DM Schticks That Grind Your Gears

[Montague68]

When playing with a new DM, what sort of tricks/situations/DM techniques just make you grit your teeth? Here's a couple that get me:

1. The Railroad Adventure - Everyone's been involved with this one at one time or another. No matter what you do, the thingamabob will be stolen by whoseywhatsis with a whatchamacallit, and it will be the basis for the adventure - so let it be written, so let it be done. Deviating from the planned storyline is verboten, and any action that doesn't have anything to do with the planned adventure gets "you see nothing" or "nothing happens" responses. Veiled complaints from the players gets a "well there's Annoying NPC you can talk to...", and this continues until the players go along with the adventure out of sheer boredom, or revolt and start killing things or setting fires or other juvenile behavior a la KODT.

2. The Super-Competent Stealthy Omniscient NPC Who Must Constantly Harass The Party - This powerful foe has it in for the party for some unknown reason, and does what he can to make their lives miserable. He makes no mistakes, leaves no witnesses, and knows what the party is doing at all times so that he may strike at the worst... possible... moment. Interestingly enough however, he does not hate the PC's enough to outright kill them of course, he merely toys with them until such time as he can reveal himself to the PC's on his terms so that he and the party can engage in an Epic Battle (tm) in which said villain may or may not suffer a Mysterious Death (tm) in which his body is never found.

So what DM conventions really grind your gears?

 

[Asmor]

Most common one? People that roll for initiative every round.

Also in my current game, the DM uses a bunch of monsters from 3rd party sources that are... not very well balanced. For example, the CR3 demon Lust (seven deadly sins) with something like a DC 25 save to avoid being charmed. Every round until you fail it.

 

[ThirdWizard]

3. The directionless session. The DM gives no real information about the city or surrounding areas beyond what you specifically ask. The DM just keeps asking you what you're going to do, with no adventure hooks readily apparent and no real way for you to know what's out there for you to interact with.

 

[Montague68]

3. The directionless session. The DM gives no real information about the city or surrounding areas beyond what you specifically ask. The DM just keeps asking you what you're going to do, with no adventure hooks readily apparent and no real way for you to know what's out there for you to interact with.

The direct opposite of the railroad session and just as bad. Been there and done that too.

 

[Pbartender]

4. Perfectly Contrived Defense Bad Guys. The players build characters that are designed to be GOOD at doing a specific thing, whatever it may be, and every challenge or encounter the DM presents to the players is designed purposefully to negate the benefits of the PCs' preferred tactics.

For example: A player decides that he want his Rogue to be great at Sneak Attacking, so me maxes out the Bluff skill and takes the Improved Feint feat. Suddenly, practically the only creatures encountered are Undead, Constructs and Elementals. All other vulnerable enemies have maximum ranks in Sense Motive, are using portable concealment of some sort, and/or are walking on stilts so the Rogue cannot reach their vitals.

 

[Joshua Randall]

2. The Super-Competent Stealthy Omniscient NPC Who Must Constantly Harass The Party - [...] he merely toys with them until such time as he can reveal himself to the PC's on his terms so that he and the party can engage in an Epic Battle (tm) in which said villain may or may not suffer a Mysterious Death (tm) in which his body is never found.

I'm rather fond of this one, myself. Nothing like making the players truly hate a villainous NPC so that when they finally defeat him, it's extra satisfying.

But, my current DM-ing pet peeve:

DMs who make house rules about core rules that really shouldn't be modified and that cause unwanted downstream effects. Example, allowing a 5-foot step after movement in combat. Umm, wow.

 

[soulforge]

5. Players seem to fail when being creative. The shop keeper that magically can cast spells and fight. It just alway's seemed that when I tried to have "fun" like trying to rob a bar keep, inn keep, or bank that I would alway's fail.

Basically if it was me doing something none main adventure necessary my wings were clipped like Icarus.

 

[the_mighty_agrippa]

My Old PC Runs This Bar

Or whatever. The DMs old characters have not only been advanced to high levels and positions of power, but have enough spare time to bust the party's balls while serving them ale.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

DMPCs. If the party needs a short-duration NPC to assist the party, or as a story hook, fine -- but not a permanent NPC who gains experience alongside the party and is run by the DM as a PC (especially when said PC becomes omniscient and more capable than the party). Either play or DM, but don't try to do both at the same time.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

So far, almost everything has made me mentally grind my teeth.

I actually can deal with railroading to a certain extent. If it's made clear that I need to take the Thingiemabob to Mount Bobameigniht, I'll play the game. As long as I get to do my share of role-playing, monster-bashing, and problem-solving, I'll be fine.

But what I hate is when the DM punishes you for not following the tracks, even when they are presented to be so unpalatable that your character would never have anything to do with the plot in the first place.