D&D 5E Your Biggest Gaming Pet Peeve

[JackOfAllTirades]

House rules designed by over-zealous no-talent wanna-be "game designers" who couldn't DM their way out of wet paper sack if their players helped them and ripped it halfway. I mean, yeah, we get it. He's got lots of ideas. The problem is, they all suck.

 

[Maxperson]

Greetings, DM Innerdude!

Allow me to introduce my character. Per your exacting standards, I will not be playing the same character I have played for the last four decades, Legolas.

Instead, I will be playing ... an elf ... an amazing archer ... by the name of Leg o' Lamb!



/runs away, ducks from dice being thrown at head

Me, too. Only mine is better as he is optimized. His name is Leg-up.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Askaval30]

*groan*

 

[innerdude]

SEEE!!!! THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE!!! PUNNY NAMES ARE A SCOURGE UPON US ALL!!

SHUN THE NON-BELIEVERS! SHUUUUUUUUUN!











For appropriate example of shunning the non-believers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsGYh8AacgY

 

[Brandegoris]

I Dislike unflexible rules lawyers. Rules as written are great and I attempt to follow them, but sometimes they stifle the GM and ruin a good story. There has to be room to create and work together.... I find that Many rules lawyers also happen to be Sh*t role players! LOL
Not always...just usually!

 

[MostlyHarmless42]

There are probably a number of things. A few though...

1) When players are habitually late/not prepared. I get being busy, but consistently is frustrating.

2) Electronics while gaming. I get that spell apps and useful tools exist. I even understand that things come up, or the desire to multitask. What I freaking HATE though is when I have to explain things multiple times, or wait on you to realize I just asked you a question because you are browsing Facebook or playing some damn mobile game on your phone/tablet!

3) Players or DMs who make the game an "us vs. them" thing with an adversarial mindset. I want everyone to have fun and tell a good story damn it! Constantly trying to undercut me (as a DM or a player) with ruleslawyering, unreasonable munchkining, or the next couple points below really ticks me off and is not helpful.

4) Players who ever claim someone else is "Playing It Wrong (tm)." Outside of a rules misunderstanding, or my final point, there is no wrong way to ever roll or play a character. Period. Your fun (tm) is not being negatively impacted because someone decided to play a Dwarven wizard with an int of 8 nor if the min/maxing power gamer doesn't roleplay much (though the latter admittedly can make it a bit harder to tell a story in some cases).

5) When a player pitches serious characters, and even complains about the game or other players not being serious enough or having the right tone, yet THEY themself are incapable of roleplaying a serious character or ARE the primary cause of the lack of seriousness or appropriate tone. Stuff like making unfunny or inappropriate jokes for the sake of "lightening up" or "counterbalancing" the DM, especially when their character isn't even present. Or constantly trying to slip in modern references or off topic out of character jokes that "their character would never say!"

 

[RCanine]

My pet peeve is easy. Failed skill checks that don't advance the plot.

Player: "I want to open the door."
DM: "It's stuck. Roll athletics."
Player: "I rolled a 2, but I'm super strong so the result is 9."
DM: "You fail."
Other player: "Ok i'll try. I rolled a 16. My result is 16."
DM: "Ok, you pass. The door opens."

-______-

 

[TennyZab]

My pet peeve is easy. Failed skill checks that don't advance the plot.

Player: "I want to open the door."
DM: "It's stuck. Roll athletics."
Player: "I rolled a 2, but I'm super strong so the result is 9."
DM: "You fail."
Other player: "Ok i'll try. I rolled a 16. My result is 16."
DM: "Ok, you pass. The door opens."

-______-

How would you DM the same situation?

 

[Dualazi]

My main pet peeve is when people try and argue against/for rulings on account of realism. It's almost always argued either in player's favor, or against martial characters, and it has in my experience been a largely unproductive slowdown at the table. As a result, my players have learned (and been told pointedly) that I reject any such arguments on their face. I think what irks me the most is about these interruptions are how selectively they're applied. Unless that hypothetical player is going to complain every time a dragon flies or a spell resolves in a way not perfectly in keeping with our understanding of physics, then I'd rather they not pipe up at all.