Drunks and Dragons?

[Rossebay]

Is it known to function, or no? Currently debating with a friend about it (I'm on the side of No).

Have any of you tried it?

Personally, I feel like the campaign will just devolve as the night goes on.

[The Grue]

I'm not entirely sure what the question is.

[Mastikator]

If you're asking if it's possible to play while getting drunk. Then I can tell from experience it is possible, but it's not as crisp as playing sober.

[Knaight]

Don't drink and DM is advice for a reason. I could see GMing while tipsy working for a less serious game, particularly where that intersects with stylistically bizarre. Outside of that, it seems like a bad idea.

For a player, intoxication is probably less of an issue, though this is dependent on character. I'm pretty sure that basically anyone can play a drunk mercenary while mildly drunk - it probably even helps, outside of mechanical iffiness. An eloquent diplomat...less so.

[Rossebay]

If you're asking if it's possible to play while getting drunk. Then I can tell from experience it is possible, but it's not as crisp as playing sober.

Alright, that's what I was looking for.

One of our DM's wants to get drunk and run a session or two. I'm willing to play, but I was just wondering if it was functional.

[GPuzzle]

Check out Crit Juice. It is awesome, and the focus is "how drunk will the players get throughout the session". Well, sort of

[oball]

I did a drunk D&D session last year, it was a lot of fun, although expect even more time than usual to be lost to jokes and off-topic conversations. It was during one such conversation that I decided to get the game moving by sticking my character's head through a door to scout out the next room (I was playing as an Unbodied, so was incorporeal) only for her to drop dead as she met the gaze of the bodak waiting there. So, yeah, good fun for one-shots, but don't do it with characters you care about.

[Berenger]

I've once played with the DM and his wife, which has a kinda low alcohol tolerance and got tipsy and tired by cold medicine. It was very funny when she threw hand grenades into a trolls mouth and tried to set them off by punching the troll in the stomach. It got considerably less funny when her well-liked character was eviscerated by an angry troll. We had our first and only retcon of an entire evening and decided unanimously on not playing when drunk or overtired.

[souridealist]

Probably not wise to do this as one session of a longer campaign, but it could lead to a grand time of a one-shot.

[Rhynn]

Don't drink and DM is advice for a reason. I could see GMing while tipsy working for a less serious game, particularly where that intersects with stylistically bizarre.

I usually have a beer, sometimes two if the game runs long. It's exactly the right amount to loosen my tongue. (It's pretty much the only way to get me to act social with strangers, too...) My players usually drink 2-3 beers each over the evening, while one polishes off about half a bottle of wine instead.

You couldn't really tell anyone's been drinking, if you didn't know us, but that might be because we're all congenital alcoholics and drink like sponges daily. (Not really, no.)

Actually getting drunk seems like a terrible idea, though. People are going to be off the ball, distracted, talking on about whatever, rambling and getting lost. They might get sleepy - drinking heavily while just sitting around and talking can do that.

[Jay R]

People are affected differently.

In my afternoon sessions, by the fifth hour, I'm sometimes on my second beer, and my third coffee. I feel no ill effects, and I'm not tipsy.

(Having said that, I learned in college that I could beat my roommate at chess while tipsy.)

[BootStrapTommy]

In my experience, drinking and role-playing do, in fact, go well together.

But two thing must be noted. One is it only works with drinking in moderation. You'd be surprised how much a good buzz opens up players minds to possibilities they normally would see (studies have actually shown a buzz helps problem solving skills). And it opens up even the most introverted players to putting effort into their role-playing. But if everyone chooses to get absolutely snockered, things will devolve quickly. Secondly, don't expect things to go as smoothly, nor for great deals to be accomplished. The party with definitely do things, but it's likely to be slightly less productive than most games as well as slightly more filled with inside jokes and shenanigans. But it will be fun.

[prufock]

Play Paranoia! and use 6-pack rules. Every time your clone dies, you finish your drink and open another!

[Mastikator]

I usually have a beer, sometimes two if the game runs long. It's exactly the right amount to loosen my tongue. (It's pretty much the only way to get me to act social with strangers, too...) My players usually drink 2-3 beers each over the evening, while one polishes off about half a bottle of wine instead.

You couldn't really tell anyone's been drinking, if you didn't know us, but that might be because we're all congenital alcoholics and drink like sponges daily. (Not really, no.)

Actually getting drunk seems like a terrible idea, though. People are going to be off the ball, distracted, talking on about whatever, rambling and getting lost. They might get sleepy - drinking heavily while just sitting around and talking can do that.

In my experience this amount is has positive results. It's the sweet spot where your inhibitions start to loosen up, but you're not walking sideways yet :P