So I was playing with three friends today, and we had set today aside to play 2 quests. We get almost to the end of the first quest, and one of my friends just then realizes that his items don't transfer between quests. He gets mad at this, so refuses to play for the second quest. With only two players as heroes, we just decided to not continue because it would honestly just be a waste of time (they would get destroyed). It was SO aggravating. Has anybody else had friends do this? I'm considering just not inviting him to play anymore because I thought it was incredibly childish.

Why not just have each of the other two players take two heroes..?

I take it he did not understand that each quest is designed to be started with town gear, as otherwise it would be a walk in the park?

Give each of the others two heroes, and explain to that friend that by ruining the game for the others noone will win, and he the least of all, as he won't get invited again.

The biggest problem with most games is the gamers.

Ah, I remember the scene one of the guys did when in my early GMing years, I killed the first player character ever. That was one hell of a tantrum.

You just have to get the right people for the right game - the same person who is an excellent adversary in Warhammer may not be suited for a game of Junta. I guess I should start keeping a sheet with player names and likes and dislikes.

Like:

Jumbo: will bring 1 Coke and 2 packs of chips. Likes: Twilight Imperium, GURPS, Vampire. Dislikes: Descent, and guys A and B.

Did you explain from the very start that each individual quest in Descent is a completely seperate game and you reset everything back to the start when you play again? If not, you should have :-)

However, the player sounds like someone I would not want to have in my group.

Explain to him that if you start the next quest with the nice shiny gold / silver items that he now has, they will easily win and the game will be no fun for anyone.

And for advice, play with 4 heroes - 2 per player.

Once you have some experience with the game and want to play it more where you keep your equipment, buy Road to Legend.

Everyone wants to play no one wants to lose.

I think the player you're describing acted very childish. That being said, I know several people who are good guys, and good gamers, who end up hating a particular game because it wasn't what they were expecting. For example, I have a friend who strongly dislikes the Starcraft boardgame because he was a big fan of the computer game, and had an entirely different image in his head of how the game would work, and his image was a more fast-paced game with lots of carnage, not the deep thought strategy game it is. That being said, he's a big fan of Risk, War of the Ring, Game of Thrones, and many other "serious" war games.

Ultimately, yes, he was acting immature. But I think the big issue is that he thought he was playing a different game than he was, and he was disappointed. He needs to learn a better way to express that, but there it is.

Honestly I don't place the blame on anyone. My first time with Descent I thought the same thing as your friend... I was expecting another Warhammer Quest, and I was a bit disappointed to find out they were "one shot" adventures. On the other hand, I kept an open mind, and took another look at the game for what it was, and now it's among my favorite games! Unfortunately not all people are able to spot this issue when it happens, and so aren't able to take that same step back. Then again, I'm an imperfect gamer in other ways, so I try not to hold it against them. ;-)

Back to real life rather than the game, have a chat with him and explain that what he did ruined everyone else's day, and that he should try to keep more of a level head.