Tabarnak Smokeblower
First Post
I, too, would be interested in how to deal with Magic Item creation. Alas, this probably warrants another thread in the House Rules Forum...
TS
TS
I have a problem with a player!
- Thread starter Lavinia Teeblatt
- Start date
ForceUser
Explorer
Regarding XP, I record it in private and simply tell players if they level or not at the end of each session. Makes the whole thing much easier. I generally use the XP rules in the DMG, but I also assign "ad hoc" awards for good roleplaying and achieving story goals. If a player loses a level I use the rules in the 3.5 DMG for that. Mages who scribe scrolls tell me how much XP they spent and I record that privately. If they don't have enough XP in a level to make the scrolls they want, I tell them.Lavinia Teeblatt said:
Greyhawk_DM
First Post
If he keeps being an a$$ start deducting xp's from him.
On second thought just start killing his characters, sooner or later he will get the message and will stop playing anyway. You don't need that type of person in your game.
On second thought just start killing his characters, sooner or later he will get the message and will stop playing anyway. You don't need that type of person in your game.
Mark Chance
Boingy! Boingy!
I think you're much too nice, Lavinia. If my players want bonus XP, they need to bring me quality beer or whiskey. And that means no more of that awful Ramrod stuff, Kareyev!
Greyhawk_DM said:If he keeps being an a$$ start deducting xp's from him.
On second thought just start killing his characters, sooner or later he will get the message and will stop playing anyway. You don't need that type of person in your game.
Nobody needs this kind of person in the game, but just killing his characters out of spite to teach him a lesson is not the way to go. Then he would have a real reason to get pissed, as I would if a DM killed my character 'just because'.
Discuss it with him, as calm as possible, but don't treat him like crap. It's never worth it to stoop to his level to get what you want out of him. Of course, after discussing it with him, with the whole group discussing it, make sure that the entire group isn't out to isolate him. If he is a friend to most of you in the group, treat him like a friend. If he isn't a friend and he's just a person to fill a hole in the group, then explain to him that this is how the game will be, and any further outbursts, such as getting upset over 50 xp and throwing a tantrum, will result in his expulsion from the group.
David Argall
First Post
does he have a case?
We have your opinion, and maybe another, that he did not deserve the award. But we really do not know. So ask him. Why does he think he deserved the points? It is entirely possible he felt he was Hamlet, and giving the awards to bit players would hurt.
Making the awards in secret is not going to improve this situation. That just gives him greater grounds for suspecting you are biased against him. And the other players are also deprived of evidence that you are doing a fair job.
His personal abuse, you ignore. His complaints about the game, you deal with.
We have your opinion, and maybe another, that he did not deserve the award. But we really do not know. So ask him. Why does he think he deserved the points? It is entirely possible he felt he was Hamlet, and giving the awards to bit players would hurt.
Making the awards in secret is not going to improve this situation. That just gives him greater grounds for suspecting you are biased against him. And the other players are also deprived of evidence that you are doing a fair job.
His personal abuse, you ignore. His complaints about the game, you deal with.
Acquana
First Post
Man oh man, have I got a thread for you. Boys will be boys.
Don't worry about it. Sometimes we all get crappy players. Just don't react the way I did. I ended up cursing back at the guy that he needed to stop trying to shoot the innocents and trying to lay the NPCs. Thankfully he stopped coming, he was hard to fit into our schedule anyway ...
But to the matter at hand! Let it be known that the DM's Guide, all purpose guide to annoying players, DOES encourage giving out XP for roleplaying situations done well! Plus let it also be known:
*ahem* Rule #0: The DM has the power to change rules as she pleases. It's in the books. If you wanna show this guy, do so.
I give roleplaying XP, and I tally most of the XP in secret so it doesn't matter too much. I just tell the players beforehand, "You who help move the plot get more XP." Plain and simple. Though it does tend to leave our shy player behind. The poor dear tries, she just doesn't do very much ...
Just be fair and help get the other players on your side. If it's just one, it's just one, and if he wants to keep his hobby then he'll have to adjust.
Courage my fellow, DM. Courage.
Don't worry about it. Sometimes we all get crappy players. Just don't react the way I did. I ended up cursing back at the guy that he needed to stop trying to shoot the innocents and trying to lay the NPCs. Thankfully he stopped coming, he was hard to fit into our schedule anyway ...
But to the matter at hand! Let it be known that the DM's Guide, all purpose guide to annoying players, DOES encourage giving out XP for roleplaying situations done well! Plus let it also be known:
*ahem* Rule #0: The DM has the power to change rules as she pleases. It's in the books. If you wanna show this guy, do so.
I give roleplaying XP, and I tally most of the XP in secret so it doesn't matter too much. I just tell the players beforehand, "You who help move the plot get more XP." Plain and simple. Though it does tend to leave our shy player behind. The poor dear tries, she just doesn't do very much ...
Just be fair and help get the other players on your side. If it's just one, it's just one, and if he wants to keep his hobby then he'll have to adjust.
Courage my fellow, DM. Courage.
Last edited:
RigaMortus
Explorer
Over the years, we've developed our own system of awarding roleplay exp.
The DM usually gives out roleplay XP on the spot whenever someone does exceptional acting in character, or just makes the group laugh a lot (again, being in character though). So this way, there is no confusion as to who is getting roleplay XP and what they are getting it for.
Eventually we've added to this system. The DM still can award roleplay XP on the spot, but players can award each other as well. We hand out poker chips at the beginning of the game, and when one player thinks that another player did a good job roleplaying, they award them a chip. The person with the most chips at the end of the night also gets a "Get Out of Jail Free Card" (yes, we actually use the one from the Monopoly game) that he can use to add a +3 bonus to any roll next session. It's a minor little bonus we've implimented =)
I'm not sure if this system will work for you. I have to admit, you probably need to game with more mature gamers to pull this kind of thing off, otherwise you might run into the same problems. I'd say, dump the 7 year old cry baby and look for someone more mature first. Seriously though, how old is this guy?
The DM usually gives out roleplay XP on the spot whenever someone does exceptional acting in character, or just makes the group laugh a lot (again, being in character though). So this way, there is no confusion as to who is getting roleplay XP and what they are getting it for.
Eventually we've added to this system. The DM still can award roleplay XP on the spot, but players can award each other as well. We hand out poker chips at the beginning of the game, and when one player thinks that another player did a good job roleplaying, they award them a chip. The person with the most chips at the end of the night also gets a "Get Out of Jail Free Card" (yes, we actually use the one from the Monopoly game) that he can use to add a +3 bonus to any roll next session. It's a minor little bonus we've implimented =)
I'm not sure if this system will work for you. I have to admit, you probably need to game with more mature gamers to pull this kind of thing off, otherwise you might run into the same problems. I'd say, dump the 7 year old cry baby and look for someone more mature first. Seriously though, how old is this guy?
Not too much to add here....
It DOES sound like he has.. shall we say.. issues. The bonus XPs were a small percentage of the total, and that's a very good idea. A problem with BIG XP bonuses is that they tend to split the party's levels too far. If you give less than 10% of earned XPs as bonuses, though, the better role-players will be at most 10% ahead if they earn ALL the bonuses. Not too bad.
Second, when you're giving the XP awards, be specific. Rather than "You get a 50XP for good role-playing", say "For the way you bowed your head and lowered your voice to show your character's awe at meeting the High Priest, add 50XP". This will make it feel less arbitrary and give the other players some ideas as to how they can earn bonuses.
One DM I played under used to have an end-of-session ritual he called "whining for XPs". When it was time to hand out bonuses, each player would have to list the actions he or she thought worthy of an extra reward. This forced players to keep track of their own actions, but did make it a bit confrontational sometimes. I don't love it, but it is an alternative.
It DOES sound like he has.. shall we say.. issues. The bonus XPs were a small percentage of the total, and that's a very good idea. A problem with BIG XP bonuses is that they tend to split the party's levels too far. If you give less than 10% of earned XPs as bonuses, though, the better role-players will be at most 10% ahead if they earn ALL the bonuses. Not too bad.
Second, when you're giving the XP awards, be specific. Rather than "You get a 50XP for good role-playing", say "For the way you bowed your head and lowered your voice to show your character's awe at meeting the High Priest, add 50XP". This will make it feel less arbitrary and give the other players some ideas as to how they can earn bonuses.
One DM I played under used to have an end-of-session ritual he called "whining for XPs". When it was time to hand out bonuses, each player would have to list the actions he or she thought worthy of an extra reward. This forced players to keep track of their own actions, but did make it a bit confrontational sometimes. I don't love it, but it is an alternative.
