Things I hate

Gundark · May 13, 2003

There are things that I have to a DM do when i play D&D. Just wanted to see what others thought.

#1 Use a grid...I can't say how much I HATE it when DM's don't do this.
Player: How many guys did I get with that fireball?
DM: unnnn maybe 5
Player: But you said that they were grouped together...at least 10
DM: Well...that's not what i meant...
It's just not area spells, certain feats require you to know where people in relation to their character. Not to mention AoO.

#2 use the rules...I have seen dome DM's who ad lib rules as they go...I understand making a decision on the spot to keep the game going..but not being consistent or not bothing to learn the rules....ugh

#3 I hate it when DMs are santa claus with xp..money...magic items..etc. I may seem weird by saying this but 3rd edition is a game of balance, give too little or too much disrupts that. I like to feel tht I have earned a magic item.
Some DMs say thing like" Well I hand out magic items liberally and let your characters be tough...but I balance it out with tough encounters". It's been my experience that players are resourcful, and this just isn't the case. They end up walking through the challenges and end up being bored. I like a game that's challenging and tough at times...if it's too easy then I get bored.

Well those are the 3 things I hate that DM's do. Just want to see what others thought..and what things they hate that DMs do.

BiggusGeekus@Work · May 13, 2003

Yeah, no grid. We managed to get without in 1e & 2e, but you always had at least one misunderstanding per game about who is where and doing what.

My beef is with character abilities that the DM won't let them use. Like having a ranger and never getting to track anything because the DM doesn't want you going striaght to the bad guy's hideout. Or being a cleric with a high charisma and extra turning and then never running into any undead. Stuff like that.

Oh, and dont' get me started on rogues and modules that are full of undead, oozes, and golems.

Psion · May 13, 2003

I personally can live without a grid except for in crowded, complicated combats. All it takes is the players being willing to act on their intent and ask the right questions, like "how far apart are the three orcs? Less than 20 feat? Good, I fireball 'em!"

For more info, see:
http://www.montecook.com/arch_dmonly21.html

Mouseferatu · May 13, 2003

Psion said:
I personally can live without a grid except for in crowded, complicated combats. All it takes is the players being willing to act on their intent and ask the right questions, like "how far apart are the three orcs? Less than 20 feat? Good, I fireball 'em!"

For more info, see:
http://www.montecook.com/arch_dmonly21.html

Ditto. I use a grid only for the most complex battles, and I've never had any major misunderstandings--and very few minor ones--in any game I ran since 3E came out.

Frankly, my pet peeve is the opposite--DMs who use grids for even the simplest battles. Slows things down and turns combat from an imaginative scene into a square-counting exercise.

IME, of course. Not saying people can't or shouldn't play that way.

Drawmack · May 13, 2003

I am a big proponent of the GRID.

I use them all the time. Especaially when the players are wandering around in a dungeon. I draw on the grid and they move on the grid. At the end of it all we've got a nice big map of the dungeon we can take a picture off and hang on the conqured wall.

Maraxle · May 13, 2003

Gundark said:
#2 use the rules...I have seen dome DM's who ad lib rules as they go...I understand making a decision on the spot to keep the game going..but not being consistent or not bothing to learn the rules....ugh

Personally, I'm a big fan of the ad lib, as both a DM and player. I try to be as consistent as I can, but I'd rather be slightly inconsistent and have a fun game than stick exactly to the rules for the sake of sticking to the rules. Like if the swashbuckler in the party decides that he wants to swing from the chandelier and kick the goblin into the fireplace, and technically he shouldn't be able to reach the chandelier or something, I'd rather let him do it than say no. I like the dramatic flare that it provides.

Actually, I see the Hero Points or whatever they're called in Arcana Unearthed as a controlled method of bending the rules, so I will probably be looking into that as soon as it's released.

I whole heartedly agree with your other 2 points. I'd also like to add a pet peeve of my own - Uncreative DMs. We used the critical hit/critical miss idea in the last campaign I was a player in, and the DM was rather uncreative about it. Whenever someone had a critical miss, they invariably dropped their weapon. No broken weapons, weapons getting stuck in the floor, accidentally hitting something unintended, nothing. Just "he dropped his weapon." It became so predictable that it became a running joke in subsequent campaigns.

Nail · May 13, 2003

(OT: There are people who don't use grids? Wow. That sounds like a nightmare.)

Of my list of things (as a player) I hate:

#1) Whimpy DMs: Darn it, if I'm gonna be out there swinging a sword or slinging spells, I expect some Real Danger(tm). There should be at least one encounter out of every 4 or 5 that is very difficult, and might lead to at least one PC death.

#2) Unreasonable senarios: Things had better "make sense" once all is known and the adventure is over. Plots should be tight, and NPCs should have legitamate plans and goals. This works two ways: A)If the villians have reason to be prepared for the PC, then they should be,; and B) If villians do not have reason to expect a certain PC tactic, then they should NOT be prepared for it.

#3) Other players Who Are A Pain: ....and that's all I'm gonna say about that.

Gothmog · May 13, 2003

1) No grid for combats. I have used battlemats since 1E, and I don't see how its posible to play without them- it just makes combat that much clearer. Without them, nobody would have any idea where another character was in relation to them.

2) Plot Nazis. I can't emphasize this one enough. A RPG is NOT a novel or movie- the DM should give the players some choice in their actions. Linear adventures just completely turn me off as shoddy design.

3) Monty Haul campaigns. The type where in the first adventure, every member of the group finds a +1 weapon, as well as some other goody. Usually the adventures are a cakewalk, and the problem only escalates from there as the DM has to give his NPCs more magical goodies to be a threat to the PCs, but those same items end up in PC hands. I have walked out of several games like this.

4) DMs who design adventures around 1 PC, aka "Golden Boy Syndrome". Basically, every other PC is given a supporting role to the golden boy. Sometimes the golden boy is the favorite NPC of the DM, in which case it is doubly obnoxious.

drnuncheon · May 13, 2003

Gothmog said:
4) DMs who design adventures around 1 PC, aka "Golden Boy Syndrome". Basically, every other PC is given a supporting role to the golden boy.

This one isn't so bad, if it's not always the same player.

J

JacktheRabbit · May 13, 2003

Gothmog said:
1) No grid for combats. I have used battlemats since 1E, and I don't see how its posible to play without them- it just makes combat that much clearer. Without them, nobody would have any idea where another character was in relation to them.

Do you really need a grid?

Use a blank mat, mini's, and a ruler or tape measure for movement. I find that works quite well and you do not have to deal with those annoying situations due to diagonal movement.