I hate my gaming group!

[3catcircus]

I have played Rolemaster with this guy before with few troubles but not D&D -- as for rule 0 well No -- he can rule 0 stuff but only before play -- otherwise its unfair to the players -- as an an example he rule 0'd crits (only the weapon dice multiply) but he did that up front -- I don't like the rule but it was upfront so I wouldn't complain --

Ah - there is the difference between your group and mine. Our DM is very good about things, but there is another player in our group who, even when the DM arbitrates something weeks in advance of the game and everyone in the group has had a chance to discuss and debate it, he'll still bitch and moan. Basically, unless a houserule specifically benefits *his* character, he doesn't like it. If a WoTC or other d20-published rule doesn't specifically benefit *his* character, he bitches and moans and actively writes up houserules and tries to push the DM to accept it as "better" than the core rules.

We were looking for a good set of rules for ships and stuff since some of the guys in the group wanted to have a ship and be pirates. We specifically looked at Corsair! and purchased a copy. So - this player decided that he didn't like all of the rules in Corsair and started house-ruling them. One of the houserules upped the damage that the weapons do. Another changed the turning rules to use the "sides-n-points" of a hexmap instead of using compass points. Yet a third houserule changed the stats for all of the ships to something closer to what he thought they should be, based upon his reading a historical sailing ship book. When we used them for the first time, the PCs creamed the NPCs in two rounds of combat without the NPCs getting off a single shot. Half the group (including him) decided that the combat was too quick and wasn't any fun. After all of this, he actually had the nerve to say "Well - it is evident that whoever came up with the rules in Corsair is f'ed up and didn't play-test them..." Gee - *maybe* if *you* didn't f with the rules that the author came up with in the first place...

I dunno - I'm about fed up with the rest of my group since no one else has the sack to actively challenge him and allow the DM to not have to arbitrate his rantings. If it weren't for the fact that, otherwise, he is a good friend (as are the rest of the guys in my group), I'd simply go find another group - especially since they are D&D snobs and refuse to play anything else (except for one guy who is willing to play anything.)

 

[Ed Cha]

Looks like you're unhappy with a double standard and have some resentment about being dumped as a DM. If you want to still play with them (or they're the only available people to play with), then you should probably talk about the things that are bugging you. Otherwise, just quit and find another group or start your own.

 

[scourger]

Good luck with the new group, Ace. I understand part of your frustration. In my experience, house rules just lead to problems. I even saw a campaign basically destroyed by them notwithstanding that they were "published" beforehand. People have different ideas of what D&D "is"--and those different expectations can lead to the game becoming "Difficult & Draining." My personal pet peeve is when people who don't own or haven't read the books try to tell me how it is. I may not make the right call every time, but it's not for lack of effort. I don't use every book published when I run a game, but if I use a book then I have at least read it cover-to-cover once and usually have spent much more time analyzing it.

The analogy I like to use is Monopoly and Free Parking. The official rules don't allow any money in Free Parking (along with a lot of other things that most people don't know about). I grew up playing that way, but everyone at the game knew it. I would certainly be upset if I was the only one at the table who couldn't collect money on Free Parking. I would probably quit if the "banker" arbitrarily decided to add it or remove it once the game was underway. The same goes for D&D or any other RPG or game in general.

Imagine a professional sports referee calling a game according to novice rules. That's another good analogy I've used.

Anyway, best of luck.

 

[atom crash]

The game works best when the rules work equally for everyone. Otherwise it leads to heartaches and hurt feelings. It's the DM's obligation (duty, even) to inform players of major house rules before everyone starts play. If you take certain options based on your expectations of how the rukes work as written, it's unfair for the DM to pull the rug out from under you later.

No use spending time with a group that makes you unhappy. On the other hand, it's also no use burning bridges you don't have to. Be courteous and leave quietly, but steal all the DM's players away from him for your game.

 

[fusangite]

Atom Crash,

You beat me to it. You've basically covered everything.

 

[diaglo]

my hat of your gaming group knows no limits too.