How do you deal with the quiet, emoboy in your table?
Like, the guy that doesn't disrupt the party, but also doesn't offer much.
I feel like he isn't having as much fun as the rest of the party. How do you deal with this bros? Or are some people just like that?
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Do anything but absolutely do not kick him out. You don't want him to put you on his list when he finally gets pushed past the limit and decides to go down shooting.
Ask him how he's enjoying the game and then ask if there's anything he would like to see improved.
Some people tend to be quiet, and that isn't bad, so long as there are people who can be gregarious and extroverted when it's needed.
Some people just enjoy sitting there with other people feeling like they're a part of something, even if they don't do much else. He's probably an introvert and is enjoying the game just fine. Simply ask him (in private) if he's happy with how things are going or if there's some way he would like to become more involved.
These ones. Feel free to ask him how he's liking the game, but it's entirely possible that he's enjoying himself as-is. Some people like sitting back and enjoying the ride.
Thank you guys
Would rather the Quiet Guy who shows up prepared, his own books, contributes food and drink etc, and probably knows what he's doing, than "That Guy"
For literally years I had a player like this and always wondered about him. Every once in awhile I'd ask him off hours how he was feeling, I just wasn't sure how to take it.
But in the end once I stopped and seriously asked him straight it was just like said, he preferred being in the background and enjoying the game that way and that was it. We still play together.
What you shouldn't try to do is put them on the spot to make him engage more. Some people have already suggested to ask what he'd like to see more of, which is good advice to get him engaged.
>Tries to be the quiet guy who just wants to help the others have fun taking the spotlight and always ready to help their characters' goals and dreams bear fruit
>End up hogging the spotlight because it feels like no one else is talking when an important NPC addresses us and feel bad afterwards
The pain of trying to be a good player but inevitably being a shitty player is real.
Not sure if that makes you a shitty player. My roommate had a shadowrun campaign where his orc thug ended up being the face because no one else really went for it. Sometimes you have your plans but the game pulls elsewhere.
>I feel like he isn't having as much fun as the rest of the party. How do you deal with this bros?
I don't. Your job is to run a game, not make players have fun.
>Your job is to run a game, not make players have fun.
TTRPGs are at heart cooperative storytelling. It IS your job to have fun and make sure everyone else is fun, regardless of whether you're the player or the DM. Forgetting this rule is what creates, in extreme cases, the DM-vs-PCs mindset. Your job is not to "oppose" the players, but to give them challenges to overcome and make them participate in a story where they feel like they've done something good or cool.
>Your job is to run a game, not make players have fun.
You don't have a job. You're doing this for your own fun. If you're not having fun, you're not obliged to run the game. But I personally have fun when my players are having fun, and if you too enjoy bringing fun to your players it's your interest to make the players have fun.
>tfw quietest player at the table rolled a face character
Why
>american problems
Honestly, just talk to him. Like said, if that's what he enjoys then so be it. Try to have some moments where he can shine but don't try to force it in.
Having fun is rule n°0 of any DMing or playing guide mate.
>Run a cleric to be the healer and support summoner to back everyone up while having a glaive for personal protection
>end up becoming the party face because I'm the only who invested in diplomacy and with a decent CHA score
>play bloodrager because I wanna hulk out and meatshield for the rest of the group
>end up the party face because only one with any value as a face, points in Diplomacy and Intimidate, and decent CHA
Maybe I should just stop playing stuff based around Charisma, maybe hit up the Wizard/Arcanist and be the quiet shut-in outside of adventuring to fund research and discover arcane secrets. Hell, maybe Slayer or Fighter just to be focused on 'killing shit and killing it good' and let others handle making my contracts/getting my jobs for me. Might push them to realize that it shouldn't be just one person playing face all the time.
>but to give them challenges to overcome and make them participate in a story where they feel like they've done something good or cool.
Wow, you had it right up to the last part of that sentence. Then you became retarded.
Listen, it's not the DM's job to facilitate your retarded antics. If you suddenly become enamored with this cool creative idea you had, that's fine, but that doesn't mean the DM has any obligation to make it happen. No that does not make him a joyless twat, control freak, or arrogant bastard. It just means you are a child who thinks RPGs should be like a middle-school-english-class brainstorming session, or a game of Cards Against Humanity. Enough.
No. RPGs are about creating a story you can share with your friends. They are not about """having fun""" which is such a generic concept it is not even worth using as a metric of worth. Seriously, what the fuck is "fun"? By the metric of "everyone should have fun" you'd just end up pandering to whatever stupid shit the characters want and destroy any semblance of cohesive story. And no, I don't mean railroading, I like when the players take the reins, but when they do stupid random shit, it gets old fast. Pick a real reason to like RPGs, pick a real metric of success. "Fun" is literally meaningless because of how subjective and generic a term it is. Veeky Forums has gotten so obnoxious when they pretend that "as long as everyone is having fun" is the response to ANYTHING posted on this board.
>"What is fun?"
t. joyless autist
>"What is fun?"
>F: Friends who do stuff together
>U: U and Me
>N: aNywhere and anytime at all
So what you're saying is mute people can't be diplomats?
Let him keep playing how he wants to play.
It's just a game after all.
>having fun isn't a reason to play
>clearly, you need a greater meaning to playing
What sort of horse shit are you on? I love writing a great story in tabletop games with my friends, and guess what, it's because it's F U N. If you're not having fun with others while playing the game, then I honestly don't know how your group puts up with your shit.
You want to hear obnoxious? Read your fucking comment and realize how fucking pretentious you sound getting right off the topic of this fucking thread to rant about 'having fun'. The others are a little off-topic, but at least their shit is theoritically related to the thread's topic. You, on the other hand, are the sort of person who can't let things be simple and fun and actively work towards fucking threads and your own games with your need for 'something other than fun'.
Why do you even play if you're not having fun, seriously?
Honestly I would just rename the metric to this
>As long as everyone is enjoying what we're doing, and having a good time, then it's all that matters.
There's no real metric of success to doing something with your friends that you all enjoy beyond "are we enjoying it or not"
People like you are why this board is shit now.
>People like you are why this board is shit now.
This!
Immature sons of bitches who need a reason to have fun are the fucking worse.
I'm this dude , and let me tell ya, friendos, you guys basically just summed up all my feelings.
Anyways, so I'm also the guy who tries to be the quiet one who lets other take the spotlight but ends up leading the group. You mind me asking if you guys have advice for encouraging my fellow players (and to encourage my GM to encourage them) to take the lead?
I had to tell the quiet guy at my table one time that I slept with his sister.
She said if I didn't tell him she would, and she wasn't going to make it sound good. Though in reteospect I'm not sure what she could have said, it's not like there wasn't consent.
The best part was the way the conversation started and how he was smiling basically telling me we were great friends and that there was nothing I could say that would change that. His face immediately went from smiling and nodding to the most upset expression. I felt terrible. His sister and I dated at some point after that.
Wow. First off, why did she want to tell him? Second, did you guys stay friends? Third, did you end on good termss?
Well what the fuck happened?
I have NO IDEA why she wanted to tell him. She had some weird thought in her head that I was going to corrupt her tender little hentai loving brother. Needless to say they weren't very close. It probably had to so with she and I having to act like we didn't know one another because saying "uh yeah we uh...we fucked once without really knowing each other" doesn't seem too nice when you say it out loud.
After the conversation he said that he was upset but wasn't surprised since we had been acting like we knew each other. He also knew my history with women and how I went through them.
We are still friends but he had to move away across the country. According to his mom I am still to this day one of his closest friends.
At least you didn't fuck yourself out of a good friendship.
Yeah
Pros : His sister was hot as fuck
Cons : She broke up with me because I was bisexual.
Way to go fag
Thx bb. U wnt sum fuk?
>Broke up with you because you were bisexual
What the fuck? What, is she some sort of religion nut or something?
Also, are you still bi? Just curious, and your wording makes it kind of vague if you still are.
Yeah I am. I dunno. She never really explained anywhere past she just wasn't cool with it. I live in the south, so the gays are still disliked by around 10% of the population. And by dislike I mean hated.
Is he cute?
>Yes
Fuck him
>No
Find someone else to
>TFW he was cute but I was in a relationship
The eternal suffering of a red-blooded TTRPG player
I would more describe myself as lecherous, but "red-blooded" works too.
As the resident weird kid during my high school years, false friends go to the top of the list.
Only 10%? What part of the South are you from and will you take me there? It sure ain't Georgia.
Yeah it might be more than 10%. It would probably be more like 30.
This board has always been shit.
>le "collaborative storytelling" meme
>le "fun is a buzzword" meme
I can't decide whether to tell you to go back to or the theater department. Either way, you're a shithead.
>Tries being non-disruptive quiet guy who listens to the GM and doesn't interrupt
>End up being loud shrieking awkward asshole
I'm the one that's the shitty player, user
I have a player like this. Really cool dude, he just follows everyone else's lead. Though he's come along quite a bit since we've first started to play since he's done a couple things without anyone having to tell him to do something.
Hold onto that player user because he might surprise you eventually.
Plus it's far better than having one of those than the player who shows up,doesn't pay attention and ends up playing with the host's dogs.
You want his boipussy, right?
I'll take silent player who shows up with his shit in check and doesn't start shit over half the players in my group.
Just make sure he's having fun and let him know you like having him at the table if you do.
Why do you equate 'fun' with 'lol teh randoms'? Fun is having fucking fun, jesus. It's enjoying yourself. You don't play RPGs for work, you do it for the same reason you play video games, because it's F U N. Generally speaking, FUN in RPGs is a good story where everyone gets invested. A party wipe can be fun. A horror game is fun. Some people like erp and while I would never advocate such degeneracy, they're having FUN.
JUST HAVE SOME FUN DICKHEAD
>fun
>fun
>fun
>fun
You can have fun drinking beer and playing video games but if you do that you're not playing an RPG.
>People like you are why this board is shit now.
No, people who play D&D because they saw it on Stranger Things and watch Critical Roll, are the reason this board is shit now. This board is shit now because Los Tirbunos and Sir Bearington stories got re-posted thousands of times across TumbIr and ReddIt, and the result was the hobby being swarmed by tons of normalfags and roasties whose only knowledge of the game came from joke stories meant to entertain those who had already played the game seriously and understood its culture. Not to mention the fucking hordes of retards who treat D&D like it's Dark Scrolls or World of War-crap, or Skyrim, or some other dumb shit video game they've been playing for the past six years, and it's all they know of the genre. So they try to play Argonians and whine when they can't and literally tell the DM he should make the campaign more like Skyrim because that game forms the boundaries of their imagination.
If all the normies and roasties were pushed out of the hobby, it might have a chance to be great again. Until then, we will have to deal with our game stores being safe spaces and the D&D 5e players book encouraging you to play a tranny so it can seem hip and tolerant for the Starbucks-sipping jackasses who are flooding into its fanbase by the thousands.
Fuck him in the ass on the regular.
>I can't decide whether to tell you to go back to /v/ or the theater department. Either way, you're a shithead.
Nice "argument." Fun *is* a buzzword. It has no meaning. Say a game is "fun".... what the fuck does that mean? You have just said absolutely nothing. D&D is fun. The only thing that matters, is having fun. Therefore, everyone should be playing D&D, because fun is the only thing that matters, and D&D is fun.
Hell, fun is all that matters, let's just sit in a circle and jack off til we starve to death, that's a hell of a lot of fun.
Veeky Forums discussion has gone to shit because Veeky Forums is too pussy to actually have opinions anymore, so they just say "well whatever makes you and your group have fun" and pretend that that is valid advice.
You don't need to worry about that if he's quiet and reserved, worry about it if hes a total doormat and pushover.
lmao you fucking faggot
Pretty much every group I make, whether it's a one shot with strangers or dedicated game with old friends, there always seems to be one person who's quiet and doesn't seem like they're having much fun. I try to point things in their direction. "The goblin, hurting badly, throws the macguffin towards his friend, the one closest to you". I'll ask "is anyone trained in arcana?" when I know they're the only one who is. That sort of stuff.
But whenever I ask a group how they're finding the game, the quiet guy always say they're loving it. I guess some people just enjoy a more passive role.
Get him drunk
Just fuck her Brother
>them he will want to tell you to tell your sister or he will do that himself
>tell her
>date with the Brother
>leaves you when you tell him you are bisexual
THE CYCLE CONTINUES
If he wasn't having fun he wouldn't be there. If you are really concerned ask if him wants some help being more active/involved, when he inevitably tells you no believe him.
youtube.com
For real, though, slowly give them game critical roles that break them out of their shell abd observe them as this happens to see how they react.
Fact is some folks just aren't very social and you should probably just let that be if it's not causing a problem and he's cool with it if directly ask (Directly fucking ask, you moron, I'm gonna assume that's step one and has already been met with "Nah, it's fine. I'm having fun."). Some are just shy or reserve/have social anxieties/autism and need a bit of GENTLE pushing to get into things. It's always got to be on terms they're ok with so be sure to make them more relevant to the game GRADUALLY. If you see them shrink away then directly talk to them again about it if they're not comfortable with it simply go with what DOES make them comfortable as a player and move on. If they respond well than increase until they seem to be about the same level as the rest of the players.
GMing is basically middle management. Treat it as such and work with your peon......employe.......PLAYERS. Everyone will have more fun that way.
I am that guy, AMA.
Thus is the life of the bisexual. Not accepted by gays or straights.
I have that shy boy too. He's another player's cousin, and that other player brought him here specifically to try and defrost him a bit. He's very nice, and he roleplays well, when he does, which is not that often.
I someday ran a one-shot game of René (very simple parodic game where you play as tragedy-struck romantic 19th century rich people) when one other player was missing. My shy player was way more involved in that. I think it had to do with the system being simpler, and the setting being sillier.
I want to try and make him play Everyone is John, now, because I think he's also like it.
>fun
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Also, I think you might be legitimately mentally ill.
But user, fun is actually something experienced by most people at some point in their lives.
if you don't like your friend's ideas and flat out say "no" to them when they want to do certain things then it doesn't sound like you're being very accommodating as a GM.
like obviously there's limits to this. obviously you say no when someone asks if they can do some lol-randumb bullshit to fix the current situation. but if you legit can't stand a person taking time out of YOUR and THEIR day to do this with you because of something like that? do both of yourselves a favor and find something else to do. or just do yourself the favor and gently boot the repeat offender.
I've kicked people before who were really good guys whose "epic SO random" rollplaying drove me up a wall. i just told them i'm an asshole and stick in the mud and prefer the game be more serious.
and more or less half the time it led to the offending player either toning it down, or being so shitty at impulse control that i had to kick 'em out.
it happens.
it happens but you're still a twerp.
my exalted group of five years has one of these. he barely says anything but shows up to every game and contributes without hesitation when the spotlight's entirely on him, but if ANYONE is around in the scene with him, he'll immediately backseat and let them take things.
which is fine? he told me he's only ever really GMed before so i think it's a case of enjoying the game as a listener while being a player. he's likely used to only interacting by proxy with PCs.
back to the main point, OP: your guy's probably being quiet and respectful because he's comfortable and enjoys the game.
worse case scenario, he might be nervous he can't take spotlight as well as other players? but usually it's just "i'd rather not" as opposed to "i'm scared."
>I've kicked people before who were really good guys whose "epic SO random" rollplaying drove me up a wall. i just told them i'm an asshole and stick in the mud and prefer the game be more serious.
Except you're not an asshole. Stop apologizing for wanting to play the game the way it was intended to be played.
Gently encourage him out of his shell. Otherwise, he wouldn't show up if he wasn't having fun.