Here comes "Chaotic Wacky" ......again.

[MichaelSomething]

It could be worse. He could make a character based off of Guy Fieri. That crit is off the hook!

 

[Staccat0]

I have found Chaotic Wacky to be the cousin of Lawful Bored. I don’t mean that as an insult, different people want different things. I wonder what he would outline as his ideal game?

Then, on the other hand, some people are just try hards.

 

[Li Shenron]

I've killed this player more times in my career as a DM than all of the other players combined. But yet again...

All right, here's a suggestion. If you kill your players and they keep coming back... stay the hell away from them and call an exorcist!

In the meantime, we will make sure to stay away from you

 

[Valetudo]

What do you guys do about players who INSIST on playing wacky, insane, chaotic, uncooperative, Leeroy Jenkins characters, EVERY....SINGLE....FREAKIN...TIME?!?!

I've killed this player more times in my career as a DM than all of the other players combined. But yet again...here comes another wacky unpredictable character.

Don't get me wrong. I don't actually mind. He's a pretty funny guy. Except that he frequently puts himself in situations where death is literally the only option. Sometimes I feel a little bad because when he inevitable dies I feel like I am punishing him for playing the character he wants to play. (Over and over and over)

This is an easy answer. Stop using alignment. Let the PCs backstory and strengths and flaws guide your players. Then give xp bonuses or gifts like special skills or items to the players who are true to their PCs. And make sure your troublemakers see this.

 

[Li Shenron]

This is an easy answer. Stop using alignment.

I don't think this is always the solution, but it could go a long way. I say it's not always the solution because it's definitely possible that a player would anyway roleplay his PC in a disruptive way even without alignment. But at the same time, there are certainly players who get carried away by a label on their character sheet that says "chaotic" or "evil", and removing the label can help.

 

[FrogReaver]

A little wackiness is good for comic relief. Too much is a detriment. Exact proportions vary by group

 

[coldermoss]

I am so glad I was able to talk one of my players out of going Chaotic Wacky. We're doing a fey circus premise for this campaign and she wanted to make a clown character who just wanted to watch the world burn. We managed to turn that into an ex-conman musician who makes beautiful but sad music but really just wants to be a comedian (represented by a Whispers Bard). She still gets to sow discord and make everyone uncomfortable with dark humor, but I get a character with actual motivations and feelings. Win-win!

 

[Eltab]

I am so glad I was able to talk one of my players out of going Chaotic Wacky. We're doing a fey circus premise for this campaign and she wanted to make a clown character who just wanted to watch the world burn. We managed to turn that into an ex-conman musician who makes beautiful but sad music but really just wants to be a comedian (represented by a Whispers Bard). She still gets to sow discord and make everyone uncomfortable with dark humor, but I get a character with actual motivations and feelings. Win-win!

Good job - well done!

If somebody came to me with a character concept that resembled Heath Ledger's Joker ("just wants to watch the world burn"), I would first steer him to Nicholson's Joker (who had a starving artist buried inside him struggling to be let out) and if he resisted such a change, suggest that he might not mesh well with the DM and the group.

 

[jgsugden]

Try giving the PC a reason to live - a continuing story that turns to tragedy without the PC living. Discovering that they suddenly have a kid (maybe their brother passed and left the kid to them, their only living family?) may give them a reason to save the day and survive. Or burdening them with a curse that can't be remove easily - and will pass to another if they die before it is ended (an artifact level curse). Or a prophecy that says that the PC will be the rock that tips the scales in a great battle between good and evil...

Just make it rewarding and fun.

 

[billd91]

What do you guys do about players who INSIST on playing wacky, insane, chaotic, uncooperative, Leeroy Jenkins characters, EVERY....SINGLE....FREAKIN...TIME?!?!

I've killed this player more times in my career as a DM than all of the other players combined. But yet again...here comes another wacky unpredictable character.

Don't get me wrong. I don't actually mind. He's a pretty funny guy. Except that he frequently puts himself in situations where death is literally the only option. Sometimes I feel a little bad because when he inevitable dies I feel like I am punishing him for playing the character he wants to play. (Over and over and over)

Does he seem to feel like he's being punished? Does it seem to negatively affect his fun? If not, stop feeling sad about it and get on with killing him.