Getting kicked out of the party

[The Glyphstone]

Overall: Like a lot of people here you are merely changing what I said to support your arguement, I really dont know what else to say as you abandoned the thread, wish I could do the same really.

Why can't you abandon the thread? Every post you make just alienates people further, you've already stated that the RL situation has resolved itself amicably, and you've insistently repeated that you couldn't care even one tiny bit what random people on the internet think about you, so why keep returning to try and sway us?

[Tyndmyr]

They had a game, and Sir Prick was only supposed to be around till they got where they're going. Logic suggests that they got another tag-along in their last session and its not the same character whatsoever.

That's what my assumption was. I admit, the possibility of the second tag-along being equally bad does exist, and I'm a bit biased towards expecting it based on the first one being bad...but it's not guaranteed to be the same, of course.

Here again, noticed the thread is still alive (Is his plan really to update events as they go on?)

Anyway, to make it clear. I had intended to drop the NPC after -one- session of him ordering them around, although I dont really see a reason to tell players what is and what is not going to happend in the future, Eric has made it clear himself that he doesnt want plot spoiled so I cannot comment when he asks me whenever an NPC is gonna tag along or not.

The NPC travelling with them is 20 years old.

The NPC travelling with them is doing so after being taken in by the two assigned party leaders (A Cleric and a Paladin) So she is by no way a replacement to Adrian as she has an entirely different purpose in the plot than he does. And yea, I do have a story planned out for next game Eric (Did you really expect I didnt?)

But this thread seems to have become -talkaboutwhatshapenninginsidethegame thread- I believe it has outlived its original purpose. Which, even if it wasnt -complain about the DM time- A lot of people here sure made it into one.

I suggest looking at plot as something much less prescriptive. There seems to be fairly little player direction taking place in the plot.

As an example, one of my current groups managed to finagle a squad of gnolls into working for them. This was entirely unplanned, and was a result of them
A. Going through a dungeon in a different order than originally intended(multiple entrances/exits).
B. Killing the gnolls boss before encountering the gnolls.
C. Managing to safely talk with the gnolls.
D. Bribing the hell out of them.

Now, the gnolls have since been the source of much hilarity and RP, but a small squad of henchmen was something never really written into the plot, and if I'd constrained player actions and directed them along what I considered the proper path to be, such unexpected benefits would never have happened.

It's true that there's a bit more work required to enable this, but the payoff is definitely worthwhile. The same is true of adjusting the game to suit player preferences. Fun, happy players make for a vastly more enjoyable game for you, and they will contribute much better things to the plot. After all, if you wanted to write a plot entirely by yourself, you'd just write a book, right? The entire point of getting a group together is the collaboration. Everyone's a part of the plot.

(also, thanks, all of you, for the kind words)

Edited to add in the following response.

I know this type of person from personal experience. I used to work for one, and it did not end well.

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- This type of person discounts the opinions of others, because he/she believes himself/herself to be much better at knowing other people's opinions (and what's good for them) than those other people do themselves.

- If someone disagrees with him/her, he/she believes that this person simply does not comprehend the his/her brilliant vision.

- People who will persist in disagreeing with him/her, are perceived as destructive forces who actively seek to harm or discredit him/her.

- This type of person tends to be preoccupied with status.

- He/she considers himself/herself an authority on absolutely everything. (e.g. "I don't need to listen to the doctor's advice, because I know my own body a lot better.") It's one-way communication, all sending and no receiving.

- He/she seeks to surround himself/herself with yes-men, who look up to him/her and agree with everything he/she says. If any of these followers stop agreeing, he/she considers them "a disappointment", and tends to cut off contact with them.

- The more you try to convince such a person of anything, the less likely this person is to take the advice. Because being convinced by someone else runs counter to their own self-image as someone who always knows best.

- He/she believes he/she never makes mistakes. If something goes wrong, it's always someone else's fault. This person will NEVER admit being wrong about anything.

- Despite all these negative traits, such a person usually has above-average charisma and social skills, and is quite capable of attracting people to his/her vision.

This is the narcissist.

This isn't really narcissistic as such, though there's a certain correlation. You're looking at sociopathy, there. I hesitate to bring up the term, because of all the connotations, but that's the label you're looking for. That said, I'm certainly not qualified to diagnose people, most definitely not based on forum posts over the internet, but if our DM here is interested in a few tips on things like being more approachable, it wouldn't go amiss. It is...unusual to have people in this forum so strongly fall on one side of any disagreement. Usually, someone can posts that monks beat up wizards, and at least a few people will happily jump on the topic, at least for a good argument.

If virtually everyone is disagreeing with you, it's a good sign that either you are in fact wrong, or at a minimum, are not stating your argument well.

[DarkEricDraven]

So, Nik said he's gonna leave the thread. I think it's for the best. He's a little hurt by the insults, and I feel bad about that, especially considering that he doesn't come off bad to me. I think you guys both are equally wrong or right. I consider him a friend, and see the issue that led to this thread as a miscommunication. I have confidence Nik will be a great DM in time.

[Fallbot]

My love of a good forum drama aside, that's probably for the best.

Were he to return with a different attitude, I'm sure he'd be welcomed back and find the Playground an invaluable resource for a new GM. Or any GM come to that.

[mcv]

And you misuse the word -extreme- The paladin will stick around for long, although being a part of the game odesnt mean a part of the party, he is gonna be a big deal, although not for the next many sessions. I never gave him the picture that he should leave the campaign and he never wanted to leave and as such I didnt have to convince him not to leave?

Here's a quote from Eric early in this thread:

So, I spoke to the GM, first about why the two kicked members would wish to rejoin the party at all, considering nothing world shattering had happened yet, and second about Sir Prick. I'm going to talk to the rogue, and if he decides his girl wouldn't join, neither would mine.

About the paladin, he said that he'll lead the party for as long as he sees fit. Which somewhat worries me, but if my halfling doesn't rejoin, my backup character has a personality that shouldn't clash so much.

Sounds to me like he's seriously considering making a new character, because his current character has little reason to rejoin the other characters, and doesn't want to ever deal with that paladin again.

Im generally confident in my players ability to read what I have planned for the next 10 minutes

But are you able to read what they want from the game? Is it your story or is it their story? I still haven't seen anything that suggests the PCs are anything more than supporting cast. I hope that's just a misunderstanding on my part.

But it looks like you and Eric talked it out and he's happy to be in the group again, so I guess the problem has been solved. I hope the rest of the campaign goes well, and I wish both of you a lot of unexpected cool plot twists.