Venting About Shitty Railroad GM

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Hiram McDaniels
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Venting About Shitty Railroad GM

Post by Hiram McDaniels »

Alright I'll try to keep this succinct:

The campaign starts with a couple small adventures around a small coastal village and the looming threat of some great apocalypse. Party successfully passes the adventures, but the apocalypse happens anyway. GM admits this outcome would have been inevitable no matter what the party did.

Ok. Maybe one time it's fine just to set the stakes of the campaign. Still, that's strike one.

Strike 2: Annoying GM PC. This character is the type who pushes the big red button that says "Do Not Push". This would be forgivable if it was just a PC who likes to instigate, but this is a character controlled by the GM who is well aware of what the consequences will be in advance. In essence, he exists to make sure that the party does not miss out on all of the bull shit gotcha crap that the GM had planned. Successfully sneaks past an encounter? GMPC loudly taunts enemies to get their attention. Decided not to interact with the thing that was obviously foreshadowed as being dangerous? GMPC pokes it with a stick. Circumvent a trap-filled room? GMPC sets of all the traps. Tell GMPC to leave the group because they are a liability? GMPC says "naw".

Strike 3: According to the GM, theirs is a living world with a number of large-scale threats brewing. When the party confronts one threat, there is another happening elsewhere that we won't be there to stop. This is fine and good. However, in one adventure the party encounters a situation teetering precariously on the brink of cataclysm, and all we have to do to avoid it is not fuck with the THING. Combat encounter ensues, but the challenge is perfectly manageable. GM keeps subtlely prodding one PC into a specific course of action, which sets off a sequence of events wherein the THING gets fucked with and apocalypse #2 happens.

So that's two apocalypses which were going to happen regardless of the party's intervention because they are part of the GM's metaplot. So really our presence does not determine the outcome of the situation, only the cut scene that we get to watch.

Now typically I would have fucked off by now, but my wife is also playing in this game with two of her best friends and it's important to her that I am there, and it is important to me not to let my wife down so I'm pretty much stuck. One thing's for certain though: I'm going to murder that GMPC first chance I get.
Last edited by Hiram McDaniels on Fri Nov 03, 2017 5:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
The most dangerous game is man. The most entertaining game is Broadway Puppy Ball. The most weird game is Esoteric Bear.
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Aryxbez
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Post by Aryxbez »

The Final Sentence pleased me, and pretty much what I or anyone in my group would've done the moment he "loudly taunted" after stealthing past. Seriously, once he said "naw" to leaving, why didn't you, or the Party simply just KO this guy, and/or Party vote for the DM to get rid of this NPC?

How did the DM Subtly Prod the PC into starting Apocalypse #2? Also, the Cutscenes any good at all at least?

Finally I assume this is D&D, Rocket-Tag Edition, so GMPC should go down easy? (Unless he's going to be the game's sephiroth)
What I find wrong w/ 4th edition: "I want to stab dragons the size of a small keep with skin like supple adamantine and command over time and space to death with my longsword in head to head combat, but I want to be totally within realistic capabilities of a real human being!" --Caedrus mocking 4rries

"the thing about being Mister Cavern [DM], you don't blame players for how they play. That's like blaming the weather. Weather just is. You adapt to it. -Ancient History
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RobbyPants
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Post by RobbyPants »

That sucks. Your two best courses of action are pretty much completely cut off.

Normally, I'd say to talk to the DM as a group and explain why this is frustrating, in hopes that it stops. Failing that, I'd just, right in front of him, set up a new game with the other players in the exact same time slot, over at my place, and poach every last person out from under him. Of course, you're stuck playing with your wife and her friends.

Does anyone else seem to care?

As for murdering the DMPC, you're pretty well fucked. It sounds like a living, breathing plot device that is likely immune to anything you could do. I assume any of its rolls are done behind the screen?
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Hiram McDaniels
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Post by Hiram McDaniels »

Aryxbez wrote:The Final Sentence pleased me, and pretty much what I or anyone in my group would've done the moment he "loudly taunted" after stealthing past. Seriously, once he said "naw" to leaving, why didn't you, or the Party simply just KO this guy, and/or Party vote for the DM to get rid of this NPC?
There are a couple different factors at play:

This GMPC is often the conduit through which the party receives quests, which in turn drives the plot forward. Of course, I realize I can always just tell the GM "Fuck you and your adventure thread; I'm going to go strong arm the local bandits into becoming my henchmen and overthrow the mayor instead", but the other players are newer and content to see where the rails take them. Whenever we've had enough of this jack hole's antics, GMPC also pulls some story hook out of his ass.


Also, we often have guest players who sit in on our sessions. They're usually given the GMPC to play. Hmmm...and I think I just figured out how to arrange his death.
Aryxbez wrote:How did the DM Subtly Prod the PC into starting Apocalypse #2? Also, the Cutscenes any good at all at least?
So there's a dungeon. In this dungeon is a room with four obelisks sealing the gateway to the fuck you dimension. GMPC dicks around and causes a couple hulking undead brutes to attack us. It's a perfectly manageable encounter and the party has almost a full load out of spells, HP, etc.

Cleric's turn comes up and the GM reminds him: you can turn undead, you can turn undead, why don't you turn undead? Cleric turns undead and zombie brutes go apeshit, breaking the obelisks and unleashing the apocalypse.

Perhaps I misspoke before; this wasn't at all subtle.
Aryxbez wrote: Finally I assume this is D&D, Rocket-Tag Edition, so GMPC should go down easy? (Unless he's going to be the game's sephiroth)
5E. There's no absolute guarantee until forcecage comes online.
The most dangerous game is man. The most entertaining game is Broadway Puppy Ball. The most weird game is Esoteric Bear.
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Hiram McDaniels
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Post by Hiram McDaniels »

RobbyPants wrote:That sucks. Your two best courses of action are pretty much completely cut off.

Normally, I'd say to talk to the DM as a group and explain why this is frustrating, in hopes that it stops. Failing that, I'd just, right in front of him, set up a new game with the other players in the exact same time slot, over at my place, and poach every last person out from under him. Of course, you're stuck playing with your wife and her friends.

Does anyone else seem to care?
The other players get momentarily annoyed, but it's more about getting together and spending quality time than the quality of the game, so they're willing to put up with it.
RobbyPants wrote:As for murdering the DMPC, you're pretty well fucked. It sounds like a living, breathing plot device that is likely immune to anything you could do. I assume any of its rolls are done behind the screen?
Yup. All done behind the screen.

The only real option is to find a way to cross off GMPC that is immune to fudged saving throws.

This character is often given to visiting players to run. Next time one of my hometown buddies is in town, I could invite them to the game and just have them control GMPC and kamikaze him to death. Suicide by dragon or somesuch.

Of course, GMPC would likely just wind up getting raised off screen, or the entire session might just get retconned away. Who knows.
The most dangerous game is man. The most entertaining game is Broadway Puppy Ball. The most weird game is Esoteric Bear.
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Aryxbez
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Post by Aryxbez »

Hiram McDaniels wrote:5E. There's no absolute guarantee until forcecage comes online.
Makes sense, then it would be come a bit more obvious that he's cheating. Though the "cage" part he might say he can squeeze through despite the rules, but the box version could suffocate him to death ideally. Otherwise, I was gonna point out that Skeleton Army should do him in much sooner by 6th, instead of waiting 13th level.


I hope the arranged death works out for you, though if not, I would vote to simply use the height of the other players annoyance to rally them to group beatdown the NPC. Though if he's willing to retcon, that would be far too obvious and I imagine even the casual player would bawk at such an outrage. If he's willing to do that, then he's just as likely to cheat the above Forcecage as well.

Sucks you guys are playing 5e, this NPC really does raise my Ire, and I would just have my PC beat up the DMPC, and incinerate the body and bury the ashes so there's nothing left to "Revive".
What I find wrong w/ 4th edition: "I want to stab dragons the size of a small keep with skin like supple adamantine and command over time and space to death with my longsword in head to head combat, but I want to be totally within realistic capabilities of a real human being!" --Caedrus mocking 4rries

"the thing about being Mister Cavern [DM], you don't blame players for how they play. That's like blaming the weather. Weather just is. You adapt to it. -Ancient History
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