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Satsu's Bad Dungeons and Dragons Experience?! | Chatsu Shorts
281 Plays3 years ago
In this episode of Chatsu Shorts, Satsunami discusses a rather peculiar experience while exploring the world of Dungeons and Dragons.
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Transcript
Introduction to D&D Experience
00:00:05
Speaker
Welcome to Chatsunami.
00:00:17
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of Chatsoo Shorts. In this episode I'm going to be talking about a rather peculiar experience I had playing Dungeons & Dragons. Without any further ado, hope you enjoy! So in my last video about Dungeons & Dragons, I talked about my very first character, Blimbro the Bard, and how it made me fall in love with the game Dungeons & Dragons.
Invitation to a D&D Beginner Session
00:00:39
Speaker
As I said before, I went into the game not knowing what to expect.
00:00:42
Speaker
And while researching the game online, there were a lot of horror stories, from toxic players to pepper hungry DMs. It was nothing like the campaign that I was playing. We played that campaign for 4 years and honestly, I loved every moment of it. And I wish I could say this is the only time I've played Dungeons and Dragons.
00:01:01
Speaker
This isn't exactly the truth. So one day while I was at work, I got a very strange message from a friend.
Unexpected Challenges at the Comic Shop
00:01:09
Speaker
The message basically read something along the lines of, hey, you like Dungeons and Dragons? Which is a little weird considering this friend didn't seem to have any interest in Dungeons and Dragons before today.
00:01:20
Speaker
Nevertheless, I was curious, and I asked him what brought this on. He explained how that night he was asked by one of his friends to go to a D&D beginner station in one of the nearby comic shops. Seeing as I played Dungeons & Dragons before, he asked if I wanted to join. As strange as it sounds, it felt a little bit weird going to another DM to play Dungeons & Dragons. I almost wondered if this was the tabletop equivalent of cheating. Nevertheless, I accepted, and the three of us met up that night to go to the comic shop.
00:01:48
Speaker
I know I say this a lot about Dungeons & Dragons, but I actually didn't really know what to expect when
Thrown into an Ongoing Campaign
00:01:53
Speaker
I came in. As far as I was aware, this was just a beginner session. And as we walked in and explained to one of the staff members that were here for the D&D night, he basically turned round and asked us for £3. Bit of a surprise, but I thought, okay, they're a business. I guess they need the money to run these beginner sessions. Ladies and gentlemen.
00:02:11
Speaker
This would be what we call red flag number one. The second red flag arose when we were asked to roll our characters. Yes, you heard that right. Roll our characters. To those of you out there who have played Dungeons and Dragons, you realise how long it takes to roll a character. Since this was meant to be a beginner session, I initially thought that we would have pre-made character sheets, or even ones from the book. However, although it took us nearly an hour for our characters to get sorted, the guys who actually helped us out with them
00:02:40
Speaker
were really friendly, so props to them. So as we finished rolling our characters, the comic shop began to fill up with the sound of patrons ready to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons. As my friend and I looked around to see where we were supposed to be sitting, the third red flag
00:02:56
Speaker
flew up the flagpole. One of the staff members looked around, and in a kind of nonchalant way said, oh, you can join those guys. To give context, those guys were a group of Dungeons and Dragons players who'd been playing for a good while now, and essentially they were just throwing us beginners in in the middle of their campaign. Unfortunately, we were already there, and there was not much we could really do about it, so we sat down with the other players and began to introduce ourselves.
Character Introduction: Dreech the Paladin
00:03:22
Speaker
Before I go on, I just want to clarify something first.
00:03:25
Speaker
While some of the players were a little bit awkward, they weren't nasty. So I just want to throw that out there first. Second of all, I'm not trying to gatekeep the way that people play D&D. Everyone is entitled to play the way they want.
Questionable Storytelling Decisions
00:03:38
Speaker
Unfortunately, this game was a little different. So before we begin,
00:03:43
Speaker
You might be wondering what kind of character I rolled before the session started. Deciding to choose something a bit bulkier than Blimbro the Bard, I decided to go for a paladin who I aptly named Dreech. Now for those of you outside Scotland, Dreech is a Scots word for grey or cloudy weather, which is probably an app summary of this game.
00:04:02
Speaker
The Reich was a paladin, adorned in golden armour. On his right arm, he held a tower shield, while on his left, his trusty sword. I feel a little bad for the character I must admit, because I've never really had a chance to actually play him since this session. Maybe I'll bring him back in a future campaign. But I digress. So as the session started, we went around the table introducing our characters. The friend who had invited me decided to go among
00:04:26
Speaker
which I have to admit is on the bucket list of characters I really want to play indeed. The rest were your standard classes. A human ranger, a tiefling rogue, and there was even a half-orc there who, much like us, was in the same boat as being a new player. Not gonna lie, he was a pretty sound guy, so the DM threw his theatrics at us right at the beginning, making it clear that this session was going to be focused more on roleplay. Initially, this really got me intrigued.
00:04:51
Speaker
Unfortunately, it was too good to be true. As per standard practice, we all met in the tavern to get our first mission together. We were told that the number of dragonborns were going missing within the city. A standard plot, but I could get into it. He then began to describe the city, talking about all the different dragonborns that lived within it.
00:05:10
Speaker
He stated how the right dragonborns lived in the more affluent areas, while blue dragonborns were in the middle, and how the black dragonborns lived in the poorer areas. Now yes, you did hear that right. And yes, it was pretty awkward for everyone. And while I think it was just a case of him getting carried away with his story, it was still an awkward tone to set. It didn't help of course that he brought attention to the fact, laughing it off and saying, oh no, that sounds bad, doesn't it?
Awkward Gameplay Moments
00:05:37
Speaker
Yes.
00:05:37
Speaker
Yes, it does. So our adventure soon led us into the sewers of the city. Of course, being the hulking paladin, I took point in the sewers, holding my shield up as I cast a light to guide the others. What I should mention is that the path that we were walking on was only big enough for us to walk in single file. This led to the tiefling rogue deciding that she wanted to run ahead and scout the area. The DM and the ranger player looked at one another and smirked before turning to the tiefling player.
00:06:04
Speaker
Because right beside us was a steaming river of Unawatt. The DM of course asked her to make an acrobatics check, which he of course failed and went plummeting into the Unawatt below. This has been red flag number 5, Happy Slabme right in the face. My friend quickly piped up and asked if he could use his quarter staff to stop the Tiefling from falling into the river.
00:06:24
Speaker
Unfortunately the DM waved him off and essentially said something along the lines of, oh no, you're too far away. So of course we had a 5 minute scene of the Tiefling having to use illusion magic to try and clean herself up. Now I know what you're thinking, this doesn't really sound that bad.
00:06:39
Speaker
And true, so far what's happened is pretty tame. But then we got to the dungeon. So of course the DM explained the way the dungeon was laid out. And after some of the players took notes, the DM started going off into a rant about how some of his past players refused to take notes and wouldn't pay attention to the dungeon layout. It just seemed a little bit unnecessary.
00:07:00
Speaker
In a little bit off-putting to the new players, and speaking of excluding new players, this session is sponsored by the word Noop. It was a little bit frustrating because every time my friend and I offered a solution to figure out some puzzles, we were instantly shot down. I think the most annoying part was there was no real reason as to why he kept turning our suggestions
Comic Relief and Frustrations
00:07:19
Speaker
down.
00:07:19
Speaker
I'll give you an example. In one of the rooms of the dungeon, there was a skull that would give you psychic damage every time you stared at it. So my friend quite frankly devised a really good plan. Since I had a tower shield, I would walk into the room holding it up high. Once that was done, my friend in the half-orc would come in behind me, using their quarterstaff and ranged weapons to try and dislodge the skull.
00:07:41
Speaker
We proposed the idea to the rest of the party, but they seemed a bit disinterested. This is where the session left a bad taste in my mouth, which now leads me to the Ranger. Oh Christ, where do I begin with this guy? In one of the other rooms, there was a Ruby lead-out conspicuously in the middle of the room, hovering before it were several sets of spikes, which would clamp down if anybody tried to reach the Ruby. Clearly the Ranger was a comedic character, so of course, the first thing he did was declare that he was going to, and I quote, Grab the Ruby!
00:08:10
Speaker
He failed the check and of course got nomed by a giant trap. The party decided to leave the room as it wasn't really worth getting the ruby for all the pain that it would cause. And of course, the ranger said it again. That he was, and I quote once again, going to, grab the robo. And the same thing happened. Again. And again. And again. And after getting down and using one of his abilities to resurrect himself,
00:08:34
Speaker
he tried again. I can't even remember how we got him to stop, but I just remember sighing with relief that it was finally over.
A Twist with the Elder Dragon
00:08:41
Speaker
And if you're curious out there, no, he didn't get the ruby. So eventually we solved the puzzle, and ended up in the heart of the dungeon, where an old man was waiting for us. For whatever reason, the missing dragonborns were with him, and then returned for a safe passage out of the dungeon, he would give them back.
00:08:56
Speaker
One of the other weird things was that the man was surrounded by a wealth of gold. And yes, Ruby Ranger did consider trying to take the gold, but after being talked out of it by his party, decided not to. After we left the dungeon, the DM had a huge smirk on his face, stating that he was glad we didn't find the old man. After we inquired as to why, he basically told us that the old man was an elder dragon in disguise.
00:09:20
Speaker
which then brought me to the tipping point.
Reflecting on the DM's Impact
00:09:22
Speaker
After doing an epilogue with his regular players, he approached all of the new players and basically said how his group was, and I quote, to Thule. Therefore, if I wanted to return next week, then I would have to find a completely different group. Spoilers, I didn't go back.
00:09:37
Speaker
And while this was a terrible experience, it gave me a lot to think about. I actually felt really sorry for my friend who wasn't into Dungeons & Dragons, because this experience probably only soured his outlook on the game. And while his friend had the time of his life, we weren't exactly in the same boat. And this is the main thing. First impressions, especially in D&D, are everything. If that was my first exposure to Dungeons & Dragons, I don't think I would have ever played the game again. I was honestly so lucky to be able to play with my friends, although I have to admit,
00:10:07
Speaker
It did make a funny story for my other D&D friends. And while I realise that DMing takes a lot of hard work and commitment, there was no real justification as to why the DM acted in the way he did. Again, I just really want to stress that D&D as a whole is a very diverse game. Whether you put focus on roleplay or combat, it's going to be different for everyone. And the main emphasis I want to put across here isn't that these people were horrible. Annoying,
00:10:32
Speaker
Yes. Root? Absolutely. But horrible? No, I don't think so. I think the main takeaway for me in this story is the actual influence that the DM has on potential players. The main aim of the DM is not only to run the game, but to create an environment that includes all players.
00:10:49
Speaker
At the end of the day, Dungeons and Dragons is a very social game, so without that social aspect, it's probably going to be a bad time.
Listener Engagement and More Episodes
00:10:57
Speaker
So what do you guys think? Have any of you had any similar experiences while playing the tabletop game? Please feel free to let me know down in the comments. Thank you for listening to Chad Tsunami. If you would like to hear more episodes, then you can catch us on Anchor, Spotify, YouTube and all good podcast distributors. As always, stay safe, stay awesome and most importantly, stay hydrated.