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It was a long session. We had an experienced DM, and a highly amateur party who just attacked everything on sight. But that was overshadowed by this one player that would intentionally do stupid stuff. First up, he managed to beat us with an intimidation check, to make us go off and try to fight what sounds like Tiamat (we were all level 2). When he attempted that, the DM just said we ran into an invisible wall, and heard a voice tell us that we couldn't enter that area until we were at least level 15. And yes, he did literally say that. We then did what we were supposed to do and met a wyvern in a keep. My party immediately attacked it, even though it tried to initiate dialogue with us. Also, it was protected by some force field that wouldn't let you enter its lair if you intended to cause anyone harm. Despite this, the problem player managed to find a way to get everyone to try and fight the thing (part of that was thanks to another player who wanted the XP). Remember, we were all level 2. The DM ended up having a lightning bolt come out of nowhere and kill the thing after it wiped out half the party.

Part of the problem with the player (besides the way he played, obviously) was the way he built his character. He had the highest possible value he could have in persuasion AND intimidation, had a sleep spell, and in general his build was designed to get people who do what he wanted, even if what he wanted them to do was stupid.

I really wished I had a way to put a stop to him, without you know just killing his character. Things like Hold Person and polymorph (thought about how nice it would be to polymorph him into a frog every time he jumped into combat with something that was clearly our of our league). Of course, being level 2 I didn't have access to those spells. I did have charm person, but I'm not sure that would've really have done any good.

Is there anything that could've been done about this player other than just booting him out of the game? It seemed like everyone was helpless to stop him from turning the game into an utter mess. All he said about it was 'he made the game fun'. Also, the DM apparently had him once before, and my sister claimed she played with him once and he did the exact same thing.

I didn't build my character thinking that I would have to contend with someone like this. He wasn't even at the gaming table when we started (he got there late). And having an obviously incompetent group of completely new players didn't help (one guy we kept having to explain to him how to do an attack roll). My team acted like they never heard of diplomacy, or dialogue, or common sense. I mean seriously, there was NOTHING we encountered that someone on my team didn't try to attack (one of our team members even tried to attack Bahamut, and that person WASN'T the problem player, he just honestly didn't seem to know who he could trust in the game).

I know its stupid, but honestly I would like a way to counteract a build like this. Though mostly its just so I can teach him a lesson and get back at him for turning our game into utter chaos (as if it wasn't already...)

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    Welcome to this stack! Take the [tour]. The question mentions that "[w]e had an experienced DM." How experienced exactly? In addition, it sounds like the question's asking more about How can I get revenge on this player within the limits of the game? and such questions don't usually work out well—most folks will recommend talking or leaving instead. However, if that's really what the question's looking for, please edit the question so that's explicit. Thank you for participating, have fun, good luck, and may your next RPG experience be with a group better suited to you. – Hey I Can Chan Aug 20 '18 at 00:21
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    It's unclear what exactly you're trying to do and how this is different from simply a rant/revenge question. We are not a "How can I outsmart my fellow player?" SE. – HellSaint Aug 20 '18 at 00:25
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    I want a way that I can stop other characters from doing stupid stuff. He ran into an encounter that we stood no chance against, and I was helpless to do anything about it. Either way, I won't be playing with the group again. But I want to have a way to avoid nonsense like this in the future. And I don't want to control his character, I want a way to make such a character stop w/e he's doing. –  Aug 20 '18 at 12:52
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    RE: "And I don't want to control his character, I want a way to make such a character stop [whatever] he's doing." What's the distinction that's being made here between these two ideas? That is, should answers present mechanical, in-game solutions that forcibly halt another character's actions without also somehow controlling the character, or should answers provide a script for talking down players so as to prevent unfortunate choices? – Hey I Can Chan Aug 20 '18 at 14:11
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    It doesn't sound to me like the DM was all that experienced. A more experienced DM wouldn't have saved the party as a whole from the backlash of the bad decisions so much as made sure that it fell primarily upon the instigator. For example, the Wyvern isn't stupid, knows which characters are responsible for goading the party into attacking, and since it wants to talk it just brushes everyone else aside, picks up the troublemakers and proceeds to snack on them one limb at a time while making another attempt at conversation. – Perkins Dec 26 '18 at 23:05
  • I agree with the closure here, but for the advice of any DMs or players encountering this question: don't take revenge on someone for being stupid. I have, totally in-character with no animosity towards the player OOC or other course of action for the character I made (rage monkey barbarian who just got hurt saving the other character's life, who then got told they were stupid for doing so; other factors were also in play), and my first attack roll of that fight was the last roll of the game. – Brandon Olson Jul 05 '19 at 03:26

1 Answers1

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This is a frame challenge.

The problem you described is that someone used their character to force you to play in a way you didn't want to. You've asked for a solution revolving around using a character to force him to play the way you want to.

Dungeons and Dragons is not about forcing people to play your game, your way. If the player's behaviour (forcing your character to do things) was a problem, the first step is to bring this up with the player, the party, and the DM.

The player may not know you weren't enjoying this. They might be amenable to "Please do not try to force my character to do things. My character is mine to play, and when you force my character to do things that I don't want to do, I no longer get to play my character. That spoils my fun.".

The party may or may not be enjoying this. If everyone at the table is getting frustrated by his behaviour, it's not long before people lose interest in the game. It's in everyone's best interest for him to stop doing things that makes the game less fun for the party.
If, on the other hand, the rest of the party are enjoying this way of playing, it's up to you to decide if you want to continue playing this way.

The DM might be willing to rule that no player character can force another player character to do anything. The couple of games I've played all have had that rule. This is one thing that should be covered in a good Session Zero so that everyone gets to play the game they wanted to play and isn't forced into playing someone else's game if it's not what they wanted.

TL;DR The best way to beat the forceful nature of this PC is to talk to the player. The second best is to find another game with people who aren't trying to ruin your fun.

Luke
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    I'd add a "Not being able to play my own character spoils the fun of the game for me" to that speech, just to make it perfectly clear. – GMJoe Aug 20 '18 at 22:31