Question: Interruptions during game sessions

Hi all!

I hope this is in the right section.

I've had an interest in D&D for the longest time. Recently I've decied to give it a try. I've read the free rules, poked at some solo adventures, watched some smaller channels streamed plays.

Problem is, I can't seem to really find any discussions about interruptions during a game session. How problematic is it?

There is almost never a time that I am guaranteed not to be interrupted by family or minor work obligations. Granted it's not guaranteed to happen either and would be at most interruptions of 5-15 minutes.

For longer campaigns, I'd be out of reach for a couple of times a year, about 2 weeks at a time. There seemed to be some workarounds, depending on the group for this kind of thing, ex. not using XP to level characters so no one falls behind.

How big of an issue is this?

Is play by post the only option for me, or is the occasional short absenteeism during game session a non-issue?

In my experience, most D&D players are perfectly fine with accommodating each other's occasional real-life interruptions and scheduling issues. It's the kind of thing you'd want to talk to the rest of your group about when you start out, but if you're not doing this professionally, no one's going to expect you to make it a higher priority than your real life.

Scheduling is always going to be an issue because people are busy.  We just accept it and have different ways of dealing with it - in some groups someone else will run your PC with your permission, others the PC will just fade into the background which is what I generally do.  Different groups will have less tolerance for during session interruptions depending on the frequency.  When it comes to family, try to deal with it later if you can but people understand that family (and work) come first.

In any case, I wouldn't let any of this stop you.  We all have lives outside the game!

It's not a big issue if interruption occur once in a while for a short time, we all often have to answer the phone or door. What i sometimes do is call a break, which is already scheduled usually about mid-game.

2 weeks off several time a year might break gameflow more to some people than others, but we all have obligations, family vacations etc.. For example, i run every other weeks and take 2 week vacation twice a year and often have to postpone a game day due to absence of 2+ players or DM. It happens with everyone's busy lives so finding time to game for group of people can often prove challenging at times but to me the fun is worth the effort. 

Interruptions, particularly unpredictable interruptions, definitely break game flow, but as long as it's not too common (one 5-15 minute interruption in a 4 hour session is a good opportunity for other people to get up, stretch, go to the bathroom, etc; two interruptions starts being an issue) it's not a big problem.

Yeah, as others have said, talk to your group.

I should mention that, if a brief interruption like you describe happens during combat, you'll often be able to deal with it and be done before your turn comes around again. 

There is almost never a time that I am guaranteed not to be interrupted by family or minor work obligations. 

Really, there is that many interruptions to you?  Are these interruptions throughout the 24 hours?  Are you left alone to sleep?   Are you planning on both working and playing D&D?

Closing the door and/or leaving and going to another persons house without a work phone is not an option for a few hours once a week?  If that is actually the case, my condolences for what you are living through.

Thank you for all of the insightful replies.

In summary, interruptions are not a major issue as long as it's not too often and people are aware of it and everyone agrees with it beforehand. Load off my shoulders.

I'll be upfront when looking for or joining a group about the potential for interruptions and open to discussion for workarounds for my trips.

I was hoping to start out with a one-shot or two, with only a few sessions to test the waters anyhow. Hopefully that will give me a rough idea of how feasible a longterm campaign will be.

As to Character77006's condolences.
Thanks, but they're not necessary, I chose the interruptions on purpose. A healthy "side hustle guesthouse" pays for a lot of nice things, like those 2 week trips 3-4 times a year.

I can schedule with my sibling to take care of things when I game, though sometimes things just go sideways or happen last minute. Like I'm needed in an emergency for my day job, or silly things like the dog's going bonkers and she can't calm them down. Sometimes it can be annoying, but bad for business/income if not sorted out quickly, ex. multiple guests having issues and we need to divide and conquer, sort out alternative accommodation ect.

I am assuming that you are talking about playing online, if that's not correct several of these will not apply. As already mentioned this will vary widely between groups. There are some things you can do to help minimize the disruptions:

• Let the DM know as far in advance as possible when you won't be available for sessions, so they can plan accordingly as needed.
• If okay with the DM and you have another player willing to take it on, when you are not available for a session decide if your character should be excluded or if you'd like another player to play them in your absence. 
• If you need to step away during a session you can use 'brb' and 'back' to signal the group that you are briefly unavailable to minimize announcing interruptions/interrupting play
• In combat/initiative situations you can use chat to add your intentions or ask (ahead of time) if the DM is okay moving your spot in the initiative for that round 

Again, it's really up to the group to decide how much flexibility they can provide for you and what types of accommodations they are able and/or willing to make.

I appreciate that life happens! My suggestion to you is this (also from an online perspective):

• For your first few games, really try to set yourself up so you won't be interrupted. You're new to the game, especially, and you're new to these people. Be present for them, and yourself. It's like going to a concert, or a movie. You are simply unavailable to those other things, right now. 
• The longer a gaming group is together, the more okay it is to have transitory things that interrupt. We're all going to lose internet, many of us have kids or elderly parents, the pets do something crazy, a delivery arrives, we're all going to have vacations or family that come up, we're all going to have this or that. In an online game, you can type BRB 5 minutes into the group chat and tell them to skip you if your turn comes or what it is you want to do. 
• Most games will take a 10-15 minute break every two hours or so. If you need to ask for one a little early, that usually works fine.
• If you'll miss a regular session time in a campaign, please communicate that as far as possible. If you must bow out last minute, please at least try to make it sound important and not like "Oh I like my other friends better, and they asked me to go out."
• If you are playing online, there are groups around the world. There's probably a time you can play when people are unlikely to interrupt you, even if it's very late or very early.
• Do whatever you can to communicate that the group is important to you and that you make time for it. 

Some groups are more serious and some are more casual - it can depend, and there are other people in situations like yours who also want to play. Good luck, have fun!