RPG Etiquette

Introduction:

Pretend for a minute that you have never in your life played anything other than Monopoly or Uno around the family dinner table for game night, then one day you meet someone who has heard that you like to game and has invited you over for a game night. "Okay", you think. "Cool." And you say yes. But once at their home you get an eye opener. Instead of the board and card games you are familiar with you are met by a group of about six people gathered around a table. Large books scatter the table's top along with sheets of paper with diagrams and tables you don't understand, pencils, and lots of different types of dice. Everyone is either working quietly by themselves or there is a shouting match going on between two or three of them. You look over at your new "friend" and ask what is going on. He gives you a blank stare for a moment before a light dawns on his face. He has just figured out that you are brand new to this world you have walked into. He smiles and convinces you to stay and check things out. He explains to the group that you are new and need help creating a character. Everyone immediately drops most of what they are doing and begin helping you out. You are asked a million questions by them and instructed to write down words and numbers onto the charts and graphs which you do not understand. Several hours later, you have a character named George who is a level one ogre warrior who loosely resembles the Hulk in personality and appearance. It is now 1 in the morning, and you have not even begun playing the game you had been invited over to play. Your friend looks at his watch and calls an end to things. Everyone slugs out of his house and as you leave he asks you if you had fun and if you would be interested in coming back to actually play the following week. Not knowing why, you say yes. You have just begun your journey into the world of role playing.

Why is this important?

It is always important to know the environment you are entering into. The realm of role playing is no different. There are many etiquette guidelines and rules to follow, here are a few suggestions of these.

For those hosting:

1. Sit down and set guidelines with your group regarding food and drinks. It is important for everyone to know if meals are going to be prepared and offered by the host or if each individual will be expected to fend for themself. Food allergies are also something that should be disclosed and taken into consideration ahead of time.

2. Mapping out what areas in your home are off limits to gamers. This is important to protect yourself and your property from either intentional or accidental damages.

3. Transportation should also be discussed ahead of time so that all gamers know what members of the group can carpool and/or need rides regularly.

4. Hours of play. For some gamers it is not unusual for an event to run well into the following day. However, in the event that you have participants that are in need of calling it a night earlier than others it is important for the host (especially if he/she is running the game) to help keep things on point and help that player be able to feel good about the pausing point for their part in the game. Most of the time it is just wisest to end the game altogether for the night when one player needs to leave. That way everyone stays on the same page from one event to another.

5. Funding. In some groups it is not uncommon for a group to choose to have a money pot they all contribute to regularly. These funds often go towards things like ordering out for food, gas for transportation to larger events (or even just to help those who do most of the driving every week), extra materials that might need to be updated or replaced, such replacement books, dice for new players, or paying to make copies of player sheets at a print shop. As some examples.

For the gamers:

1. Being able to provide your own supplies such as pencils, books, and dice on a regular basis is important. It is not either the host nor the game master's responsibility to constantly be the sole provider of these items for you. If they do offer these regularly they are being awesome and you should still consider getting your own at your earliest convenience so that they can share with newer players as they come in.

2. Being respectful and appreciative when a host cooks/orders out is always welcomed. It is also your responsibility to bring something to contribute as often as possible be it financially or by bringing a dish to share.

3. Be respectful of the host's home. If they have established that certain parts of their home is off limits then honor that and don't go there.

4. Gamers come in all shapes, sizes and age. So not everyone will have regular transportation. Should that be an issue for you, please make the rest of the group aware in a productive and positive manner so that you and them can start the game session on time with little to no delays due to the arrival of players.

5. Should you or another player have a schedule which prevents the game from running longer than a few hours it is good etiquette to share that up front with the group. This will go a long way to help set the rhythm of the weekly game.

6. Should the group have a established fund set up or should your group decide to start one, it is important to help establish a weekly dollar amount minimum expected by everyone. Should you decide to pitch in more that is fine, but do not develop a sense of entitlement because of it. You have made the choice to put extra in. It is as simple as that.

7. Communication is vital to keep the group on the same page. This allows for each member to stay informed on things such as when a new member is joining the game, place changes, times, any special events associated with the group, etc.

Following these tips will help everyone have a wonderful time with little stress. They are also key to possibly keeping a group close knit and becoming more than just friends. Developing this bond can make you family.