We’re all different, and thus we all do very different things for fun. Some people like to spend their free time indoors playing video games, while others prefer to fix up the garden to relax. Some folk want to read in a cosy nook on their own, while others unwind best playing team sports with a group of like-minded folk. Really, there are no right and wrong ways to relax and have a good time – so long as it’s legal and you’re happy, anything goes.

For the guy in this story, it was Dungeons and Dragons that had his heart. So with a group of similarly passionate friends, he spent his spare time both playing as a character in the game, and presiding over it as a Dungeon Master. But when a recent game took a slightly different path, the guy (while in character) knew what he wanted to do. The sad truth? It meant screwing over his friends. And when they discovered his plan, they were not happy at all.

Read on to find out what happened.

AITA for trying to win at all costs?

My three friends and I play Dungeons and Dragons together, and recently a friend has prepared a hunter x hunter exam for us to do. Sounds fun!

So the exam is: three contestants (us) form a group. In order to pass, the group of three must vote on which one of them will pass the exam. An examinee requires a minimum of two votes to pass

During the exam all violence is forbidden. I if an examinee acts violently towards the others at their table they are disqualified, and the remaining two examinees will pass

Once the hour is up, any group which was unable to have at least one group member pass will be automatically failed.

Read on to find out how this played out.

I/my character explained to the other two that the exam makes no sense, because nobody would ever forfeit by voting for somebody else just because if you don’t you fail at the end.

I managed to convince them there has got to be secret rules like “any character with zero votes for them will also pass,” by subtly guiding them towards this conclusion. After all, the things we believe in most fiercely are conclusion we drew ourselves.

So I passed the exam with three votes for me, while my friends failed because there were no secret rules.

But then the drama started, and it was multilayered.

Let’s see how things deteriorated between this group.

My friend who made the exam did not like me picking his exam apart and explaining how it made no sense (he ironicaly uses the fact I passed as proof that his exam made sense, while at the same time not liking how I passed it).

My other two friends are mad I tricked them. Apparently “friends don’t do this to each other,” and “it was a really scummy way to win.”

My friend who made the exam also accused me of destroying his exam on purpose because I am usually the Dungeon master and didn’t like that he was the Dungeon Master this time.

That is totally untrue: I am in two groups and I enjoy playing more than I enjoy being the Dungeon Master, AND ALSO I wouldn’t have picked his exam apart if I had spotted a different way to beat his exam – but it was necessary to show them how the exam made no sense in order to trick them into thinking there were secret rules.

Now, it seems like their friendship is crumbling.

My two friends who voted for me both say the exam makes sense and have sided with the Dungeon Master, despite their actions of voting for me being based on them agreeing the exam he presented us with made no sense.

Now they are all giving me the cold shoulder, and my girlfriend just rolled her eyes and told me to just apologise.

I feel like being stubborn though, since I don’t think I did do anything wrong.

Am I actually in the wrong her? Was it wrong of me to try to win at all costs? Should I have treated them like friends because we are friends, even if that makes no sense in the story since our characters are all strangers to one another?

AITA?

Sure, this guy might have made his logic make sense.

Perhaps his character was a devious trickster, and that’s exactly how he would treat other people.

But when his friends trusted him (not the character) and were upset? It was definitely time to apologise.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man whose friends say he’s privileged for wanting to eat at nicer restaurants.

Let’s see how other people on Reddit felt about it.

This person thought that he’d betrayed his real-life friends’ trust.

While others agreed that he needed to apologise for the way he’d behaved.

Some people thought that the Dungeon Master was an issue too, for the way he’d set up the game.

While others believed that in his heart, this guy would have known he was in the wrong.

If this guy was simply playing to win, you have to wonder whether this is the right group for him – or whether he really wants to play Dungeons and Dragons at all. Because D&D is about collaboration and having fun with friends in a fantasy world. Sure there are traps you need to dodge and villains you need to outsmart, but this is usually done together, with different characters specialising in different things, but all with the same goal in the end.The way this guy played it? He was cut-throat, determined to win at all costs.

And all the time he was exploiting his friends? They thought they were playing with a buddy they could trust, and him tricking and outsmarting them will have left a sour taste for everyone involved. It’s a really unfair way to treat people you claim to care about. But the real kicker? The fact that his friends have told him they’re upset, and instead of apologising, he is continuing to stand on that hill, continuing to excuse his actions. Honestly, if he doesn’t change his ways, he might not have any friends to play with any more.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a person who abandoned their own D&D campaign when their friends stopped paying attention.