









  • 76
    \$\begingroup\$ He is both DMing and playing a character recipe for boringness at best, disaster at worst. \$\endgroup\$ – o0'. Mar 26 '14 at 10:05
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    \$\begingroup\$ @user9623 - This is an awful story. BTW what are the ages of the folks in your D&D party? Are they children or teenagers? \$\endgroup\$ – RobertF Jun 15 '15 at 16:53
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    \$\begingroup\$ Just to be clear, is Bob the player racist, or Bob the character? \$\endgroup\$ – mfoy_ Jun 17 '15 at 15:46
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    \$\begingroup\$ Player is racist towards you and conspires with the DM to kill your character in a way that gives you little to no chance to fight back, then mocks your sadness when you are (rightfully) shocked and upset... Why would you ever play with this person again? They seem directly hateful, spiteful, and childish. \$\endgroup\$ – Ethan The Brave Mar 22 '17 at 18:30
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    \$\begingroup\$ I think there are some great answers below, that I can't improve on. The one thing I will say is that if Bob is the DM, you have very little chance of successfully offing his character, especially given that whole drowning nonsense. As DM, he can always just say, "oh, look, a dragon showed up to see what all the noise was about, and dang... your character just happens to have eaten a food that smells tasty to him." Because that's the kind of jerk Bob seems to be. \$\endgroup\$ – Paul Jun 13 '17 at 18:57

14 Answers 14







Luke Skywalker busy being very angry at the Emperor

Don't do it.


You're pissed off. But, proverbially:

— (Not sure who first said this)


That's not working out in your benefit.




Don't do it.

But I really want revenge!




D&D is normally not like this.

(But sometimes it can be.)



An analogy is having several people sitting around a table to play a game of cards, but they are playing different games: one person is playing Poker, another Hearts, and another Go Fish. That wouldn't work very well, but somehow that's how D&D gets played without anyone realising it.



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    \$\begingroup\$ +1 For step away; don't give into the dark side, take some time, get some breathing space. \$\endgroup\$ – Rob Oct 25 '13 at 10:29
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    \$\begingroup\$ One more way to "get revenge" despite walking away from the game: Run a game. Have your main evil scheming villains modeled after Bob and the DM. Enjoy how your gaming group thwarts their every plan, and works on their untimely demise. \$\endgroup\$ – Jonas Oct 25 '13 at 11:25
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    \$\begingroup\$ @Jonas If that can be done light-heartedly, after the asker has found their peace with what happened, maybe. If the anger is, however, still there, it would be just more holding onto it and, in fact, channelling it and making it even more present, and that would not be constructive. Maybe somewhere in that journey a single, right moment could unlock enlightenment and calmness around the issue. I'm not sure. \$\endgroup\$ – doppelgreener Oct 25 '13 at 11:38
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    \$\begingroup\$ @doppelgreener This is a great answer, especially since you emphasize the price for trying to get back at bob vs. just doing something more rewarding. At the end of the day its just a D&D game, This isn't cloak and dagger politics. \$\endgroup\$ – Joshua Aslan Smith Oct 25 '13 at 12:12
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    \$\begingroup\$ Thread necromancy, but I just found this answer and it's amazingly well thought out. Especially the part about forgiving the other guy to find your own peace. Reminded me of this article: medium.com/vegar/… \$\endgroup\$ – Paul Jun 13 '17 at 19:03

Find better friend(s)

From what you said, Bob is an obnoxious toxic character. Do not role play with him and ditch him as a friend. The rest of the players are bad friends for not standing up for OP, although it could be excused.

Life is too short to waste on this. I get that you want revenge but really it is not worth it. Act like the grown up in the room and go do something fun instead.

As a side note, racism or any other form of abuse, should not be tolerated if it is aimed at players. Characters are a different matter though but would require everyone to be okay with it.

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    \$\begingroup\$ I'd say it wasn't just Bob being a jerk. In D&D, you normally don't mock and loot dead party members; you have them raised. \$\endgroup\$ – Angew is no longer proud of SO Oct 25 '13 at 16:59

You're Upset, and Making Assumptions


Reading this, I get concerned:







Talk To The People




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    \$\begingroup\$ I'm fairly certain no edition of D&D was ever design for intraparty conflict. As such its against the grain of the game to do so, even if there is a cultural subset that would say it's integral to D&D. \$\endgroup\$ – Joshua Aslan Smith Oct 25 '13 at 12:37
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    \$\begingroup\$ If this were a mature group of experienced role players, I would agree 100%. Its at least possible the DM was only doing what he had to and Bob was reacting fully appropriately in character. That said, its still kind of a bad precedent for someone who is new to RP. The next step either way should be to talk to them, and if you can't work it out, consider leaving. \$\endgroup\$ – TimothyAWiseman Oct 25 '13 at 16:33
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    \$\begingroup\$ -1 for ignoring the part where he said the entire group laughed at his death and looted a corpse. It would take a very naive person to make the assumption they might NOT be be bad players and a bad DM. No one deserves to be mocked and laughed at by an entire group of people. \$\endgroup\$ – Carter81 Oct 26 '13 at 9:48
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    \$\begingroup\$ -1 as well. My issue here isn't that there was interparty conflict. It's not even that it was interparty conflict that the GM helped facilitate. It's that this interparty conflict was devised behind the player's back. Regardless of sneakiness or subterfuge, players should retain their own agency in interactions with other players. That, I am sorry, includes unknowingly drinking poisons that another PC concocted. \$\endgroup\$ – NotVonKaiser Oct 26 '13 at 19:44
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    \$\begingroup\$ @NotVonKaiser if a player poisoned one of my other players as a GM I'd try and talk them out of it and I'd give the target several rolls to notice (spot the bluff, resist the poison, etc) but at the end of the day its player action. What is out of order though is having a whole group laughing about it. \$\endgroup\$ – Tim B May 6 '14 at 10:50

Find another group, because these people are not your friends.

So, let's recap:





Best of luck.



You're facing one of two possible situations.





For the record, I completely agree with everyone else here; you shouldn't pursue this route and should just take your leave of this group. Maybe you can still be friends outside of the game, but clearly you all don't belong at the same table. doppelgreener's answer is the correct one. Tridus' answer also provides a good alternative perspective on the issue wihch is worth reading and considering.




I find your lack of faith... disturbing.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Muahaha evil laugh... great ideas. Maybe not the right answer for this question, but a nice inspiration for future hijinx. \$\endgroup\$ – Mala Oct 25 '13 at 21:01
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    \$\begingroup\$ I love the ideas...they are very fun to imagine. However I agree that they are best left to the imagination. \$\endgroup\$ – Fridaypants Aug 26 '15 at 14:59


Fear the Boot RPG podcast - Episode 316: relationships impacting RP








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    \$\begingroup\$ Giving this "Bob" character the benefit of the doubt, it's possible there are some misunderstandings from the OP, and perhaps the DM and other players are not aware how the OP took their actions. Always best to talk things through. \$\endgroup\$ – oliver-clare Oct 25 '13 at 12:26



Know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away, and know when to run.

And this? It's time to walk away.

There are two huge strikes against any plan to take revenge against Bob in a game he's running.

  • Bob is the GM. As such he has all the power possible. You have none.
  • Bob is both GMing and playing a PC at the same time. This is a huge red flag for the game on principle.

And one more - you're going in there not to have fun but to wreck the place. Just walk away.




Warning and disclaimer


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    \$\begingroup\$ That seldom works, because the situation is rarely as clearcut and one-sided as the questioner here depicts. \$\endgroup\$ – mxyzplk - Justice for Monica Oct 25 '13 at 21:59
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    \$\begingroup\$ @mxyzplk Yes, you're right, unfortunately - hence my warning, etc. Yet it might (and does) work in a few cases, so it's worth considering. \$\endgroup\$ – OpaCitiZen Oct 26 '13 at 7:06

Talk to a player you can trust.

I think there is a lot going on here that you don't know about. If there is anyone at the table that you feel you can trust or that will at least tell you the truth go to him or her. Try to find out the answers to these questions.

1. "Why did the other players laugh at your death?"

It sounds like they were in on it. Still, are they really the sadistic type or is something else going on? Perhaps there's something your character (or you as a player) was doing that really irritated them all (and it's not the death of Bob's toady) so they were glad to see your character get was was coming to him.

So you find that something you did was super irritating to the rest of the group. If that's the case, then it was the DM's responsibility to address the issue directly (out of game) with you. This didn't happen and it's apparent that you are unaware of what this might be so it makes it very hard for you to change your behavior (or your character's). This is a case of bad DMing (and maybe a lack of awareness on your side).

2. "How involved with the poisoning plot was the DM?"

If the idea was all Bob's and he simply pitched it to the DM, then there is no metagaming going on here. Bob is culpable of the "My Guy" (this is what my guy would do regardless of how it affects the group) syndrome (to the nth degree) and the DM is culpable in that he allowed your character no choices (no intuition or perception rolls or saving throw of any type).

If the plot was in fact a conspiracy then, depending on the answer to question 1, you really need to walk away. You can't have a good time at that gaming table. If it was all Bob playing his character, then you need to decide if you can play at a table with someone playing their character to the detriment of others. You can try to talk to Bob and explain why My Guy Playing is bad for the game but judging from the lack of empathy so far, I don't see you getting far.

Once you have the answers to these questions, you can make a more enlightened decision on what to do next. If the answers confirm your original suspicions, then I concur with doppelgreener. You can't leave fast enough.





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    \$\begingroup\$ No no no no no. Repeat this mantra, and keep it close to your heart always: "No roleplaying is better than bad roleplaying." These are awful people who are not worth giving additional chances to harass and emotionally abuse. \$\endgroup\$ – SevenSidedDie Oct 25 '13 at 16:18

Could you maybe just talk to them about this?

I know this is three years late, but honestly, it seems like in a situation like this you should just let them know how badly it upset you, how the 'revenge' bob the NPC set out for hurt you personally, not just your character, and ruined the entire end of the campaign for you, regardless of how 'funny' it was.

And if they can't see that, and don't see anything wrong with doing this sort of thing in the future, then look for a new group, once it's clear they aren't going to see your side of things.


I definitely advise finding a new group to play with, bro. It'll just be easier for you in the long run.

That being said, in terms of revenge, it's said that the best revenge is success. That applies even here.

Play this game. But don't just be a participant in the game. Be the Hero. Build a character that's damn near impossible to kill without literally hand-waving it. Take the huge risks, and crush them. Don't just be the Hero. Be the BIG DAMN HERO! Kick ass, take names, and save the world, despite the GM throwing you under the bus constantly.

