Banning a Player from my Group. Am I Justified?

[Brennin Magalus]

Well I guess I'm the fool. But, then again, I only play with friends in the first place.

You are not a fool. I was just being facetious.

 

[jeffh]

In the extremely unlikely event he remains in the group, why on Earth would you let him argue about rules he admits he hasn't even read?

 

[ShinHakkaider]

Yeah, maybe the two of them can go shopping for shoes or skirts or something.

Since when do grown men settle their gaming differences by having a private heart to heart?

Just tell him (a) you're the DM, (b) he's acting like a prick and (c) he's getting the boot.

Man up!

This sums it up nicely. I would have posted a response similar to this but I kinda did last week in a similar thread and one D00d just picked me to jump all over when I did. So I thought i'd let the pro's handle this one...

 

[pallandrome]

I'd just like to add that picking up and leaving, rather than letting the situation escalate further, was probably a good move on your part. If you are too cheesed off to have a rational conversation, then giving yourself a little time and space to pull yourself togeather is smart.

 

[Mark Chance]

We must all learn from mistakes, both our own and others. For example:

Last session I was running a battle, and the enemy NPC was down to half hp. On the NPC’s turn I said “The NPC is going to try to tumble away.” My player, who has never read the PHB description of tumble before raises his voice and says “He can’t do that because I have tumble and I can stop him.”

At this point, the OP gave in to avoid confrontation, a tactic which failed. In the future:

DM: The NPC is going to try to tumble away.

Player: He can't do that because I have tumble and I can stop him.

DM: No, you can't. Tumble doesn't work that way. (DM rolls 1d20 and adjudicates tumble result.) Okay, next in initiative sequence is....

And, to emphasize what has been said by others, at all costs, avoid gaming with people who aren't your friends. I do not game with people I wouldn't see socially outside of the game.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Well I guess I'm the fool. But, then again, I only play with friends in the first place.

No, but honestly, I think tackling drama with more drama is exactly the wrong approach.

At least, it is certainly the wrong approach for men.

Ok, most men.

But really, what you proposed is just an escalation of drama that is completely uncalled for in the circumstances.

Your friend is going through a tough divorce? Lost a loved one to cancer? Heart to heart is fine.

Your friend is being an at your D&D game? Quick boot, game on.

Frankly, I have my suspicions that the OP enjoys a little drama (hence the post).

Or they can express their feelings in a non-confrontational, non-judgmental way by using sock puppets. After all, the player doesn't need confrontation, he needs carefrontation!

"Can you touch the puppet where the DM says he critted you?"

 

[Crust]

Not only would I ban him, I'd give him a stiff kick in the junk just so he got the message.

 

[Blood Jester]

Not only would I ban him, I'd give him a stiff kick in the junk and take his wallet just so he got the message.

Fixed it for ya.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

That is the case. The other players and I even offered to chip in and buy him a 3.5 PHB. He seems to almost like the power of not knowing the rules and arguing that his character has powers (when he doesn't) and arguing that monsters don't have powers (when they do). If he knew the way things worked, he couldn't fight me on everything.

For example, two gaming sessions ago, he kept insisting that his character didn't have to take full damage from breath weapons on a failed save because he had evasion. If he understood the difference between evasion and improved evasion, he wouldn't be able to argue the way he does in these situations. In a way, his ignorance keeps him safe. He may end up taking damage in the end, but if he does the whole group is going to get punished hearing him rant about how horrible the rules are.

Do the rest of us a favour: don't teach this man the rules. If he learns to play, it'll only expose the rest of us to him. Also, set his dice on fire, just to be sure.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Sounds like you're justified in applying Das Boot.

Oh man, no. Don't give him the boat. Ouch.