Help with player with Foot in Mouth disease

[Pielorinho]

A few things stand out to me in the oringal post. The use of "player accidently" or "player inadvertently."

What this suggests to me is that the Player and the DM have different assumptions on how the game-world works. And when the DM tells the player that an action is a bad idea, the player takes offence. Hence the player tends to "stick to his guns" and do what he says anyway.

This is a very good point. Awhile ago, I played a character who had grown up with few friends but with ample access to old academic books; as such, this teenager displayed a tendency to profess his thoughts in sentences which, while not necessarily grammatically wanting, were full of clauses both large and trivial and more than occasionally a surfeit of polysyllabic words.

After one session in which the DM seemed to be thinly insulting me via two characters -- and I mean really vicious and contemptuous insults -- I had a long talk with the DM. It turned out that what I meant to be a cute character trait, demonstrating that a basically good kid didn't know how normal people talked, was coming across to her (and therefore her NPCs) as arrogance on his part. That was not at all what I'd intended, but once I understood how the DM (and therefore NPCs) perceived the character, I was able to change how I played him, such that I gave the impression I was trying to give with him, of a likeable absent-minded nerd of a necromancer.

Daniel

 

[NewJeffCT]

Ok, I get this now. It sound like to me that he want's to play as the Big Bad Tough hero, but he's comming off more like Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China.

Well, if he continues to act like he's low Int and Wis, tell him that your going to lower those scores and people are going to start treating him like an idiot.

That man just insulted me.
The man's a fool. leave him be, he'll be dead before long.

True, he does come across as sounding stupid a lot of the time when it comes to role-playing. We generally play somewhat to gaming types - i.e., if you're the quiet type in game and out of game, we would kind of nix it if you wanted to play a charismatic sorcerer, paladin or bard in game - it just wouldn't work; just like we don't allow Foot In Mouth Guy to play high INT characters like wizards. (one time, when playing a huge near 7 foot tall barbarian using an Arnold as Conan accent, he had his money pouch snagged by an 8 year old girl. His shining r/p moment reaction was, "Guard!! She grabbed my pouch!!"

We generally don't like to make a lot of role-playing checks in game, as it kind of slows things down if this guy is making a Wisdom or Diplomacy check every other sentence... nobody solicited or forced him into claiming nobility, and even when another PC warned him about this in game he went ahead and claimed it again in a crowded market area.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

We generally play somewhat to gaming types - i.e., if you're the quiet type in game and out of game, we would kind of nix it if you wanted to play a charismatic sorcerer, paladin or bard in game - it just wouldn't work; just like we don't allow Foot In Mouth Guy to play high INT characters like wizards.

Do you allow clumsy guys to play rogues? May the weaklings play barbarians? Will you have to lift a cupboard or something before you will be allowed to get an above-average str score?

 

[ciaran00]

I personally would deliver a world of hurt to the prick knight and his girly squire, enough to make them drink their nobility out of a straw.

I like this ranger!

ciaran

 

[NewJeffCT]

Do you allow clumsy guys to play rogues? May the weaklings play barbarians? Will you have to lift a cupboard or something before you will be allowed to get an above-average str score?

No - it's just related to the non-physical scores. There are a few quiet, loner types in our gaming group and they just would not be able to pull off a realistic bard in game from a role-playing perspective, just like the guys that are not the smartest in our group would not be able to run with a mage with an 18 intelligence without constant DM intervention.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

No - it's just related to the non-physical scores. There are a few quiet, loner types in our gaming group and they just would not be able to pull off a realistic bard in game from a role-playing perspective, just like the guys that are not the smartest in our group would not be able to run with a mage with an 18 intelligence without constant DM intervention.

I think that roleplaying is also about something you aren't, to take on another role. The weak and frail and clumsy guys can play powerful warriors or master archers, why don't let the dumb and the shy and the stupid play someone who has intelligence, will-power and social grace (yes, I exaggerated there). We let physical weaknesses be cancelled by high str, dex and con, so the character of a weak player can lift a whole car. If this requires the DM to help these players, then that's OK - that's what a DM is for, and we all have received the occasional hint from our friendly DM. Sure, it just might not work out, but that should always be something you should risk. And "Oh no, you cannot play a wizard, you need to have all A's on your repord card!" doesn't sound very nice to boot.

 

[NewJeffCT]

I think that roleplaying is also about something you aren't, to take on another role. The weak and frail and clumsy guys can play powerful warriors or master archers, why don't let the dumb and the shy and the stupid play someone who has intelligence, will-power and social grace (yes, I exaggerated there). We let physical weaknesses be cancelled by high str, dex and con, so the character of a weak player can lift a whole car. If this requires the DM to help these players, then that's OK - that's what a DM is for, and we all have received the occasional hint from our friendly DM. Sure, it just might not work out, but that should always be something you should risk. And "Oh no, you cannot play a wizard, you need to have all A's on your repord card!" doesn't sound very nice to boot.

True, it is about taking on another role... but, my experience in almost 25 years of roleplaying is that most people stay fairly close to their own personalities. So, a quiet loner without much of a social life outside of gaming isn't going to suddenly be able to roleplay an outgoing, glib, social butterfly of a bard with any sort of realism and without extraordinary DM assistance. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule and some do become total opposites in game, but it is very rare. The non-physical stats are harder to overcome. It is not as big a stretch to force open a door with your 18 Strength, as most of us have opened doors in our lives. However, the quiet person in real life may never have been the smooth talking, center of attention bard.

And, we don't go out and say, "hey, your IQ is not at least 120, you are not allowed to play a mage..." This normally happens over time - "hey, maybe a mage isn't the ideal fit for you - remember back to X campaign or Y campaign when your mages did this and/or that?" If this person insists on playing a mage, etc, then they're welcome to it.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

And, we don't go out and say, "hey, your IQ is not at least 120, you are not allowed to play a mage..." This normally happens over time - "hey, maybe a mage isn't the ideal fit for you - remember back to X campaign or Y campaign when your mages did this and/or that?" If this person insists on playing a mage, etc, then they're welcome to it.

OK, that sounds much better than. If they insist, I think you should let them. The ones who aren't really suited for the role won't play it twice anyway.

 

[frankthedm]

I enforce "auto translate & you say it to other players, you say it in game as loud as you need to" Rules questions exempted. If players say things that don't translate into the game world [movies and such] then the babble insanely and people react as apropriate

 

[Norfleet]

I recommend your party make use of the subdual sneak attack rules. Have the party rogue stand behind him with a blackjack.