How do you handle difficult players?

Shannon Mac · Post by **Shannon Mac** » Fri Aug 22, 2014 12:00 pm

I just watched this video recently and wanted to toss out how GMs/Keepers/players have dealt with difficult players.

Now obviously the easiest solution is to not game with them but that isn't possible when you are running at conventions or for a group that is socially connected.

For those who want to see the Youtube it's here and is worth a look:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmS54DxNO1A

toddwo · Post by **toddwo** » Fri Aug 22, 2014 12:26 pm

I've never had to ask a player to leave a game, but I've been close on a couple of occasions. When I run con games, I keep a $20 bill in my pocket as insurance. If I KNOW that a player is going to ruin the game for the other players, he gets the money as compensation for his ticket, and he'll need to leave.

Keeper Jon · Post by **Keeper Jon** » Fri Aug 22, 2014 1:59 pm

toddwo wrote:I've never had to ask a player to leave a game, but I've been close on a couple of occasions. When I run con games, I keep a $20 bill in my pocket as insurance. If I KNOW that a player is going to ruin the game for the other players, he gets the money as compensation for his ticket, and he'll need to leave.

Damn. That's strong. If I've ever got the extra dough to have that kind of insurance as a back-up, I'll keep that in mind.

So... I recently had a game where a friend wanted to screw with me so prior to the game he asked me how dark of a character can he play. I had a feeling that I was being set up for something, so I countered with, "I don't understand the question. Won't the context of the story in the scenario dictate how dark your character reacts to the situation?" It turns out that he wanted to play a character with the criminal occupation. I suspect, (due to a conversation with another friend who'd previously played with him), that he wanted to do a serial killer character. Thankfully, he only played a master thief character. So throughout the game, he was trying to steal things that could have been critical clues to the game. I fixed it by never allowing him to have access to a critical clue that could be fenced. The other players in the game got access to all of the best clues.

So my advice would be to minimize that player's impact on the true story of the game, and allow that player to do what he really wants to do, which is be comic relief.

toddwo · Post by **toddwo** » Fri Aug 22, 2014 2:49 pm

I think we might be talking about slightly different scenarios. Certainly, some players are "problematic" in that they want to test the Keeper/GM's boundries, etc or just mess about in the game, like the "master criminal" you were dealing with there. That sort of thing goes back to D&D where a thief would invariably want to pilfer items from the party, etc. While I recognize that sort of thing can be disruptive to the game, I was thinking more about the "socially challenged" sort of player who can't seem to interact peaceably out of character. I'm talking about the guy who cheats like a badger and whines, or the persistant rules lawyer and know-it-all. These are the types for whom I hold my $20 bill.

Keeper Jon · Post by **Keeper Jon** » Fri Aug 22, 2014 3:45 pm

Ah... okay.

Man, I'm not sure how I'd handle that if I was pressed into that situation. I'm thankful that I haven't had to deal with that yet.

I did have the opposite at Gen Con. A father and son were in one of my games, and the son, (a teenager... not a small child), was actually very quite and shy. So I went out of my way to try and give that player's character some critical clues that would require him to role-play and interface with the other players at the table. The dad recognized what I was doing, and was gently encouraging his son to jump in and play. The son did so, and I think he ended out having a really good time at the game.

Shannon Mac · Post by **Shannon Mac** » Sat Aug 23, 2014 2:41 am

If someone was incredibly disruptive I'd correct them openly and if it continued I'd ask them to leave.

The problem players that I list above are the ones who are not so obvious or it builds gradually over time b/c they're sneaky trolls.

monkey prime · Post by **monkey prime** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 7:31 pm

One of my friends is a difficult player. He argues that he didn't mean an action when it goes wrong or whines when something doesn't go his way (recently he complained in our world war Cthulhu scenario when his character was infiltrating in a stolen uniform that he didn't have a grenade, despite me specifically asking what weapons they had). There's a certain amount of sucking it up you have to do, people will rarely do what you want them to do and some people are just awkward. I think when it reaches a point that it's affecting other players and their enjoyment you have to have a word. I'm more than willing to sacrifice a bit of my enjoyment if everyone else is enjoying it but when the rest of my players are suffering that's the line.
I think a lot of it boils down to how your relationship is with that player. If they are a casual acquaintance then I would feel ok about casting them off and suggesting they find a different group, if they don't change after you speak to them. Communication is key.
If there's a an issue, talk about it, especially if they're a friend.

toddwo · Post by **toddwo** » Mon Aug 25, 2014 7:58 pm

monkey prime wrote:I think a lot of it boils down to how your relationship is with that player. If they are a casual acquaintance then I would feel ok about casting them off and suggesting they find a different group, if they don't change after you speak to them. Communication is key.
If there's a an issue, talk about it, especially if they're a friend.

My home group has a very simple, unwritten rule: We don't game with knuckleheads in private. Nobody joins the group without being vetted. So far, this has worked very, very well. In convention settings, of course, this simply won't work and one has to be prepared to take all comers.

fallingtower · Post by **fallingtower** » Tue Aug 26, 2014 12:30 am

toddwo wrote:
monkey prime wrote:I think a lot of it boils down to how your relationship is with that player. If they are a casual acquaintance then I would feel ok about casting them off and suggesting they find a different group, if they don't change after you speak to them. Communication is key.
If there's a an issue, talk about it, especially if they're a friend.
My home group has a very simple, unwritten rule: We don't game with knuckleheads in private. Nobody joins the group without being vetted. So far, this has worked very, very well. In convention settings, of course, this simply won't work and one has to be prepared to take all comers.

That's exactly what I do...I don't let just anyone into my home game.
I pretty much run and don't play, so I refuse to have my time wasted with problem players. Call of Cthulhu, especially the style I run isn't for the run of the mill, hack and slash gamer.

I have tried to change players, usually with long talks and how I run and it still doesn't roll along as smooth as I want it. It's best to pre-screen.

monkey prime · Post by **monkey prime** » Tue Aug 26, 2014 11:53 am

fallingtower wrote:
toddwo wrote:
monkey prime wrote:I think a lot of it boils down to how your relationship is with that player. If they are a casual acquaintance then I would feel ok about casting them off and suggesting they find a different group, if they don't change after you speak to them. Communication is key.
If there's a an issue, talk about it, especially if they're a friend.
My home group has a very simple, unwritten rule: We don't game with knuckleheads in private. Nobody joins the group without being vetted. So far, this has worked very, very well. In convention settings, of course, this simply won't work and one has to be prepared to take all comers.
That's exactly what I do...I don't let just anyone into my home game.
I pretty much run and don't play, so I refuse to have my time wasted with problem players. Call of Cthulhu, especially the style I run isn't for the run of the mill, hack and slash gamer.

I have tried to change players, usually with long talks and how I run and it still doesn't roll along as smooth as I want it. It's best to pre-screen.

I only game with friends, just so happens one of my friend can be a douche at times but you gotta love him he brings the best snacks to the table (like these amazing thin ginger biscuits like ginger nuts but without the broken teeth!)