Results 31 to 60 of 69
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2019-03-14, 05:44 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2018
- Location
- Space Australia
- Gender
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
Round tables > Square tables > Long tables
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2019-03-14, 05:45 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2008
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
I would really like to see a game made by Obryn, Kurald Galain, and Knaight from these forums.
I'm not joking one bit. I would buy the hell out of that. -- ChubbyRain
Current Design Project: Legacy, a game of masters and apprentices for two players and a GM.
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2019-03-14, 08:06 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2010
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2019-03-15, 10:16 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2018
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
OI YOU! Join this one Discord where people talk 3.5 stuff! Also chicken infested related things! It’s pretty rad! https://discord.gg/6HmgXhUZ
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2019-03-15, 01:11 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Mar 2019
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
Because the GM fulfils the same narrative role in the game as the vampire who invites the unfortunates into his castle, or the king who commands the execution of his courtiers; and thus must sit at the end of the table, as they do.
Possibly because it's easier to keep GM notes hidden when players aren't sat directly to either side of you (and are thus pretty much forced to look over your shoulder when they glance at you).
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2019-03-15, 02:58 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2010
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
I feel like unless you have vision issues so you use REALLY BIG FONTS, the players would have to be doing it on purpose in order to get real info.
Also, if you are on a long table and you have people to either side of you, that means the side fits 3 people. If that's the case, a standard group shouldn't actually need to use those seats next to you, as 3 across from you and 2 on each end is 5 players. If you're actually running a live game for 7 players, that's a problem on its own (though I've don it with way more). However, in that case, being at one end of a table that long is an even further issue, as you're really far away from the people at the other end.Last edited by Hackulator; 2019-03-15 at 02:59 PM.
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2019-03-15, 03:47 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Feb 2014
- Location
- Denmark
- Gender
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2019-03-15, 07:17 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2017
- Location
- las vegas
- Gender
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2019-03-15, 11:47 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2014
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
I'm now tempted to try running games at a kidney table. I wonder if we have one in storage at school somewhere...
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2019-03-16, 03:28 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2010
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
I tend to take the head of a table when GM'ing on the basis that it's traditionally a position of respect and authority. People tend to listen a bit better to me when I sit there as opposed to sitting alongside them. Players are as far from you either way.
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2019-03-16, 04:23 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2013
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
If you need a lot of width in your private DM space, then a kidney table would have you take up roughly half the seating area but would allow the players near the "ends" to have better access to the table than if it was a long rectangular table. You might even take up less than half of the seating area that way.
Please try it out and then report back (if this thread is still here).Last edited by OldTrees1; 2019-03-16 at 04:24 AM.
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2019-03-16, 09:10 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2010
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2019-03-16, 11:02 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2011
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2019-03-16, 01:24 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2010
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
I'm a quiet person living in a state where everyone speaks loud and tend to talk over each-other. Sitting in that position has lead to people speaking over me less.
That's assuming the table is always full of players, or all players sit on one side.
Assuming you have players sit opposite you, four players facing you, furthest player is two seats away. If you sit at the head, then two players a side going down the table, furthest player is again two seats from you.
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2019-03-16, 02:08 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2018
- Location
- TARDIS repair, Gallifrey
- Gender
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
For various reasons, I like sitting at the head of the table. I will admit that it makes interacting with minis on the board in front of me is more difficult, but I solve that by simply standing up and carrying the monster manual/relevant book/my notes/nothing with me during combat. The reason that I like the head of the table is that I typically play with squirrelier players, and being at the front of the table helps me to get and maintain their attention.
If I had the opportunity, I would happily play at a round table, but for now it's much easier for me to use normal rectangular folding tables, and I like sitting at the head of such to keep my player's attention and interest that much more easily.See that cool Teifling? Thanks, potatopeelerkin! If you want something like it, they have more avatars up for adoption in the thread with the same name...
Hey, I have an extended signature now!
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2019-03-16, 03:02 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jul 2013
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
Assuming the table's narrow dimension is 1 person wide:
If you are sitting at the end with 2 people on either side, then the distance from you the furthest player is 0.5 people to the left and 1.5 people forward. (0.5^2+1.5^2)^0.5 by pythagoras due to people's heads being in the middle of their place.
If you are sitting across from 4 people, then the distance from you to the furthest player is 1.5 people to the left and 1 person forward. (1.0^2+1.5^2)^0.5 by pythagoras. This distance is larger because you have increased the short orthogonal distance without decreasing the long orthogonal distance. This pattern continues for 2N people.
So the players' ears are closer to your mouth if you are at the end vs if you take up a full side of the table.
But what if you don't take up the full side? What if there are 6 players and you take up the room of 2 players. So on the side you have people next to you at a discreet distance and 4 people across from you.
At the end: (0.5^2+2.5^2)^0.5 = 6.5^0.5
At the side: (1.0^2+1.5^2)^0.5 = 3.25^0.5
Suddenly you have decreased the distance from your mouth to the furthest ears by 30%.
Summary: If you are only optimizing for distance to ears, and your table's narrowest dimension is 1 person wide, then the rankings go:
1st) Sharing the long side
2nd) Being at the end
3rd) Monopolizing the long side
But people don't just care about distances from mouths to ears. So what works best for each group depends on all the considerations and how much priority the group gives each consideration. (I still prefer Round tables myself)Last edited by OldTrees1; 2019-03-16 at 03:03 PM.
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2019-03-16, 04:29 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Aug 2008
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
Distance is a terrible metric here - there's a directionality to speaking, which is why someone six feet in front of you hears you better than someone three feet behind you. There's even more of a directionality to vision, and supplementing hearing with also seeing how mouths move is pretty ordinary.
I would really like to see a game made by Obryn, Kurald Galain, and Knaight from these forums.
I'm not joking one bit. I would buy the hell out of that. -- ChubbyRain
Current Design Project: Legacy, a game of masters and apprentices for two players and a GM.
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2019-03-17, 06:47 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2010
- Location
- Dallas, TX
- Gender
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
So nobody is sitting beside me able to see my notes.
[I keep a table with the minis I plan to use half-hidden on a table behind me. I once caught a player looking at it to see what was coming up. The next session (at 2nd level), I had a large red dragon prominently displayed at the front of the table.]
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2019-03-17, 07:00 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2014
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
Reading this thread, I'm wondering whether a Lazy Susan with a battlemat would be useful?
Spoiler: Collectible nice thingsMy incarnate/crusader. A self-healing crowd-control melee build (ECL 8).
My Ruby Knight Vindicator barsader. A party-buffing melee build (ECL 14).
Doctor Despair's and my all-natural approach to necromancy.
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2019-03-17, 10:33 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Dec 2007
- Location
- Dallas
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
I am amused because after participating in this thread, yesterday the DM of the new game we just started yesterday chose the middle of long side of the table to run the game from. I've never seen that before. Never really even heard of it before until now. :) And I don't think it changed anything; didn't work better or worse. Whatever advantages/disadvantages people CLAIM either way, I think it's strictly a personal preference, nothing more or less.
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2019-03-18, 03:32 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jan 2009
- Gender
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
The GM should sit on the lap of the highest-level PC.
...
What?
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2019-03-18, 11:47 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- May 2018
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
OI YOU! Join this one Discord where people talk 3.5 stuff! Also chicken infested related things! It’s pretty rad! https://discord.gg/6HmgXhUZ
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2019-03-18, 11:56 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2010
- Location
- Beyond the Ninth Wave
- Gender
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
If and when people think that the DM should sit at the head of the table, I suspect it is because the head of the table has cultural and visual significance, clearly differentiating them from the players by virtue of setup. (It's also somewhat harder to flip a table from the end, or at least requires an ounce more thought.)
Should people think that? Maybe. Play groups will vary. What works for you may not work for others, and vice versa.Originally Posted by KKL
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2019-03-18, 01:27 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2010
- Location
- Dallas, TX
- Gender
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2019-03-18, 01:51 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
- Location
- Behind Blue Eyes
- Gender
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
An interesting and highly impractical anecdote: One of my DMs sets up in a large room, with a full square of 6-foot (maybe 8-foot? tables. He takes one, the players get the others. He has 2 or 3 screens he sets up in a big arc. I dislike being that far away from him, but eh I'm not gonna argue, at the first session he had way too many players. Maybe this next one it'll be a smaller setup.
If you need me for anything, or I forgot about something, PM me and I'll see it.
Undead- er, undying gratitude to linklele for the avatar.
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2019-03-18, 02:07 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2010
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2019-03-19, 08:47 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2010
- Location
- Dallas, TX
- Gender
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
I've done both. When I had a sidewall next to me to tape my party notes to, I sat in the middle of the table with my encounter notes in my lap.
My main concern is that I don't want it easy for a player to see my encounter notes. I don't expect most of them to give into that temptation, but the temptation is irksome. Why put them in that uncomfortable position?
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2019-03-19, 09:08 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
- Location
- Behind Blue Eyes
- Gender
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
If you need me for anything, or I forgot about something, PM me and I'll see it.
Undead- er, undying gratitude to linklele for the avatar.
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2019-03-19, 09:27 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Oct 2010
- Location
- Dallas, TX
- Gender
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
Any good poker player knows that one way to protect yourself from your own tells is to occasionally provide false ones. You can occasionally bring up the page of a creature who can turn invisible when there are no monsters around. Or set up a vampire page when a couple of harmless bats are about to fly by.
More fun, if you have time, is to program the computer to show a false name. If you know what monsters are coming, and you have time the day before, make your own pages with the correct stats, but the wrong picture and name. This is particularly effective if you use a shapechanger, and they are assuming that the troll in front of them is really a changeling.
I once had a player who would look at the minis I had set up behind a screen for the session. I cured that by putting a large red dragon in front of them. Nobody pays any attention to the gnolls lined up behind the red dragon.
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2019-03-19, 11:03 AM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2015
Re: Why do people think the GM should sit at the head of the table?
GM's sit? I stand and roam around.
Coffee is a hell of a drug.