Immaturity at the table. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Immaturity at the table. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
PsychicKid
07-26-06, 11:55 AM Well, we've decided to forego the whole monster thing and have a normal campaign, much to my girlish delight. Problem is, half of us can't take it that seriously. All of us, me included, I won't lie about that, tend to act up at the table, or even ingame. Here's an example.

We have two Barbarians, two Fighters, and a Sorcerer. No Cleric, so if we get injured a lot, we're screwed. We were running a pre-made module and after a rat encounter, we had three doors to choose from. One was a hallway, the other two were rooms. All of us decide to go to the right door. But the other Barbarian for some retard reason heads left. We find a chest with a couple of goodies in it, and not much else. The Barbarian runs into three flying head things that drop him to 1 HP before he can kill them. One of the Fighters stays with him to make sure he doesn't die, while me, the other Fighter, and the Sorcerer head on.

We run into hobgoblins, they crit, we die. They find the others, they die too. Module over. If the other Barbarian hadn't wandered off like an idiot maybe we could have killed those hobgoblins first. I know Barbarians aren't the brighest of the bunch, but they're smart enough to know that "BIG TOWER BAD AND SCARY. STAY WITH GROUP GOOD." >_>

That was just an example of ingame acting like an idiot. Another problem is that a few guys in the group almost always quote Monty Python, 8-bit theatre (especially 8-bit D&D), and other things. One also constantly plays with his phone which gets annoying. Still another is a search-a-holic. We kill something, he searches it. No matter what. Goblins and other semi-intelligent creatures I can understand. Spiders? Rats? Why bother!? What in God's name could they carry in the first place!? Swallow some PP!? This same guy also can't stop complaining about being "a hero", "a good guy", and having a "shared inventory". We find goodies, it goes into the group inventory to be handed out later, or right away for the current adventure if we absolutely need it and someone can use said item. Personally I see no problem with this, yet he constantly complains about it. It's just so everyone has a fair shot at some money and items. Besides, a real hero character would (most likely) let his friends know he found a chest with 5,000 GP in it, not hoarde it for himself.

I recall another instance where the search-a-holic found some valuable ore inside the mines we were sent to check out. Now this village's main source of money are these mines, and if they're ruined, the village is ruined. He actually takes the ore and puts it into his backpack. The DM says no, because that is stealing the village's ore and main source of income. The player then insists that it's NOT stealing because he's "chaotic good". I'm chaotic good, I have a 10 intelligence, and I know that stealing is bad. Then he goes onto his "I hate playing the hero" rant. This mine was still in use, just not at the time because of a problem with it, which we were sent to fix.

Another problem is the DM tends to get easily angered. He's a nice guy, really, but when one of us starts to act up, he'll get angry quick. Angered DMs can intimidate the players and just make the game not fun. I want to try to help tone down the immaturity in the group, but I find it hard to. Especially when someone says something and I always end up saying some witty comment, it's hard to control.

Any tips? @_@
R2-DS
07-26-06, 12:18 PM At the start of your next session, before any books or dice make it to the table, sit down and discuss how you guys are going to improve this situation as a group.

You make it sound like everyone is aware of the problem, but does everyone think this really is a problem? You might find that you may in fact be the only one who is striving for a more serious game.

If thats the case then suggest that you guys start another campaign (possibly on another night) that is meant to be played "seriously".

Hopefully you're not the only one in your group (you make it sound like the DM's with you) that wants a little more out of your game. If everyone can agree to curb the "off the cuff" scarcastic wit, then you can get on with being heroes.

Good luck!
aceland
07-26-06, 12:23 PM Did you try talking to your group about the problems with out sounding as if you are attacking the person?

I understand your frustration. I had a gaming group that wanted to just play monty haul style games which is not what I like.

Character death in a modle can be bothersome. Dm's Do not like to slay the whole party especaily when they designed the modlue lots of wasted time and effort when Players fail.

The only thing I would suggest is that you talk to each of them and see if they have the same problems if that does not work.
TarlSS
07-26-06, 12:33 PM I think there is a style of play issue here. It sounds like your party is a bunch of misfits who are only adventuring toghether for the sake of your players sitting in the same room on Friday nights!

Sit down, discuss with your players what is tolerable and what is not. Set your boundries and issue consequences that are clear if they are crossed, and follow through.
PsychicKid
07-26-06, 12:50 PM We have tried to talk it out, especially two weeks ago when the DM really got tired of it. I'll admit, things have gotten better, but I'd prefer it if most of the joking around and stuff was gone. Joking around is fun and all, but when it ends up taking up half the playtime, it's no fun, especially when a player (me) has to leave because the game ends up running late.

Quotes, witty comments, I really don't have a problem with it, but they come too often and at the wrong times, such as when the DM is doing math or writing things down for combat, which leads to him yelling "Shut up!" really loud. I hate making people angry like that. @_@

And yes, I too am guilty of some of this, but in the long run, I'd prefer most of it to stop.
R2-DS
07-26-06, 01:00 PM And yes, I too am guilty of some of this, but in the long run, I'd prefer most of it to stop.

Looks like you'll have to be the bigger person here and set the example for the rest.
PsychicKid
07-26-06, 01:23 PM Seems like it, I'm just not the best when it comes to discussing serious things like this with other people. Guess I'll have to do something about it next Saturday.
Magnus Magus
07-26-06, 01:52 PM I would write out my arguement ahead of time to get a good handle on what you're going to say before Saturday. It sounds like you have a good idea of what is irritating you because it seems that there are many things that are contributing to your unhappiness. To break it down -

Out of character personality issues - A.D.D. players spewing stupid quotes at inappropriate times, angry DMs, frustrated players (you) - Highest priority.

Outside distractions - Phone or other things that don't belong at the game - Easilly fixed by elimating their presence, will have a positive impact on the game - High priority

In character personality issues - At least they're trying to play (even if they sound misguided) - If you get them to focus on the game without the annoying distractions, then you can tackle that problem at a later date. Low priority.

General stupidity - Barbarian wandering off, getting the entire party killed - if the player is not a complete moron, he'll learn from his mistake...maybe... Lowest priority, doesn't need to be mentioned (unless he continues screwing the game up for everyone).

As with any intervention, use diplomacy. The real skill, not the one on your character sheet.
jwhitson
07-26-06, 01:59 PM Talk to your Dm and see if they are willing to hand out gobs of xp for not acting like an idiot. If they are, then everyone will want xp and should catch on very quickly.
Just don't take away xp when people act like idiots, I tried that it just makes your players ****** off.
Mikal
07-26-06, 02:35 PM perhaps if you had STAYED with the barb rather then leaving him alone you would've lived. seems the immature one is you for leaving him behind and splitting your forces.
CaptainHurricane
07-26-06, 02:42 PM We have problems like these all the time. That out of game stupid stuff that always seems to happen no matter what goes on.

Even myself, as we deemed party leader, has had to yell shut up to get the game to progress. I know how it is sitting at a table sometimes joking around about something, but when you want to get down to business...you want to get down to business. There are somethings you just have to eliminate from the group because they will be distracted by some things. Electronics like cell phones and laptops should be eliminated, and yet we still play with them. If they don't want to get rid of them just ask them to put them on silent or close while playing.

With the quote stuff: We have that problem too, and even I sometimes say random things, but once you get off track it gets more and more difficult to get back on track. In reality we talked about the joking needs to be curbed because its time consuming and sometimes bothersome.

Be happy that you don't have people getting depressed at your table yet.

Anyway,

The ingame stuff shouldn't be too bothersome. The stupidity and curiousness of a barbarian should not be downplayed, but then again if he is following a group, he should follow the group. Things are learned after every session, but somethings should be obvious common sense. What common sense is to some people we may never know, but the fact remains they will get better in time.
PsychicKid
07-26-06, 04:36 PM perhaps if you had STAYED with the barb rather then leaving him alone you would've lived. seems the immature one is you for leaving him behind and splitting your forces.

He chose to head the other direction, we didn't leave him behind. We had three doors to pick from, one of us piped up to check out the right door, and one by one we agreed to follow, but the Barbarian willingly chose the left door.

But yeah, I know that Barbarians should not be downplayed, but I mean really. Even a Barbarian would know not to split off away from the group on purpose.

Heh, I'm reminded of a time when on my old Barbarian Half-Orc with like 6 INT, we found an old library in the dungeon. I took one step in, held my hand up, waved it down, and said "pfffft", and walked out. Best. Moment. Ever.
Reversefigure4
07-26-06, 09:04 PM I believe Mikal's refering to this:

One of the Fighters stays with him to make sure he doesn't die, while me, the other Fighter, and the Sorcerer head on.

Having seen that when one player leaves the party, he nearly gets killed, your immediate decision is to split the party in half and take the Sorc with you. A bad decision. You'd have been better to either evac from the dungeon, take a rest for the night, or if you had to continue do so together with the barb at the back staying out of melee with a bow or something.
Biggy12
07-26-06, 09:25 PM i say if people really get angered that quickly(your DM) then u might want to talk to him about it. I mean if u can't make witty or arrogant comments with out some one taking u seroiusly then there is a big problem with the Maturity of those people.
- like when i used to play with friends from around the area 1/4 of the game was us laughing about how stupid we were when we all got our characters killed in the last battle.(we rarely got from Lvl4 before someone or everyone got owned)

- just try to calm people down after u make a questionable comment. like after u make a "smart" comment say "JK JK" or something like that.

or just search everything before that other character can and keep everything u find whether he likes it or not
Ashok_Lal
07-26-06, 09:54 PM What is the avarage age of the group?

Don't dismiss the Barbarain for getting the party killed. Lots of factors led to that one. A/ Violent fighter types. B/ No Cleric. Allways a dangerous combination for the party. C/ After the Barbarian is down you continue on anyway.

All these things that make D&D fun. Risk, Reward & Ritious Smackdown.

My party has simerler problems, we just choose not to see them as a problem.
FeceMan
07-26-06, 10:18 PM perhaps if you had STAYED with the barb rather then leaving him alone you would've lived. seems the immature one is you for leaving him behind and splitting your forces.
Sounds like the OP struck a nerve.

Also, barbarians aren't stupid. That's a retarded stereotype, which is why barbarian shouldn't be a class and rage should be a feat chain.
Dragonsblood
07-27-06, 03:17 AM Why is searching bodies for loot such an issue? It should take only a few seconds of real time.

DM: "And that's the rest of them, you won the fight"
Player: "Great, what kind of loot do they have?"
DM: "You search the bodies and find nothing of value" *next scene*
or
DM: "You search the bodies and find 3 longswords, 3 suits of chainmail, and 32 gp"
Player *jots it down*
DM: *next scene*

What's the big deal?
TRCEttin
07-27-06, 03:31 AM What's the big deal?

From the account it sounds like the part that's mostly annoying is that he is searching everything even if it probably won't have any treasure (such as a spider).

The main thing I have a problem with when I read his account of this guy is that he complains a lot about the shared inventory thing. That coupled with the constant body searching makes it sound a lot like he searches the bodies because he's hoping to find all the sweet treasure before everyone else does and keep it. And, well, that's the kind of person the concept of divvying up the loot after the adventure was invented for.
Dragonsblood
07-27-06, 03:42 AM Hmm I guess I missread the OP. I thought the loot guy wanted the group inventory.
draco1119
07-27-06, 04:09 AM Well, we've decided to forego the whole monster thing and have a normal campaign, much to my girlish delight. Problem is, half of us can't take it that seriously. All of us, me included, I won't lie about that, tend to act up at the table, or even ingame. Here's an example.

We have two Barbarians, two Fighters, and a Sorcerer. No Cleric, so if we get injured a lot, we're screwed. We were running a pre-made module and after a rat encounter, we had three doors to choose from. One was a hallway, the other two were rooms. All of us decide to go to the right door. But the other Barbarian for some retard reason heads left. We find a chest with a couple of goodies in it, and not much else. The Barbarian runs into three flying head things that drop him to 1 HP before he can kill them. One of the Fighters stays with him to make sure he doesn't die, while me, the other Fighter, and the Sorcerer head on.

We run into hobgoblins, they crit, we die. They find the others, they die too. Module over. If the other Barbarian hadn't wandered off like an idiot maybe we could have killed those hobgoblins first. I know Barbarians aren't the brighest of the bunch, but they're smart enough to know that "BIG TOWER BAD AND SCARY. STAY WITH GROUP GOOD." >_>
And you would think that at least one of you would have the sense to have a few Potions of CLW if you have no cleric. Not solely the barbarian's fault.

Still another is a search-a-holic. We kill something, he searches it. No matter what. Goblins and other semi-intelligent creatures I can understand. Spiders? Rats? Why bother!? What in God's name could they carry in the first place!? Swallow some PP!? This same guy also can't stop complaining about being "a hero", "a good guy", and having a "shared inventory". We find goodies, it goes into the group inventory to be handed out later, or right away for the current adventure if we absolutely need it and someone can use said item. Personally I see no problem with this, yet he constantly complains about it. It's just so everyone has a fair shot at some money and items. Besides, a real hero character would (most likely) let his friends know he found a chest with 5,000 GP in it, not hoarde it for himself.
Okay, part of this is a problem, part of it isn't. If you fight a Giant Spider, you SHOULD search the body, and the web if you can find it. Yes, it could have swallowed something good, or better yet, the last victim was a fighter with a SWEET set of full-plate. Don't know unless you check. And the search-a-holic could have made it so his character is greedy, and he's keeping in-character. As for the complaints about "always being a hero," play an evil campaign every once in a while. Or just tell him to STFU or leave. That's up to the group.

I recall another instance where the search-a-holic found some valuable ore inside the mines we were sent to check out. Now this village's main source of money are these mines, and if they're ruined, the village is ruined. He actually takes the ore and puts it into his backpack. The DM says no, because that is stealing the village's ore and main source of income. The player then insists that it's NOT stealing because he's "chaotic good". I'm chaotic good, I have a 10 intelligence, and I know that stealing is bad. Then he goes onto his "I hate playing the hero" rant. This mine was still in use, just not at the time because of a problem with it, which we were sent to fix.
That was probably not "chaotic good." Unless it was a village of trolls or orcs or some other evil race. In which case you wouldn't be trying to save it. Personally, I think your DM should have allowed it, with an IMMEDIATE alignment change to CN or possibly even CE (along with the attendant XP/level loss!). Or possibly Chaotic Stupid, which seems to be the alignment he's shooting for.

Another problem is the DM tends to get easily angered. He's a nice guy, really, but when one of us starts to act up, he'll get angry quick. Angered DMs can intimidate the players and just make the game not fun. I want to try to help tone down the immaturity in the group, but I find it hard to. Especially when someone says something and I always end up saying some witty comment, it's hard to control.

Any tips? @_@
Stop with the witty comments, and try to help the DM stay on task.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
PsychicKid 07-26-06, 11:55 AM	Well, we've decided to forego the whole monster thing and have a normal campaign, much to my girlish delight. Problem is, half of us can't take it that seriously. All of us, me included, I won't lie about that, tend to act up at the table, or even ingame. Here's an example. We have two Barbarians, two Fighters, and a Sorcerer. No Cleric, so if we get injured a lot, we're screwed. We were running a pre-made module and after a rat encounter, we had three doors to choose from. One was a hallway, the other two were rooms. All of us decide to go to the right door. But the other Barbarian for some retard reason heads left. We find a chest with a couple of goodies in it, and not much else. The Barbarian runs into three flying head things that drop him to 1 HP before he can kill them. One of the Fighters stays with him to make sure he doesn't die, while me, the other Fighter, and the Sorcerer head on. We run into hobgoblins, they crit, we die. They find the others, they die too. Module over. If the other Barbarian hadn't wandered off like an idiot maybe we could have killed those hobgoblins first. I know Barbarians aren't the brighest of the bunch, but they're smart enough to know that "BIG TOWER BAD AND SCARY. STAY WITH GROUP GOOD." >_> That was just an example of ingame acting like an idiot. Another problem is that a few guys in the group almost always quote Monty Python, 8-bit theatre (especially 8-bit D&D), and other things. One also constantly plays with his phone which gets annoying. Still another is a search-a-holic. We kill something, he searches it. No matter what. Goblins and other semi-intelligent creatures I can understand. Spiders? Rats? Why bother!? What in God's name could they carry in the first place!? Swallow some PP!? This same guy also can't stop complaining about being "a hero", "a good guy", and having a "shared inventory". We find goodies, it goes into the group inventory to be handed out later, or right away for the current adventure if we absolutely need it and someone can use said item. Personally I see no problem with this, yet he constantly complains about it. It's just so everyone has a fair shot at some money and items. Besides, a real hero character would (most likely) let his friends know he found a chest with 5,000 GP in it, not hoarde it for himself. I recall another instance where the search-a-holic found some valuable ore inside the mines we were sent to check out. Now this village's main source of money are these mines, and if they're ruined, the village is ruined. He actually takes the ore and puts it into his backpack. The DM says no, because that is stealing the village's ore and main source of income. The player then insists that it's NOT stealing because he's "chaotic good". I'm chaotic good, I have a 10 intelligence, and I know that stealing is bad. Then he goes onto his "I hate playing the hero" rant. This mine was still in use, just not at the time because of a problem with it, which we were sent to fix. Another problem is the DM tends to get easily angered. He's a nice guy, really, but when one of us starts to act up, he'll get angry quick. Angered DMs can intimidate the players and just make the game not fun. I want to try to help tone down the immaturity in the group, but I find it hard to. Especially when someone says something and I always end up saying some witty comment, it's hard to control. Any tips? @_@
R2-DS 07-26-06, 12:18 PM	At the start of your next session, before any books or dice make it to the table, sit down and discuss how you guys are going to improve this situation as a group. You make it sound like everyone is aware of the problem, but does everyone think this really is a problem? You might find that you may in fact be the only one who is striving for a more serious game. If thats the case then suggest that you guys start another campaign (possibly on another night) that is meant to be played "seriously". Hopefully you're not the only one in your group (you make it sound like the DM's with you) that wants a little more out of your game. If everyone can agree to curb the "off the cuff" scarcastic wit, then you can get on with being heroes. Good luck!
aceland 07-26-06, 12:23 PM	Did you try talking to your group about the problems with out sounding as if you are attacking the person? I understand your frustration. I had a gaming group that wanted to just play monty haul style games which is not what I like. Character death in a modle can be bothersome. Dm's Do not like to slay the whole party especaily when they designed the modlue lots of wasted time and effort when Players fail. The only thing I would suggest is that you talk to each of them and see if they have the same problems if that does not work.
TarlSS 07-26-06, 12:33 PM	I think there is a style of play issue here. It sounds like your party is a bunch of misfits who are only adventuring toghether for the sake of your players sitting in the same room on Friday nights! Sit down, discuss with your players what is tolerable and what is not. Set your boundries and issue consequences that are clear if they are crossed, and follow through.
PsychicKid 07-26-06, 12:50 PM	We have tried to talk it out, especially two weeks ago when the DM really got tired of it. I'll admit, things have gotten better, but I'd prefer it if most of the joking around and stuff was gone. Joking around is fun and all, but when it ends up taking up half the playtime, it's no fun, especially when a player (me) has to leave because the game ends up running late. Quotes, witty comments, I really don't have a problem with it, but they come too often and at the wrong times, such as when the DM is doing math or writing things down for combat, which leads to him yelling "Shut up!" really loud. I hate making people angry like that. @_@ And yes, I too am guilty of some of this, but in the long run, I'd prefer most of it to stop.
R2-DS 07-26-06, 01:00 PM	And yes, I too am guilty of some of this, but in the long run, I'd prefer most of it to stop. Looks like you'll have to be the bigger person here and set the example for the rest.
PsychicKid 07-26-06, 01:23 PM	Seems like it, I'm just not the best when it comes to discussing serious things like this with other people. Guess I'll have to do something about it next Saturday.
Magnus Magus 07-26-06, 01:52 PM	I would write out my arguement ahead of time to get a good handle on what you're going to say before Saturday. It sounds like you have a good idea of what is irritating you because it seems that there are many things that are contributing to your unhappiness. To break it down - Out of character personality issues - A.D.D. players spewing stupid quotes at inappropriate times, angry DMs, frustrated players (you) - Highest priority. Outside distractions - Phone or other things that don't belong at the game - Easilly fixed by elimating their presence, will have a positive impact on the game - High priority In character personality issues - At least they're trying to play (even if they sound misguided) - If you get them to focus on the game without the annoying distractions, then you can tackle that problem at a later date. Low priority. General stupidity - Barbarian wandering off, getting the entire party killed - if the player is not a complete moron, he'll learn from his mistake...maybe... Lowest priority, doesn't need to be mentioned (unless he continues screwing the game up for everyone). As with any intervention, use diplomacy. The real skill, not the one on your character sheet.
jwhitson 07-26-06, 01:59 PM	Talk to your Dm and see if they are willing to hand out gobs of xp for not acting like an idiot. If they are, then everyone will want xp and should catch on very quickly. Just don't take away xp when people act like idiots, I tried that it just makes your players ****** off.
Mikal 07-26-06, 02:35 PM	perhaps if you had STAYED with the barb rather then leaving him alone you would've lived. seems the immature one is you for leaving him behind and splitting your forces.
CaptainHurricane 07-26-06, 02:42 PM	We have problems like these all the time. That out of game stupid stuff that always seems to happen no matter what goes on. Even myself, as we deemed party leader, has had to yell shut up to get the game to progress. I know how it is sitting at a table sometimes joking around about something, but when you want to get down to business...you want to get down to business. There are somethings you just have to eliminate from the group because they will be distracted by some things. Electronics like cell phones and laptops should be eliminated, and yet we still play with them. If they don't want to get rid of them just ask them to put them on silent or close while playing. With the quote stuff: We have that problem too, and even I sometimes say random things, but once you get off track it gets more and more difficult to get back on track. In reality we talked about the joking needs to be curbed because its time consuming and sometimes bothersome. Be happy that you don't have people getting depressed at your table yet. Anyway, The ingame stuff shouldn't be too bothersome. The stupidity and curiousness of a barbarian should not be downplayed, but then again if he is following a group, he should follow the group. Things are learned after every session, but somethings should be obvious common sense. What common sense is to some people we may never know, but the fact remains they will get better in time.
PsychicKid 07-26-06, 04:36 PM	perhaps if you had STAYED with the barb rather then leaving him alone you would've lived. seems the immature one is you for leaving him behind and splitting your forces. He chose to head the other direction, we didn't leave him behind. We had three doors to pick from, one of us piped up to check out the right door, and one by one we agreed to follow, but the Barbarian willingly chose the left door. But yeah, I know that Barbarians should not be downplayed, but I mean really. Even a Barbarian would know not to split off away from the group on purpose. Heh, I'm reminded of a time when on my old Barbarian Half-Orc with like 6 INT, we found an old library in the dungeon. I took one step in, held my hand up, waved it down, and said "pfffft", and walked out. Best. Moment. Ever.
Reversefigure4 07-26-06, 09:04 PM	I believe Mikal's refering to this: One of the Fighters stays with him to make sure he doesn't die, while me, the other Fighter, and the Sorcerer head on. Having seen that when one player leaves the party, he nearly gets killed, your immediate decision is to split the party in half and take the Sorc with you. A bad decision. You'd have been better to either evac from the dungeon, take a rest for the night, or if you had to continue do so together with the barb at the back staying out of melee with a bow or something.
Biggy12 07-26-06, 09:25 PM	i say if people really get angered that quickly(your DM) then u might want to talk to him about it. I mean if u can't make witty or arrogant comments with out some one taking u seroiusly then there is a big problem with the Maturity of those people. - like when i used to play with friends from around the area 1/4 of the game was us laughing about how stupid we were when we all got our characters killed in the last battle.(we rarely got from Lvl4 before someone or everyone got owned) - just try to calm people down after u make a questionable comment. like after u make a "smart" comment say "JK JK" or something like that. or just search everything before that other character can and keep everything u find whether he likes it or not
Ashok_Lal 07-26-06, 09:54 PM	What is the avarage age of the group? Don't dismiss the Barbarain for getting the party killed. Lots of factors led to that one. A/ Violent fighter types. B/ No Cleric. Allways a dangerous combination for the party. C/ After the Barbarian is down you continue on anyway. All these things that make D&D fun. Risk, Reward & Ritious Smackdown. My party has simerler problems, we just choose not to see them as a problem.
FeceMan 07-26-06, 10:18 PM	perhaps if you had STAYED with the barb rather then leaving him alone you would've lived. seems the immature one is you for leaving him behind and splitting your forces. Sounds like the OP struck a nerve. Also, barbarians aren't stupid. That's a retarded stereotype, which is why barbarian shouldn't be a class and rage should be a feat chain.
Dragonsblood 07-27-06, 03:17 AM	Why is searching bodies for loot such an issue? It should take only a few seconds of real time. DM: "And that's the rest of them, you won the fight" Player: "Great, what kind of loot do they have?" DM: "You search the bodies and find nothing of value" next scene or DM: "You search the bodies and find 3 longswords, 3 suits of chainmail, and 32 gp" Player jots it down DM: next scene What's the big deal?
TRCEttin 07-27-06, 03:31 AM	What's the big deal? From the account it sounds like the part that's mostly annoying is that he is searching everything even if it probably won't have any treasure (such as a spider). The main thing I have a problem with when I read his account of this guy is that he complains a lot about the shared inventory thing. That coupled with the constant body searching makes it sound a lot like he searches the bodies because he's hoping to find all the sweet treasure before everyone else does and keep it. And, well, that's the kind of person the concept of divvying up the loot after the adventure was invented for.
Dragonsblood 07-27-06, 03:42 AM	Hmm I guess I missread the OP. I thought the loot guy wanted the group inventory.
draco1119 07-27-06, 04:09 AM	Well, we've decided to forego the whole monster thing and have a normal campaign, much to my girlish delight. Problem is, half of us can't take it that seriously. All of us, me included, I won't lie about that, tend to act up at the table, or even ingame. Here's an example. We have two Barbarians, two Fighters, and a Sorcerer. No Cleric, so if we get injured a lot, we're screwed. We were running a pre-made module and after a rat encounter, we had three doors to choose from. One was a hallway, the other two were rooms. All of us decide to go to the right door. But the other Barbarian for some retard reason heads left. We find a chest with a couple of goodies in it, and not much else. The Barbarian runs into three flying head things that drop him to 1 HP before he can kill them. One of the Fighters stays with him to make sure he doesn't die, while me, the other Fighter, and the Sorcerer head on. We run into hobgoblins, they crit, we die. They find the others, they die too. Module over. If the other Barbarian hadn't wandered off like an idiot maybe we could have killed those hobgoblins first. I know Barbarians aren't the brighest of the bunch, but they're smart enough to know that "BIG TOWER BAD AND SCARY. STAY WITH GROUP GOOD." >_> And you would think that at least one of you would have the sense to have a few Potions of CLW if you have no cleric. Not solely the barbarian's fault. Still another is a search-a-holic. We kill something, he searches it. No matter what. Goblins and other semi-intelligent creatures I can understand. Spiders? Rats? Why bother!? What in God's name could they carry in the first place!? Swallow some PP!? This same guy also can't stop complaining about being "a hero", "a good guy", and having a "shared inventory". We find goodies, it goes into the group inventory to be handed out later, or right away for the current adventure if we absolutely need it and someone can use said item. Personally I see no problem with this, yet he constantly complains about it. It's just so everyone has a fair shot at some money and items. Besides, a real hero character would (most likely) let his friends know he found a chest with 5,000 GP in it, not hoarde it for himself. Okay, part of this is a problem, part of it isn't. If you fight a Giant Spider, you SHOULD search the body, and the web if you can find it. Yes, it could have swallowed something good, or better yet, the last victim was a fighter with a SWEET set of full-plate. Don't know unless you check. And the search-a-holic could have made it so his character is greedy, and he's keeping in-character. As for the complaints about "always being a hero," play an evil campaign every once in a while. Or just tell him to STFU or leave. That's up to the group. I recall another instance where the search-a-holic found some valuable ore inside the mines we were sent to check out. Now this village's main source of money are these mines, and if they're ruined, the village is ruined. He actually takes the ore and puts it into his backpack. The DM says no, because that is stealing the village's ore and main source of income. The player then insists that it's NOT stealing because he's "chaotic good". I'm chaotic good, I have a 10 intelligence, and I know that stealing is bad. Then he goes onto his "I hate playing the hero" rant. This mine was still in use, just not at the time because of a problem with it, which we were sent to fix. That was probably not "chaotic good." Unless it was a village of trolls or orcs or some other evil race. In which case you wouldn't be trying to save it. Personally, I think your DM should have allowed it, with an IMMEDIATE alignment change to CN or possibly even CE (along with the attendant XP/level loss!). Or possibly Chaotic Stupid, which seems to be the alignment he's shooting for. Another problem is the DM tends to get easily angered. He's a nice guy, really, but when one of us starts to act up, he'll get angry quick. Angered DMs can intimidate the players and just make the game not fun. I want to try to help tone down the immaturity in the group, but I find it hard to. Especially when someone says something and I always end up saying some witty comment, it's hard to control. Any tips? @_@ Stop with the witty comments, and try to help the DM stay on task.