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<blockquote data-quote="Timeboxer" data-source="post: 2403094" data-attributes="member: 21471">So during the school year, I usually run an Eberron game, and most of my players have done pretty well getting into it, and so on.&nbsp; We started with a few newbie players, and I figured that they'd sort of come out of their shell and get pretty engaged after a few sessions, and so they did -- except for one.I make an effort to go around the table and put the spotlight on everyone so that everyone has a chance to do something, in most situations, so that everyone can more or less be able to have some GM attention to do whatever they'd like.&nbsp; But whenever I turn to her and ask her, &quot;What are you doing?&quot; she'll usually just shrug, or say, &quot;I do nothing,&quot; or &quot;I stand around and watch.&quot;&nbsp; At first I thought that this was just a momentary thing, but she's kept it up for several months at this point (we're actually on hiatus for the summer), and I'm a little bit concerned that she doesn't seem to be having any fun.&nbsp; When the rest of the players are busy roleplaying and squabbling and that sort of thing, she usually is sitting there quietly or playing with her laptop or something similar.Now, discussions with her have ended with her saying that she's not a casual player or anything, but that she feels, um, I'd say paralyzed by the game because she feels that she doesn't know the rules well enough -- the other players do pretty well, and she says that she doesn't really know what she can and can't do.&nbsp; They've also got a good grasp on what's feasible and what isn't, and, I'm told, she's upset about having her ideas and contributions responded to with, &quot;Well, that's not doable, and this is why,&quot; by the other players.I can understand this, but from my perspective -- well, it seems like she doesn't actually suggest or do anything, even in the situations that don't necessarily require the group to work together, like solving puzzles and the like.&nbsp; I'm not entirely sure what to do with her if she says that she feels overwhelmed and that nobody pays attention to her contributions, but when I try to focus on her she to try to explore what she wants to do, she doesn't seem very interested in actually doing anything.I'd be okay with her being a Lurker (one of the player types listed in the DMG II) but this has actually caused a bit of trouble in our group, as in the last session she packed up her books and left in a huff.&nbsp; So, any suggestions on what I can do?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Timeboxer, post: 2403094, member: 21471"] So during the school year, I usually run an Eberron game, and most of my players have done pretty well getting into it, and so on. We started with a few newbie players, and I figured that they'd sort of come out of their shell and get pretty engaged after a few sessions, and so they did -- except for one. I make an effort to go around the table and put the spotlight on everyone so that everyone has a chance to do something, in most situations, so that everyone can more or less be able to have some GM attention to do whatever they'd like. But whenever I turn to her and ask her, "What are you doing?" she'll usually just shrug, or say, "I do nothing," or "I stand around and watch." At first I thought that this was just a momentary thing, but she's kept it up for several months at this point (we're actually on hiatus for the summer), and I'm a little bit concerned that she doesn't seem to be having any fun. When the rest of the players are busy roleplaying and squabbling and that sort of thing, she usually is sitting there quietly or playing with her laptop or something similar. Now, discussions with her have ended with her saying that she's not a casual player or anything, but that she feels, um, I'd say paralyzed by the game because she feels that she doesn't know the rules well enough -- the other players do pretty well, and she says that she doesn't really know what she can and can't do. They've also got a good grasp on what's feasible and what isn't, and, I'm told, she's upset about having her ideas and contributions responded to with, "Well, that's not doable, and this is why," by the other players. I can understand this, but from my perspective -- well, it seems like she doesn't actually suggest or do anything, even in the situations that don't necessarily require the group to work together, like solving puzzles and the like. I'm not entirely sure what to do with her if she says that she feels overwhelmed and that nobody pays attention to her contributions, but when I try to focus on her she to try to explore what she wants to do, she doesn't seem very interested in actually doing anything. I'd be okay with her being a Lurker (one of the player types listed in the DMG II) but this has actually caused a bit of trouble in our group, as in the last session she packed up her books and left in a huff. So, any suggestions on what I can do? [/QUOTE]

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