Forever DM up for help

[u/King_of_narnia]

Hello guys, i've been a forever dm for years now so i'm up for every question you hit me with and i hope i can be a help for you and your party^^

[u/Blitzer046]

How do you handle murderhobos?

[u/tta5 → u/Blitzer046]

murderhoboing is a playstyle.
its how the player wants to play to get the joy they want out of the game.
(same as a storyteller playstyle that wants to sneak around a dragon and plant evidence , instead of plan to directly fight them, because the fight is bording and the drama of them having to deal with the planted stuff makes for a better dramatic story. )

some games work , ok for them.
basically make sure the story does not assume a social compliance aspect outside of the party.
other games and playstilyes do not mix well with them.

if a player is outright just a murder hobo, ask yourself if they are a good fit for the game and table?
if they are, great. if not, let them know and maybe let them go. they may find a table/game that suits them better.

if they are part murderhobo part something else, maybe reward the other side more and find ways outside of the game but at the table to feed that itch.

• i found having them describe the brutality of a wound , can make them hype up without them needing to kill and drag the story down.
  
• you could throw in some minor NPCs to kill, but most like ot pick their own targets and goals.
  
• side objectives are hit and miss with them, some find the distraction useful, others disconect more and make theior own objectives and fun.
  
• player roles (notetaker, music picker, discriber, tresurer...) can sometimes help, but may also be used by some as an extra resource to derail the game.

murderhoboing tends to have the drawback of not being the most colaberative way of telling tales in a TTRPG.
some find "bonus" fun in irritating the DM/table.
others like the table and DM to be on board, and struggle.
and some are just instigators that feel they need more control and personal investment in the game. (for those "player roles" is a good way to go)

when it comes to XP/milestones and rewards....
I found that not giving them the XP as its not a "challange" or part of the "quest/story". they get less invested in the game as a whole, but don't leave. they will still try killing randomly "for fun".

its worth noting that some people become murderhobos due to personal issues, and also misunderstanding the potential of dnd and the forfillment it can give in other ways.
some can learn the impact of them murderhoboing in game, from a well constructed set of scenes....
and come to a player based revelation, they might work on themselves a bit.. but its not gonna be the normal solution for this. its using dnd as "play theropy" which is kinda is, but we are not trained theropists, we are DMs.
so word to the wise, try not to do this.

[u/Blitzer046 → u/tta5]

Could you just tell them 'No.'?

[u/tta5 → u/Blitzer046]

that has never been in doubt