Whining & Complaining

[Kzach]

These examples all come from a group I joined that was already established but whom I eventually DM'd for because no-one else would and we wouldn't have had a game otherwise.

Annoying Player #1: after our sixth session when the PC's were third-level (they were long sessions) and we had to introduce a new player, "How come he gets more magical items than us? And he gets to choose exactly which items he wants?" The new player's PC got 1 extra magical item which was a vanilla +1 longsword. I tried to explain the new PC rules but this player wouldn't let it go and then DEMANDED he be given a laundry list of his chosen magical items... or else...

Annoying Player #2: at this stage I was still just a player and was playing a streetwise style con-artist rogue with no ranks in Perception and Wisdom as my dump stat. The ranger player insisted I go ahead of the party and check for traps, despite his character having a 22 passive perception. When I tried to explain to him that this was 4e and that not all rogues were built to detect traps, he chucked a hissy fit and INSISTED that I go first because that's what rogues do, or he wasn't going to continue playing and began calling 4e a crappy system.

Annoying Player #3: every goddamn five minutes of play, he would reference something out of game. This player is the primary reason for my dislike of Order of the Stick because he would reference it for EVERYTHING that would happen in game. My rogue would do something and he'd immediately pipe up that I was playing my rogue so like the rogue in OotS. I switched PC's 'cause we needed a defender in the party and lo and behold, everything I did with this new PC was like one of the characters in OotS. But it wasn't just OotS, it was Monty Python, Buffy, Star Trek, etc. etc. and it really was every few minutes, not just a couple of random quotes during a session.

Annoying Group: when I first offered to DM I stated exactly what I was going to run and how I was going to run it. There was no subterfuge whatsoever. I was very blunt and said right from the get-go, "If you don't like how I intend to run things, then I'm happy not to DM and in fact would prefer to play anyway, but if you want me to DM, then this is how I'm going to do it." They all happily agreed to everything I laid down in front of them during a session of discussion over the matter. That is several HOURS of discussion on things. Then two weeks (we missed a week due to a couple of people having other commitments) passed during which I answered questions, set up a forum, posted all information and rules that we'd previously discussed, and asked for feedback and made sure (as in asked everyone to post in the forum that they had read and understood and were ok with everything) that they were ready. It gets to game time and suddenly everyone says they don't like my setting or my house rules and blame me for 'springing' all these elements on them at the last minute.

This particular group had many other quirks to it that pissed me off. These were just the ones I recall off the top of my head. Because my best friend was also in the group, I kept going long after I was sick and tired of them. After I left, he continued and became DM. Later on, he admitted to me that I was right to leave and that they were a bunch of whiny tools. The only reason he kept going was 'cause he was keen on playing, even if it was with a crappy group.

 

[Agamon]

An interesting idea just came to me about this.

Player: What's all their Charisma scores?

DM: One is 12, one is 15, one is 9, one is 11, one is 24, one is 10, and the last is 14.

It would be interesting to see the Player's reaction. Would he go for the 24, or would he be scared?

Even more interesting would be to let him know afterwords that Charisma and looks are only very loosely associated. (That 24 might look like a female Abe Lincoln )

 

[Mallus]

(That 24 might look like a female Abe Lincoln )

"Dude, you just hit on Hitler!"

(does this still count as Godwin-ing?)

 

[Agamon]

"Dude, you just hit on Hitler!"

(does this still count as Godwin-ing?)

LOL

How about Ghengis Kahn? ...and he's not pleased!

 

[Dice4Hire]

If this is 1E or 2E (I forget which) go with the negative charisma so low it looks good.

 

[Oryan77]

Sounds like some craziness, but you consistently kept your cool and tried to maintain communication. Good for you!

I am kind of surprised you have flown off the handle a few times.

I'm sure I've lost it a few times. I do have a short fuse and I used to let people argue with me to the point where I'd start raising my voice in frustration. I've learned to stop letting myself get to that point and I no longer will play with people that do these sort of things. I've always shown people respect, especially since I'd never be like that with my DM (definitely not with someone that I barely know).

one of the biggest complaints or whining I used to get was when people would make assumptions, ran with them, were upset when they did not pan out, and presumed I was doing something wrong.

I dealt with that same thing early in my DMing career. It's actually a tough spot to be in. Besides pleading to them to remember to trust me and that I'm not playing against them, one way that I kept players from thinking like that is by having all of my NPCs along with their gear and spells written out on paper. So they know I'm not just pulling some shenanigans just to thwart them. It seemed to help a lot.

It would be interesting to see the Player's reaction. Would he go for the 24, or would he be scared?

Even more interesting would be to let him know afterwords that Charisma and looks are only very loosely associated. (That 24 might look like a female Abe Lincoln )

He would have definitely went for the 24 charisma if I simply just told him the scores. Part of the 30 minute arguing was me explaining how a charisma score doesn't only relate to looks. He kept agreeing with me. He also kept agreeing with me that I shouldn't metagame and tell him the scores. But then he kept saying things like, "....but is she like an 18 charisma or more like a 20 or higher charisma?!?!" It made no sense.

He wasn't even satisfied when I kept saying that she's an elf and she's the best looking person in the tavern. We kept having discussions about individual perceptions, whether or not a super model is better looking than a regular model, etc, etc. We weren't having these discussions because we were just wondering. We were having them because we were trying to solve whether or not his PC thinks a woman is an 18 Cha (or even higher) or if she is "very attractive" but that could mean she's only a 16 Cha.

The funny thing is, he became a good friend of mine that I still occasionally talk to. I just never bring that day up. I don't want to relive it.

 

[Agamon]

He would have definitely went for the 24 charisma if I simply just told him the scores. Part of the 30 minute arguing was me explaining how a charisma score doesn't only relate to looks. He kept agreeing with me. He also kept agreeing with me that I shouldn't metagame and tell him the scores. But then he kept saying things like, "....but is she like an 18 charisma or more like a 20 or higher charisma?!?!" It made no sense.

He wasn't even satisfied when I kept saying that she's an elf and she's the best looking person in the tavern. We kept having discussions about individual perceptions, whether or not a super model is better looking than a regular model, etc, etc. We weren't having these discussions because we were just wondering. We were having them because we were trying to solve whether or not his PC thinks a woman is an 18 Cha (or even higher) or if she is "very attractive" but that could mean she's only a 16 Cha.

The funny thing is, he became a good friend of mine that I still occasionally talk to. I just never bring that day up. I don't want to relive it.

This just gets funnier... Your friend would be glad I wasn't a player in that game, because I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to stop from laughing...a lot...and only stopping for breaths and to throw in Dead Alewives quotes.

 

[saskganesh]

I can't help but recall one of the most beloved incarnations of Planescape was the CRPG Planescape: Torment --routinely named among, if not the best computer games of all time-- featured a wise-cracking talking skull named "Mort" (which, coincidentally enough, is a pun in French).

I think "marshmallow" is whimsically awesome with reference to the dessert, but it's also marsh+mallow, a family of medicinal plants, see for example:

Marshmallow

 

[CuRoi]

Ok, I had a player once that wanted to name his Paladin "Dudley Do Right". I'm usually a pretty tolerant DM when it comes to character comcepts, however I always ask people to at least consider setting when naming PCs and such. I still give plenty of creative latitude, but I generally don't go for "zany" in my campaign settings (but we usually have plenty of laughs.) I refused, so he named his character "Cheek Sparger" - it was an equally abusrd name from a major road near the house where we gamed. That paladin died, horribly, and I had nothing to do with it (thank you sane players...).

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I also had a player that wanted to make a mage-killing sorcerer. His schtick was that the PC hated Wizards, grew up picked on by them as a kid / at wizard school etc. Sounded fine and I was ok with it, but in practice it got a bit tricky.

The first time they ran into an enemy spell caster I could instantly tell by the blank expression on his face that he was staring into a backstory plot-hole he had not anticipated. So he naturally asked "Is he a wizard?" I thought about it and said, "Well, you can tell he is casting Arcane spells." This went on and on until someone found a spellbook after the fight ended and gave it to him to shut him up.

Next came a phone call between games with him telling me there had to be some way to tell if the guy was a Wizard. I told him I'd think about it. He then started suggesting ways to use spellcraft rolls (which was what I had in mind) and when I told him I just needed to think about, he started telling me how if he were the DM he would find a way for someone to fulfill their character's backstory. This was followed by some serious whining.

He lost me right there, cause, you know, he wasn't the DM for starters. Also, I'm a pretty nice guy overall and was already thinking of ways for his character to be able to do what he wanted, I just wanted time to mull it over. So, at that point I got stubborn and started thinking of outside of the box ways he could get that information WITHOUT making up some special rule for his PC.

He refused to try any of these things and kept demanding some sort of new or special rule so he coudl roll a die and figure out someone's class. So, I decided at that point his PC was just going to have to check his class based prejudices into Limbo cause I wasn't going to help him out.

Once again my sane players came to the rescue.

The player decided his PC would tear up the enemy mage's captured spellbook. The party's THREE rogues (very interesting group heh) were aghast - someone had already given it a rough appraisal and it was going to fetch some serious coin. So, the dwarf rogue fittingly decided this sorcerer would be put on a payment plan whereby all of his incoming split of the party treasure would be docked until the value of the spellbook was repaid. I've never yet or since had a group level fines or withholdings from a fellow adventurers incomes. That was hi-larious.

The sorcerer left the party next game so I ddin't have to keep telling him to stop whining about the whole "is he a wizard" thing.

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

So Oryan77, are you typically the GM or the player?

I guess when these things happen, over the years I have managed to not argue but I do the next 'best' thing and get a little passive-aggressive and snarky. Even that I don't do as much as I used to.

I think the real crux of my position is 'how much of a scam will your players tolerate?' I'm the kind of guy that does not ask for Notice checks. I just ask them to roll and I check the Notice skill I have jotted down for them. So there is a sense of game world paranoia and suspicion.

I think over the years the group I have in my current game gives me the benefit of the doubt. I'm certainly thankful for it.

The most angst I get these days is the fact that for a supers game there is often not a lot of combat - but a ton of role playing. Half the group wants to do a lot of role playing while the other half wants more combat. This can create some tension, which, in turn, generates a bit of whining.