I have been running an online Shadow of the Dragon Queen game on Discord and Roll20 and I've transitioned to a homebrew campaign based on the original Dragonlance 1e mods. I required all players in the campaign to have and maintain a good alignment, since alignment is important in Dragonlance. I have a player who insists on taking everything that I have NPCs say in the most cynical, worst possible way and then they raise a fuss about it. They regularly misinterpret and misconstrue what NPCs say and seem to twist off-hand remarks by me and other players into slights against them even when what was said had nothing to do with them. After I speak to them about it privately, I get a ration of something the horse left in the field about it. They will do as I ask for a couple of sessions, and then start making snide or cynical remarks again.
In the most recent couple of games, the PCs have tracked down and caught a would be assassin who has made an attempt on the lives of Emperor and Empress of Solamnia. The PCs brought the wanna-be assassin back to the imperial court, so that they could interrogate him as to who put him up to the deed, and so Emperor and Empress could pass judgement on him. During the interrogation, just as the would-be assailant had cracked and was about to give up his co-conspirators, the party's cleric of Mishakal, the goddess of healing and redemption, whom the above mentioned player is playing, lost their patience since the would be murderer was being evasive and refusing to answer questions. The cleric decided to step on the bound man's neck, breaking it and killing him, and consigning his soul (presumably) to the Abyss. The cleric then used a rod of resurrection that their deity had given them to bring the dead would-be assassin back to life. He was terrified, traumatized, and though he gave up some of his co-conspirators, he was quite plainly insane and mostly non-functional. I guess that I was too shocked at the character's actions to say any thing at the moment, but later I informed the party that the rod of resurrection had disappeared in a flash of light. The cleric's player got upset and started throwing out accusations that the goddess had abandoned them and started going on a tirade and howling about the whole world, including their allies, was so horrible and was turning on them.
The action that the cleric perpetrated was definitely not a good action. In my view, it was the torture and murder of a prisoner. The player has been hemming and hawing about it all week and I'm trying to ignore this since I know that knee-jerk reactions are only going to make things worse. The player has talked about changing classes and complained about how no one else in the group will give them the diamond dust so they can cast revivify and raise dead spells while I have been trying to clear my head and figure out what to do. I'm not sure that I want this player in my game anymore, because even if they change classes or bring in a different character (which is what they'd have to do at this point, as the cleric will lose their freedom for abusing and murdering a prisoner and no longer be viable), I have every expectation that the player will continue the behaviors since I've already spoken to them about it privately after previous incidents.
'I am having trouble as a DM adapting to your playstyle. It's nothing personal, but I'm afraid I need to remove you from the group. I feel like you'll be better off finding a DM more suited to your playstyle.'
IMO in-game punishments for a problem player never work. They almost always exacerbate the problem. Did you explain in-game the reason for the Rod of Resurrection disappearing? If there was a disembodied voice that expressed disappointment in the cleric or something, it could have potentially let them know what was wrong while still being a punishment.
But all that's basically unimportant since you did your actions and I'm actually on your side on this one. If the person continually is a problem player, even when you take them aside privately to discuss their problems, then you should consider martintheactor's suggestion and decide whether removing the player from the game is the right move.
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I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
As a player, I've done the "kill a prisoner and bring them back with resurrection" thing. I was playing an Evil character in a high-camp game, and I was intentionally taking an over-the-top Evil action. I literally cannot imagine a player who thinks doing that is a Good-aligned maneuver. So I have to assume they knew it was Evil and did it anyway, after you asked your players to maintain a Good alignment. That indicates to me that they're not interested in playing the kind of game you want to run. If that is the case, I think you should ask the player politely but quite firmly to find a different game to play in.
The main aspect of this situation that I am confused about is whether it is the player or the character that is behaving cynically, acting out, feeling attacked, misinterpreting and misunderstanding NPCs and taking actions that might not be in character for a "good" character.
If the player is role playing the character that way then the problem is with the play style and there is the possibility it could be corrected. If the player is behaving this way because that is the way the person behaves - impatient with the game, feeling paranoid, concerned when the character gets punished because it reflects on the player as a person ... then there might be more concerning issues involved. Does this person need help and is their anti social behavior a symptom?
We have no way to tell and it is up to the OP to look at the broader range of behavior.
Based on the OPs comments and assuming it is just an incompatible play style, you are certainly justified in asking them to leave if they don't understand the type of character that this game requires. If that isn't the kind of character they want to play then it just isn't a good fit and the DM should be upfront in discussing it and suggesting they find a different DM.
If there are other issues, I'm not qualified to suggest how to handle it.
Do not allow torture in your games. In a practical sense, it doesn't work, a tortured victim will say anything, and secondly it's horrible for the DM to have to play a torture victim. Games are supposed to be fun, and role played torture is not fun. I make it clear I don't allow it in session zero. Also, don't set up situations where players feel that their characters should torture prisoners. You can have the players make an Intimidation check, and then give them the information or not, and tell them that is their only roll allowed for the interrogation if you want.
Note that the Resurrection spell says "If its soul is free and willing, the target returns to life with all its hit points." This is included precisely to stop exactly the situation you have described. The victim's soul should not have been willing to return.
Killing the prisoner is ok, but doing it sadistically is an evil act. When a player suggests something like this, they may just be caught up in the moment. You can say "I don't think a good aligned character would do that, maybe you could kill him quickly with your sword?" or something of that nature.
However, what has happened has happened and it sounds like you just don't enjoy having this player at your table, and their general way of role playing is not fun for you. You have already asked them to stop being snide and downbeat, and they've returned to it anyway.
You can ask the player if they are having a good time when they're accusing the rest of the party of being against them, and if so, whether they want to continue playing. Tell them that from the way they play their character, it feels to you like they don't enjoy it. If you think that there's no real likelihood of their behaviour changing, then remove them from the game.
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I have been running an online Shadow of the Dragon Queen game on Discord and Roll20 and I've transitioned to a homebrew campaign based on the original Dragonlance 1e mods. I required all players in the campaign to have and maintain a good alignment, since alignment is important in Dragonlance. I have a player who insists on taking everything that I have NPCs say in the most cynical, worst possible way and then they raise a fuss about it. They regularly misinterpret and misconstrue what NPCs say and seem to twist off-hand remarks by me and other players into slights against them even when what was said had nothing to do with them. After I speak to them about it privately, I get a ration of something the horse left in the field about it. They will do as I ask for a couple of sessions, and then start making snide or cynical remarks again.
In the most recent couple of games, the PCs have tracked down and caught a would be assassin who has made an attempt on the lives of Emperor and Empress of Solamnia. The PCs brought the wanna-be assassin back to the imperial court, so that they could interrogate him as to who put him up to the deed, and so Emperor and Empress could pass judgement on him. During the interrogation, just as the would-be assailant had cracked and was about to give up his co-conspirators, the party's cleric of Mishakal, the goddess of healing and redemption, whom the above mentioned player is playing, lost their patience since the would be murderer was being evasive and refusing to answer questions. The cleric decided to step on the bound man's neck, breaking it and killing him, and consigning his soul (presumably) to the Abyss. The cleric then used a rod of resurrection that their deity had given them to bring the dead would-be assassin back to life. He was terrified, traumatized, and though he gave up some of his co-conspirators, he was quite plainly insane and mostly non-functional. I guess that I was too shocked at the character's actions to say any thing at the moment, but later I informed the party that the rod of resurrection had disappeared in a flash of light. The cleric's player got upset and started throwing out accusations that the goddess had abandoned them and started going on a tirade and howling about the whole world, including their allies, was so horrible and was turning on them.
The action that the cleric perpetrated was definitely not a good action. In my view, it was the torture and murder of a prisoner. The player has been hemming and hawing about it all week and I'm trying to ignore this since I know that knee-jerk reactions are only going to make things worse. The player has talked about changing classes and complained about how no one else in the group will give them the diamond dust so they can cast revivify and raise dead spells while I have been trying to clear my head and figure out what to do. I'm not sure that I want this player in my game anymore, because even if they change classes or bring in a different character (which is what they'd have to do at this point, as the cleric will lose their freedom for abusing and murdering a prisoner and no longer be viable), I have every expectation that the player will continue the behaviors since I've already spoken to them about it privately after previous incidents.
This Tuesday is the next game night.
'I am having trouble as a DM adapting to your playstyle. It's nothing personal, but I'm afraid I need to remove you from the group. I feel like you'll be better off finding a DM more suited to your playstyle.'
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
IMO in-game punishments for a problem player never work. They almost always exacerbate the problem. Did you explain in-game the reason for the Rod of Resurrection disappearing? If there was a disembodied voice that expressed disappointment in the cleric or something, it could have potentially let them know what was wrong while still being a punishment.
But all that's basically unimportant since you did your actions and I'm actually on your side on this one. If the person continually is a problem player, even when you take them aside privately to discuss their problems, then you should consider martintheactor's suggestion and decide whether removing the player from the game is the right move.
I know what you're thinking: "In that flurry of blows, did he use all his ki points, or save one?" Well, are ya feeling lucky, punk?
As a player, I've done the "kill a prisoner and bring them back with resurrection" thing. I was playing an Evil character in a high-camp game, and I was intentionally taking an over-the-top Evil action. I literally cannot imagine a player who thinks doing that is a Good-aligned maneuver. So I have to assume they knew it was Evil and did it anyway, after you asked your players to maintain a Good alignment. That indicates to me that they're not interested in playing the kind of game you want to run. If that is the case, I think you should ask the player politely but quite firmly to find a different game to play in.
The main aspect of this situation that I am confused about is whether it is the player or the character that is behaving cynically, acting out, feeling attacked, misinterpreting and misunderstanding NPCs and taking actions that might not be in character for a "good" character.
If the player is role playing the character that way then the problem is with the play style and there is the possibility it could be corrected. If the player is behaving this way because that is the way the person behaves - impatient with the game, feeling paranoid, concerned when the character gets punished because it reflects on the player as a person ... then there might be more concerning issues involved. Does this person need help and is their anti social behavior a symptom?
We have no way to tell and it is up to the OP to look at the broader range of behavior.
Based on the OPs comments and assuming it is just an incompatible play style, you are certainly justified in asking them to leave if they don't understand the type of character that this game requires. If that isn't the kind of character they want to play then it just isn't a good fit and the DM should be upfront in discussing it and suggesting they find a different DM.
If there are other issues, I'm not qualified to suggest how to handle it.
Do not allow torture in your games. In a practical sense, it doesn't work, a tortured victim will say anything, and secondly it's horrible for the DM to have to play a torture victim. Games are supposed to be fun, and role played torture is not fun. I make it clear I don't allow it in session zero. Also, don't set up situations where players feel that their characters should torture prisoners. You can have the players make an Intimidation check, and then give them the information or not, and tell them that is their only roll allowed for the interrogation if you want.
Note that the Resurrection spell says "If its soul is free and willing, the target returns to life with all its hit points." This is included precisely to stop exactly the situation you have described. The victim's soul should not have been willing to return.
Killing the prisoner is ok, but doing it sadistically is an evil act. When a player suggests something like this, they may just be caught up in the moment. You can say "I don't think a good aligned character would do that, maybe you could kill him quickly with your sword?" or something of that nature.
However, what has happened has happened and it sounds like you just don't enjoy having this player at your table, and their general way of role playing is not fun for you. You have already asked them to stop being snide and downbeat, and they've returned to it anyway.
You can ask the player if they are having a good time when they're accusing the rest of the party of being against them, and if so, whether they want to continue playing. Tell them that from the way they play their character, it feels to you like they don't enjoy it. If you think that there's no real likelihood of their behaviour changing, then remove them from the game.