RE: [DL] Reluctant Player Member

["Phalen, Pat" <Pat.Phalen@infores.com>]

>We've got a reluctant player in our group. Each time adventure awaits, he 
>doesn't want to go. "My character would have no reason to go," he quips. 
>Okay. I buy that, I guess. I wish I could ask him why he's playing. Last 
>night we players spent nearly an hour trying to urge this player's 
>character to come along with us.

WHY?
Just leave him in town and be done with him.  

>As we headed out the other player still refused to go. Now the real dilemma

>began. The question: is the persuasion/scrutinize test sufficient to change

>a players mind or do we have to do this through role playing. One member 
>argued that Persuasion ought only be used on NPC's and not other PC's. 

In my games, players must convince other players to do things, NOT dice
rolls.  Otherwise, what would stop me from persuading your character to
stick a lit piece of dynamite up his butt?

This is one of the few cases, where player knowledge (i.e., I know that the
other characters are trying to screw my character) is unavoidable...

>When this player stays behind he 
>isn't content to just sit there; he has to take the Marshall's time doing 
>things. So, the Marshall ends up running a split story, guiding 5 of us on 
>one path and then guiding reluctant along the same path, behind us. It's 
>frustrating.

This sounds like a problem that needs to be fixed OUTSIDE of the game (Fill
a 12 inch price of garden hose with sand and BBs...).  Make the player
understand that the game needs to be a group effort.  In game, If *I* were
the Marshall, I would make sure that the character got into *serious*
trouble whenever he stayed alone.

Patrick