A cool place to play

February 24, 2010 2:44 PM

I have been working on and off for about 2 years building our "D&D ROOM" to hold most of our collection and give us a cool place to play...
posted by Joe Beese (61 comments total)

Wow, bring out the +2 gimp.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:46 PM on February 24, 2010 [3 favorites]

Damn that's a bad-ass DM screen. And the DM gets to control a FOG MACHINE AND SHIT??
posted by Mister_A at 2:47 PM on February 24, 2010 [5 favorites]

If I played in that dude's campaign, would he give out real gold coins when we found loot?
posted by idiopath at 2:49 PM on February 24, 2010

Echoing Blazecock, if there's not kinky sex involved the dude is doing it wrong.
posted by Mister_A at 2:50 PM on February 24, 2010

Oh yeah? Where's his custom table with the hidden play surface and player drawers??
posted by Madamina at 2:50 PM on February 24, 2010 [4 favorites]

I bet this guy can participate in one of those which edition of the manual are you referring to debates.
posted by Babblesort at 2:51 PM on February 24, 2010 [5 favorites]

That is a lot of games. The decorations I can do without but man, that is a lot of games, modules, etc.
posted by GuyZero at 2:56 PM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Why are y'all assuming this guy is having sex?
posted by This Guy at 2:56 PM on February 24, 2010

Wow, this makes my TARDIS bathroom seem like a shit hole.

(pun not intended but there's no way I'm going to delete it)

I just love people who can mix extreme love of somethign with actual follow through. I've never been able to get the balance right.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 2:57 PM on February 24, 2010 [5 favorites]

Oh yeah? Where's his custom table with the hidden play surface and player drawers??

LOL@ "Drawers of Holding"

Why does Geek Chic use drawings instead of photographs (until you dig deep into the features)?
posted by rahnefan at 2:59 PM on February 24, 2010

Debbie thought playing Dungeons and Dragons was fun...until it destroyed her friend.
posted by bstreep at 3:01 PM on February 24, 2010

That is... I mean, the swords and the... and he put in dimmers and a speaker system just for effects for adventures... WOW. I haven't played D&D since I was a kid, but I want to play D&D with this guy. That is so awesome. I love when people do stuff like this. This is YOUR life, man! Pursue what you like, who cares what people think?
posted by DecemberBoy at 3:02 PM on February 24, 2010 [13 favorites]

Is it built on a 10' grid?

I had never realized that there were obsessive D&D collectors, although it makes perfect sense in retrospect. This particular one seems to be WAY too fond of that craptacular Dungeons and Dragons movie.
posted by ecurtz at 3:03 PM on February 24, 2010

I don't see a single package of Doritos, nor a single can of Mountain Dew. Nor any CD inserts from Manowar albums to indicate the appearance of your Level 12 human barbarian.

He may have gotten the ambiance right, but where's the spirit?
posted by griphus at 3:03 PM on February 24, 2010 [4 favorites]

Jack Chick oughta see this place.
posted by AugieAugustus at 3:04 PM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Ok, I hate to be the one to snark, because this room is seriously impressive. But why go to the trouble of making such a badass room and then play on such a cramped table. It looks like it fits the DM and, what, two players?
posted by Durin's Bane at 3:06 PM on February 24, 2010 [2 favorites]

I'm not a roleplayer, but if I knew a DM who had a frigging castle full of smoke, lightning, background music and loud sound effects cued up to drop on unsuspecting adventurers whenever he felt like it... I think I'd become one.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 3:06 PM on February 24, 2010 [2 favorites]

A lot of those games looked unopened. He's not one of those collectors is he?
posted by Think_Long at 3:07 PM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

i went to a guy's house once that had a dungeon...it was kind of a totally different thing...
posted by sexyrobot at 3:10 PM on February 24, 2010 [4 favorites]

Ok, I hate to be the one to snark, because this room is seriously impressive. But why go to the trouble of making such a badass room and then play on such a cramped table. It looks like it fits the DM and, what, two players?

Don't know, but it almost seems like one of those things where he made it a little *too* nice and now he's afraid if he actually uses it it'll get messed up.
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:12 PM on February 24, 2010

My first thought was, "wow...that's pretty badass in a nerdcore sort of way. I'm a twinge jealous!"

My immediate second thought was, "Jesus Christ how utterly fucking creepy would it be to be looking at buying a house and come across that room, devoid of its contents...Yeesh!"
posted by kaseijin at 3:15 PM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Why are y'all assuming this guy is having sex?

If he's as creative outside that room as he was when he decorated? I'd hit it.
posted by misha at 3:43 PM on February 24, 2010 [6 favorites]

I guess it's the collector thing, but looking at some of the photos... Don't get me wrong, Talisman is a great game, and I loved playing it years ago, but why do you need four copies?
posted by Ghidorah at 3:46 PM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Oh yeah? Where's his custom table with the hidden play surface and player drawers??

Where's his Ulitmate Gaming Table?
posted by ActingTheGoat at 4:26 PM on February 24, 2010

I was disappointed that they went with photos instead of a detailed map on graph paper. Still, it almost makes D&D look respectable.
posted by Hylas at 4:33 PM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

My experience is that the more elaborate the D&D space, the more stilted and lifeless the campaign is. So I'm not too surprised that the actual play area is like an impractical afterthought. I could be wrong though! You don't need much table space to play older editions.

But the room and the collection are pretty amazing, if very focused on D&D/TSR.
posted by fleacircus at 4:43 PM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Think_Long: "A lot of those games looked unopened. He's not one of those collectors is he?"

I know! He has the gold box computer games just sitting unopened on a shelf. What's wrong with him?!?
posted by This Guy at 4:47 PM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

misha: "Why are y'all assuming this guy is having sex?

If he's as creative outside that room as he was when he decorated? I'd hit it."

Creative? Creepy? Obsessive? Apparently it's a thin line...
posted by This Guy at 4:49 PM on February 24, 2010

My gimp is +7.

Cut.
posted by The Whelk at 5:09 PM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

I would like to have such a room, but without spending the years of obsession in order to acquire it. It's like... I'm a fan, but I just don't have the energy. I stop caring around about the time I have to call a lumber store to order wood for shelves...

Also, the Geek Chic tables, already linked a couple of times here, are just a little more awesome in terms of usability. I'll save up for one of those instead.
posted by Scattercat at 5:17 PM on February 24, 2010

I'm tring to image a locked-room murder mystery set in this room during an an intense game. The Swords on the wall would wait unilt the final act.
posted by The Whelk at 5:18 PM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

Never underestimate the power of not getting laid in high school.
posted by gnossie at 5:22 PM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

The sex thing? Well, let us say that there are people (no gender bias) who would TOTALLY dig dude and his dungeon. Yep, I wonder if he is in SCA. But he is a true gamer and probably wants to keep his focus on the game.

Seriously, I respect people with drive and focus. That room is awesome and yeah, maybe some usability issues, potentially, but that is a grand vision.
posted by jadepearl at 5:42 PM on February 24, 2010 [2 favorites]

Hey, look, it's a gamer thread. Let's make that no sex joke again! I never get tired of that one.
posted by adamdschneider at 6:19 PM on February 24, 2010 [6 favorites]

/nerd drools/ The best I managed when I used to play/GM was to hook up speakers to my laptop to play WAV sound clips or ambient sounds... and hex paper is sooo superior to graph paper.

But yeah, it looks a little too aseptic for a real D&D cave. As for 'teh sex,' there are plenty of women gamers and this guy looks like he's not a total loser (as in, he has a job, and likely a decent one).
posted by porpoise at 6:42 PM on February 24, 2010

Pic 1, my response: FUCK YES! (In my mind, this is the room I'm in when I am the DM.)
posted by SPrintF at 6:55 PM on February 24, 2010

What's all that stuff on the bottom two shelves? They don't look like magazines...
posted by heathkit at 7:06 PM on February 24, 2010

From the link:

Weapons rack(designed/built it myself, most weapons are from 1st D&D movie)

Good lord! There was more than one?
posted by lumpenprole at 7:08 PM on February 24, 2010

OK, not a D&D nerd...but, seriously? That's a great room. Terrific organization, great shelving--what's not to love?

(Granted, I'm a sucker for built-in bookcases.)
posted by thomas j wise at 7:08 PM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

The only thing in my past that even points distantly to this kind of obsessive awesome was that I once had one DM who was a construction worker- he'd customize construction hammers to meet the balance and weight of a warhammer for demonstration.

"Feel how heavy this is? That's 1D4+1 hitpoints when it hits somebody. Think about it."

Shudder.
posted by yeloson at 7:51 PM on February 24, 2010

lumpenprole - you haven't seen "Wrath of the Dragon God?" FOR SHAME.
posted by slackdog at 7:54 PM on February 24, 2010

All but 3 of the pictures are unviewable now because of Photobucket bandwidth restrictions & I'm guessing they'll be gone pretty soon too.
posted by scalefree at 8:19 PM on February 24, 2010

I think the host server for his images failed its CON save.
posted by tim_in_oz at 12:27 AM on February 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

I used to want an RPG room, but my vision was much different. Mine was going to have big picture windows so that it would be full of light, with a mid-sized boardroom table (I had 7 players); high-backed, ergonomic office chairs; a fully-stocked bar; a video projector for visuals; and sufficient shelving for books and stuff.

This guys room is far too cramped for me. Plus, I liked to play Traveller every once in a while, and a the cheesy stained glass and monster skulls theme really wouldn't be good for that.

On the other hand, he achieved his vision, and haven't. So kudos to him!
posted by moonbiter at 3:57 AM on February 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

As somebody who is invested, to the tune of several hundred £ a month, in the process of building a Lovecraft room - I salute this gentleman.
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 5:14 AM on February 25, 2010 [2 favorites]

P.S. I enjoy sexual relations on a regular basis.
posted by Kandarp Von Bontee at 5:31 AM on February 25, 2010

Pics, or it didn't happen. (Of the room! The room!)
posted by Zed at 8:03 AM on February 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

Well yeah, you just tell the ladies it's your Lovecraft room.
posted by haveanicesummer at 8:07 AM on February 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

I recently became quite angry when on Jeopardy of all shows, they had a clue where the "question" was D&D and the "answer" was "In this game, Elves get a +2 dexterity, and the players get a -2 for social skills."

Seriously, in this day and age? On JEOPARDY we can't get no respect? Have they SEEN the CONSTANT social awkwardness on their OWN damn show? Suck it, Trebek!
posted by haveanicesummer at 8:10 AM on February 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

Inh. I suppose I should object in principle to the stereotyping, but as a former RPGer* with -2 on my social skills, I just found that funny. The Jeopardy board discussion didn't even see fit to comment on that (though I have the impression that the regulars there generally skew enough older than MeFi for most not to have grown up playing RPGs.)

* I'd be one again with more time and access to a decent campaign; I'm not somehow beyond it.
posted by Zed at 8:29 AM on February 25, 2010

Good for him, and nice work. But it's way too small. My gaming table is 4' x 8' and there have been times when we could have used an extra foot in both dimensions. This table looks roughly 3' x 4.5'.

Following on from that, the room is way too small. All stereotyping aside, some proportion of the gaming group is going to be fat. Make sure there's enough room for a fat guy or girl to sit and another fat guy or girl to walk behind without crowding the seated person or knocking anything off the bookshelves. So roughly 3' of space behind an occupied chair, or 5' margin around the table. Also the doors look way too narrow, and the ceiling is probably too low. You should have an 8' or higher ceiling; multiple people crowded in a room tend to heat it up.

Assuming equal lighting, soundproofing, and airconditioning, a big room with a big table beats the hell out of a little room with a little table no matter how impressive the decorations.

On the subject of decorations, all you need to make an awesome gaming space is (1) black sheets hung on the walls and over the ceiling; (2) and rustic, dark wood, chunky, somewhat uneven and handmade-looking, unpainted but well-lacquered furniture; (3) bar fridge, kettle, and microwave oven, none of which I saw in this guy's photos.

His gaming collection is weird, too. He's got a ton of stuff, but at least half of it appears to be duplicates. It's well-organized for sale and display or packing away, but not all easily accessible, and parts of it look like it'd be difficult to use as a working reference, ie to stand at the shelf, take a book out, look for something, realize it's not in that book, put that book away, grab another one, looks like it would be a total pain in the ass to do especially since you're elbowing someone in the head with every move you make.

Maybe he's spending too much time getting laid to actually game? :D
posted by aeschenkarnos at 8:31 AM on February 25, 2010

He's got a ton of stuff, but at least half of it appears to be duplicates.

Looks to me like the owner is trying to have a complete collection of D&D stuff. Every printing of the blue box basic set, for example. Which is kind of a noble goal; I support people's desires to collect and enjoy their collections just as collections. But if you're going to display it so prominently in your gaming space, seems to me that it should serve some practical use in actual play, or it's somewhere between pointless and just showing off. What practical play need could there be for having every printing of the blue box basic set?
posted by jiawen at 9:21 AM on February 25, 2010

if you're going to display it so prominently in your gaming space, seems to me that it should serve some practical use in actual play, or it's somewhere between pointless and just showing off

I dunno, I think it would be kind of neat to have all that there while gaming. It's like being surrounded by history. Sets a mood.
posted by adamdschneider at 9:56 AM on February 25, 2010

I had a Lovecraft room but had to change the angles around a bit after a Hound of Tindalos pooped in the corner.
posted by longbaugh at 10:22 AM on February 25, 2010 [1 favorite]

"What practical play need could there be for having every printing of the blue box basic set?"

The same practicality that has someone paying a million dollars for a comic book. Or a 100 million for a painting.

"All but 3 of the pictures are unviewable now because of Photobucket bandwidth restrictions & I'm guessing they'll be gone pretty soon too."

Anyone who wants a copy metamail me.
posted by Mitheral at 10:32 AM on February 25, 2010

The coolest rpg I ever played was Call of Cthulhu by candle and lantern light in an underground bunker at Ft Worden State park after a day of kayaking on Puget Sound.
posted by Tenuki at 10:53 AM on February 25, 2010

Who needs a huge banquet table to play D&D? That table seems like it would be fine. Maybe there's a leaf, the guy seems like the sort to think of things like that. And come on, that screen! Magnificent!
posted by Mister_A at 11:08 AM on February 25, 2010

Who needs a huge banquet table to play D&D?

Lord Grimweyrd Sayooth, who gathers around his fine banquet table a band of Elven assassins and gnomish wizards every Firesday Eve in order to play a rousing game of Doctors & Dentists.
posted by The Whelk at 11:14 AM on February 25, 2010 [3 favorites]

The same practicality that has someone paying a million dollars for a comic book. Or a 100 million for a painting.

As I said, I support people's desires to collect stuff. But if it's got such a prominent place in your gaming space, that tells me you're less interested in gaming than you are in showing off, which doesn't appeal to me.
posted by jiawen at 6:19 PM on February 25, 2010

gamers are like punks and skaters, always calling each other poseurs.
posted by Think_Long at 6:24 PM on February 25, 2010

All punks are poseurs.
posted by grubi at 8:55 AM on February 26, 2010