I'm at a lost on how to handle this. Please help!
Problem Characters (DM Suggestions Please)
Problem Characters (DM Suggestions Please)
Hi! I've been a DM off and on for about a year now and I have a problem with one of my newer players attitude. She prefers interaction with NPCs to combat, which is fine, but she has a bad habit of getting offended when the other players decide to speak to the NPCs as well. Like she appoints herself as the groups spokeswoman and expects the others to be silent while she works her charm. She then focuses on catching the NPC in a lie (even when there isn't one) and asks questions that puts the focus on the wrong thing... She really makes it hard for the others to enjoy the story-telling of our games.
I'm at a lost on how to handle this. Please help!
I'm at a lost on how to handle this. Please help!
There are two ways of looking at an issue like this: problems with the player and problems with the character.
From your description, it sounds like this is just a normal reaction of a new player trying to establish herself in an already formed group. As Gawain says, just take her aside and talk to her. When you do this, try to keep a few things in mind.
First, when talking to her privately like this, you're not a GM, you're a friend. Don't confront her, don't order her to change, and don't talk down to her. Say something like "there's been a bit of friction between [her character's name] and some of the other characters", and ask if she's noticed anything like that. If you can get her to realise/ suggest where the problem is coming from, without your having made an assumption, you have a much better chance of her adapting her behaviour.
Second, be aware that most of her reaction and play-style will be based on her past experiences. Try to find out what those were, so that you can better work around them. Perhaps in her last group no one took her seriously because she was the only female, so she had to bluster her way through to get anyone to listen to her. Maybe a past GM had a tendency to using lying NPCs to set up traps, so she just assumes that that is a standard part of the play-style. I have a friend who is a total rules-lawyer because he had a past GM who would change rules on the fly (eg. "no, you cannot do that even though it says you can in the book, because this world is different", then three months later an NPC does it).
I'd recommend that you invite her over early one session so that you can go over some character details, or fine-tune a private scenario. Unless you know her very well, this should be no more than half an hour. Make it a social visit if you can, so that she can relax. Be careful, though, because it is very easy for a guy to go from friendly to creepy when alone with a woman, and depending on how well you two know each other, you may not realise that you have crossed the line.
The other problem that you have, though, is the character. Even if everything goes well with the player, and she notices the issue and tones it down, you still have an established character who tends to distrust NPCs and focus on trivialities. Sure, she could change the character's personality and have everyone brush it off, but there are some very interesting things you can do if she doesn't. Moreover, what's most likely to happen is that you'll see a large change in her immediately, then she'll slowly slip into old habits, so learn to use that to your advantage. (Note: I'm not saying that you should allow her to take control, etc., I'm talking about character actions here, not player actions).
The fundamental thing to remember about GMing, and one of the hardest things for most GMs to learn, is that you need to make the campaign and story fit your players and characters, not the other way around. If she's constantly focusing on "catching the NPC in a lie" or putting "the focus on the wrong thing", then use that to your advantage. Don't get caught up in how she's ruining your precious story, but instead consider how her approach might improve the story.
For example, you might want to think about police confession techniques in real life. The reality is that everyone lies, and everyone has something to hide, but whatever it is may not be important or relevant. If you push hard enough, you will eventually hear everything something has to say. Say that you witness a car accident, but were not involved. When the police question you, they might notice odd behaviour and think that you were involved, when actually you'd just had a bit too drink. Not too much to drive, but enough that your testimony might be called into question. Or maybe you have a bunch of pirated films on your Flash drive that you're taking to a friend. Or maybe you're dating a girl whose father is a cop.
The point is, everyone has things to hide, and that should be just as true in a fantasy world. If she keeps pushing to find out an NPC's lies, then eventually they will tell her everything. Give some thought as to what that might be. Gossip, speculation, wild rumours, everything is on the table when you just want to please the nice lady.
Say they're talking to a fence who usually sets them up with small jobs, and she keeps pushing to find out what he's hiding. What she discovers is that he actually knows about five locations the party might be interested in, and is only telling her one. The others include two wild goose chases, one which turns out to be a non-magical family heirloom in a small fishing village (you'll never get rid of that smell), and one really extensive, trap-filled dungeon. (Don't give any advance indication about these, if they wanted quality information, they wouldn't have let her grill him).
If they run the dungeon, they'll end up with a magical artefact that they don't know how to use, and has nothing to do with their current quest. They'll also have an enemy that they don't know about: the rich noble who had hired the fence to find the location of that artefact. This could come back to haunt them for years, and that's even before you decide what nasty thing the relic is going to do to them.
The point of all this is that problem players need to be dealt with, but there's no such thing as a problem character. The more trouble a character causes, the more opportunities you have as a GM to use that character's disadvantages to manipulate the campaign.
From your description, it sounds like this is just a normal reaction of a new player trying to establish herself in an already formed group. As Gawain says, just take her aside and talk to her. When you do this, try to keep a few things in mind.
First, when talking to her privately like this, you're not a GM, you're a friend. Don't confront her, don't order her to change, and don't talk down to her. Say something like "there's been a bit of friction between [her character's name] and some of the other characters", and ask if she's noticed anything like that. If you can get her to realise/ suggest where the problem is coming from, without your having made an assumption, you have a much better chance of her adapting her behaviour.
Second, be aware that most of her reaction and play-style will be based on her past experiences. Try to find out what those were, so that you can better work around them. Perhaps in her last group no one took her seriously because she was the only female, so she had to bluster her way through to get anyone to listen to her. Maybe a past GM had a tendency to using lying NPCs to set up traps, so she just assumes that that is a standard part of the play-style. I have a friend who is a total rules-lawyer because he had a past GM who would change rules on the fly (eg. "no, you cannot do that even though it says you can in the book, because this world is different", then three months later an NPC does it).
I'd recommend that you invite her over early one session so that you can go over some character details, or fine-tune a private scenario. Unless you know her very well, this should be no more than half an hour. Make it a social visit if you can, so that she can relax. Be careful, though, because it is very easy for a guy to go from friendly to creepy when alone with a woman, and depending on how well you two know each other, you may not realise that you have crossed the line.
The other problem that you have, though, is the character. Even if everything goes well with the player, and she notices the issue and tones it down, you still have an established character who tends to distrust NPCs and focus on trivialities. Sure, she could change the character's personality and have everyone brush it off, but there are some very interesting things you can do if she doesn't. Moreover, what's most likely to happen is that you'll see a large change in her immediately, then she'll slowly slip into old habits, so learn to use that to your advantage. (Note: I'm not saying that you should allow her to take control, etc., I'm talking about character actions here, not player actions).
The fundamental thing to remember about GMing, and one of the hardest things for most GMs to learn, is that you need to make the campaign and story fit your players and characters, not the other way around. If she's constantly focusing on "catching the NPC in a lie" or putting "the focus on the wrong thing", then use that to your advantage. Don't get caught up in how she's ruining your precious story, but instead consider how her approach might improve the story.
For example, you might want to think about police confession techniques in real life. The reality is that everyone lies, and everyone has something to hide, but whatever it is may not be important or relevant. If you push hard enough, you will eventually hear everything something has to say. Say that you witness a car accident, but were not involved. When the police question you, they might notice odd behaviour and think that you were involved, when actually you'd just had a bit too drink. Not too much to drive, but enough that your testimony might be called into question. Or maybe you have a bunch of pirated films on your Flash drive that you're taking to a friend. Or maybe you're dating a girl whose father is a cop.
The point is, everyone has things to hide, and that should be just as true in a fantasy world. If she keeps pushing to find out an NPC's lies, then eventually they will tell her everything. Give some thought as to what that might be. Gossip, speculation, wild rumours, everything is on the table when you just want to please the nice lady.
Say they're talking to a fence who usually sets them up with small jobs, and she keeps pushing to find out what he's hiding. What she discovers is that he actually knows about five locations the party might be interested in, and is only telling her one. The others include two wild goose chases, one which turns out to be a non-magical family heirloom in a small fishing village (you'll never get rid of that smell), and one really extensive, trap-filled dungeon. (Don't give any advance indication about these, if they wanted quality information, they wouldn't have let her grill him).
If they run the dungeon, they'll end up with a magical artefact that they don't know how to use, and has nothing to do with their current quest. They'll also have an enemy that they don't know about: the rich noble who had hired the fence to find the location of that artefact. This could come back to haunt them for years, and that's even before you decide what nasty thing the relic is going to do to them.
The point of all this is that problem players need to be dealt with, but there's no such thing as a problem character. The more trouble a character causes, the more opportunities you have as a GM to use that character's disadvantages to manipulate the campaign.