Last year one of the few episodes of D-Infinity live I was able to participate in was all about ‘That One Player’. We discussed the types of players we did not like to have in our games or play with us.

The really sad thing is that as a player, I fell into at least a couple of those ‘that one player’ categories! Fortunately I have never (at least intentionally!) fallen into any of the categories I am bringing up below.

Still, in keeping with the past several weeks, I am presenting a list of the types of gamers that I will no longer have anything to do with. I don’t want these types of gamers in my game, nor do I want to play in a game with them.

Thankfully my current group does not fall into this category in the least.  Unlike my previous top five, this is in the order I dislike the type of player, with number one being the worst!

1. The non-player player - I’ve ran into this type of player several times over the past 30 plus years of tabletop gaming. This is the player that is invited to a game, but all they do is sit there and watch. They roll up a character and that is pretty much the extent of it. Ask them what they are doing, nothing. Ask for their opinion on a plan, you get a shrug. Get into combat, and they do only the barebones basics. I really find this type of player to be highly annoying and they tend to drain the life out of any game they participate in. The reason? Their lack of interest seems to be contagious and other people start losing interest in the game as well.
2. The Rules Lawyer – When I run a game, I don’t give a rat’s ass about what the rules say. If I want something to happen, it is going to happen. I don’t care what the rules say in book so and so on page so and so. My game, my rules. Don’t like it, there’s the door. Don’t let it hit you on the way out. This applies to GM’s as well as myself. If I’m playing in a game and the GM makes a call, don’t tell him he’s wrong! If it is something really bad, then maybe wait until after the game is over and talk to him privately. For me a game is not to be a competition – you against the GM or vice versa. You’re involved in a story and the rules really should come second.
3. The Whiner – So you failed a saving throw and your character died. Maybe the GM will have a way to bring him back, maybe not. You don’t like the way the campaign is going so you start complaining and moaning how unfair it is.  Man up people! Don’t start acting like you’re five and throw a temper-tantrum or start whining about it. I’ve seen this happen too many times over the years and in one case it was so bad that the GM I was playing with essentially changed the game to accommodate the whining player. That was quite unfair to the rest of the players. We all seemed to be having a good time, and yet when circumstance did not go your way, you had to complain.
4. The Cheater – As a GM I have occasionally fudged the dice rolls in my players favor (I know, go figure) to prevent an unexpected death or catastrophe that would have ruined the game. However as a player I have only cheated unintentionally, and I mean by not knowing the rules as well as I should have.  When I discovered that I was doing something wrong I immediately rectified the situation as best I could. However there are always the players that will do whatever they can to cheat while playing – be it using loaded dice, adding abilities or items to their characters they simply should not have, or rolling and snatching up the dice before anyone else could see the result and naming their own. Happens all the time. There are tons of easy solutions, such as having the dice rolled in front of everyone and not being allowed to touch it until the GM has checked the results and so forth. It’s pretty sad when people have to resort to cheating to make themselves feel good.
5. The Power Gamer – Ah yes, the player that mini-maxes and takes everything they can to make the most powerful and extreme character they can get away with. Forget role playing, this type of player only wants to ROLL Play. They are more suited to playing online games or video games. A really good GM (such as the one I have at the moment), can easily modify their game to make up for such players and even if you have a power player like this, the encounters can always be a challenge. As much as I enjoy 3.5 and Pathfinder, it is kind of difficult not to fall into this category. I have found the allure of being a mini-max player very tempting – but as I have said, a good GM can balance it out in the end.

Chris Van Deelen is the author of the Skirmisher Publishing LLC sourcebook  Creatures of the Tropical Wastes  sourcebook, co-author of its  Wisdom from the Wastelands  game supplement and contributor to the  'Sword of Kos: Hekaton'  Anthology.