Food On the Table (episode 85)

On the Shoulders of Dwarves

This will be the last episode of the year 2019 as well as the last episode of the decade so it is only fitting that we will use it to talk about the most important issue of the roleplaying game: Snacks! We will be discussing off play food - meaning actual food eaten by actual players. Uri’s session usually includes full meals before the sessions, in Eran’s sessions usually have light snacks. ### What to eat? (between snacks and a meal) (01:30) You might want to decide on this ahead of time. Will you be eating a whole meal during the session or just munch on snacks? Remember: a hungry GM is a vengeful GM, so make sure that everyone knows if they should eat before the session or not. ### Messiness (02:05) Eating is often a messy affair. Adopt some basic habits that may save a lot of time: don’t deploy all the game accessories until after you eat, have paper towels handy, don’t eat greasy food while handling game accessories or character sheets. ### Plan ahead to save time (04:05) Plan ahead if you want food or not, if you want serious food or not, and when will you eat. It’s a bummer to meet up hungry and then play hungry until the food arrived. How can you plan ahead? By having someone in charge! ### Food roles! (04:30) It might be a good idea to invest some time in the beginning and talk about food (don’t show up hungry, to be ready for a meal, that food will be ordered, etc). You might want to check out our episode on [Pacing](https://dwarves.podiant.co/e/pacing-episode-10-35d6a449eb83ba/). ### Who is paying? (07:45) Starting to deal with who pays for what is another something that takes away gaming time. ### Timing (09:28) It’s very annoying to stop a session mid-way especially at an important moment for eating. So we try to eat before the session starts. Some traditions: - “First blood” - we don’t have any sweets before the first blood of the session. - Coffee break - a break around mid-session. ### Be prepared for the aftermath (12:20) The aftermath of eating can be an easy task, simply throw the pizza box into the bin or a more complicated one of clearing dishes, placing leftovers into boxes and the fridge. If its time consuming - Try to make this a group effort to save time. ### Preparing food (12:55) It’s not uncommon for someone to want to play chef and prepare food. In my party we have a very talented cook and an amateur baker, so we occasionally have very elaborated dishes or desserts (pictures can be seen in [this facebook album](https://www.facebook.com/lifshitz/media_set?set=a.10155902786683412&type=3)). ### Reminiscing: The feast (14:00) A special event, in the theme of the game but not part of the game, a good way to show the cultures of the world. It can be a one-person job, or everyone bringing a dish. ### Food as a mechanic (16:40) Using the consumption of food as part of mechanics. - Uri’s water glass system. - Extreme eating - using food as reward/punishment, have a cookie with spinach - M&Ms as mana points to encourage casting/visual representation of the character status. ### Summary (21:05) We hope that you’ll have an amazing 2020 with plenty of 20/20 rolls ### Taking the load off (22:40) Eran - starter set of war hammer RPG, and a playtest of his own system. Uri - Curse of the Crimson Throne, [food album here](https://www.facebook.com/lifshitz/media_set?set=a.10155902786683412&type=3). ----- Email us at [e-mail] with questions, topic suggestions, and comments on this episode, and check out [our Facebook group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/dwarfpodcast) [We have a Patreon page](https://www.patreon.com/dwarfcast), in case you'd like to support us in a monetary fashion. Also, most links to [DriveThruRPG are affiliate](http://drivethrurpg.com/?affiliate\_id=29668), w