Is a child npc following around the pcs a red flag or not/a sign of a that DM?

Is a child npc following around the pcs a red flag or not/a sign of a that DM?

Say if the DM finds a way to attach a waif or a street urchin to the party and focuses various plot points around the kid. Should the players be worried?

I you hate fun, and it sounds like you do, yes you should be worried.

You should also probably lock for a different hobby since you may or may not be a little bitch.

Not really. Kids can be used for plot!

>the DM is making something stand out

No matter what it is, you players should assume it's gonna fuck them over. This isn't a case of Tha DM, it's just normal DM dickery.

Depends, is the kid just there and the party takes interest in the child's story/life. Or is the gm forcing this to happen? Like is the gm attaching the kid to the party by throwing them at the players and saying something along the lines of "this npc is important and their plot should matter to you"?

A kid npc is just like any other npc.

any npc that "becomes a part of the party" is the sign of a bad gm

>party hires some people to help carry things and bear torches for them
I'm now a bad gm.

Show us on the doll where the GM touched you

>Turning down potential followers/minions

What is wrong with you?

>Bad GM
>Doing things that have been a staple in nearly every classic RPG system up until 3.PF

Yeah, okay.

just don't start making random hirelings into the "protagonist" of your "story" and you should be safe

no, of course not.
Why the fuck are you people assuming everything is a red flag?
When the fuck did you guys start having all these goddamn triggers?

...

Look, it's just a plot hook. That's it. As long as the execution isn't downright terrible, nobody should care about it.

Nah, they're in the party sometimes they even dare to talk. Bad gm. That was the only option given.
You read enough that guy/gm stories and nothing else and you'll start to see the worst in everyone else at the table. Every offhanded mention of something that could be twisted is already seen as perverted and wrong.

Or something like that I'd imagine.

You should murder and/or rape them to be safe, user. If the party and DM throw you out you will know you were right all along and everyone else is that guy.

>Add a kid as a plot hook
>Expect players to make an effort to give a fuck and find new guardians for the kid and this way be introduced to the bigger story
>Instead they decide to raise her their own, teaching her the ways of barbarian battle rage

I can't see what's wrong with that, but I recognize I might be at fault since I did that once.

>New campaign
>Party is part of mercenary band; they have to 'escort' kid from point A to point B
>Kid is actually kidnapped foreign noble who can't speak common
>Smart enough to try and run away if possible, also smart enough to no try it in dangerous situations
>Offers justification for sub-adventures (ex. one time the kid was kidnapped by fey) besides 'Loot loot loot'
>Helps party cohesion
>They eventually get to point B, get paid handsomely, receive next assignment. Kid was supposed to be a potential hook for ensuing political plots, players weren't interested, never mentioned again

My players had fun and I don't think I've done anything horrible along the way.

The urchin/orphan sidekick/party mascot is, like, a major staple/character archetype in adventure stories of any genre.

Why would it be a "red flag"?

Because you clearly want to fuck it. Same reason why everything and anything you do is wrong and you're a bad person.

My prediction would be it ends one of two ways
>DM uses the child, frequently having it kidnapped to prompt the party to go where it normally wouldn't have
>child is secretly evil, ancient or otherwise

That sounds rather distracting, either we bare getting railroaded into this stupid plot or we just tie the brat to the nearest tree.

Tell him that you won't bring a child into a warzone because how the fuck is that okay