Stupidest things PCs/DMs have done

[Skiggs]

I was DM'ing a D20 Modern game and the players were investigating a zombie cult at a church in the middle of "the projects" (i think thats the PC way of saying it). In a cave below the church they find the priest casting a spell in a completely dark room (only the priest is illuminated). So our token teen character rushes in as the gunslinger drops the priest with a single shot.

I say "the floor feels soft and moves slightly under your feet". So when HALF the party is already in the room they finally decide to turn on a flashlight, low and behold they are standing on mounds of bodies, which start to raise as zombies. The entire party runs out except the token teen, which is surrounded by a mob of about 50 zombies (honestly, every square grid in the room has a zombie). Our gunslinger desides to strap together a dozen sticks of TNT, lights it and throws it at the girl which is in the center of the room.

It lands at her feet, and KA-BOOM!! An entire room of liquified zombie and she makes enough saves to not take single point of damage (she was a fast hero).

Can i get C3PO to calculate the odds of that one?

HELL YES. (I was playing the girl who got blown up) That roll had a DC 15, and I rolled 17. AND, my character survived nearly drowning in a pool of zombie goo.
That was a good game, especially when the gunslinger blew up an entire neigbourhood. I love that character. He's like a triggerhappy Mr. Rogers or whatever his name is, from that kid's show. The one where he asks you to be his neigbour.

 

[rose4100]

HELL YES. (I was playing the girl who got blown up) That roll had a DC 15, and I rolled 17. AND, my character survived nearly drowning in a pool of zombie goo.
That was a good game, especially when the gunslinger blew up an entire neigbourhood. I love that character. He's like a triggerhappy Mr. Rogers or whatever his name is, from that kid's show. The one where he asks you to be his neigbour.

Actually the DC was 25, you rolled a 17 and added your reflex to save it. Still... never heard a group of players make so much noise during that little session.

 

[DonTadow]

Used a calculator to add 10+ 12. as much as I frown on calculators at the gaming table, adding ten digits is just a shame. HOw did such a player get a college degree is proof of the failure of our american education system.

 

[Slife]

Used a calculator to add 10+ 12. as much as I frown on calculators at the gaming table, adding ten digits is just a shame. HOw did such a player get a college degree is proof of the failure of our american education system.

... nope, I'll resist pointing out the irony

 

[Maldor]

i once played a 2e dwarven fighter

i was in a dungeon, and a trap dropped around me - stone walls surrouned me, giving me barely enough room to move.
I hear a voice in my head -"break the stick to escape"
now, this trap had fallen twice before...both times breaking the stick let them escape
my trap was different, the ceiling was on its way down - which didn't happen in the other ones
apparently i had mis-interpreted the dm...what had been a wooden plank the last two traps, was a staff of the magi in mine

i wasn't lucky enough to be teleported to a random plane of existence

Your DM's NPC's considered it cost effective to destory a minor artifact for a dumb trap.
man i wish PC's could throw away a 300,000 gp item on a whim.

 

[Maldor]

Playing a Paladin in a long running 2e game, the average level of the party was about 10th.

Trapped in a place known as the mind realm, we needed to strike a bargin with a Vampire Lord in order to use a magic item held in her posession. Being the good Paladin I was, I boldly state "I will not negotiate with evil!"

I think 2 party members ended up back at first level, I ended up at 4th level. However we did manage to win (we drove off the Vampire Lord, killed one of her vampire minions, and trapped the 2nd one in a bad of holding with the help of a well place Wall of Force).

Good times

and this is why i hate having paladins in the party.

 

[Lalalei2001]

I like Paladins. They do dumb things.

 

[Chimera]

The Lawyer in me keeps telling me not to post in this thread.
Don't post in this thread.
Don't post in this thread.


My last (short lived) campaign. An otherwise allegedly intelligent player.
Halfling Rogue/Wizard.

Runs into a mob of 200 kobolds, at the back end of the train where they are holding their Human prisoners. Drugged, hooded and tied together in lots of 3. Two kobolds holding each one, with an extra kobold at the front and back of each group, with more Kobolds surrounding them. Think they're well guarded enough?

He runs up between two of them and cuts the rope. The Kobolds notice the rope fall.

Player sits bolt upright, angry. "Pfft! How are they noticing THAT!?!?!" (Duh!)

Does it twice more before I tell him that the Kobolds are going berzerk and looking for their invisible intruder. Tell him outright that if he does it again he'll be mobbed by Kobolds.

Dirty looks abound. Man, was I a horrible GM for that one...
Me, I thought I was being overly generous.

On another occasion. 2' tall Kobold 10' back down a 3' high tunnel. Speaking to his Halfling and the Human Psychic Warrior, who are in a room with a 7' ceiling. Halfling 'steps behind' the human and casts a spell. Kobold makes the spot/listen check, makes the Spellcraft check. Player gets angry with me because the Kobold should not have seen him.

Halfling then moves off to the side, 'out of sight'. I guess that means the Kobold Sorcerer will completely forget the presence of a Halfling Wizard, eh? Sure enough, he tries to sneak up and peek around the corner at the Kobold, who spots him and backs further down the tunnel. Player gets angry(er) with me because the Kobold should not have seen him peeking around the corner. (And shouldn't have backed up out of 10' spell range.)

After the fact, when I pointed out that the Kobold had introduced himself as a top aide (the "right claw") to the Kobold King and that I had three different experience awards for talking to him and gaining information, the player blew it off with "Well, 19 out of 20 times you're not going to get any useful information, so you might as well just attack."

When I pointed out that I'd spelled out up front that this was a more 'investigational' adventure, the player got confused and whined "But that just means less combat!"

I ended the game over that kind of thing. He wanted grossly simple, I wanted more.

Oh well, at least he was active. The other three guys spent most of the game sessions staring at each other, waiting for someone else to do something.

Hence my sig.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I ended the game over that kind of thing. He wanted grossly simple, I wanted more.

Oh well, at least he was active. The other three guys spent most of the game sessions staring at each other, waiting for someone else to do something.

Ah, okay, I thought it was just that guy. In that case I'd just have shown him the door. But if the rest was inactive, ending it was probably the thing to do.

I had a problem player a short while ago, too. He didn't demand simple. He was just too rude about everything, and seemed to have completely different expectations about how the game was supposed to go. Bad combination, player is thrown out, problem solved.

 

[Chimera]

Ah, okay, I thought it was just that guy. In that case I'd just have shown him the door.

You know, the thing is that I've noticed this odd 'backlash' thing going on. With this past group and the one before it.

I tell them that I want to run a more intelligent game. Dynamic plots, intelligent enemies, more tactical combat, etc. In other words, "step up your game boys, because it's going to be more difficult than a normal game". Now, I'm no Master at these things, so it's not horrendously difficult. I don't do puzzles, I don't use a lot of traps. All I'm asking for is players who think things through, who use their brains.

In both cases, what happened is that otherwise intelligent people began regressing. They refused to act intelligently, refused to engage the plots, refused to use any kind of tactical movement. All of which they'd done in normal games. They'd do bonehead moves they'd normally never consider, they'd do things like the above, where this player would NEVER tolerate that kind of thing when he was running a game.

And they'd do it without even noticing that they're doing it (for the most part).


In this last game, they had two places where the party got bottled up in a 5' wide hallway, with one PC able to attack and everyone else jockeying behind him, with every enemy in the room able to attack that one exposed PC.

Now my solution would be to use better tactics, to stop jockeying around in the hall, stop holding back casting buff spells when the enemy knows you're there. Either get into the room or try to lure them out. Start retreating if you have to, attempting to limit the number of attackers by bottling THEM up in the hall too.

Instead, the player above told me that I should ignore Logic and Defense issues and just make every corridor 10' high and 10' wide, so that everyone could maneouver easily and the combat would be "more fun".

Translation: "I like playing this game on the easiest possible difficulty level."

Nope. Find another game.

But if the rest was inactive, ending it was probably the thing to do.

Three guys with "deer in the headlights" looks of confusion. Very little participation. Seriously. Not even a slight exaggeration. Every session, all session, except in combat. From here on out, anyone pulling that crap in a game I'm running gets shown the door.

Immediately.

I had a problem player a short while ago, too. He didn't demand simple. He was just too rude about everything, and seemed to have completely different expectations about how the game was supposed to go. Bad combination, player is thrown out, problem solved.

Yup. Rude + Social Occasion = Bad News. Amazing how many gamers don't get that.