Worst gaming sessions ever?

[DarthSpader]

Having read a few others with this idea, I was about to post a response and noticed the dates. While I am working on a necromancer for a game I'm in now, I don't believe my powers work on threads.

I have 2 examples to get this going, but wondering if anyone else has had a session like this recently?

Session one: the doppelgänger

So my first attempt at being a Dm for a 3.5 game. The party consists of a standard mix, but the group lacked an arcane caster. There was a rogue, cleric, fighter, paladin and bard. I ran the first session with the classic "dark and stormy night" module to great success, and even had the players say it was the best session they had had in ages. Eager to continue, game 2 brought in some more story and basic prefab modules to level up and again the session worked well. At the conclusion I figured I would ask the group for a "wish list" - items they would like to see as loot at one point. Most were pretty generic - but the paladin very specifically and seriously "+1 frost bastard sword" - i responded with "that's pretty powerful at this level, your only 4th, I'll do what I can but be patient." Next session: the group gets its ass kicked by an arcane casting enemy and retreat. They hit town and look for a caster medcenary. I roll up a sorcerer npc and have her join the group. For 2 sessions the sorc was pretty nifty. Then... i hit a doppelgänger on a random encounter. Worse it was night. So to make things interesting - I had the sorc on watch, get killed and replaced. No one caught on. Over the next few encounters the "sorc" was behaving badley. Dropping fireballs into a melee fight catching party members, etc. at this point me paladin got upset and asked me "where the #%$&@ his +1 frost basterd sword was?!" - I told him to chill and enjoy the game. After a few more encounters and sorc shenanigans the paladin player just had enough, and declared he was confronting the sorc. The exchange pretty much went with him detecting evil, being told "nope" (cause doppelgänger is nuetrel) and then proceeding to interrogate the sorc. Who easily passed because of its ability to read minds. The rest of group sat back to enjoy the one on one, and I took the chance to initiate a scuffle, cloud of dust, now it's 2 Paladins! Creating a "who's the real one?" Scenario. Paladin player lost. His. Mind. And delivered attacks. To have it be more fun, I recorded the hits and damage secretly - so paladin player didn't know if he was the real one or not. At one point an amusing exchange of the paladin pulling out a book, and the dopple copying him, to his outraged NO!!! INPOSSIBLE!!! And my response of - it's a doppleganger. It can read your mind and shapeshift.

He continued to just lose it and veins became visible in the forehead. He took me aside and told me I was handicapping him. I told him - just roleplay it out. I'm not trying to kill you, just have a fun story. Go with it and relax. No dice. After a few rounds of them trading blows and neither going down, he called the game over - and kicked me out. (He was hosting) - I quickly left, and half the group came with me. Have not gamed with him or the other half since. To make matters comical - the loot item on the doppleganger was a bag of holding containing .... The +1 frost bastard sword for the paladin. That I had seeded and placed before all this even got to the crazy point.


Story 2:

More recent again I'm Dm for a group. We have a monk, a cleric, fighter and something else I can't recall (super tatical guy loved combat maneuveres, and good ability to use) it's determined that we need a 5th, as monk and cleric are newer. So we bring in ... "Mr. Meta" - who makes a ranger. Right off the bat this guy is using out of game knowledge to do things. Like checking things, fighting monsters a certain way, or just being really really ... Too focused. At one point leaving the group to go find the old elf guild and grill them in detail about some book he found. Despite them telling him "we have no info. Dude. Leave" at one point I decided to mess with him, having him notice a really shiney rock. He obviously got obsessed with it. Trying everything to figure this out. Despite it only having minor magic and everyone else just figuring it's a rock. He took it to get identified and I told him it was a "stone of obsession" - and he spent the next HOUR trying to figure out even more - finally getting the hint that its power - was making its owner obsessed with it. (Lol) anyway, this ranger turned out to be pretty poorly optimized (ranged feats, archery path, but no magic bow, spent all his money on a magic cold iron sword, and belt - Hardley any arrows). Next dungeon, chasing after the BBEG ( a messed up psychotic synthesist) I called "Calvin" who had been a thorn In thier sides for a while, mr. Meta told me he had to go back to town. Why? He was out of arrows. (He also had a habit of asking to rest after nearly every fight, loading up buffs before opening doors "because the boss hasent Been found yet" and so on) - anyway when I asked him why he had no arrows it was revealed that he didn't buy any because his ranged attacks are useless, and he had to resort to his sword. I played nice and provided a store room in the dungeon with a good supply of arrows and crafting station to make any kind of normal non material arrow he needed. Session end. I review sheet and notice how his character could improve, because last few fights he would shoot, then run into melee, get hit, retreat and use party wand for 3-5 rounds before coming back and repeating. This abuse of party items and him leaving fights was hurting the group. I quickly noticed the issue and offered to "adjust his gear". Remove the sword and belt, give him a cloak, magical bow and bracers (he had a 16k belt of dex and 6k sword but no magic bow. Because he wanted better dex for saves and AC. My offer of cloak, bracers, magical bow would have done the same but cheaper by 3k. - he refused.

This is also along side multiple out of game conversations with him questioning monsters and otherwise trying to rules lawyer. Some of his concerns I agreed with and changed, others i was not - and told him some things are just modified or custom, because of group makeup (really kicking ass and needing more challange) but he was even questioning the xp being given out for fights and how come he can't fight more of X monster. And so on

Next session - 3 Minotaurs. The tatical guy forms up a brilliant plan, boxing them in, and preventing them from flanking. But mr meta runs in, gets hit and flees combat leaving a hole in the line. This gets the monk flanked. Who did an awsome job of disarming one of the Minotaurs, but dropped the axe on the floor next to it. Monster goes oh hey an axe... And proceeds to critical hit the monk. (All my combat dice for random encounters are public) the monk takes a huge amount of damage and dies. Rest of the group manages to defeat the beasties and lays a pretty big yelling at the ranger, who shrugs. Next room "load up the spells!" To a group response of why... and so on. Eventually they come to the fight against Calvin, and again he runs in, gets hit once and runs a good 3-4 rooms away. This results in a near TPK saved only by the cleric blasting off channels turn after turn, and the tatical guy managing to grapple down Calvin. Fight over - victorious. But after that mr. Meta was told he was not invited back.

Anyone else have bad or crazy game stories?

[thethird]

Let me introduce you to a certain story (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?23784-I-think-I-just-dealt-with-the-worst-gaming-session).

[Hamste]

I'm kind of confused on how the the Doppelganger was neutral. It literally murdered someone and then proceeded to pretend to be that person and actively try to kill the party. What possible reason would make a neutral person do that to people they just met? Particularly, seeing if they are throwing around fireballs as a doppelganger then they probably have something better to do then mess around with a party of people that are so much weaker than it. Also of note, the doppelganger doesn't grow armor or equipment when it changes shape but you could have given it a hat of disguise or what ever. Just seems a bit weird that the difference between a paladin and a doppelganger wasn't immediately obvious. Particularly in a fight where one is actually a paladin and the other is a 6th level sorcerer with 4 RHD. The sorcerer either has to cast spells or is using a subpar weapon with a decent +8 to hit (if they didn't dump strength nor put a lot of score into it) and no feats supporting it to fight a paladin who admittedly is a lower level but presumably has feats for combat, healing, stats for fighting hand to hand and an actually good weapon. A detect magic alone should be enough to tell the two apart, let alone the fact one can use combat healing and is actually able to drop something with out it instantly transforming back to whatever it really is (assuming hat of disguise or disguise self was used to fake the paladin's equipment).


The second one I can see. It is so annoying when people randomly decide to ignore a perfectly good plan for no reason or doesn't understand conservation of resources. Unless they were under a time limit, it is completely reasonable to blow most of your buffs before opening a door from both a roleplay and meta prospective but it is just so boring not to be worth it and retreating from combat just doesn't make sense unless the entire party is focused around hit and run. Rules lawyers are also so annoying unless it is actually something important to argue over and it rarely is.

[AnachroNinja]

While I can understand that you were running a story encounter with the doppelganger, I can also understand the paladin's point of view. Especially since he pulled you aside and told you he was not enjoying that story encounter. It's important to remember that the DM is a facilitator of fun. When your running what is essentially at that point a solo encounter, and the player involved doesn't want to be doing it, the wise thing might have been to just cut it short early and turn it into a standard fight. Especially since as pointed out, the doppelganger really didn't have the capability to insta-copy him like that. Just my thoughts.

On the main note, try playing D&D in prison. Then you'll see what a bad session is.

[DarthSpader]

The dopple was use its shape shifting ability to mimic the appearance of the paladin. It was still essentially relying on its natural armor and natural attack, and it's basic hp. The paladin outclassed it quite a bit in AC, attack bonus and damage as well as Hp and when he called it off the dopple had about 6 hp left (so was going down next hit, unless pally rolled a 5 or less) as for the nuetrel side of things - just because something kills something else does not make it evil. It was simply doing what it's instincts told it to, and trying to survive a dangerous group of people who had butchered thier way through the area.

For the linked post - that was the one I read and was referring to. Didn't want to necro that one.

[Necrov]

The dopple was use its shape shifting ability to mimic the appearance of the paladin. It was still essentially relying on its natural armor and natural attack, and it's basic hp. The paladin outclassed it quite a bit in AC, attack bonus and damage as well as Hp and when he called it off the dopple had about 6 hp left (so was going down next hit, unless pally rolled a 5 or less) as for the nuetrel side of things - just because something kills something else does not make it evil. It was simply doing what it's instincts told it to, and trying to survive a dangerous group of people who had butchered thier way through the area.

For the linked post - that was the one I read and was referring to. Didn't want to necro that one.

Actively inflicting pain on people who have never done anything to harm you, after you've murdered and assimilated their friend in the dead of night. Is pretty evil. Let's not mince around with, "It's subjective." This is pretty clear cut.

As stated above, the doppleganger didn't have the ability to duplicate random bits of inventory that the Paladin owned, such as a book.

[ComaVision]

+1 for the Doppelganger being obviously evil.

Also, it may just be the way you wrote it but it sounds like you had it out for "Mr Meta" already. You may have made whatever problems there were worse by messing with him.

[TheIronGolem]

To have it be more fun, I recorded the hits and damage secretly - so paladin player didn't know if he was the real one or not.


He took me aside and told me I was handicapping him. I told him - just roleplay it out. I'm not trying to kill you, just have a fun story. Go with it and relax.

This is certainly a story about a bad gaming session, but it's not the one you think.

[Krazzman]

About the Doppelganger incident:
Was the Paladin allowed his Will Save to resist being "detect thought"-ed?
The whole incident was and is a mess. Yes, Paladin/Host overreacted, but you were also at fault for pushing this encounter further after the player told you he was not enjoying it.
Also from what you wrote about the interaction the Doppelganger was pretty surely evil. The N in the statblock is the indicator that they are 99% that. If he were that he would have posed as a wounded farmer/Hunter or something and asked the party to take him with them first.

My worst session was probably the one time we played a new system (Gamma World I believe) and I tried building a magical sword and board fighter (along the lines of some MMO game I tried out and found the concept interesting) and I took a bit too long, didn't have time(others were impatient) to invest generation points into magic, as such had to impromptu fix my backstory and yeah, the system wasn't that fun too...

[Necromancy]

Doppelgangers make excellent use of their natural mimicry to stage ambushes, bait traps, and infiltrate humanoid society. Although not usually evil, they are interested only in themselves and regard all others as playthings to be manipulated and deceived.

Seems fine to me

[Tohsaka Rin]

Note the lack of 'straight-up murder people' in that description.

[Hamste]

Seems fine to me

They can play with people but murdering someone and then blasting the person they murdered's friends with magic to seriously harm them is not just messing with someone. Trying to trick them into lending them money or making people think they are a hurt person would be messing with them. Think more fraud (which I argue is evil but closer to neutral) and less murder or assault.

[Necromancy]

Not much different for detect vs assassins. I think the problem stems from said paladin relying on detect evil to help absolve himself of any grey area of his code instead of relying on his own judgement.

[Hamste]

Not much different for detect vs assassins. I think the problem stems from said paladin relying on detect evil to help absolve himself of any grey area of his code instead of relying on his own judgement.

Assassins by d&d alignment are 100% of the time evil. It is literally required by the prc. There of course could be assassins that aren't in the prc but D&D is pretty clear that killing a random person for self benefit is evil. It could be argued that the doppelganger saw them as evil for killing others and was trying to kill them all but then they started helping which means if they thought the party was killing wrongly they started to do evil things.

Also using detect evil is a completely fine way to find an assassin as they have no way to block it with out other class levels unless I'm mistaken. This sorcerer (presumably) wouldn't have had a natural way to block detection so detect evil was a decent check unless they secretly multi-classed or used an item to help. From the sounds of it, it should have worked as the doppelganger was evil but didn't because for some reason they were called neutral.

[Necromancy]

Undetectable alignment spell.

Regardless, my point is that players try to make the DM answerable over every fiddly bit that doesn't go they way they think it should, even if it has nothing to do with them. I had a player complain to the DM that my monk was LE and lawful means I'm not allowed to roll merchants with the party rogue

[ComaVision]

Regardless, my point is that players try to make the DM answerable over every fiddly bit that doesn't go they way they think it should, even if it has nothing to do with them.

And DMs that change the rules to suit them and screw the players are bad DMs.

Sometimes I'll have a cool fight or trap foiled by a crafty PC, just means I need to plan better -- NOT change the rules on the spot.

[Hamste]

Undetectable alignment spell.

Regardless, my point is that players try to make the DM answerable over every fiddly bit that doesn't go they way they think it should, even if it has nothing to do with them. I had a player complain to the DM that my monk was LE and lawful means I'm not allowed to roll merchants with the party rogue

Which is on neither the sorcerer nor assassin spell list. So as I said, with out other classes levels or help from another person or items they can't really do it. If someone should be evil but doesn't show up, and there is no detectable way for them to block being seen seen as evil then there should be a way they are doing it if only for it to be possible for the players to understand what is going on. That isn't even getting into the original point that the doppelganger was evil but the op said it was neutral.

[Gildedragon]

Alignment can be faked by hitting 70 on a bluff check

[Hamste]

Alignment can be faked by hitting 70 on a bluff check

Yes, it can. There would still be an explanation for it and all those spells that increase bluff checks would give some warning with detect magic (or what ever means they would be getting the rest of the bonus to bluff). Though, then I would have to question even more why the doppelganger was messing around with them if it had a means to make mundane suggestions to random people. Anyways, having a creature make an epic skill check to hide its alignment against a low level party is still better than saying that you can't detect this evil creature because this evil creature isn't actually evil despite being a murderer and trying to kill you.

[Necromancy]

Which is on neither the sorcerer nor assassin spell list. So as I said, with out other classes levels or help from another person or items they can't really do it. If someone should be evil but doesn't show up, and there is no detectable way for them to block being seen seen as evil then there should be a way they are doing it if only for it to be possible for the players to understand what is going on. That isn't even getting into the original point that the doppelganger was evil but the op said it was neutral.

List
Assassins choose their spells from the following list:

1st Level
disguise self, detect poison, feather fall, ghost sound, jump, obscuring mist, sleep, true strike.

2nd Level
alter self, cat’s grace, darkness, fox’s cunning, illusory script, invisibility, pass without trace, spider climb, undetectable alignment.

3rd Level
deep slumber, deeper darkness, false life, magic circle against good, misdirection, nondetection.

4th Level
clairaudience/clairvoyance, dimension door, freedom of movement, glibness, greater invisibility, locate creature, modify memory, poison.

[Hamste]

List
Assassins choose their spells from the following list:

1st Level
disguise self, detect poison, feather fall, ghost sound, jump, obscuring mist, sleep, true strike.

2nd Level
alter self, cat’s grace, darkness, fox’s cunning, illusory script, invisibility, pass without trace, spider climb, undetectable alignment.

3rd Level
deep slumber, deeper darkness, false life, magic circle against good, misdirection, nondetection.

4th Level
clairaudience/clairvoyance, dimension door, freedom of movement, glibness, greater invisibility, locate creature, modify memory, poison.

Eh, fair enough just wasn't listed on the entry itself. Doesn't really matter to the discussion of the sorcerer though.

[DarthSpader]

Very possible the doppleganger issue could have been handled differently. It was my first run as Dm and I was going for more story and interaction then pure rules, and was less concerned with alignment. Was also going off player expirrence i had with dopels, and the paladin player was the only one who seemed to take issue, and he went from zero to hulk REALLY fast. Like it was a personal insult.

I have not used that monster since then as a Dm.

For "Mr.meta" I didn't have it in for him - I liked the idea of his character and he had a good first few sessions, but the problems with him being selfish and using out of game info constantly to try and circumvent or grossly over profit from certain things left a sour taste. It was also every member of the group coming to me and stating they had an issue with him seperatly. Once that happened it was pretty much one more chance, then the last fight with the boss and that was that.

Personally my Dm style is very fluid. I tend to be pretty lax, go with the flow and often times just pull things out of my ass if i need to. It works pretty well, and I'm not opposed to players saying "this is a rule" and going with it. I'm probally the anti rules lawyer. Wich may very well irritate rules lawyers.
But that's why I like to sort of "mess" with the players. Little jokes, puns, and so on I find make the game a bit more fun then "locate monster. Kill. Sleep. Repeat."

[martixy]

Darth, some people simply lack the capacity to play this game.
That ability of abstraction.
It's not usually something you can do anything about.

As much as we like to boast how inclusive D&D is... it is not THAT inclusive. Certain higher cognitive functions are a requirement for participants.


Let me introduce you to a certain story (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?23784-I-think-I-just-dealt-with-the-worst-gaming-session).
Wow... this is the first time I've seen a problem escalate that much. I mean HOLY CRAP.

The worst sessions for me...
Well, I can definitely say trying to play online has been nothing but disappointment after disappointment. Not being physically present provides a certain insulation by default, so things can't go that far.
But I've been witness to shouting matches(even participated sometimes), had the misfortune of playing with pushover DMs + players with jerk-off characters(let me tell you it is cringeworthy), briefly communicated with robo-DMs(like that guy from Lanky's story). Perhaps the mildest was the ignorant, know-it-all DM.
I don't have any elaborate stories, because I tend high-tail it before things escalate. Plus, this being gaming on the internet, you tend filter out that stuff if you want to keep your sanity, so not very many detailed memories.
On the whole I've probably had something like 1 good experience altogether in something like half a year of constantly trying(at least 1 session a week). After that I gave up on D&D over the internet. Now I'm waiting for my amazing regular group to get together and worldbuilding my own campaign for when we do.

[Bucky]

Wow... this is the first time I've seen a problem escalate that much. I mean HOLY CRAP.



If you think that was bad, here's the sequel (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?95189-New-Worst-Session-How-Lanky-got-hisself-stabbed!).

[DarthSpader]

Holy Christ. Getting stabbed is not fun.

That guy has some crazy stories. I'm both terrified and excited to see part 4...

On a side note - that character ash was a masterful work of character drawbacks. My newest game I'm playing a paladin and am blatantly going to copy the idea (with some minor changes) - simply because it's so good - it deserves to be used. (Regarding the curse and how it works etc)

- maybe he should submit the curse idea as an actual inclusion in the background items in the pathfinder PRD, or to wizards for use?

Of course I won't be claiming the idea as my own - and in fact I'll be directing people to read the threads if not for the pure XOMG factor then the great writing.

Thankfully I have never been in a gaming situation that messed up. - although I have had real life try darned hard to get close

[Bohandas]

First D&D "campaign" I play is in freshman year of high school. I'm the DM. I try to wing it with the story. Fail miserably. We don't really have enough players anyway. Campaign ends after part of one session.

Second "campaign" is during college. There are enough people this time and somebody else is DMing. Spend three or four sessions on character creation. I never actually get to play the actual game because by that time my chemistry class has started regularly running long so by the time the actual game starts I can no longer fit it into my schedule.

[Arbane]

Actively inflicting pain on people who have never done anything to harm you, after you've murdered and assimilated their friend in the dead of night. Is pretty evil. Let's not mince around with, "It's subjective." This is pretty clear cut.

By the rules, Doppelgangers are Neutral. This is so Detect Evil won't spot them, logic and ethics be damned.

[Gallowglass]

By the rules, Doppelgangers are Neutral. This is so Detect Evil won't spot them, logic and ethics be damned.

In before...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llLKar19XhA

[Bohandas]

By the rules, Doppelgangers are Neutral. This is so Detect Evil won't spot them, logic and ethics be damned.

A race's standard alignment doesn't override a particular individuals personal alignment aura unless they have an alignment subtype, in which case they register as both.

[Necrov]

By the rules, Doppelgangers are Neutral. This is so Detect Evil won't spot them, logic and ethics be damned.

Or it could be because that the majority of their race is neutral. Racial alignment entries are subject to change for individuals.

Unless as stated above, they have an alignment subtype, in which case they register as both.

[Bohandas]

Or it could be because that the majority of their race is neutral. Racial alignment entries are subject to change for individuals.

Unless as stated above, they have an alignment subtype, in which case they register as both.

Yeah. Even the ones that are "always" some alignment occasionally change.

[bahamut920]

In before...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llLKar19XhA
Not gonna lie, I was expecting "kick reason to the curb". :P

Personally, I'd have to say that my worst session was with one of the "killer DM" types. It was a gaming group my younger brothers were playing in, at our FLGS, and they invited me in. Red flag right at the beginning of the first session; the guy outright admitted that if he didn't kill at least one character a session, he didn't feel like he was doing his job. He took it as a point of pride. I was playing a Spiked Chain fighter, not even particularly well-optimized. I don't remember the entire party, but it was at least one of my brothers (both were in that campaign, IIRC, one playing a wizard), a paladin played by a friend of theirs (who is now a regular at our RL game sessions, despite having moved to Nevada), and one or two guys I haven't played with since. We were fighting some orcs, and we managed to take out the encounter the DM had planned for us handily. So he threw more at us. We took those. Eventually, there's an army coming at us, and we decide to retreat into some tunnels. Except there are more guys down there. At this point I've decided I'm done with this guy, so I decide to "feed" my character to the DM's hunger, and maybe he'll spare the others. I have my fighter stay behind to "hold off" the enemies so that the rest of the party can escape. When he finally goes down after a couple of rounds, the DM tells me to roll up a new character, at which point I get up and walk away. I haven't seen the guy since.

Others include a campaign run by my brother, where two other players conspired to kill my character because they were in the military and he was their commander. Literally, it was just because I was the one giving the orders (which was actually my brother's doing; he introduced my character as the party's CO after my father, who was the previous CO, retired his character). After that, the party fell apart into bickering and infighting, and the DM declared the campaign over. At least I got the satisfaction of the post-game narration being that their characters were captured, tried, and executed. Or one campaign I ran, which was epic-level, that also fell apart due to player infighting (surprise, surprise, it was the same two players). Fortunately, one of the two moved away and no longer games at our table, which has significantly reduced the "bad session" ratio.

[Mikalo]

Just a few words..
> 3m tall corridor
> A Marilith sneaking above us trusting her swords inside the ceiling
> No one noticed because the DM "forgot" to roll the d20

[Dousedinoil]

A player decided that they wanted to change their character completely without letting the DM or anyone know. They left their old character sheet at home and made a new one without approval of the DM. After arguing about fudged numbers, cheating and what not, we wasted a good hour changing the character. The player literally did 0 research on how to play the new character and we spent 3 hours figuring out how their character worked. We finally figure out all the rules only for the player to forget them all next session. They would do something like "I want to use this spell to do something the spell wasn't made for." They would read the first sentence of the spell and stop reading. IE: Use prestidigitation to do damage even though it clearly says that it doesn't do damage.

(And yes everyone has to learn but man coming to a game with 0 prep, just screwing around and not appreciating all the help grinds my gears)

[Ortesk]

As far as my personal worst goes, well I have one as a DM and one as a player. First the DM.

(To give some background, I began playing 10 years ago, when I was 13. My uncle and his friends were the other members in the group. All of them 10 years my senior, so I was used to usually playing with more mature players)

So anyways, first campaign I am running. We had 3 players, My uncle, his friend, and his friends cousin. We had all known each other at least 3 years, really good group mechanic. So the group was one Wizard (Straight wizard, boom mage with no metamagic) One cleric (Heavily optimized, but held back. Worshipped Bahamut) and a warlock/fighter. They did really well together, and were completely in sync. Mature, went easy on me since I was new, ect. Now insert player 4 (will call him Joe). He was an old friend of theirs, and decided he wanted to join. I was assured he could play and they would get him up to speed. I said sure, figuring no issue. Well he shows up, a Druid/Lion of talisid. Never wild shaped, fought with a club, which I was fine with. Again, they didn't optimize which made it easier on me. Well now for the session that simply let me shaking my head. So they are on this quest, gathering aid for this war. They were sent as envoys to this great empire. They brilliantly roleplayed all night, and it was a blast. The issue was when, at a purely ceremonial dinner, they meet the emperor to finalize the deal. The emperor, being a great wyrm gold dragon, is actually quite nice to them. Half way through the parley, Joe decides to ask the emperor if he has any single daughters who would like to date a foreign diplomat. This was out of nowhere. The emperor simply looks at him and says no. Then Joe, feeling slighted, starts to try using diplomacy to seduce the princess. At the dinner table. In her fathers sight. I asked Joe roughly 3 times if he was sure he wanted to say these things in character. He assured me he did, and that the emperor deserved this for being stuck up. I shook my head as the princesses fiance stood up from the table, demanded a dual, and promptly killed the 12th level club wielding druid. The fiance being a general, who was a level 20 warblade. Afterwards, Joe stands up. Calls me a weak DM for killing a PC, then storms out. All in all, was a bad night.

As a player, my worst night was easily when I played with my friends group. I met the DM before the session, was told it was low OP and that he allowed homebrew if it made it fun. I discussed details, which the rules were extremely High Op friendly. I was confused by this. But I figured try it out. We were 10th level, I made a tiefling paladin. Pretty basic guy, was doing for roleplaying build. So I show up, and what happens through the course of the night is simply maddening. The DM clearly has no grasp of the rules, the group is 10 people. all new players, the DM made their character sheets but never told them about the characters. Effectively the blind leading the blind, he had a DMNPC who was effectively Gary Sue incarnate. So after slogging through 5 hours of dreadful story telling, anarchy with the roleplaying and what little battle we saw (We had one round of fighting then Gary Sue went ham on them, killing the enemy with one move. Which was explained in detail, for 10 minutes) By the end of the night, I was frustrated. Tired, staying there only because my friend was my ride. So we get to the last fight, and to make it interesting the DM says Gary Sueis holding back to hold off the mob of zombies outside the boss chamber. So we walk in and find a pitfiend waiting for us. Out of nowhere, havent seen a devil before. All of us, level 10, are gonna fight this thing. Init goes down, he quickened maximized empowered enlarged two fireballs at us, back to back. Don't ask me how. So as we are all laying there, about to die before we could move, thinking this is TPK, in comes our hero. Our white knight, our savior, Gary Freakin' Sue, comes charging in. The amazing Gary fires off a quickened Mass Heal, because he just became an epic level cleric. But is that all Gary does? Heck no it isn't. Gary proceeds to destroy this pitfiend, as we see all the epicness that is Gary. As he flings cleric, druid, wizard spells at this thing, uses warblade abilities, and just crushes this thing (All of which was described bit by bit. As the DM described it, his hair became wilder. He was beet red, excited, kind of like Bernie Sanders in a debate) As he finishes, and as I sit there complexed, amazed, and dumbfounded all at once, he smiles and says aren't you glad Gary Sue is around to save you.

A little part of my soul was killed by the awesome that is Gary Sue.

[TroubleBrewing]

Let me introduce you to a certain story (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?23784-I-think-I-just-dealt-with-the-worst-gaming-session).

Came here to post this, saw someone beat me to it. Decided to read the story again, as it's always an entertaining read. Notice the date.

That story was posted better than ten years ago.

.... When did I get so old?

[thorr-kan]

That story was posted better than ten years ago.

.... When did I get so old?
Yesterday.

Excuse me. "You d@mn kids, GET OFF MY LAWN!"

Sorry about that.

Yesterday. Congratulations, you're now a grognard. :)