Has anyone gamed with a person like this? The person in question has been the GM for quite some time but recently the rest of the group has been taking over the duty. But he will constantly tell us how we should be gming the game and gets angry when we don't play it his way and sometime resorts to pouting. Does anyone have suggestion on how to deal with this problem. Thanks.

give the person a bag of candy or something...

Pouting? I suppose if the bag of candy was heavy enough to do some real damage.

In this case, a simple "STFU, you're not GMing anymore, enjoy the relief while it lasts" should be sufficient for most GMs who've been running the game so long they can't imagine not GMing.

A reminder that he's not the one running the game at the moment should be sufficient. I'd be *happy* if my players decided to run the game for a while...

Yeah, one would think he would be but by the end of the game we weren't talking and he decide he would be run the next session even though at the beginning of the session I was going to finish my story arc.

How does the rest of your party feel about this?

If they agree with you, I say rise up & overthrow your fascist overlord....

i'm not sure what advice i can give, since everyone on this board but me plays the game wrong!

and still we love you mfb.

yes, but you love me wrong. ...wait, let me rephrase that.

Moodchips. Sometimes it's the only way.

more like personafix in this case...

Meh, I bet he's just unable to relax while not in total control. Maybe a few drinks, a hit on the bong, or just a few tabs of valium.

i would not suggest drinks. it seems to get people wired rather then relaxed...

Yeah, seriously, if someone WANTED to run the game insted of me, more power to him.

I just stopped running a game early for this exact reason. Yeah, I just answered your question. It's not a perfect solution at all, but it was better than the alternative, considering that no amount of talking seemed to solve it.

At the same time, give this guy a little time to adjust. I've gone from GM to player myself, and it can take some adjusting - especially if you've never been a player before. You can find yourself acting more like a GM than a player, interjecting yourself into rules questions that don't even pertain to you. Explain to him that each GM has his or her own style and interpretations of the rules, and that he should give the new GM(s) the same courtesy that he expected when he was the GM.

I have a GM/player like that too. He had been captured by the yakuza and was being transport to be exchanged for the hostage they had kidnapped. He then attempts to escape by mind controlling the driver, drives up on the sidewalk and runs people down to escape. Granted I didn't tell the characters the exchange was gone to happen but it was after 12 a.m. and he had just said he wanted us to finish this run before next session so he could do something. Therefore I thought I could just railroad the session to an end. My Bad I guess.

Can you shoot him? If so, go for it.

There is no other constructive answer that is sure to apply to all fascists.

Darn, I completely forgot about defenstration. Yes, defenstration never gets old.

Exsanguination usually works like a charm, too.

But I'd hate to see your cleaning bill.

Seeing as how almost everyone seems to think that you should do something horrible to this guy, I suppose my answer may not be too popular.

I have been in this position myself. It's not easy, especially with inexperienced GMs. I have always been the one that knew the rules the best. Not that they are stupid, but as GM, I have always taken the game more seriously than the others. GMing also give you the most opportunity to learn the rules.

Switching from GM to player isn't easy. The newer GMs still defer to me for any questions that come up. They also have a tendency to do things their own way, which is awesome, but different. When I have my character do something, especially during combat when the rules are important, I expect the opponents to react in a way that they would if I were GMing. It can be frustrating when they do not.

In the end, keep in mind that he may be feeling as frustrated as the rest of you. Try talking to him out of session. See if there is anything in particular that he is having a problem with, and then try to develop a compromise. Telling him that he has to lump it isn't going to solve anything.

Get him drunk, take pictures of him in a compromising situation, then threaten to show them online if he doesn't shut up

Not that I'm suggesting anything illegal

Curently, I have a friend who too is a total fascist. If things aren't done his way, he whines and complains and yells at us, throws things around, flails about, with cracking voice, and then has the gall to call US children.

Said person has been telling me that my way of doing things is wrong and that "everyone else in the world does it completely different". I've been fighting with this "gent" for quite some time now.

Honestly, I don't have a solution for you, but I can safely say that you need to take action regarding your fascist friend immediately. The longer that waits, the worse it gets. I've been trying to compromise with my friend, but they continue to lash out.

I believe the best course of action is to sit down with them and talk it out. Don't accuse (as hard as that sounds), and make sure you know how the rest of the group feels. Perhaps have them relay their feelings as well. Sometimes my friend likes to BS me and tell me otherwise about my friends when I clearly heard the opposite a day ago, a few hours ago, or even just a few minutes ago.

Hit him where it hurts, but don't hit too hard.

I was in that place. Unfortunately, the person involved was a close friend who had taught me everything I know about RPGs, but had never actually been a PLAYER in one himself. He also had a lot of weird stuff going on in his life at the time.

The first thing I'd say is never try to fight him directly in front of other people. He likely has something to prove (and for good reason!) Simply tell him you'll consider what he said and, if appropriate, reimburse him next game, but we need to continue now, so just make do.

When you get him alone, sit down and talk with him. Explain that yes, he probably is the better GM (or not), but that you're learning the ropes and ultimately, you need to be in charge now. He wouldn't like it if you called him on each thing during game time, so he should show you the same courtesy. However, you would love to hear his suggestions and comments (and in truth, how many GMs really feel they get enough input from their players? Finally you have one who will tell it to you straight and in depth!) If you'd like, run little things by him before hand and ask him lots of questions (of course, if you're not going to implement something, mention it to him beforehand so he doesn't flip out). Consider making him a co-GM even.

If he continues to cause problems, tell him he'll either need to cool it or leave. Then enforce it.

In general I'd approach this like you'd approach any other 'power user' (to borrow a term from the computer world). He wants to be involved in guiding the game. More power to him, use his strength to take some of the work off your lap. Just make sure he knows who makes the final decision.

As a GM you should have full control over your game. If a player starts to but in and tell you how to run your game you should turn to them and say "do you want to GM?" and if the answer is no, then tell them to shut up. Each GM has their own style that is unique to that GM and as a PM you shouldn't mess with it. That being said if you don't like the style you have the option of not playing.

I think the problem here is that the player does want to GM, but he's not the GM at the moment.

If he can't relax and enjoy you running a game, he should probably take a break for a while. Insisting that he's going to be the guy to run the next session, despite you having a campaign arc planned out, is just rude.

Sounds like the guy does have a few issues of his own besides just wanting to GM. I mean , come one, pouting!? And yeah, insisting that he run the game next time is a step to far.

I did used to have a problem getting on the other side of the screen. I started running games for a group of people that had never played before, and basically taught them everything. I was thrilled when they started volunteering to run games. I was less than enthused though when they were doing it "wrong".

In the end, my wife, who also plays, and GM's , was the one that pulled me aside and told me straight out that I was being a dick. If she'd done that in front of everyone else, I probably would have flipped out. But the reality smack made me realize that yes, I was being a dick.

It took some adjusting and some shutting up on my part a few times, but Ieventually got it through my head that this wasn't my game and it wasn't going to be done my way. It;s a bit difficult at times because I'm still the GM, and sometimes other players ask me what to roll instead of the GM. And I do still need the occassional "my game, remember?" But hey, the occassional tongue lashing and I was doing ok again. And really, who doesn't enjoy the occassional tongue lashing? Has there ever been another term that was supposed to be bad, but sounded so good, as this?

haha, she finally listened?

damn right

So the black eyes got her attention?

something had to. It was rough, but it had to be done.

So yeah, I had some guys beat me up for money and made her feel real bad for me until she promised to do things my way. Guilt can be as powerful a motivator as fear. And it lasts once your out of the room! See your average bitch slap do that!

that's showing her!

The more you suffer
The more it shows you really care
Right? Yeah-ah-ah-ah!