Pimpcron: Proper Gaming Etiquette
Pimpcron teaches you how to be a Fancy Dandy in Warhammer.
Good day sirs and madams. Bell of Lost Souls resident gentleman, Pimpcron, is here this week with some Do’s and Don’ts to make you the belle of the ball. Listen up you proles, I’m gonna learnt you something so get the carrot out of your ear.
Don’t Be Offensive
The number one and easiest thing to do to make you a Fancy Dandy is to be unoffensive. This really falls under the category of not being a rube in public. I don’t necessarily mean that you can’t tell jokes or be silly, but be aware of who is around you. If some new person walks into the store and is trying to join your group, you might not want to talk about that one time a burrito didn’t agree with you. As with any humor, your audience should dictate how what you joke about.
Your morning alcohol sir. Pre-gaming is key, as they say.
Certainly though, humor is not the only way to be offensive to the players around you. In our demographic, body odor can be an issue with the less-aware player. As a rule of thumb, if you ever want to leave the house, wear deodorant and/or take a shower. Ya know, adding a spritz of cologne wouldn’t kill you either. Unless you’re asthmatic, then maybe a spritz would kill you. Consult a doctor before spritzing.
Don’t Be Obnoxious
Be a person that other people want to be around. Don’t laugh, talk, and yell at a ridiculous volume as to bother other gamers. Sure, you think you are having a great time, but don’t be like those loud people in a movie theater with no regard for others. I’m certainly not saying you can’t have a good time, just be considerate.
“You’re dice ma’am, chilled and with all the 6’s showing, as you like it.”
Speaking of being considerate, don’t play music over speakers from your phone. Not only is there a very small chance that other people will enjoy your music you are blaring, but you are making it harder for them to talk as well. A game store can already be kind of loud with so many games running at the same time, the addition of music just makes people talk louder. The whole thing escalates into a loud mess. If you want to listen to music, use headphones and don’t be obnoxious.
Don’t Overstep Boundaries
It is considered bad manners on a tabletop if you grab someone else’s dice and roll them without asking. Likewise, tape measures and other instruments should be treated the same. You should always ask before borrowing any of these things unless you and your close friend already know that neither of you have an issue with it. I used to have a guy in our gaming group that was super offended if other people grabbed his dice, scatter dice, or templates during the game. If you asked him, he’d begrudgingly let you, but he wasn’t happy about it. The keen observer would notice his reaction and not ask him again. He wasn’t a jerk about it per se, that was just one of his quirks.
“I’ve oiled your tape measure and made cliff notes of the FAQ’s, sir.”
One thing that drives experienced players crazy is when another player dictates to them what they need to wound a model without being asked.
“Strength 4 to Toughness 3 is-“
“You need a 3+”
“Uh, yeah, I do.”
Take that conversation and multiply it by every single time you roll to wound a model in this game and it gets really annoying. If your opponent is new player and struggling with the wound chart, then yes, help them out. Otherwise, a player with any experience will be able to figure it out quite easily. Don’t talk for them.
How Else Can I Put This?
Be a frickin’ normal human being that is aware and respectful of other people. Don’t be a rube, don’t smell like a urinal, don’t be loud or obnoxious, and don’t go grabbing other people’s stuff. I’m not sure how else to say this. Nothing in this article should be a revelation to most of you, yet I’m most of you have still been guilty of at least one of these things. Everything in this article is basically things your parents should have taught you when rearing you. In spite of what this article may sound like, I have no animosity towards those of you who are less socially aware.
“Your slain models tray, as you requested ma’am.”
In fact, a decent part of our demographic is chronically socially unaware. But if we want new people to join our hobby, we might want to try to curb our bad habits as a community. My gaming group doesn’t exactly fall into the smelly category but boy can they can get loud, and I’ve had to ask more than one person to please turn off their music. But I guess at this point I’m just sounding like an angry old man. Ah, well. Get off my lawn.
What drives you crazy about other players?
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