JoeGKushner
Adventurer
the dreade ditto post. More controlling as by railroading the campaign? More controlling as in limiting rules allowed? More controlling as in not letting players take certain actions?
Save me from my DM
- Thread starter Squnk
- Start date
the Jester
Legend
Can you be specific about what he's doing? Is he trying to control your choices? If so, he may want to try writing instead of dming to get that story out. In D&D, the best-laid plans of dms either go completely awry at the first touch of the pcs or else turn into unbending railroads; either way, it's easy for people to lose the fun (either dm or players).
Ultimately, if he sucks, someone else should step and dm before everyone stops having fun.
Ultimately, if he sucks, someone else should step and dm before everyone stops having fun.
purgatorybound
First Post
Yea, Squnk, can you tell us more of what he does thats critical? Maybe the things you think are critical aren't really that bad, if you and the DM talk about them and understand whats up. I have been DMing for a while and I have found the best way to have a great story is to let the PCs bring it together. Introduce a few interesting NPCs and few interesting plot ideas, but then you have to let the PCs have their freedom.
For Example, one time I had a dungeon created with a very interesting goblin merchant in on of the chambers. I spent several hours coming up with a personality that offered something that each PC and player would enjoy, however the party never explored that particular part of the dungeon. Instead of trying to railroad them into that area, I just later introduced my new NPC in a village setting where they were "forced" to meet him becasue he was the only merchant in town. Everyone loved him and he became a regular NPC in that campaign. All this was due to the fact that I didn't get upset when they didn't explore that room, instead I made it work out in the end where everyone won... I got my NPC into the campaing and the PCs found a new friend to help em out
For Example, one time I had a dungeon created with a very interesting goblin merchant in on of the chambers. I spent several hours coming up with a personality that offered something that each PC and player would enjoy, however the party never explored that particular part of the dungeon. Instead of trying to railroad them into that area, I just later introduced my new NPC in a village setting where they were "forced" to meet him becasue he was the only merchant in town. Everyone loved him and he became a regular NPC in that campaign. All this was due to the fact that I didn't get upset when they didn't explore that room, instead I made it work out in the end where everyone won... I got my NPC into the campaing and the PCs found a new friend to help em out
howandwhy99
Adventurer
Other than asking for more info from your first post, I'd say the DM has no business critiquing your play. It's a difference between a DM and a referee attempting to objectively relate what's behind the screen.
Can he give you advice between sessions? Or some clues, if you're stuck? Some folks do, but the game isn't about setting others up, so the guy running it can belittle them.
EDIT:
If by control you mean he is dictating the player's actions, then I suggest telling him you did not sign on for that. Talk about it personally or as a group and find out what's expected for this game. Is it follow the GM's path? Or shared storytelling? Or cooperative world puzzle solving? Best to find out first.
Can he give you advice between sessions? Or some clues, if you're stuck? Some folks do, but the game isn't about setting others up, so the guy running it can belittle them.
EDIT:
If by control you mean he is dictating the player's actions, then I suggest telling him you did not sign on for that. Talk about it personally or as a group and find out what's expected for this game. Is it follow the GM's path? Or shared storytelling? Or cooperative world puzzle solving? Best to find out first.
Hussar
Legend
HowandWhy said:
Well, that's not entirely fair though either. There's nothing wrong with a DM offering some constructive criticism to players. "Hey, you guys didn't seem to like X very much. I really wasn't expecting you to set fire to the Mayor's cat. Why did you do that?" isn't out of line from most DM's.
But, generally, I agree with everyone else here. Need a bit more to go on before I can offer anything constructive.
kitsune9
Adventurer
Usually most DMs ask the players, "Did you guys have fun?" Anything else, they may ask for feedback, but this is usually the most glossed-over question when in fact it's the most important to answer.
Players should be willing to say flat-out, "No." This gets the DM's attention and opens the conversation as to why. If he doesn't, or is not concerned, then that's indicative that he doesn't need to be DM anymore. Here is where you critique the DM, because it carries a lot more weight to say, "No, I didn't have fun because of X, Y, and Z." instead of saying "Yes, I had fun, but you did X, Y, and Z which could use improvement / changes / blah, blah, blah". The DM heard you at "Yes, I had fun" and then will wait for the Cliff Notes to come out on the rest of what you said. Star Trek comes on in an hour.
If my players tell me that they are not having fun in my game, it's my job to fix it and fix it quickly because the campaign's success will eventually ride on my willingness to respond to complaints or issues.
I had a DM a long time ago who was fairly imaginative, but there were two things about him that myself and the other players didn't like--1) he hated running any kind of combat and avoided dice rolling if he could help it. If we encountered goblins or whatever, he had them run away or call the fight in the our favor. 2) he railroaded us to the point that he stated what our character reactions were at times until he had to frequently correct him which only irked him.
At the beginning of the last session with him, we all had a sitdown with him and complained to him that we'd like some combats, get the dice rolling, etc. His reaction was to us that if we didn't like the game, we could always quit the game. We gave him one last session and kicked him out of the house after that.
Players should be willing to say flat-out, "No." This gets the DM's attention and opens the conversation as to why. If he doesn't, or is not concerned, then that's indicative that he doesn't need to be DM anymore. Here is where you critique the DM, because it carries a lot more weight to say, "No, I didn't have fun because of X, Y, and Z." instead of saying "Yes, I had fun, but you did X, Y, and Z which could use improvement / changes / blah, blah, blah". The DM heard you at "Yes, I had fun" and then will wait for the Cliff Notes to come out on the rest of what you said. Star Trek comes on in an hour.
If my players tell me that they are not having fun in my game, it's my job to fix it and fix it quickly because the campaign's success will eventually ride on my willingness to respond to complaints or issues.
I had a DM a long time ago who was fairly imaginative, but there were two things about him that myself and the other players didn't like--1) he hated running any kind of combat and avoided dice rolling if he could help it. If we encountered goblins or whatever, he had them run away or call the fight in the our favor. 2) he railroaded us to the point that he stated what our character reactions were at times until he had to frequently correct him which only irked him.
At the beginning of the last session with him, we all had a sitdown with him and complained to him that we'd like some combats, get the dice rolling, etc. His reaction was to us that if we didn't like the game, we could always quit the game. We gave him one last session and kicked him out of the house after that.
Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
If the game isn't to the players' liking, perhaps one of you should offer to DM for a bit. Perhaps your DM can learn by watching the example of someone whose style better fits the group.
If he's electrified the chairs then yes, he's gone too far.
On thing I did when I wasn't sure if the players were enjoying themselves was at the end of a game I gave everyone a 3x5 index card and asked them to answer three questions.
What was your favorite part of this game?
What was your least favorite part of this game?
What direction would you like to see the campaign go?
I also told them to write down any other suggestions too.
On thing I did when I wasn't sure if the players were enjoying themselves was at the end of a game I gave everyone a 3x5 index card and asked them to answer three questions.
What was your favorite part of this game?
What was your least favorite part of this game?
What direction would you like to see the campaign go?
I also told them to write down any other suggestions too.
