"....so we tossed the jerk out...."

[edemaitre]

Poor gamers, continued

I forgot in my last posting to add a few more:

-Brings pets, children, or nongaming significant others without consulting host or G.M.
-Polarizes the group into two or more hostile camps, often resulting in several people leaving
-Egotistical--forces entire group to become supporting characters to his P.C.
-Talks about own campaign (other than the one everyone's currently playing) and spends time recruiting or doing administrative things during someone else's sessions
-Plays music, board/card/videogames, or videos while everyone else is trying to play in the same room
-Gets into regular shouting matches with housemates while hosting
-Constantly interrupted by either public displays of affection or nonemergency phone calls
-Brings food/drink that only he likes

Like others have noted, though, I've been lucky to meet dozens of wonderful role-players, many of who have become good friends outside of the game and who have stayed in touch despite moving around the world!

 

[StupidSmurf]

I forgot in my last posting to add a few more:

-Brings pets, children, or nongaming significant others without consulting host or G.M.
-Polarizes the group into two or more hostile camps, often resulting in several people leaving
-Egotistical--forces entire group to become supporting characters to his P.C.
-Talks about own campaign (other than the one everyone's currently playing) and spends time recruiting or doing administrative things during someone else's sessions
-Plays music, board/card/videogames, or videos while everyone else is trying to play in the same room
-Gets into regular shouting matches with housemates while hosting
-Constantly interrupted by either public displays of affection or nonemergency phone calls
-Brings food/drink that only he likes

Like others have noted, though, I've been lucky to meet dozens of wonderful role-players, many of who have become good friends outside of the game and who have stayed in touch despite moving around the world!

And let's not forget:

"Falls asleep at the game"

 

[wingsandsword]

Hmm, the first campaign I ever ran, an old d6 SWRPG campaign, had a player like this.

I knew the guy because we shared a dorm floor and he knew I was into gaming and vice versa.

He was apparently infamous to other gamers on campus, as annoying, unhygenic, impolite, universally disliked, and generally a textbook case of a ~6 Charisma (or so we estimated).

He was in the first session of my game, although when the other players found out he was in the game they greatly expressed their dissatisfaction with me. I also noticed he was quite unpleasant to game with, besides the stench he brought with him, he whiny attitude and trying desperately to find any excuse to sing during a game (why he normally plays bards in D&D), of course his singing sounds about like cats being strangled.

Then, all my players in unison made a demand to me, he goes, or they go. Not particularly liking him myself (only being desperate for players since it was my first game), it was a very easy decision. 5 players want the other player gone, and the DM doesn't particularly care for this other player too, that's an easy equation to figure out.

Of course, how to dump him "gently", not being the kind for cruelty or malice. We changed the meeting time and place of the game without telling him, and told him the game was cancelled. I hated to lie, but I would have hated it more to tell him that he's about as popular as smallpox and I can't find a single person who wants to be at the same table as him to game, myself included.

 

[Henry]

We've never tossed a player out, but we have hidden from one or two when we found out that they were just too freaky to be friends with. We simply told them we weren't playing regularly, and we just made sure not to invite them back. Probably should have told them outright, but given their natures we were unsure how they'd react (in a 'will they stalk me & put a horse head in my bed?' kind of way). Other than that, 90% of people I've gamed with I didn't dislike, and I'd easily game with again.

 

[diaglo]

We've never tossed a player out, but we have hidden from one or two when we found out that they were just too freaky to be friends with. We simply told them we weren't playing regularly, and we just made sure not to invite them back. Probably should have told them outright, but given their natures we were unsure how they'd react (in a 'will they stalk me & put a horse head in my bed?' kind of way). Other than that, 90% of people I've gamed with I didn't dislike, and I'd easily game with again.

so when are we gaming again?

can i bring my little pony to next session?

 

[der_kluge]

The worst I ever played with was a guy who was already in a group I joined. I ended up telling the GM I wouldn't be able to play with this guy, and he and his girlfriend agreed, and they kicked him out.

He was a horrible role-player - apparently he'd gotten several characters killed over the course of the campaign through his own stupidity.

I could almost tolerate that, though. One of the games started like this:

idiot: "Guess what?"
GM: "what?"
idiot: "apparently my girlfriend was pregnant, and she had a miscarriage this weekend."
me: *stunned*
GM: "really?"
idiot: "yea, we didn't even know she was pregnant. I asked her if I could name the fetus Lumpy."
everyone: *stunned*

I feel sorry for his girlfriend.

 

[demiurge1138]

One guy I DMed for, and later played with, whined incessantly whenever something didn't go remotely his way. He wanted to be the center of attention, and made purposefully disruptive characters so he could have the limelight.

Needless to say, I kicked the jerk out. Then laughed bitterly when I stepped down from DMing and he was invited back by the new DM.

And the game went under in only four sessions.

Still not as bad as some of the wastes of oxygen described above. For everyone with a player that bad, I am deeply sorry.

Demiurge out.

 

[JoeGKushner]

I'm still amazed that people have to "hide" their gaming when they get a person they don't like there.

For me, these days that'd be way too much trouble. "Yeah, we, wait, I decided I didn't want you at the game. No hard feelings but it's just not working out. Have a good one."

I mean what do you guys who lie do if they find out about it? Now they're upset anyway because they're learned that, gasp, yes, they are unpopular, and found out your a liar.

 

[fafhrd]

I'm still amazed that people have to "hide" their gaming when they get a person they don't like there.

Don't stretch your mind around it too much. It's a tactic reserved for those 6' and under.

 

[WayneLigon]

I've only really encountered one truly obnoxious player; thankfully not at my house. Unforuntately not at my house, because the problems would have ended the first night. Imagine Hagrid without the charm, personality, or humor. Just the bigness, hairiness, and tendency to do things without thinking them through. He looked like one of the cannibalistic mutant hillbillies from Wrong Turn.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing I ever saw him do: I am sitting beside him, and he has an open bag of bubblegum. I gradually become aware that he is unwrapping a new peice of bubblegum every, oh, five minutes over the course of the night until the bag is empty. There are just smooth wrappers left, and no sign of old gum. His speech does not become slurred or muffled, so unless he is unusually gifted in that department or has cheeks like a chipmunk, he's not chewn but eaten an entire bag of bubblegum.