Help with marathon games

[Kaww]

Marathon games...

I'm probably gonna DM three or four days straight for 12+ gaming hours a day. How do I survive it. My primary concern is my voice which is damaged after a regular 12h DMing session. Any advice on what to eat/drink so I don't endanger my health?

I usually eat ether a regular cooked meal or a lb of peanuts, some chocolate... Also I drink 3-5 liters of water/tea.

Thanks in advance!

[BrainFreeze]

Give them breaks in towns after major plot points to buy/sell and other such things. Also dinner/lunch breaks are helpful.

[Zefren]

Avoid candy, greasy food and snacks and coffee. These give you quick energy boosts but not for long.
Have a 15 minute break every couple of hours during which you don't talk, just drink water or tea.
Encourage party to roleplay more and talk amongst themselves, that way you can rest for a bit and just enjoy the show

[grimbold]

yes allowing interparty roleplaying can be a good break for you. also set up some tricky puzzles where you can relax for several minutes only having to answer the occasional question while your party work out the puzzle.
ask an experienced player to help you by being a shopkeeper and managing player purchases
also lemon tea can save your voice

[Psyx]

Avoid dairy products, like drinking milk. It constricts the vocal chords. Really.
Life tip: Avoid dairy before public speaking or singing. It's an old actor's trick.

Give them something tricky to do so they have to sit and plan it. Then you don't have to talk.

Likewise roleplaying between them. Encourage it and sit back.

Do NOT raise your voice. DO NOT talk over the players to quieten them down. Explain that you aren't going to be raising your voice. Maybe have a little bell if they are frothing between them and not stopping to listen to you. Yes: I'm serious. Preserve your voice.

Don't just live off sugar (and that very much includes McDonalds and Chinese take-out). Get a really big box of salad and a load of fruit juice to keep you feeling fresh.

Take some ginsing tablets. They're far more effective than coffee and the best thing for staying awake that doesn't involve either a prescription or risk of arrest.

Lay off the caffeine near the end of the session, so you can get some decent sleep.

A shower and a shave are worth an hours sleep.

[Kaww]

Thanks for the tips so far.

I only drink tea and water. Didn't think of the lemons tho...
I have more player interaction when they are in their fortress than when they are in the wilderness. This actually makes me happy since I'm playing in a RP heavy group. Hard on my vocal chords tho...

Due to RP reasons sometimes I have to raise my voice, but rest of the time I don't (players behave). Fruit and homemade fruit juice are good suggestions.

@ Psyx What's ginsing?

@ grimbold by lemon tea did you mean lemon in tea or tea made from lemon?

I like the one with 15 minute breaks .

[Psyx]

Ginseng. My bad. Typo.

Herbal thing. Been used for thousands of years to keep people alert and put lead in their pencils. It'll be available in any pharmacy or health-food shop, amongst the vitamin tablets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginseng

[Chilingsworth]

One thing you might try is to have your meals with your group, as an in character activity. That is, eat your pizza/salad/whatever while your characters are at a feast or party. That way, you're not choosing between your wellbeing (food) and playtime. You might want to have one meal per day without roleplay attached, though.

[Kaww]

One thing you might try is to have your meals with your group, as an in character activity. That is, eat your pizza/salad/whatever while your characters are at a feast or party. That way, you're not choosing between your wellbeing (food) and playtime. You might want to have one meal per day without roleplay attached, though.

We eat during our games. My girlfriend and I prepare lunch/dinner for everyone.

[LansXero]

One thing that helps me with lengthy sessions of discussion (I dont RP for that long, but Ive had college debates go on for half a day or more) is candy. Small, simple, sugared candy. Will keep your mouth watering itself, and not going bitter because of the slow trickle of sugar, which is also good for energy. I think there are even fancy herbal candies and whatnot; its something that will keep you from feeling too thirsty. Gulping down water is fine in the short run, but in the long run tea and other liquids will either make you go to the bathroom often, or make you feel heavy / bloated. Hope this made sense :D

[Psyx]

Sugar isn't good for energy in that way. You get a high, but then a sugar crash.

Nuts and seeds are a much more sensible snack.

[LansXero]

Sugar isn't good for energy in that way. You get a high, but then a sugar crash.

Nuts and seeds are a much more sensible snack.

I mostly meant something he can keep in his mouth so it wont run dry. I doubt you can get a high out of a single candy over 3 - 4 hours, but it will keep your mouth from going bitter.

[Invelios]

Honey is great for the vocal chords, but has the sugar problem of instant rush/crash.

[Fitz10019]

Voice-preserving: for any lengthy description, print it seperately, and ask a player to read it.

Energy-preserving: Baby powder (aka talcum powder). Refresh your feet, armpits, even your crotch (preferrably in the bathroom) with talcum powder after 5 or more hours. The moistness of these areas has a Pavlovian effect of telling your body that it is tired -- drying out these areas cancels that stimulus. I do this at conventions -- it really works. And it's easier to find than ginseng.

[Popertop]

Avoid dairy products, like drinking milk. It constricts the vocal chords. Really.
Life tip: Avoid dairy before public speaking or singing. It's an old actor's trick.

Give them something tricky to do so they have to sit and plan it. Then you don't have to talk.

Likewise roleplaying between them. Encourage it and sit back.

Do NOT raise your voice. DO NOT talk over the players to quieten them down. Explain that you aren't going to be raising your voice. Maybe have a little bell if they are frothing between them and not stopping to listen to you. Yes: I'm serious. Preserve your voice.

Don't just live off sugar (and that very much includes McDonalds and Chinese take-out). Get a really big box of salad and a load of fruit juice to keep you feeling fresh.

Take some ginsing tablets. They're far more effective than coffee and the best thing for staying awake that doesn't involve either a prescription or risk of arrest.

Lay off the caffeine near the end of the session, so you can get some decent sleep.

A shower and a shave are worth an hours sleep.

About the dairy products:
I've found that this is more of a personal thing than a general rule to live by.
I'm a singer, and I've eaten an entire calzone full of mozarella and ricotta cheese before getting up in front of people and doing some of the best singing I've ever done. The thing that messes people up is when they drink/eat something that their esophogeal(sp?) wall has a reaction to and starts producing mucous. You have to find what works for you.

Drink lots of water, be well rested the day before.

About raising your voice:
You can raise it as long as it's well supported.
This goes into a completely different thing, but just make sure it doesn't hurt.

[Kaww]

Voice-preserving: for any lengthy description, print it seperately, and ask a player to read it.

Energy-preserving: Baby powder (aka talcum powder). Refresh your feet, armpits, even your crotch (preferrably in the bathroom) with talcum powder after 5 or more hours. The moistness of these areas has a Pavlovian effect of telling your body that it is tired -- drying out these areas cancels that stimulus. I do this at conventions -- it really works. And it's easier to find than ginseng.

Great idea! Does this really work? I don't have trouble running a 15 hour long session except that I lose my voice and my stomach gives me trouble if I didn't have a proper meal ...

About the dairy products:
I've found that this is more of a personal thing than a general rule to live by.
I'm a singer, and I've eaten an entire calzone full of mozarella and ricotta cheese before getting up in front of people and doing some of the best singing I've ever done. The thing that messes people up is when they drink/eat something that their esophogeal(sp?) wall has a reaction to and starts producing mucous. You have to find what works for you.

Drink lots of water, be well rested the day before.

About raising your voice:
You can raise it as long as it's well supported.
This goes into a completely different thing, but just make sure it doesn't hurt.

Alas no can due except on the first day...

You can raise it as long as it's well supported. What do you mean by this?

[Popertop]

No excessive whispering, no outright screaming

make sure everything that you do above normal
volume is in a "healthy shout" kind of way.

[Psyx]

Energy-preserving: Baby powder (aka talcum powder). Refresh your feet, armpits, even your crotch (preferrably in the bathroom) with talcum powder after 5 or more hours. The moistness of these areas has a Pavlovian effect of telling your body that it is tired -- drying out these areas cancels that stimulus. I do this at conventions -- it really works. And it's easier to find than ginseng.

Or you could... take a shower. Far more effective and you won't smell as bad.

Ginseng would just require you to walk into any pharmacy or health food store. I realise those are both alien environments for gamers, but think of the XP you'd get.

[Kaww]

Or you could... take a shower. Far more effective and you won't smell as bad.

Ginseng would just require you to walk into any pharmacy or health food store. I realize those are both alien environments for gamers, but think of the XP you'd get.

You would be surprised... I go in a health food store prior to every session.

That made me laugh.

[Psyx]

realize

I don't mean to be rude, but could you please not correct my spelling when quoting me. I'm using my native language correctly and I really don't like it being Americanised for me.

Thank-you.

[Kaww]

I don't mean to be rude, but could you please not correct my spelling when quoting me. I'm using my native language correctly and I really don't like it being Americanised for me.

Thank-you.

Sorry.

I apologize if I offended you. I'm not a native speaker, just saw red underline and right click "fixed" it...

Once again sorry.

[Pink]

It has been told to me by a theatre adjudicator, that celery and melon will help to lubricate the vocal cords, more so than water alone. So lot's of that. Also, a spoonful of honey with the oil from a vitamin E capsule added to it, slowly slid down the throat.

That being said, good luck sir with this brave undertaking.

[Popertop]

the lemon water trick works too generally,
but you have to know your own body to really
know what's gonna help/hurt your voice.