Hey, is it cool if i can get some DM Advice? Its my first time DMing and it seems like clock work every 5th or 6th session i do something that pisses off my players (the party left a demon alone at their house and when they came back it turned it into a fire and brimstone hell scape so one rage quits, one got mind controled by a succubus so they rage quit, etc). it feels like throwing bad guys at them upsets them but i can't NOT do that. any villain advice? or just first time DMing advice?
Hi there!! Lemme see what I can say to this.
The demon at their house: I think that was a good call. Their actions have consequences in the world and not taking care of something can lead to results they might not like.
The mind control: That topic can be a little iffy. If you take away a players ability to decide for themselves for TOO LONG, it can quickly turn sour. You don’t specify the situation in your message, so I don’t know how long it lasted, but generally, mind control and similar effects are things that can and will happen in the DnD verse and shouldn’t be a reason to just quit - if not done so excessively.
Overall this sounds rather tricky. Struggle is needed to further the story, without enemies they wouldn’t have anything to go up against, which kind of defeats the purpose. I suppose you could do puzzle dungeons with them, but that’s also something that’s only satisfying for some.
To me this seems like a situation where you need to have a serious conversation. So, the most important DM advice:
Ask your players what they want out of the campaign.
What do they think would be fun? It’s not good for you or them if you keep this up. You waste your time and storybuilding efforts and they might not enjoy themselves. Sit them down, make them give you some input!