Summary
Gather aroundDungeons & Dragonsplayers and Dungeon Masters alike. Let’s imagine that we’re gathered around a campfire, and I’ve got a flashlight under my face, because it’s time to go into some of the most harrowing Dungeons & Dragons horror stories I’ve ever heard.
From player mishaps to miscommunications with the Dungeon Master, there’s nothing worse than a DND game gone horribly wrong. All of these stories are sourced from our team, close friends, or experienced directly by yours truly. So, if you don’t want to end up on a list like this, avoid these Dungeons & Dragons horror stories from players.
10Break The Curse
Curse Of Strahd, Not Infallible
Curse of Strahd is one of the most iconic modules in all of Dungeons & Dragons. It’s near-perfect in its execution, but players often haveissues with the ending. Without giving away spoilers for those who haven’t played, the ending often leaves players with a sour taste in their mouths.
In this particular story, the DM in question laid out the ending of the module, only to have players essentially riot at the table. The DM is still getting flak for it nearly a decade later. In my experience running Curse of Strahd, one player told me specifically that the ending ‘ruined the module for them.’ Ouch.
9The Copycat
A Form Of Flattery?
Character creation is always one of the most fun aspects of Dungeons & Dragons, but sometimes, it’s easy for players to clash over what classes and species they want to be. One player told me that they had selected fighter, while another player selected barbarian. Although these weren’t the same class, for a better party comp, the fighter switched to a ranger.
Upon hearing this, the second player secretly messaged the DM, asking if they could become a ranger instead. This led to a whole back-and-forth where neither player wanted to back down from the class. The worst part is, this happened mid-game, meaning that character creation was already over and done with, and the DM had to figure out a way to resolve the class dispute non-canonically at the table.
8Secret Backstory
It’s A Secret To Everybody
Well-developed backstories are great for players to have, but sometimes, it can be taken too far, especially if key details aren’t shared with the DM. One DM told me that this particular player wrote pages and pages of backstory for their character secretly, but only sent about a paragraph to their DM.
Then, they would get upset when the DM didn’t know things about their character’s backstory, wouldn’t incorporate elements of their backstory into the campaign, and would often derail entire sessions to go into their backstory elements. At one point, they even begged the DM to let them go on their own side mission, completely separate from the party.
7Cloning Elves
Um, Is That Allowed?
Min-maxing is both a blessing and a curse in the Dungeons & Dragons community. It’s fun to attempt to find the most optimized version of your character. But, sometimes, this can be taken too far.
One DM described a situation in which a player was playing an entropy elven druid, and often tried to bend the rules or min-max their spells to be absolutely broken. This came to a head when they asked if they could try to clone themselves to maintain multiple concentration spells at the same time, and they would not back down from the request.
6Everyone Disliked That
Don’t Rock The Table
Getting to the conclusion of a long-running Dungeons & Dragons campaign is always going to prove tricky. As a DM, you want to make sure players have agency over their endings, but also that the ending in general feels satisfying.
This particular story comes from my time DM-ing a campaign, in which I allowed each player to take a moment at the end to self-describe their epilogue. One player used their last moments to reveal that they were secretly evil the whole time, and had sabotaged other players' epilogues, unbeknownst to me. The entire table was so mad that the game basically screeched to a halt. That was the most awkward silence of my entire life, to be honest.
5The Lover’s Spat
Do you Guys Need A Moment Alone?
Having a couple at the DND table can always prove to be a bit fraught with peril. There’s no shortage of horrible DND couple stories, but this one takes the cake for me.
Per one DM, this couple would alwaysuse the rules of DNDagainst one another, constantly arguing over whether or not the other could actually do something. It came to a head when one player pointed out that they were using a spell incorrectly, and their partner asked if they could speak to them in the other room for a moment. They came back almost ten minutes later without saying another word, allegedly resolving the argument, but not without creating a horrifyingly awkward moment for the rest of the table.
4Battle, Interrupted
I’ll Roll Initiative For Myself
As a player, I once played DND with an otherwise fantastic player who had a particularly nasty habit of always interrupting the DM. They would do this at particularly climactic moments, too, often ruining the narrative flow.
One time, as our campaign’s big bad monologued about their secret plans, this player took it upon themselves to roll initiative, and then told the DM they rolled a Nat 20 on their first attack, before the DM had finished speaking. The DM and this player fought about this roll for several minutes, while myself and the rest of the table just sat in silence. The memory is etched into my skull.
3Trickster Fey
A Little Too Good At Roleplay
Having a great player who’s really committed to their character is great, but sometimes, they can easily take it too far. One DM told me a story about a player whose character was meant to be a fey trickster elf who always made incredibly chaotic decisions. While this concept was fun, it did lead to a lot of tension.
In their ‘trickery,’ the player would often sabotage other players' plans, purposefully undermining the party. When the rest of the table asked them not to do that, the player said it was ‘in character’ and refused to change their behavior. That poor party is still stuck with them to this day.
2The Single Player Session
Get A Room
Another horror story from my years as a player, I once experienced what can only be described as the first-ever solo DND session. Going into the session, we knew the game was going to be focused a bit onone player’s backstory. However, this got taken to a whole new level.
The game began with the player having a meaningful conversation with their mentor. The game ended about three hours later when they finished that conversation. Me and the rest of the other players sat there in silence for three hours with no breaks watching this one player roleplay. The DM and the player were both so into it allegedly, that they ‘forgot’ we were there. Yeah, we could tell.
1The Work Call
Terrible Timing
We’re gonna lighten the load here right at the end with a story where the blame is more placed on a third party. According to one player, right in the middle of a climactic boss fight, their DM received an urgent FaceTime from their boss.
Supposedly, their boss didn’t even need anything from them; they were just calling to scream at them about something they had messed up. The whole game had to be put on pause while the players watched their DM get chewed out by their boss. They ended up having to put the game on hold while the DM worked things out with their boss.
