D&D Control Freak: "Make Your Character MY Way" - RPG Horror Stories

God, I need some player horror stories. We've had so many bad DMs, let's change it up.
RPG Horror Stories is a series where I (Crispy) read through stories from the subreddit r/rpghorrorstories and give advice on how to avoid the issues that lead to such stories in the first place.
Thumbnail Art:
Romain Jouandeau - Khan's Boat
www.artstation...
Music:
Royalty-Free Music by Giorgio Di Campo for FreeSound Music:
freesoundmusic.eu​
/ freemusicforyoutube
/ freesoundmusic​
insaneintherainmusic:
www.insaneinth...
in...
/ @insaneintherainmusic
Avatar animated by Slab of Cheese.
Check out her stuff: / @slabofcheese3521

[@SeanB2]

DM: "There's no place for an edgelord here." Player: "...Okay, then what's the story about?" DM: "REVENGE!!!"

[@professorsponge1554]

10 bucks says this campaign had an overpowered DMNPC who solved every problem.

[@smoothoxygen4871]

Aight I'll bet 15 bucks on the line to say this guy instead has a DMNPC but there's a woman who's madly in love with him in the campaign

[@julyol119]

​@@smoothoxygen4871She's probably a goddess, too. That's why he's so overpowered.

[@kcollier2192]

OP: "I want to be an orphan." DM: "You're free to be whoever I want you to be." OP: "What? Then why am I here?" DM: "I was wondering the same thing."

[@nickbrown638]

“Something personal, kid.”

[@lexcentrique2554]

@@nickbrown638 The correct line would be: "Psssh... somethin personnel... kid..."

[@bsabruzzo]

"Ten years is not enough time to learn how to cook and poison people and be a sorcerer". So, anybody can learn to cook as a child, but learning how to cook working as a kitchen chef's assistant or in a basic tavern can take about a night or two and getting good at it is just doing the job. Being an assassin by putting poison into the food you are already cooking would take a year or so to learn, as it's just like learning recipes, ingredients, tastes, and portions. And sorcery is something you are born with and can learn when you are not at work. I doubt this DM ever went to college while working a job. That's cooking, math, science, history, and so on. Ten years is all of college, a job for at least 6 years, and a hobby.

[@ironnoah9461]

Or if he ever went there at all.

[@WarmLusamine]

I'm gonna be generous and say he A.) never payed attention in high school. & B.) never graduated.

[@minamajikina8075]

I don't think I'd be able to keep my smart mouth in check. The moment the DM took that dismissive attitude, I'd probably go "Oh, being an orphan is edgy, but living for ~revenge~ rather than going on with your life isn't?"

[@TigerKirby215]

"Just write a book" is accurate. It's obvious that he wanted a Stranger Things cast to only care about his core plot.

[@Logan_Baron]

Me before watching these videos: "I'm a pretty good DM". Me after watching these videos: "I am the Best DM ever. A veritable God of a DM".

[@joshuawiener5003]

You must be brought to a kneel

[@lexcentrique2554]

You after watching all videos: "I am just a god minus the godhood status."

[@gelbadayah.sneach579]

"the game is about his story, not my character" Any DM worth their salt can make it about both!

[@LoboDibujante]

"The game is about my story, not your character". Oof. It's one of those DMs.

[@ironnoah9461]

Not to mention a rude A-hole of one.

[@dylanbeauhart9936]

DM: there is no discrimination in my world. Also DM: type casts orphans as edge lords as if people couldn't suffer terrible circumstances, effectively being discriminatory.

[@fearfang2001]

That intro cut off was brilliant XD

[@theinquisitorisamage1653]

8:07 - "...how can you be a chef, an assassin, and a sorcerer?" Dude, you ever play the DB quests in Skyrim? No one expects a fireball from a dark corner!

[@Tirath]

Deliver a magical poison of your own design by taking the image of the head chef to infiltrate the castle and poison the victim(s) food/drink. Changling was a perfect choice for this role.

[@theinquisitorisamage1653]

@@Tirath Exactly!!! Hell, if its that big of an issue, then bring it up in a private chat - not in front of other players (unless the player in question is doing some incredibly fucked up things at the table, then call them out on that shit asap.)

[@Dragongamz1]

I like the OPs character. Nobody would expect the chef to be able to shapeshift, make poisons, and kill you with a wave of a hand. Besides, he can easily practice his magic while cooking. Prestidigitation a fire in the oven, clean up flour or dirt on the floor, spice up a particular customers food, etc.

[@Epsilon-Eleven]

"How can a person go to university, work a part-time job, and speak Spanish?" uses the same logic, yet millions of people manage that IRL. I get the feeling that the DM has never had to put forth actual effort or live like an adult.

[@WayToVibe]

Tell me your DM doesn't have hobbies outside the game without telling me your DM doesn't have hobbies outside the game. I'll go first: Thinking it takes 10 years to learn to cook, make poisons, and learn spellcasting. Dude, most people get the basics of all three down inside of a year (pagans, chefs, chemists, in real life) and by the 10 year anniversary have become a master of those trades.

[@wolfherojohnson2766]

7:41 Leave. Just leave. At that point this isn’t your character anymore so you should just go. This character is probably someone I’d love to have at my table and I don’t know how the DM can be so blind to such a GENIUS concept!

[@Bladez10]

Oh god, that intro! Killed me. First read flag was the DM taking the Female players into a separate chat. Then it feels he has a very linier/rigid view of the game. Not understanding the difference between class and occupation or how they work. Probably good OP was kicked, cause the DM might be a rules lawyer or might have bad homebrew for his precious story. Either the DM is lazy to actually do his job as DM or has his head up his own ass he calapsed into a singularity. Would have welcomed the OPs character, it was creative and rich with plenty for any DM to work with. Plus they seemed flexible and willing to work with others which will add more to not only the OP characters but to any other character they worked with. Between all the actual edge lords/murder hobos and the players that can't be bother to come up with a character idea, OP is a god send.

[@hayhay509]

when i was a DM for the first time i explained my players couldn't be paladins. this was 3.5, and the plot was that a big bad had taken all the paladins as a flex. i was new and didn't think anyone would want to be a paladin anyway since 3.5 paladins were restrictive. sure enough a player who has never played DnD before wants to be a paladin. i told her the lore and plot and asked why she wanted to be a paladin. the reasons she gave fit more with the 3.5 knight class than paladin, so i showed it to her and she played a knight. when the party beat the big bad and freed the paladins, i expected this player to come up to me and ask if she could become a paladin or multiclass into paladin. she didn't. another player did however. I thought the scenario was a good idea because if a player was bent on paladin they could be rewarded with paladin. i know now that isn't always the best thing to do but what i wanted to explain was the "why do you want to be a paladin" question. this DM is full of bs and i'm not defending him. however if he ever sees this video and reads these comments i want to leave some advice: if you don't want your players running a class, and you don't want to change your world to accommodate them, either learn to accommodate and learn to make a class. the game was probably 5e so i know there isn't the hundreds of thousands of classes like 3.5 has, but it still is a game limited only by your imagination. player wants to be a druid but you don't want them to be because it wouldn't make sense? and you don't want to have the player be a turncoat fleeing the druids who attacked the village? ask why the player wants to be a druid and then either find a class that fits their wants and needs more OR make a class for them. and if you're lazy enough just take the druid class and name it something else. if the issue is "druid", than have the player play a druid but they are called "forest walker" or "shapechanger" or "naturalist". there isn't any reason to stop your players from playing what they want.

[@iamaunicorn1232]

I think the concept of a "prologue session" and establishing a shared backstory before a time jump could be cool. Giving them a solid foundation and motivation then letting them run wild for 10 or so years could really encourage setting up cool group dynamics. But the way this guy was doing it he should have either handed out pre-written character sheets (if everyone was ok with that) or... WROTE HIS OWN DAMN BOOK!!

[@jazeroliversy673]

Yeah the idea of,prologue sessions are actually cool. In one of the games I played in, the DM has us players be childhood friends in a Viking village. We played out like key moments like meeting each other, important events growing up, being chosen as a hunter/shaman,etc. all of those things. It made us really attached to each other’s characters and the village. It made it all the more impactful when the campaign proper started and the village was attacked and destroyed. I still hold this as one of the best campaign intros I’ve ever been a part of.

[@maxg1891]

Seeing how the DM took the female player to a separate chat room makes me think the DM would have played favorites with the female player. My guess he would have given her a bunch of ridiculous homebrew magic items like a +10 sword that did 2d20 fire damage or something crazy like that. Not to mention he probably would have given her some kind of special background information that made her the most important character in the campaign.

[@chrisrudolf9839]

Well, that's the most likely assumption only because it already is on the rpg horror story reddit. There can be plenty of reasons why a DM wants to talk to one player in private during character creation, and most of them don't involve favoritism. The player's character may simply have a secret in his backstory or in his character's nature that he wouldn't usually reveal to others and thus would possibly not want the other players to know until he decides to reveal it in game.

[@professorsponge1554]

This DM should just write a book if he doesn't vant his players to have any agency in his precious story. In D&D and other TTRPGs, the story is focused on the players. The DM can make the world and operate it, but the players dictate what happens.

[@Logan_Baron]

That's my mantra as a DM. It's my world, but it's the Player Characters story.

[@falionna3587]

I think the first question a DM should ask when a player presents a exotic race is "What are you looking for in this race?" Is it the stats/abilities? Something Visual or something from the lore of the race? For a aarakocra you can with ease reflavour the stats into a harpy for example, if the flight is what they are looking for. Or you could make a progenitor wereraven, or planetouched by the plane of air if it's the lore alone they are gunning for, or a genasi. As a GM you don't have a obligation to shoehorn in everything a player tosses at you, but by talking you can find a way to make both happy.

[@WarmLusamine]

"For a aarakockra you can with ease reflu our the stats into a harpy" *I HAVE BLIND TO THE POSSIBILITIES*

[@lordinquisitor6233]

So by this dm’s logic, the artful dodger is an edgelord because he’s an orphan? Like I get wanting to make your character fit within the world but this is absurd. The player practically giving him a suitable character on a plate and the dm is being an awkward control freak

[@theinquisitorisamage1653]

Not excusing the DM here, but a whole lot of edgelords have 'orphan because xyz' as a background. Still, the DM was being an ass about it.

[@bsabruzzo]

According to this DM President Obama is an edgelord, as was Babe Ruth, Ella Fitzgerald, JRR Tolkien, Herbert Hoover, George Lopez, and Gene Siskel.

[@marcusreading3783]

I've created a rogue character I intend to use at some point with a backstory where everyone she knew died horribly. However, despite that, shes a happy(ish), cheerful young woman who loves kids and prefers smiles to tears. Of course, theres more to her than that and she has her issues (especially with cults), but she refuses to allow past tragedies to define her and prefers to keep walking into the future while remembering the past. Much more interesting and three dimensional than Edgy McEdgeson.

[@theinquisitorisamage1653]

@Naukumaija Mau-mau True, also those types attempt to also brood in dark corners (why dark corners?), and/or try to lone-wolf it during campaigns. Not saying that OP did anything like this, in fact they're no where near being an edgelord - DM was just being an controlling ass.

[@theinquisitorisamage1653]

@@emberfist8347 Right? Changelings are one of those races that they're expected to be an orphan. Now, if OP made a Tiefling rouge, whos family was killed at 8 years old, they were a slave trained as an assassin. They also go on about their 'woe is me' tragic past, and brood/lone-wolf it 99% of the time - that's a massive red flag.

[@celiand2618]

Am afraid the world the DM designed did not make enough sense to include player made "micro-lore". Poison master chef ? Makes tons of sense. Many a spice recipe include ingredients that would kill you if badly dosed or injected rather than eaten (crushed dried scorpion stingers, viper glands or the infamous "close liver shaving" of the fugu, to quotte some of our world). Hell, being a chef almost spell "know your poisons, dummy !", and food and drinks is a common delivery mean. Sorcerer on top ? Sure ! Magic abilities granted by blood rather than study or a pact ? That could be litteraly ANYONE ! Even the pig boy ! The character concept is actually so fluid it basically fits EVERYWHERE ! And 10 years for a trip and some time on the other sid of the globe ? Ask the Polo family. the only reason it almost took them 3 years to make it there was they made long breaks during the trip. And same on the way back. The caravans were doing that on a monthly timer.

[@justnoob8141]

That guy: Why? So his changeling parents just threw him away? Me: Precisely, that’s how changeling work

[@byronsmothers8064]

GM: There's no room for edgelords in this story Also GM: everyone's motivation in this story is revenge ...so everyone is edgelords?

[@wolfherojohnson2766]

Yeah it’s rather hypocritical

[@MrNemitri]

He said there was no space for an edgelord, because all the spots are taken 🤣

[@PaladinGear15]

My first character was an orphan, but he had a loving foster family, and that ingrained in him the idea that family isn't a biological thing, and that made him happy. Not all orphans are edgelords, but I'm sure most of us know that already.

[@davidlewis5312]

7:34 Why did you linger? I would be like. "You know, I don't think I am going to waste another moment of my time. I don't have anything invested in you and you have no intention of having anything invested me. Enjoy your fan fiction with your NPC players."

[@AzureKyle]

Dude might as well just handed him a pre-made character sheet and told him that was his character.

[@semi_systematic_vods]

"So the changelings parents would have just thrown them away?" Do you not know irl changeling lore? It's real easy to find bro

[@karlvonwestphalen3092]

Aren't Sorcerers the ones who DON'T have to learn about magic, they just have it?

[@ChazMcRich1]

Ok; the plot hook of all characters being from the same village that was destroyed and reconvening 10 years later is actually not bad at all- IF YOU LET THE PLAYERS KNOW AHEAD OF TIME. 10 years is a lot of time you can use to flesh out a character and you’ve got a baked in reason for them to meet up again, perhaps they all planned to return to pay respects on the 10 anniversary?

[@blueskylark9965]

One of my players wanted to play a Rune knight Fairy, so I asked them questions about how they think a fairy would learn Giant magic, or if they wanted, the rune knight could have nothing to do with giants at all, and we could change the language that is learned via the subclass, one idea that I brought to them is that the where this fairy comes from, giants and fairies live together, as lo explaining why the character was taller than the average fairy. It’s important to be flexible in your world building and lore guys,

[@shizanketsuga8696]

While writing a book would certainly waste less of other people's time I can see one big obstacle here: more than anything this GM was creatively dead. Even his standard reply - "It doesn't make sense." - is probably the most thoughtless objection possible, because it immediately stops any search for ways to _make_ something make sense which, at least for the examples described by OP, would have been trivially easy, not the least because most of the suggestions already _did_ make lots of sense, like the chef by day, poisoning infiltrator at night concept. Who would know better which ingredients would mask the taste of certain ingested poisons best if not a chef who was also a poison expert?

[@Epsilon-Eleven]

I bet he can't grasp the concept of superheroes having jobs & secret identities, either.

[@shizanketsuga8696]

@@Epsilon-Eleven It dOeSn'T mAkE sEnSe! ;)

[@Key-jc8kw]

Just tell him "are you making a character for me to play or can the player actually create an individual that makes sense to the player".

[@TheAdarkerglow]

Yeah, here's the appropriate response: "Oh, it's just your story? Then let us players get out of your way, so you can get back to that novel. Peace out."

[@GigaMoth]

I find it funny when dms say that certain certified dnd races don’t fit into the lore. It’s almost like they didn’t write the lore or something.

[@mikhailthegreatestdragon3627]

I like shitting on bad DMs as much as the next guy, but if you make a game a certain way that's not like the official titles, then yeah, it makes sense if some things aren't allowed. That's not bad writing, it's just common sense.

[@GigaMoth]

@@mikhailthegreatestdragon3627 of course you can. You did write the lore after all. I should have clarified. When dms don’t allow certain races or class for no good lore reason or otherwise just because they don’t want to make the effort to include said race. Often the dm will just act helpless as if there is nothing they can do about the lore they themselves are responsible for. If the Dm has a good lore reason it simply doesn’t wish to deal with a certain race or class element then that’s fine. Except for one random story I heard where a Dm didn’t allow marshal classes at his table because martial classes were lame and simplistic unlike magic classes.

[@mikhailthegreatestdragon3627]

@@GigaMoth Yeah, that I can agree to. My problem is getting angry with stuff cause it was intentionally written that way and set that way, like Yes, it's there for a reason and changing it harms the canon. That's a problematic mindset to have as well.

[@kamudo999]

something similar sort of happened to me before. I posted my character, stated the race that I wanted it to be, the dm says 'no' fine, not playing that game,I guess. he then call me later, saying that he would make my character fit, I though good, joined the discord server, got to know the other players, then the dm asked for a voice chat, we got in, talked, explained the lore of the world and such. he asked me what my character would be, and I stated that I wanted the one I posted in the application, he said 'no, its a evil race' make your character into a changeling or else I wouldn´t play. I left the server. so, he lied and tries to manipulate me by saying that the race I wanted is a 'evil race' yet tiefling and drowns are not, ok.

[@Nazo-kage]

1:15 I can kind of see something like this prologue aspect working in some way. Like the PCs start out, just their gender and race and they all have a base stat block of 10 on all stats their ages range from 9 to 11 (maybe a little more if there a long lived race) Then they go through the events of one fateful night in their happy little village. Depending on their experiences and their interactions in the prologue. They can then decide what classes their characters would be and then they are given 15 points to distribute in there step blocks like the standard point bye system. The prologue could basically be framed the same way as the prologue of golden sun. And thanks to the chaos/randomness of “that fateful night“ they can choose what their motivation is for leaving the village say five or six years later. I think this makes the concept a little more open ended and a lot less railroad but I’d like to hear anybody’s opinion on the idea.

[@jrepra]

10 years is not enough time to learn to be a sorcerer Learn to be a sorcerer Learn to be a sorcerer ...um, what? What sorcerer learns to be a sorcerer? Your blood manifests and boom, whatever training you had, you are sorcerer now. From there jts getting used to and enhancing your connection to your natural born abilities. You can learn to cook and learn how poisons work at the same time, 10 years is more than enough time to do that while also learning your innate magic and how to use it. If anything, these 3 can easily compliment each other in the learning aspect.

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

I'd agree with that only if the character hadn't been a rogue for years at this point. It would be like a fighter being at war for a decade and fighting in many battles. You don't start that character at level 1. Level 1 characters are novices with very little experience who have a general competence at their abilities but not expertise at them. I would probably start that kind of player at level 3 at least just on experience alone.

[@jrepra]

@@Lobsterwithinternet i think it depends on how early in life they start. 10 years is more than enough for a child to learn to pick pocket, as shown in Oliver Twist. Now, knowing how to do it and mastering it are two different things. And level 1 should be the point where one steps into the world of the know, they can do it but are nowhere near masters, the difference between a child pickpocketing to survive vs a pro that picks pockets to enjoy.

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

@@jrepra But the OP's talking about sneaking into people’s houses to get information, not just simply picking pockets. I don't know if the character traveled around doing that but if they did, why is such a well-traveled person still first level? And then to run a restaurant and learning to control their sorcerer powers at the same time while breaking into homes to snoop. I think that's a little bit much for someone who’s first level. I would ask them to change it so that they learn that kind of thing in their off time by practicing on locks or have them living on the street for a while until they were adopted by their adopted parents.

[@jrepra]

@@Lobsterwithinternet you make a fair point. I would think someone training to be a spy has to start somewhere, but not to the degree he would. And I dont see him running a restaurant as a new staff anywhere before the 5 to 10 year mark.

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

@@jrepra Nothing wrong with the concept. It's a pretty interesting one. It just needs to be scaled back so it fits with what a first level should be. Other than that, theDM’s still a massive dick. 😄😝

[@Tirath]

I think I would have interrupted the DM at some point in that session zero to address the players, offering to run my own game instead and inviting all of them to join. Even with my limited experience with D&D(I've mostly run WFRPG 2e and PTU), I'm certain it would be far more enjoyable than this jokers game.

[@keoniflow2019]

I wouldve just said “alright” and left the group chat

[@Normaschthewanderer]

DM is a teacher. Let that sink in.

[@KertaDrake]

I've known teachers like that. They were absolutely horrible and I'd straight up seen a class rebel against one after they got particularly bad about being unreasonable about grading writing assignments fairly. They were they type to give "free reign" on choice of what you write about, then knock points off because they didn't like the subject the student picked and then make the student completely redo the assignment and still penalize them on the grade of the redone assignment!

[@windyface9383]

I admit that I like my edge as much as anyone else out there (maybe even a little more than would be healthy - most of my favourite characters had mental issues manifesting in some form or other, from ADHD to depression and PTSD, and I enjoy throwing the orphan card up as an invitation for the DM to pull out some WILD things further down the game - ask me about my human druid or my half-drow rogue!), and I've had some concepts my DMs were a little hesitant on ("Damn it, you're making me add drow to my setting!" "You can be a warforged, but there are no other planes of existance in my world's cannon so you'll have to replace the part in your background from being built by them to being built by another civilization."). This DM's inflexibility would have be go "Yeah nah I'm not okay with this" and leave the moment he tried to change my class to something else.

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

6:29 At that point, I pick up my stuff and walk out.

[@1tiptip187]

The only thing this DM has going for him is he's honest in saying about it being about his story and not the characters. Something that should be a major warning to run away if you are into heavy RP and not just the mechanics. I've had a person try so freaking hard to get me into a game without admitting it while making it clear by annoyingly hopping around in a conversation.

[@littlepeach2010]

in the Game I just started playing, I'm a Tortel Barbarian, but in the DM's world there are no Tortels, but DMs a cool guy so now I'm the only Tortel on the continent and get funny looks where ever the party goes, its so much fun

[@boomerpatrol2838]

I guess the first guy wanted to play a table top H-Doom

[@phobiawitch835]

Yeah, the story here angers me because the PF Dm I’ve mentioned in other comments was like this when I was making a new character around the time I retired my cleric from Burnout. I had done world research to make a character not directly tied to plot but also easily worked in to have relations to it. There was apparently an area where werewolves were discriminated against, so I thought I’d play off that with a huntsman that happened to be the grandson of a werewolf (aka, a Witchwolf Skinwalker with the Slayer class to give the party much needed ranged combat and rogue abilities). I even made it so he both worshipped a goddess of secrets, and the god of his village that was god of hunts. He wasn’t a werewolf hunter, btw, just the grandson of one. I LOVED that idea and had begun even talking with other players about him, and they were excited to meet this character. Then, just a couple days before the session I would reture my cleric and swap characterz, the DM told me I couldn’t play the character because “the adventure has nothing to do with werewolves”. I kept trying to explain that the witchwolf thing was just heritage and not a defining feature of the character in personality and goals, but after THREE HOURS, he told me to just try out an ogre npc. Almost had me taje “ogre levels” until I pointed out there was a player race for them, but it didn’t work with the class I wanted to play. So he told me “oh, be an inquisitor then of your cleric’s goddess. And , uh, sanctified slayer archetype”. It was a decent combo, sure. But I hated the character for 2 reasons. One, it wasn’t what I wanted to play, especially since it had no personality or backstory except what the adventure had written for him (which was 2 paragraphs, that’s it). And 2, I had mentioned to the dm I didn’t want to play another religious character (one who’s entire class is defined by their relation to the gods) after the shit I went through with my cleric (constantly being ridiculed, losing my powers the one and only time I didn’t strictly adhere to my tenets, and MUCH more over the course of a year of playing), so being forced to serve the SAME GODDESS and be, again, a class tied into her tenets, just drained me. I ended up leaving when I got sick and after only 5 sessions of that character. Haven’t played PF since.

[@sherylcascadden4988]

Intro: WTF? Understatement....

[@Logan_Baron]

"I'll LET" No you're changing the very basis of something to explain away things to get the result you want rather than the player being able to be able to play the character the way they want. And unnecessarily so. It's not like that character HAD to have the identity crisis thing BECAUSE of how they never have a true face. They want the identity crisis thing, and found an interesting way to do it. They could have never had a true face and NOT choose to have the identity crisis thing if the player didn't want. LETTING them do something by changing something would be helpful to getting the character they want.

[@affarinoxa]

Imagine completely dismissing someone then telling them to change class. He avoided a future dumpster fire

[@marybdrake1472]

That D.M. would be better off writing fan fiction or an original story on some site or another than being a D.M.

[@MrGreensweightHist]

My D&D world is based off the world I made for the books I write, but has been DRASTICALLY changed. D&D version has the same kingdoms, NPCs from the books, etc, but is high magic and includes all published races. Book version is low magic, and the only races are Humans, Orcs, Goblins, and elves who have been removed from society so long they are thought to be a myth. Book version, dragons are bestial creatures (Think game of thrones), Game version dragons are highly intelligent, as D&D presents them. No matter how attached you are to your version of a world, you've got to adjust it so the players get full enjoyment.

[@Aja-e5j]

I have a character planned that's adopted and perfectly happy although with a bit of an inferiority complex to his "parent" race basically he's a lizardfolk who, while still an egg, was the only survivor of an attacked tribe and who was found by a dwarven caravan a while after they raised him, he became a smith and cleric of moradin, joined caravans as guard and found his talent for making equipment from animal parts (one of the racial lizardfolk features), but eventually he leaves his home to get a better understanding of smithing elsewhere and create something truly impressive because he feels like his craftsmanship is lacking for the standards of his clan and the dwarven god But he isn't depressed about being a lizardfolk among dwarves, nor does he dislike his home in any way, if anything he's a proud "dwarf"

[@christopherhammond5142]

That really sounds like a fun character idea. It might need a little bit of work but it should fit nicely.

[@Gripen1974]

With the druid issue would simply make the PC an independent druid, which don't belong to either faction of druids. after all what say all belong to one of the 2 factions, some could be self learned or have had another independent druid learn the druid. It would have changed the world abit.

[@iceking688]

Going off that piece about creating lore for races in your world. One of my players asked about playing two exotic races in my Homebrew campaign setting, which I hadn't even considered to exist there. I created lore on the fly specifically for these two races. It isn't very much lore at the minute, but it is a start. I am a pretty lazy worldbuilder too by my own standard, so if I can do it so can you.

[@AuntLoopy123]

You ever see those old Wendy's commercials, with Dave Thomas? He's like, the anti-edge lord, and guess what? He's adopted!

[@dead_vibes]

"I'm the DM, not X." Nah, your X's DM not mine, later!

[@TigerW0lf]

Properly explains how a concept works Douchebag DM: ThAt DoEsN't MaKe SeNsE!

[@WarmLusamine]

That DM is being an intentional moron.

[@dragonkingvahn]

I had a similar character backstory but the reaction to not having him in the game and kicking me out was the reverse. Maybe he thought I was going for a edgelord because Tiefling and revenge. It seemed he was more hung up about why two humans would raise a Tiefling kid and them being evil, when my concept was a Tiefling seeing himself as more of a human. I sometimes think I should have worked with the DM more but I might have just dodged a bullet and waste of time.

[@kerasselyrian8332]

had a dm (not really coz we never really played) like this too. After changing my character twice, I talked with him what else he dont like and changed the character again …. two times and after that he told me he doesn't like my background and the way i wanted to play him. I told him that I don't like to play my character the way he wanted me to play, build and impersonate my character. shot back and forth and I left the server.

[@chaosheaven23]

I think the only time it makes sense to call out restrictions to races, classes, etc. is well BEFORE players are making characters. It's as simple as: "Hey, here's a list of races in my world, and here's a few asterisks for classes if you want to play X class. We'll figure it out from there." Easy.

[@BlazeNStar]

Man, identity is such a tricky thing. You can know who you are one month, and then 1 event happens and you find yourself asking "who am I?". It can be something like losing your job that you dedicated your life to, now what that it's gone, what do I even like to do other than that? Even if it is a good thing that happens, like if you struggled with depression all your life and now you've finally got the right meds to fix it and you change as person, like all that dark cloud you though was you is gone so you need to figure out who was under that dark heavy cloud all along. Identity is constructed reciprocally with the context one finds themselves in, and the stability in it isn't as permanent and homogenous as some people think. (I mean, it's also why people peak in highschool, they refuse to develope their identity beyond that point in life.)

[@crypticcryptid4702]

This is just painful. Hearing how much OP put into this idea and then conceding the entire thing to a DM who wants to write a book is just so very painful.

[@TricksterJackal]

It's heartbreaking as the OP's character concept is so good

[@ForestX77]

“ There is like no racism in my world, don’t be a edge lord “. Right there is when OP should have packed up and GTFO.

[@cylver3593]

One of homebrew worlds I DM on had no Tieflings or Aasimar, for reasons. One of my players immediately forgot that during character creation, as I’ve never done restrictions like that before. They’re still playing a Tiefling, and the inspiration I got because of it is part of their character arc.

[@zerofang8812]

Great story

[@chibiktsn3]

I feel so bad for the changeling player, their DM sounds ike a horrible micromanager and sounds like they should just write a novel, not run a campaign.

[@p-thor]

Omg it is not his game. It is not even his story. His setup after which it become theirs.

[@briansmith1288]

I don't understand how it doesn't make sense. Ten years is a long time. And the character could already know how to cook, or at least start learning before the ten year time skip happens. The rest is easy. It isn't like they have to investigate everything night. And they might close the restaurant down some days. "It doesn't make sense" feels like the DM's excuse to force the player to fill make a character the DM wants.

[@ratboy2]

I hope OP found another campaign to use their character in. His concept is so interesting. It’d be a real shame if they never got to do anything with him :(

[@CrazyKungfuGirl]

I have a DM who was so opposed to just adding an extra minor faction to his campaign to have my character's backstory make sense (among other things) that he ended up ret-conning my character completely without telling me and I was forced to change him several sessions into the game.

[@willropa4226]

Is this DM planning to write a book, movie, or soap opera? Hard to say.

[@Theokal3]

What a crappy DM. Seeing your players come up with fun ideas is one fo the best parts of the job.

[@elvacoburg1279]

In some of the campaign's that I DM, I do put restrictions on the races, classes and equipment that is available to players. The restrictions are normally due to in game reasons, i.e. the DM might not want players with goblin characters if the main opponents are going to be goblins. BUT I always let the players know about any restriction BEFORE they start to create their characters. At the same time I give them a description of the setting, with the idea that it might help when the players create the back stories for their characters. Once they have at least the basic of a back story I then work with them to fit that story into the world.

[@kristieclark3035]

0:00 Are the alloys okay?

[@falxblade1352]

Eh, Brass and Bronze are doing fine, Invar has seen better days, Solder's having the best week of his life, and Electrum has a headache but other than that she's fine. I don't know about the rest of them though

[@chriskramer2340]

I think it is ok to have certain races restricted IF it fits in your world. FE, I once made a homebrew world where there was an ongoing, quite vicious war between Human and Elves. Since we started on the Human side of the land, I restricted the Elf race as playable, because they would be hunted down and killed immediately. But, you have to be upfront about it and have a clear and understandable reason. What this "DM" pulled was just awful.

[@Aja-e5j]

I don't get the druid thing can't you just be self-taught or pick up a book? the only druid thing you would need a teacher for is druidic, the rest can be figured out with trial and error, especially in a 10 years timespan my druid is a humanoid spider creature (custom lineage) who was raised by druids for the first 5 years of her life before running away and living in the wilderness on her own the only reason I even have that was because I needed a logical reason for why she speaks 3 languages and even knows druidic

[@Epsilon-Eleven]

Also, if there's only 2 factions, wouldn't that mean the PCs are part of the evil one?

[@nvfury13]

I’ve told someone “that race doesn’t work for this world” once. They wanted to play a Half Dragon, but the world hadn’t had dragons for thousands of years. We eventually worked it out by doing a homebrew Shifter subrace, so he was descended from a Half Dragon, long back in the family line. Of course the “I want to be a Druid. In the urban magi/steampunk campaign we picked of the three possible campaigns you gave us to choose from on this world.” discussion took a lot longer… Me: “Why would your Druid, that hates urban spaces and tech want to move to the Capital city? The massive urban area full of tech?” Player: “He wouldn’t, he’d hate it.” Me: “Ok…how about instead you try the Urban Druid? Then you get to be Druid, but would actually have abilities you could use in the environment and have a reason to be there?” Player: “No, I want to be normal Druid…”

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

12:40 Yeah, at this point I wouldn't be starting any of these characters at level 1. Maybe level 3 and have them meet up at a tavern in some random other town years later as traveling mercenaries rather as just people living for 10 years in the same little town.

[@Aja-e5j]

you can be an assassin without being an assassin or even a rogue at all, lol, and anyone can be a chef and by official dnd rules anyone can use poison, even without the kit proficiency nor the feat those just make it *easier*

[@symantares9171]

I'd have asked the DM to roll my character up for me. And also to play it since that way he'd know it was being done right

[@aclevername7613]

This dm sounds terrible. He seems to forget the players are playing the game and its not just about him.

[@binarydark4811]

In the last ten years I've been picked up several skills that would change my 'class' and it hasn't even been a whole ten years. Also, has the dm ever met an orphan? Lastly I feel like the only reason why the dm says 'it doesn't make sense,' is just because he's stupid af.

[@pepekovallin]

"he grew in this village his whole life, he has friends that he knows and people know him, he can't be confused about his identity" That's not how identity works pal, it's entirely possible to have a healthy and still have an identity crisis, why are these controlling DMs so clueless about basic psychology? The fact that DMs that think a single action, class, or race makes someone objectively bad, is mind boggling to me, it's like these guys never met a single human being before to think life is this black and white

[@DisneyChar]

There's plenty of room for an egdelord but only in the form of dm and dms pet Also I'd switch to an orc barbarian and only respond by saying "smash" to literally any question

[@novadrake9232]

Who orderd the forced cringe

[@dayangmasudi]

Way to get start the video 🤣😆

[@dfgamingandreviews]

Any heard of superiority dice?

[@conwaysquest6961]

Regarding that first post, I think there was a Hentai VN with that plot ...

[@PheoBlitz05]

This DM had no ounce of creativity. Ugh.. it's so bad...

[@michaela.dreamock2543]

Buttons

[@emphorepolpatinedasenate]

Honestly I would've quit just cus they didn't let u make ur own story

[@moegreen2892]

hi im your biggest fan

[@raindropsandfeathers2245]

Lol Flavoring

[@gelbadayah.sneach579]

I have a player story or two! Where's a good place to submit them?

[@Epsilon-Eleven]

The subreddit r/rpghorrorstories

[@9liveslie-cat-lie129]

Any follow up for this story or did op get the fuck out of their after one session.

[@kikiblair5132]

This DM should work at Bethesda. 😂

[@SuperBatSpider]

Me with that opening:Well if that’s the game everyone agrees to play and players do still get to make choices. Then I guess it’s okay. Not for me but I’m sure someone find that kind of game fun. Me with the main story:Your story doesn’t make sense. I’m sorry but I have to leave.

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

8:30 Sadly is have to agree with the GM on that one. Unless they’re starting at a higher level with levels in sorcerer and rogue, it makes no sense to start off a character with all that experience at such a low level.

[@Dragongamz1]

They started at Level 4. And you don't need to be a Rogue to have proficiency in a Poisoner's Kit

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

@@Dragongamz1 It's not just that but also the other proficiencies in cooking and sneaking. And random towns aren't populated by level 4-5 characters. If that was the case, small towns wouldn't need adventurers in the first place. Most townspeople don't have PC classes for a reason.

[@Dragongamz1]

@@Lobsterwithinternet Anybody can have proficiencies in Stealth and cooking if they take the right background and classes. The town part is the fault of the DM. If he wanted them to be more experienced adventurers at the start of the game, he could of done something else and brought them together when the game started.

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

@@Dragongamz1 But they also have proficiency in cooking, poisons and is a trained sorcerer at level 1. Plus, the way she described her character didn't sound like what a level 1 character is supposed to be.

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

@@Dragongamz1 And I agree with the second part. Should have talked with them about the time skip beforehand instead of dropping it on them.