Player Unrest...

[demiurge1138]

A member of my DnD group, who is relativly new to the group, is taking me to task on my DMing style. My current plot is the standard epic save-the-world, but with a Cthulhu Mythos twist. The end goal is to prevent the summoning of Cthulhu, or kill him if that fails.

Now, this guy is haranguing me for having too heroic a plot and for even really having a plot at all. He has taken the party on a massive tangent that has led to them gaining some powerful allies and some powerful enemies, all in the Nine Hells and the Abyss. A large chunk of the party is now evil, or getting there fast. I let them do this, but only on the understanding that this was just a sidequest and that the actual plot would come up.

Not only does he now have the chutzpah to say that I shouldn't have a heroic save-the-world style plot, but also to say that I should just let him do whatever the Gehenna he wants.

Any ideas?

 

[Enkhidu]

Two questions:

1. Are the other players having fun?
2. Are you having fun?

If the answers to both 1 and 2 are yes, the don't do anything, as your game actually works.

If however, either one is no, you've got some compromising to do.

 

[ced1106]

Kill 'em all and take their stuff.

Or just the new player. IMO, It's rude for a new player to start dictating the play of the group. It's ridiculous for any player to say what is or what isn't a plot.

There's probably a better solution, but I'd talk with the original gaming group and discuss your feelings about this. I remember the old days when the DM was God, but those times have long past.


Cedric.
aka. Washu! ^O^

 

[Impeesa]

If it's epic, world-affecting stuff, then just throw links into whatever tangent they've gone off on, and thank them for helping with the writing.

--Impeesa--

 

[Piratecat]

Plot still happens whether or not they're there to deal with it. Boy, won't they feel foolish when Cthulhu eats their Moms? Then give 'em a chance to go back and time and try to undo things.

 

[Ashrum the Black]

Darn you Pirate Cat you beat me to it!

I have to second this his comment. I have a group of folks that are right now dealing with the consequences of their actions earlier in the campaign. (Play with the evil artifact, pay the price for unleashing the big bad.)

Now of course if they have no interest in doing anything aboout the big bad and you're having no fun with this then I'd have to say it's time to sit down with the group and talk. From your original comments this sounds like it may be the case.

I personally have no interest in playing an evil campaign. Slightly morally bankrupt from time to time perhaps, but never outright evil. I like players that will do the right thing when the chips are down.

If you're like me, then you REALLY need to talk to the group and let them know. Perhaps they're interested in an evil campaign. If this is the case then offer to let them play their evil campaign on another night (maybe you can even play in it) with this new guy DMing. This way you can DM a group of hero's battling evil and garnering glory, and they can have their destroy the world and cackle evily campaign as well.

The big thing though is to talk to the group and let them know your concerns. I've lost two good friends because they were unable to talk about problems until it was too late to do anything about them. Don't bottle this up, talk, and get it out in the open.

I'm getting off my soap box now.

 

[dshai527]

I, too, have a problem with one of my players hijacking my campaigns. He always wants to do whatever it is we are not doing now. Currently we are playing a save the world campaign, but he has decided that he wants to be a monster hunter and merchant, using the plague to try and make money. He knew when we started what kind of campaign it was, and yet he still states this is what my character would do. HE often slows down game play as he makes merchant deals or argues against whatever the rest of the party is trying to do. He is a dear friend and we have talked with him about it but he won't retire the character for another campaign and he is tightly tied to the charcaters so they just can't leave him, even if he is holding them up. We are learning to ignore him but it is getting harder for others to play in character when his is just going against whatever they say. We still have fun but it is a strained fun now, like we are trying too hard. It usually ends up with everyone getting fed up and the campaign ending around 10th level and we start a new one based on a new idea where the circle repeats.

 

[Belen]

<wildly makes gestures similar to those of a Japanese baseball player in Major League 2>

Sometimes it is in the best interest of a group to ask a player to leave. If they are that disruptive, then they will ALWAYS be disruptive. You should not feel compelled to do everything according to the whim of one person.

Sounds like he is getting off by screwing up your hardwork, although you should probably have never let them take that sidetrack. Running a "save th world" campaign and allowing the PCs to devolve in to evil does not strike me as the best idea.

 

[Tobold Hornblower]

to say that I should just let him do whatever the Gehenna he wants.

I'm with him on that. If your plot hook tells the players they must go South to save the world, and they decide to go North and plunder dragon hordes, there isn't much you can do, short of ending the game or making the players feel like little pawns in your big story. Of course, if this one player goes North while the other players go South, you can't be expected to run a separate game just for the guy who can't stay with the party. Or if he acts in a way to change his alignment to evil in your no-evil players game, then he needs to make a new character.

Keep your story more flexible. Let them go and do what they will. You can decide what's they find there and what the consequences are. Make it so that wherever they go, you're essential plot devices are there waiting.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

The players are the storytellers and the DM just manages things. If they don't want to do what you had planned then let them do something else. This is why I have problems with a campaign that is designed around one epic goal. What if I don't want to do what the DM expects me to do? What if I say, "screw it" and don't want to follow the path laid out? Trying to do an epic, save the world, Lord of the Rings, type campaign can be limiting on what the players can do and unless they are fine having thier actions be subservient to the DM's overall plot it will lead to trouble. All in my humble opinion of course.