(Any) Your most annoying player...

[Kurrel]

Wow. Some of those sound like they could end friendships.

Closest I've got is a player who will shoot down everyone else's ideas as "stupid" and over analyze every situation until someone just charges straight into the encounter out of frustration.

When, as sometimes happens, it then goes bad, he will say with satisfaction, "I told you so".

[Myou]

The chance of rolling at least 1 natural 20 in 10 rolls is actually 40.1%.




Oh hey, someone else got it right. But that should be (1 - (0.95)^10). and is at least 1 natural 20. Which is the probability you stated, but not what you wrote down

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Luckily for me its easy to plan around what my most annoying player is likely to do, and be ready for his stupidity. Luckily as well, I tend to game with mature people and don't actually suffer problems.

Can you explain the logic behind that maths?

[Chrono22]

Well, typically the most annoying players I have are my two closest friends. They can be infuriating, stubborn, bold, and impolite but cunning, correct, artful and convincing simultaneously.

I'd say the worst person I've ever had to DM would be this guy:
so, I'm DMing at Indycon (an anime convention that sprung up last fall), and some new players show up at my table. I explain the rules, and we begin character creation. So, about half an hour later, halfway through character creation and a basic explanation of the rules, this guy shows up. He's extremely fat, he smells, and he has very thick glasses. He sits down and starts unpacking his things. When he notices me staring at him for an explanation, he lets out a bunch of unintelligible noise. I ask him to repeat himself, and once again he makes strange sounds at me. It then dawns on me that his slurring, mumbling, stuttering, and lack of emphasis is how he communicates.
He then tries to pass off a character he brought as his own. Supposedly it was a dwarven cleric, but the sheet was indecipherable. It was also a level higher than the game I was DMing, so I had him make a character. I asked him if he needed help. He said he didn't need help, he was a pro. I shrugged and let him do his thing, and I finished my explanations of the rules and classes.
He interrupts me several times to point out my "mistakes" and to tell the players how things really work. His explanations were flat out wrong. Not only did they contradict the rules, they contradicted basic logic. The other players visibly winced at some of his suggestions- that's got to tell you something.

At this point, I'm thinking this guy has to be mentally challenged (turns out I was wrong- he was just an idiot). So, I chalk it up to a learning experience and proceed with the game. He basically doesn't participate throughout it. That's just creepy, to me. That you go out of your way to join a game, just to sit, watch, and listen to the other people around you.

Well, I don't DM at conventions anymore. I don't find it fun, and I definitely have better things to do than to deal with incompetents like that fellow. It just really puts a damper on my fun when I have to slow things down for one person, and explain ad nauseam to no effect.

[vegetalss4]

Can you explain the logic behind that maths?

sure.
the change of not getting a natural 20 with one dice roll is 0.95
this means that the odds of not getting one, with 2 dice rolls is 0.95*0.95 = 0.95^2 = 0.9025 (since we need the roll combinations where neither of the rolls give us a 20)
if we then extend this to 10 rolls we get

0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95 = 0,95^10 = 0,598737
as the odds of NOT getting a natural 20, there fore the odds of getting at least one 20 is 1-0,598737 = 0,401263, which then was presented in % and rounded off to get 40,1%

[chaos_redefined]

Wow. Some of those sound like they could end friendships.

Mine sort-of did, but it was the fact that he kept making excuses for stuff that did it in the end. In the past, he had told people a major secret, and the basic premise of why I ended up being ok with it was that he thought I had told people already (and therefore it wasn't a secret) and it didn't turn out bad. But, with the excuses he was making both in-game and out-of-game at the time, I started to draw suspicion on the fact that he thought I had told people. Best argument in his defense was, essentially, the boy who cried wolf, so I don't speak to him anymore.

[Leon]

CE: Barbarian Thri-krinn.
DM (ME) ok, you all enter the shady tavern, the barman is a halfling who is...
BTK: A halflingt?
DM yes a halfling, so as I was saying....
BTK: I Rage, charge him and start eating him!
All: What?
BTK: I hate halflings, so I eat him.
DM: Ok.. make a grapple checks
BTK: For what?
DM: to grapple the halfling
BTK: But I don't want to grapple him, I want to eat him.
DM you need to grapple him before you can eat him.
BTK: oh right (pass grapple checks) now I eat him.
ME

Doesn't know his Thri-Kreen well - they like to eat elves

[Totally Guy]

He never stops looking at his laptop. And always has a really good reason for using it...

[Kesnit]

From some nWoD Vampire games.

Mr. Paranoid:

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Although we aren't sure, we think he is somewhat paranoid IRL. We do know all of his characters have a touch of paranoia. Paranoia is not a bad think in WoD, but it can get very annoying when taken to extremes. We went through several sessions where the ST was throwing out plot hooks that the party was unable to follow up on because Mr. Paranoid kept telling us to investigate more / it's a trap / this is too easy / etc. Finally I got fed up and just ignored his character and did what I wanted to do. When I found information, I took it to the other non-paranoid character and we started following up on the hook, completely ignoring Mr. Paranoid.

After that session, the ST took Mr. Paranoid aside and asked him to tone it down. He did for one session, then realized his character has no personality if he isn't paranoid, so he rerolled. (We have not played with the rerolled character yet, so I don't know what he'll be like.)

I'm Useless In and Out of Combat:

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The DM had to take a break from gaming because of RL. Each of us took a turn running short campaigns until one guy decided to run a nWoD Vampire game. (Different game from above.) Mr. Useless is a major optimizer (or thinks he is) in D&D, so he built a character that he thought would be a combat powerhouse. He built a Gangrel who fought with swords, rather than his claws. On the surface, there is nothing wrong with this. There is no rule that Gangrel HAVE to use Protean, and swordfighting is a valid combat style. Except he didn't take any of the fighting styles with swords. He also dumped Socials, which, again, is not a horrid thing to do. What it did, however, was literally make him a one-trick pony. All he could do was attack with his sword, and he wasn't very good at that, either. Plus, WoD is not combat heavy, and we would go through multiple sessions without seeing combat. He spent a lot of time just sitting at the table, watching us RP. Because, did I mention he is a really bad role-player?

(Before anyone accuses me of using the Stormwind Fallacy, just because it is called a '"fallacy" does not mean it is not true at times. He really was a roll-player who could not role-play.)

[Drascin]

My most annoying players are simply the guys who sometimes decide to just... not appear. Or call me saying "hey, I won't be going to the game today" twenty minutes before our scheduled start. If it was for important reasons, it wouldn't really bother me - but it's generally because someone else called them to hang out. I ask them if they just don't like the game or find it boring, but no, they insist they love it, and when they ARE there they seem to have plenty of fun.

Apparently the fact that I will keep GMing and the game will be there next week for them is taken completely for granted, which I will admit annoys me to no end, and have said as such. Sigh .

[AvatarZero]

I'm always afraid that I'm this person to other people.

Seconded. I'm also afraid that you're this person to other people.

But seriously, how many of these annoying players actually got told about what they were doing and how it was affecting other people? I'm always worried that the other people at the table will be harbouring some horrible grudge for something I didn't realise I was doing wrong. Then I end up second-guessing myself, not relaxing, and not actually enjoying spending time at the table. Does anyone else feel that way?

[AtwasAwamps]

I’ve told mine a few times to calm the hell down, from both sides of the table. In games I’m running, I’ve told him flat-out that his interpretations are wrong, that I have references that state he is wrong, and that if he wants to argue rules with me, he’s more than welcome to, but please hold it till after the game and make sure he has a source that he’s sure of before coming to me for the sake of keeping a game going.

When we’re both playing in a game together…well, right now, I’m just making one hell of an effort to get our groups working cohesively. I’ll get to him eventually. Right now I’m more worried about the party rogue and swashbuckler who wander off to take on CR 9 challenges by themselves while the rest of the party drowns to death, which require my paladin/crusader to A) SAVE THE ENTIRE GODDAMN PARTY and then B) RUN AFTER THEM AND SAVE THEIR BUTTS. I’ll get to annoying player ticks once I’ve got them in line.

[Boci]

Come to think of it, I've got a story, but its about a DM and he's criminally insane, not annoying. Does it still wualify for this thread?

[Mystic Muse]

He never stops looking at his laptop. And always has a really good reason for using it...

Well, he might have his character sheet on it, or a less legal D&D resource. In which case him looking on his computer makes sense. But I'd guess if that was the case you probably wouldn't be complaining.

Come to think of it, I've got a story, but its about a DM and he's criminally insane, not annoying. Does it still wualify for this thread?

well, other people have posted a worst DM. So go ahead and reveal your horror stories.

[LibraryOgre]

I'm always afraid that I'm this person to other people.

I'm not. I know I am at times (like when I was doing everyone's math for them out of impatience).

[Saint GoH]

He never stops looking at his laptop. And always has a really good reason for using it...

I cannot stand that... Half in, half out of the game. Always asking "Wait what? What happened? Can you say that again?"


NO MORON I ALREADY SAID IT 3 TIMES PAY ATTENTION!

[Boci]

One of the DMs in my University's role playing society nearly got us shut down after an incident. He told everyone but one player (who was female) to leave them room, then backed her into a corner whilst describing how her character was raped. Naturally he has not been able to run any games since and yes, the girl's boyfriend did kick the living s*** out of him.

[Mystic Muse]

Seconded. I'm also afraid that you're this person to other people.

I shall Strike you down and grind your bones into dust.C'mon. say "If you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you can ever imagine"

But seriously, how many of these annoying players actually got told about what they were doing and how it was affecting other people? I'm always worried that the other people at the table will be harbouring some horrible grudge for something I didn't realise I was doing wrong. Then I end up second-guessing myself, not relaxing, and not actually enjoying spending time at the table. Does anyone else feel that way?

I told my player several times that what he wanted was completely unbalanced and that I wouldn't be able to deal with it. He eventually listened

[VirOath]

Well, I know I am at times. Good example is I'm usually one of the last to update their characters, and often just before the session starts. Now, in my defense I'd like to say that our gaming group has 3 DMs and plays twice a week on average, alternating which campaign is being run to allow everyone to play and give people plenty of time to add to the campaign. This also gives a wide variety of DM styles and I believe helps us all improve. And, I'm normally quick about it as I have an idea of what my character is looking for.

And, I'm going to rant a bit here. Sneak Attack Fail:

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Also, when the DM tells us how something works, I end up asking if he is sure about that and explain both RAW and RAI. I do believe that GM's Word Is Law, but I'd like them to make informed choices on these matters. Then again, this might be a case of Horrid GM choices, as the cases that I can remember the best was ruling Sneak Attack to only work on targets denied their dex with a house rule that flatfooted only happened by conditions and during a surprise round (Which was nearly impossible to obtain. The GM later said that he thought of sneak attack as written to be OP, as two rogues could sneak up on a character and get a full round of sneak attacks in each and kill anyone outright.)

Druid Fail:

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Another case was a DM ruling that Druids could never willing touch any metal, ever, or else lose their druid abilities. At about the time I was actually getting the itch to play a druid no less. I just remembered the ruling for if he throws a pack of druids at us, attacking with Wildshape would be hitting us, hitting our armor, our metal armor. Yup, I'd argue that they just lost all druid powers right in the middle of combat.

Encounter Design Fail:

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And just because it annoyed the crap out of me when it happened. I was playing a Sorc, a group of Anti-Caster mobs (insane SR for CR, with the ability to store spells stopped by SR and cast them themselves, WoW RPG with Homebrew really) outnumbered the party. No checks were allowed to see what they were as they were machines (And only the NPC had that knowledge skill), and of course they decided to divide themselves equally among the party, with the extras thankfully going to the meatshields this time (Random rolls for them, "Call out a number!"). So of course, with my lowly 6 Sorc getting high on Init, I decide to hit them with something to slow them down. And of course, I don't get past the 23+ SR on them, and eat my own spell on my next go as well as getting charged. Literally one more round from dropping, I do the only option I have. A nice big illusion to draw attention away from myself. And for my trouble? All of them rush over to charge me at once. My character was dead the moment that encounter hit the field, the damage just hadn't been rolled. And I was avoiding playing a Batman character.

And just general annoyance:

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And, to top it off, one of the players that is in our DM cycle has a bad habit of just flat out ignoring me. Talking over me, not listening. Worst case of this was when we ended up arguing for three minutes over the fact that a spell didn't affect me, and I wanted to know how. Got told that I needed to pay more attention, that the AoE buff another player gave made everyone immune. Then, having to explain to him that I wasn't in range of that because I did a flying divebomb charge over 200ft in the first round of combat before anyone else got to act (This was an insanely high powered campaign of his own house rules), and of course everyone at the table was backing me on that. Mind you, I was actually having more fun after he conceded than before as it was an Insanity spell, on a Whirling Frenzy Barbarian.

Yeah, I needed to rant.

[LibraryOgre]

One of the DMs in my University's role playing society nearly got us shut down after an incident. He told everyone but one player (who was female) to leave them room, then backed her into a corner whilst describing how her character was raped. Naturally he has not been able to run any games since and yes, the girl's boyfriend did kick the living s*** out of him.

Wow. Do you have his name and address so I can kick the living **** out of him?

[AtwasAwamps]

Wow. Do you have his name and address so I can kick the living **** out of him?

Seconded. And thirded. Look, I got a lot of free time.

[Mystic Muse]

Seconded. And thirded. Look, I got a lot of free time.

fourthded.

[Gametime]

He never stops looking at his laptop. And always has a really good reason for using it...

I've got one of those. He's a fine player, usually, although he did make the mistake, last campaign, of thinking that +1 effects to magic weapons like flaming also increased attack and damage by +1. By the time we realized that, he had a +8 weapon with several extra enchantments on it. We all had a good laugh about that.

Anyway, like I said, he's normally fine. Not a great roleplayer, but decent. The problem is that when he gets bored, he'll just completely zone out for minutes at a time. He'll start arranging miniatures into formations, or playing an RTS on his laptop, or something else that is completely unrelated.

Usually, we just let him be confused when he jumps back in. One incident in particular, though, was hilarious.

We were playing Star Wars (Saga Edition, I think), and had just been captured by the Big Bad's Dragon. We were cornered, with no hope of fighting our way out, when a pirate captain NPC literally crashed his ship through the side of the base we were in. In the confusion, we jumped onto the ship and managed to fly off. It was simultaneously the most ridiculous and most awesome thing that has ever happened to us.

Anyway, the captain is helping us to flee when some of the bad guys catch up to us. The captain holds them off, and gets mortally injured in the process. He starts to give a few dying words when the aforementioned player - who has been fiddling with action figures during this dramatic scene - grabs a Jabba the Hutt model, makes a swooping motion towards the captain's miniature, and yells "CHARGE! AWOOHOOHOOHOOHOO!"

We were silent for about a minute before asking him where the %$&# THAT came from. It was the most inexplicable thing he has ever done, and was pretty grating at the time since it ruined the moment of what had been a really tragic scene.

Now, we all think it's hilarious, and AWOOHOOHOOHOOHOO has become our official battle cry.

[Myou]

sure.
the change of not getting a natural 20 with one dice roll is 0.95
this means that the odds of not getting one, with 2 dice rolls is 0.95*0.95 = 0.95^2 = 0.9025 (since we need the roll combinations where neither of the rolls give us a 20)
if we then extend this to 10 rolls we get

0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95*0,95 = 0,95^10 = 0,598737
as the odds of NOT getting a natural 20, there fore the odds of getting at least one 20 is 1-0,598737 = 0,401263, which then was presented in % and rounded off to get 40,1%

Oh, I see where I was confused, using 0.05*0.95^9 gives the odds of a 20 followed by 9 non-20 results.
Thanks.

[Boci]

Wow. Do you have his name and address so I can kick the living **** out of him?

Seconded. And thirded. Look, I got a lot of free time.

fourthded.

Well with me that makes four of us. I recommend we cover him in tar, throw a load of feathers on him, give him half a minutes head start in the form of him being chucked down the hill at Seaton Park, and then commence hunting down the owlbear that has been terrorizing the locals.

[Pechvarry]

He never stops looking at his laptop. And always has a really good reason for using it...

Strongly considering unplugging the cable connecting my modem to router on geek days. I think having no Internet but still being able to share character sheets and resources could go far.

[Morph Bark]

One of my friends insists that Fighters are equal to Wizards. He genuinely believes that you can build a fighter equal to a wizard. It's gotten to the point where our next session will kick off with a showdown between me as a sorceror 20 and him playing a fighter 20. I think I may be looking forward to this too much.

Oh, you can build a Fighter that is equal to a Wizard, but the Fighter will be a really good Fighter and the Wizard will be a lousy Wizard.

[Tinydwarfman]

Oh, you can build a Fighter that is equal to a Wizard, but the Fighter will be a really good Fighter and the Wizard will be a lousy Wizard.

Oh yeah, just look at all those wizard who only prepare heightened hold portal in their 9th level slots.

On topic: Our worst players is our DM. Has a bit of a temper. But after that, probably this guy who comes every week with his Ipad, requires other people to build competent characters for him, and often has to be alerted to when his turn is. But he is really nice and always plays support character, so he's fine to play with. I actually like building characters for him. I just have to remember not to give him too many option that he could forget about.

[Skorj]

Oh yeah, just look at all those wizard who only prepare heightened hold portal in their 9th level slots.

If only Gandalf had thought to do that, he wouldn't have needed to tank down that Balrog.

[arrowhen]

The one who brought over *twenty* books to my core-only game and went through them one by one asking if he could use this class or that feet... and this after saying how he thought going back to core-only would be a refreshing change of pace.

[Mystic Muse]

The one who brought over *twenty* books to my core-only game and went through them one by one asking if he could use this class or that feet... and this after saying how he thought going back to core-only would be a refreshing change of pace.

What you hear "It sure would be fun to do a core only game"

What he means. "Hey, everybody besides me should be restricted to only core"