The Drinking Game - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

The Drinking Game

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
bodzilla
May 02, 2009 3:43:52 My buddies and I just finished the first quest of our new game and the end "Hero RP" has left me with a few questions.

First off, during the banquet in our honor, our Gnome Shaman became drunk; stumbling, singing, grabbing things. Many people were amused by his behavior. One NPC made a comment about Gnomes being unable to "hold their liquor". Being a Gnome myself, I made a bet to defend my races honor and score me some extra walking-around cash. Table was set, beer was down, contestants were ready.

Being a Wild Soul Sorcerer I popped Elemental Shift to make myself resistant to Poison. After my DM agreed to the resistance winning the contest hands down for me, I received my end of the wager and held a hand open to accept my XP for winning, what I considered to be, a mini-skill challenge. The XP never came.

I work weird hours and this makes me behind on the rest of the group; so I am always trying to score something to help make up the difference. 50 points here and their would not kill anyone I think. Plus, the things I do are always considered creative and fun by my group and my DM. Is a little bit of reward to much to ask for going above and beyond the rules to help me make up for my crap job?

All opinions are welcome and I'm open to take any questions you may have.
#2
nightson
May 02, 2009 3:56:17 Ditch XP, it leads to situations like this.
#3
gregt_314
May 02, 2009 7:55:34 Different groups run XP different ways.

The largest problem with handing out individual XP for stuff like this is that it leads to attention-seeking behaviour. (I say this without any disparagement of the fun-sounding sequence you went through.) When one player is doing something like this, everyone else is sitting around, and if they're not inherently entertained by it, it's dead gaming time.

When people are doing things specifically on the hope of XP you're running the system against itself. If an action's not so inherently fun that you'd do it whether you got XP or not, then it's not something you want to reward, or people will do it more often.

The appropriate reward for what you did was a round of applause from the table, the respect of the NPCs, and the gold from your wagers. If that's not sufficient reward then you might want to consider why you were doing it.

On a side note, I consider it totally awesome that you defended the honour of the gnomish race by cheating.

NB: We run XP as a group total. Everyone gets XP, whether they're present or not, and no one ever has more or less than another player. In this fashion it's used not as a reward, but merely as a kind of timer to determine when players have slogged through the current level enough and are due for some new toys. That's not a right way or a wrong way to do it, it's just the way we enjoy running.
#4
bodzilla
May 03, 2009 23:51:48
Different groups run XP different ways.

The largest problem with handing out individual XP for stuff like this is that it leads to attention-seeking behaviour. (I say this without any disparagement of the fun-sounding sequence you went through.) When one player is doing something like this, everyone else is sitting around, and if they're not inherently entertained by it, it's dead gaming time.

I hate wasting time in game. Luckily, this whole event was wrapped up in just a few minutes. That being said, in regards to attention-seeking behavior, I agree that if the group catches wind to the DM being loose with XP they could use that knowledge to take an excess of time to benefit themselves and not the group. On the flip side of that, I personally reward creative thinking when I can. This maybe because some in my group aren't as willing to use their heads as others.

The appropriate reward for what you did was a round of applause from the table, the respect of the NPCs, and the gold from your wagers. If that's not sufficient reward then you might want to consider why you were doing it.

I received most of those above and my request did come after the fact. Plus, I was only trying to make up some time to not be a burden to the group.

On a side note, I consider it totally awesome that you defended the honour of the gnomish race by cheating.

I thought about that afterwards and I am somehow OK with that. It seems appropriate in retrospect. My plan was to use other Skills to help me win if the spell didn't work. (Bluff: "Didn't I start with more drinks than you?", or Thievery: Pull more pints to my side of the table when he's not looking.)
#5
gaaaaah
May 04, 2009 4:52:51 The players seeking EXP by any means reminds me of this : http://www.goblinscomic.com/d/20070120.html
#6
nowiwantmydmg
May 04, 2009 11:48:44
On a side note, I consider it totally awesome that you defended the honour of the gnomish race by cheating.

NB: We run XP as a group total. Everyone gets XP, whether they're present or not, and no one ever has more or less than another player. In this fashion it's used not as a reward, but merely as a kind of timer to determine when players have slogged through the current level enough and are due for some new toys. That's not a right way or a wrong way to do it, it's just the way we enjoy running.

This. That's how we do it, if someone isn't present, their character gets written out of the session, but receives the same XP. But then plots and the occasional item/gold piece are rewards in our games, XP as Greg mentioned so aptly is just a timing device.
#7
CCS
May 04, 2009 14:39:00 Talk to your DM....

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 bodzilla May 02, 2009 3:43:52	My buddies and I just finished the first quest of our new game and the end "Hero RP" has left me with a few questions. First off, during the banquet in our honor, our Gnome Shaman became drunk; stumbling, singing, grabbing things. Many people were amused by his behavior. One NPC made a comment about Gnomes being unable to "hold their liquor". Being a Gnome myself, I made a bet to defend my races honor and score me some extra walking-around cash. Table was set, beer was down, contestants were ready. Being a Wild Soul Sorcerer I popped Elemental Shift to make myself resistant to Poison. After my DM agreed to the resistance winning the contest hands down for me, I received my end of the wager and held a hand open to accept my XP for winning, what I considered to be, a mini-skill challenge. The XP never came. I work weird hours and this makes me behind on the rest of the group; so I am always trying to score something to help make up the difference. 50 points here and their would not kill anyone I think. Plus, the things I do are always considered creative and fun by my group and my DM. Is a little bit of reward to much to ask for going above and beyond the rules to help me make up for my crap job? All opinions are welcome and I'm open to take any questions you may have.
#2 nightson May 02, 2009 3:56:17	Ditch XP, it leads to situations like this.
#3 gregt_314 May 02, 2009 7:55:34	Different groups run XP different ways. The largest problem with handing out individual XP for stuff like this is that it leads to attention-seeking behaviour. (I say this without any disparagement of the fun-sounding sequence you went through.) When one player is doing something like this, everyone else is sitting around, and if they're not inherently entertained by it, it's dead gaming time. When people are doing things specifically on the hope of XP you're running the system against itself. If an action's not so inherently fun that you'd do it whether you got XP or not, then it's not something you want to reward, or people will do it more often. The appropriate reward for what you did was a round of applause from the table, the respect of the NPCs, and the gold from your wagers. If that's not sufficient reward then you might want to consider why you were doing it. On a side note, I consider it totally awesome that you defended the honour of the gnomish race by cheating. NB: We run XP as a group total. Everyone gets XP, whether they're present or not, and no one ever has more or less than another player. In this fashion it's used not as a reward, but merely as a kind of timer to determine when players have slogged through the current level enough and are due for some new toys. That's not a right way or a wrong way to do it, it's just the way we enjoy running.
#4 bodzilla May 03, 2009 23:51:48	Different groups run XP different ways. The largest problem with handing out individual XP for stuff like this is that it leads to attention-seeking behaviour. (I say this without any disparagement of the fun-sounding sequence you went through.) When one player is doing something like this, everyone else is sitting around, and if they're not inherently entertained by it, it's dead gaming time. I hate wasting time in game. Luckily, this whole event was wrapped up in just a few minutes. That being said, in regards to attention-seeking behavior, I agree that if the group catches wind to the DM being loose with XP they could use that knowledge to take an excess of time to benefit themselves and not the group. On the flip side of that, I personally reward creative thinking when I can. This maybe because some in my group aren't as willing to use their heads as others. The appropriate reward for what you did was a round of applause from the table, the respect of the NPCs, and the gold from your wagers. If that's not sufficient reward then you might want to consider why you were doing it. I received most of those above and my request did come after the fact. Plus, I was only trying to make up some time to not be a burden to the group. On a side note, I consider it totally awesome that you defended the honour of the gnomish race by cheating. I thought about that afterwards and I am somehow OK with that. It seems appropriate in retrospect. My plan was to use other Skills to help me win if the spell didn't work. (Bluff: "Didn't I start with more drinks than you?", or Thievery: Pull more pints to my side of the table when he's not looking.)
#5 gaaaaah May 04, 2009 4:52:51	The players seeking EXP by any means reminds me of this : http://www.goblinscomic.com/d/20070120.html
#6 nowiwantmydmg May 04, 2009 11:48:44	On a side note, I consider it totally awesome that you defended the honour of the gnomish race by cheating. NB: We run XP as a group total. Everyone gets XP, whether they're present or not, and no one ever has more or less than another player. In this fashion it's used not as a reward, but merely as a kind of timer to determine when players have slogged through the current level enough and are due for some new toys. That's not a right way or a wrong way to do it, it's just the way we enjoy running. This. That's how we do it, if someone isn't present, their character gets written out of the session, but receives the same XP. But then plots and the occasional item/gold piece are rewards in our games, XP as Greg mentioned so aptly is just a timing device.
#7 CCS May 04, 2009 14:39:00	Talk to your DM....