I have a player who constantly tries to stir trouble, especially with NPC's. It never used to be an issue as it usually only amounted to him being dismissed by NPC's as annoying, but lately it's gotten to the point where he's actively causing combats to erupt by consistently, and incessantly, provoking NPC's. Some other players are also starting to get a little frustrated by it so it's time to do something about it. My preferred method would be to somehow engage them in a manner that would make the player not want to act like this all the time, rather than simply confronting them and telling them to cut it out. As far as I'm concerned, that's a last resort.
Now, I don't want to focus on answering questions about this player or his PC in particular but rather would just like to get some general advice on how to engage someone like this. How do other people deal with "poke the bear" style of player? How do you get them to do more than just start fights for no reason?
Now, I don't want to focus on answering questions about this player or his PC in particular but rather would just like to get some general advice on how to engage someone like this. How do other people deal with "poke the bear" style of player? How do you get them to do more than just start fights for no reason?