I am having trouble in my campaign with a toxic player who likes to put other player ideas down. What should I do to regain order and keep the rest of the players happy?
Talk to them privately about your concerns. If the two of you can't resolve it maturely, then politely remove them from the campaign. Toxicity is not acceptable, and will only escalate if left to fester.
Respectfully asking someone to respect the norms of the table is a start. But the DM shouldn't be the only marshal of rules of order in the game. Yes, DM is sort of the parliamentarian for the table (though actually that's something that could easily be delegated at an experienced table). However, it shouldn't be on the DM alone to call a particular player out of line. I believe these sorts of interventions are best done collectively, perhaps initiated by the DM, but players should feel they. too have the right to take initiative, so to speak, to call something out of line.
Some tables are in fact free fire snark zones. That's some folks way of having fun. It's not your games way, so it should be collectively made. That way the DM isn't in the role of adjudicating a player's personality, rather it's the group of players making an effort for the outlier to come into a greater degree of harmony. It's sort of like disruptive behavior in a classroom. Sure the "teacher" can intervene, but the personality usually doesn't correct unless they get the sense that there's more a peer desire to play with the bully if the bully just changed up the way they were playing the game.
I'd recommend pausing the game, and identify the problematic behavior and your thoughts on how it's a detriment to the game you're trying to play. Allow other players to speak to how the problem behavior is affecting their enjoyment of the game. At the point the problem player has to choose to recognize the need to play better or maybe this table isn't the place for them.
Always talk to problem players. Calmly and respectfully talk to them in private, and let them know of the problem. If the problem continues and they disrespectfully ignore your advice and warnings, kick them from the table. You have the authority and obligation to decide who can or cannot play D&D with you.
You've labeled your problem player as toxic, which has a tendency to bias decisions and advice from us against them, as we have no first hand, or objective perspective of what the player is doing or intending. That said, I'm not attempting to condone or excuse poor player behavior, I'm only pointing out that their method of disagreement with other players' plans may need some polish and tact. It's fairly simple what needs to be done and the player has a binary decision to make. The player, all of the players really, need to agree to adhere to the collective social contract, or the game is over for them individually or all of them collectively.
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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
While I might agree, this isn't necessarily helpful to the discussion or to solving a problem. It may actually serve to draw the discussion completely off topic.
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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
While I might agree, this isn't necessarily helpful to the discussion or to solving a problem. It may actually serve to draw the discussion completely off topic.
I disagree. I think attention needs to be brought to bad advice to help ensure the OP instead follows the more constructive ideas of other commenters.
I could add more detail as to why it is bad advice in the first place, but the Tl;Dr is that if you like playing with these people, you want to avoid unnecessarily aggressive approaches or risk dividing the table. You should be firm in telling someone that they are crossing a line, but not go out of your way to punish them to "make an example"
Seems quite the topic of late... there must be at least half a dozen "prob player" threads over the last couple of months to my mind... not that I'm saying LuxMaeLiv shouldn't have posted but there is a lot of excellent advice and some with happy outcomes for all players and DM if you search.
As for the problem at hand I think the best advice is communicate with the player what the problem is if they come round super everyone's happy if they don't then don't drag it out and part ways with the player.
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“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Agreed, and moreover sorta nonsensical advice. The table doesn't need "an example," the way the rest of the table is playing the game is the "example" the problem player should be trying to align with. Again, this point is made with much more strength if the whole table politely makes this ask rather than "leaving it to Mom/Dad/Teacher DM". If it's strictly some DM "side chat" the offending player believes they're just butting heads with a DM who feels he can dictate individuals and consequently may act up even more since the "game" has no become adversarial and the offending player believes there's a contest of wills to be won.
The DM facilitates the game's story and mechanical resolution, everyone at the table has a role in maintaining let's call it "good sportsmanship" at the table. The passive "let the DM handle a problem player or intercede on behalf of a player to the rest of the table" is putting far too much social burden on the DM, and to provide my favorite resource for emotionally intelligent gaming (I like Colville, but he seems to put "the game" in some reified status over the humanity of the players, whereas Seth here always acknowledges that gaming is done by and for human beings):
Seems quite the topic of late... there must be at least half a dozen "prob player" threads over the last couple of months to my mind... not that I'm saying LuxMaeLiv shouldn't have posted but there is a lot of excellent advice and some with happy outcomes for all players and DM if you search.
As for the problem at hand I think the best advice is communicate with the player what the problem is if they come round super everyone's happy if they don't then don't drag it out and part ways with the player.
It's not a recent phenom, "problem person (player/dm/whole table)" posts are a constant on the forum, I almost think there should be an "emotionally intelligent gaming" subforum on here for all that to intersect with folks who have that hodge podge of soft skills from teaching, coaching, parenting, management and overall "lived experience" to get over what are really matters endemic to game but interpersonal social hurdles.
I don't care for the term "toxic", it's overused and I think also inflates and puts more fear into the problem of most interpersonal interaction than warranted. Toxicity can't be redeemed. So more often than not the presumption of toxicity is unnecessarily pessimistic. Are we talking about toxic behavior that should be eliminated (and the player can correct course) or is the person in fact toxic in which case should be removed from the game. At any table I run, and any table I play at, when I see a _pattern_ of behavior where someone at the table clearly didn't exhibit a one time slip or spoke inappropriately but rather is simply being a jerk, I feel I have the license for the sake of my and everyone mutual enjoyment of the game to first apologize to everyone at the table for interrupting the game and then airing the issue I see causing bad gaming. In the context of the OP, opening up, "I'm sorry but I need to pause things for a moment because that thing Player X keeps doing with crushing everyone else's ideas, can we talk about this? It's definitely distracting me from my enjoyment of this game, and I'm pretty confident everyone else at the table would appreciate a bit more respect at the table." A very emotionally aware player may recognize the problem (it's fantasy, folks, the nature of the game sometimes entices us to lean into aspects of our personality/psychology on the id level that we don't normally do in 'polite' society, and sometimes it takes a call out to recognize the problem) and apologize and course correct. Most folks may need the conduct spelled out and given some guidance on how to play better. And sure there are some truly entrenched people who refuse to acknowledge the problem they're causing, and that minority of folks are not the table's to fix and should be shown the door for the good of good gaming.
Again, some tables' "smack talk" is part of the understood atmosphere. The OP's table isn't one of them, and that needs to be explained before the conflict is resolved. It's a table matter not a DM matter with one player.
The best thing to do is talk to the problem player about their attitude. If you cannot resolve it and the other players do not enjoy playing with that person. Well.. Smoking curse cancer. Smoke him/her.
The enjoyment of the group is #1. If someone is making it where the group isn't enjoying themselves. You must arrest the issue. Whether that is talking to the person causing the issue and if that doesn't help. You dismiss them from the group for the betterment of the group.
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Info, Inflow, Overload. Knowledge Black Hole Imminent!
Seems quite the topic of late... there must be at least half a dozen "prob player" threads over the last couple of months to my mind... not that I'm saying LuxMaeLiv shouldn't have posted but there is a lot of excellent advice and some with happy outcomes for all players and DM if you search.
As for the problem at hand I think the best advice is communicate with the player what the problem is if they come round super everyone's happy if they don't then don't drag it out and part ways with the player.
It's not a recent phenom, "problem person (player/dm/whole table)" posts are a constant on the forum, I almost think there should be an "emotionally intelligent gaming" subforum on here for all that to intersect with folks who have that hodge podge of soft skills from teaching, coaching, parenting, management and overall "lived experience" to get over what are really matters endemic to game but interpersonal social hurdles.
I don't care for the term "toxic"
MidnightPlat I guess that's kind of reassuring it's nothing new and just my noticing them more. Yeah "Toxic" does rather put things "player" in a box labeled "YUCK! HAZARDOUS WASTE! DO NOT FLUSH DOWN TOILET! DISPOSE OF PROPERLY!!!" with little to no room for an amicable solution.
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“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Seems quite the topic of late... there must be at least half a dozen "prob player" threads over the last couple of months to my mind... not that I'm saying LuxMaeLiv shouldn't have posted but there is a lot of excellent advice and some with happy outcomes for all players and DM if you search.
As for the problem at hand I think the best advice is communicate with the player what the problem is if they come round super everyone's happy if they don't then don't drag it out and part ways with the player.
It's not a recent phenom, "problem person (player/dm/whole table)" posts are a constant on the forum, I almost think there should be an "emotionally intelligent gaming" subforum on here for all that to intersect with folks who have that hodge podge of soft skills from teaching, coaching, parenting, management and overall "lived experience" to get over what are really matters endemic to game but interpersonal social hurdles.
I don't care for the term "toxic"
MidnightPlat I guess that's kind of reassuring it's nothing new and just my noticing them more. Yeah "Toxic" does rather put things "player" in a box labeled "YUCK! HAZARDOUS WASTE! DO NOT FLUSH DOWN TOILET! DISPOSE OF PROPERLY!!!" with little to no room for an amicable solution.
Yeah, on the frequency, and I'm not trying to be dismissive over it. I mean, frankly, one of the reasons why people who work in emotional intelligence spaces really like TTRPGs is that it can aid people in conflict resolution skills, and they're more talking about the meta OOC side of things than whether they secure the realm's peace treaty. But real time interpersonal skills I think are an increasingly neglected skill set, so game tables gather with a spectrum of experiences, abilities and challenges on that front.
Re: toxic, I think it's more productive to start the conversation, collectively, with "I think feelings are being hurt" or "I feel some aren't given the same amount of space as others" or "I want to discuss the common level of respect for each other as players and people at this table" will lead to better or more fruitful outcomes than saying "You're toxic and it's gotta end."
Toxicity and harm are vogue terms for some people to invoke when they feel another's actions are affecting their experience negatively. There are ways to use the same non-violent communication principles that come from the same space as alertness for toxicity and harm production, measured ways that contain and address the offense in a manner commensurate with the outcome you want. If you want the player out, declare the behavior toxic and protect the space. If you'd rather rehabilitate the party atmosphere have a collective discussion on norms. There's that whole Session 0 trend, but the work isn't always done there and if it's sensed folks aren't having fun, that's a compelling reason to press the pause button and talk about what the players are doing before everyone gets back into character.
I do say "some people" because, again, in some circles it's totally expected and encouraged to "talk smack", it's actually a sort of bonding among some groups. If you have someone who comes from a table like that, or their playstation clan or whatever are a verbal free fire zone, the player needs a course correction. "Hey, friend, we don't it that way. This is the way."
But really, the Skorkowsky video I put on, and most of his RPG philosophy videos, talk about this stuff much more articulately than I can manage, check them out, plus the whole one man show simulation of the table are funny as all heck.
I think I'd first ask if they're a toxic player, or if they're a player who has a toxic trait that's getting in the way of the groups enjoyment of the game?
To me, a toxic player is someone who doesn't respect consent amongst the other PCs, mistreats the other people in the group, doesn't respect boundaries or triggers that have been clearly set (assault, abuse, etc. when the group has a member that is sensitive to those topics for whatever reason), etc. I tend to privately speak with these kinds of players and give them one more chance, clearly stating that there is no room at my table for this sort of behavior. If the behavior continues I tell them there is no longer space at my table for them, and that if they wish to continue playing D&D they need to find another table to join.
If they're a player who has a problematic toxic trait (which I suspect might be the case with your player, but you're in the best place to decide on that distinction) I would talk with them privately and acknowledge the behavior and how it affects the party. Be as frank and direct as possible and tell them that this behavior is unacceptable at your table. You don't have to explain why, but if you feel it is necessary you can suggest other ways for them to disagree with party ideas that won't put down the players. Often players of this type are mortified that they potentially hurt other people (most don't realize the impact they're having at all), so make sure to let them know you want them at the table, and you want the group to have fun, and that this adjustment to behavior will enhance everyone's experience at the table.
If the toxic player has specifically hurt other player's feelings or made them feel excluded it can also help to reach out to them to let them know you have spoken with the toxic player in question and addressed the toxic behavior.
It's a tricky thing to manage and it can be terrifying to address, but it's SO worth it. Some of my best D&D experiences occurred after frank discussions like this. I really believe that most people are inherently good, and want to contribute their best to a group.
Start by shooting them down. You aks Player A what they want to do, and toxic player interjects, so you tel lthem to shush and continue asking Player A. Make it clear that their opinion has been heard but it's not their decision. Example:
Player A: "I want to use my breath weapon!" Toxic player: "Really, don't you want to save it for the boss or a big crowd?" DM: "That's not your decision to make toxic player, Player A, what do you want to do" Player A: "Flame them with by breath!" Toxic player: "Really? That could-" DM: "Okay Player 1, what's the range on the breath weapon?" Toxic: "But they're wast-" DM "Toxic, you need to let them play their character how they want to. You voiced your concerns, and they stil lwant to do this, so leave it be.
Then if Toxic doesn't learn take them aside and use your experience with them to emphasise the point. "I've had to tell you X times this session to let people play their own characters, and if this persists I will have to consider whether this game is right for you." That's far easier and less likely to breed issues than saying "Player A has said they don't like this...", as it makes it all between you and them, and keeps all other players out of it.
I am having trouble in my campaign with a toxic player who likes to put other player ideas down. What should I do to regain order and keep the rest of the players happy?
Talk to them privately about your concerns. If the two of you can't resolve it maturely, then politely remove them from the campaign. Toxicity is not acceptable, and will only escalate if left to fester.
"No D&D is better than bad D&D."
Respectfully asking someone to respect the norms of the table is a start. But the DM shouldn't be the only marshal of rules of order in the game. Yes, DM is sort of the parliamentarian for the table (though actually that's something that could easily be delegated at an experienced table). However, it shouldn't be on the DM alone to call a particular player out of line. I believe these sorts of interventions are best done collectively, perhaps initiated by the DM, but players should feel they. too have the right to take initiative, so to speak, to call something out of line.
Some tables are in fact free fire snark zones. That's some folks way of having fun. It's not your games way, so it should be collectively made. That way the DM isn't in the role of adjudicating a player's personality, rather it's the group of players making an effort for the outlier to come into a greater degree of harmony. It's sort of like disruptive behavior in a classroom. Sure the "teacher" can intervene, but the personality usually doesn't correct unless they get the sense that there's more a peer desire to play with the bully if the bully just changed up the way they were playing the game.
I'd recommend pausing the game, and identify the problematic behavior and your thoughts on how it's a detriment to the game you're trying to play. Allow other players to speak to how the problem behavior is affecting their enjoyment of the game. At the point the problem player has to choose to recognize the need to play better or maybe this table isn't the place for them.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Make an example of them.
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Always talk to problem players. Calmly and respectfully talk to them in private, and let them know of the problem. If the problem continues and they disrespectfully ignore your advice and warnings, kick them from the table. You have the authority and obligation to decide who can or cannot play D&D with you.
You've labeled your problem player as toxic, which has a tendency to bias decisions and advice from us against them, as we have no first hand, or objective perspective of what the player is doing or intending. That said, I'm not attempting to condone or excuse poor player behavior, I'm only pointing out that their method of disagreement with other players' plans may need some polish and tact. It's fairly simple what needs to be done and the player has a binary decision to make. The player, all of the players really, need to agree to adhere to the collective social contract, or the game is over for them individually or all of them collectively.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
Bad advice
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While I might agree, this isn't necessarily helpful to the discussion or to solving a problem. It may actually serve to draw the discussion completely off topic.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
I disagree. I think attention needs to be brought to bad advice to help ensure the OP instead follows the more constructive ideas of other commenters.
I could add more detail as to why it is bad advice in the first place, but the Tl;Dr is that if you like playing with these people, you want to avoid unnecessarily aggressive approaches or risk dividing the table. You should be firm in telling someone that they are crossing a line, but not go out of your way to punish them to "make an example"
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
Seems quite the topic of late... there must be at least half a dozen "prob player" threads over the last couple of months to my mind... not that I'm saying LuxMaeLiv shouldn't have posted but there is a lot of excellent advice and some with happy outcomes for all players and DM if you search.
As for the problem at hand I think the best advice is communicate with the player what the problem is if they come round super everyone's happy if they don't then don't drag it out and part ways with the player.
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Agreed, and moreover sorta nonsensical advice. The table doesn't need "an example," the way the rest of the table is playing the game is the "example" the problem player should be trying to align with. Again, this point is made with much more strength if the whole table politely makes this ask rather than "leaving it to
Mom/Dad/Teacher DM". If it's strictly some DM "side chat" the offending player believes they're just butting heads with a DM who feels he can dictate individuals and consequently may act up even more since the "game" has no become adversarial and the offending player believes there's a contest of wills to be won.The DM facilitates the game's story and mechanical resolution, everyone at the table has a role in maintaining let's call it "good sportsmanship" at the table. The passive "let the DM handle a problem player or intercede on behalf of a player to the rest of the table" is putting far too much social burden on the DM, and to provide my favorite resource for emotionally intelligent gaming (I like Colville, but he seems to put "the game" in some reified status over the humanity of the players, whereas Seth here always acknowledges that gaming is done by and for human beings):
It's not a recent phenom, "problem person (player/dm/whole table)" posts are a constant on the forum, I almost think there should be an "emotionally intelligent gaming" subforum on here for all that to intersect with folks who have that hodge podge of soft skills from teaching, coaching, parenting, management and overall "lived experience" to get over what are really matters endemic to game but interpersonal social hurdles.
I don't care for the term "toxic", it's overused and I think also inflates and puts more fear into the problem of most interpersonal interaction than warranted. Toxicity can't be redeemed. So more often than not the presumption of toxicity is unnecessarily pessimistic. Are we talking about toxic behavior that should be eliminated (and the player can correct course) or is the person in fact toxic in which case should be removed from the game. At any table I run, and any table I play at, when I see a _pattern_ of behavior where someone at the table clearly didn't exhibit a one time slip or spoke inappropriately but rather is simply being a jerk, I feel I have the license for the sake of my and everyone mutual enjoyment of the game to first apologize to everyone at the table for interrupting the game and then airing the issue I see causing bad gaming. In the context of the OP, opening up, "I'm sorry but I need to pause things for a moment because that thing Player X keeps doing with crushing everyone else's ideas, can we talk about this? It's definitely distracting me from my enjoyment of this game, and I'm pretty confident everyone else at the table would appreciate a bit more respect at the table." A very emotionally aware player may recognize the problem (it's fantasy, folks, the nature of the game sometimes entices us to lean into aspects of our personality/psychology on the id level that we don't normally do in 'polite' society, and sometimes it takes a call out to recognize the problem) and apologize and course correct. Most folks may need the conduct spelled out and given some guidance on how to play better. And sure there are some truly entrenched people who refuse to acknowledge the problem they're causing, and that minority of folks are not the table's to fix and should be shown the door for the good of good gaming.
Again, some tables' "smack talk" is part of the understood atmosphere. The OP's table isn't one of them, and that needs to be explained before the conflict is resolved. It's a table matter not a DM matter with one player.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
The best thing to do is talk to the problem player about their attitude. If you cannot resolve it and the other players do not enjoy playing with that person. Well.. Smoking curse cancer. Smoke him/her.
The enjoyment of the group is #1. If someone is making it where the group isn't enjoying themselves. You must arrest the issue. Whether that is talking to the person causing the issue and if that doesn't help. You dismiss them from the group for the betterment of the group.
Info, Inflow, Overload. Knowledge Black Hole Imminent!
MidnightPlat I guess that's kind of reassuring it's nothing new and just my noticing them more.
Yeah "Toxic" does rather put things "player" in a box labeled "YUCK! HAZARDOUS WASTE! DO NOT FLUSH DOWN TOILET! DISPOSE OF PROPERLY!!!" with little to no room for an amicable solution.
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Yeah, on the frequency, and I'm not trying to be dismissive over it. I mean, frankly, one of the reasons why people who work in emotional intelligence spaces really like TTRPGs is that it can aid people in conflict resolution skills, and they're more talking about the meta OOC side of things than whether they secure the realm's peace treaty. But real time interpersonal skills I think are an increasingly neglected skill set, so game tables gather with a spectrum of experiences, abilities and challenges on that front.
Re: toxic, I think it's more productive to start the conversation, collectively, with "I think feelings are being hurt" or "I feel some aren't given the same amount of space as others" or "I want to discuss the common level of respect for each other as players and people at this table" will lead to better or more fruitful outcomes than saying "You're toxic and it's gotta end."
Toxicity and harm are vogue terms for some people to invoke when they feel another's actions are affecting their experience negatively. There are ways to use the same non-violent communication principles that come from the same space as alertness for toxicity and harm production, measured ways that contain and address the offense in a manner commensurate with the outcome you want. If you want the player out, declare the behavior toxic and protect the space. If you'd rather rehabilitate the party atmosphere have a collective discussion on norms. There's that whole Session 0 trend, but the work isn't always done there and if it's sensed folks aren't having fun, that's a compelling reason to press the pause button and talk about what the players are doing before everyone gets back into character.
I do say "some people" because, again, in some circles it's totally expected and encouraged to "talk smack", it's actually a sort of bonding among some groups. If you have someone who comes from a table like that, or their playstation clan or whatever are a verbal free fire zone, the player needs a course correction. "Hey, friend, we don't it that way. This is the way."
But really, the Skorkowsky video I put on, and most of his RPG philosophy videos, talk about this stuff much more articulately than I can manage, check them out, plus the whole one man show simulation of the table are funny as all heck.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I think I'd first ask if they're a toxic player, or if they're a player who has a toxic trait that's getting in the way of the groups enjoyment of the game?
To me, a toxic player is someone who doesn't respect consent amongst the other PCs, mistreats the other people in the group, doesn't respect boundaries or triggers that have been clearly set (assault, abuse, etc. when the group has a member that is sensitive to those topics for whatever reason), etc. I tend to privately speak with these kinds of players and give them one more chance, clearly stating that there is no room at my table for this sort of behavior. If the behavior continues I tell them there is no longer space at my table for them, and that if they wish to continue playing D&D they need to find another table to join.
If they're a player who has a problematic toxic trait (which I suspect might be the case with your player, but you're in the best place to decide on that distinction) I would talk with them privately and acknowledge the behavior and how it affects the party. Be as frank and direct as possible and tell them that this behavior is unacceptable at your table. You don't have to explain why, but if you feel it is necessary you can suggest other ways for them to disagree with party ideas that won't put down the players. Often players of this type are mortified that they potentially hurt other people (most don't realize the impact they're having at all), so make sure to let them know you want them at the table, and you want the group to have fun, and that this adjustment to behavior will enhance everyone's experience at the table.
If the toxic player has specifically hurt other player's feelings or made them feel excluded it can also help to reach out to them to let them know you have spoken with the toxic player in question and addressed the toxic behavior.
It's a tricky thing to manage and it can be terrifying to address, but it's SO worth it. Some of my best D&D experiences occurred after frank discussions like this. I really believe that most people are inherently good, and want to contribute their best to a group.
Start by shooting them down. You aks Player A what they want to do, and toxic player interjects, so you tel lthem to shush and continue asking Player A. Make it clear that their opinion has been heard but it's not their decision. Example:
Player A: "I want to use my breath weapon!"
Toxic player: "Really, don't you want to save it for the boss or a big crowd?"
DM: "That's not your decision to make toxic player, Player A, what do you want to do"
Player A: "Flame them with by breath!"
Toxic player: "Really? That could-"
DM: "Okay Player 1, what's the range on the breath weapon?"
Toxic: "But they're wast-"
DM "Toxic, you need to let them play their character how they want to. You voiced your concerns, and they stil lwant to do this, so leave it be.
Then if Toxic doesn't learn take them aside and use your experience with them to emphasise the point. "I've had to tell you X times this session to let people play their own characters, and if this persists I will have to consider whether this game is right for you." That's far easier and less likely to breed issues than saying "Player A has said they don't like this...", as it makes it all between you and them, and keeps all other players out of it.
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I'd discuss with the toxic player about his behavior hoping for a change and if nothing improve, i'd politely ask him to leave the campaign.