Ten rules for player conduct

[Skarp Hedin]

I'd like to add "I won't show up to the game too drunk and / or otherwise intoxicated to play"

That one bugs me.

 

[BrooklynKnight]

I think someone's game might take an interesting turn if the Book of Erotic Fantasy were allowed in....

Ok, that one is NOT my fault!

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

2. I will share game time with other players and not be a DM hog.

I've seen the opposite of this way more often, so for the GM rules:

Do not focus solely on one character. Share the love.




Also, one to add to this Player's list:

There are no winners. Do not make your character "win" the game by being bigger, badder, better, and have more magic items than all the other characters, and then throwing a hissy-fit when someone else thinks of something you didn't.

 

[fusangite]

Jasper says,

0. I will find a DM that fits my gaming style.

I reply,

I. I will join a campaign in which my gaming style is welcome.

Gaming style is something to be worked-out multilaterally amongst the participants in the game. Clearly, the GM's voice is very important in this but that does not mean that the GM imposes a particular style of play. I let my players over-rule me on certain things from time to time; for instance, in my current D&D game, they have decided to collectively refuse bonus experience awards so my campaign no longer has bonus experience.

Jasper says,

1. I will do my best to read and know the rules (including house rules) about my character.

I reply,

II. I will have at my command the rules that pertain to my character.

I have players who never learn the rules. As long as there are people who don't mind/enjoy helping this player along, I'm fine with it.

Jasper says,

2. I will share game time with other players and not be a DM hog.

I endorse this rule. Obviously, though, such a rule should apply over the course of a year not over the course of an evening/afternoon.

Jasper says,

3. I will know and play the flavor of game the DM likes.

I reply

IV. I will only play in a style which does not run counter to the flavour of the campaign.

As in rule #1, yes, the DM has greater control over the flavour of the game than other players do but the flavour is obviously multilaterally determined. Having a group of players and a flavour of game that don't match are problems equally attributable to DMs as to players. If the players and flavour don't match, the DM can either change the flavour or change the players.

Jasper says,

4. I will only challenge the DM on rules calls if it is important and abide by the Dm ruling. If I can’t stand the ruling I will talk with DM outside of the game. If I still do not like the ruling, I will suffer in silence.

I reply,

V. No dispute over rules shall last longer than five minutes except by unanimous consent of the players.

Jasper's rule might make sense if this were some rules-light system but it isn't. I have only two reasons for playing D&D and one of them is that being so heavily-codified, D&D allows for a different balance between GM and player when it comes to contested outcomes. I try to always be willing to be corrected by my players; we wouldn't be taking full advantage of the game system if the DM had absolute unfettered to over-ride the published rules.

If the interpretation of a rule for a particular situation is unclear, I solicit pro and con arguments from my players so that we can see what the rules really mean, as opposed to deciding what I want them to mean. Such disputes have been pivotal in my campaigns and allow the players to take control of the narrative and take it in a direction I did not anticipate. When I have misinterpreted Protection from Evil, Rusting Grasp and other spells, my players pointing out my errors has sent the adventure in exciting new directions and made the game better for everyone.

Jasper says,

5. I will not bring out of game problems into the game.

I say THIS SHOULD BE ARTICLE #1 IN RED NEON LETTERS.

Jasper says,

6. I will respect other game styles.

Agreed.

Jasper says,

7. I will not cheat unless the Dm allows cheating.

But then it wouldn't be cheating...

Jasper says,

8. I will find out how the Dm views alignment and play accordingly.

I reply,

VIII. I will explain my character's motivations and behaviour in terms of the campaign world's moral and ethical systems and philosophies.

I actually find it more annoying that in D&D, good=modern far too often. I would like it if people went to some effort to not just adapt to whatever the DM has done with alignment but to play a character who actually fits into the campaign world rather than some gawking tourist from 21st century America.

Jasper says,

9. I will play well with others.

I reply

IX. I will not indulge in interpersonal conflicts with other players.

I quite agree.

Jasper says,

X. I will realize it is only a game.

Well-said!

 

[fusangite]

Marauder X, I like your rules even better than Jasper's!

12. Listen to what is going on. No one likes to repeat themselves, so don't ask the DM to just because you missed it while reviewing a prestige class you won't be eligible for. (12a. Do not interrupt the DM during an explanation of something potentially crucial to the campaign)

Yes. I have a player who did his homework at the table last session and wasn't paying attention to the key information several times. To make matters worse, he would periodically start talking to the other players about the homework in the middle of scenes in the game.

I'm hoping this was an aberration.

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

Yes. I have a player who did his homework at the table last session and wasn't paying attention to the key information several times. To make matters worse, he would periodically start talking to the other players about the homework in the middle of scenes in the game.

I'm hoping this was an aberration.

I don't think so. I'm in a game currently with a player who will occasionally read magazines during the game. And who will try to start up a conversation with another player while the DM is in the middle of description or NPC roleplaying.

Thankfully, I'm not the DM. He would be paying attention or out of my game so fast his head would spin.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I'm hoping this was an aberration.

More like a vermin, I'd say.

And were it my game, soon to be an outsider.

 

[ArielManx]

I don't think so. I'm in a game currently with a player who will occasionally read magazines during the game. And who will try to start up a conversation with another player while the DM is in the middle of description or NPC roleplaying.

In a one-shot I played with a group of my husband's old gaming buddies, one girl was alternating between reading a "Wheel of Time" book and a Bible. Needless to say she had no clue what was going on at any given moment. I couldn't figure out what she was even doing there.

Ariel

 

[ArielManx]

Also, one to add to this Player's list:

There are no winners. Do not make your character "win" the game by being bigger, badder, better, and have more magic items than all the other characters, and then throwing a hissy-fit when someone else thinks of something you didn't.

OMG...you must have played with one of our old players...he hoarded magic items like you wouldn't believe and played solely for XP. And said as much.

Needless to say...he lost.

Ariel

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

OMG...you must have played with one of our old players...he hoarded magic items like you wouldn't believe and played solely for XP. And said as much.

Needless to say...he lost.

Ariel

My nephew is a player in one of the same games I am - and that is pretty much his attitude. He is there for the hack 'n slash more than anything else, although to his credit he can be a good roleplayer when he feels like it. He's only 14, though, so I should probably cut him some slack.

It happens to be the same game as the magazine-reader, by the way.