Roleplaying during meal time

[tkdguy]

I know other people have tried this idea before, but here are my ideas on this matter. The basic idea is to have your group roleplay a scene in a tavern or a noble's great hall while you guys are having dinner or a snack.

For food, you can buy a tray of meats and cheeses in your local deli. These trays are fairly cheap, and they have a good selection. You can also buy a loaf of bread and some fruit to add to the meal.

If you prefer not to serve alcohol during your games, just use a few substitutes. Ginger Ale can be used as beer. Grape and apple juice can fill in for red and white wine respectively. Cider is also available.

Lighting is the tricky part. You should have enough light to play the game. Candles don't light up the room enough unless you have a lot of them, and accidents do happen. I'd rather have a couple of bedside lamps instead in place of the overhead light. That will give you a dimly-lit room that still has enough light for you to see normally. A fire in the fireplace is a bit too dark; an old group tried that when the host didn't have an overhead light.

[tkdguy]

As for music, I like period music. If that's not to your liking, perhaps a sound score from a movie you like will do the trick.

[Batman]

Although this will probably get too messy, if you really want a period feel then use only the utensils God gave you. Drink soup straight out of the bowl, all food is finger food, etc. I can't recall when the use of food utensils became popular in history...but it'd be fun to eat the cheese your friends kneeded into mush with their own fingers, right?

If you want a really egalitarian feel, you could try having your food Hellenistic style [lie down on your side ontop of cushions, have food be much more "organic" such as grapes and olives, service by glamorous slave wenches, etc].

[Edsel]

This is kind of a neat idea. However, the way our group seems to want to eat we'll need to find a pizza joint or a Chinese takeout in Eosin's Fantasy Campaign. :snicker:

[rebeccared50]

I don't think we've ever done this deliberately, although it's happened once or twice where we called a meal break, but the role playing went right on through it.... even in the middle of Denny's... (the waitress thought we were soooo weird!)

[keithcurtis]

Although this will probably get too messy, if you really want a period feel then use only the utensils God gave you. Drink soup straight out of the bowl, all food is finger food, etc. I can't recall when the use of food utensils became popular in history...but it'd be fun to eat the cheese your friends kneeded into mush with their own fingers, right?

If you want a really egalitarian feel, you could try having your food Hellenistic style [lie down on your side ontop of cushions, have food be much more "organic" such as grapes and olives, service by glamorous slave wenches, etc].
Actually, the use of a knife was quite common. At least, that's what they told us in Ren Faire. I believe the fork was a French innovation.

Keith "any flatware experts out there?" Curtis

[altamaros]

I did try that once. not a very good result :
- very difficult to understand the players when they speak with their mouth full. (thanks for the GM's face!)
- character sheets in such a state that you can boil them in water to get soup.
- peanuts in my bed the next morning (it was in my student bedroom)

[Zeropoint]

I think the biggest problem would be coming up with the glamorous slave wenches.

Zeropoint

[Vondy]

http://www.camlann.org/

"Overview of Camlann Medieval Faire

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Many weekends of jousting tournaments, special craft demonstrations, traditional music, storytelling and feasting make up this summer festival. Paths through the lush, green grounds provide lovely areas for shopkeepers, herbalists and fortune-tellers. Grand pageants and tournaments take place in a large meadow, where you can shoot crossbows and learn traditional dances. Food options include Ploughman's Lunches, and the unique Bors Hede puts on a special outdoor evening feast. Merrymakers of every age are welcome, but pets are not allowed. Admission: $9 for adults, $5 for kids and seniors. The feast/festival combination pass costs $39."

I used to hang at the fair every summer, and would eat at the Bors Hede a few times a month before I started keeping kosher. They'll throw private dinner parties if your nice and book them in advance, as welll.

[Koshka]

Actually, the use of a knife was quite common. At least, that's what they told us in Ren Faire. I believe the fork was a French innovation.

Keith "any flatware experts out there?" Curtis

Not an expert, but my understanding is that knives and spoons were fairly common. I know medieval etiquette mavens felt the need to tell people not to clean their knife blades on the tablecloth.

Forks, OTOH, were a bit later in period -- at least eating-type forks, as opposed to get-the-food-out-of-the-pan forks.

[Agent 13]

Actually, the use of a knife was quite common. At least, that's what they told us in Ren Faire. I believe the fork was a French innovation.

Keith "any flatware experts out there?" Curtis The California Academy of Sciences, home of the Rietz Food Technology Collection, has a few pages on the history of eating utensils (http://www.calacademy.org/research/anthropology/utensil/index.html). It seems that innovations in eating technology came from the East.