Murderhobo Goes Fireball Happy | r/rpghorrorstories

[@Theokal3]

I kinda love how in the Fireball story the party had no issues with Fireball Happy guy being an evil murderhobo but was bothered by him being a dumbass about it and cheating. "We can tolerate you being evil. But not you being stupid."

[@gimok2k5]

I think it was mentioned that their entire party had low morals anyhow, so that's probably why they didn't mind him being blatantly evil, as they were probably leaning on the evil side them selves as a whole.

[@ramirezthesilvite]

Yep, classic case of chaotic stupid alignment. Even Megumin has a one-explosion-per-day limit, and she's dedicated her whole life to that spell.

[@Theokal3]

@@gimok2k5Oh, I know, I got that part. Which makes it extra amusing for me.

[@byronsmothers8064]

Want to build a firebender? Way of the dragon monk. Not only do you get access to fire attacks and martial arts to back it up, you even get lighting as a treat! But it's pretty obvious that firehobo didn't want to play a firebender, he wanted to play psycho demoman.

[@RiveroftheWither]

The funniest thing to me is how this new player thought he gamed the system by claiming that because he made a Sorcerer that's not actually Sorcerer, he gets all the Sorcerer spells and doesn't have to follow Sorcerer rules. Dragon Monk also wouldn't work for him because then instead of sorcery points to ignore, he would be ignoring ki points and short/long rest rules. It's always funny to be when people make these broken cheat characters and then complain about being nerfed and impossible to play when forced to follow the same limitations everyone has.

[@kylemendoza8860]

DM should have thrown some fire immune enemies at the player.

[@Vahktang]

This. Like the Magistrate shows up and it is a Salamander of Efreet or something. As the Fire Bender keep (somehow) spewing the magistrate explains. Ah, the player would have just had a tantrum anyway.

[@yarraidalg]

dude is about to get his ass wrecked by some fire elementals

[@ramirezthesilvite]

I was thinking the same thing. A wealthy city should be able to afford anti-magic jail cells, or employ counterspelling casters or something. If it was a more Fantasy-Metropolitan area, maybe creatures from other planes visit and he can try fireballing the Azer guard captain or something.

[@blockeontheleafeon]

@@yarraidalg Exactly what I was thinking. Even Fire Elementals can keep these players at bay.

[@Charnel_Heart]

I love the pyromancer subclass of sorcerer but if that player wouldn't keep track of spell slots I would and I'd just start saying "no you dont" every time he says he casts fireball.

[@samuelsalvatore4511]

im actually surprised he didn't try to twin-cast fireball, unless op skipped that part lol

[@RiveroftheWither]

I used to have a cheating friend like this that I used to play with, I would literally track his slots for him and rat out his sneaky rerolls. I don't play with them anymore for various reasons, including being exhausted having to babysit cheater.

[@Phoenixfede1989]

@@samuelsalvatore4511 i i don´t mistaken fireball can´t be twin casted right? so maybe this firehobo understood that rule and or op skipped that part or firehobo ignort this meta magic stuff almost completly.

[@michaelpritchard4791]

there is also sorc points that can be converted into spell slots if i'm not mistaken ?@@Phoenixfede1989

[@vortega472]

Oh, did anyone else think that Lucky's first meow sounded like "Hello!". Baby House Panthers, if you can - adopt one.

[@Vahktang]

“I cast Fireball.” “You have no material components any more.” “I cast anyway.” 🤦‍♀️

[@darby2314]

Give him infinite fireballs, and give him a guard with infinite counterspells.

[@andylaugel4241]

There are many creatures immune to fire damage I would have loved to see him face.

[@darby2314]

@@andylaugel4241 Also fire absorption!

[@Phoenixfede1989]

@@andylaugel4241 If i would have such a player in my game, i would send down the literally goddess of the sun from my homebrew world to kick his ass (she is immune to fire and gets healed by it alongside radiant damage) Firehobo: "I cast fireball" Sungoddess: "Thanks for the healing bro" Firehobo: O_O

[@MumboJ]

For anyone wondering, a level 6 Sorcerer can cast 6 fireballs per long rest, with 1 sorcery point left over.

[@lessoriginal]

Story 2: Oh my god. I had That Player in one of my games. She absolutely REFUSED to give up any magic item she found. Even if she couldn't use it. EVEN WHEN THE DM TOLD HER IT WAS NOT MEANT FOR HER. She was the absolute worst. It even got to the point where we had to give one of said items to an archmage to study, which my character had to overpower her to do, she wanted to GO BACK to try to get the item when the town was going up in flames and everyone was turning into hideous monsters. The DM even said to her that it would be a VERY bad idea, and she wanted to go back. She only didn't because the rest of the party was like, "Nah, girl. If you go you are going alone."

[@volksdude1970]

One good way to stop a "magic horder" player is to throw an undetectable cursed item their way. Just describe the item as "radiating magical energy" and let the horder take care of themselves. It would teach players that it might be a good idea to start sharing items, or at the very least cooperate with other players who could identify cursed stuff to avoid possible player deaths.

[@BlueTressym]

@@volksdude1970 That'd be when they'd complain they were being targeted and it wasn't fair.

[@volksdude1970]

@@BlueTressym Well, it would be their own fault for taking the stuff impulsively. Nobody forced them to take that cursed item. It would also drive home that some actions have consequences, and picking up random cursed magical items and attuning to them without allowing party members to identify just what they are could be a great way to teach that lesson.

[@BlueTressym]

@@volksdude1970 Oh, I know and trust me, I'd have zero sympathy for them; I'm just making an educated guess at how they'd react.

[@informitas0117]

Just make a cursed "block of C4" that explodes after 3 days. Can't be identified but beeps once a day.

[@brycestrout9178]

Geez, this guy whined about fire balls more the Zuko did about capturing the Avatar

[@andrewbyrne2173]

There’s no age limit on stupidity.

[@jonathanfenton2601]

This is why I keep track of my players' spell slots.

[@Theokal3]

I personally kinda assumed that went without saying. Honestly baffles me that the DM didn't do it in that case. I personally always keep my own copies of my players' sheets so I can keep track.

[@Suraht]

You know, the JoCrap "Just Fireball" parody is just that...a parody. You're not really supposed to go all in on Fireball as your only spell.

[@YouW00t]

What's your point, person within Fireball distance?

[@Nyghtking]

If someone doesn't want to hand over magic items to be identified I think thats about the time the cursed magic items start coming into play.

[@peterriverajr6899]

Totally

[@fred_derf]

+Nyghtking, writes _"I think thats about the time the cursed magic items start coming into play."_ Not me, this is an intra-party issue and I don't think the DM should be getting involved -- unless that player is causing an OOC issue, in which case it should be resolved out-of-character.

[@karisasani7006]

@@fred_derf Thing is... it may be necessary to do it if they keep hoarding the magic items

[@fred_derf]

@@karisasani7006, writes _"[DM intervening] it may be necessary to do it if they keep hoarding the magic items"_ If a character keeps hoarding magic items (going against the agreement the PCs made) then it's time to leave that PC behind in the next town. If a PC hoarding magic items is reducing your fun (and why wouldn't it) then don't adventure with that PC. Discuss the situation (privately) with the other players (and possibly the DM) and see if it's an issue for them. A united front is more effective than a single voice. When the Player complains (and we all know they will), simply tell them how your *character* is unhappy with how their *character* is treating yours and that *you're* not upset with *them* -- that they can avoid this issue by rolling up a new character who isn't a greedy magic-hoarder, or (if they [edit] -don't- want to stay with their current character) have their current character repent and change their ways. If this blows up into a huge out-of-character issue it may well end up with you having to leave (be kicked out of) the game or the game dissolving (particularly if the DM supports the greedy player). But, if you're not having fun, then why would you want to stay? Remember the sage words of Kenny Rogers... _You've got to know when to hold 'em_ _Know when to fold 'em_ _Know when to walk away_ _And know when to run_

[@informitas0117]

@karisasani7006 which they did, over multiple characters. So it is an OOC issue too.

[@dragonlord0784]

About the 1st story, it really bugs me when DMs prefer to immediately go for the "rocks fall, you die" route instead of, you know, *actually communicating* with your players outside of the game if they have any problem with them, and it's especially embarrassing when the DM in the story was a middle-aged grown adult. The DM railroading the new player's character's death makes me wonder if the DM also did this to other players as well, hence why a lot of ppl kept leaving their campaign.

[@3of6mylove]

I love that the last guy was basically just trying to play a broken homebrew subclass without actually saying it directly, making up rules as he went along. So stupid.

[@deepseastonecore3017]

When do monster like to party the most? April Ghoul's Day.

[@ACEDonnell]

Fcc NM mmmm,. Yeah l

[@theratking013]

If i was the DM in the Magic Item story,i would start giving him cursed items with debuffs tailored for him and his class until stopps his shitty behiavor or leaves the campange or that the magic items would worthless shiny objects with a hint of Magic placed there by some Trickster God who wants to prank Adventurers.

[@Shadowblader98]

Im my campaign before a issues caused it to restart actually had a prank magic item pop up, it was a mask that randomly sprayed a different scent up the wearers nose upon putting it on, good or bad smells were random and literally it did nothing else, my god of chaos just loves random items scattered about

[@TigerW0lf]

None of that would work. He's too far up his own paranoid hoarding ass. Sit him down and tell him to knock it off, or he'll be forced to leave the group. That's the only way to fix this jackass, no workarounds, no bullshit, just shape up or ship out.

[@NewTypeDilemma01]

"Use Fireball and only Fireball. Nothing but Fireball. Just Fireball. Just Fireball. Just Fireball!"

[@MyLittlePonyTheater]

A sixth-level sorcerer can cast fireball 6 times using sorcery points to recover third level spell slots. Three Pearls of Power, typically priced at 1,500 GP, can get that number up to 9. If this guy was out here casting dozens of fireballs... honestly, how did people not notice sooner?

[@nathanmacdonald1692]

at least when i make a character that likes fire ball i make a invocation wizard, and i only use in on bad guys. His name was Cleatus and he was based on the beverly hillbillies like a smart jethroe. his granny made magically distilled moonshine. The party loved him lol

[@AmonDevilman]

I mean the Kineticist class in Pathfinder is right there

[@icarue993]

Ironically, the fire kinetisist is not THAT good at dealing damage. Earth is better, specially for a normal game of PF (to bypass DR). Ironically, pyrokinetists to get a mini fireball at level 6 (unlimited using gather power). 10ft radius rather than FB 20ft, but still... unlimited.

[@rynowatcher]

First one: I like the set up, and it is an interesting idea to start a "rescue the princess" plot on a date with one PC. They would be alone and not have most of their gear, so you can have them overpowered while alone and weaponless on the date then either do an investigation to find her or an obvious trail as an excuse to get them to a location. The character has already bought into wanting the npc back, so I think that would work great for most groups. RAW, the assasins would roll stealth checks versus the character's passive score -5 for being in darkness. Dark vision does not mean you see everything and with certain terrain or spells it is very plausable to approach undetected, particularly if this is an ambush they prepared. Very possible to sneak up on them, but I would also be fine as this being narrated as a setup for an adventure too. You need the inciting incident, so that is OK so long as you leave the player able to act after the npc is taken. There is an issue killing a character like this.... a) why did the assasins nor just leave some rando near their target; very metagamy. B) most sleep effects end when you are attacked, so they should at least play that combat out. C) a darkness spell should not be an insurmountable problem. Does no one have a Light, locate object, dispell, familiar, or animal companion?

[@davidtherwhanger6795]

I was thinking along this line as well. The DM could have made the Passive Perception checks themself so as not to tip off the player. Then have the assassins be just mercenaries hired to kidnap the Date. As mercenaries they wouldn't care much for leaving a witness behind as they are leaving the area as soon as they drop off the Date to their employer. So the rest of the Party would just find OP tied up when they got there and the hunt would be on. The specific time could be explained later when one of the Date's associates turns out to be the BBEG's informant.

[@rynowatcher]

@@davidtherwhanger6795 I would even be OK with starting the session telling the player they see a robed figure, he casts a high level sleep spell or something and sees the date getting kidnapped without eating up a lot of time so he can be frustrated at being unable to save the date so they are extra motivated to find them. The opening is good in that it makes the character excited about a rematch when they got their weapons and the rest of the party to even the odds. As long as it is a clear setup that they will be able to change once the action starts. Really chaps my hide that the dm could not stick the landing as that is a 8 out of 10 set up.

[@dragonlord0784]

Ikr? It really bugs me when DMs prefer to immediately go for the "rocks fall, you die" route instead of, you know, actually communicating with your players outside of the game if they have any problem with them, and it's especially embarrassing when the DM in the story was a middle-aged grown adult. The DM railroading the new player's character's death makes me wonder if the DM also did this to other players as well, hence why a lot of ppl kept leaving their campaign.

[@TheOtherGuys2]

I mean, I've made a character who's all about fire magic.. She was a survivor of a city-wide fire as a child, and as a result ended up particularly adept at fire magic. A bit of 'homebrew' stuff going on, but she can, or is learning to, create and manipulate fire in a lot of ways. The downsides though, are that A: she's terrified of fire. And B: she has a moderately high chance of accidentally incinerating everything around her whenever she uses magic.

[@Asher_Tye]

The different readings for the fireball story have been it's most entertaining aspect

[@teheles]

For the Firehobo story, he's definitely a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and more specifically firebenders. He just forgot that DnD and A:TLA are two very distinct universes. To handle a threat like that, the DM should have made him meet a pyromancer who is fireproof, can absorb fire, cause heat waves, control the slightest flame, etc. So, he would have understood that he was wasting a lot of his potential. Firehobo : "FIREBALL!" Pyromancer : *Fits his jacket* "Is that all, Sparky?" *Makes him boiled from inside*

[@Keiji555]

Story 2: Oh come on. The DM needs to say what the curse is! Don't leave us all hanging!

[@alphons1456o]

Gonna say this about the magic item problem player; if they keep talking to him and nothing changes, well, let's just say they're well within their right to use an in game solution this time

[@MatrixRefugee]

It almost sounds like this person had an underlying and unresolved emotional issue that somehow came out in TTRP.

[@themightypen1530]

No such thing as being "too obsessed with fireball". He was The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight!

[@tenshyklonik]

**shole "I am the fire bender! No one can outstand me! No monster can defeat me!" DM "Hello, it´s me, the Consecuences Elemental Creature"

[@karisasani7006]

DM "And Im going to send something that is immune to fire damage to tell you to stop"

[@theimperviousfirecracker7934]

That fireball murderhobo screams someone who heard all of those fireball jokes from reddit and youtube, and might have watched XPtoLevel3's wizard saga, and thought that using fireball in an actual DnD game was unironically as funny as using fireball in a skit/joke on the internet.

[@iank472]

DMs have literal absolute control over the game world and NPCs. As such the excuse of "You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time!" to instakill a PC holds about as much water as a sieve with a part time job as a clay pigeon!

[@dragonlord0784]

Ikr? HE was the DM of the campaign and could create and control anything that happens in the game and him saying "you were at the wrong place at the same time" is kinda like the DM equivalent of "that's what my character would do!". It reallllly bugs me when DMs prefer to immediately go for the "rocks fall, you die" route instead of, you know, actually communicating with your players outside of the game if they have any problem with them, and it's especially embarrassing when the DM in the story was a middle-aged grown adult. The DM railroading the new player's character's death makes me wonder if the DM also did this to other players as well, hence why a lot of ppl kept leaving their campaign.

[@hollowblaze2320]

1st story "You're just in the wrong place, at the wrong time." Me. "Yeah. This game. Peace." *Go play Baldur's Gate 3 *

[@saldiven2009]

The identify story: Just stop. Don't even offer. Let him deal with the consequences of not knowing what they are.

[@AmaryInkawult]

I remember this one loot goblin who stole an item as our cleric was identifying it. It was a cursed weapon that babbled incoherently as it drains intelligence. His character quickly became unplayable once the score dropped past 8. And then effectively dead as the intelligence dropped to zero as a drooling vegetable of a halfling. Their new character quickly picked up on the old habits that got them killed and died to a trapped chest.

[@MumboJ]

Regarding Fireball's material component, having a bat familiar and maybe some Tiefling brimstone shenanigans would honestly be such a pro gamer move lol

[@ArcCaravan]

Well. That's certainly a thumbnail. Really catches the eye.

[@idreadFell365]

That’s what we call a Pyrotechnic 💥

[@karisasani7006]

12:09 It seriously sounds like he is very paranoid about his allies taking his items if you ask me

[@AryTehCapricat]

As someone who played a bard/warlock who made fire her thing, that's WAY too much fireball.

[@chayse1225]

I found your channel a few days ago and omfggg I cut tf watching these when I play Baldur's Gate 3 😂😂😂

[@whitenekos]

So nixie from deerstalker productions would be proud.

[@ElvhenRogue]

I actually think Nixie would look sane next to that player

[@enderbunny9245]

16:09 that"s actually stupidly hilarious

[@ByrdieFae]

...the problem player in the last story is right though. Firebenders got nerfed to all hell in that movie 😂

[@theofficerfactory2625]

Last story; was there a beach involved? For fireball! And, four our g-damn beach episode!

[@Thex552]

fire hobo had chainmail full of fireball jewel necklaces .

[@johngleeman8347]

Even if the character of the churlish boor could cast fireball at will, did he not think a large population center like a city would rally together to slay him before he could completely destroy their settlement? He's lucky they didn't cut out his tongue and lop off his hands before throwing him in the dungeon. The party was evil tolerant, so he couldn't have asked for a better group to play a pyromaniac, and he still blew it.

[@TheLastmystic]

Ahh the classic fireball wizard…. Because that isn’t done to DEATH 😂

[@matthiasb5624]

I think John Fireball would be a more fitting name than a Firehobo

[@axelwulf6220]

If I were a DM I would have the Problem Player roll to set up his traps but at disadvantage as he actually _DIDN'T_ know the other Players were planning to itentify his stuff Similarly, it would have had all gained loots from dungeons be tossed into a pile to be sorted later, to discourage that kind of "gimme that, it's mine" mentality

[@PaladinGear15]

Dude casts fireball 8000 times in a row. Players and DM: "I see no problem with that". Guy gets captured then tried to fireball one more time. DM: "8001 times seems a bit farfetched".

[@purplefanadic234]

Doing the math he technically could have cast fire ball 7 times at 6th level but he would have to use up all his spell slots converting then into sorcerer points then reconverting them into 3rd level spell slots, though converting both ways takes an action

[@eEdselEdsel]

With the Fire Hobo story, that one was the DM's fault for letting it get that far. DM should be monitoring the spell slots or giving the player tokens representing slots to turn in with spell use.

[@ramirezthesilvite]

Easy solution to Story #2: Lots and lots of cursed items. Not everything. Not even everything that player gets. But enough. If he refuses to let anyone Identify anything, then he can deal with the consequences of his bizarre paranoia. I do wonder what his problem is though. That's screams "single child" behavior. Or maybe "younger sibling" behavior?

[@Juju2927]

2nd story : were they playing with Golum or something ??

[@Jerepasaurus]

As for the Firehobo's spell components, a lot of people dislike that tedium and nix it entirely. I don't recall anyone ever requiring them in any games I've been part of the last 20 years. Even if my own game I finally run, sorcerers don't require them. The point is that the magic is already in their blood. Wizards are the ones that need materials. o7

[@silentdrew7636]

Ah, The Village of Orley, a favorite of Matt Coleville

[@Vahktang]

First story: The assassins brought two nets? Because…?

[@informitas0117]

I wonder who hurt the player with the magic items. He clearly has a backstory.

[@Akrna47]

Fireball as a cantrip seems fair

[@Evoker23-lx8mb]

Ok, I assume OP just left out that Firehobo exchanged his sorcery points for spell slots because I counted more fireballs than he should’ve had spell slots. Even then that’s bullshit, still way too many for level 6. Firebender should’ve been kicked out the moment he had so much of an overreaction that he compared DM to the worst kind of evil.

[@1danysane]

Just me over here building a Fire genasi pyromancer sorcerer and reflavoring all the non-fire based spells 😅

[@Mystik_Wok]

You make me happy too lucky ❤

[@BlueTressym]

Maybe the group with the magic-item hoarder needs to say "Well, if that's what your character would do, dumping your guy's paranoid arse is what our characters would do because he sucks to be around." Yes, I know, OOC problems etc. but it's been three years and he's done this every time and they've tried talking to him about it OOC already to no effect. Dude isn't going to change if he never gets consequences for being a self-centred arsehole. That or just ditch him and be done with it. Of course, I doubt it's that easy, as if he's been a PitA for that long and they haven't ditched him yet, there must be some reason they're keeping him around.

[@David-Dash-IBA]

I DIDN'T ASK HOW BIG THE ROOM WAS! I CAST FIREBALL!

[@7thsealord888]

Story #1 - Could be totally wrong, but I get the impression that this story MIGHT be one-sided, stuff going on that the OP leaves out. But, if it is true that the DM basically had his Character somehow kidnapped (despite the Darkvision, etc.) and then arbitrarily killed, then that was unjustifiable. Story #2 - If a Player wants to keep their magic items a secret from the rest of the Party, that's their choice. But turnabout is fair play - if the rest of the Party choose to keep THEIR items secret from him, that is entirely their right. This dude has definite issue. Story #3 - Best thing the DM could do with this Player was (A) keep careful count of his spell slots and other limitations, and immediately call him out EVERY time this is messed with; and (B) Have Consequences - blast radius, backblast, collateral damage, these should all be very real concerns used to the fullest extent possible. Plus, the possibility of some opponents using something nasty in return on him, being protected (or even immune), or simply being able to impede his spellcasting. Finally, being the Party's obvious Fireball-jockey makes him a priority target for everybody else. Fireballs can be fun and awesome, but they bring their own set of problems. I have no issue with the DM having this idiot executed for his many crimes, but I feel like if proper limits had been in place right from the start, it might not have come to that.

[@fleic2262]

come on doge, AI generated thumbnail ? I didn't expect this of your videos

[@Noremak_Notrap]

that's just nixie

[@marybdrake1472]

Up front we have yet another bad DM running screw a job. There was no misfortune at all, just bad DMing. Fireball is a perfectly serviceable spell, but there are so many other spell. Some are way more useful than fireball.

[@GarkKahn]

Bruh the firehobo got green light to kill innocent people and still he screw it

[@alarkhar]

About the fireball story... would you believe that, had they been playing D&D 3.5 he COULD have got infinite fireballs? Well, okay, not "infinite fireballs" per se - you see, there are feats called "reserve feats" that tap into the nature of the spells that a caster hasn't used yet, creating an infinite amount of "lesser spells". The feat I'm talking about is called "Fiery burst", and it allows the caster to lob a short range, low power, small size fireball (to clarify, it's a 10 ft. radius sphere with a damage of as many D6 as the level of the highest fire spell the caster hasn't cast yet. In the case of the Firehobo, it would have been a 3D6 blast). Basically, it's a way for casters to save their best shots for when they're really needed. Sadly, they were playing 5th ed.

[@DomsGamingSquad]

Oh hai thar Doge! ❤ Happy New Year! 😊

[@fabledkitty214]

lol just 15 more fireballs

[@Luigicat11]

Hey! Hey party! 8d6 fire damage!

[@sunzi42]

The sorcerer was a typical "murderhobo-powergamer" who just wanted to live out his own power-fantasies with some kind of audience. This kind of players are drawn to TTRPG, since they are convinced they can live out all of their dreams.

[@1Ring42]

Tbf If the assassins were gloomstalkers op not seeing them would make sense but I'd still roll stealth for the assassins in the open and ask what their passive perception is.

[@krystlvines]

Oh my god. We found nuclear dan

[@mhasemore]

For the Firehobo, does "Counterspell" not exist in this universe or something?

[@bunnys9704]

Why wouldnt they just take away his arcane focus/ component puch with the fireball guy? Or handcuff him/ gag him so that he cant to verbal or somatic components?

[@jamesgotchall7205]

Story 1: DM mess up and didn't ask for perception checks....not okay Story 3: more fireballs than you could cast converting all of your other spell slots to sorcery points.....for me as a DM, not happening. The rules are there for balance to the game

[@dragonlord0784]

Ikr? It really bugs me when DMs prefer to immediately go for the "rocks fall, you die" route instead of, you know, actually communicating with your players outside of the game if they have any problem with them, and it's especially embarrassing when the DM in the story was a middle-aged grown adult. The DM railroading the new player's character's death makes me wonder if the DM also did this to other players as well, hence why a lot of ppl kept leaving their campaign.

[@jamesgotchall7205]

@@dragonlord0784 I've only played in one campaign, but my character secret was a half-elf half-dragon essentially Aloy from horizon, so if she'd died I would have been heartbroken, but the DM wrote it into the story and it was an epic game. I don't subscribe to killing off characters right away. If you can talk it out, go ahead, if they refuse, maybe make them sit out and treat the character as a dmpc temporarily to show they the limits of the character......then if they still don't change politely ask them to leave.... that's how I'd do it

[@thephantomwolf1002]

Oh no.... FIREHOBO MENTIONED THE LIVE ACTION ATLA MOVIE

[@whitenekos]

Hmmm. Second story seems like the easiest way to make this individual learn it's lesson is to do the exact thing to them who cares if it has identify don't give it your items if it chooses to do the same. This individual prioritizes themselves so do the same. They'll get the message quick.

[@me0262]

Wow... talk about a railroad. It would have been more exciting to have them kidnap her after the date when she had arrived home. The town guards will think that since character was the last person to see her, he'll be under investigation. Ensue an entire plot of character and party trying to clear his name, and finding evidence, eventually leading to her rescue and return. See THIS is how you think on the fly.

[@PhoenixSlayer13]

First story *could* have been a cool session with a few tweaks, such as it not being an insta-death situation and allowing the rest of the party to track and rescue the player and NPC. I actually ran something similar myself and got great feedback on it!

[@silentdrew7636]

You'd need a good DM too, I know Matt Coleville loves the module.

[@peterriverajr6899]

​@@silentdrew7636what module is it I'm not familiar with it

[@Nesseight]

Coleville busy. You get cutscene-death dude instead.

[@RatedB1]

Look clearly he was a true Pitbull fan

[@TigerKirby215]

imo for story 1 I completely understand if a character needs to be killed / kidnapped for plot reasons, but yeah OP is right: you couldn't have had it happen any other night??? If the DM had let OP have his date and then had the NPC kidnapped it would've been a nice lighthearted "go to save the date you may have had something more with" quest. Instead OP left the group because the DM decided to instakill him with no save.

[@CooperAATE]

Time to hear some Doge First story: ...OP chose to go in blind, and that module is an older (read: deadly) one with a secretive evil cult. Plus, he isn't thinking about passive Perception (which is -5 in darkness even with darkvision, better than flat-out blind) or Stealth proficiency/expertise. Second story: That player is weirdly stingy. Third story: The DM is just as bad as the player, not accounting for spell slots or components.

[@reesescup69]

Or the fact that there wasn't a single abjuration wizard around at all for the town/city

[@andylaugel4241]

Re: The third point. The DM already has a ton of stuff on his plate, and should be able to trust his players in general though. But after catching that at-will fireball bit, it is time to brush up on that rule or ask another player to help pyrohoho track his resources. Which it sounds like he did, as the fireballs did run out.

[@fred_derf]

In the first story, just because someone has been DMing for years, doesn't mean they're any good at it. In the second, do people really play that whoever touches a magic item first owns it? And not that everything found on an adventure is party equipment until the end of the adventure where it can be divvied up fairly? In the third, as the DM you should be tracking the players spell slots -- particularly for someone who is obviously abusing them. BTW: The DM let him get away with using a Fireball to light a candle? See my comment on the first story.

[@andylaugel4241]

He used firebolt, the cantrip, to light a candle.

[@andylaugel4241]

How PCs divide treasure is up to the group. Most groups I've been in give magic items based on who can best use it, with preference to those who are lacking. Sometimes you get hand me downs--fighter surrenders magic dagger to another PC when the group gets a magic sword. Who finds it first often gets first dibs though, or the opportunity to hold onto it before the group decides to talk loot.

[@andylaugel4241]

As a DM, I already have to track all NPC stats, the world at large, and a ton of questions from the party. I need trust PCs to track their own resources. If trust is broken, like here, then it is time to track. But broken trust is also time to reconsider having the sketchy player in the group at all. I might have, as DM, delegated tracking probationary PC's resources to another PC to make it easier on me. While knowing 6 fireballs a day as a 6th level sorcerer was the upper limit (sorcery points were used here to make and convert spell slots).

[@ChuckPalomo]

*fireBOLT

[@fred_derf]

@@ChuckPalomo I stand corrected. Not that it makes a difference since the firebolt does at least 1d10 damage and a candle would have like, 0.05 HPs and would be totally destroyed. BTW: Fireball doesn't do any concussive damage. You could light a paper bag on fire with it, but you couldn't break out of it.

[@genericbug]

doge, we can tell the thumbnails are AI

[@gimok2k5]

...and?

[@thispincer8404]

@@gimok2k5 And his opinion is that it is bad. So?

[@NaliTikva]

very cool!!!

[@sagekoh3158]

Dang you lucky. Always rolls so high. Expertise with persuasion, am i right?😅

[@marybdrake1472]

Lucky also has advantage by being a cute cat.

[@monikasernek1177]

Why was the guy in the second story so fixed on basically words on paper? And giving that kind of personality flaw to any character? I don't want to armchair diagnosing him, but what would be the reason to be so possessive. Maybe an different flavor of winning dnd.

[@axelwulf6220]

Why couldn't he just go with a Fire Mage?

[@Doodle1776]

I am confused with the start of the first story. Does a module being older make it bad? Just because something is new doesn't make it better nor does something being older make it worse. There's a lot to be said in favor of the older modules, older game-play style, and just because one GM ran it cappy doesn't mean that the older game was bad or failed.

[@greasysmith3150]

I know the module as well, the cult doesnt kill the people it kidnaps they take them to be brainwashed and there is an NPC wizard who can dispell the mind control. So the DM just wanted him gone lol (its called against the cult of the reptile god)

[@silentdrew7636]

Matt Coleville loves this module, so I'd say no.

[@andylaugel4241]

Older editions have differing PC/GM expectations. Older modules also require some adapting to modern rules. If the GM and players have differing expectations, it can cause friction. Older editions tended to have a lot more save-or-die than later ones.

[@Doodle1776]

@@andylaugel4241 that was kind of my point about how older editions had stuff that is better than current ones. The more save or die mechanics create more caution and fear in the players versus the save every turn until you win it does. The GM expectations were the same, create the world and be fair in running the game with the players. The player expectations have changed to being more video game-like where each wants to be the focus of the story. Though the game doesn't have to be run that way, as both of my groups which have been running the same campaign for this entire past year and moving into this year have shown how not having a massive arching plot storyline or making each players backstories into adventures works out well as the game story is created as they go on. It's not predetermined before the game starts the course that it will take. I know that many AD&D 2e modules, particularly the Ravenloft and Dragonlance ones were very specific as to games course that is more like modern game play, most earlier modules were basically drop-in and play in any game. No expectations of some massive storyline arch to be played out. This offers so much more freedom to both players and GMs to just go with the flow instead of following an artificially predetermined plotline. In modern terms this is called "Monster of the week" style. It's not a new idea, it's the classic way of play.

[@gimok2k5]

@@Doodle1776 It's actually highly subjective to say "more save-or-die is better", as many people may see that just as cheap and uncreative ways to artificially create difficulty. And yes, there still can be different expectations to adapt old stuff into new rules, simply because the difference is in HOW these things might be adapted. Which the mentioned save-throws can come into play. For example: An old module has a save-or-die throw because whatever happens there was not a mechanic yet, but later on, it became one so it's no longer needed to be done that way. The GM can adapt in a different way, however because they may want to be more "faithful" (keeping it a save-or-die unchanged), keep it but 'fix' the flavor (save based on the new mechanic, maybe not even save-or-die), or just adapt it more in line with how the mechanic is generally used (meaning something entirely else).

[@AvatAR42420]

That railroaded death of the bard in the first story is SO BS. The DM decides what is going to happen and when it happens. He could have just as easily decided to have the Drow kidnapped after their date. I am guessing he did not like the bard's goofy antics and decided to get rid of him. Either that or he thought the random murder would be good pathos for the rest of the group. Either way, dick move.

[@minnumseerrund]

Can I offer you a refreshing can of G-FUEL in these trying times?

[@AtelierGod]

How many fireballs can a 5th level sorcerer throw if they converted all other spell slots into sorcery points and then into 3rd level spell slots?

[@StSubZero]

3. You get 2 slots at fifth level, and you have JUST enough Sorcery points to make one more slot at that level.

[@2g33ksgamingttv3]

​@StSubZero they were 6th level, which should be enough for a total of 5ish fireballs a day, but then you are casting literally nothing else but cantrips

[@AtelierGod]

@@2g33ksgamingttv3 I couldn’t remember the level so I just used the level where you learn Fireball.

[@zacharysieg2305]

Someone PLEASE tell Fireball Player there’s an actual Avatar the Last Airbender TTRPG.

[@MrFurro-uu7je]

Bro not you to, why the hell are you using AI

[@LucyBean42]

Sorcerer is just cheating in general, sounds like a bad DM problem too

[@mojpiesto]

Honestly I don't really see anything wrong with the first story. Sometimes shit happens like that especially if you play old-school D&D, which both the DM and adventure seems to imply was the vibe. Yeah it sucks to lose a character like that, but in old-school play you just roll with the punches. I guess it was more of a mismatched player vs gm expectations. and those of you who complain that "the gm has full control of the game so there can't be such thing as wrong place wrong time" shows just how entitled you feel to gms letting you win. The gm decides that was the time she was getting captured and you're complaining because the gm didn't go out of his way to keep your character alive. This attitude is why I stopped playing 5e, the old-school way of things is much more appealing to me.

[@gimok2k5]

Except the GM was in the wrong as the reason the character died was unrelated, with zero foreshadowing, blatantly ignoring SEVERAL game mechanics, and then killed the character for no sensible story-reason.

[@ArcCaravan]

Not everyone finds cheating GMs appealing. Just old fashioned "rocks fall, everyone dies".

[@ThievingDuo]

Fireball is not even the best AOE spell on that level. Change my mind.

[@JohnSmith-qp7xu]

Counterpoint: Fireball