Do you keep players in your group who don't contribute?

[Emirikol]

I had a guy like that once. He lasted three sessions. He was late to two of them and spent a long time yakking with his girlfriend by cellphone on the third.I talked to him, then sent him a curt e-mail: get involved, be on time, participate, or please give up the seat to someone else (I had a couple of other people who wanted in at the time).
So he left. And we got a better player.

I've found first impressions are usually the right ones. I'm not looking for meat with a heartbeat. I want a player who's going to contribute. Players are dime-a-dozen and I feel that my players and I can pick and choose until we get the right team..kind of like the Yankees.

Life's too short to put up with crappy players. Why have a guy take up space and not contribute when you could have someone who will contribute and help make the game more fun?

I'm going to keep shopping. We get 2-3 inquiries per month and with the new campaign just having started up, it will be a good chance to try out some others.

We've had the OPPOSITE one time too. A guy came in and was standing, leaning over the table waving his arms and talking non-stop. I sent him over to my friends group where he did a lot better..just didn't fit into ours

jh

 

[Ian Demagi]

General - Do you keep players in your group who don't contribute?

We interview them before. Sometimes a few of us go to dinner to talk to potential new members.We lay out expectations (like when the game runs you usually need to be here) and let the guy know personal pet peives of some of the other guys to avoid any initial problems.

We layout what we play: D & D 3.5 only, and how we play it,Core rules & Completes only, no psionics, no splat books, no Ebberon.

Since we play at guys homes a certain decorum is expected. We had to remove a guy with servere ADHD. We had another guy email me and asked if we would consider playing with a person who had Aspbergers Syndrom-I flat out told him no-the reason why-what recently happened-and we did not want to try again-end. Also the feeling is you are joining OUR group WE are not joining yours. Most some us have played together the for over 5 years, some over 10. Guys that want to come in immediately run the game, switch to 2nd Ed. (cause it was soooo much better) are frankly told to ! off.

So we dont dont have much problem with this because we are pretty selective. Frankly,this has made us disliked by some in our city (a friendly gamestore owner tipped us off to that).
Most of us only have one night out and we choose to use it gaming. So guys that drag the game down are not going to last long. but more probably are not going to be permitted to join in the first place.

Sorry for the long answer but this group has lasted since 1987 in "the Nati;" We have done at least some things right. Hopefully it helps other groups too, Ian.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Give him time to get to know everyone and learn the group dynamics. He may change drastically. I know I'm shy in a new group.

Exactly

 

[Dragon Snack]

I remember a quiet guy we used to have.

He was much like that guy, but eventually would blurt out funny one liners or have his character do something absolutely hillarious. We thought he wanted more interaction, so we focused the spotlight on his character.

He quit a couple of sessions after that.

Turns out he was happy with contributing in combat (he played a Barbarian), waiting for the perfect chance to do something funny, and just hanging out with us. Once the spotlight was on him, he felt uncomfortable and apparently that exacerbated a problem he had with another player (he didn't give us any warning about quitting, so I have only talked to him after the fact - while he told me he was uncomfortable, he has never mentioned his problem with the other player to me, but has to other players).

I miss that player...

 

[Phlebas]

Give the guy a session or two before you give up on him, we've started up a few noobs in the last few years and they all took a few weeks to get the feel of the game and be comfortable with the banter from the rest of the group - if their learning rules as well that can take a lot of their attention

if you want to force the issue, add something focused on his character (bumps in to old freind etc) and see how he reacts to direct conversation - if he stays monosyballic then its thank you and goodbye - if he makes an effort its worth a bit of perseverance

alternatively have a chat, let him know you think he's a bit quiet and ask him if thats his style or is he just being polite

 

[Sound of Azure]

Maybe he didn't like being hazed?

 

[Silver Moon]

Slight sidetrack - as for non-contributing how about the mooch - the person who is always there for the game and fully participates in the consumption of snacks and beverages but never brings anything. Last year I blew up at one of ours when he complained about the limited beverage selection at one game when I hadn't made it to the store that week.

 

[Merkuri]

I've found first impressions are usually the right ones. I'm not looking for meat with a heartbeat. I want a player who's going to contribute. Players are dime-a-dozen and I feel that my players and I can pick and choose until we get the right team..kind of like the Yankees.

I hope you give him at least a few sessions before showing him the door, because that would probably be me. I'm a very introverted person, and I find myself closing up when I meet new people, especially when those people have very strong, outgoing personalities. Basically, the louder, more excited, etc the people are I meet, the more intimidated I feel and the more I quiet down.

However, when regularly hanging out with people like this I will eventually get to know them, be more comfortable, and will start letting my "real" personality come out. This guy might be the same way. Give him a few sessions to get comfortable with the group.

It can't hurt to try and get him involved. Create an NPC that's fascinated with him for some reason and see what he does when this NPC wants to talk to him. If you see signs that this is making him even more uncomfortable then ease off (the NPC will get a vibe that this guy doesn't want to be talked to, and will move on to another party member). In that case, he's probably a "casual gamer" and just enjoys being part of the group. If that's not a type of player you want in your group, then this would be the time you would politely ask him to leave.

Give him a chance to shine before you show him the door. Some people just take a while to warm up.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Up until about 6 months ago I gamed with a guy who I went to high school with. He would say almost nothing most of the time. Then occasionally he would come out with a strange and often inappropriate comment that would leave most of the group with perplexed looks on their faces.

I eventually decided to ditch him due to his poor hygiene. However, the fact that he didn't contribute much in or out of the game (his character was really ineffective for a plain straight Sorcerer) meant that no-one in the group was particularly sad to see him go.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Harmon]

Contribute- less Players- in a group of four we had two, in a group of three we have one, course its a toss up as to which of of them will contribute in any given game.

In our case its the low self esteem thing, shoot down one of their ideas and it shuts them down for a while, beat up their character and they just kinda are there. Sometimes the campaigns suffer a great deal, sometimes not.

Let the new guy have a few sessions, make an effort to talk to him during a break, and try to get him to relax. Most gamers are introverts and thus very shy and lacking in social skills. Give him a chance.