Gaming table horror stories – we’ve all heard them, some of us have been there to see them: Players going legitimately crazy at the table, GMs showing up painfully drunk, fist-fights over who gets the elf girl, players hooking up loudly during a break, and of course, that time an in-character argument abruptly turned into a screaming match over who paid for the pizza last time.

As players and GMs, we see a lot of crazy, real life stuff when we’re sitting at the table. I think it’s time we shared some of those stories with each other.

I’m looking to put together an anthology of the most bizarre things ever witnessed at the gaming table. I want the funniest, weirdest, most uncomfortable or just plain scariest things that you’ve ever personally witnessed. I think there have to be enough stories like this to make a great read for players and GMs alike. I want to know if I’m right.

Think you’ve got a story? Shoot me an – I’m looking for 75 words or so that convince me you’ve got something horrifying or hilarious, and that you can tell your tale in an interesting way. If it looks like there’s enough potential material out there, I’ll formalize the project and ask for the whole story. If your story makes the cut, you’ll get paid a flat fee (SFWA rate of $.05 / word).

I’m setting a tight deadline for this phase of the project : Three days. If I don’t have a sense for the potential for available material by Sunday Evening Sunday Evening, Jan 30th (Call it 8:00pm PST), then I’m moving on to work on something else. So don’t put it off. Jump in now.

You can comment below if you have questions or just think it’s a cool idea, but I’d really like to hear from people who are interested in participating, buying a copy, or backing the project.

Know someone with a good story? Know some people who might be interested? Please spread the word.

Update : A couple smart people have convinced me to extend the deadline by a week. I’ve modified the date above to reflect this.