How do you handle campaign cheaters?

[DragonLancer]

Well, the DM is one of the people that needs to have fun. If I stop having fun running a game, I'm done. It's over. Why should I invest any more of my time into something that I am not having fun doing? I am not the DM so I can cater to the other player's desires. I am not a server side application. I am another guy sitting at the table trying to have fun. It just happens that I have as much fun running stories as I do playing as the characters in those stories. So I play in one game and run another game.

WLD is an investment. This is not a spontaneous purchase unless you have significant income. Anybody willing to invest that much money into the dungeon is likely basing an entire campaign off of it. Cheating at it ruins the mystery. It ruins the surprises, it ruins the excitement of discovery, it ruins the tension. Is it a big deal?

Well obviously it is not a big deal to the players, but it is a big deal to the DM. If it weren't he wouldn't be posting. So the DM shouldn't "get all pissy" because he just blew $100 and has watched the life be sucked out of the dungeon? He has watched all the additional stories he may have dropped in become less relevant. The quest to find that one special magic item in the dungeon loses impact because the players already know where it is, or where it is supposed to be. OK, sure, the DM shouldn't make a big deal out of it.

But nor should the players make a big deal when the DM says "You know, I am not going to run this game for you. I'll be happy to play and I'll just save this dungeon/campaign for a different group at a different time. So who is DMing next?" After all, the DM is just a player with a different title and different responsibilities. The fun of the DM is just as important as any other player and this one player has certainly ruined the fun for the DM. The other players are tacitly approving of this arrangement by participating. So, the group of players has a different set of expectations. Perhaps it is best to part ways? Perhaps it is best to let somebody else run a game and just participate as a player. There is a lot less work that way, that's for sure.

This player cheating has ruined the mood for at least one other player at the table. That player is the DM.

Exactlly my opinion on the whole cheating issue. And much better worded than mine.

 

[Captain Howdy]

Well, the DM is one of the people that needs to have fun. If I stop having fun running a game, I'm done. It's over. Why should I invest any more of my time into something that I am not having fun doing? I am not the DM so I can cater to the other player's desires. I am not a server side application. I am another guy sitting at the table trying to have fun. It just happens that I have as much fun running stories as I do playing as the characters in those stories. So I play in one game and run another game.

I think that is where we are different. I get the most fulfillment out of DMing when my players are having fun. Regardless of how I feel, if the players think a game is bad, I'll stop running it. On the other hand, I have DMed adventures that I thought were crappy, but all the players loved them.
So I guess it just turns out to be a matter of preference. I like DMing because I like providing a cool game for my players. It seems you like DMing because you personally have fun. That's fine, but we probably won't agree on the issue of cheaters because of this difference.

"I submit to you that the most important, yet most often forgotten, rule of good GMing is this: Roleplaying games are entertainment; your goal as GM is to make your games as entertaining as possible for all participants."
- Robin D. Laws (Robin's Laws of Good Game Mastering)

 

[BlackSilver]

BardStephenFox your words are very true to home.

I have never enjoyed GMing and I have struggled with it for the last year or so because there are so few GMs at our table.

As a sort of update the offending Player has been told or caught wind of the offense and the thread here, he's trying to make a mends but I am not feeling that his apologies are complete and heartfelt- they some how seem lacking. He stated that he would remove all of the information from his computer and offer to let another friend scan the computer for the information- which I would think should have been something he’d already done and not offered to do.

So- the whole of the group knows about the offense and knows how I feel right this moment, and they are considering what to do. I have removed myself from the penalty area of this discussion because of my prejudice towards him at this moment. Needless to say- I won’t be GMing until I feel less agitated. Which may well be into next year before I start GMing again due to the holidays and such.

Again thank you for your thoughts and such.

 

[BSF]

You are correct in that we will disagree here. Why would I run an adventure that I thought was crappy just to entertain my friends when I can run another adventure that isn't crappy to entertain my friends?

Mind you, this is different than running an adventure, finding out that it is crappy, but seeing that everyone else is still enjoying it and completing it. I can stomach bad sessions. There are always going to be occassional bad sessions.

Just to be clear, I want all the players at the table to have fun. But I won't do that at the detriment of my fun. I shouldn't have to. So I try to make my games fun for all of us.

 

[Whimsical]

Hey Cheating Player: Congratulations! You win! Here is your prize...

So- the whole of the group knows about the offense and knows how I feel right this moment, and they are considering what to do. I have removed myself from the penalty area of this discussion because of my prejudice towards him at this moment. Needless to say- I won’t be GMing until I feel less agitated. Which may well be into next year before I start GMing again due to the holidays and such.

 

[BSF]

Blacksilver,
what you say distresses me. I understand being the only person willing to DM, but if you are willing to take on that role, then you still need to be trying to have fun. When the DM isn't having fun, it makes it harder for the entire group to have fun. Then you end up with secondary issues.

Seriously, what would it take for you to have fun as the DM? Do you just not enjoy the process at all? Do you lack the energy and time to put together what you think will be a good game? Is it possible to have fun with being the DM for you or are you sucking it up as the DM because nobody else will?

 

[Malar's Cow]

Commit the crime, serve the time

By cheating, your player has indicated that he doesn't wish to participate in a "game". A game is inherently one where the possibilty of losing exists. My stepson's first actions upon the purchase of a new Playstation game is to go onto the internet, and get the cheat codes from CheatPlanet. IMO, he is no longer playing a game, he is indulging in a power trip his only goal being to 'beat the system'. I never understood this mentality, and ask him all the time if he had tried to play the game without cheating first. There is apparently no enjoyment for him in facing and overcoming challenges and obstacles. I worry for his future.

As a DM, I understand just how much preparation and work goes into the creation of a campaign, and how much enjoyment comes from the mystery and uncertainty of what will come next. By cheating, your player has not only ruined that mystery for himself, but has deprived the other players in your campaign from it as well, and has nullified all your hard work and effort. I could not, in all good conscience, allow this player to continue as a PC in the campaign.

What I would suggest is to explain the impact of his actions to him, and let him know that you could not let him continue to play with the knowledge he has gained. But to avoid the boot, ask him if he's willing to act as an assistant DM to you. He could run certain NPC's that the adventure presents, and also assist you in preparation for the next game. Put him to work. Let him experience just how much effort goes into creating a game that the players can enjoy. Once the current adventure is concluded, let him know that you'll let him rejoin as a PC, as long as the cheating NEVER happens again. Repeat offense = boot.

 

[was]

I game with my friends. That pretty much says it all. They're my friends because I know that I can trust them.
If you want to keep the guy in your group, come straight out and tell him you're offended. See if he apologizes or makes excuses. If he just makes excuses, tell him to leave. If he stays, I would see about replacing the first few levels since you paid so much for the module. Maybe with something out of the Tomb of Horrors.

 

[Christian Walker]

"If you guys and gals are going to cheat, which is contrary to the spirit of a game, then why should we bother at all. Let's please try to continue the game, but no more peeking, okay? It just ruins the fun, I think."

That's how I'd start. If they (or just one person still cheated)...

"I'm the DM and my job is hard enough as it is. You are still cheating and that ruins my fun. You're not welcome to game with me anymore. Bye."

 

[TracerBullet42]

Kill them and take their stuff...

Duh.

(Didn't read entire thread...so if someone already said that, assume that I will walk away and hang my head in shame...)