Way too much loot?

[VirgilCaine]

Wow. That sucks almost as much as one group in my university gaming club.

Mostly it's mostly the same group of people in two different games:

1) A D&D 3.5 turned homebrew monstrosity, into epic levels with custom PrCs and classes powered up to compensate for not having much magical gear. Along with a boatload of other problems.

2) a D20-esque thing using WP/VP and his custom method of point-based advancement...buying increases in saves or BAB or skills with a pool of points you get when you level up...

They came up with this after the DM got tired of the results of allowing any legal class-race-template combination in a D&D game (the worst PC was a half-minotaur half-ogre feral bakemono with 3 Int...who was going for more strength than Thor).

Can't stand either of the games.

 

[gizmo33]

Since then, I've experienced 3 near TPKs because he is throwing very over CR'd bad guys at us, using the number of party members as justification, but it's really the gear that is making the party overpowered, not the numbers.

Sounds like a Monty Hall game with a bit of a twist. Doesn't sound like you guys are really overpowered or else you wouldn't be getting killed so much. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out the parties equivalent level and adjust the CRs accordingly, so extra equipment IMO is not the problem. Sounds like it's a free-for-all though.

The players had their characters divide up stuff while you weren't around and they short-changed your guy? That's pretty lame - and metagaming probably, unless there was some explanation for why your dwarf was sleeping through all of this. But then again, if it's a Monty Hall game then it's probably also a "Your Character Is You" game. Everyone for themselves obviously.

Somebody got to start as a dragon!? Man, I'm getting nostalgic. Wait till you guys get laser guns. Save yours because it will come in handy during the inevitable PvP. That will help rectify the earlier imbalance in wealth distribution.

 

[lukelightning]

There is along history of brand-new players having weird characters. I think when their friends explain D&D they say things like "it's an open-ended game of limitless variety blah blah blah" so the newbie says "Great! I'm playing a pixie centaur with a flamethrower!"

 

[Jubilee]

I am in a game with ridiculous loot and silly high-powered items, but in my opinion, it's the only thing that makes up for the game itself being ridiculous and tedious, not to mention even more unrealistic than D&D already is at times (we're in Eberron; we went to the mournlands and found out we were really in Diablo 2 - complete with mana and healing potions that work only in the mournlands *boggle* *cry*). I take ruthless advantage of the over-the-top loot to get every divine spell known to the game into my archivist's spell book. I can heal, I can throw fireballs, and now I can plane shift, teleport, and generlaly save the party's rears..

My advice would be to make friends with someone in the group who will make sure you will get your fair share of the loot. The idea that someone would be left out of the loot for not being there is something that's pretty unheard of in the groups I play in, so that seems incredibly unfriendly and uncooperative of your fellow players. If you can't get them to give you a little slack, I'd quit or insist that loot distribution is done at the end of a session. It seems like a really unfair situation to me.

/ali

 

[Cedric]

You've pointed out they are an established group with time invested. Reality time, they aren't changing for you.

So, you have a simple choice, adapt or leave. If you choose to leave, then good luck finding a game that better suits your wants/needs.

If you decide to adapt...then here are some thoughts.

1. Fully participate in combats taking the actions that you think your character would most like take...if you die, so be it. If you die a LOT, more the better. At first, they'll think you suck, but they should come to realize fairly quickly that you don't suck, you're just terribly underpowered.

2. As you continue struggling, especially being undergeared, make it clear to the others when you have a slot that obviously needs upgrading. Don't be obnoxious about it and toss down a shopping list. Start with the bigger needs and just make it clear...oh, I'm using a so-and-so, does anyone have something better they aren't using or I can borrow? Fairly quickly they will identify the fact that compared to them, your gear sucks. Hopefully they'll do something about it.

3. You've decided to stay, so find a way to have fun with it. Find a niche for you, a schtick that you can repeat until it becomes fun or humorous, etc. 90% of the time that people don't enjoy an entertainment related activity, it's because they aren't investing the effort to enjoy it. Not just to participate in it, but to enjoy it.

*shrugs*

These are just my thoughts. Whatever you decide, I hope it works out well for you.

Cedric

 

[Olaf the Stout]

It looks like you have answered your own question anyway but I thought that I would add my 2 cents.

Are you having fun? If not, do you think there is anything that you could change so that you could start having fun in this game? If not, quit and find a better group.

Basically I think it come down to the fact that RPG's should be fun. If you're not enjoying it then there' not much point in playing.

Olaf the Stout

 

[airwalkrr]

I know what your problem is werk. You want to play D&D. The other players just want to play. It sounds to me like this campaign is not so much about playing a game as it is about hanging out and BSing with buddies, as the campaign clearly sounds like it has a LOT of BSing. It even sounds like some of the players are clearly cheating, yet the DM doesn't seem to call them out on it.

If you think this group is worth hanging with (and that is a decision you alone must make), then all you have to do is start playing the way they play. Don't keep a completely accurate track of your hit points (e.g. "forget" to subtract some hits). Inflate your attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks a bit. Min/max the hell out of your character (the DM seems pretty open so try some tried-and-true abusable combos like Leap Attack and Shock Trooper). In general, just let the actual rules of the game take a back seat to hanging out and chilling. It seems like that is all they are there for anyway.

Me? I could never play with a group like that. I am a stingy DM with magic items and treasure and have what most consider very draconian policies on PC item creation. But my players always enjoy my games.

 

[delericho]

I'd advise leaving. Your style just isn't going to mesh with theirs, so there's little point in continuing.

However, even leaving aside the crazy wealth issues and the munchkin houserules (a race that gets free True Res on death? Is he serious), there are two big issues that would need to be sorted out before I could advise staying.

1) Houserules. Okay, the DM has lots of them. That's his prerogative. But, he absolutely should be publishing them in a format that players can check at their leisure, not relying on his haphazard and wandering explanations of the rules. If there were one or two here and there, it would be different, but the extent to which he's messed with things would make that game unplayable to me without a hardcopy of all the changes.

2) They distributed the loot before you arrived, and shortchanged your character. Actually, forget the shortchanging of the character - they distributed the loot before you got there. That's just rude, and totally unacceptable behaviour in a group of supposed friends.

I would say that if you can get both these issues sorted out, and if you're otherwise enjoying the game, stick it out. If any of those conditions is not met, leave. Don't burn any bridges, but just explain that this game's not for you, and go.