Save My BR Game: 1 player hogging all the time

[ausrick]

Hi, I am Dming a table top BR campaign, and have been doing so for some time now. It has about 9 players in it, and I am having a problem with one of them. Tell me how you would handle it?

When we started this campaign, one player was quite a bit older and a more experienced player. I thought his influence would maybe help the other 8 mature as role players, but instead it has come to cause rifts. The 8 players like rolling dice, like uncovering plots, like solving puzzles. But they like doing it fast and hate wasteing time. with 9 total players there are a lot of demands on my time. The 1 more experienced player is a total paper hound, keeping more notes than I have and I'm the DM. He also is turning into a total time sink, with totally irrelevent questions, such as "I use my druidic ability to find out what type of animal the fur came from on the nobles cloak" when I am describing an NPC and he will always butt in with conversation with NPC's that really isn't all that relevent either. I appreciate these aspects and feel I need to answer them because I try to game with a high sense of reality and don't want to break the illusion, but I see the other players become aggrevated more and more. Especially because they don't really speak up unless I say "Ok, what does your character do" where I never have to ask that question to the 1 player because he's answering that in EVERY single situation. In other words, I guess he will never take a back seat, and the other players aren't bold enough to grab for the front every once in a while. How should I handle this without hurting anybodies feelings? What would you guys do?

[graham anderson]

There isn't a huge amount of info on your party there but try doing something like take them to a place where his character cant take the lead. As a druid and I assume not a noble although you never know you could take the party to a law based noble court like avanil, diemed etc where they are not seen as important forcing one of the other characters to take the lead.

Have something befall his character like blindness forcing him to relly on the other players for a while, he can still ask his questions about things but he will be forced to ask the other players to ask the questions for him giving them a more important role.

[ausrick]

He is noble, though a noble Rjurik, so he gets plenty of hostility in Anuire, but he is just forceful, even in Marching order saying "OK we go this way, I get in the front". The rest of the group is pretty wierd. Dwarven Cleric of Moradin, Elven fighter, Anuirean Sorcerer, Khinasi Bard. All nobles because they're trying to move up in the court scene, carve out a space for themselves. I made the requirement house rule just when I started that they all had to be blooded and take 1 level of noble and then could take whatever else.

[Fizz]

Of course, you don't have to cripple him in-game. Tell him out-of-game that he's being disruptive and ruining the spirit of the game.

You can also gauge what to do by the other players' reactions. If the new players are frustrated, you've got more to work with when confronting him. If the new players don't mind him, then maybe it's not worth stressing over.

-Fizz

[ArchScarlettie]

He's a priest, so...

It could be fairly simple to deal with the character, though the player probably requires some out-of-game talk, carefully, to avoid hurting his participation.:cool:

For the character, you could simply have Erik appear to him in a vision, complimenting him on his service and loyalty... and then place a demand of a vow of silence, as a demonstration of his faith. :D

[irdeggman]

A Khinasi bard who is a noble?

Khinasi have little respect for bards so this just doesn't make any sense to me.

"As worthless as the word of a bard" a Khinasi saying.

[graham anderson]

I dont know the player but if he will take it in good form then tell him. Say you are worried that the other younger players are finding it difficult get involved in the game and that you would like his help in getting them involved more. Then make a few suggestions as to how he he could get each of the other players more involved.

[Benjamin]

I agree with the general consensus: tell the guy, away from the table. Compliment him on his roleplaying, play up to his ego. Ask him to help bring the others along to, allow them to take a more vocal/active part in the game. Ask if he can help them roleplay more, maybe give them hints and advice, then sit back a little. Hopefully he will get the hint.

If this doesn't work well, then straight up tell him: dude, your hogging the roleplaying, and the other players are unhappy, maybe will quit. Stop it.

Being a rather mature gamer myself *ahem*, that's what I'd like to have someone do.

[The Swordgaunt]

Well, another solution might be to split your group in two, and run two games with four-five players. I realize that this might not work for you, but its my two cents anyway.

Nine players is an awful lot of pepole around the same table. It gives you as a DM little time with each, and the players little time with you. Your hogger might just be reacting to this, trying to structure the group and avoid wasting time.

By dividing the group, you can give each player more play-time and influence over the plot. This usually has a positive effect on silent players.

[ausrick]

Irdeggman Wrote:

A Khinasi bard who is a noble?

Khinasi have little respect for bards so this just doesn't make any sense to me.

"As worthless as the word of a bard" a Khinasi saying.

Yeah, I follow you on that one, Duane, He wanted to be that so I made up his back story as pretty much being shipped off to Anuire to avoid embarrasing his family. He was the youngest of 9 children and a bit of a rebellious black sheep. He's been looking into joining the bardic college in Aerenwe. But I digress.

Thanks for what all of you are saying. You all have really good ideas. And its all things I haven't thought about or looked at before that much. Thanks and if you have more, keep them coming. :)

[Azrai]

Nine players are very hard to control. Even if you control this special one, it could be that an other takes over the part of the trouble maker.

Nine people only works, if all participants show discipline and put back some personal interests.

[Rina_Inverse]

well, if that player causes problem. assassinate him!
it's easy no? first your the dm, you can make a huge plot, maybe made by the magian (he's tricky enough!) that hides another huge plot, basically the magian for a reason or another wants that character dead. so he makes things to produce evidence that that player is plotting against his friends to usurp their powers secretly. and make the other players feel threatened by that player in game, and have them kill him! :D that always works

[Master Spaz]

well
ill try to help you the best i can
first, the guys are true; the better solution is not to assasinate him (unless you dont want him back to your BR table) or blind him...

well i understand such players; i had many players paper keepers who wanted to know everything in their domains; i proceeded in giving many infos on demand to the players simulating their vast knowledge sometime too loud for the role playing game; at least they stopped asking everything in order to keep it on sheet. With the skills you can simulate it.
effectively, sometime birthright game comes to a very realistic climax and players want to know the names of all their generals and soldiers...
ouch
resolve it by creating archetypes of anuirian armies, khinasi etc... and so
like sergents (3rd level) generals (9th level)

i had (ouch) a player (male) who played Thuirien Donnals and WAS not ruling Talinie; that was crazy, the rulership felled uppon a ranger named Riegon Caraesene. The guy (Donnals) was absolutely fanatic and was always insisting on the role playing in the domain turn; because you see very good players want to turn advantage of double or triple dealing. While others quickly want to see what will happen next month... The fact is that double dealing provides great games when the time is not a factor. So you have to balance your attention

you dont have to separate in two group
just tell the players before the game that will be a long-period set for the game (meening the players will roll dices and proceed forward for many DT), or a short-period game (meening players will be able to play diplomatic events or maybe an adventure); then they choose to come or not to the game; if they dont they just prepare their next game in two way: 1) they dont want to play a domain turn game: they write their future actions and give master hint for their next game; then the master is free to proceed with all the realms anyway;
2) they dont want to lpay a diplomatic or role playing game; they just dont come; next game no time will have passed and then every one continue alltoghether (as in the case of an adventure)
wow,
This dont mean they are in seperate games (come on you have 9 polayers). It had at its climax 25 players in my game and some of them never played at the same time. You have to be carefull the effect of their actions are taken in account.
anyway you dont have to seperate games in that way just mixt the two in a game; then the early part of the meeting is DT and the last roleplaying;i know that is difficult but a good master MUST be able to deal with those dualistic views i think

i dont know if this help you but i could try later
lol
ok ciao

[Sejanus]

Talk to him about it! That's the short version...

If he's anything like me - the talking version of a hack n' slasher... He's probably being so active because he wants to show the others "how it's done" by example. I did that - sorry - I DO that... Trouble is you kind of take over the game unless you have a lot of discipline and as long as none of the others are rising to the challenge, he's just going to keep the jabber up and the game occupied.

Don't kill him off, though - unless you want him out of the game...

Sounds to me like he'd actually make an excellent NPC regent or somesuch. Give him a realm to run on his own - either against you, against the PC's or both. But the primary idea of this is to remove him from the direct rpg'ing with the others, but giving him time to make out all the nifty things and ideas he gets. You could even make him run one of the lesser badguys - like the Black Spear Gnolls or one of the awnsheglien...

In any case I can only say that we incessant babblers actually want to be GM's ourselves and most of the time believe we are...