by Andrew Gronosky
Gamemaster’s Duct Tape is a series of short articles on quick fixes for common problems at the tabletop RPG table. It’s based on the author’s 40+ years experience as a forever gamemaster.
The problem: One player (it’s usually one) seems to relish haggling with NPCs over money, usually the cost of purchases and/or payment for adventuring missions. You, the gamemaster, dislike haggling. You sense that the other players don’t enjoy sitting there waiting for the back-and-forth to end.
The solution: You (the gamemaster) need to set boundaries. Don’t let yourself be forced into roleplaying through a tedious interaction. The problem is the player’s expectation that haggling is part of RPG gameplay. You’re the gamemaster, and you can say that it’s not part of the game you run.
Be very direct, and speak for yourself only. Say that you don’t enjoy haggling and you won’t roleplay it. What I don’t recommend is that you present reasons. Giving reasons isn’t the right way to set boundaries. It only opens invitation to refute your reasons. You’re not negotiating with the player, you’re setting boundaries.
You might be afraid to make a scene by pushing back on a player in the middle of a game session. It’s definitely better if you can make your statement at the start of a session. That said, a scene that turns into haggling is already ruined so you might as well make a stand.
There’s likely a bigger issue at play: one or more players at your table thinks they can get advantages by badgering or wheedling the gamemaster. I have advice for fixing that situation, but it’s more of a long-term strategy than duct tape. We’ll come back to that in a moment.
After you refuse to roleplay the haggling, the player will almost certainly ask you to let them resolve it with a dice roll. That’s the pattern of badgering: never take no for an answer. Tell the player, “no dice.” If you allow haggling via dice, the player will do it every time. You can then expect endless arguments from that player over the dice results: how much money their character should get based on their dice roll, how they should drag in a second PC for help after they fail the roll, and so on.
The best duct tape solutions keep the game fun, and I do have a fun solution for you. Presumably you’re roleplaying this interaction in the first place because you want interacting with the NPCs to be enjoyable. Give the character some value that’s not monetary. Make them into allies the player characters appreciate, rather than marks they want to fleece.
They can be a source of relevant rumors—not every tavern rumor needs to be literally told in a tavern.
They can be a knowledgeable guides to the local area, pointing out which of the city guard officers are most honest or where to find a good herbalist.
They can just be fun to roleplay with, such as showing genuine interest in the PCs’ adventures and reacting with enthusiasm to the characters’ deeds.
I don’t recommend offering anything that seems transactional, like favors. That will just bring back haggling.
Coming back to the big issue of players badgering and wheedling the GM: it may be fixable. You, the GM, can address it through positive reinforcement. Starve problems and feed opportunities. Show that the behaviors you want, such as problem-solving and collaboration, get results. Behaviors you don’t want, such as whining about bad dice rolls, can be dismissed quickly: “you have to try something else,” or “let’s move on.” It helps a lot if you can find ways to fail forward. The rogue failed to pick the lock but it looks possible to force the door open. The merchant doesn’t lower the price but says “if you’re short on cash, my cousin has a little job for adventurers like you.”
Unwanted haggling is easy to get rid of: just say no. It may be a symptom of a larger issue, which would require a longer article to really fix. You can solve the haggling problem with duct tape: give each NPC some value beyond the money the player wanted to haggle over.