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LordMalrog
2007-08-17, 06:18 PM
You know... for the last couple weeks, one of my teammates... no matter what scenerio (between several WoD & DnD scenarios) he's been... homicidal. For little reasons. He's attempted to kill important PCs and NPCs and me and another party member have decided that it's due to he feels inadequete. Personally, i DM/ST some of these scenarios, so it is really getting on my nerves. So far, i've set up a karma system, that alters events around a character dependent on their karma. Alot of stuff has happened, and well... if he doesn't shape up then his pcs will start dropping like flys. (the karmas are not interconnected between campaigns) Any ideas Gents...?

AslanCross
2007-08-17, 06:21 PM
Get him sucked into the Abyss, where chaotic evil belongs? D:

horseboy
2007-08-17, 06:32 PM
Send his char to jail and let him sit on the couch while everybody else plays. :smallwink:

Logic
2007-08-17, 06:38 PM
Talk to him about disruptive roleplaying. Just because his characters are mind-numb psychopaths that does not make it fun for everyone else.

Sir Jason
2007-08-17, 06:39 PM
We had a player that kept getting us into bad bits. So I was playing a half-dragon barb in a party with him, and he decides to run into a room full of snakes without thinking (he was a wizard...). After we killed them, I took the largest one, and pinned it onto his chest, asking why he was trying to get us killed. Seeing as how I was a ragin, half-dragon barbarian, and he was a venerable elf wizard, there was no way for him to get up. After several minutes of intense interrogation, the actual player stormed out of the game. I admit, this may have been a drastic measure on my part, but I think a tactic like this might convince your bud here to stop bullying others, least he be bullied himself. I like giant pythons, but Im sure you can incapacitate his character in game in many other fun and saddistic ways that'll get the point accross.

Arbitrarity
2007-08-17, 06:48 PM
Hey, was that the game I was in? I'm a bard, you're that barbarian... hello :smallbiggrin:

Faugh. Homicidal? That was YOU. "Grapple-hug!" 15 nonlethal damage!

Orzel
2007-08-17, 06:58 PM
Last guy who went homicidal got a magical force leash of calm emotions when outside of battle 'round his neck.

Ashtar
2007-08-17, 07:42 PM
Go and have a drink with your player and talk it over; ask him maybe if there is a reason he is acting this way?

Behold_the_Void
2007-08-17, 08:00 PM
Also, there should be real-world repercussions. People who go around slaughtering innocents tend to draw the attention of good-aligned adventuring groups, paladins, good-aligned clergy, various legal systems, and other fun organizations.

Tallis
2007-08-17, 08:01 PM
Ultimately talking is usually the best way to handle problems. If that doesn't work the other PCs will usually get fed up and handle the situation.
I also recommend that the world react appropriately to their actions. If they are killing people then the law should be looking for them. Throw him in jail for murder. Confiscate his property to pay back the family of the murder victims. Execute him if it's appropriate. If his characters actions have serious (reasonable) consequences he might learn to control himself.

Why do you think he feels inadequate? Maybe you could put him in a situation that highlights his abilities. Preferably in a way that clearly discourages killing. Create an adventure that requires the party to capture, not kill, someone and make sure he is an important part of the planning process (work with the other player on this). Give him an integral assignment in the plan.

Matthew
2007-08-17, 08:21 PM
Another vote for "talk it over with him outside the game, if a compromise cannot be reached, dump him from the game."

PaladinBoy
2007-08-17, 09:09 PM
Personally, as a DM, I prefer to handle this by giving the character appropriate consequences for his actions, as people have already suggested.

I'd talk to him first, though. Ask him why he's doing this. If he didn't realize how annoying it was, then he can stop, no harm done. If he refuses to stop, then your character can start preventing him from murdering people. With force if necessary.

Machete
2007-08-17, 09:10 PM
Kill his character until he gets it.

Xuincherguixe
2007-08-17, 10:11 PM
I'm all for mass murder, but not if it's impeding other peoples fun. Ideally you can come up with a compromise where at some point the game gets murderific, and the guy can just blast those guys.

If the guy can't work with others he should just stick to Counterstrike or the likes.

TheElfLord
2007-08-17, 11:15 PM
Talk to him about disruptive roleplaying. Just because his characters are mind-numb psychopaths that does not make it fun for everyone else.

Quoted for Truth. Whenever you have a problem with a character talk to the player about it first before asigning in game concequences.

PlatinumJester
2007-08-18, 06:22 AM
Kill him. Slowly.

ShneekeyTheLost
2007-08-18, 06:29 AM
I had a problem like this, here was my solution...

I had a 'random' encounter with a starving beggar asking for food or a few meager coppers. Mr. Anger Management went all Hulk Smash...

the starving beggar was actually Bahamat who was testing the personal integrity of various peoples, handing out rewards to particularly generous sorts. He was rather upset by this behavior, so he cursed the bloodthirsty guy... he is no longer allowed to make a hostile action. He is incapable of it, he just can't make himself do it. He can want to as much as he likes, but until someone attacks him first, he cannot raise his hand in anger, except in certain, very specific cases (smiting the unjust was a clause, causing this bloodthirsty barbarian to get a reputation as a holy paladin later by the voracity with which he slew vile and evil things like demons and murderous bandits).

This was a Diethic Curse, so Remove Curse doesn't work. Not even Miracle will work until he changes his attittude.

Edit: Ever read Oathbound or Oathbreaker by Mercedes Lackey? one of 'em had a sword called Need, which forced them to go out of their way to defend women and refused to be used against women. It was an extremely powerful magic item, however... game effect would likely be either Tensor's Transformation at will for mages or AMF as an always-on effect for non-casters. Do something similar. let him get a powerful but geased weapon which will be unable to be used save in hostile situations, and forces him to go out and do good deeds.

Threeshades
2007-08-18, 10:47 AM
We're playing mostly evil parties (and most players prefer going for chaotic on the other alignment axis) and so most of our players particularly find their bliss in slaughtering innocent imaginary people.

So for the party it is little of a problem if one or more characters go on a killing spree. (its more of a problem that my rogue likes to hoard all the treasure and only gives stuff to the others if its a particular enrichment to the party in their hands) However. IF there is an NPC that the DM (which is in one party me and in the other a friend of mine) doesnt want to get killed, we usually make them way more powerful than the PCs. For example the main NPCs in my story are a great wyrm red dragon (i havent completely decided what age category, but something thats way too powerful for them right now at least) and a lvl 15 Lich, the party is lvl 4 or 5 now. So actually ive gone a bit too far on their power level but the party shuld level up a klot before i let them fight any of them. And if you dont want them to go on a rampage in your towns i recommend the town guard to be higher level than the PCs too.

A nice way to keep them away from assassinating important npcs is giving them some victims to live out their urges on. i gave my party a farmer to kill after they fought some dire hamsters for the farmer.

Roog
2007-08-19, 02:08 AM
Any ideas Gents...?

Three things

1: Talk to him about it. (as is said in so many threads)

2: In game actions should have appropriate in game consequences. (The nature of the world, the setting, the genre and the story determine what is appropriate.)

3: If a players has a characters with back stories and connections to their communities, they tend not to go on random killing sprees because that is not the character they have created. If a players has a characters with no back stories or a story of isolation and disconnection, they are much more likely to kill people whenever they feel like it because the character they have created has no strong reason not to.
In my experience, creating a character who is appropriate to the type of game with a family and a history with friends and connection to the community etc. is a good way to encourage players who may (possibly without a deliberate choice) slip into a homicidal mind-frame for their character not to do so.