If there's one thing I hate when running a game (and to a lesser extent when playing) is a player who decides his character has no motivation to get involved in any of the events of the campaign. Also, depending on the campaign, a player who decides his character has no reason to work with the rest of the party. At best, this ties up the GMs time as he is forced to run sub-plots for the awkward PC, at worst it ruins the mood for all concerned due to the player being manifestly bored during the game.
Bluntly, why the hell did you create that character? And if you don't like the way things are going for that character, why not just create a different one for this campaign - play the other character in some other, more appropriate game if you really want to play him?
It is the player's responsibility to create a character that they want to play, who can sensibly be involved in the events of the game and (possibly) fit in with the rest of the group. If you don't want to play in the campaign at all, either grin and bear it, or leave.
Of course, this does not apply to one-offs, or any other game in which the characters are not generated by the individual player. In such cases, the responsibility for ensuring that the players will get involved, can be useful, and (optionally) work together falls squarely on the GM. If running a combat-heavy game, you have no business letting any player end up with a character who is utterly useless in combat. And you certainly have no business letting someone end up with a character who's only advanced skill is knitting, unless you're going to run Cross-weave d20.
Okay, rant over.
Archived comment by Mort:
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the most annoying player types in the world, the one who decides he wants to create the ultimate lone wolf PC. And then just go off on a tangent at any given opportunity, or even actively go against the rest of the PCs.
I think it's imperative for the GM to clearly communicate what type of campaign he is running, and to clearly state what type of characters he is looking for. Then it's the players responsibility to listen to this and honor the GMs wishes. Gaming is not purely for the players pleasure, the GM doesn't get paid anything either.