The "bitch about your GM" thread

Only a minor gripe, and a wierd one at that, but I get away with too much when I'm a player.

Thing is, the group's only three people, and usually I'm the GM. If I ever want to actually be a player, there's only one other that has the knowledge to run the game, but I'm the one that taught him. Sometimes it feels like he has a hard time saying no to the stuff I suggest.

I try really hard not to push it/abuse it. I really do. I just wish the dude had more experience with other G Ms. I'm not that great to begin with...

Ugh. Last night was rough. Ok, there is a Genius Loci haunted house, which had a reputation for locking the door behind you. Our fighter decided to sunder the door. I just opened the door to show him that it was not necessary yet; GM ruled it worked out like a called shot to the arm. I made my saving throws, so I kept the arm, but suffered some nasty strength and dexterity damage, in addition to about half my hit points being lost. I was fine with these events, as it was kinda my fault. Immediately after this, our cleric throws a note to the GM, then casts a spell to ostensibly 'cure' me.

Now, this cleric is a LE known necromancer. In the past he has outright refused to heal me, even though it would be using my wand, thus my own resources. I am immediately suspicious, and roll Spellcraft, enough to identify the spell. The cleric (and everyone else) gets all offended and says I'm metagaming, and for the rest of the session refuses to tell me anything because he says he is returning the suspicion.

The GM agrees with the cleric, that I was being suspicious for no reason. I countered that 'known asshat who refuses to heal+undead minions+expressed DESIRE for a half-elf zombie+out-of-nowhere healing= 'Whats this guy doing? Spellcraft check, what is he casting?' That's not bring the fact that my character is a Half-Elf, who are naturally suspicious of everything because of their upbringing, doubly so for my character, growing up with several insane casters who did not like him.

Oh, and it turns out the asshat was casting Bestow Curse, but when I got suspicious backed out.

edited 20th Jul '13 6:29:52 AM by Ninjaxenomorph

That is bullcrap. A failed plan to screw another player over/a failure in general = more drama = better game. Also, that's kind of obvious what he's doing.

I have little tolerance for PVP in general. Your DM is an idiot on a multitude of levels.

Especially unprovoked crap like that. Doing that in something I'm running is basically begging me to trigger "Rock falls, asshole(s) dies", maybe with a warning shot if I'm feeling merciful that day.

I'm not faulting him for acting in character, I'm angry that my IC reactions were perceived as metagaming.

Whereas I think he's just a fool to think that these self-destructive parties where one PC is evil and attacks other P Cs is a good idea!

Oh, it's not just one PC, around half the party is evil. The other evil ones are withdrawn (and a werewolf) and a high-functioning sociopath who recognizes if he hurts me I can make his life very painful. Also very short.

edited 20th Jul '13 12:17:19 PM by Ninjaxenomorph

Oh okay then. So it's DESIGNED to be dysfunctional.

Well, it works with the dysfunction.

Hey, Monsterhearts runs on Pv P and it's awesome. The drama that results from Pv P is what drives the game.

The trouble I see in this case is that one dude failed a plan because he was not subtle at all, got pissed, and blamed the other player's response to be "metagaming".

Also, the idea of the Spellcraft check is to see if the character recognises the spell. A character doesn't recognise a spell as "Bestow Curse" because s/he is suspicious. S/he will recognise it as such if s/he knows enough about it (of course, mistakes can be made which is failed rolls/ wrong assumptions made by player represents). It's like how we come across an animal and recognise that as a dog or a wolf. Your character is not being "suspicious" when he recognizes the animal that anther player tells him is a dog to be a wolf that is about to eat him, right? The player rolling for the check is.

That whole "metagaming" thing is bullocks.

edited 20th Jul '13 7:51:54 PM by IraTheSquire

Yeah, spellcraft is supposed to be passive to begin with. If anything, it's metagaming to NOT make a spellcraft check.

Unless the character is like consciously looking away or distracting themselves as a trust exercise or something.

The GM's reason was that my character had just received an impromptu called shot to the arm, and would be too distracted to make a spellcraft check. I did not think to bring up that Spellcraft was passive. Also, being a Magus, who is intended for being in combat, it would not distract me.

Bullcrap. That fact that I'm distracted doesn't mean that I'll mistake a bear for a chair. Unless I'm playing a very dumb character.

Next time, if you're playing while being ill in Real Life, sit on the GM's lap and claim that "your illness distracts you, so you mistake him for a chair" and do things like "using the GM's book as a lid".

Your group is made up of idiots.

edited 20th Jul '13 8:30:58 PM by IraTheSquire

You should cast fireball on every last one of them.

IRL.

(Note: This does not mean I'm seriously endorsing setting them on fire. Stupid legal team)

Don't have that spell yet. Or Feeblemind, or Disintegrate. Changing up my spell list and buying a trap for my backpack, though.

"I prepared Explosive Runes this morning."

Don't get that spell, sadly.

Scorching Rays?

Oh, I do get that. I just prefer Shocking Grasp, cause I have almost all the magus cheese for that.

Oh, are you a Duskblade or something?

Magus, playing Pathfinder. Magical Lineage (Shocking Grasp) and Intensify Spell. The only thing I'm not using is a Keen Scimitar; that way, a spellstriked Intesified Shocking Grasp at 10th level when critting is 20d6, no save, as a 1st level spell.

Oh okay.

I make no assertions about how to deal with things in pathfinder~

I play Dn D Encounters, so the D Ms are all volunteers.

That said, there's this one guy I do not like playing with, either as a player or DM.

I can't put my finger on exactly what's wrong, but I think it's mostly that he's too willing to follow the letter of the rules vs the spirit of having fun. I've played with him 3 times, the first time forgettable, the second time I had to stay an hour after we were supposed to be done, and the third time was just awful.

The second time I played with him, we were doing what was supposed to be the climactic fight of a particular module. A great storm, an evil wizard, a cursed dragon, and the possessed and powered up wife of the wizard. Instead of balancing the fight for our party, which wasn't best equipped to fight it but hey, gotta work with what players show up, he simply played the entire fight straight, and did not offer any suggestions when our party was barely getting by in the fight. (One thing I have noticed is that with other D Ms, I and other players are much more likely to use our skills to get out of difficult fights, even while in the middle of a fight.)

So assuming that the wizard was the one causing all the problems, we naturally fought him until he dropped. At which point, when half our party had left because getting to that point took both of our allotted hours, he noted that the spear of lightning that the wizard was using flew up into the grasp of the wife, who was flying, and none of us had ranged attacks. It wasn't until another DM came over and helped us out that we actually got anywhere close to finishing the fight. It was one of the most frustrating and least fun games I have ever played.

The third time he DM'd, he got into a pissing contest with one of the players because, as a joke, the player said (and rolled) to kill a bystander. Instead of finishing the story for the night (because once again, the fight took 2 hours, which is how long the Encounters games last) and awarding experience and gold, he insisted on arguing with this literal 12 year old who was making a joke, rather than just getting on with the story so we could leave.

Thankfully the DM that I've played mostly with is a real gem of a DM and loves it when we derail the encounters scenario.