D&D: The Drinking Game

(This was originally posted a year ago tomorrow on my now-defunct RMG blog, but after reading it again this morning, I believe it is worth the re-post)

My buddies and I have this weird tradition wherein we get together and randomly play a game we affectionately call D&D&D, or “Dungeons and Dragons and Drunkards.” This weekend, we’re doing it again, and we figured it would be a good idea to turn it into an actual drinking game. The goal of this game is to start playing sober, and then as the module progresses you get more and more wasted. This of course means that the module becomes more and more entertaining, and D&D becomes actually somewhat playable and (dare I say it) fun.

After discussing with some gamers on another forum, here are the rules that I’ve got worked out so far:

The Gobber Chugmeister

• If you roll a 1, you become the Gobber Chugmeister.
• Every time someone rolls a 20, the Gobber Chugmeister takes a drink
• If the Gobber Chugmeister rolls a 1, he takes 1d6 drinks.
• If the Gobber Chugmeister rolls a 20, he gives the title of Gobber Chugmeister to another player/GM of his choice.

Dice and Drinks

• You explode a die*, you have to take a drink
• Every Save you miss, take a drink
• Every Skill you fail, take a drink
• Every time you confirm a critical, your opponent drinks a number of times = the weapon’s crit multiplier.
• Every time you take damage, take a drink according to the die type: d4 = 1 drink, d6 = 2 drinks, d8 = 3 drinks, d10 = 4 drinks, d12 = 5 drinks; multiply the number of drinks times the number of dice rolled. Magic Missiles can be a cheap way to get your opponent drunk.

Cliches and Drinking

• If your character drinks, you drink
• When someone quotes Monty Python, Dead Alewives, internet memes, or other such hilarity, ALL take a drink
• If you talk about an old character, take a drink
• If you measure a spell radius, take a drink
• If you purposefully malign another PC, take a drink

Miscellaneous Drinks

• When you gain an experience level, take a shot.

Any other suggestions?

* We started using Exploding Dice in D&D games. This means that every time you roll a die that rolls its max, you reroll it and add it again.

– Nathanael Phillip Cole