168
votes
Accepted
As a player, I am approaching a situation where "My Guy" syndrome seems inevitable and almost appropriate. What can I do to soften any problems?
First, you're off the hook for "My Guy" syndrome - this is clearly a conflict the GM orchestrated. "My Guy" happens when a player decides to use his character to justify derailing the plot, but ...
- 1,940
131
votes
Accepted
As the Dungeon Master, how do I handle a player that insists on a specific class when I already know that choice will cause issues?
The class played doesn’t matter, and arguing about it only hurts your position
This situation really, really wouldn’t be any better if she was playing a sorcerer. If she ignores her prepared spells, ...
- 335k
121
votes
Accepted
What do I do about a prescriptive GM/player who argues that gender and sexuality aren’t personality traits?
Start by assuming the best in others.
This is a helpful attitude to maintain when you want to make peace out of conflict. The first step in resolving this conflict should not be "How do I ...
- 135k
116
votes
Best way to kill a problematic fellow player character?
The obvious solution would be to go to the authorities (the city guard?) with your evidence. They're certainly searching for the villain who burned down all those inns and killed all those people. ...
- 83.4k
108
votes
What can I do about the guys being distracted by a new girl in D&D group?
[Note: When I wrote this answer, the detail about attempted sexual assault was not part of the question. If the mods allow, I'd like this answer to stand as is with the caveat that my answer below ...
- 7,068
102
votes
Accepted
How should I deal with a difficult group and a DM that doesn't help?
Yes. You should leave.
These people are not respectful, and are not worth your time. Tell your brother you're not interested, and stop joining the call — he's the only person you have actual ...
- 36.1k
96
votes
As the Dungeon Master, how do I handle a player that insists on a specific class when I already know that choice will cause issues?
Disclaimer: After some concerns regarding copyright, I felt a bit bad about the previous images I was using. I replaced it by one I made with using PowerPoint and crayons.
This looks like a job for a ...
- 15.5k
93
votes
Accepted
Player may be manipulating die rolls, but I'm uncertain. How do I approach the situation?
Use a Rolling Tray
I don't want to accuse someone of cheating if they were not, but I
also don't want cheating to continue if it is in fact occurring
Since another player has already mentioned ...
- 141k
93
votes
Accepted
How do I avoid lecturing my players
Make the townsfolk afraid of them, too.
In short: have the NPCs react like real people.
It's a small town. People talk. People are going to notice the destroyed door, and others may have been drawn to ...
- 62k
82
votes
What do I do about a prescriptive GM/player who argues that gender and sexuality aren’t personality traits?
Elton John. George Michael. Sir Ian McKellen. Stephen Fry. Jeffrey Dahmer. Andy Warhol. George Takei.
All of those people have completely different personalities. All of them are gay.
"...
- 1,106
79
votes
As a player, I am approaching a situation where "My Guy" syndrome seems inevitable and almost appropriate. What can I do to soften any problems?
Roleplaying and roleplaying conflict are not My Guy Syndrome
"My Guy" syndrome is often misused as a term. It's when following your idea of your character's persona creates insurmountable ...
- 174k
75
votes
How do I deal with this very annoying teammate who engages in player versus player combat?
“This behavior is ruining the game for me.”
This sounds very not fun. Your friend needs to understand this. This is an out-of-game conversation that needs to be had. You need to cordially explain to ...
- 135k
72
votes
8 hour sessions require a meal! How can we incorporate meal breaks into the game itself?
I'm going to take a radical position and suggest that eight hours is a long time to roleplay without a break from playing a role in any case, and that the meal-as-a-break may actually be a welcome ...
- 2,078
72
votes
Accepted
Can a D&D campaign be successfully used as a Sunday school teaching instrument?
I'm trained in conducting faith-based lessons for children focused on morality and virtues, in facilitating spiritual empowerment programs for junior youth, and in tutoring youth engaged in service-...
- 52.9k
72
votes
Accepted
Accepting criticism as a DM
You've written:
So, the members are entirely ready to retract their criticism if I can convince them that it's not valid
As a DM, I think about things a bit differently. If someone tells me: "I'm ...
- 83.4k
68
votes
How can I tell if I am a problem player?
There is no universal 'Problem Player'
What might be a problem at my table may not be a problem at yours. The same goes for different games, as well as different systems (the expected play in DnD is ...
- 21.3k
66
votes
Accepted
My DM asked me to stop roleplaying hostility toward another PC, but it fits my character
You may be encountering My Guy Syndrome.
There is a fine line between role playing in depth and falling into "My Guy Syndrome" where the cooperative fun at the table between players is influenced in ...
- 141k
62
votes
Player may be manipulating die rolls, but I'm uncertain. How do I approach the situation?
Talk to your players
Seriously. This is the very first step. Do not accuse anyone, just talk. There may be many reasons for cheating on dice:
Failed roll ruined otherwise good plan that had 90% ...
- 22.6k
61
votes
Using a rash decision to move gameplay forward
You have two problems: an agency problem and a knowledge problem.
Agency
The likely reason why your players weren't all happy with the outcome of the situation you describe is because you took away ...
- 22.3k
59
votes
Accepted
How can I convince my DM that my diplomacy will work on his characters?
Explain to him that "NPC" is not a derrogatory term
It seems to me you're already trying to do exactly this. You are, of course, entirely correct in that "NPC" means "Non-...
- 7,628
59
votes
Accepted
How do I deal with being envious of my own players?
If you are not having fun as the GM, maybe its time to pass the torch.
When I started playing D&D, the person GMing was really good at it, but did not enjoy it. One day after the session was ...
- 4,272
57
votes
What do I do about a prescriptive GM/player who argues that gender and sexuality aren’t personality traits?
This does sound like a disagreement over the rules and can probably be fixed by relocating relevant information on the character sheet.
You say you don't want answers that say "That's not how ...
- 31.6k
56
votes
Accepted
What are my options when other members of the party think my character is too powerful?
Metagaming
First, lets kill the metagaming ad hominem: "Metagaming is any strategy, action or method used in a game which transcends a prescribed ruleset, uses external factors to affect the game, or ...
- 200k
54
votes
Accepted
As a DM, is it improper of me to flirt with one of my players "off the clock"?
tl;dr: Tread carefully and don't be creepy.
(I think this belongs more on interpersonal.SE, and relatedly recommend reading this, but I also realized I have relevant experience so I'm going to answer ...
- 22.3k
51
votes
As a player, I am approaching a situation where "My Guy" syndrome seems inevitable and almost appropriate. What can I do to soften any problems?
It might be a tough sell, but have you tried asking the other players to abandon their murder-based plans for the sake of making the game more enjoyable for the group?
As your describe the situation, ...
- 21.7k
49
votes
Accepted
What to do as a DM if my players are in constant disagreement with each other?
I've seen something like this happen before. If some or all your players are enjoying some of the game, but find dealing with the other players frustrating enough that they're starting to get ...
- 21.7k
47
votes
How to uninvite a friend from a campaign?
This might not be the answer you're asking, but maybe it's the answer you need:
Simply enforce the rules. You are the DM. You make the rules at your table.
Did he change his character without telling ...
- 1,506
45
votes
Accepted
How to handle public displays of affection between players during the game?
Someone has to take the player who invited his girlfriend aside and talk to him one-on-one. (I'll address that to "you", for the moment, since I hope you'll get your GM to read this.)
Make it clear ...
- 241k
45
votes
Best way to kill a problematic fellow player character?
How To Kill Your Fellow Player-Character
Wait until an opportunity presents itself... in a dungeon or town or whatever. Whether by pulling out the rest of the party and not assisting the druid, or ...
- 4,042
45
votes
Accepted
How can I get rid of drama fatigue as a GM?
I recommend a piña colada and warm sunny beach
You, my friend, have some angsty players. You're clearly not enjoying running games for them and are burned out. Nothing good can come from trying to ...
- 29k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible