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GMs of EN World: What player behavior annoys you the most?
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<blockquote data-quote="GlassJaw" data-source="post: 7237354" data-attributes="member: 22103"><p>I've seen a lot of annoy things in my 30+ years playing RPGs but currently, since I'm the only DM, I have a few big ones:</p><p></p><p>1. Players that steamroll the group. Powergamers and min/maxers don't bother me. If they are reasonable and courteous to others, they can be dealt with in-game. It's the player that always HAS to be the loudest voice in the room ALL THE TIME that really gets under my skin. No matter what the group is doing or deciding what to do, this player is always contrary to the point of "taking their ball and going home" if they don't get their way, even if that decision is clearly a bad one (like splitting the party). Essentially, if D&D was real-life, he would make the worst adventurer ever because no one would want to be in a group with him.</p><p></p><p>2. Players that check-out when it's not their turn. This usually results in me having to repeat flavor text or descriptions CONSTANTLY or the player missing something in combat and getting mad when something doesn't go their way because of it. I don't have a problem with phones or tablets at the table. That said, they are usually the thing that is pulling the attention away from the player that doesn't pay attention.</p><p></p><p>3. Not staying in-character. I don't require players to stay in-character 100% of the time but during combat or when interacting with an NPC, it's expected. I like to run things "real-time". I have a general rule: I will assume everything is in-character and real-time in-game unless told otherwise. So if you start taking strategy during combat or saying things out loud, the NPCs will hear you. If you have a rules question or need additional information, that's fine. I've found players that simply cannot wrap their heads around this...</p><p></p><p>To further complicate these table behavior problems, a player who exhibits one of these usually also exhibits all three. And so far, from my experience, it's very difficult to address these problems with this type of player face-to-face and having the result being positive. Usually the player just reverts back to their typical behavior or doubles-down and gets defensive.</p><p></p><p>As you may have gathered, I currently have a player like this. It's made worse by the fact that this player is great to hang out with otherwise. He's really generous with beer & snacks and always looking forward to the next session. Playing board games and card games goes fine. But playing RPGs, especially D&D, forget it. It's to the point where the other players in the group (who are also friends out of game), flat-out don't want to play with him because the game isn't fun.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="GlassJaw, post: 7237354, member: 22103"] I've seen a lot of annoy things in my 30+ years playing RPGs but currently, since I'm the only DM, I have a few big ones: 1. Players that steamroll the group. Powergamers and min/maxers don't bother me. If they are reasonable and courteous to others, they can be dealt with in-game. It's the player that always HAS to be the loudest voice in the room ALL THE TIME that really gets under my skin. No matter what the group is doing or deciding what to do, this player is always contrary to the point of "taking their ball and going home" if they don't get their way, even if that decision is clearly a bad one (like splitting the party). Essentially, if D&D was real-life, he would make the worst adventurer ever because no one would want to be in a group with him. 2. Players that check-out when it's not their turn. This usually results in me having to repeat flavor text or descriptions CONSTANTLY or the player missing something in combat and getting mad when something doesn't go their way because of it. I don't have a problem with phones or tablets at the table. That said, they are usually the thing that is pulling the attention away from the player that doesn't pay attention. 3. Not staying in-character. I don't require players to stay in-character 100% of the time but during combat or when interacting with an NPC, it's expected. I like to run things "real-time". I have a general rule: I will assume everything is in-character and real-time in-game unless told otherwise. So if you start taking strategy during combat or saying things out loud, the NPCs will hear you. If you have a rules question or need additional information, that's fine. I've found players that simply cannot wrap their heads around this... To further complicate these table behavior problems, a player who exhibits one of these usually also exhibits all three. And so far, from my experience, it's very difficult to address these problems with this type of player face-to-face and having the result being positive. Usually the player just reverts back to their typical behavior or doubles-down and gets defensive. As you may have gathered, I currently have a player like this. It's made worse by the fact that this player is great to hang out with otherwise. He's really generous with beer & snacks and always looking forward to the next session. Playing board games and card games goes fine. But playing RPGs, especially D&D, forget it. It's to the point where the other players in the group (who are also friends out of game), flat-out don't want to play with him because the game isn't fun. [/QUOTE]
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