Doug Sundseth Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 22 minutes ago, BlazingTornado said: On an unrelated note, anyone know how to deal with special snowflake players? I got one who's like "all the races and backgrounds are boring can I play gnome twins with separation issues and creepy incestuous subtext" as though breaking the D&D mold is what makes characters interesting (hint: it's not, and every other player in my campaign proves it) and it's like... Allowing it won't cure her of this ailment. Gnome twins die or she gets bored of em and she won't want to just go back to a plain ordinary race/class combo... she'll want a pixie or a satyr or something. And I don't want to do that, that's not what makes D&D fun for me. So how can this be resolved with minimal animosity here... "Here's the list of what I allow. If you don't think you can make a fun character from those resources, I think my game might not be for you." Sounds harsh, and if the person is a good friend, it can be painful. But it's the best I have. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwarvenranger Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 Just tell them, this is the house rules, they are what they are and be firm. Giving in means you will have to give more next time. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sundseth Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 By coincidence, I just ran across a YouTube video that's on point: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazingTornado Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 1 hour ago, Doug Sundseth said: "Here's the list of what I allow. If you don't think you can make a fun character from those resources, I think my game might not be for you." Sounds harsh, and if the person is a good friend, it can be painful. But it's the best I have. I brought up that argument but she still put up a fight. Fortunately her current character isn't dead yet so I hopefully won't have to deal with it for a while.. 1 hour ago, dwarvenranger said: Just tell them, this is the house rules, they are what they are and be firm. Giving in means you will have to give more next time. Brought that one up too. "Wow, low blow much?" was her retort. 33 minutes ago, Doug Sundseth said: By coincidence, I just ran across a YouTube video that's on point: I saw that one too! This is another good one, and one aspect she's thus far always trying to avoid: The part about having weaknesses. Even after just rolling stats for it under my rules to test the sheet for these twins, the first comment was "Can I up my lowest roll, a nine, to a ten?"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sundseth Posted August 20, 2017 Share Posted August 20, 2017 Just now, BlazingTornado said: The part about having weaknesses. Even after just rolling stats for it under my rules to test the sheet for these twins, the first comment was "Can I up my lowest roll, a nine, to a ten?"... "You'll be fine with an eight." "No, it's a nine and I want to raise it to a ten." "Seven's not that bad, really." 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Club Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Shadowrun is notorious for this. Until you point out that being one of only three 7-foot-6-inch-tall black-skinned elves in town makes you remarkably easy to find... Vampires? They have a rather notable bounty on them. Your contacts won't turn on you unless you piss them off. The party is similarly unlikely to (Though I've known players....), but the contacts of the other PCs are fair game. Factor in the added need to avoid spectators, and you can be a real liability to the party. Shapeshifters? Corps want them for their research programs. Half the mages in town want to render them down into spell components. ----- Tell the player that they can have their snowflake - but they have to pay for them with minuses to stats. One stat of their choice gets a -3, or two of your choice get -2s. Half-giants are never going to have to deal with irate sheriffs, so it's safe to further dump Cha, right? And the rest of the party certainly not going to mind that the first time you run into an illusionist you'll be playing whack-a-mole with them due to your wis-dump. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylverthorne Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 1 hour ago, Club said: Shadowrun is notorious for this. Until you point out that being one of only three 7-foot-6-inch-tall black-skinned elves in town makes you remarkably easy to find... ... I have a character sort of like that. Which doesn't really make her happy, because, damnit, if you're obvious, you're /doing it wrong/. Sadly, I have not found a Shadowrun game .... at .. all. :/ 8 hours ago, BlazingTornado said: I brought up that argument but she still put up a fight. Fortunately her current character isn't dead yet so I hopefully won't have to deal with it for a while.. Brought that one up too. "Wow, low blow much?" was her retort. This is another good one, and one aspect she's thus far always trying to avoid: The part about having weaknesses. Even after just rolling stats for it under my rules to test the sheet for these twins, the first comment was "Can I up my lowest roll, a nine, to a ten?"... Without a lot more context, this looks like a player I would be telling 'no' a lot, and depending, possibly un-inviting from the table. If you're being guilt-tripped, begged - and comments like her retort up there are comments that would get 'nope, done here' out of me - then you aren't dealing with a friend, and you shouldn't feel bad about telling them no. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwarvenranger Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 If you're feeling kind you can tell her that ok you can can play gnome twins except that they're not really twins she just has multiple personalities. Whenever she enters combat she'll hve to roll to see which personality takes control. That personality gets the experience for the encounter and track the experience separately. And while the physical stats wouldn't change between the two the mental stats would. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuldGrump Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 11 hours ago, Club said: Shadowrun is notorious for this. Until you point out that being one of only three 7-foot-6-inch-tall black-skinned elves in town makes you remarkably easy to find... Vampires? They have a rather notable bounty on them. Your contacts won't turn on you unless you piss them off. The party is similarly unlikely to (Though I've known players....), but the contacts of the other PCs are fair game. Factor in the added need to avoid spectators, and you can be a real liability to the party. Shapeshifters? Corps want them for their research programs. Half the mages in town want to render them down into spell components. ----- Tell the player that they can have their snowflake - but they have to pay for them with minuses to stats. One stat of their choice gets a -3, or two of your choice get -2s. Half-giants are never going to have to deal with irate sheriffs, so it's safe to further dump Cha, right? And the rest of the party certainly not going to mind that the first time you run into an illusionist you'll be playing whack-a-mole with them due to your wis-dump. *Cough* Vampire: the Masquerade and Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand - the book that broke the game.... The Auld Grump - mind you, my own favorite V:tM character was a bit of a special snowflake - Nosferatu with True faith, and member of the Knights of the Hospital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuldGrump Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 On 8/20/2017 at 5:20 PM, Doug Sundseth said: "You'll be fine with an eight." "No, it's a nine and I want to raise it to a ten." "Seven's not that bad, really." I have always had the most fun with my characters' lowest stats. Don't play it down, play it up! Low Dex? Apologize to the character to your left, for knocking their drink off the table. Again. Low STR? Ask other PCs to help you pick up or carry stuff. (Can you help me with the door? It seems to be stuck.) Low CHA? Nothing makes a lovable barbarian more than one with confidence issues. Or my favorite - high INT, high CHA... and a WIS in the basement. Who needs impulse control, anyway? The Auld Grump 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazingTornado Posted August 23, 2017 Share Posted August 23, 2017 On 2017-08-21 at 1:35 AM, Sylverthorne said: ... I have a character sort of like that. Which doesn't really make her happy, because, damnit, if you're obvious, you're /doing it wrong/. See now I like this because you're playing up the flaw. On 2017-08-21 at 1:35 AM, Sylverthorne said: Without a lot more context, this looks like a player I would be telling 'no' a lot, and depending, possibly un-inviting from the table. If you're being guilt-tripped, begged - and comments like her retort up there are comments that would get 'nope, done here' out of me - then you aren't dealing with a friend, and you shouldn't feel bad about telling them no. I do say "no" a lot. Last time it was "Can I have a pet giant spider without playing a beast master ranger?" but eventually she capitulated. Last time she inquired about a future character it was going to be a pixie druid... ¬.¬ This is her argument: Quote to me d&d is about branching out. not sticking to the same old same old. working with your dm to make a character that can be enjoyed not only by the player but by the other adventurers. I don't even know what to make of that. It's not like the rest of the gang has problems making interesting characters within the rules. She watches a lot of anime so I think she's just stuck with this anime trope that you need to be SPECIAL MAIN CHARACTER WITH PURPLE HAIR to be a good character rather than having a character with drive or convictions or just a memorable quirk. Anime's really good at being superficial that way... On 2017-08-21 at 11:33 AM, TheAuldGrump said: The Auld Grump - mind you, my own favorite V:tM character was a bit of a special snowflake - Nosferatu with True faith, and member of the Knights of the Hospital. Yeah but I mean he's still (probably) made within the rules despite being an unusual build... I kinda use "snowflake" here for the person who wants "true" uniqueness. Something you gotta homebrew from the ground up because it just doesn't exist within the books. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlazingTornado Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 So back to better players... I'm trying to figure out what'd be better from a narrative standpoint for my poor Tiefling revenant cleric. Either keep him a revenant and see if he properly confronts his impending death and determines just what he needs to do before he dies... Or, since he's in the city where his cleric mentor/surrogate father lives... have said surrogate father sacrifice himself to revive him (like casting the spell just drains the old man of his last ounce of life) and leave him with some words like "Don't ever let anyone dictate your fate to you... not even the gods." Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuldGrump Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 We are having a 'no games!' week, aside from the pirate Pathfinder game for the kids, last Tuesday, to make up for too much gaming last week.. ... ... ... I am feeling twitchy as all heck. Friday... just doesn't feel like Friday, without a game. We are having dinner and a movie like civilized people... but... it feels wrong! The Auld Grump - maybe if I take her out dancing somewhere..... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zink Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 3 hours ago, TheAuldGrump said: We are having a 'no games!' week, aside from the pirate Pathfinder game for the kids, last Tuesday, to make up for too much gaming last week.. ... ... ... I am feeling twitchy as all heck. Friday... just doesn't feel like Friday, without a game. We are having dinner and a movie like civilized people... but... it feels wrong! The Auld Grump - maybe if I take her out dancing somewhere..... Too much gaming? Not sure if I understand the concept. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuldGrump Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 I spent last weekend running games for eight plus hours of the day - I wanted to put aside some time to do couple like things with my good lady wife. Turns out, we both kind of suck at it! (Which was strangely comforting, in a way.) None of the movies playing held any interest for either of us, which destroyed Plan A right away. So, took her to the new kabab place, and then a local gastropub that had live music - I swear to Gogamagog, Megan and I do a better show than that! So, yesterday, I threw maturity to the winds, and took her to Funtown/Splashtown - an amusement park and water park. Worked much better than trying to be all grown up about it. The Auld Grump 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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