Good article, not framed that well at the start, but eventually worth the read for anybody wondering how to handle murder hobos.

http://www.madadventurers.com/setup-for-success-a-look-at-the-murder-hobo-mentality/

Fundamentally the point is that murder hoboism arises because of a lack of anchoring in the world, and there are some good ideas how to handle that.

I'm not sure I agree with blanket blaming the GM but I'm willing to accept my role in presenting challenges that are easier won with blasters than words.

I'm not sure I agree with blanket blaming the GM but I'm willing to accept my role in presenting challenges that are easier won with blasters than words.

That covers the murder thing, but the hobo part takes some work because it means using the relationships that the PCs have – as well as creating new ones – and making them present in the game. Players should feel a connection to the places their characters call home.

Some of this comes from booked adventures, which by nature can't be tied directly into the PCs' narrative.

But you are right, it's one of those things where the player and GM should be meeting halfway.

some good points, but there's one i have to disagree with. the story should be fun for the gm as well. if i have to run a game that isn't fun for me as well as the players, i won't be running that game for long.

This is a really interesting topic, I'm pleased we're discussing it. As the GM, I feel it's my responsibility regardless of whether it's my fault.

I think I take exceptional care in tying my players to the setting and establishing relationships - yet when push comes to shove, there's often both. Just how much do I expect a wookiee marauder ex-gladiator slave to solve problems in some other way, though? Perhaps I am misattributing the nomenclature.

I'm not sure I agree with blanket blaming the GM but I'm willing to accept my role in presenting challenges that are easier won with blasters than words.

Yeah, that's what I meant by "not framed that well at the start". I almost stopped reading, but glad I didn't. There's a way to approach these things as a writer. If you're going to start by making blanket controversial statements, then you need to have something going for you already, like humour, or some hook. Dry and accusatory isn't a hook.

As a contrast, I don't always agree with AngryDM, especially at the start, but I like his style and am willing to read longer knowing that even if I end up disagreeing he'll probably make me laugh. This author needs to find his own hook.

Anyway, what I liked most in the article was the encouragement to inject social enrichment and grounding, but in a light-handed way. Murder hoboing can rile me up, but there is a better way to handle it than getting upset. It can be simple things, like in RebelDave's recent thread, having the minions mention their "wife and kids" before an ambush; or more involved aftermath reports. Got my creative juices flowing, I'm thinking after my players take down a gang house next week to rescue their friends, I need to have a short "news report", with some moustachioed fellow "on the scene" describing the carnage. I know there is software that can change the "background" seen by your computer camera, but can it include something dynamic like a segment from Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto or something?

I'm not sure I agree with blanket blaming the GM but I'm willing to accept my role in presenting challenges that are easier won with blasters than words.

Yeah, that's what I meant by "not framed that well at the start". I almost stopped reading, but glad I didn't. There's a way to approach these things as a writer. If you're going to start by making blanket controversial statements, then you need to have something going for you already, like humour, or some hook. Dry and accusatory isn't a hook.

Yeah, you portrayed it correctly, and I did read it before I commented. However, after everything in that article, the one takeaway that left with me was "it's your fault, GM!" Which is pretty much what you just said. However, it did engender some good discussion so I'll dry my tears.

I personally can't get past AngryDM's writing persona, but I sure have tried because the content is usually good. It makes me want to take the identity of ZenGM and take the blog-road less traveled. However, I'm chock full of half-started projects as it is.

I'm not sure I agree with blanket blaming the GM but I'm willing to accept my role in presenting challenges that are easier won with blasters than words.

I also disagree with "does it disrupt the GM's story? That doesn't matter". As a GM, I'm not interested in running a murder-hobo campaign. If that's all the players are interested in doing, I'm not going to have fun running the game. If I'm not having fun, why am I doing it?

I'm not sure I agree with blanket blaming the GM but I'm willing to accept my role in presenting challenges that are easier won with blasters than words.

I also disagree with "does it disrupt the GM's story? That doesn't matter". As a GM, I'm not interested in running a murder-hobo campaign. If that's all the players are interested in doing, I'm not going to have fun running the game. If I'm not having fun, why am I doing it?

Well I think the two are mutually inclusive. If the murderhoboing is disrupting either the GM or the other Players, then it's a problem.

I'm not really keen on some of his example solutions though. If you've got a murderhobo infestation it's best to nuke the site from orbit and launch a new campaign. If anything the murderhobos are likely a big flashing sign the story is either non existent or so far off the rails recovery is unlikely. Brining in the cops and putting the characters in prison is probably not worth it.

I'm not really keen on some of his example solutions though. If you've got a murderhobo infestation it's best to nuke the site from orbit and launch a new campaign. If anything the murderhobos are likely a big flashing sign the story is either non existent or so far off the rails recovery is unlikely. Brining in the cops and putting the characters in prison is probably not worth it.

That seems pretty extreme to me, I'm not sure I could handle it that way. I'd probably call a time out and just start a conversation about it.

This situation reinforces this idea in my mind of creating encounters that are every bit as complex as combat, but based completely upon different Characteristics and Skills. Why does it take 20 rolls and 30 minutes to beat down Turdo the Hutt's minions, but to crack his top-notch encryption on his Hutt-operating-system mainframe that's 400 years old and heavily customized is one roll and you have the goods? Seems to me you're emotionally rewarded for killing things more than even a major plot point, as a human being player. Now, I might not even be a simple country psychologist, but seems to me that if we can fill that urge with handfuls of dice and high-stakes back and forth, we can add equal weight to all important tasks.

Of course this doesn't play well with this system for every roll, but when there's a critical encounter - blasters or not - it might work. Or maybe I'm just an old coot shaking his cane at clouds from his rocking chair.

Session .0s or .5s, probably alleviate a lot of murderhobo syndrome. It most certainly gets any monkey off the GMs back if they lay out clear and complete intentions.

When the PCs hobo your galaxy, hobo them back HARDER!

Brining in the cops and putting the characters in prison is probably not worth it.

Those weren't his suggestions, in fact he suggested prison would be pointless.

Good suggestions in the article. I think the author is making an assumption we're missing here however, and one that is important. He assumes there is but one GM for that group. If I am an alternate GM (and I am) but the other GM(s) are rewarding murder hobo-ism, then it is unfair and unhelpful to blame it on me.

That said, applying the suggestions is still good and there are a couple that I'm going to review for my next session because I want to set the tone correctly each and every time we play. One session of "go ahead, kill it all" and the entire campaign will be wasted because they'll revert to the murder hobo mentality they display in D&D and Deathwatch.

Though to be entirely fair, in Deathwatch murder-hoboism should probably be considered a Space Marine trait.

For me it all depends on the game, in something like Deathwatch or D&D that kind of behavior works better. That said, my 5E D&D party killed a Faerie Dragon for playing pranks on them while they were under attack by Ettins (the fight was not really a challenge to the party).

Most importantly for me, if the GM tells the party the kind of game he has in mind the players should work with him or tell him that they are not interested in that kind of game. As mentioned by others, the GM should have fun too.