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.
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!
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
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