Trouble with a DM

[Nabirius]

So I'm having trouble with a DM I have, he's running an Eclipse Phase campaign, but he has several habits that are really starting to annoy me. The main problem is that he is to enamored with his NPCs. He's not using the standard setting and we are all members of a mercenary company named Contra. However the PC's are all low level in the company and we are constantly show up by the higher level employees.

All the high level employees get weapons and equipment that are both not in the rule book and not at all balanced for the system (one character Zheng has what is essentially a light-saber). And whenever it looks like the group is beginning to advance at all he buffs them tremendously. They also have this frustrating tendency to come 'save the day' when its totally unnecessary, steal the spotlight from whatever PC has done something crazy awesome, or just do what ever was explicitly impossible for the rest of us (more on that in a moment).

The second main problem is that he hates anything supernatural and keeps striping it of its usefulness or striping it out entirely. In Eclipse phase there are psychics but they are closer to River Tam than Jean Grey. He had 1 mission planned around psychics, which was the mission my psychic character joined.

The problems came when I tried to use my powers for anything other than giving people Aneurysms. We were once on a cruise ship on which we were not allowed to take any guns, and if we tried they would get taken away during the very thorough screening process. Once on the ship one of our members overheard that there were terrorists on the ship. Not wanting to die we decided to intervene.

I decided that I would use my psychic powers to get one of the guards to give me a gun. He told me that they were so well trained they would instantly resist it (btw, no one knows about psychics in either setting). I argued that this was the perfect time for psychic powers, because there is no way for standard social skills to help us in this case, but dominating someone should be effective, but he said no. Later in the session Sofia (a socialite NPC) pulls out a gun and ends the problem herself.

Me and at least one other person in the group have brought this up with him, but he keeps doing it. So what do I do?

[Jay R]

You've done step one, which is to talk to him.

Step two: If it's fun, keep playing and ignore the small stuff. If it's not fun, quit the game and tell him why.

Step three: Start a game that you run the way you think it should be run. If all his players quit and join you're game, then you were right, and he was a poor DM. If nobody does, then you were wrong, and being too sensitive.

[Tyndmyr]

Ok, this is classic DMPC behavior, and it's pretty terrible. Talking is of course, the first step. You've done that, no joy...and tbh, it fails here pretty often, but it's still a polite first step.

So, move up a notch. In character, observe on the absurdity of the situation. If ridiculously overpowered NPCs are popping in to save the day constantly, question why you are being hired to go on the mission in the first place. Surely it makes little sense to conduct business in this fashion. Wonder at why such a powerful person with such impressive gear would have nothing better to do than act as a tag-along for low level employees. Demand equal salary and gear from your employers to match his, since he's doing the same missions ya'll are. Parody and humor are encouraged in this.

The above should ideally highlight the problems he's creating in the world. Ideally, he'll attempt to fix them. Less ideally...at least it'll make it apparent to your fellow players.

Note that if they happen to gain massive power boost in conjunction with your PCs...humorously observe on that in game as well. It's not YOUR fault that he's horribly breaking realism.

Write down the crazy stuff he does, and treat it as canon. Basic guard training gives you immunity to psychic powers? Claim that your char wants basic guard training.

If this fails to do more than amuse your fellow players, you might have to move up to actively avoiding NPCs. When the overpowered munchkin chars show up to fix everything, just leave. Say "oh, he's got it under control", and walk out. If he launches into a description anyway, point out that nobody is there to hear it.

If need be...escalate to killing the chars. This will probably not work due to his willingness to ignore the rules, but it further highlights the ridiculousness of his actions.

If all else fails, suicide is always an option. Find the most hilariously funny ways to kill yourself. Whenever one of his NPCs shows up, off yourself.

Note that all of the above is extremely likely to lead to him eventually no longer DMing. This is good. Find a replacement or become a replacement.

[Aemoh87]

I recomend suggesting another campaign. If everyone else is annoyed with it just move on. DMing is not easy, and some people just aren't ment to be DMs. Then when he is a player he can go nuts, but have to follow rules as written.

[NekoJoker]

I must agree with most of what has been said on the previous posts... but i would not give up on the diplomatic route yet. If he is DMing that measns that at the very least he wants you guys to have fun too, it is either that or he's a control freak with security issues... but then again most of us DMs are very much just that, lol.

talk to him again and point out the nonsense he's been pulling on all of you and how all of it is ruining your fun, do it in the most subtle way so as not to hurt any feelings (you still want the guy to keep DMing, if not you wouldn't be posting here on the first place) and try to work it pout together.

If that does not work... then you have no other choice than to be a jerk and boicott the campaign with your own nonsense, go wild! if need be point out every rule or loophole that would allow you to do something hillariously crazy and go with it.

I personally hate when things go that far since just talking will most of the time fix the problem... but if you gotta get rough, go all the way.

[Delwugor]

Me and at least one other person in the group have brought this up with him, but he keeps doing it.
More than one person complaining and the GM keeps it up most likely means he won't stop.

Unless there is another reason to stay around I would leave the group. But don't be childish or a jerk cause you'll come off as the bad one.
Send an email to everyone stating you are leaving because the game has not turned out as you expected. You could give further explanation but make it to the other players not the GM. You already gave him his chance.

[Nabirius]

One of the main problems is that there is not 1 DM PC there are at least 5, and they are all optimized so that they are the best at their role, and then given absurd equipment we simply don't receive. They are also all paid a salary on top of the missions they preform because they are so much better than us (when I asked how they could possibly afford their equipment).

Sofia is a charismatic woman that can apparently convince people (offscrene) to do things I can't dominate them for. Jim is a tank with armor 30 that is apparently psychic-proof (and no armor penalties, also a gun that I have not seen used but is bigger than my character), whereas Lorelei (our tank) stacked all the armor that could be stacked and has armor 21. Zheng is a ninja-samurai person with a plasma katana that deals more damage than a grenade at point blank range along with stats that literally can't exist (she's his favorite). Roman, a hacker that never appears.

But the most frustrating is Oz, who is apparently so badass he can wretch control of my character away from him just by glaring at me. Basically what happened was the token evil teammate (Lorelei) betrayed me and tried to sell me to the company that made me, she tried to bludgeon me unconscious and handcuff me, but I fried her brain before she could kill me. This was in-front of the whole team, who then decided to throw me in the trunk and interrogate me back at HQ. My character is paranoid, so he broke his own thumb to escape the cuffs, then ambushed my interrogator and beat him unconscious with the chair before running to the exit. I passed by Oz's office and he glared at me which apparently filled my character with so much fear/respect that I went back up to be interrogated.

One group member other than me has brought this up (which was a shock to me and the DM both, because I hadn't discussed my annoyance with anyone but the DM), and one member isn't really happy with the campaign in general but rarely speaks up. One group member is a guy who often DM's but defends everything the DM does, from the DMPCs, to the pixel-hunt fight that killed 2 people and didn't earn them nearly enough money to get a new body.

I do have a way to grandstand (get about 35 armor with no penalties, and be able to turn invisible to almost all detection, have a 90% chance to dodge bullets while getting 4 attacks per round) and see if the DM just powers up the NPCs again making the entire game irrelevant but I really don't want to be a jerk and wreck everyone else's fun.

[NekoJoker]

Ok. I withdraw what i said in previous posts...

Trying to one up this guy is useless.

Really he seems to be getting a kick out of giving you all a hard time... that's not right.

Going into an arms race does nothing on this sort of thing. Best thing to do, really? walk away. save yourself the trouble and walk away. it's not fun for you and if you really have to resort to being a jerk ... it's not fun for your teammates.

Walk away and start a new group yourself, and don't EVER commit the same mistakes you have witnessed here.

[Aemoh87]

One of the main problems is that there is not 1 DM PC there are at least 5, and they are all optimized so that they are the best at their role, and then given absurd equipment we simply don't receive. They are also all paid a salary on top of the missions they preform because they are so much better than us (when I asked how they could possibly afford their equipment).

Sofia is a charismatic woman that can apparently convince people (offscrene) to do things I can't dominate them for. Jim is a tank with armor 30 that is apparently psychic-proof (and no armor penalties, also a gun that I have not seen used but is bigger than my character), whereas Lorelei (our tank) stacked all the armor that could be stacked and has armor 21. Zheng is a ninja-samurai person with a plasma katana that deals more damage than a grenade at point blank range along with stats that literally can't exist (she's his favorite). Roman, a hacker that never appears.

But the most frustrating is Oz, who is apparently so badass he can wretch control of my character away from him just by glaring at me. Basically what happened was the token evil teammate (Lorelei) betrayed me and tried to sell me to the company that made me, she tried to bludgeon me unconscious and handcuff me, but I fried her brain before she could kill me. This was in-front of the whole team, who then decided to throw me in the trunk and interrogate me back at HQ. My character is paranoid, so he broke his own thumb to escape the cuffs, then ambushed my interrogator and beat him unconscious with the chair before running to the exit. I passed by Oz's office and he glared at me which apparently filled my character with so much fear/respect that I went back up to be interrogated.

One group member other than me has brought this up (which was a shock to me and the DM both, because I hadn't discussed my annoyance with anyone but the DM), and one member isn't really happy with the campaign in general but rarely speaks up. One group member is a guy who often DM's but defends everything the DM does, from the DMPCs, to the pixel-hunt fight that killed 2 people and didn't earn them nearly enough money to get a new body.

I do have a way to grandstand (get about 35 armor with no penalties, and be able to turn invisible to almost all detection, have a 90% chance to dodge bullets while getting 4 attacks per round) and see if the DM just powers up the NPCs again making the entire game irrelevant but I really don't want to be a jerk and wreck everyone else's fun.

This made me laugh. I would say quit but it sounds like the DM would rather not have the party in the game anyways.

But seriously... just quit.

[Sith_Happens]

I do have a way to grandstand (get about 35 armor with no penalties, and be able to turn invisible to almost all detection, have a 90% chance to dodge bullets while getting 4 attacks per round) and see if the DM just powers up the NPCs again making the entire game irrelevant but I really don't want to be a jerk and wreck everyone else's fun.

I'm assuming the DM doesn't know you can do that. So here's the plan:

1. Wait until at least one (preferably more) of the DMPCs show up during a mission to upstage you.
2. Do that. For bonus style points, immediately attempt to wipe out the rest of the party.
3. Watch the inevitable and completely obvious BS that the DM immediately pulls to keep his pet characters better than you.
4. At that point, hand the DM both your character sheet and an in-character letter of resignation from the company citing your and your character's various grievances, including but not limited to favoratism towards the senior operatives, needless risking of the party's life and limb through sending you on missions that they obviously don't trust you to handle yourself, and inadequate compensation for such.
5. Walk away from the table and never come back.

[Killer Angel]

5. Walk away from the table and never come back.

Alternatively, if you're OK with the rest of the group, walk away and explain that you'll turn back to play at the end of this campaign, when another one will be the DM.

[Jay R]

Alternatively, if you're OK with the rest of the group, walk away and explain that you'll turn back to play at the end of this campaign, when another one will be the DM.

Or take the responsibility yourself. Walk away, announcing that you're starting a game next week, and invite them all to come play.

[Killer Angel]

Or take the responsibility yourself. Walk away, announcing that you're starting a game next week, and invite them all to come play.

The middle ground is: walk away and offer to DM the next game, when the current one's over.

[Alejandro]

It sounds like your GM would rather be playing. He goes to all the trouble to make these awesome characters, and wants them to do awesome things, and always wants them to get more and more awesome...

Isn't that basically what any player wants, for their PC?

Why is this person the GM?

[Tyndmyr]

One of the main problems is that there is not 1 DM PC there are at least 5, and they are all optimized so that they are the best at their role, and then given absurd equipment we simply don't receive. They are also all paid a salary on top of the missions they preform because they are so much better than us (when I asked how they could possibly afford their equipment).

Sofia is a charismatic woman that can apparently convince people (offscrene) to do things I can't dominate them for. Jim is a tank with armor 30 that is apparently psychic-proof (and no armor penalties, also a gun that I have not seen used but is bigger than my character), whereas Lorelei (our tank) stacked all the armor that could be stacked and has armor 21. Zheng is a ninja-samurai person with a plasma katana that deals more damage than a grenade at point blank range along with stats that literally can't exist (she's his favorite). Roman, a hacker that never appears.

But the most frustrating is Oz, who is apparently so badass he can wretch control of my character away from him just by glaring at me. Basically what happened was the token evil teammate (Lorelei) betrayed me and tried to sell me to the company that made me, she tried to bludgeon me unconscious and handcuff me, but I fried her brain before she could kill me. This was in-front of the whole team, who then decided to throw me in the trunk and interrogate me back at HQ. My character is paranoid, so he broke his own thumb to escape the cuffs, then ambushed my interrogator and beat him unconscious with the chair before running to the exit. I passed by Oz's office and he glared at me which apparently filled my character with so much fear/respect that I went back up to be interrogated.

One group member other than me has brought this up (which was a shock to me and the DM both, because I hadn't discussed my annoyance with anyone but the DM), and one member isn't really happy with the campaign in general but rarely speaks up. One group member is a guy who often DM's but defends everything the DM does, from the DMPCs, to the pixel-hunt fight that killed 2 people and didn't earn them nearly enough money to get a new body.

I do have a way to grandstand (get about 35 armor with no penalties, and be able to turn invisible to almost all detection, have a 90% chance to dodge bullets while getting 4 attacks per round) and see if the DM just powers up the NPCs again making the entire game irrelevant but I really don't want to be a jerk and wreck everyone else's fun.

This all seems ridiculous. I recommend ludicrous amounts of explosives. Arrange some sort of meeting for them all(pander slightly to his ego to get them there. Say...perhaps that you wish to honor them for their assistance)

Make sure your team is outside, and that you have enough explosives in the room or on you to reduce everything within a city block to rubble.


This person seems to be a terrible, terrible GM, and probably needs to stop doing it entirely.

[Analytica]

As wise people have said, do not try to solve OOC problems IC. Since this is not IRL warfare, all solutions end up being communication, not coercion. IC attempts at communication of OOC issues is muddled by the game itself. Talk with the other players to get your point across. If they agree, talk directly to the GM as a group. Since people get defensive, do constructive criticism - "we would like to feel like the main characters rather than underdogs; in situations like X we would like things like Y and Z happening rather than W. Incidentally, things A, B and C are really good." If GM won't accompany the group, and you still aren't happy, state that you don't enjoy the game as much as you like because of W, and back out of the game. Then after that, start a new game, either you or someone else, and invite the now-former GM as a player.

[Lord Torath]

As wise people have said, do not try to solve OOC problems IC. Since this is not IRL warfare, all solutions end up being communication, not coercion. IC attempts at communication of OOC issues is muddled by the game itself. Talk with the other players to get your point across. If they agree, talk directly to the GM as a group. Since people get defensive, do constructive criticism - "we would like to feel like the main characters rather than underdogs; in situations like X we would like things like Y and Z happening rather than W. Incidentally, things A, B and C are really good." If GM won't accompany the group, and you still aren't happy, state that you don't enjoy the game as much as you like because of W, and back out of the game. Then after that, start a new game, either you or someone else, and invite the now-former GM as a player.
I think this is the best advice given so far.

Nabirius, it's now been over a week. Has anything changed?

[Tyndmyr]

As wise people have said, do not try to solve OOC problems IC. Since this is not IRL warfare, all solutions end up being communication, not coercion. IC attempts at communication of OOC issues is muddled by the game itself. Talk with the other players to get your point across. If they agree, talk directly to the GM as a group. Since people get defensive, do constructive criticism - "we would like to feel like the main characters rather than underdogs; in situations like X we would like things like Y and Z happening rather than W. Incidentally, things A, B and C are really good." If GM won't accompany the group, and you still aren't happy, state that you don't enjoy the game as much as you like because of W, and back out of the game. Then after that, start a new game, either you or someone else, and invite the now-former GM as a player.

Blowing up his game world is not intended to solve anything for the GM communication problem. It's intended to be hilarious. TBH, the GM is probably hopeless anyway, since the OP has already tried talking, so leaving is the only way out. You might as well go out with a bang.