Need advice, GM bringing back retired character.
Apr 16, 2015 19:35:51 GMT -8
Post by alverant on Apr 16, 2015 19:35:51 GMT -8
I need some advice on how to handle a disagreement between me and my GM in our superhero campaign. A few years ago I retired one character at a point when the story demanded it. He had to sacrifice himself to Save the Multiverse and got lost in the lower dimensions (it was supposed to be someone else but I didn't know that at the time). Since then I've been working on a bit of fanfiction of what happened to him and his struggle to get back to Earth (is it fanfiction when it's your own character?). I'm not done with the story yet, not by a long shot, and I did post bits of the story to the group for feedback.
My new character was the nephew of the retired character so naturally he wanted to know what happened to his uncle. This came up several times in game play. Out of character I know I said once or twice I thought about bringing him back, but it was in the context of finishing the story. Some of the other players told me I asked the GM (out of character) what happened to the retired character. I'm not really sure on the context of that though.
In any case the GM somehow believed I wanted to play the retired character again and brought him back without talking to me about it or confirming it's what I wanted. I know I never explicitly said I wanted him back since I would talk with the GM first, make an updated character sheet reflecting how he's changed in his journey, get approval for the sheet, etc. The thing is I don't want him back. I'm not ready for it. It ruins my story if he's brought back at this point. The GM said I could do what I wanted with him so I said, "Fine, then it's not really him, it's an impostor who wants revenge on the group." To which the GM said, "No it's really him." (So much for doing what I wanted.) I explained to him why it's important to me that it not really be him and offered other alternatives. I even suggested a compromise that it would be him, but he would be possessed by an evil spirit and he has to leave again to free himself and Save the World. But there's no response, granted the GM doesn't read his email much so I don't know if he even read the message.
So after all this, who's right here? Should I still have control over a retired character since I'm still telling his story? Should I yield to the GM who thought, mistakenly, I wanted to bring him back? Is it too much to ask that his return not be everything it seems? Or should I just roll with it?
Thanks and have a drink.
My new character was the nephew of the retired character so naturally he wanted to know what happened to his uncle. This came up several times in game play. Out of character I know I said once or twice I thought about bringing him back, but it was in the context of finishing the story. Some of the other players told me I asked the GM (out of character) what happened to the retired character. I'm not really sure on the context of that though.
In any case the GM somehow believed I wanted to play the retired character again and brought him back without talking to me about it or confirming it's what I wanted. I know I never explicitly said I wanted him back since I would talk with the GM first, make an updated character sheet reflecting how he's changed in his journey, get approval for the sheet, etc. The thing is I don't want him back. I'm not ready for it. It ruins my story if he's brought back at this point. The GM said I could do what I wanted with him so I said, "Fine, then it's not really him, it's an impostor who wants revenge on the group." To which the GM said, "No it's really him." (So much for doing what I wanted.) I explained to him why it's important to me that it not really be him and offered other alternatives. I even suggested a compromise that it would be him, but he would be possessed by an evil spirit and he has to leave again to free himself and Save the World. But there's no response, granted the GM doesn't read his email much so I don't know if he even read the message.
So after all this, who's right here? Should I still have control over a retired character since I'm still telling his story? Should I yield to the GM who thought, mistakenly, I wanted to bring him back? Is it too much to ask that his return not be everything it seems? Or should I just roll with it?
Thanks and have a drink.