The tale of a Rat Bastard DM

[discjacker]

Three cheers for the Rat Bastard DM.

I have been in a similar situations actually I had one just last night. I run my campaigns with (what I believe is) a sharp edge or reality. Bad things happen nothing comes easy clues dont fall out of the sky, xp is slow to come, magic items ...well lets just say they call me stingy. So they know what to expect and when something goes there way they know they earned it and feel good for it.

My game night with the current peoples has been going on once a week for nearly 6 years now. Various campaigns and settings. I have endured plenty of party squabbles ( player/player gm/player character/character) And have come off with an idea.

What is most imporatant in the game is that everyone enjoy's themself. This can only really happen if there is trust between yourself (the gm) and the group (the PC's). The PC's need to be able to trust that you will not go out of your way to kill them for any reason. And when they do die and they will if you play a serious hard edge game, think about the actions that lead up to there demise. Did they actively bring it on themselves, was it a plot element that killed them, were they walking blindly into a trap that they were warned about, Was it a hard fought battle where they were knocked unconcious and unable to stablaize before the cleric got to them.

In my opinion a PC death should not be taken lightly after all as my wife pointed out to me a couple of years ago after her character died. "You spend 6 months getting to know your character and integrating him/her into this world, striving to make him/her as real as possible and then you lose it all to one die roll..........It's not worth it...thats not fun" Her comment struck home to me (not only because she is my wife) but because it's true it's hard to get a group of PC's that can act cohesively if one is dieing every few games.

I think it is important for a gm to know when to pull his punches but to do it consistently as was stated above. for me this means no killing PC's out of spite or anger, no killing PC's in plot devices. An example two games ago the group is led into a death trap almost inescapable in game terms. It was iportant that they go through it to show the trechery of one of there trusted NPC freinds. but it is equally important that they all live, well they all did but not without a certain amount of liberal rule use, one character in particular by all rights should be dead. But his companions acted quickly and came up with a plan to save the PC (now what they had in mind was not neccisarily possible with the given guidelines on time constraints and actions. End result they have provided me a way to get them out without a pointless death and they get the satisfaction that they came up with the idea and also the feeling that the DM is willing to work with them.

The following game the same character who should have died rushed ahead of the party headless of warnings, even though his character was a non-combat orientated character ( a Psion telepath)
He was ambushed by an assasin who rolled a critical on his sneak attack the PC was taken to -11 hp in the one attack and died. Why did I not fudge the rules this time? maybe let the cleric who was there in a couple of rounds pump him with some healing magic. Because this was the result of his own actions in a situation that was already knon to be very dangerous In my opinon he was acting rashly. Now this player was upset, who is'nt when there character has met there maker but he understood the situation, and he also knew this was a tough game and that he like your player initiated the action that led to his demise. So while he was upset he was'nt mad at me and by the end of the game was already looking forward to reentering the game with a new character.

My point is:
A DM needs to establish a trust between himself and the players, this will keep goodwill at the table.

A DM needs to be consistent inhis aproach to running the game this way the PC's know what the rules are.

A DM needs to be unbaiased in the way he treats the PC's no special favor's for your wife/husband no special favors for PC's that are always there or that consistently bring soda and chips.

A DM should be leniant in situations that are not within the control of the PC's and on the same token the DM should be ready to "let the dice fall where they mey" in situations where PC's for whatever the situation make in character mistakes.

All this should create an enviorment where PC's trust there GM and can accept that ocasionally bad things are gonna happen even to there PC's

Long winded I know needed to get it off my chest though thanks for the space to rant.

 

[kkoie]

well the player was wrong. And the DM was right, he was specially correct in teaching the players a lesson.

Only a bunch of morons or suicidal lunatics would decide to just steal a bunch of magic items from a group of red wizards, unless they were very well prepared or had some sort of advantage.

I'm sure the player will eventually go back to your group, but if not, then don't worry, that would mean he didn't learn his lesson.

K Koie

 

[Crimson Cat]

In my opinion a PC death should not be taken lightly after all as my wife pointed out to me a couple of years ago after her character died. "You spend 6 months getting to know your character and integrating him/her into this world, striving to make him/her as real as possible and then you lose it all to one die roll..........It's not worth it...thats not fun" Her comment struck home to me (not only because she is my wife) but because it's true it's hard to get a group of PC's that can act cohesively if one is dieing every few games.

Wao! Something that I haven't realized until now. Thanks for the enlightment.

well the player was wrong. And the DM was right, he was specially correct in teaching the players a lesson.

Only a bunch of morons or suicidal lunatics would decide to just steal a bunch of magic items from a group of red wizards, unless they were very well prepared or had some sort of advantage.

I'm sure the player will eventually go back to your group, but if not, then don't worry, that would mean he didn't learn his lesson.

Haha. Lol. This guy really differs from the opinions that has been expresed on this thread.

 

[kamosa]

Ok, I don't know the player and I don't know you, but some of the things you've said lead me to believe that the player might have been having a problem before this game. It could be that he knew that he was walking into a bad situation and did so to force a social confrontation. He might have felt like "fine I'll just kill my character to show the DM how stupid he is being".

Think back, have you had problems with this player before. Have they complained about your style of gaming or mocked a game theme. These things could be clues that the player wasn't happy long before he lead the party on an obvious sucide mission. Did you argue with him over rules?

Is it your fault of his fault? Tough to say, it's probably just a styles difference. I've just seen situation like the one you described and they seldom were generated within one game session. Players, especially ones that fashion themselves as leaders of a group, take a while to piss off. They quietly sholder their anger until it boils over and they do something party destructive.

In the end your probably better not gaming with him.

 

[Black Omega]

I'd have to say if the guy is a friend, try talking to him.

Nothing wrong with being a Rat Bastard GM, but that shouldn't mean loads of PC deaths. If you think you were fair and consistent then try talking to the guy. And it's always an option to raise even then. Just need something a little more potent than Raise Dead, and that could mean a quest.

 

[Dispater]

Haha. Lol. This guy really differs from the opinions that has been expresed on this thread.

Sarcasm serves you litle when it was you who started the thread and asked for other people's opinions.

 

[kkoie]

Sarcasm serves you litle when it was you who started the thread and asked for other people's opinions.

I didn't take it as sarcasm, I took it that he honestly thought it was funny. In any event I had an occurance where instead of the whole group, I had a single player who decided to do something stupid.

He was running a thief and wanted to go rob a rich abode. I asked 'who?' and he wanted the richest. So I told him the richest house in the city (and this is a HUGE city btw) was the sole merchant for the mages guild. Well, he didn't get the clue that the only merchant for the mages guild would have lots of guards and security in his house. So he went in alone with virtually no pre-planning.

In hindsight, I should've done what another players in our group mentioned later, and have his character publicly executed after getting caught by the guards, but instead he was forced to pay a 30,000gp bribe to get out.

K Koie

 

[Eryx]

Ok, as I read your initial post, the player is in the wrong. Players have to accept responisbility for their characters actions and accept the reapercussions of what those actions are.
It sounds to me like he got his just rewards for being, and let me be honest, stupid.

In my opinion a PC death should not be taken lightly after all as my wife pointed out to me a couple of years ago after her character died. "You spend 6 months getting to know your character and integrating him/her into this world, striving to make him/her as real as possible and then you lose it all to one die roll..........It's not worth it...thats not fun" Her comment struck home to me (not only because she is my wife) but because it's true it's hard to get a group of PC's that can act cohesively if one is dieing every few games.

I have to disagree strongly here. Thats the luck/fall of the dice, and in any game they should be left where they lay.
Character death is a part of the game, and shouldn't be treated lightly nor should it be glossed over because the player is unhappy that their well rounded character has died.

 

[Roland Delacroix]

A player who really loves his character, after 6 months or whatever, will takes steps to be brought back should something occur. I always spend a good chunk of my money on DocWagon (tm).

 

[wolff96]

Some of my current players and I (including the player whose PC was killed) played in another DM's campaign before I started DMing. On that campaign, everything was so easy; we got magic items and other treasures without effort and the risk and chance of dying was almost none.

But since 3 of my players used to play in the other campaign, then they are comparing both DMs, and thus they see me as a bastard DM for putting things difficult.

Wow, isn't THAT the truth?

I game with four other people, and our first campaign as a group was handled by someone else. Magic and wealth practically fell from the sky, villains rolled over and died for us, and our biggest difficulties were what shade of color we wanted our magical items to glow. As a buddy of mine put it: "It was like playing a game in God-Mode."

Anyway, after that campaign ended, I started my campaign. Since then, the same person that DM'ed for the last campaign has left the group because I'm "always out to kill them," (despite having killed only one character in nearly six months of gaming) and I "never reward them for killing things," (despite giving out standard xp) and I "don't give enough exp for roleplaying." (When the average "good RP" bonus runs to 750xp.)

What it comes down to is a stylistic difference -- he would be happier playing Diablo II apparently. Everyone else in the group is constantly telling me how much more fun they are having in my world.

Hang in there -- it sounds like virtually the same situation in your game.