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There's 2 guys in the 3.5 D&D group I'm in now that are big fans of the Venture Brothers. In the last campaign one of these guys was running it, and he would literally stop the game, sometimes for as long as 20 minutes to talk about THE EFFING VENTURE BROTHERS!! It only stopped when I said something to get the game back on track. Even though I've never seen the show, I hate it, because it cuts into precious gaming time.

Now I'm running my own campaign, and every time there is the slightest pause, these two start to go on about the damn show! While I realize there's a certain amount of tangential conversation that will take place in any game session, these two clowns carry it too far, especially when it comes to THE EFFING VENTURE BROTHERS!! Any suggestions for dealing with this? I have been considering adding one powerful monster to a subsequent combat encounter that will target them for every mention of the Venture Brothers (if I were running Star Wars, it would be one Sith Lord for every VB reference). It's a constant fight to keep them on track. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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When asked why there was only one set of foot prints Jesus replied, "The Sand people ride single file to hide their numbers."

We've got a player in one of my groups that can't play more than 10 min without going on a tangent about something. We've started using "It's game time," as code for STFU.

Also, it makes me sad that these guys have made you hate The Venture Bros. I love me some Venture Bros.

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We lost a lot of good hit points that day.

The Venture brothers is a great show. Think Johny Quest on crack. You really should give it a watch.
I don't want to spoil anything, but you could use some many of the characters in there as returning villians for your own campaign.

If your players are obsessed with it, then use it. Send them off to rescue the boble children Dean and Hank.

The absolute best way to deal with this, in my opinion, is to be as honest as possible and keep a cool head. 100% of the situations I've been in that resulted in someone leaving a gaming group on bad terms was due to one of two issues:

1) Lack of communication
And/or
2) Someone getting pissed and treating the offending parties as "The bad guys."

Really, really, really try hard not to fall into that second trap, no matter how much they are annoying you. That is key. They are not out to derail your game on purpose, and if you attack them in a way that suggest they are, they will go on the defensive.

Be calm, and just say something like "Hey, guys, I really don't want to sound like a dick, but the Venture Bros tangents are kind of getting on my nerves and keeping the game from running smoothly. I know you guys aren't being purposefully disruptive, but I've put a lot of work into this, and I'm just trying to help everyone have a good time. Would you mind focusing on the game a bit more?"

Let me know how things proceed, I've been through a couple gaming incidents that turned into emotional near-bloodbaths, and I like to try to help other people avoid that.

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Jedi Master Tir-Jin Meteos, The Order of 66
PC GAMER - T.J. Hafer

Interestingly enough, at the last session the two guys I mentioned were more focused than usual, tangents were brief, and we got a lot accomplished. I was very proud of them.

Whether this trend continues remains to be seen.

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When asked why there was only one set of foot prints Jesus replied, "The Sand people ride single file to hide their numbers."

Glad to hear they calmed down a bit. And remember this isn't just a Venture Brothers Crisis. This can happen with any topic. The first Champions campaign I played in, had this happen; only it was the quoting of entire scenes--if not entire movies--of Monty Python. Me & my roomie--the only other female in the group--were driven crazy, even though we loved MP. And there was little we could do other than roll our eyes--one of the worst offender was the GM!

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Arkansas Regional Captain & proud member of Spice Runners Squadron
Kessel Base, The Rebel Legion

"The bad guys hardly ever quote Star Wars."
Harry Dresden, Cold Days