Awkward Situation

[glimmerrat]

Ok - i have an awkward gaming situation and i thought i'd cast about for ideas for solutions, as i'm at a bit of a loss what to do.

The situation is this - i run a White Wolf game called 'Exalted'. It's my second favourite game next to SC 2.0, and for those of you that know it, you'll realise that it involves a 'stunt' system, where players receive hefty awards for cool descriptions of attacks and such. And herein lies the problem.

My group consists of 7 very experienced players, ranging from 20s to 40s, all very nice and tolerant people, but we've recently picked up new guy who has (through no fault of his own) caused issues. He has the worst stutter ever, and he can barely utter two words together without much effort. He's a lovely chap and he tries really hard, so i reward him when i feel it is appropriate.

Unfortunately, he tends to dribble a lot, spits when he talks (all the time) and the rest of the group are getting irked by it slowing flow down and getting wet when he talks to them. Some have asked me to ask him to leave as it's ruining their enjoyment.

The way i see it i have several options:
1) Ask him not to come back. This is almost out of the question. It's not the poor guy's fault, and i can tolerate him even if he grates a bit.

2) Ask dissatisfied players to leave the game. This is impossible - one lives with me and the others have been my friends for nigh-on ten years. I've known this guy for 6 weeks.

3) Cancel the campaign and resume without him a few weeks later. This just feels like spineless backstabbing to me and i'd rather be honest with him.

I can't exactly ask him to stop stuttering and spitting, it isn't his fault. I'm really down on this situation. Any ideas?

[TheTSKoala]

Oh man... *climbs out of his tree*  Little known fact.  The Koala stutters.  Or at least, I used to.  Now, for those who can allude to what I do for a living, you're going to ask how the hell is that possible?  It's managed now.  Dramatically well.  I've been on the stand, hostile situations (either it be perp or boss screaming at me for something rash and/or stupid), etc.  But... I know how the situation runs.  What I would do is almost so simple, it's crazy.  Have a man to man talk with the guy.  And then have one with the rest of the players.  Most stutter-ers have more disfluency when they're nervous / excited.  See if he stutters at home, when he sings, etc.  Try to see if he has any situations where his fluency is better.  And, if he does, see if you can play to it.

[Fat Alibert]

Dribbling, spitting and stuttering - thats quite a combo ...
I don't have any great ideas for this but I'll give you my mediocre ideas in the hope that they can be improved into a working solution.


For say it don't spray it:

Tell everyone that for the next game they must wear a prop on their head to help represent their character - a cap, a pencil behind the ear, sunglasses, fake glasses, a strange hat, a headband, etc.

Privately tell your friend "Unfortunately when you get excited you sometimes accidentally spit on people and a few of them feel uncomfortable about it.  I've asked everyone in the next game to wear a prop and I would like you to wear a red/black/blue bandana across your lower face like a bandit would wear.  It will make it impossible for you to accidentally spit on anyone and personally I think it is the coolest prop to have.  I'm not trying to cause offence I'm just trying to help keep everyone happy - including you. Can you help me out by going along with this as I think it will help keep the game fun".

Also try sit the player at the end of a table and away from those most bothered by it.


For the stuttering:

Discuss with the player the idea that you would like to reward his character for delivering short calm phrases without stuttering, as everyone understands this is a challenge for an enthusiatic player in an exciting game.

If he wants to go down this path his character will perform quite standard actions smoothly and calmly while delivering a witty remark or catch phrase.  If the phrase suits the situation and is delivered with minimal stuttering it is treated as a stunt.  With the player make a list of 10 or so sample phrases his character could say and write them down, encourgae the player to expand this written list and choose one during his turn.  Examples could include the movie classics "You looking at me?", "You can't handle the truth!", "Don't give up your day job" etc.


Also indicate that you could have his character *cursed* to often go last in the player order, but that he should use this time as the others do their bit to think about what his character will do or say.  Leave this as the players choice.


Last resort:

Explain to the player that seven people in the group is too many and you have to cut the group back, but you would like him to team up with 1-2 other players for an occassional small team spycraft game.  Find one or two others in the group who have more play time available and don't mind the guy so much.  If necessary rotate the GM'ing between you and keep it to short missions with minimal prep time.  Find out if he would like to GM anything occassionally as this might also help him get it together.


Not great ideas but its all I got for now.
Good luck.

[glimmerrat]

Meh - unfortunately i feel that sitting there with a cloth over his mouth would make him even more self-conscious and make the stammer worse. I also couldn't do it every session...

Thanks anyway guys. 

[spinningdice]

While it's depressing, sometimes you've just got to do what you can to keep the majority happy.
By all means start a new group as an addition, but I think you should have a quiet word with him, raise the points and see if you and him can work together on it, and ultimately maybe he'll have to drop from the group.

[MugMug]

I support the straight talk. Here is my 5-step recommendation:

1) Meet the guy alone at a relaxing setting. For me this is a couple pints at the local pub.

2) Discuss the difficulties you are facing. As the GM these are your difficulties, even if you are not personally bothered, so state them as such. Try to avoid "blame words" (e.g. you, your, etc). Good: "I am having difficulty maintaining the pacing I prefer, and am discomforted by being spat upon." Bad: "The group doesn't like how you slow them down, and your spitting discomforts them." If this mode of speaking is unfamiliar practice on your own before the conversation.

3) If you value the guy as a player let him know why. Be sincere. "It's not your fault" is not an expression of value. If you don't value the guy as a player skip to Step 5.

4) Work collaboratively on finding a solution that keeps him in the game while addressing your concerns. Examples might include:
   a) Have him use minis to act out the action using sound effects (which sometimes bypass the stutter).
   b) Have him act out the action directly (i.e. "charades"), again with sound effects.
   c) Have him draw the action.
   d) Have him write a narrative describing the action. This can be read by you or another player. Another "reading" option that maintains a greater sense of ownership would be a text-to-speech program on a laptop.

5) Pick up the beer tab (or whatever). If you figured out a course of action express your appreciation that he was willing to help you work on the issue. If you cannot work out a solution, or do not care to, express regret that he will no longer be able to join you for the game.

Walter