Is there a word for a non-DM who calls out everyone for lorebreaking/rulebreaking?

Question

I have a member of my D&D group who (for much of the time we play) constantly calls out people for not following the rules in the manual to the letter and (much worse) calls out people on not following their lore, or their lore being good enough. It's the worst when we allow custom races or custom classes into the game, where this person's selection of class/race is perfect but everyone else's needs to be criticized.

If this person considers you to be breaking the rules or lore, you will constantly be called a murderhobo. Is there any comparable word to throw back at this person just to stop this bickering?

Answer 1

Rules lawyer/Back-seat DM are pretty close

Rules lawyer is the term for someone who constantly enforces the precise letter of the rules in games even going so far as to correct and try to argue with DMs and other players.

Back-seat DM is similar, but they often try to control other things like adherence to lore and over-stepping with unsolicited suggestions about how the game should be run including: how NPCs should be acting, what should be happening in plot, etc. Basically they try to be the DM and control DM things when they are not the DM.

It sounds like this player could be described as both or a mixture of the two terms.

Sidenote: That isn't even what murderhobo means

I'm not sure this player understands what the term murderhobo means, but they appear to be using it incorrectly.

From Wiktionary:

A player character who wanders the game world widely, has no ties or obligations, and approaches most obstacles violently.

So this doesn't really mean anything about breaking rules or ignoring lore at all.

Calling names is not going to solve this issue

You are asking here for a way to stop this bickering, calling this person names is not going to help the situation at all regardless if the name is "rules-lawyer" or "back-seat DM" or "zorkmorking clorbag". If calling names doesn't escalate the situation (likely) it will simply do nothing. Many such people wear such names as badges of honor.

No, your solution is going to have to come from addressing the social contract at your table and it will have to be lead by your DM. Talk to your DM privately and tell them how this player is affecting your and the other players' enjoyment of the game and ask them to try to address it.

It is important to note that since this player is new, maybe the expectation that they not do this was not made clear and maybe it was a different way at the last tables they played at.

If the DM agrees that it is an issue that they want to address, the DM can then clearly lay down the expectation that the DM is in charge of rules and lore at the table and that, small corrections aside, any major objections should be brought to their attention after the game where they can be addressed without interrupting the game or affecting enjoyment.

We have lots of questions that address this issue. See this and this to start.

Answer 2

Back-seat DM

Lore and Rules both come under the purview of the DM. This player is taking it upon him/herself to enforce these things. Thus, they are trying to DM a game that they aren't running, just like a back-seat driver will call out everything a driver does 'wrong'.

This won't solve the bickering

As awesome as it can be to throw out scathing insults, most people (I would bet on all people) don't back down when someone insults them, they double-down on their behaviour instead. While it can be useful to have a well defined term for the player you have a problem with, you'll get the best results from talking to your DM, your group, and the player in question and reasoning out a solution.

Answer 3

One common term isn't game specific: know-it-all

But don't throw it back at them, since an insult war is unlikely to improve the mood at the table. I will suggest that you use a different approach to demonstrate your unhappiness with this crossing of boundaries.

The next time it happens, and it will:

• "We already have one DM, we don't need two. Kindly stay in your lane"

  You can smile when you say it, but you don't have to. Make sure to be direct and clear about whom you are addressing.

If the behavior continues, which it probably will, a follow up goes about like this:

• "Last time I checked, you are not the DM of this game. Unless you are in the DM's chair, I don't want to hear it."

  A different way to say the same thing (@SevenSidedDie kindly offered this):

• "Last time I checked, Karen was the DM of this game. I only want to hear it if it’s coming from the person in the DM’s chair.”
  In terms of tone and emphasis, this style deconfliction / compliance technique changes directly-addressed negative grammar to indirectly-addressed positive grammar.

  I've used variations on the above a number of times. It is not uncommon for multiple people to be the DM for different gaming sessions; sometimes players forget to take off the DM hat. Some years back, I had a very clear message along the above lines directed at me by a fellow player. 8^P

If you and your fellow players are all equally frustrated with this behavior, vote the annoying player off the island for a few sessions. A ban is not necessarily required; your group's other social dynamics will govern how little or how much you want to be around this person.

Caveat:

Since you have not described the levels of social dynamics involved with all players here (this player is your rich uncle's son, or this player is related to your spouse, or this player is a family member of a fellow player ...) you'll need to apply some tailoring to how you get this message across.

Make your displeasure clear without starting an insult war. (And if need be, bite your lip ... it only hurts a little while)

Answer 4

The closest term I am aware of is a Rules Lawyer, someone who insists of enforcing the letter of the law, ignoring its spirit etc, often to the detriment of others enjoyment of the game. However this doesn't cover the criticism of other player characters' lore.

Answer 5

"Rules lawyer" is a well-known term dating back at least to the early 80s to refer to players who argue minutiae of the rules and their exact wording.

By extension, I've seen "setting lawyer" used in several places for people who nitpick the setting or its lore, but it's definitely a newer term and doesn't seem to be used as widely.

Answer 6

No fancy terminology needed. Sounds like a “jerk” to me.

Is there a particular reason this person needs to be in your game? As a rule I try to play with people I like. I would say something along the lines of:

“Everyone else here seems to be enjoying the game, and you seem determined to spoil that. Play the game as presented or go somewhere else, but please stop telling other players that we’re having fun wrong.”

Answer 7

The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) uses:

Authenticity Police

The SCA is like a LARP type group but instead of actually playing an RPG they just dress up and play roles. Members create personae that are intended to authentically represent life during the Middle Ages in Europe. Some of the members of the group are sticklers for historically accurate detail and will call out other members for violating what is plausible -- they have been known as "authenticity police." (For many years, there has been considerable overlap between SCA members and RPGs).

Or, if the term does not offend those involved (in whatever particular game and/or campaign thereof), we could always go with --

Dungeon Nazi

Like the idea of the "Grammar Nazi" -- someone who is a stickler for correct grammar, spelling, etc. and points out the errors whenever they get a chance. The "Dungeon Nazi" insists that everything be according to the lores and the rules down to the last letter.