How to handle players that are too powerful. (Killing the villain before its time.)

   Good job! They win. Game over. Go home.

  You have a high level werewolf that you set up as a big bad? But the players somehow kill him before the final boss fight. Let them do it! Give them a victory, especially if it is a very clever way of winning. Being a good DM means being adaptable and working with what the players want to do. Within reason. Don't let them burn down your city. But Let them kill your big bad early. They'll feel accomplished for taking down something powerful and they'll appreciate you for allowing them to be creative. Anyway you "had a plan" all along.

   Maybe the werewolf was part of a pack of werewolves that the players will now have to deal with. Maybe the werewolf infected a bunch of towns-people who now need to be saved before they turn. Just because a big bad is dead, doesn't mean the story is over. It means you will have to adapt and improvise your way through the story. Use a new boss with the same exact stats you already prepared. The enemies should be adaptable too. They heard about what the players did and now the new boss can prepare for that situation.

   The vampire lord, that got killed too early, has an evil step sister who now wants revenge for her brothers death. Use the same final battle you had planned with the same stats but a different character. The story isn't over. In the star wars books, the emperor cloned himself. Final battles for days! There will always be one more power orb to destroy, one more magic weapon to find. One more town to save. The story isn't over. The players might have killed your robber baron but they still have to find the deed to the ranch. The Players still need to clear out the dungeon of kobold minions and evil cultists who were working for the dead boss. Don't give up and don't let the players stop your game. There is always something else that needs to get done.

   Fudge the dice! Change your stats mid-battle! This is one of the best powers a DM has at her disposal.  If you have 5 players attacking one bad guy, that's 5 attacks versus the bad guys one turn.  If you see the players are doing too much damage to your big bad, ending your epic fight too early, give your big bad 100 extra HP. Your baddies can take a powerful healing potion! Give your bad guys resistances or a powerful magical shield that the players can't penetrate until you decide when the baddie gets hurt. Use your plot armor wisely.
 
   Give the big bad an extra spell every turn. The players won't know. This can become a problem at higher levels when the party gets too strong. Let your big bad get in an extra attack or special spell to control the flow of battle. Let your boss go into a rage that lets him deal out extra damage. Have a second or third wave of minions come in to help the boss out. The players can't take down your big bad right away if they have to deal with his bodyguards first. Let the big bad run away. The big bad can use a teleport or fly spell to escape a loosing battle.

   Make sure the players have a goal that is more complicated then just killing the bad guys. They need to turn off the doomsday machine before time runs out. Dispel or de-power the magic orb the enemy was using to open portals. If you have set goals, you can put in as many obstacles in the way as you want. This way when the boss does die too early, your story can continue and the players still have things to do.

   If you need more time to prepare, send some skeletons or robots after the party. They won't be able to talk or charm their way out of battle with mindless creatures. During the battle you can have some time to think up whats next.

 Take a 10-15 minute break to think up something new.

Article inspired by this story.

12 MORE Things That a Good Dungeon Master Should Not Do.

Do not be afraid to be silly, use voices, or act something out.
   Your players are also your audience. The more energy and pizzazz you put into a performance, the more the players will react to you. As the DM, you set the bar for what players feel comfortable with. The more energy and commitment you put into a scene, the more the players will rise to match your level. Give your players a great story by acting things out, using props, or silly voices. The players will match your energy and you'll create a great game together!

Do not assume you need character sheets, books, minis, or even dice!
   Don't pay for fancy stuff you might only end up using once. Don't buy stuff you really can't afford. One of my best sessions was played without any paper or minis. We gave our DM ideas of what kind of quest and mission we wanted to do and the DM ran with it. Our whole group was able to improvise a great story without a single die roll or pencil used.

Do not be afraid to make mistakes.
   This is the only way you can learn. If you are too scared to try something new then you'll never know how much fun you are missing out on. It's OK to add weird or fun things to the game, if something doesn't work, just move on and do something different. Let players or other DM's help you if you get stuck or run out of ideas.

Do not make a party of players over 5 people.
   Unless you want to overwhelm yourself and make the game take longer. There isn't a point of pride running a game with 12 people. That sounds terrible. If you are lucky enough to have that many players break them up into smaller parties of four players.
   Small groups are a lot easier to work with and manage. You can actually pay attention to what everyone is doing and actually have a good role play experience. The battles take a long time normally, adding more people just slows it down. Create a size limit and stick to it.
    Find a group size that works for you. A size where things can be manageable and the game can be ran smoothly. There is no need to overwhelm yourself. If you have more people who want to join in, make a separate group for just them.
 
Do not rush the players, unless it's part of the action in the story.
   Let players plan a strategy or do some reconnaissance before they enter the bad guys hideout. Let the players see what they are up against before they start getting attacked. Of course if the players mess up their scouting trip, the bad guys will see them. But give the players a chance first.
   Let them plan where the rogue is going to go, or where the best place is to cast an illusion spell. The entire point of the game is problem solving and getting past obstacles, give players time to think of something.
   If it is the action in a story, you can give them time limits. Give them 60-80 seconds to take their turn. give them 4 or 5 rounds to interrupt the big bads ritual. Give them wave after wave of enemies to slow them down.
    But don't put unneeded pressure on players if it's not necessary to the story.

Do not try to subvert story expectations.
   In fact, steal ideas or guesses that the players make about what is going to happen. Stealing ideas is a lot cooler than trying to think up ridiculous twists just to keep players guessing.  There is no need for pointless subversion.
    A players idea could be better than the story you prepared. Players will feel a lot more accomplished when they know how the dragon lady will act at the end of the story. This is a good thing because it means the players were actually paying attention.
  Give your players that narrative payoff. Don't be the mandarin in Iron Man 3 or Rose in the Last Jedi. Plot twists and surprises only work when the characters actions make sense. Subverting expectations is basically a payoff without a setup. It doesn't work from a narrative perspective. If you want to prove how clever a writer you are, how about actually tying things together. Weave the plot threads together in a way that actually makes sense. That's clever writing. And it's harder than you think. Have endings that actually make sense to the genre of the story. Have an ending that makes sense to the characters. It's OK if someone guesses what is going on.

Do not wrap your ego around your creations.
   I know it's fun to build worlds and characters and story ideas. Enjoy it. Be passionate about it. Tell your story. But remember, it's your players world too. Let the players have cool backgrounds and ideas and interesting goals that will expand the story. It makes a far better experience when the players feel like they can affect the world around them and are actually a part of the creation. The DM is there to provide a setting and a story for the players to interact with. No one wants a DM to parade them around their world without being able to make choices. Players have specific characters that they want to play and the DM has to let them do that. A game doesn't exist without a dungeon master and players working together. It is a group game, It isn't your world, it's the groups world.

Do not try to make every session a huge ridiculous gimmick.
   You don't need an epic boss battle in a sinking tower every night you play. You don't need a huge puzzle dungeon that the players need to solve every session. You don't need a trivia game in your world to try to "spice things up". Having variety means having smaller stories too. Let the players hunt down the level 1 goblin bandits. Let your players take time to rest in the village and role play a little bit. You can do the big things too of course, but it should not be world ending or gimmicky situations every single game night. Do not overwhelm yourself trying to have a game-breaking experience every session.

Do not assume the dungeon master is supposed to be working against the players.
   Do not assume the DM is supposed to be trying to kill the players. Everyone should be working together because it is a group game. Unless everyone agrees, in session zero, that it will be a hard game and the players want that challenge. Do not treat the players like they are trying to beat you. Do not try to kill the players during every battle. No one will have fun doing that. Make a few important boss battles harder, of course, but not every single time. Have some variety. Your job as dungeon master is to set up challenges and obstacles as part of a narrative story. Let the players knock down the things you set up without getting mad about it.

You do not need specific answers to all your puzzles or encounters.
   The idea of having very specific answers creates railroading and frustrated players. Keep your answers open ended. This allows a lot more creative thinking for you and the players. Let the players be creative problem solvers. The more creative they get, the more interesting the action and the experience will be. Once the players do something cool that you like, let it work for them. Continue letting them believe that they need a specific answer.
  Only use specific answers if it is part of the story or a main quest. You'll still need to find the 3 magic keys to get the door open. Or the specific spell that can drain away a vampires powers. If it's a simple trap or puzzle room, that doesn't have any impact on the story, do not waste 3 hours of the game making the players find one specific puzzle just piece to get to the next room.
  Let the players ideas be a good problem solvers instead of forcing them to find once obscure specific answer. It creates a frustrating environment for the players. Let them figure out how to get past the fireball traps in the hallway. Let them roll play their way out of the bandit camp instead of just killing everything. The more open you are, the more fun experiences can arise. Listen to your players try to work things out and give clues if necessary. Listen to how they solve things and be open to ideas you could never expect.

Do not overwhelm yourself by over-planning. You will not be able to prepare for every situation.
   Do not prepare for more than two or three sessions at a time. If you try to go beyond that, you'll drive yourself crazy building worlds and dungeons the players might not even get to. Let the flow of the story go beyond the current session based on the players choices and where they want to go. If you know where the players are going, you only need to prepare that area for the next session. You don't need the 9 areas around that specific location. You don't need to prepare the surrounding countries and regions that have no impact on the story. Good world building happens one session at a time.
   Don't plan every single line a NPC says, just in case a player says one specific line. That's called writing a novel, which we aren't doing here. Instead you want general ideas for groups of NPC's or bad guys. What things do the city guards react to?  What does the bandit gang do if they don't get what they are after? What does a monster do if it's about to die? Don't not try to predict every action of every one of your players. Plan for what you know the players are planning on doing. This gives you something specific to work on instead of trying to create an entire world.

Do not assume that you need to know all the rules.
  You don't need to memorize the core rule-book and the thousands of expansion rules. Impossible. And almost pointless. Be specific on your players classes, and only the monsters and abilities you are planning on using in the near future. If you do need something specific, find it. There is no point in reading something, and then going back to the same thing months later when you actually need it. Read rules once, when they become relevant.
  If you need a specific rule during a game, have a player look it up for you so you can focus on keeping the game going. All you need to know are the rules that apply to your session that you are about to play in.
 

12 Things a Good Dungeon Master Should Not Do.

Are players not showing up for your games? Do your players always act bored and unexcited when you are DMing?

There are things you can change to make your game more interesting and fun!

Here are 12 things you should consider avoiding during your game.

Do not play a PC character in your own game. 

The players are there to be the heroes. Not you. A game masters job is to facilitate a game for the players, not do all the work for them.

The players are there to decide the action and where to go. If your DMPC is doing all the work, why do you even have players?

The PC's are the heroes of your world. You should be working with the players to have a fun time. Players don't want to be upstaged by an NPC the whole time.

If players aren't getting to role play by making choices or getting the killing blow, they are going to get disinterested really fast. Let your players do the cool moves or cast the all important spell. NPC's should only be in the game to advance the story or help out the players in some way.

Any NPC you have should be off to the side or in the background, allowing the focus of the game to be on your players.

Allow your players be the stars of the show.

If you want your own hero, play your own game or write a book so you aren't wasting the players time.

Do not rewind time or backtrack on what you said before.

 No one will believe in your world or take your story seriously if you keep changing it. Players will think nothing they do matters, because you'll just change it again anyway.

After an hour of play, I once had a DM move the entire party back to the beginning of a dungeon just because he forgot to spring a trap there. Boy was I annoyed. When we were there the first time, I specifically said that I was checking for traps. Not only did this DM rewind an hour of our progress, he also proved that he wasn't listening to his players in the first place.

If you did miss something like a trap and want to use it later, just add it to a room that the PCs haven't gotten to yet.  It's totally okay to move things around. You get to keep your cool trap without destroying your own game. And the players will never know that you missed something.

If you do need to change something major about the story, talk to the group about it. Let them know what you are changing and why. Ask for their input on how to solve the problem.

The more you communicate with people the more they will trust you. Your players will trust you to tell a good story and trust that you have their interests at heart.

Players need to feel like they have agency and their choices matter by affecting the game world. That won't matter when you keep changing things.

Do not change your house rules unless the whole party agrees to it.

 Do not tell players "no" without a good reason.
   If a player wants to try something, let them try. It becomes way more fun for everyone when people get to try their ideas. No body want to be stuck in a game that isn't progressing.
"Can I pick the lock."
"No."
"Can I try to break down the door.?"
"No it's magical."
"Does my character know where the key is?"
"No"
DoEsN't tHaT sOuNd ExCiTiNg.....
Don't be a negative Nancy DM. Always help your players if they get stuck. It is your world and things don't exist unless you say so. So give hints, give clues, and help your players out. If you aren't helping, you're hindering. This will slow down your game tremendously. Eventually no one will want to play with you. When you do say "No", tell your players why things don't work how they expected it to. When you actually take time to explain things, even if it's out of character, the players will be a lot more understanding and will buy into your world a lot more. Be honest about it. Tell them you didn't prepare something. Tell them you didn't think about a certain aspect of the world. The players will understand and work with you. Be an adaptable DM.

Do not railroad the story.
   If your game doesn't go off in an unexpected direction, then you are probably railroading. Leading the players where you want them to go.  Give clues and let the players decide what to do and where to go. Allow your players explore and make choices.

Do not play favorites by focusing on just one player.  
  You need to shift the focus from one player to the next. If one player gets all the role-play attention or one player gets all the good loot and magic items, you are probably playing favorites. Shift the attention around. "Erik is playing cards at the tavern, what are the rest of you guys doing?" If a player is talking too much and trying to hog the spotlight, pause that player and ask what someone else is doing. "You are going down the hall, searching for traps. Now what is Buttercup doing?" Do not play favorites or the left out players won't want to come back. Make players feel included.

Do not get mad at players if they don't know something. 
   Especially when the player is new to the game. New players aren't going to spend hours reading up on things when they don't even know where to start. It's your job to help players get started and teach them what they need to know. If you give new players crap, it will be your fault when they don't want to play again. A good game needs a good group and a good DM. If new players have bad experiences they won't join you for a second session. Be patient and be supportive.

Do not expect players to know what to do or where to go.
   Most casual players will not even read the handbook. You can't expect them to read your Star Wars fan fic. Most people just want to come play with their friends. Most players will not read your 30 page history of your world. Do not get mad or expect people to read everything. Give players the info they need to know, and keep the story moving forward. Getting pissy or defensive when someone didn't study doesn't solve anything. If you do have expectations, you better communicate them as soon as possible. If you don't tell people what you expect, it won't happen.

Do not leave players in the dark.
   Maybe the party is fighting a giant magical worm creature with damage resistance. It is your job to give players hints about those resistances and magical abilities. Your players are all making attacks that aren't doing much damage? Tell them about it. Let them use perception checks or knowledge checks to find out what attacks aren't working. Do not let the battle drag on, especially if the battle has nothing to do with the story. Help your players out. They won't figure anything out unless you are giving hints. Nothing will move forward unless you allow it to. Do not expect players to know anything about your world unless you tell them. Do not hide your secrets and the call your players  stupid. Do not expect players to figure things out. Do not expect your players to figure everything out. Do not get mad at your players if they don't know something.

Do not pause the game to look for obscure rules.
   I really hate when people do this to me. Any action or story that got build up, is suddenly destroyed because the DM wants to know some minuscule thing that really has nothing to do with the story or the role play. We all get caught up in this at some point. Make sure you can be aware of this during your game. If you really do need a rule quickly, have one of the players look it up for you so you can move on to the next thing. Keep that good momentum going and it will make a much more interesting story. If you don't know something right away, tell your players that you will give them the information later do you can get on with the game.

Do not stop your players from exploring.
   A huge part of most games is being able to see what's over the horizon in a magical world. Let the players decide where to go. If they want to go to a city or cave you haven't prepared, let them. Make it up as you go along. The town doesn't have to be interesting or full of intrigue. The cave doesn't need to be deep and full of monsters. It just has to be there. Maybe the town is really boring, but one of the townspeople could give a clue to what the players need to do next. Maybe the cave is only ten feet deep, but the players find some bones or cave paintings or a letter that leads them elsewhere. If you have something prepped that you haven't given the players then use that. Do it wherever they go. They will feel accomplished for always finding something, and they will believe your world is that much bigger because they found something there. Exploration is a big part of most games. Let your players explore!

Do not let players break your game. 
   Don't let people assassinate the king on the first session. Don't let the players kill their guide into the mountains. First appeal to the player who wants to do the stupid thing. "Do you really want to destroy your only way into the mountains? No one else from the town will help you, especially if they find out you killed their guide." or talk to the other players. "You see Wolfgar draw his knife. Are you going to let your companion actually kill your guide?" If you know something bad is about to happen, stop it in it's tracks before it gets worse. If your party continues to act like criminals, then the world is going to treat them like criminals. The players dictate how they interact with the world. A good DM will adapt to it. How to stop players from breaking your game.

Do not be afraid to take breaks when you need to.
   Pause the game when you need to. but wait for after a battle. Or a natural break in the story. This is different than stopping everything to look up a rule. Keep the momentum during a scene going and then break afterwords. Pausing is definitely important for you to relax you brain for a second. Two of your players need to pee anyway. Get up from the table, stretch, drink some water and refresh your epic skills. You should have a break at least every two hours.

How To Be a Good D&D Player

In this article, you will learn how to be a player that people will want to spend time with. As an added benefit, your gaming experience will be more memorable.

 If you use just two or three of these ideas, your DM and other players will always want you at their table.

Be Prepared and Be Ready For Your Turn.

A good TTRPG player will always have a general idea of what they want to do and what their goal is. This is key during battle. Know what dice you need to roll before your turn. Know when you are next in initiative.

Know what your spells and abilities can do beforehand. If you are ready to go, the battles are quicker and the game runs a lot more smoothly.

Don't waste the parties time by looking stuff up during your turn and trying to figure out what to do. You should have time before your turn to look up what you need to. Make sure you know everything on your character sheet and what dice you need to roll.

You don't need to know all the rules, that's almost impossible. All you need to know are the attacks, abilities, and spells that you are planning on using. Make the game run smoothly by being prepared.

If you don't know, ask questions before your turn.

Use Your Items and Abilities in Creative Ways.

This isn't a video game. That means you should not be hoarding all your magic items or special abilities for the final boss. The DM is giving you items for a reason. They want to help you out.

If you aren't using your cool gear and special abilities, you are wasting some great opportunities.

You will always find more loot and items. Use the magic items you already have!

Do not be afraid to try new things. I recently had a player tie a bear trap to a rope and throw it in the air to attack a harpy that was flying around. He rolled well, and I let it work. It was a great idea and a cool move that made the battle more exciting.

A good DM will let you try anything within some reason.

Remember that sometimes the dice won't be on your side, The GM might ask for a roll of the dice to decide how well it works out. 

Be creative. here are some examples:

Use a prestidigitation spell to add a special effect to your diplomacy or performance skill. Cover your blade in holy water before you attack the zombies.  Use your thunder wave spell to knock enemies off of cliffs. Tie your giant spider fang to a dagger for some poison damage.

You don't have to wait for the end of a fight. Use your turn to do something besides attacking. Unlock a door, or pull the lever, disarm a trap, pull someone out of danger.

Doing something besides attacking adds more strategy and complexity to a simple battle. Let yourself be part of the narrative by doing something that isn't in the rulebook.

The more creative you get, the more interesting circumstances arise to make an exciting and memorable game.

Help Out The Other Players And Share the Spotlight

The biggest part of the game is finding a good group that plays well together. The more you can do to make players feel welcome and accepted, the more fun the game will be.

You are part of the group.

Do your part to make it a good experience. It is a group game. Games fall apart for a lot of reasons, usually it's because of a bad DM, a bad player, or a general lack of energy.

Do not be the player who feels the need to lead the party at every turn. Let other players role play and use their ideas. You don't need to be doing everything. Since you are part of the group, you need to let other players try things.

 Sometimes your best skill is to support other players with their ideas or abilities. Different classes have different abilities for a reason, you should not be doing everything and you should not be able to.

Share the spotlight with other players so when it's your turn to do something cool, the other players will be there to support you.

Take time to step back and listen to everyone else.

Share Information With the Party.

Apparently this can be a problem in some games. Players keep secrets from each other and try to be special because they have a secret. If it is for a character, that's different.

If you have relevant info that the party needs to survive, tell them. Lack of communication is a problem in every group. Be helpful and be engaging.

Have a Clear Back story and A Character Goal.

Your backstory doesn't have to be a 30 page epic. No one is going to read something that long. Make it more like a paragraph or two with only 4 or 5 sentences each.

Make your backstory something easy that the DM can build off of and expand.

If you want good storytelling for your character, you need a backstory.

You need something connecting your character the the world around them. The more connections your character makes, the more you will be invested in the story.

Type up your backstory. Make sure your DM gets it and can work with your ideas.

 This is your chance to be a part of the world building and creative process, don't squander this opportunity.

Make sure your character has a goal to work toward. It doesn't have to be groundbreaking, just something to motivate your character to be a part of the game world and a reason to be there. It can be something as simple as wanting to own a castle or finding loot. Maybe you are searching for your lost siblings or you just want to go do some good in this crazy world.

Communicate with your DM in order to play your character effectively. Make sure your DM knows what your goals are so they can add it to the story. A good DM will listen and create opportunities for you to role play and advance toward your characters goal.  If you don't take advantage of those opportunities, that's your problem.

The better goal you have, the better story your character will have. Without your characters story, you might as well be playing a board game. For more ideas on character creation check this out.

Ask Questions and Help Move the Plot Forward.

Asking questions is key to a good game, a lot of players can end up missing out on things. If you have a good or helpful dungeon master, they will end up sharing a lot.

 Let the characters tell you stories and plot threads. You'll know exactly where to go next if you are paying attention.

Most DM's add things to the game for a reason. Ask about the odd looking painting on the wall. Find out why the villagers seem so stressed out. Ask why the orc shaman has a such better quality robes than the rest of her tribe. Ask the lord who hired you if they have anything that could help you on the quest.

In big cities, there might be clerics or seers who could spy on your enemies for you. Or a special shop selling the exact spell you were looking for. If you can't buy a spell, maybe you can hire someone who can cast the spell for you.

Dungeon masters can't possibly prepare everything, but if you ask for it, and let the DM know what you want, they can put it in the game for you. Ask for the flaming sword your character wants or the address to the vampires estate.

You want more loot? Ask about where the banks are, or the opulent merchants guild. As long as you make sure the DM knows what you want, you will probably end up getting it.

It never hurts to ask.

 Role play on your turn.

You can ask questions during battle. Talk to your enemies. As a DM, I get so bored when players just attack every turn.

Get your enemies name before you destroy them.  You do not have to attack all the time, but you should always be helping out the party in some way.

You don't have to kill every enemy. Allow your blood lust to have a little mercy. Tie them up and get info from them.

Knowledge is power. Most enemies will know more than your character does.

Help the DM.

Help your DM by stopping other players from making stupid game breaking choices. There is no reason to allow the edge-lord player to kill the bartender or burn down the potion shop. Stop the player who continually tries to kill the king. It makes things a lot simpler for everyone.

Help out with looking up rules, keeping track of initiative, or anything else you could possibly handle to make the dungeon masters job a little easier.

 It's usually pretty easy to see where the DM wants you to go, and what they have prepared. A good DM will let you stray from the railroad tracks. If you can tell that the story is lagging, or getting low on energy, it's probably because the story is off track. Go back to where you are supposed to go. Let the DM give you what they prepared for you.

Don't be a Dick. Do Not Fight Against the Other Players.

There is a big difference between playing a character, and just generally being an asshole. Don't waste too much time debating. No one wants to sit there for an hour while you argue about opening the next door. It's tedious and no fun. This is not a competitive game.

 No one wants to watch you try to kill the other players. The games take long enough without your pointless squabbles. I'm not going to sit there wasting my game time while you are basically measuring your long sword against other players.

We are not here to feed your insecure nerd ego and your ego has nothing to do with the game.

If you want a fight, go play a video game online and don't waste our time at the table. D&D is a group game, and you should be working together. As a DM I do not allow players to fight each other.

Do Not expect other players or the DM to know all the rules. Do not argue with the DM. It's OK to tell the DM what the rule is, but you have to let the DM  make the final decision. You have to accept that decision and move forward.

It's OK to help out and let people know the rules. There is no reason to hide information or make someone feel bad about not knowing a rule or ability.

No one will want to play with you if you are purposefully being mean or making things harder.

Don't condescend or berate other players when they don't know something.

Don't Be A Cheater.

Make sure your numbers and stats on your character sheet are correct. Have someone double check for you when you level up. If you are using an app for your character and stats, make sure you still know what your abilities are and where you are getting your numbers.

Make sure you aren't lying or cheating on your dice rolls. You can't be good at everything all the time. This is why we're rolling in the first place.

You need a random element of chance to tell an interesting story. If you are lying about your rolls,  fudging the chances,you deserve a boring story.

You need to be honest for the rest of the group to trust you. Don't let it become a problem. If your DM tells you to roll a different dice or roll for everyone too see, do it without arguing.

You Can Not Do Whatever You Want.

Despite popular conceptions, you can't do whatever you want. More accurately, you can BE whatever you want.

You can't burn down the village just for fun. You can't kill the king during his speech. You can't purposefully break the game or you won't have a game left to play.

 Use your cool ideas and great role playing. but don't go so extreme as to destroy everything.

The DM built a world for you to play in, and the players came to do some fun stuff. Don't ruin things for the group. Don't destroy things without a purpose or a plan. Don't use your evil alignment as an excuse. Show respect to the world that your DM took the time to create for you.

If you plan on destroying something or killing someone important. Let the party know about it. Let the DM have time to plan for what happens. Let the story progress instead of chopping it's legs off on the first session.

Be Appreciative.

Be happy that you have a group to play with.

Be thankful that you have a great game master who builds amazing worlds and continuously runs a game for you.

Be grateful that you are always invited back to the table.
 
Have Fun!

Come to the gaming table with a good attitude, and maintain that attitude.

The better you feel and the happier you are, the game will be that much more enjoyable for everyone.

The key here is to maintain a good attitude. Like maintaining a car or a good looking costume.

Being happy is a habit you have to form just like anything else in life. Being happy and actively choosing that is an essential part of any experience.

Especially a game where you have to work with other people. Choosing to be happy is essential to having fun. Having fun is what the game is ultimately all about!

Remember to be prepared.

Have an idea about what you are going to do next.

Be creative and ask questions.

Use your magic items.

Help out other players and the dungeon master. Don't be a dick.

Keep the game moving forward.

And above all, have fun!

Shameless plugs!

Chromatic nerds for local Denver area games

all funnies and games web comic

dicetowertheater.com

gamesmastery.com