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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Delemental" data-source="post: 1074372" data-attributes="member: 5203">I've had this happen myself, and it's annoying - from both sides.  And I've experienced both sides.  But there are two main reasons this happens, in my experience, and you have to handle each differently.  You've probably either got a Doombunny or a Camerahog.Doombunnies are those players who treat D&D like a big computer game.  They see the game as either a 1st-person shooter like Doom, or one of those online games like Everquest.  Doombunnies run off alone because they want to rack up a few "solo kills" - figuring you as DM will either throw them some easy encounters or would let them escape a tougher situation without consequences.  The best thing to do with Doombunnies is enforce natural consequences - let the Doombunny run into the nest of trolls all alone and get pounded, or you could let him get away only to lead the trolls back to the group.Camerahogs, on the other hand, are just wanting attention.  All the world's a stage, they say, and they want to be the star.  Camerahogs go solo for the purpose of forcing you to run their own "scene".  Here I think the trick is to maintain balance.  Give them their moment in the sun, as long as everyone else gets equal time.  Also remember that "attention" doesn't have to be positive for the character.It can be tricky sometimes, because these can both be legitimate gaming styles.  But if they're at odds with the rest of the group it's a problem.  Finding out what this particular player wants can help a lot.In my own experience, I once DMed a group that had a Doombunny player who would cast invisibility on himself and wander off.  I got lucky here - he wandered away once during an adventure in a large mine complex, which was largely abandoned (the monsters were massed in the lower level).  After spending most of the evening doing nothing but falling into pits, his tendency to wander diminished.As a player, however, I admit to being a Camerahog.  However, I also happen to game with a roleplay-intense group, so obviously I can't have all the time to myself.  The solution I came up with was to write my own script - writing out little scenes for down-times, travel times, etc.  That way I get the character depth and development I want, without taking away time from the game.  Plus it gives my DMs more things to pull from as far as background, connections to plots, etc.</blockquote>

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