Different player types hogging the spotlight?

[Merkuri]

They step into the room and see the BBEG. The BBEG tells them to 'go away and leave his treasure alone unless they are interested in buying his wares from him' (he's sort of a merchant). The powergamer was already trying to interrupt me to let me know he's attacking. I ignored him until I could finish my dialogue. Then the casual gamer tries to ask the BBEG what his asking price is for his wares and as soon as he replies with his price, the powergamer interrupts me again to tell me he's casting a spell. So I tell everyone to roll initiative.

If he's actually interrupting you (or trying to talk over you or whatever) then I think you have a serious problem with that player, as a few others have said. If he's so keyed up to get into combat that he won't let others chat for a few moments then he needs to wake up and realize there are other people in the room.

You may want to have a group meeting to talk about how you want to make sure everyone is having fun, and that means that there will be times when combat is not the answer. Do not call the powergamer out or indicate that he is why you're making this speech, just let everyone know that things are gonna change a little. If he continues to ruin roleplaying moments take him aside and explain to him personally what you are doing and why. If he keeps doing it after that then it's clear he's just an inconsiderate person, and if I were in your position I would probably begin thinking seriously about whether I want to keep playing with this guy.

Subtleties may not work on him, if he's that into combat that he doesn't recognize or acknowledge that some people like other parts of the game.

 

[werk]

Considering that's not how XP is prescribed in the DMG, no, not everyone does it that way.

Read your DMG. ~page 40

Tell me again why story and roleplaying xp awards wouldn't be the norm?

There's more than tables in that book...

 

[LostSoul]

Start up another game that's more on the roleplay side of things. Tell everyone that this isn't going to be a hack-n-slash game, so if they don't like acting in character they might not want to join.

 

[Jhaelen]

Read your DMG. ~page 40

Tell me again why story and roleplaying xp awards wouldn't be the norm?

How about: Because they are optional?

 

[Treebore]

Its easy. Have them kill a good guy. Who they would have known was a good guy with a decent amount of roleplay, but since they don't, they were easy to set up to kill the good guy by an evil leader type.

IE make roleplay important to making the right decisions, if they don't they become bad guys and get hunted down and killed, or thrown in prison and executed.

Players will only role play when they find out its important to do so.

Then they find out why it can be fun to role play.

So set them up for a fall. Make them fall hard. Even execute them.

Then the advantages of role playing will be starkly burnt into their psyche.

 

[werk]

How about: Because they are optional?

"They are called story awards, and they should only be used by experienced DMs."



Hey, if you play with inexperienced DMs...par for the course.

 

[00Machado]

When I ran Star Wars D6 back in the day, I used to give a 10 item questionnaire at the end of an adventure. Each correct answer was worth one experience point. Some modules took multiple sessions. It helped everyone remember what was going on with the plot because there was something to be gained from it. No one ever complained. On the contrary, they seemed to embrace the opportunity, any opportunity really, to gain more experience points. They seemed to like their characters, like the system, like the campaign, and like advancing those characters' skills.

If an adventure was short, then I had fewer questions.

In either case, it kept them engaged in the story, and no one stepped on my toes when I was monologuing as NPCs or villains.

And since it was Star Wars, there were gun fights, chases, and sneaking around pretty much every session, so it wasn't all plot and social interaction.

 

[pawsplay]

It sounds to me like the age old problem.... the Mustache Twirler. He's the bad guy. They're going to fight him. Maybe not now, maybe later, maybe after a plot twist or two, but he's the bad guy. So why postpone the inevitible?

It's not as if it matters. The plot is just a series of cutscenes, since apparently the campaign can end without the players knowing what's going on. Some people watch every cut scene and click on all the NPCs for their dialog. Other people just hit the Esc key and start blasting. Either way the game goes on.

Now, if it were only a bad idea to kill the evil bad guys, then someone might hesitate. But as long as killing them all and letting God sort them out continues to work, the one guy is going to keep doing it. Heck, maybe he's secretly a roleplayer at heart but just can't invest in a story that plods on with or without him.

Obviously, INAYT (I'm not at your table), but those are the first thoughts I have. Hope that helps.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

There is no tactical advantage to shouting "I attack now! Now! Now!" the moment a target is in sight.

There are huge potential disadvantages to attacking the wrong person.

This is how I'd go.

And the power-gamer is doing something wrong: He's putting his fun ahead of everyone else's. Don't make excuses for him steamrolling everyone else. He either needs to be more sensitive to what other people enjoy or he should power game his way into a solo game.

 

[pawsplay]

This is how I'd go.

And the power-gamer is doing something wrong: He's putting his fun ahead of everyone else's. Don't make excuses for him steamrolling everyone else. He either needs to be more sensitive to what other people enjoy or he should power game his way into a solo game.

Hm, sounds like you're accusing him of badwrongfun.