[DM gripe/rant] I'm beginning to notice some trends...

[DDK]

It's taken me a while, about fourteen years in fact, but I'm beginning to notice some trends amongst players, especially of certain classes.

Paladins are the worst. Have you ever noticed that they seem to be played by people who haven't the foggiest notion of honour or good?

My best friend is an example. He loves the whole paladin concept and class and yet he simply can't fathom certain key principles of the class. Like, for instance, accepting and abiding by the precepts of a higher power and not going around willy-nilly and murdering everything with a remotely evil aura.

Now I don't want this to turn into a paladin do/don't thread, I've had THAT discussion ad nauseum and am firmly planted in the idea that paladin players should damn well follow a code of honour!

It's other classes as well. Like people who play wizards and give their characters 18 Intelligence when the fact is, and let's be plain about this, the person is as dumb as a rock. I mean, really, accept your limitations as I can only suspend my disbelief so much...

There are dozens of other examples I could probably mention but I'll stop here as I'm betting other DM's here have similar frustrations.

Now, I'm not saying a person should have some hoopy history knowledge about the in's and out's of their character class and should have read a dozen fantasy fiction novels about characters like theirs, but a little effort goes a long way, I think.

P.S. My PBP players, don't read anything into this, I'm just having a bad day.

 

[Darkness]

Yeah; nobody can play everything well. But then again, without trying anyway, it's hard to get better...

I think DMing might be the best "training" for playing many different kinds of characters - including those that you weren't good at anyway.

 

[Chauzu]

Yup, agree...

 

[Mark]

Yup

 

[megamania]

...and this is why I sometimes think alignments are a joke. I have yet to see a player truely play an alignment other than their own personality (CE dosen't count!). This is why I stick to CG or CN as alignments at all times. I tend to stick to fighters also for the very reasons you brought up.

 

[Darkness]

Right...

 

[HellHound]

Of course.

 

[Piratecat]

There's an interesting discussion about this going on in my story hour right now, partially here. I think I'm lucky to have players who know how to play the class. One is an enthusiastic, gung-ho kind of paladin - but not stupid, and not homicidal. The other is a stern hunter of the dead. It makes for a nice contrast.

 

[Thresher]

"Paladins are the worst. Have you ever noticed that they seem to be played by people who haven't the foggiest notion of honour or good?"

yup.
Most are pragmatic at best, some are just downright evil s.o.b's and about as charismatic as a used pair of socks.

"Theres a township full of innocent town villagers that have been charmed by the 'Evil Dude' and theyre advancing on you."
"Hack em all down and kick evil dude's arse!"
gm *bangs head on desk*

Ah, actually I can think of only one person who has played one as theyre supposed to be, inflexable, honourable and was actually a good guy that didnt go around mass-murdering people on the suspicion that they might do something wicked next week when he wasnt looking.

 

[Tyberious Funk]

I spent many years playing with a guy (one of my best friends actually) who always played a slightly derranged barbarian/fighter type. Didn't matter the game system, campaign or character class he chose. In D&D he tended to favour rogues because he liked the *idea* of being sneaky. More often than not he would charge head-first into battle. His intentions always began quite honourably... "trust me, this character will be different". But something would usually set him off and he would go utterly psycho and do something out of character.

He's a really nice, generally passive sort of guy but has the occasionally short fuse. I think roleplaying was a means for him to let off steam in a consequence-free environment. It used to annoy me a bit, but I eventually learned to relax. He always put a lot of heart and passion into his gaming and I respect that. So what if he was a bit mis-guided? And heck, the rest of us got a lot of laughs at his expense.

Personally, I try to aviod pigeon-holing particular classes and try to give players the freedom to do what they want. Yes, even if it means they aren't very good at it. Of course, if they do something that is just plain silly, or wrong (like the paladin commiting an evil act) then they get slapped. The rogue that thought he was a warrior frequently got some humiliating thrashings. Likewise, your dumbass wizard example should be expected to pay the penalty for not thinking clearly... as long as the penalty isn't too stiff.

Then again, maybe I'm just being a bit sensative because I've been playing a wizard for the first time and am having a tough time coming to grips with the huge array of spells (and have already copped some criticism for poorly placed spells).