Comments on: My Girlfriend is AC 100 http://www.treasuretables.org/2006/04/my-girlfriend-is-ac-100 Game mastering advice, ideas & resources • Dedicated to helping GMs Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:04:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: The Iron Fist and Abused GM Syndrome - Treasure Tables http://www.treasuretables.org/2006/04/my-girlfriend-is-ac-100/comment-page-1#comment-2164 The Iron Fist and Abused GM Syndrome - Treasure Tables Sun, 07 May 2006 21:01:57 +0000 http://www.treasuretables.org/?p=296#comment-2164 [...] Continuing our informal series on bad GMing (which began with My Girlfriend is AC 100 and Gandalf Flies in on His Gold Dragon…Again), here’s another classic example of GMing gone wrong: “My way or the highway.” [...] [...] Continuing our informal series on bad GMing (which began with My Girlfriend is AC 100 and Gandalf Flies in on His Gold Dragon…Again), here’s another classic example of GMing gone wrong: “My way or the highway.” [...]

]]> By: Meet my New Monster, the Ball-buster - Treasure Tables http://www.treasuretables.org/2006/04/my-girlfriend-is-ac-100/comment-page-1#comment-1869 Meet my New Monster, the Ball-buster - Treasure Tables Sat, 15 Apr 2006 18:14:48 +0000 http://www.treasuretables.org/?p=296#comment-1869 [...] Contuining our “hey, it’s a series” bad GMing theme (My Girlfriend is AC 100, Gandalf Flies in on His Gold Dragon…Again and The Iron Fist and Abused GM Syndrome), here’s another common example: The ball-busting GM. [...] [...] Contuining our “hey, it’s a series” bad GMing theme (My Girlfriend is AC 100, Gandalf Flies in on His Gold Dragon…Again and The Iron Fist and Abused GM Syndrome), here’s another common example: The ball-busting GM. [...]

]]> By: Martin http://www.treasuretables.org/2006/04/my-girlfriend-is-ac-100/comment-page-1#comment-1860 Martin Fri, 14 Apr 2006 03:54:27 +0000 http://www.treasuretables.org/?p=296#comment-1860 CJ: You mentioned the opposite problem ("my girlfriend is AC -100," perhaps?) -- I've done that too. It'll probably be one of this weekend's posts, and it's another fun topic. Ian: It sounds like you're worrying about nothing -- keep an eye on it for a couple of sessions, then re-evaluate. Or just ask one or more of the other players if they feel like you're playing favorites (my bet is that they won't feel that way). Rick: That's the spirit. ;) CJ: You mentioned the opposite problem (“my girlfriend is AC -100,” perhaps?) — I’ve done that too. It’ll probably be one of this weekend’s posts, and it’s another fun topic.

Ian: It sounds like you’re worrying about nothing — keep an eye on it for a couple of sessions, then re-evaluate. Or just ask one or more of the other players if they feel like you’re playing favorites (my bet is that they won’t feel that way).

Rick: That’s the spirit. ;)

]]> By: Rick the Wonder Algae http://www.treasuretables.org/2006/04/my-girlfriend-is-ac-100/comment-page-1#comment-1853 Rick the Wonder Algae Thu, 13 Apr 2006 15:57:55 +0000 http://www.treasuretables.org/?p=296#comment-1853 Bah! You're just not thinking hard enough! The DM's girlfriend never gets hit? That's AWESOME. Here's the four-step program to deal with it: 1) Strip her character naked. Why do they need that +5 platemail of immunity and the cloak of protection +5 that the lovesick dope let her find in an unprotected hoard in a solo adventure (from which he came back with a hickey) when she's never going to get hit or fail a save anyway. Pass them on to whatever other characters can use them. Same goes for her +5 holy avenger. She can kill an ancient dragon at 50 paces with a butter knife. 2) Make her tank. If she's the best at avoiding damage, she needs to be ON THE FRONT LINE. ALL THE TIME! I don't care if she's a mage. Get her out there. Make sure she has the alertness feat, boots of striding and springing, and max ranks in spot, listen, and bluff (for taunting the monsters to attack her instead of her party members) ASAP, so she always get the drop on monsters, can always move to intercept them, and can make sure they stay on HER instead of the rest of the party. 3) Concentrate the rest of the party's resources on DPS (damage per second) and keeping the DM and his lady love's relationship going smoothly. You'll be raking in the EPs and magic items like it was Christmas. 4) Once your characters are epic-level and loaded down with enough magic that they blind any mage foolish enough to cast "detect magic" in their presence, slyly break up loverboy and his girlfriend. Now everything's normal again except that your characters are completely boss. Bah! You’re just not thinking hard enough! The DM’s girlfriend never gets hit? That’s AWESOME. Here’s the four-step program to deal with it:

1) Strip her character naked. Why do they need that +5 platemail of immunity and the cloak of protection +5 that the lovesick dope let her find in an unprotected hoard in a solo adventure (from which he came back with a hickey) when she’s never going to get hit or fail a save anyway. Pass them on to whatever other characters can use them. Same goes for her +5 holy avenger. She can kill an ancient dragon at 50 paces with a butter knife.

2) Make her tank. If she’s the best at avoiding damage, she needs to be ON THE FRONT LINE. ALL THE TIME! I don’t care if she’s a mage. Get her out there. Make sure she has the alertness feat, boots of striding and springing, and max ranks in spot, listen, and bluff (for taunting the monsters to attack her instead of her party members) ASAP, so she always get the drop on monsters, can always move to intercept them, and can make sure they stay on HER instead of the rest of the party.

3) Concentrate the rest of the party’s resources on DPS (damage per second) and keeping the DM and his lady love’s relationship going smoothly. You’ll be raking in the EPs and magic items like it was Christmas.

4) Once your characters are epic-level and loaded down with enough magic that they blind any mage foolish enough to cast “detect magic” in their presence, slyly break up loverboy and his girlfriend. Now everything’s normal again except that your characters are completely boss.

]]> By: Gandalf Flies in on His Gold Dragon…Again… - Treasure Tables http://www.treasuretables.org/2006/04/my-girlfriend-is-ac-100/comment-page-1#comment-1849 Gandalf Flies in on His Gold Dragon…Again… - Treasure Tables Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:20:37 +0000 http://www.treasuretables.org/?p=296#comment-1849 [...] Fresh on the heels of yesterday’s post about classically bad GMing, My Girlfriend is AC 100, let’s look at another slippery slope: The powerful canon NPC. Crappy GM: “Having already knocked out Frodo and Samwise, the orcs are about to overwhelm your position.” Player: “Oh man, we’re really going to have to roll some 20s to get out of this one!” Crappy GM: “Suddenly, Gandalf rides down on his gold dragon. Its breath incinerates all of the orcs, and Gandalf does a touchdown dance on their smoldering corpses.“ [...] [...] Fresh on the heels of yesterday’s post about classically bad GMing, My Girlfriend is AC 100, let’s look at another slippery slope: The powerful canon NPC. Crappy GM: “Having already knocked out Frodo and Samwise, the orcs are about to overwhelm your position.” Player: “Oh man, we’re really going to have to roll some 20s to get out of this one!” Crappy GM: “Suddenly, Gandalf rides down on his gold dragon. Its breath incinerates all of the orcs, and Gandalf does a touchdown dance on their smoldering corpses.“ [...]

]]> By: lebkin http://www.treasuretables.org/2006/04/my-girlfriend-is-ac-100/comment-page-1#comment-1848 lebkin Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:16:47 +0000 http://www.treasuretables.org/?p=296#comment-1848 "I had the opposite problem, trying to hard to avoid the AC 100 thing. I was too hard on my girl friend, because I wanted to make sure that I didn’t play favorites–or even seem too." I completely understand. I currently DM one game in which my girlfriend plays and another in which my brother plays. In both campaigns, I am almost certain I am often harder on them then on other players. It doesn't help that they are both the best players in their groups, which also has me raising my expectations. I have to make a concious effort to be fair. “I had the opposite problem, trying to hard to avoid the AC 100 thing. I was too hard on my girl friend, because I wanted to make sure that I didn’t play favorites–or even seem too.”

I completely understand. I currently DM one game in which my girlfriend plays and another in which my brother plays. In both campaigns, I am almost certain I am often harder on them then on other players. It doesn’t help that they are both the best players in their groups, which also has me raising my expectations. I have to make a concious effort to be fair.

]]> By: Pythor http://www.treasuretables.org/2006/04/my-girlfriend-is-ac-100/comment-page-1#comment-1847 Pythor Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:15:42 +0000 http://www.treasuretables.org/?p=296#comment-1847 The reverse is also a problem. One of the best campaigns I was in as a teenager ended awkwardly when the DM's love interest started dating one of the other players. Suddenly, that player's character became the focus of all enemies, and the bad guys absolutely would not die until the character was dead. TPK occurred in 3 consecutive sessions, and we gave up. The reverse is also a problem. One of the best campaigns I was in as a teenager ended awkwardly when the DM’s love interest started dating one of the other players. Suddenly, that player’s character became the focus of all enemies, and the bad guys absolutely would not die until the character was dead. TPK occurred in 3 consecutive sessions, and we gave up.

]]> By: Ian http://www.treasuretables.org/2006/04/my-girlfriend-is-ac-100/comment-page-1#comment-1844 Ian Thu, 13 Apr 2006 01:13:43 +0000 http://www.treasuretables.org/?p=296#comment-1844 I fear I might be heading down that same path. Browsing my FLCS (comic store which also happens to carry a small assortment of games), I saw a really old issue of Dragon with stats for playing metallic dragons as PCs. I snapped it up, thinking my fiancée would love the idea (and I was right). She's been playing a druid which she doesn't really like and commented on wanting a new character. So now I've got a pretty good plot hook for how a baby dragon is going to end up in the party's care, played by her. Assuming the magazine's on the ball, she shouldn't be any more powerful than the other PCs are, but power considerations aside, she is PLAYING A DRAGON in a party that will afterwards consist of a dwarf, an elf and a half-elf. On the one hand, I'd like to think that if any of my players asked for something unique and interesting I'd work with them to make it happen in a fair and balanced way. On the other hand, she didn't ask for this. I found it and suggested it to her. One of my players (who tends to ask for... "silly" things, like naming his character Zero (after the megaman character) and such) asked if he could be a ninja. Luckily for him, I had just recently read about the Ninja class in Complete Adventurer, and I said what the hell and let him use that (he had no idea such a thing existed), so maybe I'm just being paranoid. I fear I might be heading down that same path. Browsing my FLCS (comic store which also happens to carry a small assortment of games), I saw a really old issue of Dragon with stats for playing metallic dragons as PCs. I snapped it up, thinking my fiancée would love the idea (and I was right). She’s been playing a druid which she doesn’t really like and commented on wanting a new character. So now I’ve got a pretty good plot hook for how a baby dragon is going to end up in the party’s care, played by her.

Assuming the magazine’s on the ball, she shouldn’t be any more powerful than the other PCs are, but power considerations aside, she is PLAYING A DRAGON in a party that will afterwards consist of a dwarf, an elf and a half-elf.

On the one hand, I’d like to think that if any of my players asked for something unique and interesting I’d work with them to make it happen in a fair and balanced way. On the other hand, she didn’t ask for this. I found it and suggested it to her.

One of my players (who tends to ask for… “silly” things, like naming his character Zero (after the megaman character) and such) asked if he could be a ninja. Luckily for him, I had just recently read about the Ninja class in Complete Adventurer, and I said what the hell and let him use that (he had no idea such a thing existed), so maybe I’m just being paranoid.

]]> By: Crazy Jerome http://www.treasuretables.org/2006/04/my-girlfriend-is-ac-100/comment-page-1#comment-1843 Crazy Jerome Thu, 13 Apr 2006 00:20:36 +0000 http://www.treasuretables.org/?p=296#comment-1843 I had the opposite problem, trying to hard to avoid the AC 100 thing. I was too hard on my girl friend, because I wanted to make sure that I didn't play favorites--or even seem too. It did help that there was some other dating going on in the group at the time. Of course, I'm not sure that did too much damage. We are approaching our 16th wedding anniversary, and have been gaming together for almost two decades. :D My advice is play fair with everyone, and let everything take care of itself. I had the opposite problem, trying to hard to avoid the AC 100 thing. I was too hard on my girl friend, because I wanted to make sure that I didn’t play favorites–or even seem too. It did help that there was some other dating going on in the group at the time.

Of course, I’m not sure that did too much damage. We are approaching our 16th wedding anniversary, and have been gaming together for almost two decades. :D

My advice is play fair with everyone, and let everything take care of itself.

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