I have a ferret story too! Except it wasn't gamers. My band played a show in NYC, and we ended up staying overnight at a friend of mine's music studio in Manhattan before going home. This is like up on the 11th floor of a building on 5th avenue. And they had some ferrets that had the run of the place.

And yeah, it smelled bad. They have like ferret-musk or something. That was a super nice studio, though and the guy that owned it was very cool.

In retrospect it wasn't that bad, really. In 2004 I did some recording with my portastudio in a couple of practice spaces in DC where somehow the guys had gotten vomit like.. on the ceiling.

The skeeviest place I ever played (and this was music, not gaming) was the Jerk Store in Baltimore. Which was kind of a mess.. it was connected to like.. a communal living area, and place was filled with like cigarette butts and the remains of macriobiotic food that everyone ate there. (I've never understood the juxtaposition of smokers who eat health food...)

Also, like 4 stray dogs lived there.

Great people though.  It was actually a lot of fun for one night.


Granted people should be aware of hygiene concerns. Haha.

Animals certainly don't have to cause problems.  I used to game with a guy who lived in an apartment with his girlfriend.  He had two (later three) ferrets and a large white rat named 'Spike'.  He also had a dog.  All of them had the run of the apartment (well, except Spike, usually), but aside from a slightly noticeable musky scent from the ferrets, you'd never know it.  The apartment was clean, the animals were clean and friendly.

The only unpleasant gaming locale was with another couple who had a daughter.  Both were active military, which makes the condition of their apartment a mystery.  Piled high with clutter just about everywhere.  Not really filthy dirty...bit just very cluttered and not especially clean.

That's it.  Every other place has been at least well-maintained and not dirty, and that probably adds up to to a couple of dozen places over the years.

I'm not an expert, but I seem to recall (from friends who owned ferrets) that the difference between a ferret who has had its scent-glands (which also secrete behavior-inducing hormones) surgically removed and a ferret who has not had that surgery is the difference between a well-behaved, clean, low-smell animal and a vicious, filthy, smelly beast.

Am I completely misremembering that?  If I'm not, maybe that explains people's wildly different experiences with pet ferrets.

OK, CW - you need to start a thread RIGHT NOW telling some of those stories.

I'm due for a laugh.

-O

I owned a ferret once and I can attest that ferret shit is extremely pungent.  A ferret owner has to be extremely on top of cleaning cages and house-training.  Also, it's required by law for ferrets to be both spayed/neutered and to have their musk glands removed in most states here in the U.S.

Quote from: GrimjackIt is a testament to just how disturbing this thread is that I found the Hardcore Donkey-Love to be one of the less-creepy elements. :raise:  

I have to agree.  With my weak stomach, some of those filthy places would literally make me sick.  Donkey loving and father-daughter fondling would just be odd and slightly shocking.

Quote from: obrynOK, CW - you need to start a thread RIGHT NOW telling some of those stories.

I'm due for a laugh.

-O

Most are a lot less funny than you'd think.  That situations occur is kinda funny/entertaining, but many of the situations were just sad.  There are a few that I actually feel guilty for not reporting to the authorities, but I was fairly young at the time.

Besides, I have to get all bitter and angry to really let those tales loose  There are a few on RPG.net, they tend to appear whenever folk start talking about how awful a game/situation is.

Found a thread on RPG.net where I recount just GMing specific ones.  I've met a lot of GMs that like to have the characters brutally raped.  Nothing says heroic adventure like being held down by orcs and sodomized.

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=279507

Oh yeah.  I was once thrown out of a residence because the host's character died.  That was fun.

I should stop.

Quote from: C.W.RichesonFound a thread on RPG.net where I recount just GMing specific ones.  I've met a lot of GMs that like to have the characters brutally raped.  Nothing says heroic adventure like being held down by orcs and sodomized.

That happened to me once, but that was a fellow PC instead of the GM.  The guy did want to be awarded chips for it though (in Deadlands, chips = points you get for good roleplaying).  The GM instead offered him chips to not go into detail.

Luckily that's the worst that's ever happened to me in a game.

Quote from: RedFoxThe GM instead offered him chips to not go into detail.

As GM I would have offered him chips for getting the fuck out of my house.


TGA

C.W., I'm just stunned that you still show so much enthusiasm for RPGs.  I would have given up long ago if I'd had this kind of bad luck!  :eek:

Quote from: The Good AssyrianAs GM I would have offered him chips for getting the fuck out of my house.


TGA

It was my house, but yes.

From the RPGnet thread:

Quote from: C.W.RichesonTwo GMs i've played with had all guards, officials, and peasants everywhere give the characters constant shit. Even a simple question like "Where is the mill?" was likely to bring about attitude. When the powerful adventurers covered in magic items object, one NPC would turn out to be a 15th level Fighter or some similar bullshit.

Whoa, you've played with him too?

Peace,
-Joel

Wow, that thread from RPGNet had some really awful stuff!

I also had a sinking feeling that I've done one or two of those things.  Sadly, once a long time ago I did run one of those "you wake up in the dark" games...  

Never since, though, unless you count a one-shot CoC d20 game with pre-made characters, where their memories of the recent past had all been more or less thoroughly screwed-with by the Insects from Shaggai...  (I'm kinda proud of this one, actually - unbeknownst to the players, the possessed characters were on a mission to free some of the main campaign's villains.  The look on my players' faces when they figured this out at the end was priceless.)

Others, I don't know what the complaint was, but maybe I'm missing the context.  There was one who complained about a BBEG way more powerful than the party, and I was honestly thinking, "Well, duh.  They won't be after you advance to a point where taking them on isn't suicidal."

-O

Quote from: AnemoneC.W., I'm just stunned that you still show so much enthusiasm for RPGs.  I would have given up long ago if I'd had this kind of bad luck!  :eek:

I almost did once, but then I gave it one last shot and had some *fantastic* sessions.

It's a lot of work to get a group together and do all the little things we have to do to have a great game but, when everything comes together, and when you're playing with those other great people, it's the most fun there is.

Quote from: obrynSadly, once a long time ago I did run one of those "you wake up in the dark" games...  


-O

You can do that sort of game, but you have to be careful and throw the pcs a couple of bones really, really early.
Lately, I've been contemplating starting a campaign with the pcs on their way to the gallows.