Is this DM bs or is it not?

[SonOfLilith]

Oh yeah, one more thing.

My Barb was the master of carnage. Befor he lost everything, I looked like a demon. (Red wings, triceritops helmat, white dragon armor.) and fought like one too. In large battles, the enemy resorted to blowing up there own buildings inorder to atempt to touch me. I think the power got to my head. I mean, I was +23/+18/+13 and had an AC of 32, and did over 30 damage in a single hit. I was a monster. I was looking for a chalange, and the DM kept on underestimating me. I guess with the harpies he overestimated. Now, don't call me hipocrytical, I just thought of this about 30 seconds ago. By taking away my stuff, (except my armor) he lowered my ability, and made it easier for me to be chalanged. If this was his intention, I am sorry for calling his call BS, although he coulda told me thats why, i wouldn't have minded. So, just another thought in my DM's defense.

 

[Altalazar]

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesy!

Unless it is part of some elaborately planned plot point from when you were first level, I say it is bogus DM BS.

If a DM feels he or she has given out to much magic, and wants it out, a more reasonable way to do it is just to honestly tell the players this, and then they can come to an agreement to rectify the situation. The players could then agree to get rid of the magic items somehow in-game. Perhaps they sell them. Perhaps they trade them for some other, less problematic magic (but of the player's choosing, or at least giving the player input and choice here, given that the situation is somewhat forced). Or perhaps they give them away, but then get in return a powerful ally, like a king, who will then owe them a HUGE favor, that they can collect on later. There are all sorts of possibilities that won't leave the player feeling cheated.

And I am one of those players that does think items are somewhat sacrosanct, at least to the point that just having them arbitrarily taken away is not really fun for anyone.

Losing your favorite magic weapon in the heat of combat on a bridge over a pool of lava due to some bad balance checks is one thing.

Losing it due to some super powerful beings that pop up out of nowhere at the DMs whim to take them away is something else entirely.

 

[Ds Da Man]

If you don't like your DM, or his style, stop whining and quit playing with him.....ohhhhh.......not going to do that are you? I think the barbarian has tons of stuff, and the rest of the party got the shaft. Good for the DM!
Another option could be to start DMing a campaign of your own. I'm sure the DM would like a chance to play also.

 

[EOL]

The DM probably made a bad call, but it sounds like your character was more than he could handle. Sometimes I think too much of the burden of keeping the game fun and balanced falls on the DM. If you character is an unstoppable combat monster and none of the characters are having fun any more because anything tough enough to challange you kills them, I think the character should bear some of the responsibility for trying to bring things back in line so that every one can have fun. DM's sometimes let things get away from them, and if you happen to notice that's the case, making an effort on your side to balance things makes it so the DM doesn't have to resort to heavy-handed tactics.

 

[Pielorinho]

The moral of the story is:

If your DM makes a questionable call, approach him politely about it afterwards, one on one, and talk with him about it.

He certainly had a reason for making the call; it may have been a legitimate reason. And if his reason was good but the call was still bad, maybe you can (nicely, politely, respectfully) suggest an alternative way he could achieve his goal. An alternative that you'd have more fun with.

Then you can thank him again for spending time preparing the game session, and leave on good terms.

--Or, you can post on message boards calling his decision BS.

'Round these parts, we say you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

Daniel
Southern Belladonna

 

[Wicht]

You know what amazes me at this point - Harpies attack a barbarian and they start a mile away from him by his own admission. He stops. He turns to attack them and loses the subsequent fight because he is muscle bound and weak willed and people are still blaming the DM for taking his items.

1) He did not have to fight apparently
2) Other players there did not see much wrong with it
3) The biggest concern is really why did the barbarian live through it, but really if I was a player I wouldn't complain... "why oh why did you let me live! Its not fair. I should be swimming with the fishies and pushing up daisies!"

As far as I am concerned, if you weren't privy to the workings of the DMs mind, making the call that this is a lousy DM based on the testimony of a guy who himself says his DM is really pretty good all things considered seems a bit of a stretch to me.