The second she suggested that he worship himself, I knew where this was going! She used his own stupidity and narcissistic tendencies as a rope and led him to the gallows, all while letting him think that it was his own words and actions leading him there voluntarily. Then the coup de grace was him literally pulling the lever that collapsed the floor and hanging himself with his own actions, giving him only 2 options, play without cheating or leave on his own accord.
The idea of the truce between gods who have literal millennia of bad blood in order to punish the biggest narcissist in the Realms is just amazing. I love to imagine Lolth just getting ready to put the finishing touches on some grand evil scheme...and then have to cancel it because she has a 2 pm slapfight with Zerkek.
I mean where that story ended could have been the beginning of a good arc. The story foundation was solid. That DM took that vs thing to the extreme and set a trap that he could have avoid so he knew she beat him.
Krallus would make for an interesting NPC: A boastful adventurer who teams up with the party only for him to do practically nothing and then claim the credit. People in the area know him as “Krallus the Cowardly”. Why does he want so much money and fame? Child support.
Despite the cheater, this DM sound like a wonderful game runner. If she put that much effort into a bad player imagine the possibility for a player that buys into the story.
i honestly disagree, letting a lvl 1 character start off with powerful magic items could only go bad, less this is a theme of the game this stuff needs to be cut down at the root.
@@viniciussardenberg706 She literally forced the character to be allergic to magic though, which if i had to guess, caused the character to suffer a major debuff against enemy mages/warlocks/clerics/basically anything that can use a simple spell. And the problem player then asked to redo and erase the magical items.
Had a friend that played a cleric who was his own God - he'd piss in bottles and bless it. Every time we came up against undead everyone else would dive for cover so they didn't get splashed by his holy piss bottles (the DM would describe the stink based on how old said piss bottles were). Hell of a player.
That DM, whoever she is, is a MASTER manipulator. She saw his weakness, his ego and apathy, and knew _exactly_ how to exploit it to let him play into her hands by himself, _many_ sessions later. She played the long game, and she played him like a fiddle. I never want to end up on the bad side of a person with that level of skill.
@@nategwright Everyone expresses themselves differently. That is how this story came to be. You said nothing wrong. Without these qualities our DMs couldn't create cool stories like this. Have a good one mate!
I mean, some stats might make sense given racial bonuses (Dragonborn get +2 to Strength). But three different stats? Even half-elves don’t have enough bonuses for that.
In fairness... I once had a player who was renowed for cheating. Long before he was kicked out of the group, he came with a prepped character to a new campaign I was running and his lowest stat was a 16 and each of his HD rolled either a 7+ on a D10. Ordinarily, I don't care if players rolled up ahead (we use standard array these days though tbh), but this was taking the piss so I called him out on his bullshit and basically made him re-roll everything... Only for the bastard to roll even higher on every blood roll... In the end, in the name of balance I wound up forcibly adjusting stats as we typically ran by a certain modifier limit during the days of 3.5, to ensure everyone was at least roughly on a similar power level.
@@Grigeral So if this character rolled better on demand, then that implies that their initial rolls were not only possible but maybe not so extravagant to begin with. I'm glad you stopped using random chance for character setup. Before using a random process to determine character stats you should feel comfortable with whatever outcome arises from that process. I feel like you weren't here. This must arise due to a misunderstanding of random chance as applied to the process. You should have an ideal stat distribution target an accepted level of deviation and then set the process. I believe that there are guides that can help with it.
@@theeternalbard4308 of course the rolls were possible, there's a difference between possible and plausible. And someone coming away with 15, 15, 16, 17, 18, 18 as base stats when they rolled in secret is not very plausible, especially for a person who, as I already stated, was known to cheat... I already specified that yes, we used random, however as a group, we would stick to around similar to the group average, which is exactly what you said by having a 'stat distribution target and accepted level of deviation' so I literally have no idea what you're actually trying to say there other than saying words for the sake of it. We also moved away from it because there's literally no point anymore. Stats are limited, so not starting out with high stats means jack squat. Nothing to do with misunderstanding anything...
@@Grigeral I'm trying to say two things. First thing is mathematical which I learned from the study of advanced statistics. It has to do with what outlier deviation level should be considered suspicious and what should not. If you have a large enough number of players the expected largest deviation may be higher than what your gut feeling tells you. You should always default to not being paranoid/suspicious of your players if you can help it. So if you want to be suspicious for some reason at least make sure it is rationally motivated. This is my advice. If you pose the question what are the odds that the maximum deviation out of six random trials meets or exceeds 15, 15, 16, 17, 18, 18, I do not believe that the answer is going to be less than 10 percent. Mathematical Statistics, by Rasch and Schott has a section on this. Why do I care? I like the topic, I've thought about it previously and happened to feel like typing here now, though you are right that it is technically a waste of time. The second thing to keep it brief you can probably find a program that will let you plug in 5 numbers and get an anomaly score if you care that much. The third thing is that there may be ways invented to achieve your goals about variability of stats that you haven't considered and I encourage you to look them up. Obviously too long to include here. Now I understand that you already have a bad relationship with this player as you reiterated. I don't care about that. That is a personal problem between the two of you. Good luck with it. No comment regarding that. If you don't trust your players to make rolls then I would minimize the number of rolls for now, or you can have all the rolls be public and kicked off by the DM. I have done this for the sake of convenience in a game with new players who didn't like rolling. Cheers.
"This is a story about a genius dm who cleverly exposed a player for cheating" Wow! This one seems like it'll be a more light hearted video- "Content warning: sexual assault"
@@fupoflapo2386 where did the commenter imply it was deep? They're *literally* talking about the shift in expectations between reading the title and arriving at the content warning!
I can't believe the DM predicted the narcissistic behavior and made his character the god of mirrors/reflections even before he even started cheating again. Very ironic. 10/10 What a great DM
Just realized the DM made the guys entire character a metaphor of the player: He was the god of mirrors because he only thought of himself. He was a peacock because of his narcissistic, grand depictions of himself And the story of being a god cast out by the other gods was an euphemism of the players getting angry at him and casting him out only to bring him back as a weaker character.
The DM was directly inspired by the very well known ancient Greek legend of *Narcissus,* from whence we get the English word _narcissist._ In the original ancient Greek story, Narcissus was a vacuous, self-worshiping loser that ended up pretty much in the same way that this dumb D&D character ended up. The weirdo player had obviously never heard about that Greek legend, so he had no idea _at all_ about what the DM was setting the character up for. She basically gave him enough rope to hang himself in spectacular D&D style. I _loved_ it!
@@symbiotesoda1148 - and I just realised that I made a mistake in ascribing the ancient story of *Echo and Narcissus* to the Greeks, when it's actually a *Roman* story by *Ovid.* Sorry about that! I guess I just got confused with so many of those great old stories, and assumed that it was another one of Aesop's fables from ancient Greece that I read as a child. Anyway, it's clear that that creep has absolutely no interest in the mythological source material that underpins Dungeons and Dragons. When the DM wove the mirror theology into the creep's character's backstory, I was sure he'd immediately realise he was being set up the way the story of Echo and Narcissus ends - with Narcissus dying while staring longingly at his own reflection. 🤣 She did him over so well by choosing to string him along for the entertainment of everyone else. That was a well executed trap that I enjoyed. I'd love to play in a game where she is the Dungeon Master. She's obviously well read, careful, patient and meticulous. A star DM.
@@pauligrossinoz You didn't actually. Narcissus and Echo were originally found in Greek mythology, but the Romans resonated more with the story and it was more popular with them
I would have bursted with rage ages ago. The sheer amount of patience this Dm showed is astounding. Also imagining like, Bahamut, Tiamat and idk, Titania standing in line to bully that lesser mirror god. Grand imagery.
Tiamat and Bahamut stopping the conflict between metallic and Chromatic dragons so this minor God could get their shit pushed in is just a hilarious concept and I need a whole story based around it
@@thereseemstobeenanerror1219 yeah, there was a serial killer that was out for over 10 years and the only reason he got caught was because he tried to forge a will
One where he gets to do some disgusting stuff? Id nuke that behaviour down from orbit but the DM handled it in her own way. Cudos to her, I wouldnt be that patient...
If I were in the warlock's spot playing any kind of good character (and even some lawful evil, in fact, especially lawful evil), I would have stabbed him in the back for saying something this outrageous.
@@maxmercurythemm827 you can't play dnd without basically having fantasy murder, racism, and animal abuse so what's considered outrageous is kinda in a spectrum
No matter how good a friend he may be, by the point where he says “I’m three years old technically, I can flirt with these minors” I would’ve asked him to quit or quit myself even if it’s the only group available to me because holy shit that is just creepy and uncomfortable to be around
That's why the story hits the realm of disbelief for me. The story describes a being who passed the rate of tolerance for normal people after the first two minutes.
@@LittleAlienFromMars Yeah. The story was interesting, but the longer it went the faker it became. Specially in the part that OP said. No matter how much the DM wants to "Play 4D Chess with a player to teach them a lesson" I'm 100% sure the others players would have said "No, either quit that or you leave the table this instant" at that moment. It is extremely unbelievable that the rest of the players accepted it, saw it continue, saw them force a girl to cut her face, then went on like nothing had happened it for whole sessions during weeks.
bingo, absolutely no props for this DM, she is not a master of anything...a true DM would read this situation and kick him out after the pedo fest session...YOU DONT PUT OTHER INNOCENT PLAYER IN THIS CRAP!!! get rid of him....even if it causes the whole group to disband.
Sabotaging the game. He was fighting the only boss fight worthy of his genius, the one against the DM. What a lunatic. If you want to fight against other people, go to pro boxing, the military or politics
On one hand - yes. On another - dropping the problem guy 3 minutes into this video is the obvious answer. There is such as thing as being too accomodating.
@@ajuc005 This way seems like a more peaceful way to educate them, you can do something with an equivalent exchange which would hopefully make them make a character that goes by the rules set but then again there are few that will keep going even after.
@@Tired.Goblin I don't know their relationship, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my effort, patience, and quality of my game to educate a man in his 30s. He can educate himself when he figures out that every group he joins drops him.
I keep getting stuck on the fact that Asmodeus is technically a greater god within the Forgotten Realms setting. Can you imagine it? The one way this could have been any better. As the peacock hangs, caught in burning webs, the Lord of the Hells steps calmly from the flames and gazes up at him. After a few moments' considering pause, the Raging Fiend murmurs in what sounds like idle curiosity: "When a god burns, is it holy fire?"
I would like to mention that Corellon, one of the most flighty gods, holds such a grudge against lolth for defiling their creations, that in MToF it is said that they will never forgive the elves as long as Lolth lives. And yet both of them just call it off for a bit to beat up this bird.
Okay, maybe it's just me, but I'd risk losing other players to kick that guy out (right about the point where he used his character to repeatedly target vulnerable female npc's). I'd rather purge an entire campaign with fire than keep someone like that around. She probably should have talked to her other players and seen if they actually would have left. She sounds like a super creative GM, her way of handling that was guy was pretty awesome.
You are not alone here. So much effort, so much trouble, so much time lost on thinking of the ways to stop cheating - and for what? If the group would ditch DM for getting rid of the obvious useless cheater, that group simply did not deserve such a great DM!
I'm disturbed that she believed his behaviour around female NPCs - repeatedly - wasn't enough to make people stop siding with the arsehole. What kind of players are the rest, that they'd side with the guy who's being such an gross creep?
Well, thats a more mature way of handling it, than the last time i, as DM, had to deal with this type of player. Being a 6'3" amateur MMA fighter in college, i physically removed him from my apartment, and tossed him off my landlady's porch, in what the other players referred to as 'a saloon toss'. Everyone is informed, when joining one of my player groups, that i have a ZERO tolerance policy on power playing, rape/noncon, child/animal abuse, outside of certain plot relevant RP. a lot of my players are survivors, since i tend to recruit new players from the survivor groups i attend. i dont put up with this kind of crap, and i dont expect any of my players to put up with it, for the sake of the game. Open door policy. You have a problem with another player, talk to me. We will figure it out.
i am such a person... but it is more like watching another players rolls and then act as if they made it (when i know they are good in the thing they just rolled for). this leads to the person either believing it or looking at the numbers again. saved the life of our party several times... we are usually drunk when we play ^^
i know a guy like this. he's not in his thirties but he's still way too old to act the way he does in tabletop games ESPECIALLY with friends. fondest memory is how he threw a literal temper tantrum in MTG commander over not getting a do over and how he pretty much forced everyone to play schrodinger's commander as a result. needless to say that outburst is why i don't play with him unless it's to deliberately piss him off.
I'm in my 30s now and the secondhand embarrassment of this man cheating at this frequency is just painful. Cheating is bad enough already, but that kind of behavior should diminish with age and maturity
Having dealt with a real life narcissist, the story checks all what a narcissist would do: lie, cheat, gaslighting the DM, jealousy out of a genuine person, try to lie through to look good to other people but don't think they're responsible for the lies that they drop, project their insecurities not only to the DM but also to other people and thinking they were there to bring him down, and lastly, all their lies blow up on themselves. This is why narcissists can't handle genuine people AND why I believe this is a true story.
Oh, indeed the problem player's behaviour checks out as perfectly possible. It's the enabling from the rest of the table, the tolerance from both the narrator and the DM (and in her case, just for the sake of forcing the player to leave after literal *months* of putting up with his shenannigans), the convoluted way they arrive at a perfect resolution that sounds a bit too good to be true, and lastly the fact that they were using *online tools* and still had to wait so long to prove the player was terrible? I don't think any story is necessarily, undoubtedly impossible, but some definitely sound more unlikely than others.
i just hear that and had to rewind just to make sure i hear it right now all i can think of is the drow just carrying two tiny paladins who just cast smite on everything XD
the fact that she made his problematic personality into part of his own character and then defeated but his pretty villainous character and him irl make for such amazing story
@@thezyreick4289Reported to who? Unfortunately, the police don’t care if you’re hassling underage NPC’s in a fantasy game. It’s highly immoral, but not illegal lol
Whenever my friend has to kick somebody out, he narrates their death. But out of all the times he has done it, it was always "god came down and slapped the shi* out of "
Damn, you're so unfortunate. **Strikes with lightning again** I've never seen someone with luck this bad. **Strikes 3 more times** I thought lightning never struck twice, much less 5 times. **Repeat until dead**
i'm going to steal that idea for my fallout campaign i'm putting together. "Oh you wanna cheat and be an overall douchebag in & out of character? I'm sure you and Mr. Graham are going to get along just fine."
"alright players hand over your sheets...hmmm yes very nice, the BBEG will enjoy these new bodygaurds, now roll me up some levels ones...with point buy."
The DM was incredibly witty and creative (the narcissist didn't stand a chance against her in that sense, not even close), but _man_ I don't think that player deserved all those chances. Now sure, it turned out alright, and the DM flawlessly destroyed him in the end, but that guy needed a therapist or something. Mad props to the DM
While I do agree that this guy sounds like someone in serious need of psychological help, it's like crab said at the end. Friendgroups are never as simple as one ridiculous story about a problematic D&D player. They might like the guy for doing other stuff with them, but don't wanna see him at the D&D table cuz of how disingenuous he is as a player. You, a viewer and reader of one person's account of this situation, do not know anything else about this friendgroup's relationship(s) with eachother.
I think some sort of pychological problem or ailment couldd defenitly be at play here. A group of friends of mine has a player juuusssttt like this. He fudges his dice on a near constant basis. Almost as if he is compelled to do it. Is very full of himself and think he can do no wrong. Defenitly suffers from main-character syndrome. This story reminds me of him. The player in my group is autistic though. I dont know whatever or not that causes it or makes it worse but its rough to deal with. Even when called out or when we have proof that he cheats; he plays the victim and will say we are picking on him for his autism and stuff like that. Another member of the group is also autistic and always pick his side so booting him out basicly means 2 players leave. Basicly anything directed at him that he even remotely vieuws as negative he will screach and endlessly complain about. So we stopped doing that, as it wasent worth the hassle and he wouldnt change. Dont ask me why the DM dident boot him though, im not sure. I think the DM pitied him and wanted him to change. But he never did.
@@MastaGambit I agree to a point, especially with relatively low-stakes stuff like cheating in games, but imo 'technically I'm 3 years old so they're all available to me' is so far gone that I wouldn't feel safe around anyone who was willing to put up with it, let alone the person who said it.
@@MastaGambit nah the guys fucked. How do you get so into "role-play" that you fixate your character on threesomes and taking advantage of underage or vulnerable women. That's perverted. Sure, it's through a tabletop game but judging from the way the game was played, the rest of the group was particularly uncomfortable with it and just tried to resolve it. He needs therapy or some kind of disciplinary action, he sounds really dodgy and potentially dangerous. If I was playing with him, I'd be on the side of the DM very quickly, and any attempts at constantly pursuing sex is just creepy and I'm just gonna leave. no way you can let that shit with the underage girls slide. That's not an innocent mistake or a new player thing cus he was told and still made the choice. Guy is also a pathological lier, even when he's not playing the game. Needs therapy man, guy is awful.
"A drow with two smiters stepped out from the shadows" On one hand, that's not how you say "scimitar". On the other hand, the DM used them to smite the cheater. I'm torn.
I too am torn between the proper pronunciation, and the way in which they were used allowing for such improper pronunciation to still be accurate to the situation...
That is one talented DM to come up with such a backstory as the gods incarcerating him in a mortal form ON THE SPOT. And also everything he was doing to and making those young girls do actually made me exclaim out loud what a sick fuck. I mean, using the command spell in that way is really creepy.
Either I'm incredibly intolerant or everyone else is incredibly tolerant. In my campaigns, cheaters get one warning and then they're out. Creeps playing out any rape or sexual assault without first clearing that kind of content with the other players and DM, are also out. I can't really imagine having the level of tolerance of some of these DM's, that they let the problem player stick around for so many sessions.
sex shouldn't even be part of D&D to begin with. Interactions with NPC's should only be for the sake of advancement of the campaign's plot. I guess 'flirting' can be a persuasion to get info, but never done for its own sake. What does that even accomplish?
@@7F0X7 It accomplishes the same thing in D&D as it does in movies or video games or any other form of story telling. But the point of my comment isn't to start debating opinions of what is or isn't good content. It's to point out that the content should be agreed upon by everyone participating. The entire point of having session 0 in D&D is to establish how the game is going to be played, ask and answer questions, and come to an understanding of what the DM and players expect from each other. Deviating from that, especially into triggering content, is a huge no-no unless it's been brought up as a change beforehand. Lets not start critiquing what people do or don't enjoy in a campaign, because that wasn't the point.
Yes, it's ridiculous to allow this kind of behavior to last so long. Weaving it into the story of the game like this (assuming this is in fact a true story) was a very passive aggressive way to handle poor behavior that does a disservice to everyone at the table. An geez this video...a 5 minute story (most likely made-up) stretched out over 30 minutes!
Zerkek actually sounds like a potentially cool character! A narcissistic demigod who draws on his own blessings to use his magic is a really fun idea. Too bad he was played as an irredeemable tool bag
absolutely the character that you LOVE to HATE, He would work so well as a character in a show/movie, and it's so satisfying with how the DM absolutely played him so his character plays out exactly how she wants him to play out
I think it sucks that the player had such an awesome DM and he not only refused to redeem himself he infact; doubled down on his antics. Sometimes this approach can help people be better players and people but this guy certainly dident take the hint, lol.
Chuckling darkly. I love this DM! Not only did she craft an interesting character for the whiney cheater but she laid a VERY sadistic trap for the idiot to eventually fall into. Props and kudos to you!
Pathological liars have to be dealt with, and this was masterful, but I'm much more shocked about this cheater's friends, who not only put up with his behaviour, but also wanted him there :O
That was the part that baffles me still! Especially with the creepy "only makes an effort to do something to control women" pattern. D: Gotta say, also, that the Krallus ending as meat cubes for the offspring (while dark) made a lot of sense for...having a succubus and a doppelganger as lovers. Apropo darknasss~!
@@acetraker1988 Im sure some parts are "well this is what I wish I did" but the story could easily ring truer than you think. Not everything is fake just enjoy things
"And he kept forgetting the baby and leaving it in buildings and alleyways"...Not sure what the complaint is here... sounds like he was playing the Mandalorian correctly
This was one of the things that had me doubting the story. How is the DM keeping track of where the baby got left? The player obviously isn't telling her. Similar situations, like players forgetting they have familiars, is more like the things just pop into existence at random. Though it makes perfect sense if this story is made up and the writer is thinking along the lines of the fictional baby in this fictional story of a fictional story having to be somewhere. I suppose the DM could be overly anal about keeping track of "when combat starts, you need to put the kid down." And combat just happens to occur in a ton of buildings and alleyways. But then I'd expect she would make the kid part of the combat, which makes it harder to forget.
@@CartesianDuelist Most things considered "anal" aren't hard. They're just pointless things others don't bother with, like keeping track of arrows. Making a big deal about the baby comes across as something made up. It suits the situation as a story, a narcissist forgetting a baby all the time. As an actual game? The kid is a fictional bit of fluff the DM threw in that the player wasn't too invested in. Have I ever told a story? Sure. That experience is part of what is making me think this sounds like one. Also, if a person is "adding detail" to some experience they had, that's called "making it up." It can still be inspired by truth, but it isn't truth. Does it matter? Not really. Except perhaps to people who enjoy these stories partially due to the idea that they're true. Personally, I enjoy trying to spot the difference, and annoying those that for some reason have a strong attachment to the story's veracity.
I'm shocked, *shocked* that the guy who just issued a bunch of slurs at Drizzt and then bragged about how he was out of range of his scimitars didn't end up getting shot by Catie-Brie. You know, the Archer of the team, and Drizzt's SO.
Honestly one of the things that makes me either doubt the story or believe that DM is kind of dumb. Like, it's fine if you don't know fictional characters. However, if you're the DM and including them in your campaign? No way it's Drizzt that blows a gasket. He's handled racism in the books in a levelheaded manner. It would 100% be the friends who know and respect him that start putting the peacock in the dirt.
OK, true that, they said Peacock is harming his and “family, you best believe those senators are coming out, and swiftly. By the way, is this before or after the rebirth, night of the hunter, if you want to know what I’m referencing. I may have anyone was going to beat up that peacock. It would’ve been the four king with his ax. Besides, I don’t think you make sexual advances upon his wife without some form of consequence, the dark elf, not the dwarf king.
I just can't get over an 30yr old "adult" acting like someone 1/3 his age. Its discussing, and I wonder how DM kept up with this sh*t for more than 3 minutes
I'm 42 and I am mentally a much younger person. My emotional development was delayed/arrested, so I cannot identify with my peers. I relate more with people who are in their late teens to early/mid 20's. I also always related to people who were much older than myself, namely teachers. I have trouble functioning in normal social situations and my work ethic is atrocious. I have impulse control issues and I am easily manipulated. Why? Well, because i'm a big man-child. All of this isn't to say that this players behaviour was somehow justified; It wasn't. I am merely pointing out that there are people out there who do not act anything like their age, but they might have a legitimate reason for it.
Honestly it’d be pretty cool to explore the character concept behind Zerkek if, instead of being an obnoxious narcissist, the mortal god turned self-worshipping cleric is SUPER self-conscious and meek. Like, they’re mortified by the fact that they have to pray to their self to use their powers & has to undergo a whole character arc about learning to love their self as much as their closest friends love them, and to let go of the self-loathing they’ve carried for years… Okay I might have to use this idea now cause it sounds like so much fun 😅
The ending has a lot of story or npc potential... The Mirror Maze realm can be a Ravenloft kind of domain in term of psychological horror. That DM has so much creativity, they became my new inspiration model xd
*You find yourself lost amidst a haze, surrounded by reflections of yourself. Suddenly, a strange peacock appears behind each and every one of your reflections. He seems to be admiring his own beauty, and upon noticing your presence in his divine realm of self-worship, he becomes enraged. Roll initiative.* On a more serious note, there is a lot of potential for something else with that mirror maze. Might take that idea and shape it for a campaign of my own.
Makes me think of the ending of Witches Abroad, from the Discworld series. A faerie godmother witch who refuses to recognize that she's evil, and abuses mirror magic like crazy, gets sucked into her own mirrors by a critical failure during a major spellcasting. Surrounded by images of herself, she meets Death. "Am I dead, then?" "THE ANSWER TO THAT IS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN NO AND YES." "How can I get out!?" "WHEN YOU FIND THE ONE THAT IS REAL." And away she runs, trying to find the real one in a panic. Her good twin sister (the protagonist, who incidentally HATED being The Good One because she could have been so much better at being The Bad One and enjoyed the hell out of it) also got sucked in, as well. She asks the same questions of Death, and receives the same replies. "...Is this a trick question?" "NO." *She pats herself on the chest.* "This one's the real one. Right here." "CORRECT!" And she's released.
this story unironically gave me tingles, I can't wrap my head around how patient and methodical the DM had to be to lay a trap like that for a problem player, truly a sight to behold for those who experienced it
Man, this DM is amazing! So creative in how they mold the world to fit how the players want to play. That last part about the d100 for the gods every time he cheats would have honestly been fun. I might try that with different conditions, since no one I know has a cheating compulsion.
i have a different opinion....shes a bad DM...you dont put the rest of the group that doesnt want to experience playing through a pedo-fantasy through all this crap...after the commanding minors issue she should have had a private discussion with the rest of the group, and then removed him from the game. if it meant you lose multiple players, SO WHAT....
Changing ability scores once to huge values out of the blue is huge red flag and I would probably already boot the player out, but okay, maybe we shouldn't assume bad faith and that's worth a talk and telling him to play properly. Then he does it again? Nope, he's out. Don't even care who he's friends with, that's not worth my sanity or that of the good players in the group as it's disrepectful to them to keep a cheater around. To be honest I probably would have quit as a player because he was there, not the other way around, I'm more surprised that this group didn't fracture before the guy decided to quit on his own.
@@rb98769 Like crab said at the end. Friendgroups are never as simple as one ridiculous story about a problematic D&D player. They might like the guy for doing other stuff with them, but don't wanna see him at the D&D table cuz of how disingenuous he is as a player. You, a viewer and reader of one person's account of this situation, do not know anything else about this friendgroup's relationship(s) with eachother.
@@MastaGambit Doesn't matter. That's a sign of them being shitty people if they are willing to use him for favors but won't let him join in their campaigns. The guy is a giant douche canoe but seriously. If you're going to do the right thing you have to have integrity yourself otherwise you're in no position to say anything.
I think it's worth it to just kick the guy. You can be nice about it while also dealing with the issue. No one likes a cheater. Plain and simple. I've worked with players that have egos to the roof. And I've done it to my own detriment, to the game's detriment, and to all of the other players detriment. Worse yet, the problem players are almost always related to me, or a central core to the game in some way. It's never worth it. What you have to ask yourself as the DM is very simple: " do I want to have this problem forever? Or would I rather end the problem as soon as possible even if it causes problems in the short-term?" After my all my experience with the former issues caused by problem players, I now will always pull the trigger.
Dude I was just exhausted at the sheer effort the DM had to put in just to regulate this guy. She was basically playing for him, and even *then* it was like pulling teeth to get him to do *anything*. Kudos to GM because I would not have the patience for that
Wow. I've DM'd games with players just like this Krallus player. It is like pulling teeth. Though it's also satisfying for the other players, even the problem player's friends, to be the ones to observe the problem, then vote to kick the player out of the group..
I feel like when the hit points were being not tracked properly, I would've just kept track of them myself. Comes to That Guy's turn, and when he tries to act, I'd be so happy to inform him that he's crying in the corner over his grievous wounds and needs to make a death save. Then I'd proudly display the hit point log for all to see. This dude could've been exposed long before the campaign was severely disrupted.
Not only was she playing for him, but whenever she allowed him to do something he was trying to cheat. This mo-fo doesn't pay attention to the game accept when he's trying to pad his own stats. I'm not even sure he knows how to "win" DnD only that he wanted to break as many rules as possible. I bet if he was told that he needs a low roll to succeed a test he would fluff it into a high roll and fail it on purpose
There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. When it comes to DnD, ESPECIALLY if you’re a new player, you oughta be humble. It’s not in your best interest to make an OP character if you don’t even understand the rules. Ask your friends who play, for guidance.
@@CritCrab I’m still new to DnD, and learning more as I go. I know there is so much that goes into it and for me it’s quite overwhelming at times. I get wanting to make a decently powered character, but NOT LIKE THIS!😂😭🤬
@@reasonablyobsessed Meh, you’re not wrong but I do disagree. It depends on the person. Personally, it was listening to CritCrab’s stories that really made me want to start getting into DnD. My sister plays regularly and she loves it. I’ve always enjoyed playing action-RPGs like Skyrim and I even grew up playing Oblivion. But you have to dedicate time if you’re serious about learning.
Oh wow, the whole mirror maze and God of reflections idea is amazing. I'll see if I can think of something akin for my campaign where I'm a DM. This DM is amazing.
I heard the description of the red headed woman and thought, "there's no way she..." Saw the little bit when she named herself and thought, "Oh he dead."
Its not bad. She got him to commit to a backstory that has a huge loaded gun pointed at him, but all she had to do was play on his ego. not hard if the player's not the sharpest knife in the drawer like I think he is. Using Cattie-Brie like that was hysterical, since he was certain to look into her and not Drizzt and the other heroes.
The second she suggested that he worship himself, I knew where this was going! She used his own stupidity and narcissistic tendencies as a rope and led him to the gallows, all while letting him think that it was his own words and actions leading him there voluntarily. Then the coup de grace was him literally pulling the lever that collapsed the floor and hanging himself with his own actions, giving him only 2 options, play without cheating or leave on his own accord.
Yeah love how patient the dm was but she couldnt have done from the get go tbh. I get that she probably wanted to give him a chance to change his ways but it was perfectly clear from the start that it wasent going to happen :/
@@demoulius1529 The DM was going to lose the other good players if she did that because they were that close friends with the problem player. So she did this to intentionally set him up to make himself look like an ass and the players not want to have him around anymore.
To be fair, the player was asking for it. I don't think DM would do this on anyone unless justified. Either way for this story DM is sending a message.
@@Acejinjo Oh absolutely, and that's why it's so perfect and proof that the DM is a good DM. A good DM can weave character hooks, and even player hooks, into the story, which this DM did seamlessly, all with the end result being to either have the player stop cheating or leave without having to be kicked out. It's a long con that leads to a win win!
I actually wasn't expecting the cubed flesh of Krallus bit to come up. Holy SHIT that was metal as hell. I can almost see the DM's evil smile, and I'm willing to bet that this creepazoid threw a massive fit over it.
"You need to make the character according to the rules everyone is following." "If you fake a dice roll again you're off the game" "You're off the game" Doesn't make for as good a story, but it's fairer for everyone else.
Yeah, Crab said it's not always as simple as kicking the problem out, but after warnings, repeated warnings at that, it literally is. This passive-aggressive bullshit to make the game as unpleasant as possible for the problem player is unnecessary and childish. Follow the "problem player chart" and all your problems are solved.
@@lloydgush I like random combined numbers (12 numbers between 4 and 8 randomly paired). Allow two numbers to switch places for a bit of control (like a guaranteed 16 with a pairing of two 8's). Everyone will get different overall scores but won't be vastly over-under powered.
I gotta agree with Crab here, this DM was awesome, and that concept of a Peacock fallen god obssessed with himself sounds like an concept way too awesome for this player.
My only thoughts are. "Hans, get ze flammenwerfer." With the amount of times he was called out for cheating repeatedly and blatantly. With how he proceeded to go after underage characters. With how he proceeded to issue abusive commands to his 'worshiper'. With how he slammed Racial slurs against Drow after metagaming. With the amount of lying he did. I'm surprised it took so long to get him to quit. However I'm confused as to why they were afraid to lose a d&d group that would disband if they got rid of a cheater. If the players quit because a cheater was kicked out... good riddance?
That's what I was wondering. What did the other players see in this person? Did they like playing with someone who just zero shits about the game before him? It sounded like the only thing this player contributed to the game was causing issues for others. And if the DM kicked him, therefor reducing the amount of in game problems the players had, the other players would leave? Hell with it, the campaign is over. If the players want to leave with them then by all means.
@@TheSmartboy64 I don't think they did, you can tell since only one player character showed up to give Krallus goodbye, it's clear they weren't having a good experience with him there. The DM seemed to be obsessed about being fair or just didn't want to antagonize that guy.
@@TheSmartboy64 Well the thing is, somtimes you dont know if somone is a bad person, maybe he seemed like a nice decent guy but in reality he was a massive creep they just never had a chance to see that side of him, ive had freinds i knew for years that suddently turned to thier true side under the right circumstances, you can never know.
honestly, zerkek sounds like a really good mini bbeg. just imagine a party finding a mirror with the handle and the back of the mirror similar to that of a peacock tail feather and a party member released him, promising them that they will be the most well liked person in the world if they released him
0:23 "The first red flag appeared before the very first session" Y'all gotta learn how to stop right then and there. If the red flags are showing up before the game even starts, get out while the getting's good and don't look back. You'll save yourself a lot of grief.
I understand that. I'm DM'ing & Karen starts an irl argument, mid session, once its squashed, she tried to take it out on friendly npc's. Her friend & I stopped her & asked why she was talking in an elevated tone and starting every sentence with "Oh yeah?" & ending it with "How bout that? Harumph!" She continued to make excuses until I called her the next morning & warned her that if she puts up 1 more red flag, she's gone. From then on, she was cool.
I mean, it's typically way easier to spot red flags either in retrospect or as an observer. What's that saying? Most people in horror movies are dumb because they don't know they're in a horror movie? It's like that. You're not going to be on guard if you don't think you have to be.
I am glad I found someone else who loves this guy. As much as I do, I have dumped him my lavender eyed friend. Dictation doesn’t like Elvin names, or any names for that matter and since I dictate 95% of my messages, this is how it must be. Therefore circumlocution
This guy wouldn't have lasted one session at my table. If you can't play by the rules, you can't play with us. Good day sir. Never be afraid to interrupt the game and tell a player to leave if they're this much of a disaster.
Sadly not every friend group thinks this way. For instance I watch a rust admin whos YT channel is dedicated to messing with cheaters, shaming them, and banning them. And often their friends will literally ride and die with him them, even if its blatant cheating RIGHT in front of them. And argue with him, the admin. Which is why rust servers not only punish cheaters but anyone who plays with them knowingly. Friend groups are complicated messes, and you don't always get the option to remove someone as you'd like. In this case too many players would've left. So she basically handed him the rope, and with patience, cunning, and a beast story-writing ability let the dude hang himself.
The image of a peacock man being violently mauled by not only Drizzt FUCKING Do’Urden but his Panther friend was just hilarious! Edit: did the player ever find out that Krallus was essentially dead? Did he want to try and bring the character back only to find out the God’s got their revenge? Edit 2: I actually found out on Reddit, apparently the guy tried resurrecting him by saying “Krallus was a clone” using some really strange. DM still said no! 😆
Some smiters do use scimitars to smoothly slice down their slandering seditionist foes. Though it was funnier for the character to be knocked unconscious by someone plucking a feather out of their tail. Nice to have a happier/funnier story to cleanse the pallet after the recent more serious stories, keep up the good work CritCrab.
This is how an expert DM with the patience of a saint deals with a problem player. It all worked into the narrative flawlessly. I am no saint. If someone cheats that consistently in a game, they get called out then removed from the group. No matter how chummy the cheater is with the rest of the table, I'd disband a whole campaign to stop dealing with these sort of shenanigans.
Zerkek was such an apt character and I'm so impressed at the DM for making the character, and the other kind of impressed that the player just... Didn't see the mirror in his hand for what it was.
The only complaint is zerkek being able to fly quick enough to escape drizzt. Peacock's tails weigh them down so much that often times they get killed by tigers in the wild before they can get off the ground
If it comes down to playing with a cheater or not playing, I’m not playing. Crabs, you’re a mensch for choosing diplomacy, but if I catch someone cheating they’re dead to me. They don’t respect me or the game.
The way he acted towards Drizzt... my jaw dropped. One of my favorite characters, along side the rest of his friends. Just... that player. My friends and I play using D&D beyond and roll 20. We are all open about our rolls, and except for some perception checks from NPCs with the DMs, we see all of them. (It helps especially with me playing a halfling divination wizard to be able to counter those pesky NPC attacks or save twice a long rest. hehe)
Frankly, at that point I expected *Cattie-Brie* to be the one to kick the shit out of that player. It's not like she isn't incapable of beating most guys.
Think alot of characters would do just that. But the DM probably expected the player to know who Drizzt was and wanted to see his reaction? He got just what he deserved :D
The certain weakness thing is a GREAT idea. Look at Superman. Originally... he could only lift a tank and nothing short of a shell could hurt him. He jumped high, and could not fly and had X-Ray vision. Around the same time he could lift aircraft carriers, could fly, got heat vision, and superbreath, was the same time they introduced kryptonite. When he started to be able to survive in space- red sun weakness. Once he could time travel and universe hop... they created the magic weakness.
@@lilgamer7138 From the late 40s to early 1980s, Superman's powers went a little overboard. He could survive in the vacuum of space. He could travel faster than light, like The Flash, allowing him to travel through time and across multiverse. The whole debate over if Superman is faster than The Flash comes from this period. When Superman's power level was nerfed in 1986 (something I'm still mad they mostly restored over the years) they never brought Superman back to his full speed. In the modern era, it's a stupid question. Any Superman and Flash race since 1986 is like that Mythbusters episode Toy Car vs. Dodge Viper. Flash wins, no contest.
Wasn't cryptonite only introduced to explain the change in Superman's voice in the radio show since they got a new voice actor? But yea, Superman is one of the best examples of power- creep.
@@valentinmitterbauer4196 No. Bud Collyer took a week off and they brought it into the radio show at that point. However, Siegel and Shuster were working on a story for the Newspaper comic strip about 'K-Metal'. The radio show was actually adapting a story that had no yet seen print. A story that was finished decades later because Siegel got drafted. What remains of that story wasn't published for decades, after Siegel was forced to by financial hardships to return to DC after his first failed attempt to get royalties. During the war, Superman stories were written in bulk. (IE: Sometimes they had 10-15 issues worth of stuff sitting in a drawer.) Action Comics and Superman were both anthology titles. This led to the first 'official' Kryptonite story to get published until six years later. Siegel's K Metal story was plotted for the newspaper strip originally and was thus close to a 30 page story in its own right. In those days comics maybe have been 50 pages, but they tended to be spread out among 5-8 features.
I also love the idea of them having this elaborate plan and as soon as the warlock walks in Zerkek (absorbed in his own narcissism) immediately blows their cover
I highly agree, Zerkek sounds like a very interesting character. I’d love to see that kind of backstory on a humble character also, that sounds interesting. Maybe he’d give himself a different name to his sleeping god within him and now I want to write another character
The DM is just the best. I'd love to be in that group, if only for her to own the problem player to Kingdom Come. Although the "peacock fallen god of mirrors and reflections" sounds like a great character idea and so does their domain. Had it not been for a brat of a player, it would make for some excellent story arcs.
Dang. I was expecting this to end the same way it usually does. With a heated argument, and the problem player getting banned. This DM, whoever she is, is clearly Legendary Status. As a new DM, I hope to be half this good someday.
the reference she made are fantastic I can't believe she got him to roleplay the narcissistic flaw that hard without realizing the degree she was poking fun at him.
Agreed. The only thing I’m not a fan of is coddling cheaters to that extent. Fun Fact: It's not your job to teach kids how to behave. Just kick them out and let them sort their stuff out.
@@Lobsterwithinternet I would say it wasn't coddling so much as keeping a leash on the prick. With great ideas as well. Coddling would be caving to all his OP power fantasies.
@@TowerArcanaCrow This problem player was close friends with other players, I think the actual issue was that people would try to leave if this player was kicked out.
Ok. That last part was this best shit EVER! That was an amazing way to slam the problem player out! Slightly sad that we didn't get any more from that to see what gods the god of narcissisms would try to fight. I wanna see a campaign in within this realm that Zerkek created where heroes enter to fight the "god", defeat him, and escape.
Main character complex stories in dnd are always so funny to me because I have the opposite problem. I have an interesting character, and several DMs have made my character such an essential part of the lore that I just leave. I hate when no one else in the story is relevant. I want to be an interesting member with my own personality and past, but DMs constantly decide to expand their lore from mine just because my lore is more comprehensive. That said, I don’t want to be forced to change my character just to join a campaign that isn’t about me
"Really didn't do much beyond participating in threesomes and accidentally destroying the village of Phandelver." Please tell me Phandelver was destroyed as a result of one of the threesomes. That's the only way that bit of information would be entertaining and not disgusting.
This story seems SO incredibly fake - like, every. single. horror story trope is methodically hit on; who even is the narrator/OP in this story and what part did they play; every single detail story beat happens to relate to the cheater, the DM or their issues; the other players are essentially nonexistent except insofar as is necessary to move the story forward… I can go on and that’s not even getting into how comically exaggerated the guy’s trespasses are or how the story just… frankly comes across like it was written as fiction. That said, still entertaining, and had some funny ideas. Pretty creative compared to some of the other fake stories, honestly. I’m almost glad OP didn’t insult our intelligence by throwing in a bunch of details to make us believe it’s real.
Funnily enough, I can think of another D&D character who fits the description of a peacock bedecked, purple hedonist, and he'd have gone to town on Zerkek with two scimitars as well. Long May He Reign.
All this aside, the words "When a god burns, is it called holy fire?" IS MY FAVORITE SENTENCE OUT OF IT ALL. also props to the DM she's amazingly perceptive and clever
As witty as the DM is, I genuinely cannot give any props. Why in the everloving fuck would you want to keep a player that - has repeatedly cheated - has repeatedly lied - has repeatedly ignored "the talk" - has repeatedly roleplayed his fetish-fueled rape fantasy - has repeatedly demonstrated to be unwilling to change on any of the aforementioned points This isn't a dude you need to outsmart. This isn't the place for Machiavellian schemes. This is a cut and dry situation of "You're not welcome in this group. Leave."
It turned into another "To Catch a Predator" episode, but this time thankfully only ingame. It's pathetic how these utter wretches of a player just swallow the most obvious bait...and this one didn't even play into the DM's plan, he just shot himself in the foot repeatedly and then bashed it to a pulp with the gun when he run out of bullets.
As a narcissist, I can confirm that I don't project my behavior onto others because everything I do is praiseworthy and I'm not gonna praise others for things they didn't do. Besides, projecting is stupid and I'm very smart. (This comment serves no purpose other than to brag about my narcissism.) EDIT: 1 like from a genius. (me) I'm famous!
The DM really said “ok, you’re not only a narcissist, you’re the *god* of narcissism and you worship yourself” and he said ok
Virgin player: *is cringe*
Chad DM: I'm about to do what's called a "pro gamer move".
And I love this concept. I don't care if the guy was actually terrible I love that character! That is brilliant storytelling.
The second she suggested that he worship himself, I knew where this was going! She used his own stupidity and narcissistic tendencies as a rope and led him to the gallows, all while letting him think that it was his own words and actions leading him there voluntarily. Then the coup de grace was him literally pulling the lever that collapsed the floor and hanging himself with his own actions, giving him only 2 options, play without cheating or leave on his own accord.
@@themysterylady842 Well it's not HIS concept, it's the genius DM that invented all of it XD
Isn't that Narcissus?
Oddly enough, a fallen narcissistic god concept could be interesting in the hands of a non-cringy player.
Maybe that is who Volo really is? lol
Other Gods: We weren't afraid of you, you were just a dick.
I actually want to do that now.
I've had it as a character concept for awhile but it looks like this DM beat me to the punch.
He'd certainly make for a unique BBEG.
The idea of the truce between gods who have literal millennia of bad blood in order to punish the biggest narcissist in the Realms is just amazing. I love to imagine Lolth just getting ready to put the finishing touches on some grand evil scheme...and then have to cancel it because she has a 2 pm slapfight with Zerkek.
Lolth about to bring glass sand instead of magnesium
*alarm beeps*
Oh boy! It's time to smack the shit out of purple peacock again!
Honestly played by a good player Zerkek would be a fascinating character
@@rubyeyes1664 agreed even with all gis toxic traits, hed be like a greek god traveling eith the party he'd br a great dmpc character
I mean where that story ended could have been the beginning of a good arc. The story foundation was solid.
That DM took that vs thing to the extreme and set a trap that he could have avoid so he knew she beat him.
Krallus would make for an interesting NPC: A boastful adventurer who teams up with the party only for him to do practically nothing and then claim the credit. People in the area know him as “Krallus the Cowardly”. Why does he want so much money and fame? Child support.
I may steal that idea, that's hilarious.
XD that’s actually brilliant
Idea stolen.
Oh, that's a delightful idea.
Nice, could he be a twist villain too , hmm
Despite the cheater, this DM sound like a wonderful game runner. If she put that much effort into a bad player imagine the possibility for a player that buys into the story.
She is what I aspire to be as a new DM
Yeah its awesome I have a Dm like that its so much fun
i honestly disagree, letting a lvl 1 character start off with powerful magic items could only go bad, less this is a theme of the game this stuff needs to be cut down at the root.
@@viniciussardenberg706 She literally forced the character to be allergic to magic though, which if i had to guess, caused the character to suffer a major debuff against enemy mages/warlocks/clerics/basically anything that can use a simple spell. And the problem player then asked to redo and erase the magical items.
@viniciussardenberg706 you lack imagination if you say that it could only got bad. Work on that
Had a friend that played a cleric who was his own God - he'd piss in bottles and bless it. Every time we came up against undead everyone else would dive for cover so they didn't get splashed by his holy piss bottles (the DM would describe the stink based on how old said piss bottles were). Hell of a player.
Thats certainly creative
Jarate
Oh my god... It sounds awesome! Disgusting... but awesome! 🤣
I mean me being a paladin I could piss in a bottle, cast ceremony and create holy water.
Psychological AND emotional damage
That DM, whoever she is, is a MASTER manipulator. She saw his weakness, his ego and apathy, and knew _exactly_ how to exploit it to let him play into her hands by himself, _many_ sessions later. She played the long game, and she played him like a fiddle. I never want to end up on the bad side of a person with that level of skill.
Sounds more like a self fulfilling prophecy
Yup that's why the video is entertaining
@@HouseOfFaust You know what, yeah I really just pulled a "guys look I restated the point the video and added zero additional insight," didn't I?
I was expecting him to get vamped and thus lose his ability to look in the mirror to see himself, along with his divine casting ability.
@@nategwright Everyone expresses themselves differently. That is how this story came to be. You said nothing wrong. Without these qualities our DMs couldn't create cool stories like this. Have a good one mate!
"I rolled a 20."
"On 3 6-sided dice?"
"Yes, for 3 different stats."
I mean, some stats might make sense given racial bonuses (Dragonborn get +2 to Strength). But three different stats? Even half-elves don’t have enough bonuses for that.
In fairness... I once had a player who was renowed for cheating. Long before he was kicked out of the group, he came with a prepped character to a new campaign I was running and his lowest stat was a 16 and each of his HD rolled either a 7+ on a D10.
Ordinarily, I don't care if players rolled up ahead (we use standard array these days though tbh), but this was taking the piss so I called him out on his bullshit and basically made him re-roll everything...
Only for the bastard to roll even higher on every blood roll... In the end, in the name of balance I wound up forcibly adjusting stats as we typically ran by a certain modifier limit during the days of 3.5, to ensure everyone was at least roughly on a similar power level.
@@Grigeral So if this character rolled better on demand, then that implies that their initial rolls were not only possible but maybe not so extravagant to begin with. I'm glad you stopped using random chance for character setup. Before using a random process to determine character stats you should feel comfortable with whatever outcome arises from that process. I feel like you weren't here. This must arise due to a misunderstanding of random chance as applied to the process. You should have an ideal stat distribution target an accepted level of deviation and then set the process. I believe that there are guides that can help with it.
@@theeternalbard4308 of course the rolls were possible, there's a difference between possible and plausible. And someone coming away with 15, 15, 16, 17, 18, 18 as base stats when they rolled in secret is not very plausible, especially for a person who, as I already stated, was known to cheat...
I already specified that yes, we used random, however as a group, we would stick to around similar to the group average, which is exactly what you said by having a 'stat distribution target and accepted level of deviation' so I literally have no idea what you're actually trying to say there other than saying words for the sake of it.
We also moved away from it because there's literally no point anymore. Stats are limited, so not starting out with high stats means jack squat. Nothing to do with misunderstanding anything...
@@Grigeral I'm trying to say two things. First thing is mathematical which I learned from the study of advanced statistics. It has to do with what outlier deviation level should be considered suspicious and what should not. If you have a large enough number of players the expected largest deviation may be higher than what your gut feeling tells you. You should always default to not being paranoid/suspicious of your players if you can help it. So if you want to be suspicious for some reason at least make sure it is rationally motivated. This is my advice. If you pose the question what are the odds that the maximum deviation out of six random trials meets or exceeds 15, 15, 16, 17, 18, 18, I do not believe that the answer is going to be less than 10 percent. Mathematical Statistics, by Rasch and Schott has a section on this.
Why do I care? I like the topic, I've thought about it previously and happened to feel like typing here now, though you are right that it is technically a waste of time.
The second thing to keep it brief you can probably find a program that will let you plug in 5 numbers and get an anomaly score if you care that much.
The third thing is that there may be ways invented to achieve your goals about variability of stats that you haven't considered and I encourage you to look them up. Obviously too long to include here.
Now I understand that you already have a bad relationship with this player as you reiterated. I don't care about that. That is a personal problem between the two of you. Good luck with it. No comment regarding that. If you don't trust your players to make rolls then I would minimize the number of rolls for now, or you can have all the rolls be public and kicked off by the DM. I have done this for the sake of convenience in a game with new players who didn't like rolling. Cheers.
"This is a story about a genius dm who cleverly exposed a player for cheating"
Wow! This one seems like it'll be a more light hearted video-
"Content warning: sexual assault"
It's not that deep
@@fupoflapo2386 right, its basically the story of a DM that doesnt have the balls to kick out a problem player.
@@omegablast2002 yep
@@fupoflapo2386 where did the commenter imply it was deep? They're *literally* talking about the shift in expectations between reading the title and arriving at the content warning!
@@Elvalley its not that deep
I can't believe the DM predicted the narcissistic behavior and made his character the god of mirrors/reflections even before he even started cheating again. Very ironic. 10/10 What a great DM
He telegraphed it pretty hard by being a peacock.
@@WTFisTingispingis but she decided he is a peacok, or not?
@@tamadesthi156 Sure, but he accepted and not only that, he loved being it.
Makes the story sound fake to me. And a bit like a weird combo of enabling and entrapment.
@@conanhighwoods4304 I had a peacock player once, they imbodied the screamy boi peacock. Those little bastards just scream at everything and everyone.
Just realized the DM made the guys entire character a metaphor of the player:
He was the god of mirrors because he only thought of himself.
He was a peacock because of his narcissistic, grand depictions of himself
And the story of being a god cast out by the other gods was an euphemism of the players getting angry at him and casting him out only to bring him back as a weaker character.
The DM was directly inspired by the very well known ancient Greek legend of *Narcissus,* from whence we get the English word _narcissist._ In the original ancient Greek story, Narcissus was a vacuous, self-worshiping loser that ended up pretty much in the same way that this dumb D&D character ended up.
The weirdo player had obviously never heard about that Greek legend, so he had no idea _at all_ about what the DM was setting the character up for. She basically gave him enough rope to hang himself in spectacular D&D style. I _loved_ it!
@@pauligrossinoz Holy shit I just realized that.
@@symbiotesoda1148 - and I just realised that I made a mistake in ascribing the ancient story of *Echo and Narcissus* to the Greeks, when it's actually a *Roman* story by *Ovid.* Sorry about that!
I guess I just got confused with so many of those great old stories, and assumed that it was another one of Aesop's fables from ancient Greece that I read as a child.
Anyway, it's clear that that creep has absolutely no interest in the mythological source material that underpins Dungeons and Dragons. When the DM wove the mirror theology into the creep's character's backstory, I was sure he'd immediately realise he was being set up the way the story of Echo and Narcissus ends - with Narcissus dying while staring longingly at his own reflection. 🤣
She did him over so well by choosing to string him along for the entertainment of everyone else. That was a well executed trap that I enjoyed.
I'd love to play in a game where she is the Dungeon Master. She's obviously well read, careful, patient and meticulous. A star DM.
@@pauligrossinoz You didn't actually. Narcissus and Echo were originally found in Greek mythology, but the Romans resonated more with the story and it was more popular with them
@@pauligrossinoz If this entire story is true then its amazing, ive had my own bump ins with narcs, actually like 6 at this point, they really suck.
I would have bursted with rage ages ago. The sheer amount of patience this Dm showed is astounding.
Also imagining like, Bahamut, Tiamat and idk, Titania standing in line to bully that lesser mirror god. Grand imagery.
I'm picturing all the gods lining up to beat up Zerkek like that one scene in Airplane.
@@legomaniac213 I WAS JUST THINKING THAT! XD
Tiamat and Bahamut stopping the conflict between metallic and Chromatic dragons so this minor God could get their shit pushed in is just a hilarious concept and I need a whole story based around it
@@Green-Raccoon777I came looking for this response.
"He promised that cheating wasn't really who he was as a person and he would be different from then on"
*sees there are 25 minutes left*
Indeed, narcs never change.
I have a saying that I made "if your gonna commit a crime, don't be dumb."
@@spiderymantis4226
But there lies a conundrum.
only dumb people do crimes.
@@thereseemstobeenanerror1219 yeah, there was a serial killer that was out for over 10 years and the only reason he got caught was because he tried to forge a will
@@spiderymantis4226
That seems to be more of a lapse in judgement rather than being stupid.
"I'm technically 3 years old so they're all avaliable to me"
On what fucking dimensional timeline rift did he think that would fly.
One in which the ageing system of birds and animals was logical? Idk, it's a bot of a stretch.
One where he gets to do some disgusting stuff? Id nuke that behaviour down from orbit but the DM handled it in her own way. Cudos to her, I wouldnt be that patient...
If I were in the warlock's spot playing any kind of good character (and even some lawful evil, in fact, especially lawful evil), I would have stabbed him in the back for saying something this outrageous.
@@maxmercurythemm827 you can't play dnd without basically having fantasy murder, racism, and animal abuse so what's considered outrageous is kinda in a spectrum
Clearly in his own Mirror Maze dimension where he only sees his own reflection. :P
No matter how good a friend he may be, by the point where he says “I’m three years old technically, I can flirt with these minors” I would’ve asked him to quit or quit myself even if it’s the only group available to me because holy shit that is just creepy and uncomfortable to be around
That's why the story hits the realm of disbelief for me. The story describes a being who passed the rate of tolerance for normal people after the first two minutes.
@@LittleAlienFromMars Yeah. The story was interesting, but the longer it went the faker it became. Specially in the part that OP said. No matter how much the DM wants to "Play 4D Chess with a player to teach them a lesson" I'm 100% sure the others players would have said "No, either quit that or you leave the table this instant" at that moment. It is extremely unbelievable that the rest of the players accepted it, saw it continue, saw them force a girl to cut her face, then went on like nothing had happened it for whole sessions during weeks.
its funny how he insists his characters are of *good* alignment
bingo, absolutely no props for this DM, she is not a master of anything...a true DM would read this situation and kick him out after the pedo fest session...YOU DONT PUT OTHER INNOCENT PLAYER IN THIS CRAP!!! get rid of him....even if it causes the whole group to disband.
You don't say.
Wait so this man didn't like RPing all that much but also didn't participate in combat all that heavily? What did he even do?!
Two things: Jack and Shit.
He acted like a creepazoid, basically. :(
@@AegixDrakan I just dont get what there was to enjoy when he didn't do either
Sabotaging the game. He was fighting the only boss fight worthy of his genius, the one against the DM.
What a lunatic. If you want to fight against other people, go to pro boxing, the military or politics
Ate the snacks and wasted everyone's time
This DM sounds like a godsend.
Patient, compromising, and excellent at improvising.
On one hand - yes. On another - dropping the problem guy 3 minutes into this video is the obvious answer. There is such as thing as being too accomodating.
@@ajuc005 This way seems like a more peaceful way to educate them, you can do something with an equivalent exchange which would hopefully make them make a character that goes by the rules set but then again there are few that will keep going even after.
@@Tired.Goblin I don't know their relationship, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my effort, patience, and quality of my game to educate a man in his 30s. He can educate himself when he figures out that every group he joins drops him.
Honestly, way too patient. There was no reason to let this continue for so long.
IKR, I would have been fed up with his BS so much sooner . . .
I'm laughing at the idea of Lolth and Mielikki being all like, "Truce?" "Truce" JUST to frick over a cheating player. That is top tier comedy.
When even CYRIC thinks that you're too much...
I keep getting stuck on the fact that Asmodeus is technically a greater god within the Forgotten Realms setting. Can you imagine it? The one way this could have been any better. As the peacock hangs, caught in burning webs, the Lord of the Hells steps calmly from the flames and gazes up at him. After a few moments' considering pause, the Raging Fiend murmurs in what sounds like idle curiosity:
"When a god burns, is it holy fire?"
@@celtic2993 "Asmodeus reaches out his hand to stroke your burning feathers. Smiling as the flames dance over his fingers, he mutters "Nothing."
I would like to mention that Corellon, one of the most flighty gods, holds such a grudge against lolth for defiling their creations, that in MToF it is said that they will never forgive the elves as long as Lolth lives.
And yet both of them just call it off for a bit to beat up this bird.
Bahamut and Tiamat deciding to do a flyover with their F-16s, I mean children, I mean dragons
Okay, maybe it's just me, but I'd risk losing other players to kick that guy out (right about the point where he used his character to repeatedly target vulnerable female npc's). I'd rather purge an entire campaign with fire than keep someone like that around. She probably should have talked to her other players and seen if they actually would have left. She sounds like a super creative GM, her way of handling that was guy was pretty awesome.
You are not alone here. So much effort, so much trouble, so much time lost on thinking of the ways to stop cheating - and for what? If the group would ditch DM for getting rid of the obvious useless cheater, that group simply did not deserve such a great DM!
@RazorKeyboard That is the most mature and reasonable response.
I'm disturbed that she believed his behaviour around female NPCs - repeatedly - wasn't enough to make people stop siding with the arsehole. What kind of players are the rest, that they'd side with the guy who's being such an gross creep?
@@BlueTressym Probably the sort who buy his excuses for how it's a joke or whatever on the rare occasions he does get called out on it....
Well, thats a more mature way of handling it, than the last time i, as DM, had to deal with this type of player.
Being a 6'3" amateur MMA fighter in college, i physically removed him from my apartment, and tossed him off my landlady's porch, in what the other players referred to as 'a saloon toss'.
Everyone is informed, when joining one of my player groups, that i have a ZERO tolerance policy on power playing, rape/noncon, child/animal abuse, outside of certain plot relevant RP.
a lot of my players are survivors, since i tend to recruit new players from the survivor groups i attend.
i dont put up with this kind of crap, and i dont expect any of my players to put up with it, for the sake of the game. Open door policy. You have a problem with another player, talk to me. We will figure it out.
Imagine being a man in your thirties and cheating at DnD and board games
i am such a person... but it is more like watching another players rolls and then act as if they made it (when i know they are good in the thing they just rolled for). this leads to the person either believing it or looking at the numbers again. saved the life of our party several times... we are usually drunk when we play ^^
i know a guy like this. he's not in his thirties but he's still way too old to act the way he does in tabletop games ESPECIALLY with friends.
fondest memory is how he threw a literal temper tantrum in MTG commander over not getting a do over and how he pretty much forced everyone to play schrodinger's commander as a result.
needless to say that outburst is why i don't play with him unless it's to deliberately piss him off.
I'm in my 30s now and the secondhand embarrassment of this man cheating at this frequency is just painful. Cheating is bad enough already, but that kind of behavior should diminish with age and maturity
Imagine being a man in your thirties who "rolls" a 19 on a mathematical possibility of 4 to 10.
I too am embarrassed for this player
Having dealt with a real life narcissist, the story checks all what a narcissist would do: lie, cheat, gaslighting the DM, jealousy out of a genuine person, try to lie through to look good to other people but don't think they're responsible for the lies that they drop, project their insecurities not only to the DM but also to other people and thinking they were there to bring him down, and lastly, all their lies blow up on themselves. This is why narcissists can't handle genuine people AND why I believe this is a true story.
Oh, indeed the problem player's behaviour checks out as perfectly possible. It's the enabling from the rest of the table, the tolerance from both the narrator and the DM (and in her case, just for the sake of forcing the player to leave after literal *months* of putting up with his shenannigans), the convoluted way they arrive at a perfect resolution that sounds a bit too good to be true, and lastly the fact that they were using *online tools* and still had to wait so long to prove the player was terrible?
I don't think any story is necessarily, undoubtedly impossible, but some definitely sound more unlikely than others.
Everybody's making fun of the title, but the real gold is "drow with two smiters."
Apparently the god crab has never wielded a scimitar in dnd before lol
i just hear that and had to rewind just to make sure i hear it right
now all i can think of is the drow just carrying two tiny paladins who just cast smite on everything XD
They smited Birdman tho
At least he didn't say "ski mi ters"
I physically cringed hearing that. I've heard the word scimitar be butchered in a dozen different ways, but that was a first.
the fact that she made his problematic personality into part of his own character and then defeated but his pretty villainous character and him irl make for such amazing story
not just Character but CHARACTERS
I will definitely agree it was very imaginative writing on OP’s part
idk, dude should have been reported for being a pedo
@@thezyreick4289Reported to who? Unfortunately, the police don’t care if you’re hassling underage NPC’s in a fantasy game. It’s highly immoral, but not illegal lol
This DM pulled off a stunt I haven't seen many others successfully achieve. A round of applause to the DM.
Whenever my friend has to kick somebody out, he narrates their death. But out of all the times he has done it, it was always "god came down and slapped the shi* out of "
My DM for my first campaign had me and the party leader kill our problem players’ characters in their sleep.
God is his N°°°°°°°r I see
I wrote Neighbour. What where you thinking?
That actually happened to a player in a vid. He got struck by a bolt of lightning the DM's response? "I'm God"
Damn, you're so unfortunate. **Strikes with lightning again** I've never seen someone with luck this bad. **Strikes 3 more times** I thought lightning never struck twice, much less 5 times. **Repeat until dead**
@@FreedomAndPeaceOnly Thinking about that old santa-clause looking cringe boomer, rapping about Jesus TBH!
"You wanna cheat? Ok, now try to defeat the original OP character"
That bit had me rolling, man. It was perfect.
Absolutely destroyed.
i'm going to steal that idea for my fallout campaign i'm putting together.
"Oh you wanna cheat and be an overall douchebag in & out of character? I'm sure you and Mr. Graham are going to get along just fine."
@@xsoultillerx Just be sure to end him rightly, with Joshua Graham's Pistol Whippin' .45
"alright players hand over your sheets...hmmm yes very nice, the BBEG will enjoy these new bodygaurds, now roll me up some levels ones...with point buy."
The hint was, even with the cheating she never forced him out of the table. If he just stopped cheating, the gods would never come to beat him up.
The DM was incredibly witty and creative (the narcissist didn't stand a chance against her in that sense, not even close), but _man_ I don't think that player deserved all those chances. Now sure, it turned out alright, and the DM flawlessly destroyed him in the end, but that guy needed a therapist or something.
Mad props to the DM
While I do agree that this guy sounds like someone in serious need of psychological help, it's like crab said at the end. Friendgroups are never as simple as one ridiculous story about a problematic D&D player. They might like the guy for doing other stuff with them, but don't wanna see him at the D&D table cuz of how disingenuous he is as a player. You, a viewer and reader of one person's account of this situation, do not know anything else about this friendgroup's relationship(s) with eachother.
I think some sort of pychological problem or ailment couldd defenitly be at play here. A group of friends of mine has a player juuusssttt like this. He fudges his dice on a near constant basis. Almost as if he is compelled to do it. Is very full of himself and think he can do no wrong. Defenitly suffers from main-character syndrome. This story reminds me of him.
The player in my group is autistic though. I dont know whatever or not that causes it or makes it worse but its rough to deal with. Even when called out or when we have proof that he cheats; he plays the victim and will say we are picking on him for his autism and stuff like that. Another member of the group is also autistic and always pick his side so booting him out basicly means 2 players leave. Basicly anything directed at him that he even remotely vieuws as negative he will screach and endlessly complain about. So we stopped doing that, as it wasent worth the hassle and he wouldnt change.
Dont ask me why the DM dident boot him though, im not sure. I think the DM pitied him and wanted him to change. But he never did.
@@MastaGambit I agree to a point, especially with relatively low-stakes stuff like cheating in games, but imo 'technically I'm 3 years old so they're all available to me' is so far gone that I wouldn't feel safe around anyone who was willing to put up with it, let alone the person who said it.
@@MastaGambit nah the guys fucked. How do you get so into "role-play" that you fixate your character on threesomes and taking advantage of underage or vulnerable women. That's perverted. Sure, it's through a tabletop game but judging from the way the game was played, the rest of the group was particularly uncomfortable with it and just tried to resolve it. He needs therapy or some kind of disciplinary action, he sounds really dodgy and potentially dangerous. If I was playing with him, I'd be on the side of the DM very quickly, and any attempts at constantly pursuing sex is just creepy and I'm just gonna leave. no way you can let that shit with the underage girls slide. That's not an innocent mistake or a new player thing cus he was told and still made the choice. Guy is also a pathological lier, even when he's not playing the game. Needs therapy man, guy is awful.
Also I'm not attacking you on your opinion, just putting an argument to consider
"A drow with two smiters stepped out from the shadows"
On one hand, that's not how you say "scimitar".
On the other hand, the DM used them to smite the cheater.
I'm torn.
Smitars. they sound smitars. oh I like the idea, wait gotta homebrew a weapon now.
I too am torn between the proper pronunciation, and the way in which they were used allowing for such improper pronunciation to still be accurate to the situation...
AFAIK, there is only one drow with two scimitars... That is Drizzt. My heart soared when he stepped out. xD
What else do you expect from the guy who pronounced Iomedae "llama-day" 😂
"I'm torn." You weren't the only one xD
That is one talented DM to come up with such a backstory as the gods incarcerating him in a mortal form ON THE SPOT.
And also everything he was doing to and making those young girls do actually made me exclaim out loud what a sick fuck.
I mean, using the command spell in that way is really creepy.
Either I'm incredibly intolerant or everyone else is incredibly tolerant. In my campaigns, cheaters get one warning and then they're out. Creeps playing out any rape or sexual assault without first clearing that kind of content with the other players and DM, are also out. I can't really imagine having the level of tolerance of some of these DM's, that they let the problem player stick around for so many sessions.
Agreed 100%.
One warning, that's it. And any type of triggering material that's not pre-cleared is a hell no.
Yeah two of us in our campaign and irl have dealt with sexual assault. This story was difficult to listen to halfway through.
sex shouldn't even be part of D&D to begin with. Interactions with NPC's should only be for the sake of advancement of the campaign's plot. I guess 'flirting' can be a persuasion to get info, but never done for its own sake. What does that even accomplish?
@@7F0X7 It accomplishes the same thing in D&D as it does in movies or video games or any other form of story telling. But the point of my comment isn't to start debating opinions of what is or isn't good content. It's to point out that the content should be agreed upon by everyone participating.
The entire point of having session 0 in D&D is to establish how the game is going to be played, ask and answer questions, and come to an understanding of what the DM and players expect from each other. Deviating from that, especially into triggering content, is a huge no-no unless it's been brought up as a change beforehand. Lets not start critiquing what people do or don't enjoy in a campaign, because that wasn't the point.
Yes, it's ridiculous to allow this kind of behavior to last so long. Weaving it into the story of the game like this (assuming this is in fact a true story) was a very passive aggressive way to handle poor behavior that does a disservice to everyone at the table. An geez this video...a 5 minute story (most likely made-up) stretched out over 30 minutes!
Zerkek actually sounds like a potentially cool character! A narcissistic demigod who draws on his own blessings to use his magic is a really fun idea. Too bad he was played as an irredeemable tool bag
absolutely the character that you LOVE to HATE, He would work so well as a character in a show/movie, and it's so satisfying with how the DM absolutely played him so his character plays out exactly how she wants him to play out
I think it sucks that the player had such an awesome DM and he not only refused to redeem himself he infact; doubled down on his antics. Sometimes this approach can help people be better players and people but this guy certainly dident take the hint, lol.
Chuckling darkly. I love this DM! Not only did she craft an interesting character for the whiney cheater but she laid a VERY sadistic trap for the idiot to eventually fall into. Props and kudos to you!
Pathological liars have to be dealt with, and this was masterful, but I'm much more shocked about this cheater's friends, who not only put up with his behaviour, but also wanted him there :O
Yeah its strange, but maybe he seemed like a nice person up until then.
That was the part that baffles me still! Especially with the creepy "only makes an effort to do something to control women" pattern. D:
Gotta say, also, that the Krallus ending as meat cubes for the offspring (while dark) made a lot of sense for...having a succubus and a doppelganger as lovers. Apropo darknasss~!
This story is 100% FAKE! An its just a bad guys are cringe the novel...
@@acetraker1988 Im sure some parts are "well this is what I wish I did" but the story could easily ring truer than you think. Not everything is fake just enjoy things
@@acetraker1988 bet this guy did not know fun existed
"And he kept forgetting the baby and leaving it in buildings and alleyways"...Not sure what the complaint is here... sounds like he was playing the Mandalorian correctly
you got me w this one 💀
This was one of the things that had me doubting the story. How is the DM keeping track of where the baby got left? The player obviously isn't telling her. Similar situations, like players forgetting they have familiars, is more like the things just pop into existence at random. Though it makes perfect sense if this story is made up and the writer is thinking along the lines of the fictional baby in this fictional story of a fictional story having to be somewhere.
I suppose the DM could be overly anal about keeping track of "when combat starts, you need to put the kid down." And combat just happens to occur in a ton of buildings and alleyways. But then I'd expect she would make the kid part of the combat, which makes it harder to forget.
@@skycastrum5803 Dude what? it's not that hard to remember the location that he last had the baby and did a thing that required putting it down...
@@skycastrum5803 Or maybe the DM is a good storyteller and is adding detail to the post for dramatic effect... Have you ever told a story before?
@@CartesianDuelist Most things considered "anal" aren't hard. They're just pointless things others don't bother with, like keeping track of arrows. Making a big deal about the baby comes across as something made up. It suits the situation as a story, a narcissist forgetting a baby all the time. As an actual game? The kid is a fictional bit of fluff the DM threw in that the player wasn't too invested in.
Have I ever told a story? Sure. That experience is part of what is making me think this sounds like one. Also, if a person is "adding detail" to some experience they had, that's called "making it up." It can still be inspired by truth, but it isn't truth. Does it matter? Not really. Except perhaps to people who enjoy these stories partially due to the idea that they're true. Personally, I enjoy trying to spot the difference, and annoying those that for some reason have a strong attachment to the story's veracity.
I'm shocked, *shocked* that the guy who just issued a bunch of slurs at Drizzt and then bragged about how he was out of range of his scimitars didn't end up getting shot by Catie-Brie. You know, the Archer of the team, and Drizzt's SO.
with taumaril
Honestly one of the things that makes me either doubt the story or believe that DM is kind of dumb. Like, it's fine if you don't know fictional characters. However, if you're the DM and including them in your campaign? No way it's Drizzt that blows a gasket. He's handled racism in the books in a levelheaded manner. It would 100% be the friends who know and respect him that start putting the peacock in the dirt.
OK, true that, they said Peacock is harming his and “family, you best believe those senators are coming out, and swiftly. By the way, is this before or after the rebirth, night of the hunter, if you want to know what I’m referencing. I may have anyone was going to beat up that peacock. It would’ve been the four king with his ax. Besides, I don’t think you make sexual advances upon his wife without some form of consequence, the dark elf, not the dwarf king.
The DM LITERALLY made their spell focus a symbol of narcissism. Fucking legend. 10/10
I just can't get over an 30yr old "adult" acting like someone 1/3 his age. Its discussing, and I wonder how DM kept up with this sh*t for more than 3 minutes
Jesus christ he's worser than that
We present: Narcissism™, now in a person near you!
I'm 42 and I am mentally a much younger person. My emotional development was delayed/arrested, so I cannot identify with my peers. I relate more with people who are in their late teens to early/mid 20's. I also always related to people who were much older than myself, namely teachers. I have trouble functioning in normal social situations and my work ethic is atrocious. I have impulse control issues and I am easily manipulated. Why? Well, because i'm a big man-child.
All of this isn't to say that this players behaviour was somehow justified; It wasn't. I am merely pointing out that there are people out there who do not act anything like their age, but they might have a legitimate reason for it.
I’m never going to grow past 20 mentally.
You mean 1/10?
Honestly it’d be pretty cool to explore the character concept behind Zerkek if, instead of being an obnoxious narcissist, the mortal god turned self-worshipping cleric is SUPER self-conscious and meek. Like, they’re mortified by the fact that they have to pray to their self to use their powers & has to undergo a whole character arc about learning to love their self as much as their closest friends love them, and to let go of the self-loathing they’ve carried for years…
Okay I might have to use this idea now cause it sounds like so much fun 😅
I think a mixture between the narcissist and the meek self praying coward makes an incredibly interesting character.
The ending has a lot of story or npc potential... The Mirror Maze realm can be a Ravenloft kind of domain in term of psychological horror. That DM has so much creativity, they became my new inspiration model xd
*You find yourself lost amidst a haze, surrounded by reflections of yourself. Suddenly, a strange peacock appears behind each and every one of your reflections. He seems to be admiring his own beauty, and upon noticing your presence in his divine realm of self-worship, he becomes enraged. Roll initiative.*
On a more serious note, there is a lot of potential for something else with that mirror maze. Might take that idea and shape it for a campaign of my own.
Makes me think of the ending of Witches Abroad, from the Discworld series. A faerie godmother witch who refuses to recognize that she's evil, and abuses mirror magic like crazy, gets sucked into her own mirrors by a critical failure during a major spellcasting. Surrounded by images of herself, she meets Death. "Am I dead, then?" "THE ANSWER TO THAT IS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN NO AND YES." "How can I get out!?" "WHEN YOU FIND THE ONE THAT IS REAL." And away she runs, trying to find the real one in a panic.
Her good twin sister (the protagonist, who incidentally HATED being The Good One because she could have been so much better at being The Bad One and enjoyed the hell out of it) also got sucked in, as well. She asks the same questions of Death, and receives the same replies. "...Is this a trick question?" "NO." *She pats herself on the chest.* "This one's the real one. Right here." "CORRECT!" And she's released.
this story unironically gave me tingles, I can't wrap my head around how patient and methodical the DM had to be to lay a trap like that for a problem player, truly a sight to behold for those who experienced it
Man, this DM is amazing! So creative in how they mold the world to fit how the players want to play. That last part about the d100 for the gods every time he cheats would have honestly been fun. I might try that with different conditions, since no one I know has a cheating compulsion.
i have a different opinion....shes a bad DM...you dont put the rest of the group that doesnt want to experience playing through a pedo-fantasy through all this crap...after the commanding minors issue she should have had a private discussion with the rest of the group, and then removed him from the game. if it meant you lose multiple players, SO WHAT....
If calling out a constantly cheating player would derail the campaign, that player should have been removed from the game.
Changing ability scores once to huge values out of the blue is huge red flag and I would probably already boot the player out, but okay, maybe we shouldn't assume bad faith and that's worth a talk and telling him to play properly. Then he does it again? Nope, he's out. Don't even care who he's friends with, that's not worth my sanity or that of the good players in the group as it's disrepectful to them to keep a cheater around. To be honest I probably would have quit as a player because he was there, not the other way around, I'm more surprised that this group didn't fracture before the guy decided to quit on his own.
@@rb98769 Like crab said at the end. Friendgroups are never as simple as one ridiculous story about a problematic D&D player. They might like the guy for doing other stuff with them, but don't wanna see him at the D&D table cuz of how disingenuous he is as a player. You, a viewer and reader of one person's account of this situation, do not know anything else about this friendgroup's relationship(s) with eachother.
@@MastaGambit no way a trash player like him is any good outside of the game
@@MastaGambit Doesn't matter. That's a sign of them being shitty people if they are willing to use him for favors but won't let him join in their campaigns. The guy is a giant douche canoe but seriously.
If you're going to do the right thing you have to have integrity yourself otherwise you're in no position to say anything.
I think it's worth it to just kick the guy. You can be nice about it while also dealing with the issue. No one likes a cheater. Plain and simple.
I've worked with players that have egos to the roof. And I've done it to my own detriment, to the game's detriment, and to all of the other players detriment. Worse yet, the problem players are almost always related to me, or a central core to the game in some way.
It's never worth it.
What you have to ask yourself as the DM is very simple: " do I want to have this problem forever? Or would I rather end the problem as soon as possible even if it causes problems in the short-term?"
After my all my experience with the former issues caused by problem players, I now will always pull the trigger.
Dude I was just exhausted at the sheer effort the DM had to put in just to regulate this guy. She was basically playing for him, and even *then* it was like pulling teeth to get him to do *anything*. Kudos to GM because I would not have the patience for that
Wow. I've DM'd games with players just like this Krallus player. It is like pulling teeth. Though it's also satisfying for the other players, even the problem player's friends, to be the ones to observe the problem, then vote to kick the player out of the group..
I feel like when the hit points were being not tracked properly, I would've just kept track of them myself. Comes to That Guy's turn, and when he tries to act, I'd be so happy to inform him that he's crying in the corner over his grievous wounds and needs to make a death save. Then I'd proudly display the hit point log for all to see. This dude could've been exposed long before the campaign was severely disrupted.
Not only was she playing for him, but whenever she allowed him to do something he was trying to cheat. This mo-fo doesn't pay attention to the game accept when he's trying to pad his own stats. I'm not even sure he knows how to "win" DnD only that he wanted to break as many rules as possible. I bet if he was told that he needs a low roll to succeed a test he would fluff it into a high roll and fail it on purpose
That guy is not simply cringe. He is just a humongous creep
There’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. When it comes to DnD, ESPECIALLY if you’re a new player, you oughta be humble. It’s not in your best interest to make an OP character if you don’t even understand the rules. Ask your friends who play, for guidance.
A huge amount of players get way too cocky after they figure out the basics. Letting them knock themselves down a peg or two helps.
@@CritCrab I’m still new to DnD, and learning more as I go. I know there is so much that goes into it and for me it’s quite overwhelming at times. I get wanting to make a decently powered character, but NOT LIKE THIS!😂😭🤬
Or look up a crack guide to DnD.
@@reasonablyobsessed Meh, you’re not wrong but I do disagree. It depends on the person. Personally, it was listening to CritCrab’s stories that really made me want to start getting into DnD. My sister plays regularly and she loves it. I’ve always enjoyed playing action-RPGs like Skyrim and I even grew up playing Oblivion. But you have to dedicate time if you’re serious about learning.
I recently got into DnD and I immediately found a fun thing to do and that is make confusing characters
Oh wow, the whole mirror maze and God of reflections idea is amazing. I'll see if I can think of something akin for my campaign where I'm a DM. This DM is amazing.
A cleric god character who’s followers are the ragtag party they travel with Mayhaps?
The God Narcissus?
I heard the description of the red headed woman and thought, "there's no way she..." Saw the little bit when she named herself and thought, "Oh he dead."
Its not bad. She got him to commit to a backstory that has a huge loaded gun pointed at him, but all she had to do was play on his ego. not hard if the player's not the sharpest knife in the drawer like I think he is. Using Cattie-Brie like that was hysterical, since he was certain to look into her and not Drizzt and the other heroes.
The second she suggested that he worship himself, I knew where this was going!
She used his own stupidity and narcissistic tendencies as a rope and led him to the gallows, all while letting him think that it was his own words and actions leading him there voluntarily. Then the coup de grace was him literally pulling the lever that collapsed the floor and hanging himself with his own actions, giving him only 2 options, play without cheating or leave on his own accord.
Yeah the DM is a galaxy brain.
Yeah love how patient the dm was but she couldnt have done from the get go tbh. I get that she probably wanted to give him a chance to change his ways but it was perfectly clear from the start that it wasent going to happen :/
@@demoulius1529 The DM was going to lose the other good players if she did that because they were that close friends with the problem player. So she did this to intentionally set him up to make himself look like an ass and the players not want to have him around anymore.
To be fair, the player was asking for it.
I don't think DM would do this on anyone unless justified.
Either way for this story DM is sending a message.
@@Acejinjo Oh absolutely, and that's why it's so perfect and proof that the DM is a good DM. A good DM can weave character hooks, and even player hooks, into the story, which this DM did seamlessly, all with the end result being to either have the player stop cheating or leave without having to be kicked out. It's a long con that leads to a win win!
I actually wasn't expecting the cubed flesh of Krallus bit to come up.
Holy SHIT that was metal as hell. I can almost see the DM's evil smile, and I'm willing to bet that this creepazoid threw a massive fit over it.
"You need to make the character according to the rules everyone is following."
"If you fake a dice roll again you're off the game"
"You're off the game"
Doesn't make for as good a story, but it's fairer for everyone else.
Lol true, as much as we go "holy shit! Why didn't you kick them?!?" It wouldn't be a horror story if they did kick them correctly
Seriously this, the DM failed their other players when this tool wasn't gone after the first couple sessions
Yeah, Crab said it's not always as simple as kicking the problem out, but after warnings, repeated warnings at that, it literally is.
This passive-aggressive bullshit to make the game as unpleasant as possible for the problem player is unnecessary and childish.
Follow the "problem player chart" and all your problems are solved.
Dice rolls are annoying.
Almost all the time, you are either overpowered and crippled at the same time.
Pointbuy is the best or prefab stats.
@@lloydgush I like random combined numbers (12 numbers between 4 and 8 randomly paired). Allow two numbers to switch places for a bit of control (like a guaranteed 16 with a pairing of two 8's). Everyone will get different overall scores but won't be vastly over-under powered.
Absolutely the best DM ever. That was a Deathnote level of IQ.
That DM was clearly L's long-lost sister
"I knew you were going to do that, so I did this" levels of IQ?
But OP didn’t take a potato chip and ate it.
@@d45h69 obviously, the DM consumed dozens of kilos of chocolate and other sweets while sitting in weird positions instead
@@runtergerutscht4401 ah yea the only other possible thing they could’ve done.
I gotta agree with Crab here, this DM was awesome, and that concept of a Peacock fallen god obssessed with himself sounds like an concept way too awesome for this player.
My only thoughts are. "Hans, get ze flammenwerfer."
With the amount of times he was called out for cheating repeatedly and blatantly.
With how he proceeded to go after underage characters.
With how he proceeded to issue abusive commands to his 'worshiper'.
With how he slammed Racial slurs against Drow after metagaming.
With the amount of lying he did.
I'm surprised it took so long to get him to quit.
However I'm confused as to why they were afraid to lose a d&d group that would disband if they got rid of a cheater. If the players quit because a cheater was kicked out... good riddance?
That's what I was wondering. What did the other players see in this person? Did they like playing with someone who just zero shits about the game before him? It sounded like the only thing this player contributed to the game was causing issues for others. And if the DM kicked him, therefor reducing the amount of in game problems the players had, the other players would leave?
Hell with it, the campaign is over. If the players want to leave with them then by all means.
@@TheSmartboy64 I don't think they did, you can tell since only one player character showed up to give Krallus goodbye, it's clear they weren't having a good experience with him there. The DM seemed to be obsessed about being fair or just didn't want to antagonize that guy.
@@rb98769 People are weird I tell you. Being fair to someone who just doesn't deserve it.
@@TheSmartboy64 Well the thing is, somtimes you dont know if somone is a bad person, maybe he seemed like a nice decent guy but in reality he was a massive creep they just never had a chance to see that side of him, ive had freinds i knew for years that suddently turned to thier true side under the right circumstances, you can never know.
It is possible that the DM was worried about losing the other players, but in truth, couldn't know if that is the reality.
"When a god burns, is it holy fire?"
You know what? If a player asked me that, I'd say yes
I would have to say no. It's only holy if the god himself creates it, not if he's on the receiving end.
@@DiogoJ1
And that is why nobody plays with you, you're no fun.
This might be a weird thing to focus on, but I love the little skitter noise you have for your interjections. So cute!
If she can create that kind of story to get rid of a problem player, i wonder how good her stories are, I want to play in her games
I don't:D I Would ruin it...:D
probably very dragged out.
Play in OP’s games, they’re the one who actually came up with the story, which to be fair is pretty imaginative
honestly, zerkek sounds like a really good mini bbeg. just imagine a party finding a mirror with the handle and the back of the mirror similar to that of a peacock tail feather and a party member released him, promising them that they will be the most well liked person in the world if they released him
Congratulations for winning the award for "Worst Pronounciation of Scimitar." This is truly an achievement.
To be fair, "smiter" in context is _quite_ apropos.
0:23 "The first red flag appeared before the very first session"
Y'all gotta learn how to stop right then and there. If the red flags are showing up before the game even starts, get out while the getting's good and don't look back. You'll save yourself a lot of grief.
Totally agree with you, don't know why people especially GM's put up with this kind of behaviour.
I understand that. I'm DM'ing & Karen starts an irl argument, mid session, once its squashed, she tried to take it out on friendly npc's. Her friend & I stopped her & asked why she was talking in an elevated tone and starting every sentence with "Oh yeah?" & ending it with "How bout that? Harumph!" She continued to make excuses until I called her the next morning & warned her that if she puts up 1 more red flag, she's gone. From then on, she was cool.
I mean, it's typically way easier to spot red flags either in retrospect or as an observer. What's that saying? Most people in horror movies are dumb because they don't know they're in a horror movie? It's like that. You're not going to be on guard if you don't think you have to be.
Me when I hear "Dawnbreaker: A NEW HAND HAS TOUCHED THE BEACON
S T A S I S
LISTEN AND OBEY, A FOUL DARKNESS HAS SWEEPT IN MY TEMPLE
@@kiophoenix A DARKNESS THAT *YOU* SHALL DESTROY!
RETURN MY BEACON TO MOUNT KILKREATH....
AND I WILL MAKE YOU THE INSTRUMENT OF MY CLEANSING LIGHT.
I was SO happy to see Drizzt appears and kick his butt...my boy punished a cheater! 😂
I am glad I found someone else who loves this guy. As much as I do, I have dumped him my lavender eyed friend. Dictation doesn’t like Elvin names, or any names for that matter and since I dictate 95% of my messages, this is how it must be. Therefore circumlocution
This guy wouldn't have lasted one session at my table. If you can't play by the rules, you can't play with us. Good day sir. Never be afraid to interrupt the game and tell a player to leave if they're this much of a disaster.
Sadly not every friend group thinks this way. For instance I watch a rust admin whos YT channel is dedicated to messing with cheaters, shaming them, and banning them. And often their friends will literally ride and die with him them, even if its blatant cheating RIGHT in front of them. And argue with him, the admin. Which is why rust servers not only punish cheaters but anyone who plays with them knowingly.
Friend groups are complicated messes, and you don't always get the option to remove someone as you'd like. In this case too many players would've left. So she basically handed him the rope, and with patience, cunning, and a beast story-writing ability let the dude hang himself.
Depending on the group perhaps
Real ones were here when the title was ||D&D story
commenting here for proof
Yup
Fr
For sure
;-;
The image of a peacock man being violently mauled by not only Drizzt FUCKING Do’Urden but his Panther friend was just hilarious!
Edit: did the player ever find out that Krallus was essentially dead? Did he want to try and bring the character back only to find out the God’s got their revenge?
Edit 2: I actually found out on Reddit, apparently the guy tried resurrecting him by saying “Krallus was a clone” using some really strange. DM still said no! 😆
Some smiters do use scimitars to smoothly slice down their slandering seditionist foes. Though it was funnier for the character to be knocked unconscious by someone plucking a feather out of their tail.
Nice to have a happier/funnier story to cleanse the pallet after the recent more serious stories, keep up the good work CritCrab.
I actually once played a rather unconventional paladin who used a scimitar as part of a dual wielding setup... So that weapon *was* in fact a smiter.
This is how an expert DM with the patience of a saint deals with a problem player. It all worked into the narrative flawlessly.
I am no saint. If someone cheats that consistently in a game, they get called out then removed from the group. No matter how chummy the cheater is with the rest of the table, I'd disband a whole campaign to stop dealing with these sort of shenanigans.
Yeah there's a point where patience ceases being a virtue and starts being a vice
Being patient with cheaters is disrespectful to everyone else at the table.
This dm sounds awful honestly, like no control over the game what so ever
@@sephy26946 patience is always a virtue never a vice, it’s the kindness/diplomacy/etc the DM had that’s a vice.
@@Aeternus75 any virtue can become a vice
That DM is amazing. We'd all be lucky to have a DM as skilled and creative as her.
Zerkek was such an apt character and I'm so impressed at the DM for making the character, and the other kind of impressed that the player just... Didn't see the mirror in his hand for what it was.
The worst narcissists tend to be incredibly dense
@@zynet_eseled I imagine it was the cognitive dissonance loop he trapped himself in
@@JokingThief por que Los dos?
The mirror maze with a wandering peacock ruler/prisoner would make a badass dread plain
The Mists rise.... welcome to the Mirror Maze of Zerkek
Imagine a mirror maze as a dungeon/punishment for a character with self-esteem issues.
@@Uriolu well... there is sort of something like that in a Candlekeep Mysteries module for 5e, called The Price of Beauty.
I'm happy I've never met anyone that narcissistic in my life. That DM is a total boss for how she handled him.
I personally find it enjoyable that he chose peacock. Look at the symbolism: all flash, no substance.
That's most birds but true.
I used to have a Peacock Aaracokra Monk and I disagree >:C
Idk why but I immediately thought of zues after hearing the peacock
@@Trontato Well peacocks were associated with HERA, Zeus's wife, so it's not an illogical leap.
The only complaint is zerkek being able to fly quick enough to escape drizzt. Peacock's tails weigh them down so much that often times they get killed by tigers in the wild before they can get off the ground
If it comes down to playing with a cheater or not playing, I’m not playing. Crabs, you’re a mensch for choosing diplomacy, but if I catch someone cheating they’re dead to me. They don’t respect me or the game.
Exactly!
Why try to do the job their parents should be doing? Social isolation should be punishment enough.
Love that the DM made him a flamboyant, narcissistic, gay peacock man and the dude didn't even bat an eye
The way he acted towards Drizzt... my jaw dropped. One of my favorite characters, along side the rest of his friends. Just... that player. My friends and I play using D&D beyond and roll 20. We are all open about our rolls, and except for some perception checks from NPCs with the DMs, we see all of them. (It helps especially with me playing a halfling divination wizard to be able to counter those pesky NPC attacks or save twice a long rest. hehe)
Frankly, at that point I expected *Cattie-Brie* to be the one to kick the shit out of that player. It's not like she isn't incapable of beating most guys.
@@lenlimbo she absolutely would
Think alot of characters would do just that. But the DM probably expected the player to know who Drizzt was and wanted to see his reaction? He got just what he deserved :D
That DM is 9 dimensions ahead of everyone. Amazing.
This man has never heard the word scimitar spoken aloud.
The certain weakness thing is a GREAT idea.
Look at Superman. Originally... he could only lift a tank and nothing short of a shell could hurt him. He jumped high, and could not fly and had X-Ray vision. Around the same time he could lift aircraft carriers, could fly, got heat vision, and superbreath, was the same time they introduced kryptonite. When he started to be able to survive in space- red sun weakness. Once he could time travel and universe hop... they created the magic weakness.
he could what?
@@lilgamer7138 From the late 40s to early 1980s, Superman's powers went a little overboard. He could survive in the vacuum of space. He could travel faster than light, like The Flash, allowing him to travel through time and across multiverse. The whole debate over if Superman is faster than The Flash comes from this period.
When Superman's power level was nerfed in 1986 (something I'm still mad they mostly restored over the years) they never brought Superman back to his full speed. In the modern era, it's a stupid question. Any Superman and Flash race since 1986 is like that Mythbusters episode Toy Car vs. Dodge Viper. Flash wins, no contest.
Wasn't cryptonite only introduced to explain the change in Superman's voice in the radio show since they got a new voice actor?
But yea, Superman is one of the best examples of power- creep.
@@valentinmitterbauer4196 No. Bud Collyer took a week off and they brought it into the radio show at that point. However, Siegel and Shuster were working on a story for the Newspaper comic strip about 'K-Metal'. The radio show was actually adapting a story that had no yet seen print. A story that was finished decades later because Siegel got drafted. What remains of that story wasn't published for decades, after Siegel was forced to by financial hardships to return to DC after his first failed attempt to get royalties.
During the war, Superman stories were written in bulk. (IE: Sometimes they had 10-15 issues worth of stuff sitting in a drawer.) Action Comics and Superman were both anthology titles. This led to the first 'official' Kryptonite story to get published until six years later. Siegel's K Metal story was plotted for the newspaper strip originally and was thus close to a 30 page story in its own right. In those days comics maybe have been 50 pages, but they tended to be spread out among 5-8 features.
That is literally the coolest character I've ever heard. Too bad it was wasted on this player.
I also love the idea of them having this elaborate plan and as soon as the warlock walks in Zerkek (absorbed in his own narcissism) immediately blows their cover
I highly agree, Zerkek sounds like a very interesting character. I’d love to see that kind of backstory on a humble character also, that sounds interesting. Maybe he’d give himself a different name to his sleeping god within him and now I want to write another character
Honestly even on an arrogant character that sounds like a fun time, I'm picturing something like Zeus from dota 2
@@alejandrorivas4585 that learns humility via the experience of being human
Yes I know this is just Trials of Apollo
@@inkfae9916 lmao you said it not me
Basically in a nutshell, Zerkek without the narcissist making him
The DM is just the best. I'd love to be in that group, if only for her to own the problem player to Kingdom Come.
Although the "peacock fallen god of mirrors and reflections" sounds like a great character idea and so does their domain. Had it not been for a brat of a player, it would make for some excellent story arcs.
And yet, she indulged him even after everything he did.
At a point it crosses from patience to stupidity.
Dang. I was expecting this to end the same way it usually does. With a heated argument, and the problem player getting banned.
This DM, whoever she is, is clearly Legendary Status.
As a new DM, I hope to be half this good someday.
the reference she made are fantastic I can't believe she got him to roleplay the narcissistic flaw that hard without realizing the degree she was poking fun at him.
Whos this dm!? I'll give 509 shmeckles to be apart of their game! But in all seriousness, props to dm's who work with players on backgrounds.
Agreed.
The only thing I’m not a fan of is coddling cheaters to that extent. Fun Fact: It's not your job to teach kids how to behave. Just kick them out and let them sort their stuff out.
You're already apart from their game, and it cost you 0 schmeckels
@@Lobsterwithinternet I would say it wasn't coddling so much as keeping a leash on the prick. With great ideas as well. Coddling would be caving to all his OP power fantasies.
@@TowerArcanaCrow This problem player was close friends with other players, I think the actual issue was that people would try to leave if this player was kicked out.
Ok. That last part was this best shit EVER! That was an amazing way to slam the problem player out! Slightly sad that we didn't get any more from that to see what gods the god of narcissisms would try to fight.
I wanna see a campaign in within this realm that Zerkek created where heroes enter to fight the "god", defeat him, and escape.
His strategy that he had a week to come up with being racism made me laugh waaay more than I should have
Thank you for covering this story! The saga of Zerkek’s downfall is one of my favorites and I’m glad it has the opportunity to reach more people!
I can see why
Main character complex stories in dnd are always so funny to me because I have the opposite problem. I have an interesting character, and several DMs have made my character such an essential part of the lore that I just leave. I hate when no one else in the story is relevant. I want to be an interesting member with my own personality and past, but DMs constantly decide to expand their lore from mine just because my lore is more comprehensive. That said, I don’t want to be forced to change my character just to join a campaign that isn’t about me
"Really didn't do much beyond participating in threesomes and accidentally destroying the village of Phandelver."
Please tell me Phandelver was destroyed as a result of one of the threesomes. That's the only way that bit of information would be entertaining and not disgusting.
Sometimes no D&D is better than bad and frustrating D&D. I applaud how she had so much patience to play with his shenanigans for so long.
This story seems SO incredibly fake - like, every. single. horror story trope is methodically hit on; who even is the narrator/OP in this story and what part did they play; every single detail story beat happens to relate to the cheater, the DM or their issues; the other players are essentially nonexistent except insofar as is necessary to move the story forward… I can go on and that’s not even getting into how comically exaggerated the guy’s trespasses are or how the story just… frankly comes across like it was written as fiction.
That said, still entertaining, and had some funny ideas. Pretty creative compared to some of the other fake stories, honestly. I’m almost glad OP didn’t insult our intelligence by throwing in a bunch of details to make us believe it’s real.
Funnily enough, I can think of another D&D character who fits the description of a peacock bedecked, purple hedonist, and he'd have gone to town on Zerkek with two scimitars as well. Long May He Reign.
All this aside, the words "When a god burns, is it called holy fire?" IS MY FAVORITE SENTENCE OUT OF IT ALL. also props to the DM she's amazingly perceptive and clever
As witty as the DM is, I genuinely cannot give any props.
Why in the everloving fuck would you want to keep a player that
- has repeatedly cheated
- has repeatedly lied
- has repeatedly ignored "the talk"
- has repeatedly roleplayed his fetish-fueled rape fantasy
- has repeatedly demonstrated to be unwilling to change on any of the aforementioned points
This isn't a dude you need to outsmart. This isn't the place for Machiavellian schemes. This is a cut and dry situation of "You're not welcome in this group. Leave."
I don't get how any of the other players would put up with him and even consider him a friend
It turned into another "To Catch a Predator" episode, but this time thankfully only ingame.
It's pathetic how these utter wretches of a player just swallow the most obvious bait...and this one didn't even play into the DM's plan, he just shot himself in the foot repeatedly and then bashed it to a pulp with the gun when he run out of bullets.
I find it hilarious to try and imagine what the in-game characters were thinking. Their idiot birdman teammate needs his ass saved... _again_
As a narcissist, I can confirm that I don't project my behavior onto others because everything I do is praiseworthy and I'm not gonna praise others for things they didn't do. Besides, projecting is stupid and I'm very smart. (This comment serves no purpose other than to brag about my narcissism.)
EDIT: 1 like from a genius. (me) I'm famous!
I didn't know the titles were decided upon later
In critcrab world, we are too lazy for title
@@CritCrab mood
@@CritCrab what a hero