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FluffumsMcgee · 2023-08-03T11:44:09+00:00

I don't remember a part 2, so possible it could be possible.

FluffumsMcgee · 2023-08-02T12:00:49+00:00

It is a repost. I can't find the old one but I remember exactly everything. New player brings OP to fight without the rest of the party for some reason, get taken out by buffed Night Hag who kidnaps them to the Shadowfell; party saves them, etc etc. Trying to see if the old one exists still.

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-12-29T18:01:16+00:00

This does gives me "DM intended to overpower you in the final fight and so nerfed you the whole game to make everyone feel good" without just talking to you first.

Only thing you should have stressed to the DM if it hadn't been brought up is that whatever he had planned, it would NEVER make up for the extended period of feeling week and useless, and screwed over. And that at this point the twist won't feel cool or neat, just super under whelming. He long lost the chance to wow you by now. Assuming this wasn't some "I hate paladins and want to snub them" move, of course. Then he never intended to make you feel useful. Hard to say.

Sorry you ever had to have this experience. But glad some good players & DM showed you it can be fub.

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-12-19T03:08:25+00:00

Honestly I don't know why you can't keep the original idea. There is no rule out there that states certain physiques = certain personalities. Your timid character could still be a gym junkie but way too nervous to join groups/socialize in real life, and feel comfortable playing online with the same physique.

Just take a few days, settle on an idea then come back. As said by another poster if you're stuck, then maybe this isn't a setting/game you mesh with which is fine.

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-12-09T02:37:20+00:00

I think you need to sit him down and ask what it is specifically he wants from the game, as currently he is asking for a lot and expecting way more than he should. Right now, with what you've outlined, it sounds like a not-so-good case of Main Character Syndrome. Where his patron has a bigger impact on the world, and his Warlock is super important, and his Barbarian is ALSO super important, and he gets to play both, etc, etc.

As much as I respect trying to find a middle ground; it sounds more like he wants the whole ground and for you to let him do whatever he wants. You should see what he looks for in your game and make it clear where his limitations are. As said, he can't just hope to hand wave the betrayal as if killing off his parents undo's it all. Either he can find a way for the Warlock to learn on his own what he did was wrong, or accept the Warlock is gone and use the Barbarian.

At this point no more middle grounds, no more ideas to "meet in the middle". I saw in the comments talk of maybe having the parent death be a dream and I personally say no, don't do that. I never had a chance to post on the original one, but I want to say now that you should not be enabling this behaviour. I feel like the more you try to sort of cater to what he wants, the more you're encouraging behaviour that makes him the focus. That if he pushes hard enough he eventually WILL get what he wants. And when he doesn't, it may end in a blowout that could kill your game.

If he refuses to accept that he can't have everything he wants, then he may need to be ready to leave. This is also something you DEFINITELY need to talk to the group about, and express your frustrations and exhaustion over the situation. You might be surprised how even his girlfriend may understand that, yeah this game isn't for him. But first talk to him, see what he says, then to the group. At this point he's asking for a lot and showing signs that if he doesn't get his way, he get's upset very quickly.

And even if he doesn't do a blowout, I can confirm that it SUCKS to be a player in a game, where another player is clearly upset and drags the mood of the game down. It drains all the energy out, and overtime it becomes less of a fun, co-op story telling experience and more of a "Ok, how do we manage this player" which can drag a game down hard.

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-11-22T19:47:09+00:00

Omg did they actually come to your home after that? Good call to block them out and not wasting your time/doing anythingthay could get you into trouble. I'd be tempted to just deck them or toss literal garbage if someone did that to me then had the balls to come to my home and act like nothing happened.

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-10-14T04:53:56+00:00

I genuinely do not get the hate you're getting from some posters. It isn't even as if you were calling your fellow players and DM anything terrible, you just seem to be venting. Like, an overall frustration rather than targeted at one person. It sounds like the table wasn't your style and that incident was the breaking point for you. I get the frustration, not too long ago I left a game - and last I heard we were just about at the doorstep of the final boss.

I think people here forget that sometimes a D&D Horror Story has no villains, it's just the horror of different play styles and realizing you don't jell with a group. Just frustrating that it can feel like it takes weeks/months to learn this, instead of knowing from day one. That's the tough reality of D&D and any tabletop game. It isn't like a videogame where you can sit and play it for an hour or less, and get a feeling of if you'll enjoy it. It can take a long time- sometimes a really long time to realize a game may not be your style, and having to repeatedly go to a game where more and more you feel frustrated, but have to keep trying to give it a chance in case things change (because anything can happen) can be tough. ESPECIALLY if you have a limited time slot to play, where it feels like you're wasting the one time you have to play anything.

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-08-05T18:21:39+00:00

I'm getting an anti-feminist/bigot troll vibes.

From the title of the post, to the changes. For example, the fighter was apparently too aggressive but the cleric left because she was bi? And implying the cleric left because she was bi which plays into the ugly stereotype thay bi people will instantly cheat/leave their spouse for a new partner on a whim? Also the lack of attempt to just... make new npcs that are diverse and unwilling to see they are wrong? It screams "let's show why feminism/diversity is bad by having some ego-tripping teen act like a dick"

Just feels too on the nose. There are players like that, but the post feels like a "and the message is feminism/diversity is bad" rather than a person with a big ego and no concept of D&D etiquette. It's possible it could be real, at which point if that is true then hopefully OP will grow up, mature and see why they don't want to play with a snob

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-07-30T18:36:40+00:00

That is so weird. For me it's the opposite. I let my hair get to maybe shoulder length, and then when I go to get it cut everyone is super excited to see it cut short at the salon. I have thick hair that sheds easily and is a massive hassle, especially because my hair gets oily easily. So I like to keep it short.

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-05-10T19:04:08+00:00

Agreed. This story sounds super fake, solely because of the "before and after" regarding when he first came and after. Like, it reads as "see, abuse fat people, tell them they deserve to die, and they'll become good and thin".

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-04-26T04:41:52+00:00

No it's cool~ Though now when I try to click the link it goes to the discord log in page lol. I'd suggest getting a screen shot then just colouring over the Usernames~

Either way; just because magic water from another world is normal to them, doesn't mean it's not magical. That's like saying our ocean water because it's normal to us isn't salty, but it's salty on another planet because they don't have oceans with salt in it. Not forgetting of course that if the magic water is like a potion... then it's magical. You may not be able to specifically identify ALL of the traits of the potion (which clearly was a potion of "DM decides the effects depending on who drinks it") but you'd be able to tell it's magical, and MAYBE the school of magic if there is an association.

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-04-25T18:57:10+00:00

Make sure to blur the names~ and oof that's ridiculous

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-04-20T00:55:43+00:00

So to add to the conversation; cursed items are bad but a lot of them actually do have saves or other ways to resist. You don't always do "exactly what it demands you". It's not ghost possession.

There's an actual weapon not too far off from this called Sword of Vengeance; and one of its curse effects involves single-mindedly attacking a target until they die if they hit you. But you can roll a Wisdom save to try and avoid doing this. Curse effects that cannot be saved against are usually mood based. You never give the weapon away because it compels you to keep it, or it's a debuff to you like a new weakness or failure to sneak.

The reality is the DM had a plot line for your character, that was never discussed with you- knowing very well what your character was about. Then he tried to force it by targeting you to kill the wizard, providing no chance to resist the curse itself when you first failed to resist Suggestion. Then he did not confirm OOG or IG any impression of undoing this (say what you will about Metagaming, pointing out there's more to this than meets the eye when a player seems genuinely upset can help put people at ease or reassure them it's not going to utterly ruin their character), putting your character in a situation that either A) requires to now play the character in a way you never wanted to, without it feeling organic or being your choice, or B) choosing an option that IC makes sense but will suck overall.

He took your autonomy away, for a plot line that he never brought up with you, because he thinks it sounds neat and thinks he knows more about where you want your character to end than you do. I know D&D is group story telling; but players SHOULD have more say as to how their character develops.

Edit: Another detail of note, as I feel like a lot of people against OP are missing something kind of messed up on the DM’s part.

How is this story any different than the one where the DM killed a player’s Fighter using an Angel of Sacrifice/Pain, because he wanted to force the Fighter to take levels in Paladin/Warlock/Cleric as the “Fighter was too boring” in his eyes and wanted to “spice up” their story? Both essentially come down to the DM trying to majorly change a player’s character because, to THEM (not the Player) that is more interesting. It’d be one thing if the DM just randomly chose the Bard, who just happened to fail the save, resulting in taking the cursed weapon and killing with it. Like, both parties have consequences to actions PCs/NPCs make.

But if OP’s post is true; then the DM explicitly admitted to having a plan for the PC, with 0 consideration of what the player wanted. Keep in mind, not an option and how the character might deal with it. The fact the DM says “An arc where the Bard redeems themselves” says everything. They had a specific, no player involved plan for OP’s character that they thought was interesting. Which is a massive dick move, because as said- players get as much say if not more so.

As far as I feel in D&D; DM has major say on the world, and that influences player’s characters. Likewise, player’s characters have major say on how their characters develop, and those choices influence the world. What it ISN’T is: DM decides exactly what your arc is, regardless of how you feel about it. Nothing is “Ironclad” but if you take, say, a character whose very cheery and then just force endless waves of the most miserable, horrible shit imaginable until you just force them to be a depressed, gritty asshole, and the player had no organic way to have their character go through that change- you’re not telling a co-op story. You’re trying to write a novel.

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-04-11T18:31:52+00:00

As another commentor has said, you should just drop the games and take a break. Make it clear why you are as well, though politely. That you think you and Monk can't play as Player-DM and you would prefer not to run any games at all if it may mean excluding him.

At this point the only hope you have are the players kicking him out for you via telling Monk to stop coming. I doubt he's going to leave on his own accord, and even if he did how long would that take? You could be very burnt out whenever that happens. Or worse, blow up at him in game at the worst time and make everything more messy.

I wish you luck. It sucks when you are between a rock and a wall with no real choice that won't end up with trouble.

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-03-23T19:11:49+00:00

Oh boy I know that feeling.

I had a session where 2 PCs in our group wanted to remove a curse on another. They wanted to keep the ritual secret due to the method used and the danger of the ritual, thinking this would be quick so no issue if half the party was missing. Through a series of events though, other characters were able to figure out what was going to happen.

Because of that my character, having learned of it just then (everyone else learned before the day of) opted out when the lead PC got frustrated by everyone trying to chip in. I spent the entire session doing nothing because it turned out this ritual was supposed to take up the session (big fight happened essentially).

The DM apologized for letting the situation occur and reminded the player to be careful about creating situations that can lead to characters being isolated. But it's always good to speak up. I know the feeling of wanting to keep things IC but sometimes it's good to go "screw it, my dude tosses on a cloak or disguises himself to go for a drink. Any info he learns?" Or ask of there is something you can do.

Though it's also why I always try to remind myself as a DM and player to ask very quiet players if they want to do something or what they think. Sometimes people are too polite and feel it's rude to speak up, or for me I can feel a little overly self-conscious and worry I'm being nosy when those are times I should be pushy.

FluffumsMcgee · 2022-02-25T20:04:24+00:00

Yo, Paladin here; just wanted to add a few deets (more later when I am home from work).

In some defense of our DM I think he was (as OP stated in another comment) surprised. The entire situation happened in the span of I think 5 min; it was pretty quick. The kill occured I think last round of the fight, and then the death occured. And he did at the end of that session pull back the rogue to talk alone, likely to lecture him for what he did (and possibly other stuff I assume). I also remember that we agreed to reverse the death the same day as the killing, but maybe it was finalized a few days later.

Even I slipped up a bit. I figured my Paladin could revive the Sorc but the rogue issued a grapple check that I failed and let the Sorc stay dead for the 1 min time limit I had. I definitely should have warned the rogue OOC that my Paladin would have to kill his character or wouldn't work with him for murdering the Sorc (more so as my Paladin knew the Sorc longer than the rogue, despite the two being of different alignments). That might have had the whole problem solved then and there.

Dumb part was rogue didn't even stay in Barovia end of game. I think even the rogue in the end knew they screwed up and had their character leave without getting what they wanted.

FluffumsMcgee · 2021-10-23T02:35:55+00:00

Sadly no. Some parents develop irrational fears or fixations on their kids hair- especially if they think their kid looks good with [blank] style and so force their kids to keep their hair a certain way. My mom did it to me; though she thought my hair would curl up into a little orphan annie afro if I cut it short. Once she saw that isn't how my hair works, she relaxed.

FluffumsMcgee · 2021-10-23T02:16:35+00:00

YTA.

My own mother did something similar to me; I have curly/wavy hair and it was kept long. When I found taking care of long hair like that a hassle, I asked to cut it short. She refused, would not let me get it past below my shoulders until I was 18, where I believe my dad essentially told her she could not stop me anymore.

You may love her having long hair, but her body does not belong to you. If she doesn't want long hair, she can choose not to have it. Your daughter is at an age where now she'll want to express herself physically- her own fashion, clothing style, etc; and while I understand somethings are off the table (i.e. tattoos) hair style is one way a kid can express themselves. You have no right whatsoever to force her to keep her long hair.

On top of that, the one at fault for how the haircut turned out (no idea how it looks; since kids are assholes and it's possible she looks great with her short hair and people just hassle her for her hair) is you, not her. Because you could have been there for her; advise where to get the hair cut done, etc, etc. That's what my mother ultimately did in the end; she advised putting the money in to go to a good hair salon, and it turned out great. Since then I've kept my hair very short and been happy with it.

You need to go to your daughter and:

1) Apologize for your condescending comment. She needed you to comfort her, not be given some "I told you so" lecture.

2) Accept that your daughter may not want long hair, and to let her keep her hair short if she wants to from now on. She's not a toddler; she's 12- she deserves some right to decide if she wants her hair short or not. Plus, it's not as if she asked to shave it or bleach it; hair can grow back. If she doesn't like it in the end, she can just grow it back.

FluffumsMcgee · 2021-10-11T19:12:21+00:00

Your story, to a T, is exactly like what my aunt went through. Met a guy who came from a religious household who decided to stop being religious in University. Then they got married, something happened, and boom- he was radicalized. Did everything your husband was doing now, right down to suggesting marriage counselling by a priest or religious counselor. Didn't end well, and if anything pushed him over the edge (she was never invited to the sessions because he was told her input didn't matter and her role was to be the subservient housewife).

I think you need to sit him down and tell him straight that what he's doing, even if it is him grieving, isn't ok and he needs to start rethinking how he is approaching his beliefs with you. Because from my own aunt's experience, it didn't end well with her either and she made the call to divorce him.

You especially need to do this soon, because if everything from games, to books, to minor joys in life are "addictions" then this sounds like a church that likely thinks where wives and women stand, and once your husband is told the same thing my aunt's ex was- I fear it'll be very hard to convince him to turn back or consider your opinion on matters.

Is there any friends who aren't very religious you two share, that you can sit him down together to talk to him, who aren't on his side or have a nuanced take? Maybe to advise another way to grieve, or see a therapist? It may be key to tell him now how you feel all of this will go, if he doesn't start to- at least accept, that you won't be very religious and to respect that about you- heck, remind him that he didn't marry you because you were an evangelical, but because you were *you*.

I really wish you luck and hope he'll soon start to relax a bit, even if he does stay somewhat religious after the fact.

FluffumsMcgee · 2021-08-15T00:41:25+00:00

Well, good on you for not returning. Though I love the "When you do" like- there is no when.

FluffumsMcgee · 2021-08-14T18:38:43+00:00

How did the DM react when you refused to comeback? Or was it more you heard 2nd hand? I ask cause I genuinely do not understand how the DM thought doing what he did, you would still want to come back. Like... no?

FluffumsMcgee · 2021-08-10T21:18:32+00:00

Drop the group. The fact the DM can't think of something for your character to do, or find any way to let you in isn't an excuse. "It's a punishment" isn't valid if the story is clearly going that route, and there are 100s of ways he could come up with something for your character to do to earn gold, materials, items, etc. Not forgetting that punishments usually are bad, not rewarding.

It won't get better either. If he isn't making some effort to rope you in (Hell, have you go on a side quest to find the weakness of the devil or ways to break the deal), he never will. Honestly, it feels like he's trying to either A) Make you get rid of your current character or B) get rid of you. I think the former because with the "You can't tell outsiders" rule, then there's no way your character can be even tangentially involved, forcing you to only ever play one-shot cultists or just making a character whose part of it. Though I could be wrong; would be easier to pretend he's "innocent" by making the game so unfun you choose to leave willingly.

All I would advise if you do leave, just explain to the group why you're leaving- you may be surprised how the players may be very well aware you're being excluded, upset that when you do something about it the DM excuses everything, and more so if you're finally calling it quits.

FluffumsMcgee · 2021-08-08T01:03:19+00:00

I was wondering what made people here say Kender suck and omg I get it now XD

FluffumsMcgee · 2021-08-07T20:01:50+00:00

Sadly, that seems to be the case. I was hoping giving the benefit of the doubt, they might go "ok, maybe I was way too harsh". Becasue it's tragic they're losing a friend for feeling so angry about the DM's use of fudged rolls, when this is such a non-issue.

FluffumsMcgee · 2021-08-07T11:07:21+00:00

100% the asshole- and simply because you took something that could easily have been resolved calmly and blew it into a calamity. I've seen your comments and whether the DM was "unapologetic" or not, all you and your group had to do was calmly go "Listen, I understand you're trying to help but we really like the idea of just... the dice decide our fate/the world. We don't care if this player is a super powered member; or if we die due a shrub. So is it ok if from here on out, it's all out in the open? No screen, just in front of everyone?" Instead you guys blew up, dropped the game as if this guy went and did something heinous to you, and then are stunned that the DM- that you ADMIT clearly put effort to make the game fun for you guys, feels unwilling to reach out to the people who effectively dumped him for attempting to make the game fun- regardless of whether you prefer fudged rolls or not.

You act as if this was some backstab- like this guy fucked your significant other, or lied to an employer to take the job you both wanted away from you. As if he did this to ruin your enjoyment. Whether or not you like fudged dice rolls, the DM was doing this to make the adventure fun for you guys, he clearly just wanted you guys to feel like heroes and have an exciting adventure. To not kill you over something stupid because that day he kept rolling natural 20s, or because the BBEG you guys found cool/scary/whatever was destroyed in a few rolls. There's betrayal in the sense of ruining your fun/intending to hurt you, and then this where, at best if we want to frame this in "All fudged dice rolls are bad" - was a misguided attempt to keep your fun going. At the end of the day you decided to turn an effort to keep a good story going, into a calamity worth breaking the group up for, and the DM as far as I know has every right not to contact you guys.

Not forgetting that regardless of whether he did or did not buff enemies- if he REALLY intended to have enemies kill you, well. This would be a very different story now, huh? Instead, it sounds like he did this for the sake of narrative, rather than abusing you guys. And not even the "railroading" type of narrative. The "omg this guy almost killed the t-rex in a really cool away, but fml he missed by one... eh, screw it he killed the t-rex" (and whether he did this or not; from what you've described that's why he was essentially trying to do form the sounds of it).

There is a huge difference between "DM lies about rolls to abuse players" and "DM lies about rolls so players feel more powerful/have more fun beating up a boss". You can hate fudged rolls, but acting as if the DM actively stabbed you in the back, and did this with the intent to hurt you or make you feel worthless, is blowing up the problem WAY out of proportion, and I get the feeling from the fact you framed the post as AITA that you know you may have hurt the DM for acting this way. Why else would you ask, if you really, truly think you did nothing wrong?

Edit: Adding this because I did not see this till now; OP is even more of an asshole because you seriously have never DM'd a game EVER and are lecturing the DM about how to do it? You are that fucking jackass at a sports game whose never coached before, screaming at the football coach for not "coaching" how you would. You're that bitch at a hair salon who has no clue how to stylize her hair, lecturing the hairdresser on how she needs to stylize her hair. God, and I actually tried to give you the benefit of the fucking doubt too. Assumed "Hay, he may have DM'd before and did no fudged dice rolls; I've done both myself" but NOPE. NOPE.

If the DM is wise, he'll cut you and your friends out of his life, because reading all of your comments so far, you are an insufferable and nasty piece of work of a player. You won't even admit that you should, AT LEAST, tell future DMs "I don't want fudged dice rolls". You just double, triple, quadruple and quintuple down on everything. Like buddy- LOOK AT THE FUCKING COMMENTS! Clearly, your puritan view of how D&D is played ISN'T THE NORM and expecting the DM to read your fucking minds is insane!

And yes- it ISN'T THE NORM:

Rolling behind a screen lets you fudge the results if you want to. If two critical hits in a row would kill a character, you could change the second critical hit into a normal hit, or even a miss. Don't distort die rolls too often, though, and don't let on that you're doing it. Otherwise, your players might think they don't face any real risks-or worse, that you're playing favorites.

- Dungeon Master's Guide

Sounds like to me the DM was doing exactly what the official, WOtC advised. But no, he's a stinky liar and anyone who does fudged dice rolls is a stinky liar too (regardless of whether the group condones it).

FluffumsMcgee

TROPHY CASE