How to stop murder hobos from destroying your game

 A players behavior at the table is based on expectations and rules that need to be agreed upon before the game even starts. I am a huge advocate of stopping people from acting rude or disrespectful.

If you know that your players wanted to be murder hobos in the first place, then you should have a game style that reflects their play style. However something can always become an issue no matter what rules and expectations you establish.

During session zero, everyone in the game needs to agree on what the play style is and how evil the party wants to be. Alignments should be followed according to character. If a player wants to be evil in a party full of good people, the players need to have a really good reason for it. Good characters won't travel with known criminals or evil people. And that needs to be role played.

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   If another player is always interrupting or trying to hog all of the attention your other players will never get their turn. This selfish player is probably trying to do everything without giving other players a chance. This is easy to control by simply giving the attention to another player. Interrupt the rude player if you have to.

"We know what you are about to do, now lets take turns and see what our paladin would like to do." As the DM you need to take your attention away from that player.

If you are a player, you can help too.
   Your character can interrupt the selfish player too. The DM will probably appreciate it too.
Talk in character,
 "If you attack the king, you won't be my traveling companion anymore. Your actions prove to be  unbecoming and insulting. You will get no further support from me. If I (my characters) can't trust you, I can't help you." Hopefully the offending player will understand that he needs to act according to the rest of the group.

You can also say something like this
 "In order to finish our quest, we need everyone working together for the common cause. If you want to kill kings and burn down taverns, you should look for another group to travel with."
Hopefully the player will get the obvious hint.

A player can also help intervene on behalf of the story. When a bad player makes the bad decision to kill an NPC. Your character can and should hold them back. In a one shot game it isn't as important. But an ongoing campaign will most likely have dire consequences. Stay in the way of the bad player until the DM can intervene and stop the conflict.

How to stop a player who wants to destroy your game.
The dungeon master has all the power to allow  anything in the story to progress. This means that if there is an interruptive or rude player, they don't get to do anything until the DM says so.

Stop a rude boy in their tracks. This trick also works to stop players from destroying your game.

Rude Boy: "I slap the bartender in the face, then I light the tavern on fire, then I kill the closest guard next to me."

Dungeon Master: (taking the wind out of rude boys sails.) "Before you get close to the bartender, I want to know what everyone else is doing. Lets take turns and go around the table."

Take turns and let all the other players go first. Usually that can de-escalate a game destroying rude boy. Since the narrative was changed by another player, the rude boy should be focused on something else beside killing. If it gets back to his turn and he still wants to be destructive, let him give it a try. Since we already know that the rude boy wants to attack the bartender first, we can have a little time to prepare while the other players are going.

The key word here is 'Before'. Don't let a rude boy get away with even getting close to what they want to do. Don't even acknowledge what rude boy is saying.  The word 'before' can be used in any situation to take control of the action and slow down a player.

"Before you get to the bartender, roll a dexterity save, (make the DC impossible to beat) you have been hit in the leg with an arrow, you will now be moving at half speed." or something like this.

"Before you move to attack the bartender, you realize that the bar is full of royal guards and other witnesses who probably want to enjoy their dinner."

"Before you attack the king, the two guards closest to you grab the crossbow out of your hands. "

Get the other players to help.
This is another diversion tactic, but a little more involved. Talk to the other players. "You see your rude companion about to attack the bartender, what are you going to do." Let all the other players go first and hopefully they will stop or otherwise slow down the attacking player.

A Party of Hobos
If your whole party is a group of murder hobos, it might be hard to ask for help from other players.  So get more NPCs involved. Bring in guides or advisors who can speak for you as the DM. Warn the players of the consequences. "I really don't think you would want the entire regions army on your tail if you do try to kill the king." "If you allow this fire to burn down the entire forest, it will be your heads that the wrath of the gods come down upon!" Let your party of hobos reap what they sow.

If the party wants to act like villains, everyone in your world will treat them like villains. 

Bring alignments into play and make the players suffer every time they don't act accordingly.

Players need to deal with consequences 
If the player still insists after a warning. Say this. "You hit the bartender in the face and suddenly you feel the point of a sword in your back. One of the guards has hit you for 900 damage. (Don't even roll for attack or damage at this point. Do enough damage to teach a lesson.)You are now unconscious and are currently being dragged toward the prisons. Now what do the other players want to do?"

Consequences are only limited by your imagination. Players killed a bartender or burnt down a town? Now there is a price on their heads. High level NPCs will always be hunting them down. Rogue NPCs will turn them in for a reward at any moment. The PCs are never the strongest people in your world. If they just keep surviving, throw something stronger at them. Make them learn their lessons the hard way. There is always a bigger fish. There will always be something stronger than your PCs. Bring the gods down if you have to. Have celestials and archons hunt the players down. You have my permission to make your murder hobos life a living hell.

More Consequences. 
The murder hobos faces are plastered everywhere. Every NPC knows what the wanted posters look like. Guards won't let your party into town. Shopkeepers and taverns refuse to serve the criminal party. "You burnt down my grannys hometown! There's no way I will let you into our city!"

If the party has a reputation for evil, cultists, murderers, and other criminals might want to join forces with the party. "We know you killed the royal guards in the city, maybe you can help us destroy them all! Take down their peacekeeping ways!" or, "Clearly you don't have any qualms about preserving life, so maybe you can help us summon our great god of death"

At this point the players should have some kind of moral quandary, if not, the campaign just turned into a villains story. And all the good guys will be constantly hunting them down.

Teaching New dungeons and dragons Players

Tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons can be really big and complicated. New players can be easily overwhelmed with all the rules and weird terminology. 

If you want your friends or family to role-play with you, it is important to be patient and supportive while teaching new players to learn your game.

Keep the rules simple.
Don't overwhelm new people with too many rules.

Only teach the race and class the player is using from only the main rule book. Don't let them try to create some weirdly complicated character from a 3rd party rule book. Keep it simple. let them learn the basics first.

 Focus their learning on what is personal to the student. Attacks. abilities, and spells, that are specific to their character.

Make sure they know what dice to roll and how to find information on their character sheet.

Let new players base their characters off of a famous or recognizable character. This way they can think "What would Legolas do? How would john wick do this?" 

Using a famous character will give new players a framework or guideline to follow instead of being overwhelmed with infinite character possibilities.

Create a supportive environment.
Make sure players feel free to do whatever they want. Let them tell you (the DM) what they want to do and you can tell them what checks or rolls they will need to do.

Don't let them be afraid of not knowing the rules. Let them know that it is okay to make mistakes.

Be open and accepting. Don't condescend or make fun of players who don't know what to do.

Allow new players to make mistakes. Do not judge or criticize a noob mistake. Being critical or judgmental automatically kills the learning process.

The more you criticize, the more new players will not want to play. Nobody wants to be judged or bullied when they are trying to learn something new. If this is happening, new players will be disengaged and they won't ever want to to play again.

Hopefully most issues and play styles were previously agreed upon during session zero or through established house rules. However something can always become an issue no matter how many rules and expectations you establish.

 Don't assume the worst in people or new players.

Wheatons Law: Don't be a dick.
Don't make assumptions about people or their actions without talking to them first. 

Nothing is worse than that person who complains, criticizes, or starts ranting without knowing what is going on. Do not be that guy. 

Players and dungeon masters will like you a lot better if you aren't complaining. 

If you aren't following this law, the problem could be you.


Be Welcoming
A lot of players are new to the game, so don't assume that people know everything. Most tabletop RPGs are big and complicated and it can be overwhelming for new players. 

Be welcoming, supportive, and inclusive. A group game doesn't work unless you are actively part of the group. If a new player doesn't feel welcome, they aren't going to want to play at all.


Ask questions before you criticize. 
If you come into a situation where you don't know what is going on or you see something that you don't like, talk first, ask questions first, before making assumptions and yelling at your friends. 

This is especially important if you are the Game Master. Listen first before making game altering judgments.

Before you criticize, ask questions and learn about what the other person is thinking. This is a lot more constructive than blindly attacking or judging.

"Are you Okay?" Is the best thing to say if you don't know what else to ask. Always listen first and acknowledge what they say.

After that, the communication can become more specific. "I asked if you we're okay because it seems like you are refusing to wait for your turn when I'm trying to tell the story." 

Or, "I asked if you are okay because it seems like you aren't listening to the other players."

 Or, "It seems like you are trying to take the attention away from other players."

If the player in question doesn't respond well, you'll most likely need to talk, and listen to them, privately outside of the game and away from the table.

Review your house rules and expectations before the game starts.

Remember that every dungeon masters play style is different. Every group has different players and a different group dynamic. No two games are ever the same. So don't expect assumptions or behavior to be exactly the same either. 

Make sure all players who come and go from your table know your house rules and the consequences for their actions.

This might feel harsh at first, but you'll know it's worth it when there are a lot less arguments about how to calculate critical hit damage. 

Behavior expectations should be common knowledge.... Things like waiting for your turn. Or rules like don't be a cheater. It is important to talk about this stuff instead of assuming that everyone knows how to behave.

These games are supposed to be fun. The more supportive and relaxed environment you create, the more fun everyone at the table will have.







   

How To Create Memorable NPCs

Non-player characters aren't just cannon fodder or set pieces for players to destroy. NPCs can be utilized for any narrative purpose or game play needs. NPCs will usually be the ones to create conflict, which is necessary for a good story.

Prepare a characters emotion or personality type.
Describe the characters main emotion in one word. Descriptors can be really simple. Nervous, confident, joyful, grumpy, sad, aloof, indifferent, etc. Once you have a specific word to describe an NPC you can base your entire performance on that one word. If you would rather improvise during the game, you can prepare a list of random descriptors and personalities to have on hand. Also you can prepare a list of random names prepared because we always need to make a new NPC during the game.

How does your character deal?
Another way to describe your characters is how they operate in a deal. Are they givers, takers, or matchers?

A giver would offer whatever they can to help and support his friends without expecting anything in return. A giver is happy to work as a team without getting credit for himself specifically.
A taker will manipulate and lie to get whatever they want. A taker will always steal credit for achievements and always keep the glory for himself.
A matcher is someone who will always repay a favor for a favor. If someone does a favor for a matcher, he will feel like he owes them a favor. I got this idea from reading Give and Take by Adam Grant.

Set up a goal. 
NPC goals can be really simple too. A farmer wants a new plow that works better. A blacksmith who is in love with the prince. A neighbor keeps trying to borrow a cup of sugar. An apprentice who doesn't want to learn her trade. If you keep NPC goals simple, your world will be grounded realistically and feel more believable to your players. Not all their goals need to be about avenging their father or finding a secret family heirloom.

With these goals set up, you'll be able to direct the conversation for a good role play encounter.

Now that you have a personality, or emotion word, a giver or take action and a goal, you can use all three together to tell you what actions the characters will take. 

Let Your Characters grow
Allow your characters grow throughout the game itself. Improvise, learn, and adapt your characters just like a player character. Find their voice during game play. Be patient with yourself and your characters, let them grow naturally over time. The best characteristics are revealed in game.

 Don't forget to write down important things that NPCs say or want. This way your world and characters will be consistent from session to session.

Don't worry about making NPC stats unless you know specifically that they will be fighting the players. If the NPC never sees any combat, you won't need their stats. You can make up or fudge any of their rolls if you need to.

Be the character, not a game master.
The Angry GM says "Play the character instead of running the game." 

While in conversation with players, don't trying to narrate and manage the game, just act in character and react to what the players do. Don't think about what will happen next in the game until the conversation is over. 

You can even narrate with an NPCs voice. Focus solely on how the NPC will react to what the players are doing. Focus on your NPCs main goal and try to control the conversation in character. practice reacting how that character would react to different things.

How Helpful are your NPCs?
Use NPCs as the voice of reason instead of the DM talking. When giving out quests, use NPCs to give players hints about what monsters they might fight or warnings about what is ahead. Hopefully, (for their sake) your players are smart enough to ask questions.

Set up characters that the players can go to for advice or help. A wizard who can identify items, a cleric who can heal, and criminal contacts. Maybe there is a woodsman or ranger who can guide the players through the forest or a hireling who has experience fighting specific monsters.

NPC Voices.
Along with accents, you can also consider talking just by changing your voice a little bit. Make a NPC talk a lot faster than your normal voice, or slower. Talk with a deeper or higher voice. These changes are simple and effective. Every time my voice gets lower, my players know that the bear is talking.

You can also use different vocabulary for different types of people. Perhaps your players encounter a well-educated higher class scholar or wizard. They would use fancier words and some magical technobabble. A bum on the street or a barbarian raised in the forest probably won't be using big words.

If you want to get better with accents, you'll have to practice talking a lot in that voice, outside of the game.

My dilemma on sandbox versus railroad.

High Expectations.

I've been accused a few times of giving the players too many options. This is because I want to be able to improvise new things and enjoy the unexpected during the game. That is what is exciting for me when I run a session. I want a game where players feel free to explore and go find out what is behind the waterfall. The problem is that my players will never see the waterfall because most of my players only see what is directly in front of them.

In one of my longer games, my players are ignoring all the side quests that I have given them and are just focusing on the main story. These players have gotten tons of hints in game and me as the DM specifically telling them where to go, and they still aren't doing it. I had 3 different portals put in front of them and they only went through one. Each portal leads to another part of the story and after at least 6 sessions, the players are still ignoring them after my constant reminders.

I am annoyed by this because I have stories prepared that will never been seen by my players. At the same time, I want my players to choose to go somewhere and explore as well as getting the job done. There should be time for both.

I have played in games where the railroading was so bad, that we as players couldn't look around or talk to the characters we wanted to. So I will always want to give my players as many choices as possible.

Prepare for specific players.

 A good player will take their time to ask questions and explore the world around them instead of waiting for the DM to lead them by the hand. The players are supposed to be the main characters but that means they need to be actively trying to move the story along. That is what I expect in my games. I'm sure other DM's will be different.

The answer to this is simple. if you don't want your players to miss anything, you'll need to put them on a track. I guess I will have to railroad them. Whatever I want them to deal with, will just be placed in front of them. For me, this means I'm a DM who railroads. At least for this specific game for these specific players.

The problem is that my players will never see the waterfall because they only see what is directly in front of them. So I'll have to put the waterfall right in their path in order for them to explore it.

Bad pacing leaves no time to explore.

In one of my recent games online, I set up some hobgoblins who were kidnapping slaves from a village. The players had to track them down and rescue the villagers. I also had a separate plot thread about a couple who was smuggling a baby through that same village. I expected the players to find the baby in a hidden cellar, under one of the ruined houses.

The problem in this case was my pacing. The players didn't do any exploring. Which was my fault. I had enemy goblins nearby and the players wanted to chase them down. My placing enemies in their path distracted them from exploring. So they never ended up finding the baby that was acting as a plot hook.

In this specific case, my timing was off. If I had the bad guys show up later, maybe the players would take their time to look around. Give them downtime so they feel like they have the freedom to explore. When I want the story to move forward, That is when I let the players notice the bad guys.

It is okay to railroad when you have to.

It all depends on the situation and how good you are at pacing and working with specific players. If the players aren't good at exploring you'll have place everything in front of them. If a player doesn't want to look around, then they get stuck on a track.

Another tactic for helping them along is to have NPC's tell the players exactly what to do and where to go. Help them along with a local guide or a mentor, even a bad guy during a battle can leave clues before he gets muder-hoboed by the players.

The trick is to leave clues and plot hooks wherever the players choose to go. If your players are the exploring type, you can leave things that you have prepared wherever the players go. This gives the players the illusion of choice, they choose where to go and what to do, but they still get the plot hooks and everything you have prepared. Then you won't be seen as a railroading DM.

"The benefit to loosing is that you get to learn from your mistakes." -MegaMind

The pacing and set ups will always be changing.

For example, I could have had my goblins in the village lead the players to where the cellar is instead of having them run away distracting the players. Or I could have had a villager ask the players for help. My expectation was that the players would find the cellar on their own, let them do the exploring.

Going forward, my fix to this specific problem will be to move the cellar forward and have them find it after they defeat the current set of goblins. It will be right in their path, ready to start off the next session. It would actually make better sense to have the house outside of the village, more suited for baby smuggling.

What Critical Role teaches us about being good RPG players

Critical role is a you tube show where an exciting group of professionals play some Dungeons and Dragons. Here is a link to Season 2. Because its better. https://youtu.be/byva0hOj8CU

If you are here you probably already know what all this is. so I'll get on with it!

Watching others play role playing games such as Critical Role or Adventure Zone can help you learn how to be a better role player and actor. We always want to learn from the best! Here are some excellent takeaways that I got from critical role.

Good players pay attention and are prepared.

During a battle, the players are always ready for their turns and they know what they want to do. Making a choice on their turn is always better than stalling. You'll never see the CR cast wasting time by not making a decision. If they don't know what to do, they ask for help, in character, and the group role plays to get to a solution.

Act like you are reading from a script. Accept the fact that your character is not in every scene and they shouldn't be in order to make a good story. Your character is not talking in every conversation. Good players know that some scenes are not all about them, other players need their own screen time too. Caleb doesn't interrupt when Fjord and Beau are having a conversation, unless it adds to the interaction.

Wait for your turn before your characters speaks. Wait until a scene is over before you try to start a new one or try to change the subject. Wait for a conversation to be over before starting a new one.

Good Players Don't Interrupt
The players in Critical Role never interrupt the DM. They always wait for Matt Mercer to finish his story or describe what is going on before they do any talking. They show the ultimate respect for their DM and the other players.

The players never argue with the DM, whatever he says goes. The only thing that arguing accomplishes is wasting your game time.

Don't be the player who is always interrupting. The players need to hear the GM so they know what is going on. You should be listening too. A good GM will give you a chance to role play or make decisions, you'll just have to wait for it. It's okay to ask questions and offer suggestions. But never interrupt the GM or the players who are trying to role play. Role playing is a collaborative experience, and it only works when you let other people have a turn to talk. 

Another player interrupting or trying to change the subject will always destroy the flow of a conversation and therefore the flow of the game. Wait for the scene to play out before you take your turn. You will never see players on Critical Role  interrupting or trying to take up all the attention.

A story can only develop when a scene comes to its conclusion.
Allow yourself as a player to sit back and watch the game unfold. Take your time with the game and let the story develop naturally, one scene at a time.

 Don't try to advance a scene until the previous one is over. This is especially important for GM's who ignore or dismiss a player trying to role play. Matt Mercer never interrupts his players when they are role playing. Matt is usually in character as an NPC, role playing along with them.

When the other players are done talking, that is your cue to either react and say something in character. Do not interrupt or change the subject until that story beat or plot point is concluded.

A game is only as good as it's players.

The players rarely bring up side conversations, and if it happens, they are still very quiet and focused on the story. There is no talk that is completely out of game. Save it for the commercial break. If a pop culture reference is mentioned, they still keep it within the confines of the story. The players never go off on tangents and talk about a subject that isn't part of the game.

Everyone in critical role acts like respectful adults who go with the flow of the game and they are mature enough to listen and wait patiently for their turns. When Nott and Jester are playing cards, the other 5 players listen patiently and let the scene play out to it's conclusion. Only one conversation should be happening at a time, no matter who is talking.

Role play doesn't work unless at least two characters are involved and interacting with each other. The cast is constantly reacting and asking questions in character to keep the energy and role play alive.

If you want more role play in your group, you need to react in character to whatever is going on. When you react to another player, who is role playing, it gets you into the scene and lets the other characters role play with you.

If a character says something and no one else reacts or get involved, then the role play dies.  Role-play won't ever happen if other players are dismissive or don't engage in the conversation. A lot of lines that are spoken in character fall flat simply because other players never respond to them. 

The cast of critical role are always engaged and always ready to react. Their performances are fun and entertaining because of how much energy they put into staying in the action and paying attention.

The CR Players are confident in their characters, choices and actions. They think before they speak. Having confidence means knowing you can handle whatever comes up. A good player learns and grows along with their character.

Support your game to make it endure.

Why does critical role work so well? Why do they have a game full of energy and continues to work for multiple seasons?
Aside from them being professional actors, they do whatever they can to support the game and the story.

Critical Role avoids all the pitfalls of game ending behaviors. There isn't a player who is constantly trying to get all the attention. They always share the scenes with other players. There is no interruptive player who messes things up for other players. They are all great listeners and they know how to react and engage in the story without upstaging others.

The PC's are always supporting each other to keep the story moving forward. Make sure your character is supporting the other characters with their goals or plans. The more effort you put into the characters friendship, the more you will get out of it. You won't get a Beau and Jester without that conscious effort. Your characters are always playing and fighting together they should become friends pretty quickly.

 If you want your game to last 6 seasons and a movie, then give the DM and PC's all of your attention and support.

The DM is a great listener too, he doesn't rush a scene forward, he takes the time to listen to his players role play.

 But the most important reason that this show has gone on so long is that everyone continually supports each other. The players take the time to make sure their characters genuinely care for and support the other characters during the game. Supporting other characters goals and plans,  creates a lasting bond you will never see in other games.

You will never see a lone wolf edge lord character who is only out for himself in Critical Role. Because it is a group game. A game where supportive characters make a better story. The loner has no place in a group game and Critical Role knows it.

Be kind and respectful
If you want a good story and you want to put on a good show, remember to always be attentive, always be ready for your turn. Do not interrupt or try to change focus when a scene is already in play. Do not hog the spotlight. Be active in the story by reacting and engaging, in character,  with what is going on. Go with the flow.

Be supportive of all the players and make an effort to include them all. This applies to players and game masters alike. If you aren't including others,  no one will want to play with you.

And most importantly be a good listener. The best way to get support from other players is to support them first. Listen to other ideas and work with each other. The player who listens is the player that will be included.