Advice on Being a Good Player

[RFisher]

Remind the DM if he seems to be handling something in a different way than he did before.

Offer the DM your suggestions on how something might be handled.

Mention to the DM any situational modifiers and why you think they might apply.

Let the DM know when you think he’s making a rule mistake.

Let the DM know when you think something seems “unrealistic” or doesn’t fit with the tone of the game.

Understand and give the DM the benefit of the doubt when he chooses to ignore your advice or makes a mistake.

Do not try to trick the DM. Just tell him what your PC is trying to do so that he can adjudicate it easily and fairly.

Try to think in terms of “what would I do if I were in my PC’s place” rather than in terms of rules and mechanics.

And personally, I don’t care about time. I’d rather the players take the time they need to make a decision rather than making a hasty decision. (If I wanted to play games with time pressures, there are many better choices than tabletop RPGs.) I’d rather take the time to look up something rather than you choosing something different than what you want just because you didn’t have it ready by the time it was “your turn”.

 

[RFisher]

Honestly, I've seen the most polite, well-prepared, attentive players totally suck the life out of a game by focusing on no one but themselves. RPGs are about collaboration; games die when people forget that.

Yeah. Meant to mention that. It can be hard for new players to sit back and let everyone else have their “turn”. It’s easy to monopolize the game without really realizing it.

One way to try to prevent this is—whenever you want to tell the DM that your PC does something—discuss the idea with the other players first.

 

[Hussar]

And personally, I don’t care about time. I’d rather the players take the time they need to make a decision rather than making a hasty decision. (If I wanted to play games with time pressures, there are many better choices than tabletop RPGs.) I’d rather take the time to look up something rather than you choosing something different than what you want just because you didn’t have it ready by the time it was “your turn”.

Yes and no. While I don't want people to be so rushed that they can't think, I really think this is unlikely in tabletop RPG's. Even if you take 1 minute per turn, with the DM taking 2 minutes, that means you've got about five minutes of thinking time between turns. The game is not so complicated that you shouldn't be able to come up with an action in those five minutes.

What grinds my gears is watching players zone out on other people's turns, their turn comes up and they say, "Hrm... what should I do? What does my spell do again? Maybe I should do..." and endlessly dither. Makes me want to paint my brains on the ceiling.

 

[Rhenny]

There are lots of great ideas in this post.

Most of the ones I would emphasize have to do with preparation and attitude.

Great players know their character...personality, tendencies, goals, quirks and their skills/powers and abilities. Good DMs spend time preparing or at least having a clear vision of what could happen. Players should be the same way.

In terms of attitude, the best players seem to have open minds and trust the DM. That being said, really good players can ask good questions of the DM and help the DM and the other players come up with intersting new ideas that make the game fresh and exciting. In my 30 years of experience, great gaming groups have respectful interplay. RPGs are all dynamic and that will always mean that the DM and Players should work together to create great stories.

Cheers.