D&D V6 - Edition jokes don't really make sense anymore - Games

[QUOTE=Secrios;52962307]How do you deal with players who talk about off topic stuff while the DM is talking?[/QUOTE] The DM I play with likes to fuck with players who are overly annoying about it and will interrupt their conversation with "X, please roll a perception check" in the vein that if they aren't paying attention, their character isn't either. Then he'd throw a quick basic encounter (nothing really punishing) at us/the player to keep them engaged.

I have a player who consistently questions the decisions I make as DM, and what I ask him to roll. He thinks he should just be able to do something because he asks to, like jump across a gap, or something like that. There was an encounter with a bandit captain (the PCs are level 2) and he starts screaming about the fact that I target him exclusively with the three multiattacks because he's the only one who I can reach; saying ooc that I'm targeting him because he 'stands up to me' It's frustrating, because I understand they want to do what they want, but to improv on the fly I need to make up DC checks, which he thinks I'm changing when he fails them. [editline]11th December 2017[/editline] At the end of the day, I want them all to enjoy playing, but this particular guy is convinced that I want to ruin his experience being the centre of attention/ 'Chosen One' in a group game.

I mean obviously we can't get the full picture, but just going off that probably best to start with the basic 'talk to him after the game and see if you can't clear things up' card. It sounds like there's some disconnect between how he expects the game to be run and how it is, and if you can clarify how your style of doing things goes and will continue to go that might help reduce aggravation on his end in the future Now for the combat thing... I dunno. There are so many things that can go into making someone feel picked on even if it's totally incidental or unintended by the GM, especially if that results in quick removal from the fight. But a PC being in melee range of a boss and not intending to be there speaks to just as much of a tactical failure on their part as it is intent by a GM, and without the whole picture it's hard to give specific advice for how to resolve that there And ultimately if they're making the game unfun for you or others in a way you can't all resolve, boot them. Never fall into the trap of thinking a toxic player is better than none

I think he just expects to pass every check he's given - he's very prone to powergaming, which I think manifests itself as him wanting to do the thing again and again until he gets the outcome he wants. I'm curious... how 'infallible' are your DM's decisions in games? Yeah, the whole combat situation was a complete fuck up on his part. He ran in thinking he could take the boss himself, so was by himself in a room with the captain and another bandit; of course he'll get attacked lol I dunno. The issue is it's my first time DMing, so I don't really know the etiquette when it comes to things like this.

Generally, it's important to remember you hold all the cards. The players can never succeed or fail unless you let them. That being said, this is never something you should abuse or even bring up, but it's important to remember that you are in charge, end of the day. The rules aid you but do not replace you, and in the case of your word against theirs, you are ultimately the arbiter of who wins Generally though, stick by your initial calls. Do not retcon, or state to the players things are changing in the immediate sense because of their actions. You can always do things behind the screen to tilt odds without them ever knowing but NOTHING shatters immersion and pulls people out like explicitly stating you changed something in the moment because people complained But it never hurts to be flexible in other ways. Skill checks and the like are almost entirely improv, and for some things (like physical activities or other unopposed tasks) it doesn't hurt to just state the DC and your rationale behind it after the player has decided to attempt it but before they roll. Changing rules is all well and good too, but if you do so on a regular basis be sure to write or keep track of how specifically you are doing so just so you don't surprise people by seemingly changing the game on them At the end of the day tho everyone works through how to make it work for them differently. I'm sure any GM in this thread can give you a whole pile of their own personal opinions and tips, but my personal take is that you don't admit to give in just because people whine during the session. Alter things out of sight or between games if you must, especially if in hindsight you made a bad call, but retcons rarely go well, so if at all possible try to write your way out of mistakes instead of making meta calls

I think part of being a GM is coming up with creative ways of punishing your players without it feeling like a punishment. In the case mentioned before with Mr. Multiattack, personally I'd have the Boss knock out and capture the player. That way the abandoned players get to have a neat rescue mission and the hotshot could eavesdrop on his over-confident captors for plot info. If you can make their failures embarassing-yet-entertaining then everyone gets to have a good time.

So I made a malk for VTM who took too many cues from batman, and is essentially a sadist who uses his wealth and influence on local institutions to keep the rich rich and the poor poor, so that he will perpetually have criminals to fight as a vigilante(his parents were killed by the poor, so he blames them). It's an annoyance, but the kind of behaviour is really good for vampires (keep the streets filled with meals and the police corrupt) so he'd get in a little less trouble, and of course he's easy to direct, so his existence is pretty justified in the [I]World of Darkness[/I]. We even discussed how we could re-arange the fluff for certain merits to get the last point in. So the guy I made him for wanted a larger game (from two players to four), which makes me want a character that'd take less spotlight, but I still wanted to play the character, so I go to the guy I often do 1 on 1 sessions with. Says he can't do a non-silly game and can't play it straight. Which I find fucking Infuriating. The character's all set up for some dark satire'n shit, and It works scarily perfect within the universe, but he sees "batman" and now we gotta play it silly apparently. Not even willing to do a -Try play it seriously because that's the silliest thing- In a world where werewolves are eco warriors who talk to spirits and run around with magic swords. Meanwhile he still wants me to run a game of Changeling for him.

As stated, I've got the deck here. It's got the fun, without being completely character / campaign ruining. I based it off of the 22 Card variant. [url]https://www.dropbox.com/s/dhperpeg0m7rhc7/Deck%20of%20Moderate%20Antiquities.txt?dl=0[/url] Forgive me of any typos if you catch any, my work screen is from the stone-ages, makes notepad crunch up parts of it real bad.

re: DM advice, the best piece of advice i ever received concerning DMing was to communicate with your players - you're all in the same boat trying to tell a collaborative story (unless you're playing 2nd ed or something) while it might seem like an awesome plot twist to have the goblin king possess someone and use them as a dogsbody in his goblin hotel, the player character might absolutely not want this to happen - you might feel like it's ruining the surprise when you talk to your players about a big twist, but you're dodging so many bullets by doing it, and not every surprise has to fuck over a player if someone's failing the checks repeatedly and getting mad about it then there's not much to be done - dice roll focused roleplaying games aren't for them, and they should play a game more about the fluff than the crunch if you've got a really troublesome player, talk to them about it, work out what they want, if it's achievable - if it isn't, then you've got to be grown up about it and tell them you can't give them what they're looking for

[QUOTE=The Jack;52967133]So I made a malk for VTM who took too many cues from batman, and is essentially a sadist who uses his wealth and influence on local institutions to keep the rich rich and the poor poor, so that he will perpetually have criminals to fight as a vigilante(his parents were killed by the poor, so he blames them). It's an annoyance, but the kind of behaviour is really good for vampires (keep the streets filled with meals and the police corrupt) so he'd get in a little less trouble, and of course he's easy to direct, so his existence is pretty justified in the [I]World of Darkness[/I]. We even discussed how we could re-arange the fluff for certain merits to get the last point in. So the guy I made him for wanted a larger game (from two players to four), which makes me want a character that'd take less spotlight, but I still wanted to play the character, so I go to the guy I often do 1 on 1 sessions with. Says he can't do a non-silly game and can't play it straight. Which I find fucking Infuriating. The character's all set up for some dark satire'n shit, and It works scarily perfect within the universe, but he sees "batman" and now we gotta play it silly apparently. Not even willing to do a -Try play it seriously because that's the silliest thing- In a world where werewolves are eco warriors who talk to spirits and run around with magic swords. Meanwhile he still wants me to run a game of Changeling for him.[/QUOTE] 2-4 players isn't really a large game. Where is the satire? How is it satire if it isn't even remotely silly? Why not just find another GM, or save the character for later usage?

What was that DnD ruleset that was so in-depth that it had charts for the dimensions of all weapons and characters down to the maximum anal circumference before tearage for each race For a friend

[QUOTE=Kylel999;52968262]What was that DnD ruleset that was so in-depth that it had charts for the dimensions of all weapons and characters down to the maximum anal circumference before tearage for each race For a friend[/QUOTE] That's FATAL. Not D&D. Not even game. Just Suffering.

[QUOTE=gufu;52968270]That's FATAL. Not D&D. Not even game. Just Suffering.[/QUOTE] For context, Something Awful's "The 10 Reasons We Will Never Review F.A.T.A.L." Opening paragraph reads as follows : [QUOTE] We have avoided the subject of F.A.T.A.L. (FATAL from here on out) since this column began. Every day someone emails one of us requesting we use it for WTF, D&D!? and every week we refuse. FATAL is a peerless, gargantuan, self-published, self-distributed beast written by obsessive savant Byron Hall. The rules, touted as "the most difficult" of any game available, cover every imaginable detail except how to have fun playing the game. Minor details. FATAL is infamous because it is a sadomasochistic violence and rape simulation. We're here today to explain why we will never review FATAL. [/QUOTE] The full article can be found [URL="http://www.somethingawful.com/dungeons-and-dragons/fatal-worst-rpg/1/"]here[/URL]. If you're still interested in it after that, I don't know what to say.

I didn't realize it was so based around sex that makes it a lot less funny and a lot more weird the algebraic pleasure calculations are pretty silly though

[QUOTE=Mayor Luigi;52968280]For context, Something Awful's "The 10 Reasons We Will Never Review F.A.T.A.L." Opening paragraph reads as follows : The full article can be found [URL="http://www.somethingawful.com/dungeons-and-dragons/fatal-worst-rpg/1/"]here[/URL]. If you're still interested in it after that, I don't know what to say.[/QUOTE] Holy fuck, what. I'm sure there might be some stuff in here worth looking at, somethings you could steal for a homebrew But that Number 1 reason Oh my god.

I have both editions of FATAL on my machine. Sometimes I open them to see if I can find anything to laugh at in them. Then I realize how sad reading them makes me feel, so I close them and feel bad.

[QUOTE=_Maverick_;52968323]Holy fuck, what. I'm sure there might be some stuff in here worth looking at, somethings you could steal for a homebrew But that Number 1 reason Oh my god.[/QUOTE] There is nothing worth your time there Identical ideas have been done better by literally any other system unless you really want someone's racist, mysogynistic vehicle for unrealistic, poorly researched, self-deluded rape fantasies Even if you want dumb sex rules there are SO many better options in the homebrew for other systems, ones that don't give a fuck about how many chunks of shit come out when you fuck something so big your ass rips or that don't refer to rape as 'taking one's pleasure'

[QUOTE=Rats808;52968238]2-4 players isn't really a large game. Where is the satire? How is it satire if it isn't even remotely silly? Why not just find another GM, or save the character for later usage?[/QUOTE] WoD can be unwieldy and players often need to do stuff in the background, so every extra player is felt a lot more than you'd get in, say, DnD. Satire and parody are different things. I think the character'd just be an interesting and provoking take on batman and his like. I can save the character, I've got a backlog of characters, but I'm just really frustrated with the ST, honestly could've gone into the thread about what makes you mad, but I think they're less likely to get what I'm saying.

I was browsing stupid shit and came across a horror idea that basically went: [I]Your phone rings, you pick it up[/I] "excuse, may I have some of your time?" [I]You say, sure. [/I] "thank you." [I]the voice hangs up.[/I] [I]you feel... older... [/I] And now I'm kinda addicted to finding more subtle horror things I can add to DnD, because you could totally do that in DnD, just in person and make them disappear after Other Shit like False Hydras are fucking gold to me, do any of you guys have any other creepy stuff you can share?

[QUOTE=_Maverick_;52969818]I was browsing stupid shit and came across a horror idea that basically went: [I]Your phone rings, you pick it up[/I] "excuse, may I have some of your time?" [I]You say, sure. [/I] "thank you." [I]the voice hangs up.[/I] [I]you feel... older... [/I] And now I'm kinda addicted to finding more subtle horror things I can add to DnD, because you could totally do that in DnD, just in person and make them disappear after Other Shit like False Hydras are fucking gold to me, do any of you guys have any other creepy stuff you can share?[/QUOTE] First thing that comes to mind would be gothic horror stories. Maybe look for inspiration in those? [editline]12th December 2017[/editline] Sidenote: I'm not a literature buff, so I can't give you any examples unfortunately v:v:v

[QUOTE=Alxnotorious;52970137]First thing that comes to mind would be gothic horror stories. Maybe look for inspiration in those? [editline]12th December 2017[/editline] Sidenote: I'm not a literature buff, so I can't give you any examples unfortunately v:v:v[/QUOTE] There's a Ravenloft forum that has been going on for decades now called the [URL="http://www.fraternityofshadows.com/forum/"]Fraternity of Shadows[/URL]. They have an enormous amount of materials for that sort of thing, if you care to dig through it.

[QUOTE=_Maverick_;52969818]I was browsing stupid shit and came across a horror idea that basically went: [I]Your phone rings, you pick it up[/I] "excuse, may I have some of your time?" [I]You say, sure. [/I] "thank you." [I]the voice hangs up.[/I] [I]you feel... older... [/I] And now I'm kinda addicted to finding more subtle horror things I can add to DnD, because you could totally do that in DnD, just in person and make them disappear after Other Shit like False Hydras are fucking gold to me, do any of you guys have any other creepy stuff you can share?[/QUOTE] "You open your bag of holding and reach down into it, thinking of the coins to pay the merchant for your arrows. Then you feel something unexpected. Something warm. There's another hand grabbing yours. Gently at first, like an unsure lover. You pull away on instinct but it has you now. It's grip is like iron. The merchant looks at you, his smile slowly changing to confusion as he sees your expression." - "You enter the tavern and find a seat. You notice that people have taken an immediate interest in you. They regard you warmly as if you've been here before. As you look around the walls you see portraits of yourself and the party. The bartender approaches you, a friendly looking man, and begins to speak: 'I'm a great fan of your exploits. Your work. I think you'll like it here.' You glance outside and realize through the windows you can see a great void of stars. The bartender broadens his smile and speaks again: 'It is safe here.'" Also [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwh6EigKCWs"]this[/URL].

[QUOTE=Archimedes;52973006]"You open your bag of holding and reach down into it, thinking of the coins to pay the merchant for your arrows. Then you feel something unexpected. Something warm. There's another hand grabbing yours. Gently at first, like an unsure lover. You pull away on instinct but it has you now. It's grip is like iron. The merchant looks at you, his smile slowly changing to confusion as he sees your expression." [/QUOTE] creepy until the bard sticks his dick in the bag of holding

[QUOTE=_Maverick_;52969818]I was browsing stupid shit and came across a horror idea that basically went: [I]Your phone rings, you pick it up[/I] "excuse, may I have some of your time?" [I]You say, sure. [/I] "thank you." [I]the voice hangs up.[/I] [I]you feel... older... [/I] And now I'm kinda addicted to finding more subtle horror things I can add to DnD, because you could totally do that in DnD, just in person and make them disappear after Other Shit like False Hydras are fucking gold to me, do any of you guys have any other creepy stuff you can share?[/QUOTE] Germanic myth is like 90% horror stories. Elves kidnapping children, especially evil people not going to hel when they die and instead remaining on earth as super powerful magical beings (draugr) and the Nachtkrapp [QUOTE]Several versions of the Nachtkrapp exist. In most legends, the Nachtkrapp is described as a giant, nocturnal raven-like bird. In Norse mythology, the Nachtkrapp (Swedish, "Nattravnen") is depicted with no eyes which if looked into cause death. It is also depicted with holes in its wings which cause illness and disease if looked at. Some of the most common legends claim that the Nachtkrapp leaves its hiding place at night to hunt. If it is seen by little children, it will abduct them into its nest and messily devour them, first ripping off their limbs and then picking out their heart.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Archimedes;52973006]"You open your bag of holding and reach down into it, thinking of the coins to pay the merchant for your arrows. Then you feel something unexpected. Something warm. There's another hand grabbing yours. Gently at first, like an unsure lover. You pull away on instinct but it has you now. It's grip is like iron. The merchant looks at you, his smile slowly changing to confusion as he sees your expression." - "You enter the tavern and find a seat. You notice that people have taken an immediate interest in you. They regard you warmly as if you've been here before. As you look around the walls you see portraits of yourself and the party. The bartender approaches you, a friendly looking man, and begins to speak: 'I'm a great fan of your exploits. Your work. I think you'll like it here.' You glance outside and realize through the windows you can see a great void of stars. The bartender broadens his smile and speaks again: 'It is safe here.'" Also [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwh6EigKCWs"]this[/URL].[/QUOTE] Perfect, just what I needed. Now unrelated to this I need some advice, a way to fix a problem that might arise I'll give some back story to help frame it, but it's not super critical. My party is looking at how to save 4 elven girls from forced slavery inside a brothel. (the law of the land has no problem with this.) Because they come from the same town that the party's elven druid comes from, and she thinks she might know them (one of the party met with one of the elven girls who provided information to prove this.)(her town has been raided for slaves multiple times, these where just some that got shipped to the city.) They want to bring them to a safe place, a nearby druid enclave which would be able to provide protection [I]only if [/I] they can prove they are druids, because ONLY druids are allowed inside they are very strict with this rule. (the party knows this.) Now my plan, was for one of the elven girls to [I]not[/I] be a druid, to introduce a little hiccup But the druid player messed this up when she told the party that everyone in her town is a trained as a druid. Which means at the moment, the party is going to pay for these girls legally, escort them to the druid enclave and done, quest over. They become practically untouchable safe and it's over fairly quickly. Which [B][I][U]I[/U][/I][/B] Think is boring storytelling. So I'm asking for advice on: What kind of test would you have someone do to prove they are a druid? Should I have some kind of challenge part way through their quest and what would you imagine would work well? Should everything go according to their plan and they get the druids safe, what kind of repercussions could they face for this? If you think this idea isn't good, how would you suggest I change it?

[QUOTE=_Maverick_;52973409]Perfect, just what I needed. Now unrelated to this I need some advice, a way to fix a problem that might arise I'll give some back story to help frame it, but it's not super critical. My party is looking at how to save 4 elven girls from forced slavery inside a brothel. (the law of the land has no problem with this.) Because they come from the same town that the party's elven druid comes from, and she thinks she might know them (one of the party met with one of the elven girls who provided information to prove this.)(her town has been raided for slaves multiple times, these where just some that got shipped to the city.) They want to bring them to a safe place, a nearby druid enclave which would be able to provide protection [I]only if [/I] they can prove they are druids, because ONLY druids are allowed inside they are very strict with this rule. (the party knows this.) Now my plan, was for one of the elven girls to [I]not[/I] be a druid, to introduce a little hiccup But the druid player messed this up when she told the party that everyone in her town is a trained as a druid. Which means at the moment, the party is going to pay for these girls legally, escort them to the druid enclave and done, quest over. They become practically untouchable safe and it's over fairly quickly. Which [B][I][U]I[/U][/I][/B] Think is boring storytelling. So I'm asking for advice on: What kind of test would you have someone do to prove they are a druid? Should I have some kind of challenge part way through their quest and what would you imagine would work well? Should everything go according to their plan and they get the druids safe, what kind of repercussions could they face for this? If you think this idea isn't good, how would you suggest I change it?[/QUOTE] Maybe some bad person from the town either buys one of the girls before the PCs can, or said brothel patron has a sick love for one of them that causes him and his gross buddies to try and intercept the PC team?

Or you know, just have some local Criminal Lord who runs the brothel to get back the investments, alongside with all of the party's belongings as "donations to the brothel". What's their power level?

[QUOTE=gufu;52973987]Or you know, just have some local Criminal Lord who runs the brothel to get back the investments, alongside with all of the party's belongings as "donations to the brothel". What's their power level?[/QUOTE] 5 player party Currently level 7, very near 8

Hm. Level 7/8 takes them away from being endangered by your usual banditry. Could have a local evil cult needing 4 elven druids for a sacrifice, as they should be able to get something stronger out to endanger the party.

[QUOTE=gufu;52974040]Hm. Level 7/8 takes them away from being endangered by your usual banditry. Could have a local evil cult needing 4 elven druids for a sacrifice, as they should be able to get something stronger out to endanger the party.[/QUOTE] I like it! And that'll fit in with one of my previous missions Thanks, this and Pax 's suggestion have given me some ideas Cheers.