Dungeon Master Prevents DnD Party From Leveling Up After Setting an Unfair Challenge, Resulting in Table Dispute

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Apr 18, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Dungeon Masters who don't know how to lead shouldn't be in charge. One DM decided to focus on roleplay rather than combat during a session, and while that was okay with the party, what the DM did next, wasn't. Towards the end, the DM introduced the party to a surprise twist, revealing that one party member was secretly a traitor. If they guessed who the traitor was, they would level up, and if not, well, only the traitor would, and everyone would level up at 0 levels. One of the players correctly guessed who it was, mostly because they immediately began claiming their innocence. The others didn't believe him, even though he turned out to be right. 

Everyone lost their chance to level up, and the traitor got the opportunity to do so instead. The revelation felt forced and without proper buildup, leaving the player who initially guessed correctly, confused. They expressed dissatisfaction with the ruling and considered quitting the session due to feeling unfairly disadvantaged. Scroll down to read how it all turned out, and then check out this critical hit of DnD memes for fireball-casting gamers.

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  • 01
    Dungeon Master: You're overreacting. DnD Player: No, I'm not.
    via Canva
  • 02
    My dm made a level up decision I don't like, am I overreacting?
    via u/RaiderEnjoyer666
  • 03
    The entire session went great, there was no combat in this session at all as the DM mentioned before we started he wanted this session to be more roleplay oriented, and everyone was cool with that. We basically just made it through a giant maze of traps, and I had to help my team through a lot of it or they would have just straight up ď¨\d. Saved two people from falling into lava and instantly dy `ng, and helped another pass a trial they otherwise wouldn't have, so I feel like I contributed a lo
    via u/RaiderEnjoyer666
  • 04
    We finish the last trial, the session is almost over and the group is about to start leveling up for next session but before we do the DM stops us and tells us, we must guess who the traitor in the group is or we go up 0 levels and the traitor goes up 2. This idea wouldn't be bad if we were at least warned about it in some way beforehand, but it felt very forced in and there was absolutely no lead up or any indication of anyone being a traitor. I immediately guess who the "traitor" is by the ver
    via u/RaiderEnjoyer666
  • 05
    ended up gaining the two levels and everyone else none. The traitor reveals they had no idea this was happening until 15 minutes before the session ended because the DM texted them "you're the traitor, dont tell anyone" and also, the "traitor" is still on our team and adventuring like normal and that whole thing was done for basically nothing. I told him this ruling sucks and the whole thing seemed kinda pointless, and he just ignored me basically. Kinda considering quitting the session but I fe
    via u/RaiderEnjoyer666
  • 06
    else in the party, while also not knowing that even if I contribute the most in terms of teamwork, it could ultimately lead to nothing and the DM making up some bs mini game to determine level ups instead of the actual game we're playing, DnD. Update: I sent my DM this thread, he said he "didn't agree with any reddit DnD nerds" and "the levels thing only matters if you're just salty you aren't the highest level, it's not that big of a difference honestly" and that "it's your fault you couldn't c
    via u/RaiderEnjoyer666
  • 07
    And then when I told him it's not something I'd really wanna be a part of, he said we should all vote on it as a group. The group we are playing with has 2 people he's known for 6+ years that I just met, so that's just a kinda awkward situation I'd rather not be a part of. I told him this and that I'd be down for next session probably if this wasn't gonna be an issue next game and he hung up on me. The DM is a good friend of mine, but he seems very upset Im not willing to just stick it out even
    via u/RaiderEnjoyer666
  • 08
    happened and have mentioned to him in the past that I do not like playing a campaign where people are different levels, and i feel like he did it again this session just to spite me and got mad when i didnt go along with it. He literally just sees it as me whining and , so I'd rather just not be a part of it. He may have even been able to convince me to stay but he literally hung up on me when I mentioned I might not be playing anymore lol. If you're reading this, love you Matt, just make better
    via u/RaiderEnjoyer666
  • 09
    theloniousmick · 2 days ago I mean the whole thing is stupid but If the player who was the traitor only found out 15 mins before the session how were the rest of you meant to figure it out? Even the best role players would struggle on short notice. Maybe get the traitor character on board with how boneheaded the DM is being and have a bit of an intervention with him. I know DM rules and all but DM doesn't have a game without players. 1.5k Reply Share ...
    via u/theloniousmick
  • 10
    NegativeEmphasis 2 days ago Necromancer I'm more bothered by the DM deciding that one of the PCs "is a traitor". If you have a story to tell that requires characters to behave in a specific way, write a book instead. There's nothing collaborative about this. 738 Reply Share false_tautology · 2 days ago If a DM messaged me partway through a session telling me I had to betray my party I'd just text back "No" end of story. My character is my character. 383 Reply Share
    via u/NegativeEmphasis, u/false_tautology
  • 11
    AngeloNoli 2 days ago This is so idiotic... this is a freaking roleplaying game! The players are supposed to call the shots of what their character does. In what world is this GMing? Texting "oh, by the way, I changed your character without consulting you, you're now an enemy of the group"... this is one of the most stupid things I've ever heard. The levelling thing is only adding additional idiocy. Th characters have either earned a level up or not. Why are we playing werewolf all of a sudden?
    via u/AngeloNoli
  • 12
    Visual-Elderberry835. 2 days ago The level difference really is only the cherry on the top of this -sundae. The main issue is that you have a traitor in your party without ever having discussed this before. I would make it very clear to the DM that I will not play a campaign where • players betray each other • players have different levels If the DM doesn't care to fix this, I would leave. 846 Reply Share
    via u/Visual-Elderberry835
  • 13
    RaiderEnjoyer666 OP. 2 days ago See I knew the level difference thing wasn't a thing that only bothered me. This dm also makes it so that if anyone d´s in a session, the new character they make has to be 2 levels behind everyone else. I don't understand his obsession with having everyone be different levels honestly but I've always hated it. 380 Reply Share
    via u/RaiderEnjoyer666
  • 14
    MetalGuy J. 2 days ago Yikes, forcing one of the players to turn traitor, forcing the entire table with no clues to try and guess who it is, then punishing them forgetting it wrong? Yeah, I think this DM played Among Us one too many times. 82 Reply Share action_lawyer_comics 2 days ago I don't understand this at all. Does your party now know who the "traitor" is? Are they supposed to still help the traitor? Does the traitor have a reason to be the traitor? Is the player playing the traitor inter
    via u/MetalGuy, u/action_lawyer_comics
  • 15
    Level up decision aside, this is an utterly asinine way to play dnd. There are one-page RPGs and board games about playing against the other players, but dnd isn't built for this and having a traitor in the party isn't the kind of thing most people sign up for when playing dnd, nor is it something the game is balanced for. If the PCs now know who the traitor is, they can cream them pretty easily, two level gap aside. 46 Reply Share
    via u/action_lawyer_comics
  • 16
    Radiant-Importance-5 2 days ago He declared a player a secret traitor, without discussing with that player, or describing what that means. Made you try to guess who that individual was, otherwise unprompted and without context. Gave mechanical consequences for failing to figure out who said traitor was. Did not give narrative consequences for the traitor or knowing who they are. I mean, the traitor didn't actually do any betraying, but still, what are you supposed to do with this? What was the p
    via u/Radiant-Importance-5
  • 17
    pwebster 2 days ago Nah, having different levelled party members is already a red flag. but actively forcing different levels, especially a 2-level gap is just rediculous. I'd talk to your other party members then just quit 273 Reply Share Mac4491 2 days ago DM Actively forcing different levels and forcing a character to be a traitor even when the player had barely any prior warning for it! It's like they skipped the class on exactly what not to do as a DM. A 123 Reply Share
    via u/pwebster, u/Mac4491
  • 18
    Yojo0o 2 days ago DM This is a terrible way to run a DnD campaign. Absolutely terrible. Strongly protest to this sort of f ery and demand it be retconned to an equal level-up. Get everybody else on board. Hell, get the traitor on board, unless they're only playing the game for their own personal level-ups they'll probably see that this was stupid after a quick conversation. 31 V Reply Share ...
    via u/Yojo0o
  • 19
    OnceSawABear · 2 days ago Pretty sure a more fleshed out version of this mechanic was used in Dungeons and Daddies, along with non- matching levels. My bet is that your DM thought it was cool and didn't consider if it would actually be fun for the players. Unthoughtful copying of actual play podcast have been ruining DnD games for years, so you have joined a very large club. 48 Reply Share
    via u/OnceSawABear

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fantasy table dispute roll dice campaign levels tabletop games gaming dnd fireball dnd story dungeon master dnd party challenge adventure ttrpg level up dungeons and dragons
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