We have an unruly barbarian player...

[Tech Boy]

Hello!

I am not the DM of this campaign, but I am an observant player.

Recently, my party saved a prince from a kidnapper. As we returned to the castle, our Half orc barbarian was carrying the Prince. We were stopped by a guard, but the Orc just pushed the guard aside. We were lucky that the king, who was just across the courtyard, did not have the numerous guards kill us on the spot.

We have brought the troubles of this to the player, but he insists that his character is just dumb.

What should I, and my friend in the campaign do to keep this character from getting us killed? :smalleek:

[Private-Prinny]

If you've brought this to the attention of the other player and he refuses to listen, then you have two options.

1. Live with it and try to enjoy the campaign.
2. Stay out of trouble so the rest of the party survives when he gets himself killed.

[Aroka]

That's a problem? Seriously? A half-orc barbarian brusquely pushing officious guards out of his way seems pretty mild, typical, and sensible, and very much standard tough/troubled hero/antihero stuff.

If the half-orc barbarian had EATEN the prince on the way back, or raged and attacked the courtyard full of guards, we could talk.

[Urpriest]

Given just that incident, you might be able to deal with the problem just by having your character tell his character in game.

"Krug, if you smack guards around, they'll team up and beat you up. Also, they might not pay you as much."

"Oh. Krug sorry."

Just because the character is stupid doesn't mean he can't take a hint.

[Mr.Moron]

I hardly think a player pushing aside a guard counts as a "Problem Player" certainly it indicates the character is a bit bull-headed an impatient, but it's far from being the sort of thing that's a game-ender.

He certainly wasn't following the rules of what the most level headed, ideal hero might do but if everyone did that all the time the game would be boring.

[Brendan]

If the player is just roleplaying a stupid character, then that should be fine. start responding to the stupid actions in game with comments or trying to stop the character. doing stupid things can actually improve the game. Anyone with low int or abysmal wisdom will be stupid, or impulsive, or just do dumb stuff. thats not a problem. I know my low wisdom characters have stirred up their fair share of trouble, and that makes the game more interesting.
If he is trying to disrupt the game or cause trouble of sorts, then thats a different matter entirely.
EDIT:NINJA'D

[awa]

yeah i kinda agree with the above posters that's not really a problem besides you did just save the prince the kings likely to give you a little bit of slack.

[Aroka]

Responding IC is a great idea - play to other characters' personalities. When you're entering a tense social situation, say something like "Krug, you hang back, let Bardy O'Bardson handle this."

But be sure to balance this kind of "ejecting" with positive roleplay, like "Krug, we need your mighty thews now!" ... or maybe something less vaguely sexual.

[Tech Boy]

Ok, thanks for the advice!

I will keep you posted if he gets us killed.

[Greenish]

I will keep you posted if he gets us killed.I'm not sure that attitude leads to the best possible game.

[Tech Boy]

We, well my buddy and I, have talked to him and he says that this is the kind of character he wants to play. He spoke of being a little more cautious. I think it will fine.:smallbiggrin:

[Marnath]

Is there some reason you insist on using that eyeball-bursting font? It's hard on the eyes...

[Tech Boy]

Is there some reason you insist on using that eyeball-bursting font? It's hard on the eyes...

I just like this font.

[Mystic Muse]

Is there some reason you insist on using that eyeball-bursting font? It's hard on the eyes...

I agree with Marnath. That font hurts my eyes.

[PretzelKing]

haha, i have a question. why was the half-orc still carrying the prince? was he dead? in a sack? were the princes legs cut off by his captors?

its effect on the campaign not withstanding, i got a pretty good laugh out of visualizing this one...

"here prince back. pay grog or grog smash prince."

[Khatoblepas]

I fail to see the problem with this at all. Sounds like a heroic thing to do. If the King's across the courtyard and a guard has the audacity to stop the hero from delivering his ward, then the guard deserves to be pushed aside.

And if he saw the Prince, too, having been rescued from the vile kidnappers, then there's no reason to get angry.

Roughing up the mooks happens as a matter of course. Don't sweat it.

[Tetrasodium]

There is a character somewhat like that in a gestalt game I play in. Since I happen to play a cabinet trickster/mindbender and he has a not great will save, it tends to go like this:
Telepathy to <character>: Stop talking/moving/what you are about to do, answer [like so]
<Character>: *starts to make things worse*
*Point at player*: Make a will save... aww... seems you are dazed/stunned/confused for the next round while the party hurriedly rushes him away from where he could do more damage while apologizing for our drunk friend.

[Seatbelt]

There is a character somewhat like that in a gestalt game I play in. Since I happen to play a cabinet trickster/mindbender and he has a not great will save, it tends to go like this:
Telepathy to <character>: Stop talking/moving/what you are about to do, answer [like so]
<Character>: *starts to make things worse*
*Point at player*: Make a will save... aww... seems you are dazed/stunned/confused for the next round while the party hurriedly rushes him away from where he could do more damage while apologizing for our drunk friend.

I could see this being annoying OOC on the barbarian's part. But if it works for you guys, I could also see it as being very realistic from an IC standpoint. So... *shrug*

[SirLagsalot]

Or depending on your alignment, you could always just kill him in his sleep.

Just file it under "Preemptive Self Defense"

[Tyndmyr]

Or depending on your alignment, you could always just kill him in his sleep.

Just file it under "Preemptive Self Defense"

Aw, but I got told I can have no more than 1 of those per day. And I've already filled this month's quota.

[Tetrasodium]

I could see this being annoying OOC on the barbarian's part. But if it works for you guys, I could also see it as being very realistic from an IC standpoint. So... *shrug*

It's an evil campaign, so SirLagsalot's suggestion is a valid option. Even more so when it's a situation like:
All of us have some form of protection against detect evil, other character does not, necromancer has an aura of evil but also doesn't detect as evil with detect evil.

We accidentally get noticed by a gold dragon... who retreats back inside before ending it's humanoid form and returning to it's natural form inside where it probably had some wards for protection. The cabinet trickster/mindspy was impersonating the dragon's human form, more than half the party is still in the street when we kill it for various plot related reasons. Sorcerer is quickly trying to rot the corpse of the gold dragon dead on the other side of the wall with cloudkill or something... temple of pelor is down the street, complete with paladins rushing towards us to find out what the heck is happening.

Cabinet trickster/mindspy successfully manages to convince the worried paladins that the indiscernible corpse of the dragon was a foul beast impersonating her and he's right about how some of her companions are a bit tainted... but she was in a hurry to find a suitable group of guardians who could protect her. Paladin's go to talk to the necromancer who quickly gets told to pretend she was hired to protect lady so and so, she does so. Paladins go to talk to other character who already got the same message while the necromancer was talking to the paladins... other character ignores the story tries to act tough before we can even look for loot... other character gets confused and babbles incoherently while we ask the paladins if they can remove the foul curse the evil beast must have placed on him :).

[Evard]

First off I like the font :D

Secondly... I was really really bummed when I read the OP :(

[Tech Boy]

First off I like the font :D

Secondly... I was really really bummed when I read the OP :(

I am new here. What is this OP you speak of?

[Shademan]

Original Post.
the first post (yours) in this topic :smallsmile:

[Shyftir]

lol.

That's not an unruly barbarian character.

Let me tell you about Hassan.

My buddy Joe created a TWF half-orc barbarian character from way off in the northern wilds. His reaction to most problems was. "Hassan Chop!" followed by multiple axe attacks. It got to the point that my Paladin had to take him apart for a long talk and ask him to go back to his people because the city just wasn't the right place for him.

Here is the thing. I didn't ask him to change characters because he was disruptive. My character asked his character to go home, for his own good. We didn't so much want Joe not to play Hassan, as the fact that the Paladin would have done what the paladin did.

My point is this: Don't get annoyed with a guy playing a barbarian acting like one. Let your character get annoyed with a barbarian acting like one.
At that point, you are both role-playing and you'll probably both have a really good time. Asking him to be more careful out of game is tromping on his role-playing. Having your character try to convince his character to be more cautious is helping him role-play some character development.
See the difference?

[Malfunctioned]

You think that's bad? I give you Orc.

Orc was an orc barbarian. He gained that name because he misheard someone saying that he is an orc as "He is Orc" and thought that was his name ever since. When the party met him he was having a drink in tavern. A commoner knocked over his drink. He rolled to hit, 20, he rolled to confirm, 20, he rolled for damage, 12. He sliced the commoner in half. Vertically. Then bought another drink. Due to an extremely ill-advised magical artifact (essentially a small fragment of Olidammara's power. You chose one of your stats and then rolled two d20's, the first one would say how much it would change that stat by, the second however would, if even, raise the stat by that number, if it was odd then your stat would be decreased by that number. He rolled two 20's.

At one point he was attacked by the BBEG of the campaign, he threw a tavern at him. The whole thing. Right out of the ground.

They had to get into a castle to take out an assassin without being caught themselves, the rest of the group formulated a cunning plan to get inside and capture the assassin and remove evidence that incriminated themselves in another crime. Orc had an adamantine great-axe. He tunnelled through the walls of the castle, caught and grappled with the assassin, whilst grappling they ended up throwing each other off of a balcony. They landed in front of the king, roaring and covered in blood. He raged and killed the assassin. The king tried to thank him for this.

Did I mention that he had levels in Frenzied Bezerker?

I think you guess how it played out from there.

Needless to say Orc was unruly but considering the other characters were a doppleganger with an identity crisis, a tiefling sorcerer with a penchant for fire and a half-elf ranger with very low self esteem, I think he managed to fit in.

[Mystic Muse]

My group's rogue is more unruly than the Barbarian. Here's the situation that happened last night.

right in the middle of a battle with an young adult red dragon. Rogue decides "Nothing's happening" and declares that he attacks the barbarian (His ally). I had just warned him that he couldn't say "I do this." then after it goes bad say "No no, I take it back, I was just joking" and it didn't look like he wanted to take it back anyway.

He proceeds to crit the Barbarian for 2d4+4 damage. (He wanted to use a broken bottle)
The Barbarian Crit him back for 6d6+64 damage.

Hilarity sort of ensued.

[arrowhen]

Adventurers are like rock stars. Hassling authority figures, hooking up with comely wenches, and starting random tavern brawls is all part of their job description.

[Malfunctioned]

Adventurers are like rock stars. Hassling authority figures, hooking up with comely wenches, and starting random tavern brawls is all part of their job description.

Or, as happened in my example, using the tavern in a brawl.

I actually had to tell him that he couldn't take the feat Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Tavern.

Then he found the Drunken Master Prc. I was so glad he couldn't qualify for it.

[Wings of Peace]

He's carrying the PRINCE. He could spit in the guards eye for all it matters and be let by unless the guard thinks his dignity is worth drawing arms against a man with the heir to the throne on his shoulder.

[Rasman]

well, if his character is just dumb then educate him, deal with it in game, make his character understand that doing stupid things creates "bad" things

for characters on that INT level you should take the "teaching a child it's hot" approach and show him, with something fairly harmless, that doing stupid things can get you hurt or worse...fire tends to work the best since it's the closest thing to a stove


lol.

That's not an unruly barbarian character.

Let me tell you about Hassan.

My buddy Joe created a TWF half-orc barbarian character from way off in the northern wilds. His reaction to most problems was. "Hassan Chop!" followed by multiple axe attacks. It got to the point that my Paladin had to take him apart for a long talk and ask him to go back to his people because the city just wasn't the right place for him.

Here is the thing. I didn't ask him to change characters because he was disruptive. My character asked his character to go home, for his own good. We didn't so much want Joe not to play Hassan, as the fact that the Paladin would have done what the paladin did.

My point is this: Don't get annoyed with a guy playing a barbarian acting like one. Let your character get annoyed with a barbarian acting like one.
At that point, you are both role-playing and you'll probably both have a really good time. Asking him to be more careful out of game is tromping on his role-playing. Having your character try to convince his character to be more cautious is helping him role-play some character development.
See the difference?

...also...what he said...just prettier...