Last time we talked about Power Gamers and some issues they can cause. This time will be about ways of reducing those issues without also ruining the game for the Power Gamer in question. That's an important thing to remember, the Power Gamer is not playing wrong and the goal is not that they "fix" themselves so everyone else can just continue on as they were. The goal is to have a game that works for everyone involved and that means that everyone will probably have to change a little. First up what to do if you're not the power gamer in the group.

Did you start it?

First, step back and consider if you are not indulging in some bad behaviors yourself. Power Gaming can be often be a reaction. Very few people come into a game thinking, "I want to have a +99 to all stats, be able to do anything, and deal the maximum damage each round." instead they come in thinking, "I want to be a badass wizard that shoots lightning from their hands." But then they don't get to shoot lightning, because you're constantly sneaking off ahead of the group and befriending everyone they planned on hitting with lightning or they keep being told that lightning wasn't a good choice and they're doing it wrong. Maybe your ten minute descriptions of your combat flourishes as you carve up a creature are eating up all the time at the table and the player feels like they're not getting to do anything but listen to you narrate. Building a very powerful character is a strategy to keep other players from shutting down what they enjoy and to take back some of the spotlight. Maybe you can tone down or compromise on the things that are pushing the Power Gamer to feel like they need to protect their fun. This is not to say that their reaction is not causing problems, just that things can escalate without you realizing it and defusing the situation may involve admitting some fault on your side.

Playing with Power Gamers

Last time I laid out motivations for why people power game. It is often easy to see the behaviors that are upsetting to you, but just telling people to stop acting a certain way rarely helps. They're not likely to change and if they do change, other behaviors trying to meet the same need could show up. Do not try to punish the behavior you don't like in-game or get passive aggressive. Doing this is just likely to lead to them doubling down and if they're any good at power gaming you're going to lose an in-character fight with them. The problem is outside of the game world and that's where you need to fix it.

So think about the player's possible motivations and use that as a jumping off point. Then find some way that the player can get what they want in a way that does not ruin your fun. Below are some examples for different types of Power Gamers and how to approach them:

Power Fantasy Gamers They want to feel powerful and in control, which is a perfectly valid thing to want out of a game. Often this leads to conflicts between themselves and the GM, rather than other players directly, but it can also lead to competitiveness and hogging the spot light. This sort of player hates scenarios where their character is powerless and they hate losing, which often brings out bad behaviors. It may seem like you don't have many choices here, since the GM sets the power of the world relative to the character and you're not the one making them lose.

But there are ways you can help a person feel in control. Think about their character and think about something that character can do for you that is cool. If they are good at punching things, but the mission requires stealth don't tell their character to sit in the car while you sneak around. Find something that needs punched or make it clear that you are counting on them, if you fail, to punch the snot out of everyone in a ten block radius.

You may be thinking, "They punch stuff all the time, they don't need my permission!" It's not about giving permission, it's about acknowledging that they are good at something and you consider them valuable. Feeling like they are essential and that other players appreciate them goes a long way with Power Fantasy Gamers. It also eliminates the need for them to try to be competitive to prove they are awesome to you; you're telling them you already know in a way that is encouraging and helpful.

You can draw a Power Fantasy Gamer into roleplay and storytelling, as long as part of that is acknowledging that they're awesome. Do not try to force them into roleplaying someone stupid or weak, or someone that is not in control of the situation; it's not fun for them. A Power Gamer might get bored with a scene where you negotiate on the price of a job for a half-hour, but you can pull them in by asking them to be powerful. "Hey, can Hulkarth crack his knuckles and smile viciously at this guy as I suggest we have other options?" is a quick way to pull that player back in and make them feel useful. Be cautious here, there's a chance that the rules or the GM can get in the way, but it's a good place to start.

The Fearful Gamer This gamer is power gaming as a reaction. Figure out if that reaction is to a past experience that does not apply any more or if it's a reaction to the current group behavior. If it's a past group, then it's probably a good time to sit down and talk about group expectations and ask what the player really wants from the game. You need to patiently convince them that your group is not going to screw them over or mock them if they don't Min-Max. If the problem is with the current group, then the Power Gamer is not going to change until you address the behavior they are reacting to. This could be a railroading GM taking away their agency or other players making them feel like they have to compete. As mentioned earlier, be open to the possibility that you're actually the one initiating the conflict. When you approach them, expect them to be defensive, because they don't see themselves as the problem. They are just doing what's rational to try to guard their fun from other people's offensive behavior.

The Calculating Gamer The problem here is that the player in question wants to play a roleplaying game primarily as a game. This means that things without rules don't really click for them and they're not really interested in story or the setting logic. If something is mechanically advantageous they want to do it. Try to recognize that this is a valid form of play and it is quite possible that your preferred style does not make sense to them either. When you're playing Settlers of Catan, you don't make decisions on village placement based on whether your settlers are going to have a nice view of the ocean or question whether that extra road segment to nowhere that you need for longest road is a responsible use of your citizen's tax dollars. Someone that insisted that you consider this would probably be quite irritating for you. Two approaches here are to either use rules to get the player engaged with parts of the game you enjoy or try to get the player to think about the game differently.

With a lot of roleplaying games, only part of the play is really defined by the rules. Usually this part includes combat, maybe a few skills or exploration, and some resource management. If you're playing with a Calculating Gamer, those are the parts of the game they're going to focus on. The rules for social play, in-character play, or story are generally very light. If you are going to use rules to try to engage the Calculating Gamer, you need to change that paradigm. Either, add rules for the social part of the game, such as standings with various NPC groups to give the player something to latch onto or, and this may seem counter-intuitive, remove rules from the stuff that isn't of interest to you to de-emphasize those parts of the game. This is most easily done by switching games, but changing games is a hard sell for many groups, especially once a game has gotten started, and isn't something you can do unilaterally. You can also try to get the player to engage with other parts of the game, but to do this you're going to need to take down roadblocks.

First, a lot of players fall back on rules as something consistent that does not rely on the judgment of a GM. A Calculating Gamer does not like things that seem arbitrary or capricious, since it makes it hard for them to make decisions. If you've got a railroady or adversarial GM or one that makes inconsistent rulings, you're never going to get the Calculating Gamer on board with anything they can't point to a rule for. In that scenario, you need to help the GM find ways to be more consistent.

Second, do not try to force the person into play acting, providing description, etc. Definitely do not say things like, "come on it's easy" or "just try it". If they felt comfortable doing accents and acting in character as a seventh level mage from the shores of Triplicane, they probably would be doing it already. Instead, ask for their help or opinion on something. So if you enjoy conversing in character, casually ask them what they think your character would say in a conversation and use their suggestion. By asking for help you've done several good things: you have established that it's okay not to always know what a character would do, you've made your own in-character play less intimidating, you've complimented their in-character ability, and you've set up a way for them to practice in-character decision making with very little risk.

Third, compliment them for whatever non-mechanical play they do bring. Because whether you realize it or not, there are rules for the non-mechanical parts of roleplaying. It's just that you have internalized them and aren't consciously aware of them. The way you teach those rules to people is by acknowledging when the person is doing well. Criticizing and demanding more is just going to make them more reluctant.

Fourth, remove mechanical rewards for roleplaying from the game. A lot of games give XP or mechanical benefits for "good" roleplaying, because designers mistakenly believe that this is how you encourage roleplaying. This has several detrimental effects for players that don't engage with the roleplay part of the game. These mechanics tell players up front that they are being judged for their roleplay, which leads to more hesitation. Since these rewards are often only handed out sparingly, they do nothing to teach the player how to roleplay and may teach bad roleplay. For example, these mechanics tell the player that the perfectly fine in-character scene they had in the bar was not good since it didn't merit a reward. It also sets a trap for the Calculating Gamer, the reward is a mechanical thing, but the way to get it is not mechanical, so they can end up fishing for the roleplay reward without actually engaging or enjoying the roleplay. Nothing ruins roleplaying for the rest of the group faster than someone trying to use it to fish for mechanical bonuses.

Next Time

We'll cover ways to deal with Lootbox Gamers, Creation Gamers, and what to do if you are a Power Gamer.