D&D 5E GMs of EN World: What player behavior annoys you the most?

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Rya.Reisender]

Do you give out Inspiration if they do the latter?

I don't really mind players discussing tactics and stats, personally. It seems like a reasonable thing to do during a game, plus there's no shortage of interacting "in-character" generally.

Yeah, I do. At least if the suboptimal decision has a negative consequence. But in my current campaign I only ever did it once. Most my players really just do optimal decisions at the moment.

 

[iserith]

Yeah, I do. At least if the suboptimal decision has a negative consequence. But in my current campaign I only ever did it once. Most my players really just do optimal decisions at the moment.

You might try what I do: Have the players claim Inspiration (limit once per trait, ideal, bond, or flaw) when they do something that speaks to those characteristics. It doesn't have to be suboptimal or result in a negative consequence (though it could if it made sense and was fun). So that's four ways per session they can get Inspiration without the DM having to award it. If your players are into figuring out optimal strategies, this may play into their tendencies because (1) there is probably no downside for them to do it in most cases and (2) it's something they themselves can control. You'll likely see an uptick in the sort of behavior you want to see alongside their apparent desire to act optimally.

There's something else I'm working on, and maybe I'll post it in more detail after I've tested it, but I'm tagging certain NPCs and monsters in my new campaign as "Antagonists." Like PCs, they will have traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws and can earn a benefit by (me) playing to them. When they do, they get Villainy. Villainy is like Inspiration except it allows them to impart disadvantage to someone else's roll instead of gain Inspiration on their own rolls. Players can prevent the Antagonist from being able to earn Villainy by correctly discerning the trait, ideal, bond, and flaw through social interaction. That's on top of the usual benefits for knowing these characteristics as outlined in the DMG. I think this will incentivize players to interact a little more with NPCs and monsters rather than just kill them which is something that I want to encourage in my current campaign for thematic reasons. (I might not bother in other campaigns.) I mention it because this might further speak to your players' tendency to want to do optimal things while at the same time get them to interact in-character more.

 

[HawaiiSteveO]

Players starting committee on how best to defeat BBEG during the battle when they had plenty of time to discuss it before things started!

I started a countdown from 5, and then Strahd started the whole predator-rip-the-guys-spine-out-with-skull-still-attached gag

 

[Oofta]

I'm not entirely sure I fully comprehend your argument here.

1. Players don't owe the DM anything.

2. Because DMing is really hard, and take a lot of time.

3. Therefore, if there are any problems whatsoever with the game, the solution is for the DM to WORK EVEN HARDER AND SPEND MORE TIME, because the DM owes the players, not not vice versa.

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Look, there are bad DMs out there. Many good DMs will tell you that they were, at one point, bad DMs.

But you know what else is out there? Bad players! Bad players who don't understand that DMing is a lot of hard work, and the vast majority of DMs wouldn't mind .. just playing every now and then (or all the time). Because DMing is a lot of work.*

So perhaps, while understanding that this is a social game, instead of putting the onus on the DM (players don't owe the DM anything? not even respect for the time put in?), good players look to see how they can help.

Just like any other endeavor. Ask how you can be a part of the solution. Or ... you volunteer to be the DM! That way, you won't have to worry about your phone distracting you during the game. You'll be too busy working hard to make sure the table is having a good time.


*And I agree that DMing can be satisfying in a way that playing can't. But ... and here's the thing ... playing is satisfying in a way that DMing isn't, and it take a lot less time and stress.

I tried asking people to keep notes on a rotating basis for a while. A couple of things happened.

First, the person who was taking notes had their head in their notes more often than not. I could tell they were not as engaged nor as active in the game as they were normally.

Second, it was a lot more work for them to keep the high level flow and lists (NPC, town, store names) than it was for me.

I ended the experiment after a few sessions, it just wasn't worth it. If a player wants to post a summary/journal that's great. I reward them with bonus inspiration points for it. But if they don't want to I'm not going to ask them to do so.

The amount of extra work for me is minimal, since I have to jot down notes and results from the session anyway. All I have to do is delete the info the PCs don't have yet and post.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Nevvur]

That's why, on the very first post I made in this thread, I said the one thing that really mattered was respect. Everyone needs to respect each other to make the game work. Respect the choices. The people. The time. And talk; everyone is there to have a good time, and I can't fathom someone thinking that they are entitled to someone else's hard work without putting in the effort, or at least trying to help out and make it better.

A few others have related how note taking can actually make the game worse. Whether it does or does not is going to vary from table to table, naturally.

As far as I can tell, much of the debate on this issue stems from an implied moral judgment against players who fail to take notes. To me, it's just not an ethical issue, and I resent the characterization of my players as lazy or ungrateful by anyone who isn't me.

 

[Spookykid]

Phone use thats not game related or an emergency
Metagaming, i'll change stuff around if players do that

But wanted to say that I just started my CoS campaign and not one player broke out a phone or got distracted at all. It was great just hope that lasts!

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Oofta]

That said, I have yet to come across a party that doesn't keep track of their treasure.

What's funny is that during yesterday's game someone asked how much treasure they should have. Fortunately someone else had it recorded.

So no, I don't make any assumptions. In the game I've been playing I fell into the treasurer role for some reason. Why they trusted the thief rogue with the accounting books is beyond me.