has anyone ever encountered a DM who was mean, ornery or just plain bad?
Share stories here
I'll share my green text in the next post
Okay I don't normally complain on here but I really need to vent (inb4 not a blog). Maybe someone will find this relateable or funny or something.
>be a complete newb (as in I'd never played before)
>want to play for a while
>finally find a group through uni
>DM describes his campaigning style as intense with high fatality rates
>I still join because I'm really wanting to play, also I wasn't too fussed about characters
>make it clear to him that I'm newb
>he helps me make a character
>start playing a few games
>I'm clearly noobie, but I try really hard to learn the rules and stuff
>get own die so I don't have to borrow from the DM or the other players
>start actually learning the rules and how to play properly and stuff so my bard starts doing more spells
>everything's alright, though I got a weird feeling about the DM
>then suddenly the other guy drops out, so it's just me, DM and one other
>get a new person (a friend of mine)
>my friend just play a pre-generated character because DM thinks they will probably drop out.
>have a few good sessions
>they get really busy and have to miss a few sessions
>DM and other guy are disappointed with them, and infer that they are disappointed in me for inviting my friend.
>it all goes downhill from there
>DM stops prioritizing game
>eventually friend quits completely due to personal life stuff
>tell that to DM and other guy when we next meet, and express my disappointment
>both of them dont want to play with two people anymore (even though we have in the past)
>I'm like "okay sure we can pause the game and see if we can recruit anyone"
CONT.
>>46082276
>on the way out, DM asks other guy about his familiarity with pathfinder
>implies that he wants him to join his Monday night game
>I just feel numb because I actually would have liked to keep playing the current game
>I don't say anything at the time
>later ask politely on facebook if I can join as well
>he says no chance
>I'm like I always got weird vibes from you, why don't you like me
>he basically says he thinks I don't understand the "game and its intricacies"
>I try to explain what he already knows i.e. that I'm new and don't understand everything yet but that I try really hard to keep up and play because I enjoy it
>he says that I don't even understand my own character because I forget sometimes how things works
>keep in mind this is my first time playing 5E
>keep in mind that I actually wrote backstory for my character
>I try to remind him of this politely while, not using it as a crutch, taking responsibility for any mis-actions I might have done.
>he reads the message but never replies
>that feel when I suck so much I can't even be part of a group of relatively new people
>that feel when it's so hard to find another game
>feel like I never want to game again honestly
Man, that is rough buddy. Hope you do meet some cool dm
>>46082401
What the fuck kind of vague non-answer is
>don't understand the "game and its intricacies"
?
So you're not a powergamer and he can't spell it out for you? Like, does he mean he'd rather have someone more experienced, or does he mean something else convoluted? Is he purposefully convoluting a simple criticism? Does he not know how to use his words? Does he not know how to articulate and convey his own internal feelings into words? The one job language serves?
>>46082401
You met a shit DM who is also a shit person. Keep trying, we all suffered through this. Eventually, you'll find a great group. Or, become a DM yourself and just avoid doing things that you personally would not like as a player.
Guy sounds like an asshole, even if he were under life stress.
What class did you play? Magic is a lot more complex, especially if you throw in metamagic.
>>46082463
Thanks, I did find another game through a local comic shop, I just started but I'm hoping that works out.
>>46082529
Yeah I wasn't very clear about that either, but I didn't want to pick a fight with him.
>>46082563
Thanks, I will keep trying, though I doubt I'd be good enough yet to actually run a campaign.
>>46082739
yeah I'm thinking maybe he was.
I was a bard, so some spells, but nothing terribly complex, it was mostly just sometimes I wouldn't instantly remember which dice to roll
>>46082917
No one is good. It's the big secret. Just do it.
>>46082276
>and infer
You mean 'imply'.
>>46083036
I might, but I need to invest in books and stuff first, I think.
>>46083096
yeah sorry, I was typing in a hurry
Back when I was on that group one of the guys DMed a solo campaign for me, I was very new, this was my second campaign and I decided to fix everything I did wrong the first irst time so I feel I set a lot of effort on my side.
The guy was a downright terrible DM putting no effort, everything was made on the fly without flavor, he didn't even draw a map of the dungeon and then making me feel guity for getting lost in a dungeon without any visua reference.
>>46082917
Man, I feel you. Now I'm trying to organize a small group with a uni friend, his brother and a random friend of theirs, and I'd be the DM. Hard part is, I don't have actual experience with D&D, only with some obscure supersimplified system made to last half-hour long campaigns. Don't doubt yourself, experience is not required to DM(maybe to DM well, but that's something you learn doing). Download an app with the spellbook and read the spell lists to familiarize yourself with magic, go around picking spells for your prototype "level 7-ish jack of all trades" test wizard to practice around... that's what I did to get used to magic on D&D.
You can go on forums to look up highly optimized builds with explanations. The point of that is not to become a powergamer, but to understand how the system in general works and get used with interlocking mechanics, as optimized builds usually have well-detailed examples of how to use said mechanics(usually to your advantage).
Don't be afraid to create a gaming group and DM as a newbie. All you need is to dominate the basic rules, everything else should fall in place as you go.
Copied from an earlier thread because I'm still butthurt about this two years later. This was actually a pretty enjoyable campaign overall that lasted six months or so, which is longer than my friends can stick with most games before getting bored and moving on to something else, but there were a couple of absolutely rage inducing moments.
>GM tried to shoehorn in a self insert waifu bait NPC. We ran her off pretty quick and went back to murderhoboing. After a while our fighter enlisted my paladin's help wooing a barmaid. I was expecting the whole thing to get glazed over and fade to black, but the GM kept pushing for details and it ended up turning into a surprisingly funny and even more surprisingly not awkward situation where the whole party ended up involved.
>Then, all of a sudden, the door bursts open and two baddies burst in firing crossbows, one of which hits the girl in the neck, and she dies instantly. We kill one enemy and capture the other, and when we fail to interrogate her (the surviving mercenary) with a 32 diplomacy and 25 intimidate, I crush her head in frustration.
>Then I'm informed that head crushing is evil and my paladin has fallen and there's zero chance the gods will reward me with any sort of resurrection, so I'd better give it up or be prepared to fight all the legions of heaven and hell. At level 3.
>>46084423
>he didn't even draw a map of the dungeon and then making me feel guity for getting lost in a dungeon without any visual reference.
Mapping is the dumbest shit. I can't believe anyone still expects players to draw out their own maps of a dungeon.
>>46084843
Let then come, yo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDjt-p8Xsuk
