Chaotic Stupid (long) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Chaotic Stupid (long) [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Sybill
05-31-05, 07:09 AM :weep:
Sorry this is so long, but I want to see what other people think of this story.
:confused:

Ok, so usually, I love my group. I purposely put them into crazy situations to see what they do, and they're pretty cool with that. We always have a lot of fun, but there's one character who frequently messes things up for the others.

Background: Our party is made up of various monsters, including a very young bronze dragon rogue and an awakened dire badger (neutral, and with a 9 intelligence). Years ago, a big blue dragon kicked young dragon rogue out of his home, possibly killing his father.

Situation: The players return to the home of the bronze dragon (to see about a missing sheep farmer). At home, they find a young adult female blue dragon deep in the lair. She attacks, they attack back, she guards the passage farther into the cave. Our monk tumbles past her and (taking an idea from this board) sees her recently hatched wyrmlings. She freaks out and knocks him unconscious after he tells the group why she's so angry. One of the wyrmlings stabalizes the monk, and battle continues. She gives up her turn and tells the party just to leave her and her babies alone, and she'll let them go. Everyone defers, til the badger's turn. He attacks. Again, she asks to just be left in peace, in her own home (a gift from her father) and she'll give them some treasure and let them go in peace. Badger attacks. She attacks back, and the rest of the party eventually puts her at -5 or so. She goes down.

So what does the badger do? Buries her. In a hole. In the ground. Does the same to two of her babies (only two because the monk managed to grab the one that saved his life). Now, she's still breathing, and her babies are alive and well when he buries them alive.

ARGH!!

So now, we have one dying mommy dragon (in a hole), three babies (two of which are buried in a hole), and somewhere, a daddy. All of whom are going to be very angry when they find out that the party took ALL 70,000 or so gold worth of hoard.

*sigh* So yeah, sorry about all that, but what do you do with a character that plays like he has an intelligence of 4 and doesn't care about anyone else?
And what do you do when an adventure goes so out of control???? :banghead:
Torack
05-31-05, 07:14 AM Bring in daddy dragon?
Leap
05-31-05, 07:25 AM Make daddy dragon a gold, not a blue (and yes I mean gold not red). Think "Sturm meets Kitiara"......and teach them humilty dragon-style.....
prodigyxss
05-31-05, 07:25 AM That is one crazy story, but it looks like they brought the crazy situation to you this time. I would do what Torack said and bring in the daddy dragon to teach them a thing or two and rescue his surviving baby. I would have the monk survive. :cool:
Sybill
05-31-05, 07:35 AM The only thing I hate about just killing them all with daddy is that really, all of them tried to stop and get out, and only defended the badger when the dragon started attacking him (they have been through a lot together). I dunno, I feel bad punishing the whole group for just the badger.

Plus, well, daddy's back at home now and one of the babies managed to stabalize the mom, and our paladin has decided to atone (she lost her paladin powers because of this and some other bad moves during the campaign, another story, but anyway) by PERSONALLY returning treasure and baby back to daddy. :gah: :looloo:
And of course, the rest of the group decided to go with her.

:weep: I kinda wanted them to befriend the dragons, who are personally more neutral than evil, but now I don't know what to do with them. Daddy could definately beat them into the dirt, but.... :help:
Ibbins
05-31-05, 07:44 AM OOG, suggest to the other players that they turn the badger over to the daddy dragon. The party doesn't always have to be unquestioningly on one side.
snowlynx
05-31-05, 09:28 AM Is it possible the badger was doing this for the sake of his friend, not just to go combat happy?

Regardless...if you really want to make the badger feel bad, you could have made it a bronze dragon that returns. The player dragon's father, making the wyrmling blue dragons the half-siblings of the bronze dragon.

I think this is one of those circumstances in which the group should impress peer pressure on the badger to behave, and you should stay out of it. Make them responsible for the consequences of their actions, but understand that the players have the right to make choices in your game that will impact the story for better or worse.
Sybill
05-31-05, 08:43 PM Well, I'm pretty sure he was just combat happy. The dragon did offer to let them go with their friend and he (the monk) would have died if one of the baby dragon's hadn't stabalized him. (He was at -9). She offered twice to let them go on their way to take care of the monk, as long as they left her alone.
Always-Late
05-31-05, 09:01 PM First of all, the blue dragons can burrow :evillaugh

So, they don't know that it's burrowing, baby dragons burrow to mommy dragon and stabilize, when they're conscious again, they get daddy dragon. Dragon daddy arrives, goes, "WTF?" Mom and kids explain. Dragon party hunts down party, demands the badger. If the party has half a brain they turn him over, dragons eat him. Roll up a new character.

(If he whines, tell him what he think what two powerful dragons and a bunch of wyrmlings should have done in that situation.
masterclif
06-01-05, 12:20 AM Hee, that reminds me of a fight-hungry player in my game. The players got tired of him always fighting without leaving people alive to help. Next door they found with a bunch of enemies on the other side...Well, let's just say that an Orc Barbarian who is shoved into a room and kept from leaving dies fast when surrounded by an encounter tailored for 10 pc's.
Dishliquid
06-02-05, 05:17 PM You could make daddy the half-bronze dragon's father.

That would lead to some interesting RPing.
Bruunwald
06-02-05, 07:30 PM The most interesting point at work here for me is that the players often ruin your best laid plans. Of course, that's what free will will get you.

I have a player who just can't take a hint or see story tangents. Thankfully, two of my other players tend to intervene before dumb decisions can be made, as they are aware of said player's bad judgment. But since he is a glory hog, bad decisions still are made during crucial battles. Another, heavily-armored PC can't stop jumping in front of the stealthy ranger. Everytime stealth is needed, she attempts to Move Silently. I have to resist the urge to berate her: "Stop it! You have a ranger PC trying to scout and an NPC rogue. It's THEIR job to do this stuff!" But part of the game is letting them make their mistakes.

But the best advice is to not get too attached to how you hope the game will play out. You can create the situations, and you can try to guide the plot, but you can't really control your players. Their actions must necessarily always influence the world and the plot.

Still, I sympathize. I can't understand why people do things like this, sometimes. Maybe to prove their free will to everybody.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sybill 05-31-05, 07:09 AM	:weep: Sorry this is so long, but I want to see what other people think of this story. :confused: Ok, so usually, I love my group. I purposely put them into crazy situations to see what they do, and they're pretty cool with that. We always have a lot of fun, but there's one character who frequently messes things up for the others. Background: Our party is made up of various monsters, including a very young bronze dragon rogue and an awakened dire badger (neutral, and with a 9 intelligence). Years ago, a big blue dragon kicked young dragon rogue out of his home, possibly killing his father. Situation: The players return to the home of the bronze dragon (to see about a missing sheep farmer). At home, they find a young adult female blue dragon deep in the lair. She attacks, they attack back, she guards the passage farther into the cave. Our monk tumbles past her and (taking an idea from this board) sees her recently hatched wyrmlings. She freaks out and knocks him unconscious after he tells the group why she's so angry. One of the wyrmlings stabalizes the monk, and battle continues. She gives up her turn and tells the party just to leave her and her babies alone, and she'll let them go. Everyone defers, til the badger's turn. He attacks. Again, she asks to just be left in peace, in her own home (a gift from her father) and she'll give them some treasure and let them go in peace. Badger attacks. She attacks back, and the rest of the party eventually puts her at -5 or so. She goes down. So what does the badger do? Buries her. In a hole. In the ground. Does the same to two of her babies (only two because the monk managed to grab the one that saved his life). Now, she's still breathing, and her babies are alive and well when he buries them alive. ARGH!! So now, we have one dying mommy dragon (in a hole), three babies (two of which are buried in a hole), and somewhere, a daddy. All of whom are going to be very angry when they find out that the party took ALL 70,000 or so gold worth of hoard. sigh So yeah, sorry about all that, but what do you do with a character that plays like he has an intelligence of 4 and doesn't care about anyone else? And what do you do when an adventure goes so out of control???? :banghead:
Torack 05-31-05, 07:14 AM	Bring in daddy dragon?
Leap 05-31-05, 07:25 AM	Make daddy dragon a gold, not a blue (and yes I mean gold not red). Think "Sturm meets Kitiara"......and teach them humilty dragon-style.....
prodigyxss 05-31-05, 07:25 AM	That is one crazy story, but it looks like they brought the crazy situation to you this time. I would do what Torack said and bring in the daddy dragon to teach them a thing or two and rescue his surviving baby. I would have the monk survive. :cool:
Sybill 05-31-05, 07:35 AM	The only thing I hate about just killing them all with daddy is that really, all of them tried to stop and get out, and only defended the badger when the dragon started attacking him (they have been through a lot together). I dunno, I feel bad punishing the whole group for just the badger. Plus, well, daddy's back at home now and one of the babies managed to stabalize the mom, and our paladin has decided to atone (she lost her paladin powers because of this and some other bad moves during the campaign, another story, but anyway) by PERSONALLY returning treasure and baby back to daddy. :gah: :looloo: And of course, the rest of the group decided to go with her. :weep: I kinda wanted them to befriend the dragons, who are personally more neutral than evil, but now I don't know what to do with them. Daddy could definately beat them into the dirt, but.... :help:
Ibbins 05-31-05, 07:44 AM	OOG, suggest to the other players that they turn the badger over to the daddy dragon. The party doesn't always have to be unquestioningly on one side.
snowlynx 05-31-05, 09:28 AM	Is it possible the badger was doing this for the sake of his friend, not just to go combat happy? Regardless...if you really want to make the badger feel bad, you could have made it a bronze dragon that returns. The player dragon's father, making the wyrmling blue dragons the half-siblings of the bronze dragon. I think this is one of those circumstances in which the group should impress peer pressure on the badger to behave, and you should stay out of it. Make them responsible for the consequences of their actions, but understand that the players have the right to make choices in your game that will impact the story for better or worse.
Sybill 05-31-05, 08:43 PM	Well, I'm pretty sure he was just combat happy. The dragon did offer to let them go with their friend and he (the monk) would have died if one of the baby dragon's hadn't stabalized him. (He was at -9). She offered twice to let them go on their way to take care of the monk, as long as they left her alone.
Always-Late 05-31-05, 09:01 PM	First of all, the blue dragons can burrow :evillaugh So, they don't know that it's burrowing, baby dragons burrow to mommy dragon and stabilize, when they're conscious again, they get daddy dragon. Dragon daddy arrives, goes, "WTF?" Mom and kids explain. Dragon party hunts down party, demands the badger. If the party has half a brain they turn him over, dragons eat him. Roll up a new character. (If he whines, tell him what he think what two powerful dragons and a bunch of wyrmlings should have done in that situation.
masterclif 06-01-05, 12:20 AM	Hee, that reminds me of a fight-hungry player in my game. The players got tired of him always fighting without leaving people alive to help. Next door they found with a bunch of enemies on the other side...Well, let's just say that an Orc Barbarian who is shoved into a room and kept from leaving dies fast when surrounded by an encounter tailored for 10 pc's.
Dishliquid 06-02-05, 05:17 PM	You could make daddy the half-bronze dragon's father. That would lead to some interesting RPing.
Bruunwald 06-02-05, 07:30 PM	The most interesting point at work here for me is that the players often ruin your best laid plans. Of course, that's what free will will get you. I have a player who just can't take a hint or see story tangents. Thankfully, two of my other players tend to intervene before dumb decisions can be made, as they are aware of said player's bad judgment. But since he is a glory hog, bad decisions still are made during crucial battles. Another, heavily-armored PC can't stop jumping in front of the stealthy ranger. Everytime stealth is needed, she attempts to Move Silently. I have to resist the urge to berate her: "Stop it! You have a ranger PC trying to scout and an NPC rogue. It's THEIR job to do this stuff!" But part of the game is letting them make their mistakes. But the best advice is to not get too attached to how you hope the game will play out. You can create the situations, and you can try to guide the plot, but you can't really control your players. Their actions must necessarily always influence the world and the plot. Still, I sympathize. I can't understand why people do things like this, sometimes. Maybe to prove their free will to everybody.