Dealing with paranoid players

[Cergorach]

Let the guard pick up the two guys who left the crime scene, they were seen fleeing a crime scene, grill them six ways to Sunday. After you two get contacted and vouch for them, they get a pretty reaming for leaving the crime scene and abandoning their colleagues. After this the two cowardly bad apples get a bad rep and no one is willing to hire them due to getting no results and running away at the first sign of trouble...

They now need to do some serious pro bono work before folks trust them again. If they don't change they get left behind. Roll new characters you two! ;-)

 

[Elf Witch]

Thank you to everyone who has commented.

The DM talked to the other player today and it was a much calmer talk he didn't get upset and defensive like the other player did.

He said that the reason he had his character leave town the way he did because in every game he has ever played in the city guard being called for a murder meant that the PCs were about the be thrown in prison. He has already been thrown in prison once in this game for something he didn't think was fair.

It was, he killed a good necromancer and the authorities arrested him. To pay for the guys resurrection we had to under take a job a dangerous job at that.

Once we are in a situation he fights bravely he doesn't run away. It is just that he plays everything so carefully leading up to it.

He didn't realize it was causing some issues. It is just how he learned to play. The check every few feet for traps and never split the party kind of old style dungeon crawling.

It is not that he is afraid of his character getting killed it is more that he wants a good solid plan in place and does not see the need to do things in a reckless manner.

He also admitted that when he DMs he is out to get the players he plays the bad guys as ruthless, cunning with infinitive resources. Make a bad plan or do something that he sees as reckless and bam his bad guys strike.

He did tell the DM he was sorry if his style of play made her job more difficult and that he would try and modify his play style but that he might need her to help him remind him.

He did admit that he the other player often talk about how they see my style of play as very reckless and that they tend to overcompensate and don't trust any plan I come up with.

 

[NewJeffCT]

He didn't realize it was causing some issues. It is just how he learned to play. The check every few feet for traps and never split the party kind of old style dungeon crawling.

I know that is old-school style gaming, and I'm old...

However, when I DM, I tend to tell people up front that I'm not the type of DM that runs a lot of death traps, or any sort of trap, at the party. I rarely use them, I tell them.

(Of course, it makes when I do use them as a change of pace even more surprising... )

 

[Kzach]

He did admit that he the other player often talk about how they see my style of play as very reckless and that they tend to overcompensate and don't trust any plan I come up with.

Ahah! So it's actually all YOUR fault!

 

[Elf Witch]

I know that is old-school style gaming, and I'm old...

However, when I DM, I tend to tell people up front that I'm not the type of DM that runs a lot of death traps, or any sort of trap, at the party. I rarely use them, I tell them.

(Of course, it makes when I do use them as a change of pace even more surprising... )

I learned to play they way too and it bored me to tears so I stopped playing DnD for years.

I don't really have an issue when you are in a dungeon being careful and checking for traps but you can be to paranoid. I can't stand hour long planning sessions where they pick apart every plan pointing out the possible danger. No plan is every going to be perfect and I have found that it is true the saying of no plan stays intact once you engage the enemy.

 

[Elf Witch]

Ahah! So it's actually all YOUR fault!

I guess so.

I do think the examples given of my so called reckless behavior are kind of funny.

Reckless example 1 In Shadowrun my mage was being chased by Lonestar. I had taken several flaws and one of them was not be taken alive. I couldn't lose them so I cast a spell while I was driving my motorcycle. The spell worked but I failed by 1 my ride skill and crashed. My doc wagon alert went off and they rushed me to the hospital. I lived and Lonestar did not get me.

Reckless example 2 The party had cleaned out a kobold lair and found two kobold babies. The town folk wanted to rip them apart. I refused to hand them over and the party was split over what to do. The mob attacked and we fought our way clear. I ended up raising the kobolds.

Reckless example 3 We were first level and we needed to sneak in a place. An invisible assassin had tried to kill us.
The only magic item we found on him was an earring. We didn't have a way of getting it identified. So I took a chance of trying it on. It made me invisible all right and it hurt me because I was not evil and it was cursed. I still used it sucking up the damage and got us in where we needed to be. But that was one of the worst because everyone knows you never try on an unidentified magic item.


Reckless example 4 This one happened last week. We needed a distraction to get into a tunnel without being seen by the rest of the gladiators. My character is a 500 year old elf. The captain of the guards and her had an affair when he was a young man. She introduced him to his wife, she is godmother to his children and just sponsored his daughter into the mage guild. I choose trust him and asked for his help. Which he gave. But the reason it was reckless is that you are never supposed to trust an NPC.

 

[Kzach]

I do think the examples given of my so called reckless behavior are kind of funny.

Actually, they all just sound like fun to me

As a side note, I really miss the potion miscibility table

 

[Elf Witch]

Actually, they all just sound like fun to me

As a side note, I really miss the potion miscibility table

I miss it too. I also miss certain spells carrying a cost to the caster like haste used to.

 

[SnowleopardVK]

...because everyone knows you never try on an unidentified magic item.

Testing them is the most fun thing about unidentified magic items.

I think I probably fall somewhere on the "reckless" side of the scale huh?

 

[S'mon]

Reckless example 4 This one happened last week. We needed a distraction to get into a tunnel without being seen by the rest of the gladiators. My character is a 500 year old elf. The captain of the guards and her had an affair when he was a young man. She introduced him to his wife, she is godmother to his children and just sponsored his daughter into the mage guild. I choose trust him and asked for his help. Which he gave. But the reason it was reckless is that you are never supposed to trust an NPC.

I'd say it was very poor play from the others if they were objecting to this.