When I GM, I nearly always shave before the game — just as if I was going to work that day.
I’ve found this to be helpful, as it puts me in the right mindset: I want to bring my A game, pull off a polished performance and present the evening’s session well. I have no idea if shaving sends that signal to my players, but it certainly sends it to my brain.
(When I play, I usually don’t shave. It’s the weekend for a reason, right? I tend to be more relaxed as a player, and this ties into that, but not shaving doesn’t mean I can’t bring my A game — somehow, it’s different than when I GM.)
Apologies for the flat-out guy-centric tip, but it seemed useful enough to share. Is there a corresponding grooming chore for women that has a similar impact?
Our game night is on Sunday nights, and I typically shower and shave on Sunday’s either in the morning before Church (If I am lectoring), or I get a shower and shave in an hour before the game starts.
I also find it helpful to have shaved. I feel refreshed, clean, and focused to sit and either GM or as a player.
On the nights when I GM, I like that quiet time while getting ready to go over my session notes in my head.
Glad to hear I am not the only one doing this.
This makes sense; I’ll have to try it.
In the same vein, I don’t do the following things before a game: over or undersleep, use too little or too much caffeine, starve or gorge myself. I also shower before a game, and try to avoid too much sugar before and during a game (sugar rush/crash – ugh).
Telas
I don’t need to shave, heh heh, and my legs are not always visible. but generally I do make sure I’m feeling good about myself, and a shower and maybe some make-up might be involved. We game on Monday nights at a local game store, so there is the “out-in-public” factor. I hate DMing when I’m tired, that sucks, so I try to get enough rest.
Interestingly, most of my group is bearded, so not much shaving occurs on anyone’s part.
I can appreciate the idea of wanting to look one’s best to GM, and I do spiff up when I’m running a con game, but for our weekly games I really don’t do anything special.
I wonder if a factor could be that our games are more relaxed than most: 5-7 guys lounging around on some couches making up an exciting story together–no GM screen, no real table, minimal dice rolling, no props. I GM mostly from my head, but have some notes (and maybe a rulebook) somewhere nearby to glance at if I really need to.
If I was at the head of a big table with a screen and props, with most of the responsibility for holding the story together, I can definitely see the importance of presenting a polished presence, however.
I don’t shave before a game. I work at a company wear t-shirts and jeans is acceptable attire for most roles, and I don’t have to face clients anymore so I like being able to go without shaving nowadays. I shower everyday regardless if it is game day or not. And if I do something like workout and need an additional shower I take it. So in terms of grooming myself I don’t do anything special for game day.
What I do do is make sure the gaming area is clean, organized, and ready to go. That is what puts me into right state of midn for running a game.
I figured the shower was a given, but it’s fun to hear what other grooming rituals everyone has before games.
I picked shaving because I usually don’t do it on the weekends, but apart from different clothes (shorts/jeans + T-shirt vs. button-down and slacks) I still do all the stuff I normally do on gaming days.
I hadn’t considered the (many!) bearded GMs at all. I guess there’s no comparable ritual there. 😉
It is actually in our (my group’s) “social contract” that we be presentable to each other during games.
I do my best to destroy any of the cliches of the gamer geek – so no stinky arm pits, dirty sweats or bad breath. I make a pack of gum avaialble and will make a player (all my friends) go home if they stink. Only had to do this once in 7 years.
This is just common hygiene though.
My game day ritual (Sunday afternoons) is a shower and a good breakfast. One of my players is a vegetarian so we will have fruit and veggies available along side the normal junk food and snacks. I have to shave 3 times a week for work already – so no shaving on weekends dangit!!
Yeah, shower, clean shirt and pants, socks and shoes or flip flops – depends on weather.
I go straight to my game Monday after work. Already shaved and showered. I generally remove the tie before I start GMing though.
I run a Saturday game once a month, though I’m not particularly fond of stubble, so I shave whether I’m gaming or not.
I’m always clean. Shaving is something I detest, however–only slightly more than growing a beard. On game days, I’m *relaxed*. Old t-shirt, no shaving, shorts if it’s remotely warm out, no shoes. That sets the attitude for me that this is fun time for everyone. Same principle, totally different method. 🙂
I worked at a job for many years that required suit and tie. Several in the group did or still do. We tend to associate fun with not dressed up.
Fort he most part, unless I’m doing heavy labor I don’t do much hygene stuff on the weekends. It’s not a bad idea though. It would definately make me feel more “on it” to DM while propery groomed, and as much as most of us detest the effort of cleaning up and dressig nice there’s a certain amount of fun to looking nice.
I do remember in recent history, for an intro to a Shadowrun game I had plans to get a haircut, shave completely (usually I have some facial hair it grows too fast to keep it in line) put on a full suit and a power tie, walk in, hand each player a dossier, sit down and say “Hello. My name is Mister Johnson (using the Agent Smith voice from the Matrix) (Mr. Johnson is Shadowrun terminology for an anonymous client). I’m here because my company has need of some …discrete services… Why don’t we see what they’ve given me to work with, shall we? Then run the entire character creation session as “Mister Johnson”.
Of course it never happened because my players are goobs and can’t listen to the simplest of instructions (and apparently can’t read) but it would’ve been ultra-cool.
Rick’s post is a good example of why this kind of stuff not only doesn’t help me, but could be counter-productive. If I tried the suit thing, I’d say something in a bad accent, and totally distract from what the players were imagining. It’s the same way some people don’t want to use realistic looking miniatures, because certain players focus on that instead of what is in their heads. With me in my weekend attire, I’m ready to go and not distracting the players at all from the imagined events.