Major game issue, need advice.

[takyris]

Mystery Man,

Three thoughts:

1) Don't attribute to malice what you can attribute to well-intended cluelessness instead. The DM thinks that you can be Raised after getting bodaked to death. He's not clear on some of the rules. That doesn't mean he's eeeeevil.

2) Approaching the situation with a chip on your shoulder is liable to make the DM defensive, not helpful. Giving KenM advice along those combatative lines is liable to lead to an argument and an unhappy group, whereas suggesting stuff like having KenM say, 'Sure, I understand that you don't wanna replay the combat, and neither do I, it was an honest mix-up and I can see your side. Still, I'd rather not lose that experience if possible, so can we say that I was in a coma, having just barely made that save? That would fix everything without really hurtig my character or having to replay anything,' is likely to result in the DM seeing that KenM is not angry about the mix-up and just wants to move on in a good way for the whole group.

3) We haven't heard KenM's actual response yet -- how the conversation with his DM went -- so we don't know whether the DM is acting the way you are saying he is acting or not. You could be right, but we have no way of knowing that yet.

 

[KenM]

And for the record, the DC didn't HAVE to be 15. It could have been an advanced bodak. So saying, "But I looked it up in the book, it's 15!" is not necessarily helpful.

When I brought it up to him the next day, they DM told me flat out the DC was 15. Thought I made that clear.

 

[takyris]

Ken: You did. I was answering the question as to whether you should have made a big stink about the DC having ot be 15 at the time. When the DM said, "Yeah, it was 15, my bad," that turned ito a moot point, but I was catching implications that you should have pressed your case right from the start, in the middle of the combat.

Admittedly, while I usually tell people not to do that, I think that asking a clarifying, "So my Fort save of 15 fails? That's what you're saying?" might be in order for your DM, who seems from what we've heard of him so far to be a bit shaky on some of the rules of 3rd Edition D&D.

 

[KenM]

It was the middle of combat, alot going on. I think I am dealing with it in a respectible way with the DM. I did not really think about it until after the game.

 

[Camarath]

And if the DC is 15 he needs to play the DC as 15. I suspect this DM is up to some dishonest monkey business. Besides, admitting your wrong is one thing, but he's not totally making good on it. If it were me, I would find a way in game to bring him back full or just pretend he was knocked out for the duration. I don't see this happening.

I don't see how the DM is being dishonest here he made a mistake and he admitted it. If the DM was out to kill the character I don't think the DM would have needed to bend the rules to do so. And frankly, I get rather annoyed by people who put forth a player vs DM mentality. IMC I make players with this attitude face Half-Celestial, Half-Elemental(fire), Half-Golem(clay) Trolls.

 

[KenM]

OK, DM is not being dishonest, He admited the mistake, but why should my character lose a level because of it?

 

[takyris]

Your character shouldn't lose a level. Send the DM over here and have him talk to us if he doesn't agree. If his concern is having to "redo" stuff, there's all kinds of handwaving that can fix that. If his concern is looking bad, well, he already admitted that it was his fault.

Alternately, ask for the following:

Okay, you SHOULD have made that save, but you didn't. Obviously, you've been cursed by a powerful hidden foe. Who is it? Why are they cursing you? Ask the DM to set up a side-adventure, that you and he could run over e-mail, in order to gain some solo experience and build your character back up a bit more after he is resurrected.

That's a bit of work, but it demonstrates good faith on your part -- so he's more likely to just sigh and say that it was a coma.

 

[Agback]

G'day

I am reminded of a humorous epitaph:

On a Motorist

This is the grave of Jonathan Gray,
Who died maintaining his right of way.
He was right, dead right, as he sped along:
But he's just as dead as if he were wrong.

It also reminds me of a time (playing a game called HindSight when an NPC shaman threw a shrunken head at my character, the GM assigned a damage class equal to that of a .357 Magnum, rolled an unarmoured location, rolled maximum damage, incapacitating my character, who couldn't be healed because he was a different race from our half-arsed magician, and unluckily botched the recovery rolls and died. That damage class was way too high.

So your GM made a mistake, and your character is dead, can't be Raised, and is going to come back as a bodak. That's tough, and I know full well that getting the bad luck of a bad call stings more than the bad luck of a bad roll.

But on the other hand, browbeating the GM into a fix he doesn't want will make for an unhappy group, and nursing a grudge will make you unhappy and resentful. Your best chance for a happy group and lasting friendships is to forget about it and generate a new character.

Tough. But you knew the risks when you took the job.

Regards,


Agback

 

[yangnome]

Easy solution. Upon seeing the Bodak and realizing you were in it's death gaze, your character trembled in his boots, feinted and missed the combat...

 

[Hypersmurf]

Easy solution. Upon seeing the Bodak and realizing you were in it's death gaze, your character trembled in his boots, feinted and missed the combat...

If he feinted successfully, the combat would be denied its Dex bonus to AC, and he wouldn't miss it as easily...

-Hyp.