Problem players and you

[Davachido]

We all know there are problem players in games, they will crop up in your groups again and again. Be it people that want to hog all the loot/spotlight, or the power player playing in a game where no one else is a power player, or just the player that never seems to co-operate with the party out of spite.

One of my game groups has the latter at the moment. For example, the player has waited to see which tunnel the rest of the PCs went down in a dungeon, then choose the opposite one and almost died.

On another occasion the player (a rogue) is currently trapped by some drakes, the shaman gave allies CA against some enemies so he may hit them better and the paladin cleared a path so he may escape afterwards. The rogue then proceeds to hit a target he doesn't have CA against and stays there. Now the player is complaining that he is running out of healing surges, yet the rest of the party is on 9-11 healing surges left.

I currently have no idea how to deal with the player because I am giving him tips but he ain't listening to me much. Anyone got any tips?

Share your stories about problem players and what you did to deal with them.

 

[roguerouge]

This isn't your fight as DM. Shut up about it and let the players police themselves. Efficient use of resources is the party's responsibility. Your job is complicated enough without having to manage their play as well. Focus on creating challenging combats, interesting plot hooks, and detailed settings. Your players should focus on surviving all three.

 

[delericho]

One of my game groups has the latter at the moment. For example, the player has waited to see which tunnel the rest of the PCs went down in a dungeon, then choose the opposite one and almost died.

On another occasion the player (a rogue) is currently trapped by some drakes, the shaman gave allies CA against some enemies so he may hit them better and the paladin cleared a path so he may escape afterwards. The rogue then proceeds to hit a target he doesn't have CA against and stays there.

Kill his character. It's one thing to consider giving a player a break if he finds himself in trouble because the dice betray him, but it's quite another to do so if he gets into trouble by his own willful stupidity. Sometimes lessons have to be learned the hard way - in the long run you'd probably be doing him a favour.

This isn't your fight as DM. Shut up about it and let the players police themselves.

I agree with this.

 

[Janx]

Don't reward the forker.

When the party goes left, and another player goes right, that player is often trying to hog the spotlight. They want some 1 on 1 time.

As a DM, it's too easy to get sucked into that, because you are getting active prompts from the player.

When he says I go over here to do X, say, ok, I'll get back to that later. Cut to the main party and leave his sorry ass. And when you do cut back to him, make it DULL and boring. There's no monsters. No saving the day. No secret treasure.

 

[Davachido]

Thanks for the replies guys and advice.

I do agree to a point about letting the PCs do their own policing, however, I also believe its the job of the DM to make sure the game is fun for all the players. If a problem player is causing stress to the rest of the party and causing the players to not enjoy the game I think something should be done. I confess I don't always know what, but getting input on it is helping me think of a solution.

 

[Dausuul]

As DM I'll go to a fair amount of trouble to protect the PCs from my mistakes, and I'll even try to cushion the impact of theirs to a certain extent. But if a player does suicidal things because he feels like being contrary, that's his problem and I'm not cutting him any slack. He's out of healing surges because he essentially threw them away? Tough.

The important thing is not to punish the other players for his antics. For example, recognize that his rogue is not going to be worth a full character in combat - maybe half of one - and scale down the difficulty to compensate.

Likewise, try to design adventures so that the ability of one player to pull down horrible trouble on the whole party is limited. Players of the type you describe have a habit of pissing off the city watch for no reason, or rousing the ire of big nasty things on their solo expeditions and then running back to the party with big nasty things in tow.

So make sure the city watch is understanding and sympathetic to the other PCs, and big nasty things either a) won't chase the rogue too far, b) can immobilize or insta-kill* a solo PC, or c) aren't too big and nasty for the party to handle.

I also agree with Janx that when a guy sneaks away from the party (as opposed to the party sending him to scout), he shouldn't be rewarded with extra "face time." If one group contains 3 PCs and the other contains 1 PC, then the second group should get roughly one-third the time and DM attention of the first.

He still gets full-sized encounters, though, with predictable results.

As for giving him tips: Don't bother. Judging by his behavior, he'll probably react badly to advice. Let him figure out combat tactics for himself, or not, and live with the consequences.

[SIZE=-2]*I do not generally endorse monsters with insta-kill powers. However, if the heroic-tier party comes across an epic-level dragon, and this bozo goes and pokes the dragon with a sharp stick just for the hell of it, I think it's fine to have the dragon look down irritably and unleash an epic-level breath weapon that blasts the bozo down from full hit points to negative bloodied in one shot.
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[Mallus]

I currently have no idea how to deal with the player because I am giving him tips but he ain't listening to me much. Anyone got any tips?

Talk with your group out-of-game. Openly discuss the problems your having. Be direct. If you're having trouble dealing with the level of cooperation between the PC's, ask them to cooperate more. Tell the group that this issue, however minor it may seem to some (or one) of them, is making the game harder for you to run.

Ask them if they really want to make the game more difficult for you to run? I bet most players don't.

If no compromises can be found, remove the player(s) incapable of reaching a compromise.

 

[El Mahdi]

What to do with problem players.

Affix electrified metal plates to the seats of your players chairs. Keep the switch/button for the plates behind a Kevlar DM's screen. Whenever a player makes a stupid decision, causes any trouble (you know - bothering the DM with questions), or anything else you deem as an annoyance, hit the button. Also, you need to lock the door(s) to your gaming room, and pocket the key, so your players can't escape.

Don't forget to seed the floor around your seat with D20 shaped caltrops (to defend against the players attempting to storm your position).

 

[vagabundo]

If a player wants to do his own thing - in exploration or combat - then he should be rolling up new character every other session, because a DND dungeon is a dangerous place.

Thumbs down from me too; Kill him....

 

[Greg K]

When he says I go over here to do X, say, ok, I'll get back to that later. Cut to the main party and leave his sorry ass. And when you do cut back to him, make it DULL and boring. There's no monsters. No saving the day. No secret treasure.

I disagree. If there is something there to be encountered, let him encounter it. Give the player a round of combat or up to two to three minutes of focus if non combat. Then, immediately cut back and give the group an equal amount of time *per character* in the main group before returning to the loner. The group receives the main focus of the time and the loner player gets his moment of spotlight, but has to until everybody else gets their time before receiving his turn again.

And, if the loner dies, so be it. That is the price for seperating oneself.