How many other GM's out there have done this?

Your in the middle of a game providing a critical description of something and you just kind of slowly trail off and forget what your saying and the game grinds to a halt. Your players look at you expectantly then at each other then back to you for like 5 minutes before you keep going.

One word: caffeine. Nourishing, life-giving caffeine. It's quite effective in preventing that scenario. And yes, I do speak from experience.

(Of course, you could try to prepare a little in advance and get adequate sleep, but where's the fun in that?)

Cheers,

- V.

Considering what's in that thread you posted in the main RT forum, ieatdeadpeople, I don't think a lack of sleep is the problem!

Vandegraffe said:

Agreed!

Caffeine, plenty of notes to refer to, and either audio/musical or scent cues to keep you on track. Much easier to remember stuff if you've done your prep-work and had the same scent in your nostrils then and at a session.

Also- plenty of fast burning carbs in the run-up to/during a session should help keep you awake (and it's an excuse to have a bag of GM-only sweets).

Yes, but in my case it was so bad I was starting to repeat myself. My players told me to go sit down and arranged a driver for me - I was badly sleep deprived and my grandmother had died that week, so I wasn't at my best.

It's not always possible, but making sure you've had sleep and food prior to a game and not letting it run on too long are good ideas. If I'm tired enough that I'm flailing beyond recovery, I usually call a halt to a session. Until then, I run on tea and the murder of (N)PCs.

Are you drifting off because your tired or because you lost the thread of the plot►

Tiredness is dealt with easily enough by grabbing an early night the night before the gamesession, a few fortifying caffine drinks and a decent meal. My body is usually held together at the moment with a delicate balance of sugar, caffine and ibuprofen but sleep and good food are essential to keeping you able to function. I usually have two bottles of Pepsi next to me at the table when running a game for several important reasons.

1. LID! This way you do not spill it if you knock it over (spill liquids on my books and I WILL beat you to death with my chair ).

2. Its sugar and caffine! Keeps you awake and means by the final encounter I''m a little hyperactive and eager for player deaths in a suitably brutal fashion.

3. I''m not allowed it at home (my wife does not enjoy having a 27 year old hyperactive in the house, we have enough trouble with the kids)

Another major tiredness buster (if its warm enough) is open a window and have some fresh air. Helps clear the head wonderfully.

Loosing the plot is harder to deal with but again, a problem I often have due to being immensly forgetfull. The key is your prep. Read the rules, read the adventure, make extra notes, practice an unsual rule your thinking of using or a creature you havn''t used before (all to often its after the players slay it, that you remeber the monster has regeneration or something like that). I will even write the rules into my notes so I don''t forget.

Of course any written plot goes out of the window the minute you let players near it, whenever you play (and my goodness me I am the same) you leave your common sense and intelligence at the door. Be ready to improvise and wing it, I have 3 spare star systems, 3 spare planets, 3 spare enemy starships and a bucketfull of random encounters in the file, ready to go at a moments notice.

Finally, if your flagging, the players are flagging, the table chat is getting off topic too much or all of the above, maybe just take a break, 10 mins or so, stand up, walk outside for some fresh air, maybe a cup of tea or snack, cigarette stop for those who smoke and so on. Everyone gets back to the table feeling more awake and ready to play.

Good Luck

ShadowFighter88 said:

I see. Thanks for the heads up Ale Golem.

Unknown said:

When you are at a convention you will either need sleep or Emperor-blessed coffeine, there's no way around it I'm afraid.

Ale Golem said:

I don't really understand why that thread got deleted. It was pretty funny and if some one posts something you don't like you don't have to read it…

Ale Golem said:

Heres a picture ieatdeadpeople posted followed by art which GW made and ffg has used in some of its books.

One has an attractive girl bitting a bag of weed and smiling the other some how manages to combine violence, nudity, blood, gore, sado-masachism and borderline satanic imagery.

Now I ask you Alegolem which is wildly innapropriate?

Fearandloathing said: