Book Violence, Table Violence

[Endarire]

Over my many years on various forms, I've noticed various people talk about how those at the gaming table (usually the GM) should be hit by books, dice, minis, etc., or how GMs should do the same to certain players. In addition or alternatively, people flip over the gaming table. The reasoning given for such violent behavior is most often as punishment for doing something unpleasant or foolish and seems very short-sighted.

Alternatively, I've heard less often of people at the gaming table getting directly physically violent with one another, such as brawling or throwing each other.

I've only rarely encountered these in person (with it being limited to one gal slapping one guy for mutually agreed upon reasons), and for that I am grateful. Generally, how serious are these calls to violent action at the table?

[flappeercraft]

It's all an inside joke. Never heard of that except in very sarcastic contexts.

[Blackhawk748]

Its all a joke. If it helps, visualize the person making the comment rolling their eyes as they say it as its supposed to denote someone doing something incredibly stupid that it warrants the Anime "Slap upside the head", but we're tabletop gamin, so we throw books.

[Falontani]

I've seen heated debates and botched examples but never has it gotten to full blown violence.

*Botched Example: Someone is showing someone else how their character does something because they are at a loss of words and need a physical demonstration. One such time the player in question happens to be mixed martial artist and he was playing a monk. He was demonstrating a move that the DM didn't believe could be done even with monklike abilities. He did the move successfully and showed the DM that it could be done, however he bruised the other person in the example.

[Mike Miller]

Despite the fact it is a joke, I have seen one person repeatedly knock everything off the gaming table and separately flip the table. It wasn't during DnD , just board games. This person is not a good loser. So, hopefully it remains a joke for most people.

[Kelb_Panthera]

I've always taken such statements as hyperbole unless they were presented in the form of anecdote. Most people have almost no taste for real, physical violence. Even for those of us that do, we generally find violence stemming from a lack or loss of self-control contemptible.

Pretty much everyone gets that the kind of violence that has a chance of causing real bodily harm is serious business.

[BowStreetRunner]

It's mostly just figurative, not literal. While I know of several instances where real violence occurred at a game, those are not only very exceptional instances but the factors contributing to the outbreak of violence stemmed more from real world situations than from what was going on with the game itself. (Seriously, who hits on another players wife in the middle of a role-playing game anyway?!?)

That's not to say players storming off or rage-quitting doesn't occur. It just rarely involves actual violence, even if it's just turning over the table.

[zergling.exe]

My group has on occasion rapped someone's head with a book. It's a fairly effective way to get someone's attention.

[AvatarVecna]

When I DM, I keep a properly-labeled Book Catapult next to me. I've never had to use it. :smalltongue:

[Deophaun]

I would never throw a book at a player. The pages might get messed up.

[Ellrin]

I would never throw a book at a player. The pages might get messed up.

Dice, on the other hand...

[Deophaun]

Dice, on the other hand...
Just not the metal ones. They are a #$@& to dig back out.

[flappeercraft]

Dice, on the other hand...

The best to throw are d20 and you can also throw d4 if you want some caltrops.

[Falontani]

The best to throw are d20 and you can also throw d4 if you want some caltrops.

Metal d4s and hefty d20s

[Fizban]

It's a figure of speech, but some people seem to take it literally and get real mad if you say it.

[PersonMan]

I think that the "hit them with the DMG" may have some connection to "throwing the book at" someone. Since books are present, and something like a DMG is generally going to be on the GM's side of the table, it seems like a natural extension to me.

[Metahuman1]

It's a joke dude. It's not meant to be taken seriously. And actually doing so usually involves either an incredible level of stupidity, or a significant enough level of "too young to grasp the joke." that it calls into question were the adult supervision is/was.

[Dezea]

I've seen, once in a 40+ RPG career, someone stabbing someone else in the arm with the butt of a spoon.
This seems ridiculous, but the player actually put all of his 180+ kg behind it, and the other guy had a purple spot here for weeks.

...And all of this happened because of what might be the stupidest in-game argument ever, so not even any real life problem.

[Deophaun]

I've seen, once in a 40+ RPG career, someone stabbing someone else in the arm with the butt of a spoon.
Insert obligatory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhfuuKiTcYQ

[DarkSoul]

I had a DM throw a d20 the size of a tennis ball at me once, because I got the group in and out of the room containing the McGuffin, WITH the McGuffin, in one round and before the trap in the room could shoot us all into the Negative Energy plane. :smallbiggrin:

[Telonius]

Metal d4s and hefty d20s

I thought this is what we were supposed to use d12s for...?

In all seriousness, I've never seen any actual violence at any D&D session I've ever attended. Up until Dezea's story there, the only time I've ever even heard of it happening for real was That Lanky Bugger's story of actually getting stabbed at a gaming session about 10 years ago. He had several other seriously screwed-up sessions as well. I'm still not sure if it was for real or not. But it probably says something about the sheer strangeness of it that I remember it ten years after the fact.

[Quertus]

Violence in the session? No.

Beating the GM up in the parking lot after the game? Pretty sure that hasn't happened more than twice in my many decades of play.

People getting into fights for reasons unrelated to the game? Yeah, that's happened all too often.

[atemu1234]

I've played the game a while, only ever seen a couple people slapped for not paying attention, then asking for a recap.