Editing Gamemaster (section)

===Difficult Players===
As a GM you WILL find that some players will make your life difficult:
*Whether it be [[munchkin]]s who blatantly abuse rules, [[derp|''(or encourage you to house rule certain things that they could not otherwise do that just so happen to benefit their characters)'']]
*...or it could be endless [[powergamer|optimisers]] who constantly want to [[retcon|reroll]] their characters every time a new splatbook comes out, then get all moody when you don't let them play the character they want to play.
*...or it could be the uber-hardcore roleplayers that get extremely loud/overbearing at the table or [[Lawful Stupid|charge headfirst]] into trouble with a battlecry "LEEEEEEEEEROOOY" ''"because that's what their character would do"'' and make life difficult for other players. 
*...or it could be the lolrandom [[Chaotic Stupid]] PC that rolls dice to decide how their character acts and tries to do standup instead of playing the game.

There is one very handy piece of advice to remember: '''"The game will continue without them"'''. 
That is not actually a threat (though it can be used as such), it's more a reminder to yourself that no matter how bad a player attempts to [[The Henderson Scale of Plot Derailment|screw up your game]], your game will survive as long as you want it to.
Overpowered PCs compared to the rest of the party can generally be ignored or tarpitted while the rest of the party gets on with the actual campaign / abusersof numerical advantages can be comfortably "noped" behind your GM screen during stat contests / overbearing roleplayers can be executed or put in jail on the spot for stupidity.

The only thing that can actually ruin your game outright is a [[TPK]] or [[Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies|you just scream "fuck it" and give up]], which you as the GM are always the final arbiter of. If this one player has created a situation where they somehow managed to survive it all, then jolly for them... the game is still over and all of their effort has come to nothing.

====New / Replacement / Returning Characters====
As a subset of "difficult" players; there can be unseen difficulties when new players join your group, or return after an extended period of time and expect to play the same character. Furthermore you can often find players ''(usually [[Powergamers]])'' who contrive of flimsy excuses to kill/retire their character in order to roll up a new build that they like, essentially introducing a "new" character to the game which is already ongoing. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of this, but it can introduce a few problems to the table:

One problem is the plot rationale for the introduction, particularly at high levels. If the players have been playing for a long time and have established themselves as influential figures, then why is the new guy just as good as ''([[Powergamer|or better than]])'' they are? without having done any of the legwork they they have? and why hasn't he shown his face before now? This is most often covered in Dungeon Master Guides and rulebooks, it generally needs some degree of creativity to make sense of the new introduction and some give-and-take on behalf of the whole group to accommodate the new arrival. The new player/character will be left out of a lot of the group history and the in-jokes, and presumably won't have any of the unique artefacts or unique campaign options that can only be achieved through actual time spent at the table ''(quite a lot of [[Prestige Class]] prerequisites come to mind)''.

The second issue is the sudden jump of experience their "new" character receive, as any player presented with a rulebook and a specified sum of experience and cash will cherry pick their favourite options and powergame with the system, even if it wasn't their intention in the first place. This is less apparent with groups that haven't been playing long, or with particularly small groups who really need all the help they can get. But in large groups or groups with a lot of history; the introduction of a freshly minted Space Marine or a level 18 [[CoDzilla]] that never existed before can really upset the group dynamics. At the start of a campaign, players will write their back stories, then branch their characters as the story progresses, picking up feats, talents or skills based on the circumstances of the plot, such as the ability to swim, drive, speak new languages or have fighters being able to cast low level cantrips, or wizards multi-classing as rogues out of necessity when the group changes or the plot moves forward. Contrast with freshly joined players who will usually build the character first then write the story for that build, utterly neglecting the sacrifices other players needed to make to get to the same point.

While RPG groups are not necessarily fragile ecosystems and players do their best to get on with what their characters do best, some players can come to resent [[That Guy|"the new guy"]], even if the actual player has been with the group from the start. This goes double in rulesets which have persistent meta-characteristic based on [[Black Crusade|infamy]], [[Legend of the Five Rings|status, honor]], or include [[Dark Heresy|persistent injuries]]. Grizzled adventurers with psychological problems, troublesome injuries or particular levels of corruption can find it difficult to keep up to a Paladin fresh out of the packet being played with a lot of enthusiasm.

There are a number of schools of thought on the matter that help resolve this:
*'''Have the player start out at level 1:''' This allows the player to create a fresh new character and see them grow as the campaign develops, as well as allowing them the opportunity to change their mind over their build when the story moves forward. It can be a harsh option that is only really suitable for low-mid level groups. Otherwise it can make new players feel useless or superfluous when there are large level gaps and big differences in ability. However because the distance between levels usually increases in most RPG rulesets, the new player will catch up relatively quickly often jumping whole levels after a few encounters, but will usually remain behind the rest of the group, which at least recognises the work the existing players have put into the campaign. It should also be the go-to option for brand-new RPG players who don't know what they are doing, since the paperwork of playing a high level character can be daunting for those not familiar with the rules.
**Hand in hand with this option is the ability to run separate side-quests for the new player(s) in question. Giving them their own plot advancement that does not unfairly elevate their power level without the benefit of actually ''earning'' the experience. This often gives a satisfying experience for everyone involved without complaints.
*'''Have the player start out at the equivalent to the lowest level player:''' This is perhaps one of the fairest options, especially if members of the group are itinerant and only show up in dribs and drabs between sessions. It provides a basic entry level for the player to meet that is not too far behind the rest of the group with the opportunity to catch up and possibly overtake if they become regulars at the table.
*'''Have the player start out equivalent to the rest of the group, with caveats:''' Some parties allow a new character to join at an equal level but impose certain conditions on the player's character. Usually providing direct input on the characters backstory and build. This is often based on the party's needs, so if they are missing a key element such as a Rogue or a Cleric, then the new guy is guided down a path set for them, or required to take certain options that are necessary based on the way the campaign has developed. This might wreck a powergamers lv1-lv20 netlist build, but considering that the experience is ''free'' when everyone else already did the work, they can't really complain if it allows the GM to more easily slot that character into the world without upsetting the balance of the party and the setting.

There should be no substitute for actual time spent at the table. In all situations: If a character build is dependent on certain external factors such as permissions from in-game entities like commanders or royals or is dependent upon the intervention of divine figures, then they probably shouldn't be hand-waved just so the new player can get his build unless you were also willing to hand-wave these for the existing players who have been there longer. If one player has to play through several sessions of his own specific character arc just to get access to certain options or abilities then you should firmly insist that the new/returning player stop trying to argue that his character spent his downtime doing cooler things than the players.