It's a fire alarm! At a petrol station! Run away!

[Jetfire]

Ah another Schlock fan. I was reading the thread to post that comic if no one else had posted it.

Going off topic, but I played an explosives expert in an RPG once. Some of hte most fun I'd have was seeing everyone else's reactions when I'd say one word... "Oops."

[Dreamstalker]

Sounds similar to my RPG group. The most feared phrase was "but that should have worked!".

[Mikkel]

Ah another Schlock fan. I was reading the thread to post that comic if no one else had posted it.

A Schlock fan here too.

[EricKei]

The most feared phrase was "but that should have worked!".

Oor most feared one was "Time to Roll the Chaos Die" -- This only happened when a player said something really, really abusable by the GM (e.g., "Whew. I hope we don't have to go through THAT again" or "What are the chances that ____ is the REAL last boss?") that he wasn't sure whether to just implement automatically. A roll of a one on this six-sider (represented by a skull or something) meant that said "idea" would be implemented immediately and with extreme predjudice.

Which rule number was that one again...? "Never give the GM/DM ideas"...?

[bluepolokhakipants]

This reminds of when I was working at a grocery store and one night some prankster came in and set fire to some baby diapers. The store was filled with smoke and from my register I could see the flames leaping up in the aisle, but customers kept on shopping and my manager didn't even make everyone leave and get the employees out until the fire department arrived. (I quit soon after that).

Anyway, the fire department was parked outside the store with lights flashing and had fans in the doorway to get the smoke out. Customers walked around the fire engines and stepped over hoses and tried to go into the store. If I were as evil then as I am now, I would have let them.

[tigress666]

So, I hit the pump disconnect and call 911. Corporate logged 3 complaints from my store during the time that the fire truck was there and putting out the fire. These were customers that walked past the burning car at the pumps, came inside, and were upset that we would not turn the pumps back on until the fire was out.

Because the risk of blowing up is so much better than just driving somewhere else to get your gas.

[lordlundar]

Which rule number was that one again...? "Never give the GM/DM ideas"...?

Rule one in my group. Rule two was "If the GM looks at you and smiles, you're hosed."

[Raveni]

Because the risk of blowing up is so much better than just driving somewhere else to get your gas.

Right, and it was my job to call each of them back to apologize and make nice. Which I did, no problem. One of them told me that they weren't scared because they knew that there wasn't enough gas in a car to make it explode like in the movies.

But it was parked at my gas pumps which are connected to thousands of gallons of gasoline.

Which, honestly, would burn less than the car would, if the safetys and/or breakaways are working. I was really good with doing the required maintenance, but I wasn't going to take that chance!

[Lace Neil Singer]

Response from customers in the supermarket when the fire alarm is going off:

"But... but I want to finish my shopping!"

So bloody well stay here and BURN, then. Cuz I'm leaving, and I'm not hanging around to save your ungrateful arse.

Seriously, on a good day, it can take the staff in the supermarket nearly an hour to clear the place of customers. If there really was a fire, and I worked there, I'd just leave the idiots to it and leg it out the door. -.-

[Aethian]

If you don't want people to ignore fire alarms, you need to make them so they only go off if there's actually a fire.

You've never had a alarm go off in error?

[HYHYBT]

Of course. But I don't expect, once it's clear that it *is* an error, for people to treat it as if it were really a fire either.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I do believe we have a few candidates for a Darwin award astyn-dbs. And yet, fire alarms do seem to be ignored more frequently lately. Guess people just treat them like car alarms: quick glance around to make sure it isn't yours, then move along

It's that way in my neighborhood too, sorry to say. We've had EMS out here before to take my mom to the ER and not one neighbor came out to see if we needed anything - they stayed shut up in their homes.

And if they're going to ignore an ambulance right across the street from their homes, they aren't going to pay much attention to a fire alarm.

[AccountingDrone]

Oor most feared one was "Time to Roll the Chaos Die" -- This only happened when a player said something really, really abusable by the GM (e.g., "Whew. I hope we don't have to go through THAT again" or "What are the chances that ____ is the REAL last boss?") that he wasn't sure whether to just implement automatically. A roll of a one on this six-sider (represented by a skull or something) meant that said "idea" would be implemented immediately and with extreme predjudice.

Which rule number was that one again...? "Never give the GM/DM ideas"...?

I grew to hate paper and dice gaming after the last GM who was an idiot ...

When you roll natural double 20s and are a hafling, and have been for the past 3 years .... and the rules of the table state that a 20 confirmed by another 20 is an automatic kill, just because the opponent is a giant does not mean to tell the poor halfling to suck it up. I figured I just managed to sneak up behind him and slice him in the femoral artery and bleed him out.

This makes the halfling really really testy and pretty much assures you are not going to get laid by said halfling any time in the near future...and will in general when you start both begging and trying to guilt your way into getting laid causes a breakup....

don't piss off the grrl gamer. Not good for your sex life in the future.

[jackfaire]

And if they're going to ignore an ambulance right across the street from their homes, they aren't going to pay much attention to a fire alarm.

There was an ambulance that went to my neighbor across the way all of us stayed in our homes because it is difficult for them to do their jobs with all of us milling about trying to find out what is going on. Unless one of us happened to be doctor's.

However when my garage was on fire my neighbors were trying to let my family know and one neighbor, bless his heart, took our house and just spraying water at our hot to the touch garage door to try and keep the fire from spreading.

don't piss off the grrl gamer. Not good for your sex life in the future

*looks at the GM* You stupid stupid man

[lordlundar]

When you roll natural double 20s and are a hafling, and have been for the past 3 years .... and the rules of the table state that a 20 confirmed by another 20 is an automatic kill, just because the opponent is a giant does not mean to tell the poor halfling to suck it up.

Then said GM has no idea how to be one. It's the GM's job to tell the story, not dictate what the players can or can't do. There are so many ways that could have played out. He just didn't want to acknowledge them.

Heck if a game has mechanics in to allow for dwarf bowling (yes, it does, and yes, we've tried them, with a battlerager no less) then this is easy to deal with.