Stop us if you've heard this one before: you're an adventurer wandering through the lands of Britania, the realms of Amalur, the mountains of Skyrim, or the dungeons of Sanctuary. You've had a decent adventure so far, you've defeated countless grunts, found some shiny loot, and even an armor piece or two. After a deal of traveling and monster-bashing, you've finally found the object, weapon, gem, or other standard quest-MacGuffin you need to continue upon the next chapter of your journey when one of the following happens. You trigger a trap that unleashes a mimic or some other such beast to keep you from your prize, an enemy randomly jumps out of nowhere, or some form of needless dialogue sequence or obstacle triggers some delay in finally completing your mission. It gets old, doesn't it?

Roleplaying games of all shapes and sizes have been a pillar of geek-culture since the pen-and-paper days of the 1970s. Nowadays, the virtual world is an RPG fan's playground. Players can have their pick of fantastic journeys, whether they wish to travel alone across a dragon-infested landscapes, venture various regions of the world with a cute monster in a ball, or pursue a great quest with a party of fellow adventurers. But no matter what quest they choose to undertake, it seems that even the most accomplished of RPGs are not immune to the same common problems that bug players in realms over. Every game has its hiccups, just as every quest has its perils. Some of these are just little inconveniences that players have to live with, others are moments that make even the mightiest of heroes groan.

20 BACK TO THE GRIND

Let's begin our journey by getting this one out of the way. No matter what RPG the player chooses, there will always be grinding. This is typically common at the beginning of most RPGs, particularly JRPGs such as the Final Fantasy or Pokemon series. After all, these fights are meant to improve skills needed for future, harder fights. But further in on the adventure, this activity tends to get a little stale.

Sure, a grinding sesh is great for killing time, improving your stats, or hunting for better loot drops, but for RPGs with more story-focused elements, they tend to interrupt the narrative flow just a touch. This is a particular problem for those players who get particularly invested in the pacing and story of their game. Grinding can be a player's past-time or pet-peeve, but it is still practically a requirement for those wanting to pursue even the most standard of RPGs.

19 SURPRISE MONSTERS

How many times has this happened to you? You and/or your party are venturing to your next quest point, dungeon, or other destination when suddenly, bam! A monster or two pops out of the tall grass, field, ceiling, or floor and instantly throws you into combat. You fight and scrap your way through, only to get ambushed several more times before reaching your goal. Sound familiar?

The amount of times a player has gritted their teeth over an unwanted encounter is certainly high and it's always a huge peeve. Many RPGs are notorious for their random encounters, but some, like the later Dragon Quest entries, have tweaked this problem by making the enemies visible on the screen before they attack. Or, in the case of  Bravely Default, the number of random encounters are an adjustable feature used to tailor the player's experience. But no matter how you slice 'em, monsters are always going to get the jump on wandering adventurers.

18 TEDIOUS TURN-TAKING

There are two types of players in the realm of RPGs: those who can take turn-based combat, and those who can't. While it's true that turn-based RPGs allow the player to pause and formulate a plan of attack, some players prefer the more action-oriented gameplay that allows them to slice-dice-serve-on-rice their way to victory. The divide between the two styles has been the subject of debate since the dawn of the console.

While both styles certainly have their merit, battles on this field can range anywhere from the quick and deadly to the long and drawn-out. In all actuality, this peeve depends more upon the player preference than anything. In some games, it's great. In others, it's tedious and consuming. Simply put, to each their own.

17 ERRONEOUS ARMOR

There are those pieces of armor that add a profound sense of style to the slaying. Every adventurer needs an armor set that says, "I'm big, I'm bad, who wants a piece of me?" But then there are those times where players look at their character and wonder how on earth they could leave their chambers dressed like that.

Mismatched armor sets, though more of a cosmetic problem, tick off a lot of players. Sure, the stats might be great, the perks a welcome improvement, and the effects beneficial, but the style just flat-out clashes or spoils the otherwise heroic image of the player. It's no doubt irritating to be walking about with intimidating body armor, but carrying a wooden shield or a goofy helmet. But hey, protection over presentation, right?

16 TERRIBLE TREASURE

The player/party has torn through a dungeon, defeated monsters lay strewn about the stones, and the boss has let out a last roar of defeat. A large treasure chest sits primed and perched, ready for the taking, but the surprise is grossly underwhelmed when the chest contains a small purse of gold and maybe a health potion. Kind of odd for a level 10 enemy to be hoarding something like that, right?

Let's face it, some loot drops and chests are a gamble. Sometimes you find vorpal armor and a massive blade, other times you get potions and a handful of gems. Sometimes the fates are cruel. Randomized loot systems such as the one found in Dragon's Crown can certainly be a double-edged sword, but sometimes the rewards can be great for those patient players willing to roll the dice.

15 DEFEAT ON REPEAT

Since we've addressed the subject of monsters and combat, let's look at the agony of defeat. How many times have the words "the party is wiped out" appeared on a player's screen? Too many to count, right? This happens all the time with boss battles and deeper dungeons, but isn't it infuriating when it happens over and over at an important point in the quest?

Repetitive battles are the bane of many players and not just the fans of the turn-based games. How many times has the Dragonborn repeatedly been thrashed by the trolls of the Labyrinthian, or the Vault-Hunters constantly thwarted by a gun-toting ravager or alien monstrosity? Sometimes, this pushes the player into trying another plan of attack, but other times, it just makes for some controller-throwing nerd rage.

14 SOS: SEEK OUT SAVEPOINT

This is a problem many JRPGs have. Whereas most western RPGs have the option to save frequently and at the player's leisure, most JRPGs make them find save points or specific locations to record their progress, usually in a temple or inn. Easily remedied when in a healthy grind sesh, but not so convenient for boss fights or key story moments.

Though some seasoned players may consider the free-save option to be cheating, it does tend to be a game changer in the long-run, no pun intended. How many times has a player been wiped out in combat, far from the nearest save space, and so close to victory? Too often to count, that much is certain. So, in the famous words of many a game, save frequently and often or risk doing it all again.

13 PARTY PROBLEMS

This one goes for any game that features party members in a team of adventurers. From Final Fantasy to Dragon Age, some party members will progress faster than others, and that's a fact. Players are defeated, respawn, and go back into the game with different stats all the time. In some cases, some characters progress faster than others.

For most players, this isn't so much of a problem. It's ok if your mage is a level behind your ranger, but when one is a level 10 and the other a level 6, the battle may not always end favorably. This is especially annoying if party members die during boss battles and miss out on receiving much-needed experience points. Slower developing party members tend to cause the combat to drag, leading to longer fights and always the possibility of defeat. So keep in mind, no warrior left behind.

12 WEAPON WEAR AND TEAR

This is one of those problems that makes us wonder, "Who thought this was a good idea?" There are few things more infuriating than seeing a red damage icon on your weapons or armor in the middle of a fight. We could split our own helmets with the angst of seeing one of our weapons of choice lose some percentage of damage because of its condition. You'd think something with the name "diamond dagger" would have a thicker skin.

It's the more recent Zelda titles that are guilty of this crime, but games like Diablo and Kingdoms of Amalur are in the same boat as well. This breaks the flow of adventure and is simply tedious for the player to halt their quest so they can warp back to town and visit the blacksmith, or even downgrade to a less powerful weapon or armor. It's annoying and counterproductive.

11 ALL TALK, NO SUBSTANCE

Games from developers like Bioware and Bethesda are famous for their dialogue trees and story changing decisions. A smooth-talking Khajiit or silver-tongued elf might persuade other characters to bend to their whims. But be careful, because one wrong word and a fight could ensue. That being said, not all dialogue chosen in story-focused RPGs is verbal gold. Some choices of words lead to dead ends, and some just seem plain useless.

Some games take a more simple but effective route with their dialogue, but sometimes it can be hard to weed out the story from regular chatter. In some of the early JRPGs, story and direction are found in communicating with NPCs. Though a creative way to get a story across, going from NPC to NPC to get directions can eat up a lot of play time. We're sure players would rather spend their time following the meat of the plot, not hearing about how magic has returned to the land, or some chickens have gone missing. Let's stay focused on the quest at hand.

10 FAMILIAR FOES

There are those design choices in RPGs that are annoying, then there are those that are just lazy. There are buckets of games that claim to have a wide variety of monsters to bash, only to reveal that half of these creatures are just palette swaps of each other. This is normally found in low-level enemies like slimes, rats, and insects, but when it happens in larger enemies like the troll species in Skyrim, various Heartless from Kingdom Hearts, or the Moblins and Leevers in the original Legend of Zelda, it makes the design and style of the game seem repetitive and unimaginative.

Some of the earlier games with sprite-based graphics or the like are more forgivable After all, bit graphics are an acquired art form and shapes are limited. But games that commit this crime too often tend to run the risk of repetitive routine. This leads to combat with these foes becoming just a bump in the road on the way to the next quest.

9 GO FETCH

Most RPGs follow a simple formula. Evil threatens the kingdom, the hero(es) must acquire some powerful item to vanquish it, they defeat monsters made of gold and experience points, the hero(es) defeat the boss, and all is well in the end. As easy as it may seem, it's around this second step when things start to get cliche. Before we fight the inevitable big-bad-boss, we need to go and get something for some reason to progress the story.

This trope can be found in just about every title under the RPG moniker. Though the main quest might have us gather the magical jewels at the temple, at some point we will definitely be asked to escort someone to the market, move stones from someone's yard, or rescue someone's missing cow. At the end of the day, it's just taking someone's something from A to B. Whether we're called to fetch a sword, a sacred stone, or a shrubbery, at some point in the game, someone will order us to be their armor-clad gofer.

8 HEALING HELLRAISERS

RPGs are home to some of the most notorious boss-fights in gaming. Generally, these big bads are going to do anything and everything they can to halt the progression of the protagonist(s). These fights are certainly difficult alone, but try pairing a boss with a healing factor/assist. We're looking at you, Heal-Slime.

On one hand, this certainly does make the fight more difficult, particularly if the boss in question has an assistant underling with healing magic or the like. But many players will agree that this is just a cheap way of extending the battle. For an even more infuriating boss quirk, join us at our next point.

7 HIDE THE HEALTH BAR

Doesn't it seem like some bosses just have ridiculous amounts of HP? For many turn-based RPG's, the enemy's health is always a gamble. Eventually, enemy patterns and stats are learned/guessed through experience, but it's the boss battles that can really be a guessing game.

Some recent games have addressed this problem by making health bars an option or making them revealed through some achievement in the game. But unless you've picked up a power-up or unlocked an ability that puts a health bar on the screen for these guys, you're probably gonna be a while. On one hand, this can make the fight more nail-biting and intense. You never know which attack might be your last. But if it's not done right, it can make the fight repetitive and tedious.

6 EXTRA INNINGS

Does this phrase sound familiar? "Ugh, why won't this guy go down?" If it does, you've probably encountered a lengthy battle in your time. As previously mentioned, the boss's job is to keep the player at bay with as much brutal combat and damage as possible. But in some cases, it seems like these guys are working a bit too hard at it. There are multiple ways boss fights can be completely and utterly drawn-out.

Bosses can have high damage counts, lengthy or multiple health bars, or supernova moves that mow players and party members down like timber. It's fine if the boss is just challenging, we gamers never back down from a good, rough-and-tumble scrap. But if the boss keeps us going for an extraneous amount of time, we get fatigued, frustrated, and nerd-rage soon follows.

5 FREAKING FINAL FORMS

Just when the final boss is down for the count, he pulls this dirty trick. Picture this, you've depleted him of his health, his HP (whether visible or not) is all but gone, you've wasted his underlings,  you're just about ready to lay the final blow, then he suddenly morphs into some three headed monstrosity with an appetite for vengeance. Some times these forms strike fear into the hearts of players, but sometimes they really tick us off.

This factor goes hand in hand with our previous entry. At what point in combat does a boss fight stop being dramatic and suspenseful and start being long and extraneous? Simply put, sometimes they're capable of awe-inspiring dread like Kefka or Ansem, or they can be tedious and predictable like Dracula or Andrew Ryan. Either way, it's never an easy time.

4 DUNGEON DROP OUTS

Remember when we could all just park it on the couch and pop in a game like Gauntlet and go on a good, old-fashioned dungeon crawl? Always fun at dorms or parties, right? Thanks to the age of MMORPGs and LAN parties, we now do most of our multiplayer from the comfort of our own homes. Unfortunately, this has lead to the problems of disconnecting and dropouts.

It's bad enough when one of your fellow players has shotty connection issues, but it's even worse when they drop out on their own accord. With the access of online play comes the appearance of trolsl, and we're not talking Skyrim here. This sort of foul play has been the bane of many online gamers simply trying to grind or run through a dungeon. Play for the team, or be banished from the party. Simple as that.

3 PESKY PARTY MEMBERS

Ever get one of those individual members of the party who has a problem doing their job? We're looking at you Donald Duck. In most groups of adventurers, everyone has their duty. The knight is the muscle, the mage is the brains, the priest is the healer, and the rogue finds the loot and best strategies. You'd think with the advancements in game AI, some characters would be capable of that.

Unfortunately, there are those party members that have trouble following orders, or simply become one hit wonders. Some healing types can only heal and not defend, some mages are brutal with magic spells, but are weak-sauce in the offense department, and some fighting types can dish it out but not take it. It's not a common problem thanks to innovations and player strategy, but when it is a problem, it's blatantly hard to hide.

2 FORBIDDEN FAST TRAVEL

Say it with us now, you cannot fast travel while enemies are nearby. Perhaps the most infamous rule of RPG combat, fast travel in the heat of battle is absolutely verboten. Of course, this is to prevent cheaters from skipping away from tough situations or otherwise prevent those players wanting an easy way out. A fair mechanic, but sometimes the enemies are not as closely quartered as the combatant would prefer.

The cheat-preventing mechanic is excusable, but what isn't excusable is forcing the player to stalk out whatever straggling enemy is halting the gameplay. This is by no means a game-breaking issue, but it is perhaps one of the most annoying, time-wasting problems players face. Stopping a dirty player is one thing, but forcing a player to hunt down one enemy far from the pack after wasting all his friends is beyond agitating.

1 GONNA NEED A BIGGER BAG

In most RPGs, a players loot bag might as well contain a black hole stretching across the universe and back again. This mechanic does lead to the occasional treasure hoarding, but it's never been what one would call an issue. So why is it that some of the more recent RPGs have put a weight or item cap on our character's once magical boundless-backpack?

It's a matter of trying to fix something not broken in the first place, leading to the most infuriating results. Most RPG players try to immerse themselves in a world of fantasy of fiction. They want a place not bound by the laws of reality where they can explore enchanted realms, slice up a few bad-guys, and lay their claim on mountains of treasure. This illusion is constantly dispelled by a note on the screen telling them that they're one potion overweight, their inventory is full, or that they are carrying too much in their inventory to run. You'd think in a world of elves, magic, and mystical characters, some wizard would have invented an endless bag, right? Maybe in another game.