So I led a mutiny...

[Arnwyn]

<<<wipes tears from his eyes>>>

Okay, now that I've stopped laughing I can comment.

I honestly think you did the right thing... and I am a DM!

That was exactly my reaction (and I, too, am a DM). Man, that was funny.

As a DM, I condone your actions. If my players can't get through to me by discussing it, I would want them to do it like you did. Good stuff.

 

[BASHMAN]

DMPCs

Hey, when I GM, I love runing DMPCs. However, I use the same character generation rules as everyone else. I don't have special powers that don't exist in the book. I don't have people scrying my character/make him permanently omnipotent, etc. Oftentimes, the DMPC gets severely injured, etc.

Basically, the DMPC is another party member-- not a scene-stealer. There is a distinct advantage to this, also: it makes it so that another member of the group can take a turn as GM. Suppose the party has finished a module I was running. After that, another player says, "hey, I just finished writing a mod, that I would really like to try out." Fine, he gets to take a shift as GM for a while, using his old PC as a DMPC!

Of course, I am one of those GMs who rolls the dice in full view of the players, etc, (unless it is a listen check or something like that).

 

[BlackMoria]

I feel for you and understand. The problem is that your action has setup a chain of events that will taint the campaign - like having the party being hunted by the city and maybe (emphasis: maybe) now have the ire of the DM which will color all further interactions within the framework of the campaign.

But you are not here asking for forgiveness and it was a humorous in a fashion, so you made your point to her hopefully.

Your methodology made it 'personal'. But since I am just some other armchair quarterbacking jerk on the web - that is just a opinion since I did not witness all the interactions within the campaign. So who am I to say you were right or wrong to do what you did.

Looking at this comment of yours:

So we had been hired to clear out orcs from the forest around a city. Part of our terms of being hired was we had to take this NPC along with us, despite repeated attempts at bargining our way out of it. And, surprise surprise, it was a half elf ranger who somehow summoned a celestial dog.

Since the condition of employment was taking along the NPC, you could have made your point in a less 'personal' fashion by having the others back you and steadfast refusing to take that mission - or any mission for that matter that required you be be saddled with her 'Pet NPC'. After all, as characters, you have the right of refusal (The job is not to our liking so thanks but no thanks. We will go elsewhere) In short, refusing to cooperate with the DM's plots if the plots involve the NPC but handled within game by character interaction.

This would be less personal than killing off the problematic NPC, and yet still have the same desired effect on showing the group's displeasure with having a DM's pet NPC tag-along.

Still, for clarity of purpose, you score high marks. You made your point very clear. Bluntly so.

 

[Anabstercorian]

I agree with billd91. Apologize profusely, express regret that you allowed your emotions to override your better sense, bestow gifts, then tell her that you will continue to horribly mangle any pet NPC's she glues to you in the future.

 

[Rl'Halsinor]

I have to agree with Savage Wombat that she was living vicariously through her "pet." And for her it seems to be an ongoing issue and repeating behavior says something. You talked to her on numerous occasions but to no avail; well then it sometimes takes drastic actions to get your point across -- which you obviously did! (I got to admit, I was amused by how you handled it) I have been playing and DMing for 25 years and there always seems to be one or two people who never seem to grasp what you are trying to say. This can be very frustrating.

I also agree with those who say it now has become personal and some mending of relationship will need to take place. I strongly suggest that you talk to her one on one and eventually ask her why she did not hear what you were trying to say. I would also recommend that the other players speak to her as well because it was a group action even though you led it. Of course, that is up to the other players.

 

[fafhrd]

I agree with billd91. Apologize profusely, express regret that you allowed your emotions to override your better sense, bestow gifts, then tell her that you will continue to horribly mangle any pet NPC's she glues to you in the future.

That sounds like a great way for the DM to get a lifetime supply of booze.

 

[kamosa]

There was another way to deal with this

Instead of killing the NPC, you could just say from now on you refuse to take on NPC's as part of the adventure. When they say they won't hire you unless you take on their NPC, say, "Sorry to hear that, but I guess you can solve your own problems", and walk away from the adventure.

It will probably destroy that session, but it gets the message across without having you commit any sort of nastiness to the NPC.

 

[NPC]

Retroactive Scrying

What I don't like about this situation is the scrying that you were under.

Did she even let you guys roll to notice the scrying? Did she roll in private for this?

Seems like she's "making it up as she goes along".

 

[Torm]

Reminds me of something I pulled playing Starfleet Battles, once - a game that if I have my way, I'll never play again, and, thanks to what I did, I doubt I'll be asked to by anybody I've gamed with before:

A group of us got together regularly to play 2nd Edition D&D, and I enjoyed the heck out of it. But one gameday I arrived at our gaming spot to find out that some people some of my fellow gamers had used to game with were in town, and the game they used to play was Starfleet Battles, and they wanted to play that. I did NOT want to play something non-roleplay, but I figured - my friends are here, its Star Trek, right?, so I'll give it a shot.

The scenario was three teams of three ships - Romulan, Klingon, and Federation, and a freighter in the middle of the play area containing a precious (unspecified) cargo we all wanted, and belonging to none of us. I was placed on the Federation team with one of the players I didn't know, and his teenage son, because he knew how to play and was going to teach me. His idea of "teach" was to tell me every move to make - effectively playing my ship with me as a proxy. When we entered the area, I asked if we should hail the other ships and attempt to negotiate, and whether we should see if we could render assistance to the freighter, and I was told no. Well, o..kay then.....

The guy and his son left the room for a break as all three groups were closing on the freighter. I "hailed" the Klingons, and informed them that I believed there was something seriously wrong with our fleet commander - possibly alien influence or something - because he was behaving both disHONORably and against the precepts of the Federation, and was about to get a lot of people killed unnecessarily. I basically negotiated a temporary alliance with them, agreeing that we would share the benefits of the cargo. I then "hailed" the Romulans, and told them I had made an alliance with the Klingons and it would be best if they played along and we'd cut them in, too. Or we'd cut them in two. They agreed. I dropped my ship to the rear of our formation.

When they returned, we moved a bit closer in again, and then ALL of us opened fire on the son's ship, and crippled it. I then told the guy what had happened, and offered the chance to surrender to save his crew. He made us destroy him, instead. The truce held, the freighter was helped, while being "helped" with their cargo, and the game ended.

And, that, as they say, was that.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Okay that was pretty funny.

If you hadn't spoken with her about this before, I'd think you'd done her really wrong. If you hadn't asked the group, I'd think you had been mean to them. But this was a group effort. Your idea, but they were involved to the hilt. Been there, done that. Had a rail-road campaign where we were trapped by a cave-in underground and had to fight our way out. When we hit the surface we were supposed to pursue a bad guy from city to city. We couldn't keep up so we hit town, bought supplies, and went the other way.

I had a Mary Sue once during one of my earliest attempts DMing where I pulled out my favorite character and tweaked him. Fortunately, it felt wrong and kinda dirty, so I stopped before it drove off any players.

Your friend needs to game as a player, particularly an all-good DnD game where she can play an half-celestial elven ranger. Let her get her fetish on where it won't hurt the other players.

Apologize for being a d**k and offer to run a game she can play a *valid* character similar to her Mary Sue. Maybe once it's out of her system she can be a good DM again.