Problem player in my group

[Serendipity]

1. If anyone ignores his character. Fred is very serious about his characters. Serious to the point that if he isn't constantly in the spot light, or if, god's forbid, some one elses character is doing some neat, he will get upset. Mr. Lookatme just HAS to be center stage, all the time.

That one right there would get him tossed from my table. Though from the sounds of the rest of his issues, I think one of my games would probably leave him storming out never to return.
Glad you were able to get that out in the open.

 

[Quartz]

I'm not Fred, but I've been a problem player. And I didn't realise it. And for a very long time nobody told me. Give him the benefit of the doubt in the first instance and talk to him.

IIRC in my case, push came to shove when I was monumentally bored having had nothing to do all session (this was an all-weekend event) and went outside to play with the dog - not bad in itself, but I went outside largely because I was getting very angry with the situation. Anyway, a week or two later the hostess invited me out to a pub and she revealed the problem to me. I wont say everything was sweetness and light afterwards, but I was then aware of the problem and acted to fix it.

So talk to him, let him know that it is a problem, and discuss both his behaviours that are causing the problem and a solution.

 

[Renfield]

I plan on talking to him this weekend. If things don't work out I'll take more extreme measures. I understand the point of view coming from the advisements of kicking Fred out but I really want that to be a last resort. If I do, and do it wrong, I stand to risk losing half of the group as well. So I want to approach this cautiously and diplomatically, make sure the two friends he invited into the group have no intentions on leaving should he be told to.

 

[S'mon]

Sounds like Fred sucks. He's looking for a Monty Haul game centred on his PC.

 

[S'mon]

"...Fred is used to playing in the live action RP of White Wolf's World of Darkness. I'm not going to try to describe it for those who don't know but he's involved with the Cammarilla which is like RPGA's Living Greyhawk and other campaigns..."

Omigod I had this exact same player type! *eek* The guy had been playing WoD for 10 years, his behaviour in my club D&D game was appalling, exactly as described here. I booted him. To be precise, I passively-aggressively incited him to quit. I can't stand this type of player. From my personal experience I'd say they're unreformable and should not be allowed anywhere near a D&D game.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Are you a "problem player"?

[ Deleted. Appropriate for its own thread. ]

 

[EroGaki]

Well, an update on the current situation. We gamed tonight, and more of the same stuff. Fred spent the entire game, absorbed in his reading, only taking the time to speak when you spoke to him directly. And even then, his speech was short the whole time.

Our DM was supposed to speak with him about it, but I believe he has not had the chance as of yet. So basically, the dark cloud hovered for the entire game; my personal enjoyment was strained to say the least.

 

[Mark]

Did you consult with the other players to see if they felt the same this time?

 

[EroGaki]

Unfortunately, two of our players could not make it to game tonight, so we can't get their input, although the rest of us noticed and tried to deal with it.


Frankly, Fred was just rude tonight. He claims that he had a "bad week." So because he had a bad week, he decided that it would be alright to play a computer game at the table. He actually played a computer game, rather than engage in role playing with us. We even had to tell him to turn the music down! I cannot believe it. That is just plain insulting! To the DM and us!! Frankly, the only reason I didn't start yelling at him is because the rest of us were trying to enjoy the game. Our DM is going to speak with Fred on monday. I wish him luck.

 

[Mark]

Keep us informed. Sounds like you might be near to a solution. Chin up!