Controlling Bloodthirsty Players

[selek]

Hello Again!!!!

I've got another problem with my Klingon campaign....one of the players is acting a little TOO Klingon!

Although this really shouldn't be a surprise to me (I've known him for thirty years), this fella's first instinct in any situation is to kill whatever might be impeding his progress (friends, foes, little fuzzy animals).

It's not that he's getting into character- the trouble is he's not.

Every character he plays is violent- perhaps as a means of doing things he cannot in everyday (not to mention polite) society.
There's never been a question of real-life violence or the like, but it's detracting from the game.

Any suggestions on how to channel this character (and his Klingon alter ego?) ???

Thanks

[Ezri's Toy]

As the old GM adage goes:

"Never tell a player what he can or can't do. . . But make sure the consequences of all actions are felt."

Even Klingons must pay the price for poor choices. Perhaps the foe he killed is the only one who has the information which would make the characters' lives easier. Perhaps the foe would make a better hostage or political prisoner than corpse.

Next, your key to controlling your blood-thirsty player is the Klingon Code Of Honor. To a Klingon, not every battle is a good battle and not every victory is an honorable one. For example:

•Killing a weaker foe is dishonorable. Klingons brand those types as cowards who cannot win a challenging fight. If your player does kill a weaker foe, make sure NPC Klingons disdain him and spit every time they speak his character's name.

•Killing a foe who's unarmed, regardless of the foe's warrior prowess, is dishonorable. (Thus, killing prisoners without cause is cowardly and denies the Empire possible valuable hostages.) Word spreads fast amongst Klingons. Make sure NPCs the character has never met disdain him.

•Killing a foe without orders from one's superior officers is a challenge to those officers' authority. Expect a duel of honor over that. (Character and player should expect to get spanked for that one.)

Once your player has violated the Klingon Code enough times, the character will certainly face discommendation in the end. An honorless Klingon doesn't live long in the Empire.

I've always looked at ST's post-TOS Klingons like samurai. Perhaps a little research into the code of Bushido might help you in establishing a Klingon Code that will help reign in your player. And, although its apocryphal in many ways now, the ST novel "The Final Reflection" by John M. Ford was the basis for many Klingon based role-playing groups and fan clubs before Worf took center-stage. If you read it, like it, and decide to use it in your games, have your problem player read it too.

Finally, after you've tried everything and failed, you may have to consider the group over the individual and ask the offending player to leave the game. It's better to ask one offensive player to leave rather than have him spoil everyone else's fun and then have the group dissolve by attrition.

[Balok]

In addition the excellent suggestions from Ezri's Toy (mmmmmm Ezri), let me add:
<ul>
<li>Klingons who don't follow the code are despised by their superiors, their peers, and their underlings. ET already covered superior officers. Peers will refuse to cooperate with the character or sabotage his efforts subtly. Underlings will challenge the officer for his position more frequently, confident that no one will miss the unwholesome fellow.
<p><li>He will bring dishonor upon his house. This will cause members of his house to challenge him.
<p><li>If he is working with Starfleet officers, they will complain to the Empire. After the events of the Empire, Martok is chancellor and Worf is ambassador from the Federation to Q'o'nos. Both of them are liable to be sympathetic to Federation claims, because both have experienced Federation valor.
</ul>
The Klingons are a violent people, but they are not uncontrolled; in fact, the reverse is true. The control comes in the form of a ruthless social Darwinism that destroys those who can't follow the rules. It would have to be this way, or they would long ago have destroyed themselves.

I'd also recommend this step before you ask him to leave, but after in-game solutions have clearly failed: take him aside and explain to him what you don't like about his behavior -- why it doesn't fit what you're trying to do, and how it may be damaging others' ability to have fun.

As I'm sure you know, it's likely to be difficult to change playing habits that have baked hard for thirty years. Be prepared for the possibility that you will not succeed, and for the possibility that you will have to ask him to leave the group, or that you will have to decide that Star Trek isn't the right kind of game for a group that includes this player.

[Arnold Rimmer]

If, at any point, his character dies and he is forced to make a new one, make him play a vulcan diplomat.

[First of Two]

If he disobeys orders, his superior officer,has every right to kill him - or put him in a situation likely to lead to his demise.

Underlings, as said before, see dishonor in a superior officer as a chance for advancement - by killing him,

Eventually, he's going to attack someone who's bigger and badder than he is, and get, as I've heard it said on Monty Python, "slit up a treat."

Just have the next individual he goes up against be an android with disruptor-proofing. The hyped-up reflexes and vastly superior strength of the android should be enough to deliver an appropriate spanking.

Heck, if it's a nursery-guardian android, it could deliver a REAL spanking! Wouldn't that be humiliating?
*BEEP!* "Naughty boy! No hitting!" *SMACKSMACKSMACKSMACKSMACK!*

[Ezri's Toy]

Originally posted by First of Two
Just have the next individual he goes up against be an android with disruptor-proofing. The hyped-up reflexes and vastly superior strength of the android should be enough to deliver an appropriate spanking.

Case in point:

<HR>
Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Datalore;" Act Five


66 INT. TURBOLIFT

<BLOCKQUOTE>
Worf, alone with Lore in the small cab, whirls toward the android

<CENTER>LORE
(continuing)
Now show me your warrior fierceness!
</CENTER>
</BLOCKQUOTE><HR>

[Followed by a quick but thorough Klingon-smacking.]

[Tobian]

We had a similar problem in our group with a player who always made simple combat monsters (as in simple in the head!). Characters like that can be not only terribly unballancing to the game (The GM has to put in extra hard things in to even be a challenge for him/her - and then one day he accidentally falls over and all the other characters follow suit rapidly!) but also can ruin story lines when he/she decides to kill an important story element.

Well there are remedies for this in Startrek . One universal leveler is Forcefields - if a character is rowdy - put him behind a forcefield. put all your important plot devices behind forcefields! Chances are that player, while combat oriented won't have the technical / computer skills to disable a forcefield. Another fun way to inhibit them is to use lots of hologrammes - that'll annoy them - make the oponent just a holographic simulation (or even better yet just make it a nausican holographically disguised as a weedy ferengi or something )

By far the most constraining element is simply the rules of society. All societies by definition have rules; be that Klingon honour or Federation ethics and human rights. If he takes on an authority figure - sure he can take him down in a fight easilly - and then his small army / militia / police force can take out that player in a fight.

Another simple method is to get the other players onside. I don't mean get them to kill him, chances are they won't win, but in simply picking their fights or not picking them - leaving him stranded when he boasted for 3 hours he could kill that Tarkalian razor beast barehanded - well let him

I can't remember who originally said it but there is an old proverb: 'use greater force against it's self' - and if that fails - well there's always energy weapons

[BouncyCaitian]

Ah....The G.I. Dunno factor (AKA Combat Munchkin). I've run into this problem many times. Here a few quick suggestions for dealing with shlemels and other sorts of goof balls.

1) Make the enemy smarter: Sure, you have the Mook factor for your average guard, but in places that are important, here are a few dirty tricks I use to mess with players heads:
1) piezo-electric walls and floors: this is a security system via wich no scanning field is detected (looks like a background distributed power source) and relays the exact position of the players via induction to the security comptuer running things. Also, who says internal security phaser strips don't exist?

2) the claymore factor: static non-energy defenses, pressure plates under that nice soft rug, chemical explosives, armour peircing darts....lovely things that aren't powered, thus not readily detectable by tricorders. especially if the area in question is already sheilded. What, no engineer to think of things like this? BOOM. Too bad. oh...and put traps where they least expect it. BOOM. and jsut when they think you've trapped everything...slack off...make them paranoid...then put one under the villians bed. BOOM.

3) Give the villians access to better toys than they have. TR-116 sniper file anyone? Dominion-Class Transporters? nanotech grenades that disable they weapons power links? or...if you are feeling evil....borg nano-probes.

4) political fallout: let's face it. people likes things quiet. too much gun bunniness draws whiners. Whiners whine to superiors. Superiors Become Irrate. repeat as nessesary.

[Owen E Oulton]

TR-116 sniper file anyone?

...And not just a stock TR-116, but one with the modifications used in the DS9 episode - the microtransporter and the scanner eyepiece. Otherwise, it's just a high-tech rifle.

I tend to favour boobytraps - this type of yahoo never seems to scan, or if they do they've neglected to raise their tricorder or search skills very high. A stun field or a dose of anaesthetic gas, and they wake us strapped to a steel slab with a phaser cutter pointed at their family jewels.
(See: Goldfinger
"Do you expect me to talk?"
"Why no, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.")

Remove script immunity - villains no longer explain their plots, they just off the annoying cuss.

[selek]

Thanks for your assistance and advice....it's been more than a little frustrating trying to moderate this character. Mostly it's come down to tougher bad guys and slightly more complex plotlines.

At our last session, however, our favorite blood-thirsty gorilla decided to actually PLAY a Klingon- he got a little in-character praise to spur the moment and actually got into character.

That doesn't mean, however, I won't use some of the nasty tricks listed here, as necessary.

[Phantom]

If all else fails you could try a muzzle and leash. Or perhaps a sedative or two.

[JonA]

I think I should recommend a supplement that was written for Cyberpunk but in actual fact is just an excellent book on how to go from being a fair GM to an excellent GM.

It's called "Listen Up You Primitive Screwheads" and has recently been re-released.

It covers how to deal with different types of PCs effectively and fairly. It also gives excellent tips on the classic dilemas of setting and how to get your PCs together and stay together regardless of their differences in a non-convoluted, railroaded way.

As I say it was written primarily for Cyberpunk but I've used the stuff written in it in all the systems I've run.

And Mike Pondsmith's chapter at the end on Down and Dirty Tricks is just a gem of writing. Worth buying for this man's insight alone (the man is a God - even if he can't be bothered to get down and produce Cyberpunk V3).

[Ezri's Toy]

Originally posted by JonA
I think I should recommend a supplement that was written for Cyberpunk but in actual fact is just an excellent book on how to go from being a fair GM to an excellent GM.

It's called "Listen Up You Primitive Screwheads" and has recently been re-released. . .

I suppose you can't go wrong with GM advice titled after a Bruce Campbell quote.

One book I've found extremely useful is Robin's Laws Of Good GameMastering by (who else ?) Robin Laws (Designer of Feng Shui; Hero Wars.)

Target your player types; Analyze your RPGs and choose a rules set that suits them best; Tailor a campaign to their playing styles. And, above all, learn how to stream-line your GMing when behind the screen.

At first, it may seem expensive ($9.95 for 32 pages); But, its all text except for a couple of charts and is some of the best GMing advice available. It was an Origins Award nominee for Best Game Aid or Accessory of 2002. If you read it, you'll know why. Well worth the money.

[StyroFoam Man]

This message has been removed on request by the
poster

[Ezri's Toy]

Originally posted by StyroFoam Man
Best way to stop a blood-thirsty player/character?

Kill. Them. Repeat as many times as needed.

Make them remember that even though they have truckloads of firepower and defense the Galaxy is a big big place and there is always somthing out there with More(TM).

That doesn't stop them. It just makes them think the GM has a personal vendetta against the player.