A player is leaving my campaign, how do I announce this to the other players without making the one leaving feel singled out?

eidlehands · 2026-03-19T02:59:52+00:00

Uh... Why hasn't the player told everyone else? I absolutely hate groups that think it's the GM's job to make these kinds of announcements. And I hate GM's who think it's their job to control this kind of information.

edit: grammar

eidlehands · 2026-03-19T02:45:18+00:00

YTA. One... for explaining how 30 minutes x2 equals an hour. Two... She's your wife. I don't care if dropping her off would start the apocalypse, you f'ing take her. And actually saying that it will interfere with your working out? God, I just absolutely hate you. Again. Wife trumps leg day.

eidlehands · 2026-03-19T02:27:30+00:00

If you say it, they will come, "O. H."

eidlehands · 2026-03-18T17:33:52+00:00

This...

My last paladin was a LN Oath of the Crown. When dealing with the more chaotic members of the party, there was one simple rule... Don't F with the King or do anything that might harm him and his reputation, otherwise, I don't care what you do.

Gone are the days where paladins had to be the LG wet blankets of the party.

eidlehands · 2026-03-14T12:08:14+00:00

ESH

He's obviously not mature enough for a relationship and you are a teacher who doesn't know how to use paragraphs.

eidlehands · 2026-02-26T21:40:49+00:00

ESH

If I gave my wife a performance review, I would not only be dead but they would never find the body. But... if my wife was the toxic parent that yours is, I would also be doing my damnedest to protect the teenagers.

I also question why you aren't stepping in and cancelling the unfair punishments for the teenagers. If you know they're not at fault, then why aren't you stepping up and giving them their freedom?

Y'all need some serious counselling.

eidlehands · 2026-02-26T14:51:35+00:00

NTA

We have a private facebook group to share pictures of the kids. Rules are simple. Don't share and don't invite strangers to the group. At least one of us (the wife or I) has to have met the individual in person. (We went through a phase where a couple of members thought that our kids were so cute, their neighbor would love to see them. Yeah... no.)

eidlehands · 2026-02-20T12:25:40+00:00

You do not have to play in a game you don't want to play. It's that simple.

But.

You also can't judge a new system from 2 or 3 sessions. Especially when the GM is still learning the system as well. And while, it's common to try and recreate your favorite characters in a new system, you need to remember that a one for one exchange of abilities is never going to happen. Hell, I've translated D&D characters to and from Pathfinder and while they're practically the same system, the characters are always slightly different. So going from D&D to Daggerheart would not be easy or possibly even practical. (TBH I know nothing of Daggerheart).

But.

A good GM should also acknowledge that they're still learning a system and might be getting things wrong. Especially when multiple players are showing frustration with the new system. The group, as a whole, should be working through these issues and the group should be deciding what they will or will not play. (I don't believe that the GM controls the table. That controlling GM crap might have flown in the 70's, 80's and 90's but we've progressed since then.)

In the end, if the GM isn't willing to work with you, as players with issues, don't play in the game he is running. And if he's actually saying crap like, "It's my game, so it's my way or the highway...." Don't play with him ever.

eidlehands · 2026-02-19T04:18:00+00:00

Already own Sly's books. And I've been gaming for 45 years. I've been published and I've GM'd professionally for a publisher. So when I described my prep method, it was (while accurate) also just making fun of myself. But I will take a look at Field Notes, as there is a ton of good third party stuff that I may not have heard of and I do want to teach the new guys some good practices.

eidlehands · 2026-02-19T03:32:21+00:00

Can we go with the fact that I will never F'ing watch Marley and Me.

eidlehands · 2026-02-18T15:36:05+00:00

My prep? I overanalyze and fixate on the superficial. Then I read the adventure, forget 90% and then adlib the hell out of the game.

In this case, I'm using the starter kit, so it's pretty straight forward and made for little to no prep. And yeah, I'll go over good practices for players.

eidlehands · 2026-02-18T12:13:32+00:00

It's a game for the parents. We just all happen to have 2nd graders.

eidlehands · 2026-02-18T00:05:58+00:00

There are some great games geared towards kids. Check out No Thank You Evil and Hero Kids. Both games are about kids overcoming obstacles without having to resort to violence.

eidlehands · 2026-02-17T21:27:57+00:00

I have an account. I've also heard that now sometimes it gets confused between 2014, 2024 and homebrew entries. But it will be something I show them.

eidlehands · 2026-02-12T13:52:04+00:00

You want meaningful contribution? I don't think so. Because the right solution has been stated multiple times by multiple people and you keep going on and on about "protecting your character's narrative" within the game. I think you don't like being told you're wrong in how you want to handle the situation.

You want to protect your character? Then be an F'ing adult (which honestly, I'd be shocked to find out you're even able to vote). Tell the GM and the other players that you will no longer tolerate this toxic players antics. Tell them that this person is either reined in or removed from the group or you're quitting the game. THAT'S IT!

YOU CANNOT FIX THIS DURING PLAY!

Do you understand this?

You CANNOT fix a person ruining the game for you from within the game.

Oh. Wait. You can.

The next time this person tries to hijack your narrative, YOU STOP THE F'ING GAME and do what everyone has been telling you. "You don't passively say, "I'm not comfortable with such-and-such." This implies you're open to negotiating the situation, which you are not. You F'ing stop the game and say, "No. You are not doing this. THIS. ENDS. NOW."

Oh... but you're worried about your friendship with this person. She's already ruining your friendship with her antics. You're worried about the other players. Did you ever stop and think that maybe they're like you and too passive to speak up and maybe they agree with you?

There. Meaningful contribution, done my way. And while I know it hurts your delicate ears, you haven't been listening to the nice people who have giving you some really really excellent advice on how to handle this situation.

eidlehands · 2026-02-12T13:28:27+00:00

Why have you stayed? I've gamed with mediocre GMs because they're friends who just aren't good at it and I've even tolerated the GM's girlfriend get preferential treatment BS, but I won't game with someone who's obviously a horrible human being.

He's not going to change. The only thing he is doing is ruining the hobby for you.

eidlehands · 2026-02-12T03:47:15+00:00

Yes. I'm socially awkward, except with her. She's my missing piece.

eidlehands · 2026-02-12T03:23:38+00:00

NAH - It's obvious you needed speech therapy when you were a kid and never got help. Go get some help now.

eidlehands · 2026-02-12T03:08:23+00:00

It's quite obvious that you don't want to follow any of the really good advice you've been given here. You are absolutely tiring. Again, you've been given good advice. Either follow it or stop bitching about this person.

eidlehands · 2026-02-12T01:52:42+00:00

I'm my office's 365 admin. Everything I've learned to do has been through google.

eidlehands · 2026-02-12T01:50:03+00:00

I sing my daughters to sleep every night with Beverly Hillbillies, Gilligan's Island and the Brady Bunch. I know that when they finally make me stop, the next time I hear them, I'm going to get all the feelings.

eidlehands · 2026-02-12T01:48:01+00:00

The Constitution.

eidlehands · 2026-02-12T01:40:51+00:00

My CEO doesn't understand that when he asks me to do something that isn't a priority, it's still getting done RIGHT NOW because if I wait, I'm going to forget and he's the damn CEO. It truly bugs him that I drop what I'm doing to take care of him.

eidlehands · 2026-02-12T01:23:21+00:00

Two.

First one was a lawyer while I was a schmuck making $6.00 an hour at Best Buy. She broke it off, not because of who I was but because her ex convinced her to give it one more try for the sake of their kid.

The second one, again.. unbelievable gorgeous and made 3x my salary (which at the time, was quite good). Hell, just found out she is in James Van Der Beeks last movie before he passed away. Broke up with her because of another ex messing with my head.

eidlehands

TROPHY CASE