I am finding what plagues most of my groups is the “Lone Wolf Syndrome”. Most players are unwilling or just unable to work with the groups when playing the game. How can a DM and/or players deals with the Lone Wolf Syndrome?

Before I begin let me defined the Lone Wolf Syndrome. You can usually spot a character that suffers from this syndrome. They usually are always off to themselves and sometimes are hard to deal with. They are independent and can just about do everything. What I have notice is that most times warriors are often the ones who are Lone Wolves. Most other classes by design generally know they must depend on others to survive.

Is being a Lone Wolf character inherently a bad thing? I do not think so, I think when the times comes they put their views to the side and help the group. The perfect example of this is Wolverine of the X-Men. Wolverine is the epitome of a Lone Wolf and he goes off and does his own thing. But when needed he is there for the X-Men and he follows or lead depending on the situation. Another Lone Wolf would be in my opinion Batman, he prefers to do things on his own. But whenever the Justice League needs him he is there.

What I notice from groups is that players tend to be difficult when it comes to working with the group. Each person prefers to do their own thing and expect everyone to follow their lead. It seems to me that most people are somewhat resistance to leadership, to someone barking orders to them. But on the other hand, this is needed to provide guidance and keep the party on track. Lone Wolf characters generally tend to hate someone exerting control over them and would just as soon leave.

What are players and DMs to do? If you are a DM my first advice would be to do nothing to the Lone Wolf character, let them play the way they like. Most times the players will bring a character back in line. I have seen it numerous times where player character refused to heal/help other character who did not conform. Most times players are the driving force that can help steer a Lone Wolf back to the pack.

What can players do? Well as I said above you can refuse to help the Lone Wolf player, however this is an extreme measure and should only be used as a last resort. I would recommend urging the player to help out the team, in return help out the player with their agenda. Diplomacy is the best tactics for fellow players who are Lone Wolves. Some examples I have seen have been the healer in the party not healing a Lone Wolf character. You have to admit healers set the tone for the party, they dictate how much the party can take before retreating.

I have seen players flat out refuse to help a Lone Wolf character when their actions cause their demise. An interesting note about Lone Wolves is they really prefer to be alone until it is beneficial for them to be part of the team. An example of this is Dungeon crawls. Rarely do you see the Lone Wolf go off by themselves (it has happened in some groups I play with) generally they prefer to stick with the party. I mention well known super heroes to make the point that Lone Wolves are in fact very effective characters when played right.

I would like to add a foot note about refusing to help characters. Once in a 2nd edition game I played a paladin/cavalier, who as part of his kit had to attack the strongest monster in a one on one duel. If others came to help me I would have to face another monster that was tough until there were no more. In this case, I always felt that I was behaving as a Lone Wolf, but here it was a restriction of the class. I felt that I did really work well with the party but when it came to the monsters I had no choice. Some players were upset when I attack a monster and they would jump in to help then I would leave to fight the next one. I was confronted and I explain my case, I have to always fight the toughest monster alone if I can. It was a cavalier thing 🙂 Anyway you will know the Lone Wolf characters because it usually takes a lot of effort to get them to work with the party.

So, what happens if the players are unable/refuse to work with the Lone Wolf? It is up to the DM to use this strife in a helpful manner. Once when in a 2nd edition AD&D game I had a Lone Wolf paladin. He continued to push forward and attacked while the rest of the party were nursing their wounds in a dungeon. A friend of mine told me that I should not say anything to him and let him push forward. In the event that he gets overwhelm I should play on the guilt factor for plunging the party into a fight.

Sometimes it is up to DM to make the situation call for teamwork.

Well that’s all I have on this subject but I would like to hear comments, questions, criticisms, stories, etc.