Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jarvis_Darian 01-30-05, 10:06 AM	When we get together to play dnd i always seems to happen that his girlfriend calls. When this happens he talks to her for atleast an hour. Its hard to get anything done with him talking all the time. What should i do? :confused:
Callista 01-30-05, 10:39 AM	House rules: Cell phones must be turned off at the gaming table. If the DM won't add this rule, have a talk with your fellow player--ask him to turn off his phone at the table, since you need him in the game with you. If he's too henpecked to turn it off... well, I pity him. :rolleyes:
HomebrewedMonster 01-30-05, 11:00 AM	Yup, turn cell off or have her call an hour earlier.
Draco Strang 01-30-05, 12:26 PM	I'll say it again.....have the phone turned off. You guys are fully within your rights to ask him to devote his attention to the game at hand. After all, if it were a game of football, would your center just pull out his phone, and say "Yea guys, play this one without me"?
Ropeltaja 01-30-05, 12:33 PM	Ask if his GF would like to join your dnd group.
Board_Rider 01-30-05, 01:10 PM	Get yourself a woman. Go get something to eat. Drink.....booze or otherwise. Play a video game. Read a D&D book. Brush up on the rules. EDIT: Real Life stuff takes precedence over the D&D game. Why have him get into an argument with his girl over a game?
G-man 01-30-05, 01:13 PM	Obviously, real-life concerns have to take precedence over a game of fantasy role-playing, so important calls should be taken (IMHO). However, nonsense calls that can be made at another more convenient time really shouldn't be allowed to interfere with the game session. Talk to him about it, explain that he's ruining everyone else's fun, and try to offer some alternatives. For example, you could tell him that whenever he takes a call his character will automatically be controlled by the DM or another player until he's finished. That way the game continues, he gets to talk to his gf, and everybody wins. Is there a house rule in effect for those times when a player can't make a gaming session? If so, abide by that rule whenever a player is away from the table for an extended period of time. In my gaming group, the DM takes control of the character if a player can't make it, and he plays the character in a support role, not placing it in too much risk. As a consequence, the character's XP suffers, but the game can go on. The bottom line in all of this is that he'll most likely continue to take advantage of the situation until the rest of the group does something about it... Give him options, not an ultimatum, and things should work out just fine. I remain, G-man
Thoronmir 01-31-05, 10:08 AM	I agree that real life matters trump fantasy matters. Guess what? I’ve committed my real life time to play, and so has everyone else in the group. Emergency calls or brief conversations are fine (it seems that the wife of one of our players always has to call to remind him to pick up “whatever” at the store on his way home). But we would not tolerate a one-hour disruption in the game for run-of-the-mill cooing with your honey. The player who keeps taking the calls from his girlfriend needs to make a choice. Spend the time with his D&D group or spend it with his girlfriend. When he tries to do both, someone’s getting cheated. Chances are it’s his friends. In my experience, the game suffers when neglected by one of the players. Better he leave the group and the rest learn to compensate for his absence. I’ve never been a fan of “zombie” PCs being “run” by DMs, lacking any depth or actual participation. As for those who say “Get a life,” my problem is that I have too much of a life. I have a (more than) full time job; I have my own girlfriend to keep happy; I have varied interests beyond D&D; I have many demands on my time. So, when I set aside a block of time to play D&D, I make sure none of those other distractions intrude. For those who wonder where to draw the line, just relate D&D to any other hobby you enjoy that requires the involvement of other people. Personally, I like to sail. If I invited some friends to crew on my boat for a regatta, I’d be pizzed if one of them took an hour in the middle of the race to whisper sweet nothings to his girlfriend. A hobby is a hobby is a hobby. While I don’t take my hobbies too seriously (just ask anyone who’s seen my golf swing), I take the time I set aside for my hobbies very seriously. The problem is that different people value their time differently. While many of you may agree with me, there are at least an equal number who wouldn’t even notice the disruption of your D&D games. While I’d be gritting my teeth ten minutes into the player’s cellular liaison, many of you wouldn’t care one whit. Neither of us is wrong. We just value our time differently … and that assessment is always subjective. So, my solution if I found myself among players who don’t value each other’s time would be to find a new group.
TheUnknownZombie 01-31-05, 10:33 AM	Screw house rules, I think it's rude for someone to take an hour-long call when they're with friends. We keep our mobiles on during games because we all have families, friends, and jobs that might have emergencies, but if they're not urgent they are all finished in a minute or so with the simple "Sorry, I'm with some friends and they're waiting for me." No need to be rude to either party, but the people in your presence who have made an effort to get together in the same place at the same time deserve your attention more than someone who phones up for a chat. My girlfriend knows not to call me during a game and understands if I end a call because of it, similarly I would never knowingly dare to call her whilst an episode of CSI is on the TV... I think it's important to note that whilst we are constantly reminded by partners that life exists outside of D&D, they must be reminded that our existance doesn't revolve around them. We have friends, family, hobbies and jobs, all of which need our attention - as do they. Perhaps if we all understood this, then life would run just that little bit smoother. Good bye, and take care.
Thorak 01-31-05, 10:56 AM	Is he the DM? If so, then oust him and start a new campaign, since he obviously isn't dedicated enough to be doing it. If not, just keep playing. His character becomes inactive and earns nothing, not magical items, not experience, while he's on the phone. The moment he whines when he gets back to the table, tell him bluntly that nobody thought it was fair to ruin everyone's fun just so he could talk to his girlfriend. Next time, if he doesn't want to miss out, he should either take care of the call beforehand, or keep it short. But there's no basis for him to keep taking hour-long phone calls and keep whining about being behind. And eventually, he'll be so far back he effectively becomes a lackey.
Nuntius128 01-31-05, 07:23 PM	Yeah, real life situations really ought to take precedence. In the past year, I've been in 4, possibly 5 small campaigns that don't last more than 4 hours, but that's because its more important to me to have an outside life(namely, a job) than it is to kill some wizards and goblins for 5 hours.
Darkwin6 01-31-05, 09:55 PM	"I love you, good night." "I love you too, good night." "You hang up." "No, you hang up." "No, you hang up." "You hang up." "Ok, I'll hang up. Good night" "Good night." ...Silence... "You didn't hang up." "No, you hang up." "You hang up." Repeat ad nauseum. WHAM!! *Dig, dig dig. If this is how his conversation goes then kick him in the nuts for me. Important Real-life situations take precedence. Chit chat does not. Tell him to call her later. If he complains make the "Whipped" sound a few times. That usually does the trick :D
VerinBlod 02-01-05, 04:46 AM	Yup important real-life situations take precedence, but otherwise calling is not allowed at our table. So cell phones are on stand-by mode. If this guy is only chit-chatting just kindly ask him to leave the game. VerinBlod