James and Chuckie are back with a theory episode on something every GM eventually has to deal with — problem players. The ones you can actually help. The ones who maybe don't even know they're doing it.

What We Get Into:

• The Spotlight Hog: probably the most common, and as two enthusiastic GMs James and Chuckie admit they can both fall into this one. How to recognize it, how to redirect it off camera, and how to weaponize their enthusiasm to bring other players in instead
• GMs as players: why it's important to sit on the other side of the table, what you learn from a good GM, and why a GM as a player can either be the best or worst person at the table — there's almost no middle ground
• The Distracted Player: James tells the story of the player on her phone who needed the coloring game to pay attention. The fix isn't punishment — it's giving them a job. DJ, note-taker, sketch artist, in-game currency for recap contributions
• The Reluctant Adventurer: the loner, the lone wolf, the guy who just wanted to be a farmer. Chuckie's rule: it's the player's job to figure out why their character keeps showing up. The Lone Wolf and Cub solution — give them an NPC to be responsible for
• When to have the aside, how to frame it with empathy, and when to accept that the subplot is just going to stay lost
• The nuclear option: be honest, be direct, think of it as a breakup

Every Friday we're streaming Monster Hunters Club on Twitch from 7-930 PM EST! Join us, won't you?

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