the logical ending point some people want to hang out and have a few more and chit chat., well good. We're doing friend stuff at that point and thats good for the game if we can be friends outside of it.

And yes we do this with new players too. They are encouraged to have a few, including us offering some freebees and just be part of the atmosphere of people who want to chill and have fun a few hours.

[Garimeth]

I added the recovering alcoholic bit because it did come up in one of our games. It was me and two other guys gaming and then a third joined us. When I grabbed one of the beers I kept in the host's fridge, the third let me know he was in AA, and I promptly put the drink back and made no more mention of it. All about being respectful to the group.

Yeah one of our guys was an AA member also, in fact he ran AA meetings while we were in Afghanistan. He had been recovered for a long time though, so his thing was just not at his house around his kids, but he was fine with it at somebody else's house. We pretty much always played at his house though - biggest kitchen table and all that.

[Garimeth]

I find most of my players and myself have better games when we all have a few drinks. RP is more immersive, people get more emotionally involved in the fights and if at the logical ending point some people want to hang out and have a few more and chit chat., well good. We're doing friend stuff at that point and thats good for the game if we can be friends outside of it.

And yes we do this with new players too. They are encouraged to have a few, including us offering some freebees and just be part of the atmosphere of people who want to chill and have fun a few hours.

Totally agree! When we played at our AA guy's house we would make it about a meal. So everybody would bring some cash to chip in or sodas and stuff, and then someone would go pick up chinese for the group, or curry, or grab a pizza, or etc. We'd spend the first 15-30 minutes shooting the **** while we split up food and ate a bit, and then we'd get down to business. Same thing afterwards, in addition to helping to clean up.

Sometimes if we were playing on a Saturday, or a shared day off, we would do a big cook-out in addition to gaming. So we'd all be standing around the grill gaming while we cooked, and then move it inside to eat when we got done. I miss those guys, Roll20 is great - but its just not the same.

[Iruka]

Drinking while gaming is like drinking during other social activities. With the right people and circumstances it can work and even increase the fun, with others it is a bad idea.



Wait what? You are not allowed to drink at the age of 14 in the UK, are you?

Oh, you are, legal drinking age on private premises is 5.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Oh, you are, legal drinking age on private premises is 5.
As I recall, the "drink in public" age is generally 18 in Europe, too.

[Iruka]

As I recall, the "drink in public" age is generally 18 in Europe, too.

Yes, drinking age without restrictions concerning the location or type of beverage is usually 18.

[Socksy]

Wait what? You are not allowed to drink at the age of 14 in the UK, are you?


Oh, you are, legal drinking age on private premises is 5.

I think they changed drinking age to 14 a few years ago. Isn't 5 for smoking?
/goes off to research

EDIT: Drinkaware says 5. Where was I getting 14 from...

[Phoenixguard09]

I have run a few solo Warhammer campaigns for many years now for a mate and I've run them hammered a few times. I also remember one night where we were both pretty done in, but don't remember any details regarding what happened. The notes are practically illegible.

In my personal experience, it's a bit of fun and probably good for a one-shot, but if I need to be able to keep a coherent story together, alcohol gets in the way.

As far as the 3 Coins group goes, we've got a strict no alcohol policy while playing, which is upheld in that two potential players were turned away at the beginning because they intended to bring alcohol into the game room during play. At the time, only myself, Dev and these two individuals were of legal age, with 3 other people in the room underage.

Even now, when only LD is underage, I have kept that rule in place. I have no problem with alcohol afterwards, or even perhaps beforehand, but not during the game or in the game room.

[Mr Beer]

As far as the 3 Coins group goes, we've got a strict no alcohol policy while playing, which is upheld in that two potential players were turned away at the beginning because they intended to bring alcohol into the game room during play. At the time, only myself, Dev and these two individuals were of legal age, with 3 other people in the room underage.

Even now, when only LD is underage, I have kept that rule in place. I have no problem with alcohol afterwards, or even perhaps beforehand, but not during the game or in the game room.

Sounds like the game room is a semi-public area of some kind? In that case a no booze policy is a good idea, even aside from the 'don't drink around underage players' rule, which also makes sense.

[Phoenixguard09]

No, not a public area mate. We play in my house. ;) Still, we have issues enough with irritable people, people spilling the soft drink and computers and paper everywhere. :P

[Kaun]

I generally drink while running or playing games, as do some of my players. While we generally keep our selves tidy there has been exceptions on many occasions over the years.

Does it improve the game, in some ways yes in other ways no. But i love a beer and its a social activity so ...

[Knaight]

Having alcohol around isn't particularly common with any of the groups I play in - that said, it doesn't seem like it would be particularly relevant. Some of us don't drink at all, some of us just don't keep alcohol around, and those of us that do drink carefully avoid drunkenness. That just works out to a hypothetical alcoholic drink being no more than one more food-drink option around.

[KillianHawkeye]

One of our group was an AA member and so we never drank at his house because he didn't want it around his kids, but if we played at my house he was perfectly fine with us having a few drinks. Now we have all moved across the States and we play on Roll20, and most of us drink while we play. Last session one of the guys had too much and it was obvious, we all called him on it, and he agreed he needed to tone it down from now on. When I was in my early 20s the dynamic would be much different for us I am sure.

Interestingly enough, I discovered last year that one of the guys in my group doesn't drink because he is an alcoholic. Despite playing with this guy for the last 4 or 5 years, I didn't learn this until I invited him to my last birthday party where I was acting bartender, and I discovered that he didn't want any alcoholic drinks. Fortunately, he doesn't have any problems with other people drinking during game sessions.

[Garimeth]

Interestingly enough, I discovered last year that one of the guys in my group doesn't drink because he is an alcoholic. Despite playing with this guy for the last 4 or 5 years, I didn't learn this until I invited him to my last birthday party where I was acting bartender, and I discovered that he didn't want any alcoholic drinks. Fortunately, he doesn't have any problems with other people drinking during game sessions.

I actually knew that our guy was an AA member before we started gaming, because he ran an AA program for our unit in Afghanistan. Because of this I broached the issue with him before our first session back in the States, and then past on the info to the rest of the group. First session he's like "i don't want this to be wierd, I'm fine with other people drinking, I just don't want it at my house because of my kids." One of my best friends now.

[tomandtish]

Yeah, it's just something for the individuals to decide if they're drinking alcohol or not.

I once ran the Tomb of Horrors as a drinking game. All dwarf party, with an artifact of the dwarven god of alcohol. Fail a check/saving throw/attack; drink a bit. When someone dies evertbody needs to to finish their drink to resurrect the fallen. The party made it pretty far and was paying great attention to all the clues, especially considering the circumstances. That was fun and I need to do it some time soon again.

You know, if you were playing this under classic First edition rules with people who had never heard of it before, it might not be too long before players start dying as quickly as party members.... :smalleek: :smallbiggrin:

Remembering the first time I ever went through it, that seems like 10-11 drinks in about 2 hours...

[Raimun]

While I do like to have a good brew, I don't usually drink while gaming. However, it's not out ordinary if I or anyonelse does have a few during a game.

But does it affect gaming in a good or bad way? With the people I game with, it has either a good effect or no noticeable effect whatsoever. Generally, a couple of drinks doesn't alter anyone's behavior but a few more in and you might see more wacky but perfectly in-character ideas implemented during the game. Those are just priceless. :smallsmile:

Most often it's just that instead of soda or two, people have a brew or two. You know, sometimes you want the former and sometimes the latter.

[Somebloke]

In all the years I played in Australia, no-one ever drank while gaming.

When I moved to London and joined a group, everyone drank while gaming. Eventually I joined a club in London that tended to congregate in the back rooms of pubs- still with them today (best gaming group I ever played with). We all tend to have 2-3 drinks per session- needless to say the pub is happy for the regular patronage.

[NowhereMan583]

I generally frown on having anything stronger than beer at the table -- when I ran a game in college, a couple players would occasionally bring liquor, and those sessions tended to fall apart. Memorably, one player had a glass of whiskey and began insisting that we couldn't possibly continue the game until we had nailed down the precise exchange rate between D&D "gold pieces" and Star Wars "credits". This issue was, of course, not remotely relevant to the plot, but it nevertheless provoked a loud, 30-minute argument, instigated and sustained entirely by the drunken player.

After that, I enacted a ban on drinking in games I was running, and only eased off on it when I moved, started grad school, and began gaming with a less volatile crowd.

[KillianHawkeye]

Remembering the first time I ever went through it, that seems like 10-11 drinks in about 2 hours...

Sounds like a pretty great night to be honest! :smallbiggrin: