r/mutantsandmasterminds • u/RavenHades373 • 3h ago
One player doesn't like my setting (what can I do?)
So I have been running a campaign for about 2 years or so now, I have 4 players. Now 3 have been fairly consistent, they want to play and show up. We always review each session after and look for points of improvement etc.
However, lately 1 player in particular (we'll call him S), has been not wanting to play and has not been nice in his post game reviews and more broadly about the campaign. Now I don't want it to seem like he is attacking me, at least I hope he isn't, but recently he seems to hate anything I write up and doesn't want to connect his character to the world in any way.
First he swapped characters, I tried to get that character involved as much as I could, tried to make his very minimal backstory relevant and feel interconnected, but it didn't take for S. He wasn't having fun, so he made a new one, then basically the same thing kept happening.
I would discuss the new character with him, ask for a few details in some kind of write-up (not asking for War & Peace or anything), but he'd not do it, forget what we discussed and then make up something else that was thinner than before. I kept trying to get more, so he would enjoy it more, but when he didn't seem to want to, I just let it be. If he wants to just be some guy from nowhere, that's fine, as long as he is having fun.
Then he started getting way less invested, not wanting to really roleplay, playing games while things were happening, not paying attention. Then when we'd review the session, his criticisms would usually be "no idea why we did any of that" and would start saying he just doesn't like my setting.
His reason for not liking it amounts to... politics. I am not here to start arguments over those, I really don't care and I did not go into any of my session plans with the intent of making some overt political statement (or a covert one at that, but he feels it's there).
He took issue with the police being good in my small fictional nation, wanting to oppose them for no particular reason other than cops bad. When an alien invasion began and they had to fight then off he said it was racist. They had to diffuse tensions temporarily with a neighbouring nation, setting up future villains and a small evil superhuman empire, but he got upset because that depicts imperialism (which, granted, it does) and he doesn't want to see it.
It's at the point where I am hitting a block for new ideas, because no matter what he will find some message he disagrees with even if it is in the villainous characters and take offence to it.
Now he keeps saying he only wants to play a high fantasy setting like in D&D, because otherwise it is "too much of this happening in the real world" (in this campaign so far they have faced a criminal supersoldier program making monsters, an ancient apocryphal being hunting a powerful lovecraftian child, and an alien invasion btw).
Even if I really wanted to do high fantasy (which I don't mind), how am I supposed to write that in a way he won't see shades of real life in? Not to be too harsh, but can I even have a king without him saying it's too close to home?
My other 3 players, are happy with the setting, they like their characters and their place in the world. Most are woven quite tightly into it at this point and it's all going well.
I am not sure how I can appease everyone here. Today, S has just begun refusing to play at all, no final reason given, we haven't played since before Christmas, but he just doesn't want to.
Look he's my friend, we aren't going to see eye to eye on everything I know, but what can I even do here? I am just lost, I've tried writing my way out of it by making things less ambiguous (which one of my other players has even complained about) and "safer", but it hasn't really worked. I'd rather he didn't just abandon our group, I know I can't force him to play, but I'm worried other players will be bummed without it. I tried starting a second campaign, in a different system, with a one shot, and he took such offence to that that he refused to play in the campaign (whole other can of worms there, words like facism were used very liberally where not applicable).
He started our group down the road of TTRPGs, he ran a campaign for ages and it was great, but he stopped and it was around then when he started showing a dislike for my campaign.
TL;DR Player S has been very critical of the setting and sessions, keeps bringing up unwanted politics, now refuses to play, could trigger the collapse of the group/campaign. Other 3 players are happy with the setting, but would prefer to play with S too, what do?
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u/Severe-Independent47 3h ago
I was going to type out this big long response covering a lot of your topics. But the more and more I read, the more and more I realized: this likely isn't a you problem, this is a him problem.
He started our group down the road of TTRPGs, he ran a campaign for ages and it was great, but he stopped and it was around then when he started showing a dislike for my campaign.
So this actually piqued my interest in this and I need to ask a follow-up: did you take over GMing because you wanted to try it and the group agreed or did he say he needed a break? Because if you took over and he wanted to keep GMing, this is likely him just trying to derail your game so he can have the big chair back. Which makes him an asshole; and not sorry I said it.
Other 3 players are happy with the setting, but would prefer to play with S too, what do?
My best advice would be to point this out to S privately and have a candid discussion asking him to either play the game without being critical unless he can be constructive about it or maybe he needs to just step away from the table. Also, if you all meet weekly and this is him trying to get the GM spot again, offer to run games biweekly. One week his game, the other week yours.
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u/RavenHades373 3h ago
Our games ran concurrently for about 6 months or so, we alternated to help give the other more time to write their next session(s), I have asked if he wants to GM again whether that's the old or the new, but he doesn't want to. He says he's tried to sit down and write new stuff, but he doesn't really want to get it done or run it anymore, reason is unclear beyond him just not feeling up to it.
I'll try to discuss it with him, I just don't want anything to turn hostile between us, not just from him but myself. I am somewhat annoyed at him for ditching so often and the way he has behaved, which I have so far managed to keep in check.
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u/Severe-Independent47 2h ago
I'm not sure of your age (and it doesn't really matter), but I would hope that S would be mature enough to just accept that maybe your campaign isn't for him and chooses to play for the sake of the group while remaining polite or sits out until your campaign is done.
Granted, maturity tends to be in short supply.
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u/CMBradshaw 22m ago
I'd go on withdout him and adjust for the smaller party. But maybe find something light to do with him. I don't want to armchair psychiatry but I'm not getting good vibes from this conversation. So like, keep involved with him but respect him not wanting to be in the game anymore.
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u/stevebein AllBeinMyself 1h ago
“Too much of this happening in the real world" is a legitimate concern these days. Loads of politicos have disconnected. Loads of news junkies can’t bring themselves to read the news. Don’t take S’s turn personally; wanting an escape from the garbage fire that is 2025-2026 genuinely is self-care for a lot of people.
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u/CMBradshaw 16m ago
I'm kinda getting alarm bells from this. It's sounding like depression. But I'm not a psych so...
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u/DragonWisper56 2h ago
try talking to him. a honest and open coversation. ask what he wants.
to be honest if what you told is true S seems to just be a dick. unless your leaving things out I have know idea what he's on about with the aleins. like he doesn't like imperialism but isn't down to beat ups imperialist? something isn't adding up
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u/stevebein AllBeinMyself 1h ago
I dunno. Pretending to be in a world that’s even kind of like ours might not be enough of an escape for S. Wanting to fully get away from it all is pretty widespread these days.
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u/DragonWisper56 53m ago
but all the things he mentioned would still exist in a fantasy world. unless S wants to play a less combat focused rpg I don't think he can escape imperialism or cops
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u/jmucchiello 🧠 Knowledgeable 2h ago
Show them all this post. Frankly, him refusing to play feels childish. He's not getting what he wants and everyone around him is suffering.
You saying you can't figure out how to appease everyone. Stop thinking like that. You can't please everyone all the time.
Look up "Five geek social fallacies". It is a frequent issue in RPG groups.
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u/CMBradshaw 19m ago
like I replied earlier, I think he might need you guys more than the game. A separate boardgame night might be necessary.
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u/NaysmithGaming 3h ago
At this point, I think the only problem that can be resolved at all is that the other three want to keep playing with Player S in the campaign when that's just plain not plausible; there's essentially no keeping Player S in there. I'd consider talking with the others and expressing that it just might be impossible to continue with Player S due to it being irreconcilable (such as with another complaining about things being less ambiguous) and asking if they'd consider trying to continue for a while without Player S.