1) Do find caffeine (cup, bottle, can or pill) significantly improves your ability to keep the game running full steam?

2) Do you prefer having less then, more then or the exact recommended number of players for the game system your running?

1- Nope.
2- # of players doesn't matter to me.

1) Do find caffeine (cup, bottle, can or pill) significantly improves your ability to keep the game running full steam?

2) Do you prefer having less then, more then or the exact recommended number of players for the game system your running?

1) Yes. One of these is in front of me whenever I run game. Not only does it help me function, but I find I enjoy the game more with an energy drink helping me through it.

2) It's always nice to have the exact recommended number, but I'm okay with a deviation of one or two in either direction.

As long as your not hornswoggled into drinking one of these.

1) Do find caffeine (cup, bottle, can or pill) significantly improves your ability to keep the game running full steam?

2) Do you prefer having less then, more then or the exact recommended number of players for the game system your running?

1) You have to watch your intake :) Yes, but I have a steady mild intake that I let spike when I get tired or 20 mins before the BIG encounter. (Rule is about @20 mins before the Caffeine really hits you)

2) Game mechanic wise- the game is balanced around a group of 4 players, the more you go under or over, the more you have to customize. You can do it, the value of having more than 4 players depends upon the value added by your players.

My current group is a core group of 4 players, but we have frequent guest players so it's anywhere from 4-6.

We recently had my home (at my house) convention earlier this month, so I had a group of 10 players, PLUS animal companions at the same HUGE table. It was GREAT!!! Here are the three rules I had the PC's follow for that game:

*Roll your Damage and to-hit at the same time.
*Know your action before your turn.
*Don't ask me how something works. Look it up and ask me if you need a clarification.

I ran Paizo's ROTRL #4: Fortress of the Stone Giants, starting at the fortress with the HUGE group (the core group wanted help before they took of a Fort of Giants, so they got it in extra players) I had to customize a lot of the encounters to make it challenging to such a large group, but we did fine. We finished off ROTRL #4 that day.

If you are truly intrested, you can read about he 10 man game at
http://ineednewdice.blogspot.com/ in posts back in early september. Basically, you can do anything with enough fun people!

1) Do find caffeine (cup, bottle, can or pill) significantly improves your ability to keep the game running full steam?

2) Do you prefer having less then, more then or the exact recommended number of players for the game system your running?

1) when I am tired I will have a coffee or a caffeine laced soda

2) I prefer 5 players

1) I drink a Coke sometimes.

2) I prefer having "too many" players to "too few"; inevitably some people will be unable to make it to the game.

I gave up caffiene a while ago, just last night I had some to try and stay up and wound up going to bed with a massive headache and feel like crap today, so no I don't think I'll be partaking of caffiene for a while.

I like having 4 players, I'm hearing impaired so the larger the group the more ambient noise and the less I hear. 4 players is right about the sweetspot and keeps things moving without any persons turn taking too long to roll around again.

1) Caffeine definitely helps on those tired days for me.

2) As to the number of players, apparently Im the odd man out, I like to have 2-3 players (so less then the usual recommended number).

Caffeine of course affects different people to different degrees. I'm one of those people for whom Coke or Mt Dew might as well be water, except that it tastes better. So I drink caffeinated soda by the bucket, but it doesn't have any effect on keeping things going.

I like 4-5 players. If given a choice I would prefer to have more players than the module counted on, rather than fewer. Why? See the thread on the number of parties that never seem to make it past Part 3 of Rise of the Runelords. :)

1. I am trying to give up Coke, and have mostly succeeded, I drink Tea instead.

2. 5 players is my personal preference, more than that and combat takes to long to get around the table, especially if you have one of those player who decides what they are doing on their turn (but that is another subject).

Any more when I run games, they tend to be short sessions (no more than about 3 1/2 hours). This is due to having an 11 year old in the game, which is played on Sunday evenings, who has school the next day. So no, I don't typically need an energy boost of any kind.
Now as a player.... Typically my DM, who plays in my Sunday night games, runs a game that lasts about 8 to 9 hours (or 6 if we start late) into the wee hours of the morning. I usually need a boost to keep going then, as we don't normally finish until 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning.
Truthfully, I haven't run a game that has gone for more than 5 hours for a long time. I don't have the chops to do it regularly anymore. Because of that, I usually don't feel the slump, and don't feel the need to reboot with some form of caffeine. That said. I plan on running "The Skinsaw Murders" for Halloween this year, and as I'm sure that game will go into the wee hours of the morning, I'll probably have some Mt. Dew on hand for it.

As to my preferred number of players: well, 4 is my preferred number. I will run a game with 3-6 players, but no more or no less than that. My current game (and most games in the past actually) has 5 players. That's not a bad number, though I do prefer 4.

1) Beer, if the game is combat heavy. Wine if I'm running something that is mostly RP and interaction.

2) Normally one-on-one, so I tailor stuff to have a plausible reason not to kill _the_ character. More characters is fine, but I don't like to go above 6 - it becomes a pain to keep track.

1) 2 cups of coffee at the beginning of the session.

2) I prefer groups from 3 to 6 players. I always adapt the adventures to the number of players in my group.

1.) No more than two a night. I find food helps me stay the course better.
2.) I do best with three to four players, definitely no more than six.

1)I drink a few cans of Mt. Dew over the course of the session.

2)In 3.x I usually have six players with no modifications to the adventure. I figure with level dependent xp the levels and CR's will balance themselves out.

In 4e I still usually have 6, but I modify the xp budget if there are any deviations. Either way, 7 players is too many, and I won't run with fewer than 4 (I let the dice fall where they may and too few characters increases the odds of death too much).

Side note: I didn't understand the references to Mountain Dew until I looked it up. You see I live in Canada and all Mtn Dew is caffeine free here (Health Canada prohibits caffeine in non-cola soft drinks).

1- Nope.

2- # of players doesn't matter to me.

Dude, that's because 1) you have the energy level of a hyper-active child in a grownup's body and 2) you're crazy ^_^

Side note: I didn't understand the references to Mountain Dew until I looked it up. You see I live in Canada and all Mtn Dew is caffeine free here (Health Canada prohibits caffeine in non-cola soft drinks).

WEIRD.

1) Do find caffeine (cup, bottle, can or pill) significantly improves your ability to keep the game running full steam?

2) Do you prefer having less then, more then or the exact recommended number of players for the game system your running?

1) Large coffee in face-to-face games - reinforced by the fact that we play in a public place and I need to drive to get there.

1a) Rum when running through my play-by-Email game! Definitely makes the battles more fun as well as the role playing. Don't have to think quite as fast as in person... and I get the chance to edit and re-read my posts before sending...

2) I prefer a few more but will adjust the challenges upwards when I have more than 6.

ArchLich wrote:

Side note: I didn't understand the references to Mountain Dew until I looked it up. You see I live in Canada and all Mtn Dew is caffeine free here (Health Canada prohibits caffeine in non-cola soft drinks).

WEIRD.

I can't stand Mountain Dew, but I can understand people drinking it for the caffiene. Caffiene-free Mountain Dew suggests that someone might actually drink it for the taste.

1 - No.

2 - I prefer 5 players. I usually have 4-6, depending on the campaign.

-Skeld

1. Much coffee, usually Starbucks breakfast blend

2. My usual group is 8 players, plus animal companions and the occasional NPC. I have run as many as 10 players with 2 NPCs, but that really gets a bit too hectic. So 7-8 I would say is my ideal size group.

1) Do find caffeine (cup, bottle, can or pill) significantly improves your ability to keep the game running full steam?

2) Do you prefer having less then, more then or the exact recommended number of players for the game system your running?

1) I pretty much find that I need caffeine to function at all. Coffee, Tea, Coke, hell, any form you want to give ti to me.

2) I like having 4 players regardless of the system. I never do though. i always end up with 3 or 5, but i like having 4.

1) Do find caffeine (cup, bottle, can or pill) significantly improves your ability to keep the game running full steam?

Not really, then again my body is weird like that.

2) Do you prefer having less then, more then or the exact recommended number of players for the game system your running?

Less. 1 or 2 for homebrew, up to 4 for canned adventures. I don't take more than 4, ever, I lost the ability to handle large tables long ago.

1) Do find caffeine (cup, bottle, can or pill) significantly improves your ability to keep the game running full steam?

2) Do you prefer having less then, more then or the exact recommended number of players for the game system your running?

1) Yes, to cup/bottle/can caffiene; no to pills. Stuff like Vivarin tends to be overkill. Better to enjoy a cup of coffee.

2) I find 4-8 players to be a workable range, with 6 being optimum.