FMCS: Fat Mall Cop Syndrome

[Crake]

FMCS, or Fat Mall Cop Syndrome is a devastating disease that affects PCs and NPCs alike. Common symptoms include lack of awareness of one's capabilities, awareness but unwillingness to use one's abilities, poor decision making, and at times symptoms of those consistent with severe trauma to the head.

In all seriousness though, has anyone else experienced what has been dubbed by my group as fat mall cop syndrome? The incompetence of NPCs (and at times PCs) almost to the point of making them all look like characters in the three stooges? I've seen it manifest in it's sudden acute form, typically on the brink of a party wipe, where suddenly all the enemies start doing the dumbest stuff, to just straight stupid from the get go, where enemies (who are supposed to be competent warriors and tacticians) fight by just running up to the party fighter who has the "aggro" and attacking while the rest of the party just kills them.

In other circumstances, I've seen it manifest in players who get abilities and refuse to use them "because it's too strong" or "that's exploiting", typically following the stormwind fallacy that if your character is powerful, you must be bad at roleplaying, and saying that I just care about the mechanics, while at the same time asking me why my character isn't impressed by his abilities (which he refuses to use).

Note that incompetence is covered by this to a degree, namely veterans to the game who, after years of playing still don't understand basic tactics, but completely new players are forgiven (granted they don't brag about how good they are).

[Troacctid]

where enemies (who are supposed to be competent warriors and tacticians) fight by just running up to the party fighter who has the "aggro" and attacking while the rest of the party just kills them.

I don't think that constitutes incompetence. In a lot of games, and probably in real life too, attempting to dash past the enemy's front line to attack the back line would be either impossible, suicidal, or at least very stupid, assuming said front line has good tactical positioning. Especially if you don't have everyone's character sheet in front of you--how do you know the guy in the back is the bigger threat?

[Crake]

I don't think that constitutes incompetence. In a lot of games, and probably in real life too, attempting to dash past the enemy's front line to attack the back line would be either impossible, suicidal, or at least very stupid, assuming said front line has good tactical positioning. Especially if you don't have everyone's character sheet in front of you--how do you know the guy in the back is the bigger threat?

I'm talking running out into the open and only attacking the fighter while the rest of the enemies sling spells, arrows or even hell, wade into melee, flank and attack, while they just stand there, not reacting to the changing battlefield at all

And when the fighter gets low, oh, look, they all suddenly started missing

[Riculf]

In each incidence, it sounds like the universe in question has decided that a particular group (let's refer to them as "PC's" or "Primary Conduits") are unique-f***ing snowflakes and must be protected at all cost, otherwise the universe cannot experience itself... or it could be something else entirely.