Advice Needed

[Swedish Chef]

Greetings all.

A bit of background here. I normally DM for the group. There are three original members of the group (including myself) whom have been gaming for 20 years together. 2 other members have been with us for about 6 years, and the newest member is the son of one of the founding three.

Currently, I am burned out from DMing, and we've been rotating the duty. A new campaign has just started. The characters are as follows:

Chimera - NE Half Elf female rogue
Krynathor - N Human male mage (Necromancer that worships Shar. This is my character, and I'm aiming for the Shadow Adept PC in the future).
Olirac - NG Dwarf male Cleric of Tempus
2 NG Dwarf male Fighters (I can't remember the character names off the top of my head).

Now, Chimera's player is playing her in the proto-typical "newbie" fashion, even though the player is one of the original founders of the group. She grabs anything she can from fallen foes. Every time we enter town, she has to pull a job. So far, all of this is kept secret from the other characters. OOC, we all know what's going on.

The annoying part is that she keeps getting the 2 dwarven fighters drunk and sparking a brawl between them in a tavern so she can pick some pockets with the distraction.

My character's background is that my father was killed by a wererat ranger in the Silver Marches. I embarked on a journery to gain power before confronting the wererat, and I'm not too particular about how I get that power, as long as I succeed.

Our first mission together was a typical caravan guard duty. Chimera managed to get the two dwarves jailed in the two cities we stopped in, forcing me to bail them out. She found the whole thing amusing, I found it distasteful and bothersome. I spoke to her and asked her to desist. She continues to cause this strife in the party.

Here's where I need the advice. My character has been witness to Chimera getting the dwarves drunk twice and starting a brawl. I also visited them one night when they were camped outside a town they had been banned from, and discovered Chimera had provided them with a keg of ale and was in the process of getting them drunk again. Later, when Chimera was scouting without informing the party, one of the dwarves ran forward to see where she had disappeared to, causing a bear to attack them. For two days after she would not speak to said dwarf except to denigrate him, blaming the attack on him. (For the record, he caused the bear to look up from it's meal, but she was the one who yelled "BEAR!" and ran, drawing it's attention.)

The final straw was when we arrived in Secumber. My character, who has been elected leader of the group, decided we would take a caravan guard job up to Waterdeep, and then head to the Silver Marches. Chimera is willing to go to Waterdeep, but flat out refuses to go to the Marches, and will not explain why.

So, knowing that my character is going to hunt down his father's killer, and has turned to Shar in an effort to get the power necessary, would it be out of line for him to cause Chimera's death in the near future? Specifically, I have learned "Benign Transposition" as a spell, with the intent that the next time Chimera goes unconcious in battle (which happens often), I will use the spell to "remove her from danger" and then use a Coup de Grace to finish her off, away from the rest of the party. I have spoken to the DM, and he agrees that I do have motive. I'm just looking for advice from the EN World community.

The player running Chimera would be upset were he to learn the truth, but it wouldn't break up the group.

 

[Berandor]

You really want advice, here it is:

Don't talk to EnWorld, talk to the group.

I'm going to assume it's not your usual style of play, characters killing each other in vulnerable moments, because you seem conflicted about it and Chimera's player would be upset, too.

And yes, you could make a statement that the party is ill put together, and the most reasonable course of action would be to kick Chimera our of the group or leave yourself, if the other characters don't see anything wrong with her.

But – and here it goes – this doesn't sound as if it's a character conflict. It sounds as if you're really not enjoying what happens there, and you absolutely must discuss this openly. Maybe Chimera's player will agree on player a character that fits better with party discipline. Maybe not. But talk openly about what you feel hampers the campaign and frustrates you (and maybe the dwarf players, too).

 

[Nyaricus]

The player running Chimera would be upset were he to learn the truth, but it wouldn't break up the group.

While this might very well be true, here's my take on it:

Just end this game. It's obvious from your post that the groups set-up is a bit unhealthy, and maybe you just need to go with somethign different.

Hope that helps.

cheers,
--N

 

[Mark CMG]

I agree with what's been posted. Talk to the group and see if everyone can start fresh with a team mentality. It doesn't sound like your group really wants to play the kind of game you somehow wound up playing and that can only lead to problems away from the table. You've been friends to long to sit back and let this train wreck happen.

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

Well, there are two ways to answer your question:

Is this bothering you more IC or OOC?

I've been in a simular situation that bothered my character, but didn't really bother me at all, which is why I asked.

If it is mostly (or completely) IC, then I would suggest having your character deal with it - either in the method mentioned (if that is justified to him, which it sounds like it is), or by simply invoking party leader status and kicking Chimera out of the group. I've been in several games where a character didn't want to go somewhere that the rest of the group was going; usually, that character left the group and the player made a new one, or the player found a reason why the character would go.

If the issue is mostly OOC... I would suggest that you bring up your concerns with the group, and calmly explain that this is really bothering you. You don't have to end this campaign (or, rather, suggest that it be ended, since you aren't the DM), but at least mention it and see what the other player's takes are on it (and I highly suggest you include the whole group, including Chimera's player, in this discussion). If Chimera's player waves it off as "Well, I'm roleplaying the character, that's what she'd do"... well, then you have an open road to continue with what your character would do.

 

[Cedric]

When those kind of party conflicts arise, I like to ask myself (my character)...why is my character spending time with these people? If there is a compelling reason to keep the offending character around, then great...the character stays.

If there isn't, then explain to the dwarves that they are being "had" and propose that Chimera hits the road.

Seriously, that character is trouble and nothing but. Why would your character spend any more time with her than possible?

Faced with the concept of cooperating more or making a new character...your friend might choose for Chimera to have a change of heart and realize that she can't screw over the other PCs. If your friend doesn't take that route and cooperate, then hand him 4d6 and tell him to go to town.