The Smell of a Leadership Vacuum

It wasn't exactly a PUG. I knew two of the players, including the one who invited me. I knew the instance, Blood Funance, fairly well. But on the first skirmish, I smelled trouble. By the second, I knew this was one of those instances that Via and I would normally whisper chat about, something like this:

Via: Well this ain't gonna last long. At least not with me in it.
Hallgrima: Oh, bad PUG instance? lol.
Via: oh yeah.
Hallgrima: how many times you wipe so far?

Here is the Warlock's list of symptoms that This Ain't Gonna Last Long...At Least Not with Me in It.

• When the leader starts shooting critical info while half the party is stll repairing and prepping in the nearby village


• When the leader says SKULL first, always, and and sheep the MOON, and then proceeds to sap the SKULL just as you are firing off that shadow bolt for 1200


• The classic: mana junkies are down for a drink and the group moves off to another room.


• You're in need of a heal and the healer is looting and the roll for BOP comes up on your screen as you die.


• You offer to SS any of the potential rezzers and no one takes you up on it.

At times like this I am torn. Do I say something? This time I did, and the sulky leader immediately made me group leader and said okay you run it. Stupidly, I said, "no, I wasn't telling you what to do, I was asking why you were sapping the icon you said was the kill first icon." and I passed the leadership back to him. What an arse. I should have kept it. I need practice leading anyhow. It truly isn't easy. The few times I've done it I've realized you have to be very brief and yet firm. You have to TELL not ASK. You have to ASSIGN not ALLOW. etc etc.

Okay, I feel a bit better. But I have learned not to stay past the first evidence of crappiness unless I'm feeling like taking field notes for my leadership paper. ROFL.