DRD1812
2018-07-05, 03:10 PM
It can't.
My full write-up on the subject lives below this comic (http://www.handbookofheroes.com/archives/comic/personality-conflict), but here's the TLDR:
You remember doing group projects back in school? Remember how the one guy was too controlling, the other guy didn’t do his share of the work, and the last guy flaked out on every other group meetup? I submit to you that gaming groups are subject to all of these same failings because all small groups are subject to these failings. It’s simply that most of us stop doing small-group projects once we get out of high school. That makes RPGs seem like a unique source of drama, prompting countless forum posts asking for advice for dealing with “problem players.” This flowchart (https://imgur.com/EwiChyD) is an effective summary of most of these threads.
The secret is that there’s no magic bullet to small group dynamics buried in RPGs. Changing the way you GM won’t magically make someone a better person. No amount of tweaking the rules or punishing bad behavior in-game can help. You’ve just got to talk it out like a human being.
Good luck out there, and happy gaming.
My full write-up on the subject lives below this comic (http://www.handbookofheroes.com/archives/comic/personality-conflict), but here's the TLDR:
You remember doing group projects back in school? Remember how the one guy was too controlling, the other guy didn’t do his share of the work, and the last guy flaked out on every other group meetup? I submit to you that gaming groups are subject to all of these same failings because all small groups are subject to these failings. It’s simply that most of us stop doing small-group projects once we get out of high school. That makes RPGs seem like a unique source of drama, prompting countless forum posts asking for advice for dealing with “problem players.” This flowchart (https://imgur.com/EwiChyD) is an effective summary of most of these threads.
The secret is that there’s no magic bullet to small group dynamics buried in RPGs. Changing the way you GM won’t magically make someone a better person. No amount of tweaking the rules or punishing bad behavior in-game can help. You’ve just got to talk it out like a human being.
Good luck out there, and happy gaming.