Help with a frustrated player?

[Breakstone]

Say, I've got a player, who's got a problem.

He gets incredibly frustrated when he's not winning.

Today, in game, he was doing pretty well, and having fun, but then he wished to try jumping down from a roof and stabbing an opponent.

He rolls a one on his jump check.

For just about the rest of the session he was frustrated and, well, not having fun at all.

And to tell you the truth, I have no idea how to get him out of this habit.

Now he knows it's a problem that developed from years of computer gaming, but I'd like to figure out a way for him to stop.

Are there any ideas on what either he or I could do to make the game more fun for him, even if he doesn't win all the time?

 

[hong]

Tell him to shape up or ship out, and then when he doesn't shape up, follow through.

This really has nothing to do with computer gaming. We have one of these guys in our group. He plays PC games, but so do most of the rest of us. Noone else is nearly as annoying as him.

 

[Breakstone]

Oh, I'm not blaming it on the computer games, not at all. It's just that in this particular case, his years of computer games has gotten him used to winning (he's very good at them) so that when he rolls that random "1," he gets very angry.

Most of the time, however, he's a very pleasant fellow, and always a great asset to the game.

 

[astralpwka]

Make the 1 really memorable, so that when he fails at something, he really fails, and everyone has a good laugh. Like leaping off of a building and missing... he could fall through a passing coach instead with a rich widow who's lap he lands in.

Live for the fumbles!!!

 

[Limper]

First on a skill check a 1 isn't always a failure. Not likely to be sung of in praise but not an auto failure.

Jumping down should be rather easy... the to hit could still fail but I'd give a rather high circumstance bonus for jumping down from a roof.

He could have tried to Tumble.

Now as to how to break him of his habit... if he want to succede he needs to NOT do the risky moves. He'll probably be happier playing with a less cinematic style.

I loath losing as well. Nothing is less heroic than the dreaded night of 1's. It also sucks when you've worked real hard to get your character good at something and bad rolls come up every time you use it. Its hard as hell to picture your swordmaster as being a badass if he gets beat up all the time and always rolls a 1 in a critical situation.

 

[WayneLigon]

I have some sympathy for him, though. In the current 'modern magic' game I'm in, my character's supposed to be the tough, strong, unflappable type. High Wisdom. Iron Will. +6 and more to the Will save when everyone else has about a +3. Routinely, I'm the only one that flees in terror or wets myself because I can't roll worth $&%&.

 

[jdavis]

Oh, I'm not blaming it on the computer games, not at all. It's just that in this particular case, his years of computer games has gotten him used to winning (he's very good at them) so that when he rolls that random "1," he gets very angry.

Most of the time, however, he's a very pleasant fellow, and always a great asset to the game.

Where is the fun without the risk? How did he loose by rolling a one, he messed up one action, it happens. Tell him to keep it in character and play him as a perfectionist, sulking over a dice roll is just stupid, having a character who sulks when he accidently drops his sword in battle and looks foolish is fine. Getting mad because you roll a one on a dice is about the most foolish thing I have ever heard, does he get mad when he looses at cards? Does he get mad when his favorite sports team looses? Does he get mad when people pass him on the highway? why get mad over dice? Tell him to channel it into the character and to stop taking a random dice roll personally.

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

For many skill checks just use the take 10 rule, nothing fancy just getting the job done. For those 1s you just gotta suck it up and take it like a man because nobody likes a wiener.

Tell em I said that.

 

[Tewligan]

I'm with Hong. Someone who gets pissy because something in a game doesn't go his way is pretty close to the last person I'd want to play with. It makes things awkward for everyone else to see an adult get all sulky over something that ridiculous. Personally, if I'm with someone who's acting like that, I tend to ride his ass mercilessly, making fun of that behavior. They usually either see how silly they're being and straighten up, or get so pissy they just go away. Either way, I'm happy.

 

[Pagan priest]

That guy would hate to game with my group! In most of our battles, initiative is the LAST high roll that any of us get until combat is over! Crits never get confirmed, fumbles usually do. A pair of 1st level warriors in heavy armor would be a major challenge to our 6th level characters! (They would hit us more often than we could hit them.

Tell that guy to count his blessings.