[PnP] Slow list, group sayings and customs

[Choinski, Burton]

Since the list has been so slow recently I thought I'd bring up the
topic of game group "customs" or "sayings".  

These are themes or quotes that tend to reoccur in your games, or even
in real life (you geek! :)  I'm just interested as to how playing P&P
has rolled over into your general gaming experience and/or life.

Some from our group...
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1) "Deceivers"
In my mid-years of running the game, as the players (who all had a copy
of the rules) became familiar with the various creatures, and as I was
trying to be more immersive, I often described the initial
identification of some creature encounter at night as  "eyes" in the
dark, usually large or small, depending on the creature size.

In one instance I rolled something harmless (a deer or something) and
described the scene.  One of the players drew on some paper a picture of
a monster with a huge mouth below two beady eyes, and a partner one
having huge eyes but sort of like a rabbit.

The term for these stuck at this point.  I occasionally throw in a
"real" deceiver at some encounters (demons and such, or some odd
creation).

To this day, if me or my friends are taking a walk at night and we see
eyes in the dark (like from some cat or raccoon), you are 100% certain
that someone will make a remark to "avoid the huge teeth of the deceiver
out there in the woods".


2) "going to hell for a brass bit a day"
In my early years of gaming P&P, when ever the players had some
hirelings I didn't put very much effort in giving the NPC's any sort of
personality, or nature...they were pretty much meat-robots that the
players just had with them, and they traveled with the players as they
romped about the lands.  "Yea, you may have been hired in Goiden, buddy,
but we're heading to marentia."   These troops were obviously used and
abused.  And they got the "better" pay of 3SC per month (i.e. 1BB per
day).

Again, to this day, if forced in real life into any sort of undesired
task, or long trek, out comes the comment of "going to hell for a brass
bit a day" or "demanding our brass bit for putting up with this".  Even
in other games we joke about the pay for hirelings at the cheap rate
(even if it's our PC's hiring on)


3) Firazi shamen
(Yea, I know it's not spelled right, but you know which culture I'm
talking about)

In our gaming universe it's a well known fact that Firazi drumming
sounds like "put 'em in the soup".


4) The "nil" zone
Every group has some way to handle non-present players in a series of
game sessions.  We had the "nil" zone.  If a player was not available
for a game, his character vanished to the zone.  This zone obviously
traveled with the other players.  If the player showed up at a later
date, the character popped out of the zone.

A few times this had game effect, such as when the players there got in
trouble.  The late player showed up and his character popped in at some
distance and was able to help the others.

To this day if something vanishes temporarily, or is temporarily
unavailable we say it's been sent to the "nil" zone.


If I can think of any others (or if my brother chimes in with ones I've
missed), I'll post more.