Stupidest Things DMs Have Done

[+5 Keyboard!]

This is neither here nor there, it's just an amusing anecdote. I have a good friend who played D&D with me from the Basic Set on and off again all the way up to v.3.5. He was a bit iffy on his grasp of the game back in the day. He has none at all in the current version, though I've tried to teach and re-teach him a number of times. I helped him build a character that had Evasion as a class ability and he ran that character through a couple sessions before being "off again". No matter how many times I explained how this class ability worked, he would counter every tick of damage against him no matter the source with, "But Steve, I have Evasion!" Which was followed by my broken record explanation of how it worked and completely not comprehended by him.

To this day, the running joke if one of my players just decides he doesn't feel like taking whatever beating he/she is taking is, "But Steve, I have Evasion!" And it goes both ways. If my villain somehow eludes an attack of some kind or another (by the rules, but something that isn't obvious to them) and they cry, "Hey! How'd he not take damage from _______?!" I sometimes reply with a smug grin, "He has Evasion."

 

[Dice4Hire]

Hmm, stupid things a DM has done.......

Well, I let this certain player into my game.......


*Actually I have seen this on repeated a LOT!!*

 

[messy]

A few years back, there was a letter in Dragon magazine from some DM that pulled what I think is monumentally stupid. I'm not sure if my memory is 100% on this, but this is what I recall: The players were in some sort of dungeon and were surprised by a giant spider, or maybe something worse but spidery in appearance (like those demons that look like spiders whose name I can't recall right now)

But, to judge their reactions, before he announced what surprised them, the DM took his own real life pet tarantula and tossed it in the middle of the table in front of everybody. Of course, with that kind of surprise, the players were startled and (if I recall) a few ducked for cover, if not all of them. The DM stated that their real-life reactions were how their players reacted.

First - people play D&D to escape real life. Even if your PC has shades of your own personality (which is often the case) you're probably not casting spells, invoking the blessings of Pelor, swinging a vorpal weapon or whatnot in real life. Judging an out of game reaction to count in-game is just wrong, especially in a critical situation like that.

maybe, but it sure makes for a memorable story

messy

 

[Kae'Yoss]

maybe, but it sure makes for a memorable story

".... and that's when I beat his head in with a monster manual, your honour."

Yes, you won't forget that one in a hurry.