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View Full Version : Gamer Drama Fellow Player Rewarded for Bad Behavior



P. G. Macer
2019-12-16, 09:13 PM
So I’ve been fuming over something that happened last night when I was playing 5e.

My group plays in the wondrous, fantastical, and bizarre land of Flor'idá, which should give any Americans reading this an idea of the tone of the campaign.

However, last night things took a turn for the wacky in a way that was not so fun for me and I suspect four of the other six players, in a way that makes me question our autonomy.

We have one player/character (I say this because it’s sometimes not clear where the player ends and the character begins with this one), who is more murderhobo-y than the other PCs. He also apparently rolled really well for starting stats (The DM allowed us to roll privately), to the point that he had 20 DEX on his Aarakocra Rogue at Level 1, and I’m pretty sure his lowest stat is a +2.

The aarakocra rogue in question is a total kleptomaniac for magic items and murdering NPCs that seem slightly hostile, to the point that not when we were scouting a warehouse run by the Goblin Mafia, which controlled the magic item black market, despite us emphasizing to the rogue when we went with his plan that he scout ahead with his flight and high Stealth that this was a reconnaissance mission and he was to avoid both discovery and taking any magic items (yet; we were fine with him getting some as loot later), he ambushed and tried to take out the first goblin guard with a wand of magic missile knockoff that he saw. He got the wand, but the goblin sounded the alarm, ruining the party’s agreed-upon plan, and the party eventually getting arrested by the police (which the rival Kobold Mafia had taken over, but that’s another story). This is around the point where my Lawful Good Devotion Paladin started to hate the character.

We eventually were let out, and when on our way to not!Disney World, we had a fight with a disco-themed villain (Like I said, it’s that kind of campaign), who had a pair of magic sunglasses that among other things canceled out Sunlight Sensitivity. The rogue stole it for himself, despite us having a kobold in the party and the rogue already having a magic eyepatch that had all the other effects minus the sunlight part, and the kobold character had been blinded by the disco villain when the rogue took the glasses, and so whenever the kobold’s player brings up the fact in annoyance, the rogue reminds them that they don’t even know the rogue has the glasses in-character.

But what finally got my goat was once the party actually got to not!Disney World. There the rogue almodecided to go off on his own for a burglary spree, accidentally breaking into the rest of the party’s room at the inn and almost getting himself killed several times, but always conveniently rolling super high. It is at this point that the other characters start to hate the rogue as well, and even the players start to get annoyed.

When not!DW turned out to be a deathtrap by the park’s owner, we entered combat with animatronic constructs, but at the start of the combat, the rogue’s player persuaded the DM to alter the wand he’d stolen so that every time he used magic missile he rolled on a wacky homebrew Wild Magic table in return for the MMs dealing less damage.

Combat was a slog since most of us were unarmed (No metal weapons in the theme park), but eventually when the rogue used his wand he managed to smuggle in, he rolled on the home-brew table “The caster’s allies worship him as a god for 1d4 days”. No saving throws for us or any other way to avoid it. When every other player collectively vetoed the result, the DM had the rogue’s player re-roll, and play continued. But then, on the last turn of combat, which was the rogue’s, he rolled the result again. Now, while I suspect the player in question frequently fudges rolls, for the Wild Magic table he was using a digital dice roller with records, to the DM was able to verify their legitimacy, and roughly half of the other players were open to going along with it this time and worship the kleptomaniac murderhobo for 4 days.

The session ended before anything more could happen, and we aren’t playing for a few weeks because of the holidays, and I’m pondering what to do. While the obvious suggestion is to talk to the DM and player in question, I suspect that if I go the DM unprepared he’ll side with the other player, as he seemed amiable to the god roll the second time around, and I worry if I go to the player things will devolve into an outright feud, especially if I accuse him of cheating outside of the god-roll incidents.

So, fellow Playgrounders, what should I do? I know that I’ll have to go to one of them eventually, but I’m unsure of what to say.

Pauly
2019-12-16, 09:40 PM
as far as I’m concerned it would be perfectly legit for your Paladin to rat him out to the cops (or rival gang) and take the reward for turning him in. If his character gets put in jail then the rest of the party have a discussion and agree to not make an effort to bust him out

Generally speaking it is acceptable for people who have been mind controlled to hold a seething grudge once the effect wears off. Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy, specifically “The Mule” story comes to mind as a good example of how to play it.

aerilon
2019-12-17, 12:27 AM
I'd argue that result CANNOT be valid in-character for your Paladin, as your Paladin is devoted to worship only your specific deity. Thus rendering you immune to that particular effect. Then I'd find grounds to declare the character guilty of a crime and murder them and tell the player to roll up a new one.

caden_varn
2019-12-17, 04:11 AM
In-game, I'd say it should be acceptable to say that, given the rogue's conduct, you no longer consider him an ally but a rather untrustworthy cohort. By a literal interpretation of the effect, that would stop you being affected.

But the real answer is talk it out outside the game - whether you approach the player, the DM or the rest of group is going depend on you out-of-game relationship. Keep things respectful, and hopefully the others will reciprocate. Before you do this, I advise taking a time to think about your long term reaction if things don't change - has it reached the point where you are willing to walk away from the game if things don't change?

I think it would also be fair to ask to see the wild magic table and alter any options that aren't acceptable to the rest of the group in future, or just ask to have it removed entirely. It would be interesting to see if the table is weighted towards results that favour the rogue, or if there are any that do something opposite - any results where the rogue worships the someone else, for example?

Pelle
2019-12-17, 05:51 AM
It's up to you to decide if playing with that player is fun or not to you, and if you should bow out or have a talk wit hthe group about what you enjoy.

However, forcing other people's characters to act in certain ways due to rolling on that table is not cool.

P. G. Macer
2019-12-17, 01:04 PM
I'd argue that result CANNOT be valid in-character for your Paladin, as your Paladin is devoted to worship only your specific deity. Thus rendering you immune to that particular effect. Then I'd find grounds to declare the character guilty of a crime and murder them and tell the player to roll up a new one.

Paladins in 5e don’t have to worship a deity (Unless you’re playing in the Forgotten Realms), and mine happens to be one of those. My DM mentioned that my character’s devotion to her ideals and Oath might make her immune, so I might run with that.


In-game, I'd say it should be acceptable to say that, given the rogue's conduct, you no longer consider him an ally but a rather untrustworthy cohort. By a literal interpretation of the effect, that would stop you being affected.

But the real answer is talk it out outside the game - whether you approach the player, the DM or the rest of group is going depend on you out-of-game relationship. Keep things respectful, and hopefully the others will reciprocate. Before you do this, I advise taking a time to think about your long term reaction if things don't change - has it reached the point where you are willing to walk away from the game if things don't change?

I think it would also be fair to ask to see the wild magic table and alter any options that aren't acceptable to the rest of the group in future, or just ask to have it removed entirely. It would be interesting to see if the table is weighted towards results that favour the rogue, or if there are any that do something opposite - any results where the rogue worships the someone else, for example?

This seems like good advice. I have been considering walking away from the game, but then I’d be without an in-person campaign as a player, and I go to college in the middle of nowhere. I’m debating who to go to, and I think it’ll probably be the DM, but the in-character advice also is useful.

As for executing the rogue on the spot, I’ve been trying to avoid the Lawful Stupid stereotype, and I’m pretty sure with the rogue’s flight speed and ungodly stats he could kill my paladin in a 1-on-1 fight, and I suspect the rest of the party would be neutral in such a matter.

aerilon
2019-12-17, 01:17 PM
I hate the awful lawful stupid stereotype. But what you've described up to now sounds like knowingly and intentionally ignoring the law when it's convenient for the group. Frankly, even if you don't want to go that route, I would have to say that if you truly want to say your character is lawful good, your character cannot continue to be a member of a party with the rogue.

Maybe that means a new character, or maybe that means leaving the group. If everyone else is fed up too, I'd at least express your concern to the GM privately.

I came from an area with no games at all. I get it. Heck, even now I've had 0 luck finding an in person regular game, so my games are currently on roll20. I'd rather be in person too. But even more than that, I'd rather NOT be at a table where I'm not having fun, where it's more stress and aggravation than it is enjoyment. And it kinda sounds like that's where you are.

Koo Rehtorb
2019-12-17, 02:34 PM
I think you should make a bullet point list of the issues you're having. To me it sounds like:

1) He doesn't follow the party's agreed upon plan.
2) He takes more than his share of loot.
3) You think he's cheating.
4) He talked the GM into using a weird homebrew wild magic table.
5) He rolled a result you don't like on that table.

Man_Over_Game
2019-12-17, 06:14 PM
I think you should make a bullet point list of the issues you're having. To me it sounds like:

1) He doesn't follow the party's agreed upon plan.
2) He takes more than his share of loot.
3) You think he's cheating.
4) He talked the GM into using a weird homebrew wild magic table.
5) He rolled a result you don't like on that table.

Well said.

4 and 5 are due to your bad GM. No GM should ever condone forced personalities upon their players, unless the entire table agrees to it.

1-3 are regarding things that everyone at the table should have already talked about. PvP actions (of which, hindering the group should be considered) are things that everyone needs to know how everyone stands. Best to talk about it now than to try a half-assed way to "fix" the problem in-game that'll end up just ticking someone else off.

Droid Tony
2019-12-17, 10:23 PM
Really, I don't see any reason not to just walk away from the game.

Simply put, why would you want to stay in a game with a player and DM that both acted like that?

And even if you did ''talk" to them....what are the chances they would both spontaneously change personalities into other people? And what are the chances of more ''wacky" stuff..all the time?

Better to just walk away and find another game.