We are playing a group with 4 level 8 players and our DM. He was frustrated with my PC for being "too strong" so when we got into an encounter with a frost giant zombie he had it use it's stare until I was paralyzed and then had it promptly kill my character. He never had it even notice anyone else and I was standing near the back of the party. I can't help but feel slighted especially after so many sessions of play.
I don't mean I completely died. It was just overwhelmingly obvious it was just out of frustration. Everyone was just really quiet and it just got really awkward.
So your chat was dropped to zero HP but is still alive after the encounter or it’s time to make a new character?
I don’t condone the DM’s behavior but I don’t know what was in their mind at the time. Was there a reason you would be the focus, other than frustration? Was this zombie controlled by the BBEG that you have been a thorn in the side of and it decided you needed to get taught a lesson? Don’t know with the information given.
That said, if your character is still alive and you’re able to continue playing hopefully this will not happen again. If it does then you need to have a polite talk with your DM and see what’s going on. If it doesn’t happen again then keep playing and have fun.
We are playing a group with 4 level 8 players and our DM. He was frustrated with my PC for being "too strong" so when we got into an encounter with a frost giant zombie he had it use it's stare until I was paralyzed and then had it promptly kill my character. He never had it even notice anyone else and I was standing near the back of the party. I can't help but feel slighted especially after so many sessions of play.
In my opinion, it is better to talk to your DM rather than asking for our opinion, especially from those of us who are also DMs. For those of us who are DMs, this comes off as a player trying to find ammunition against their DM by saying something like "these players and DM online said so and so, which is the opposite of how you should DM," and that would be pretty offputting. DMs are the ultimate authority of their own table. What other players, DMs, Wizards of the Coast, and even RAW says have no authority at your DM's table.
We do not know the perspective from your DM, so we will not be able to accurately judge the situation. And from what I have seen on here, DMs are very reluctant to judge another DM based solely on a player's words. In addition to not knowing what the other side's perspective is, whatever opinions we have are quite frankly irrelevant at your DM's table. We run our games how we want, and we are not going to tell another DM that they are running their games wrong just because it is different from how we do it. Obviously, no DM is perfect, and there are shitty ones out there, but most DMs are decent and reasonable people. If your DM is able to put up with your character and play style after so many sessions, then to me, it seems like your DM was rather patient.
Talk to your DM. A DM deliberately killing off a PC seems like a last resort thing because you were not able to get their message. Have a one on one with your DM. Your group might also want to have another sessions zero to reestablish what the expectations are for the campaign.
From what I can tell, it seems like there is a play style difference between you and your DM. Your DM does not like super powerful characters, while you do. In my opinion, whether power gaming is encouraged or disallowed should be established during session zero. If you all agreed to not powergame back during session zero but you did it anyways and broke that social contract, then the DM is very justified in killing off any character that crosses that line.
The Wildemount book has a couple of monsters that are really too strong for their CR, and the Frost Giant Zombie is quite probably the worst offender in that regard. I’m not saying I don’t believe your assessment of the situation, just that this is a monster that can quite easily get out of hand. What happened to the rest of the party?
From “I don’t mean I completely died” I surmise your character was allowed to make death saves and stabilized, the FGZ didn’t focus you down until you were really dead? If so, your DM might just have wanted to show to you and the other players that a really powerful character can still get in trouble. Maybe it was done a little bit ham-fistedly, but occasionally that’s a message that should be sent.
I’m going to follow XXXGammaRay above and suggest you a) have a chat with your DM about what that was all about and b) don’t give too much weight to the opinions of a bunch of random forum posters who know next to nothing about the situation. ;-)
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You leave out a ton of key information. What are the classes of the chars in the party? What about magic items? Now, no one can typically reply to this question with an unbiased answer, but is your char actually over-powered compared to the rest of the group?
If you knew the DM was frustrated because your PC was too strong, what did you do, as a player, to deal with this? Did you ask the DM specifically why they thought the PC was too strong? Did you look objectively at those reasons and ask yourself if maybe you had min-maxed your character a little too much compared to everyone else?
It is easily possible in D&D to make one character who, by being super-efficient compared to the rest of the party, is grossly off-scale to them. And then as a DM the problem is that what challenges you will outright kill them, and what challenges them, you will laugh off. If you have made that kind of super-efficient character amidst a group of PCs that are not, then as a player, you might need to take some ownership of the situation and dial it the heck down. Refusal to do so indicates to the DM that you are not willing to be cooperative and sportsmanlike.
I do not support the DM having monsters act in an OOC manner and singling your character out for reasons not directly in-character for the current RP situation. However, I sympathize with a DM who feels that one character is dramatically off-scale with the rest of the party, and is at a loss for what to do. More experienced DMs will be able to handle this better than less experienced ones, and very inexperienced ones will do things like DM-fiat your character into the nine hells or what have you.
But we must remember that the only reason the DM is at this loss for what to do, is because the character is (in the DM's view) overpowered in the first place. This suggest a very simple solution to this problem: stop making OP characters.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I agree with a lot of what has been said already and in my initial reply I also believe talking to the DM politely is a good first step.
But
Just like we don’t have all the information on the DM’s side to say if they were being unfair or not we should be careful with just as little information not to attack the player.
We don’t know what type of character they are playing and if it is overpowered or not. There are some classes that can just perform better with no optimization at all compared to others. A Barbarian with GWM using their key feature, Rage, and reckless attack can put out some high damage compared to a Lore Bard that wants to stand in the front line sticking enemies with their rapier. The Barbarian in this situation might seem overpowered but it’s just a typical character, not particularly optimized.
My point is, let’s not attack the OP with such little information just like we shouldn’t attack the DM for being unfair. We just don’t have enough information to make any kind of educated response.
I agree with a lot of what has been said already and in my initial reply I also believe talking to the DM politely is a good first step.
But
Just like we don’t have all the information on the DM’s side to say if they were being unfair or not we should be careful with just as little information not to attack the player.
We don’t know what type of character they are playing and if it is overpowered or not. There are some classes that can just perform better with no optimization at all compared to others. A Barbarian with GWM using their key feature, Rage, and reckless attack can put out some high damage compared to a Lore Bard that wants to stand in the front line sticking enemies with their rapier. The Barbarian in this situation might seem overpowered but it’s just a typical character, not particularly optimized.
My point is, let’s not attack the OP with such little information just like we shouldn’t attack the DM for being unfair. We just don’t have enough information to make any kind of educated response.
Then how about the OP fill us in with the details some of us have requested?
OP, I think you're going to need to give some more background on the situation. Do you know why the Dm thinks your character is overpowered? is it a specific combination of class or mechanics? Have they even sat down to talk to you about it before trying to kill them off?
It's hard to figure out what the root of the problem is when we don't have very many details to work with, but the one thing I can say with certainty is this: sitting down and having a mature talk will fix most problems that arise at a table, and if you find yourself in a situation where you're saddled with a truly awful DM, the best thing you can do is leave. You can always do better than stay with a bad table, and no D&D is better than bad D&D.
My point is, let’s not attack the OP with such little information just like we shouldn’t attack the DM for being unfair. We just don’t have enough information to make any kind of educated response.
Agreed, especially to someone that's a first-time poster to the DnDBeyond forums.
To the OP, if you're posting to vent about the situation to a community of players outside your own group, that's perfectly fine. You probably would have gotten different responses if you had titled your post "Our DM just brutalized my PC (venting)". Just adding the "venting" or "rant" to the end of the title helps keep away the inevitable "How dare you post to a community of D&D fans and disrespect the almighty DM!" responses.
On your actual post: I get it, I've been there as a player. I've also targeted single PCs as a DM. Never out of frustration with the player/PC, but because at a certain point, the group becomes well known. And if you're fighting an intelligent enemy that has heard about the party, they're going to know who the biggest threat is and target them first and often until they're down, then turn to the rest of the party. Just saying there could be a reason you're not aware of. Talk to your DM about it soon... don't let the frustration simmer until next session.
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We are playing a group with 4 level 8 players and our DM. He was frustrated with my PC for being "too strong" so when we got into an encounter with a frost giant zombie he had it use it's stare until I was paralyzed and then had it promptly kill my character. He never had it even notice anyone else and I was standing near the back of the party. I can't help but feel slighted especially after so many sessions of play.
How did the others react?
Feels an odd thing to do, given it ignored the others what did they do?
No Cleric or Druid?
Have they recovered your character's body so they can be raised?
I don't mean I completely died. It was just overwhelmingly obvious it was just out of frustration. Everyone was just really quiet and it just got really awkward.
So your chat was dropped to zero HP but is still alive after the encounter or it’s time to make a new character?
I don’t condone the DM’s behavior but I don’t know what was in their mind at the time. Was there a reason you would be the focus, other than frustration? Was this zombie controlled by the BBEG that you have been a thorn in the side of and it decided you needed to get taught a lesson? Don’t know with the information given.
That said, if your character is still alive and you’re able to continue playing hopefully this will not happen again. If it does then you need to have a polite talk with your DM and see what’s going on. If it doesn’t happen again then keep playing and have fun.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
In my opinion, it is better to talk to your DM rather than asking for our opinion, especially from those of us who are also DMs. For those of us who are DMs, this comes off as a player trying to find ammunition against their DM by saying something like "these players and DM online said so and so, which is the opposite of how you should DM," and that would be pretty offputting. DMs are the ultimate authority of their own table. What other players, DMs, Wizards of the Coast, and even RAW says have no authority at your DM's table.
We do not know the perspective from your DM, so we will not be able to accurately judge the situation. And from what I have seen on here, DMs are very reluctant to judge another DM based solely on a player's words. In addition to not knowing what the other side's perspective is, whatever opinions we have are quite frankly irrelevant at your DM's table. We run our games how we want, and we are not going to tell another DM that they are running their games wrong just because it is different from how we do it. Obviously, no DM is perfect, and there are shitty ones out there, but most DMs are decent and reasonable people. If your DM is able to put up with your character and play style after so many sessions, then to me, it seems like your DM was rather patient.
Talk to your DM. A DM deliberately killing off a PC seems like a last resort thing because you were not able to get their message. Have a one on one with your DM. Your group might also want to have another sessions zero to reestablish what the expectations are for the campaign.
From what I can tell, it seems like there is a play style difference between you and your DM. Your DM does not like super powerful characters, while you do. In my opinion, whether power gaming is encouraged or disallowed should be established during session zero. If you all agreed to not powergame back during session zero but you did it anyways and broke that social contract, then the DM is very justified in killing off any character that crosses that line.
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The Wildemount book has a couple of monsters that are really too strong for their CR, and the Frost Giant Zombie is quite probably the worst offender in that regard. I’m not saying I don’t believe your assessment of the situation, just that this is a monster that can quite easily get out of hand. What happened to the rest of the party?
From “I don’t mean I completely died” I surmise your character was allowed to make death saves and stabilized, the FGZ didn’t focus you down until you were really dead? If so, your DM might just have wanted to show to you and the other players that a really powerful character can still get in trouble. Maybe it was done a little bit ham-fistedly, but occasionally that’s a message that should be sent.
I’m going to follow XXXGammaRay above and suggest you a) have a chat with your DM about what that was all about and b) don’t give too much weight to the opinions of a bunch of random forum posters who know next to nothing about the situation. ;-)
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
You leave out a ton of key information. What are the classes of the chars in the party? What about magic items? Now, no one can typically reply to this question with an unbiased answer, but is your char actually over-powered compared to the rest of the group?
If you knew the DM was frustrated because your PC was too strong, what did you do, as a player, to deal with this? Did you ask the DM specifically why they thought the PC was too strong? Did you look objectively at those reasons and ask yourself if maybe you had min-maxed your character a little too much compared to everyone else?
It is easily possible in D&D to make one character who, by being super-efficient compared to the rest of the party, is grossly off-scale to them. And then as a DM the problem is that what challenges you will outright kill them, and what challenges them, you will laugh off. If you have made that kind of super-efficient character amidst a group of PCs that are not, then as a player, you might need to take some ownership of the situation and dial it the heck down. Refusal to do so indicates to the DM that you are not willing to be cooperative and sportsmanlike.
I do not support the DM having monsters act in an OOC manner and singling your character out for reasons not directly in-character for the current RP situation. However, I sympathize with a DM who feels that one character is dramatically off-scale with the rest of the party, and is at a loss for what to do. More experienced DMs will be able to handle this better than less experienced ones, and very inexperienced ones will do things like DM-fiat your character into the nine hells or what have you.
But we must remember that the only reason the DM is at this loss for what to do, is because the character is (in the DM's view) overpowered in the first place. This suggest a very simple solution to this problem: stop making OP characters.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I agree with a lot of what has been said already and in my initial reply I also believe talking to the DM politely is a good first step.
But
Just like we don’t have all the information on the DM’s side to say if they were being unfair or not we should be careful with just as little information not to attack the player.
We don’t know what type of character they are playing and if it is overpowered or not. There are some classes that can just perform better with no optimization at all compared to others. A Barbarian with GWM using their key feature, Rage, and reckless attack can put out some high damage compared to a Lore Bard that wants to stand in the front line sticking enemies with their rapier. The Barbarian in this situation might seem overpowered but it’s just a typical character, not particularly optimized.
My point is, let’s not attack the OP with such little information just like we shouldn’t attack the DM for being unfair. We just don’t have enough information to make any kind of educated response.
EZD6 by DM Scotty
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/397599/EZD6-Core-Rulebook?
Then how about the OP fill us in with the details some of us have requested?
I mean you're right, we have made some assumptions. When the OP doesn't give us details, we end up having to fill them in on our own.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
OP, I think you're going to need to give some more background on the situation. Do you know why the Dm thinks your character is overpowered? is it a specific combination of class or mechanics? Have they even sat down to talk to you about it before trying to kill them off?
It's hard to figure out what the root of the problem is when we don't have very many details to work with, but the one thing I can say with certainty is this: sitting down and having a mature talk will fix most problems that arise at a table, and if you find yourself in a situation where you're saddled with a truly awful DM, the best thing you can do is leave. You can always do better than stay with a bad table, and no D&D is better than bad D&D.
Agreed, especially to someone that's a first-time poster to the DnDBeyond forums.
To the OP, if you're posting to vent about the situation to a community of players outside your own group, that's perfectly fine. You probably would have gotten different responses if you had titled your post "Our DM just brutalized my PC (venting)". Just adding the "venting" or "rant" to the end of the title helps keep away the inevitable "How dare you post to a community of D&D fans and disrespect the almighty DM!" responses.
On your actual post: I get it, I've been there as a player. I've also targeted single PCs as a DM. Never out of frustration with the player/PC, but because at a certain point, the group becomes well known. And if you're fighting an intelligent enemy that has heard about the party, they're going to know who the biggest threat is and target them first and often until they're down, then turn to the rest of the party. Just saying there could be a reason you're not aware of. Talk to your DM about it soon... don't let the frustration simmer until next session.