DM problems

[kitcik]

New theory:

Your DM is not as experienced as he lead you to believe. He is embarrassed to admit it. He tries to compensate by creating tough encounters and he tries to seem "smart" by pretending he planned in advance for everything you might do - but is really making it up on the fly. His lack of rules knowledge compounds this because the stuff he's making up doesn't actually work.

Why don't you volunteer to run a second campaign in alternate sessions? Then you can take time during your sessions to consult the rules as necessary and make sure everyone is on the same page. Make some encounters that are really easy and don't be embarrassed when the PCs destroy them. Maybe he will understand that learning the rules as you go is ok and that not every encounter has to prove the DM's genius. He will also learn some rules as you explore them during your sessions.

 

[anest1s]

Human Fighter 2/Warrior 1= 4 feats.

But.

He probably has never played before, as a DM or a player. He got all the feats wrong, and I am sure he made some up. To get Uncanny Dodge you must be a 4th level rogue, and it isn't a feat. And it has nothing to do with AoOs. Improved Initiative just gives +4 to initiative. And there is no "Improved Charge" feat. And rapid shot works only with full attack anyway.

Its not a CR2, its an "adaptive" NPC.

Basically you don't play D&D 3.5e you play "DMs name" Adaptive Fantasy Game Very Loosely Based on D&D 3.5e

 

[kitcik]

Basically you don't play D&D 3.5e you play "DMs name" Adaptive Fantasy Game Very Loosely Based on D&D 3.5e where any creature or terrain encountered is sentient, has telepathy and acts against you.

 

[Oryan77]

Vincent Vega was no man's butler.

But Vincent Vega wasn't riding around with Sub-Zero and Green Arrow. He'd totally be out of place if he were.

 

[Oryan77]

Basically you don't play D&D 3.5e you play "DMs name" Adaptive Fantasy Game Very Loosely Based on D&D 3.5e

I gotta spread the XP around. I mean I've spread it enough, how much do I have to spread it?

where any creature or terrain encountered is sentient, has telepathy and acts against you[/I].

I'm late to work all the time because of doors randomly jamming on me.

And just last week, I was supposed to put some stuff in the attic for my wife and the ladder suddenly fell apart as I started to go up. It could take months for me to repair it and finally get to putting away that stuff.

You'd be amazed at how many things I can get done in 6 seconds. Really, this DM is a straight arrow.

 

[anest1s]

Why I can't exp anyone. I bet it is half a year or something from the last time I gave exp.

Also, lol at the thread tags.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

I now know that even with those feats he can't do that, but if they did why was that a CR2???????

First, DMs can and do change NPC and monster stats. Your DM just does it badly. And no, there's no way to police your DM so that he follows rules or plays fairly at all. If he still doesn't get it after talking, your only recourse is to find a new DM -- or run a game yourself. (And really, you don't need special training. You'll learn as you go.)

Second, you're focused on the wrong problem. The real problem isn't the rules -- it's your group. It's obvious that you and the other players don't trust the DM, and the DM doesn't trust you. You walk into a bar and open fire on a couple random elves? C'mon, were you really that bored? Your DM's reaction isn't any better though -- adding a few new feats and special abilities to these elves to 'teach you a lesson.' That never works.

You and your group should really be establishing trust between DM and players. If you can't manage that, your game is doomed to crash and burn. So talk to them about it. Follow Kitcik's suggestion about running an alterante campaign -- just remember to stay relaxed and don't let the players goad you into the "Me versus them" mentality that's making your first campaign suck.

And third, dude, one question mark is enough. Seven makes you sound hysterical. In the loud annoying way, not the cute funny way.

 

[trancejeremy]

Second, you're focused on the wrong problem. The real problem isn't the rules -- it's your group. It's obvious that you and the other players don't trust the DM, and the DM doesn't trust you. You walk into a bar and open fire on a couple random elves? C'mon, were you really that bored? Your DM's reaction isn't any better though -- adding a few new feats and special abilities to these elves to 'teach you a lesson.' That never works.

I would actually say that's the main problem - players attacking each other, killing random PCs, rules lawyering and second guessing the DM.

That sort of thing is hard for experienced DMs to put up with (and most simply won't), let alone a novice one.

 

[InvincibleWall]

I have now talked to the DM, he took all the advice quiet well and actually we found some things that both of us had misunderstood

1. he actually did roll d100 (10% he would be there) to see if the innkeeper was on the trapdoor but when he retold me that he rolled 97 he suddenly paused and said "wait a minute its 1-10 that would make him be on the trapdoor not 90-100. Wow I am so sorry he should have never been there"

2. we sat down and calculated the EL of the bandit encounter and it was in the range of around 10. He thought it was 5. The sudden blackout was caused by some type of inhaling poison on the gag he put on HawkEye

3. He said that he will use the Treasure Table from the Magic Item Compendium "with alterations"


Oh and those were guards, guarding a castle that had an NPC princess (Vara) in it that we were supposed to "save". It wasn't a totally random "walk into a bar and open fire"


*EDIT*

wow I missed this entire page of posts, I thought it was the end of the last page. and not wanting to double post I am just editing this message

Anyway, I understand that I shouldn't be such a rule freak but truthfully I am not coming to him with all of these things, some are important, others aren't. Why I brought them all to here was because I do have the intention of DMing eventually and I want to know what I can and cannot do (obviously I can do just about anything, but seriously what is the right, by the rules way)

So I am not coming here to complain (though I am sure it sounds that way) I just want a better understanding of the game so that I can intelligently talk to the DM. Instead of walking up saying "you are unfair, change your DM style, this is dumb, I quit" kind of a deal.

About the feats thing I understand that he can do that but if for some reason a DM adds a bunch of feats on, doesn't that make the opponent harder? Isn't that what CR is supposed to measure? So if you have a level 2 guard with 40 feats, he may be level 2 but with that many feats he would be a contest for some pretty impressive foes. So I was wondering if in the case a DM wished to give some extra feats would he in turn bump up the CR a little bit as well?

And there are so many posts about my name lol. I chose it because of Vincent Valentine from Final Fantasy VII. Nobody mentioned the names of the 2 NPCs in the party either, Braxis and Vara, Those don't fit with Scorpion and HawkEye either lol. (Oh and as a side note cuz someone mentioned green arrow, the funny thing is; he is using a green arrow token)

Oh that brings me to another question. Do NPCs fighting alongside a player make the exp get spread among them as well?

**EDIT2**

oh and yes the tags are great =P

 

[Oryan77]

if for some reason a DM adds a bunch of feats on, doesn't that make the opponent harder?

Technically, adding a single feat probably wouldn't bump up the CR. Adding a few feats probably would. But put it this way, if the DM doesn't use one or more feats that a monster from the Monster Manual has, does that mean it should have a lower CR?

A DM won't use a lot of an NPCs feats and powers during combat. He may forget to use them, or he may not have a chance to use them. So if a DM adds a feat because he feels it will improve the game, there may be 3 other feats that it has that the DM never even uses. I'm not a fan of doing that myself because I've been on the player side when a DM seemed to always have the perfect spells to thwart anything I did. I always have a full writeup of my NPC stat blocks. I don't think your DM adding 1 or 2 extra feats is all that unfair as long as you aren't always getting screwed because of it.

Don't worry too much with the rules as you begin DMing. You will be making rules mistakes anyway unless you are some sort of prodigy. You seem to have a good enough grasp of the rules already. Instead, focus on making a fun adventure and interesting NPCs. The rules will come naturally the more you DM. You don't really need to concern yourself with whether or not an extra feat raises a CR. If you are a beginner DM, you should be using pre-made NPCs or making straight forward creations. The issue here is more about getting all of the players less focused on the legitimacy of the rules (stop being rules lawyers) and more about chilling out and enjoying a fun adventure.

Trust me, I have enough experience to recognize when players and a DM are going to cause a game to crash and burn. Your group doesn't sound like it will last long if you guys keep doing what you're doing.

I was just kidding about the name. It was just funny seeing the other 2 names and then "Vincent the Ninja".