Creepy Neckbeard Weeb Tries to STALK a D&D Player (+ More) - RPG Horror Stories

[@captainhuman]

Petition to refer to the fact that so many horror stories involve curse of strahd “the curse of curse of strahd”

[@CrispysTavern]

I’m invoking executive power to make this a thing in the tavern.

[@lordinquisitor6233]

@@CrispysTavern the cursed of strahd

[@aquabluerose7734]

This is hilarious and awesome

[@mydogsquirtsmemorys4010]

Here here

[@Xaalderan]

Having my first game and it's curse of strahd so I hope nothing bad happens ;_;

[@betreach9061]

for the neckbeard story: MACE, MACE , MACE, MACE, BUY MACE. HIS EYES ARE FORFIT

[@Mrinsecure]

"Why is Curse of Strahd always in these horror stories?" Because it's a horror-adventure module that specifically appeals to people with edgier tendencies, and it has a lot of potential pitfalls for inexperienced/incompetent DMs. Also, there's a certain extent to which its popularity works against itself- cast a bigger net, you'll catch more fish, both good and bad.

[@tepmurt9981]

*I stand in the corner and don't read your comment.*

[@AuntLoopy123]

@@tepmurt9981 With your doll-like eyes?

[@falxblade1352]

@@AuntLoopy123 everyone laughed at that. All Except Fehkar

[@pv1612]

Yeah my DM outright said that they’re removing and changing shit cause the original module sucks in quite a few places

[@TheMightyBattleSquid]

@@pv1612 The DM for Puffin Forest said the same thing in the wrap-up video they did. A lot of the named enemies are just sort of there with no real explanation for why, for example.

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

I heard someone played a paladin as a parole officer to the rogue. I fucking love that so much.

[@coda821]

Since when did rogues get confused with a kind of make-up? Or is this just a joke I don't understand?

[@AuntLoopy123]

@@coda821 Hehe. English majors, unite!

[@AuntLoopy123]

That sounds awesome! In fact, I think paladins are GREAT! They have a lot going for them, really. Especially if you use them multi-class to add a bit of religious flavor to another class. But I think it's really cool to be able to be a classic fighter, but with clerical spells.

[@coda821]

@@AuntLoopy123 Bad spellers UNTIE!

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

@@coda821 yes! we shale piss the englash mayjours wit our bad spelligs! phear us!!

[@jdizzy192]

My favorite factoid about any neckbeard is that they will always eventually reveal how much of a virgin they are by their absolute lack of understanding of female anatomy. They seriously think a meat tube is enough to "stretch" an opening can accommodate the head of a baby.

[@MyAramil]

I mean, when im at the grocery store I do go get those tubes of meat and they would be big enough XD but not any guys little member

[@skyfox585]

Idkkk, theres definitely some loose shit around.

[@jdizzy192]

@@skyfox585 Thats just different people feeling different. Again, unless a guy's flesh stick is as thick as a babies entire head then there's no way he's gonna make anything loose.

[@PaladinGear15]

What is it with every neckbeard assuming someone's boyfriend is abusive? They must honestly think of themselves as the main character of the whole universe's story and everyone else is all the same, women are just there as goals for them, and men are there as obstacles, it's so stupid.

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

One word: Projection

[@trillionbones89]

It's projection in many cases and protagonist syndrome in the other cases.

[@Royalbluelemonz]

The true curse of Strahd is inflicting a D&D horror story upon the players.

[@kariissmol9172]

I know the cure, just let the DM not take it seriously and have fun. I know should I run Curse of straht, Strahd will just be Frank N furter in a wig

[@michaelmclaughlin261]

...exactly. It's very difficult to edge lord in say, Keep on the Borderlands. "I'm gonna stay in the back and not talk to anyone, I'm not here to make any friends. " "Good to know. You gonna help us go into the tunnel and kill the Goblins? Or should we head back to the tavern and grab some ale?" :P

[@Tytoalba777]

"1d4 is the most minor dice in the game" don't worry 1d2, I still remember you...

[@megakinghydra2060]

Wouldn’t a 1d2 just be a coin?

[@Tytoalba777]

@@megakinghydra2060 yes

[@BillyBasd]

And 1d3!!

[@starbird3939]

Seriously, any guy that sees Kanna as anything related to “sexy” is gonna wave a red flag (author included). She looks and acts and is treated like a child. There is no way you can use the “300 years old” excuse to me.

[@Phantom_of_Black]

You would be correct. Kanna is by any stretch of the imagination, a child. If want to have the sex with Kanna, you're a pedo.

[@littlepeach2010]

OP, should never have engaged with NB other than the Bus ride home, and if she felt uncomfortable why not get her Boyfriend to pick her up from the Game every week, that way she would not have to interact with NB at all out of the Game, this is one story where I want to see NB and the rest of the Partys side

[@nintendoman12111]

@@littlepeach2010 Well maybe she doesn't want to have her boyfriend to just be his choffer

[@FirstDayson]

@@littlepeach2010 fuckin yikes nice guy

[@starbird3939]

@@littlepeach2010 we found the victim blamer.

[@Phantom_of_Black]

Okay about Kanna, the character on the Neck beard's t-shirt - she's lived for 300 human years but by dragon standards she doesn't just look like a 5-year-old, she IS 5 - she's just straight up a child in universe. And it's not played for "legal loli" stuff as you would assume, Kobayashi, the MC of the anime she's from basically becomes her mom. Not to say the anime isn't a bit sus, but I would say the character that actually rings the pedo alarm bells is Lucoa since she's a fully grown dragon (based on Quetzalcoatl) who takes the form of a very curvaceous adult woman who hangs out in the house of a human boy who is as old as Kanna would be mentally by human standards and is clearly uncomfortable with how much the dragon lady likes making physical contact with him. It's played for comedic fanservice but it still rubs me the wrong way whenever I see it. But yeah, Kanna t-shirt could be an even bigger red flag than you think since the anime just treats her like the child she is. Thankfully most of the fanbase actually realizes she doesn't pass the Harkness test.

[@kannakamui2334]

Well said.

[@vegeta002]

It's been a while since I red the manga but from what I remember of Lucoa, she was originally just trying to repay him for letting her live in his house after he summoned her, she wasn't attracted to him and the only reason she went with seduction was because he rejected everything else she tried to do and acting as a concubine was the only thing she had left. They eventually just flanderized her, erasing whatever character she had and turning her into a one-note pedo joke. Frankly, I think she was funnier when she was just too out-of-touch with modern Humanity to not understand why he kept calling her a Succubus. At least then it was just a misunderstanding. Funnily enough, there is actually a chapter in the manga where Lucoa learns about a story from Fafnir (I think it was a manga he either owned or was writing) about an adult Woman trying to seduce a young boy and she was horrified by the woman's behaviour. Just a little bit of self-awareness sneaking its way into the manga.

[@kyriss12]

I blame the kids paretns for naming him Shota.

[@Creshosk]

Yeah, Kanna is baby.

[@darklord884]

@@vegeta002 To be perfectly honest, it doesn't get nearly as one-note with her as some may claim. She is still shown as really out of touch with modern times and she has shown no actual sexual interest in Shouta at all. It's not even that she had ever tried to seduce him, she is just simply so open and free-spirited about being nude that he mistakes it for seduction. It's even shown when people are suggesting outfits for Kobayashi and her suggestion is that of an Aztec warrior with basically no coverage because that's just the culture she spent a lot of time in. I think her being horrified at the thought of Fafnir's story concept isn't self-awareness but her genuinely being uncomfortable with the idea of forcing herself on him. Plus his cries of "DEMON!" are more of a running gag of their part of the story. At one point Lucoa even tells him she likes him not because of anything superficial but because he accepted her and allowed her to live at his home. From what I've seen, she's more of a weird aunt than an actual sexual partner with him. It's more likely just the effect of so many people sexualizing her (which is not wrong, she's pretty hot) that I think this had a minor detrimental effect on some people's view of the relationship in the actual story.

[@michaeldolan5792]

"...since a certain dark elf bard broke his samurai's heart..." >sigh< His samurai. Because OF FRAKING COURSE the incel neckbeard weeb is playing a samurai.

[@Dareon0]

"Why is it always Curse of Strahd?" Because Curse of Strahd is stated as being one of the best modules and so many many more people are gonna play it. Law of averages basically means it's more likely for a horror story to be from Curse of Strahd than any other module due to its popularity

[@lighthadoqdawg]

It's recommended as a beginner's module. being the best has nothing to do with it. the attitude that it's one of the best is what makes it prone to disasters like this.

[@Dareon0]

@@lighthadoqdawg You aren't wrong on that end.

[@spoonyluv19]

Why is it that neckbeards always attempt to flirt with women and then get mad as soon as they found out that the woman they want is unavailable or uninterested

[@ruecumbers]

More than likely just a reflection of their own insecurities, especially with all the "chad" rhetoric I see thrown around. The misogynistic internet circles these types of people are funneled into definitely exacerbate the problem. What kills me about this guy in particular is he waited to make his move until AFTER she blatantly told him she had a boyfriend.

[@akmi1931]

Doesn’t help that the only understanding of how to deal with women in the real world comes from erotic fiction (not just anime, might you) I understand this because I was a victim of it myself. Fortunately, I never became that bad.

[@minamajikina8075]

Entitlement and skewed, unrealistic expectations about life. They think it's going to work like a rom-com or an anime where the guy always gets the girl.

[@minamajikina8075]

@@ruecumbers A lot of them do that. They think they're somehow "better" than the boyfriend they've never met, and who's always an abusive, unfaithful Chad in their deranged imaginations. Clearly the girl should leave that no-good Chad for a good guy like *them*. It's even better when you're an asexual woman, and they won't take that as a valid reason for your disinterest. Can't tell you how many guys have spouted cringey lines about how I "just haven't met the right guy".

[@robertbryant8243]

@@minamajikina8075 Doesn't just happen to women. Try being a guy and telling your mom that you're not interested in having kids.

[@WhirlyBeepBoops]

I happen to be playing a paladin in my very first campaign because the party (Cleric, Warlock, and I think either a Monk or a Fighter?) was going to need a tank. I'm the kind of person who likes to fill in holes like that, to help as much as I can. It'll take a while for me to get full RP confidence and a good grasp of my character, but our first session was pretty fun!

[@jaycraw6978]

Dude you are a godsend for some groups keep it up!!!!!

[@luvleighangel]

I am currently playing a tiefling paladin in my very first campaign. We're five sessions in. I can't recall how my DM and I ended up choosing paladin as her class, but it's awesome (and I'm only LV 2)!! I don't understand any hate!! No neckbeards need come, stay, or return!!!

[@dudemcguy8949]

Paladins are awesome! It’s just… some people

[@tuomasronnberg5244]

Huffing dog farts to win DnD is an entirely new kind of pathetic I've not seen before :T

[@NyanNoodles]

Hey, I'm the U/NyanNoodles you've read about, and I am so sorry for the painful moment you had for reading my story. I had one of your fans link this story to me, and I'm happy to hear someone talk about it. How I survived? Well, one bad apple never ruins the fun experience with the entire batch for me, during the games with him, he would be mainly focused on his own character, and yeah, tried to make advances to my Dark Elf, but my friends had me covered with some physical damage that sometimes went to Nat20 and had him end up in hospital or inn for recovery. But overall, I had no contact with him as of yet, he possibly moved out of town, and the group is planning to reunite again. Thank you very much on making a video on this, and overall, I think I found my new favorite channel to listen to when I'm doing the doodles c:

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

if a dog's fart is that bad, he needs a vet.

[@Aja-e5j]

Or it's just a dog

[@xpandorasboxx]

Any fart smells bad, some animals, and people, just have sensitive stomachs and that can cause it to happen more often

[@jacksparrowismydaddy]

@@xpandorasboxx yeah but normally they can't clear a room

[@APerson-ws4cw]

@@jacksparrowismydaddy mine can, he's healthy

[@RAClaus3]

It's not Curse of Strahds fault that it's the best 5e adventure, so everyone runs it.

[@lighthadoqdawg]

that's not even remotely true. even if ravenloft/barovia is your favorite setting. not even getting into story and pacing, it promises a more exploration and RP heavy experience. but then literally will TPK the party at murder house if they aren't combat focused and encourages arbitrary interparty conflict for the sake of it. (again, muder house)

[@pv1612]

@@lighthadoqdawg From my understanding, the bar for official content is incredibly low

[@inversenexarus9152]

@@lighthadoqdawg This sounds more like you being salty, than actual criticism of Death House. Perhaps your group didn't have a session zero where the DM should have explained that Curse of Strahd is a hard and challenging module. Perhaps your party went straight down to the basement and thought they could take on the Shambling Mound? Perhaps your party was just unlucky with dice rolls? Literally yesterday my character died in death house while we were trying to flee. Instead of complaining I took the opportunity to make my character act selfless and happy to die, so long as others could live. I had no salt, in fact the DM offered a Dark Power contract resurrection. So now I'm actually more powerful with a Dark Gift because I died while roleplaying my character well.

[@lighthadoqdawg]

@@inversenexarus9152 Nowhere did I say /my/ party TPKed in death house or that I was mad at it's balancing. You'd like to assume that because you're being reactionary to defend something that you like apparently. my point was to address the issues that the module has that would take away from any claims of it being "the best 5e adventure." When it's main selling point, the gothic horror setting and atmosphere plays second to the main villian and a couple of officially written DMPCs constantly reminding you that your characters were better off not even coming here because nothing you do matters unless Strahd wants it to. the game is often recommended for beginners, which is a misstep because it's goal clearly was to subvert expectations of what the average DnD campaign is. The only thing beginner about it is it's level 1 start. which is optional by the way, the book tells you to use it if you wanna start level 1 and specially states it's designed to get characters to 3 before strahd truly begins. Murder house also sets a false precedent for the rest of the game. As it barely has anything to do with the main adventure. and is very skillcheck/random encounter based. Strahd gets credit for being very RP heavy and storytelling driven. After the ghost kids send you into the mansion nothing else even talks to you under you find the mound. the house itself tells you just a little about Barovia and the state it's in. Most of the house's lore is of the house itself, and nothing after it really makes it relevant. In the end, it's only purpose is to play out level's 1 to 3. and the creatures they chose to set you up against are all deadly encounters for a party of 4 level 1 characters. except the mound, which is deadly for a group of 4 level 2's, lmao.

[@lighthadoqdawg]

@@inversenexarus9152 "Also I want to point out that your DM specifically rewarded you power for playing along with the narrative. You, outside of game. decided to kill your character to complete the puzzle. and you said it yourself. you're happy because it paid off for you by giving your character power. You essentially metagamed and were awarded for it. You even outted yourself by pointing out that you merely took the opportunity to make your character a martyr rather than it being something worked into. If strahd said in the module that the game was built around constant character death and early character death. it would make sense. but it's not. it sells itself on the horror aspect. the gothic aspect. ravenloft and barovia. Strahd himself. but then plays out like a deadly danger dungeon from the getgo. Your DM made strahd good for you. as many DMs have to do to make the module good. that's not what i call a good module

[@Meanlucario]

Intro: Got to give the power gamers credit for suffering in real life for their in-game buffs. Homophobic Harassment: Those guys are elitist dicks. 5e made paladins very accessible, and holy warriors are fun to play. I don't think I need to explain the problem with the homophobic guys. I hope OP does try again and find a group that actually meets and doesn't have elitist in it. Romance of Strahd: I forgot about the Critcrab video on this one. Yeah, that DM was very bad, and the other two who encourages it are part of the problem. If they just kept most of that in the car ride and limit the "advancements" in them, as well as focus on the entire group at the table and not just his friends, everyone should be much happier. Cursed of Strahd being great is what makes it popular for both good and bad DMs/players. Neckbeard... Stalker?!: This one creep me out. I hope anyone who has to deal with that type of person gets the therapy they might need after meeting them. Glad he didn't ruin the game for her. Also, the character Kanna is, for the most part, just a cute child character. Other than when she was going to get freaking with a preschoool girl. There's a reason I stop watching/reading Dragon Maid. Entitlement RUINS D&D: ...I feel like her groups aren't as good as she thinks they are. It's not really D&D if the "group" rarely meets up and mostly just one-on-one the DM like they hate each other guts but are obligated to play with her. Her trying to force it on others instead of just recognizing that wasn't the group for her was the worst part, since it killed the DM's enjoyment and the game.

[@ScarabD]

Yeah also, arguably, a paladin could make a GREAT first character to play as if you wanted an easy bit of character development. The typical ones almost always fall into the area of questioning their loyalty to their chosen god and I feel like there's all sorts of pathways you can take with that.

[@MyAramil]

For the stalker thing? this is why I always advise the woman I work with or game with to get some form of pepper spray at least. the world is crazy and lots of people are. . . not good.

[@jillianh7565]

Never thought I’d have a dnd horror story of my own but after this week Strahd is the least of my worries. Basically I joined a Ravenloft text chat after expressing interest in the game and it’s lore. I met a handful of nice people and things were good. One guy even helped me RP an interaction between Strahd and my character as I haven’t had too many RP moments in my game yet. Our first text RP session was good and easy. This guy played as Strahd like a pro. A few days later we tried to RP a situation between our two pc’s. Things were a little weird but not overly creepy. Eventually this guy finds my social media accounts and starts making sexual jabs at me. I make it clear that I have a boyfriend and will only go so far when I RP, but he keeps pushing. Eventually his messages get really creepy to the point of stalking, and I start having nightmares about Ravenloft. I banned him from my discord server and hope this experience won’t impact my thoughts on Ravenloft and Strahd as a whole.

[@ScarabD]

@@jillianh7565 Wow, what a creep that was, glad you blocked him.

[@jillianh7565]

@@ScarabD Me too. Honestly I’m glad I stopped it before things went further. This guy tried to say that he was “playing as Strahd” but last I checked doesn’t the other person need to know the context before you start an RP session? Like, ok I get Strahd is somewhat of a predator but that doesn’t give this guy the right to use that character in a conversation about real life. I’ve been having nightmares about Strahd for a few days now and even contemplated leaving the Ravenloft chat and cutting back on playing Ravenloft altogether. I think I understand how Tatyanna felt after this encounter. ☺️ In fact if I were to title this story it would be something like Nice guy uses the mask of Strahd to target new player.

[@johnoneil9188]

I have never DMed but I can imagine how much work and effort it is to construct a game every week and to deal with all the nonsense your players could potentially come up with. Doing that for three seperate people would be madness.

[@MyAramil]

Oh hell yeah it would just be horrible. I could see if it was a once per month game. but. . . I dont even like the party seperating while in town for to long, it gets a bit much trying to jump between them.

[@AtelierGod]

The paladin thing sounds like they’ve had one to many lawful stupid ones, from what I remember each of their problems was with the class, I’ve forgotten the rest.

[@TheMightyBattleSquid]

"Why is it always curse of strahd???" Probably because it has the edgiest name/cover/rep of recent modules lol

[@somerandomschmuck2547]

I tend to listen to these in the background while I do other stuff, occasionally glancing back every now and then. I was doing that around 14:14 when I happened to spot the line about the Tofu OC. I had to pause the video and walk away for solid minute simply to come to grips with fact that a person said that to another person. unironically, in their first ever real interaction with said person, and that is the reality we all live in. Update after continuing: dear lord in heaven it only gets worse

[@alexandraelizabeth8522]

Honestly life is filled with neckbeards like the one in this story, changing your entire life to avoid men like that means turning into a hermit and it's just not worth it to let them take our space from us. A good DM would have asked that guy to leave the group.

[@rmansfield6]

15:33 I am convinced this is this guy's first encounter with an actual woman...

[@zixserro1]

First story: OP dodged a bullet, 100%. Between being chided for wanting to play a certain class and the unmitigated harrassment, if they'd stayed long enough to actually play, I guarantee it would've been a horrible experience. OP wouldn't have been able to play who she wanted, would've been mocked the whole time, and probably would've lost any interest in the game. Glad they still want to play, and hopefully they can find a group. Second story: Nothing I can really add that wasn't already said. DM should've made the romance angle clearer from the start, and the three other players should've just dipped out as soon as those car sessions started happening, because that's totally unfair to the group overall. Third story: Jesus, this fucking guy. This is the most cliche cringe weeb piece of shit I've heard of in a while. I thought we'd left this type of otaku garbage in 2012; this must be one of the last of his kind, a dying breed. Hopefully. From the reaction of everyone going quiet when he first showed up in the story, it sounds like the rest of the group didn't want him there either, understandably. Glad for OP that they left and that OP could continue playing with that group. (I have nothing against people who enjoy anime or think Japan is cool. I enjoy anime. I think Japan is cool. I just think it's awful when you take a love of anime and Japan, enhance it, combine it with being a pervert, and make that your entire personality.)

[@juliodavila424]

Jeez, these stories are even scarier than facing 2ed undead without a scroll of restoration available to the party! Specially that second story. A good takeaway for everyone, but specially for the young folk, is NEVER hesitate to tell someone who is making you uncomfortable to fuck right the fuck off. Don't be afraid of "causig a scene" (you aren't, they are) when you assert your boundaries. As a corollary, do not entertain"WeLl, He DoEsn'T KnoW BEtTer" as an excuse, or any reproaches that you should take the incel under your wing to teach him the error of his ways. He had his mommy and daddy for that, and if they screwed that up, it's not up to you.

[@daniellugo2541]

Love the seamless “that’s gross” comment that flowed so effortlessly into the narration. I honestly paused to read and see if it was there. It’s the little things that further solidify my preference for Crispy over some of the other TTRPG horror stories narrators. No hate to them, but Crispy just makes me laugh more. This channel ads a great background to my day to day work. Thank you!

[@CoreXion_]

That last story, it does sound like some of the game shops that I have found in London before the lockdown happened and certainly makes sense that a neckbeard would be there. Lot of the game shops that I have found in London that are as described in the story are also under raised railways that bridge over roads... so a perfect place for a neckbeard troll.

[@DameiusLameocrates]

human warlock pretending to be a wizard to keep up with her sister and not get disowned sounds so fucking cool as a concept

[@marsbabey]

The face I made during the entirety of the cute girlypop OP’s story…….. May she never cross those fiends again

[@FamiliarEvils]

I don't know how anyone sticks around when someone tosses the words "breedable" out. That is not just a red flag, it's a contingent of red flags born upon trumpets announcing the arrival of the one person you don't want to ever talk to again.

[@chaos4654]

Kanna comes from 'Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid'. She is basically the adopted daughter of Miss Kobayashi, and is treated as such by basically everyone in/out of universe. The anime is probably in the top 50 for some of the most cute Slice of Life comedy anime to watch. The titular Dragon Maid, Tohru is very thirsty for Kobayashi. Very very thirsty.

[@mesiagamer5217]

Wish the writer would get that in there thick skull from what I've heard.

[@MyAramil]

XD yeah. Kanna is cute as a button, totally spoil worthy

[@skyfox585]

Thus some weird shit right here

[@darklord884]

@@skyfox585 Weird but really cute.

[@skyfox585]

@@darklord884 Fair, I just started watching Mushoko Tensei and its got some weird shit too but good show.

[@hideshiseyes2804]

Just bingeing these videos and enjoying the feeling of relief that, although I’ve had some bad RPG sessions at times, I’ve never had anything approaching experiences like this. That neckbeard one was especially grim.

[@generaldreagonlps6889]

"Following me around the room, and continuing to harass me." How very Rimworld.

[@whitetigerfire1]

Hearing the pureness if crispy slowly fade from cinnamon roll to (idk) is absolutely hilarious to me love your voice and video's crispy ^^

[@duddledeedo]

That's why high school ttrpg clubs should have a teacher be the DM or at least be supervising.

[@AuntLoopy123]

If you can't find a group with a leader who will help you, perhaps it's time to take the bull by the horns, and be your own DM. Invite players to join you, and if they misbehave, bring down the ban hammer quickly. Let your group know that you will NOT allow the kind of behavior that drove you out of other games. You'll probably find some VERY grateful players that way, who have also been driven out of local groups by the same or similar bad behavior. And you don't have to be Forever DM. Just the first DM for the group. After the group, as a whole, has become comfortable with each other, odds are someone else will want to give it a try. Also note: Players have agency, too. They can stand up and say, 'HEY! Not cool! Does anyone else want to stop this behavior?' and ask for a vote. You can always ask for a vote.

[@aquicandaquak822]

14:35 you sounded so hurt having to read that lmao

[@JimJimStutz]

The problem with that last story is that I've run "that game" before, and successfully, but the trick is, as always, that everyone has to be on board. The game was Fading Suns, a science fiction game where the PCs tend to be power players within the factions that they represent... it's not at all uncommon for a starting PC to have a noble title or to command their own battleship or to run a fiefdom the size of a Western European country, and PCs dropping all of their responsibilities to dick around in a dungeon together doesn't happen with regularity. I made sure everyone knew up front what sort of game this was going to be: "This is essentially 'Game of Thrones' in space, you'll cross paths when your goals align, or when you need something from one another (why direct a PC toward an NPC when I can just point them toward another PC so they can both have screen time?), but you're not a band of merry adventurers just screwing around for the lulz, because your characters are Important People who have shit to do." Everyone was on board, so that was the game that I ran, and we all had a blast. The players particularly liked watching their compatriots at the table, by degrees, get themselves into and out of hot water; we had a lot of people who liked that sort of roleplaying, and waiting for "their turn" wasn't a huge burden. But it's not the sort of game I'd spring on anyone as a GM, and it's definitely not the sort of game I'd demand as a player, to the detriment of everyone else in the group who might be expecting a more "D&D-esque" experience. Session Zero, folks. It makes all the difference.

[@Tiniuc]

That thumbnail is such a cute centaur!

[@unluckyone1655]

I think the DM that ran the romance sim in COS was TRYING to run an "adult" game and made it more grueling than fun. As for the module having so many horror stories, well it is one of the more popular and widely played modules of this edition so by pure probability, its likely to have more horror stories involved because of it. Also because of the dark gothic themes of the module, its bound to attract the cringy edgy types so that in itself can be a recipe for RPG horror story there too.

[@Aja-e5j]

Wait, neckbeard tried kabedon? Wow, awkward Irl that's kinda creepy... Hell, even in manga it's sometimes depicted as creepy

[@jareddunn3512]

I've never played Curse of Strahd and from your passion for it I would LOVE to have you as a DM for it. My favorite module is Storm King's Thunder, very specific I know but thanks to my main group of players / real life friends + my wife, we had such an amazing time with it when we ran that I'll always rerun it. It's awesome to see another DM who actively loves a module.

[@Theokal3]

I never understood that whole "Breedable" thing. It's creepy and disturbing. Why do people do that?

[@AlmightyRawks]

I've been listening to a bunch of your videos and something keeps coming back, there's apparently a curse on Curse of Strahd campaigns :P. I hear you say "why is it always CoS, CoS is awesome!" It's probably BECAUSE it is awesome that a very large portion of D&D groups lean towards picking up that module. It's a numbers game. If more people play that adventure, there will be more horror stories. Rest assured, it's still awesome!

[@Bollthorn]

In regards to the last story, the only time our DM ran seperate sessions for us individually, was when we hit level 10 in our 3.5 game and we all either multiclassed, or chose a specific path for our current class, and we had a session to tell the story of how we obtained said new powers. This was especially fun for me, playing a half orc barbarian, who chose to follow the totemic warrior path, and went for the bear totem. We ran a full session about how my half orc began having a bit of an existential crisis when it dawned on him that as a half orc, he would never really accomplish much, and he wouldn't have the time to do anything of note, as even the oldest of half orcs don't live past 60. So he went to the temple of Kord, saught advice, and went on a trial which involved gathering specific herbs, burning them with a reagent he was given at the temple, and smearing it all over his body. He then fought and killed a dire bear on his own, and in a frenzy of rage and bloodlust, was consumed with the overwhelming urge to rip out and eat the bear's heart. Everything turned red and he woke up in a field covered in dried blood. He washed himself, returned tothe city and temple of Kord, asked for the priest who had sent him on his journey, only to find out he had been dead for centuries, and it was he who founded and established the trial. We've not returned to that D&D game in a little while due to the big coof, but I'm eagerly awaiting the next time my barbarian enrages, just to see the looks on the party's faces when he transforms into a bear.

[@DaveTheGM]

Not only did I start with a paladin, it was a 4e paladin. I got in trouble with my party for fouling healing fonts and treating with evil dragons, evidently I wasn't lawful good enough. Real talk, I didn't think to investigate the water before cleaning my character's hands and prostrating before the dragon was just some diplomacy to avoid what was described as a very dangerous situation.

[@khrowv]

Now this is a good way to start the day

[@clockworktri]

I love the character concept of being such a knowledge nerd that you become a vampire to have more time for your research!

[@LaylaSpellwind]

Really glad the Neckbeard one had a happy ending. When they were describing their amazing time and the free elf figurine. I was sat dreading it was all going to go wrong. But, just one awful guy who stopped showing up while everyone else had a good time? That's good.

[@MathewPatrick]

"The Neckbeard Reterns" but honestly let's hope he doesn't.

[@umbrasunbro2142]

I don’t get how that last one counts as horror story material. The player did exactly what most people criticize OPs for not doing: They voiced their opinion and then left when it became apparent the game wasn’t what they had expected or wanted. Whether you agree with how that person thinks D&D should be played (I don’t), that is a good way to deal with the situation. They didn’t fight, they asked, got denied, pleaded their case, and then left realizing the game wasn’t why they wanted to play. Yes, it’s weird to want to minimize group interaction in an RP heavy game, but it could have been way worse.

[@CrispysTavern]

Yeah I'm with you on that. I recorded that story a week ago for a different video. I think I meant it as a buffer for worse stories. Problem is, I recorded the commentary yesterday and forgot most of it. I think I remembered the story as worse than it was. Live and learn.

[@umbrasunbro2142]

@@CrispysTavern oh I can understand that. I also think my expectation got pretty high when the whole “can we do separate RPs” conversation came up. I was like “uh oh, there’s an explosion a-comin’!” And when they just got up and left I was like “oh? That… was pretty civil, actually.”

[@Arcticmaster1190]

I would say it’s a horror story only in the fact that it killed the DM’s will to play the game. I would like to think that part of why we call these horror stories is due to the fact that the experience ruins things for someone else at the table. I would say the insistence of the DM style change was what done in this DM’s experience. I would also say from how this story was told, our problem didn’t just plead their case, they seem to be very insistent on it working and almost trying to demand the DM to adapt to the minority’s play style. If someone tells you straight up no, regardless of the social situation, it really does mean “no”.

[@kannakamui2334]

Why did the Neckbeard have to come in with a shirt of me? I hope he doesn't think of me the way he does OPs Majin character. Also rotfl at that last story. What would be the point of being in a dnd group if the group doesn't interact. I like the occasional solo session, my DM does one on one's for our down time but asking for each member to have a solo adventure rather than operate as a group is too much and would defeat the purpose. In other games I have RPed with people and they got annoyed that I didn't have my character interact with theirs much and that's understandable who wants to do something with someone who refuses to engage them?

[@AntheanCeilliers]

"Due to COVID ... we are cooped up in an unventilated house." . . . . Yeah. I don't think the poison damage roll was just for farts.

[@Urrelles]

What's up with these people these days pushing for dates with people who are already happily in relationships? Like publicly dating and happy and these idiots try to convince people to cheat or leave.

[@The_Brainsturgeon]

14:35 a fatal error has occured and Crispy.exe has shut down.

[@CrispysTavern]

He stopped working a while ago

[@lauxerlegends5973]

I actually played a campaign that was the solo type. We’d sit in on other people’s sessions a lot but rarely interact. Honestly don’t know how the DM could do it, but I enjoyed it a decent amount for a while. Eventually I got a bit overwhelmed going solo (especially after I ended up in a different dimension going through a romance arc while I’m a shy aroace)

[@hellpenguin3031]

I've actually had Curse of Strahd ruined for me twice. I wanted to love it, but don't think I can now. At the very least, I have learned a lot about what not to do when running games from those two DMs.

[@cammando2363]

The neck beard returns! Sad to say I have only played a handful of games and I have run into neck beard too. He made my game play so damning that I didn’t play for 5 years.

[@BlazingKhioneus]

The "hobby club" at my highschool(it's just general tabletop, tcg, a bin full of legos, and anime movie night every now and then sorta club where we just go to this classroom and do whatver of those we want) got dismantled right after I graduated because the kids who were freshmen my senior year just had to be loud, obnoxious, and destructive, and after complaints from staff in and around that classroom, got the club shut down because we can't have nice things. It was such a shame too because that's where I got my first taste of DND(even if it was with a group who sorta begrudgingly let me tag along since I was friends with what I felt was the main friend of the group) and was brought into the Pokémon tcg after the teacher who runs it basically gifting me a bunch of cards form a first deck for myself. It was also how my best friend got into the tcg too. Had a bunch of great memories in that club, including that one Venusaur in Pokémon go that my buggy old ipad wouldnt let me catch back when it was at a local game shop that closed I believe during my sophomore year.

[@iancobb661]

At 14:34 I had a GOOD feeling where things were going at the mention of Majins...God help us

[@Icalasari]

14:40 - My internet went down right at this point What kind of unholy horrors...

[@maeve615]

19:55 it's not just a red flag, it's a StarTrek style RED ALERT Klaxon & flashing red light.

[@benjaminmonard1343]

The neckbeard story actually made me feel like I needed a shower >

[@catandrobbyflores]

One of my curse of strahd playthroughs had romance but it sure as hell wasn't forced.

[@Reid_1998]

The Neckbeard Returns (Sounds like a fifties horror flick, i'd watch it)

[@thecreepoid901]

How come I can see somebody just feeding the dog a can of beans before a big event in an upcoming session?

[@UdonNerdle]

oof whoever the girl is that tried D&D and was harassed there are groups with just girls. I tend to make sure i'm close with the DM so I can speak with them if any of the other players are assholes or creepy. I had a similar experience, but there are a lot of nice people!

[@TheDuchessFox]

Joining a cooperative roleplaying game and then refusing to roleplay unless you're by yourself is wild. Do they just hate all other people??

[@Icalasari]

That last story is so sad. Poor DM got crushed

[@Cell287]

I happened to have read two of these stories on my channel. Cool they got around

[@Arcanist_Gaming]

That background is goddamn _gorgeous._ I would like to camp there.

[@lskulski]

I’m legitimately bummed to see DnD ruined for so many people to the point they no longer want to play it. Seeing a toxic fan community ruin something fun always makes me sad. I’m extremely grateful I only play with my same friend group that got me into DnD in the first place.

[@melaniescribbles]

As an anime fan myself: If someone uses the word breedable, get the hell out of there indeed! No, really, save yourself months worth of drama, and run. Make up some shit about your grandma's auntie's hairdresser's cat dying if you have to, and get the hell out of dodge while you can. Also, don't forget to block them on ALL of your social media. And be sure to keep a sharp eye out if you go to cons, because lord knows these neckbeards like to spend most of daddy's money on those. Go with friends if you can, and alert them to the beard's behavior.

[@AtelierGod]

“Don’t worry about me I’m just doing a blood ritual to summon Unicron to wipe out neckbeard kind”

[@vapx0075]

IDK why I'm laughing so hard at that intro story LFMAO I'm CRyinG!🤣😂gawd help me lol

[@zelancholy]

Dude holy shit I've met that majin tofu person online like a year or two ago? god the world is small.

[@BlazeNStar]

Become dhamphir because more time to research is kind of a mood. Like if I could I'd do that IRL.

[@lt-ug2pz]

Paladin was my first class still playing her 4 years later) and is still my favorite

[@sanguinemde5031]

I play a big Wolfkin Paladin of Bahamut. He is a cigar chewing, foul mouthed dude with a heart of gold who has become the father of the group. Me being the 30 year RPG vet and everyone else being new, I move the party forwards and keep them out of trouble...all in character of course. I just got a Sword of the Dove +1, so I can now summon silver wings and fly at 60' for 1 hour per long rest. So, Its going well. Nothing wrong with Paladins.

[@MyAramil]

Holy crap, that neck beard kanna shirt guy. So many red flags the USSR wants him as a representative.

[@davideldridge3686]

One hour of prep to one hour of play is often a bit low. Especially if you are prepping one-shots. I never run modules, some maybe it is different for those.

[@ozpin8329]

The reason why so many horror stories come out of Curse of Strahd is because it *is* one of the best modules out for 5e. You end up with a lot of first time players and DM's who find themselves playing it for that reason. The complexities and subtleties of it can be completely lost. It's a fantastic module, but I wouldn't recommend it to a first time DM or player because of its complexity.

[@lighthadoqdawg]

Too bad it's pushed as a must for first time players. it's terrible for them and for starting DMs. as what tends to happen is that the entire's expectations are mishandled. and Stradh just ends up being a very well written DMPC boss who will be used to waylay the party constantly.

[@CrispysTavern]

Matt Mercer effect? Meet the Curse of Strahd effect. You are on the mark about mishandled expectations with Strahd. It requires a lot of roleplay make it truly work, more than most new players and DMs are ready for.

[@ozpin8329]

@@CrispysTavern Honestly, if my introduction to DnD was my first ever character dying one session in at Death House, it would be really hard for me to find motivation to keep playing. I've read/heard stories of the same.

[@ozpin8329]

@@lighthadoqdawg Our party started at level 1 with a homebrew campaign to get to level 3, then we jumped into Barovia when the DM pitched CoS to us. Because our party wasn't made with CoS in mind, it's been an *amazing* campaign because none of us are "optimized" for it. We're about halfway through the module and we've only encountered Strahd twice - once when he randomly showed up at our camp while everyone else was asleep and my gnome artificer was on watch. He charmed me and pumped me for info about the party. Second time was at the feast of St. Andral, which we failed miserably. He showed up, knocked out the human paladin in a single hit, then ate a nat20 firebolt from me when he was about to kill her - and it did *nothing.* The only reason the paladin didn't die was because Ireena voluntarily left with Strahd in exchange for our lives. We leveled up after that, and we were able to flavor our levelups as all of us dealing with the trauma of our first real loss in Barovia. The warlock sold half her lifespan to her patron to gain more power (shadow sorcerer dip), the Paladin gained Aura of Protection, and my artificer is currently burning herself out working as hard as she can to make her creations work and create new ones.

[@lighthadoqdawg]

@@ozpin8329 so what you're saying is. it's good because you guys took liberties? anything is good if you /make/ it good. it's kind of disingenuous to recommend something for new players when yoru experience with it was /not/ your first campaign. you played a preparation mini campaign.

[@picses76]

The Neckbeard Returns!

[@wolf1066]

Laughed so hard about the dog farts... I'm such a fucking *_child_* !

[@Nathan-ti9pm]

I was in a Curse of Strahd horror story with a that Guy (everyone else I got along with and even meet up with 2 of the ppl I befriended in a different campaign) he got on my nerves so much and tried multiple times to backseat drive my character who was a rogue that I ended up leaving due to his behavior though I recently joined a diff CoS campaign where I revived my rogue character and am having a blast

[@ursulajoni15]

I feel like the nice guy in the second story really shows just how transparently bullshit their "oh girls only wanna date abusive Chads" thing is because he had literally never met op's boyfriend and yet he decided that he was some sort of abusive cheating asshole pretty much only because he was dating the girl that nice guy liked. That's the thing with my skies a man could be a cross between Steve Irwin and Mr. Rogers and a nice guy would still see him as a doushebag as long as he was a(perceived) romantic rival

[@Soveliss74]

Strahd was the first campaign I bought and the first I finished. Took me 3 tries to finish, but I did it. First time, yeah mostly my fault for inappropriate jokes. Second time, they just stopped showing up.

[@Kurotekken]

"I wasn't sure if paladins have some sort of bad rap in the D&D community." Me: *laughs in monk*

[@patrickedger2448]

I don't remember cringe DM's being part of Strahd's torment from The Dark Powers...but it would make a lot of sense if that were the case.

[@lark9018]

My personal horror story is also fron strahd. I hope to one day get to truly play it.

[@HuffleRuff]

Some things are fine in private... but taking them to the gaming table is fucked.

[@joshuak6968]

I thought all clubs in high school had some sort of teacher there to help make sure everyone was behaving?

[@littlepeach2010]

I've played Curse of Sthrad twice, both were bad, the First was run by our group's Edge Lord, he did a self-insert NPC who had more plot armor than an Anime Protagonist, to an extent it becomes a running joke. the second only made 3 sessions, the 1st session, one player turned up drunk and refused help on PC creation, this killed the mood after that and it died by session 3. which is a shame as I love that Campaign.

[@flexiblenerd]

The neckbeard RETURNS...

[@gibdos_rupees1374]

Neckbeard hath returned

[@DrPluton]

Anybody who uses the word "breedable" and isn't referring to livestock or pets is creepy as hell.

[@iluvyurbles]

bro literally this, like wat

[@knox7945]

Huge red flag.

[@seekingabsolution1907]

14:46 wait, you're ace? Anyway no, not really, I mean, certainly it's a type of alo experience, but I would describe it as an fixation of the online "manosphere" one of their weird myths about women and human sexuality in general. Hilariously enough I was creating a new character on Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 when watching this. People like this neck beard remind me to always interrogate why I make a female character the way I do because I never, ever want to realise I'm acting like this guy right here.

[@binarydark4811]

Neckbeard Stalker, was so hard to sit through