Selfish Players        Posted by:  N. M.
5/4/99    08:07 PM

I'm Story telling a Vampire game in DC, and I have a player Dave who is playing a Tremere named Paige Turner

The Problem is that Dave wants to be in every scene. And when you switch to a new player who is not where his scene is taking place he gets mega impatiant and starts asking questions about paige sees, hears and what options are avalable to him when it's his turn.

Is there anyone who has this happen and can guide me?

N.
 
 

Tactics        Posted by:  A. M. in response to Selfish Players
5/4/99    10:15

Well, you can start out politely by pointing out the problem and asking him to stop. If he's not willing to be reasonable, you may have to ask him to leave the game. That's always a GM's right, and sometimes it's a GM's obligation.

Alternatively, you can try to come up with ways of ending his scenes so that there's nothing his character can do until some other player character catches up with him. Knock him out, stake him, whatever. Some players do learn eventually.

You might also want to get other player characters seriously involved in what your problem player is doing. That way, the players can discuss what's going on (in or out of character) while you're dealing with somebody else. This will work especially well if you have a player you can take into your confidence about this ploy who will help you make it work.

If all else fails though, and this guy continues to ruin the experience for you and your other players, you'll probably have to ask him to leave the group. That may mean starting a new campaign or something equally depressing. I don't know what your out of game relationship is with this guy or how your other players feel about him. What you'll have to consider is the options and the possible repercussions of taking any of them. Unfortunately, the rest of us can only offer fairly generic advice.
 

Make a Rule        Posted by:  Savage Angel in response to Selfish Players

Make it a rule thatthe players cannot ask questions during another scene. You can do this by freeze-framing him (ie making them shut up for 5 minutes by suspending the character in time for a bit) and then when you get back to the player, you tell them what they see, and hear, and then let them ask questions about options etc.

Penalty        Posted by:  A. M. in response to Make a Rule
5/5/99    01:32 PM

The rule might be more effective if there's a monetary penalty for breaking it. That is, anybody who interrupts during someone else's scene has to put a quarter into a group fund that will be used to buy munchies for the next session. If the whole group benefits, everybody will remind everyone else about the rule, and (hopefully) nobody can afford to get really huffy about it.

As GM, you can always make exceptions for the sort of things that are mundane interruptions (Like when your roommate needs to tell you that your mother's on the phone or when the person ordering pizza for the group needs to confirm your address for the delivery place).

re:  Selfish Players        Posted by:  J. M. in response to Selfish Players
5/5/99    03:18 PM
 

Wow, my giving advice in this is really the pot telling the kettle how to clean up, but I'm going ahead, anyways. :)

The others on this list have already made some good suggestions - freeze time, interruption penalties, knock the little twit's PC out - so I won't repeat their ideas.

One thing you have to do as a GM is be pushy. Tell him 'This isn't your scene, you're not involved, I will get to you when the time is apt.' One group that got particularly sticky instituted the 'Speaking Koosh', whoever held the koosh was the one allowed to speak to the GM at the time.

Of course, you can use any object - or multiple objects if you're running a multi-player moment - but the point remains the same. If you don't have The Speaking Object, don't interrupt the GM. Conversations - quiet conversations - between players are permitted, of course, as long as they don't interrupt *you*.

And if he keeps insisting that he needs to know what's going on, keep on asserting your GMly authority, fine him a quarter or tell him to shove off - whatever it takes for a peaceful game...

My toughest time - for coping with multiple, demanding players - usually comes when I'm running games at conventions. The players are (usually) strangers to me, we don't know each other's habits and they're *all* eager to get into the action.

To minimize interruption, I'll often suggest that the uninvolved players take a coffee/smoke break, or step into the hall with the one or two PC's I am dealing with. Of course, I have to move quickly, otherwise the ones who are left out start getting bored and resentful, but I do the best I can. :)
I've tried to introduce the Speaking Koosh at con-games, but the fact is that it *does* take a while - a full game or so - for players to learn the habit of not interrupting each other, and to ask for the Koosh *politely* (rather than 'Give me that ****ing thing!), so it's not so useful at one-shot events.

Good luck!
J.

Selfish Players        Posted by:  J. R. in response to Selfish Players
5/20/99    01:55 PM

Hi N.,

I've both been in and run games where players whined about not getting enough 'screen time.'

In the player case, a few of us just continued to needle the culprits about their bad manners until they finally realized they weren't makign the game fun for anyone, including themselves.

In my GMing case, it was mostly a function of just a very enthusiastic player who sometimes just got too enthusiastic :) But I eventually just ended up stating (rather loudly) 'The more you complain about not getting 'on screen', the less time you will get.'
The only thing you can do is be firm, and not let the culprit continue to get away with it.
 

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