I decided to rejoin my friends in their World's Largest Dungeon campaign. Originally, I left the campaign due to some disagreements with the DM and other things, if yer bored you can read it here.
Long story short, a bunch of dramatic events unfolded in a very short span of time(a new baby in the family, a death, and my almost divorce all in one day) and I needed a night to see my friends and clear my head. I called up the guys and asked them if it would be cool and they happily obliged.
This time around, I am taking an entirely different approach to the dungeon; this is their game, and I'm not here to buck their system. I'm aware of their houserules going in, so I have to respect them. I rolled up a character that I felt would fit into the whole dungeon theme pretty decent: Rogue 3/Swashbuckler 3/ Dark Creature-Human(Hide In Plain Sight in shadows, extra movement speed, Lvl Adj. +1).
Instead of trying to get the DM to split up the xp the party trapsmith was getting for disarming traps, I rolled up a character who could competently assist in those Search checks, Disable Device checks, etc. My character is not geared to be nearly as good at doing the job as the actual trapsmith(more stealthy combatant type), so I'm not stealing any of the spotlight. Instead, I am there to assist and give that little +2 boost; which helps her do her job well, and I get a share of the xp. In doing so, I am exposing my character to the same risks the trapsmith would be, so the xp is justified. In fact, the first trap I assisted in disarming, that +2 was just 1 point enough to not spring it and saved our lives... So, I think I found myself a good niche in the game I previously could not get into. The DM already seems much happier as well.
I'll be returning to this campaign full time now. I missed gaming with my friends, and after taking a couple of weeks off I was able to come back and start fresh. Sometimes you just have to look past the occasional odd house rule, and just enjoy the time spent with friends.
Perspective.
I read that other thread you mentioned, back when it was current. For what it's worth, I DON'T think you were being "a d*ck" at all. I'm really sorry to hear about these dramatic events in your life that you mentioned. I'm just writing to tell you "good luck" with your game. I hope you have fun with it this time around.
I read that other thread you mentioned, back when it was current. For what it's worth, I DON'T think you were being "a d*ck" at all. I'm really sorry to hear about these dramatic events in your life that you mentioned. I'm just writing to tell you "good luck" with your game. I hope you have fun with it this time around.
** spoiler omitted **
Thank you :) First night back was a lot of fun. Finding a reasonable way to work within the rules, and not turn things into a competition, made gameplay a lot smoother. I noticed the DM handing out "job xp" to the other players as well, sort of evening out the trap disarming xp. The group vibe felt a lot more cohesive, and much less competitive.
I was able to work things out with my wife as well, so I'm on a pretty good "high on life" feeling at the moment. Nothing quite like a re-energized campaign and a saved marriage to put spring in your stride. :)
As for the pixie rogue bit, I hadn't considered playing one really. Funny thing though, that idea came up when I first got there, coincidentally! Apparently I had just missed the big, bulky Fighter falling into a pit trap with a Disintegrate spell, set to go off if something weighing over 100 lbs. lands in it. My first comment was "maybe my rogue should be a pixie..." lmao!