Spectating D&D

I was in my local game/hobby shop with my boys this past week, and I took a few minutes to watch a group of guys playing D&D in the back of the store. This store is set up with half the floor space covered by tables and chairs for all kinds of game play. I’ve seen miniature war games, card games, and board games played there as well as the ocassional role playing game.

This group of guys was playing D&D 4th edition, but really, what I noted about their play has nothing to do with the edition of the game. I’ve seen similar situations in all editions of D&D, and with many other RPGs. There were seven guys at the table — one DM, six Players — and they all looked like normal guys. But two of them . . .

Keep this in mind when playing games in a public place:

Don’t swing an “air sword” at the game table. Even the most normal-looking guy will look like a total dork when he’s swinging his invisible great sword around. Especially don’t make sword-clash sounds with your mouth when you swing. The youngest guy at the table (probably 19) did this, and God bless him, he looked so incredibly stupid doing it.

Don’t say, “huzzah!” and raise your fist like in the air like a superhero even when your character performs a cool stunt. You can say, “Yeah!” and pump your fist; you can do a number of shouts and gestures to get across your excitement. But no normal person says “huzzah!” in public, and no normal person poses with their fist in the air like they were about to fly up. One of the older guys at the table did this, and God bless him, he might as well have screamed, “I’m a dork!”

For full disclosure: I have done both of the above gestures and sounds when playing a game. But, I game in the privacy of a home, not in a public venue, even a game store, where “the norms” can witness my dorkitude.

Remember, when you game in public, you’re representing all gamers. Try not to look like a dork. Please?

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com