Sticky situation

[Ronnocius]

In my current game there has been a lot of chaos, particularly from one character. The player of the character in question (a neutral evil wood elf rogue) is new to the game and I believe that my current game is the first real campaign he has joined. Our game is online but he knows a few other players in real life. Anyways, the chaos of this character has included:

murdering tavern patrons for rebuffing him while they were having a private conversation
intimidating various shopkeepers and others
attempting to kill other party member (there is some justification for this)
tried to raid a sacred tomb
robbing random farmers
made attack against farmer's wife (claiming he would have thought she was an enemy; basically a flimsy excuse to kill someone the party was supposed to protect)
robbing more random farmers
killing rude innkeeper

At the start of the game I did not even realize his character was evil (had not paid attention to his alignment), it was about the fifth game session that this started. At first I did not think it would be a huge deal (it seemed like an occasional thing which I am fine with) but now it has taken over to the point where every session the character is causing trouble. Evil characters were not specifically disallowed (I had forgotten my 'try and have an alignment that will work with the party' line in the description of the game) but I also never advertised my game as an evil campaign.

When robbing the sacred tomb of Bahamut the character was given a choice after being sealed (for violating the property of Bahamut's long dead follower); pluck out an eye to pay for his crimes or die (the followers of Bahamut were rising as undead). It was basically my way of trying to give his character a way out while still having consequences and possibly causing him to stop committing crimes. Unfortunately his crimes have continued. I don't have a problem with evil characters but if it is random acts of violence it is annoying and wastes time in my opinion.

I have now messaged him about my concerns and asking him to tone it down or retire the character. Is this the correct way to resolve the situation? Is there some way to find a fun balance? Does anyone else have any tips? In the future I will nip it in the bud as soon as any evil activity starts.

[NecessaryWeevil]

I have now messaged him about my concerns and asking him to tone it down or retire the character. Is this the correct way to resolve the situation?
Yes, in my opinion.

[Son of A Lich!]

If the first session was okay, and the fifth session was bedlam, I'm guessing sessions 2-4 were in a dungeon of sorts?

From reading this through, it seems like he's got an idea of what a TTRPG is from what he can't do in video games. In a video game, "I can't pluck out eye balls and be really evil, I can only choose the least good option from the drop down menu" and here, he's given a ticket to do exactly as evil as he wants to be.

I'm guessing he was in a harsher environment, where evil wasn't really an option during the lull between the first and fifth session.

If you don't want to loose the player, and he isn't getting the message to tone it down clearly out of game talk (It may be that he is trying to play a truly evil character and doesn't know how to play it and part of a group), consider putting the party behind enemy lines. Rocks fall, everyone is in the Underdark and trying to escape to the surface, that kind of thing. This way you can show him an evil character that the party can have an alliance with (If he doesn't quite grasp how to play evil without going over the top), or you can keep him in a place where overt violence is going to be met with extreme retribution and he has to play nice to get out alive with his team mates (If he's just lashing out because he has a whole suite of combat abilities and doesn't 'get' anything else to do with Role Playing).

If you really want to muck with his head, give him a student. Someone that sees his brand of evil and wants to join in the fray. Sounds weird, right? won't that make the situation worse? Trust me, After the third or fourth time of having to explain his thought process behind the chaos he is creating, it'll make the player introspective. It's kind of a shady tactic, but with the right kind of player, it'll hit hard. This works best with face to face games, when you as the DM can ask him questions in character and he wants to answer out of character. Eventually, he'll try to kill the student, and there are a lot of different ways to work with that. It's a rakshasa in disguise and was genuinely interested in his endevors or The student is suprisingly high level despite his interest in the player, or The student is someone that can't just simply be killed on a whim (Like the son of local Duke, or something).

Y'know, just don't expect him to respond with reason to learning why he can't just kill his student. He'll probably try anyway. Then other people can start questioning why he killed his student. This is a world with speak with dead after all. The point is to get him to explain in character what he is doing.

You can also offer him advice to go try out with an improv theater class or group. Usually, they're comedic, but the law of "Yes And" tends to curb abuses like this.

Best of luck to your future games!

[sithlordnergal]

Talk to the player out of game and set up some harsher consequences for him and the party. You'd be surprised how effective peer pressure can be when used properly. Make sure the party knows his actions affect not just him, but his associates. For example:

- The player tried to raid a sacred tomb of Bahamut? Well, he and the party are marked by followers of Bahamut. If the party tries to interact with followers of Bahamut, and those followers find out the party is with that character, the party receives nothing at best. And are outright attacked at worst.

- He attacks local farmers? Welp, now he is a wanted criminal. And the more crimes he commits, the higher that bounty gets. Remember, in D&D there can always be a bigger fish. DMs do not need to create level appropriate challenges. You can send a CR 16 or higher in to capture a level 6 party if they have earned it.

- Killing someone the party had to protect? Welp, no payment for the party, and the party receives fewer well paying quests due to their reputation.

While talking to the player is the best option, eventually the rest of the party will get tired of the player's shenanigans and work to stop the player.

[Unoriginal]

Have you tried talking with your player about how his conduct is disruptive, while listening to his side of the argument?

[Ronnocius]

Thanks for the advice. I did private message the player in question and it seems they are now on the same page so the crisis is averted. The additional suggestions are helpful though, both as consequences for what has already occurred in game and for how to handle it in the future. I think evil games are fun but since this never was an evil game and he is the only evil character in the party it is starting to get increasingly hard to justify his character for me.

[ruy343]

The out-of-game solution you have performed is the correct course of action. Punishing players in-game only leads to hard feelings.

However, it would be wise to have this character's actions have consequences. Perhaps a bounty hunting wizard, with Web as one of their signature spells, would provide a sufficiently sticky situation :)