So here’s a question. Imagine for a second that you’re running a game with a trap in it. A big trap that sets off a series of jumping and climbing challenges to escape, and puts everyone in danger. But if the PCs spot it, then they’ll be able to easily avoid it. So you feel like it’s fair. But then the players come across it, spot it. Then, one of them sets it off anyway.
The next twenty minutes of gameplay are spent dodging whirling blades and climbing out of danger. No one dies, but it’s close a couple of times. You didn’t expect it to go this way. They were supposed to be surprised or avoid. Not choose the hard thing.
How do you feel about the player who set off the trap? What if the trap is instead a bad in-character political decision? What about an arcane artifact that traps them in a curse? If they go in with their eyes open, does it bother you? Should it? And how far should we react? Should someone die screaming in a pit?
Let’s take a moment to break down what is happening when players choose to suffer.
Beyond The Obvious
We all know by now the ‘It’s what my character would do!’ trope. The player who does crazy things or hurtful things and then claims they are just acting in character. This trope definitely exists in real life and should be met with such responses as ‘Okay, this is what the world would do in response’ without necessarily struggling to keep the player in the game. But let’s just unpack a little bit what a player who chooses a risky course of action might be doing it for, especially if they aren’t grandstanding.
Roleplaying is, by most definitions, shared storytelling. Sometimes that story doesn’t go the way the GM expects. Some of us pray that players will make choices outside the narrative we establish at the outset. We’re waiting for someone to kick the doors off our pre-planned plot and start reshaping our worlds through action. Sometimes a player will look at a terrible choice and make it on purpose because, as far as they’re concerned, it will make a good story. Maybe a better one than the one you’re telling at the moment.
Maybe they are just bored with the way things are going and want to shake it up. Maybe they’ve had an idea they’ve always wanted to play out and want to see where it goes. Maybe they actually believe that in this one instance, it is what their character would do. Not in a way that harms the group, but maybe in a way that damns them.
In this situation, discerning intention is so important, and you can usually tell the problem player because they’ll take any opportunity. Acting out isn’t a surprise to them; it’s just second nature. They’ll pick a fight with random NPCs, insult whoever they like, and walk into any ambush. But other players will get a look on their face, and you’ll suddenly realise they’re going to do something stupid because the fiction has led them here, right to the edge. And they have to jump to find out what is at the bottom.
Reactions To Chaos
Intent is a complicated thing, but when you are sure the player is doing this with good intentions, not to just focus a story around them by acting out, then I’d say go with it. Don’t push back or punish, but do enact consequences. Set off the trap… but don’t target the one player unless you planned for the main target to be the one who set it off.
It’s a fine line, but I think the trick to knowing if you’re overstepping a consequence is if it goes beyond what you might have planned as a bad result. If you knew the trap was there, just activate it and let them reap the whirlwind. Don’t add extra spinning blades that didn’t exist before to teach someone a lesson.
Also, don’t push players into behaviours through suddenly morally judging their choices. Stop the game and talk about it. Trying to correct by throwing more threats never teaches players because more story is the reward. It is reinforced by teaching excitement. Or you seriously damage trust with players, and that means they never take risks. You want players to feel like they can take risks.
I want to say this next bit without apologising for problem players, because you should boot people who are hogging the spotlight and making it all about them or derailing loads of work. But you also want the player who takes the fiendish deal. You want the player who charges into danger without a thought for whether the PC will survive. You don’t have to have an entire group full of them, but one or two… that might be another story.
The weirdest, unexpected elements have been added to my game by players who were unafraid to go to weird places and damn their characters in the process. Either by something they created or a world’s reaction to it. Whole pieces of lore like a group of spectral riders who live beyond death and chase demon knights across the face of the planet, arcane mages who stage wrestling-like fake magic bouts and wear magic luchador masks, A superhero who is the personification of the fear of the heat death of the universe? A Changeling who is in fact five separate personalities bundled up like stage roles? These are random elements that I wouldn’t have experienced if it weren’t for following some more eccentric players down a rabbit hole to see where it came out.
Going Into Business For Themselves
I think the line between ‘creatively following a cool idea’ and ‘deliberately sabotaging’ is clear. But in the middle between these two is a vast swathe of ideas. And we’re taught by the media that a damned set of choices can be a great tale. Or should then have a redemption arc. Some people have yet to realise that in RPG games, it requires getting every player at the table to forgive you, which is way harder when someone isn’t writing their lines.
So it’s up to us as GMs to hold faith for a little bit and keep the line of communication with players open. A little ‘why did you do that last session?’ can go a long way because it gives the player a chance to be honest with you and build something cool together. If they don’t take it, you know they’re interested in a story you’re not telling. In that case, I’d just let them tell that story to other people.
All being said, this is obviously never as simple. And you’ll read lots and lots of articles with people telling you to ditch the players who are chaotic as hell. But chaotic good exists as an alignment for a reason. Some players just need a little understanding, so take the time to work out if you have them in your midst. Because they’ll take you to unexpected places if you let them.
Creative Commons license: Dungeon Delver by edgarsh422, Arachne’s Trap by 0loo and Anabot | Bestuary X by Sephiroth-Art.
