So my group is disbanding... :(

[samcifer]

The dm has grown frustrated with arguing with players and his campaign fell apart rapidly beyond repair, so he's ending it and no longer dm-ing. Sucks as it was the one thing on weekends other than shopping that got me out of the apartment. Now I won't have anyone left to play it with... again. :(

[Ryunosuke]

Roll20 is a sitefor online based D&D games and the Adventures Lgeaue discord also hosts games via online chats as well if you still want to play

[Honest Tiefling]

Were there people you didn't argue with? Why not invite those who work well with your own interests and style and DM your own game?

[hymer]

The dm has grown frustrated with arguing with players and his campaign fell apart rapidly beyond repair, so he's ending it and no longer dm-ing. Sucks as it was the one thing on weekends other than shopping that got me out of the apartment. Now I won't have anyone left to play it with... again. :(
That sucks! Another bitter case of 'this is why we can't have nice things'. I hope you find a way to get some roleplaying in your weekends before too long.

[Sigreid]

Offer to DM for a while. See if you can get the others to as well. DMing for people who have done it is very different. And one of you might love it.

[samcifer]

Were there people you didn't argue with? Why not invite those who work well with your own interests and style and DM your own game?

It wasn't me that was argumentative. It was two other players who kept arguing rulings by the dm. One about range and abusing the spellcasting system and another who kept arguing about the properties of his 2h swords.

[KorvinStarmast]

The dm has grown frustrated with arguing with players and his campaign fell apart rapidly beyond repair, so he's ending it and no longer dm-ing. When people learn that arguing is for after or before the game, but during the game is for play, this doesn't happen.

I was very lucky in that during my teens, we sort of adopted that mode of operation ... because of who we were or how we all got along. It wasn't until later that I saw the other version, and again I was lucky to learn from some DM's and some groups on how to deal with that.

Sorry to see that it's come to this for you. As the others have said, try your hand at DMing.

[samcifer]

Offer to DM for a while. See if you can get the others to as well. DMing for people who have done it is very different. And one of you might love it.

My issue there is that I'm not a very creative person as far as action/adventure goes (ironic for a person who writes stories in his spare time... I do better with dramas and persona interaction between characters). My other half is considering offering to be dm, but I don't know what will happen now. :(

[Armored Walrus]

Plenty of DM's are not that creative. :P

Only a portion of the fun of D&D comes from how creative the DM's prep is. Most of it comes from how the characters interact and what they choose to interact with.

No one's going to complain if your first session consists of meeting up in the tavern to be hired by the local lord to rescue his daughter from the goblin caves.

Edit: Not to mention the incredible amount of free or pay what you want adventure modules out there.

[strangebloke]

This nearly happened to me in my last campaign. Argumentative players are the worst. Sorry to hear that, mate. If there's any players that you get along with, make sure they know you'd like an invite to any games they come across.

[Sigreid]

My issue there is that I'm not a very creative person as far as action/adventure goes (ironic for a person who writes stories in his spare time... I do better with dramas and persona interaction between characters). My other half is considering offering to be dm, but I don't know what will happen now. :(

See if you can get one of the rules lawyers to DM. Trick them into it by pointing out they can show you all how to do proper rulings. Let them see what it's like dealing with that player.

[Armored Walrus]

See if you can get one of the rules lawyers to DM. Trick them into it by pointing out they can show you all how to do proper rulings. Let them see what it's like dealing with that player.

I agree with the first part of this statement. But the second and third part seem to be a recipe for having another group fall apart. Revenge gaming doesn't sound like all that much fun to me.

[GlenSmash!]

The dm has grown frustrated with arguing with players and his campaign fell apart rapidly beyond repair, so he's ending it and no longer dm-ing. Sucks as it was the one thing on weekends other than shopping that got me out of the apartment. Now I won't have anyone left to play it with... again. :(

That stinks. I want to postmortem what went wrong, but not seem insensitive to you. It really does suck.


It wasn't me that was argumentative. It was two other players who kept arguing rulings by the dm. One about range and abusing the spellcasting system and another who kept arguing about the properties of his 2h swords.

Ugh. Abusing the system or trying to make my my sword the best sword ever seem like foolish things to ruin the game over. There's plenty of spells and swords that are awesome without pushing for more.


My issue there is that I'm not a very creative person as far as action/adventure goes (ironic for a person who writes stories in his spare time... I do better with dramas and persona interaction between characters). My other half is considering offering to be dm, but I don't know what will happen now. :(

I'm not a creative person either. I buy and run premade adventures, and then just try to reconcile the crazy things my players do.

[Sigreid]

I agree with the first part of this statement. But the second and third part seem to be a recipe for having another group fall apart. Revenge gaming doesn't sound like all that much fun to me.

Since there are 2 who argue I was just suggesting that there would still be on arguer. Wasn't suggesting anyone argue just to teach them a lesson. The idea is purely that a little time on the other side of the table will possibly build empathy with the DM position.

[GlenSmash!]

When people learn that arguing is for after or before the game, but during the game is for play, this doesn't happen.

This.

When DMing I've made some calls players disagreed with and basically said "lets talk after the session but we're going to keep it moving right now".

Afterward if it turns out I was wrong. I said: I'm sorry, but I value keeping the game moving forward more than getting ever call right, but I promise I'll try and get it right next time.

It worked out well enough I guess since we still play together.

[Armored Walrus]

Since there are 2 who argue I was just suggesting that there would still be on arguer. Wasn't suggesting anyone argue just to teach them a lesson. The idea is purely that a little time on the other side of the table will possibly build empathy with the DM position.

Fair enough. Sorry I jumped to conclusions.

I've actually found that rules lawyers tend to be easier to play with when they DM, vs when they are players.

[Sigreid]

Fair enough. Sorry I jumped to conclusions.

I've actually found that rules lawyers tend to be easier to play with when they DM, vs when they are players.

Of course, there's no one for them to defeat in argument. 😁

[Citan]

The dm has grown frustrated with arguing with players and his campaign fell apart rapidly beyond repair, so he's ending it and no longer dm-ing. Sucks as it was the one thing on weekends other than shopping that got me out of the apartment. Now I won't have anyone left to play it with... again. :(
Well, I can't do much to help you, as I already have little time DMing for my group (plus they are all French and not very familiar with spoken English) but if you'd be content with occasional (~1/month) pre-made one-shots or plain, short custom tactical encounters over roll20 (in one-on-one or two-on-one if your better half would like to join), there may be something to be salvaged. XD

More generally, I'd advise you to look for parties missing one people on these forums or elsewhere, unless you're extremely against playing online, chances are you'll find a group. Of course there will be quite a time to get to know each other but hey, it's another kind of adventure right? :)

[Theodoxus]

My issue there is that I'm not a very creative person as far as action/adventure goes (ironic for a person who writes stories in his spare time... I do better with dramas and persona interaction between characters). My other half is considering offering to be dm, but I don't know what will happen now. :(

While creativity helps, it's not really the purview of DMs or DMing. Unless you're creating your whole world whole-cloth and filling it with a 300+ page tome of lore, creativity is kinda overrated...

Spontaneity and a quick wit have helped me a lot more. When the players take a left turn at Albuquerque where the module I'm running predicted North, you gotta think quick to keep the game entertaining, but again - pull out something you've done in the past; throw a different module into the mix.

I'm the worst DM for prep. I'll read a module through (ok, I'll skim a module through) and then run it as I think it'll be fun. I finished Tome of Annihilation a month ago. I think the party experienced maybe 1/5 of the page count. But they got the gist of the story and we all had fun.

I'm currently running a mashup of Pathfinder's Skulls & Shackles (because they wanted to be pirates) and Hoard of the Dragon Queen (because that's the module I wanted to run). So, instead of starting with a siege on Greenest, they started as shanghai'd pirates who crash landed on an island under attack by dragon cultists off the shores of Baldur's Gate. One player got knocked out, and is now captive to the cult, on their way to Greenest. The rest of the party is chasing after...

Going into the sessions, I had nothing really plotted out, just let the players scope out the situation and do their thing.

The best advice I can offer is to keep it fun and entertaining. Give them a reason to care for their characters and dangle carrots, but keep sticks at the ready :smallbiggrin:

[Potato_Priest]

Sorry to hear that Samcifer. It does sound like there are probably some people from that group that you could get to play with, though. You could even try rotating Dming among you until you figure out who's good at it and likes doing it.


On arguing-

Hmm, I suppose I actually value the players debating my calls with me during play. They often have good insights into my mistakes regarding physics, realism, and world-building that enhance the experience when discussed and corrected.

Quite simply, the players are sometimes right, and I'd rather make the good call than the bad call, even if it means slowing down play a bit. That said, protracted arguments like what it sounds like your DM experienced are generally not productive, but a short (1-2 minute) discussion on a call or ruling can often help me improve things.

[samcifer]

In the arguing, the one instance that really stands out is when we were attacking a fortress at night that had gatling gun turrets and our artificer gunsmith with the sharpshooter feat insisted we all stay 500 ft. away so he could attack from range even though none of us had that kind of range and when the gatling attacked, he began to argue with the dm because he felt his homemade blunderbuss had more range than a military-grade gatling gun and was angry that it could potentially hit his character.

My character ended up dying in that battle just getting close enough to take out the spotlight so that the others could get to the fortress safely via stealth.

[Honest Tiefling]

It wasn't me that was argumentative. It was two other players who kept arguing rulings by the dm. One about range and abusing the spellcasting system and another who kept arguing about the properties of his 2h swords.

My apologies, I didn't mean to imply you were a troublesome player, just that I felt it was likely there was a difference in opinion on how a game should be run. Of course, I no longer feel that way as I think the other two players need to calm down a bit in regards to making the game run. I strongly urge you to urge your other half to NOT invite those folks...

Speaking of your other half, attempt to bribe them into running a game. If it would help, I would encourage the other players to adhere to the DM's vision of the game (within reason, of course) such as agreeing to a pirate game or a game of goody-goody two shoes if needed. Not having to feel like they need to corral the players into accepting hooks or having a potential PVP problem would probably help them feel more at ease, considering events.

Also, if you worry about combat encounters, have you considered an intrigue campaign or a module? I hear that some modules are quite fun and you can just tell your players you are putting your own flair upon them if you feel like you can improve the social stuff.

[Laserlight]

My issue there is that I'm not a very creative person as far as action/adventure goes (ironic for a person who writes stories in his spare time... I do better with dramas and persona interaction between characters). My other half is considering offering to be dm, but I don't know what will happen now. :(

I've had a DM who wasn't creative at all--I'm pretty sure he never made up a scenario on his own, it was always from a module--but still successfully ran campaigns for years. He tended to focus on mainly on combat encounters rather than political / social stuff.

You could, in fact, just generate random encounters and random maps. Just don't tell the players.

[GlenSmash!]

In the arguing, the one instance that really stands out is when we were attacking a fortress at night that had gatling gun turrets and our artificer gunsmith with the sharpshooter feat insisted we all stay 500 ft. away so he could attack from range even though none of us had that kind of range and when the gatling attacked, he began to argue with the dm because he felt his homemade blunderbuss had more range than a military-grade gatling gun and was angry that it could potentially hit his character.

My character ended up dying in that battle just getting close enough to take out the spotlight so that the others could get to the fortress safely via stealth.

I've never really gone for guns in my D&D.

This probably shouldn't reinforce that position, and yet here I am feeling smugly validated.

[SirGraystone]

Peoples sometime forget that the goal of the game is to have fun, and to tell an interesting story. A DM who keep have to argues with rule lawyers quickly have no fun playing, you can handle them better with experience, making a ruling at the moment and offering to talk more about it at the end of the session usually work. But it does get annoying after a while.

But none of the help the OP, I would keep track of the DM he may change his mind after a week or two of rest. If possible replacement the two problem players from the group. As your imagination, don't let that stop you give it a try anyway you may find you like it.

[Pex]

Talk to the DM to see if he has interest in starting a new campaign without the argumentative players. You don't necessarily need to find replacement players and have a smaller group but maybe find one more.

[Vorpalchicken]

In the arguing, the one instance that really stands out is when we were attacking a fortress at night that had gatling gun turrets and our artificer gunsmith with the sharpshooter feat insisted we all stay 500 ft. away so he could attack from range even though none of us had that kind of range and when the gatling attacked, he began to argue with the dm because he felt his homemade blunderbuss had more range than a military-grade gatling gun and was angry that it could potentially hit his character.

My character ended up dying in that battle just getting close enough to take out the spotlight so that the others could get to the fortress safely via stealth.

Even though I hate guns in D&D and I hate artificers, I am with the player on this one. A Thunder Cannon isn't a blunderbuss- it wouldn't have that kind of range if it were. 500 feet should be long range (or beyond maximum) for any weapon in D&D and sharpshooting from afar was the best tactic that player could have chosen.

It sounds like his unexpected solution didn't jive with the DM's preconceived solution and he punished the player for deviating (by allowing the gatling guns [yecch, by the way] no penalty at that range)

This was an opportunity for a player to feel special and the DM discarded it.

[Sigreid]

Should have been shoot and move though. Maybe hitting the search light first.

[Grog Logs]

My issue there is that I'm not a very creative person as far as action/adventure goes (ironic for a person who writes stories in his spare time... I do better with dramas and persona interaction between characters)...(

Gonna have to disagree with your assessment that you're not creative given that you write. Personal interactions between characters is the most interesting part of any campaign. PC and PC, PC and NPC, (off camera) NPC and NPC that sets up the drama.

With online encounter builders, almost anyone can create a combat. Combats at not inherently interesting. It's the reason that you're going into combat.

And, you don't have to write an epic world shaking campaign. Start with one City (pre-existing or homebrew). What organizations are there? What do they stand for? Who dislikes them? Now, plop some of your characters from your stories into that City. What are their new opinions? Now, make those protagonists your first NPCs and quest givers. Congrats, you're DMing.

[sophontteks]

I'll second that. If you write, you're creative. Being a DM takes a lot more devotion and prep work though. That'll probably be the biggest problem.

[Envyus]

It sounds like his unexpected solution didn't jive with the DM's preconceived solution and he punished the player for deviating (by allowing the gatling guns [yecch, by the way] no penalty at that range)


Who said the Gatling guns had no penalty. They could have easily been at disadvantage. He never said anything about that. Just that the other guy was angry that the guns had a chance to hit him.

[Hastati]

My issue there is that I'm not a very creative person as far as action/adventure goes (ironic for a person who writes stories in his spare time... I do better with dramas and persona interaction between characters). (

Don't worry about that, very few DMs are of the Mercer and Perkins type. You can buy and run an off the shelf adventure/campaign to get started. The hardest part is just deciding to do it. Players are, hopefully, usually appreciative and forgiving of anyone who takes on the mantle (read burden) of being the DM. Once you have some experience it will get easier and when you are comfortable with what your players expectations and likes are, you will start coming up with your own ideas. Even if for some unlikely reason you never do, there is so much content available that you will never run out of adventures to run.

[samcifer]

Gonna have to disagree with your assessment that you're not creative given that you write. Personal interactions between characters is the most interesting part of any campaign. PC and PC, PC and NPC, (off camera) NPC and NPC that sets up the drama.

With online encounter builders, almost anyone can create a combat. Combats at not inherently interesting. It's the reason that you're going into combat.

And, you don't have to write an epic world shaking campaign. Start with one City (pre-existing or homebrew). What organizations are there? What do they stand for? Who dislikes them? Now, plop some of your characters from your stories into that City. What are their new opinions? Now, make those protagonists your first NPCs and quest givers. Congrats, you're DMing.

My problem is that I've tried writing action/adventure scenarios and find I have a hard time coming up with good ones as I want to make them as plausible as possible, which hampers creativity. Also, I like writing things that most stories in the mainstream don't cover, which also limits my options. Doing a 'canned' story such as the amnesia episode or the noble sacrifice story are boring and worn out to me, so I avoid those kinds of stories. I want more unique situations. These things combined make it hard for me to write such stories in ways I'm happy with writing.

[sophontteks]

Just run a premade. The official ones are pretty good from what I can tell. They cover all those bases well.

[opaopajr]

My sympathies. :smallfrown: Managing people is harder than it looks. That's why neurotic pedantry ("rules lawyering") can be socially toxic. It sows discord at the table and discourages new potential GMs from ever trying.

Here's my advice: start up a new table WITHOUT those two players.

As for creativity, just grab a module and think of it as your very own Do-It-Yourself Christmas Tree. You got a framework, you have a rough idea that you should decorate. Now add some tinsel and light to the pre-fabricated content and Go! :smallcool:

Everyone should be forced to GM a table for a while, just like they should be conscripted into customer service jobs for a year. :smallyuk: It is humbling to realize the emotional and mental effort involved in dealing with people. After enough abuse you begin to toughen up and push back AND you tone down any latent jerk tendencies you had while on other tables. :smallsmile:

[Isaire]

My problem is that I've tried writing action/adventure scenarios and find I have a hard time coming up with good ones as I want to make them as plausible as possible, which hampers creativity. Also, I like writing things that most stories in the mainstream don't cover, which also limits my options. Doing a 'canned' story such as the amnesia episode or the noble sacrifice story are boring and worn out to me, so I avoid those kinds of stories. I want more unique situations. These things combined make it hard for me to write such stories in ways I'm happy with writing.

Well, the scenario doesn't have to be that fleshed out. In my current game, we were sent to retrieve some artefacts by a wizard. One was in a ruin bordering a kobold colony, fleshed out dungeon and then a trap filled gauntlet when the kobolds turned on us, one was stolen by the man claiming to be ruler of the region (but who in reality only controls one city), and most of the drama here came from the fact that we the players knew almost nothing other than the city the thieves had gone to. All of the uniqueness of this story came from the player actions being absolutely mad, and a few dice rolls (the fighter decided to spend his day finding a side quest, agreed to clear a farm of a few goblins. Was beset by a t-rex random encounter on the way, almost died but with a little generous magic item help managed to survive, he decided to take it to the ruler, from which we figured out that we was a bit suspicious.. whole direction of party activity changed on a random dice roll).

So I think really don't sweat it too much. It really just come down to how much you can enable the players to go ham with their characters and see what madness you assemble together!

[samcifer]

My sympathies. :smallfrown: Managing people is harder than it looks. That's why neurotic pedantry ("rules lawyering") can be socially toxic. It sows discord at the table and discourages new potential GMs from ever trying.

Here's my advice: start up a new table WITHOUT those two players.

As for creativity, just grab a module and think of it as your very own Do-It-Yourself Christmas Tree. You got a framework, you have a rough idea that you should decorate. Now add some tinsel and light to the pre-fabricated content and Go! :smallcool:

Everyone should be forced to GM a table for a while, just like they should be conscripted into customer service jobs for a year. :smallyuk: It is humbling to realize the emotional and mental effort involved in dealing with people. After enough abuse you begin to toughen up and push back AND you tone down any latent jerk tendencies you had while on other tables. :smallsmile:

The issue is that those 5 other people are the only ones I know who play D&D and one of them is my fiance'. He's the one considering DM-ing.

[Sigreid]

The issue is that those 5 other people are the only ones I know who play D&D and one of them is my fiance'. He's the one considering DM-ing.

You probably do know more, or know people who do. There are a lot of people who play that fearing social stigma dont talk about it.

[strangebloke]

Also lots of people are interested. Ask around and in sure you'll find a few.

[KorvinStarmast]

The issue is that those 5 other people are the only ones I know who play D&D and one of them is my fiance'. He's the one considering DM-ing. You only get good at being a DM by DMing. Take the plunge.
Also:
Get out more
Meet more people.

[samcifer]

Okay, so the dm will have a final session to formally end the campaign tomorrow night, then we'll see what happens. My fiancé has volunteered to dm as well as the troublesome player who argued about gun ranges (but I'd rather he not dm as I've heard that he has been known to take away gold and even XP from characters if the player makes jokes he doesn't like). Another player has an experimental new gaming system based off of point buy for abilities he wants to try out with us, so it might possibly not be the end of the group, but I'm not very optimistic about us staying together as a play group. (as a person who grew up homeless and was suicidal for a while, I'm not a very hopeful person by nature) :/

[GlenSmash!]

but I'd rather he not dm as I've heard that he has been known to take away gold and even XP from characters if the player makes jokes he doesn't like).

Seriously?

I don't claim to be very social. Or even socially competent, but even I know this is not a good way to get people to play with you.

[opaopajr]

I vote fiancé first, point buy experiment next, and Persnickety McCrankyPants not at all -- he sounds like he has some maturation to do.

Also, meet others and invite nice people already in your life to be greenhorn players. As long as people think of it as a cheap form of socialization, like board games, card night, bowling night, a lot of better adjusted adults will give it a whirl. (As a poster I know elsewhere says,) If the focus switches to people first, snacks next, then setting, and any good memories after, system can come last like an afterthought.

It's a hobby, not a critical job. Keep the stakes low and the fun social factor high. :smallsmile:

[ErHo]

You probably do know more, or know people who do. There are a lot of people who play that fearing social stigma dont talk about it.

Yep, asking around the workplace for D&D players is not unlike trying to find drugs at work

[FelineArchmage]

My problem is that I've tried writing action/adventure scenarios and find I have a hard time coming up with good ones as I want to make them as plausible as possible, which hampers creativity. Also, I like writing things that most stories in the mainstream don't cover, which also limits my options. Doing a 'canned' story such as the amnesia episode or the noble sacrifice story are boring and worn out to me, so I avoid those kinds of stories. I want more unique situations. These things combined make it hard for me to write such stories in ways I'm happy with writing.

A writer/creative person's biggest critic is themselves. Your work will never be as bad as you think it is. Even if you have a difficult time making it up, I'm sure it will be great. :)

[Requilac]

Well, that sucks to here. I feel your pain there Samcifer. I actually went through a very similar occurence to you where the only group who was willing to play D&D with me disbanded. This was a slightly different story though because they gave up because a lack of interest and not vicious argument. Regardless I actually tried my best to find a new group, and did create a couple of groups actually, none of which really lasted longer than two months though. I continued trying this for six months and couldn't manage to wrangle up a group which lasted any longer than four sessions. I even DMed two out of three of these groups. Despite my best attempts, I quite honestly failed and after half a year's worth I just considered giving up on playing D&D . The reason for this failure is a little complex to explain but I more or less suffered from a collection of mental diseases at that point which didn't necessarily make me aggressive but they made so horribly, horribly socially awkward.

But then I started to research some alternatives as to what I could do. The first option I went with was playing Adventure League games at my local game store, and it turned out to be a massive success. You don't get as much freedom as a player admittedly, but the modules for 5e are quite well designed and Sandboxy so they can be great to play. A lot of people on these forums bash on AL for various reasons, but in truth I find it a much easier way to play. I don't have to deal with emotional baggage and social drama, no nonsense about who insulted/betrayed/cheated on who, Just people interested in playing the game. Give it a try, you might find you like it more than you think.

Another option is also Play-by-Post games, possibly even on this forum. Sometimes they have a bad tendency of not lasting much beyond the first encounter, but if you find a determined enough DM they can be great. I have been DMing a play by post over GitP and have kept it alive for about 5 months now, though with some changes of players needed when people dropped out. If you find a DM that you have trust in their capabilities or DM a PbP yourself it can turn out well.

Also, I wouldn't worry about the lack of creativity all that much. Most DMs aren't very creative, and in fact, no one expects them to be. Also you have to keep in mind that you aren't writing a story out completely, the players are writing the narrative alongside you. If you don't feel confident in your ability, give your players an open ended problem and improv a half-baked reaction from the hell that breaks loose. At least for me, it has a tendency to be interesting. There is a reason its called a collaborative narrative after all, the group makes it, not just you.

If I am being completely honest, all my campaign ideas are stolen from historical events which I load with magic steroids of epicness/evil/both until their origin source is beyond all recognition.

And if you are worried about creating coherent plots and settings, you could always get a co DM or ask this wonderful forum for help. If you are especially democratic you might even want to ask your players what campaign and setting they want to build and have them do the heavy lifting for you. It kind of ruins suprise and plot twists that way, but your players might be enthralled by the idea of them having such a massive impact on the world.

[samcifer]

Okay, the player who is known for taking away xp will be running the next campaign, but apparently it's only our former dm he does that to (they live together but are both straight), and he's started a new private facebook page for us for his campaign. He even put up a hexagonal map of the landscape as well as a page-long introduction to the campaign as well as the region, so maybe it won't be so bad. He doesn't seem to be a fan of me carrying over my light cleric/moon druid human with ram horns and a hairy lower body who wants to become a satyr, tho, as he boo-ed when I said I would be playing him as a moon druid to start (at around lv. 8 - 10 we'll start off at) so I can get more use of shapechanging as well as summonings.

[mephnick]

My problem is that I've tried writing action/adventure scenarios and find I have a hard time coming up with good ones as I want to make them as plausible as possible, which hampers creativity.

Have you read any of the official adventures?if you put any effort into the story at all your players will think you're the next coming of Cormac McCarthy in comparison. Don't worry about it.

[ErHo]

...the player who is known for taking away xp will be running the next campaign, but apparently it's only our former dm he does that to (they live together but are both straight),

Glad you cleared that up..


:smallannoyed:

[samcifer]

For the new campaign, My fiance' is playing a human conjurer wizard, and other players are thinking of a paladin, a ranger, a druid or rogue (he hasn't made up his mind yet) and I'm strongly leaning towards Teifling evocation wizard so I can be a blaster with some utility options. My fiance' is a bit bent over my choice as he chose wizard first, but I want to have the best chances of doing damager ever turn I can get.

[Citan]

For the new campaign, My fiance' is playing a human conjurer wizard, and other players are thinking of a paladin, a ranger, a druid or rogue (he hasn't made up his mind yet) and I'm strongly leaning towards Teifling evocation wizard so I can be a blaster with some utility options. My fiance' is a bit bent over my choice as he chose wizard first, but I want to have the best chances of doing damager ever turn I can get.
Honestly? Tell him it's due time he learns to recognize what's going to be a great boon for both of you instead of self-menacing his ego.

Two different schools mean you won't ever have the same focus, plus Wizard has an extremely vast spell list, so beyond Shield / Absorb Elements you may have 100% different spell list if you wish.
But two Wizards also mean you can cross-copy spells: at the minimum you have basically a living, mobile copy of your own spells, which is a significant plus at low level. At the maximum, you could cooperate to share each and every spell you learn/find so both of you get your "exclusive" spells and more.

I don't even think how you could be a "threat" to him roleplay wise or tactics-wise if you focus on blasting: not that AOE are mindless actions, absolutely not, but they are still a bit lighter in complexity than battlefield spells that cannot be moved and stay for a while for example.

So, imo, any fear of tip-toeing/shadowing he has is unfounded and irrelevant.

[samcifer]

Honestly? Tell him it's due time he learns to recognize what's going to be a great boon for both of you instead of self-menacing his ego.

Two different schools mean you won't ever have the same focus, plus Wizard has an extremely vast spell list, so beyond Shield / Absorb Elements you may have 100% different spell list if you wish.
But two Wizards also mean you can cross-copy spells: at the minimum you have basically a living, mobile copy of your own spells, which is a significant plus at low level. At the maximum, you could cooperate to share each and every spell you learn/find so both of you get your "exclusive" spells and more.

I don't even think how you could be a "threat" to him roleplay wise or tactics-wise if you focus on blasting: not that AOE are mindless actions, absolutely not, but they are still a bit lighter in complexity than battlefield spells that cannot be moved and stay for a while for example.

So, imo, any fear of tip-toeing/shadowing he has is unfounded and irrelevant.

Admittedly my main reason for wanting to be an evocation wizard as the fact that they can make safe zones in their AoEs, they can do half-damage if enemies save against their cantrips and you can add up to +5 damage on evo spells. I plan on going with spells that require saving throws and do half damage on saves to maximize my chances of doing damage each turn. Also, I have terrible luck with die rolls, so I'd like to minimize my need to roll to attack by making the dm roll instead. As long as he doesn't roll a crit on his save, I'm pretty much guaranteed to do damage with every attack.

He will focus on summoning creatures to fight for him, from the sounds of it.