A guide to player disasters

[Frog Dragon]

The DM disaster thread's counterpart. Players can be just as terrible.

The Supermunchin
The supermunchin is the player that will pull any ridiculous trick he can past the DM and will frequently refer to spurious rules interpretations in an attempt to justify their tricks. Will frequently make the other party members feel obsolete due to having such an absurdly powerful character.

The Real Roleplayer
The player who pulls all sorts of stupid stunts because "That's what the character would have done." Prone to Lawful Good Paladins of Tyranny so to speak. Can cause all sorts of problems with their refusal to find other ways of resolving situations.

The Badger
The player who clashes with the DM about a rule and after it has been looked up and is unclear, the player will continue to try to force his interpretation as "more fair" and "actual RAW". Can cause the game to screech to a halt.

The Calculator
Not because he is a calculator, but because he needs one. Even when totals are written right down on his sheet, he needs to stop every turn to total up his bonuses, and he always forgets about situational modifiers, plus or minus, in the minute or two between his rolls. Not inherently destructive, but likely annoying to the rest of the group and highly disruptive.

“But ToB is the BEST BOOK EVAR!!!!”

For this player ToB simply must be amongst the source books allowed, since the game simply cannot work without it. It doesn’t matter that he is playing a caster, the banning of ToB shows a severe failing on the DMs behalf since it is just the first of many mistakes the poor misguided fool that is DM will make, unless he heads his advice and embraces ToB. Not owning the book is a lame excuse. May also apply to any other book. This is just the most usual case.

“But ToB suckzzz!!!!”
To this player, ToB is too wuxia. He hasn’t read the book, and he doesn’t know what wuxia is, but he assures you both those points are irrelevant to the subject. It doesn’t matter that he is a caster, he will refuse to join and game that has a martial adept in the group, since as we all know every base class in that book has “Rips Hole in Space time (Ex)” as a 1 level class feature. May also apply to any other book. This is just the most usual case.

The Jerk
Views the game as a way of doing nasty deeds without repercussion, such as stealing from party members or arbitrarily killing NPCs, and tries to justify acting like a jerk as a player by claiming that his character is a jerk. Tends towards rogue characters, will usually gloat about his "evil" acts and gets annoyed if e.g. the party barbarian reacts by punching his rogue in the face.

The Princess
Some DMs end up with the kind of girlfriend that demands special treatment in-game, like more powerful characters or being favored by influential NPCs, and gets whiny and manipulative when she doesn't get her way. Conversely, some DMs automatically treat their girlfriend with such favoritism even when she doesn't want him to.
Thankfully, most DM's girlfriends aren't like that. This doesn't have to be a "female-only" trope, but the name "princess" seems fitting.

The Loonie
How could we miss this one? The guy that does everything for a cheap laugh, including casting a fireball at ground zero. In the right kind of setting, this is hilarious; in a somewhat more serious campaign, this tends to ruin the atmosphere. Tends towards wild mages, chicken infested commoners, and characters named after swearwords or genitalia.

The Bored
The kind of player that is only there because he has nothing better to do. Tends to show up late or miss sessions for no good reason, takes out gameboys and magic cards during playtime, and is more interested in discussing last night's football match than the current in-game combat. Could well be a friendly and nice person, who just clearly isn't interested in RPGs much.

The Monk

This player designs his characters around a totally cool and awesomely unique specialization, a mode of combat not usually seen, a spell specialization that seems like a totally wicked idea, or the like. Unfortunately, he did not do the research, and his character, though interest in concept, is utterly useless. Its intricately designed "winning combo" is easily countered, ineffective or based upon an incorrect reading of the rules. The resulting character can be more of a detriment to the party than an aid.
A variation on this player is the Ubermonksch, who is exactly as above, but believes his character is overpowered.

The Drizzt

This player has devoted their life to reading about that one awesome character that every series has. They simply have to have a character that is just as awesome as the character they revere. But don't worry -- as they will tell you, their brooding redeemed dual-wielding scimitars ranger drow isn't a copy of Drizzt! Their character wasn't from Menzoberranzan.

The Anti-Munchin
The guy who thinks that anyone who optimizes, automatically cannot roleplay at all. In short, they believe in the Stormwind fallacy and can be absolutely unbearable for a group that prefers to optimize.

Here's a few annoying archetypes. Anything else?

[The Glyphstone]

The Calculator:
Not because he is a calculator, but because he needs one. Even when totals are written right down on his sheet, he needs to stop every turn to total up his bonuses, and he always forgets about situational modifiers, plus or minus, in the minute or two between his rolls. Not inherently destructive, but likely annoying to the rest of the group and highly disruptive.

[Boci]

“But ToB is the BEST BOOK EVAR!!!!”

For this player ToB simply must be amongst the source books allowed, since the game simply cannot work without it. It doesn’t matter that he is playing a caster, the banning of ToB shows a severe failing on the DMs behalf since it is just the first of many mistakes the poor misguided fool that is DM will make, unless he heads his advice and embraces ToB. Not owning the book is a lame excuse.



“But ToB suckzzz!!!!”

To this player, ToB is too wuxia. He hasn’t read the book, and he doesn’t know what ToB is, but he assures you both those points are irrelevant to the subject. It doesn’t matter that he is a caster, he will refuse to join and game that has a martial adept in the group, since as we all know every base class in that book has “Rips Hole in Space time (Ex)” as a 1 level class feature.

I use ToB because it’s a very hotly debated topic, but really anything will work. Psionics is another commonly seen example, and to a lesser extent UA. Also, I am proud of the fact that I do not speak l3at speak, so sorry for the lame titles.

[onthetown]

The Drizzt/Raistlin/etc

This player has devoted their life to reading about that one awesome character that every series has. They simply have to have a character that is just as awesome as the character they revere. But don't worry -- as they will tell you, their brooding redeemed dual-wielding scimitars ranger drow isn't a copy of Drizzt! Their character wasn't from Menzoberranzan.

[Volthawk]

Mr. Stormwind

The guy who believes the Stormwind Fallacy, so if you make any optimised choices, that is it, you cannot roleplay as you are automatically some kind of munchkin.


Feel free to rewrite what I said in a better way.

[Kurald Galain]

The Jerk
Views the game as a way of doing nasty deeds without repercussion, such as stealing from party members or arbitrarily killing NPCs, and tries to justify acting like a jerk as a player by claiming that his character is a jerk. Tends towards rogue characters, will usually gloat about his "evil" acts and gets annoyed if e.g. the party barbarian reacts by punching his rogue in the face.

The Princess
Some DMs end up with the kind of girlfriend that demands special treatment in-game, like more powerful characters or being favored by influential NPCs, and gets whiny and manipulative when she doesn't get her way. Conversely, some DMs automatically treat their girlfriend with such favoritism even when she doesn't want him to.
Thankfully, most DM's girlfriends aren't like that. This doesn't have to be a "female-only" trope, but the name "princess" seems fitting.

The Loonie
How could we miss this one? The guy that does everything for a cheap laugh, including casting a fireball at ground zero. In the right kind of setting, this is hilarious; in a somewhat more serious campaign, this tends to ruin the atmosphere. Tends towards wild mages, chicken infested commoners, and characters named after swearwords or genitalia.

The Bored
The kind of player that is only there because he has nothing better to do. Tends to show up late or miss sessions for no good reason, takes out gameboys and magic cards during playtime, and is more interested in discussing last night's football match than the current in-game combat. Could well be a friendly and nice person, who just clearly isn't interested in RPGs much.

[Shademan]

to be fair, some people have troubles doing maths and should not be persecuted as player disasters as such.
Thats how I understand "the clalculator" anyhow.

[Steward]

It's only bad when it becomes ridiculously time consuming. Generally, the people who are slower about using calculators are often the same ones who grab all sorts of weapons with buckets of modifiers and bonuses, and the ones who hate writing down commonly used numbers. You get to watch them take 2 - 3 minutes apiece to roll Initiative, make an Attack roll, make a Damage roll, make a skill check, and then realize at the end that, whoops, they forgot the +3 from their Greatstaff of Tedium and the -2 AC inflicted by the enemy orc's Bracers of Inflexibility and Vulnerability.

[The Glyphstone]

to be fair, some people have troubles doing maths and should not be persecuted as player disasters as such.
Thats how I understand "the clalculator" anyhow.

The Calculator's supposed to be the extreme of that. Having to take a bit of extra time to do the math is fine. Having to do that same math every single turn, when nothing has changed since the last attack, is different. And I did note that they're not intentionally dangerous, but the amount of time they soak up can be just as disruptive to the game as some of the more deliberate examples. Also, what he said.

[Mongoose87]

The Monk

This player designs his characters around a totally cool and awesomely unique specialization, a mode of combat not usually seen, a spell specialization that seems like a totally wicked idea, or the like. Unfortunately, he did not do the research (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DidNotDoTheResearch), and his character, though interest in concept, is utterly useless. Its intricately designed "winning combo" is easily countered, ineffective or based upon an incorrect reading of the rules. The resulting character can be more of a detriment to the party than an aid.

A variation on this player is the Ubermonksch, who is exactly as above, but believes his character is overpowered.

[The Glyphstone]

A variation on this player is the Ubermonk, who is exactly as above, but believes his character is overpowered.

Shouldn't that be retitled the "Ubermonksch"?:smallcool:

[Mongoose87]

Shouldn't that be retitled the "Ubermonksch"?:smallcool:

Thank you! I couldn't remember how that ended.

[Steward]

How to handle people like that:

Tell them that what they are doing is irritating and offer to help them fix the underlying problem. For example, for the Calculator, you can write down commonly used modifiers (such as Attack bonus, Initiative) on his character sheet so that he doesn't have to recalculate every single statistic his character has every single turn.

[Boci]

How is this really a guide? Don't you need explanations of how to handle such characters in a reasonable fashion? This is just a list of player disasters at the moment.

A guide to recognize/catagorize them?

[Mongoose87]

Maybe the dealing with them part is chapter 2?

[Frog Dragon]

This is just a player copy of the DM disasters thread. Go complain to them. :smalltongue:

[Greenish]

The garden variety Munchkin
Tries to pull off the same as the supermunchkin, but fails utterly. Compensates by cheating more. "I got this list of pregenerated rolls, including my ability scores. Of course I didn't cheat, see I got a 17 there!"

[Boci]

Maybe the dealing with them part is chapter 2?

It that a steel chair or a nail gun? I always get those two mixed up. I should just invent a gun that fires steel chairs studded with nails to cover all my bases.

P.S. @ Frog Dragon: Made a stupid mistake. Instead of:

"To this player, ToB is too wuxia. He hasn’t read the book, and he doesn’t know what ToB is"

I meant to type:
"To this player, ToB is too wuxia. He hasn’t read the book, and he doesn’t know what wuxia is"


Could you edit that please?

[Volthawk]

It that a steel chair or a nail gun? I always get those two mixed up. I should just invent a gun that fires steel chairs studded with nails to cover all my bases.

That are on fire.

[Quincunx]

Lord Itoveryou
He writes Lawful Lawful Neutral on his character sheet to distinguish himself from the merely lawful Lawful Neutral. She took two exalted vows. And may the gods have mercy on your game if either of them play a paladin, for their characters will not. They will not stoop to bending their vows for the out-of-character reasons of merely cooperating with the rest of the players.

[The Glyphstone]

Seems like a specific example of The Real Roleplayer.

[Quincunx]

The Real Roleplayer won't cooperate in character.
The Lord won't cooperate out of character.
The tactic which might defuse one type will backfire against the other. You can ask a Real Roleplayer to re-roll something more cooperative, and save the game. You can command a Lord to cooperate or leave, and save the game. Flip those responses and the offenders will merrily re-offend.

[Amphetryon]

Mr Askformoar:
This player always wants an option not presented in the DM's campaign. Throws a fit if Flaws aren't allowed. If running 3.5 Core + Completes, he builds a character using Frostburn and whines if it's not allowed. If 'no 3rd party' is the stipulation, he begs for an 'awesome homebrew' that he saw on one of the forums.

[Gamerlord]

The Outright Suicidal
Nothing is wrong with a ludicrously brave player, but this guy will do anything without concern for himself or his fellow players, even if it goes against everything his character is about.

[Poil]

The Impotence Gamer
The completely opposite of the power gamer the impotence gamer couldn't make a powerful character to save his/her life. Neither through intent or design the player's characters will always be far inferior to other party members. Even when playing strong races/classes the person somehow always manage to screw up and remain mostly useless.

[Ravens_cry]

I tend to be 'the calculator', as I have never been very good at the maths under pressure. My present character doesn't have many static modifiers unfortunately, almost every addition is a roll of the dice. I do in fact bring a calculator to the table. I know my weaknesses.

[WarKitty]

I tend to be 'the calculator', as I have never been very good at the maths under pressure. My present character doesn't have many static modifiers unfortunately, almost every addition is a roll of the dice. I do in fact bring a calculator to the table. I know my weaknesses.

I think this one depends on how it's handled. In our group, the less mathematically inclined just read out the numbers and someone else adds them.

[Ravens_cry]

I think this one depends on how it's handled. In our group, the less mathematically inclined just read out the numbers and someone else adds them.
My group tends to find that. . .insulting. I know, if it gets done, it gets done. But if I don't practise and simply use fellow players as a crutch, I won't get better. I am still better then when I started.

[gdiddy]

Alignment Man

This fantastic person defines every single thing they do in game as a reflection of 9 vague moral categories made up by wargamers in the 1970s. Responsible for such gems as "No. I'm Chaotic Neutral, I can do whatever I want." or "I'm Lawful Good, I had to execute that orphan on the spot for stealing my bread." They become philosophical contortionists, trying to hammer square pegs into round holes, and generally being Stupidic Stupid.

[krossbow]

Ah, the bored. Had a friend at college who played D&D with us who played mainly because he didn't have alot of other friends (hence he wanted to hang out), and didn't really like RPG's.

Had a bad habit of trying to cause TPK's. We eventually politely asked him to stop attending sessions, and told him we'd hang out with him after the sessions.

[Swordgleam]

For example, for the Calculator, you can write down commonly used modifiers (such as Attack bonus, Initiative) on his character sheet so that he doesn't have to recalculate every single statistic his character has every single turn.

I wish that worked. My group's Calculator is studying to be a rocket scientist. Math is not his problem. His problem is that by slowly adding up every modifier every time, he emphasizes (at least to himself) how incredibly awesome his character is. Look at all those numbers! Look how high they get when added together! Taking five minutes every single round to add up his modifiers is fun for him.


I'm Trying to Help!
The player who assumes that any creative solutions he comes up with will mess with the DM's plans, and anything he sees that appears to be a plot hook related to his backstory will derail the main plot if he follows it. This player is doing his utmost to make the DM's life easier, but ends up doing the opposite by never following plot hooks or proposing interesting solutions.

[gdiddy]

I'm Trying to Help is like a puppy that's been kicked one-too-many times by The Conductor DM.

[Zaq]

The Impotence Gamer
The completely opposite of the power gamer the impotence gamer couldn't make a powerful character to save his/her life. Neither through intent or design the player's characters will always be far inferior to other party members. Even when playing strong races/classes the person somehow always manage to screw up and remain mostly useless.

I once saw someone screw up a Warblade. No joke. And then when I asked them what they wanted and helped them out (which they did want, by the way... I didn't just grab their sheet and say "here, let me do it"), they removed all of it. Why, I will never know.

Anyway, here's mine:

The Chessmaster
Every move must be perfect. This player believes that there is exactly one best course of action to take on every turn, and he or she is going to sit there until he or she figures it out. This player's turns frequently take at least three to six minutes longer than any other player's. Pun-Pun help you if this player has multiple characters for any reason, such as summons or an animal companion. This player also frequently takes upwards of half an hour to choose which spells to prepare every day.

A subcategory of The Chessmaster believes that he or she also knows the best course of action for YOUR character. If the number of turns after which this player complains that you should have done X and Y outweighs the number of turns in which he or she does not, you very well may have this subcategory on your hands.

[Swordgleam]

I'm Trying to Help is like a puppy that's been kicked one-too-many times by The Conductor DM.

My own I'm Trying to Help! is, I think, a fellow DM who's had a few too many run-ins with.. hm.. There's nothing that quite fits, so I'm going to say the Derailer.

The Derailer
The Derailer gets his fun from figuring out what the DM is trying to do, and doing the opposite. Some people see destroying the DM's monsters as "beating the game;" the Derailer views destroying the DM's plots in a similar light.

The Derailer often claims to be a champion of freedom, keeping the other players from having to deal with the "boring" plots the DM has come up with. Might spring naturally from a player who's a jerk, or from an otherwise good player who's had a few too many railroading DMs.




The Chessmaster
Every move must be perfect. This player believes that there is exactly one best course of action to take on every turn, and he or she is going to sit there until he or she figures it out.

My Calculator is also a Chessmaster. And yes, he does have an NPC cohort whose actions he determines in one of our games. Combat literally goes twice as fast (in a five person group) with him gone. Too bad he's such a great player in every other respect, or we'd all just kick him out.

[ScionoftheVoid]

The Chessmaster
Every move must be perfect. This player believes that there is exactly one best course of action to take on every turn, and he or she is going to sit there until he or she figures it out. This player's turns frequently take at least three to six minutes longer than any other player's. Pun-Pun help you if this player has multiple characters for any reason, such as summons or an animal companion. This player also frequently takes upwards of half an hour to choose which spells to prepare every day.

A subcategory of The Chessmaster believes that he or she also knows the best course of action for YOUR character. If the number of turns after which this player complains that you should have done X and Y outweighs the number of turns in which he or she does not, you very well may have this subcategory on your hands.

I may occasionally slip into the second section of this. I'm fast enough taking my actions but I will complain if someone does something incredibly stupid (e.g. breaking my Fascinate effect. I don't care if it lasts twelve seconds, I told you not to draw your sword and now I need to waste my only other Bardic Music use today on Inspire Courage and I don't have any first level spells left either! Or using Summon Swarm to create a spider swarm between the Druid's Entangled riding dog and the monstrous spider we're fighting, rather than in the spider's space). I could swear my party doesn't know what a flanking bonus is sometimes. I usually stop after their turn is finished and I only mutter in the first place, but I can see why the DM was threatening bad things were going to happen if I didn't stick to running just my character.:smallredface:

Edit: So I add something useful.

The Itch
They won't shut up. Whether it's repeatedly announcing their actions to the DM when you're not on initiative, bragging about their kill or new item, or just talking out of character whilst other players are thinking of their next actions this person will drive the group to their collective wit's end. May also indulge in such activities as building towers from spare dice or just generally fiddling with their pen/pencil/dice/change from lunch/whatever and then not stopping when others inform them that it is distracting or irritating.

[Gnaeus]

The Derailer
The Derailer gets his fun from figuring out what the DM is trying to do, and doing the opposite. Some people see destroying the DM's monsters as "beating the game;" the Derailer views destroying the DM's plots in a similar light.

The Derailer often claims to be a champion of freedom, keeping the other players from having to deal with the "boring" plots the DM has come up with. Might spring naturally from a player who's a jerk, or from an otherwise good player who's had a few too many railroading DMs.

I play with this guy. His favorite character concept is a loner who wants to be an alchemist, or a merchant, or some other non-adventuring thing. He doesn't even want to BE with the rest of the party most of the time (and the rest of the party usually agrees). Expect a 30 minute in character argument at the door to every dungeon where he begs his friends to turn around and go the other way. This argument can be repeated whenever they rest, or sometimes after every fight. "This place is dangerous". "We haven't gotten enough treasure to make this worth our while". And "I want to be (500 miles away doing something else that the rest of the party doesn't want to do)" are his warcries. He's been known to be PVPed by teammates for sitting out important fights.

[Amphetryon]

I play with this guy. His favorite character concept is a loner who wants to be an alchemist, or a merchant, or some other non-adventuring thing. He doesn't even want to BE with the rest of the party most of the time (and the rest of the party usually agrees). Expect a 30 minute in character argument at the door to every dungeon where he begs his friends to turn around and go the other way. This argument can be repeated whenever they rest, or sometimes after every fight. "This place is dangerous". "We haven't gotten enough treasure to make this worth our while". And "I want to be (500 miles away doing something else that the rest of the party doesn't want to do)" are his warcries.

So long as he's doing this in the name of dramatic tension - and in moderation - there's nothing wrong with this. I have a character in a campaign on hiatus who is quite paranoid. He sees plots and counter-plots in any actions, and happily recites chapter and verse of why Plan A is possibly a Bad Idea. It's written in to his backstory that he trusts two people in the world; serendipitously, the other person happens to be in the party. This means the party has a built in way to get BA on the plane (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheATeam) while letting the paranoid character be paranoid.

[WarKitty]

Ah, the bored. Had a friend at college who played D&D with us who played mainly because he didn't have alot of other friends (hence he wanted to hang out), and didn't really like RPG's.

Had a bad habit of trying to cause TPK's. We eventually politely asked him to stop attending sessions, and told him we'd hang out with him after the sessions.

These usually end up as spectators with our group. Which, with an RP-heavy group can be interesting. They also occasionally get bit parts to lend some interest to the DMPC's.

[Swordgleam]

This means the party has a built in way to get BA on the plane (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheATeam) while letting the paranoid character be paranoid.

Linking TVTropes should be a bannable offense. Now what do you think I'm going to be doing all afternoon instead of studying? :smallyuk:

[Poil]

I once saw someone screw up a Warblade. No joke. And then when I asked them what they wanted and helped them out (which they did want, by the way... I didn't just grab their sheet and say "here, let me do it"), they removed all of it. Why, I will never know.

I've screwed up a sorcerer to the point where he was casting fireballs as his highest level spell, when we were level 9. No, he was most likely not going to learn level 4 spells the next level. <_<

Personally I like getting help not messing up or doing horribly stupid things to my poor defenseless character sheets.

Anyway:
The Astonishingly Bad Tactician
While some people may occasionally make bad decisions in combat the Astonishingly Bad Tactician is doing so on a regular basis. Lack of skill, bad luck, poor grasp of game mechanics or simply just not very bright? It may vary but one thing is for certain, when the Astonishingly Bad Tactician is at play you better be ready to pick up the slack and clean up the mess.
fixed typo

[Gnaeus]

So long as he's doing this in the name of dramatic tension - and in moderation - there's nothing wrong with this. I have a character in a campaign on hiatus who is quite paranoid. He sees plots and counter-plots in any actions, and happily recites chapter and verse of why Plan A is possibly a Bad Idea. It's written in to his backstory that he trusts two people in the world; serendipitously, the other person happens to be in the party. This means the party has a built in way to get BA on the plane (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheATeam) while letting the paranoid character be paranoid.

Having a paranoid character giving legitimate reasons why what the party is doing is a bad idea isn't necessarily bad.

Having to have a full out argument every time the party goes anywhere or does anything is the most annoying character trait possible (aside from Ewoks and Kender). Character development is fine, but it is really bad for the game when the other characters realize that they want to dump the whiner and replace him or do without.

[Swordgleam]

I think the question you really want to avoid having come up is "why am I with these people / why are we with this guy?" There's a lot of different causes, and most of them are things that are fine in moderation.

[Caphi]

Ooh, I have one to contribute: the One-Legged Cheetah.

The One-Legged Cheetah is related to the Real Roleplayer. Where the Real Roleplayer latches onto a character concept and stays on like a dire wolverine, the One-Legged Cheetah deliberately makes characters that are weak, even useless, claiming that it makes for "better roleplay". Instead, it just makes them a load to the rest of the party - both in and out of character.

[The Glyphstone]

That'd be another way to describe "Mr. Stormwind", or at least someone who actively practices the Stormwind Fallacy.

[holywhippet]

I've screwed up a sorcerer to the point where he was casting fireballs as his highest level spell, when we were level 9. No, he was most likely not going to learn level 4 spells the next level. <_<


On the flipside I've seen players who misread or misunderstand the rules enough to not have as much power as the should have. For example, in one game I asked the cleric if he could cast a certain second level spell (he was about level 3 or 4). He told me no, he didn't have access to those spells yet. I asked him if he'd multiclassed and he told me no, he was a straight up cleric. Not sure how he'd misread the rules but he wasn't aware that he could cast second level spells yet.

In another case, my DM helped a new player make up his 4E character - soon in he was doing badly in a fight after not taking much damage. I asked him what his maximum HP was and it sounded excessively low. The DM had added his CON modifier to his starting HP, not his CON score.

[Poil]

Those things could be blamed on not knowing the rules though.

[holywhippet]

Those things could be blamed on not knowing the rules though.

That's my point though, these weren't even obscure rules - they just didn't read the book properly.

Now that I think of it, I think the cleric did know they could cast second level spells - he just didn't know he could cast more than one at fourth level (aside from his domain spell).

[Boci]

That's my point though, these weren't even obscure rules - they just didn't read the book properly.

To be fair though a lot of 3.x players made that mistake the first time they played 4ed, myself included.

[The Big Dice]

On the flipside I've seen players who misread or misunderstand the rules enough to not have as much power as the should have.
I've known people like this. They underspend in points buy systems, forget to increase stats every four levels and increase their dump stats over their main casting stat.

Some ideas based on people I've gamed with:

The Killjoy:
This player is the one determined to make sure nobody has any fun. The methods might vary, but this is the guy who says "You can't do that" and "Don't be so stupid" to the other people round the table. Frequently talks himself (and other players) out of perfectly viable courses of action by second guessing every possible counter to any idea put forwards.

Don't Tell Me What To Do
In some ways, this player is like the Anti-Munchkin. But the sub optimal choices are made because someone else at the table suggested a useful option. This is the player who makes a Sorceror and takes Skill Focus: Diplomacy because someone else suggested taking a Metamagic feat. When he plays a Bard, he refuses to invest points in his Perfom skill because another players asks why he's not able to buff people with the +2 bonus.

The Dice Bomber
Whenever the GM calls for a skill check, this player is the first to roll the dice. Regardless of whether or not his character has the skill in question, or even if his character is at the location where the roll was called for. This player feels left our if he's not rolling the same skill checks as another player. And he never uses an Aid action to help out.

The Wrong Character
This is the player who makes a Rogue and gets to 7th level without ever Sneak Attacking. He complains that he can't hit as hard as the Barbarian and doesn't have as high an AC as the Paladin. But refuses to play a class that is strong in the areas the player wishes his character was strong.

The Stealer of Thunder
Whatever your character does, this guy does it better. The Stealer of Thunder shares some aspects of the Munchkin, but is more insidious than that. He often plays Rogues and Assassins, then ends up scoring more kills than any other melee or ranged attack based character. While out sneaking the Ranger and grappling enemies that the Druid's Animal Companion is scared of.

The Creative Accountant
This player has a character with no stats below 15. In a 28 point buy. Can make a Move Silent check of 27 by rolling a 2. At first level. The Creative Accountant doesn't like other people to see his character sheet and often picks up his freshly rolled dice before anyone else at the table has a chance to see what he actually rolled.

[Arbane]

Ooh, I have one to contribute: the One-Legged Cheetah.

As a shorter name for this guy, how about The Gimp?

My own pet peeve:
The Quirk Remora

I'll say this much for The Quirk Remora, at least they're TRYING to roleplay. Unfortunately, their way of doing so is to give their character one bizarre habit or obsession, then bring it up at every possible opportunity. As a consequence, they tend to be very one-note.

See also: Kender.

[Ravens_cry]

As a shorter name for this guy, how about The Gimp?

My own pet peeve:
The Quirk Remora

I'll say this much for The Quirk Remora, at least they're TRYING to roleplay. Unfortunately, their way of doing so is to give their character one bizarre habit or obsession, then bring it up at every possible opportunity. As a consequence, they tend to be very one-note.

See also: Kender.

While possibly annoying to the more experienced roleplayer, a one note character is part of the training period of role playing. We can 't go from not contributing beyond rolling dice to thespian in a single session of play.
I don't get the reference in the title for that type of player. Please explain.
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere
When everyone else is playing the game, they are texting or playing with apps. When it is their turn, they are texting or playing with apps. We are here to play pen and paper RPG, thank you very much.

[Thurbane]

The Overseer
A player who simply insists on telling other people how to run their characters - whether it is what tactic to use in combat, what feats and equipment to pick up, or how a particular race/class/alignment should be played. Can be handy in some cases for helping out new players with character creation, but more often than not doesn't know when to hold his tongue when his advice is not wanted and/or needed.

[The New Bruceski]

As a shorter name for this guy, how about The Gimp?

My own pet peeve:
The Quirk Remora

I'll say this much for The Quirk Remora, at least they're TRYING to roleplay. Unfortunately, their way of doing so is to give their character one bizarre habit or obsession, then bring it up at every possible opportunity. As a consequence, they tend to be very one-note.

See also: Kender.


I have a character idea I've been tossing around in my head that I hold off on for this very reason. An insane gnome "warforged medic" (ie mechanic) who rides the corpse of his friend around as a mech, having wired up controls to access the friend's sorcerous powers after they both got stuck in a dangerous situation and the friend died protecting him.

Oddly enough, Iron Man didn't occur to me at all when I came up with this.

[Private-Prinny]

The Overseer
A player who simply insists on telling other people how to run their characters - whether it is what tactic to use in combat, what feats and equipment to pick up, or how a particular race/class/alignment should be played. Can be handy in some cases for helping out new players with character creation, but more often than not doesn't know when to hold his tongue when his advice is not wanted and/or needed.

I occasionally turn into this, but only a very mild form, like "Power Attack on your wizard doesn't seem like a good idea, maybe you should try Extend Spell." (obviously not a real example). A few people in my party do ask me for my opinion anyway.

[Coidzor]

Those things could be blamed on not knowing the rules though.

Ahh, Mr. Did Not Do The Research.

[Drakyn]

I don't get the reference in the title for that type of player. Please explain.


A remora is basically a fish with a sucker on its head, which lives by latching onto bigger stuff (whales, sharks, manta rays) and taking out scraps of food. "Quirk remora" would suggest a player latching onto a quirk and not letting go, passively riding it without any work.
Have some on a nurse shark, courtesy of wikipedia.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Nurse_shark_with_remoras.jpg

[Superglucose]

The Overseer
A player who simply insists on telling other people how to run their characters - whether it is what tactic to use in combat, what feats and equipment to pick up, or how a particular race/class/alignment should be played. Can be handy in some cases for helping out new players with character creation, but more often than not doesn't know when to hold his tongue when his advice is not wanted and/or needed.

That's me because my current party is made up of four of these:



Anyway:
The Astonishingly Bad Tactician
While some people may occasionally make bad decisions in combat the Astonishingly Bad Tactician is doing so on a regular basis. Lack of skill, bad luck, poor grasp of game mechanics or simply just not very bright? It may vary but one thing is for certain, when the Astonishingly Bad Tactician is at play you better be ready to pick up the slack and clean up the mess.
fixed typo

Seriously. "Let's all stand in LoS of the wizard who can cast Baleful Polymorph! I'm sure there's nothing wrong with THAT plan!" Also I have to occasionally call out such memorable builds as "Trip-chain wizard" and "I have an idea, go for mystic theurge via Druid/Sorcerer!" Generally speaking; however, I only try to steer people away from things that are just going to make the game frustrating for them.



The Quirk Remora

I'll say this much for The Quirk Remora, at least they're TRYING to roleplay. Unfortunately, their way of doing so is to give their character one bizarre habit or obsession, then bring it up at every possible opportunity. As a consequence, they tend to be very one-note.

See also: Kender.

This guy I've given up with. He's The Quirk Remora and The Astonishingly Bad Tactician all rolled into one and he drives me absolutely bonkers at game. To top it all off, guess what he's playing? Yeah, that's right, a Paladin.

On that front I've decided to punish the player as he has now had THREE characters in a row which have attacked my character without provocation. I am currently working with the GM to absolutely screw his character over, something the GM is gleeful to do.

[Coidzor]

The Creative Accountant
This player has a character with no stats below 15. In a 28 point buy. Can make a Move Silent check of 27 by rolling a 2. At first level. The Creative Accountant doesn't like other people to see his character sheet and often picks up his freshly rolled dice before anyone else at the table has a chance to see what he actually rolled.

Now that's just blatant cheating. I certainly hope you guys learned from that experience damn quick. As in, the first time he tried to pull that in the first session.

[Superglucose]

Where is the DM disaster thread? I can't find it in any searches...

[arguskos]

Where is the DM disaster thread? I can't find it in any searches...
Top of Page 2 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151783) :smalltongue:

[Math_Mage]

I'm surprised Mr. Did Not Do the Research didn't get his own archetype yet...

The n00b
A newb player is one who just started playing and doesn't really know the rules yet--no problem, as long as he wises up. A n00b player is one who really should know better by now, but keeps asking why the wizard can cast spells without provoking an attack of opportunity, or why he can't charge that guy on the other side of the trees. Expect a good deal of exasperated muttering and eye-rolling as this player tries to take three standard actions a turn and use Smite Evil on slaadi. N00bs are almost always calculators, not because they're bad at math, but because they simply don't know what numbers they're supposed to be using to begin with.

[Trouvere]

Like a passive-agressive Chessmaster, and much more commonly encountered in PbP games, C3PO informs everyone of the precise odds of their chosen course of action succeeding, usually with the silent implication that they could have chosen better.

"I think you have about an 11% chance of tripping the ogre."

"If you forgo your full attack to move into a flanking position with the rogue, then our chance of dropping the monster before its next turn increases from 32.7% to 36.8%."

He generally just likes to keep track of numbers. "Did you know your last set of d20 rolls were 3, 4, 2, 1, 1, 5, 12, 1, 4, 2, 4? The chance of rolling so badly is 1 in 170,000."

We've all met him. Or been him. Haven't we? Oh. Just me then.

His nemesis is a subcategory of The Astonishingly Bad Tactician. This guy is so awful because he gets just so excited by the thought of tossing that bouncing, sparkling shiny die across the table (or clicking the Roll! button online) that he entirely forgets that his character has several different types of action available in a round. No, he can't stop to think, he can't wait to make that attack roll. What will it be? He's all standard action, all the time, so he fails to give flanking bonuses, blocks lines of charge, lets new enemies in through the doorway, all for want of announcing a 5' step.

[WeeFreeMen]

St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere
When everyone else is playing the game, they are texting or playing with apps. When it is their turn, they are texting or playing with apps. We are here to play pen and paper RPG, thank you very much.

^This. Always this, when I DM. I have now banned laptops and phones (being out in hands) while we are in play. So distracting and so downgrading. If I put so much effort into making a damned campaign, you could ATLEAST PRETEND to listen. Instead of "Freaking awesome, I hit lv80!" -_-; WoW..

/End rant.

[Killer Angel]

He's almost a cheater, in some way...

Mr. Everywhere

No matter the situation, his character will ever be in the most favourable(or secure) position to act, accordingly to the current situation. If the DM starts describing a room (as before a combat), Mr Everywhere will be the last in line of the group... but when the DM describe something little, interesting to see, Mr Everywhere suddenly will be alongside the first in line. If there's need, he can declare that he goes out of the inn, starting from his room on the second floor, taking for granted that he can do that with a single move, possibly with a standard action left. The use of minis, can mitigate the problem.

[paddyfool]

The nervous puppet

This player is so lacking in confidence in their abilities to play that they end up doing whatever other players suggest, and expecting help with any decisions. When suggestions aren't forthcoming, they get stuck in an agony of indecision. Their feelings may well be partially justified (see also newb/n00b, or Astonishingly Bad Tactician), but are also strongly self-reinforcing, as their dependency on other players or the DM to tell them what to do can be all too habit-forming. As far as the party is concerned, their character might as well be a party NPC except that they slow things down more.

Best addressed by frequent praise for even halfway decent independent actions, clarifying any rules or other confusion that may be slowing them down, and making a real effort to not offer advice too quickly - baby steps, basically.

[BobVosh]

The Warmonger
Probably a subclass of The Bored, also often found as any variety of The Munchkin this player only is really interactive in combat. He is willing to tolerate the game session until combat. Then he can match numbers in the game to prove his vast superiority over the DM's numbers.

The Author
Loves to pass the DM notes. Usually about nothing really important, but the other characters aren't there so they can't know. Especially annoying in a non-PVP game where the character they are playing is just going to tell the party everything they were doing anyway. Bonus points if they get upset you didn't remember something that went on in their notes that they didn't tell you.

[Paulus]

Too Much Spice.

A hybrid of The Monk and I'm Trying to Help! This player is great, he is a wondrous roleplayer, outstanding tactician, and really nice, helpful person. His character is tailor made to the DM's Campaign in every way and fits seamlessly into the world, story and plot, he has a rich story with multiple possibilities for the DM to use and he will often happily jump at any of the plot hooks available even to the point of metagaming to help the DM keep his story going. He makes sure his character can fill a support role to the T, and he always manages to get along with everybody elses character in the quickest and easiest ways. This would be great, if it didn't lead to characters that were either so subtly great and helpful in any situation they make all the other characters seem bland or spread so thin to compensate for being ready for anything they were too weak or underpowered compared to the rest of the party and can't keep up when the DM has to switch up his game, or when he jumps on nothing thinking it is a plot hook, or when he jumps on everything and can't handle the numerous story branches. This player adds so much good stuff its actually too good and turns out to be bad for you. Two guesses on why I know this so well... *blush*

[Ravens_cry]

You know, I have noticed a lot of these 'bad players' are merely hall marks of people who are simply newer at this. It takes time to get used to a completely new paradigm of gaming, where even the most tightly plotted game will still have more freedom then most 'rpg' video games. I know newbies can be frustrating. But give us time.
You were like us once.

[Superglucose]

You know, I have noticed a lot of these 'bad players' are merely hall marks of people who are simply newer at this. It takes time to get used to a completely new paradigm of gaming, where even the most tightly plotted game will still have more freedom then most 'rpg' video games. I know newbies can be frustrating. But give us time.
You were like us once.
I was a newbie once. It took me about half a session to figure out how the following worked:

Attacks of Opportunity
Vancian Casting
Basics of Combat (including attack, damage, etc., actions in combat)
Stats
Leveling Up
Skill Points
Space and Reach

Maybe I'm just a super genius, but if we've been playing for months and I still have to explain that yes, you can move up to someone and cast Cure Light Wounds in the same turn then you have ceased being a newbie and have become a noob. And I, like everyone who is sane, hate noobs with a passion.

[Paulus]

The Hormonal Power Ranger

This player always has to include sex in the game even if the world doesn't call for it or nobody else is comfortable with it. At the very least points out innuendos where there are none, will take deliberately derisive action which on the whole seem innocent but make everyone feel dirty afterward, or constantly skirting the flagrantly vulgar with "Hey, I'm just joking!" Trope named from the disastrous career choices and affiliations of previous power rangers and the ever constant "Make my monster grow!"

[The Glyphstone]

The Hormonal Power Ranger
constantly skirting the fragrantly vulgar with "Hey, I'm just joking!"

Since I think you meant 'flagrantly', this is an awesome typo.:smallbiggrin: The 'fragrantly vulgar' player is the one who always comes to games without showering and after eating Mexican food for breakfast, lunch, and probably dinner.:smallcool:

[Umael]

"No, You're Doing It All Wrong!", aka, The Interferer

This player will criticize and critique everyone. The NPCs, the GM, the PCs... everything is just wrong! Then they will point out why they are doing it all wrong and what they should be doing, and why, and how much better it would be this way.

[Paulus]

Since I think you meant 'flagrantly', this is an awesome typo.:smallbiggrin: The 'fragrantly vulgar' player is the one who always comes to games without showering and after eating Mexican food for breakfast, lunch, and probably dinner.:smallcool:

That or I meant he was strongly, overpoweringly vulgar. Or he just stinks at it. But yeah, I'll totally change it.:smalltongue:

[Mordar]

Ooh, I have one to contribute: the One-Legged Cheetah.

The One-Legged Cheetah is related to the Real Roleplayer. Where the Real Roleplayer latches onto a character concept and stays on like a dire wolverine, the One-Legged Cheetah deliberately makes characters that are weak, even useless, claiming that it makes for "better roleplay". Instead, it just makes them a load to the rest of the party - both in and out of character.

We always called this person:
The Pink Ninja
The Pink Ninja always has to have a massive-impact characteristic that clearly shows how unstereotypical that character must be...the pacifist barbarian, the tank-that-only-wears-leather, the healer that never, you know, "heals", or the eponymous stealth character that dresses in bright pink bodysuits. A derivation of the Real Roleplayer, to be sure, but this one is hellbent to be unique, just like all the other kids that shop at Hot Topic...

[Gnaeus]

We always called this person:
The Pink Ninja

Yeah!

We always had the most trouble with them in LARPs. In a 5 person game a DM can spend a lot of time crafting a story around your uniqueness. In a 100 person larp, or worse a nationwide game, not everyone can be a special snowflake. Whether it is a werewolf who learned that tolerance is a virtue, a wareador who has given up art to hit things really fast, or the ever popular rogue Tremere, you have to have more of the normal thing than the aberrant archetype defying thing or it makes no sense!

[Ravens_cry]

I was a newbie once. It took me about half a session to figure out how the following worked:

Attacks of Opportunity
Vancian Casting
Basics of Combat (including attack, damage, etc., actions in combat)
Stats
Leveling Up
Skill Points
Space and Reach

Maybe I'm just a super genius, but if we've been playing for months and I still have to explain that yes, you can move up to someone and cast Cure Light Wounds in the same turn then you have ceased being a newbie and have become a noob. And I, like everyone who is sane, hate noobs with a passion.
The basics yes. And maybe you are super genius, because some of those actions in combat, like grappling, can be quite complicated.
But either way, D&D 3.5 is a quite complicated game, especially if your used to playing video games that do all the maths for you.

[Il_Vec]

A person who games with me, is a Calculator...
While I tend to write down and pre-calculate all possible attack modes of my characters (Like: charging, leap attacking, in rage, enlarged, w/ bull's strenght, etc) and other useful modifiers (DM dubbed that part of my sheet "Moves List"), I often see him playing with his cleric and going: "Oh, um, well, that's +3 ST, + 8 BAB, + 2 magic enhancement, for + 13. Oh, +15, I'm flanking. Make that a + 20, I forgot Divine Power. Wait, take 2 for Power Attack.", at least once per encounter... Not so bad, really, but writing it down once would do the trick.

[lyko555]

what about the cloner
These ppl make an identical character in every new game they play in. As three seperate campaigns in this person still insists on playing the Wood elf druid with a wolf animal compainion and god help you if you should suggest they try something else.

also That Creepy Guy
You know the one im talking about its the guy who plays a female character, but tries ingame to hide the fact that she is female. This person will frequently become up set over the fact that no on is suprised that A, he was playing a female B, that his dark hooded mysteryman was a woman, and C, that no one will hit on his high charisma'd Female.

[Gnaeus]

[QUOTE=lyko555;8467115]what about the cloner
These ppl make an identical character in every new game they play in. As three seperate campaigns in this person still insists on playing the Wood elf druid with a wolf animal compainion and god help you if you should suggest they try something else.

Bonus points if they insist on using the same stats from their previous dead character because it wouldn't be Fredrick the Green without those 3 18s.

[Umael]

The Cemetary Filler:
Whether by accident or on purpose, this guy can never keep a character alive more than three sessions... and that's pushing it. He is known for playing multiple characters in a single session because they keep dying. Plot points can evolve out of trying to keep his latest character from being made into plant mulch. Six clones just isn't enough in Paranoia, and even in Toon, he shows you that it is possible for his characters to die after all. Throughout all of this, he tends to show no sign of improving his social or tactical inepitude.

(And yes, I have encountered this player before. He would cheat (badly), behave inappropriately (in-character) and generally abuse the fact that his characters made mayflies look like Galápagos tortoises (in two years of gaming, he had something like 400 character deaths). Unfortunately, this was the Camarilla back in the day, and anyone was allowed to play, so long as they were a member, i.e., the storytellers could not refuse him unless he, the player, broke an out-of-character rule badly enough.)

[Gnaeus]

(And yes, I have encountered this player before. He would cheat (badly), behave inappropriately (in-character) and generally abuse the fact that his characters made mayflies look like Galápagos tortoises (in two years of gaming, he had something like 400 character deaths). Unfortunately, this was the Camarilla back in the day, and anyone was allowed to play, so long as they were a member, i.e., the storytellers could not refuse him unless he, the player, broke an out-of-character rule badly enough.)

Wow, you guys must have played all the time. Our lemming record was 3 deaths for the same player in one night, but that wouldn't have risen to anything like 400 deaths in 2 years.

[Ravens_cry]

The Cemetary Filler:
Whether by accident or on purpose, this guy can never keep a character alive more than three sessions... and that's pushing it. He is known for playing multiple characters in a single session because they keep dying. Plot points can evolve out of trying to keep his latest character from being made into plant mulch. Six clones just isn't enough in Paranoia, and even in Toon, he shows you that it is possible for his characters to die after all. Throughout all of this, he tends to show no sign of improving his social or tactical inepitude.

(And yes, I have encountered this player before. He would cheat (badly), behave inappropriately (in-character) and generally abuse the fact that his characters made mayflies look like Galápagos tortoises (in two years of gaming, he had something like 400 character deaths). Unfortunately, this was the Camarilla back in the day, and anyone was allowed to play, so long as they were a member, i.e., the storytellers could not refuse him unless he, the player, broke an out-of-character rule badly enough.)
Hide behind the pile of dead bards.:smalltongue:
I wasn't this bad, or bad in the other ways mentioned, but early on I went through a lot of characters. I think it was 5 in a single campaign, then two in the next, and we never got above level 5 before we quit the campaign. I have improved though. I have a Pathfinder paladin at 13th level, and he has only died once, possibly the archer not adding a bonus they had, and was brought back. Life is good.

[UglyPanda]

The eternal newbie:While some players are new and some players take a while to learn how to play a game, this player is neither yet has all the bad qualities of both.

Essentially, this is a player who steadfastly refuses to learn the rules of a game, despite having played for years. This player will continually insist that actually taking the time out to learn the rules isn't important, despite having the worst aspects of The Calculator and The Chessmaster because he/she never knows what he/she is supposed to be doing at any time.

[Umael]

Wow, you guys must have played all the time. Our lemming record was 3 deaths for the same player in one night, but that wouldn't have risen to anything like 400 deaths in 2 years.

There were something like four games per week when things were at its hottest, but even then it didn't last that long and he would have been forced to travel to various other cities to play.

(For the record, I think I am overestimating it - but I am afraid I am not. The first time I heard of any many PCs had gotten killed, the number was more than 200. A little later, I heard it had climbed to more than 300. Last weekend, someone who knew better claimed he saw the actual official number, and yes, it was something like 400+ within a two year span.)

One guy told me had he had personally killed three of this guy's characters in the space of half an hour because this lemming had screwed up that badly in-character.

The first time, the lemming was harassing this guy's girlfriend IC. After a while, the guy, IC, told the lemming to knock it off. The lemming took a swing at him with his Grand Klaive. Too bad the lemming was a starting character, whereas the other guy had something like two years worth of experience on his character. Death #1.

So the lemming goes back, "makes"* a new character, comes back, and harasses the guy's girlfriend (IC) again, including making several (IC) sexual advances/sexual assaults on her. While within 10' of the aforementioned boyfriend. Death #2.

The lemming goes back to the drawing board, "makes"* a new character and shows up... with a Black Spiral Dancer tattoo showing on his chest. The guy didn't even hesitate. Death #3.

* - "Make" is being liberally used. I don't think he had a character history, ever, and his way of making a new character was the Fredrick the Green method, where he would erase one or two things, write something new in, and then submit it to the storyteller for approval.

[Ravens_cry]

A remora is basically a fish with a sucker on its head, which lives by latching onto bigger stuff (whales, sharks, manta rays) and taking out scraps of food. "Quirk remora" would suggest a player latching onto a quirk and not letting go, passively riding it without any work.
Have some on a nurse shark, courtesy of wikipedia.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Nurse_shark_with_remoras.jpg
Oh, OK, I got you. I knew what a remora was, but it was still confusing.
Thank you for the explanation.

[holywhippet]

He's almost a cheater, in some way...

Mr. Everywhere

No matter the situation, his character will ever be in the most favourable(or secure) position to act, accordingly to the current situation. If the DM starts describing a room (as before a combat), Mr Everywhere will be the last in line of the group... but when the DM describe something little, interesting to see, Mr Everywhere suddenly will be alongside the first in line. If there's need, he can declare that he goes out of the inn, starting from his room on the second floor, taking for granted that he can do that with a single move, possibly with a standard action left. The use of minis, can mitigate the problem.

Heh, the latest Knights of the Dinner table issue has two of the characters getting called out on this trick.

I've only encountered one of this player type, but I'm sure there's more out there:

Fluff Monster

Talks endlessly and incessantly about the fluff aspect of what their character is actually doing and looks like. When it comes to actually understanding the rules they look at their sheet/rulebook with something close to bafflement half the time.

[Superglucose]

The basics yes. And maybe you are super genius, because some of those actions in combat, like grappling, can be quite complicated.
But either way, D&D 3.5 is a quite complicated game, especially if your used to playing video games that do all the maths for you.
I don't include grapples as "basics" :smallbiggrin:

But seriously there comes a point when they're either just not trying to learn or they can't learn.

[Ravens_cry]

Heh, the latest Knights of the Dinner table issue has two of the characters getting called out on this trick.

I am sure we have all are guilty of it at least once.
We all want to see the Cool New Thing, but not get blasted to bits by it when it blows up. But you're not there, you're getting drunk! (http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/90046)

[JonestheSpy]

I'd say that some of these types, like the munchkin or the Princess, are at least 50% the DM's fault for not quashing such behavior immediately.

[holywhippet]

I am sure we have all are guilty of it at least once.[/URL]

Can't say I've ever done it. If anything I've had the opposite happen - when my character heard that a nearby farm was under attack I took off immediately. The other character still had to put on armour and generally faff about - and they were still mysteriously right on my heels when I arrived.

[Ravens_cry]

Can't say I've ever done it. If anything I've had the opposite happen - when my character heard that a nearby farm was under attack I took off immediately. The other character still had to put on armour and generally faff about - and they were still mysteriously right on my heels when I arrived.
Dramatic necessity. You have seen it in the movies, how the baddies are 'just behind' no matter how long the heroes spend doing something.
Also, splitting the party is difficult for player and DM, so minor issues in timing are hand waved and ignored.

[Il_Vec]

I am a lemming player. In our actual campaign, going over one year, 3 of my chars died horribly. Out of that, I keep a "Death Count" in my current character sheet, now marking "16". Yes, the same character died 16 times, and it was NOT by any means fault of the GM.

Aside from that, I used to game with a "cloner", who over 4 campaigns played the exact same Dwarven Defender named "Broli" 8+ times.

[Superglucose]

also That Creepy Guy
You know the one im talking about its the guy who plays a female character, but tries ingame to hide the fact that she is female. This person will frequently become up set over the fact that no on is suprised that A, he was playing a female B, that his dark hooded mysteryman was a woman, and C, that no one will hit on his high charisma'd Female.
Actually had someone play a Mulan-type character and it worked out really well.

[Touchy]

The Cemetary Filler:
Whether by accident or on purpose, this guy can never keep a character alive more than three sessions... and that's pushing it. He is known for playing multiple characters in a single session because they keep dying. Plot points can evolve out of trying to keep his latest character from being made into plant mulch. Six clones just isn't enough in Paranoia, and even in Toon, he shows you that it is possible for his characters to die after all. Throughout all of this, he tends to show no sign of improving his social or tactical inepitude.

(And yes, I have encountered this player before. He would cheat (badly), behave inappropriately (in-character) and generally abuse the fact that his characters made mayflies look like Galápagos tortoises (in two years of gaming, he had something like 400 character deaths). Unfortunately, this was the Camarilla back in the day, and anyone was allowed to play, so long as they were a member, i.e., the storytellers could not refuse him unless he, the player, broke an out-of-character rule badly enough.)
I am this kind of player.
Spoiler of recent deaths.
I die about every two sessions in my 4e game, I'm seriously trying to build the character right damn it, but I always end up focusing on something stupid(Like an intimidation sorcerer warforged who yelled at all the meatbags, it was fun but even the players murdered me because I rolled horrible*. Right now just building up a fighter, because I have never given defenders much of a go. I'm fairly certain it's my dice, because at level 8 with a +15 to hit on a ranged ranger I couldn't hit much, and I couldn't do much damage, considering we were fighting ghosts. That and the DM likes status effects. I'm fairly certain it's my dice, but I did a small test and saw I got an average of 10.

*Literally, I play with stupid evil players. It's semi-annoying but I got used to it.

In 3.5 I can be a bit of a cloner, I really only have one character I do it with, and I do have the ability to play something else. I also change the build as well, but it's a full caster kobold who considers himself to be a "true dragon" and talks in third person.

[Boci]

Actually had someone play a Mulan-type character and it worked out really well.

Probably because they weren't disapointed when someone didn't hit on their character.

[Superglucose]

I am the anti-lemming apparently. I can't not go to game without it being either a TPK or sitting around fighting solo goblins for three hours.

[Arbane]

We always called this person:
The Pink Ninja
The Pink Ninja always has to have a massive-impact characteristic that clearly shows how unstereotypical that character must be...the pacifist barbarian, the tank-that-only-wears-leather, the healer that never, you know, "heals", or the eponymous stealth character that dresses in bright pink bodysuits. A derivation of the Real Roleplayer, to be sure, but this one is hellbent to be unique, just like all the other kids that shop at Hot Topic...

AKA, the Special Snowflake.

An even more annoying variation of the Snowflake is the Black Hole Sue--a character who's SO Special and Unique that their presence in the group actually distorts the plot to justify their presence, much like the space around a black hole is distorted by its gravity.
Examples include playing a (genuine) pacifist in a kick-in-the-door game, a drunken berserker in a game about courtly politics, or a vampire in a game of Werewolf: the Apocalypse.

[Arbane]

His nemesis is a subcategory of The Astonishingly Bad Tactician. This guy is so awful because he gets just so excited by the thought of tossing that bouncing, sparkling shiny die across the table (or clicking the Roll! button online) that he entirely forgets that his character has several different types of action available in a round. No, he can't stop to think, he can't wait to make that attack roll. What will it be? He's all standard action, all the time, so he fails to give flanking bonuses, blocks lines of charge, lets new enemies in through the doorway, all for want of announcing a 5' step.

For this guy who just loves rolling dice in combat, how about either The Gambler or Da Ork (For you Warhammer fans)?

[Thurbane]

I occasionally turn into this, but only a very mild form, like "Power Attack on your wizard doesn't seem like a good idea, maybe you should try Extend Spell." (obviously not a real example). A few people in my party do ask me for my opinion anyway.

That's me because my current party is made up of four of these:
...oh, it's not a problem when people use it sparingly, or are genuinely helpful to those who need it...but it can become exceedingly annoying when done to excess. Especially when it comes to telling people how they should roleplay their own characters.

It always infuriates me when someone says "Oh, you're an X aligned characer of Y class and Z race. You should play your character this way...". Or the infamous "Your character wouldn't do that!". How about you let me play my character, bud, and you play yours. If the DM thinks there is a problem with how I'm playing my character, I'm sure he'll let me know. :smallfurious:

[Kalaska'Agathas]

AKA, the Special Snowflake.

An even more annoying variation of the Snowflake is the Black Hole Sue--a character who's SO Special and Unique that their presence in the group actually distorts the plot to justify their presence, much like the space around a black hole is distorted by its gravity.
Examples include playing a (genuine) pacifist in a kick-in-the-door game, a drunken berserker in a game about courtly politics, or a vampire in a game of Werewolf: the Apocalypse.

That one takes a deft hand and significant improvisational ability, but it can be done. Possibly one of the greatest characters I've had the honor of partying with.

[Thajocoth]

Realist

This player doesn't like any moment where the game feels like a game. The physics and situations must be realistic. An example scenario: The PCs are lost in a desert. A random NPC finding the PCs in the middle of the desert? Too unlikely. Unacceptable. The PCs just happen across an oasis? Nope. The only possibility is that they keep rolling skill checks until they figure out how to navigate by the stars, probably starving to death in the process, resulting in TPK. However, it's not their campaign, which means they're arguing with the DM constantly because the DM is trying to make the game fun for the rest of the group.

[Lycan 01]

For this guy who just loves rolling dice in combat, how about either The Gambler or Da Ork (For you Warhammer fans)?

We'll call him The Gambler. Here's Da Ork.


Da Ork

More Dakka! This player likes guns, explosions, and destruction. To an unhealthy extreme. Sure, sometimes a mission calls for heavy support or a little bit of demolitions. But that's no reason to have an SAW slung under each shoulder, two RPGs strapped to your back, a crate of C4 bolted to your chest, key codes to an orbital laser strike, and a failsafe grenade in your right pocket. All to go pick up a pizza. Be sure to have plenty of dice on hand for these guys...


I'm an Ork. :smallredface:


The Wall'o'Texter

Backgrounds are cool. But not when they're five pages long. Its great to see players who really get into their characters, and want them to have in depth backgrounds and origins. But when its several pages of information in response to a request for one or two paragraphs, that's pushing it. Now, normally this isn't too much of a problem. But then there are the players who slip important details into these novellas that the whole party should know about, but doesn't have the time/desire to read through everything. How was the Paladin of Bahamut supposed to know you were molested by a Monk of Bahamut when you were 14?! That was on page 4 of your background, which he never even got a chance to read! What?! Since when do you have split personalities?! PAGE 5?!?!

[Flickerdart]

If you ever bothered to read the sheet, its length is entirely justified by page 17, y'know. :smalltongue:

[Arbane]

That one takes a deft hand and significant improvisational ability, but it can be done. Possibly one of the greatest characters I've had the honor of partying with.

That sounds like an interesting story!

But yeah, I'm talking more about when it's done _badly_.

[Katana_Geldar]

Here's a variant from the DM's thread.

The Backseat Driver

This player usually is the regular DM or is used to DMing and will drive the game away from where the DM is prepared to take it. Basically, they want to make the game how they would run it, and sometimes metagame about the "purposes" of different situations.
This person can be a rules lawyer, but isn't always.

I am guilty of this, but it was from a bad decision on the DM's part. I merely exploited the fact that he had an NPC paying us BEFORE we can completed a job.

[RandomLunatic]

The Canon Lawyer
A distant relative of the Rules Lawyer that sometimes plagues GMs trying to run a game set in an established setting, like Forgotten Realms or Star Wars. But instead of reading the the rulebooks, the Canon Lawyer has watched every TV epsiode, seen every movie, and read every word ever printed on the setting, ever. And he can and will bring the gaming session to a grinding halt frantically protesting that a given character could not possibly be in a certain location at a given time because according to the mighty canon, at this particular moment, he is supposed to be leading a critical charge in the Battle of Lots of People Dying, fought between the Generic Alliance and the United Concordat of Nobodycares.

[Killer Angel]

I am sure we have all are guilty of it at least once.


Oh, yes, I'm guilty of it a couple of times, but one of my friend is more costant in such behaviour.
Once (still AD&D, no minis) we were in a noble's house, sneaking in during night, and he was (judging from his declarations) at the top of the stairs, at the bottom, and near the window looking outside. At the same moment.
The DM pressed him, and was very funny to watch him trying to defend (without success) his triple position. :smallbiggrin: