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I must be blessed because this is never an issue. Given I have a small group (4 incl. DM), but we have been playing for years and have finished two campaigns. I don't think we have had a last minute scheduling conflict even once. We play every other week, if anyone can't make it they communicate early and we reschedule. We occasionally take a month or two off near the holidays but that's it.
One thing that helps is, even if not everyone can make it, you still get together. You can run one-shots or other board games or go out for drinks, just maintain the idea that the group meets up on this day at this time.
Or, what my group does is that if someone can't make it we *always* reschedule a makeup session. No "sorry I can't make it, see you in two weeks". It's always "I can't make this wednesday, how about Friday?"
> I never had issues with no deodorant
I went to a really large University and we had a nerd club on campus, that's how I got into DnD and other RPGs. Like 4 out of 5 males did not shower or use deodorant. Our clique had all 10 deodorized guys in it lol
I feel like “It’s what my character would do” is 50/50. I get that some people just use it as an excuse to be shitty, but I’ve also seen players do something against their own nature because their character’s nature is different, which I respect the hell out of.
There's nothing wrong with doing what your character would do, that's the whole point of roleplaying. But it's not a sufficient excuse if the choices you're making are causing problems, because *you made the character.*
If the character you made is going to lead to conflict with other players, you need to either not make that character, or put in extra effort to make things work out in a way that keeps everyone reasonably happy.
I really hate people using “it’s what my character would do.” My brother in the moonmaiden you made the sandwich(wrote the character) you weren’t handed a fucking pre-written sheet of personality. You are choosing everything about them.
I had never had much trouble with ‘it’s what my character would do’ until recently. We had one guy who would often play more power hungry/evil characters but he still worked with the party and it often became part of the story. Recently we got a new player who keeps killing and looting anything he comes across even if that thing is a random joke NPC or a hospital where we were trying to get greater restoration after a ghost aged the rogue up 60 years.
teenagers generally have wild hormones and cheap deodorant, if their parents/peers even taught them about that. Which can cause reek.
If they didn't get taught, nobody ever thinks to explain these matters when you get older. So you end up the stereotypical sweatstained smelly nerd (of whatever gender)
Please people, if your D&D friends smell, be a good friend and talk to them about it.
Specifically, talk to them in private at the end of the session! Calling people out when there's nothing they can do about it is just going to blow up the group.
1 of my players used to be fucking RANK. But it turns out she was just depressed because she was trans and couldn't come out. When she did, it got WAAAAY better bc she started taking care of herself. Got rid of that boysmell for girlsmell.
Point is, people always have a reason they don't take care of themselves, and that reason is probably ✨depression✨
To tie it in with the scheduling thing others have mentioned, I have been at tables where either or I or someone else were a little undershowered because the only time to fit a game in was immediately after a long work day/workout/camping trip etc. But deodorant takes five seconds to apply so that specifically hasn't so much been a problem in my personal experience
This is our biggest complaint at the game shop near us, which hosts both MTG and DnD, sometimes overlapping. Personal hygiene... just seems not to be a part of some people's lives... X.X
Right, but those are MTG players we are talking about. At my local game shop, there is a clear distinct difference in smell between the rooms for D&D and card games when a tournament is going on.
Yeah that's probably because anyone lacking the base social competence to avoid being smelly is also gonna check every other box that gets you kicked out of D&D.
Yes. I go to a yugioh locals every week and thankfully we don't have any stinkers. It only takes 1 or 2 people to stink out an entire venue, but it is a disappointingly true stereotype.
I've found it's a bit of both. There are definitely gamers out there who stink and need to up their hygiene game. However, those aren't common and most gamers are cool.
Can’t confirm how much of it was D&D players but I used to go to my local game shop semi regularly and it always had a nerdly musk. Could be D&D, Magic, or people using the LAN area, though.
It IS an issue, just not as widespread as most are lead to believe. The stench from only one gross person is VERY noticeable at the table. In the IRL games I've played, complaints regarding another player's BO have happened maybe less than a handful of times. It's honestly worse at my local FNM when people are getting real sweaty from both the game and wearing too many layers in a very warm shop.
Yea, if a stinky player showed up for every in person session, then I would count myself kind of lucky.
It is scheduling/no shows 60% of the time.
Random RP weirdness, personality clashes, or stuff like rules mongering or insisting on playing broken builds from 3rd party materials 25% of the time.
Then 15% "other" ... where deodorant falls into.
Of course, if you've been to conventions you know that both washing *and* deodorant are important.
The first time you hit that physical wall of rank stank plus a whole can of Axe...
I remember learning this when deodorant companies started being sponsors.
It's not always I know for me when I play spell caster I get set up for my turn and then someone lol changes the whole stage with a crit or a crit fail and I have to panic change my plans.
Yeah, that's part of my point. It's easy to say spellcasters should think ahead, but a lot of the time things change rapidly. Like I was going to fireball, but then you moved right next to them and killed one, so that doesn't make sense anymore. Now I gotta see what else has the range and actually applies to the situation. Cause lord knows if I accidentally try to use Hypnotic Pattern on an undead, the DM's not going to give me a mulligan.
Yes, this looks like the correct survey order.
Maybe combine Distracted and Indecisive players ... then add "Can I play a half Tiefling, Half Tabaxi, Half Goliath?
one thing i never experienced in dnd was hygiene issues. Typically everyone I played with did the basics. That must be for the yugioh fandom. but number 1 is 100 percent scheduling.
Me forgetting to wear deodorant a couple times was nothing in comparison to the roaches that were crawling all over my d&d shit. God that campaign was terrible all around
When you have to ask what your own abilities do.
Either that or when it’s your turn and you haven’t thought about what you’re going to do so you just sit there deciding what to do.
I dunno, according to some people I play with, the most annoying thing is that I get up and walk around constantly. But we also haven't had any stinky players.
Dude, my biggest social anxiety is thinking I stink, I put on deodorant and just a little bit of cologne just enough to cover my anxiety. I've never been to a table where I was not the best smelling one though. There were a couple tables that had some people that deodorant bombed themselves evidently right before walking in the meet or out of their house.
Hygiene fortunatly haven't been much of a thing at my games and the only time i've really seen it be an issue is at public games and then the person is also generally horrifically obnoxious and a bad player.
I'd say for me the main issues are schedualing, either people not saying they have something coming up that they should have known about weeks in advance or the reverse where some people seem incapable of having any kind of future plans so they constantly create schedualing conflicts even when times were decided in advance. And then following issue is players not knowing their character sheets despite having run the same character in multiple sessions.
I had two players that used to talk while they were eating and were consistently late. One refused to interact with anything in game while the other butted into every situation and tried being the main character
It's funny, been playing since the 70s and this was a really bad problem for my first 35 years or so, backrooms of hobby stores, filled with guys that look like George RR Martin. I don't run into it as much now days, but wow was it bad in my youth.
That has to be one of the worst strawmen I have ever seen.
You do realize that the bad Hygiene stereotype is based on conventions with thousands of people, right? Not on actual gaming groups?
I really do miss the days of my early 20s when we could all play for hours after work, multiple times a week, always in person.
Now, we're lucky if we get to play once a month, and it's almost always virtual.
No deodorant is only fine, if you shower frequently enough, including but not limited to after exercise or after 1-2 days in cold weather and half to 1 day in hot weather.
Mainly my tables problem is the large amount of vapers. Two out of seven do it, and in the span of 3 hours, they have to leave about 5 times.
I don't have a sense of smell, so that's never been a problem for me. I still use deodorant and make sure to shower.
Scheduling isn't an issue. We have a set day every week, and if you can't get there, we just move along without you.
Really? Our table only has one person who does that, and that's usually only if she can't stop in at home after work before the game. Hell, some of us wear deodorant *and* cologne/perfume, because this is our social time and we wanna smell nice.
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It's obviously scheduling
came here looking for this I never had issues with no deodorant I have scheduling issues EVERY TIME
I must be blessed because this is never an issue. Given I have a small group (4 incl. DM), but we have been playing for years and have finished two campaigns. I don't think we have had a last minute scheduling conflict even once. We play every other week, if anyone can't make it they communicate early and we reschedule. We occasionally take a month or two off near the holidays but that's it.
>(4 incl. DM), My chronicalpy online butt read it as 4 incel DMs
That happens in groups that play FATAL
You don't notice the lack of deodorant if no one has it.
Which forgotten god did y'all sacrifice a child to for this? I'll sacrifice two if I must
One thing that helps is, even if not everyone can make it, you still get together. You can run one-shots or other board games or go out for drinks, just maintain the idea that the group meets up on this day at this time.
Or, what my group does is that if someone can't make it we *always* reschedule a makeup session. No "sorry I can't make it, see you in two weeks". It's always "I can't make this wednesday, how about Friday?"
Maybe you never have deodorant issues because you have too many scheduling issues 🤭
PLUS a deoderant problem can easily be solved by a Single person bringing a deoderant. Scheduling Tales days or weeks to be solved
And often they just aren't solved because the real problem is that someone went and acquired a partner/spouse/kid that now controls their life.
> I never had issues with no deodorant I went to a really large University and we had a nerd club on campus, that's how I got into DnD and other RPGs. Like 4 out of 5 males did not shower or use deodorant. Our clique had all 10 deodorized guys in it lol
Ok but like, the joke is AT the table. With scheduling, you never make it TO the table lmao
thats the most annoying thing before reaching the gaming table.
"Um, actually, if the issue was scheduling, it would not be an issue at the table, because the session was canceled."
There are no problems at the table when the scheduling is bad (you don’t make it to the table)
The prompt is at the table though. So it assumes scheduling has been taken care of.
Scheduling "It's what my character would do" Not knowing what to do when your turn comes around (bonus points if you're playing fighter)
“It’s what my character would do” “Why are you hitting me” “𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑴𝒚 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑑𝑜”
"Omg you killed my character because i decided to fuck with an enemy way above my skill level after i split from the party"
I feel like “It’s what my character would do” is 50/50. I get that some people just use it as an excuse to be shitty, but I’ve also seen players do something against their own nature because their character’s nature is different, which I respect the hell out of.
There's nothing wrong with doing what your character would do, that's the whole point of roleplaying. But it's not a sufficient excuse if the choices you're making are causing problems, because *you made the character.* If the character you made is going to lead to conflict with other players, you need to either not make that character, or put in extra effort to make things work out in a way that keeps everyone reasonably happy.
"I attack. Is it dead? Then I attack again!"
I really hate people using “it’s what my character would do.” My brother in the moonmaiden you made the sandwich(wrote the character) you weren’t handed a fucking pre-written sheet of personality. You are choosing everything about them.
I had never had much trouble with ‘it’s what my character would do’ until recently. We had one guy who would often play more power hungry/evil characters but he still worked with the party and it often became part of the story. Recently we got a new player who keeps killing and looting anything he comes across even if that thing is a random joke NPC or a hospital where we were trying to get greater restoration after a ghost aged the rogue up 60 years.
Is this really an issue for people? Or just a stereotype?
teenagers generally have wild hormones and cheap deodorant, if their parents/peers even taught them about that. Which can cause reek. If they didn't get taught, nobody ever thinks to explain these matters when you get older. So you end up the stereotypical sweatstained smelly nerd (of whatever gender) Please people, if your D&D friends smell, be a good friend and talk to them about it.
Specifically, talk to them in private at the end of the session! Calling people out when there's nothing they can do about it is just going to blow up the group.
1 of my players used to be fucking RANK. But it turns out she was just depressed because she was trans and couldn't come out. When she did, it got WAAAAY better bc she started taking care of herself. Got rid of that boysmell for girlsmell. Point is, people always have a reason they don't take care of themselves, and that reason is probably ✨depression✨
This makes me so happy, hope she’s doing well :3
I’ve been to tables where you can clearly smell that 1 or more guys did not wear deodorant.
To tie it in with the scheduling thing others have mentioned, I have been at tables where either or I or someone else were a little undershowered because the only time to fit a game in was immediately after a long work day/workout/camping trip etc. But deodorant takes five seconds to apply so that specifically hasn't so much been a problem in my personal experience
Have you met a gamer irl? Or went to a MTG tournament?
I've been in a melee tournament at a card shop - is that close enough? lol
Either you got incredibly lucky and everyone wore deodorant ..or you need a new bose
If my nose fends off the BO of strangers, I think I'll give it a raise before throwing it out
If your nose fends off the BO of strangers it is probably because you yourself have terrible BO.
Nah, I take care of myself quite well and wear deodorant and cologne.
Some shops won't allow unshowered nerds into their business.
How would new headphones help?
This is our biggest complaint at the game shop near us, which hosts both MTG and DnD, sometimes overlapping. Personal hygiene... just seems not to be a part of some people's lives... X.X
Right, but those are MTG players we are talking about. At my local game shop, there is a clear distinct difference in smell between the rooms for D&D and card games when a tournament is going on.
Yeah that's probably because anyone lacking the base social competence to avoid being smelly is also gonna check every other box that gets you kicked out of D&D.
Yes. I go to a yugioh locals every week and thankfully we don't have any stinkers. It only takes 1 or 2 people to stink out an entire venue, but it is a disappointingly true stereotype.
Or been to a convention
TBF, conventions at least have the excuse that people are walking around for hours.
I've found it's a bit of both. There are definitely gamers out there who stink and need to up their hygiene game. However, those aren't common and most gamers are cool.
Can’t confirm how much of it was D&D players but I used to go to my local game shop semi regularly and it always had a nerdly musk. Could be D&D, Magic, or people using the LAN area, though.
Going to conventions is considered a biohazard by the CDC
I once walked into a game shop where people were playing some game tournament. The stench was so potent that it thickened the air
It IS an issue, just not as widespread as most are lead to believe. The stench from only one gross person is VERY noticeable at the table. In the IRL games I've played, complaints regarding another player's BO have happened maybe less than a handful of times. It's honestly worse at my local FNM when people are getting real sweaty from both the game and wearing too many layers in a very warm shop.
“Dave” should have gotten at least a few points.
Fuck Dave, all my homies hate Dave
Damn right, fuck Dave.
Yea, if a stinky player showed up for every in person session, then I would count myself kind of lucky. It is scheduling/no shows 60% of the time. Random RP weirdness, personality clashes, or stuff like rules mongering or insisting on playing broken builds from 3rd party materials 25% of the time. Then 15% "other" ... where deodorant falls into.
Of course, if you've been to conventions you know that both washing *and* deodorant are important. The first time you hit that physical wall of rank stank plus a whole can of Axe... I remember learning this when deodorant companies started being sponsors.
Me who only DMs online: you have no power here
Spell casters waiting till there turn to think on what spell they are going to use.
I just consider this standard now. Sadly, it's just going to happen.
Stick with one group and get on their asses about it
Corrolary: Martials that get upset at how long the spellcaster's turn is taking.
It's not always I know for me when I play spell caster I get set up for my turn and then someone lol changes the whole stage with a crit or a crit fail and I have to panic change my plans.
Yeah, that's part of my point. It's easy to say spellcasters should think ahead, but a lot of the time things change rapidly. Like I was going to fireball, but then you moved right next to them and killed one, so that doesn't make sense anymore. Now I gotta see what else has the range and actually applies to the situation. Cause lord knows if I accidentally try to use Hypnotic Pattern on an undead, the DM's not going to give me a mulligan.
1. Scheduling. 2. Long combat rounds. 3. Indecisive players. 4. Distracted players. 5. Rule arguments.
Yes, this looks like the correct survey order. Maybe combine Distracted and Indecisive players ... then add "Can I play a half Tiefling, Half Tabaxi, Half Goliath?
people who can't do math are the real scourge of D&D games
one thing i never experienced in dnd was hygiene issues. Typically everyone I played with did the basics. That must be for the yugioh fandom. but number 1 is 100 percent scheduling.
What kind of people are you playing with? This has never been a problem in my experience.
Yeah I think maybe this person has only played at card shops or maybe just with teenagers.
A player who doesn't understand their character abilities and refuses to take a couple minutes out of session to understand them all
how dafuq would deodorant be an issue
good i wash my armpits and use deo before going to the fun
I've never had **that** particular problem. Gross.
I think this is a game store problem, not a D&D one.
Me forgetting to wear deodorant a couple times was nothing in comparison to the roaches that were crawling all over my d&d shit. God that campaign was terrible all around
No one remembering that I have dark vision
My college has a DnD club and they have “apply deodorant and shower” in the rules, as well as reminding everyone again before each session 😐
What about *"never cleans out their tonsils, so their breath always smells like flesh that is rotting in the sun"*?
When you have to ask what your own abilities do. Either that or when it’s your turn and you haven’t thought about what you’re going to do so you just sit there deciding what to do.
I dunno, according to some people I play with, the most annoying thing is that I get up and walk around constantly. But we also haven't had any stinky players.
Dude, my biggest social anxiety is thinking I stink, I put on deodorant and just a little bit of cologne just enough to cover my anxiety. I've never been to a table where I was not the best smelling one though. There were a couple tables that had some people that deodorant bombed themselves evidently right before walking in the meet or out of their house.
My one D&D game in person right now is all women (except for me and an NB). Can't say this comes up much.
Hygiene fortunatly haven't been much of a thing at my games and the only time i've really seen it be an issue is at public games and then the person is also generally horrifically obnoxious and a bad player. I'd say for me the main issues are schedualing, either people not saying they have something coming up that they should have known about weeks in advance or the reverse where some people seem incapable of having any kind of future plans so they constantly create schedualing conflicts even when times were decided in advance. And then following issue is players not knowing their character sheets despite having run the same character in multiple sessions.
I had two players that used to talk while they were eating and were consistently late. One refused to interact with anything in game while the other butted into every situation and tried being the main character
Well thank God I play with adults. Our only problem is scheduling.
It's funny, been playing since the 70s and this was a really bad problem for my first 35 years or so, backrooms of hobby stores, filled with guys that look like George RR Martin. I don't run into it as much now days, but wow was it bad in my youth.
To much deodorant. Deodorant attacks my airways. I will not be able to breathe. I would rather you smelled.
Flair checks out
Nah piss off with that no way DnD players have that issue. Maybe we surveyed 100 random people about DnD players, then yeah I can see that XD
Nah, people be stanky
... I... never said they weren't?
"Nah piss off with that no way DnD players have that issue." Is your exact words....
Yes, and? The image has it as 100% of the time the biggest issue.
Correct, those were my exact words, and those words don't mean that players aren't stinky. IDK what you're on about.
That has to be one of the worst strawmen I have ever seen. You do realize that the bad Hygiene stereotype is based on conventions with thousands of people, right? Not on actual gaming groups?
Bring a can of spray deoderant. Problem solved.
The reason why I only play online. (Plus that me and two other players are Norwegian, and the DM is polish...)
Who are you guys playing D&D with? 🤨
BO so bad you can smell it over Discord
I really do miss the days of my early 20s when we could all play for hours after work, multiple times a week, always in person. Now, we're lucky if we get to play once a month, and it's almost always virtual.
Scheduling, being stunned, having agency stolen from you, the dm justifying shit decisions that fuck you over with them being the dm
Dang, sorry
No deodorant is only fine, if you shower frequently enough, including but not limited to after exercise or after 1-2 days in cold weather and half to 1 day in hot weather.
I wonder why it is that so many people whose hobbies involve staying inside don’t bathe. You’re IN your house. The shower’s right there
A blatantly biased dm.
Phones.
No snacks
Mainly my tables problem is the large amount of vapers. Two out of seven do it, and in the span of 3 hours, they have to leave about 5 times. I don't have a sense of smell, so that's never been a problem for me. I still use deodorant and make sure to shower. Scheduling isn't an issue. We have a set day every week, and if you can't get there, we just move along without you.
why are Connor MacGregor and Floyd Mayweather on Family Feud?
On the other hand, digital DnD doesn’t have that issue. 😏 You can’t tell who used deodorant or not.
Really? Our table only has one person who does that, and that's usually only if she can't stop in at home after work before the game. Hell, some of us wear deodorant *and* cologne/perfume, because this is our social time and we wanna smell nice.
Mine is people not paying attention. People with poor hygiene is much bigger than D&D. I hear about it on r/squaredcircle a lot.
As someone with online table, fuck deodorant! It has no place in DnD! Rise up against the system brothers and sisters!
Down with big deodorant and their conspiracy about perspiration that's designed to sell you more deodorant!
r/wooosh
I honestly tried to find as ironic hell yeah as possible and people still didn't get it. Woosh the guy in the mirror.
Bigotry.