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Message: <blockquote data-quote="merelycompetent" data-source="post: 2959751" data-attributes="member: 33830">To add to a wealth of advice I agree with in this thread:1. Before the next game day, talk to the player. Politely explain to him/her that this sort of behavior is unacceptable when you are DMing. Ask him to please stop it, as it's ruining the game for you.How the player reacts to this polite and "soft" approach will tell you how much of a jerk you're dealing with. Adjust your approach from this point on appropriately. For example: If he/she laughs and effectively tells you to stop being so thin-skinned, you've got a problem player. If he/she apologizes profusely and says he/she didn't realize that it was such a problem, then you probably have a good player who's developed a bad habit.2. Use any of the suggestions elsewhere in this thread for turning the player's bad behavior into a liability. It's a good idea to download the SRD versions of the critters anyway - you can mod them more easily and print them out to your heart's content.Doing this means that you've already got your monster modifications in, so if any of the players complain that you just changed the critter from the one in the book to punish them, you can present them with the real critter - after the encounter. This should send an effective message to all your players about using metagame knowledge.3. The next time the player peeks over your DM's screen and acts poorly, stop the game right then and there. Take the player into another room for a private conversation. Tell him/her that you've had it with this activity. You've already spoken with him/her about it before and that obviously didn't work. Tell him/her that if it happens again, you're kicking him/her out of the game on the spot. No excuses. No exceptions. No third chances. Go back to the game table and continue on as if nothing had happened.This ups the peer pressure and public embarrassment. The other players will *know* that you had words with the problem player about bad behavior. You have also demonstrated that you are in charge of your own game, and that you are not going to put up with inexcusably rude activity.  It also shows that you will not turn a situation like this into a public argument - that you will instead handle it in a mature manner. This gives you the high ground. This earns you respect and trust from your good players. It also encourages any other potential problem-makers to be good players without you having to bring down the hammer on them.4. If the player does it again, boot the player immediately. Tell him/her to pack up his/her stuff, get out, and don't come back. Apologise to the other players for the interruption. You've got better things to do with your time than put up with this kind of behavior. Barring some miraculous epiphany on the player's part, DO NOT allow him/her back in your game. It's not worth it.At this point, you know for certain that you have a full-blown problem player who is not going to change his/her habits. Booting the problem player from the game re-affirms your position as the person who runs the game (the DM) and that you demand a certain level of polite social interaction among the players of your game, including yourself. It also shows that you have tried on at least two occasions to talk it out with a problem player. It was the problem player's choice to bring it to a head.I hope this helps, and that you never have to go to step 3. Good luck.</blockquote>

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