http://www.toplessrobot.com/2014/04/10_dd_tips_from_dan_harmon_and_his_dungeon_master.php

Anyone follow these?

As to the booze versus pot...erm, no.

No.

I've gamed with people who were stoned* and it's equally as un-fun as gaming with raging drunks, i.e., it isn't.  I'll heft a glass or mug at a game and have a lot of fun but there's too much damn drama surrounding weed.  For one it's illegal here, two there's secondhand effects to think of, like, people at the table who may not want to smoke but - too bad! if you are, they are too.

I'm not a prude, I don't disapprove of pot in general and I wish it was legal, I just think the idea of "Don't drink and game, but bonghits+gaming = OK!" is pretty fucking ironic.

(now bracing for a zerg rush of people coming in to go all NORML on the thread...anyway...)

as to the rest of his "advice"...

Some of it is...kind of odd.  This one:

"Find a bag of holding!"

well...yeah, Dan, okay.  That should be less "find a bag of holding" and more "I hope you can find a bag of holding" or "Hire bearers until you can find a bag of holding".  I mean it's not like they're mandatory handouts from the DM, or all campaign worlds have trees that sprout bags of holding as fruit.

"Listen to your players [...] A good DM loves it when the players rewrite the campaign!"

n...no.  No.  When what the players do, in game, makes you adjust your plans as a DM that's fine.  That suggestion skirts too close to 4e's "magic item shopping list" for my tastes.

"Play with celebrities whenever you can!"  Okay, Dan.  Also, "Use dice carved from rubies!" and "If you're very careful, the Porsche Cayenne you drove to the game can be used a second time!" and "Everyone's far from the game?  Fly them to a central location in your Learjet!"



Good stuff:

"Avoid combat".  Yes, a thousand times yes.  If the magic-user discovers via ESP that the red dragon is in fact asleep and not faking, and then casts silence: 15' radius and then invisibility on the thief who wades into the beast's treasure pile and picks out the choice items and gems and the party comes out richer...that's awesome!  That's how you "do" AD&D!  Or heck even throw in "and I pour poison onto it's lips while I'm in there" (that's still avoiding combat).  

"Take breaks".  ABSOLUTELY.  Yes, get up, stretch your legs, grab a bite to eat - in my case on Friday nights I give the dog his last walk of the night and settle the kids in bed.

The smoking versus drinking thing is kinda weird. I too don't have anything against smoking pot once in a while versus having a glass of scotch once in a while. It just smacks of a political statement more than anything else, and I can think of a billion better venues to make such statements than a list of Dungeons & Dragons tips (YMMV). Now that said, it's not a set of terrible advice. They're decent, as far as advice tend to go.

I am not a fan of inebriation of any sort at the game table.  Probably the worst time was when this guy got drunk and puked and tried to puke back into the bottle.

Yay!  Great times.   Not.

And what does he mean by "professional DM"?  Am I supposed to be getting paid all this time or something?  Is there a circuit?

Jesus, what a tool.

That's like "do anything stoned" advice, like mowing the yard on pcp - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxee1uO3hTE


Though for some people, any excuse to get loaded is a reason to get loaded; but for those of us who don't, it's annoying.

"Professional DM" made me laugh as well.

Quote from: Sacrosanct;741998I am not a fan of inebriation of any sort at the game table.

I've gamed with drunks and I've gamed with stoners and the experience was equally unfun. Having a casual drink or two is usually ok, but can sometimes be a distraction depending on the person. No weed at my table anymore. Get high before you come over if you must.

9 and 10 made me laugh. (9) Avoid Combat and (10) Game With Celebrities? Safe to say his experiences with D&D are vastly different than my own.

A comedy writer writing tongue in cheek humorous advice? Well I'll never.

Though funnily enough, I have equally polar rule - drink, don't smoke (with reason, of course).

Though I've heard stories I've somehow managed to never sit at a gaming table where people were drinking/smoking pot...
except for one very bad night of Trivial Pursuit (I can never drink mescal again...).

Quote from: thedungeondelver;741985http://www.toplessrobot.com/2014/04/10_dd_tips_from_dan_harmon_and_his_dungeon_master.php

Anyone follow these?

As to the booze versus pot...erm, no.

No.

I've gamed with people who were stoned* and it's equally as un-fun as gaming with raging drunks, i.e., it isn't.

Is this guy a Californicator? I bet he bans nicotine cigarettes as well as alcohol, just marijuana is good because it's hip. Fucking hippies. :banghead:  Luckily I mostly play/GM at London pubs, so drinking is compulsory and pot forbidden, as God intended. Thanks to us following US Fascists like Bloomberg, nicotine is forbidden in pubs too now, which I don't really mind as I'm a non-smoker. I oppose the principle but appreciate the clean air.

As for the rest of the article - pretty much a waste of time I thought.

Quote from: Old Geezer;741999Jesus, what a tool.

That about sums it up.

"Find a Bag of Holding." Not the players' choice.

"Don't Drink" and "Do Smoke." Too fucking dumb for words. Guess what, genius, marijuana is a CNS depressant too. Also I am very sorry to learn that you and/or your players can't hold your liquor.

"Game With Celebrities" is not bad in and of itself but smacks of gratuitous name-dropping.

The rest are okay.

Who is this guy and why should we even care?

I am hardcore pro-ganja and pro-booze, but only in moderation.

Cigarettes are utterly lame at all times, but I'm cool with a good cigar or pipe outdoors, but I rarely game outdoors.

Drunks and stoners are lame as they detract from the fun. Some tables do fine with a mild buzz - especially beer & pretzels gaming - and I totally enjoy and appreciate that. But I also enjoy sober & focused tables too where its all about the game, no cross talk and all about immersion (even if its immersion in the boardgame).

Also, its very different when a crew of creative people get together and game so I get what Dan Harmon is saying. Gaming with actors, musicians, writers (even the wanna-be variety) is usually much more about RP / immersion / off the RAW and for many people in performance backgrounds, a mild buzz while being creative is pretty commonplace.

I live in LA and have family in SF, so I do cons and game events in both NorCal and SoCal which creates fun comparisons for me as most of my NorCal groups were heavier with IT/engineering guys and my SoCal groups have had more music/movie people.

As for his other advice - taking turns being DM, have breaks, listen to players, take your time - that all sounds good and basic.

Quote from: Snowman0147;742017Who is this guy and why should we even care?

He is the creator of the TV show Community and they have had 2 shows about D&D and thus he is the voice of the D&D community on television.

Thus he matters to the hobby's public image since Hasbro's head is so rammed up its ass that the 40th Anniversary of D&D is passing by.

Basically good with all of them at some level or another except for the one about smoking weed at the game table and the one about playing with celebrities.  Those two I strongly disagree with.