I need some help. [Archive] - Wizards Community

I need some help. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Half-Dragon Knight
08-06-05, 10:01 PM I recently introduced D&D to some of my friends, I said it was fun if you make your own character. So they did, but they made theier special abilites and attacks and stuff WAY too strong for a lvl-1. I told them this, but they just said "so what". So I started an adventure, with me as the DM. Whenever I said there was a weopon, or treasure, everyone started fighting over who should get the treasure. Then, after the adventure (which was so crazy I felt like quitting), we went back to town, they all started fighting about who got to go to the shop first. Then, one of my friends said he went to the forest and started fighting monsters. He kept using his special abilities, which where way too strong, and started leveling up like every half a minute. Then everyone else started doing this. I told everyone they where leveling up to fast, but they just kept ignoring me. Then they started fighting over who should get the exp. I kept telling them this isn't a competitive game. But they said they didn't care. So I got so frustrated :headexplo , that I packed my D&D stuff up and started to walk home. All my friends started saying they would play it right and stop being crazy. But I ignored them and kept walking home. A few days later I tried playing D&D with my friends again, but the same crazy thing happened. Now there's only 3 people I know who play D&D good enough for it to be fun. But I don't see them that often :allalone: . So can anyone give me some advice to make my friends play D&D right?
XrP-Leon The Second
08-07-05, 02:29 AM There are just some people that are incapable of playing D&D, it requires some amount of maturity and the ability to -gapzorz- interact with others.:OMG!
These are the people that need to buy WarCraft 3: and type "Whosyourdaddy". That seems to be their game: They want to win, they want to do it now, they don't care about the game, and don't care about cheese. My advise would be, since you have no one capable of playing the game (and making sessions) would be to start or join an online campaign. I did, and within less than a month I had over 10 players. It's a lot easier to tell people on line to quit the game (since it's less personal) when they suck or are destructive. Same for RPing, the more insecure people seem to be more in place on line, and are willing to RP more actively. Good luck with that.
aleshandre
08-07-05, 10:03 AM The first thing that you need to do with that kind of group is change the way that XP is awarded. Award it based on whether they are accomplishing the purpose of the adventure/quest. You'll find information on this in D20 Modern. The second thing is to break out a couple of gods that are appropriately increased in ability to be able to kill the characters outright with their first full round attack. The third thing is that you have to stop them from creating their own special abilities. Have them use the first level abilities in the Player's Handbook. Fourth, you have to tell them that you decide when they can level up, not them. This isn't a videogame, where you automatically level up in the middle of killing undead in the basements of a church. Finally, always have a monster of high enough level to kill them instantly if they get too big for thier britches again.

While I agree that the group was out of control, it was the DM who let it get that way in the first place. Remember, in your little corner of the world that is D&D, YOU ARE GOD.
Trydan
08-08-05, 08:37 AM Be careful about apportioning "blame". It is not the players fault if they want to play the way they do, it is just their choice. It is not the DM's fault for letting them get away with it - he or she is in charge of the plot, not the actions of the players.

D&D (or any other RPG for that matter) is a team game. Thus, everyone needs to play together in a style that is compatible with everyone else. If there is a single player that is causing the problem, the group needs to discuss it, and if he or she cannot come into line, then he or she needs to leave (or be kicked out). But the same thing goes for the DM as well. If you (as DM) find that you don't enjoy the playing style, then don't run the games. Seriously... I know you are dying to play, as you love the game, but don't let yourself burn out on it due to a group of players who have different (but no less valid) ideas about how to play. Don't forget, there is no absolute right or wrong way, and what suits one group of players, may not suit others.

By the way, you may get some more responsed from the "What's a DM to do (http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=24)" board rather than from the Char.Dev board here (which is more about character development as such).
Morka
08-09-05, 09:52 AM You could perhaps restart a "normal" game, but starting at level 10. They want high stats? No troubles. But they must remember the NPCs they will be facing will have high stats too.

Also, make them thrall of some powerful master. Give them a ring of slavery. Each time there is internal feud, they all receive 1d6 point of damage, no save.
eternal swordsman
08-10-05, 06:50 PM You see? THIS is why we need a Tiamat mini! If they get out of hand, a five headed dragon comes down to set them straight (plus it would inspire terror, being so much bigger than the PC's minis).

If you can't get them to listen, do something creative that will get them under control. For instance, if they start doing that monster killing in the forest for EXP, let them get to level 15 or so, then have them warp to another plane that sucks all their energy away and brings them back to lvl 1.
If there's a paladin in your group, you could say that by being so greedy, his alignment changes to Neutral Evil and he loses his abilities. If they start fighting over treasure, have the chest become a mimic or tell them the item is actually being wielded by a lich with an invisibility spell cast on it. If they complain, just smile and say, "Well, if you'd play right, these things wouldn't happen."
Horias_Norehammer
09-04-05, 11:43 PM First, don't go throwing them onto other level sucking planes, Unless you have a in-game reason. You might be thinking your just teaching your players a lesson, but it could start more conflict. A more subtle way to handle this is with NPCs. NPCs are a vital area within the game in which you can keep your players in check. Keep them reminded that no matter how big and bad their characters are, there is ALWAYS someone bigger, badder, and better equipped at kicking butt than their pcs. Then if they complain, you can just tell them that the rules state that the DM must keep the encounters up to the pcs abilities. Also, make sure to use an experience points system thats sparing. If the PCs are running around the woods killing things at 1st level that a 10th level player would have a suitable encounter against, then award XP as if the CR was 2 or 3 points lower than it actually was. This will slow the XP way down.

One more approach... RUST MONSTERS...all the great weapons they have...GONE!!!

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Half-Dragon Knight 08-06-05, 10:01 PM	I recently introduced D&D to some of my friends, I said it was fun if you make your own character. So they did, but they made theier special abilites and attacks and stuff WAY too strong for a lvl-1. I told them this, but they just said "so what". So I started an adventure, with me as the DM. Whenever I said there was a weopon, or treasure, everyone started fighting over who should get the treasure. Then, after the adventure (which was so crazy I felt like quitting), we went back to town, they all started fighting about who got to go to the shop first. Then, one of my friends said he went to the forest and started fighting monsters. He kept using his special abilities, which where way too strong, and started leveling up like every half a minute. Then everyone else started doing this. I told everyone they where leveling up to fast, but they just kept ignoring me. Then they started fighting over who should get the exp. I kept telling them this isn't a competitive game. But they said they didn't care. So I got so frustrated :headexplo , that I packed my D&D stuff up and started to walk home. All my friends started saying they would play it right and stop being crazy. But I ignored them and kept walking home. A few days later I tried playing D&D with my friends again, but the same crazy thing happened. Now there's only 3 people I know who play D&D good enough for it to be fun. But I don't see them that often :allalone: . So can anyone give me some advice to make my friends play D&D right?
XrP-Leon The Second 08-07-05, 02:29 AM	There are just some people that are incapable of playing D&D, it requires some amount of maturity and the ability to -gapzorz- interact with others.:OMG! These are the people that need to buy WarCraft 3: and type "Whosyourdaddy". That seems to be their game: They want to win, they want to do it now, they don't care about the game, and don't care about cheese. My advise would be, since you have no one capable of playing the game (and making sessions) would be to start or join an online campaign. I did, and within less than a month I had over 10 players. It's a lot easier to tell people on line to quit the game (since it's less personal) when they suck or are destructive. Same for RPing, the more insecure people seem to be more in place on line, and are willing to RP more actively. Good luck with that.
aleshandre 08-07-05, 10:03 AM	The first thing that you need to do with that kind of group is change the way that XP is awarded. Award it based on whether they are accomplishing the purpose of the adventure/quest. You'll find information on this in D20 Modern. The second thing is to break out a couple of gods that are appropriately increased in ability to be able to kill the characters outright with their first full round attack. The third thing is that you have to stop them from creating their own special abilities. Have them use the first level abilities in the Player's Handbook. Fourth, you have to tell them that you decide when they can level up, not them. This isn't a videogame, where you automatically level up in the middle of killing undead in the basements of a church. Finally, always have a monster of high enough level to kill them instantly if they get too big for thier britches again. While I agree that the group was out of control, it was the DM who let it get that way in the first place. Remember, in your little corner of the world that is D&D, YOU ARE GOD.
Trydan 08-08-05, 08:37 AM	Be careful about apportioning "blame". It is not the players fault if they want to play the way they do, it is just their choice. It is not the DM's fault for letting them get away with it - he or she is in charge of the plot, not the actions of the players. D&D (or any other RPG for that matter) is a team game. Thus, everyone needs to play together in a style that is compatible with everyone else. If there is a single player that is causing the problem, the group needs to discuss it, and if he or she cannot come into line, then he or she needs to leave (or be kicked out). But the same thing goes for the DM as well. If you (as DM) find that you don't enjoy the playing style, then don't run the games. Seriously... I know you are dying to play, as you love the game, but don't let yourself burn out on it due to a group of players who have different (but no less valid) ideas about how to play. Don't forget, there is no absolute right or wrong way, and what suits one group of players, may not suit others. By the way, you may get some more responsed from the "What's a DM to do (http://boards1.wizards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=24)" board rather than from the Char.Dev board here (which is more about character development as such).
Morka 08-09-05, 09:52 AM	You could perhaps restart a "normal" game, but starting at level 10. They want high stats? No troubles. But they must remember the NPCs they will be facing will have high stats too. Also, make them thrall of some powerful master. Give them a ring of slavery. Each time there is internal feud, they all receive 1d6 point of damage, no save.
eternal swordsman 08-10-05, 06:50 PM	You see? THIS is why we need a Tiamat mini! If they get out of hand, a five headed dragon comes down to set them straight (plus it would inspire terror, being so much bigger than the PC's minis). If you can't get them to listen, do something creative that will get them under control. For instance, if they start doing that monster killing in the forest for EXP, let them get to level 15 or so, then have them warp to another plane that sucks all their energy away and brings them back to lvl 1. If there's a paladin in your group, you could say that by being so greedy, his alignment changes to Neutral Evil and he loses his abilities. If they start fighting over treasure, have the chest become a mimic or tell them the item is actually being wielded by a lich with an invisibility spell cast on it. If they complain, just smile and say, "Well, if you'd play right, these things wouldn't happen."
Horias_Norehammer 09-04-05, 11:43 PM	First, don't go throwing them onto other level sucking planes, Unless you have a in-game reason. You might be thinking your just teaching your players a lesson, but it could start more conflict. A more subtle way to handle this is with NPCs. NPCs are a vital area within the game in which you can keep your players in check. Keep them reminded that no matter how big and bad their characters are, there is ALWAYS someone bigger, badder, and better equipped at kicking butt than their pcs. Then if they complain, you can just tell them that the rules state that the DM must keep the encounters up to the pcs abilities. Also, make sure to use an experience points system thats sparing. If the PCs are running around the woods killing things at 1st level that a 10th level player would have a suitable encounter against, then award XP as if the CR was 2 or 3 points lower than it actually was. This will slow the XP way down. One more approach... RUST MONSTERS...all the great weapons they have...GONE!!!