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Okay, you know you should leave the game, but you haven't. You are here to rant. I approve. I fully understand playing with people you hate, or in a situation you hate, for a number of reasons. For me it was if I left I would literally be completely without a social life. If I had to guess for you some of these people are long time friends and you can't leave for the sake of friendship. That's just speculation, but I respect that, and I pity your situation.
However your solutions that you are speculating are far far too mature for the circumstances. Now is not the time for maturity. Tell me what did the orchestra do while the titanic sank? Did they make peace with their gods? Did they tell their loved ones that they truly cared and that it was an honor to have been a part of their lives? No. They played some g&#-d@@n music and it was totally ballin' (that's a technical term).
There are some very good pieces of advice in this thread and I'm particularly fond of the suggestion about scythe + coup de grace 1/day until problem is solved. If you go with this I approve it is an appropriate and measured response. However I'd like to give some of my own.
Step 1: Abandon the prospect of accomplishing anything productive. It's far too late for that. Much too late.
Step 2: Refer to everyone as "Person thingy" or something similar. Have fun with it, but once you have chosen, you must not change it. It should be silly and non descriptive, and not inherently offensive.
Step 3: Never specify who you are referring to. If they ask for specifications, reply with "person thingy" remember the only option here is extreme immaturity. It's the only way.
Step 4: Contribute nothing to combat. Nothing. Each turn say you "pass" if the GM asks if you delay say "No. I pass. Skip my turn"
Step 5: Always take full and complete credit for every fight. Fabricate a story that completely differs from reality if you want, but hold to your guns.
Profit: Well you aren't playing the game you thought you would be, but at least you are having totally completely evil fun.
Result: You are now a bad person. Eh no worries, you haven't lost much just your soul.
Or you could you know ask your GM to you know... do his job? Eh, either way.
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The only thing I can add is that I would have bull rushed the two playing tug-of-war with the body at the edge of the crocodile pit. Yeah, it's jerkish anti-social behavior, but that's what they want; and how often do you have the chance to push someone into a crocodile pit without provoking an attack of opportunity?
Yes. Fantastic.
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Do you know these people or is it the first time you've played, is it at PFS, round a friend's house or a local club?
I'm struggling to see the context? On the face of it, it sounds like a very passive aggressive form of bullying but I'm not sure how to advise you on that without knowing the circumstances of your relationship/friendship.
It is odd that 6 people getting together for the first time would pick on one person, unless they had done something to provoke it/came with baggage/had a reputation that preceded them?
Can you provide more information.
Mixture of close friends and less well known associates.
Believe it or not, we are all well into our 20's, we all have jobs and pay bills. Not junior-high.
I'm going to go with not believing.
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Having lost multiple campaigns/adventure arcs to toxic situations over the last two decades of gaming, all I know to say is this:
"This foe is beyond *anyone*.
. . .
RUN!!!"
So sorry to hear you're stuck in that position, man. Sympathies.
1) In-game, do your own thing. Follow the squirrels. Do NOT follow the leads/clues.
2) In-session, spam the link to this thread to every participant in your "game".
3) Away-from-game, look for a new crew to run with. Maybe forever.
You know what? I'm going to send you a message here in just a bit . . . . I have an idea.
Kill them all when you're on watch.
Coup de grace in their sleep.
Reboot the campaign entirely, start with the guy you know doesn't like you.
If you still insist on staying with the group, and want to be neither antagonistic nor silly:
You: "What's your name?"
Them: "I'm not telling you."
You: "What should I call you, then?" (this is the important part)
Alternatively:
Take on the burden of tracking and dividing party loot. Ask them (in character) to write their names down on the party's accounts. If one of the others insists on doing the tracking of funds, write up a book of accounts and give it to them, with the same request for names.
Call them embarrasing nicknames until they tell you how to address them. If they complain, make the nicknames more stupid.
Yeah, I'd dump this group super quick.
After throwing any available Skittles at them.
I get that these are lone wolf types that don't trust anyone. But having a basic working relationship with working names seems like a must. Thus, a reference Reservoir Dogs, were they are all criminals that don't trust eachother.
Hopefully, the party all betrays and kills eachother in a big shoot out, and then you can get a new group/at least a new campaign where you set a limit for moody lone wolf types.
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I agree with all the coup de grace during sleep suggestions. If you dont feel like you can pull it off yet, tailor your next level up towards the idea, grab a scythe and level of barbarian or something maybe for the extra oomph, from what i've heard this GM clearly isnt going to do anything about antisocial or outwardly hostile player interactions.
"Oh yeah, my barbarian sleep-rages..."
I normally wouldnt condone such actions, but if it means less whiney antisocial emos in the fantasy world then i'm all for it.
Nothing against keeping an element of mystery to characters, but the party should at least know eachothers names after saving eachothers butts. Keep pissing off even the most righteous man and he'll eventually snap, regardless of alignment.
If they're "only roleplaying their characters" then theres no reason you can't do the same, give them some new air holes..
I don't know the Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure path, but I have been in a bad group before.
If you don't have anything in common with your adventuring party, perhaps you should change sides during the next major battle.
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I don't really have anything useful to bring to the conversation, all the best advice has already been given (talk with the players, talk with the GM, leave the group.)
I'm just popping in to say that I don't understand why I'm unable to resist clicking on this topic to see the further development of this train wreck situation.
I'm just popping in to say that I don't understand why I'm unable to resist clicking on this topic to see the further development of this train wreck situation.
I think the same is true of many of us revisiting this post!
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Same, I'm strongly hoping for the Sycthe plus night watch suggestion, ending with his character putting their heads on poles and talking to them as he goes mad from his actions and becomes a local horror legend, the crazy man who talks to his severed head 'friends' :D
I think we all want to know how it goes down. I know I do.
It's gawking at the train wreck. Morbid curiosity.
Which is why I'm still here.
I think we all want to know how it goes down. I know I do.It's gawking at the train wreck. Morbid curiosity.
Which is why I'm still here.
Yup, that's why I keep coming back.
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I really, really want the other members of that group to read this thread and post their rationalization for the choices they've made with their characters.
I'd like them to show up and attempt to justify their characters, claiming they're in the right. Because man, that'd go down well at this point.
I really, really want the other members of that group to read this thread and post their rationalization for the choices they've made with their characters.I'd like them to show up and attempt to justify their characters, claiming they're in the right. Because man, that'd go down well at this point.
I'm having visions... the reaction from us would be pretty much the same as the general reaction to... this.
Ask the GM to describe what each of them looks like. Then, regardless what they look like name them after My Little Pony characters. Such as...
Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Scootaloo, Princess Luna, and Applejack.
If the PCs complain just say they are names of fey creatures you know of that they remind you of. Good luck!
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You should get into dim lighting and wait for a chance to be needed. When one asks for something say "who said that!"
The joke will be lost on them. But hilarious to you.
Or you could just do exactly what they want. Play along. Don't call them anything. Don't interact with them. Cast only on enemies and yourself and talk only to the DM.
Once they realize it doesn't annoy you what else can they do?
Even in regular lighting you could start to play as near sighted amd deaf (when convenient :D), "Healing? Who needs healing? What? Who said that! Where are you?!" etc, until they go insane, die, attack you :P
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Add me to the list of those suggesting that you leave the game. It sounds like a toxic group. Perhaps there are PFS games in your area. If online gaming is your best option you can find PFS games online on THIS FORUM. There are plenty of good groups out there, both live and online.
Actually, if you are stupidly suspicious, not giving ANY name is the worst thing you can do.
Vehemently objecting to give your name means you have something to hide. Having no name makes you suspicious, and arouses people's interest. They start looking into you since your objection means there might be money to find (maybe you are a noble's bastard that they can ransom? Maybe you have a price on your head? Maybe you robbedthe king's treasury and have the loot stashed somewhere? etc).
In comparison, saying you are 'John Smith' raises a lot less attention. Just using a common fake name means that many will not even pay attention to you. And those that realize it is fake still might not care enough to look into it much since you are playing it cool and casual- there are more than enough minor reasons to hide your identity (loan sharks, trying to hide infidelity from your wife, etc), and it would likely be unprofitable to look into it.
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Add me to the list of those suggesting that you leave the game. It sounds like a toxic group. Perhaps there are PFS games in your area. If online gaming is your best option you can find PFS games online on THIS FORUM. There are plenty of good groups out there, both live and online.
Oh, and the fact that the other players were assumed to be a bunch of teenagers who are trying to be angst-ridden special snowflakes ought to give them pause.
Start calling them by the names of various unique demons and devils.
"I shall call you Grumpy, you Dopey, you Sneezy, and you Poodleface McSugarteets, grand high-inquisitor of the candyfloss kingdom."
every time they talk, no matter who it is: "Susan, is that you?! come closer my child!"
If no one knows their names, just take all the credit for the parties' accomplishments. Then your party in game will be known as "The Great Hero Ted and Co."
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Have you murdered them all yet?
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Cast zone of truth. Ready action, Ask a player in range what his name is... interrupt whatever the player starts to say and cast Command: ANSWER!
Cast zone of truth. Ready action, Ask a player in range what his name is... interrupt whatever the player starts to say and cast Command: ANSWER!Alas, his PC is a wizard. If he actually needed their real names, he could use "Detect Thoughts" or "Discern Next of Kin".
awe I missed that. I thought I read something about him healing... oh well. Yeah detect thoughts... it would be prudent to know what they are thinking... and if they try to kill you better to know it's coming lol.
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To play a massive devils advocate on the topic, the start of CotCT doesn't necessarily involve your characters knowing each other.
And they meet up to do something absurdly illegal (Break into a guys home and hopefully throttle him to death with your bare hands)
So its not too unreasonable that a group of murderous, revenge driven criminals brought together by the shared desire to punch the most punch-able face in Golarion (Gadren Lammb) might not want to share names since, well, anyone that knows your name is now a potential rat.
So, treat it as such, give a psudonym, give them fake names and you can bond as time goes on over pints, your shared frothing hatred for a dead man wot probably killed at least one person you care about per PC (Or worse) and the fact the city is going to the dogs.
Crimson Throne isn't a 'everyone is happy bunnies and already knows each other' situation, its the fantasy equivalent of you getting a call in the middle of the night, asking if you want some pay back on that beat your sister to death when he was dating her 'bout 2 years back, followed by you being ushered into a van, a bit of pipe thrust into your hands by a big bloke with a working class accent wearing a sack cloth hood and pointing you to a free seat in the back of the mini-bus full of other guys just like you.
Small talk isn't conveyant to the situation.
The issue seems to be that they don't understand that Pathfinder, as with most roleplaying games, is essentially a verbal narrative. How can you have any form of cohesion if you have no frame of reference to address the other players. The better in character conversation would probably be:
"I am john smith, please to meet you."
"I don't tell people I don't know my name"
"sorry to waste your time, goodbye"
Leave the game.
At this point, I just want to know what the OP ended up doing and how it went. :P
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I tried to give one player "Dazzling Blade" as well known buff and they didn't even say thanks or the merest acknowledgement.
The number of times one of the players has just announced that they are "done with this" and left. It's not that the players left the table, their character would just dramatically leave and their character was no longer on the board. It had to talk them into letting me cast Message on them so they wouldn't end up completely out of the loop.
Don't do any of this. Even if your character has good alignment. Good doesn't mean stupid or meek or soft. Assert yourself and call out their stupid when you see it.
This sounds like player who don't know what to name their character yet and therefore won't give a name they don't have. They don't want you giving them a name. Maybe they will figure out a name but I've seen a game where player never came up with name.
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Perfect. That's what my group did last time one of the players threw a tantrum and decided to drop mike and leave after dropping a bomb-like punchline to the rest of the party. The rest of the party just shrugged and move along into the dungeon. Guy came back two or three rounds late into the next fight with his tail between his legs.
Trust in the looooooot, Luke! (it always pulls them back together)
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Once I rolled up a (not particularly selfish) rogue that REALLY conflicted with the party which consisted of a paladin, a LG sorcerer and a druid.
The issue was the paladin was a charismatic fellow and none of the other players except the paladin were particularly vocal or quick thinking, so they just agreed with everything he said and let him do the talking. (would you piss off a plate armored crusader with barely contained righteous fury?)
Basically the paladin stated that with my skillset I must clearly be a scoundrel and a theif, a menace to society that he's lucky he didnt smite down, and he would not associate with such villainy. The other players, fearing the retribution of the paladin (after an intimidate check, which this chaladin passed easily) were forced to agree with him. This was the first time our characters met, under the pretext of "just roleplaying a paladin correctly".
For the next two sessions my rogue would follow the party around in stealth (which i think my GM was fudging to help me), popping up every combat to help them out, only to be chased off by the paladin every time.
By the end of the second session, I took a step back and said, "would my rogue REALLY still be trying to help these as holes?" The answer was no. I put the rogue to one side, then I powergame rolled up a barbarian specifically designed to smash the paladin's face in if he pulled that bull again instead. (He didnt seem to have a problem with that barbarian though, shame really.)