I Played With A Cult Leader || D&D Story

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[@Mothman1992]

I once ran a kenku who spoke only in scraps of dialogue but tried to speak in proverbs So "You can't judge someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes" Became "I don't have a dog in this fight, I walked a mile, that bastard stole my boots"

[@PhilS0341]

We have a Kenku rogue at our AL table. He communicates strictly in mimicked phrases. He has PAGES of things he's written down. Good player. My high elf ranger has the "sailor" background and the "My language is fouler than an otyugh nest" flaw. I've completely ruined his character. It's hilarious.

[@doctorsnakeeater1997]

I have *got* to hear what else your kenku said

[@Mothman1992]

@@doctorsnakeeater1997 "the trees are green, there's spikes on the gate" (grass is always greener on the other side) "Affectionately, drive the animal into the desert if it dies it's not a problem" If you love something set it free if it doesn't return it wasn't meant to be

[@lordtoademort8124]

@@Mothman1992 that is fantastic

[@doctorsnakeeater1997]

@@Mothman1992 What was this fantastic birb's name?

[@GuruThesla]

hey, i didn't know Onision used to play D&D.

[@malachimason9790]

UNDERTALE

[@iamdeviljho2795]

I was literally thinking the Alpha and DM 1 sounded like his characters from his books he wrote

[@deliberatelyaverage]

I’m just gonna go ahead and upvote this comment

[@Audioworm]

who even is Onision? I hear people taking jabs at him all the time but I dunno who he is, besides... apparently being a bad writer?

[@TheEvilPet]

@@Audioworm Old school KZbinr who has stuck around. Went viral with a banana song in the mid 2000s. Very manipulative, sexist, racist, and has a lovely load of sexual assault accusations, most of which involving underaged girls. And that's a 'nice' summary of him. There's plenty of other stuff he's involved with, proven and rumoured. Currently under an FBI investigation for grooming. Yet somehow still monetised on KZbin.

[@theblankking1966]

"I played with a cult leader" Me: "Oh that sounds like a really fun character backstory to team up with and work arou- *oh it's the actual player themselves oh god no."*

[@KumaoftheForest]

Charles Manson: roll for indoctrination

[@toptomato]

@@KumaoftheForest 🤣😂

[@hazukichanx408]

"I need to know that you are committed to being our friend... so we can have a _better_ game together... without any disruptive, unharmonious thoughts or opinions interrupting the purity of the experience." *_Super creepy smile_*

[@lpsfoxstar8454]

As someone whose current favourite standby character is a cultist, i see this comment as an absolute win

[@damiens4601]

But there was no cult leader in this story i dont understand the title

[@bigshit59gaming55]

Sometimes OP is still haunted by a monotonous "Caw" at night

[@gabriel300010]

caw

[@AstolfoGayming]

Was super confused until the video got to that part.. Yeah, I can see that.

[@PaladinGear15]

"He stares at you with his beady doll like eyes and says.... CAW!"

[@drakkenmensch]

"You see, this haunting CAW is meant to represent the tremendous GUILT you feel at abandoning the greatest of all masterful actors of RPGs who can bring decades-old veterans to tears, TEARS of admiration! THIS IS THE OVERFLOW OF EMOTION THIS SINGLE LONELY CAW IN THE NIGHT BRINGS UP IN YOU"

[@liamdalemon1525]

13:40 HOW MANY DRUGS IS THAT PLAYER ON!?!??!?!?!??!?!?!?

[@darklord884]

Alpha: Barbarians are bad for roleplay. Travis Willingham/Grog Strongjaw: Ah, you're so petty. And tiny.

[@TitaniaBird]

It’s almost like role playability is as much on your level of effort as anything else, or something.

[@darklord884]

@@TitaniaBird No way! Really?!

[@TitaniaBird]

@@darklord884 I know. Shocking, ain’t it. (It is not actually shocking.)

[@darklord884]

@@TitaniaBird Man, no kidding? The world is sure a strange thing. (I know it's actually not that strange. just playing into the role.)

[@camdenbjergaard359]

GORGUG

[@15oClock]

Alpha probably doesn’t like how, sometimes, when you go outside, it rains.

[@catman9222]

Holy shit the sky is falling, time to seal my personal bunker - Alpha on seeing rain for the first time

[@FloatingOer]

I don my plastic armor. Alas! Liquid blades from heaven strike! In between my neck and collar, severing my senses in an endless rush. Flooding down my back, I shed a tear, it's cold.

[@omnical6135]

@@FloatingOer this is so fucking funny

[@FloatingOer]

@@omnical6135 Thanks, glad someone enjoyed it!

[@obi-wank-enobi]

He probably tells the sky to stop

[@indifferentsmiley]

EVERYONE ON THIS PLANET Here's a TIP: If there are red flags DON'T JOIN THE GAME. RPG horror stories USUALLY happen because these players or DMs notice the red flags but choose to ignore them for the sake of being able to play. Never ever do this. Not playing or DMing is considerably better than having the game soured for you forever because you chose to ignore the problems and let things escalate.

[@Micras08]

Well generally I agree. But I think that HAS TO come from experience. In this case OP would never have met his/her second group if they hadn't tried to facilitate various solutions to the problem that was "Alpha". And they did try and imho that's better than just kicking him to the curb instantly. He very much sounded like a piece of work and it's sad that he had to drain people to this point, but it says a lot about the other people and their morals that they at least tried :) I've been fairly blessed and only had this problem like 2 times ever I think. Both times we tried and failed, but I'm not sad that we did, I learned a lot.

[@filipferencak2717]

Well, to be honest, I don't think this is necessarily always good advice. I've had plenty of games where there were red flags at the begining, but it turned out great. Red flags are usually quite subjective, so unless they're severe, you should still give the game a chance. That's the thing though. Give it A CHANCE, not a thousand chances. If you're not having fun, tell the people involved in the game. If a player is harassing you, tell them & the DM that you don't like their behaviour. Tell them that you're not having fun and that you will quit the game if they do not stop. Then, if they continue their bullshit, just quit the game.

[@gigaswardblade7261]

i narrowly avoided an rpg horror story when i was trying to join a game but the dm didnt let me join because i "didnt read the rules before joining" or something like that. i started up by asking him if it was ok for me to play a certain race but then he cut it short by saying i was a liar for not reading the long list of rules (which i did do) and didnt allow me a second chance at applying. but then i found a better group and also started my own campaign in the end.

[@azadalamiq]

HEY ELIZABETH Here is a tip: hindsight is 20/20 and someone in a situation may not see or realize what the red flags are.

[@ridwana4037]

@@azadalamiq Dude, just because you're right, doesn't mean you have to be rude.

[@demoulius1529]

Alpha sounds like a selfish entitled rich kid who has no siblings. Also people like that need to stop emotionally abusing people. That part about how they treated their female partymember was genuinely heartbreaking...

[@Xarl-VIII]

I remember my early days of D&D and my local game store had a rather large rpg group chat on skype for newer players. There was a guy that was pretty much like Alpha in my first time d&d campaign. Ive rolled up a ranger/melee hybrid and the dude talked all kinds of shit about my character and my appearance but he never met me. He was extremely racist and assumed that i was a small asian, in reality im 5'11" . When the group met in the gamestore he was very quiet and looked scared as i was constantly looking down at him and standing close to him as i brought up all the racist things he said in the skype as the dm and group watched as i got revenge after a month of hearing mean shit he said. Thinking about making my reddit story

[@dimsum3329]

I have a dude like that, not as bad as alpha, but jesus he was a alot of problems that no one really wants to deal with

[@firrigagamer8281]

Agrax Please do, sounds like a comedy skit when you put it like that.

[@cardcastor2541]

i felt rly sad after learning abt them making both the dm2 n girl cry. shit's upsetting, yo.

[@Diogolindir]

I would totally defend her to death. Women should feel welcomed to play D&D and not afraid of playing with men, sadly enough there is a lot of toxic and fragile masculinity out there.

[@fireknight4151]

Alpha makes every other Craig, Karen, Tim or edgelord on this Channel look like the cast of critical role.

[@Zulk_RS]

I guess you can say that he's ... the *ALPHA* of that group?

[@palehorseman7464]

He’s the final boss

[@darklord884]

@@Zulk_RS Darn, you beat me to it. Good one.

[@korqy893]

Haha I don't get that reference

[@CrashGordon94]

@@korqy893 Referring to the antagonists in previous stories

[@AtodaK]

The cult leader descriptor doesn't sound like total hyperbole. The emotional manipulation and abuse; the provision of a community to let people feel like they belong and supplant their sense of normalcy; the ever present judging authority figure encouraging people to doubt themselves and give up decision making. It's a long way from drinking tainted cordial while the Feds surround the compound but most cults never get so bleak that they become common knowledge.

[@xMaugrex]

Misread the title as "I played as a cult leader", was expecting a story of a player who had a bunch of NPCs that would just follow their whim. I was wrong. But also I have an idea for a new character.

[@shizachan8421]

The actual content though sounds more like "I played with an Incel"

[@ellap73]

I made a cultist character and I really want her to be introduced to a game soon. She’s a wizard who thinks she’s the cleric of a god that has been imprisoned and just needs a little extra help to bestow her with power (I.e. she studies hard to learn how to channel the energy) her branch of the cult was raided by paladins and she was just able to escape, but now she needs to find other cult members and find out who is organising the distraction of the cult, and stop them.

[@plottingrobot679]

Sounds like a fun campaign idea to build up a cult for whatever god the players wanna warship

[@Uomostrano]

For all the lines Alpha crossed, I'm shocked OP did not leave the group waaaaaay earlier.

[@thefallendeathlord7690]

I think that sometimes you feel that's not worth to leave the group just for one or two people

[@kingsloth1121]

I probably would have flipped and left the first time they started talking to the girl in such a misogynistic way

[@exsilencio]

@@kingsloth1121 For sure, OP buried the lede on this one. Ganging up and hurling sexist abuse at one of the players is not a red flag. It's where you go scroched earth and leave the game, hopefully managing to get the abused person some help on your way out.

[@myxini]

@@exsilencio A bit alarming that clear sexual harassment and emotional abuse were both just side mentions

[@mowserbedowser5436]

@@kingsloth1121 Same. Huge dealbreaker

[@commissarfoster8721]

I feel sorry for DM2 and everyone else who suffered from alphas cruelty and sufured mental demaged

[@applepopapplerancher3211]

Alpha and his fuckboy of a DM surely do not get a drop of pity from me. I do hope the other players and DM2 were able to break away from there. Those situations are unhealthy in every way...

[@misterfluffypants24]

I'm super late to this thread but I agree I also felt DM2's plot seemed cool for a first time DM

[@morridin7766]

@@misterfluffypants24 It did seem cool, and if it wasn’t for alpha and DM1 I’d play it

[@casteanpreswyn7528]

"Monks are overpowered" ah yes, the weakest class in the game is clearly broke.

[@randomguy6679]

Laughs in three stunning strikes in a row

[@randomguy6679]

Still personally think the Warlock is the weakest class

[@reverseimagesearch0results363]

Monk isnt weak. Ranger might be the weakest. Even he isnt.

[@kyle21843]

@@reverseimagesearch0results363 ranger was pretty underpowered but with unearthed arcana they're much more useful and deal some decent damage

[@gecko2.617]

Don't worry, apparantly fighters and rogues are also overpowered 😂

[@noctrk161]

This Alpha guy is like irl version of Eric Cartman

[@patrickdees5256]

Wait you mean Eric Cartman ISN'T EVIL?!

[@lucasenglish8767]

RIGHT!? I was imagining his bitchy little voice the whole time everytime alpha was speaking!

[@Aiveq]

you are insulting Eric... no one insults Eric

[@Daelyah]

Correction: Alpha makes Cartman actually seem like a pleasant human being...

[@gorgeouszoldyck7702]

Holy shit you’re right

[@o0Jester]

Oh wow, I think I'm the DM who ran the couple of one shots, then had the guy in my group after. Hey if OP is watching this video. Did the one shots involve an escape from hell, then an escape from heaven?

[@BigLundi]

YES THEY DID AND HELLO JESTER I AM OP :D

[@xtremetuberVII]

Always nice to see an OP reply!

[@turtleboy1188]

@@BigLundi now lets wait for alpha for the reunion

[@o0Jester]

@Irongutz oddly enough, only the second worst I've seen. Theres a guy I know we all nicknamed #Nightmareguy who faked his suicide to get his own way I played with before I went fishing for new players.

[@FloatingOer]

@@o0Jester Can I ask, when you were listening to this video, when did you start thinking "This sounds familiar..." ?

[@OrangeyChocolate]

The commenters who are like “This didn’t sound like a cult” need to be aware that they should not downplay Alpha’s blatant emotional abuse and manipulation. It’s also easy to say “Why didn’t they just leave” from an outside perspective, but you can’t know what’s going through the head of the person who is in that situation. Trust me, I’ve been subjected to emotional abuse from a family member, and it can affect you for years. Not trying to shame anybody, just try and think before you type.

[@K_i_t_t_y84]

I wish CritCrab would pin this. Empathy matters.

[@OrangeyChocolate]

I don't mind if he pins it or not. If I can reach even a small number of people, that's fine by me.

[@theorical511]

Just cause he was very manipulative doesn’t mean it was a cult just cult like. A cult is religious. This was just extreme manipulation I know it well.

[@skycastrum5803]

Yes, Alpha is a narcissist and manipulative asshole. But he's no cult leader. Perhaps some of that empathy mentioned should go out to those who have experience with cults. The experiences of people dealing with those like Alpha should not be diminished either, but, while not neccesarily better or worst, cults are different.

[@StarboyXL9]

I've had to deal with real manipulative family members, and the moment I discovered that I was being manipulated, I cut ties. People who say "its not that easy" are just kidding themselves. It IS that easy, you just need to strength of will and the anger to do it.

[@sphoenix41]

The people who disliked the video probably realized the story was about them...

[@tomsky4751]

No wonder you’re named Phoenix Stone cause that was a sick burn.

[@rpgkingx3629]

Alpha: “no roleplayer’s ever made me cry!” Critical Role: *let me introduce myself*

[@chazzwozzio]

Grog yelling "fix him" broke me ngl.

[@liamdalemon1525]

(listens to what the roleplay actually consists of) kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXXCpIiXhcytZ6c

[@kagedbirdd3591]

C2 broke me so many times...

[@omegamysterio3701]

Vaxildans death gets the tears flowing everytime 😭

[@huxleyleigh4856]

I haven't really watched any critical role (only the elden ring one shot) But Evan Kelmp's story in Dimension 20's "Misfits and magic" made me tear up

[@williamwashburn7665]

I'm familiar with the mistreatment and autism problem I know that feeling I could always tell how I was intentionally left out and mistreated so I have great misgivings about people who mistreat others because of this

[@nizzlenotes3892]

William Washburn hey man, some people are just assholes. I hope you’re doing well now. My little sister’s got autism, so I sympathize with your situation. Stay strong, my friend.

[@williamwashburn7665]

@@nizzlenotes3892 I am better now for the most part now while it objectively sucks It doesn't bother me nearly as much anymore now that I've built the mental tools to reject and deal with it those being humor and the internalization of the fact that they don't know me and they're not a reliable source. In short I have a duty in a sense to help those who are downtrodden like I was. Thanks for the support bud :)

[@ArawnNox]

Impressions as I go along. -Intro: Okay, ready to go in with a lot of skepticism - If a player is interviewing potential players and not the DM, thats a huge red flag - Alpha's Initial Behavior: And this is where OP should have dropped the group like a hot potato and left. -DM's weak response: Ah, I see how it started. DM put in a character centric plot hook and Alpha ran with it to the exclusion of all else and has browbeat everyone in to going along his personal quest. The DM is either inexperienced or naive if he thinks this behavior will stop once the quest is done. -Alpha self narrates an army in to existence: Um.... okay, asshole just needs to write a book. - Paladin hates the rogue: Oh god, after the Lawful Stupid story a few videos ago, here comes another one. Jeezus thats some hardcore metagaming. -Oh fun, now he's gaslighting everyone. -insults and the Yes-man: Holy crap, why put up with this? Its over the internet with strangers, you can drop them at a moment's notice. -Getting the rogue killed: LEAVE. THE. GAME. Seriously, everyone, no DnD is better than Bad DnD and this is just abuse. -Alpha thinks he's an amazing roleplayer: Anyone else hearing the same kind of self-loving bluster your hear from a narcissist? cause thats exactly what this sounds like. -I got something this douche can put in his 'caw'. Though I think we've strayed in to the realm of hyperbole on the part of OP -OP throws his hat in the ring. Okay... lets see how this comes to a head. -"I dont think you'll be fair." Translations: "You wont let me run away with the game." -Alpha gaslights and leaves the call: Yep, he was looking for an excuse. And shows the true lack of self-reflection that comes with a narcissistic personality. -Seizure: Yow. I have a friend who suffers from seizures, too. We've had him seize up at the table and had to fill him in on the details so he could report it to his doctor. Glad he was okay. -Regular Show Clip: Yep, thats kinda how we all feel. Final thoughts: This wasnt nearly as bad as the disclaimer made it out to be and Alpha wasnt anything unusual in terms of narcissistic players. He probably played online because nobody locally would play with him. But man, people need to shut asshats like this down. Or leave the group. Especially when two are verbally abusing a female player with crude comments. Moral: Don't put up with assholes and no DnD is better than Bad DnD.

[@drago3036]

Eh, the disclaimer was pretty fair for me. I personaly feel *pain* hearing about this kind of behaviour, i have already seen how this works upclose and it is just so bad for everyone involved. He was practically holding everyone as a social slave. This kind of situation should not be allowed to happen.

[@Dreigonix]

+ArawnNox Miss me with that victim-blaming. What a lot of people on r/rpghorrorstories don’t get is that ditching a toxic person is a lot harder than people think, and by saying “You should have ditched them earlier; _I_ would have ditched them right away”, you’re not being constructive, you’re just victim-blaming.

[@ArawnNox]

@@Dreigonix I understand how hard it can be to ditch a toxic relationship. I didn't intend to victim blame, but really shouldn't be harder than pressing the block button in a case where you've known the person less than a month and its over the internet.

[@lextrux]

My thoughts at the end: Ok, so Alpha is a pretty horrible dude, but that doesn't make him a cult leader yet?

[@BigLundi]

@@ArawnNox The difficult thing is that, well, take the initial skype call for instance. Yes, there were red flags, but there was another hour and a half of inane conversation that were more or less fine. When you're TRYING to make friends, you ignore red flags, accept the ok bits, you make excuses in your head for people's actions, "Oh that's just his sense of humor. Oh DM 1 just doesn't know how to branch off from a plot hook and engage our interest." things like that. Plus there's the fact that I was FINE with most of the others in the group. It was just Alpha, and I didn't feel right kicking him out, or putting it to a vote. He'd been there since day one, I was the new guy, who am I to make decisions like that? Well these guys have been with him for awhile, I might be thinking too hard about this. Surely he wouldn't have had these guys around THIS long without him having redeeming qualities. Maybe I'm catching him at a bad time. Maybe he's going through some things." Excuses just keep popping into your mind as you just keep giving people the benefit of the doubt. You get lost in all the inane conversation and the things that don't really matter. It all culminates together to it's 2 months later and you're only just now realizing, "Wow, this guy is just a complete shithead. Huh."

[@vahlok1426]

I played an Assassin Rogue in a long running game. He was a snark and mysterious on his backstory, but a good guy to his party members and did legit care about them as allies and friends. Had a Paladin in our group too, but he was cool with me since I was respectful and didn't harm innocents or the like, at least I didn't do my shadowy duties when he was around. Alpha's just a douche who deserves everything he gets, as in all the shit he has to eat.

[@redholm]

And then you have someone like in one of my old parties that assassinated my character in her sleep because he needed to kill someone to become an assassin.

[@vahlok1426]

@@redholm That is such a dick move. Grounds for an immediate expulsion from my table honestly. And I don't care if "I wuz playin mah character" because I need to make sure everyone has fun. It is not fun to get killed by another player for stupid reasons.

[@redholm]

@@vahlok1426 Worst thing is that my character had saved his a couple of times. So it was not even in character. Honestly I don't like him or that the DM let it happen. No PvP should be a base rule unless really necessary.

[@vahlok1426]

@@redholm Yeah no PvP is something I hard enforce. If someone starts acting like a shit, I give them one warning. After that, hit the road.

[@redholm]

@@vahlok1426 Personally I only say that PvP is "good" if let's say one player is trying to do something that hard counters what another player character would stand for. Like actively killing a bunch of Orphans or something. But if it's not something that is an imminent threat I say no PvP.

[@papadikolov1378]

"things will get more dark and weird" ah yes, so my natural state of being

[@zinkheroofyoutube8004]

Alfonso Razo Their probably doing the later

[@dcyphermanplays8233]

KAW! KAW! BANG! FUCK I'M DEAD!!

[@papadikolov1378]

@Alfonso Razo the comment is in reference to how i enjoy watching things that are dark or eldritch in nature, how it got so many likes? maybe i accidently made a deal with cthulu

[@st.zahren5683]

watch out kids

[@fenrirchisholm]

Aren't most of his stories a bit messed up?

[@roarshach13]

"Not gonna play a game where favorites are picked. (....unless that favorite is me)"

[@Yawyna124]

Roflmao, this dude complaining about official material not needing vetted. "Uh, excuse me, you're playing without any homebrew or UA? Can't believe you think you could do this without being vetted."

[@alperozcan4384]

I was hoping for Alpha turning out to be a real cult leader and the others are like brainwashed slaves to him or something

[@drago3036]

Your hopes are more accurare than you think

[@tompadfoot3065]

fun story: I got into a flame war with a guy on facebook one time over some fairly trivial political shit. he was going pretty hard so I went hard back, going so far as to google his name after he started getting really personal and threatening. Dipshit was using his real name on a facebook troll account, and found out that he was the recently deposed leader of an alt-right Canadian white nationalist group. I called him out on it and posted the articles I found and everyone in the thread immediately just started dunking on the guy. He left, but not before DMing me this whole diatribe about how badass he was and he was gonna find me etc. I just replied "good luck crossing the border with a revoked passport asshole" and blocked him, then spent an hour reporting everything on his page for hate speech.

[@alperozcan4384]

@@tompadfoot3065 that's awesome 😂

[@turtleboy1188]

@@alperozcan4384 sounds lame

[@alperozcan4384]

@@turtleboy1188 maybe

[@artyomsaveli9681]

I dunno, boss, playing D&D with Joseph Seed as the DM would be one, surreal experience for me.

[@TheGoodDarkMage]

Artyom Saveli now I wanna see these people was DMS Samuel L Jackson Ryan Reynolds You know people like that

[@georgebaynard4096]

This isn’t really Joseph seed this sounds more like the Heavens gate leader as a DM

[@DwarfDaddy]

Then a severely disappointing ending

[@vahlok1426]

@@DwarfDaddy lol I heard that.

[@vahlok1426]

But you'd have to listen to that godawful cult music station the whole time. Yuck.

[@starblaze27]

I can relate to this, except for me Alpha was the DM and only the DM. He pulled the same crap whenever I tried to perform a game. I'm glad I don't play with him anymore.

[@patrickdees5256]

You have my condolences.

[@QuanTrietLOL]

And I had another DM who would pull all kind of DMPC and drag him around. Make us sign an obey-or-die contract with his DMPC and start to narrate his never ending story (he would not let us play at all, only let his NPCs interact with each other while we sit and listen). After a while, I got sick of him, wanting to leave. I started to get bitter and criticize his game leading us around with no roleplay whatsoever (I know I was the bad guy in this). In response, he said he would reset the campaign and let us interact more. Then, at the very first session, he had an NPC insisting to take out Warlock's magic item to save someone (that the DM gave her for no reason, which was also bound to her life and would kill her if taken away). When I threatened to kill said NPC if he tried to touch it again, the DM called the moderator to kick me out, calling me a murderhobo. I just shrugged, and said I am roleplaying a very aggresive but honorable half orc, and the NPC'a action would hurt my teammate for sure, so I was only protecting her. Thus I was only intimidating the NPC. The next day, I just quit. Had enough of it and realized I was not having fun, only angry and bitter with this guy. The campaign ended shortly, because he was "too lazy to run the campaign".

[@ADHadh]

"Monks are overpowered" is a surefire way to know when someone doesn't know the rules.

[@koopagrandfleet]

That Skype call sound got me.

[@ArawnNox]

I know, right? I started looking for the icon on reflex to see who was calling me.

[@christophersanders3252]

I didn't like it. But I have panic problems and probably shouldn't be online anyway.

[@definitelyadarkangel9225]

Alpha: WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERES A 1 ON MY DICE!?

[@tylerh2548]

Just got in, you didn't know but I'm geeked since I study the psychology of cults and cult leaders as a hobby, let's do this... About the time "Alpha" said his little brother quit "cuz he's a pussy" I was like *ding* "Suppressive Individuals alarm detected!" This is grand Edit: Alpha lies to boost himself the way Jones and Hubbard did. Shamelessly and without compunction

[@magnofajo6159]

It seems we are birds of the same feather because i thought the same

[@inerciasart]

This may be weird but how do you do your research about psycology of cults? I want to investigate about it too and for now I have a book my friend gave me, but I'd love to have more resources

[@shizachan8421]

This Alpha dude kinda sounds like an Incel, especially with how he treated that girl. Anyone else who could totally see him ranting about women not dating him and blaming it on them while he sexually harasses every women he ever interacts with?

[@maxg2814]

@@inerciasart you could try a public librerary (no clue of the spelling, so sorry) In those you might be able to find some books and read them, maybe use the computer

[@cyrusmann5443]

and ended up looking like what he actually is, trash.

[@rypoleon6932]

Sooooo does this "Alpha" also own a Neon Green Humvee, a Gucci Suit (Neon Yellow to match of course) and a 50lbs bag of ketamine? I know, I know super specific, just seems like that type of person.

[@manticorephoenix]

I'm betting his bedroom is a moldy mess of trash and old food, and the shower has not seen him in months

[@Batman_the_bad_man]

Last time I was this early, she was disappointed

[@PiratesRock]

Ba Dum Tsss!

[@eat00002]

what?

[@airborngaming2250]

OP needs to out this "Alpha"'s username so people can steer clear of him.

[@cyrusmann5443]

he would change it

[@eintorpid9101]

"Monks are overpowered" Has this guy even looked at a monk's statistics? Monk's are one of the weakest classes in the game, especially at high levels.

[@absolutepineapple4115]

*Stunning strike has entered the chat*

[@jhinpotion9230]

*Typical monster con saves have entered the chat*

[@TheTsugnawmi2010]

Absolute Pineapple there are a lot of monsters who are immune to stun and/or have good CON saves. Plus, an encounter can swarm, use traps or ranged attacks to make the monk less useful.

[@DeathBringerBecky]

monks outpace other classes early on, then balance out and, imo, fall a bit behind depending on subclass. you cant look at only a snapshot of the class at certain levels and, like jhin brought up, have to look at how they interact with mobs. Stunning Strike would be op if monster Con mods weren't so high on average. almost if not everything you'd face at high levels has the Con to nearly never be affected.

[@absolutepineapple4115]

@@TheTsugnawmi2010 my dude it's just a meme. I know that there are times where a class or set of abilities are useless.

[@Tytoalba777]

Man, I was hoping to hear that everyone else in that group (with maybe the exception of DM1) would abandon Alpha and perhaps follow OP to the new group. Hopefully the others are doing alright.

[@privateuser3726]

They were never heard from again

[@OtakuD50]

@@privateuser3726 Because they probably fucking ki-OHSHIT, Alpha is Zack Morris!

[@stankdelicious6479]

Repeat after me...”Screw you guys, I’m going home!”

[@BizarreM]

"My Goliath called V" SAVIOR BLOODSTAIN HELLFIRE SHADOW

[@chungusmcpungus5120]

HEAVEN ON A LANDSLIDE

[@omnical6135]

goliath called V CYBERPUNK 2077

[@pierocaramelli1493]

If you wanna be the main character of a dnd Campaign theres only one right way to do it: Make a character so complex, deep, interesting and LIKEABLE that the entire party and the Gm are fine with it. This character Should also: Always start off very weak to make room for Character development. Be a balanced combination of awesome, Clever, cute, funny and heartwarming. And able to interact well with any member of the party This character does NOT need to be: The party leader The center of attention all the time, hell even if your character does get the same level of attention than the other characters, if hes the only one to survive the whole campaign from start to finish he already is arguably the main character.

[@Zulk_RS]

Easier way: Convince one of your friends to run a single player game for you.

[@turtleboy1188]

I don't agree

[@pierocaramelli1493]

@@turtleboy1188 Thats fine with me.

[@isawadelapradera6490]

No. Just no.

[@thatpedanticcommenter5847]

After going through all those shitty things he listed mid video, I have to wonder why OP chose to stay after all that. I have to wonder why some people choose to stay through some of these terrible long-form campaign stories to the end at all; I mean, the hobby's damn good, but not when it's like this.

[@Tytoalba777]

Even if 1 or 2 people are terrible, the rest are pretty alright and you don't want to abandon them.

[@Kaipyro67ALT]

I can actually respond to this! I played in a campaign for 8+ months with a DM who's plot had no story, every boss fight ended with the villain getting away, and for a period of 3 months, he was unreachable, only hopping online 10 minutes before game to inform us the session was postponed and then hop off again. Why would I keep playing in this game? Because I was new to D&D and honestly didn't know any better. I didn't have too many friends at the time and none of them were into the game or able to DM. I liked my character and didn't want to lose all the work I had put into them! But mostly, I just didn't know better and hoped things would improve. It was only after I watched an episode of Critical Role where I realized "There are more dramatic ways to play this game??" It was Episode 52 "The Kill Box". Amazing session full of combat and dramatic moments. I basically realized I could do better and started my own game out of spite and a need for a better story. And 4 years later, I have 5 players who I love like family who finished campaign one and are now 6 levels into campaign two. Hopefully people read this and choose to run their own campaigns. It's hard! You will have to learn a lot from the people around you, but my god will it be worth it in the end.

[@Dreigonix]

Ditching a toxic person is hard. It’s something a lot of people on this subreddit don’t seem to get.

[@strike_true]

Dreigonix Yea I’ve known a few toxic people that I’ve had to put up with and hang around. But honestly (in my personal opinion) if you’re so bad that you legitimately make a woman cry because you’re sexually harassing her, you’re getting your teeth knocked out.

[@gallavanting2041]

I mean this is the most fanfiction thing that's ever ended up here, so, that's why they stayed.

[@Nazo-kage]

When I saw the title of the video I thought it was a little strange that somebody would Play D&D with a “cult leader” After watching the video I understand now: the manipulation, The disregard for others opinions feelings and wants, belittling others interests if they’re not his own, in the coup de grace, using an unfortunate incident as a joke just because of pettiness. I’m surprised the guy didn’t deck alpha. A “strongly worded letter“ is showing the restraint other Saint. I’ve actually recently started watching KZbin videos of a D&D group called “the Unexpectables” and it’s pretty funny and entertaining even is just an observer of the stuff that they get into. Their team consists of a barbarian orc, Cancu rouge, a Tefling Half-elf bard, and a cobalt ranger. No one character is given the spotlight over the others they each have their own little moments and more importantly they explore. And have fun.

[@ramirezthesilvite]

According to this guy, every class is overpowered. What the hell? lol Turns out if you play to optimize your combat ability, you can do really well in combat encounters! Who knew? Maybe the DM should up the CR a tad if they're not happy getting one-shot every time.

[@liamdalemon1525]

"not gonna play a game where favourites are picked!" then how did you even end up playing in the first place?!?

[@cheatcode436]

NOW THAT'S A LOTTA DAMAGE!

[@PlussGoodFun]

god that Skype sound effect triggered me more than i expected 0-o

[@hunt7363]

OP wasn't the only one ready to snap on Alpha. I was ready to do it after he was making several sessions about himself and causing others members to cry

[@cyrusmann5443]

i have a plan if i encounter him, you see, i am a master of manipulation too, but i dont use them to be a narc, i use them to destroy narcs, so ill explain to everyone how much of a jerk he is, detaching him from both the dms.

[@AntiTheory]

"I'm a higher up in the army and I have three hundred men under me to order." Is Alpha roleplaying as Usopp from One Piece? lol!

[@Artemisthemp]

I would have left long ago and told DM2 to join me since bullying other because you do not have the spotlight isn't ok. I had Mystic flag popping in my head when he said: Leanine with play test material. Making fun of people having a seizure... Instantly block Alpha on all avaliable platform

[@TheBonkleFox]

Mystic doesn't sound as broken as that homebrew shit. Plus 1d4chan made an alright fix for Mystic too (maybe, I haven't tried it out)

[@Artemisthemp]

@@TheBonkleFox It's ban by Wizard's since they relized it was broken

[@TheBonkleFox]

@@Artemisthemp hmm, shit. Maybe I'll just use the school of psionics they came up with instead. At least, I thought one of the higher ups at wizards homebrewed one

[@salem1451]

Mate, I adore your videos. You’re funny and talanted in voice acting, and each episode I can feel the determination in your voice. Keep doing you, champ.

[@pablito-e]

In No Man’s Sky I named an alien after you

[@CritCrab]

:D

[@pablito-e]

@CritCrab It looks like a funky crab with a head and the position of it’s arms looks very menacing

[@ShiryuCain]

"monks are overpowered" ....WhaaaaAaaAaat?!!

[@unwithering5313]

If they had a d12 hit dice THEN they would be overpowered but they aren't, I can't judge how strong they truly are because my character simply has lower stats so I'm obviously gonna have a hard time when my team decides to be almighty idiots

[@skyprior3866]

Grandmaster Kane has entered the chat

[@Brakvash]

Alpha's no cult leader, he's a bully. Cult leaders are likeable and/or convincing, that's how they charm and manipulate you. If OP thinks this is a cult leader he's going to have a hard time when he meets a real cult leader.

[@existinginaspace8347]

The CRAB has been summoned!

[@batstoast3560]

ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY CRAB!!!

[@islaydragons1563]

Airsoft Farm And here we have this Giant Enemy Crab

[@williamwashburn7665]

Make a wisdom check against cult leader's influence

[@liamdalemon1525]

I'm guessing OP got a natural 20!

[@shadowrose8907]

@@liamdalemon1525 That's a generous guess, considering how long he went along with it; bored or not, I'm not about to put up with someone like that

[@Mothman1992]

I wanted to make a loud fart sound during the whole "emotional caw" speech

[@fdimension]

Honestly, Alpha talking about how amazing he was sounds like me when I'm joking around. Seriously, as I was listening to that part I kept thinking: "man, I relate to this!"

[@annabella1650]

You know, I thought this alpha guy was just a regular jerk until he tried to “joke” that someone having a seizure was a sign to not run a game. Then I saw him to be a higher level of unlikable, and wished there was a “punch through the internet” button.

[@BlackRainRising]

When I started DMing for the first time for my group, I did start it with a player/character centric focus cause the story would be of interest initially to that particular character (also this person was going through some shit IRL and I wanted to help make them the star and not think about things, weirdly enough over the years this actually helped a lot), but I took each character back story and incorporated it in so each and every player and character had a focus and reason. I didn't do the "no exploring" thing, they wanted to go over ~~>there and check something out? sure, give me a few minutes to roll some stuff up,

[@stoneface3228]

Alpha might legit be a narcissist.

[@DelphineTheWorstBladeEver]

I can't stop laughing at "caw." One of my players is a bird man and he just shits wherever because he doesn't understand social standards. He caws when he does it.

[@mr.ashenfire2624]

Dark and Weird. Perfectly Balanced, As All Things Should Be.

[@skyprior3866]

2-2 likes perfectly balanced, as all things should be

[@Wolfphototech]

I have a feeling alpha was a spoiled only child from a divorce . Alpha most likely learned how to spot traits in people that alpha could play off of to manipulate them .

[@Mareoandanime]

18:17 *Ok, now you crossed the freaking LINE buddy, what the actual hell dude.*

[@lockwoan01]

The DM of my group is a Veteran, both in the fact that he has played D&D for twenty+ years, and he was a Marine. Me, bit of a newbie player, and I know I'm not the sort for military service. With in a couple of months after I had joined, I heard about the Celestial Warlock through KZbin - thought it was pretty cool. I mentioned how it would be interesting for a Holy Priest to be a warlock. Well, the DM was of the opinion that while a Cult Leader might worship their patron, it was unlikely that a Holy Priest would be a warlock - a cleric or paladin, yes, but not a warlock. He also got mildly passive-aggressive about how he had twenty years of experience and had never heard of such a thing, while I was new. The next week, I had picked up Xanathar's Guide to Everything from the library, and I showed him to the Celestial Warlock. The look on his face as he read the description was priceless. He was like "That invalidates the reason to play Paladin!" (he was playing as a paladin in a side-campaign). Then, I got him about the ranger's favored terrain ability when I talked to the ranger in the group about their character's favored terrain and asked the acting-DM about the game's main terrain. (I was being a smartalec by that point, but it was funny to watch this guy flip through the player's handbook to see what I was talking about.) To be fair, he only had the Core books, and rarely deviated from them, although he did get Xanathar's shortly after this, and he does read up on the books that the others have purchased. Also, he does mix up the editions in his head - like wondering if 5e monks could use light crossbows proficiently, as 3.5e monks apparently can only use darts as their main ranged weapon (correct me if I'm wrong there). Sometimes I mention to him to re-read the books.

[@ArawnNox]

I'm bouncing between playing a Pathfinder game and running a 5e game and yeah, its easy to mix that stuff up in your head. Though I love his whole thing about Paladins. Like, Gods and Goddesses are not a requirement for 5e AT ALL. XD

[@lockwoan01]

@@ArawnNox Well, the Celestial Warlock can either heal one guy for 14+ hp, or split it between two allies, or attack enemy and heal an ally (at Level 1), while a Paladin can only attack a foe or heal an ally for up to 5 hp (at Level 1).

[@ArawnNox]

@@lockwoan01 Maybe I misunderstood. I thought it was about the whole worship thing. But if his sticking point is being able to fight and heal well... still doesnt invalidate paladins?

[@lockwoan01]

@@ArawnNox It certainly doesn't - Paladins can cast magic spells while wearing heavy armor and use all weapons, unlike a warlock who is limited to light armor and simple weapons (for Proficiency of course). Also, all paladins, regardless of Oath can do the healing, while only one warlock, and I think only one cleric (correct if wrong) can do similar heal spells, automatically.

[@ArawnNox]

@@lockwoan01 Druids and Bards also have the ability to cast healing spells, but Clerics have a more extensive list.

[@benjaminmartinez2548]

I feel like the general thread of most of these stories is that people give way too many chances that other people that are doing bad things take advantage of

[@ramue5749]

So basically Alpha is Onision.

[@doodledog8593]

In a campaign I was in a character was literally trying to get people to worship him it was hilarious

[@epsilon-eleven]

That can be fun, if done properly.

[@tzimiscelord8483]

Can be a decent strategy. Belief is what gives the gods power right?

[@dashiellgillingham4579]

I’ve set up a character to be a secret god without knowing it, having just seen this comment before I have to decide wether to commit or discard the idea, I need to know, is it a bad idea? >I know the guy, he’s a great roleplayer. >His character is a very friendly cynic, and he’s rejected noble titles before vehemently out of an irrational fear of himself. >Asked player O.O.C., questions like ‘if your character was deeded a bunch of land and peasants he could not hit rid of, would he turn evil?’ Answer is ‘no, but he’d remain convinced he would.’ >SOMEONE the party knows is secretly a god at this point, I do have a fallback plan. >I have very clear limitations set up, and this is not a personal combat game (they’ve lead more sieges than killed bandits on their own at this point).

[@doodledog8593]

Dashiell Gillingham how my player set it up was him not really being a god but still was trying to get people to worship him

[@unoriginal1562]

”Not gonna play a game where favorites are picked” Unless you’re the favorite

[@KikiYushima]

This story reminds me of my own RP Horror Story. It's from text-based RP and not tabletopping, but it's a horror story in the same vein as this one. I have played some Pathfinder, but I don't entirely get how things work yet. Campaigns never got too far. Anyway, onto the story. When I was about 13/14, I joined a forum called PD to post my fanfics on. There, I met a group of three people there that I was with _for years._ We became close friends and did _so_ much roleplay together. We hopped a few forums until I made one called TL. It was a forum based around slice-of-life style and it was a lot of fun. However, because I was so young, I didn't see a _hell of a lot_ of red flags from my co-administrator at the time. I didn't understand proper RP etiquette at the time. I couldn't see how he was breaking essentially _every_ rule of being a good RP partner until I started delving into other forums (Warrior cats, Pokemon, other stuff). This was also in the mid to late 00s, so that's why it was forum based. I still had a _dialup_ connection for a number of years. Perhaps one of the biggest ones was that he was a fair few years older than the rest of us. That might not seem like a huge deal but it was at the time. I think he was around 17/18 around the time I was 13-15. He was somebody that _loved_ to RP smut and he tried to force me into writing it with him. Thank _god_ I never capitulated to him on that point. The biggest red flag that _should_ have tipped me off things weren't right were his levels of godmod and powerplaying. We had an evil team that was supposed to cause havoc for the good guys, but they never got to do anything. His horrible godmod character beat them down until they disbanded one by one. He killed the leader of the team _WHO I PLAYED_ *WITHOUT* my permission. I set this guy up to be a relatively huge threat, but he offed him like it was no big deal. Then this guy introduced some sort of plot based loosely off of one of the Resident Evil games (this forum was kind of a clusterfuck of crossovers without rhyme or reason....). We all had self-insert characters and he infected _MINE_ with some sort of parasite _WITHOUT MY PERMISSION._ Thankfully, I was starting to wise up to his shit at that point and we ended up just having it all be a dream or something. I was _NOT_ putting my SI through that. It took until I was almost 18 to fully wise up to this guy's shit. It was my senior year of high school when the straw finally broke the camel's back. The guy's SI was dating one of my characters and she wanted things to progress at a slower rate. She was an immortal from a much, _much_ more conservative time and mindset. She had her own beliefs about how a relationship should progress and what was appropriate at certain times. I don't remember all the details (this was 10+ years ago now) but I remember that he forced a soul bond on her. Normally these are things that take _a lot_ of time to build, but he just kind of...declared they had one after only dating for a few _months._ For perspective on how fucked-up this was, my SI had a companion that she had been with _for years_ and it took them a very, _very_ long time to develop a bond. Oh things only get far, _far_ worse though. After that, _his SI emotionally blackmailed the SO that I was RPing into saying she loved him._ That was the final straw for me. I was _so sick_ of this guy's bullshit and gave him an ultimatum: either he shape up and capitulate to rules set out by me and the two moderators (the other two members of our quartet) or he'd be banned. He failed within a week and the forum was dead in the water. Good things from this: I learned how to be a basically _perfect_ RP partner. I know how to not godmod, I know how to communicate fairly well, I know how to set boundaries and enforce them, and a bunch of other stuff like that. I won't allow people to walk all over me and my characters like that _ever_ again. Bad things: I _literally_ have PTSD from this guy to this day. When certain situations come up OOC with new partners, _I freak out_ and get _hyper_ anxious. This dude was abusive to me _plain and fucking simple._ Like seriously, I had two _major_ events happen within _a year_ of each other and he asked when I'd get back to RPing. It was always about _him_ and what _he_ wanted. It was never about his _partners._

[@Medbread]

Oh god I hope DM 2 is doing okay nowadays... he seems like such a nice guy that's being abused by Alpha.

[@cyrusmann5443]

and the girl

[@zenorockbell3023]

Every time I hear someone say “Monks are overpowered” I immediately realize all their credibility is gone lol

[@MaraTheRaccoon]

Alpha and DM1 reminded me so much of two guys I knew and roleplayed with for YEARS before I decided I had enough and left. My partner follow suit a year later when he realized they were not real friends after all. So awful to see there are many people like that abusing others.

[@mobi2289]

Whoever this OP is far more patient than I would ever be. I would be calling him out not even within a quarter of what I just heard. Kids like that have to realize that they aren't the center of the world. No one is going to want to play in a campaign only about you and no one ever will. If that kind of kid played with the old guard so to say, there wouldn't be a single session where he would be killed off and had to reroll a new character at least 3 times before the session ended.

[@samanthacousland870]

That's a yikes from me. No dnd is better than bad dnd.

[@voidling2632]

unfortunately a high risk of playing online

[@Arnung]

i still wonder how people play more then 2 sessions with guys like that? xD

[@Diogolindir]

yeah, I would probably leave in the first session. No time to deal with toxic childish people.

[@roybrewster4872]

Listening to some of these horror stories, it amazes me how much people are willing to put up with.

[@stephanreiken9912]

It sounds someone that was making fun of this guy about how much emotion he could convey in one world and he took it as a compliment.

[@jackjazzhands2357]

This Episode made me pretty sad. But nice that it has a 'good ending'. Hope the Friend with the seizure is ok. :x

[@theman6422]

Man, from how long he monologued, I was thought I was listening to kira

[@tukavaraandco7820]

I haven’t even gotten tot he story yet, but I love the start “*twinkle* HELLO EVERYBODY!”

[@cthulhupthagn5771]

Thus sounds exactly like someone I knew in my circle IRL, who among other things bragged at being an official certified WOTC D&D

[@ragingwerewolfdude3797]

Kaw *face palm*

[@andrewparsons2391]

I have recently found myself watching a lot of videos criticizing Onision for some random reason. I feel like I just got another one.

[@thehowlinggamer5784]

Just entered a new campaign with a kenku bard I'm planning to rp as a little bit like Sophia Petrillo, so it will be something like, "picture it, barovia. 3 nights ago...'

[@LegateShepard]

That's friggin magnificent. 🤣👏

[@hydragamedev6920]

That whole thing about the guy bragging about how much emotion he was able to put into a simple “caw” sounded like a comedy skit

[@alexandrumarin8981]

I'm here before actually getting into the video. I'm curious how much of it is clickbait. Edit: Should retitle it to 'I played with a manipulative 16 year old"

[@johnnysizemore5797]

Notes from a NG Human Idiot; Greetings from lovely Restenford(despite the evil druidess CorvidXIX lurking around, we're still standing strong here ...)! Sweet Pelor, i thought the LAST ingrate was bad but "Alpha" needs to be Shut out of Adventuring PERMANENTLY! you don't do what he did to that poor group and get away with it. I'm personally shocked OP stayed as long as he did. Which leads to me wondering if all of this was truth, or if there's more to this than mentioned.It's very....coincidental that he got picked up by a "better group" shortly after he walked away. I'm not saying OP is lying, but something seems off here... May Your Pantheon Ever Favor You(especially in these trying times), Baron Trevelyan of Restenford

[@shawntco]

Watching this channel's videos is making me aware how susceptible D&D campaigns are to being taken over by psychopaths and perverts. Something for relatively newer players like myself to be mindful of!

[@SomeRandomPerson522]

Finding a game can be challenging; but never put up with a toxic table. value yourself more than that. good on OP for finally standing up for themselves / calling out this abusive person here and walking away.

[@TheFrugalVideoGamer]

The guy sounds like how Trump would act if he went full neckbeard, especially the "I've had experienced roleplayers come up to me in tears to compliment me" bit.

[@omnical6135]

so true though

[@rossjohnstone4689]

At the 10:25 mark i started tonget pissed as i myself have am autisitc. I may be high functioning, but my sister lower and there pretty much abusing this persons mental state. God this alpja guy is the traditional xult leader, wanting control and xritisising anyone who disagrees. Just fucking wow.

[@rossjohnstone4689]

18:19 ok i stand corrected. This guy is the fucking worst, only outdone by that guy in 4he psycopath story

[@izzydd5075]

that was the moment i got pissed as well, even though im not autistic. regardless of autism, when you f*cking make someone cry, enough is enough. Alpha, youre a piece of shit.

[@JayLeePoe]

this is like a role playing channel for Surviving Narcissism.

[@Samuraiedge2]

This reminds me of my experience with an RP on Gmod(I know, cringefest). The staff of 5(basically the DM and his posse) ran a Red vs Blue RP with 5 players few years back. Should have left when I had the chance when I noticed that most of the plot is barely related to RvB at all(just spartan suits and AI). Instead, its a mish-mash of a bunch of franchises; most specifically Persona and Jojo. I would say the point where the staff suddenly started thinking less of me is when my character got together with one of the staff's. The rest did not like that cause apparently, that character was with another staff member's character(who I will refer to as Doctor) but hasn't ever came on. There were multiple instances where it seemed like I was being specifically targeted. Got trapped and poisoned in the medical bay by Doctor, radiation poisoning because our demolitions expert forgot how to disarm a bomb(according to the DM, he was suppose to just kick it), got sicked on by an OP character(another staff's character), etc. The nail in the coffin was when the head staff and 2 others decided to create an OP team of assassins specifically made to kill my character and anyone who defends her. The staff literally celebrated in voice chat and went off to play SS13.

[@1Kapuchu100]

I have to ask... Is this "Alpha" better or worse than Craig?

[@Fishandchipsguvnah]

... Worse obviously. A lot worse. Do you really need to ask?

[@1Kapuchu100]

@@Fishandchipsguvnah Well... Craig was Craig. He was really, really bad. They seem about as toxic the both of them, to me. Alpha might be a bit more narcissistic, but they are both absolutely toxic garbage fires.

[@Fishandchipsguvnah]

@@1Kapuchu100 Craig was a horrendous piece of shit, but Alpha could (and should) face actual criminal charges. Though I suppose you could argue that that just comes down to Craig not being as charismatic and capable of bending people to his will. Assuming Craig is the one I'm thinking of (the airship guy?)

[@1Kapuchu100]

@@Fishandchipsguvnah that is the Craig, yeah.

[@liamdalemon1525]

Craig is not the best player and he is a HORRIBLE DM but Alpha is a bad person!!! he was an ego maniac who just fucked everything to make himself the centre of attention

[@TheOldKevin]

Online game and they stay with him. I don't get it. IRL my group is friends and we've overlooked some "eccentricities" but this shit will get people kicked IRL. BTW, most of the group is veterans. Maybe that's why we get along so well.

[@Logos_Ghost]

wow. This reminds me of a player that was part of many of my groups. my story is very different, and i'll not go into it, and there are some major differences on how his negative emotional baggage affected our group, but wow. Till now, I had only heard that people had worst players, and this takes the cake. I admire that you tried patiently to work with him.

[@JadeDRail]

These stories do wonders for my confidence as a new DM.

[@connorjohnson8590]

Dude, don't worry. These are mostly edge cases. It's also to keep people informed of flags that lead down these roads.

[@JadeDRail]

@@connorjohnson8590 I wasn't being sarcastic. :) All these really bad DMs are making me go: "Well at least I won't be that bad." It's encouraging.

[@connorjohnson8590]

@@JadeDRail OH! Well that's great! I thought you meant it like 'oh boy that's bad' but you are clearly more optimistic than that! Good for you! Good luck DMing!!

[@JadeDRail]

@@connorjohnson8590 Thank you! Currently feeling a bit rail roady cause I make my players choose where they are going next at the end of a session so I can prep the next, but I'm starting to try and come up with alternative encounters lol.

[@connorjohnson8590]

@@JadeDRail That's perfectly normal! My own first session was a one shot with a bunch of railroading. It takes time to build a cohesive setting with enough room for your players to mess around with, so no sweat! As you get experience as a DM you will find that jumping off the beaten path is a ton of fun, and your ability to addapt to new situations will be exercised. One exercise I did for myself that gave me confidence with dropping encounters is preparing my own encounter charts for different biomes and such (only 5-10 encounters per char). Such encounters are not tied to specific locations, only environments (forests, mountains, taverns etc.), so are easier to integrate into the story if things go south. With this you have a list of backup encounters that YOU can have fun running in the event you players jump off the tracks!

[@kasper7574]

So...where was the "Cult Leader" part... I was promised a Cult Leader...

[@omnical6135]

last time i was this early i was born

[@levie8269]

shut up claptrap

[@noneyerbizzness9007]

I will say I normally watch these while not logged in but the micro joke at the end. That 100% forced a log-in and sub. Have yourself a wonderful week.

[@aileeneaw6901]

man i rly wanna play dnd myself too someday.. it does sound so interesting and i loooove roleplaying so much