Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Uratoh 07-08-07, 06:58 PM	game I'm playing in has officially gotten out of hand in terms of DM megalomania/etc... we're 7th level characters, for refrence. This is just going to be points instead of a paragraph... The 'main (revealed to no longer be the main villain) villain is a 30th level lich, who knows where we are. He has sent hunting parties after us, and is just amused by watching us run. he (and the parties) know EVERYTHING about our characters, because we were 'famous heroes' 50 years ago who got flung into a time rift... Any time we get a new ability, they immidiately know about it one fight later and have taken measures to compensate. Food is scarce, and the cleric can't use Create Food & Water because suddenly 'magic is fouled and tainted' so the food he makes is putrid. We also have to take rare vitamin pills to get nutrients because existing food isnt nutritious enough >_> Conjuration in general is messed up. Example...We're attacked by a pack of Dire Wolves led by a Winter Wolf. The Warlock gained Fel Flight and used it in the battle. The Winter Wolf was True Resurrected (and gained two tentacles that paralyze targets), sent after us again (next session) with twice as many dire wolves, and a regiment of archers to shoot down the warlock if he flew above 30 feet (and the WW informed us of this fact). After barely winning, the archers left without having done anything, we went on, met a 20+ lv NPC (who was, LITERALLY, a villain from Get-Backers, introduced himself as such) who was the horseman of Death, and revealed the lich is 'pestilance', etc...then kicked our asses, and healed us to 1 each and let us live because 'we weren't a good enough fight'. so ya, I'm quitting. Just thinking of the best way to bow out...I wanna say dude your game SUCKS, but he is a friend...
wizarddog 07-08-07, 07:11 PM	"I'd like to play in this other person campaign.."
pokemaniacbill 07-08-07, 07:19 PM	Someone else will probably tell you how to quit. I don't know how besides saying "WTF", so here's what I think. He's running this like an RPG. Console style. You see it, right? Ridiculous boss. Stupid boss. Recurring generals. 'You're not worth defeating'. This is textbook, man. Here's how I figure it though. If the game bothers you and I can see why, tell him that he's not playing fair as the DM. And that it's not okay.
Salla 07-08-07, 07:30 PM	Address your issues with the game tactfully, but directly. Tell him precisely what is negatively impacting your enjoyment of the game. Determine if some measure of compromise can be made. If not, inform him regretfully that this just 'isn't your style' and hand him your character sheet.
nightside_samurai 07-08-07, 07:38 PM	Hand him the sheet? I don't know about everyone else but I work hard on my sheets and I like to keep them as a reference to past campaigns.
Salla 07-08-07, 07:46 PM	Hand him the sheet? I don't know about everyone else but I work hard on my sheets and I like to keep them as a reference to past campaigns. It's typical amongst our group for the DM of the game to keep the sheets so he can look at stats, capabilities, skills etc. to aid in balancing encounters, plus it minimizes the possibilities of 'oops, I lost it, need to redo it' or 'I've always had that feat' or 'always had that 18' incidents.
danielinthewolvesden 07-08-07, 08:01 PM	Show him this thread and ask him to respond here.
DarkNick 07-08-07, 10:39 PM	"I'm not having fun, so I am not going to play in this game anymore. Cheers" hard eh?
nightside_samurai 07-08-07, 11:16 PM	In my group we keep our sheets ourselves for the same reason lol. We're responsible for our own numbers and if we mess it up the Math Golem* pays a visit. *The Math Golem's to hit is 1d20 + coSine * 3.14 infinity. His AC is String Theory and all his saves are the density of a Black Hole divided by infinity * 2. He is also incorporeal, invisible, and has DR 100000/Bad Math :D
shadzar 07-08-07, 11:39 PM	call into the next game session with anul glaucoma. you just cant see your *** going to it. seriously. just tell him, that it has gotten out of hand and doesn't feel right for you to play in. maybe discus it with the other players and see what they think. or just don't show up at the game
calronmoonflower 07-09-07, 12:44 AM	Be honest, straightforward, and not insulting. Also talk to the other players to see if they share you opinion and do it in a group if possible.
Vaelan 07-09-07, 02:14 AM	DR 100000/Bad Math :D Doesn't that mean that anyone who miscalculates their damage bypasses the Math Golem's DR? Shouldn't it be DR Whatever/Good Math? Be honest, straightforward, and not insulting. I consider that particular style of DMing to be insulting, so I would recommend removing the bolded word on the grounds of equity.
Alric 07-09-07, 02:18 AM	Well really, the basic idea is fine but then it starts getting silly. You might still be able to save the game or maybe start a new one. I would just tell him its getting a bit out of hand and silly and you think he should tone it down a bit.
Comus 07-09-07, 02:35 AM	You can't tell someone who is your friend, yet you're okay discussing it with total strangers? Dude, he's your friend. You have a duty to talk to him. If you're nervous about it, talk to the other players first. But unless you talk to him about it, it can't get better.
kelvinaw273 07-09-07, 03:26 AM	The best way is to 'give him a break at DMing' and run a game yourself, doing it the way you think it should be done.
Fuzzly 07-09-07, 08:52 AM	Borrow his DMG and PHB, take them home, and then spit between every page. Might take awhile, but he'll get the hint. Or you could just, I dunno, talk maybe? You didn't say if you ever talked to him about your problems with his game. If you haven't, man-up first and give him the respect a friend deserves. Take the situation from his perspective. Let's say you like to chew gum. You (without really realizing it) make small bubbles that pop pretty loudly. This really, really annoys your room mate, but he never says anything about it to you, he just bottles it in. Then, after 4 months of living together, you blow a bubble and pop. Suddenly you see stars as he takes his keyboard and hits you in the back of the head because he just could take it anymore.
Ayra 07-09-07, 09:51 AM	Sounds like he's playing for his own enjoyment. I once played a LAN game with a few friends, but only one of them back then knew how to set everything up. On the server, however, he gave himself infinite everything while we were all normal players. It ended up with him beating us up whenever he felt like it and after approximately half an hour of play, we decided that the game wasn't really fun. The next day we read through the manual on how to set up the game and played it without him. Moral of the story? Sure he's your friend, but if he's playing only for his own enjoyment he's a very selfish friend. If your other players don't like it either, take up the DM books and create your own game.
Phrennzy 07-09-07, 11:52 AM	It is entirely possible, and probable, that your DM believes he is doing a good job. No one tries to suck. Some people just come by it naturally. Out of game, talk to him. He is your friend. Just tell him, politely, what you don't like and what you do. You need to let him know how you feel. Make sure you mention what parts of his game you do like. Being a DM, you put part of you on the line when you run a game, especially homebrew stuff. You have this idea, this goal to provide a setting/game that is just loads of fun for everyone. Sometimes you suck. Sometimes you rock. Those moments can be within seconds of each other. But DMing is personal. The DM wants to please his players. He wants them to have a good time. Even the jerk DMs want the players to enjoy themselves and talk about his games when, in their old age, on their death bed, they speak of the things they enjoyed most in life. So be nice, but talk to him.
CCS 07-09-07, 02:27 PM	so ya, I'm quitting. Just thinking of the best way to bow out...I wanna say dude your game SUCKS, but he is a friend... Do you have a job? Maybe you could arange to have your schedule "change" for awhile. Of course just telling him the truth can be good as well. Sometimes "Your game sucks" just needs to be voiced....
Man in the Funny Hat 07-09-07, 03:15 PM	"Dude, I'm not enjoying this campaign. It's not my character or the other players, it's the campaign itself. We're the freakin' heroes man - we need to WIN every once in a while. We need to be able to face enemies who are NOT omnipotent. When playing Cat & Mouse the only way to WIN is NOT BE THE MOUSE. We need to face opponents who are challenging but are not AUTOMATICALLY able to rub our noses in the dirt when it looks like we're actually getting good at something. "Most importantly - we are not here for YOUR amusement - we are here for OUR amusement. It's a mutual thing. Hey, sometimes being the hunted rebels or last survivors in a sea of evil zombies is fun but not day-after-day, week-after-week, session-after-session. Give us a freakin' break. I don't enjoy playing a character whose only joy in life comes in having survived to be miserable yet one more day. "Look... You're the DM. You control EVERYTHING in this game except our characters. You WIN whenever you want to. That's a given. What sucks is to have that fact constantly waved in front of you like a mirage of water in a freakin' desert. It makes you He-Man of Greyskull because, "You have the Power!" but it BLOWS when your on the recieving end and just get your nose rubbed in it all the time like a dog making messes on the new carpet. "So, either we ----can this game and start over with a normal game or I'm just not gonna play. I don't expect to have it all handed to me on a silver platter but I DO need to enjoy playing - and I'm not. Not nearly as much as I SHOULD."
Bruunwald 07-09-07, 03:24 PM	Probably the best way to depart from any situation or group in any aspect of your life is to thank everybody for their time, explain that you will not be returning after such and such time, and calmly explain why only when you feel it is necessary, and then without malice. Unless you are thirteen years old, or perpetually trapped in the personality of a thirteen-year-old, in which case, it is not surprising (though still not acceptable) if you pitch a big baby fit and call people names. Note, however, that if you do this, you will deserve everything you get in return.
zelf_gale 07-09-07, 03:54 PM	Here is the campaign <setting / module / adventure> I recently <bought / found > for your <birthday / holiday / special occasion>, would you like for you or me to DM. (If he continues to demolish the new campaign, tell him you are not having fun in his game and invite him and the other players to the one you DM being held at a time that doesn't conflict with his.)
_Jayne_Cobb_ 07-09-07, 04:06 PM	http://images.art.com/images/products/large/11755000/11755921.jpg
Aryxbez 07-09-07, 04:14 PM	How long has this one-sided story forced fights been going on? Has this been the only times it has occurred? What I would do is go along with it at least one more time, if the DM is being still continues these one-siders. Then just talk to him about how you don't like the one-siders and ask him to politely stop them. Heck, get the other players to politely tell him as well. If he still won't quit it, then you can just quit, tell him: I don't really like to play your game anymore, sorry.
Starchaserva 07-09-07, 04:16 PM	Wow, without a doubt that is one of the worst sounding games I have ever heard. I would say...dude, you're a friend, but not only is your game frustrating and confusing, but I also don't want to play it anymore. If you leaving this awful game breaks his heart, then he is seriously out of his mind, especially if he thinks the game is fun to begin with. DM Megalomania is just terrible.
CowMasterTrojan 07-09-07, 04:25 PM	http://images.art.com/images/products/large/11755000/11755921.jpg :D Perfect qoute :D Procede to then have your character impale themself. then leave.
nightside_samurai 07-09-07, 06:19 PM	Doesn't that mean that anyone who miscalculates their damage bypasses the Math Golem's DR? Shouldn't it be DR Whatever/Good Math? It means that to damage the Math Golem the character (not the player) has to yell "2 + 2 = 5!" and then roll a ranged touch attack. :D Seriously though, just talk to your friend and explain the problem. If he's not friend enough to talk to then he isn't a friend.
Molitor 07-09-07, 06:49 PM	You should DM.
Uratoh 07-09-07, 06:53 PM	Reason I didnt just talk to him is he drives in from out of town to run/play, and is only here for alternate weekends.
Vaelan 07-10-07, 01:11 AM	Reason I didnt just talk to him is he drives in from out of town to run/play, and is only here for alternate weekends. Why am I not surprised that he can't find a game to run unless he goes out of town? :shifty:
Molitor 07-10-07, 03:02 AM	Why am I not surprised that he can't find a game to run unless he goes out of town? :shifty: LOL, cold-blooded!!!
danielinthewolvesden 07-10-07, 03:21 AM	Reason I didnt just talk to him is he drives in from out of town to run/play, and is only here for alternate weekends. Ok, but you CAN send him a link to this thread, and he can respond and explain. I would like to hear his side. Or perhaps he will learn from us.
calronmoonflower 07-10-07, 03:46 AM	I consider that particular style of DMing to be insulting, so I would recommend removing the bolded word on the grounds of equity. 1. You can be insulting without knowing that you are. 2. After you try it politely and it doesn't work then you can be insulting. It doesn't work so well the other way.
DarkflameX 07-10-07, 11:51 AM	just claim that you are too busy to play d and d for a while.
iggyzillious 07-10-07, 03:56 PM	I had a messy situation me and a few friends played DND alot at our college campus and one of the friends and I got sick of the game for various reasons. It was an epic level game where we were evil char's the pros were that we were given alot of latitude in terms of races, backstory and so forth but the plot became ludicrious such as even thoguh we were told to pick a religion all of the gods except one that no one worshiped or knew about was killed and we had to fight to rebuild this evil empire against this paladin's army. My character was a succubus bard/rake/ and if i stayed longer a cleric, when her deity Malcanchet died she was pretty angry as a powerful underling to her and she became a demigod and worked to become the new leader of the succubi and take up on many planes of the abyss because somehow the DM felt that destroying all of the demonlords and many of the planes the abyss was going to be one of them. However I talked him out of it seeing as the abyss is by definition infinite and that destroying the source of chaos from the universe is probably a huge mistake and not only would it kinda mess up the whole blood war but the balance of power in general. The one good thing I got out of it was a nice intermediate deity i can implement for char's to worship in another game and give a good backstory. The cons were that we had infinite money so rolling for treasure was basically pointless same with learning new spells. In addition the original concept was based on us leading armies to fight but this was scrapped after he felt it was great to have a modified oil of impact that was basically an atom bomb that one person could make and was used to make any battle pointless. In addition the lich was given the ok to have his phylactrcy be hidden in the center of the earth via imprison with the catch that he erased his mind of hte location afterwords so not even he knew where it was and no deity's could either. I guess Vecna was sleeping before he was destroyed. The lich char kept making epic spells with no drawbacks such as the research cost because the dm gave him infinite people to sac for the exp cost and used like hundreds of people to speed up research time. The final straw was this race the dm and the lich player made that was a LA+15 at level 1, each stat was +20, SR 30, DR 20/-, immortal, NA of like +20 and there were other things, if i recall they were fully adult at birth or something and there were other things. The game basically lost all fun and was maddening. Me and my other friend went up to the DM and simply said the game has gotten too rediculous and explained our reasons, we all ended it amicably, and since we each ran a game the group continued. My advice would be to ask if you can either run your own game on other weeks or have another person in the group do it. You could even ask the players to see if they agree with you that the game has become a chore and see if the DM will start a new game or mod this one until everyone is happy.
Vaelan 07-10-07, 11:24 PM	1. You can be insulting without knowing that you are. And by being insulting back, you are making yourself into a mirror in which their actions are reflected, thus allowing them to see! Or you'll just make them incredibly defensive as they desperately struggle to hang on to their delusions of not sucking. I've seen it go both ways. Naturally you would want to make it quite clear that you were being insulting for a purpose after the point has been made. 2. After you try it politely and it doesn't work then you can be insulting. It doesn't work so well the other way. When considering the bevy of negative traits I am arbitrarily assigning to this person based on an amount of information that could not by any stretch of the imagination be deemed "sufficient", neither way is going to work very well! As for the optimal order, it depends on the person. Sometimes with people who are so incredibly dense, a more evocative (read: insulting) presentation is necessary.
doink1212 07-10-07, 11:35 PM	game I'm playing in has officially gotten out of hand in terms of DM megalomania/etc... we're 7th level characters, for refrence. This is just going to be points instead of a paragraph... The 'main (revealed to no longer be the main villain) villain is a 30th level lich, who knows where we are. He has sent hunting parties after us, and is just amused by watching us run. he (and the parties) know EVERYTHING about our characters, because we were 'famous heroes' 50 years ago who got flung into a time rift... Any time we get a new ability, they immidiately know about it one fight later and have taken measures to compensate. Food is scarce, and the cleric can't use Create Food & Water because suddenly 'magic is fouled and tainted' so the food he makes is putrid. We also have to take rare vitamin pills to get nutrients because existing food isnt nutritious enough >_> Conjuration in general is messed up. Example...We're attacked by a pack of Dire Wolves led by a Winter Wolf. The Warlock gained Fel Flight and used it in the battle. The Winter Wolf was True Resurrected (and gained two tentacles that paralyze targets), sent after us again (next session) with twice as many dire wolves, and a regiment of archers to shoot down the warlock if he flew above 30 feet (and the WW informed us of this fact). After barely winning, the archers left without having done anything, we went on, met a 20+ lv NPC (who was, LITERALLY, a villain from Get-Backers, introduced himself as such) who was the horseman of Death, and revealed the lich is 'pestilance', etc...then kicked our asses, and healed us to 1 each and let us live because 'we weren't a good enough fight'. so ya, I'm quitting. Just thinking of the best way to bow out...I wanna say dude your game SUCKS, but he is a friend... Find a friend who is as ****** off as you and go on a team killing spree... Kill each other or everybody else, though if they enjoy the game that may not be a good thing. At the end of the day the party is in disarray and being down that many people under those conditions there is no way the campaign can continue on its current track. Personal arguments with the DM never work, you need more than one person if there is any hope in working towards changing the style of game you play.
Eater_Of_Souls 07-11-07, 10:01 AM	Seems like someone should show the DM a chapter about building a campaign from DMs guide. That campaign might be fun on paper but railroading players and countering their every move via 'DM miracle' isn't even near fun. You might wan't to ask what are your DM goals about this particular story, since it seems your DM is playing to 'win' the players which shouldn't be the case. One way to give a DM a heads up is to ask if someone else could be DM for a change and let your DM be one of the players, he might even like it. But saying FU (and good bye) isn't a way to show your feelings even if the campaign is messed up, since he has spent time make that campaign for you after all.
sabrewolf 07-11-07, 04:09 PM	I´d say the words from the wolves - and poney - echo mine: - Talk to the group and find if their feelings equal yours about the game. - Then talk to the DM, be polite, nice but direct, he´s your friend after all and if he goes all that distance to game with you guys i´m sure he´ll listen and give a thoght to your words. - Make sure not only to point out what´s nerfing the game but also the strong points and any advice for improvement. I once got a similar problem with a Birthright campaign where the DM railroaded us left and right and gave us little time to actually do anything as rulers (outside the ordinary), tossing wars agaisnt us one after the other. It was a big action movie but hardly fun for us.. We talked among us then talked to him saying right what was taking the fun away.. He considered it and one session afterwards, he ended the game.... few months latter, a few copyes of birthright 3.5 in paw, and he is starting a new campaign - only played one session (missed 2 due to work) but seems things have changed and are fun again. Then, try talking, simple as that. And good hope for you and your group of friends that things end right and don´t take so long to change.. ;)
058 07-11-07, 05:10 PM	Regardless of the situation, being insulting won't help. As cliché as it is, "two wrongs don't make a right." If you stand up, tell him to go screw himself, and leave, you've likely just lost a friend. For whoever asked why he came here to ask total strangers rather than confronting his friend; it's much easier to gain the advice of a stranger than it is to discuss something like this with a friend.
danielinthewolvesden 07-19-07, 08:15 PM	Ok, but you CAN send him a link to this thread, and he can respond and explain. I would like to hear his side. Or perhaps he will learn from us. So, have you done this yet? :confused:
Manic Man 07-23-07, 01:19 PM	He has sent hunting parties after us, and is just amused by watching us run. he (and the parties) know EVERYTHING about our characters, because we were 'famous heroes' 50 years ago who got flung into a time rift... Any time we get a new ability, they immidiately know about it one fight later and have taken measures to compensate. Food is scarce, and the cleric can't use Create Food & Water because suddenly 'magic is fouled and tainted' so the food he makes is putrid. We also have to take rare vitamin pills to get nutrients because existing food isnt nutritious enough >_> Have your characer break down in game, sitting on a rock, head in his hands saying "Its hopeless" over and over again. When the bad guys show up, throw yourself at him shouting "Kill me, we can't win. The world is doomed. Just kill me!" Stop eating your vitamins. Stop trying to stay alive at all. Do not move from your rock. Do not interact with the game world in any meaningful manner. Encourage other players who feel the same as you to do the same as you. Your DM will be unable to do anything since you're not afraid to die. He'll probably want to kick your character around a bit with his big bad NPCs. Let him do that. Do not resist, in fact enourage his NPCs to kill you. In desperation, he may attempt to thow you a 100th level NPC that gives you demigod powers or some such stuff. Do not bother with that. Continue your "Its hopeless" tirade even after you've become some major deity. Finally he'll give up and ask you what the heck you're doing. Now is the time that you can explain why you feel its not fun for you. This entire sequence brings a very basic lesson to the fore for silly DMs with power-ego problems. A DM without players is not a DM. Now there is a chance he gets mad and actually kills your character off. Now here is your secondary exit point as well. Simply say that you character's dead and you've got something else to do, then get up and leave. Now the group may get you to stay on and roll a new character, at this time, explain why you find its not fun. If the DM does not assure you that he will change, walk.
Uratoh 07-23-07, 11:13 PM	I talked to some of my friends, they 'relayed' to him I quit...eh. talked to the DM...his plan was to 'show us' how deadly everything was ,then send us to other dimensions on 'side quests' until we're lv 20 and can get on with the plot, cos the villains wont have advamced @_@
Salla 07-23-07, 11:46 PM	I talked to some of my friends, they 'relayed' to him I quit...eh. talked to the DM...his plan was to 'show us' how deadly everything was ,then send us to other dimensions on 'side quests' until we're lv 20 and can get on with the plot, cos the villains wont have advamced @_@ http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa279/LolaBonne/WTF.jpg I think you should be glad you ran.
Mock26 07-23-07, 11:58 PM	game I'm playing in has officially gotten out of hand in terms of DM megalomania/etc... we're 7th level characters, for refrence. This is just going to be points instead of a paragraph... The 'main (revealed to no longer be the main villain) villain is a 30th level lich, who knows where we are. He has sent hunting parties after us, and is just amused by watching us run. he (and the parties) know EVERYTHING about our characters, because we were 'famous heroes' 50 years ago who got flung into a time rift... Any time we get a new ability, they immidiately know about it one fight later and have taken measures to compensate. Food is scarce, and the cleric can't use Create Food & Water because suddenly 'magic is fouled and tainted' so the food he makes is putrid. We also have to take rare vitamin pills to get nutrients because existing food isnt nutritious enough >_> Conjuration in general is messed up. Example...We're attacked by a pack of Dire Wolves led by a Winter Wolf. The Warlock gained Fel Flight and used it in the battle. The Winter Wolf was True Resurrected (and gained two tentacles that paralyze targets), sent after us again (next session) with twice as many dire wolves, and a regiment of archers to shoot down the warlock if he flew above 30 feet (and the WW informed us of this fact). After barely winning, the archers left without having done anything, we went on, met a 20+ lv NPC (who was, LITERALLY, a villain from Get-Backers, introduced himself as such) who was the horseman of Death, and revealed the lich is 'pestilance', etc...then kicked our asses, and healed us to 1 each and let us live because 'we weren't a good enough fight'. so ya, I'm quitting. Just thinking of the best way to bow out...I wanna say dude your game SUCKS, but he is a friend... Tell him the truth. Just be honest, not be mean, and present it as a series of constructive criticisms rather than a general complaint about the suckiness of his DM abilities. If you are his friend you will be doing him a favor in letting him know that he needs to improve his DMing skills. If he is your friend he'll take it as the creative criticism that it is.
danielinthewolvesden 07-24-07, 02:51 AM	http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa279/LolaBonne/WTF.jpg I think you should be glad you ran. Great foto and caption, Salla.:cool: Looks like my cat.