Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 arcana_man May 11, 2009 23:23:12	I just started a new campaign. 3.5 edition lvl 5 Roster Wilder Fighter Swashbuckler Monk Scout Okay so this accured 8 hours into our first session.. we have just defeated the Boss of our Prologue and was about to board the ship so escape the city we were wanted in. I... The wilder, and my cousin the fighter, and a cleric board the ship cause we are in debt to the swashbuckler for getting us out of jail...so we are his crew... but the monk and the scout never got cought... they outran the guards... and through a loop in the DM's beginning to tie the characters together... Now the monk and the scout are standing in front of the swashbuckler who isnt letting them on the ship unless they become members of his crew.... They could of killed us....because the cleric had just spent his heals on the monk and scout.. and i was out of power points...they didnt want to ruin the campaign so they said they would join his crew for now...Right now the swashbuckler who has... taken the only room on the ship and stores all the loot in there... is ******* on the scout and monk...the swashbuckler isnt very helpful... all he does is pull out his gun and shoot it every other turn doing little to non damage and the rest of us do all the work and he reaps the rewards... if things keep up like this there will be a mutiny soon... not to mention the scout and monk arent okay with this at all ... and my character is getting angry... becoase every time its time to loot everyone yells... I loot first... Im not gonna have my character do a initiative roll to push my way to the loot first... but if i dont get paid im gonna throw the DM overboard with my brain....... and the scout and monk are probly gonna take their money and leave the group once we get to a city... And also the Swashbuckler maxed out his Diplomacy check so we thinks we can just push players into doing things like joined his ship and serving him and taking less gold. What can i do to prevent this?.. so far i called the DM and told him to come up with a new hook for the monk and scout and told the Swashbuckler it would be a good idea to start paying us and to not take cuts out of the monks and scouts pay for boat payments less there be a fight... The DM is new at dming... he has done a great job so far ... he has read and prepared alot... Is there anything in character I can do to keep this fun new campaign from ending prematurly? If i dont do somthing we are gonna end up fighting eachother and killing eachother off or the scout and monk will just leave.
#2 gregt_314 May 11, 2009 23:36:04	Hi everyone! Looking for a little advice. I just started a new Dungeons & Dragons campaign. We're playing 3.5, and the characters are level 5. We've got a Wilder, a Fighter, a Swashbuckler, a Monk and a Scout. Okay. So what I'm going to talk about occurred eight hours into our first session. We had just defeated the boss of the adventure's prologue, and we were about to board a ship to escape the city, as we were wanted by the authorities. Myself, the wilder, and the fighter (who is my cousin) boarded the ship along with a cleric. We did this because we are in debt to the swashbuckler character (the ship's captain) for getting us out of jail and are therefore obliged to be his crew. However, the monk and the scout never got caught. They outran the guards, and threw a loop in the DM's plan to tie the characters together. Now the monk and the scout are standing in front of the swashbuckler, who isn't letting them on the ship unless they become members of his crew. They (I think he means the ship's crew. - Ed.) could have killed us, because the cleric had just spent his heals on the monk and scout, and i was out of power points. They (The monk and scout?. - Ed) didn't want to ruin the campaign so they said they would join his (The swashbuckler? - Ed.) crew for now. Right now the swashbuckler, who has taken the only room on the ship and stores all the loot in there, is very angry at the scout and monk. The swashbuckler isn't very helpful. All he does is pull out his gun and shoot it every other turn, doing little to no damage, while the rest of us do all the work and he reaps the rewards. If things keep up like this there will be a mutiny soon - not to mention the scout and monk aren't okay with this at all, and my character is getting angry because every time it's time to loot everyone yells, "I loot first!" I'm not going to have my character do a initiative roll to push my way to the loot first, but if I don't get paid I'm going to throw the DM overboard with my brain (He's a psionicist. - Ed) and the scout and monk are probably going to take their money and leave the group once we get to a city. What can I do to prevent this? So far, I have called the DM and told him to come up with a new hook for the monk and scout and told the swashbuckler it would be a good idea to start paying us and to not take cuts out of the monk and scout's pay for boat payments, lest there be a fight. The DM is new at DMing. He has done a great job so far. He has read and prepared a lot. Is there anything in character I can do to keep this fun new campaign from ending prematurely? If I don't do something we are going to end up fighting each other and killing each other off - or the scout and monk will just leave. Fixed. Sweet jeebers, Arcana Man, if you want us to help you out, could you take the time to make your posts remotely readable? Bearing in mind that Arcana Man is the MAN, I'm inclined to say that the fundamental problem here is maturity and there's nothing much to be done until the average age of the group goes up by about two years. Anyone able to do better?
#3 arcana_man May 11, 2009 23:49:36	Greg why you gotta bust my balls?
#4 gregt_314 May 12, 2009 0:04:03	Greg why you gotta bust my balls? Because you're excited enough about D&D to hang out on the boards and post regularly, but you're new enough that you really need some advice. You should be involved in the conversation. People should be able to hear what you have to say and respond to it. Eventually you're going to have a wealth of experiences to share with younger players. But right now when you post it takes a real effort just to see what on earth you're saying. Your spelling and grammar is beyond poor and well into the realm of "nightmarish". You don't have to have perfect spelling. Just make an effort to use apostrophes, make new paragraphs, and avoid the indefinite articles ("it", "they", etc). And remember that "..." is an ellipsis, "." is a full stop, and ".." isn't any kind of grammar known to man. If you care enough to post, then you want to be understood, and this is how. I'm still not on your side about the whole "blowing up ships" and "burning down the forest" posts but this is far and away a more interesting post than either of those and it deserves to be discussed. If your version of things is accurate, you have multiple other players who are looking for a more competitive back-stabbing game than you have in mind. When you have one player like that you can talk to them. When you have multiple players, there's really not a lot you can do other than convert to their way of thinking or find a new group.
#5 arcana_man May 12, 2009 1:11:45	call it what you will, I call it rude... you flood my threads with insults... is there any way for me to ban you from my threads?... and who says im new.... ive been playing dnd for 7 years
#6 jim_darkmagic_fanboy_dup May 12, 2009 1:25:06	Social Skills cannot influence other PCs. Period. Next, why not talk to the DM and the Swashbuckler about this problem? The Swashy may not even know what he's doing is that mean/off-putting to the other players.
#7 thakowsaizmu May 12, 2009 1:28:53	I...t...h...i...n...k...t...h...a...t...y...o...u...w...o...u...l...d...g...e...t...b...e...t...t...e...r...f...e...e...d...b...a...c...k...i...f...y...o...u...l...a...i...d...o...f...t...h...e...p...e...r...i...o...d...b...u...t...t...o...n... Seriously though, I have no clue what you are asking or relating or complaining about. I can't navigate your post at all. I doubt many others can either.
#8 gregt_314 May 12, 2009 1:55:48	call it what you will, I call it rude... you flood my threads with insults... is there any way for me to ban you from my threads?... and who says im new.... ive been playing dnd for 7 years You can ask me nicely. If you feel that way I'll be more than happy to avoid threads you've started. I'd point out that no one was inclined to post in this thread or your psionics one until I made your post readable, but if you find that abrasive rather than helpful then please take my apologies. Best wishes!
#9 green_girl May 12, 2009 4:23:45	Honestly, though: Greg has a point. I don't mean to be rude but I couldn't understand what was said in the original post. o_O
#10 roztov May 12, 2009 5:49:56	hmm , my brain must be wired funny as I managed to read the OPs post :D Anyway, I'm in a not too disimilair set of cicumstances at the moment. At sea, arguements about loot. The way we 'resolved' it was to discuss looting between ourselves on our games forum, not do it at length in-game. It remains to be seen if it works out though!
#11 myrwen_dup May 12, 2009 7:40:35	call it what you will, I call it rude... you flood my threads with insults... is there any way for me to ban you from my threads?... and who says im new.... ive been playing dnd for 7 years Please ban me too
#12 yellowdingo May 12, 2009 8:43:02	Honestly, though: Greg has a point. I don't mean to be rude but I couldn't understand what was said in the original post. o_O yellowdingo conducts Psychoanthropological translation of Arcana_Man speak to Green_Girl speak: He says the Alpha (swashbuckler/DM) and Beta(his PC) Male PCs are bullying the Delta (monk) and Gamma (scout) PCs and is concerned that the inferior males will mutiny and rebel against where he and his Alpha Male Leader are hijacking the Campaign. I'm suggesting the Monk rips his Swashbuckling behind a new one and sells the ship for quick cash in the next port...
#13 SourceOfEvil May 12, 2009 9:28:28	To me, it sounds like everyone in your group is only interested in being the best/richest person and screwing over everyone else, even other players, to get what they want. If it were me I'd be looking for another group. This sort of thing isn't going to get better, going off my own experiences. Sorry to not really help, but what was stated before is true. If it were one person acting this way it's one thing, but the entire group? Doesn't sound like they are interested in actual gaming. How about a game of Risk where the goal IS to beat the other players? BTW, I wouldn't have finished reading your story if it hadn't been re-written. I don't say this to flame, but if you want help or suggestions you really need to work on making a legible post... Just sayin'.
#14 greebo69 May 12, 2009 10:00:42	To me, it sounds like everyone in your group is only interested in being the best/richest person and screwing over everyone else, even other players, to get what they want. If it were me I'd be looking for another group. This sort of thing isn't going to get better, going off my own experiences. It does, however, raise an opportunity for alignment issues to be dealt with. A PC who wants to be the best/richest isn't necessarily evil, but screwing over others to get to be the best/richest - now you're into evil land.
#15 CCS May 12, 2009 12:40:09	... and who says im new.... ive been playing dnd for 7 years 7 years huh. One would think you'd have learned a few nuances of grammer and spelling in that span... Anyways, we assume your new at this because of A) Your writing/spelling style, B) Fairly juvinile sounding adventures. So what to do about your current campaign? Ok, so the reason 2 of the party members are present seems a bit contrived atm. Best advice? Just roll with it. Because the alternative is to rewind/start things over, etc. About your "captain". Work out a solution with him. If you can't? Then have your mutiny. If you end up killing him (pc or not), existing NPC crew members, or losing other PCs? Well then, there's your hook for how to incorporate new PCs into the story. Due to "unfortunate losses at sea" your forced to promote amongst the remaining crew or go recruiting for certain skills ASAP.
#16 nowiwantmydmg May 12, 2009 15:18:20	Thanks Greg, I could never bother to read these if you didn't edit them. Love your blog too by the way (any chance on a tag in your sig that shows when it was last updated?). To the OP: This sounds like a fairly young and juvenille group(I'd guess 16 or under)? It seems like aside from everyone maturing and growing up a bit that your group would be more cohesive if you had goals for your characters other than getting XP and Treasure (That's what it sounds like from your posts thus far anyway). In this particular instance it sounds like the monk and scout were being good friends despite the swashbucklers glory hogging face time and going along with the adventure. In character the characters need a reason to start working together, make one. Alternatively you could have an OCC conversation and settle your issues face to face; a combination of the two is probably the way to go.
#17 shadow_viper May 15, 2009 3:55:06	Fixed. Sweet jeebers, Arcana Man, if you want us to help you out, could you take the time to make your posts remotely readable? Bearing in mind that Arcana Man is the MAN, I'm inclined to say that the fundamental problem here is maturity and there's nothing much to be done until the average age of the group goes up by about two years. Anyone able to do better? I had no problems reading his post or understanding it. Please refrain from trolling, if you don't have anything constructive to add: don't bother posting. Moving on.. I would suggest speaking with the swashbuckler's player in an OOC conversation and letting him know your concerns. If that doesn't work, try talking with the DM once more. Also, diplomacy isn't supposed to be used on other PCs(at least not in 3.5).
#18 marble66 May 15, 2009 5:41:42	Greg why you gotta bust my balls? Yeah. Give the poor guy a break. Clearly, English is not his first language.
#19 need_a_life May 15, 2009 8:29:04	1) I heavily recommend using Microsoft Word or similar programs to fix grammar and/or spelling (at least somewhat). Also, multiple exclaimation marks or full stops is hardly grammatically correct, though "..." is accepted on most online sites, when used in moderation. 2) The matter at hand. You have a backstabbing group, that have little (if any) desire for working with another under the current build-up. Options are: a) Resolve it in-game. This can mean several sessions being essentially wasted by trying to establish the groundrules, though for roleplaying-intensive groups occasionally works. Mind you, I'm talking about the immersive-type roleplayers that seem to be nothing but a myth in most groups. b) Resolve it out of character. Talk to the Game Master and the other players and call for a dialogue and explain that you are not enjoying the situation and that you'd like to have a few changes made. Call any bluffs on the "I'm just playing my character!"-defense as it doesn't excuse ruining another player's enjoyment of the game. c) Suggest that you yourself take over as a Game Master and try to avoid the same scenario from occuring. This is assuming that you've been paying attention to how one runs a game after your impressive 7 years experience. d) Leave.
#20 herald108 May 15, 2009 15:08:00	First of all, D&D is a game of cooperation. You need to have teamwork. If you fight each other then the monsters will win. Secondly, loot should be divided equally between party members. Or, the loot should go the party's 'general fund', so that it can be spent whenever something is needed. When the loot is distributed, it is distributed for the good of the party. And lastly, having one PC in charge of the other PCs isn't always a good idea. As you can see already, there's disagreement over this arrangement. Either the PCs are all equal (in rank, position, etc.), or everyone agrees beforehand to have a PC in a superior position. Everyone should talk this over. You might want to reevaluate your party.
#21 EricaG May 16, 2009 0:47:57	the computer ate my carefully worded reply, so nuts to it... i had a game i dm'ed end early due to different playstyle expectations, so now we always start with part of the backstory includes working for the same adventures' guild together at some point, this cuts out a lot of pvp problems. (this is even if someone dies/joins). and some characters when created/played are really better off taking their loot and marrying the prettiest girl/guy in the village. maybe that character doesn't want to do the same adventures as the rest of the party, so that person can play a character who does. also, a diplomacy roll in 3.5 can't force a pc to do anything, it is an npc-related skill, althought a good result may influence you because the character could be more eloquent than the player. Show and as rude as it may be to edit the OP, I only read the first two lines, before deciding between ignoring the request for assistance, or scroll on hoping to get the giest of the post from replies. if not for the edit, i at least wouldn't have replied.
#22 1red13 May 16, 2009 17:37:58	I think what you have going on is a bit of reactionary game play. The swashbuckler is playing a me first game and it seems the other players are compensating by doing a rush to the treasure. This style isn't to your liking and what you have to do is first talk to your group. Letting them know this isn't fun playing a competitive game and isn't there a compromise where the group is working cooperatively so there doesn't have to be infighting. To suffer in silence only to feel like your being bullied will only waste your time. I would certainly bring up the wisdom fo the dm giving the swashbuckler a ship of his own that he is using to lord over the other players and in essence being forced to be employees. What to do - tell the swashbuckler "no". You're not working for him, you're not giving him a cut of you're income and he's not storing you're treasure in his room. If he insists either mutiny or have you're character convince the others to leave the swashbuckler. Really there is no reason a person would be beholden to the swashbuckler, other than he is a pc not just some random npc. - leave the game. Maybe easier said than done
#23 volcanon2 May 16, 2009 18:01:14	I like how I bring a fresh and original approach to situations like this. - Out of game, NOT in-game, talk to two of the other PCs. It's better if you get the stealthy ones. - Build up a plan to slit the Swash's throat while he sleeps. In 3rd, it's not hard to not wake somebody up if you're good at stealth at all. - Kill the Swash. - If the other PCs give you trouble, your clique of 3 can take them on and win (especially if you have the Cleric on your side). After that, kill the crew of the ship, since they are probably on the side of the Swash. They SHOULD be no stronger than a level 1 fighter and should die easily. After that, set sail for lands unknown. And let the Swash's player know that a new similar character will be dumped overboard.
#24 1red13 May 16, 2009 18:05:53	Or given a ring of water breathing, tied to anvil and used as the ship anchor. Just to keep him involved and interested in the plot.