Death saves 3 turns in a row (started making 3 turns in a row)...

[samcifer]

So got to start playing my sorlock character last night for the Dresden Files campaign...

First battle was okay. Some vampire thugs with poisoned crossbows attacked us and one summoned a pack of dire wolves once half of the vamps were dead and they appeared near me, but I was able to Misty Step to safety before they got the chance to attack.

Next battle was against multiple swarms of zombie hogs who tackle a target, knock them prone on a failed strength save and keep on attacking them once they are down even once they start making death saves, running the chance to easily kill a player already making death saves as an attack counts as a death save fail. I was fine in that battle until turn 3. The DM got to go before me and our life cleric was low in initiative so that the order of the 3 of us was dm, me, cleric.

During round 3, the dm said that 4 swarms of the zombie pigs appeared 10ft. from me and they got to attack before I got my turn to do anything. They attack me and some were rolling 25 or higher to attack. I then had to make my strength save, which is a +0. I go down and the pigs take advantage now that they have advantage to attack me since I'm prone and I drop to 0hp on the first turn of the new swarms' turn. I pass my death save on my following turn, then on his turn, the cleric casts mass healing word and I'm back above 0hp.

DM's next turn for round 2, since I'm still prone, the 4 pig swarms have advantage to attack me and get crits. I'm back to 0HP and on my next turn, I again pass my death save, then the cleric heals me again.

Then on round 3 of this, the dm has them all attack me yet again and for the third time I'm back to 0HP and have to make yet another first death save, which I again pass... Barely. The cleric heals me for the 3rd time on his next turn.

I was stuck in an infinite loop while only the cleric and the barbarian were there to help me until the pure warlock helped as well during the third round. At this point I'm pretty mad as a player. I get that it's a game, but I also feel as if the dm was targeting me for changing characters from my barb/fighter, who the dm ruled was led away in the night and killed, then drained of blood, hacked to pieces and the pieces of him was left on the party's doorstep when I had asked the dm between sessions if my character could retire peacefully. He decided my character's fate on his own and I didn't even know this until the dm narrated it at the beginning of last night's session. Also, something I understand, the 40k in gold my former character was awarded was sent off to the character's grandmother, which fits the narrative. (my new character was allotted 10k in starting gold when we went shopping the next day, so I bought a +1 Ring of Protection)

During round 3 of the fight against the swarms of zombie pigs, our rogue player ignores my plight (because that player always plays his characters as selfish jerks) and instead attacks the last remaining swarm in the opposite direction from me. He has advantage and rolls 2 sits for his attack. The DM, possibly feeling that he's punished me enough, rules that the shot auto-kills that swarm as well as the two remaining ones attacking me (the barb and the warlock managed to kill 2 of the 4 mobs ganging up on me during that round) and the battle ends. Then the dm rolls to choose a player, asks them for a number they do not want on a d6, and the player (my fiance the barb - the player is my fiance, not his character, lol) guesses right and we don't trigger a random encounter on the way back home for a long rest (a mechanic the dm wasn't using until this session and meaning I could've had yet another battle where I went down as I was at about 12HP by the send of the second battle).


I apologized to the rouge and warlock players after the session about getting so salty at being locked into an infinite loop of death saves, but not to the dm. Am I being unreasonable to feel angry over this? It feels as if the dm was punishing me for changing characters to a ranged one and I wonder if his intention was to swarm me with the dire wolves in the first battle and it was only the fact that I had Misty Step and was able to act before the wolves that saved me, then him going hard after me in the second battle and locking me into that no-win situation.

If during the first battle of the next session he spawns more enemies near me, I swear I'm calling him out right in front of everyone for specifically targeting me and I don't care if I live with the guy, I'll do it and screw the consequences of doing so. I know that it's a game and these things happen, but all of it added together in a single session makes me feel wronged as well as targeted specifically.

Am I wrong to be upset by this?

[Lunali]

Enemies that 'appear' mid combat should either have to use their turn to arrive or should be arriving at a set initiative (usually either 20 or the initiative of whoever called them there) and then rolling for their own initiative.

As for getting targetted like that, it's entirely reasonable for enemies to continue to go after the easiest target, but it seems like the DM may have set you up to be the easiest target. I would wait until you've calmed down a bit, then talk to the DM away from the table. Though if he continues deliberately targetting you, confronting him in front of people may be necessary.

[Nagog]

To clarify, this is the same DM from your earlier thread about creating a backup character (assuming this is the new character)?

I'd have a serious talk to the DM out of game about both player targeting and about building a balanced encounter. If that does nothing, and your character gets killed, leave the campaign. While leaving like that may be ridiculed by the DM or non-targeted players, D&D is about having fun first and foremost. If it isn't fun, why are you there?

If you have the conversation with your DM about this beforehand and they continue harassing your characters, leaving the campaign is the best option. It's likely that in that situation, the DM will move to a new target, and the process will repeat until either they change or they have no more players.

[samcifer]

To clarify, this is the same DM from your earlier thread about creating a backup character (assuming this is the new character)?

I'd have a serious talk to the DM out of game about both player targeting and about building a balanced encounter. If that does nothing, and your character gets killed, leave the campaign. While leaving like that may be ridiculed by the DM or non-targeted players, D&D is about having fun first and foremost. If it isn't fun, why are you there?

If you have the conversation with your DM about this beforehand and they continue harassing your characters, leaving the campaign is the best option. It's likely that in that situation, the DM will move to a new target, and the process will repeat until either they change or they have no more players.

Yes, this is the same dm (he's the only dm I have at this point in time). One thing that's good is that he's generous in letting us shop for items. I wish there was some half-plate that gave resistance to non-magical damage, which would help, but maybe I can go out and buy some +2 armor. If I go to the next level, I could go warlock 4 for a feat and take medium armor master since I have 16 dex. That way I'd have an AC of 23 before the Shield Spell.

One thing I had considered doing during that battle and regret not doing as casting Greater Invisibility on myself, which I felt that with Elven Accuracy, would've given me too much of an edge in battle, but now I'm thinking of not being generous from now on.

I'm also eying a belt of giant strength to max out my strength to avoid situations like that again on having to do a strength save vs being proned.

[AHF]

If you had time to cast Fly, I’m just wondering what swarms of flying creatures would have appeared.

Seems like Blink might be a useful non-concentration spell for you with this DM although if the issue is the DM targeting you there is no tactical way to get out of that.

Maybe having a conversation with the DM where you not that none of the casters had been targeted in the previous sessions and you had moved to a caster since your melee tank was being the central target and now it seems like your new character is the target. I’d ask for advice on how to avoid being the target and if there is something you can do on your end because you don’t have fun when the vast majority of the attacks are coming at you and pinning you down. You could certainly do something like a Fly spell to increase your mobility and escape options but want to talk about that with him to see how he views that because you really just want to be part of the group absorbing a share of the fire and not the PC getting surrounded every encounter.

[Nagog]

Also, considering what they did to the character you wanted to retire, I wouldn't be surprised if the DM gets a kick out of seeing their players suffer, which is not a good quality in a DM. Suffering is to be inflicted to spur character growth, not to entertain the DM.

As an afterthought, as a very last resort and this character dies and you still want to stick around, I'd suggest a Zealot barbarian. They don't get much by way of offensive abilities in that subclass, but if you survive to 14th level you literally cannot be knocked unconscious while raging. At that point, you still roll death saves, and if you have 3 failed death saves you still keep swinging until your rage ends, at which point you only die if you're healer doesn't get to you before your rage ends. In the department of "Can't Stop Won't Stop", Zealot Barbarians are made for the job. If that's the subclass you played with your previous character (or the subclass your current barbarian is and it isn't working for them), then I don't know what to say. Well, other than as I said previously to just leave the campaign.

[samcifer]

Also, considering what they did to the character you wanted to retire, I wouldn't be surprised if the DM gets a kick out of seeing their players suffer, which is not a good quality in a DM. Suffering is to be inflicted to spur character growth, not to entertain the DM.

As an afterthought, as a very last resort and this character dies and you still want to stick around, I'd suggest a Zealot barbarian. They don't get much by way of offensive abilities in that subclass, but if you survive to 14th level you literally cannot be knocked unconscious while raging. At that point, you still roll death saves, and if you have 3 failed death saves you still keep swinging until your rage ends, at which point you only die if you're healer doesn't get to you before your rage ends. In the department of "Can't Stop Won't Stop", Zealot Barbarians are made for the job. If that's the subclass you played with your previous character (or the subclass your current barbarian is and it isn't working for them), then I don't know what to say. Well, other than as I said previously to just leave the campaign.

If this character dies, I'll either just have a clone of him appear or perhaps go with a sorcadin as our group's oath of ancients tabaxi paladin has left the group as she was visiting her boyfriend (the life cleric player) from her home country (she's Czech, I won't even attempt to butcher the spelling of that country's name further by trying to spell it in full). At the next level, I suppose that I could go warlock 4 for the toughness or medium armor master feat.

I'm also going to make use of Greater Invisibility as well as Mirror Image, another defensive spell I was holding back on because I had been at range and the situation didn't seem so bad until those 4 mobs appeared near me before I could react.

[GlenSmash!]

Yes, this is the same dm (he's the only dm I have at this point in time). One thing that's good is that he's generous in letting us shop for items..

I actually view this as a potential sign of an inexperienced and/or bad DM.

5e doesn't need the magic item train, and it certainly doesn't need the ramping up in difficulty to counter the magic item train.

In my experience this is a solution looking for a problem.

Not that it can't be done well, but I would look warily at a DM that proposes a game like this until they have proven that they can handle the increased complexity well.