Last night, our group wrapped up a long-running Feng Shui game, and while it was mostly loads of fun, there was one odd moment that led to some bruised feelings. I was just an observer, not a participant, but I'd be interested in what the rest of you make of it.
We were in a multi-boss fight. Player A and Player B both targeted one of the bosses, which was some kind of eldritch abomination in the shape of a hound. Player A was trying to get the hound to chase his PC (PC-A), while Player B was trying to get her PC (PC-B) to grapple the hound. At one point, PC-A called out to PC-B to let the hound go because PC-A had a plan, and PC-B complied.
A round or two later, the hound attacked PC-B, and the GM rolled double sixes, which means something spectacular and unusual happens. The GM ruled that PC-B ended up standing in the hound's mouth, holding it open. Player B got very excited and said she knew exactly what she was going to do on her next attack (breathe fire into the hound's gullet).
However, Player A had a turn before that happened. He declared that he was having PC-A whack the hound on the nose and then attack it. He rolled really well, so the GM ruled that PC-A took PC-B's place in the hound's mouth, although this was not Player A's stated intention with the attack. Player B still got to make the breath attack on her next turn, but now she had to do it at a penalty to avoid hitting PC-A.
Afterward, Player B felt miffed about the whole thing. She said she felt like she had been a good sport by letting Player A have his moment earlier, and she hadn't been allowed to have her moment in return. She brought it up privately afterward with the GM via e-mail, and his response was "Try not to let other players' dice rolls spoil your fun."
(I've tried to give the minimum necessary amount of context for the story to make sense, but there are other interpersonal and game factors that might make a difference. I'll clarify if they seem to become relevant.)
So--what do you folks think? Was Player A too aggressive? Was Player B too sensitive? Did the GM handle it badly? If this situation came up at your table, what would you do?
We were in a multi-boss fight. Player A and Player B both targeted one of the bosses, which was some kind of eldritch abomination in the shape of a hound. Player A was trying to get the hound to chase his PC (PC-A), while Player B was trying to get her PC (PC-B) to grapple the hound. At one point, PC-A called out to PC-B to let the hound go because PC-A had a plan, and PC-B complied.
A round or two later, the hound attacked PC-B, and the GM rolled double sixes, which means something spectacular and unusual happens. The GM ruled that PC-B ended up standing in the hound's mouth, holding it open. Player B got very excited and said she knew exactly what she was going to do on her next attack (breathe fire into the hound's gullet).
However, Player A had a turn before that happened. He declared that he was having PC-A whack the hound on the nose and then attack it. He rolled really well, so the GM ruled that PC-A took PC-B's place in the hound's mouth, although this was not Player A's stated intention with the attack. Player B still got to make the breath attack on her next turn, but now she had to do it at a penalty to avoid hitting PC-A.
Afterward, Player B felt miffed about the whole thing. She said she felt like she had been a good sport by letting Player A have his moment earlier, and she hadn't been allowed to have her moment in return. She brought it up privately afterward with the GM via e-mail, and his response was "Try not to let other players' dice rolls spoil your fun."
(I've tried to give the minimum necessary amount of context for the story to make sense, but there are other interpersonal and game factors that might make a difference. I'll clarify if they seem to become relevant.)
So--what do you folks think? Was Player A too aggressive? Was Player B too sensitive? Did the GM handle it badly? If this situation came up at your table, what would you do?
