Fair way to get rid of player?

[spunky_mutters]

Jeez this is easy:

1. 6 players...roll a d6. eeni, meeny, YOU'RE OUT!

2. Put a bowl of peanuts out. First person to take one gets canned.

3. Last one to show up for the game.

4. First one to miss a session.

5. Poison the drinks. First one to succumb gets the boot, everyone else gets the antidote.

6. Just wait for the first character death.

7. First one to argue rules with you.

8. Dice relay. Players have to race around the block with dice on their head. Last one back gets turfed.

9. Have them buy you gifts. Get rid of the one that fails to impress.

10. Set up a ring in the backyard and have elimination combats.

 

[Darklance]

Right now our gaming group has seven people, including myself (the GM). My players are all pretty nice, intelligent, creative people with most of their own equipment and books. Character level in the campaign is in the 8th-11th range. There's a dragon waiting around the corner(!) for the well-balanced group to defeat. No problems.

But the game table really only has room for six chairs, and with my recent career shift I can't afford to host the entire group anymore. I need to get rid of one of the players.

What's a good, fair way to deal with this? I'm thinking of using the "Vote Off The Island" format so that they put the blame on each other instead of me.

I think we've been trolled. Its not like you can't just say...ok...everyone else brings the food for the DM or..bob..bring your card table to connect with mine.

 

[TiQuinn]

Right now our gaming group has seven people, including myself (the GM). My players are all pretty nice, intelligent, creative people with most of their own equipment and books. Character level in the campaign is in the 8th-11th range. There's a dragon waiting around the corner(!) for the well-balanced group to defeat. No problems.

But the game table really only has room for six chairs, and with my recent career shift I can't afford to host the entire group anymore. I need to get rid of one of the players.

What's a good, fair way to deal with this? I'm thinking of using the "Vote Off The Island" format so that they put the blame on each other instead of me.

To be honest, I have no idea what the problem here is. Explain to me the cost of having seven players vs. six.

 

[pennywiz]

Simple. Have the players draw straws. Short straw drawing player is eaten by the remaining players. No bad feelings if you can't run into them at the mall, right? Simple.

 

[Darkness]

I can relate to your problem, Olidammara, and I think that many others can as well; they just don't like to think back to the times when they had to take a hard look at their groups and reduce them to the optimal size.

 

[ForceUser]

I can relate to your problem, Olidammara, and I think that many others can as well; they just don't like to think back to the times when they had to take a hard look at their groups and reduce them to the optimal size.

I have never ended a campaign because my group was too large. That said, I make sure my groups never get too large, and when something such as space limitations come up, we just talk about it. You can almost always come up with another option.

Now, I have a friend whose campaign swelled to eleven players, which he quickly got tired of DMing. So he split the campaign into two group of six (his wife played in both) and that was that. There is almost always a solution without screwing someone over.

 

[TiQuinn]

I can relate to your problem, Olidammara, and I think that many others can as well; they just don't like to think back to the times when they had to take a hard look at their groups and reduce them to the optimal size.

So, the group gets too large (Your problem to begin with. Not the players' fault), and then kick someone out, even if he's a good player, possibly a friend, and a contributor to everyone's fun? Just because the group is no longer "optimal" size? I don't think I'd want to play with that kind of DM.

 

[Limper]

I believe he is implying that he pays his players.

The old reverse Bugaboo.

 

[Darkness]

So, the group gets too large (Your problem to begin with. Not the players' fault), and then kick someone out, even if he's a good player, possibly a friend, and a contributor to everyone's fun? Just because the group is no longer "optimal" size?

Hmm... Do you really have to do that? Why? Aren't any other solutions open to you? Also, what is the optimal size for your group, anyway?
(Mine is 3-4, BTW.)

I don't think I'd want to play with that kind of DM.

That's nice of you: If someone volunteers to go, the problem solves itself quite well.
But wait - the first part of your post implies that you are the DM! What would happen if you left?

 

[Janos Antero]

I'd say have a battle royal in game, the character who dies looses.

Simple process of elimination, if they die first, they would drag the party down later on anyway.

In fact don't even prep them, just slip each a note saying something in the water provokes the urge to kill in each of them.

If one of the players refuses, or complains, clearly he can't role-play, and will likely die first anyway.

So you remove the bad role-player AND solve your problem.