New answers tagged problem-players
1
Being a bit late to this one, a lot of what I would say has already been covered. The main points I would echo are that people enjoy the game in different ways, and sometimes you just have to accept that. There are numerous articles on different playstyles and it's worth looking into those (I wrote one but I'm not promoting it). That's always the first step, ...
-2
Leading by example is the best way you might get to accomplish this. That's not to say that it will definitely work however, and I think that really it's beyond your station.
Liaise with the other attentive players so they don't take the bait your putting out. This might actually be part of the problem. With 3 strong personalities at the table, it might be ...
-2
First, you have to ask yourself:
How much of a problem is it?
Are your game sessions as a whole very entertaining despite those players? Are they terrible because of them? From the tone of your question it seems like overall you are having fun but would like to improve it.
Can they change?
Some people are able to change on some point, some aren't. It can ...
-4
The best way to solve this is by learning the mechanics and doing it right.
You don't need to cheat as a GM to be mean to your players.
-2
26 years later since my first D&D game and I still can't but be surprised from seeing people being unable to distinguish between a game and a job. And do not take it personal, this is not about you, but more about a wide problem that you can find in 50% of the questions here on RPG.SE
Anyway, tl;dr:
You are both wrong.
So, you have decided that you ...
1
As a DM and as a player, I am of the firm belief that the DM is god. They are above the rule book. However, as a DM, when I set up a game, I will clarify any rules which are in play or out of play in that campaign. Obviously, I can't go through the book page by page detailing my conditions, but giving players an idea of what types of rules from the book ...
9
Leading by Example.
Usually, I'm the GM at the table, but sometimes I'm a player, most often at conventions when I don't organise or am invited as a local GM.
I try to lead by showcasing my enjoyment of roleplaying. Sometimes this works other times it doesn't. It tends to work at tables that are laid-back, and at tables that have young enthusiastic players ...
0
I like football, you like opera.
You can take me to as many operas as you like (and I’ve already been to many) but you are not going change my preference for one over the other.
You need to start from there: you will not change the way they enjoy the game.
That said, you have the usual 4 options for dealing with people’s behavior in social situations:
...
6
Ultimately, you can't do anything other than express your desire to play in a specific kind of game.
Seems like your crude player like to hang out and be social, but doesn't see your game as much different than any other regular hang-out session. Your phone-face player is either shy, doesn't really like to play, or both.
Either way, the only way you can ...
7
The old D&D 4th edition Dungeon Master's Guide has good advice on this
Although you're playing D&D 5th edition, the earlier D&D 4th edition Dungeon Master's Guide's advice on problem players is still useful and relevant. Particular to your current predicament is the description of how to handle a rules lawyer (p.32):
You don't have to be a ...
1
You Should talk with Tom about his views and outbursts. Obviously he is someone with strong beliefs and opinions but you should talk to him and ask him to relax them for the game because the game isn't targeting anyone or making anyone a evil person it is a character in a story. Also the bribing a DM or guilt tripping them in a sign of bad player behavior ...
5
You do not
You can establish rules as a DM. You cannot force anyone to follow them; As far as the game (and the surrounding social context) is concerned the only thing you can do is to choose between playing and not playing. You should always set expectations before the game starts, and make sure the players are on board with them (and, if appropriate, ...
11
Say No - say it early, and say it often with this group. Talk to them about it.
Even though I highly discourage railroading sometimes "No" is the appropriate answer. A lot of DMs are afraid to say no because they are worried the players will feel raidroaded. This can create a lot of problems like the ones you listed above.
If you are starting a new ...
51
Set a Firm Rule: Disagreements about Rulings are to be handled between Sessions, not during Sessions
Generally speaking, a player should not interrupt the DM to quibble about how rules work. What the DM says is final, and if players don't agree with how the DM is handling rules, they should wait until after the session is over to resolve disagreements.
So ...
8
The problem is not with you. Base on your description he has to understand that
The authority of the GM is above the rules
He is wielding the written rules against you like it is some higher authority you, as GM, have to answer to. You have to explain to him, in no uncertain terms that that is not the case. The final arbiter at the table is the GM.
I do ...
14
Communication is key
I'm definitely a player (and DM) who likes to try and go by the rules as much as possible. But not only are mistakes sometimes made, sometimes those mistakes aren't mistakes at all. Whatever the reason for the debate, here are the ways I've approached it:
As a player, when I think a mechanic was done incorrectly
My table generally ...
10
There's a lot to unpack here. I guess I'll go in order.
Everyone's game styles are different (in at least some amount).
I prefer more of a "Follow the rules as they are written" style. I also know that not everyone feels that way.
When I'm a player, I tell the DM that I'm going to point out something in the rules and answer questions. If there's a change ...
0
I am a very strong Christian. There is only one God. I love fantasy. I can handle settings with multiple gods because they are fiction. I've had to explain my stance to other Christians and have even helped one or two deal with this same kind of problem. Now that I've set my credentials for answering, here's some ideas. Of course I don't know the player so I ...
2
This is a real-world problem which dates back centuries
Adapting a belief structure to accomodate Christianity is a real challenge that actual societies and churches of Europe had to find ways adapt to throughout history. Fundamentally, it often required some compromises on both sides.
Christianize the "pagan" world elements
The only surviving manuscript ...
22
This is a rough situation to be in, and is one that I have actually dealt with before. I tried approaching it from three different angles (and one of them actually worked).
Approach 1 - Nature of Fiction
This was my first approach, and it went over poorly...but I'll share it here for posterity's sake.
I tried to approach the discussion from the ...
17
I had two players similar to yours in different games where I was a player or the DM.
The first case was the easier one and I was a fellow player. He is a evangelical christian (not sure which segment) and when we were teaching him about D&D 3.5 we clashed the first time a polytheist view of the world came right on the third class of PHB, the Cleric. ...
22
I had a similar situation during my time as a graduate university student.
The person in question was a Catholic who had a crush on one of our players and wanted to spend time with her. So he asked to play with us, and we tried to accommodate his worldview. At the time, I was a player at that table, and our DM decided to provide a niche for the Catholic.
...
56
I actually almost had a player like this
He insisted to be a cleric of One God and make his character's main goal to punish daemon worshipers - that is, everybody who does not believe in One God.
We talked.
We tried to make him see how we are imagining a world from Greek mythology. He said his history teacher was Christian so he could call ancient Greeks ...
12
Change the terms you use and leave things open to interpretation - try and meet them halfway
I have experience with a very similar situation as I am a player similar to your friend.
(Note for readers, this section is simply a preamble about my experiences. If this does not interest you, feel free to skip to the next section starting from “Applying this to ...
9
It might be pretty easy to modify 5e to satisfy your friend
So, your friend's objection, while not popular amongst broader society, is pretty common amongst certain smaller subgroups of potential RPG participants. I've encountered this sort of objection, often accompanied by either the position that anything within the game world that is referred to as ...
7
Once upon a time, D&D got a lot of press as a Tool of Satan that turns innocent children into murderous devil worshipers. Obviously that is BS, but American culture at the time was more fundamentalist than today and the attitudes of this "problem" player were not uncommon. Those of us who were not adults also had to deal with parents who were even more ...
34
Problem 1: the player doesn't understand player and DM roles
This may not be solvable. And it may be. Don't play until this is settled.
I tried to explain that it's a fictional universe in which there are
different gods, to which the player responded, "No."
Your first answer to this is "Yes, it is, and if you don't accept that, then you are unable ...
64
The largest issue here, from what I can tell, seems to be that your player is unwilling to accept anything outside of their current worldview, or paradigm.
Regardless of what RPG system you use (at least almost, I'm sure there are exceptions), you're going to run into situations where the game's reality is fundamentally different from ours in some way.
...
7
I really don't know how to deal with this, because I would prefer not to limit the classes or my world creation because of this
You have a couple of options:
Dungeon Master's Guide 5e has a variant for a monotheistic setting. See page 12, "Monotheism":
Monotheistic religions revere only one deity, and in
some cases, deny the existence of any other ...
30
One player should not be allowed to force his personal views on the other players. If he has a problem with Paladins, he's not going to react well to Clerics either.
This player needs to realize that the game world is not the real world, and it does not need to conform to his ideas of how the real world works. There are other stories - Greek and Roman, ...
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