What happens when That Girl takes over? Let
me describe the situation:
Thankfully, I've been lucky enough to have
some really good, really long campaigns in
D&D. So my exposure to both terrible PCs and
DMs is limited. However, I am still not immune.
No one is immune. No one. This is one of the
few random games I ever joined with people
I wasn't familiar with and I can honestly
say, it made me a bit of jerk towards women
briefly as it was the first game I'd ever
played with a RL girl and it nearly turned
me away from playing with them ever. Thankfully
right after, I got to play with the most bestest,
amazing girls I've ever had the privilege
of playing with so good save KeyKey and Grizz!
Anyways. This is your standard high fantasy
D&D start up. Everyone wanders into a tavern
type, save the town from Gnolls game. We have
a standard group. Pally, played by a friend
of mine. Rogue played by a guy I really didn't
know. Ranger, played by "Her" the "That Girl".
Cleric, played by the DM's friend. And me
a wizzy! I'm stoked because I'm rolling a
wizard, my first. As prior, I'd been type
casted into a cleric or tank role. So I was
so READY to RP all the really cool spells,
and components, and being a power hungry,
borderline personality disorder having pyromaniac,
or... well.. it would have been really cool.
Enter That Girl. The uncomfortability gets
going fairly quick. Session two. We're still
getting our footing as a group. Sort of feeling
out each other characters while hunting down
some bandits or something. When she blurts
to the Rouge, that their characters are going
to have a romance. Everyone sort of furrows
a brow. It's a tad early for all that, right?
Also, that's sort of meta. That should be
an organic type thing? Rouge says OOC that
he's not trying to do that. It's not going
to mesh with his backstory. That girl isn't
swayed.
Three sessions go by, each worse than the
last. Filled with uncomfortable & unnecessary
sidebars with really overt RP romancing from
That Girl. Rogue initially deals with it in-stride,
being nice about it, letting her down easy,
all the stuff you'd imagine. DM even attempts
to sooth the situation with a few mystery
boxes, revealing more about rouge's past.
Story might have been really cool, had we
made it further. But finally, Rouge breaks
and tells That Girl's character to back off,
he's NOT interested. I mean, brutally so.
Now That Girl is visibly hurt OOC. Everyone
at the table saw it, she was angry. (Oh no,
I thought) But her character seems to accept
it. We all breathe some signs of relief and
hope to continue on with the campaign.
Next session arrives. That Girl decides to
show us what happens when she doesn't get
her way. She is now apparently going to attempt
to romance every other party member, or worse
spend an inordinate amount of time, RPing
about how the Rogue had left her crushed,
depressed and alone. She was an RP ninja.
We being young men and very much not wanting
to be mean to a girl, a TTG girl at that were
at a loss as to what to do. She knew it and
used it. Every single side bar. Invaded. Every
single exposition. Invaded. Your story was
now her story. Each and every one of us. At
one time or another. Being propositioned for
a inappropriate exchange and flirted with,
or about how she "understood" based on her
character's -insert bad inappropriate childhood
story here-. The DM seemed to be at a loss
as much as were. She was able to toe the line
of offense so well that you couldn't quite
get mad. That combined with our inability
as a group of males to comfortably call her
out on it as she was never derisive or rude
or gross. She could walk us to the edge but
never pushed us over.
She became the absolute center of the game.
We were just orbiting her weird black hole
of self-infliction stories, and weird borderline
inappropriate fantasy. Each one of us at one
time or another were forced to endure a long
winded, uncomfortable in-character conversation
as to "WHY?" we didn't A) find That Girl's
character attractive, B) couldn't "Be with
her", and C) what we wanted and if she could
become that for us. With each passing RP session
lines were being drawn deeper into our faces
from emotional exhaustion. It was completely
crazy. You want to RP cool spells and save
towns? Naw Dog! Let's talk about our insecurities,
childhood mother issues, and repressed desires.
Eventually, she tried flirting with an NPC,
the DM was desperately trying to put an end
to all this and outright railroaded and blocked
her. Rolls or no rolls, not happening. She
got mad and accused him of something. I honestly
DO NOT remember what, but the flood gates
opened up. He ripped her a new one. Told her
how she hijacked a game for little more than
spite, that she was being offensive and acting
out, even admitting he messed up for letting
it get too far. She accused him of all the
trope-y bad guy stuff. That we all couldn't
handle playing with a girl. How she didn't
need to play with us because there where "like
5 other parties begging her to play with them."
She said basically everything you'd expect
a spoiled bratty person to say. The next session
she wasn't there, but rogue also bailed. Then
the pally, so the game died on the vine. As
I said it made me super afraid of playing
with a girl again. She was so cliche, it was
horrid PR. But again, I played later with
some girls who where awesome, who made me
a better player just being around them! Beware
the That Guys and the That Girls, they lurk
in the dark places...
One player should not have so much power.
I do find it interesting that after she left
the other party members left too. I wonder
if there is another side story that we are
missing here. Ultimately, if a game is emotionally
draining you, just stop. you don't need to
suffer on your free time. Like That Girl was
saying there are groups that would love to
have you. What do you all think about this
situation?
