Great OP, Serious Paul.

I used to drink...heavily.  But even in those days, we tended not to drink while playing.  A couple of the folks I played with (literally, a married couple) smoked pot, usually before - but it was their house - who was I to complain? But, as many have experienced here, it was a solid group and the drinking or drug use that did take place never affected the game.

Lately I've been playing more at Cons (Saturday in a home game, yay!) so it's not an issue.

And for the record - I have the same opinion as Serious Paul.  I could give a shit what people do in their lives as long as it doesn't harm others.

Oh..and for Bill ( ), I always respect the wishes of the host with respect to smoking. I play poker on a fairly regular basis now with some guys from work and even though many players smoke, it's always a thing for the breaks. It kills me cause when I gamble, I smoke.  But hey - gotta respect those around you, right?

Quote from: CabI wonder, is there a transatlantic thing going on here? In the UK, most gamers seem to be quite happy if someone brings a few beers along, but I've often heard negatives on this kind of things from Americans. And I just can't imagine playing D&D with anyone who is French without having a glass of wine.

Just goes to show the differences between our cultures.



[EDIT] But if you were to show up at my game with some Guiness or Boddingtons I sure as hell wouldnt chase you away.

Quote from: Ronin[EDIT] But if you were to show up at my game with a some Guiness or Boddingtons I sure as hell wouldnt chase you away.

Excellent Although I'd be far more likely to turn up with a some Newcastle Brown Ale or even a few bottles of Hobgoblin.

Quote from: CabI wonder, is there a transatlantic thing going on here? In the UK, most gamers seem to be quite happy if someone brings a few beers along, but I've often heard negatives on this kind of things from Americans. And I just can't imagine playing D&D with anyone who is French without having a glass of wine.

 With me its just a personal thing. I'm not that much into drinking.
I've tried beer from time to time - and I just didn't like the taste and it bored me . (but I can tell the difference between a "Lite" beer and a regular beer. Regular beer is better - but I still don't like it. )

 One of my players actually has had a bad health reaction to some alcoholic drinks....the other reserve their "drinking" for parties of the cocktail/dinner party type of drinking or celebrating anniversaries. At the table we tend to stivk to jiuce, water, fruit punch, soda pop, root beer - that kind of stuff.

Now if a player wanted to bring a bottle of wine to mark some anniversary in the game story - I would definitely work that into the campaign story and get out the right kind of glasses.  A drink or toast to celebrate anniversaries and birthdays of a kind I'm in favor of.

- Ed C.

Quote from: CabI wonder, is there a transatlantic thing going on here? In the UK, most gamers seem to be quite happy if someone brings a few beers along, but I've often heard negatives on this kind of things from Americans. And I just can't imagine playing D&D with anyone who is French without having a glass of wine.

I dunno, I guess there is some kind baseline difference. All the groups I've played with have been open to drinking and many have been cool with pot use, but I have encountered many people who just aren't down with one or the other or either.  I'm a little confused by the aversion actually, but my Spanish friends (and some of my American friends too) all insist that I'm not a very good American, anyway.

Man, I'm drunk right now.  Horribly!  I drank, like, um, a beer or whatever you call it, and I'm pretty sure I'm "high" on "smack".

In other words, I'm a dirty, filthy tee-totaller and I don't want any drug harder than caffeine in my house.  I don't want to game with anyone who's dosing -- or even drinking.  In fact, I have left parties because of alcohol's presence.  Makes me jittery, nervous, angry.  I cannot stand it.

Back on TBP, Jack got all pissed off at me for so doing but he missed that I WASN'T COMFORTABLE, not that I --

Aw, forget it.  I had.  Anyway I don't like alcohol or its consumption.

Why mix something I hate with something I love?

I gota say that alcohol is the primary focus of this discussion, because even in this tiny corner of the web, is anyone really gonna cop to great cleaving kobolds between lines of blow?

Roll a d10 to determine how many cc's of smack your going to shoot before you attack the Dragon.

Quote from: JamesVI gota say that alcohol is the primary focus of this discussion, because even in this tiny corner of the web, is anyone really gonna cop to great cleaving kobolds between lines of blow?

If I was snorting coke off of hookers' asses and playing D&D at the same time, I would totally blog about the experience as well as starting threads about it here, on EN World AND Dragonsfoot.  I couldn't NOT say anything.

Quote from: AosWow. Not so here.

Edit: I just googled this Joe, but I can't attest to its accuracy:
2.5 grams is actually a pretty solid amount. More than i would ever keep on hand.


ILLINOIS
Possession: Under 2.5 gms: 0-30 days & $500
2.5-10 gms: 0-6 mos & $500
10-30 gms: 0-1 yr & $1,000
30-500 gms: 1-3 yrs & $10,000
Over 500 gms: 2-5 yrs & 10,000
Cultivation/Sale: Under 2.5 gms: 0-6 mos & $500
2.5-10 gms: 0-1 yr & $1,000
10-30 gms: 0-1 yr & $10,000
30-500 gms: 2-5 yrs & $50,000
Over 500 gms: 3-7 yrs & $100,000

Huh.  But that's state.  Here in Carbondale, that would work, up at home, thought the municiple law is harsher.

We had two homebrewers in my old group, so we sure as hell had beer. I have a beer fridge with a five gallon soda keg filled with homebrewed beer literally within arm's reach of the DM chair in my basement.

We'd drink a beer or two over the course of four hours. Some of the guys had a 30 minute drive home so we took it pretty easy. Some times we'd have dinner or a cookout before the game and someone would bring a bottle or two of wine. Nothing like a nice dry red during a D&D game, says I.

As for other stuff--its never been an issue. But if it didn't get in the way of the game, I wouldn't really care. But I have a hard time thinking it wouldn't get in the way of the game.

In all of my years of college (I recently finished a MS in Geology, and work as a geologist for the university) I have yet to meet a "Stoner" (sorry recreational drug user) who was worth a damn; lazy, inept and stupid go hand in hand with heavy to moderate drug use. I don't allow drug use at my games and typically don't hang out anymore with users (and I just fired one from my field crew because he didn't bother to show up for work over the summer break).

Quote from: Serious PaulAs some of you may imagine I frown pretty heavily upon the  usage of drugs in my games by players-mainly for liability reasons, I try to keep my morality and my job out of my home life-and over the years we've come across a handful of players who feel the need to mix the two.

Now in our group the rules are simple-respect the home of the person we're playing at. Since we generally play at my place that means drinking is okay, as long as you're not driving, and drugs are right out. (My home is subject to search upon the reasonable suspicion of any drug use or a host of other reasons contractually, so I am not going to take the risk.) Most of the other players have the exact same rules, so it works for us.

However over the years I've encountered some people who have varying opinions on this issue. I have no moral issues against drugs, and I feel each person should be able to do whatever they'd like as long as it doesn't affect others, however the law isn't made by me, and around these parts drug laws are some pretty serious shit. So in the interest of my fiscal safety primarily I don't allow drugs on the premises or usage. (I've had a few players show up blasted, but as I'm off duty it's none of my business.)

What are your opinions on drug use and gaming? (I think I'm going to start refering to gaming as the sweet science.)

Quote from: RockViperIn all of my years of college (I recently finished a MS in Geology, and work as a geologist for the university) I have yet to meet a "Stoner" (sorry recreational drug user) who was worth a damn; lazy, inept and stupid go hand in hand with heavy to moderate drug use.

I was totally going to either ignore this or jump all over you about it, and then I stopped and thought- What you're saying is pretty much true, especially in academia. I hardly ever use myself when classes are on- maybe the occasional Friday night. I have too much to do most of the time. And I'm sure that, statistically speaking, regular users of pot miss more work than people who don't use, but I've known many who made it to work everyday- much as I've known several alcohol addicts who can do the same. As far as field work goes, (archaeology in my case), never on the job; but it's summer, my evenings are my own, and I'm in a place where it's accepted. Even then, though, moderation is the rule.

Quote from: RockViperIn all of my years of college (I recently finished a MS in Geology, and work as a geologist for the university) I have yet to meet a "Stoner" (sorry recreational drug user) who was worth a damn; lazy, inept and stupid go hand in hand with heavy to moderate drug use. I don't allow drug use at my games and typically don't hang out anymore with users (and I just fired one from my field crew because he didn't bother to show up for work over the summer break).

Eh, the ones you knew who were productive probably never made a big deal out of it.  No one knew what I did when I was in college; despite daily use, I graduated #1 in my class.  The ones who advertise their use are idjits, though.

Quote from: AosEven then, though, moderation is the rule.

I think that's a fair rule for a lot of things.