I've searched and can't find another post on the forum for this.
I have a few players that like to edit their characters both during the session and between sessions. I've asked them to stop, I've told them to stop, I've demanded they stop.
They don't.
Is there an option in the Campaign settings or something somewhere that I haven't seen yet to prevent players from changing character stats and skills and stuff after the character is created and they've started playing it? I don't mind about things like coin and inventory, but changing stats and HP numbers (or flat out re-rolling them all) and changing skill selections or the character Background and the like needs to have the ability to be disabled or prevented somehow.
And before someone says it, yes, I considered banning folks from the table. If I do that however, I'd end up playing alone and that isn't the point of D&D.
And yes I've thought of getting new friends. I'd rather just prevent them from making changes to the characters' basic makeup after we've started using them. I don't care about items and gold pieces honestly, but suddenly having Expertise in Survival when a week ago the same character wasn't even Proficient... well, that's the kind of thing that needs to stop.
If this option doesn't exist, then perhaps it could be considered as a feature request?
It's not an issue of think, it's an issue of knowing. And I have been keeping tabs on character edits which is how I know it is still occurring after I've asked several times for it to stop.
I was much rather hoping to see an option developed to prevent it from happening instead of having to take 30 to 60 minutes at every sessions sorting out the changes and trying to make the players revert them. It would save a lot of time and headache at my table. Maybe a toggle or something on the Campaign Page that would prevent any edits to characters by the players that don't involve either the equipment/inventory listing, spell list (if and when they're allowed to make changes to it) or leveling up. That way the DM of the Campaign could still do things, but the players would be restricted until either removed from the Campaign or that optional protection was turned off.
I think making character documents save against malicious owners is not a reasonable expectation, and certainly not a bug if not met. This is not a PvP game that needs a cheat prevention system. This is character sheets. Maybe get new players.
You could take ownership of the character sheets. But seriously, with whom do you want to play the game. They are not supposed to play against you. It is not that kind of game.
If you can't trust your players not to cheat and break your game's rules (whether official or those agreed to at your table), then you have a problem that cannot be fixed solely by using DnDBeyond or any other character sheet management method. Playing D&D in a way that's fun for everyone (DMs & players both) requires mutual trust, and maintaining character sheets has always been the players' responsibility (just as its the DM's responsibility to not abuse their power over the PCs).
If you are dead-set on playing with people that you don't trust, the only I think you can prevent edits between games by creating unassigned characters for the campaign yourself, assigning them (or allowing them to be claimed) at the beginning of each session, and then un-assigning them at the end of the session. But seriously, I can't imagine that your games will be all that much fun even with a solution to this particular problem. Better to make new friends by finding other people who will play without cheating.
I'd have thought maybe there could be a simple option added to allow a DM of a Campaign to see changes that were made, when they were made, and to either approve or revert those changes that a player or players make to a character sheet/s. And an option to simply disable that functionality and not track character changes if a DM so desires. Sure I could take over their sheets on D&DB, but who wants the hassle of handing out and taking back things at every session? There is already so much else to do, and I'd thought that having an automated way of monitoring/seeing changes would've been much easier.
And yes, as was stated, this is supposed to be a game of fun for everyone, not Gestapo-like control of players, and I couldn't agree more. That said, some folks just like to fiddle with the numbers when they don't like how something has been working out for them. Things like customizing a weapon bonus from nothing to +1 just because their dice roll poorly very often, or adding a few extra gold pieces so they can suddenly afford some item they've been pining after, or a few extra crossbow bolts or a lantern because they don't have dark vision, or bumping an ability score by a point just to get a +3 bonus instead of +2, etc. etc.
Yes I could find new friends, sure, anyone can do that. It's a bit harder to find a new wife, and she is one of the problem players. We've discussed this issue away from and at the table in the past, several times, and she doesn't see a problem with doing it. There is another player, a friend of hers and someone I've known for a few years, doing the same thing. The remaining players are people I've known from just a couple years up to almost 30 years, and they are trustworthy and don't do this type of thing.
My bigger issue is that it isn't fair to the players. Two characters at the table seem to improve one thing or another at almost every session, while the rest have to wait until they level up. It affects game play and the other players at the table, their moods and their enjoyment of the game (or sudden lack of it). Yes some of what I'm saying now seems to contradict what I mentioned earlier, but I was trying to protect identities (myself and my spouse) just in case someone else from the table or larger group of friends (who are also players) came across this post.
The other thing I have to wonder is if the DDAL requires such stringent control of characters (at least it does from the rules and guidelines I've read), then why doesn't D&D Beyond want to support that? Being a programmer and IT guy myself, I can see where adding a few lines of could (or perhaps a separate module) and a couple extra fields to the existing database would implement what I'm looking for.
As it stands, I've given up keeping track of these changes for the most part. I'm an observant guy with a good memory, and I can usually spot a change made between sessions because an Armor Class suddenly increased or saving throw modifier improved when there wasn't a reason for it. I also haven't brought this issue up with the players for a few months now because honestly I'm getting tried of trying to deal with it and with folks becoming adversarial or defensive when it comes up. Since I first posted about this, we've started a new game with the same people, just a different person being the DM, because frankly I'm tired of dealing with this stuff.
This behavior still happens. I notice, I say nothing. I instead let the other players bicker and harass and call each other out on it. That's made the game sessions so much more fun for me because now I get to sit ont he sidelines and watch the other players argue, and people being upset and angry for the rest of the session, and I'm no longer the cause of it and am not involved. So, no skin off my back. I just have to listen to my wife complain about being picked on and targeted off-and-on over the next few days after each session. I don't enjoy it, but I've learned to ignore her now so it doesn't bother me much. That isn't how I want to live my life or play the game, but that's what it has become.
The take away for me is that this functionality could be implemented on D&DB with little issue, just some coding and testing work. The fact that folks generally seem to be so dead-set against adding a function for optional use by DM's strikes me as somewhat odd. And no I'm not complaining or arguing. I know this response reads like that, but really I'm not. Like I said earlier I've moved past it all and have just been letting the players argue and waste time on it instead (I've been enjoying the extra smoke break this generates during the game sessions). If this is how they want to enjoy the game then who am I to stop them, right?
I don't own the company and have no say in what D&DB does with their stuff. I just saw an issue (because I've experienced it) and suggested an optional to use work around that could be implemented. Either way, I thank the above respondents for their time, their thoughts, and the responses.
Proper history (several steps of undo/redo) is hard or expensive. The expensive solution is simple but really expensive. Every other solution is really hard. We don't want them to do hard stuff, as every single human being introduces vast amounts of hard to find, track and resolve or fix bugs if they try to do hard stuff in software development.
Have you asked them why they're cheating? Do they think they need to because you're setting DCs too high, or something? It may be that they're just ******bags but it can also be you're not vibing with them and setting bars too high that their current stats fail to reach too much.
That being said and done, preventing people editing sheets is a hard no. It is their character and their sheet and they may do what they want. So that should never be added as a feature on here. And mods have already said they won't.
If you have told them to not make changes without your approval, that's fine. If they ignore that, and they cannot adequately justify it - find a new group. If you cannot trust them and they do not respect you (as seems evident) it is not worth playing with them. No D&D is better than bad D&D. And playing D&D with a new group is pretty easy if you can adjust to playing online.
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That makes it simpler then. If the new DM doesn't care and you do - leave.
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Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond. Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ thisFAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I think the comments above that you can't do anything with DDB are correct, and isn't really the issue at hand. It's the disrespect of other players, which is a shame. Are they also fudging dice rolls?
As a DM you could try warning them off any more shenanigans and if they don't listen it's time for them to meet the lich with a pet tarrasque. Since your currently a player, maybe make a copy of your character sheet and use the copy to max out all your stats to the highest level, gain expertise in every skill, take all the feats, etc. I'm mostly kidding, but trying to find a way to demonstrate that what is essentially cheating isn't fun for other people.
It sounds like you've tried multiple times, and honestly, I wouldn't have much hope left of things changing. I'm sorry you're still going through this. Good luck.
There is no option to prevent people from modifying their own character sheets. One of the core design elements of D&D Beyond is that a person can't be stopped from viewing or editing that which they own. It's the same reason that you can't block someone from seeing a book via the content sharing management screen if they own said book.
I would allow them to make their characters in DDB. No real problems there.
But at the end of 0 session download each character as a PDF and then print them out for each player to use during play. Reprint each character when they level up after all new changes have been made. You can also edit out the pages you do not want to print with a good PDF viewer.
No longer play off of devices. This also tends to concentrate the players attention to the game instead of their phones and such.
I would allow them to make their characters in DDB. No real problems there.
But at the end of 0 session download each character as a PDF and then print them out for each player to use during play. Reprint each character when they level up after all new changes have been made. You can also edit out the pages you do not want to print with a good PDF viewer.
No longer play off of devices. This also tends to concentrate the players attention to the game instead of their phones and such.
Why not just let them change it? Let it go! They kill the dragon in one crit because they added a vorpal sword, let it happen. If they have fun who cares? If there is contention in the group over it, take a vote and let the group prevail. If the group says no and someone does it take a vote right then and there to kick the player. The idea is to have fun, and if you clench too tightly on rules you're missing the point. Turn it into a game of Calvin Ball. If you can't handle it, no matter if you are the DM or a player, leave. Open your mind to new ways to play.
I would allow them to make their characters in DDB. No real problems there.
But at the end of 0 session download each character as a PDF and then print them out for each player to use during play. Reprint each character when they level up after all new changes have been made. You can also edit out the pages you do not want to print with a good PDF viewer.
No longer play off of devices. This also tends to concentrate the players attention to the game instead of their phones and such.
For characters with fixed improvements it’s a solution if you are not completely digital but characters like clerics and druids can change out their entire spell selections with a long rest. Sure it’s only spells they are changing and not stats and gear etc. but if you have to go to that extent then it’s probably not worth playing with them.
Why not just let them change it? Let it go! They kill the dragon in one crit because they added a vorpal sword, let it happen. If they have fun who cares? If there is contention in the group over it, take a vote and let the group prevail. If the group says no and someone does it take a vote right then and there to kick the player. The idea is to have fun, and if you clench too tightly on rules you're missing the point. Turn it into a game of Calvin Ball. If you can't handle it, no matter if you are the DM or a player, leave. Open your mind to new ways to play.
Counterpoint: Calvinball sucks and is absolutely unsatisfying to run and/or play. For some people it's an absolute turn-off. I would far rather not play at all than play with a bunch of chaos monkey yaybos that don't care in the slightest about the game and are just chucking dice at books for the yucks.
To the original point: This would be a much bigger ask, code-wise, than you're suspecting it is. As even you stated, some things on the sheet need to be open to player edits regardless, and as Davyd stated it's dramatically anti-consumer for DDB to allow someone else to 'steal' your character and deny you the ability to use or control them. The use case you're speaking of - a DM trying to ride herd on rampant cheating/Calvinball - is very rare. The fact that this group of chuckle****s has consistently ignored instructions not to fidget with their shit between and/or during sessions is a sign that they cannot be trusted to run any sort of serious game of D&D. As ChessMess said - either you're okay with Calvinabll and having no plot, story, narrative satisfaction, challenge, or meaningful gameplay loop whatsoever, or it's time for a new table. That sucks, especially as your wife is playing at the table, but it's sounding a great deal like there's a fundamental disconnect between your needs as a DM/player and these yaybos' desires that cannot be fixed. So it's time to stop trying.
I'm sorry to hear about the group dynamic, but I'm glad things have improved somewhat since you've stopped DMing, OP.
As for the character sheet lock feature, I think yours is too much of an edge case to gain any traction. Spurious stat massaging and unauthorized inventory upgrades do happen, but I'd wager the vast majority of these already-fringe scenarios are nullified when DMs confront/ban the players or shrug off the behavior entirely. I don't think the demand for it would be anywhere near what it needs to be to make the ROI on the project worthwhile.
I know you aren't looking for advice on what to do with the people you play with, but my unsolicited two cents is that if you and others in the group are bothered by it/how much time is wasted by the arguing, maybe it's worth the whole table having a chat about what kind of game experience people are looking for. Because ultimately, if people aren't having fun at the table, that's the real issue that needs fixing.
Again, glad your stress levels are down now that you're a player! Hope your table strikes a balance of gameplay mechanics that suits everyone's needs and expectations.
Effectively, "Calvinball" is a game where there are no rules. And not in the "you're free to do whatever you can think of and the DM will resolve it with a streamlined resolution system" meaning of no rules. In the "I attack the dragon with my mayonnaise pistol and splatter its innards across the forest because it has a deathly violent allergic reaction to mayonnaise" meaning of no rules - even though the party was in town, there WAS no dragon, and nobody has ever invented a mayonnaise pistol.
Calvinball says that whatever most recently came out of a player's mouth is now The Rules, without regard for anything that came before, up until the next player says something else and that becomes the new rules. It's Animaniacs, but with even less structure than Animaniacs.
It is, to put it mildly, not good. Some people love it, but a larger percentage of people end up invincibly confused and wondering what the absolute Shatnerquake tapioca manhell is going on.
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I've searched and can't find another post on the forum for this.
I have a few players that like to edit their characters both during the session and between sessions. I've asked them to stop, I've told them to stop, I've demanded they stop.
They don't.
Is there an option in the Campaign settings or something somewhere that I haven't seen yet to prevent players from changing character stats and skills and stuff after the character is created and they've started playing it? I don't mind about things like coin and inventory, but changing stats and HP numbers (or flat out re-rolling them all) and changing skill selections or the character Background and the like needs to have the ability to be disabled or prevented somehow.
And before someone says it, yes, I considered banning folks from the table. If I do that however, I'd end up playing alone and that isn't the point of D&D.
And yes I've thought of getting new friends. I'd rather just prevent them from making changes to the characters' basic makeup after we've started using them. I don't care about items and gold pieces honestly, but suddenly having Expertise in Survival when a week ago the same character wasn't even Proficient... well, that's the kind of thing that needs to stop.
If this option doesn't exist, then perhaps it could be considered as a feature request?
You could make copies of their characters and just look at those if you think they are cheating.
It pronounced Den Sake. It is not Japanese.
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It's not an issue of think, it's an issue of knowing. And I have been keeping tabs on character edits which is how I know it is still occurring after I've asked several times for it to stop.
I was much rather hoping to see an option developed to prevent it from happening instead of having to take 30 to 60 minutes at every sessions sorting out the changes and trying to make the players revert them. It would save a lot of time and headache at my table. Maybe a toggle or something on the Campaign Page that would prevent any edits to characters by the players that don't involve either the equipment/inventory listing, spell list (if and when they're allowed to make changes to it) or leveling up. That way the DM of the Campaign could still do things, but the players would be restricted until either removed from the Campaign or that optional protection was turned off.
I think making character documents save against malicious owners is not a reasonable expectation, and certainly not a bug if not met. This is not a PvP game that needs a cheat prevention system. This is character sheets. Maybe get new players.
You could take ownership of the character sheets. But seriously, with whom do you want to play the game. They are not supposed to play against you. It is not that kind of game.
It's worth restating what Umbratica says:
If you can't trust your players not to cheat and break your game's rules (whether official or those agreed to at your table), then you have a problem that cannot be fixed solely by using DnDBeyond or any other character sheet management method. Playing D&D in a way that's fun for everyone (DMs & players both) requires mutual trust, and maintaining character sheets has always been the players' responsibility (just as its the DM's responsibility to not abuse their power over the PCs).
If you are dead-set on playing with people that you don't trust, the only I think you can prevent edits between games by creating unassigned characters for the campaign yourself, assigning them (or allowing them to be claimed) at the beginning of each session, and then un-assigning them at the end of the session. But seriously, I can't imagine that your games will be all that much fun even with a solution to this particular problem. Better to make new friends by finding other people who will play without cheating.
I'd have thought maybe there could be a simple option added to allow a DM of a Campaign to see changes that were made, when they were made, and to either approve or revert those changes that a player or players make to a character sheet/s. And an option to simply disable that functionality and not track character changes if a DM so desires. Sure I could take over their sheets on D&DB, but who wants the hassle of handing out and taking back things at every session? There is already so much else to do, and I'd thought that having an automated way of monitoring/seeing changes would've been much easier.
And yes, as was stated, this is supposed to be a game of fun for everyone, not Gestapo-like control of players, and I couldn't agree more. That said, some folks just like to fiddle with the numbers when they don't like how something has been working out for them. Things like customizing a weapon bonus from nothing to +1 just because their dice roll poorly very often, or adding a few extra gold pieces so they can suddenly afford some item they've been pining after, or a few extra crossbow bolts or a lantern because they don't have dark vision, or bumping an ability score by a point just to get a +3 bonus instead of +2, etc. etc.
Yes I could find new friends, sure, anyone can do that. It's a bit harder to find a new wife, and she is one of the problem players. We've discussed this issue away from and at the table in the past, several times, and she doesn't see a problem with doing it. There is another player, a friend of hers and someone I've known for a few years, doing the same thing. The remaining players are people I've known from just a couple years up to almost 30 years, and they are trustworthy and don't do this type of thing.
My bigger issue is that it isn't fair to the players. Two characters at the table seem to improve one thing or another at almost every session, while the rest have to wait until they level up. It affects game play and the other players at the table, their moods and their enjoyment of the game (or sudden lack of it). Yes some of what I'm saying now seems to contradict what I mentioned earlier, but I was trying to protect identities (myself and my spouse) just in case someone else from the table or larger group of friends (who are also players) came across this post.
The other thing I have to wonder is if the DDAL requires such stringent control of characters (at least it does from the rules and guidelines I've read), then why doesn't D&D Beyond want to support that? Being a programmer and IT guy myself, I can see where adding a few lines of could (or perhaps a separate module) and a couple extra fields to the existing database would implement what I'm looking for.
As it stands, I've given up keeping track of these changes for the most part. I'm an observant guy with a good memory, and I can usually spot a change made between sessions because an Armor Class suddenly increased or saving throw modifier improved when there wasn't a reason for it. I also haven't brought this issue up with the players for a few months now because honestly I'm getting tried of trying to deal with it and with folks becoming adversarial or defensive when it comes up. Since I first posted about this, we've started a new game with the same people, just a different person being the DM, because frankly I'm tired of dealing with this stuff.
This behavior still happens. I notice, I say nothing. I instead let the other players bicker and harass and call each other out on it. That's made the game sessions so much more fun for me because now I get to sit ont he sidelines and watch the other players argue, and people being upset and angry for the rest of the session, and I'm no longer the cause of it and am not involved. So, no skin off my back. I just have to listen to my wife complain about being picked on and targeted off-and-on over the next few days after each session. I don't enjoy it, but I've learned to ignore her now so it doesn't bother me much. That isn't how I want to live my life or play the game, but that's what it has become.
The take away for me is that this functionality could be implemented on D&DB with little issue, just some coding and testing work. The fact that folks generally seem to be so dead-set against adding a function for optional use by DM's strikes me as somewhat odd. And no I'm not complaining or arguing. I know this response reads like that, but really I'm not. Like I said earlier I've moved past it all and have just been letting the players argue and waste time on it instead (I've been enjoying the extra smoke break this generates during the game sessions). If this is how they want to enjoy the game then who am I to stop them, right?
I don't own the company and have no say in what D&DB does with their stuff. I just saw an issue (because I've experienced it) and suggested an optional to use work around that could be implemented. Either way, I thank the above respondents for their time, their thoughts, and the responses.
Proper history (several steps of undo/redo) is hard or expensive. The expensive solution is simple but really expensive. Every other solution is really hard. We don't want them to do hard stuff, as every single human being introduces vast amounts of hard to find, track and resolve or fix bugs if they try to do hard stuff in software development.
Have you asked them why they're cheating? Do they think they need to because you're setting DCs too high, or something? It may be that they're just ******bags but it can also be you're not vibing with them and setting bars too high that their current stats fail to reach too much.
That being said and done, preventing people editing sheets is a hard no. It is their character and their sheet and they may do what they want. So that should never be added as a feature on here. And mods have already said they won't.
If you have told them to not make changes without your approval, that's fine. If they ignore that, and they cannot adequately justify it - find a new group. If you cannot trust them and they do not respect you (as seems evident) it is not worth playing with them. No D&D is better than bad D&D. And playing D&D with a new group is pretty easy if you can adjust to playing online.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I'm not the DM anymore. New game under new management, same problems.
That makes it simpler then. If the new DM doesn't care and you do - leave.
Click ✨ HERE ✨ For My Youtube Videos featuring Guides, Tips & Tricks for using D&D Beyond.
Need help with Homebrew? Check out ✨ this FAQ/Guide thread ✨ by IamSposta.
I think the comments above that you can't do anything with DDB are correct, and isn't really the issue at hand. It's the disrespect of other players, which is a shame. Are they also fudging dice rolls?
As a DM you could try warning them off any more shenanigans and if they don't listen it's time for them to meet the lich with a pet tarrasque. Since your currently a player, maybe make a copy of your character sheet and use the copy to max out all your stats to the highest level, gain expertise in every skill, take all the feats, etc. I'm mostly kidding, but trying to find a way to demonstrate that what is essentially cheating isn't fun for other people.
It sounds like you've tried multiple times, and honestly, I wouldn't have much hope left of things changing. I'm sorry you're still going through this. Good luck.
There is no option to prevent people from modifying their own character sheets. One of the core design elements of D&D Beyond is that a person can't be stopped from viewing or editing that which they own. It's the same reason that you can't block someone from seeing a book via the content sharing management screen if they own said book.
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
I would allow them to make their characters in DDB. No real problems there.
But at the end of 0 session download each character as a PDF and then print them out for each player to use during play. Reprint each character when they level up after all new changes have been made. You can also edit out the pages you do not want to print with a good PDF viewer.
No longer play off of devices. This also tends to concentrate the players attention to the game instead of their phones and such.
This is pretty easy to do:
https://dndbeyond-support.wizards.com/hc/en-us/articles/7747238449556-Export-Sheet
Why not just let them change it? Let it go! They kill the dragon in one crit because they added a vorpal sword, let it happen. If they have fun who cares? If there is contention in the group over it, take a vote and let the group prevail. If the group says no and someone does it take a vote right then and there to kick the player. The idea is to have fun, and if you clench too tightly on rules you're missing the point. Turn it into a game of Calvin Ball. If you can't handle it, no matter if you are the DM or a player, leave. Open your mind to new ways to play.
For characters with fixed improvements it’s a solution if you are not completely digital but characters like clerics and druids can change out their entire spell selections with a long rest. Sure it’s only spells they are changing and not stats and gear etc. but if you have to go to that extent then it’s probably not worth playing with them.
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Counterpoint: Calvinball sucks and is absolutely unsatisfying to run and/or play. For some people it's an absolute turn-off. I would far rather not play at all than play with a bunch of chaos monkey yaybos that don't care in the slightest about the game and are just chucking dice at books for the yucks.
To the original point: This would be a much bigger ask, code-wise, than you're suspecting it is. As even you stated, some things on the sheet need to be open to player edits regardless, and as Davyd stated it's dramatically anti-consumer for DDB to allow someone else to 'steal' your character and deny you the ability to use or control them. The use case you're speaking of - a DM trying to ride herd on rampant cheating/Calvinball - is very rare. The fact that this group of chuckle****s has consistently ignored instructions not to fidget with their shit between and/or during sessions is a sign that they cannot be trusted to run any sort of serious game of D&D. As ChessMess said - either you're okay with Calvinabll and having no plot, story, narrative satisfaction, challenge, or meaningful gameplay loop whatsoever, or it's time for a new table. That sucks, especially as your wife is playing at the table, but it's sounding a great deal like there's a fundamental disconnect between your needs as a DM/player and these yaybos' desires that cannot be fixed. So it's time to stop trying.
Please do not contact or message me.
I'm sorry to hear about the group dynamic, but I'm glad things have improved somewhat since you've stopped DMing, OP.
As for the character sheet lock feature, I think yours is too much of an edge case to gain any traction. Spurious stat massaging and unauthorized inventory upgrades do happen, but I'd wager the vast majority of these already-fringe scenarios are nullified when DMs confront/ban the players or shrug off the behavior entirely. I don't think the demand for it would be anywhere near what it needs to be to make the ROI on the project worthwhile.
I know you aren't looking for advice on what to do with the people you play with, but my unsolicited two cents is that if you and others in the group are bothered by it/how much time is wasted by the arguing, maybe it's worth the whole table having a chat about what kind of game experience people are looking for. Because ultimately, if people aren't having fun at the table, that's the real issue that needs fixing.
Again, glad your stress levels are down now that you're a player! Hope your table strikes a balance of gameplay mechanics that suits everyone's needs and expectations.
Calvinball?!? What is?
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Calvinball on TVTropes
Effectively, "Calvinball" is a game where there are no rules. And not in the "you're free to do whatever you can think of and the DM will resolve it with a streamlined resolution system" meaning of no rules. In the "I attack the dragon with my mayonnaise pistol and splatter its innards across the forest because it has a deathly violent allergic reaction to mayonnaise" meaning of no rules - even though the party was in town, there WAS no dragon, and nobody has ever invented a mayonnaise pistol.
Calvinball says that whatever most recently came out of a player's mouth is now The Rules, without regard for anything that came before, up until the next player says something else and that becomes the new rules. It's Animaniacs, but with even less structure than Animaniacs.
It is, to put it mildly, not good. Some people love it, but a larger percentage of people end up invincibly confused and wondering what the absolute Shatnerquake tapioca manhell is going on.
Please do not contact or message me.