How to stop player whining? Drama!

[Zelda Themelin]

I agree to an extent. Part of a good fight is explaining that "when the kobold sees his attack connect(he hits), he forces more power into the swing." no, it's not breaking it down for the players, but it's making them understand the opponent did something special in the attack to make it worse.
Your players are fighting toe-to-toe with these creatures, so while they shouldn't see their stats, their skills, their PCs can see what their opponents are doing. And therefore recognize when they do something special.

You said what I meant so much better. As to other thing you said, I think you are very wise.

 

[the Jester]

I disagree, this varies very much from group to group. And as my personal preferance goes didn't mean break down everything by numbers, but dm should describe if opponent seems to hit really hard (power attack), or hit you very nastily (crit or backstab) etc. Lol, and I shouldn't do or think anything, I dont' even play with you. But you probably meant it as generalization about your opinion.

Oh, absolutely- I'm totally for "Shifting into flanking, he puts all his force behind his swing, using combat advantage to nail you for- 40 points of damage!!!"

I'm talking about breaking it down like "Okay, he does 2d10+8... that's 29... plus 4 for power attack... plus 2d6 for sneak attack... that's 7... total of 40!"

That is what I object to. I'll make it obvious that combat advantage adds to the damage or whatever, but how much? The players have to make that call on their own.

 

[Zelda Themelin]

Oh, absolutely- I'm totally for "Shifting into flanking, he puts all his force behind his swing, using combat advantage to nail you for- 40 points of damage!!!"

I'm talking about breaking it down like "Okay, he does 2d10+8... that's 29... plus 4 for power attack... plus 2d6 for sneak attack... that's 7... total of 40!"

Ah, yes I don't prefer that 2d10+8 etc variation, but I am actually playing in one game which goes on exactly like that, well players do, dm uses your first variation. But I think partially it's because we decided to try out Alternity system which none of us knowns very well.

 

[Sunseeker]

Oh, absolutely- I'm totally for "Shifting into flanking, he puts all his force behind his swing, using combat advantage to nail you for- 40 points of damage!!!"

I'm talking about breaking it down like "Okay, he does 2d10+8... that's 29... plus 4 for power attack... plus 2d6 for sneak attack... that's 7... total of 40!"

That is what I object to. I'll make it obvious that combat advantage adds to the damage or whatever, but how much? The players have to make that call on their own.

Ah I see what you mean. I agree, for the most part. In some games I've run when damage is just too awesome NOT to roll(like 6d6 or something), I will roll it out in full view. Sure they know how much dice and what types, but I just LOVE their expressions when they see it.

 

[Doctor DM]

Update!

We played again and he was good. A ton of bad stuff happened actually and he was still good, so I'm thinking the issue has been solved. Huzzah for sitting down and working out problems like mature adults!

Our DM has done some stuff too to make it a little less frustrating for him too I've noticed. Not going easy on him, but just kind of working with his play style.

For example, we were talking to people trying to get info on a werewolf we were hunting, he asked someone about who clearly would have no idea, and she didn't but she pointed us in the right direction. (Well I don't know NOTHING about that, but i heard from Mrs. Carpenter that her cousins farm to the north has had their cattle gettin mauled by some sorta creature!) Something that was actually recomended on this thread.

Our party got beaten up pretty badly, he himself was unconscious, the bad guys got away, and he was fine.

There was ONE instance when some bad guys were able to avoid a booby trap we set for them, and was he kind of a downer about it, a little more than you should be about something like that. But it really wasn't much, and I think the only reason I even noticed is because I was looking for it.

So yeah, I think we're good now. Although he definitely still has the "us vs the DM" mentality, which could be bad in the future, but for now I think we are good. If anyone has any problems with someone in the group, I HIGHLY recommend just sitting down and working it out in a civilized manner, hopefully your results are as good as ours.

 

[steeldragons]

Glad to hear it. Hopefully his behavior maintains and his attitude continues/will continue to improve as he gets in more gaming experience.

Also glad to read the thread/community was helpful.

Have fun and happy gaming.
--Steel Dragons

 

[CharlesRyan]

Congrats!

 

[jbear]

I had a problematic player a while back. She was brand new to RPG and had a serious trust issue with my decisions, my role as a DM and the fairness of the game in general. I allowed her to look at my notes after a fight on a few occaisions so she could see I wasn't just making it all up as we went along, I gave her insight into monster mechanics and how I would describe things based on those mechanics in a more narrative way etc. etc. in an attempt to build her trust.

But the most effective thing by far was when I let her know that her complaining, veiled accustaions and arguing affected me personally, detracting from my enjoyment of the game. She took that on board far more than anything else. With a few weeks of patient reminders when that behaviour began to resurface, and a lot of positive reinforcement when she played well, she became my most ardent defender at the table, rounding up the other players when they lost focus and bring their attention back onto the game and the first person to say, 'right, so when do we play again next?'

Some people are more difficult than others to deal with, but in the end I don't think anyone consciously wants to be a dckhead or be a negative influence on others in a game they are enjoying.

 

[CharlesRyan]

Some people are more difficult than others to deal with, but in the end I don't think anyone consciously wants to be a dckhead or be a negative influence on others in a game they are enjoying.

Absolutely the truth. Just a matter of sussing out the approach that will work for moving that player away from their negative behavior.

 

[TarionzCousin]

So yeah, I think we're good now. Although he definitely still has the "us vs the DM" mentality....

Is anybody else reading this and thinking of this guy?