DM thinks I shouldn’t be wild shape all the time

[Aelar]

Well I talked to my DM today and we’ve reached a good compromise. He didn’t have a problem with me optimizing my spells or summons but the main issue he has was with being wild shaped all the time. Regardless of whether or not I’m in bat form. Our compromise was this, when I go to towns or when were on a long way traveling I won’t be wild shaped.

What happened when we started playing today proved my point quite painfully. We were in Sigil trying to get to a portal, I wasn’t wild shaped as part of our deal. When suddenly we were ambushed by a bunch of aberrations that I don’t know their name and a Nycaloth. I did some damage to the Nycaloth and it was knocked to the ground from where it was flying. We didn’t see where it fell but when he came back he was pissed and he came right at me. He swung his great axe and with a critical hit dropped me to -10. My face went white and I said “I’m dead!?”. To this the DM responded with a smile, well your Druid is RIP. Luckily I remembered I had a magical item that stabilizes me automatically if dropped to -10 and thus I was spared. I was seriously shocked by this. I’ve never come this close to dying in this character. The next day, I looked at the DM and told him that my character was still in shock from yesterday and thus wild shaped immediately in the morning, he agreed that this was quite appropriate now.

TL;DR I didn’t wild shape at the start of the day, was hit with so much damage I was literally at -10 but managed to be stabilized nonetheless.

[RoboEmperor]

Well I talked to my DM today and we’ve reached a good compromise. He didn’t have a problem with me optimizing my spells or summons but the main issue he has was with being wild shaped all the time. Regardless of whether or not I’m in bat form. Our compromise was this, when I go to towns or when were on a long way traveling I won’t be wild shaped.

What happened when we started playing today proved my point quite painfully. We were in Sigil trying to get to a portal, I wasn’t wild shaped as part of our deal. When suddenly we were ambushed by a bunch of aberrations that I don’t know their name and a Nycaloth. I did some damage to the Nycaloth and it was knocked to the ground from where it was flying. We didn’t see where it fell but when he came back he was pissed and he came right at me. He swung his great axe and with a critical hit dropped me to -10. My face went white and I said “I’m dead!?”. To this the DM responded with a smile, well your Druid is RIP. Luckily I remembered I had a magical item that stabilizes me automatically if dropped to -10 and thus I was spared. I was seriously shocked by this. I’ve never come this close to dying in this character. The next day, I looked at the DM and told him that my character was still in shock from yesterday and thus wild shaped immediately in the morning, he agreed that this was quite appropriate now.

TL;DR I didn’t wild shape at the start of the day, was hit with so much damage I was literally at -10 but managed to be stabilized nonetheless.

It's not appropriate now. It has always been appropriate. Just like how casting mage armor at the start of the day is appropriate being in a harder to kill wildshape form all day is just as appropriate.

Like i said in the first page, any DM that cries because a player decides to use his 1hour/day defensive buff at the start of the day is a terrible DM. If my character died because my DM didn't let me use my defensive buff and if the DM smiled afterwards I would've been physically violent.

I will repeat my suggestion that you leave this table. If you didn't have that magic item, how do you think you'd be feeling right now? Your character died because the DM forced you to do something you didn't want to do and then he took advantage of that to kill you. There is a 100% chance this guy will do something like this again in the future so rather than investing anymore time in the table only to get royally ****ed, I suggest you cut your losses now and find a better DM.
{Scrubbed}

[Remuko]

Well I talked to my DM today and we’ve reached a good compromise. He didn’t have a problem with me optimizing my spells or summons but the main issue he has was with being wild shaped all the time. Regardless of whether or not I’m in bat form. Our compromise was this, when I go to towns or when were on a long way traveling I won’t be wild shaped.

What happened when we started playing today proved my point quite painfully. We were in Sigil trying to get to a portal, I wasn’t wild shaped as part of our deal. When suddenly we were ambushed by a bunch of aberrations that I don’t know their name and a Nycaloth. I did some damage to the Nycaloth and it was knocked to the ground from where it was flying. We didn’t see where it fell but when he came back he was pissed and he came right at me. He swung his great axe and with a critical hit dropped me to -10. My face went white and I said “I’m dead!?”. To this the DM responded with a smile, well your Druid is RIP. Luckily I remembered I had a magical item that stabilizes me automatically if dropped to -10 and thus I was spared. I was seriously shocked by this. I’ve never come this close to dying in this character. The next day, I looked at the DM and told him that my character was still in shock from yesterday and thus wild shaped immediately in the morning, he agreed that this was quite appropriate now.

TL;DR I didn’t wild shape at the start of the day, was hit with so much damage I was literally at -10 but managed to be stabilized nonetheless.

ive been staying out of this conversation, but lurking and reading but holy crap that session after your "agreement" with the DM sends up TONS of RED FLAGS for me.

[Aelar]

It's not appropriate now. It has always been appropriate. Just like how casting mage armor at the start of the day is appropriate being in a harder to kill wildshape form all day is just as appropriate.

Like i said in the first page, any DM that cries like a baby because a player decides to use his 1hour/day defensive buff at the start of the day is a terrible DM. If my character died because my DM didn't let me use my defensive buff and if the DM smiled afterwards I would've been physically violent.

I will repeat my suggestion that you leave this table. If you didn't have that magic item, how do you think you'd be feeling right now? Your character died because the DM forced you to do something you didn't want to do and then he took advantage of that to kill you. There is a 100% chance this guy will do something like this again in the future so rather than investing anymore time in the table only to get royally ****ed by a *censored*, I suggest you cut your losses now and find a better DM.

{scrubbed}

If he just said something like: what!? Are you sure? what happened was still terrible but would've made sense. That smile and his remark was the most disconcerting thing that has happened at this table. I thought we were good after the conversation. I don't know what to think now...I'm seriously considering your advice right now.

ive been staying out of this conversation, but lurking and reading but holy crap that session after your "agreement" with the DM sends up TONS of RED FLAGS for me.

I know! I mean, I can't even look at him the same way after this...

[Tallyn]

If he just said something like: what!? Are you sure? what happened was still terrible but would've made sense. That smile and his remark was the most disconcerting thing that has happened at this table. I thought we were good after the conversation. I don't know what to think now...I'm seriously considering your advice right now.



I know! I mean, I can't even look at him the same way after this...

Be careful about taking advice from RoboEmperor. Based on his posts, he'd not be allowed at 90+% of gaming tables I know that are run. (Sorry no offense RoboEmperor, but you have a VERY particular playstyle, and a very strong opinion that you must be allowed to play how you want to)

Aelar, your GM probably just wanted an in game reason of why you were wildshaped ALL the time previously (You probably could have sated this by having a backstory for your character). And now, he's provided you with one.. a near death experience when you weren't prepared.. so if the GM asks why you're wildshaped all the time now, it'll be because the time you nearly died.

[Psyren]

Wild shape into something obscure I could maybe see an issue with, but dictating no wild shape at the start of the day at all is the DM telling you how to play your character, and I wouldn't stand for it.

[Tallyn]

The designers intentionally made wildshape 1hour/level so you can be an animal 24/7 for a reason.

Well, actually no you can't. Not for a while when you first get wildshape.

Btw, I don't like adversarial GMs, but your tone almost always comes off as super adversarial as a player. You know, the GMs are supposed to have fun too, they aren't robots at your service to produce the game you want to play. The game is a cooperative event between the players and the GM (the game the GM wants to run, and the game the players want to play)

[RoboEmperor]

Be careful about taking advice from RoboEmperor. Based on his posts, he'd not be allowed at 90+% of gaming tables I know that are run. (Sorry no offense RoboEmperor, but you have a VERY particular playstyle, and a very strong opinion that you must be allowed to play how you want to)

Aelar, your GM probably just wanted an in game reason of why you were wildshaped ALL the time previously (You probably could have sated this by having a backstory for your character). And now, he's provided you with one.. a near death experience when you weren't prepared.. so if the GM asks why you're wildshaped all the time now, it'll be because the time you nearly died.

No hard feelings. I know my playstyle isn't for everyone which is why I always have a thorough interview with the DM before I join. One of the reasons I post my build online is so I can simply show it to my new DM and we can go over everything and see if he has a problem with something. And if he has a problem with something I can't part with we say our good byes.

My current DM made a mistake and didn't know how powerful my build was and we had a talk session about it. I was upset because I was upfront about it from level 1, I think i even threw a tantrum, but he was right. I was too OP and he made a mistake of allowing me into his table. After a few days I cooled off and I could see clearly that I was 100% in the wrong and I apologized to him. I made a weaker character and we're still together ever since. I still apologize to him. When he says "I know you're ticked because I made you switch characters" i respond by saying "No, you did nothing wrong, I was the bad guy here 100% and I'm thankful, not ticked off, because you didn't kick me and tried to keep me from leaving."

I respect this DM a lot. I think it's a miracle that I found him. But the OP's DM does not remind me of this awesome DM. He reminds me of scrub DMs who cried everything was OP and house ruled everything on a whim because they didn't want to learn how to deal with normal things within the rules, like you're supposed to. Long duration wildshape is NORMAL.

[Tallyn]

No hard feelings. I know my playstyle isn't for everyone which is why I always have a thorough interview with the DM before I join. One of the reasons I post my build online is so I can simply show it to my new DM and we can go over everything and see if he has a problem with something. And if he has a problem with something I can't part with we say our good byes.

My current DM made a mistake and didn't know how powerful my build was and we had a talk session about it. I was upset because I was upfront about it, I think i even threw a tantrum, but he was right. I was too OP and he made a mistake of allowing me into his table. After a few days and I cooled off I could see clearly I was in the wrong and I apologized to him and I made a weaker character and we're still together ever since. I still apologize to him. When he says "I know you're ticked because I made you switch characters" i respond by saying "No, you did nothing wrong, I was the bad guy here 100% and I'm thankful, not ticked off, because you didn't kick me and tried to keep me from leaving."

I respect this DM a lot. I think it's a miracle that I found him. But the OP's DM does not remind me of this awesome DM. He reminds me of scrub DMs who cried everything was OP and house ruled everything on the whim because he didn't want to learn how to deal with normal things. Long duration wildshape is NORMAL.

Yeah finding a good GM is hard. Sometimes being a good GM and finding good players can be hard too.

I feel bad for Aelar, because from the way he described it, the GM was just looking to catch him with a "gotcha" moment, or to "own" him for an encounter... which can be an adversarial play style. And given the power the GM has, he can definitely win any encounter with a player (thus there is a big responsibility for the GM to be as impartial as he can) There is a big difference between this and between wanting to challenge the PCs and not have them walk all over your encounters.

[Aelar]

Be careful about taking advice from RoboEmperor. Based on his posts, he'd not be allowed at 90+% of gaming tables I know that are run. (Sorry no offense RoboEmperor, but you have a VERY particular playstyle, and a very strong opinion that you must be allowed to play how you want to)

Aelar, your GM probably just wanted an in game reason of why you were wildshaped ALL the time previously (You probably could have sated this by having a backstory for your character). And now, he's provided you with one.. a near death experience when you weren't prepared.. so if the GM asks why you're wildshaped all the time now, it'll be because the time you nearly died.

I don’t think I’ll leave the table but I still need more time to process it, because I’m still sorta overwhelmed by what happened.

The thing is, I don’t think he knew that I had that item, so he couldn’t have planned on this being the case. It’s true that now I have an in game reason but I mean, I’ve had near death experiences before I started wild shaping so I think I had an in game reason before but not in his eyes, I guess

[Tallyn]

What happened when we started playing today proved my point quite painfully. We were in Sigil trying to get to a portal, I wasn’t wild shaped as part of our deal. When suddenly we were ambushed by a bunch of aberrations that I don’t know their name and a Nycaloth. I did some damage to the Nycaloth and it was knocked to the ground from where it was flying. We didn’t see where it fell but when he came back he was pissed and he came right at me. He swung his great axe and with a critical hit dropped me to -10. My face went white and I said “I’m dead!?”. To this the DM responded with a smile, well your Druid is RIP. Luckily I remembered I had a magical item that stabilizes me automatically if dropped to -10 and thus I was spared. I was seriously shocked by this. I’ve never come this close to dying in this character. The next day, I looked at the DM and told him that my character was still in shock from yesterday and thus wild shaped immediately in the morning, he agreed that this was quite appropriate now.

Well Nycaloths can fly... so a critical hit from his axe (x3 multiplier), even when you were in bat form most likely would have downed you. But your description leads me into another point...

Wait a minute... when you say you were in "Sigil"... you mean like the City of Doors from Planescape? To me, all bets are off if you're talking about the Planescape setting, being wildshaped all the time seems appropriate, because if you're plane hopping, anything can happen at any time. I was previously viewing your stories as if you were on a relatively normal material plane.

I still think your GM is probably looking for RP/in character reasons for why your character is taking in game actions probably. Hopefully not just looking to punish you for his own amusement. Good luck.

[RoboEmperor]

Yeah finding a good GM is hard. Sometimes being a good GM and finding good players can be hard too.

I feel bad for Aelar, because from the way he described it, the GM was just looking to catch him with a "gotcha" moment, or to "own" him for an encounter... which can be an adversarial play style. And given the power the GM has, he can definitely win any encounter with a player (thus there is a big responsibility for the GM to be as impartial as he can) There is a big difference between this and between wanting to challenge the PCs and not have them walk all over your encounters.

If the OP's DM said "I have no idea how to hurt your PC. Your PC is just too strong for me." I wouldn't be as aggressive as I have been in this thread. Because optimized druids are often too powerful for CR-appropriate creatures and it's normal for new DMs to not be able to handle that.

But he didn't. He said "Your character should be in his vulnerable human form 100% of the time because I say so". Anyone who says this is a terrible DM.

Now someone posted in this thread that in the heat of the moment the DM could've been simply momentarily irrational. That's more than reasonable so I held my tongue. But now he immediately used this opportunity to kill the OP's PC. You can't tell me this DM isn't a horrible DM.

Wild shape into something obscure I could maybe see an issue with, but dictating no wild shape at the start of the day at all is the DM telling you how to play your character, and I wouldn't stand for it.

I agree.

[Tallyn]

If the OP's DM said "I have no idea how to hurt your PC. Your PC is just too strong for me." I wouldn't be as aggressive as I have been in this thread. Because optimized druids are often too powerful for CR-appropriate creatures and it's normal for new DMs to not be able to handle that.

But he didn't. He said "Your character should be in his vulnerable human form 100% of the time because I say so". Anyone who says this is a terrible DM.

Now someone posted in this thread that in the heat of the moment the DM could've been simply momentarily irrational. So I held my tongue. But now he immediately used this opportunity to kill the OP's PC. You can't tell me this DM isn't a horrible DM.

I also missed how he was in "Sigil"... which unless the GM has another city named Sigil, is the City of Doors in the Planescape setting, and thus all kinds of precautionary measures would be appropriate.

I want to give some benefit of the doubt towards his DM as I've only seen a small amount of what he has done, but, yeah, I'm starting to get a little suspicious of him (the DM). Perhaps he is new-ish and needs to learn what an appropriate role for a DM is (and what isn't)

[Segev]

Sounds like the experiment I suggested almost got your PC killed: sorry about that. That said...it definitely was a successful experiment. It revealed exactly what it was designed to: whether the DM was trying to "get" you or just didn't like it, aesthetically.

He's absolutely trying to get you. He wanted your druid dead. He's also kind-of foolish for punishing you for, essentially, compromising with him.

I'd quit the game, personally, but I know that sometimes people don't like that idea. If you stay in it, play how you want to. I would expect him to keep trying to screw you over, though, assuming your story as you tell it is really what happened. (Not accusing you of lying; people are naturally biased and we only have your side of the story, here.)

It definitely sounds like he wants your druid dead and out of the game. Though...there is also resurrection magic, so even killing somebody isn't a guarantee you want them out of the game, as a DM, especially if you guys are 9th level or higher.

[Aelar]

Well Nycaloths can fly... so a critical hit from his axe (x3 multiplier), even when you were in bat form most likely would have downed you. But your description leads me into another point...

Wait a minute... when you say you were in "Sigil"... you mean like the City of Doors from Planescape? To me, all bets are off if you're talking about the Planescape setting, being wildshaped all the time seems appropriate, because if you're plane hopping, anything can happen at any time. I was previously viewing your stories as if you were on a relatively normal material plane.

I still think your GM is probably looking for RP/in character reasons for why your character is taking in game actions probably. Hopefully not just looking to punish you for his own amusement. Good luck.

I also missed how he was in "Sigil"... which unless the GM has another city named Sigil, is the City of Doors in the Planescape setting, and thus all kinds of precautionary measures would be appropriate.

I want to give some benefit of the doubt towards his DM as I've only seen a small amount of what he has done, but, yeah, I'm starting to get a little suspicious of him (the DM). Perhaps he is new-ish and needs to learn what an appropriate role for a DM is (and what isn't)

Yes, that Sigil :) and this was no random encounter, they were looking for my party specifically since we killed some giants and took their demon slaying bow. I don’t get why he didn’t hint that this was not the place to socialize and I should probably be wild shaped.

[Tallyn]

Yes, that Sigil :) and this was no random encounter, they were looking for my party specifically since we killed some giants and took their demon slaying bow. I don’t get why he didn’t hint that this was not the place to socialize and I should probably be wild shaped.

Sigil is a very potentially dangerous place. Nevermind my earlier stuff about the city, seems like the Lady of Pain will usually only get involved if the balance or city itself is threatened..

Good luck! Planescape was one of my favorite settings (although I didn't do all the fancy "berk" lingo and stuff), and there are plenty of ways to challenge PCs in that setting, both martially, and mentally without having to resort to "gotcha" moments.

[Aelar]

Sigil is a very potentially dangerous place. Were you in the city itself? The Lady of Pain usually responds VERY negatively, and VERY quickly to anyone attacking anyone in that place (if I'm remembering correctly, probably been 20+ years since I've played in that setting). And in that place, her power is near absolute. From the ambush in the city, I'm not sure he (the DM) is very familiar with the setting either.

Good luck! Planescape was one of my favorite settings (although I didn't do all the fancy "berk" lingo and stuff), and there are plenty of ways to challenge PCs in that setting, both martially, and mentally without having to resort to "gotcha" moments.

We killed the giants in another plane and then went back to Sigil. Except for a few dabus that were starting to act antsy, we weren’t agitating the environment there too much.

[Aelar]

Sounds like the experiment I suggested almost got your PC killed: sorry about that. That said...it definitely was a successful experiment. It revealed exactly what it was designed to: whether the DM was trying to "get" you or just didn't like it, aesthetically.

He's absolutely trying to get you. He wanted your druid dead. He's also kind-of foolish for punishing you for, essentially, compromising with him.

I'd quit the game, personally, but I know that sometimes people don't like that idea. If you stay in it, play how you want to. I would expect him to keep trying to screw you over, though, assuming your story as you tell it is really what happened. (Not accusing you of lying; people are naturally biased and we only have your side of the story, here.)

It definitely sounds like he wants your druid dead and out of the game. Though...there is also resurrection magic, so even killing somebody isn't a guarantee you want them out of the game, as a DM, especially if you guys are 9th level or higher.

It’s ok, it’s not your fault. I probably should have told him before that since this is Sigil, I would be wild shaped all the time.

The experiment was a success but I don’t know if I like the results since now the likelihood of him wanting and/or tring to kill me is higher.

I would have eventually been resurrected after the battle but losing a level would’ve sucked.

[gogogome]

It’s ok, it’s not your fault. I probably should have told him before that since this is Sigil, I would be wild shaped all the time.

Why do you have to justify use of your own class feature to your DM? If I want to cast a spell, I cast it. I don't have to justify it to the DM.

I agree with every single other poster here. You should leave.

[Psyren]

Well, actually no you can't. Not for a while when you first get wildshape.

Not 24/7 - but when you first get it it lasts 5 hours. That's a big chunk of the adventuring day already - you don't have to sleep as a bear after all. The very next level you can be shapeshifted for a combined 12 hours per day. The level after that, total of 21 hours/day. So I don't think spending more of your adventure wildshaped than not is unreasonable at all.

[Tallyn]

Why do you have to justify use of your own class feature to your DM? If I want to cast a spell, I cast it. I don't have to justify it to the DM.

I agree with every single other poster here. You should leave.

Sometimes the DM will ask for an in character reason for certain behaviors, so they can understand your character better, or when you are acting outside of your normal behavior at times.

Also, leaving is only a good option if he has other available games to play in. If he's in an area that another group is not easily available, he may want to stick it out and try and work things out with his DM (and hopefully make the DM better in the long run as well)

[bean illus]

Well I talked to my DM today and we’ve reached a good compromise. , ... and a Nycaloth. I did some damage to the Nycaloth ... when he came back ... he came right at me. He swung a with a critical hit dropped me to -10. ... I had a magical item that stabilizes me automatically ...

Nothing about this sounds malicious. DMs don't crit at will.
It just sounds like an ironic moment, and near death roll. I would have rolled my eyes with a nervous smile also, if I was the DM.

My current DM made a mistake and didn't know how powerful my build was and we had a talk session about it. I ... think i even threw a tantrum, but he was right. I was too OP and ... After a few days I cooled off and I could see clearly that I was 100% in the wrong ... we're still together ever since ...

"No, you did nothing wrong, I was the bad guy here 100% and I'm thankful, not ticked off, because you didn't kick me and tried to keep me from leaving.".

Great story. Thanks.

I don’t think I’ll leave the table but I still need more time to process it, because I’m still sorta overwhelmed by what happened.

Do yourself a favor, and try not to make too much of it.

. . But now he immediately used this opportunity to kill the OP's PC. You can't tell me this DM isn't a horrible DM.

Oh, BS. If your DM wanted you dead, you would be dead.

Honestly, folks.

[gogogome]

Sometimes the DM will ask for an in character reason for certain behaviors, so they can understand your character better, or when you are acting outside of your normal behavior at times.

That's explanation not justification. If I have the Summon Elemental Reserve feat, I don't have to justify to my DM if I decide to summon an elemental every 6 seconds. It's my ability. I use it however I want.

Also, leaving is only a good option if he has other available games to play in. If he's in an area that another group is not easily available, he may want to stick it out and try and work things out with his DM (and hopefully make the DM better in the long run as well)

No gaming is better than bad gaming. This is bad gaming. The OP has expressed grievance with this DM twice. He will continually experience more grievances because this is bad gaming.

[Tallyn]

No gaming is better than bad gaming. This is bad gaming. The OP has expressed grievance with this DM twice. He will continually experience more grievances because this is bad gaming.

How do bad DMs, become mediocre, then good, then great? It takes time and experience, and sometimes someone to point out that they are screwing up. If nothing else, it sounds like the DM is making some rookie mistakes to me

[Psyren]

How do bad DMs, become mediocre, then good, then great? It takes time and experience, and sometimes someone to point out that they are screwing up. If nothing else, it sounds like the DM is making some rookie mistakes to me

Sometimes losing a player is the only way to realize how bad you are though, and improve.

I do agree with trying to make a change, but that has limits too. Some players/DMs are simply incompatible, just like any relationship. I don't think this is necessarily at that point yet, but red flags are red flags.

[gogogome]

How do bad DMs, become mediocre, then good, then great? It takes time and experience, and sometimes someone to point out that they are screwing up. If nothing else, it sounds like the DM is making some rookie mistakes to me

That's only true if the person wants to improve. People say "People don't change" for a reason. If you think you're in the right, would you change? Another question, when do bad DMs ever think they're not in the right?

I admire your attitude and I'd welcome someone like you at my table. But most aren't like you. One of the reasons I became a DM myself is because I couldn't find a decent DM.

[Psyren]

That's only true if the person wants to improve. People say "People don't change" for a reason. If you think you're in the right, would you change? Another question, when do bad DMs ever think they're not in the right?

I admire your attitude and I'd welcome someone like you at my table. But most aren't like you. One of the reasons I became a DM myself is because I couldn't find a decent DM.

I think it's quite a stretch to say that "most" DMs are like the OP's.

[Tallyn]

That's only true if the person wants to improve. People say "People don't change" for a reason. If you think you're in the right, would you change? Another question, when do bad DMs ever think they're not in the right?

I admire your attitude and I'd welcome someone like you at my table. But most aren't like you. One of the reasons I became a DM myself is because I couldn't find a decent DM.

I was a horrible DM when I was younger... BUT, it wasn't in the adversarial style. I was the monty haul GM.. I gave them too many items, too much power, and advanced things too quickly. I wanted my players to be powerful, and to feel powerful. And to do epic and memorable things.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize at the time that pacing and timing are key to giving rewards, and to make things truly memorable, there must be good challenges for the players to overcome... it can't be too easy. The storytelling aspect was always my strength, I didn't have a problem with that at all.

Still, I cherish the early experiences. I had a group of characters I was running in AD&D that killed Hastur at level 12ish... I look back and wonder WTF I was doing lol

[NichG]

This situation strikes me as awkward on both sides. Saying 'your character wouldn't do X' is really bad form. But at the same time, saying 'I don't care about the fiction layer, the rules say I can do this so I'm doing it' is also IMO bad form. Making a compromise in the form of taking a requested action without feeling it doesn't really resolve the denial of the fiction layer, and using the compromise as an opportunity to take a pot shot like that just totally justifies the initial statement of 'the fiction layer doesn't matter, I'm just going to do mechanically powerful things' - because it indicates there is no slack to do otherwise and not just be put in bad situations.

I'd tell the DM: "If you want someone to care about the fiction layer, give them a positive reason to do so. Don't punish them, don't threaten them, don't try to order them around. It doesn't work, it gets them to resent you, and generally speaking its a jerk move."

I'd tell the player: "The DM is being petty and you shouldn't have to put up with that. So don't, and make sure you tell them that explicitly and calmly. But, for the future, doing mechanically potent things just because they're mechanically potent is boring for everyone else at the table, and breaks immersion. Try to care about the fiction you're presenting, and take it equally seriously as the mechanics. At the very least, you can play your character as bat-obsessed and sort of stuck in bat psychology mode for laughs rather than saying e.g. 'obviously every druid does this, this is just normal and it has no psychological effects'."

[RoboEmperor]

Some players/DMs are simply incompatible.

This. You (Tallyn) mentioned my playstyle and how 90% of the games that you know of won't accept me right? That's an example right there.

I only care about three things: powerful minionmancy of a robot-looking creature, independence from civilization (being reliant on gold, shops, crafting materials I can't find in the wild, etc), and lasting all day. None of this 5min adventuring day crap.

So if you won't let me create a powerful long lasting minion without expending gold even though I found many, many, many ways to accomplish this then nothing in the world would get me to join your table because playing a standard BFC spellcaster is torture for me, and there's no way a DM is gonna turn his game into a chore just to accommodate me. So never being together is the correct solution here.

edit: This seems off-topic. I was saying OP should leave because the OP's DM is horrible and is sporting a mountain of red flags.