Problem Players, or Problem DM?
Posted: Sun Jun 29, 2003 11:53 pm
I have a problem with my campaign, in terms of the actual players and myself (the DM), rather than anything to do with the plot or game mechanics.
You see, all of us enjoy playing the game, and enjoy each other's company, whether playing or not, but problems tend to arise during gaming sessions, and I was hoping for some insight as to whether it seemed like their fault, or my fault. Let me explain.
Now, each player in my group has some quality about them, in terms of how they play, that really annoys me.
I have one player that ALWAYS asks be if he can essentially cheat: whether it's that he wants a magic item that a character of his level shouldn't have, or that he wants free feats (example: "Can my bard be proficient with a greatsword, without taking the feat? Pleeeeease?"), or any number of other things that he feels he should be allowed to have.
Another player, whether consciously or unconsciously, always seems to simply not care about the plot. Whether he himself is not interested in it, or he roleplays his character as apathetic, he is always to some degree unconcerned with what is going on. He plays enthusiastically enough, but his characters are always independent of the story. I even give his characters motivation, ranging from being hired to take an active role in what's going on, to literally making up his background for him, and putting a hook in there. Nothing works for more than 5 minutes.
The third player is just utterly ridiculous. If allowed to do as he pleased, he would essentially make his character into a god. He has more interest in gaining experience points and getting powerful than in the game itself, and he constantly wants to change characters. Sometimes that's due to a loss of interest in the character, but more often than not it's because he isn't allowed to be, say, a werewolf that regenerates 1 hp/round, can morph into a bird, and uses dual-wields greatswords as a medium sized character, at 1st level (I use this example because that is exactly what another DM let him do. I quit that campaign before it even started, needless to say).
And finally, we have the last player, which happens to be my girlfriend. That might actually be the source of her problem, but I can't be sure. Anyway, her issue is that apparently nothing is ever fair. Ever. They could be in a fight that has an Encounter Level lower than their Party Level, and be losing it due simply to unlucky die rolls, and all of a sudden I hear from her "This is frickin' ridiculous! How are we supposed to beat this? It isn't FAIR!" Um, sorry, darling, but the rulebooks say that it most certainly is. Stop rolling threes.
Now, essentially, my question is as follows: Do you think I should just allow them to play however they want (as in, let Player 1 take whatever he wants, ignore Player 2 and his lack of interest, let Player 3 be a super mutant uber munchkin, and make all the fights easily winnable)? I know the game is supposed to be fun for the players, but isn't it also supposed to be fun for the DM? I don't mind handing out loot and experience points, but I find it hard to tolerate totally ridiculous characters mulching weak NPCs in easily conquered settings, simply because they are there at the time.
You see, all of us enjoy playing the game, and enjoy each other's company, whether playing or not, but problems tend to arise during gaming sessions, and I was hoping for some insight as to whether it seemed like their fault, or my fault. Let me explain.
Now, each player in my group has some quality about them, in terms of how they play, that really annoys me.
I have one player that ALWAYS asks be if he can essentially cheat: whether it's that he wants a magic item that a character of his level shouldn't have, or that he wants free feats (example: "Can my bard be proficient with a greatsword, without taking the feat? Pleeeeease?"), or any number of other things that he feels he should be allowed to have.
Another player, whether consciously or unconsciously, always seems to simply not care about the plot. Whether he himself is not interested in it, or he roleplays his character as apathetic, he is always to some degree unconcerned with what is going on. He plays enthusiastically enough, but his characters are always independent of the story. I even give his characters motivation, ranging from being hired to take an active role in what's going on, to literally making up his background for him, and putting a hook in there. Nothing works for more than 5 minutes.
The third player is just utterly ridiculous. If allowed to do as he pleased, he would essentially make his character into a god. He has more interest in gaining experience points and getting powerful than in the game itself, and he constantly wants to change characters. Sometimes that's due to a loss of interest in the character, but more often than not it's because he isn't allowed to be, say, a werewolf that regenerates 1 hp/round, can morph into a bird, and uses dual-wields greatswords as a medium sized character, at 1st level (I use this example because that is exactly what another DM let him do. I quit that campaign before it even started, needless to say).
And finally, we have the last player, which happens to be my girlfriend. That might actually be the source of her problem, but I can't be sure. Anyway, her issue is that apparently nothing is ever fair. Ever. They could be in a fight that has an Encounter Level lower than their Party Level, and be losing it due simply to unlucky die rolls, and all of a sudden I hear from her "This is frickin' ridiculous! How are we supposed to beat this? It isn't FAIR!" Um, sorry, darling, but the rulebooks say that it most certainly is. Stop rolling threes.
Now, essentially, my question is as follows: Do you think I should just allow them to play however they want (as in, let Player 1 take whatever he wants, ignore Player 2 and his lack of interest, let Player 3 be a super mutant uber munchkin, and make all the fights easily winnable)? I know the game is supposed to be fun for the players, but isn't it also supposed to be fun for the DM? I don't mind handing out loot and experience points, but I find it hard to tolerate totally ridiculous characters mulching weak NPCs in easily conquered settings, simply because they are there at the time.