Gfreak2x9
Explorer
Hello Everyone,
This is my first post in quite some time! My last post was in the year 2013 and my oh my have I learned a lot about D&D since then! I started this thread as a way of looking back on what I've learned, in hopes of inspiring new players to make better decisions than I did!
Find a good home base!: In the beginning, I had very little experience and the game shop I used to go to treated their customers like absolute garbage! The shop was very much geared toward Magic players and had an entire staff (save the owner himself) of kids in their young twenties! Although I myself am still in my young twenties I can safely say that these employees could have done with a few lessons in customer service and about two write ups each! If I knew then what I know now, I could have told myself the place was toxic and filled with the kind of unwashed, condescending jerks nobody likes to game with! Seriously, they had a sign outside about making sure you wore deodorant! Step one newbies, if your game shop sounds like this... leave! Don't give them a dime! They don't deserve it! Have enough respect for yourself to demand that you be respected by the Shop's staff as a valued customer. As for the players, avoid any and all who fit my description! Most of this stuff is sold online very cheaply, if a storefront doesn't have the common sense to treat customers with respect then let them close!
When you do find a good shop, try to be loyal. Yes, I just made a comment about how you can buy online, however a good shop with a good staff, and a good owner deserves your money and you should try to stay loyal to them. The owner of my current shop is an awesome guy who is happy to answer any questions. He will get right into the the thick of it and take you out into the aisle to compare your options side by side. He tried very hard to help me find other local HearthStone players, and although we never did find any, the man tried! That's enough for me! As a result I try to shop with him as often as possible! When I need a new book, I check his shop first! When I need more dice, I check his shop first! He notices this, and he knows that this is my attitude! Thus he does favors for me when he can! With this home base established I can find other players, establish new groups, stock up on needed supplies, and attend local events! Heck this guy is basically running my local Tavern but in real life!
I'm not saying that you have to give a store absolute loyalty. Some people are thrifty and want to go where the prices are! All I'm trying to say here is, when you do find a favorite shop at the bare minimum buy something from them on occasion!
Find the right group: Not every player will mesh with every group! I used to play with these war vets, and while I am ever grateful for their service to our nation... that doesn't change the fact that their play style made me want to scream! These guys were really into WarGaming and every time they played D&D it was an all out war! Zero role play! Minimal story, if any! Diplomacy? Is that a weapon class? Bluff? You mean that thing we roll to faint? Models everywhere, straight up hours of nonstop combat! While this may sound like heaven to some of you...this was my personal HELL! I literally played with these guys because I had no other choice! It would make me so mad because every time we would start a campaign we'd have two or three interested new players and by the the third session they'd be gone! I should have known that these guys were just not my type of group! I belong with the role players! My group now does about 65% Roleplay 35% combat! To me this play style is much more engaging and fun! Others may be dry heaving at the mere thought of 65% role play!
Now you won't know what kind of player you are until you play, so keep this in mind. Try to stay with your first group for at least five sessions. If you're still not feeling it by session five then pull the DM aside and let them know this isn't going in the direction you wanted. Offer them the chance to win you back! If that fails...bye guys! Time to find another group. Trust me, when you find the right people to play with you'll be really excited to play!
Read the books! So many players new and old alike choose not to read the material they are given access to! If the DM is offering his Player's Handbook/ Core Rule Book for you to read until the next session, take that offer! Knowledge is power in D&D! Not to mention, it really is a shared responsibility in the group. The DM is NOT everyone's personal secretary! You should take charge when it comes to knowing and understanding your character's abilities! These games are complicated and sometimes a DM does not have the time to learn every ability that every character has! I myself find that my players use certain abilities so little that I often forget what they actually do. I look to the player for this knowledge in the moment and choose to fact check them later, rather than slow down combat due to a single player ability.
The more you read about the game the better you will understand it. The better you understand it, the easier it will be for you and others to enjoy a smooth run session. The DM is usually under enough stress, take the time to do your own homework! It may very well save you one day! I have corrected many DMs on the way CMB and CMD actually works in combat. I find that I understand it better than most whether I am a DM or a player.
These are just some of what I've learned in the last four years. Use this knowledge wisely and remember to have fun when you game! That's what this is all about! If it's not fun, why bother?
This is my first post in quite some time! My last post was in the year 2013 and my oh my have I learned a lot about D&D since then! I started this thread as a way of looking back on what I've learned, in hopes of inspiring new players to make better decisions than I did!
Find a good home base!: In the beginning, I had very little experience and the game shop I used to go to treated their customers like absolute garbage! The shop was very much geared toward Magic players and had an entire staff (save the owner himself) of kids in their young twenties! Although I myself am still in my young twenties I can safely say that these employees could have done with a few lessons in customer service and about two write ups each! If I knew then what I know now, I could have told myself the place was toxic and filled with the kind of unwashed, condescending jerks nobody likes to game with! Seriously, they had a sign outside about making sure you wore deodorant! Step one newbies, if your game shop sounds like this... leave! Don't give them a dime! They don't deserve it! Have enough respect for yourself to demand that you be respected by the Shop's staff as a valued customer. As for the players, avoid any and all who fit my description! Most of this stuff is sold online very cheaply, if a storefront doesn't have the common sense to treat customers with respect then let them close!
When you do find a good shop, try to be loyal. Yes, I just made a comment about how you can buy online, however a good shop with a good staff, and a good owner deserves your money and you should try to stay loyal to them. The owner of my current shop is an awesome guy who is happy to answer any questions. He will get right into the the thick of it and take you out into the aisle to compare your options side by side. He tried very hard to help me find other local HearthStone players, and although we never did find any, the man tried! That's enough for me! As a result I try to shop with him as often as possible! When I need a new book, I check his shop first! When I need more dice, I check his shop first! He notices this, and he knows that this is my attitude! Thus he does favors for me when he can! With this home base established I can find other players, establish new groups, stock up on needed supplies, and attend local events! Heck this guy is basically running my local Tavern but in real life!
I'm not saying that you have to give a store absolute loyalty. Some people are thrifty and want to go where the prices are! All I'm trying to say here is, when you do find a favorite shop at the bare minimum buy something from them on occasion!
Find the right group: Not every player will mesh with every group! I used to play with these war vets, and while I am ever grateful for their service to our nation... that doesn't change the fact that their play style made me want to scream! These guys were really into WarGaming and every time they played D&D it was an all out war! Zero role play! Minimal story, if any! Diplomacy? Is that a weapon class? Bluff? You mean that thing we roll to faint? Models everywhere, straight up hours of nonstop combat! While this may sound like heaven to some of you...this was my personal HELL! I literally played with these guys because I had no other choice! It would make me so mad because every time we would start a campaign we'd have two or three interested new players and by the the third session they'd be gone! I should have known that these guys were just not my type of group! I belong with the role players! My group now does about 65% Roleplay 35% combat! To me this play style is much more engaging and fun! Others may be dry heaving at the mere thought of 65% role play!
Now you won't know what kind of player you are until you play, so keep this in mind. Try to stay with your first group for at least five sessions. If you're still not feeling it by session five then pull the DM aside and let them know this isn't going in the direction you wanted. Offer them the chance to win you back! If that fails...bye guys! Time to find another group. Trust me, when you find the right people to play with you'll be really excited to play!
Read the books! So many players new and old alike choose not to read the material they are given access to! If the DM is offering his Player's Handbook/ Core Rule Book for you to read until the next session, take that offer! Knowledge is power in D&D! Not to mention, it really is a shared responsibility in the group. The DM is NOT everyone's personal secretary! You should take charge when it comes to knowing and understanding your character's abilities! These games are complicated and sometimes a DM does not have the time to learn every ability that every character has! I myself find that my players use certain abilities so little that I often forget what they actually do. I look to the player for this knowledge in the moment and choose to fact check them later, rather than slow down combat due to a single player ability.
The more you read about the game the better you will understand it. The better you understand it, the easier it will be for you and others to enjoy a smooth run session. The DM is usually under enough stress, take the time to do your own homework! It may very well save you one day! I have corrected many DMs on the way CMB and CMD actually works in combat. I find that I understand it better than most whether I am a DM or a player.
These are just some of what I've learned in the last four years. Use this knowledge wisely and remember to have fun when you game! That's what this is all about! If it's not fun, why bother?
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