I quit 4e-DM after my first day.

[Jackex]

So, I've played with this group of friends on many things, DnD 3.5 and 4e, card games, ect. My first time being a DM on a game, we did 4e and I made the mistake to tell my players to be creative and have fun with their characters. Some of them came up with interesting characters, one of them being, the Paladin was cursed by their god until they could redeem themselves and was not allowed to use a weapon. So she used a second shield as an improvised weapon.

Anyway, the first 30 minutes went well, every one enjoyed the role playing, had a quick fight, and run into a ship captain. Well I now find out my players decided to secretly play chaotic/evil except for the paladin. So while the paladin is on the ship, they killed the captain on the docks. I had them captured by the crew, and tossed in the hold to be executed. At this point i'm trying to recover some form of the story I had with an important character dead. Everything went downhill from there, after they broke out, killed the crew, the dragonborn starting eating people, the human warlock started sacrificing people to his god, and the third started to skin people. Paladin tries to stop them, and gets killed by the other players.

I say screw you guys, I quit. Why do I play with such jerks. After wards I find out, nothing was really planned by them and the fact I said "creative" lead two of them to believe they could do anything they wanted.
This is why I've quit DnD permanently.

 

[tallyrand]

Yeah...um, I don't think that it's the game that is the problem here.

 

[Vorput]

Next time, you could just- you know... tell them they can only play good-aligned characters?

 

[Crothian]

This is why I've quit DnD permanently.

D&D did not do this; the players did. I've seen this type of thing happen in Vampire, GURPS, M&M, Shadowrun, and other games. Sometimes players that never had issues just come up with some character and they go over board in one of these ways.

Talk to the players and see if they understand your frustration. Work on getting a group concept instead of having everyone just create individuals on their own. There is nothing wrong with restricting character ideas either and in some ways it is actually a great thing to do.

 

[falcarrion]

Don't quit. turn the tables on them. Start setting up ecounters with good characters that are out to bring them in dead or alive. Tell them every where they go what they did is out and every bounty hunter around is after them. Have palidins, rangers, assasins, avengers, city guard etc. chase them and hunt them down. Have them on the run. don't give them a moment of peace.

 

[Rechan]

The players took advantage of your first time DMing and decided to be asshats.

You also need to spell out a few restrictions. "Be anything you want..." has a "within reason" tacked on the end. If it's a low magic world, you don't want one of the players playing the floating head of a God's statue. In a Horror game, a happy-go-lucky character ruins the mood.

Setting up parameters like "Have whatever background/concept you want, AS LONG AS it fits into my game". And in this case, "Psychopath" is not what will fit.

 

[Dark Mistress]

Quit playing a game because of what the players did? Really? Just wow.

 

[malraux]

Setting up parameters like "Have whatever background/concept you want, AS LONG AS it fits into my game". And in this case, "Psychopath" is not what will fit.

Well, with the exception of paranoia, psychopath should always be outlawed.

 

[dmccoy1693]

I have to agree with others. It was not 4E that did this. It was the players. You made a common rookie DM mistake: you gave your players to much freedom. That might not sound like a bad thing, but ... things happen like what happened in your game. You're not along in this. Many of us (including myself one upon a time) have done that. Give them limits within which to channel their energy into and they will surprise you on just how creative they can be. Feel free to limit power sources, alignments, locations where you can be from, etc.

 

[TarionzCousin]

When you and your players have graduated from high school, hopefully they will have matured enough to play sensibly.

Admin note: This kind of veiled insult isn't appropriate. Don't do it.