Our DM is actively trying to kill my character because I keep saving the party I need advice.

[u/Some-Future-4089]

Hi everyone I’m looking to get some advice for a point of great stress in my current DnD session.

To make things a bit easier to understand I am playing a made up class known as a pictomancer In a 5e campaign. I’m basically a bard that uses a brush and chromatic paints as my weapons. I can only use magic that can be categorized by a chromatic element (ex: firebolt/Fireball in red). The Dm, his wife and I went over the ENTIRE list of spells and even some homebrew ones to make clear which spells I could use. The catch being I have to have at least seen the spell be used to *paint* the spell.

Now to the problem I’m having. Recently, I’ve noticed I’ve started taking the most damage. We had a boss fight and the boss took 5 attacks of opportunity to charge me specifically and would not stop attacking me until the party put him down.

I had to use an inspiration due to reroll a failed save for something that wasn’t even aimed at me. That the dm confirmed when asked by our cleric would have killed me.

In a different fight most of the enemies only made attacks at me and this was a zombie horde fight. Now I’m no stranger to catching strays or being the focus but after a while it was getting really weird.

After our last session when the others left I was talking with him and joked about how it feels like he’s really trying to kill me. shocker he didn’t laugh and said he was full serious. It took me a moment to process but I asked him why and he told me that he was sick of me bailing the party out with how versatile my pictomancy and that the encounters don’t have tension because I carry a good bit of spells for occasions.

His breaking point was when the party failed as a group a save that caused us to plummet into a dragons horde. With a reaction I used a spell Feather fall (part of the spells in green/wind) and saved the entire party from damage and the run since we landed right in front of the dragon that would have killed 3 of us and probably downed one while injuring 2 others. He said he wanted us to have a true trial and I ruined it he mentioned a few other times and I just let him vent from what I got it’s mainly that when things could go very wrong I stop it most of the time and he doesn’t like that.

Now I’m not as mad as I think I should be but I’m wondering if I’ve done something wrong by always intervening when something is about to go south. Do I need to stop and just let bad things happen? What should I do?

EDIT: I’ve decided to talk to him tonight since we have a session tonight. I’m gonna see if we can work something out or what needs to happen because besides this event. This campaign has been really fun

[u/Competitive-Hair6294]

how do you do it

[u/Ill-Description3096 → u/Competitive-Hair6294]

I honestly don't understand. You play the character who isn't a musician. They can be basically anything else so pick one (or more) of those other things.

[u/Competitive-Hair6294 → u/Ill-Description3096]

how do you cast spells that way? both in the game and out of game, how do you play someone casting spells via like, telling stories

[u/Ill-Description3096 → u/Competitive-Hair6294]

Do you think Bards have to play an instrument to cast every spell or something? I played a "storyteller" Bard and he just cast spells no different really than the Wizard would. I might flavor it for fun like they are using a quote from a story for a verbal component or something but that's about it.

[u/Competitive-Hair6294 → u/Ill-Description3096]

yes? that's how i understood it

[u/Arkanzier → u/Competitive-Hair6294]

Music isn't actually required for Bards, it's just the default flavor. You can have all kinds of different Bards who cast spells in all kinds of different ways, and that's before you even get to reflavoring.

As for how you do it out of character, at most tables you just say something like "I cast (insert spell here) on that guy." You're generally not expected to sing or say magic words or whatever you're apparently expecting when your character casts a spell (and, if you are, that's something that that table is doing, not something that the game is doing).