Common Aggravating Table Behaviors

[Melville's Book]

So, I've noticed both in my gaming world and on the forums that a surprisingly common method by which DMs remove PCs who either died really unexpected/stupid deaths or are somehow determined to be irreparably mechanically broken is to ask the player for the sheet and then tear it or crumple it up and trash it while asking them to make a new character (or leave the group, depending on the nature of the event).

I dunno, maybe that seems normal or acceptable to some people. Maybe it is even received that way in a small number of groups.

But when people do that to me, I'm more than willing to escort myself out regardless of whether they actually want me to leave. Because screw that. I might have a lot of effort and memories invested in that character regardless of how or why they (or possibly I) are now being removed from the game, and those are locked away in the sheet. You don't take that from me because I'm not going to be using that character anymore. Screw you if you expect me to be okay with that.

Anyway, though, what are some table behaviors for you guys that really aggravate or upset you that you can't even believe happen so often? I'm curious to hear what your experiences have been.

[Koo Rehtorb]

I think that tradition came from the days when people would commonly play the same character in different games. You'd finish Bob's dungeon and then take your character over to Gary's dungeon.

Tearing up the char sheet symbolizes that you can't take it to someone else's house and be alive again.

[AnBe]

One thing that really irritates me is when the GM is in the middle of explaining something and other people, those who are in the game or those who are not in the game, start interrupting. One thing that a certain individual often says is, "I kill them all." It's like dude you're not even in the game shut your face.
Or I am not even done describing the scene and the player immediately states what their character does. I wish my players would ask more questions about the situation at hand rather than making split decisions which they often regret later or that I have to deal with.
Also, when people at the table just kind of zone out during gameplay and get distracted by other games. This is especially common during long Pathfinder combats.
And last but not least, RULES LAWYERING. Ugh
There has been so many times when we are just trying to do cool stuff in the game and/or getting on with it because a certain situation is lasting too long, but 1 or 2 people always have to be THAT GUY and point out in the rules why you CAN'T DO THAT. It bunches up the game and stifles the players. It's like, come on guys, we are playing a game to have fun here, right? Not bash each other in the gonads with the big clumsy ruleset.

[Jay R]

So, I've noticed both in my gaming world and on the forums that a surprisingly common method by which DMs remove PCs who either died really unexpected/stupid deaths or are somehow determined to be irreparably mechanically broken is to ask the player for the sheet and then tear it or crumple it up and trash it while asking them to make a new character (or leave the group, depending on the nature of the event).

...I might have a lot of effort and memories invested in that character regardless of how or why they (or possibly I) are now being removed from the game, and those are locked away in the sheet. You don't take that from me because I'm not going to be using that character anymore. Screw you if you expect me to be okay with that.

You don't back up your data? My character sheet is backed up on my computer at home like any other important document.

[In fact, these days I generally keep it as an Excel spreadsheet.]

If you lose a character once because somebody ripped up the sheet, that's his fault. But if it happens to you a second time, that's your fault.

[Âmesang]

One thing that really irritates me is when the GM is in the middle of explaining something and other people, those who are in the game or those who are not in the game, start interrupting. One thing that a certain individual often says is, "I kill them all." It's like dude you're not even in the game shut your face.

In a similar vein I find it frustrating when the referee's explaining the situation or describing the encounter and a player asks me questions about what's going on or how his character's supposed to be played or what have you… and I end up missing a crucial detail that'll %&#$ me over in the next, few moments.

I mean I have no problem answering questions… just ask me before or after the session; don't interrupt some plot-critical moment, please.

And to connect that to rules lawyering, it's just so nice when you explain to a player how his character's abilities or equipment works and it ends up not being what he wants to hear.

[Geddy2112]

One thing that really irritates me is when the GM is in the middle of explaining something and other people, those who are in the game or those who are not in the game, start interrupting. One thing that a certain individual often says is, "I kill them all." It's like dude you're not even in the game shut your face.
Or I am not even done describing the scene and the player immediately states what their character does. I wish my players would ask more questions about the situation at hand rather than making split decisions which they often regret later or that I have to deal with.

In a similar vein I find it frustrating when the referee's explaining the situation or describing the encounter and a player asks me questions about what's going on or how his character's supposed to be played or what have you… and I end up missing a crucial detail that'll %&#$ me over in the next, few moments.
I mean I have no problem answering questions… just ask me before or after the session; don't interrupt some plot-critical moment, please.

I second this. Any form of interrupting the game is a major no-no. Even worse if you are not part of the game and interrupting(I don't play in public settings for this very reason).
Another one is when people are obviously not caring or paying attention, then ask "what did I miss?"
My personal least favorite is when somebody forces their character on me-not usually sexually, but their character insists I do this thing with them, eat/drink something they made, needlessly touches/grabs/does things to my character for little to no reason.

[Haldir]

When a PC declares an action in response to everything the GM describes, even if other players are the ones prompting said description. I just had to clarify this with an (otherwise very good) player last game.

[Max_Killjoy]

When a PC declares an action in response to everything the GM describes, even if other players are the ones prompting said description. I just had to clarify this with an (otherwise very good) player last game.

That can come from past experiences in other games where the GM considered all descriptions "live", and if you didn't jump, you missed your chance.

---

Many of the behaviors I find irritating at the gaming table are irritating elsewhere -- talking with a mouth full of food, poor hygiene, lack of respect for personal space, presumption of sharing, touching other people's stuff with filthy hands, etc.


Yes, smelly people bug me... so judgemental.

[MadBear]

For me it's gotta be when the DM doesn't offer the context of what's happening, and your character makes stupid mistakes taht wouldn't happen in any other circumstance.

DM: A large group of zombies charges your way, behind them is a wizard clad in a black cloak casting a spell

Player: I use my telport ability to jump pass the zombies and attack the wizard

DM: Ok roll it.

Player: Natural 20, I crit him!

DM: You just killed the friendly wizard who helped you out earlier for no reason. He was supposed to help you but now he's dead. I can't believe you attacked an ally like that.

Player: You didn't say we knew him

DM: Well that's your characters fault.

[Melville's Book]

I think that tradition came from the days when people would commonly play the same character in different games. You'd finish Bob's dungeon and then take your character over to Gary's dungeon.

Tearing up the char sheet symbolizes that you can't take it to someone else's house and be alive again.

... Which makes it worse. I was just talking about a character whose story was done anyway, but if you've got a character you take around to several games (ala Pathfinder Society) then it's even more BS to destroy my main record of them.

You don't back up your data? My character sheet is backed up on my computer at home like any other important document.

[In fact, these days I generally keep it as an Excel spreadsheet.]

If you lose a character once because somebody ripped up the sheet, that's his fault. But if it happens to you a second time, that's your fault.

I play my pen and paper games with a pen and paper, thank you very much.

[MrZJunior]

There is a player in a game I am currently playing in who, whenever one of her characters rolls a one on a knowledge check, insists that it means they don't know anything. She refuses to accept any mistaken knowledge on their part. It's odd because this doesn't crop up in any other circumstances.

[Pugwampy]

I think tearing up a character sheet is very inappropriate and unacceptable behavior that a 12 yr old indulges in .

As far as i am concerned a DM has no right to even touch a players character sheet . DM owns everything else .


That said i have heard of a drama queen who tore his own character sheet up infront of DM . When he felt better he rerecorded his old stats and went back to gaming . He did what he needed to do to feel better again . I can relate .

[Anxe]

Experienced a few of these in one way or another. Getting food in the battle mat is one that annoys me.

[Koo Rehtorb]

... Which makes it worse. I was just talking about a character whose story was done anyway, but if you've got a character you take around to several games (ala Pathfinder Society) then it's even more BS to destroy my main record of them.

No, as in, you play the SAME character in different games. As in literally the same person. Games were assumed to be in the same world. If you level up to 3 in Bob's dungeon then you're level 3 in Gary's dungeon.

If you died in Bob's dungeon then you'd be dead and couldn't go to Gary's dungeon with that character at all.

[Knitifine]

While I have sometimes entertained the idea of tearing apart a munchkin's character sheet, I don't think I'd ever do it. Much less so to someone who has died before. Typically munchkins and other problem players are simply told after the session that they are not invited back.

As for behaviors that aggravate me personally.

Player 1: "Oh, so you're basically playing fantasy [insert popular character here]."
Player 2, lying: "No, I've never heard of that."

To the Player 2's out there. It's okay if you wanna be Drizzt, or Fantasy Iron Man, we're just trying to make conversation.

More recently a behavior that was endemic to the group.

Player 1: "You can do this."
Player 2, after a few moments of fact checking while they are not in the scene: "No, actually you can't."
Player 1: "Ugh, don't fact check me, that's so rude."

If someone corrects you about a rule, you shouldn't get in a tizzy about it. This is only a problem if they're not letting play continue and/or paying attention to things that are happening to their character. This is especially true if the thing you brought up is something you literally shouldn't be able to do.

Also any and all types of murder-hobo behavior.

[Melville's Book]

No, as in, you play the SAME character in different games. As in literally the same person. Games were assumed to be in the same world. If you level up to 3 in Bob's dungeon then you're level 3 in Gary's dungeon.

If you died in Bob's dungeon then you'd be dead and couldn't go to Gary's dungeon with that character at all.

Oh. I suppose that's not as bad then... But still, it'd be better just to notify the other GM instead of destroying the player's record of that character.

[Knitifine]

There is a player in a game I am currently playing in who, whenever one of her characters rolls a one on a knowledge check, insists that it means they don't know anything. She refuses to accept any mistaken knowledge on their part. It's odd because this doesn't crop up in any other circumstances.

I'm sure you're not my GM, but this is exactly how I would act. Giving players incorrect knowledge is aggravating and wastes time 90% of the time.

[Max_Killjoy]

As for behaviors that aggravate me personally.

Player 1: "Oh, so you're basically playing fantasy [insert popular character here]."
Player 2, lying: "No, I've never heard of that."

To the Player 2's out there. It's okay if you wanna be Drizzt, or Fantasy Iron Man, we're just trying to make conversation.

The flip side of that... people who assume every RPG PC is an expy of an existing fictional character, and can't seem to comprehend originality, or that maybe someone has truthfully never looked in detail at some fictional character that said person is deeply familiar with.

Like a guy who used to game in the same circles I did in college who insisted that every fantasy-genre RPG PC with white hair, OR a health issue, OR a drug addiction, OR an intelligent sword, OR from a once-powerful culture in decline, was an Elric expy.

[Melville's Book]

Like a guy who used to game in the same circles I did in college who insisted that every fantasy-genre RPG PC with white hair, OR a health issue, OR a drug addiction, OR an intelligent sword, OR from a once-powerful culture in decline, was an Elric expy.

So aside from the white hair, this logic suggests that my characters have become Elric several times mid-game. How interesting.

[Goldiefish]

I hate when people take out their real life anger on people in game, like making characters just to mess someone up/kill their character for revenge or something. Or acting out of character and not helping your team because you get pissed at someone

[Verbannon]

I just want to say, I dm online so *Superior*

[2D8HP]

Can't say that I've been bothered enough to notice any of the previously listed behaviors.
What has bothered me (when I was 12) was snotty Magic-Users in cohoots with the DM who were "adults" (actually college students which are usually not really adults! ), who continually played in-character practical jokes on my Conan expy PC at DUNDRACON in 1980 (yes I'm still angry ), and the other action that's bothered me is being coerced into playing a PC the party "needs", such as Cleric or "Face" (healer or wheeler-dealer), when I basically just want to play a Scout (Ranger or Rogue) and/or a dumb guy with a big sword (Barbarian or Fighter).
I don't want to "stretch my role-playing"!

[hymer]

About the tearing of sheets: I've never done that as a DM, nor seen a DM do it. I do, however, remember one player (early-mid teens IIRC) who had a character die. He had been playing the character for months, and in anger and frustration curled the sheet up and threw it in the bin. Then people at the table started talking about how they were ging to resurrect him, and he suddenly felt very foolish, and with shaking voice and hands got the sheet out of the bin.

One peeve I've indulged recently, is about the players who say they'd like to use X skill to do something. No wonder you'd like to use Perception to roll on your success in research at the library, as it's your very highest skill. I can see the way your mind works, but it's mostly working in munchkinry patterns right now. How about you tell me what your character does, and I'll decide what check you need to roll, if any, to accomplish it, eh? A subset of this behaviour is when you ask whether someone in the party has a specific ability, item, or something, and someone pipes up with something else.
DM: "Does anyone have the Light Sleeper trait?"
Annoying player: "No, but I have Keen Hearing!"
That particular thing became a regular occurence. What's s/he sayin 'no' for, anyway? Speak for yourself!

But I'm mostly annoyed at no-shows, late shows, and early shows. And I don't consider ten minutes before or after noteworthy. But much more than that starts to irk me.

[PersonMan]

Player 1: "Oh, so you're basically playing fantasy [insert popular character here]."
Player 2, lying: "No, I've never heard of that."

To the Player 2's out there. It's okay if you wanna be Drizzt, or Fantasy Iron Man, we're just trying to make conversation.

On the other hand, there are quite a few characters who are popular within a niche that someone may not know of. I've occasionally been asked if my characters are like X or Y character, or if a concept is from Z world, and have had no idea what they're talking about.

[MesiDoomstalker]

About the tearing of sheets: I've never done that as a DM, nor seen a DM do it. I do, however, remember one player (early-mid teens IIRC) who had a character die. He had been playing the character for months, and in anger and frustration curled the sheet up and threw it in the bin. Then people at the table started talking about how they were ging to resurrect him, and he suddenly felt very foolish, and with shaking voice and hands got the sheet out of the bin.

One peeve I've indulged recently, is about the players who say they'd like to use X skill to do something. No wonder you'd like to use Perception to roll on your success in research at the library, as it's your very highest skill. I can see the way your mind works, but it's mostly working in munchkinry patterns right now. How about you tell me what your character does, and I'll decide what check you need to roll, if any, to accomplish it, eh? A subset of this behaviour is when you ask whether someone in the party has a specific ability, item, or something, and someone pipes up with something else.
DM: "Does anyone have the Light Sleeper trait?"
Annoying player: "No, but I have Keen Hearing!"
That particular thing became a regular occurence. What's s/he sayin 'no' for, anyway? Speak for yourself!

But I'm mostly annoyed at no-shows, late shows, and early shows. And I don't consider ten minutes before or after noteworthy. But much more than that starts to irk me.

Gods I'd love early showers. It be a nice break of routine of no-show's and late showers and cancelled sessions.

A behavior that really gets my goat is when one player seems to refuse to learn the system. It's one thing to be inexperienced, its another to play the same game for nearly 10 years and still can't build their own character or remember 1/3 of their abilities.

[nedz]

As for behaviors that aggravate me personally.

Player 1: "Oh, so you're basically playing fantasy [insert popular character here]."
Player 2, lying: "No, I've never heard of that."

To the Player 2's out there. It's okay if you wanna be Drizzt, or Fantasy Iron Man, we're just trying to make conversation.

I once ran an entire campaign in which the players were convinced I'd based on a book I'd never read. Coincidence is a thing.

[Melville's Book]

Also, if I'm gonna make a fantasy Iron Man, it's gonna be Black Sabbath, not Marvel.

[malachi]

A subset of this behaviour is when you ask whether someone in the party has a specific ability, item, or something, and someone pipes up with something else.
DM: "Does anyone have the Light Sleeper trait?"
Annoying player: "No, but I have Keen Hearing!"
That particular thing became a regular occurence. What's s/he sayin 'no' for, anyway? Speak for yourself!

I'm confused about why that's a bad thing.
It'd be like asking in 5e "Is anyone proficient in History", and the bard responds "No, but I've got Jack of All Trades"; or "It'd take a lot of strength of lift that. Does anyone have 20 STR?" "No, but I've got 20 INT and a Telekinesis spell". Isn't it a good thing for players to try to jury-rig stuff around? Or are players supposed to say "Since I don't have any rule that specifically says I can do X, I guess I can't." That gets silly for X = "wake up from sleeping after 8 hours of rest", "check how deep the water is by sticking a 10 foot pole down it", "cast Eldritch Blast (or is it Firebolt that can't target objects?) at a cup to try to break it".

[Knitifine]

I once ran an entire campaign in which the players were convinced I'd based on a book I'd never read. Coincidence is a thing.

Okay that's nice and all, and this goes for everyone else who's been snarking this. I specifically put in the quote that player 2 is lying. As in, player 1 has watched player 2 watch the show they're obviously drawing from.

[kyoryu]

Gods I'd love early showers. It be a nice break of routine of no-show's and late showers and cancelled sessions.

Early, late, whatever. As long as the players are actually taking them.