I will gladly tell you that I am much better player than a Dungeon or Game Master.
IN fact, I think so highly of my Dungeon Master skills that I tend not to play in games systems that I run. You will rarely catch me as a player in AD&D. When I do play, I tend to be a Cleric because that is the support role. I have a big personality and if I play a Fighter, Magic User, Thief; I have a tendency to take over the leadership roll and possibly the game
I also have a trust issue when I play, The game must have good pacing, not long gaps and the GM must be competent.
That said, I have gamed with a few game masters at GaryCon and I have guided numerous Game Masters over the years on how to be better. I will join a game if it looks interesting or if I am a huge fan of someone in (or running) the game. I try to game with Margaret Weis at every GaryCon I go to, I adore her.
I do not Speak/ Subscribe/ Condone Social Justice issues, if you may be set off by crude comments, or any triggers, please find another hobby. I do not offer a safe space.
That being said, I have been lucky that I have never had any complaints about my games or about me not following any rules of Political correctness.
Everyone is welcome at my tables so long as you are not an asshole / tank the game.
I do not care what your preferences are, your color, gender, your disorders.. Throw out any "Social Contracts " and any players that cannot handle being offended, they will Fuck up your game.
Stay away from Political Talk at the Gaming table unless you are talking about IN GAME Politics
Current Events outside of the game are usually off limits also
There is no such thing as doing it right, everyone has a different style that they care comfortable with
So, with that all in mind, I present;
Tips to Make YOU a Better RPG Player
READ:
This is the top skill, read adventure books, SciFi books, anything with stories and characters
Watch:
Watch all sorts of movies, pick up on the character traits and speech patterns
Learn your Game
ROLE play vs ROLL play
Stay away from Political Talk at the Gaming table unless you are talking about IN GAME Politics
Current Events outside of the game are usually off limits also
There is no such thing as doing it right, everyone has a different style that they care comfortable with
So, with that all in mind, I present;
Tips to Make YOU a Better RPG Player
READ:
This is the top skill, read adventure books, SciFi books, anything with stories and characters
Watch:
Watch all sorts of movies, pick up on the character traits and speech patterns
Learn your Game
- Go through the Role-playing manuals and learn what you need to roll for what.
- Make sure you know your Race and Class Traits, even if you do not follow all of them.
- Come to the game with a preplanned idea of what you are doing
ROLE play vs ROLL play
So, this was the situation; Friend was playing in D&D 4.0 (?) game at a con. he first thing the players needed to do was meetup at tavern, He walked in and said "I am looking for my friends" The DM made him roll a die to see if he could find them, He failed the roll and was unable to see his friends. He had to leave the tavern. This is Roll playing
If you can do things without having to depend on a Die roll, like convincing someone that that people are coming down another corridor or that there is a monster somewhere else...
EXAMPLE 1
One of the best things I have done recently was to convince a Robot to let me pass with an off the cuff speech, No die roll, no skill check, I simply used a logical Knowledge of Firefly...
here is the narrative
===============================================(I was playing Inarra in a Firefly RPG game)
Pick a few traits for your character
Decide on 2 things your character likes to do, add one obsession. These three things will make you role play.
sharpening a sword
mending cloth
Just a couple of things that you can do when there is no action or when you feel the need to distract the GM with something completely different
Character Background
Cool, you spent 4 hours writing your background and details about what he/she did in their life... yeah, whatever. Unless the GM is going to work in such a background, you just wasted your time.
Spent 4 hours on my character's back story, then character dies in the second session, unable to jump back into the game because I had no back story.
There are good backgrounds "You grew up in the town all your life and felt you needed to see the world beyond the town"
Keep them short, just a couple of sentences, you are not the long lost Heir to the Land of Ehdan waiting to claim your Kingdom
==============================
Player spent 4 hours doing a background, talked to the GM and went over how to incorporate the background into the story - GM rolls damage and determines that that would kill the character, then decides to forgo the damage because the story line would be impacted and he does not want to alter the campaign.
This is an example of a Bad GM / Player interaction. The GM is now in the position to not kill a character and this reduces the risk / reward of playing. Players should anticipate that the characters can die... hence the fantastically popular background
"My PC is sitting in the Tavern"
==============================
Know yourself
If you have a tendency to make the game about you, play a different character.
Step up when you have to, but let others play
Unless you are the leader, then try to make others play. Don't be an attention hog, a good leader draws the roll playing out of other players.
If there are 4 people in the group, you should not be doing 2/3 of the talking.
Listen to the GM
I give out subtle clues and sometimes emphasize key words. By being attentive, you will may gain additional information.
Take Notes
I give out a lot of information and revisit information during the course of several sessions, I will give you names and they will pop up from time to time and it is not my job to remind you who they are. Also, If I give you an item, you need to make notes and add the it to your inventory. Again, I do not revisit items, nor do I note them most times.
Write Notes or Verbally Question the GM
Do not be afraid to drop a note or speak to the GM in private about matters that do not concern other Characters. If you have a question and the whole group is there, ASK !
Do something heroic every 30-45 Minutes
Seize the moment in the game to do something unexpected.
===========================================
BONUS TIPS
The Following is from the TOON RPG...
It is the Most Difficult RPG to play.
People laugh when I tell them that, but it is the truth.
This shows that with a little preparation (H), you can have a great session
The skills needed to play TOON are being able to think fast, act immediately and thwart other players.
By reading these commandments (Straight from the TOON book), you will begin to see why it is so difficult
I have known many players that thought they could play TOON, if you think too much or are a strategist, you cannot play TOON
It is rapid, fast paced MAYHEM. So, how do you play:
I have 4 things my Character (Bartholemew B Bunny) can do, and can use them at any time in the game
Beginning of each game, I make notes about what to do to other players (like using the Sea Urchin in a Salad, using a food processor to chop it up)
With my 4 reoccurring actions and my notes, I am ready to play
In prepping for this, I read and watched a lot of BULLSHIT on the internet and discarded 95% of these morons advice. I do not write my blog for any specific audience and you like my blog writings, let me know
here is the narrative
===============================================(I was playing Inarra in a Firefly RPG game)
So I decided that I was going to take the lead on this one and go ahead and bring Kaylie
I escorted Kaylee down to the engineering room I knew there'd be some trouble on the way so I was prepared for this and then Dan asked “hey are you going to take a gun” so I thought for a moment I said “I'll take a gun but I'm never going to use it” I could see he was a little bit miffed about that
As we approach the robots I said “I am a Companion of House Madrassa, I was requested to be here by the captain” so the robot said that does not compute and I said “I am clearly Alliance and therefore you must let me pass as I have authorization to be here” “And this is my lady” (Pointing to Kaylie)
With that Dan did not see that coming so I completely tossed a new wrinkle into the into the game. After rolling a few times, He allowed me to enter and complete our task
(I was voted best Player in the Game)
---------------------------
---------------------------
EXAMPLE 2 (5E)
We were going room to room in a keep and there were squatters in the building. I was trying to clear them out, the first room I go into, I ask any people in here.. The DM has me ROLL perception, I succeed and see three people who I kick out of the keep
We were going room to room in a keep and there were squatters in the building. I was trying to clear them out, the first room I go into, I ask any people in here.. The DM has me ROLL perception, I succeed and see three people who I kick out of the keep
The next room I go in I ask if there are any people, the DM asks me to ROLL perception. Instead, I state "IF there is anyone in the room the better leave because I am lighting the room on fire:
The DM state no one comes out. I tell him I leave..
He says "Your not going to light the room on fire"...
I reply "No, if there were any people in there , they would have come out"
Try to ROLE play your way through the game, some of the best games I have been in (or ran) had very few die rolls and were very enjoyable.
I have a an amazing Dice collection and love to show them off, so if that your thing, have fun, but try not to rely on the dice. Eventually, all dice dice betray you
===============================================Try to ROLE play your way through the game, some of the best games I have been in (or ran) had very few die rolls and were very enjoyable.
I have a an amazing Dice collection and love to show them off, so if that your thing, have fun, but try not to rely on the dice. Eventually, all dice dice betray you
Pick a few traits for your character
Decide on 2 things your character likes to do, add one obsession. These three things will make you role play.
sharpening a sword
mending cloth
Just a couple of things that you can do when there is no action or when you feel the need to distract the GM with something completely different
Character Background
Cool, you spent 4 hours writing your background and details about what he/she did in their life... yeah, whatever. Unless the GM is going to work in such a background, you just wasted your time.
Spent 4 hours on my character's back story, then character dies in the second session, unable to jump back into the game because I had no back story.
There are good backgrounds "You grew up in the town all your life and felt you needed to see the world beyond the town"
Keep them short, just a couple of sentences, you are not the long lost Heir to the Land of Ehdan waiting to claim your Kingdom
==============================
Player spent 4 hours doing a background, talked to the GM and went over how to incorporate the background into the story - GM rolls damage and determines that that would kill the character, then decides to forgo the damage because the story line would be impacted and he does not want to alter the campaign.
This is an example of a Bad GM / Player interaction. The GM is now in the position to not kill a character and this reduces the risk / reward of playing. Players should anticipate that the characters can die... hence the fantastically popular background
"My PC is sitting in the Tavern"
==============================
Know yourself
If you have a tendency to make the game about you, play a different character.
Step up when you have to, but let others play
Unless you are the leader, then try to make others play. Don't be an attention hog, a good leader draws the roll playing out of other players.
If there are 4 people in the group, you should not be doing 2/3 of the talking.
Listen to the GM
I give out subtle clues and sometimes emphasize key words. By being attentive, you will may gain additional information.
Take Notes
I give out a lot of information and revisit information during the course of several sessions, I will give you names and they will pop up from time to time and it is not my job to remind you who they are. Also, If I give you an item, you need to make notes and add the it to your inventory. Again, I do not revisit items, nor do I note them most times.
Write Notes or Verbally Question the GM
Do not be afraid to drop a note or speak to the GM in private about matters that do not concern other Characters. If you have a question and the whole group is there, ASK !
Do something heroic every 30-45 Minutes
Seize the moment in the game to do something unexpected.
===========================================
BONUS TIPS
The Following is from the TOON RPG...
It is the Most Difficult RPG to play.
People laugh when I tell them that, but it is the truth.
This shows that with a little preparation (H), you can have a great session
The skills needed to play TOON are being able to think fast, act immediately and thwart other players.
By reading these commandments (Straight from the TOON book), you will begin to see why it is so difficult
I have known many players that thought they could play TOON, if you think too much or are a strategist, you cannot play TOON
It is rapid, fast paced MAYHEM. So, how do you play:
I have 4 things my Character (Bartholemew B Bunny) can do, and can use them at any time in the game
- Use Exploding Dice
- Pull a copier out of his bag of many things and Multiply
- Shoot another player
- Fast Talk another player
Beginning of each game, I make notes about what to do to other players (like using the Sea Urchin in a Salad, using a food processor to chop it up)
With my 4 reoccurring actions and my notes, I am ready to play
The Toon Commandments
1. FORGET
EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT ROLEPLAYING.
2. ACT
BEFORE YOU THINK.
3.
KNOW THE RULES - CHECKING RULES IS SLOW. SLOW IS BAD.
4.
KNOW YOUR CHARACTER AS YOURSELF.
5.
IF YOU WANT TO DO IT, EXAGGERATE IT.
6.
IF IT'S SIMPLE, COMPLICATE IT.
7.
IF YOU'RE IN A JAM, DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO MAKE IT
WORSE,
8.
WHEN IN DOUBT, RECAP.
9.
WHEN YOU CAN'T RECAP. MAKE
SOMETHING UP.
10. WHEN
YOU CAN'T MAKE SOMETHING UP, CHEAT.
PSS - I don't want to watch someone's face for an entire 5-10 minute video...
I write from 40 years of experience and Convention gaming. I provide practical advice that I have employed and taught.
Anyone can play at the same table and get along, just leave all the other crap at the door. Will you feel uncomfortable, YES, but it will pass. You will face comments and situations, by just not taking it personally, it will pass...
Sorry but there is no way I am taking this Kid seriously when he starts saying "When I started playing..."
I am not saying I am not full of Bullshit, I am full of practical Bullshit
