ITT: Warning signs from the GM that shit is about to head south for you or the group
Let's start with an easy one
>Are you sure?
>Uh, we do [X]
>smiles and nods
>"Okay."
>rolls dice silently
>"Continue."
>>48319762
My GM always say "do you really wanna say that outloud?" and i get stubborn. Needless to say i never learn.
>Hmm, let me check my notes...OoooOOOO Key...All right, you can continue.
I make my players do random perception checks for no reason. Creeps them the fuck out.
>Everything seems to be normal
>>48319762
> Only allowing Core Rulebook in Pathfinder
>>48319879
>Pathfinder
>>48319762
Something i always did when i GM'd
>I wonder......
>>48319762
>Oh, you did/said that... You sure? Wait a second, I need to think what they will do.
>>48319878
This is evil, this is so evil and you are amazing for doing it
>>48320011
Not him, but it's also fun to ask random, trivial details.
>I open the door
>Check notes: Which hand do you use?
>I talk to the ship captain about when we'll get to the destination.
>Are you wearing anything with the color green?
>I'll go to the local tavern, try to gather information.
>Would you say you favor your right or left foot when you carry drinks through a crowded bar?
stuff like that.
>>48319762
>You'll be starting at level 1.
>It's going to be a political intrigue plot.
>3.5/Pathfinder
>Familiarize yourself with these homebrew races.
>You all meet up in an inn...
>It's low fantasy (so peasant backgrounds for everyone).
>It's an eastern campaign (or any other culture the GM obviously doesn't actually know anything about outside of videogames/anime)
>It's steampunk!
>Starts to say something, stops, then makes that *thinking* face
>Rolls a few dice
>Rolls one a few more times than necessary for a perception check
>Smile
>"You don't notice anything. What's your AC again?"
>>48320050
>You'll be starting at level 1
Isn't that the level you're supposed to start at
>You search the razed *enemy race of choice* camp
>There is a child of *enemy race of choice* race, sobbing and pointing a dagger at you defensively
Don't even need alignments, le alwaysevil race and being a paladin to understand shit's gonna hit the fan in any case
>>48320101
Not for D&D veterans.
D&D veterans should skip the incredibly bloody and randomized levels 1 and 2 and just start off at the varied and safe level 3.
Level 1 and 2 are for novices who shouldn't face any real challenge at all, and only fight things like harmless rats and blind kobolds without realizing that the DM is fudging all the rolls.
>>48320101
Most official adventures are written that way, yes. However, if you already know how to play the game, it sucks ass to start at level one. At level one, in most systems, your character has access to almost nothing... this means everyone's character is practically the same. Like the wizard MIGHT have a spell he can cast once or twice a day, and the Paladin might have a use of Lay on Hands... but for the most part everyone is pretty much just standing around with a shortsword or a crossbow doing the same exact thing and praying the GM starts giving out EXP soon so things will be less boring.
Starting out at level 1 is like playing the sequel to a videogame you loved and master... and then losing all you powers abilities at the start and spending the first part of the game with one attack and the ability to walk forward.
>>48320144
>Starting out at level 1 is like playing the sequel to a videogame you loved and master... and then losing all you powers abilities at the start and spending the first part of the game with one attack and the ability to walk forward.
So Metroid?
>>48320164
Also Gothic.
>>48319762
Not exactly what OP meant, but it was a really bad sign.
>3 hours of NPC telling PCs lore details all players already know.
>You must listen to it because NPC is way higher on social ladder, show him respect
> No, you can't skip it to "he's telling you about world history", we will act in character only
>>48320164
Yeah, pretty much. Which is fine if you're new a player... but fuck oh dear is it frustrating if you've already gotten good at the game and mastered it's systems and just wana get straight to the fun without sitting through a sloggish tutorial.
>PCs enter haunted house
>Roll perception
>"You hear a quiet voice saying "thirteen... thirteen... thirteen" behind a door. There's a crack in the door."
>PC decides to look through the crack
>Someone sticks their finger in the PC's eye
>"Fourteen... fourteen... fourteen..."
>>48320190
Stop pretending every "veteran" player is the same and that you're somehow a spokesperson for al of them. First levels aren't a tutorial.
>>48320308
But they pretty much are bro. It's why most classes can't do shit until about level 3 or 4, even the shit they're supposed to be able to do.
Besides, tutorial or not, it's boring as fuck when everyone in the party has almost the exact same character. It's not really good for the whole teamwork or roleplaying part of the game.
>>48320288
39 keks
>>48319993
What's so bad about that? Yes, it interrupts the flow a bit, but not every GM can come up with something on the spot. At least he's not pulling random replies out of his ass.
>>48320352
>it's boring as fuck when everyone in the party has almost the exact same character
>cleric can heal
>thief is good at sneaking
>fighter better at taking them hits and has his own mastery
>barbarian can rage
>wizard can cast a few spells
Yeah, totally the same character.
>>48320388
Reread the OP, anon. It's warning signs that shit is about to go south for the party, not warning signs that the GM is shit.
>>48320406
Not at level one, fuck oh dear, are you just trolling now? Or is your reading comprehension actually THAT shit?
>>48320406
>>cleric can heal
Twice a day!
>>thief is good at sneaking
Marginally better than a crippled commoner!
>>fighter better at taking them hits and has his own mastery
At around a 5% rate better than the norm!
>>barbarian can rage
Once a day!
>>wizard can cast a few spells
Twice a day!
>>48320433
Either way, by responding you're just playing his game, Anon. Sometimes you just have to let retards be retards and not indulge them.
>>48320443
>every system is DnD
There's your issue
>>48320610
It's pretty common in most systems that you can't do shit at starting level, unless you're playing a "narrative" game without real rules.
>>48320630
You're talking out of your arse, of the systems I've played a level 1 or starting character with the base xp can do plenty, and remain interesting while doing it.
>>48320610
That's not even his issue. His issue is that he's heavily mentally challenged.
A Rogue in DnD5 can have +6 or +7 to his sneak rolls which is a pretty big deal in a d20 system.
A Cleric will be able to heal a pretty huge chunk of HP (considering the commoner has 4HP) per day, since he only needs a long rest (8 hours of relative inactivity). Not factoring in that he'll be able to stop the dying of any creature at will (Spare the Dying cantrip).
Wizards can throw firebolt at will as well.
Fighter's first level is one of the best as well.
But I mean, it's pretty hard defending your opinion when your opinion is shit.
> Early levels are only a tutorial
> Any person with a "mastery" over his system will share my shitty opinion
> I'm a gigantic faggot
>>48320653
Nice examples there.
Actually, >>48320451 was right. This conversation is over. Have a nice day.
>>48320679
>nice examples there
>gave no examples himself
>I have no argument so I'm going to act like a child and claim a victory
>doesn't respond to >>48320666
You really are a cancerous person.
>>48320679
So you were actually pretending to be retarded?
Jesus Christ
>>48320666
>A Rogue in DnD5 can have +6 or +7 to his sneak rolls which is a pretty big deal in a d20 system.
Anyone with proficiency in stealth can have +5 to sneak rolls.
So marginally better than a trained commoner.
>A Cleric will be able to heal a pretty huge chunk of HP (considering the commoner has 4HP) per day
In two shots of Cure Wounds or Healing Word. So twice a day.
>Wizards can throw firebolt at will as well.
Which is only better than a heavy crossbow bolt since it doesn't need reloading. It's a cantrip. It's not stellar.
>Fighter's first level is one of the best as well.
Exclusively if they're wielding a greatsword and took the greatsword fighting style.
>>48320742
Not that guy, but what's wrong with not being of low power levels? Climbing from the bottom to the top can be extremely fun in my experience. RPGs aren't an mmo/vidya, they're about a story.
>>48320763
Theres a conversation explaining all this in there somewhere, if you can get past the same-fagging retard attempting to play damage-control on an anonymous image board.
>>48320763
Well, that's unless the players act like they can take on a goblin cave without knowing the twists and turns.
A common mistake for beginners, but still.
>>48320763
In 5E which I am quite proficient with, it means your low levels are going to be a lot of
>I use firebolt again
>I use sacred flame again
>I swing my sword again
For some archetypes this is a problem throughout (Champion Fighter) but at level 2 the primary casting classes gain options and at level 3 everyone else gets their archetype at the very least. Now at that stage they're not really that much stronger than an ordinary untrained commoner except in durability (they'll take about 2.5 times as many hits to kill in most cases) but they have options to think about.
Even though they'll still end up using their basic attacks and cantrips because they're not limited resources, they can willingly choose to cast a higher level spell or fire their action surge or turn into a bear.
>>48320782
I'm not sure who you think the "samefagging retard" is, but the idea that until level 3-4 in DnD the classes are basically the same is so retarded I don't even know what to say in response other than go read the books.
This question doesn't really deserve it's own thread and since there's already a discussion on low levels in 5e this seems like the place to ask it.
I've been playing with a group that is completely new to the system and I'm curious about how firebolt works. Last session we had whenever I missed with a firebolt the DM would take out scatter dice and tell me what I hit instead which led to massive fires starting everywhere. I was just wondering if the cantrip was meant to be useless everywhere outside of caves.
>>48320842
Yeah, your GM pretty much killed it with dumb house-rules. That's not how it's supposed to work.
>>48320842
Are you fighting in a dry summer forest or a hay barn or something? A tiny little firebolt won't ignite stone walls or the hardwood typically seen in carpentry.
>>48319762
>DM starts laughing/covers his face
I admit I've done this a few times when the dice tell me the PCs are fucked. Alternatively, an NPC just botched something important.
>>48320144
I honestly kinda like starting at level 1 though, starting with nothing gives you a chance to distinguish the characters, the random nature and low health force you to play smart, and when you finally are reasonably strong at around 5 or 6 you feel like you've made much more progressthat being said, starting at a level where I actually have enough feats/ health to make sense as someone who's been adventuring a while is great
>>48320288
>PCs enter haunted house
>Doors swing shut behind them
Well shit
>>48320924
Luring PCs to enter fucked up places is the best feeling
>>48320860
To be fair, I was the one who asked where it landed instead after the first time I missed.
>>48320878
I rolled a 1, hitting a house behind my target and then maximum damage, causing a small fire that we immediately put out. The second time I actually did hit a hay bale, which is the one that quickly spirals out of control.
>>48320288
My dm did something like this.
>party walks into a bar
>Pretty standard stuff, locals just nursing their drinks
>some people gambling
>you see a cloaked figure sitting in a dark corner
>party goes over to the figure ofc
>talk to it
>says nothing
>someone tries to pull on the cloak
>it comes off to reveal a bucket on a stick
>all the npcs laugh and the bartender adds a tally to a chalkboard
>>48319762
Group: We enter the room to meet *insert unimportant NPC here*
DM: Hang on, let me get this set up...
>very obvious boss battle music starts playing playing
DM: *grinning from ear to ear* Alright, so you enter?
>>48320991
Gotta do this in the next bar the PCs come across.
>>48320960
>shooting off firebolts near hay bales
Okay yes that will lead to much fire. Thankfully wizards have a huge list of options for their damage cantrip, though.
I was just thinking. Some of these DM's make random rolls for no reason and say "are you sure?".
What if we a hidden stat of paranoia/madness and had this DM meta talk to cause paranoia in groups?
>>48320991
Kek, was the party bard's name Ibycus? You might be my GM.
>>48320034
I can understand the asking which hand cause maybe curse/poison/other thing could happen. I get the colors cause they could signify loyalty to an organization/deity/superstition.
But what does the favored foot have to do with anything?
>>48321014
I've considered keeping track of 'sanity' as a character attribute, and rolling on a special table EVERY time I tell the players something. When a character loses sanity, I roll a d20 and put that number down- whenever I roll it again during info dumping, I tell the players something deliberately incorrect about the situation, to indicate their slipping grasp on reality.
When it gets so far literally nothing I say is true, then come the elephants on parade.
Oh, also, incorrect information also entails me lying about how much HP a character has.
>>48321052
Not him, but I'd assume absolutely nothing.Not that the players know that.
To be on the actual topic of the thread:
The powerful NPC spellcaster working with the party responds to the encounter by enacting a lengthy/concentration requiring protective spell.
>>48320991
Made me chuckle
>>48320999
Is that gif referencing a meme or something?
>>48321052
According to the Satyricon, at least some Romans thought it was bad luck to enter a residence/building with the wrong foot. So people might get upset, you might actually get bad luck or, most likelynothing will happen
>>48320433
>Or is your reading comprehension actually THAT shit?
>all examples I gave in >>48320406 are at level one
>"B-B-BUT THEY'RE NOT MASTERS AT THEIR NICHES"
That's because they're LEVEL ONE, you chucklefuck. I didn't say they're good at what they do, I said they're DIFFERENT.
>>48321435
I think its star wars, when the jedi confront palpatine in the prequels.
>>48321435
It's the scene where Palpatine lunges at the Jedi knights confronting him.
>>48319762
>could I get a copy of your character sheet.
Especially when the character sheet is the team's brick.
>>48321545
>>48321536
Thanks.
>>48321557
I fuckin HATE that. It really reinforces the GM vs Players idea when the GM tailors encounters to each character's specific weaknesses.
>>48321663
I knew this was coming for a long time, though. Ever since the brick killed a demon lord and was tainted up with the thing's power. It wasn't that psychic chicanery is the character's weakspot (the character doesn't really have weaknesses, aside from esoteric attacks), as the character has a high resistances to psychic crap, it wasn't even the psychic's intention to get these results, but there's extenuating circumstances I'm not sure anyone cares to hear.
There's the one I think every DM uses: rolling some dice behind the screen or on your notebook and not saying anything.
Some times during a big fight or moment I'll put out a d6 or d4 out in the middle of the table and each round count it down by one. Players start panicking as to what the countdown is for.
When the players are trying to have an hour long sidebar while talking to an NPC I always gently interrupt with
> So you're saying this out loud right?
and then
> So what are you saying then? They're waiting for a response
Nothing wrong with some quick conferring with the team, but I think it's important to break up the Shadowrun levels of planning for a simple conversation with a random encounter or something.
>>48319762
My GM always says 'Are you absolutely certain you want to do that?'
These days it just sends us into an instinctive panic spiral.
>>48320991
kek, that cheeky fuck
>sharp inhale of air from GM
>"What?"
>"Nothing. Continue"
>Waits a few seconds
>Rolls dice
>Smiles or grimaces
>He's usually rolling for things that affect random events or NPCs
>The roll may never even interfere with us or not tipping when customary may result in foreigners getting shanked in the streets after dark
>>48319762
I ran a campaign where the forces of the magic were way the fuck out of whack and the players were trying to solve it before it turned into topsy-turvy land. Every once in a while I'd roll on that expanded Wild Surge PDF just to add a bit of flavor to an encounter
>roll 4d10
>PCs tense up
>Paladin, a small colony of black ants begin marching forth from your pockets and crawling over your body, take disadvantage on your attacks until you can clear them out
ITT: butthurt 3.PF players who want to test out their builds because roleplaying is boring.
Protip: if your issue with low levels is that the characters are the same, you are not fit for RPGs.
>>48320991
>Upvoted! xD
https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/4m4tp3/theres_a_dark_cloaked_figure_hunched_over_at_the/
>>48320050
>>It's going to be a political intrigue plot.
Why is this bad? I want to GM for the first time (D&D 5e) and I want to have some aspect of that in the campaign, though not make it the foremost option for the players.
>>48325911
Jesus read the OP you stupid fuck
>>48325957
That doesn't answer my question, faggot.
>>48320103
Just Detect Evil so you can ease your conscience.
>>48319762
>Roll Perception
>Pass
>"Oh, you see nothing."
>>48325996
If you had some kind of capability to understand what you read, you'll get that it's not a
> ITT: things that shitty DM say
but a
> ITT: spooky things your DM says
Maybe at some point when people are responding to you but not "answering your question" you might want to take a long hard look at what your question is, and what the answer given to you was, and how stupid your fucking face is.
>>48320960
Being sincere, your GM sounds like a good one.
>>48326168
That guy was listing different things that can make the playing experience shit for the group of players themselves previous to starting the game, not something that happens to the characters in-game.
>>48320103
Do you think players would generally be more or less comfortable if the remaining children were aggro on them?
>>48321435
>I fucking hate Star Wars and I know this.
>>48320924
>Sign says "Welcome to Moth".
>"GManon, do we have to go in there?"
>Yes, ["Helpful" NPC] said the [Important MacGuffin] is in Moth. One moment.
>*Passive Notice rolls for players*
>Jim, you have See Supernatural, yes?
>"Aw what now?"
>>48321881
I'm guilty of this, but it's usually less a sharp intake than a sudden "oh yeah. Oh man..." at the start.
>>48319762
>"Hey, roll me a Psychic/Magic Resist real quick."
Never do I see my players eyes start bugging/shifting faster than when I say those words.
*roll*
"hmm, Anon, how much HP do you have left again?"
>>48319878
>>48320011
So I do the same thing. I ran a shadowrun game for a couple years, and anyone who's messed with that can tell you how lethal combat is if one side wins an ambush.
I once got my group to spend half their collective edge preedging and rerolling (unknown to them unnecessary) perception/stealth checks before they got anywhere near an actual threat.
>>48319762
My players have picked up on the fact that I have a tell. I think it's something like...
>Slight pause, longer than what my normal response time in the game flow would be
>"Okay..."
Nothing puts my players on edge more than this.
The Okay is usually followed by something that is not okay for them.
>>48319762
>Thank you brave adventurers! We will have a feast in your honor! But first, you need a bath.
>Indeed we do! We will bathe one at a time, with the rest of the party guarding the door, and keep a weapon within arm's reach.
>No, you can't. Everyone strip naked and get in the bath all at once. Leave all your belongings in a bag outside, no exceptions.
>With all due respect sir, in the last three days we have been attacked by assassins four times, and one of those was in this very building. We don't blame you, but someone clearly wants us dead. What's the big deal to you if we take these basic precautions?
>I won't hear another word! Everyone in the bath, no guard, no weapons, no nothing! There are no assassins in the bathroom!
There fucking were.
>>48319762
>"Are you sure you wanna go back? There are too many rooms left."
>"Im getting bored".
>"everything is okay"
>"This is an easy encounter"
>>48321734
>extenuating circumstances I'm not sure anyone cares to hear
Dude, where do you think you are? It's ALWAYS storytime on /tg/
>>48320999
That fucking gif I'm dying
>>48328179
Okay, so, it all started the night of the demon lord's invasion, the guys who summoned him kicked the adult superheroes away (basically, they were sent on a dimensional trip, while our "poor" teenage superheroes were left at the whims of the bad guys), so we were slugging it out. Now the Demon Overlord is a more skilled combatant, but he's also very arrogant. My character's a brick among bricks, if you're at all familiar with Champions, she's 13 years old and comparable to Grond, the Champions equivalent of the Hulk (weaker, physically, but faster, slightly less durable against physical, more durable against energy, yadda yadda), but she's also got an extremely good perception roll.
So, we're slamming it out, which is putting me in a bad way, as I'm quickly running out of stun, he's already smacked me across what is essentially a mall parking lot (which I landed on my feet, to his shock), and I made a perception roll allowing me to see that the thing at his neck glows every time he uses his magic. Logically: this is his focus, so my character punched the shit out of it, shattering it, blasting all of his flesh off, and sealing a portion of his power into my character. And thus this arc kinda begins, but kinda doesn't.
Part 1/?
>>48328550
This power doesn't go away and none of the spellcasters my character knows, can remove it, but they do warn me to stay away from any weird fonts of power. Fast forward, months later, been trying to fight a group of evil telepaths, because they kidnapped two of the kids she saved at one point, they basically were assembled into a sort of gang by a woman who'd developed powers and was basically treated like shit by the local super powered stuff, but so were they, and not without reason, as most of them had a lot of power and no control, unlike my character, but my character also grew up among superheroes and she was always strong, tough, and fast, now she's just stronger and tougher than all but a handful of people on the planet, most of whom she knows by name. Many of whom attend her birthday parties. And that's why this 13-year-old is insisting on opening a school for superhumans in Washington State.
Back on track: we run into this exceedingly powerful telepath, who unleashes her greatest fear upon the real world, which is logically taking this ludicrously powerful teenage girl and handing her body over to the demon overlord who's kinda-sorta-but-not-really hanging out inside her. The demon wasn't quite ready for this either, but everyone acknowledged the telepath's mistake, and the overlord even tried killing him. Too bad the guy's a mutant who's also fairly tough, so he didn't break, much less splat, when Demonicus Regina (for the demon normally goes by Demonicus Rex) batted him across the warehouse.
Part 2/2.
>>48320174
>Stand up
>Walk into living room, or TV room, anything with a game console.
>Take controller
>Walk back to game
>Repeatedly mash the X or A button until DM shuts the fuck up.
>>48319762
The GM/DM looking at his notes/an AP booklet and saying "Really?", "Hoo boy..." or "Wait, it has THAT?!"
>>48329842
With my GM it's one of those 'but why?' sort of things. Like, why would a dragon have an origami swarm or why would a lich be wearing a ring of sustenance. Stupid shit.
>>48329842
>The Eversor has Drive, you say?
