Just my two pennies worth, my thoughts are that what happened in-game wasn't necessarily bad, it was just handled poorly by the players. The Warlock, when seeing that the bugbear was negotiating with someone he didn't feel.should be treated in good faith, should have called a time out and said something like "hey, my Warlock really doesn't like this and I foresee him wanting to, ah, tie up loose ends once the goblin has done his part. I think that's inevitable given his character, is that a road we're (as players) comfortable to go down? Or is there another way that we can resolve it?". That way, if the party is happy to continue, there are no hard feelings (like felt by the OP) when the Warlock acts in character. If anyone was unhappy about it, then they could either resolve it (perhaps the Warlock takes the Bugbear aside and persuades him that the goblin has to die) or the DM can orchestrate an intervention (maybe the party comes across a sentry or two, and the prisoner gets caught in the crossfire). It's slightly artificial and not the ideal emergent gameplay that we'd all like, but it avoids the worse contention between players that is likely to come elsewise.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Out of game, I had talked to the DM first. He eventually got back to me and I voiced my concerns and he set my mind at ease that we would figure it out without anyone dying or leaving the game, and we managed to do it without really retconning or breaking immersion.
In game, I found out later that the warlock has serious trust issues and was raised in a cult to be sacrificed like the kid that we were trying to save, and the reason he would kill the goblin was more due to that than anything Bugbear had said or done. Essentially Bugbear was about to leave the dungeon, but our druid noticed and confronted him but did not resolve the issue, Bugbear was going to leave, then heard the child in the dungeon crying, and it came down to a literal roll since he was so conflicted about wither to save the child or split from the people that hurt him. Luckily for me, the dice Gods were in favor of staying, and after saving the child at our next long rest, the Druid readdressed the issue and shared info that allowed for leeway in the issue (such as some of the warlocks history) and some party bonding, which solved the issue for the most part. While Bugbear still holds onto some resentments (Being shot will do that), he has a better understanding of the situation, as well as enough respect for the Druid to feel some form of investment to build off of and give Bugbear a reason to stick around. He has started making passive-aggressive comments when they are about to engage in things that are overtly bad. "Oh, you want to rob and desecrate the graves of those dwarven warriors? How noble." It seems to give them some pause, and they ended up not robbing the tombs we found, and they have referred to bugbear as the group's "furry conscious" so everything seems to have worked out for now.
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I'm glad you resolved it.
Just my two pennies worth, my thoughts are that what happened in-game wasn't necessarily bad, it was just handled poorly by the players. The Warlock, when seeing that the bugbear was negotiating with someone he didn't feel.should be treated in good faith, should have called a time out and said something like "hey, my Warlock really doesn't like this and I foresee him wanting to, ah, tie up loose ends once the goblin has done his part. I think that's inevitable given his character, is that a road we're (as players) comfortable to go down? Or is there another way that we can resolve it?". That way, if the party is happy to continue, there are no hard feelings (like felt by the OP) when the Warlock acts in character. If anyone was unhappy about it, then they could either resolve it (perhaps the Warlock takes the Bugbear aside and persuades him that the goblin has to die) or the DM can orchestrate an intervention (maybe the party comes across a sentry or two, and the prisoner gets caught in the crossfire). It's slightly artificial and not the ideal emergent gameplay that we'd all like, but it avoids the worse contention between players that is likely to come elsewise.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
Out of game, I had talked to the DM first. He eventually got back to me and I voiced my concerns and he set my mind at ease that we would figure it out without anyone dying or leaving the game, and we managed to do it without really retconning or breaking immersion.
In game, I found out later that the warlock has serious trust issues and was raised in a cult to be sacrificed like the kid that we were trying to save, and the reason he would kill the goblin was more due to that than anything Bugbear had said or done. Essentially Bugbear was about to leave the dungeon, but our druid noticed and confronted him but did not resolve the issue, Bugbear was going to leave, then heard the child in the dungeon crying, and it came down to a literal roll since he was so conflicted about wither to save the child or split from the people that hurt him. Luckily for me, the dice Gods were in favor of staying, and after saving the child at our next long rest, the Druid readdressed the issue and shared info that allowed for leeway in the issue (such as some of the warlocks history) and some party bonding, which solved the issue for the most part. While Bugbear still holds onto some resentments (Being shot will do that), he has a better understanding of the situation, as well as enough respect for the Druid to feel some form of investment to build off of and give Bugbear a reason to stick around. He has started making passive-aggressive comments when they are about to engage in things that are overtly bad. "Oh, you want to rob and desecrate the graves of those dwarven warriors? How noble." It seems to give them some pause, and they ended up not robbing the tombs we found, and they have referred to bugbear as the group's "furry conscious" so everything seems to have worked out for now.