Dungeons and Dragons Player Criticizes First-Time Dungeon Master, Stating Campaign Lacked Loot Despite Acquiring Magic Items

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
May 30, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

A first-time Dungeon Master running the Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign for two separate friend groups finds themself in a tricky situation. After diligently preparing the entire campaign, the DM received unexpected criticism from a player regarding loot distribution and overall campaign style. Nobody likes hearing that they messed up, but this DM was open to hearing how they could improve. How did the issue even arise?

Well, it began when the DM expressed excitement about finishing campaign prep. The player expressed dissatisfaction, claiming they weren't finding enough loot. The DM countered by highlighting the magical items the party had already acquired, including the magical sword Talon and a ring of protection.

The conversation escalated when the DM pointed out missed opportunities, particularly the custom loot placed within Thundertree specifically for some players. The frustrated player dismissed this, arguing that the DM wasn't providing enough clues and that other DMs offer more customization and random loot tables. Caught off guard, the kindhearted DM turned to good old Reddit for advice. What would you say?

Then, check out a critical hit of Dungeons and Dragons memes for roleplaying dice rollers.

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  • 01
    Player told me "that's not how you do it" in regards to giving out loot.
    via u/YaBoiTron
  • 02
    Hi all, I'm a first time DM currently running the Phandelver and below campaign for two groups of friends. Recently, I had a conversation with one of the players who became upset at the way I was handling things, and his comments made me upset in return, but I wanted some more opinions on from veteran players.
    via u/YaBoiTron
  • 03
    This conversation started by me telling the player that I was excited because I finally finished all the prep needed. He then said that I was doing ok so far but they weren't getting any loot, which isn't true. At this point in the campaign, they just defeated the black spider and have acquired a few magic items like the sword talon, and the ring of protection from the necromancer. I pointed this out, and even said they had more opportunities for loot that they
    via u/YaBoiTron
  • 04
    missed. The biggest example being thundertree. I put custom loot in Venomfangs layer for several of the players, I heavily suggested they go to thundertree several times, this exact player even has a direct connection to the druid that lives there. In fact, this exact players starting motivation to go to Phandalin and guard the loot for Gundren is because he wants to visit the druid that lives there for backstory reasons. Even with all of that, the players decided to skip Thundertree entirely. W
    via u/YaBoiTron
  • 05
    mentioned the fact that they missed on out loot, he said "no, that's not how you do it" and "that's not how it works, we're not supposed to pick up on your clues". He said that other DM's have a lot more custom stuff in their campaigns and said this one is too much by the books. He said that I should have random loot tables for things so when they don't open barrels they aren't just empty, and pointed towards the DM guide book.
    via u/YaBoiTron
  • 06
    Looking for any advice on how to tackle this problem. EDIT: For clarification, no barrels have been empty in this campaign yet.
    via u/YaBoiTron
  • 07
    manamonkey 23 hr. ago DM He said that I should have random loot tables for things so when they don't open barrels they aren't just empty, and pointed towards the DM guide book. Tell him if he wants to DM a campaign later, he can run it how he likes. You can also tell him there is no passage in the DM's Guide that says "all barrels must contain random loot". He clearly thinks D&D is a video game - he's wrong.
    via u/manamonkey
  • 08
    As to the whole thing about players missing hints or skipping areas - yep. Players will do that. They'll avoid the area you absolutely, 100% thought they'd definitely want to go to. And they'll also fixate on the one area you mentioned in a casual comment three sessions ago, haven't prepared, and definitely didn't think they'd want to go. Honestly, it's something every table handles differently, and is different for every campaign - with a little experience you will learn how firmly you need to
    via u/manamonkey
  • 09
    desire for loot to spontaneously generate in front of him is clearly driving his brain. Feel free to remind him that loot is a reward for adventuring - not something that will just be handed out in return for no action. If they want to skip areas they know exist, they should be fully prepared to miss interesting encounters and the rewards therein. 2.4k Reply Share ...
    via u/manamonkey
  • 10
    one_sharp_cookie 22 hr. ago Oh look, another barrel of potable water! 869 Reply Share electrostaticboom - 21 hr. ago DM: you enter the bedroom to find it empty. There's a small desk in the corner, a bookshelf and a simple bed. PC1: I look under the bed! DM: you find three precious gems worth 100gp!
    via u/one_sharp_cookie, u/electricstaticboom
  • 11
    PC2: I look through the bookcase. DM: you find a spell scroll of PW: FX!! PC3: I look through the desk drawers. DM: Wow, clever! You find a Vorpal Dagger! 675 Reply Share
    via u/electricstaticboom
  • 12
    Jarliks 23 hr. ago DM Sounds like he just wants to play Baldur's Gate 3 674 Reply Share ... YaBoiTron OP. 23 hr. ago Funnily enough, this same guy constantly complained about there being no loot variety in BG3 448 Reply Share ...
    via u/YaBoiTron, u/Jarliks
  • 13
    Mr-Melancholic3323 23 hr. ago Tell him this is how you play and sometimes barrels are just empty the greedy git! Your doing fine dude, but ask the others maybe your hints are too vague or they just arnt paying attention! 844 Reply Share ... YaBoiTron OP 23 hr. ago Yeah I should def ask the other players at the table, thanks for the idea! I also think this player is just being greedy/difficult but as this is all new for me so you never know.
    via u/YaBoiTron, u/Mr-Melancholic3323
  • 14
    We've already argued over not letting him use the point buy system for stats where I received this classic line ""Because that's the system I chose for the campaign" is so strict sounding and you're just gatekeeping to do it." And at another point where he complained about not being able to see the health bars of enemies. On that argument actually, I did make a really good compromise where the players can now see an aura of the enemies that will tint depending on their health. And doing that mad
    via u/YaBoiTron
  • 15
    koalammas 23 hr. ago DM 1. "that's not how you do it" wrong there are as many dm styles as there are dms. Bad take 2. "but we're not supposed to pick up on the dm's cues" ?????? What. That's the entire point of the game, you get story hooks from the dm, but you may decide to skip them. (Imo a bad playstyle, but still a playstyle.) 3. since its lost mines, i assume the characters are pretty low level, so expecting there to be a lot of magic items as somehow automatic loot is just game-breaking.
    via u/koalammas
  • 16
    Your player sounds like he has an attitude issue and is blatantly using your inexperience as a dm to get what he wants, which isn't really painting him in a good light as a team player. A 435 Reply Share ... YaBoiTron OP 22 hr. ago Yes, they're only level 4 at the moment. My DND knowledge is still somewhat limited but I did explain in our conversation that magic items are RARE, and that the characters wouldn't have access to much yet.
    via u/YaBoiTron
  • 17
    Funnily enough, in my 1st group the players have done way better at getting items because of their creativity. They used their connections in Phandalin to have the smithy make a half plate for them, and another character used his connections he made with the Zhentarim to purchase some items from them. I mentioned to group 2, they could do something similar, and tried to encourage their creativity, but they don't seem to be those sort of players. Which is fine, but as a DM it feels hard to engage
    via u/YaBoiTron
  • 18
    Actually, as I've been typing this out I've remembered two other instances, one where the players complained about me describing traveling on the road and asked me to just say they got to their destination (which is 50 miles away and takes 3 days to get there). And another time where this exact player was trying to get information out of a character, got frustrated he wasn't getting the answers he wanted right away, and then asked me as the DM to just tell him if she actually knows anything abou
    via u/YaBoiTron
  • 19
    Ijimete 21 hr. ago That last paragraph, I'd have said 'no, I won't tell you anything, you want to find out you go through the dialog, this is dnd you can't just mash a button and look at the quest marker' 111 Reply Share YaBoiTron OP. 21 hr. ago Yeah, at least in this example all the other players including me thought that was a crazy thing to say. It actually had me stun locked for a second. I think there's a theme of this player when they get upset just wanting whatever it is to get resolved r
    via u/YaBoiTron, u/Ijimete
  • 20
    Perhaps_C . 23 hr. ago We're NOT SUPPOSED to pick uP ON YOUR cLuEs Yes, you are. Otherwise the party would do nothing and go nowhere. I would reach out to the other players and see how they feel, just in case but honestly, I think this player is just being greedy. Not EVERY barrel will be full of gold 107 Reply Share ...
    via u/Perhaps_C
  • 21
    YaBoiTron OP. 23 hr. ago I'll make sure to reach out to the other players, but I don't think they'll mention it as a problem. I think everyone at the table knew Thundertree was always there, I reminded them several times and somewhat heavily suggested to go there, but they made the choice as a group to skip it and go straight to Wave Echo Cave, which as a DM I'm perfectly fine with, just don't complain about missing stuff in that case. A 20 Reply Share ...
    via u/YaBoiTron
  • 22
    THE_CDN 23 hr. ago "we're not supposed to pick up on your clues". LOL! What a joke! That's like half the game! This guy clearly doesn't know much about the role-playing part of RPGs. Plus, you already told them where exactly they missed out on some cool loot. In addition, the fact that he used the term "gatekeeping" tells me that he's used to complaining and getting his way. He's just plain wrong and, as others have said, he can DM his own game if he's not happy with yours. A 44 Reply Share
    via u/THE_CDN
  • 23
    pauseglitched - 23 hr. ago we're not supposed to pick up on your clues". Okay this guy doesn't want to play DnD He said... this one is too much by the books. So he doesn't want to play DnD. He said that I should have random loot tables for things so when they don't open barrels they aren't just empty, and pointed towards the DM guide book. Suddenly he wants the book after complaining about too much book. Looking for any advice on how to tackle this problem.
    via u/pauseglitched
  • 24
    This type of player will complain no matter what you do. You may have luck resetting expectations. Stating things like "I have already rolled loot for this area and missed loot will be missed. But I have a sneaking suspicion that even if you roll on the loot table directly in front of them, they will complain that you didn't roll higher. 104 Reply Share ...
    via u/pauseglitched
  • 25
    LFGhost - 22 hr. ago Player sounds like someone who thinks D&D is a video game. I've had those before. Part of role playing is picking up on clues. There are no flashing quest markers to follow, or guide you to where you're supposed to go. There's no "loot sense" you can just ping to find loot. Etc. Part of what makes live RPGs fun is that you have to, you know, actually role play to do things. A 21 Reply Share ...
    via u/LFGhost
  • 26
    ladytoby - 20 hr. ago Don't be bothered about the loot, but my advice is to never tell players what they have missed. It only leads to sore feelings and a little bitterness at what might have been. You can always move the loot elsewhere or find reasons for them to go back to that place later! A 24 V Reply Share YaBoiTron OP 20 hr. ago Very sound advice, luckily I didn't go into specifics about what they missed only that did miss out on some loot. I didn't even think about the what might have bee
    via u/YaBoiTron, u/ladytoby
  • 27
    WubWubThumpomancer 23 hr. ago Tell him if he wants to run a game he's more than welcome to, but if he wants to play in yours he needs to just keep his opinions to himself. I can't imagine being that disrespectful to someone who is taking the time to prep and run a game for me. Even if I didn't like everything they did, I'd enjoy it or I'd leave the group in a respectful way. 91 Reply Share
    via u/WubWubThumpomancer

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games table dispute frustration dice roll barrels dnd players magical items dungeon master dnd party dnd loot characters ttrpg sourcebook dnd campaign dungeons and dragons
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