I mentioned in an earlier post how Barzillai was eclipsed by an unforeseen opponent who swiftly became the most feared and hated enemy in the AP for my players. I finally finished a google doc chronicling everything that happened. So... here it is.
Fair warning: This obviously contains major late-game spoilers for the AP, as well as several moments that might be triggering to some. The following story contains scenes of severe corpse mutilation, mentions of sexual slavery, acts of terrorism, psychological torment, child endangerment, a succubus being... a succubus, and moments that invoke imagery of suicide.
And if you don't have a problem with those topics, then enjoy!
Wow. I think we've found the original "That Guy"!
I wonder if your campaign ended up on reddit as an RPG horror story.
Artofregicide wrote: Wow. I think we've found the original "That Guy"!
I wonder if your campaign ended up on reddit as an RPG horror story.
Actually, my group loved this change in the narrative. They can handle a lot of mature content. But even this was a lot for them.
To be clear, I'm not personally offended. And if your table seemed to enjoy it, that's good. But your document is full of what I'd consider as a GM to be massive red flags, even if you regularly checked up with them afterwards.
As a person who runs and plays in pretty dark campaigns, often horror, I'd still be concerned about player consent even with verbal agreement. Especially when the campaign didn't start that way.
Depriving your players closure and having the baddies get away (and win, basically) is another huge red flag.
Plenty of players put up with toxicity because they don't know better. I've had players do that with me, and I've been the player sometimes in retrospect.
The actual campaign is mostly juvenile grimdark power fantasy stuff plus infatuation with villain(s) in my opinion, which are more red flags, but if that's your jam - cool I guess. I just hope nobody at your table is or was silently suffering.
Survivors of violence, assault, and such often keep it to themselves and being forced to revisit it can be very painful.
*shrug*
Artofregicide wrote: To be clear, I'm not personally offended. And if your table seemed to enjoy it, that's good. But your document is full of what I'd consider as a GM to be massive red flags, even if you regularly checked up with them afterwards.
As a person who runs and plays in pretty dark campaigns, often horror, I'd still be concerned about player consent even with verbal agreement. Especially when the campaign didn't start that way.
Depriving your players closure and having the baddies get away (and win, basically) is another huge red flag.
Plenty of players put up with toxicity because they don't know better. I've had players do that with me, and I've been the player sometimes in retrospect.
The actual campaign is mostly juvenile grimdark power fantasy stuff plus infatuation with villain(s) in my opinion, which are more red flags, but if that's your jam - cool I guess. I just hope nobody at your table is or was silently suffering.
Survivors of violence, assault, and such often keep it to themselves and being forced to revisit it can be very painful.
*shrug*
Truth be told, I agree with you. Being able to look back after a session can let you see where mistakes were made. I could have easily launched another offensive with both Mangvhune and Hyrela once she was revived again. But like the story said, I had forgotten a bunch of the resources and abilities I had at my disposal by that point. Mangvhune and Hyrela retreating was an "in the moment, in character" thing. If I had a chance to do this over again, things would be different.
And honestly, I can't see every GM having no red flags at all in their first outing in the role. Everything is a learning experience. Maybe I pushed the content too far, but given how the players were reacting to both the vanilla AP and some minor campaign edits before the Mangvhune arc, I felt like I had to keep upping the ante as the game continued.
I was also very concerned that some of this content went too far, but whenever I asked the group if they were okay with what was happening, they said that they were okay with it and liked what was happening. I'll also be the first to admit that this does qualify as grimdark power fantasy and villain infatuation. Hell, I have this as a major writing problem in some private works because I write villains better than heroes. It's something I need to work on.
Because honestly, I would have preferred it for these demons to die so everything was wrapped up in a nice little bow. But due to how the combat went, I couldn't pass up a chance to retreat when the option presented itself. If Mangvhune died first, then Hyrela would have gone ballistic and tried to kill the PCs or die trying. But since Mangvhune was the smarter of the two and was the last one of his forces still alive, he realized that he lost and it was time to admit defeat.
|
1 person marked this as a favorite.
|
Well, that's a very mature takeaway, at least. In this regard I applaud you.
I've made many mistakes over the years as a GM, certainly, I've been "That Guy" with more red flags than the running of the bulls. I'm rather surprised my players stuck with me, but here we are.
I guess we just have to be better. And I'm genuinely glad your table enjoyed it all the same, even if some of it went to far. Ten years ago if I was a player I'd have probably stayed at the table, but now I'd have pulled you aside and said "Are you okay?".
You're definitely a creative person, so don't feel like I'm throwing shade in that regard. And altering an adventure to fit the investment of your players is not a bad thing.
Strongly appreciate the fact you've been introspective, not defensive. Puts you ahead of a lot of the internet.
Artofregicide wrote: Well, that's a very mature takeaway, at least. In this regard I applaud you.
I've made many mistakes over the years as a GM, certainly, I've been "That Guy" with more red flags than the running of the bulls. I'm rather surprised my players stuck with me, but here we are.
I guess we just have to be better. And I'm genuinely glad your table enjoyed it all the same, even if some of it went to far. Ten years ago if I was a player I'd have probably stayed at the table, but now I'd have pulled you aside and said "Are you okay?".
You're definitely a creative person, so don't feel like I'm throwing shade in that regard. And altering an adventure to fit the investment of your players is not a bad thing.
Strongly appreciate the fact you've been introspective, not defensive. Puts you ahead of a lot of the internet.
I've always been the type who learns the best when I'm told what I did right and what I did wrong. This story was really popular at the table. But I knew that posting it online would reveal the problems it would have, and that would be the only way to learn how to be better.
Recent threads in Hell's Rebels
|
