Help reign in a player who refuses to play his role

[Lizard]

Of course we have tried talking to him-- explaining that maybe warlock, rogue, or ranger might be better for him, but he insists he wants his "character concept" to be a halfling paladin who dual-wields daggers.

Anything else I can do?

"Door's to your left."

Seriously.

The only thing worse than a player who doesn't believe in roleplaying at a roleplaying game is one who indulges in disruptive behaviour and excuses it as "I'm just roleplaying".

Or, if you really don't want to boot this guy, make sure the OTHER members of the party play THEIR characters -- and have them ignore the little "PC" sign floating over his head and ask themselves "If I were really going into a life threatening situation, would I bring this loser along with me, or would we dump him at the nearest town and see if we can't find some down-on-his-luck mercenary to accompany us?"

 

[Kzach]

This is a big pet peeve of mine and one of the reasons why I prefer DM'ing and cherry-picking players who are compatible with my play-style.

I recently just dropped out of a group in part because of a player like this. I had nothing personal against him, but his in-game and out of game (that had to do with the game) decisions just rubbed me the wrong way. They were always anti-group decisions.

I think this is more than just a trend or a passing phase. I think this is inherent to the person and won't change regardless of what character he plays. Trying to force him to play in a more group-friendly manner I don't think will work either.

In all honesty, I think the best decision is not to invite him back for further sessions. It's a harsh reality of this hobby that sometimes players just don't fit the group and should be dealt with before it becomes an explosive issue that may potentially ruin the group altogether.

 

[Tervin]

I would talk to the player out of game, and explain how I feel about what he is doing. Basically say that by playing the way he does, he is making it harder for the rest of the players (and probably the DM) to have fun. And then ask him if there is anything he would be ready to do to make this less of a problem. My message would be that I really like to have him around when we are playing, but the game needs to be fun for everybody. I might very well suggest a compromise where I play a little bit more his style if he just stops sabotaging for the group.

In a 3.5 campaign that I have been playing the group's only healer more or elss refused to heal my character because it was of a race that his character didn't respect. I see that as something that many players would not have accepted. For me it was at times annoying but also something I knew from the start, and a reflection on the setting and the character I chose to play. In other words it was part of the unspoken contract I willingly entered into, and that way I had to make it work for me. My sorcerer in the end learnt how to summon monsters that he could ask to heal him...

I offered that as an example of something that is a bit disruptive to the party, but still acceptable as it is something that we knew making our characters. I don't see that in your example. And that is why I would feel that I would feel a need to deal with it outside of game.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

All excellent advice for the DM, but I think EpochRpg's problem is that he isn't the DM, he is a player in the group

You're right, I missed his post where he said that.

It is still possible to talk from player to player. Not from a position of "authority", but from a position of friendship. If he doesn't listen then, it might be time to talk to the rest of the group (starting with the DM, I suppose. I am not really sure).

 

[Dausuul]

I'd say ignore his character as much as possible. Ask the DM to scale encounter difficulty as if that PC weren't in the group, and have someone else make a real defender so you've got a front line. Don't complain about his uselessness - that's what he wants. Just give him a share of the loot and let it go.

When he does something intentionally to get the rest of the party in trouble, like deliberately provoking enemies - cut the character loose to deal with the consequences by himself. Again, don't make a big fuss about it. Just say, "You made the problem, you deal with it." Then shut the door and walk away. (Again, you may need to ask the DM to help here, by not allowing the troublemaker to drag the whole party down with him.)

This guy clearly wants attention any way he can get it. When you get mad at him, you're rewarding him. So don't reward him. Eventually he'll get bored enough to either a) quit the game, or b) make a character who contributes in a positive way.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Based on this guy's antics in other rpgs It doesn't seem like the problem is edition related at all. If the DM and other players feel the same way about this player then its time to have a big group, out of character meeting and lay everything on the table. Explain exactly what it is that is making gaming with him less fun for the rest of you. If he understands your concerns after having them explained plainly and still insists on playing the way he does then its time to game without him. Anyone who claims that the only way for them to have fun is to disregard the feelings of everyone else isn't worth keeping around.

Losing a friend is never a good thing, but the real question is if this player doesn't give a damn about anyone's fun but his own then is he really a friend?

 

[Ingolf]

The group = trying to play Dungeons and Dragons, the goal of which is to act out the roles of heroic characters in a fantasy setting.
The problem player = playing some other game, the goal of which is to disrupt the D&D game.

Tell him you are all getting together to play D&D, not whatever it is he thinks he's playing. Sounds to me like you've put up with his disruptive behavior for far too long as it is.

 

[renau1g]

Maybe it's not that he doesn't like 4e so much as not wanting to play D&D (or other RPG's) any more? But he might enjoy hanging out with you and the others and not want to give that up. I had a member of my group who was like that, his characters always had a deathwish, were nothing more than sheets of paper, and refused to RP during non-combat encounters because they were either Mute, had their tongue cut out, or had taken a vow of silence. We talked and suggested he just hang out, not even waste his time rolling or playing. It's a slight distraction, but our group isn't too hardcore about actually playing so it works.

 

[Christian]

So I told him I'd write his own class for him and asked for suitable names for the class and role ("Knight" and "Inspirer"). I went away and came back 45 minutes later with the "Knight" (a level 1 warlord, with all the power names changed).

He loved it and has been happily playing since. Whenever he levels up, I transcribe any new warlord powers, give them flashier names and he picks out what he wants

That said, the game is up if he ever studies a PHB too closely. At some point I'll have to come clean

You're my hero!

 

[Stormtalon]

About the lay on hands bit at the very least: talk to the DM about having this guy get a "dream visitation" from the Raven Queen pointing out that she's the one who decides "whose time it is" and not him. Also suggest to the DM that maybe the party should start seeing quite a bit more in the way of undead enemies. Then you could say as a party member, "Hey, aren't those things anathema to your Queen? You better not let them take us down -- I'm sure she'll be pissed if we all turned into undead ourselves through your inaction!"