Laughing maniacally while wading through whatever opposition the GM can pit against them is a role. People claiming to be roleplaying often ignore that because it doesn't fit their idealised vision of talky-talky touchy-feely.

@Jake

I once started keeping a nerf gun loaded next to me at the table. I'd pick it up and shot the problem player to curb an *cough* issue he had/was causing. It curbed that particular quirk but in the end it was only a matter of time before I stopped playing at the same table with him, in any capacity. Which was tough because I still see him outside of games, and he's friends with people I do play with. But at the table it's not a good scene and I find just not worth the hassle.

Maybe if this guy you mention only comes around periodically you'll be able to delay the inevitable for a while? I don't know. When/if the end finally comes though I expect you'll feel much relief.

FWIW, this player responds remarkably well to criticism and does make efforts to change where it is in his ability to do so.

So wait, you have a dark group of PCs, and he enjoys playing the good guys. And he only shows up from time to time.
Why not just make him their recurring rival? They won't know when he'll strike again (same as you don't know when he'll show up); and yeah, it may require a bit of GM fiat to make him, you know, recurring, but otherwise I imagine it may be a good role for him.

If this person is stopping someone/the whole group from having fun, on purpose, then he should be asked to stop or simply leave the group.

*deep breath*

One of my players (the one who kept passing turns) rarely gets to play because his wife won't let him out. He won't attend for a month and then attempts to cram 3-4 weeks of roleplaying moments into one session, repeatedly trying to steal the thunder of all the other players. He also does incredibly stupid things with his character that annoys the crap out of the other players.

Case in point, he plays an eagle shapeshifter who insists on doing aerial recon every mission, irrespective of whether or not it is appropriate. He also insists on shapeshifting at the most inappropriate time, solely for dramatic effort, with no regard for whether this will inconvenience the other PCs or draw attention to them all, or just elevate hostilities. We would have murdered him years ago except for the fact we largely pity him - that and his general insanity often leads to moments of pure genius once every ten sessions or so that is a marvel to behold (often saving the day in a spectacular way).

Whenever he does something blatantly stupid now, I deal with this now by simply telling him "no". I don't ask him if he's sure, I don't try to clarify his intentions, I don't try to talk him out of it. The clownshoe never learns. Ever. He firmyl believes that all his ideas are brilliant. Killing off his character doesn't get the point across (this has been done in numerous campaigns - in D&D it was so common it was a running gag that he was the most resurrected character). Logical attempts at persuasion usually lead to heated arguments, often with multiple players that go nowhere and consume valuable gametime.

So I avoid it all by just saying "no".

Yes, it sucks to rob the player of his right to choose but as far as I'm concerned, the right for him to swing his fist ends where another persons' nose begins. Him sucking up valuable game time and causing arguments with his stupidity needs to be stamped out, not entertained and it caters to the lowest common denominator (i.e. the rest of the group). After 10+ years of playing with this guy, this method I have found to be the swiftest way to end disputes, keep arguments at a minimum and propel the game along.

I can give more examples of the player behaviour I have to tolerate at times but I think you get the idea.

- J.

I suggest giving the players a GMPC, where you make a character who gives them advice and suggestions and helps work them through the run. Such a character would take his cut of the nuyen for a mission accomplished, but as they do better missions because things are going well, they get more and more money and that doesn't matter.

I reccomend shock collars. Few things keep a player in line better.

I like to impress time on them. While I dont try to rush them, we have a 4-5 hour play time every week. And they have a forum to refer too. And are all instant messenger networked. If they are beating a long dead horse on planning I crack the whip. They may have two weeks to complete the mission, but the J wants some updates. If theres no progress in a few days he needs to find another team. I dictate how much time goes by in planning based on progress. If they are actually getting somewhere (wether its where I wanted them to go or not) I'll let em go all night (until they start counting bullets and separating C-4 into tic tac sized pieces). If they are going in circles I will break in and inform them "You continue the discussion well into the night until you fall asleep. Next day. Resume planning." Just to let em know they need to focus.

I once started keeping a nerf gun loaded next to me at the table. I'd pick it up and shoot a problem player to curb an *cough* issue he had/was causing.

I would bust a GM in the head faster than he could say "I did it for the lulz" if he did that to me. I'm not calling you out Dwight, just pointing out that this tactic will not work for everyone

That's OK, no worries. I consider you entirely in the right to call me on it. Especially given the limited information I've posted here. I got away with it largely because his position was undermined due to the issue being him blatantly cheating on rolling his dice (premeditated by intentionally sitting at the other end of a long table, using very hard to read dice, etc.) and inventing items and such in the moment and claiming they were written on his character sheet.

Still, I wouldn't do it again. There are more appropriate ways to handle it, I've learned and moved on.

Oh I hate people who cheat with dice rolls and insist they have X item when they need it, even though you know they don't...
Why bother playing if your gonna be like that, I don't understand...

Oh I hate people who cheat with dice rolls and insist they have X item when they need it, even though you know they don't...
Why bother playing if your gonna be like that, I don't understand...

Because new players don't know the multitude of the stuff they might need on a run.
It can be countered by allowing to include low-cost items into lifestyle costs, in my experience - say, even if your character doesn't have a flashlight on his charhseet, it's only 20 , no reason not to let him have it.

I feel I have the player situation in hand. I just started posting in this thread to express my sympathies originally. I hadn't intended to vent. But at least other GMs reading know they aren't the only ones with challenging players and situations.

- J.

Being your players father works well to.

I think we could easily start a thread titled "And now a running list of things I hate about my players in Shadowrun"

I think we could easily start a thread titled "And now a running list of things I hate about my players in Shadowrun"

Are you sure the server's hardware is up to the task of storing that much text?

Or raw processing power as the rage of a thousand GMs hammer Dumpshock simultaneously creating a DDOS?

I think we could easily start a thread titled "And now a running list of things I hate about my players in Shadowrun"

I hate how this one dude got cheeto dust and pizza grease into my pristine SR2 core book. It actually had an intact spine and everything.

I hate how this one dude got cheeto dust and pizza grease into my pristine SR2 core book. It actually had an intact spine and everything.

That's how I know you're lying.

Shadowrun books - particularly the SR2 BBB was most guilty of this, was notorious for shitty binding for years. I don't think this was even addressed until sometime into SR3, if not SR4.

- J.

Well that's it - he's not playing now. Besides which, if I thought this wasn't a problem that couldn't be fixed, I'd drop a cow on the character and call it a day.

- J.

That's how I know you're lying.

Shadowrun books - particularly the SR2 BBB was most guilty of this, was notorious for shitty binding for years. I don't think this was even addressed until sometime into SR3, if not SR4.

- J.