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View Full Version : DM Help Request for Advice



Shishoka
2014-04-15, 10:47 AM
I had an issue with a problem player and it ended my game before it even started. I was starting up a d20 and started getting players assembled. One player, after expressing interest, began trying to convince me to convert the game to GURPS. I'm not familiar with GURPS personally and told him that I didn't feel comfortable using it. He immediately demanded that I make him the DM. After refusing and convincing him to give me and my game a chance I thought the matter was settled. Then character creation began. While I wasn't present he stepped in and convinced the other players to start rolling up GURPS characters. He then stated that if they all insisted that I use that system then I would be forced to because "a DM without players is powerless." He was the only one who was actually dead set on the game becoming GURPS and when I confronted him about this he once more demanded to be made DM and it ended in a fight that destroyed the game. Everyone quit. I quit.

How do I deal with a player like this, for future reference?

hymer
2014-04-15, 10:53 AM
You don't play with him again. There's really nothing else to do, you have to give new players some trust before they've earned it to build some sort of working gaming dynamic. This guy took your trust and ran off with it, and that's the risk you take when you deal with people.
I'd suggest picking up the pieces of the other players that are willing and start the process over.

Edit: Of course, handling that final confrontation where everything blew up could be something one might be able to improve on in theory. In practice it depends a lot on the people involved, and the exact circumstances. The fact that you were the one who got people together for a specific purpose ought to have meant something to the other players.
In the future, you could be more hands on with the character creation process of players you don't know yet. Apparently, the problem player was closer to the other players in this phase than you were.

But what are the odds you'll ever have this problem again? It's quite unlikely.