D&D 5E What DM flaw has caused you to actually leave a game?

[200orcs]

First D&D session ever, 2nd edition, 16 years old. My friend that invited me over makes a fighter and he wanted to be an Archer.

DM, you can't buy a bow during character creation...ok my friend says.

Game starts, we are in a village. My friend asks if there any stores that sell weapons around. There is one, asks for a bow. He doesn't have one says the DM.

Friend: Is there an adventurer's guild here?
DM: Yes
Friend: I go there, I look around , does anyone have a bow on them
DM: No
Friend: ok...is there a butcher in the village
DM: yes, and there is a Hunter's guild too
Friend: I go to the Hunter's guild. Hey guys can I buy a bow?
DM: no one has a bow
Friend: to sell, or they don't have one?
DM: no one has bows or can sell you one
Friend: (losing his mind) how the f do you hunt? With your penis?

Regardless, we are 16, we have to wait for his dad to come get us so we can't leave yet...so we keep playing. Get a quest, we have to travel to another village, 3 hour walk from where we are.

We agree to go, friend says "maybe they have bows there". DM, ok you have to role-play for 3 hours while you are traveling. Like 3 hours real time.

We look at each other, his dad is coming in three hours, so might as well try.

DM gets his G-Shock watch to time us for 3 hours. We decide that this sucks and actually leave the game.

We walked to my friends house, a 2 hour walk talking about how ridiculous that DM was, and the usual 16 year old stuff.

Me: you know talking while walking for 2 hours doesn't seem so bad when you actually do it in real life
Friend: now if we only had a bow...

 

[togashi_joe]

I am a fiirm believer that no gaming is better than bad gaming. I've left a lot of games over the decades.

I left games over DM restrictions that made no sense. For example, one game of 1e, I created a Magic-User as did a second player. We each got some interesting spells and wanted to trade with each other. The DM said we couldn't; apparently he wanted our spell lists to remain unique so our PCs were distinct. So I left.

I left games when it became obvious the DM was interested in playing my character. "Your character wouldn't do that." is a sure sign I'm leaving.

I left games when the DM was obviously not into running. Cancelling with limited notice, getting started very late, obviously unprepped and unprepared to run when games actually went ahead.

I left games over DM behaviour towards the players. I've seen both blatant favortism and antagonism and abandoned games for both.

I left games when player-to-player animosity got too much whether I was personally involved or not.

I left games over bait-and-switch campaign alterations. For example, one game I started was sold as a Traveler-esque game using Hero system rules. About 5 sessions in, the universe was destroyed and the PCs ended up in Chivalry and Sorcery. Another was an Aftermath campaign sold as the PCs were sailing up the Mississippi delta. About 10ish sessions in we discovered the PCs were in a dome on a Starlost style generation ship which invalidated a couple of backstories (the dome was 20ish miles across and one PC was a fighter pilot from California).

I left games when the house rules and rulings in play changed wildly from session to session without obvious reason or notification.

I left games over undisclosed but material house rules that substantialy impacted my character and its future development. Upon disclosure I ask myself if I would have joined the campaign if it had been disclosed at the start and if the answer is no, I leave.

I left a game when the colour of the game started to veer wildly away from PG-13. I don't want to paticipate in group phone-sex or torture porn, thanks.

Mostly I DM. I don't do or tolerate any of the above in my games.
​

Wow, you and I are extremely alike. After nearly 30 years of forever-DMing and sometimes-playing, I've been in almost all of these situations too. Like you, I am a firm believer that no gaming is better than bad gaming and have left a lot of games over the years.

Boring GMs/DMs are another reason why I leave games. My time is very valuable and if I'm just not having fun, then I leave too. I've also left a game or two because I just didn't like another player or their PC or didn't like the group enough to remain when other players I did get along with have left.

 

[Harzel]

how the f do you hunt? With your penis?

Let me guess. This became a catch phrase that you have used ever since (with this friend) whenever someone (especially someone in charge of something) is being incomprehensibly unreasonable.

 

[Harzel]

Man, the Russians are everywhere these days!

Good thing the KGB never had such an extensive network infiltrating all levels of American society and government...

Hey! No throwing rocks across the pond until you've got your own mess cleaned up.

 

[Yunru]

Hey! No throwing rocks across the pond

Yeah, you might hit the cameras on the other side!

 

[S'mon]

Hey! No throwing rocks across the pond until you've got your own mess cleaned up.

Oh, there are Russkies under every bed here too!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Let me guess. This became a catch phrase that you have used ever since (with this friend) whenever someone (especially someone in charge of something) is being incomprehensibly unreasonable.

It would have in our group, for sure! And there would be the requisite jokes about using feats like Manyshot, too.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

So, apparently, during the Cold War, the Soviets thought extraordinarily highly of Canada's spy service because they never could catch us in the act.

Turns out, of course, that we were just playing hockey.

So curling is what you use for encoding messages, then!