What do I do about this player?

[Dunjin]

That's pretty much what I plan to do. My biggest problem is to find another way to engage her in the game without giving in and reducing the role-playing parts in favor of combat, since 4/5ths of the group enjoy the role-playing quite a bit.

So far, it looks like dropping in a few extra "bangs" (random encounters I can toss into a scene when it gets slow), inspiring her to think more about who her character is, and directly involving her more are the best steps. Obviously I need more description in my narration as well, but I've told her to think about the things I didn't describe and ask me about them. Like, if they're in a banquet room, she can ask, "Is there a chandelier?" and I'll decide that there is, and she can then shoot it down with an arrow to land it on the bad guys. Stuff like that.

She's a good friend (and pretty cute, though not single, for the guy above who asked), and she's fun to hang out with. I certainly don't want to chase her off. Though, there has been some interest in a smaller game to run when those two can't make it, since we seem to run into scheduling problems with them from time to time.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Well, it sounds like you guys have talked about it already, and there's a lot of advice already given for the short-term, so I'm gonna try with some long-term. After you've done whatever you're going to do in the short-term, in a month or two you should talk to her again, and see if she's enjoying herself, and if things are improving. If she doesn't feel either is true, then I think it's time to have a talk with her about not playing.

One point though - I don't think there's a problem with anyone here. It seems like you two have talked things over, though you might want to ask her directly if she's enjoying herself. If she is, and the players are, and you are, there's no problem. Some people might prefer that she be more active, or that you radically change things to accomodate her, but those are personal preferences, and not necessarily the best answer for the situation.

Urg, one more point. Just because he is there, doesn't mean she has to be, and vice versa. I don't particularly know what kind of relationship they have, but just because she doesn't come doesn't mean the boyfriend doesn't either. And if it's a good sort of relationship, I don't think either of them is going to mind should she stop coming. Don't worry about that.