I am currently GMing a rather large group of 8 people where about 6 show up regularly, every two weeks. These sessions can be rather straining for me and I am therefore looking for ways to make GMing easier for myself.
One problem that I have found is that one of my players (who I have known for several years and has been part of another campaign for over a year now) needs way more attention than the others and I therefore have to put a lot of effort into balancing face time between my players.
He is also often working against the group and tries to bend the world and the other players to his will (which goes strictly against what we discussed as a group in the same page tool).
Nevertheless I do not want to boot him or something — I would rather make him play a Harlequin (“a player who plays only NPCs”) as I'm sure that he will have a great deal of fun and it would even help me as I have often difficulties playing menacing/evil NPCs!
The issue here is: I told him about my idea, but he said he is already too emotionally attached to his character (although we only played 1 session for about 3 hours so far…) but generally likes the idea.
He also personally stated that he really likes the feeling of character progression, not power progression and that he is afraid that as a Harlequin he won't have the same feeling of character growth than the other players.
How can I give a player who is playing only NPCs the same feeling of character growth as the other players with PCs?
Best Answer
Sounds like he is already into his character. Just because he has only played him once doesn't mean he hasn't taken the time to flesh his character out beforehand and gotten jazzed about things he intends to do in the future. It looks like you are reading between the lines and are assuming some other motivation, but it is probably best to stick to the reasons they have given you directly unless you have a very good reason not to. Seems like you have a few options here.
Also, for all of these remember to highlight that as a Harlequin he will get dramatically more attention from you when preparing for games and more attention from players who need something from his NPCs. Treat it as a team role.
Option 1: Wait it out
Just let him finish with this character first. Just because its a good idea doesn't mean it can happen immediately. Just try to get him excited about playing a Harlequin as his next thing.
Option 2: NPC his PC
Offer to work with him to turn the character he is excited about into an NPC he would then control. The upside is this means their character can be a very central character in the narrative, but isn't always present, freeing him up to switch back and forth between that character and other NPCs. You would have to discuss some future campaign elements with him to make it happen, but for that kind of player it can make them feel special and privileged anyway, so they may be into it.
Option 3: Table the PC
Give them the option of picking up the character they are playing now at a later time. Make sure he knows that he will not lose progress relative to the other players, and have some story element in mind that is interesting to explain where he is during that time that makes his PC sound cool and expresses what he wants to do with the PC.
Option 4: Call in a favor
It honestly sounds like you are overwhelmed with your number of players. If you need him to Harlequin to succeed, be straight with him about it and ask him to do it as a favor to you as a human being. Depending on the type of person, letting them know you are struggling can pull them out of their default focus on their own experience. Everyone wants the game to succeed, and especially if you have a set of fun rolls for him to play after he decides to answer your call for help. Often we hide when we are struggling when a straightforward discussion would lead to healthy change in behavior.
Harlequin Progression
If you really think progression is the main element driving this player away from the role come up with a simple Harlequin progression system for them. When you give them NPCs you can tally the XP that NPC would have received as a player and let them spend it on PCs later on. You could also give them bounties, in which if they accomplished a plot goal with an NPC they could receive loot or advanced customization options for whatever PC they play next. Just make sure your other players are on board with this, so one day when he is playing a dragon with a +2 family heirloom they don't feel cheated.