So, I’m having a problem that I’m not sure what to do about, so I come to you, forum goers for advice.
I am having a problem with my Pathfinder GM, they seem to for some reason now hate me, and I’m not sure what to do about it. (Oh, also I'm not sure why they apparently hate me, and apparently neither do at least three of the players that I've talked to)
Any information that I can think of that seems relevant:
I’ve been a part of the same pathfinder group for about two and a half years now, we meet at the GM’s house.
I’m a Paranoid Schizophrenic and I feel like the GM is singling me out for horrible stuff to happen to in game, scrutinizing anything I do in the rules (and not caring about what anyone else does), and assaulted me this past gaming session (grabbed me hard enough for it to hurt and shook me). Not trusting myself to be particularly unbiased, I asked another player from the group over the phone if they thought something was up / if I was imagining it, and he told me that he and another player had been talking about how I seem to be targeted by the GM.
I tend to Min/Max largely in an attempt to survive the on average CR+4 encounters that he throws at us (sometimes as much as CR+8), and my GM always seems disappointed lately if I survive an encounter
Mr. GM has told me that I’m no good at roleplaying (his group tends not to actually do any roleplaying, I’ve belonged to other groups that have before), lets me make my characters from less material than everyone else (core rulebook only, most ppl can pick from APG, UM, and UC and he lets people he particularly likes use some 3rd party stuff). He accuses me of making my characters too powerful when I’ve done things like write a three page back-story about playing an awakened druids animal companion that could speak and was trying to disguise itself as a human (in other words playing a druid animal companion except for with normally rolled stats) which he said no to, because it might “unbalance” the game – compared to the female player playing a summoner with edilon of course… - I can occasionally dip into the APG, but it’s not liked when I do - The GM has also said that I spend too much time preparing for games (as if it were a bad thing...)
Mr. GM has also apparently made two attempts at replacing me at the gaming table, both with people who were so annoying that the rest of the group flat out declared that they would stop coming if the “new players” kept coming - so basically at the moment I don't feel very welcome by the GM, but I do by the other players.
here’s some samples of
I’m lvl 4, I’m 10 feet from a cliff fighting a monster, I take a 5 ft step parallel to the cliff *GM* make an acrobatics check *Me* 22 *GM* you step on a patch of loose rocks and slide 10 feet over the cliff *Me* okay, no big deal, I’ll use feather fall *GM* You can’t use featherfall. Your to close to the cliff face, you slide down the cliff taking 4d6 points of dmg (not from the fall, but from hitting the side of the cliff on the way down). Then there is a CR 14 waiting at said bottom of the cliff, I actually survived that encounter thanks entirely to someone else in the party, but they died in the attempt to rescue me.
- I tend to play very cautiously and yet bad stuff still seems to happen to me “Oh, that trap was set to hit the 4th person to talk over it”
-Recently the GM seemed disappointed by a series of events in which I didn’t drown in DC 15 swim check water (you’d have to really work at it to drown in that)
-Walked along, fell through a trapdoor separating me from the party, ended up against a CR+4 alone and survived it by outrunning it, got locked in a room after going into it, and spent five and a half hours of real life time digging out of the room in initiative. After finally getting out of the room the GM goes “Well, I guess that’s a good place to call it for the night”.
- In comparison the other players – literally stumbled over a bag of gold after wandering off into the dark – got a +1 weapon at level 1 that they just found, fought some CR ½’s, walked past a CR 6 that didn’t attack them, found the golden key to a chest we’re after, etc.
- Not all players are playing by the same rules, actually none of the players are playing by the same “rules” – Girl = +3hit/dmg, New person = +1hit/dmg, Normal person = normal rules, Me = what can I do to mess with him. – I’m not even joking about the first two, btw. I sometimes try to get the other players to follow the rules on good faith themselves since the GM isn’t doing anything about it, with mixed results, that tend to involve the people with the larger bonuses wondering what the problem is.
Now at this point I would expect some answers along the lines of “why would you stay, find a new group” so here’s some pluses of the group
- I’m 22, Mr. GM is 57, the other players are in their 20’s and their pretty much the only friends I have in real life (I’ve got some internet friends too).
- I’ll sometimes go for two weeks in-between gaming sessions without talking to anyone, or rather it’s pretty much my only real social interaction (I’m unemployed, no romantic interests to speak of, having trouble fitting in religiously, don’t really have a supportive family, basically not a lot going on)
- The GM does normally tell a good story, even if I do spend the time locked in a room while the other players experience it :P
- In case anyone was wondering we tend to have a death in group about every 3rd game session, but generally play above wealth by level so resurrections normally aren’t a problem.
- The main GM is currently set to co-DM the adventure path we’re doing with someone else that is much more fair (I may actually get to enjoy playing the game itself a few months from now)
- I sure would not have anything else to fill the time that leaving the group would bring
- There’s not really a convenient replacement group available
- If it didn’t get any worse I could probably live with it, but it seems to be escalating into a worse problem.
This might come off as a little rant-ish, but I really am interested in serious advice.
|
It sounds like this GM may have some issues in general, or with you personally. He should be trying to help the whole group have fun playing. If he is not, then go play somewhere else. He certainly, should not ever grab you in a painful way, if at all.
You could also try talking to the other players and seeing if any of them would be willing to go play elsewhere with another GM. Perhaps one of them could GM?
Where are you geographically? Are there any local PFS or other gaming groups around?
It might be difficult, but you could also take the Gm aside and ask him if he is specifically singling you out. It doesn't seem right that you only get to use Core while the others in the group get to use all the other official Pathfinder sources. That alone would prompt me to leave. If you are making your characters using the rules, then it should be more or less balanced.
Are any of the other players in your group on the forums? Could they give accounts to validate or refute your experiences? Sometimes, seeing things from a neutral third-party is very helpful.
Life is too short to get kicked in the teeth every week (or however often you play) and keep coming back for more. Go find another group, or better yet, take the group and find another GM. Your group-mates should stick up for you, and if they aren't then perhaps they are not as good friends as you think.
@Wolflord Actually I'm somewhat trying to hide this, as Mr. Gm is the only other person who uses these forums, but pretty infrequently (I actually post on here somewhat regularly and know he looks at my posts, so I made a new account just so the alias wouldn't give me away)
The nearest PFS group to me is about an hour away (by car), which is beyond my travel capabilities (to at least pull off anywhere near regularly).
If it is, this is not a good situation for you. I have a hard time seeing why anyone should accept this kind of treatment, so you need to consider carefully what you do with it.
Oh, and since it's relevant a list of the
Mr. Gm's Wife
Wife's Brother
Wife's Brothers girlfriend
GM's work friend
GM's friend who went to school with him
Me - Guy who responded to an add for players and stuck around
Other people we've had come through the table for large periods of time over last 2.5 years
Former best friend of wife's brother
wife of Former best friend of wife's brother
ex-fiance of wife of Former best friend of wife's brother
Random girl they knew from somewhere and liked
The other people at the table are more connected to Mr. GM in other words, and not exactly likely to "run off" :P
Oh, also no-one else really has the capability to host
Oh, and since it's relevant a list of the
** spoiler omitted **
Indeed. However, if they are more connected to him and still feel he's doing wrong, you should be able to reach somewhere by discussing it.
I am having a problem with my Pathfinder GM, they seem to for some reason now hate me, and I’m not sure what to do about it.
As much as I hate to say it, it sounds like your GM doesn't like you, and is deliberately making your gaming experience bad-to-intolerable so as to make you want to quit.
You say that this guy assaulted you physically, in front of other people who live at the house and/or he is related to. That is a major red flag.
For your own personal safety, I would recommend in the strongest terms that you quit this group and never re-join it.
It's a lousy situation, but if it's as you present, I don't see any alternative. Your personal safety is far more valuable than a game.