Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
When you want to strangle a player
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Vyvyan Basterd" data-source="post: 4131181" data-attributes="member: 4892"><p>You said this your first time DMing.</p><p></p><p>Was this problem player mainly GM in the past? I find many of the worst players out there are former DM/GMs (FDMs), especially those who held the role almost exclusively. They tend to have a hard time dealing with not having full control or being in the spotlight all the time. Each player has his or her time in the spotlight, some even try to hog it, but the DM in his role as MC is always standing there right next to the player in the spotlight. Some FDMs react to the loss of control by running every decision their DM makes through a filter based on how they would have ruled and become very argumentative when a decision is made against their character in a way they wouldn't have ruled. Others lose focus on the game because their attention isn't constantly drawn into it as when they DMed (I'm guilty of this). The player may just be bitter that his current life issues keep him from doing what he would really like to be doing: GMing. And you're just the unlucky DM to be in the path of his downward spiral.</p><p></p><p>What can you do? Gamewise - Nothing. Stop coddling him and run the game fairly for all involved. Personally - Continue being a good friend. Ask him why the venue change is so important. Maybe he feels that he could lessen his life burdens by playing at his house. You said you drive him and his wife and that you all chip in for gas? Maybe he and his wife are feeling a financial crunch right now and feel resentful that you are asking for gas money. And they could be too embarrased to admit they can't afford to keep chipping in. Hard to say, because sometimes even the best of friends won't tell you everything that is bothering them.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Vyvyan Basterd, post: 4131181, member: 4892"] You said this your first time DMing. Was this problem player mainly GM in the past? I find many of the worst players out there are former DM/GMs (FDMs), especially those who held the role almost exclusively. They tend to have a hard time dealing with not having full control or being in the spotlight all the time. Each player has his or her time in the spotlight, some even try to hog it, but the DM in his role as MC is always standing there right next to the player in the spotlight. Some FDMs react to the loss of control by running every decision their DM makes through a filter based on how they would have ruled and become very argumentative when a decision is made against their character in a way they wouldn't have ruled. Others lose focus on the game because their attention isn't constantly drawn into it as when they DMed (I'm guilty of this). The player may just be bitter that his current life issues keep him from doing what he would really like to be doing: GMing. And you're just the unlucky DM to be in the path of his downward spiral. What can you do? Gamewise - Nothing. Stop coddling him and run the game fairly for all involved. Personally - Continue being a good friend. Ask him why the venue change is so important. Maybe he feels that he could lessen his life burdens by playing at his house. You said you drive him and his wife and that you all chip in for gas? Maybe he and his wife are feeling a financial crunch right now and feel resentful that you are asking for gas money. And they could be too embarrased to admit they can't afford to keep chipping in. Hard to say, because sometimes even the best of friends won't tell you everything that is bothering them. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
When you want to strangle a player
Top