DM always panders to the most sycophantic player. New guy actually usurped an old player on this count and basically became the "main character" of the party. Is this normal?
No, I refuse to brown-nose.
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DM Pandering
I have been this player before. I don't think I was being "sycophantic" I just put the most effort into my character's backstory and personality, and actually bothered to roleplay outside combat.
You're probably just a boring player.
Two of my players definitely lead more than the rest but they also consistently do things.
Do you do things, op?
>All this baseless stuff
So it's a bullshit claim for the sake of (You)s or a bullshit thread for the sake of sliding some other thread?
I hope he's sliding giantstep
Being a chick is the easiest. Played a game once where I provided minis, maps and snacks but my character arcs were almost always forced “give up on your dream” choices while the chick got to usurp the queen and free her country by session 15 or so
Had a 2 year game where the DM developed a hardon for one the female players who was a flake and constantly calling out an hour before play because of "muh depression". By the end of 2 years, despite barely being there (we had a running joke of carrying around a cardboard cutout of her character she was absent so often), she became literally a god and the entire plot centered around everyone self sacrificing so she could ascend or some horseshit. I just retired my character the minute the main character shit set in and stopped showing up months before that. Had to hear that second hand from the other players. Never gamed with them again after that and the group shortly broke up.
So I guess, all that to say, it could always be worse.
>DM behaves entirely in his whims
Yes, it's normal. It's also defended.
Play a game instead.
This, ttrpg gays are so annoying all the time. It’s like they’re in a daycare or something
As a ttrpg gay, you’re not wrong.
>Any player at our table takes damage in double digits
>They b***h and moan and piss and cry
>Can feel our DM's sanity fracture a little more
He's too nice, which is annoying me because I want my games to be hard, not softballs.
I have the opposite problem, my DM just lets his bro do whatever the frick he wants and even lets him literally bend the rules of the game to let him do whatever OP bullshit he wants. One time he failed a roll and the DM just went "it'd be more fun if you succeeded, I'll let you pass" like frick you bro
Sounds like a you problem. Stop being boring, tell the old guy to stop being boring.
I as a GM will give back to my players as much as they put in. If they come to me with a well-written backstory, a character that clearly fits in the world and is played well, and show investment and effort in play, I will definitely favor them over Sir HumanMcFighter the dirt farmer who wants to win with MUH GRIT and MU WITS and didn't even read the fricking setting primer to understand that you can't just make a generic human and play it in my setting, because I don't do "humans are the jacks of all trades lmao" I give them a niche and if you refuse to put in the effort to play a character that has depth and feels like they belong in the world, why the frick should I cater to you when you've put in frick all effort?
DM pandering has always beena big part of roleplaying. Complimenting the DM on their game, siding with them against 'that guy', fricking him for better loot drops, marrying them to ensure character survival on long campaigns, had children with them so you rause a new bunch of loyal players together when the current players eventually leave or die of old age, etc. I mean, who hasnt done all these things? Only antisocial autists with no friends refuse to do so.
>marrying them to ensure character survival on long campaigns
kek, my wife is so pissed that she never gets special loot. She might take the house, the kids, half my paycheck, and my mental health in the divorce, but I’ll still have my integrity.
In my experience the DM will pander to the players who put in the most work into the campaign (creating an interesting character, engaging the NPCs, fun backstory ideas and tie-ins etc.). The player who creates a joke character, doesn't engage in stuff other that rolling to hit and damage are deprioritized and get even more bored and jealous of the other players.
GMs mostly just latch on whoever gives them the most shit to work with. New players tend to out a lot more effort into making character backstories and shit. Sorry the GM didn't feel like writing your entire characters backstory for you when you came to the table with "This is John Humanman, he was a town guard but decided to go adventuring" and nothing else.
I had the generican guardsman adventurer during my first sessions because of being too shy to write some elaborate backstory, but the GM used it by having NPCs who travel a lot recognise me and open up oppurtunities that way.
Ok, and I refuse to spend all night pulling teeth trying to get you to roleplay and engage . The guy who is more fun to play with will get more attention, more focus time, and more stuff. Just like in any other social scenario. Enjoy your clean nose, I guess.
Just out main character him
> Main character
Unless chosen by the group as a leader, which is awesome, no, it is not normal.
> I refuse to brown-nose.
This is as far as it should get from an actual TTRPG experience. You should be thrilled to discover how your GM will shaft your character and what kind of opportunities you'd be able to snatch.
If "power" and "authority" comes into play every session, you're playing wrong.
>Mixed splat WoD game
>ST allows 15 points of flaws instead of usual 7
>Mage player takes blind, dead and lame and immediately heals them with magic once play begins
Is it just me or is this some bullshit?
>became the main character
Specific examples needed. Every time I hear a player complain about this online I safely assume they’re full of it and are mad that putting 20 in Charisma didn’t make them a more charismatic person in real life
But one question OP, are you the type that takes the initiative or do you just react to stuff? Because FMs tend to enjoy more players that actually move forward and do stuff than the boring kind that just sit idle waiting for the plot to happen.
It's not my fault the new guy gave me really easy shit to work off of.
>Evil faction
>concrete goals
The long time players have backgrounds but were content with whatever business I plan for them. Sometimes its refreshing to introduce new blood into a campaign.
I play the "main character" in my group's D&D game. You know why that is? There's two players that actually have notes on events, places, and NPCs. One of them is me. The other guy plays a joke character. That's how the "MC" gets chosen.
Social hierarchy exists anon and you're the one losing out
What do you mean by sycophantic in this context? Kissing the dm’s ass?
Most campaigns thrive on one or more player(s) who don't have decision fatigue.
Who make choices that allow the story(shit) to move forwards.
If it's an adventure path or the game masters Warhammer 40k fan fic crossover with D&D.
That's why I run OSR as a referee now. Nothing like this.
Characters starve to death if they don't earn money for rations, they get attacked if they can't stay at an inn or rent a house.
>Characters starve to death if they don't earn money for rations, they get attacked if they can't stay at an inn or rent a house.
So basically nothing gets done and you're just a sad, pathetic homosexual who gets off on the minuscule amount of power you have over your players? Good to know you're That GM, I hope your players realize this, ditch you, and move on to greener pastures. That is implying you had a game in the first place, nogames homosexual.
I've often experienced the reversal of this proposition where the roles are reversed and the DM is the one performing the verbal anal massaging on one particular player for clown nosing purposes. Clown nosing is like brown nosing except the brown nosing provides no personal material tangible benefit like a high school kid sucking up to the school janitor. He got called out on this by various players over time I eventually left that group partly due to this issue. I later learned that somewhere down the line this DM had a change of heart and killed that player's PC along with the rest of the party, I believe the group disintegrated at exactly that time due to this dynamic.
Give an example of something that happened during a session to illustrate the issue, please.
I play with a group of mostly passive players, so I often end up being the main character through no fault of my own.