Annoying Players?

[The Beast]

There is at least one type of annoying player not mentioned: the Advisor. This is the guy who is always making out-of-character, and unwelcome suggestions to other players about how they should player their characters. This type is often combined with the Rules Lawyer.

I played in a game with someone like this ten years ago and he went so overly too far I still have issues about it.

I was playing in a Champions superhero game. My character Nightingale was a female martial artist (yes I know gender-bending) ala bat-girl but she could fly. I was forced by situation at one point (NOT the GM's fault, I just took a ton of body damage) to have her gain a minor regeneration power. The character was never meant to gain any powers other than her flight though, and the SLIGHTLY accelerated healing was a concession on my part because otherwise she would have be in a hospital for 3 months.

Well... when this whole thing happened one of the players started telling me that I should give Nightingale more powers. I kept telling him "no. she was never supposed to be able to do anything other than fly. I don't want her to have more powers. Period.", but he wouldn't get the clue.

So it happens that his character "Formula One" accidentally injures Nightingale (actual accident, player did not intend the action). Formula One goes a psycho-depressed over his actions, and the player looks at our GM and says "Formula One is going and finding a geneticist who knows about super-human genetics and physiology". He finds someone and proceeds to discuss FORCIBLY MUTATING MY PC with the guy in the hopes of making my character "tougher".

Long story short the geneticist was killed by Formula One's villain father before he had the chance to finish his research on my character, Formula One went and became a minion of the game equivilat of Dr. Doom in order to "get back at his father for ruining things for him", and Nightingale retired as a superhero after learning what was going on behind her back.

Something similar happened to two of my characters. We started a PW game, and I ended up making a cross along the lines of Mal from Firefly & Scorpious (spelling?) from Farscape (in other words, a frozen starship captain). He ended up being the weakest of the group in just about every catagory excet for IQ, MA, and PB. So a player and the GM juiced him up to be near everyone else. After about two games I decided to drop most of what he ended up with (IIRC, the only things I kept were some psychic powers).

The same guy had earlier pumped up a mage I had in the PFRPG game he was running before I took it over. I made a Cursebringer for it, but had him as a human. Once I had gotten with my old friends and had them meet the new guy, he pumped up my PC to be a True Atlantean with six tats. This one I kept with the bumps, as I kind of liked it with this PC, though I still have trouble deciding which clan to make him from, and now none of the skills he has are from outside PFRPG. I'm leaning toward the bad-guy clan, as that would fit with everything that's happened with the PC (he became allied with the Vlad-Tegor chapter operating in one of the ET cities), but don't really want to deal with the other stuff that comes with the clan.

[EricvonEric]

I'm running a heroes campaign where the PC's are the villains and the NPC's are the heroes. One of the players is playing the "leader" type, but all of the other PC's follow another guy as their leader. The way it's being played out it's not annoying, but it adds some great roleplayng and other dimensions to the game.

The most annoying gamer to me has to be the Munchkin. Because it reminds me of me when I was younger. <hangs head in shame> But I'm all better now.

[KillWatch]

I think if you play a character long enough weird crap is going to happen to him. My only long running character started out as a mystic object and, although it happened early on, he got a headache (player decision) and, we were in an orphanage and I went to my best friend, Paul, who was a goofy genius character and a GM NPC. Being a mad chemical genius he whipped something up, I drank it, and My headache went away. I woke up 3 days later ina broken bed with APS Stone, XPS, Adhesion and XME, which really frustrated professor x who actually had to use a phone to call me, which was just funny.

[Vrykolas2k]

I picked the Great Unclean One. You know, the kind of stench you can smell even though it is sitting all the way across the table? The kind that smells like cheese, sweat, and dirty socks? The kind that creates a palpable sense of everyone always holding their breath but trying not to make it obvious? It's called deodorant, dude. It's not expensive.

Not to mention, soap and running water.
Come on, even Vagabonds get a bar of soap...

[Myrrhibis]

The Great UnClean one. Really - someone who isn't familiar w/ showers or deodorant can really make me want to hurl. Have had a couple like that - and only 1 was morbidly obese so some bits may not get clean (I put a large towel on the sofa where he & another sat, so I could tolerate my own furniture afterwards. Sadly on e of those stinky-players is back in our group, and still hasn't learned hygiene.

2-fisted coward is the next most annoying. The others can be dealt with. For the Munchkin or combat-god there is ALWAYS someone bigger/badder than you.

[KillWatch]

My last resort final answer to Munchkins? Rifter 9.5, and GDC

[Anthar]

The Perv is my most hated, the others are relatively harmless. We had a perv in our group that gave me these really bad vibes and he eventually got kicked out of the group not because of any game behaviour, but he ended up doing some extreemly unsavoury things to his best friend's(another gamer) 3 year old daughter. Oh, and if he reads this and figures out that I'm talking about him he should know where he can go.

[Captain Shiva]

The Perv is my most hated, the others are relatively harmless. We had a perv in our group that gave me these really bad vibes and he eventually got kicked out of the group not because of any game behaviour, but he ended up doing some extreemly unsavoury things to his best friend's(another gamer) 3 year old daughter. Oh, and if he reads this and figures out that I'm talking about him he should know where he can go.

That, friend, falls into the category of TMI.

[Anthar]

The Perv is my most hated, the others are relatively harmless. We had a perv in our group that gave me these really bad vibes and he eventually got kicked out of the group not because of any game behaviour, but he ended up doing some extreemly unsavoury things to his best friend's(another gamer) 3 year old daughter. Oh, and if he reads this and figures out that I'm talking about him he should know where he can go.

That, friend, falls into the category of TMI.

Point taken, I still feel this since the guy was sentenced to prison by the Judge, but some type of board determined that for various reason they let him serve his time under house arrest but still being able to go to work, do his shopping, etc.

[Captain Shiva]

I just remembered another type:the Copycat. Whenever another player comes up with a good idea, he does it too, despite the fact that his character would have no way of knowing what the first player did.

[Vrykolas2k]

I have a gamer in my group that combines the Advisor, the Rules Lawyer, the Leader, the Star and the Coward (but not a two fisted one... just a wizard that's generally useless). He plays a wizard that happens to be just like him. Sometimes helpful, but mostly unsolicited advice and won't let you figure out things for yourself, very bossy, loves to bog down games over minute and irrelevant details (then has the gall to call it roleplaying... nvm the fact that it was about studying say... an entire room for an hour's worth of real time) and won't stand down or be quiet... even after repeated orders from the GM. In game he plays characters that are really annoying, doesn't do his fair share of the group's work, always acts like he's the leader but won't put in the work and responsibility that comes with the position (he always tries to be the 'power behind the throne'), never gets into combat (not even with his spells because they're 'weak' or he has to 'save them for an emergency') and orders everyone around. The fact that his D&D 3.5 character has a level in Aristocrat also means he can treat our peasant characters like dirt. We've contemplated fragging the character.

Then I have another guy who's a Powergamer combined with a Rules Lawyer and a Hack and Slash Gamer. He blunders in with an overpowered character, smashes everything, and tends to ruin ambushes or get himself nearly killed. We're contemplating not healing him the next time he goes into the negatives.

And a third guy who's an Unclean One. He is the only one that's improved in that regard.

Quick question... why would you play a peasant character in the first place?

[Scott Gibbons]

There was one option on the survey that I think shold have been there: the "I'm a FANTASTIC gamer" who really isn't. You know the type, the kind that goes on and on about the great character's they've run (or the great games they've run if a G.M.), but you get them into your group and they really suck- don't role-play, do things detrimental to the group just because they can, are immature or stupid or... well you know the endless list. Needless to say, this is the type of gamer that most gets under my skin. (And I'm not saying I'm really great, either. I'm an ok gamer/GM, but I know I'm nothing special when compared to some others I've seen and heard about.)

Anyone else share this annoyance?

[Captain Shiva]

There was one option on the survey that I think shold have been there: the "I'm a FANTASTIC gamer" who really isn't. You know the type, the kind that goes on and on about the great character's they've run (or the great games they've run if a G.M.), but you get them into your group and they really suck- don't role-play, do things detrimental to the group just because they can, are immature or stupid or... well you know the endless list. Needless to say, this is the type of gamer that most gets under my skin. (And I'm not saying I'm really great, either. I'm an ok gamer/GM, but I know I'm nothing special when compared to some others I've seen and heard about.)

Anyone else share this annoyance?

I am very familiar with this type.They usually into the Expert or Advisor categories; in that they know everything, except how to keep their pie-holes shut.

[Vrykolas2k]

No. That was our social standing, not our actual class. My character was a Scottish Highlander and Fighter. Another was a Roman Centurion. We were considered 'peasants' despite our skills. The two elves in our party were considered equals to the aristoprat.

Oh, and in another game the same said player also played a peasant for roleplaying reasons. Each level he earned he got a new class... which made my job GM'ing him a nightmare.

I think there's some confusion in your group on social standings...

[Dog_O_War]

No. That was our social standing, not our actual class. My character was a Scottish Highlander and Fighter. Another was a Roman Centurion. We were considered 'peasants' despite our skills. The two elves in our party were considered equals to the aristoprat.

Oh, and in another game the same said player also played a peasant for roleplaying reasons. Each level he earned he got a new class... which made my job GM'ing him a nightmare.

I think there's some confusion in your group on social standings...

Actually, he's pretty much on the mark. Soldiers and clan-warriors only hold a high stature in their respective circles; generally speaking though, a Mayor of any "civilized" town would still be held in higher regard when it comes to courtly matters. That said, a Mayor could be represented by the aristocrat class, just a King would be.

That the goof actually took a level in it though means he's both dumb, cheating (as anyone that "takes" a level in an NPC class is likely to do thanks to it being both a multiclass bummer and a weakness to any level plan), and has the GM's blessing to get away with murder.

Special circumstances though might dictate that the other two characters (the Highlander and the Centerion) could have an improved social-status, but as explained even a level 1 aristocrat has more political power than a 10th level anything, really. This is discounting fame and non-gold/magic wealth of course (land deeds tend to come with titles after all).

[Vrykolas2k]

No. That was our social standing, not our actual class. My character was a Scottish Highlander and Fighter. Another was a Roman Centurion. We were considered 'peasants' despite our skills. The two elves in our party were considered equals to the aristoprat.

Oh, and in another game the same said player also played a peasant for roleplaying reasons. Each level he earned he got a new class... which made my job GM'ing him a nightmare.

I think there's some confusion in your group on social standings...

Actually, he's pretty much on the mark. Soldiers and clan-warriors only hold a high stature in their respective circles; generally speaking though, a Mayor of any "civilized" town would still be held in higher regard when it comes to courtly matters. That said, a Mayor could be represented by the aristocrat class, just a King would be.

That the goof actually took a level in it though means he's both dumb, cheating (as anyone that "takes" a level in an NPC class is likely to do thanks to it being both a multiclass bummer and a weakness to any level plan), and has the GM's blessing to get away with murder.

Special circumstances though might dictate that the other two characters (the Highlander and the Centerion) could have an improved social-status, but as explained even a level 1 aristocrat has more political power than a 10th level anything, really. This is discounting fame and non-gold/magic wealth of course (land deeds tend to come with titles after all).

Mayors/ village headmen are also usually peasants; at best, merchants.
So when a knight (or anyone bearing a noble weapon, such as a sword) and his/her retinue, comes riding (and that's another thing, riding horses is a definate sign of a high social station) into town, guess who's kneeling in the dirt at the front of the crowd...?
It also depends on the Scottish warrior; William Wallace was the son of a knight, for instance, not a mere commoner; and quite a few Legionnaires had Patrician blood, not Plebean. Granted, they were generally given higher ranks.
And it would depend on the arisoctrat's social standing, as well as the other character; a courtier would likely be below a baronet in social standing, regardless of class.

[Captain Shiva]

I admit,it can be a little difficult to find anyone to game with at all in my area, annoying or not.just out of curiousity,has anyone ever actually encountered a player who believed that the spells in an RPG were real, and they could use them to gain earthly power,like the fundamentalists would have us believe?

[Vrykolas2k]

I admit,it can be a little difficult to find anyone to game with at all in my area, annoying or not.just out of curiousity,has anyone ever actually encountered a player who believed that the spells in an RPG were real, and they could use them to gain earthly power,like the fundamentalists would have us believe?

No.
Though a friend of mine once joked about how much xp we'd get if we wiped out a bunch of Code Pink idiots one time...

[Captain Shiva]

I admit,it can be a little difficult to find anyone to game with at all in my area, annoying or not.just out of curiousity,has anyone ever actually encountered a player who believed that the spells in an RPG were real, and they could use them to gain earthly power,like the fundamentalists would have us believe?

No.
Though a friend of mine once joked about how much xp we'd get if we wiped out a bunch of Code Pink idiots one time...

Code Pink?

[Vrykolas2k]

I admit,it can be a little difficult to find anyone to game with at all in my area, annoying or not.just out of curiousity,has anyone ever actually encountered a player who believed that the spells in an RPG were real, and they could use them to gain earthly power,like the fundamentalists would have us believe?

No.
Though a friend of mine once joked about how much xp we'd get if we wiped out a bunch of Code Pink idiots one time...

Code Pink?

Basically a bunch of old hippies who haven't managed to die yet from 30+ venerial diseases, and their love-children.

[devillin]

the only other player we ever kicked out was a player in our new MERP campaign who actually cheated all the time. we couldnt believe it. he brought a pre-generated character with stats maxed out and all the magical stuff - as we are not used to cheating and think that cheating is actually against basic principles of the game [when the GM fixes secret rolls with a reason and on rare occasions, thats not cheating], we naively believed this was genuine luck - but when we saw that he was cheating at the table (eg rolling a 86 and saying, oh yeah, 01!) - and when the second character he brought had almost the same stats as the first super-hero we never invited him back.

My group had a situation much like that. When we first started playing as a group, the co-GM and I were very lax as to what you could play and rolling up the stats. We held the point of view that the stats played very little part in how your character turned out, other than Int (since that affects your skill bonuses) and PP. So this one player brought in a Dragon Hatchling. The Int and PP were reasonable, so we didn't really scrutinize the rest of his stats and how the character was written up. After several in-game issues came up over the course of 2 sessions (turns out he was a two-fisted coward and the group took revenge on him after he ran out on them during a fight with Glitterboys), he stormed out without taking his character sheet and dice with him. Well, that invited us to seriously check out his sheet for the first time. It turned out that most of his stats were 1 or 2 points less than max, and everything else was maxed out. To say we were pissed would be an understatement. We proceeded to let him know that the next time we gamed, he was going to roll his dice in front of us. So he comes in for the next session with a brand new character sheet with only the first 7 stats empty, everything else is filled in. After giving him a blank sheet, he proceeded to roll. Me and the co-GM kind of glance at his rolls, but don't pay close attention to what he is doing, since we think the issue is solved. It turns out that two of the other players (who were trying to stay out of the argument) started noticing that what he was writing down was not what he actually rolled. Well, to say that we all blew up at him would be an understatement. The kicker is, he gets mad at us swearing that we aren't being fair to him, and storms out of the house, leaving his dice behind.

We've never seen or heard from him since. Funny thing is, the dice are still there, and every once in a while they get pulled out when we need extra dice for something. Everybody calls them cursed (even new guys who have joined us afterwards and don't know their history) because they always seem to roll low for the players and high for whoever happens to be GM at the time.

Since then we also instituted a no naturally high-MDC characters starting out (no dragons, borgs, godlings, or other creature that starts out with MDC in the hundreds) and all stats must be rolled in front of a GM.

[Captain Shiva]

the only other player we ever kicked out was a player in our new MERP campaign who actually cheated all the time. we couldnt believe it. he brought a pre-generated character with stats maxed out and all the magical stuff - as we are not used to cheating and think that cheating is actually against basic principles of the game [when the GM fixes secret rolls with a reason and on rare occasions, thats not cheating], we naively believed this was genuine luck - but when we saw that he was cheating at the table (eg rolling a 86 and saying, oh yeah, 01!) - and when the second character he brought had almost the same stats as the first super-hero we never invited him back.

My group had a situation much like that. When we first started playing as a group, the co-GM and I were very lax as to what you could play and rolling up the stats. We held the point of view that the stats played very little part in how your character turned out, other than Int (since that affects your skill bonuses) and PP. So this one player brought in a Dragon Hatchling. The Int and PP were reasonable, so we didn't really scrutinize the rest of his stats and how the character was written up. After several in-game issues came up over the course of 2 sessions (turns out he was a two-fisted coward and the group took revenge on him after he ran out on them during a fight with Glitterboys), he stormed out without taking his character sheet and dice with him. Well, that invited us to seriously check out his sheet for the first time. It turned out that most of his stats were 1 or 2 points less than max, and everything else was maxed out. To say we were pissed would be an understatement. We proceeded to let him know that the next time we gamed, he was going to roll his dice in front of us. So he comes in for the next session with a brand new character sheet with only the first 7 stats empty, everything else is filled in. After giving him a blank sheet, he proceeded to roll. Me and the co-GM kind of glance at his rolls, but don't pay close attention to what he is doing, since we think the issue is solved. It turns out that two of the other players (who were trying to stay out of the argument) started noticing that what he was writing down was not what he actually rolled. Well, to say that we all blew up at him would be an understatement. The kicker is, he gets mad at us swearing that we aren't being fair to him, and storms out of the house, leaving his dice behind.

We've never seen or heard from him since. Funny thing is, the dice are still there, and every once in a while they get pulled out when we need extra dice for something. Everybody calls them cursed (even new guys who have joined us afterwards and don't know their history) because they always seem to roll low for the players and high for whoever happens to be GM at the time.

Since then we also instituted a no naturally high-MDC characters starting out (no dragons, borgs, godlings, or other creature that starts out with MDC in the hundreds) and all stats must be rolled in front of a GM.

Were his initials "B.H.," by any chance?

[devillin]

Were his initials "B.H.," by any chance?

Nah, this was pre-BH. He was actually a college friend of most of the other players in the group. I know most people drift apart after college and lose track, but when I say dude disappeared. I mean disappeared. Nobody heard from him, nobody knows of anyone who has. Not that I'm looking for him, it's just one of those things.

[St. Evil]

The two fisted coward is just a pet peeve cause I like to play a mage type and have to do alot of roleplaying thinking ect. ect. But they don't want to role play and then don't want to die when there is a fight.

[Vrykolas2k]

I personally hate the hack and slasher... What's the point of taking skills, if all you want to use are your W.P.s? We have a fellow in our group that doesn't role-play as much as "act like a twit, and just roll with it."

I'm still sorta fuzzy as to why I haven't shot him in the head with an automatic grenade launcher.

Because nitwits like that are only worth one (1) XP.
O, wait, you were talking about in game... well, due to his threat level, he might be worth 150 XP.

[johnkretzer]

The X-file is the worst! It makes it hard to do anything, especially since its hard enough as it is these days to simply get together and play. Then, you get a rhythm down, a semi-regular night/ time and bam! he is gone and the story is put on hold or forgotten...

What makes it even worse, is that I'm the x-file for my group. Ok, yes there are new job issues at work here, but I still hate it.

Hey Job is more important than game. We have always been understanding if people couldn't make a game because of work...

I picked the leader...because very often it combines with serveral of the others in a hideous monstrosity that is a hideous abberation of a gamer. Also it just is really annoying in that really most groups justr don't need a leader giving orders in combat or making unilateral decisions...

[Cinos]

Thankfully I've avoided most of these. The one that bugs me the most (which isn't listed), is rather like an Anti-Munckin. Someone so dedicated to making their character terrible or crippled, they drag the entire party down (often some combination of awful at combat with terrible social skills and no support ability, just like a bum following the group around). Typically, this is joined with some false idea they are A: Good at Role Playing this setup (Rarely True), or B: Think they're able to setup an abled fighter (Yet to be true). The one time I've seen this threshold crossed well was a character's Half-Breed Colye DUKKS (Coyle / Wolfen), boasting an I.Q of about 4, and playing each one of those digits, as a Fire Warlock, while one of the other players (his brother, a full breed Wolfen), tried to keep him alive. Ironically DUKKS often did the most in combat (There was a lot of mummies and he liked to watch them flail when he sparked them on fire).

[BillionSix]

Thankfully I've avoided most of these. The one that bugs me the most (which isn't listed), is rather like an Anti-Munckin. Someone so dedicated to making their character terrible or crippled, they drag the entire party down (often some combination of awful at combat with terrible social skills and no support ability, just like a bum following the group around). Typically, this is joined with some false idea they are A: Good at Role Playing this setup (Rarely True), or B: Think they're able to setup an abled fighter (Yet to be true). The one time I've seen this threshold crossed well was a character's Half-Breed Colye DUKKS (Coyle / Wolfen), boasting an I.Q of about 4, and playing each one of those digits, as a Fire Warlock, while one of the other players (his brother, a full breed Wolfen), tried to keep him alive. Ironically DUKKS often did the most in combat (There was a lot of mummies and he liked to watch them flail when he sparked them on fire).

Yeah, sometimes the anti-munchkin is just a "real roleplayer" who is so paranoid about being a munchkin that they go in the opposite direction.

There is also the Story Munchkin. This is the guy who doesn't necessarily give himself high stats, but designs his character background so that he HAS to be the center of attention.

"I am on a quest to find the man who killed my brother. No, nothing can keep me from this quest. You are going on a job protect some D-Bees from the Coalition? No, I can't I have to find the man who killed my brother. You can follow me if you want, but I won't do anything but look for the man who killed my brother."

You have two choices with him, and neither one works. Either ignore his quest, and he will complain that his character has nothing to do. Or let him fulfill his quest in the first adventure, in which case he will complain that his character now has nothing to do.

What he WANTS you to do is to ignore everything you had planned and make his wonderful character and his quest the sole focus of the entire campaign. The other characters can come, but will basically be his entourage.

Brian

[Vrykolas2k]

The X-file is the worst! It makes it hard to do anything, especially since its hard enough as it is these days to simply get together and play. Then, you get a rhythm down, a semi-regular night/ time and bam! he is gone and the story is put on hold or forgotten...

What makes it even worse, is that I'm the x-file for my group. Ok, yes there are new job issues at work here, but I still hate it.

Job issues are understandable, lack of letting someone in the group know you won't be there isn't...
Everyone has stuff come up in life; 9 times out of 10, however, it's possible to let someone know what's going on. The X-File doesn't, and lots of times it's due either to laziness or because they just don't feel like gaming.
Also ok, as long as you don't keep people waiting.

[Nomadic]

Power Gamer hands down...

I'm so sick and tired of Level 1 characters thinking they can start with weapon or armor of choice. or Vechical. Sp? make it ez. Character has the clothes on his back and he just turned level 1. He gets X credits to buy equpiment. Thats how I roll it. 75k for all your gear.. .now have fun. Oh and nothing from the black market above Common. Rare and Hard to find are to hard for your level 1 ass to get.

[Vrykolas2k]

Power Gamer hands down...

I'm so sick and tired of Level 1 characters thinking they can start with weapon or armor of choice. or Vechical. Sp? make it ez. Character has the clothes on his back and he just turned level 1. He gets X credits to buy equpiment. Thats how I roll it. 75k for all your gear.. .now have fun. Oh and nothing from the black market above Common. Rare and Hard to find are to hard for your level 1 ass to get.

Well, if the book says "of choice" then I can see where they migh get the idea...
There's nothing to say a GM and player can't meet half-way, however.
If a player won't, they're not for my group; if a GM won't, they won't have a group.

[Nomadic]

Power Gamer hands down...

I'm so sick and tired of Level 1 characters thinking they can start with weapon or armor of choice. or Vechical. Sp? make it ez. Character has the clothes on his back and he just turned level 1. He gets X credits to buy equpiment. Thats how I roll it. 75k for all your gear.. .now have fun. Oh and nothing from the black market above Common. Rare and Hard to find are to hard for your level 1 ass to get.

Well, if the book says "of choice" then I can see where they migh get the idea...
There's nothing to say a GM and player can't meet half-way, however.
If a player won't, they're not for my group; if a GM won't, they won't have a group.

i don't. Players have to earn their gear in my games, and I have too many people that want in. I'm running a 8 person game right now with around 8 more waiting. come Summer I'll be running a one month game with the epic 16 man battle at the end. The Survivors go on to game over the winter and the dead reroll. Worked great for past 2 years.

[Vrykolas2k]

Power Gamer hands down...

I'm so sick and tired of Level 1 characters thinking they can start with weapon or armor of choice. or Vechical. Sp? make it ez. Character has the clothes on his back and he just turned level 1. He gets X credits to buy equpiment. Thats how I roll it. 75k for all your gear.. .now have fun. Oh and nothing from the black market above Common. Rare and Hard to find are to hard for your level 1 ass to get.

Well, if the book says "of choice" then I can see where they migh get the idea...
There's nothing to say a GM and player can't meet half-way, however.
If a player won't, they're not for my group; if a GM won't, they won't have a group.

i don't. Players have to earn their gear in my games, and I have too many people that want in. I'm running a 8 person game right now with around 8 more waiting. come Summer I'll be running a one month game with the epic 16 man battle at the end. The Survivors go on to game over the winter and the dead reroll. Worked great for past 2 years.

Good for you; I prefer to meet players half-way, however.
Not saying they don't earn better equipment later, but I don't screw OCCs/ RCCs out of their starting equipment, either.
And yes, I also do run large games; my last group numbered 15 people. Every character had his/ her niche.

[Xar]

The book says "of choice". Sometimes it doesn't specify the choice of whom.

Also, I sometimes give my children their choice of two or three things that I approve of; "Would you like to watch Harry Potter or Spiderman?" This is different than, "Go to the movie cabinet and choose a movie. What's that you've got? Terminator and Starship Troopers? OK..I guess so, I said you could choose."

[Khanibal]

Here's two.
The do-nothing. This player has no idea or plan for what his/her character is going to do. Not for backstory, not for subplots, not for the adventure, heck not for the round. Sometimes this can be excused due to inexperience. Sometimes not.

The not-going-to-do-anything. This player will argue against every plan of action the group proposes.
Clean out the undead from the abandoned church graveyard? No, the undead aren't bothering anyone. Join the fight against the Coalition? No, Tolkeen uses evil monsters. Fight vampires? No I don't like dealing with vampires.
Of course the ngtda doesn't have any plan or path to suggest, they just don't want the group to do anything.

[BillionSix]

Here's two.
The do-nothing. This player has no idea or plan for what his/her character is going to do. Not for backstory, not for subplots, not for the adventure, heck not for the round. Sometimes this can be excused due to inexperience. Sometimes not.

The not-going-to-do-anything. This player will argue against every plan of action the group proposes.
Clean out the undead from the abandoned church graveyard? No, the undead aren't bothering anyone. Join the fight against the Coalition? No, Tolkeen uses evil monsters. Fight vampires? No I don't like dealing with vampires.
Of course the ngtda doesn't have any plan or path to suggest, they just don't want the group to do anything.

In a weird way, he sounds like a variation on the Two-Fisted Coward. If he doesn't get into an adventure, nothing bad can happen to him.
A lot of players lean toward "turtling" behavior. Everything they do is completely defensive, and designed to keep their precious little snowflake alive.
Sometimes, it's because of "abused gamer syndrome," where their early games were under a GM that sadistically tried to hurt them and attacked every weakness. But it might be as simple as the early conversation. You know the one. When you first learned about RPGs you asked the logical question, "How do you win?" And the well-meaning GM said, "Well, if you survive till the end of the story, then you win."

Also, it might come out of a weird sort of competitiveness. The player knows you can always beat him with bigger bad guys, so he "beats" your adventure by not joining in. "I'm not doing your stupid story! HA! What are you gonna do now, loser?"

[Khanibal]

I remember when I became the party leader in my old group. I was a pushy, bullying, pr!ck. It was the week after I had vowed to NEVER spend another 3+ hours of gaming, doing nothing. I figured if I got the whole party killed and we had to build new characters, it was still a more useful way of spending game time than just talking in circles.

[Rallan]

so what's wrong with playing someone of the opposite sex? As long as you play the person as a character and not a stereotype I don't see a problem. I prefer to play female characters because everything is more interesting when a woman does it. I mean really guys, who would you rather watch in a movie kicking ass? An strong female character or some guy? I know what type of movies I like to watch and why. Games are the same or do only girls play Tomb Raider?

Everyone knows that it's disgusting and immoral and perverted, that's what!

Which is why everyone who GMs should be locked up and kept away from children

[Rallan]

Yeah, like I've said, the Two Fisted Coward is someone who was taught early on that the purpose is to "survive" So everything he does is geared toward surviving to the next adventure. He makes the baddest character he can, in case he is cornered, but then avoids all fights, because that is how you survive. He was probably traumatized by a killer GM in his early days, and has learned to keep his head down.

Brian

Actually I've made more than one character like that on purpose, and not because I was worried about losing my character to bad rolls or a mean GM or something. I just like the idea of big manly heroic adventurers who are famous throughout the land for their exploits and derring do, but who are actually total cowards who built their reputation on empty boasts, stealing other folks' credit, and cheating like crazy

[Rallan]

Oh and my personal favourite kind of annoying player isn't on the list. Let's call him "The Ninja", because it's always ninjas.

Hey I'm running a Rifts game set in the Chi-Town burbs. Gonna go for a black market, two steps ahead of the law kinda game.
Awesome, count me in!
Sure, what do you want to play?
Um... a ninja!

Hey I'm running a Nightbane game where everyone's paranormal investigators right after Dark Day
Wicked, can I play a ninja?

Hey it turns out the Ars Magica core rules are a free download these days. Who's up for a game to see how it works?
Dibs on being a ninja!

Heroes Unlimited, two-fisted silver age silliness where everyone acts like those corny old Batman and Superman comics
Man I love that stuff. I've got this great idea for a stone-cold killer ninja assassin who'd be great in that game!

Call of Cth-
NINJA!

And so it goes. He's the guy who knows damn well what RPG you're running and what sort of campaign you want to do, but keeps on making PCs that have nothing to do with what's going on because he thinks they're awesomely cool.

And while we're on offences that usually involve ninjas, there's also The Man With The Teflon Backstory
"Okay so Jim's character is an army brat who got mixed up in all of this because of his dad's mysterious illness, and his brothers have a bit of rivalry going on with him because he's earning more in a civilian career than they are by following their dad's footsteps. And Suzy's character was a plucky, politically active college student until her superpowers manifested and she found herself spending too much time on important stuff to keep up with her career ambitions. And your character..."
"My guy's whole family died in a fiery auto wreck that was totally accidental, and he was raised by ninjas! Then when he was a teenager his ninja school was wiped out by evil rival ninjas, but those ninjas got betrayed by the Russian Mob and they're all dead now, so my guy's a lone wolf with no ties of blood or vengeance to anyone!"
"Um.... okay. So no family, no enemies. Does he have a girlfriend or anything?"
"Are you crazy? Everyone knows that PC girlfriends only exist so the GM can make them turn out to be demons or insane cultists or something. Dude's a confirmed bachelor for life."
"Riiiiiiiiight. So does he like, interact with the campaign world at all when he's not adventuring?"
"He orders his groceries online. The guys at the Walmart down the road haven't proven their trustworthiness yet, so they cannot see his face."

[BillionSix]

Oh and my personal favourite kind of annoying player isn't on the list. Let's call him "The Ninja", because it's always ninjas.

Hey I'm running a Rifts game set in the Chi-Town burbs. Gonna go for a black market, two steps ahead of the law kinda game.
Awesome, count me in!
Sure, what do you want to play?
Um... a ninja!

Hey I'm running a Nightbane game where everyone's paranormal investigators right after Dark Day
Wicked, can I play a ninja?

Hey it turns out the Ars Magica core rules are a free download these days. Who's up for a game to see how it works?
Dibs on being a ninja!

Heroes Unlimited, two-fisted silver age silliness where everyone acts like those corny old Batman and Superman comics
Man I love that stuff. I've got this great idea for a stone-cold killer ninja assassin who'd be great in that game!

Call of Cth-
NINJA!

And so it goes. He's the guy who knows damn well what RPG you're running and what sort of campaign you want to do, but keeps on making PCs that have nothing to do with what's going on because he thinks they're awesomely cool.

And while we're on offences that usually involve ninjas, there's also The Man With The Teflon Backstory
"Okay so Jim's character is an army brat who got mixed up in all of this because of his dad's mysterious illness, and his brothers have a bit of rivalry going on with him because he's earning more in a civilian career than they are by following their dad's footsteps. And Suzy's character was a plucky, politically active college student until her superpowers manifested and she found herself spending too much time on important stuff to keep up with her career ambitions. And your character..."
"My guy's whole family died in a fiery auto wreck that was totally accidental, and he was raised by ninjas! Then when he was a teenager his ninja school was wiped out by evil rival ninjas, but those ninjas got betrayed by the Russian Mob and they're all dead now, so my guy's a lone wolf with no ties of blood or vengeance to anyone!"
"Um.... okay. So no family, no enemies. Does he have a girlfriend or anything?"
"Are you crazy? Everyone knows that PC girlfriends only exist so the GM can make them turn out to be demons or insane cultists or something. Dude's a confirmed bachelor for life."
"Riiiiiiiiight. So does he like, interact with the campaign world at all when he's not adventuring?"
"He orders his groceries online. The guys at the Walmart down the road haven't proven their trustworthiness yet, so they cannot see his face."

Yep. The Ninja is the common stereotype, but there are other variations. Like someone who is always a nature-worshiping hippie, or a catgirl, or some other variation.

I know about the Teflon backstory guy. I heard once on a forum about a player who, whenever possible, would have his character be from the future. But a future timeline that he has already changed, so that his version of the future no longer exists.
I am guessing this is another variation of Abused Gamer Syndrome. His first GM would find any excuse to hurt the characters, so he turtles. Not just in tactics, or character build, but in backstory. He doesn't allow anything that might hurt his character. The sad part is, I don't think I have ever seen one of these players actually have any fun.

[Rallan]

Yep. The Ninja is the common stereotype, but there are other variations. Like someone who is always a nature-worshiping hippie, or a catgirl, or some other variation.

Yeah I just picked the ninja because it's the ur-example. It's both a character type that a lot of people want to play all the goddamn time, and a character type so specific that it only works in a relatively small number of RPG settings.

I know about the Teflon backstory guy. I heard once on a forum about a player who, whenever possible, would have his character be from the future. But a future timeline that he has already changed, so that his version of the future no longer exists.
I am guessing this is another variation of Abused Gamer Syndrome. His first GM would find any excuse to hurt the characters, so he turtles. Not just in tactics, or character build, but in backstory. He doesn't allow anything that might hurt his character. The sad part is, I don't think I have ever seen one of these players actually have any fun.

Part of it's bad GMs, but part of it is just wanting to "win". His PC doesn't have any personal ties partly because the GM might use them to put his PC at a disadvantage, and partly because the GM might use them to force the PC into (gasp!) storylines. Even worse, storylines where he won't get awesome rewards or where he'll be expected to waste time with that lame "talking in-character" stuff instead of blowing things up.

You'll notice that the PCs with Teflon backstories also have no personalities, and no hobbies outside of adventuring. Just like a backstory is bad because it might get in between the PC and kicking ass, a personality is bad because it's useless baggage that the character's player has no intention of using.

[Khanibal]

I've played a lot of Hero System, and I LOVE Hunted/Watched and DNPC disads. I like to load up on the cheapest Watched and "Nearly as powerful" DNPCs. 14 or less. Show up to stop a bank robbery and there's like half a dozen people from my backstory there. Fun for me and the GM (okay, maybe not so much for the GM).

[Levi]

Hack'n slashers. Nothing is more annoying than players who just want to fight everything they encounter even when there are other easier way to deal with the situation.

[random_username]

In a decent group the weirder ones almost never occur. There are generally fairly simple solutions to most of the other types.

[Noon]

we are not used to cheating and think that cheating is actually against basic principles of the game [when the GM fixes secret rolls with a reason and on rare occasions, thats not cheating]

Amazing how often gamers can fit saying both those things in the very same sentence.

[TiekoSora]

Way back in the early 90's we had a group, and one player was consistently doing dumb things and dying. He'd get in a huff, accuse the GM of plotting his demise (only happened once and he was given a big hint to avoid it) and come back with a new character the next session. After awhile it became apparent he was just erasing the name of his old character and giving it a new one. The running joke was he would reach into his Keith's Closet of Character Creation +5 before he left his house.

He wasn't really any of the listed player types on the poll, but he was woefully predictable in any given situation.

[The Dark Elf]

Two words

Munch & kin

[Mercdog]

I vote the X-File. I tend to play with small groups, and when the X-File doesn't show, 1-2 others tend to flake out as well in short order.

Another that isn't really that bad, but I do find a bit annoying, is the Clone. Where EVERY character they make is the same. Oh sure, he might change the race from a half-elf female to a male half-orc, but he's always the fighter/thief type in a long coat and acts exactly the same no matter what his character's race, where his character's from or what game we're playing that night. Now I admit, I've been guilty of Cloning (I'm sure most of us have,) but at least I do TRY to mix it up and get a little variety in my characters.

[Severus Snape]

The one I hate - and I try not to use that word lightly as it has pretty strong conotations, and using it all the time diminishes the meaning - is The Star. Cannot stand these types of players, and I refuse to play with them. I don't mind someone having the spotlight for a while. I don't mind if the same person has it a few times, or even for an entire session. But when the entire campaign has to be about the same person, and their exploits, and what they want to do, and how awesome they think the whole world should view them as, then why am I playing? I don't want all the attention, but throw me a freaking bone once in a while, ok?

The worst example of this that comes to mind was one of the last campaigns in AD&D 2nd edition I was in. We were starting at 1st level, and we used some weird way of generating attributes (we all rolled the 6 attributes, then posted what everybody rolled, and then we picked from the overall list - which is another sick and disgusting story), and this guy had to have both of the 18s that were rolled. He's going to be a mage, and he needs the dexterity, and blah blah blah. Ok, no problem - we'll get stuck with the crap while he gets the good stats. So he completes his mage (who, by the way, is some kit from some handbook that reads, writes, and speaks 30 different languages), and his backstory was that he was a wandering sage, trying to learn all he can. So no matter where we go, no matter who we speak to, no matter what is going on, he has questions. And he took FOREVER to ask them and get answers. I'm talking in-character questions (he was also a rules lawyer, but I digress yet again). So we couldn't do anything or go anywhere or continue with anything until he was done. And then when he finished, he would have to take all the time in the world to write everything down, re-read it, and then we could continue when he gave his "approval". Even the GM couldn't stand it.