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Problem Players
This document is an addendum to the Problem Player Types section of the Storyteller's Guide (p.125, for reference). While all the player types listed there can still be the bane of your existence as an ST, these additional problem player types present problems quite specific to running a historical game.
The Historian
"Actually, it's well-known that the Quintilii were founded by Romulus, not Remus."
This player has read all the historical material that you have in preparing for the game, plus more – and doesn't hesitate to let you know it, generally at moments that are either highly dramatic or significant to the plot. Even if you are deliberately distorting history for the benefit of your Chronicle, this player cannot accept that you are anything but wrong. The slightest deviation from their perception of the Roman world and they're up in arms.
Solution: Explain to this player that you are telling a story, not participating in historical reenactment. However, this player may have a good point if you tend toward the less-prepared, and it's always useful to have someone backing you up on the historical details. Tell them to save the corrections for less-crucial moments or for after the game, and let them know that you appreciate their contribution. And never underestimate the power of an enigmatic smile and the words "I can't explain to you why I did that, because it's a plot point."
The Opportunist
"It's 147 BCE already? I tell my agents in Carthage to sell, sell, sell!"
Some people enjoy history for its own sake – and some enjoy it for how they can use it to get ahead. This player has no compunction about using meta-game knowledge about the course of history to advance their character's goals, whether or not it's plausible or in-character to do so. Becoming early patrons of those fated to be great and "lucky" financial dealings are hallmarks of this player's style. One player of this type can ruin any surprises you'd planned based on the historical record.
Solution: The only way to deal with this player is hard and fast. Tell them that you're on to what they're doing: if they can't explain it in-character, make sure their abuse of meta-game information fails at every turn. Caravans carrying their goods away from Rome (just before it burns, of course) get attacked by bandits. Brilliant young orators named Cicero are actually early burn-outs of the same name. As an extreme measure, change history. Even minor changes, like wars starting a year or two earlier, can foil this player's abusive plans.
The Revisionist
"I kill Jesus!"
For this player, the fun of a historical game is changing it. Whether they're killing off highly significant figures, intervening in the outcomes of battles, or just inserting themselves into famous works of art, they live for the sense of power and importance they get from it. Needless to say, this can leave an ST floundering hopelessly to (quickly) determine how the Roman Empire would have been different if Caesar hadn't been murdered.
Solution: Don't let them anywhere near Israel until well after 33 CE, and keep them away from the forum on the Ides of March. It's your responsibility as an ST to help the players avoid temptation. Besides that, your best strategy with this player is to remember that history is a slow and lumbering beast. Only a very few extraordinary individuals truly shape history through the force of their own actions; most events on the historical scale are the result of the attitudes and activities of millions. This player is looking for the gratification of massive ramifications from their actions, because of course that makes them cool. This is something that you can and should plausibly deny them.
Note: Players of this type can often be unconsciously encouraged by the ST, if the ST presents the players with plots that are most easily resolved by changing history's course. Be duly warned.
The Sight-Seer
"But I have to get Caesar's autograph before March fifteenth!"
A single Sight-Seer player can turn a game into "The Roman Empire's Greatest Hits," as they drag the group from one historically significant event to another. They aren't interested in the realities of life at the time, only in the high points of battles, assassinations, and other events that have made it into the popular imagination. Occasionally they will settle for a generic night at the games, thanks to Gladiator, but most of the time they aren't interested in your plot unless someone they've heard of is involved.
Solution: Provide in-character reasons for the character to stay in one place, at least for a while. If the character persists in abandoning their interests to go touring, that decision should have realistic consequences. If this behavior can't be dealt with in-character, talk to the player and gently explain that it's easier for you as an ST if you can count on the group staying in the same city for two sessions in a row. Make sure they know that your story will be exciting even if it doesn't feature famous people or events, and let them know just how much of either they can expect. The other players can also be a big help with this one if they refuse to go along with this player's escapades.
Note: STs are especially prone to sight-seer-itis, when every scene takes place with either an Emperor or Mount Vesuvius involved. Remember that you are creating a story first, albeit one that happens to be set in historical times. Cool connections with the history that people know about become a lot less cool if that's the only thing your story provides.
The Inventor
"Hmm, I wonder what would happen if I mixed this sulfur with this saltpeter?"
Crossbows. Firearms. Nuclear weapons. There's no limit to the modern inventions this player will try to bring into the game. Armed with the scientific method and good old-fashioned hindsight, these players do not understand why it is implausible that their character, of all people, should make discoveries the historical Romans did not. They choose to ignore the limitations of the Greek and Roman mindset when it comes to invention (as opposed to engineering, a particular skill of the Romans).
Solution: Calmly and firmly explain to the player that no, the character cannot be technological innovators just because the player comes from the modern era. Make it clear to them that the issue is one of role-playing and mindset, not simply whether or not it was theoretically possible at the time. Books on the science and philosophy of the time may help them play in a more contemporary fashion, but if worst comes to worst a firm "no" to any anachronistic invention can suffice.
The Emancipator
"I have a dream that one day this empire will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed."
While the Inventor wants to bring modern science to an ancient game, the Emancipator brings modern social attitudes. Women are equals. Slavery is an abomination. Foreigners deserve a political voice. No matter how culturally inaccurate these attitudes, this player prefers being a moral hero to being a plausible character.
Solution: Sit down with the player and try to find out whether these attitudes are held for valid in-character reasons. (It's possible, though not particularly plausible.) If not, spend some time with the player discussing what more realistic reactions might be and reviewing the moral principles of life in Rome. However, the player may simply be uncomfortable portraying what seem like bigoted attitudes, no matter how historically correct. In that case, be prepared to follow through with the consequences of someone holding to such unpopular beliefs: a situation like that can actually generate great role-playing. (Letting a character hold and express modern social beliefs with no consequences may turn your game into a bad case of superheroes-with-fangs.)