Added to the already long list, there are a couple of players who can really piss me off or, at the very least, annoy me....
a) Players who keep asking "Can't we change this house rule? It is unfair to me, gamemaster" several times in-game though the answer has been clearly stated, and it is No. (Any such lobbying can take place between sessions)
b) Players who actively enjoin other players to break the house rules in-game, because they find them unfair. If they succeeded, the game would have to be stopped and the results of the rule-breaking edited away thus wasting valuable time. This is beyond the pale and is nearly a banning offence.
c) Players who threaten to leave in a huff during the game because of changed circumstances. If you have a legitimate issue, discuss it with the game master
after the session rather than forcing a rehost and search for a replacement because you could not control your temper. (Also known as the "spoiled brat" routine. No matter how justified the issue/complaint may be, this just strikes me as an incredibly poor player performance - leave
after the session, not during it)
d) Players who, when it is decided in-game to rehost, decides that it is a good idea to alt-tab out of the game and get something else done first, resulting in lots of wasted time as the host has to ICQ around to find lost players.
e) Players who do not turn up on schedule without a
very good explanation. Arriving 10 minutes fashionably late went out of style a long time ago.
f) Players who get too emotionally involved and begin considering game diplomacy as reflecting on their personality.
g) Players who insult and otherwise verbally abuse other players. If you must insult, insult their monarchs instead, to keep this above the personal level. Few things are as destructive to game-play as screaming fits by the apparently immature.
h) Players who expect me to act rationally and in the best long-term interests of my country at all times
i) Players who pause time and time again during wars to discuss peace or move armies. It is a colossal waste of time for everybody not involved in the wars and seriously hampers the gameflow. While it is entirely understandable that a player may wish to pause when a major historic event just popped up filling his screen, that is a separate issue. If the war is going too fast, ask the host to slow down the speed rather than pausing again and again... And don't pause for diplomacy. Just don't. And if you do anyhow, state why you are pausing rather than pausing and then spending the next two or three minutes sending private messages that most players cannot read.
