New dm I played in high school and Sat in a few games but dming is new and I know we arent supposed to say no to players but this is driving me mad. A player wanted to be lythari and I couldn't find anything but a tiny section so I took away a few things and have him some wolf abilities better than polymorph bc I wanted it to be viable at higher levels too. I put in their that if you are raised by elves as a wolf you wouldn't care about money, religion, and be confused by certain things society like not telling someone you love them when you do or pretending to be sick to get out of a party etc. Due to his back story I allowed him to have a jewelry kit and that's when it started. Day one he only cares about gold and loot he horde finds after the party kills something he now wants to make more goods and START A CARAVAN WITH TRADE ROUTES his whole goal is money and it's hurting my game How can I solve this issue.
The best advice for any situations causing conflict is an open discussion between the DM and the player.
Please don't be confrontational - don't start by saying, "Hey! You're hurting this game!"
I believe that, as a DM, we should recognise that everyone that participates is a part owner of the game and the position of DM is one of privilege, because the players trust us to define and run the game.
That said, ask yourself WHY you believe that this character is hurting the game? Is it the difference between the defined background and the way the character is played? If so, then talk to them about what they want to do with the character - it sounds to me like the race and background they have really doesn't fit the character they are playing, so it is the race and background that should change, rather than getting the player to change how they play the character.
I was thinking that after I hit post. I have had an open discussion with him and he always had a reasoning for his actions. I think he is projecting himself more than his character because it is his first time playing dnd. I worry bc he spends so much time shopping and crafting it takes away from other players. I did tell him to keep it to downtime activities and he agreed so I hope that helps
Since when aren't you supposed to say no? Obviously be flexible,. It as DM it's your game and if you don't want to something in the game no matter what, be firm on it.
Also the character is being greedy and maybe starting to tread in on the local trade guild(s)? Maybe they don't like some outsider taking their business and decide to hire some help. ;)
I typically give players a ton of freedom when it comes to how they represent their background. To me, the background describes who the PC was before they started adventuring. So maybe this character didn't care about wealth, but now that they're out in the world, the experience has changed them.
Not only talk it out, but also have an in-character discussion about a trade caravan. If needed, jump start it with an NPC that wants to hire on as a guard or has wagons to take to a certain other place. If the other players are going, it could make it fun. If they are not then the player has to choose to go with the group or remove himself from the game with his caravan. Alternatively, he could use his downtime activity to begin building a caravan network. This is a Win/Win for you as a DM. Let him have it. Let him build it in his spare time. Give him bills for expenditures that he needs to make and some occasional profits. And periodically, there is a crisis that he will have to convince the group to go help him go resolve... and the kind of compensation they should be receiving. Maybe someone attacks him in a random inn on the road because his caravan lost him money. Maybe he is seduced by someone that wants to use his caravan for some other purpose. Maybe he has problems with guards causing problems in other towns.
If this does come to fruition, talk to the other players about what is happening. Each of them should have some similar level of outside influence on them. If not, then they need more backstory. And speaking of backstory... the character may have come from that kind of background and suddenly finds out that he has a flaw of Avarice. Make him roll for it in social situations. If he feels it is unjust, then have him develop his backstory more and come up with a reason that he is now greedy and what kind of character flaw that reveals in him coming from the upbringing he had. Once you can all talk and get to the nuts and bolts... you'll probably both enjoy him playing the character. I've had misunderstandings with a DM before (and players). Once we really started talking and asking questions instead of guessing we were on the same page, we begin to work out the weave that we played the character out on.
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New dm I played in high school and Sat in a few games but dming is new and I know we arent supposed to say no to players but this is driving me mad. A player wanted to be lythari and I couldn't find anything but a tiny section so I took away a few things and have him some wolf abilities better than polymorph bc I wanted it to be viable at higher levels too. I put in their that if you are raised by elves as a wolf you wouldn't care about money, religion, and be confused by certain things society like not telling someone you love them when you do or pretending to be sick to get out of a party etc. Due to his back story I allowed him to have a jewelry kit and that's when it started. Day one he only cares about gold and loot he horde finds after the party kills something he now wants to make more goods and START A CARAVAN WITH TRADE ROUTES his whole goal is money and it's hurting my game How can I solve this issue.
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D&D Beyond FoundersThe best advice for any situations causing conflict is an open discussion between the DM and the player.
Please don't be confrontational - don't start by saying, "Hey! You're hurting this game!"
I believe that, as a DM, we should recognise that everyone that participates is a part owner of the game and the position of DM is one of privilege, because the players trust us to define and run the game.
That said, ask yourself WHY you believe that this character is hurting the game? Is it the difference between the defined background and the way the character is played? If so, then talk to them about what they want to do with the character - it sounds to me like the race and background they have really doesn't fit the character they are playing, so it is the race and background that should change, rather than getting the player to change how they play the character.
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I was thinking that after I hit post. I have had an open discussion with him and he always had a reasoning for his actions. I think he is projecting himself more than his character because it is his first time playing dnd. I worry bc he spends so much time shopping and crafting it takes away from other players. I did tell him to keep it to downtime activities and he agreed so I hope that helps
Since when aren't you supposed to say no? Obviously be flexible,. It as DM it's your game and if you don't want to something in the game no matter what, be firm on it.
Also the character is being greedy and maybe starting to tread in on the local trade guild(s)? Maybe they don't like some outsider taking their business and decide to hire some help. ;)
Ahhh I like that
I typically give players a ton of freedom when it comes to how they represent their background. To me, the background describes who the PC was before they started adventuring. So maybe this character didn't care about wealth, but now that they're out in the world, the experience has changed them.
Not only talk it out, but also have an in-character discussion about a trade caravan. If needed, jump start it with an NPC that wants to hire on as a guard or has wagons to take to a certain other place. If the other players are going, it could make it fun. If they are not then the player has to choose to go with the group or remove himself from the game with his caravan. Alternatively, he could use his downtime activity to begin building a caravan network. This is a Win/Win for you as a DM. Let him have it. Let him build it in his spare time. Give him bills for expenditures that he needs to make and some occasional profits. And periodically, there is a crisis that he will have to convince the group to go help him go resolve... and the kind of compensation they should be receiving. Maybe someone attacks him in a random inn on the road because his caravan lost him money. Maybe he is seduced by someone that wants to use his caravan for some other purpose. Maybe he has problems with guards causing problems in other towns.
If this does come to fruition, talk to the other players about what is happening. Each of them should have some similar level of outside influence on them. If not, then they need more backstory. And speaking of backstory... the character may have come from that kind of background and suddenly finds out that he has a flaw of Avarice. Make him roll for it in social situations. If he feels it is unjust, then have him develop his backstory more and come up with a reason that he is now greedy and what kind of character flaw that reveals in him coming from the upbringing he had. Once you can all talk and get to the nuts and bolts... you'll probably both enjoy him playing the character. I've had misunderstandings with a DM before (and players). Once we really started talking and asking questions instead of guessing we were on the same page, we begin to work out the weave that we played the character out on.