How to stop player whining? Drama!

[ggroy]

I just kick the intolerable player out. I certainly wouldn't hand the reins to someone that I thought would be a crappy gm.

The rationale behind moving the intolerant player into the DM position, is largely to showcase the intolerant player hanging himself with his own rope. Eventually the other players leave en mass, with the intolerant player having no audience left.

 

[amerigoV]

On making the problem player the GM:

Sorry, I'm too old for such shenanigans. GM has a respectful talk with the player. They either get their act together or hit the road. Wasting other people's time to prove a point to one person is disingenuous and disrespectful to other people's time.

If I have a problem with a coworker, I do not put them in charge to teach them a lesson. You have a talk and lay out expectations. If they continue to cause problems, you can them.

 

[Merkuri]

Why don't you try to take his place? Talk to the DM to arrange it so that bad things happen to your character and *only* good things to his. And then whine and cry for every ...injustice that happened to your character. Act angry about it, and spoil everyones fun. Do it for 3-4 games and he will stop acting like that, as he will realize how annoying it is.

I would advise against this and any other similar plots. Even if he does realize how annoying it is I can almost guarantee you that his reaction is not going to be, "Oh, is that how I look? Gee, I should change my ways." He's more likely going to get defensive and angry and feel like the DM and this other player are conspiring against him. He's more likely to see it as an attempt to make fun of him.

Things like this are a good way to escalate a bad situation, not resolve it.

 

[steeldragons]

Sadly the player in question is NOT 9 or 12. We're all in our 20s.

...His whining was annoying, but not unbearable, until last session when he lost 2 potions in a fire and was so pissy we thought he was going to quit, really ruined it for everyone.

If he ruined it for everyone, then he gets an "F". Plain and simple. Age doesn't matter if you're a drama queen or an attention hog.

The crazy thing is, he really is a cool guy, and a good, fun player too for the most part.

"Cool guys" and "fun players" are two different things. What you've described does NOT sound to me like a "fun player." If he's detracting from other people's enjoyment, he's NOT a "fun player"...sorry to be unkind, but that's the truth.

I've given him a day to cool off and I plan on calling him this weekend and working everything out.

And this is your job because why?

I'd already mentioned his complaining and it seemed to cause a bigger disaster, so hopefully we can work this out.

Again...why? He's your friend...I get that. Doesn't mean he gets to act like a 2 year old whenever he wants...again, "drama queen" or "attention hog"...which one is he?...or drama queen to GET attention, as most of them are/do.

You can be friends with someone and NOT game with them. A twenty-something should not be throwing "hissy fits" at random rolls. It's part of the game...deal.

Thanks for the advice, and I'll let you know how it goes.

Please do. Too many times in these kinds of posts, people say they'll "let us know how things go" and there's nada.

Cheers and happy gaming.
--Steel Dragons

 

[the Jester]

The rationale behind moving the intolerant player into the DM position, is largely to showcase the intolerant player hanging himself with his own rope. Eventually the other players leave en mass, with the intolerant player having no audience left.

I understand and still totally disagree with this approach. It leads to no game for anyone after several sessions of not-too-fun gaming, versus just handling the problem at the problem end and keeping the game fun for everyone (even if it means losing a player).

 

[JoeGKushner]

How is he an excellent gamer? Where is he earning the praise? If possible, try to keep notes of his good performance and when he starts to argue about the unfairness of it all, shut it down with, "Well you were awesome here remember? Sometimes the bar eats you, sometimes you eat the bar."

 

[Holy Bovine]

How is he an excellent gamer? Where is he earning the praise? If possible, try to keep notes of his good performance and when he starts to argue about the unfairness of it all, shut it down with, "Well you were awesome here remember? Sometimes the bar eats you, sometimes you eat the bar."

Your PCs must encounter a lot of mimics.

 

[pawsplay]

Sadly the player in question is NOT 9 or 12. We're all in our 20s.

I knew this one guy that did that kind of stuff. I ran a game with him. He was a late addition to the campaign, but that didn't keep him from killing the whole thing by sucking the fun out of it. More importantly, his wife swore she would never play in an RPG with him again. I'm not sure, but I think she still hasn't.

 

[dbm]

An EXCELLENT gamer, but pretty new to role playing.

Maybe this is part of the problem. If he is used to more adversarial gaming (even player vs computer in CRPGs) maybe he doesn't understand that it is normal to experience challenges and set backs in table top games? Similarly, maybe he is used to mouthing off at the screen when these things happen in such games and he isn't used to playing more collaborative games in a group situation?

Some people wear their hearts on their sleeves, and he might be one of those people. Perhaps he just needs a friendly chat explaining the social contract in table top games?

Cheers,
Dan

 

[TarionzCousin]

Your PCs must encounter a lot of mimics.

Who even knew that mimics were edible, let alone delicious?