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Ever craft what you think is compelling story and you put a little thought into the setting... and the players or rather a player picks it apart? I am not the best GM and I make no such claims. I had a pretty cliche story for a one shot Talislantis game. The princess has been kidnapped by a necromancer who employs elite warriors who can steal people's souls and use them in dark magic. The lineage of the thrown is passed on the mother's side so the king is in a pickle and needs his daughter rescued before the necromancer can force her into a marriage that would make him king.

When the players make it to the fortress the necromancer resides in they see that it is surounded in a marsh and start plodding across it. The marsh is filled with zombies that attack from below.

At this point I'm accused of stealing the soul stealing warriors from Harry Potter, and the zombie marsh from Lord of the Rings. What?

Now I totally stole the soul stealers from a Forgotten Realms Novel... but the marsh was mostly original, though I'm sure it's been done before. Ever get accused of ripping off your stories or settings?

I haven't had player pick apart my game, but I've had players just not put the effort into the game. I've had players kill npcs when their character's alignment forbid such behaviour.

Did this action provoke an Alignment shift +/- consequences?

Specter wrote:Ever craft what you think is compelling story and you put a little thought into the setting... and the players or rather a player picks it apart? I am not the best GM and I make no such claims. I had a pretty cliche story for a one shot Talislantis game. The princess has been kidnapped by a necromancer who employs elite warriors who can steal people's souls and use them in dark magic. The lineage of the thrown is passed on the mother's side so the king is in a pickle and needs his daughter rescued before the necromancer can force her into a marriage that would make him king.

When the players make it to the fortress the necromancer resides in they see that it is surounded in a marsh and start plodding across it. The marsh is filled with zombies that attack from below.

At this point I'm accused of stealing the soul stealing warriors from Harry Potter, and the zombie marsh from Lord of the Rings. What?

Now I totally stole the soul stealers from a Forgotten Realms Novel... but the marsh was mostly original, though I'm sure it's been done before. Ever get accused of ripping off your stories or settings?

A personal note; subterfuge is your best weapon (unless you're totally obvious with it). Make up some bull next time this happens, like you stole the warriors from Mortal Kombat, and the swamp-zombie thing from Krull. This is best accentuated with a "jees, you couldn't tell? You must be really dumb" look - even if it is a total lie.

That aside, you should've told him that in Lord of the Rings, the things in the marsh were apparitions, and not physical creatures - they had to "gloom" you into drowning. Also, in Harry Potter, those things only fed on your life-force, not actually stole it (as they were a kind of prison guard after all. Not executioners). Tell them to get their facts straight. It's not like you called the Necromancer "Olde Mort", a smooth-featured, wand-using spellcaster afterall


Anyways, enough of the hind-sight "what you should have done" eh?

I have only had players ask were I've gotten ideas from. I never tell them flat-out, as I'd rather see an original on their part as well; or rather, if I've used an idea from a movie or book rather extensively, I'd rather not have them identify it from previous uses or through a weak veiling on my part.

Specter wrote:Ever craft what you think is compelling story and you put a little thought into the setting... and the players or rather a player picks it apart? I am not the best GM and I make no such claims. I had a pretty cliche story for a one shot Talislantis game. The princess has been kidnapped by a necromancer who employs elite warriors who can steal people's souls and use them in dark magic. The lineage of the thrown is passed on the mother's side so the king is in a pickle and needs his daughter rescued before the necromancer can force her into a marriage that would make him king.

When the players make it to the fortress the necromancer resides in they see that it is surounded in a marsh and start plodding across it. The marsh is filled with zombies that attack from below.

At this point I'm accused of stealing the soul stealing warriors from Harry Potter, and the zombie marsh from Lord of the Rings. What?

Now I totally stole the soul stealers from a Forgotten Realms Novel... but the marsh was mostly original, though I'm sure it's been done before. Ever get accused of ripping off your stories or settings?

I had a playing in a chat game who was constantly accusing me of "modding". Needless to say it didn't last long and he got the boot. But he was playing a mage in a cyberpunkish setting, and he used one of the invisibility spells (that says in the text you can still be seen by thermal optics). They're raiding a hospital that has advanced android guards. He decides to just go by them instead of trying to get around or fight them, then complains when they shoot at him. "How could they see me? I'm invisible!"
"THat doesn't cover thermal or infrared"
"Yes it does!"
"Me, pretty sure it doesn't but I'll double check... nope, it doesn't cover those"
"Yes it does, you're modding!"
"Look at <insert page/column/paragraph listing>"
"Oh, it does say that. But why'd the droid have the advanced optic package?"
"Let's see, because it's an android, in the future, and it's a guard in a world with superhumans, some of whom can go invisible"
"Modding!"

Wasn't too long afterward a portal to hell opened up and ate his character.

I don't get it - they said you were ripping off stories and...and what? Was it making baby jesus cry? What was their point - what negative thing, assuming they meant something negative, were they implying?

It sounds like the sort of stuff comic book guy from the simpsons would say, simply to be negative for no practical reason at all.

Noon wrote:I don't get it - they said you were ripping off stories and...and what? Was it making baby jesus cry? What was their point - what negative thing, assuming they meant something negative, were they implying?

It sounds like the sort of stuff comic book guy from the simpsons would say, simply to be negative for no practical reason at all.

Holy Macaronni.... Killer Cyborg was totally right.

Ah Noon. Now you ask what the point is? I thought there didn't have to be a point.

But, the point would be, players that distract from the game, and interupt descriptions, and end up ruining the experience for the other players.

Actually, your confusing me right now yourself. There not having to be a point...this is something you've read into my posts then decided to confront me with your own invention.

I was asking about what point they were making with their objection? If any? I have no cutting, in depth insight in this post in regard to yourself, I assure you.

Specter wrote:Ever craft what you think is compelling story and you put a little thought into the setting... and the players or rather a player picks it apart? I am not the best GM and I make no such claims. I had a pretty cliche story for a one shot Talislantis game. The princess has been kidnapped by a necromancer who employs elite warriors who can steal people's souls and use them in dark magic. The lineage of the thrown is passed on the mother's side so the king is in a pickle and needs his daughter rescued before the necromancer can force her into a marriage that would make him king.

When the players make it to the fortress the necromancer resides in they see that it is surounded in a marsh and start plodding across it. The marsh is filled with zombies that attack from below.

At this point I'm accused of stealing the soul stealing warriors from Harry Potter, and the zombie marsh from Lord of the Rings. What?

Now I totally stole the soul stealers from a Forgotten Realms Novel... but the marsh was mostly original, though I'm sure it's been done before. Ever get accused of ripping off your stories or settings?

Happens from time-to-time, but I take it in stride....with a grain of salt...and with my trusty lighter "sheet burner" nearby.

P.S. I've also had to invite (on these oh-so-special occasions): "meat grinder" the paper shredder, and employed the "whirling back-hand of silence" a newly invented special attack developed in the mountains of smack-down (just west of Kansas).