Touchy situation with my group

[KenM]

This is what you do, but EVERYONE but the Husband of the DM must do it. This should make the DM/ Wife sit up and take notice.:



Next time the party is about to go into a cave/ dungeon, ect., have everyone else in the party say " Gee Mr. Wizard, you have been going though everything we have gone up against with ease. We will stay here and watch the camp while you go do what needs to be done." Then everyone else at the table put dice, figs, character sheets away. "Just watching", you tell the DM. If that does not get the message that the DM is playing favorites, NOTHING will.

 

[Darkness]

The wizard is high enough level to cast "Waves of Fatigue" twice - which probably makes him 11th.

Well, seems like he really has little use for a group of, like, 6th-/7th-level characters. And vice-versa. It is theoretically possible to have big differences in power level between D&D characters but it doesn't seem to work well in your campaign.
Insist on getting higher-level characters or else starting a new game where everone begins on equal footing.

 

[Zogg]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I think I'm just going to ride it out. If anything else major occurs I will have a one-on-one with the DM. I don't think I can pull off killing the pegasus - as gratifying as that might be, it would be risky and expensive for my PC to pull off and would require assistance from the DM since it would involve cooperation from some NPCs.

All in all I think the DM is aware of the imbalance and makes some efforts to counter it - I would just say her husband might have security issues in real-life and DnD is his opportunity to shine. His wife, the DM, is probably stroking his ego by elevating his PC above the rest. I don't see any way to amicably point this out without insulting the couple (the session is always held at their house too), so I'll just look at the bright side and reap what fun I can from our sessions! As has been noted, it could be worse.

 

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I don't see any way to amicably point this out without insulting the couple (the session is always held at their house too)

That's why no one in my group has said much. Although thankfully we've started playing at my place without them everyother weekend, which is a huge relief.

 

[Darkness]

... her husband might have security issues in real-life and DnD is his opportunity to shine. His wife, the DM, is probably stroking his ego by elevating his PC above the rest. I don't see any way to amicably point this out without insulting the couple ...

They don't seem to have a problem with insulting you and the others in the group, though.

Are you friends with these two people? If so, this might be a good time for some honesty tempered with understanding.
And if not, you have little reason to suffer for their issues and more than enough reason to politely yet firmly request a change in the current situation.

 

[Morpheus]

I feal your pain, my group is in a simmilar situation, only i dare say worse. In my case the husband is the DM and the wife is the problem player. I say it's worse because he tells her everything he's going to do, that way she can help weed out the "Bad ideas". If he's running a mod it's even worse because she'll sit home all day and read it. OK, pretty bad right? It's worse, her characters are pretty much immune to death. The DM would never kill one, unless she told him it was ok. All her character are in major possistions of power or realted to people in major possitions of power. Finally the ultimate kick in the junk, she doesn't keep track of HP, XP, Treasure, ammo, spells used, ect. She also rarely has a character sheet and just randomly decides if any given roll is a success. On one particularly fun night she announced, after being unable to find her sheet, "It doesn't matter, the rules don't apply to me anyway, TEE HEE!" We've afften thought about retaliation in game, but at the end of the day it'd just cause more problems. The only reason we stick around is because we've been Friends with the DM for many years, long before he meet his wife.

I guess the moral of the story is it can always be worse. You have to decide if it's worth dealing with or if you're better off just moving on.

There's a place for you at our table. We can always use a dagger-wielding fighter to scare away the yocals...

 

[Sir Osis of Liver]

There's a place for you at our table. We can always use a dagger-wielding fighter to scare away the yocals...

That'd be great, but i'd have to get someone to pay for the plane tickets. MEG?

 

[Angcuru]

I think I have a solution. TELL her that it's a bit annoying. What's she gonna do, tear your lungs out with a shrimp fork?.....

 

[Darkness]

I feal your pain, my group is in a simmilar situation, only i dare say worse. In my case the husband is the DM and the wife is the problem player. I say it's worse because he tells her everything he's going to do, that way she can help weed out the "Bad ideas". ... On one particularly fun night she announced, after being unable to find her sheet, "It doesn't matter, the rules don't apply to me anyway, TEE HEE!" We've afften thought about retaliation in game, but at the end of the day it'd just cause more problems. The only reason we stick around is because we've been Friends with the DM for many years, long before he meet his wife. ...

Ugh.

Sorry to say it, mate, but judging from your description, your friend the DM seems to be an inadequate substitute for an actual friend and/or DM.
Can you still bring him back to the store and have him fixed or replaced, or at least request a refund?

 

[Zogg]

I think I have a solution. TELL her that it's a bit annoying. What's she gonna do, tear your lungs out with a shrimp fork?.....

I did a couple sessions back - basically I noted that occasionally all the other players will miss a session while her husband will, obviously, never miss a session. This was a way to indirectly note the power difference between her hubby's PC and ours. Her response was basically, "You're right. My husbands PC will be more powerful because we always do things together." We have, as a group, discussed the possibilities of her running solo adventures for those that miss sessions (whole other ball of wax entirely) and most of us, myself included, disagree with handing out XP to those that miss sessions so that they can keep up with the rest of the group.

Again, it really isn't a huge deal as there are other things going on in the party - and the party has a good amount of personality due in large part to the other players. I'm not a whiner, but if it continues to be an issue I will address it. I do believe the other players are aware of the difference - but whether or not we will address it as a group comes down to the pride of each player. Acknowledging the strength of the wizard also means you acknowledge that, in comparison, your own PC doesn't cut the cake.