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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Voneth" data-source="post: 489553" data-attributes="member: 1016">I have a friend who very much like this, but a little more direct. He says he is avoiding "cliche" characters by doing something like insisting he plays a 16-year old psionic prodgy in a party of overly serious special ops guys.Or insisting he plays a "enemy spy" for the other side and he promises that he'll eventualy be won over to the side of the party. Yet, his instance to do things his way with no teamwork alienates him and his "love" for the group never develops -- even on a "okay my PC has to like these guys because we are the gaming group."Yet in the game he GMs, no one is allowed to step out of line on his PC guidelines unless it obviously enhances his story – and he knows the difference.Long story short, the guy is being disruptive as a player and he knows it. He’s a great guy, but as a player he acts in a way that it’s a power game and an ploy to hog attention.The best idea I have to offer:It’s natural to let everyone make their own “ideal” PC for a game. This unfortunately leads to a mish mash of characters who most of the time have to meet in a bar because they have no connection. A better idea is two run two games. One game will be run as usual, the other game you will tell everyone where you sort of hope to go with the theme and mood of this second game and then have the WHOLE group sit down and design their PCs as a team with back story and with each party member’s function spelled out. There are still ways he can try to wiggle out of this such as amnesia with an insistence to remain amnesiatic, or he could insist that he wants to keep a secret from the other players (in that case tell him the group CAN keep PC and player info separate). But if he keeps trying to wiggle out of it, then it’s obvious that he considers his “metagame” more important than the enjoyment of the group as a whole. Either call his bluff, or bluff him and tell him that he can play in your group’s first game, but not the second game. My suggestion for the “first” game would be a weekly hack n’ slash, where his zanniness would fit right in. You buddy gets a game where no one cares about their PCs, so everyone is a little laid back and silly anyway, but your group also gets some serious RPG time without the prima donna.Second better ideas:1. Another idea is that you let him tank a game so he can get the credit he deserves. I had a game that I was designing on weekly basis (sort of like a TV show). I warned the group from the start that if they did anything stupid to each other in the world, they could be dead. The guy I mentioned before tried to push it, and finally figured out that I was serious. He backed off when it was going to be pretty easy to pin him for ruining the game. I realize that some people would actually get off on tanking a game, and if it turns out he’s one of them, I think your group will have second thoughts – or at least an much better excuse to exclude him. 2. Play a game with a zany premise, like Paranoia. Then everyone can have a fetish for missing shoes. Worst idea:The guy I mention above pretty much tanked a game of mine. So I entered into one of his games with a very similar character. Not exactly mature. Funny enough in his game, he didn’t put up with the attitude and it caused frustration. I eventually gave in, apologized for my behavior and played more in line. The funny thing was that this guy’s next PC in my next game was a little more toned down, still a potential troublemaker. And he also pushed to see if he could really tank the game (see above). He did mellow out, and then he stopped showing up. Problem solved and I still have a friendship, but I wouldn’t do it this way again.</blockquote>

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