How do you handle the situation? The player says he doesn't care about anything anymore, he completely betrayed his oath obligation so changed it to the betrayal obligation to which he responded that he doesn't care. His motivation is status to which again he doesn't care about. After trying to explain his obligation and motivation he really just wants to walk around with a light repeating blaster and cause havoc. It's headed down a bad path, how would you handle?

Tell him to stay home, I don't see why you feel the need to sort out his issues for him. If he doesn't want to get in the spirit of the game and the whole point to playing RPGs I see no reason to trouble yourself and ruin it for everyone else at the table.

........And if he doesn't like this suggestion, tell him he might try another group that plays something like Twilight 2000 that would be more to his liking - not about roleplaying and all about pure combat simulation.

That's a tough situation because you don't want to have correct a friend's behavior.

If he's plugged into his character's advancement then start giving out roleplay bonuses for good RP during the game. Or have all the players vote (secret ballots) for the best roleplayer who contributed the most to the fun during each session and then award that player extra XP.

If he just doesn't care about not getting "uber-XP" then you may have to take him aside and explain that part of the fun is getting into character and following his motivations. I have no advice here; I know it sucks to confront people. However, if he's dragging down the game he may need a polite correction with the recommendation that staying in character is part of the fun and that he should give it a shot.

Turfing the player isn't always possible, sometimes they're part of a larger social dynamic. Is the player disruptive? If he generally plays along with everyone, and it's only his Obligation that's at issue, then maybe it's not too big a deal. It depends how important you treat the obligation mechanic. You can always switch his Obligation over to Bounty (because breaking his oath and not caring about the betrayal is going to make people angry), and if it crops up then he has his excuse to lay waste with his weapon. And switch his motivation to "nihilism"

Yes the first couple posts, my included, weren't that helpful if you don't want to toss the player. Sorry.

Is he open to a sit down conversation explaining this game system may break and not work out for the group if mechanics like Obligation are not used? Explain that tossing things he doesn't like can break the system. Ask him and the group if they would rather play someting less RPish. Do this ONLY if the rest of the players are going to jump in with a resounding, "NO!". Perhaps then the player will concede?

Talk to your other players in confidence before the next session telling them of your problems with player X. Then, have an adventure ready that is all about X's Obligation. Make it very dynamic for him. Make his decisions the center of the spotlight so to speak. Have moments where the other players must turn to him for an answer of what to do next since his character is in the spotlight. Perhaps even force him to make up some stuff on the fly regarding his own background. Hopefully some of this will get him to understand and latch onto that combat is not the only fun part apart this system.

What does he care about?

If that character doesn't interest ask him to create another that does and turn his character into an npc perhaps a recurring villain with a legitimate reason for what he otherwise couldn't care less about.

What exactly brought this all on?

Is he itching to run a game of his own or like someone I know less enthused when he can't control what's going on through knowing more about the game system than anyone else?

That is probably unlikely but is there anything else you can tell use that might help find a way to get him involved and less disruptive?

If there are actual reasons you can't just remove this player from the group, I agree that the best thing to do is talk to the player.

"What are you trying to get out of this game? The rest of us are interested in roleplaying characters in this fantasy world."

And if he says "I just want to kill stuff and get loot," then ... I dunno what to tell you, some players just don't fit in.

Maybe he's bored with that particular character. People seem to be talking in here like being a ruthless shoot-first-ask-questions-later guy doesn't fit Star Wars...but it totally does (I mean, see Han, pre-editing).

If he wants to play a character who is relatively amoral and just looking for a payoff, willing to draw down on someone the second they start to give him some sass...that's a valid concept! But that's also a step above just being disruptive and killing NPCs just for the sake of killing.

What's telling to me is him saying he doesn't care about anything: not about Obligation, or his Motivation. Does he care if the other players are having fun? To me that's the clincher. If it's just that he's playing, say, a Scholar and is bored with it and now wants to play a Hired Gun because that seems more fun in the game, that's a valid choice for him and maybe also the player feels like if he is playing a non-combat type he's not getting enough opportunities to shine in his area of expertise.

On the other hand, if he is getting plenty of spotlight time, doesn't care about ruining the other players' plans and fun, I'd call that disruptive. I'd still have a conversation about it with the hopes of correcting the issue (who knows, he could be going through some stuff personally and trying to work out his frustration through the game).

But if he's not interested in the group's fun as a whole, I don't know that you have many options aside from un-inviting him. Certainly I don't recommend just keeping him in the game just because he is a friend, because an ongoing bad attitude, apathy, and lack of care for the rest of the players having fun will turn pretty toxic OOC as well as IC.

If he's plugged into his character's advancement then start giving out roleplay bonuses for good RP during the game. Or have all the players vote (secret ballots) for the best roleplayer who contributed the most to the fun during each session and then award that player extra XP.

This is awesome. If XP is not a good carrot, perhaps mention some unknown benefit could arise for this player's character during the next game session - XP, a cool new blaster ends up in his hands, he meets a new special friend, the player himself gets the weekly special house "gift". This kind of thing could be fun for everyone as they see what the session's "RP Prize" will be.

Thanks for the responses!

The last two sessions were largely based around him and he had the opportunity to fulfill part of his obligation and advance the story as others had suggested. I told him that these sessions would be his spotlight moment and he can make a big difference in the story. There were a few other opportunities for role playing that were unrelated to his obligation and he still performed sub-par. He made a sniper character for when he does so he can come back again, and just wants to pick off guys from a distance.

He also wants a light repeating blaster so he can destroy things. I related a story about an old character of mine that wound up in a jail cell for walking around with a heavy weapon like that, but he wasn't too concerned.

Regarding his obligation, he went from oath to betrayal and finally to bounty. He looks forward to the bounty hunters that come after him so he can kill them too...

I think I'll go with post #8 and suggest another "roll" playing game called Risk.

And what would stop those bounty hunters simply sniping him at range?

This is why you rely on your team so that doesn't happen, how are the rest of the group reacting to this player's actions?

I think I'll go with post #8 and suggest another "roll" playing game called Risk.

Sounds like what he really he wants is to play a video game.

I think I'll go with post #8 and suggest another "roll" playing game called Risk.

Sounds like what he really he wants is to play a video game.

Agreed. Honestly if you just want to blast stuff I can't imagine a RPG is terribly much fun regardless of how a GM handles it.

I think I'll go with post #8 and suggest another "roll" playing game called Risk.

Sounds like what he really he wants is to play a video game.

Don't let one bad apple ruin the fun for the group. Unless the other players would also like to play a board game, then go with what's fun. But if folks want to play Edge of the Empire you may just have to let him walk away.

As I said in a previous post, maybe an XP award for good roleplay may incent him to come around. It sounds like he wants a character who's aces with his guns and becoming a great gunman is going to take XP.

The last two sessions were largely based around him and he had the opportunity to fulfill part of his obligation and advance the story as others had suggested. I told him that these sessions would be his spotlight moment and he can make a big difference in the story. There were a few other opportunities for role playing that were unrelated to his obligation and he still performed sub-par. He made a sniper character for when he does so he can come back again, and just wants to pick off guys from a distance.

He also wants a light repeating blaster so he can destroy things. I related a story about an old character of mine that wound up in a jail cell for walking around with a heavy weapon like that, but he wasn't too concerned.

Hmm.

He's playing a combat character already so I don't think he has much to complain about in terms of being combat-proficient or feeling like he can't contribute in combat. I'd originally thought he was more of a noncombatant frustrated with an inability to shine in combat and overcompensating.

It sounds like he's either bored with his character (either crunch or fluff wise), or yeah, would rather play a more hack-n-slash kind of game (or video game).

I mean, if he wants to leave a ton of bodies in his wake, why does the rest of the party IC wait around for him, instead of ditching him on a random station and leave?

Well, you've already talked to him - that would have been my first suggestion. Is he disruptive in his mono-focus? Or is he willing to just stand there in the corner during the talking scenes? If he's actually being disruptive ("Hey, you just gunned down our contact!"), then yeah - it's time to show him the door (actually, talk to him once more before taking drastic action).

But if he's having fun being appropriately violent and not rocking the boat - so be it. Tell him "Yes, you can be a combat god if you want. But not every scene will be resolved through fighting and sometimes there wont be combat in the whole game!" and let him enjoy his one-dimensionalness.

Regarding his obligation, he went from oath to betrayal and finally to bounty. He looks forward to the bounty hunters that come after him so he can kill them too...

See, the thing he's overlooking? Bounty Hunters are smart. Hard to fight back when someone puts a blaster bolt between your eyes from 2 miles away. How do you fight when the "bartender" slips you a mickey in your drink? He thinks they're just going to walk up and start blasting? Nonsense - the best Bounty Hunters will never let you see them coming.

Maybe give him a taste of such underhanded tricks he can't use his brute strength to deal with.

Whenever he eats or drinks something secretly determine if its been spiked. Then a couple game hours later have him take a check to see if he succumbs, increase the difficulty substantially as time goes on as people become more and more focused on bringing him down.

Have him get shot by a super long ranged sniper that he'll never be able to catch, have him get mugged and kidnapped in a back alley.

It should be fun for your other players if you make a story arc around it. Railroad him a little bit so that his combat abilities won't be able to save him out of every situation, he needs to actually roleplay.

He'll either take the hint or leave the group. Either way, problem solved.

I hate to say this, but if he has a Bounty Obligation, his crew should also be targeted especially if they seem like they will help him evade capture. Who knows, they may be worth something too, if the BH is clever enough. At the very least it'll get the PCs wondering if they want to keep covering his ass IC.

Some of the Conflict Motivations from Dangerous Covenants fit fine with a character that just wants to blow **** up. Consider ones like Mayhem (perfect fit really), Violent Conquest, or Adrenaline Junky. Obligations from the same book like Adrenaline Rush can work too. Of course, while the game supports such Motivations and Obligations, they may not make for a character that others want to have around.

I hate to say this, but if he has a Bounty Obligation, his crew should also be targeted especially if they seem like they will help him evade capture. Who knows, they may be worth something too, if the BH is clever enough. At the very least it'll get the PCs wondering if they want to keep covering his ass IC.

Pretty sure "Aiding and abetting a fugitive from justice" is a criminal charge all by itself, so there could easily be some Bounty or Criminal obligation to go around for the rest of the group as well.

I know, I just feel bad to draw in the "innocent" characters to having consequences from associating with a person who appears to be unrepentantly sociopathic. But that's life: he's part of their crew, so his actions do splash onto them.

I hate to say this, but if he has a Bounty Obligation, his crew should also be targeted especially if they seem like they will help him evade capture. Who knows, they may be worth something too, if the BH is clever enough. At the very least it'll get the PCs wondering if they want to keep covering his ass IC.

Pretty sure "Aiding and abetting a fugitive from justice" is a criminal charge all by itself, so there could easily be some Bounty or Criminal obligation to go around for the rest of the group as well.

The Imperial 'justice system' isn't all that unified nor is it fast. Crimes committed in areas outside of direct Imperial control often don't get prosecuted, and bounty hunters are only empowered to seek out those that already have bounties for the crimes that are already on record - they can't charge someone with new violations and then use such to bring them in (doing so would actually get the bounty hunter charged with one or more serious crimes).

I'd only advocate removing a player from the group if it seems pretty clear that the player is determined to play a sociopathic murder-hobo and it's messing up the group's enjoyment of the game and talking to the player has been tried and hasn't worked.

If you notice, almost every time somebody posts this question (and it happens a lot), they usually reply "yeah I've talked to them and they just keep doing it."

That's usually why they're posting here. If just saying to the player "hey, your character is kind of a psycho, could you rein it in a bit?" worked for them, it wouldn't be such an issue.

I just feel that most of the time, the suggestions like "have sympathetic characters befriend the PC and then get murdered because they were a pyscho" or "have the authorities come after them" or "put out a bounty on their heads because they were a psycho" are only going to be effective if the player is really interested in roleplaying, and not just in being a psycho murder-hobo.

This question comes up a LOT, and to be honest I *do* feel like usually the answer is to find a way to play without the person who's determined to play a pyscho murder hobo.

But by all means, talk to the player and say "hey man, can you kinda join in the roleplaying with the rest of us instead of playing such a psycho?"

And if that works, then everybody's happy!

If not, there's only so much "in-game" story pressure you can apply to such a personality.

Also, I re-read my post, and it definitely does say "first try to remove him, and then talk to him" ...

I phrased that badly, I should have said "If you've tried talking to him about his behavior, and it hasn't helped, and you don't feel comfortable removing him from the group, then try having a deeper conversation with the player about what he's looking for in the game and how to integrate it into what everyone is after."

I don't feel like the GM should need to play shrink for troublesome players, but if you feel it's important enough to keep your group together, then go for it.