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Alexis Merlin
Learned Scribe
USA
115 Posts |
 Posted - 02 Apr 2003 : 23:02:34
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Hi all,
thought that this might be an interesting follow-up topic to the "Problem Players" one...Have you ever had a DM who believed more in the 'master' side of it?Or perhaps one who was too lenient? How did you deal with it?Do tell!
(I will see if this topic is considered an interesting one before adding my own experiences... )
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It is knowledge that influences and equalizes the social condition of man; that gives to all, however different their political position, passions which are in common, and enjoyments which are universal.
(Benjamin Disraeli)
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branmakmuffin
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 02 Apr 2003 : 23:19:31
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Usually the only way to deal with DMs who emphasize "master" too much ("I'm right even when I'm wrong!") is to quit playing in their games.
In fact, the only way I've ever dealt with troublesome DMs, no matter what type they were, was to quit the game. A troublesome player can be dealth with. A troublesome DM ruins the whole game. |
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Salius Kai
Learned Scribe
USA
217 Posts |
Posted - 03 Apr 2003 : 03:18:35
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Agreed. But in my (Trafaldi's and Feanor's) case, our DM is like that but he is the onlyone willing to actually DM. That kinda makes a problem so we often find ourselves going with whatever he says  . |
"Welcome to these walls of infinite knowledge."
Salius Kai |
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branmakmuffin
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 03 Apr 2003 : 06:10:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Salius Kai
Agreed. But in my (Trafaldi's and Feanor's) case, our DM is like that but he is the onlyone willing to actually DM. That kinda makes a problem so we often find ourselves going with whatever he says .
Fortunately, I have never been in a position where I couldn't find anything but a troublesome DM. Maybe that's incentive for one of the other players to try DMing? If you all abandon him or her en masse, I think that'll deliver the message. |
Edited by - branmakmuffin on 03 Apr 2003 19:18:51 |
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The Defence Minister
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
218 Posts |
Posted - 03 Apr 2003 : 17:03:40
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I have only once had a DM like that, ie things had to be done exactly as he wanted them leaving no room for RPing. I managed to talk to him and straighten it out though.
TDM |
- TDM (Candlekeep's most popular, experienced and handsome member) |
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zemd
Master of Realmslore
France
1103 Posts |
Posted - 03 Apr 2003 : 19:06:07
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quote:
Originally posted by branmakmuffin
Usually the only way to deal with DMs who emphasize "master" too much
I had this problem once  |
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branmakmuffin
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 03 Apr 2003 : 19:14:12
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quote:
Originally posted by zemd
quote:
Originally posted by branmakmuffin
Usually the only way to deal with DMs who emphasize "master" too much
I had this problem once
You had this problem yourself when you were just learning to DM, or you experienced this as player? I assume you mean the second case, but I just thought I'd make sure.
If it is indeed the second case, did you stop playing in the game? Honestly, as I said before (sorry for the redundancy of this post) I can't think of any way to deal with a lousy DM other than to quit the game. |
Edited by - branmakmuffin on 03 Apr 2003 19:17:20 |
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The Defence Minister
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
218 Posts |
Posted - 03 Apr 2003 : 19:46:31
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Kick the DM out and take over yourself 
Nah, most of the time you can talk to the DM and resolve the problem. It is very unusual for it to get to the extent that you have to leave the game.
TDM |
- TDM (Candlekeep's most popular, experienced and handsome member) |
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Yasraena
Senior Scribe
USA
388 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2003 : 02:30:10
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Funny you should bring this topic up Alexis.....
In my topic of problem players, I posted about the player whom I had to boot from the game. Well, he was also a GM for our group (he ran Shadowrun and Cyberpunk). Ironically, when we first started playing with the guy, he was one of the best GM's/players I had ever played under/with. Some of the best memories I have from games stem from two of his campaigns. But also, the worst memories I have of gaming I have from his last 2 years of playing/GMing for us. His last game he ran for us was just a complete waste of time. He wasn't consistent with the rules (didn't even use them at one point), his story was a re-hash of one of his other games he ran us through, and he actually had the nerve to tell us how we should be playing our characters, because aparrently, we weren't playing them the way we should have been. When he played in a game, he would constantly fall asleep, never be prepared with what his PC was doing, and generally complained about how the game was run.
The group had some other problems that needed to be discussed (aside from what was going on with this guy), so we decides to have a group meeting, thinking it would be as good a time as any to talk to him about what was going on with him. We did indeed talk to him, but he was totally defensive, didn't think there was a problem on his part and that we were all just ganging up on him. He literally had a temper tantrum in front of us. This coming from a 30 year old man! If it wasn't so sad, it would've been funny. We told him if that's how he felt, then c-ya. No more discussion, just go and don't come back.
I have to say, that that was the most extreme case I've ever had to deal with and I hope that I, or anyone else out there, never has to deal with that again. (knock on wood)
Sorry for the long winded post, but I felt it needed a little background. |
"Nindyn vel'uss malar verin z'klaen tlu kyone ulu naut doera nindel vel'bolen nind malar."
Yasraena T'Sarran
Harper of Silverymoon |
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zemd
Master of Realmslore
France
1103 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2003 : 07:46:53
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quote:
Originally posted by branmakmuffin
quote:
Originally posted by zemd
quote:
Originally posted by branmakmuffin
Usually the only way to deal with DMs who emphasize "master" too much
I had this problem once
You had this problem yourself when you were just learning to DM, or you experienced this as player? I assume you mean the second case, but I just thought I'd make sure.
If it is indeed the second case, did you stop playing in the game? Honestly, as I said before (sorry for the redundancy of this post) I can't think of any way to deal with a lousy DM other than to quit the game.
It's the problem i had with my DM and ... i quitted |
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Alexis Merlin
Learned Scribe
USA
115 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2003 : 10:48:02
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Yasraena it sounds as though we have played with the same people at some point  !
My experience is very similar to yours with someone who was initially very good but gradually declined into a similar style to that which you described....unfortunately for me although the majority of my group agreed with me none of them would actually publicly support me over the matter - as it was in the end I thought 'what the hell' and 'had it out with him' though I should add that I did give my case in calm terms trying to be constructive, whereas his was quite the opposite. The end result was that I ended up being excluded from the group which I had helped found and had RPG'ed with for about 8 years. I guess the upside is that at least it got him off my back
I have experienced other bad DM's - one poor guy was far too nervous and ended up leaving half his gear and handouts back at his house...me and another experienced GM gave him some coaching after that.
More to come when I have time to write
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It is knowledge that influences and equalizes the social condition of man; that gives to all, however different their political position, passions which are in common, and enjoyments which are universal.
(Benjamin Disraeli)
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zemd
Master of Realmslore
France
1103 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2003 : 13:10:41
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| An other bad DM is the one that doesn't listen to his players likings. And of course the one that doesn't know the rules (last time i had the type of DM, it took 5hours to make 5 PCs! ) |
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branmakmuffin
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2003 : 16:55:49
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zemd:
quote:
An other bad DM is the one that doesn't listen to his players likings. And of course the one that doesn't know the rules (last time i had the type of DM, it took 5hours to make 5 PCs! )
At the risk of sounding argumentative, 1 hour per PC doesn't sound all that bad, unless all y'all did in that time was roll up stats. If that's all the DM manged to get done, then I agre with you 100%.
Getting your character completely made, providing him/her with some minimal background, equipping him/her, getting all the little anoying things figured out (like encumberance), etc., could take an hour. |
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zemd
Master of Realmslore
France
1103 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2003 : 17:36:01
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We all made that at once! Every one rolling the dices at the same time. FURTHERMORE, we used the simpliest version of creating character (random benefits/curses, ...). So 5 hours was A LOT!!!
At the end everyone was bored. And when we finally played, he didn't have prepared the scenario and he wasn't able to make one up. |
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Yasraena
Senior Scribe
USA
388 Posts |
Posted - 05 Apr 2003 : 07:28:07
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quote:
Originally posted by Alexis Merlin
Yasraena it sounds as though we have played with the same people at some point !
My experience is very similar to yours with someone who was initially very good but gradually declined into a similar style to that which you described....unfortunately for me although the majority of my group agreed with me none of them would actually publicly support me over the matter - as it was in the end I thought 'what the hell' and 'had it out with him' though I should add that I did give my case in calm terms trying to be constructive, whereas his was quite the opposite. The end result was that I ended up being excluded from the group which I had helped found and had RPG'ed with for about 8 years. I guess the upside is that at least it got him off my back
(sound of the Twilight Zone theme playing in the background... de de de de..de de de de...)
Too wierd! I can't believe how similar your experience was.
This guy was also a founding member of our group, and that was one of the really sad things about the whole situation: the drastic change from great player/GM to complete *sshole.
Funny how similar gamers from around the world can be, huh man? Are we an intense lot or what?  |
"Nindyn vel'uss malar verin z'klaen tlu kyone ulu naut doera nindel vel'bolen nind malar."
Yasraena T'Sarran
Harper of Silverymoon |
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ShadowPavement
Acolyte
11 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2003 : 13:30:07
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As a GM I ocationally have the problem of changing modes and thinking of new game styles to play. Consequently things get borring for players that I have had before since I like to reuse my better scenarios. It also starts to get all my NPC's looking and sounding all alike.
I found that one of the best ways to get around this a good long time away from the GM side of the screen. Read a bunch of books, watch a bunch of movies, go find a bunch of other games to play (preferably a completely different game than you run) and read alot of comics. After a few months of down time you've prabably now been exposed to enough new media and ideas that you can now start creating a new style of game and game plots/ideas from scratch, and it will all be new and fresh.
After every session (or at least every few session) I always try to ask my players how I am doing as a GM. The more feedback they can give me the better I can make the game for them. I do the same thing when I teach physics (hmmmm......dice rolling probability calculations in school :-P).
Just some thoughts. |
Some people would complain if you hanged them with a brand new rope.
-Hanibal Smith |
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Problem DM's
