Good Players

[Quasqueton]

There have been many threads in this forum over the years about bad Players or bad groups, and how a DM should deal with them. There is a thread right now about cheating Players.

I'd like to start a thread to speak well of Players and groups.

My group is pretty freaking fantastic. I have 6 Players, and keeping track of everything they're all doing and saying is quite difficult at times. But they are good and honest Players. They are very good at policing themselves with regard to following the rules of the game so I don't have to look over everyone's shoulder and look up the rules for every action.

They track their encumbrance to the point where they will even drop an item if they pick up an item that puts them over their weight allowance. They mark off their spells when the durations run out. They even roll their stabalization checks in secret (keeps the suspense and rush on when a PC drops in battle), and I trust them with it.

Everyone rolls their dice right out in front of the whole group. No one has even shown the appearance of cheating, and no one has shown the least annoyance at me or another Player questioning their results and/or math.

Player1: "32!"

Player2: "32? How did you get that with rolling a 5?"

The answer is usually straight forward and correct. The only mistakes I think I've seen has been against the Player. "Oh, your right, I forgot about that spell was still in effect. Make that a 33."


DM: "The monster gets a 27 attack roll."

Player3: "That's a miss."

DM: "27 misses?"

Player3: "Yeah, this plus, that plus, more pluses, and plus barkskin."

DM: "Barkskin?"

Player4: "Yeah, I cast that on him on the first round."

DM: "Oh, yeah. I remember that now. OK then. 27 misses."


When one or more of them are out of the situation (either their character is not present, or their character is unconscious), they stay quiet and patient.


And beyond all this, they are good role players. They make fun and cool characters that I enjoy having in my world.

I really love my group of Players. I just all around enjoy DMing for them.

Are you as lucky as I in this regard? I hope you are.

Quasqueton

 

[Castellan]

My players are generally very good players, and I appreciate each of them.

Similarly to Quasqueton's group, my group tends to police themselves, and are quick to assist with rules issues. When the one spellcaster in the group is feeling overwhelmed, the other players are happy to help her figure out what spell might be best, and they're not pushy about it, either.

When I've made a mistake in their favor, they correct me! I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Ummm... I think you forgot I'm still flat-footed."

Each of them is at a different stage in role-playing ability, but I've seen improvement in all of them equally, and even though character concepts are hopelessly cliche, they're less cliche than they were three years ago when I joined up with them. They're really trying to be better gamers, and I think that's a Very Good Thing (TM).

I hope they would consider me to be a good DM, too. I know I've made lots of mistakes, and grown and changed as a gamemaster in the last three years. And I think I'm much better for it. Our group has improved just as I think we should: as a group.

I'm grateful for each of them, and hope we'll continue to have lots of great games together.

 

[Henry]

I want to give a nod to my current players as well as most of my previous players on this same score.

Some people have their complaints about rules lawyers, cheaters, bad sports, etc. My players, however, have at least two who are very rules-knowledgeable, and who point out mistakes both in favor and against. My group is a very good group of sports, and if there is an issue, they bring it up briefly as a reminder, and wait until afterwards to discuss it.

I don't have a lot of encumbrance-detailed people, but mainly because I rarely make it an issue. What I do have is a group like Quasqueton's, who are there to have fun, and try to keep it fun for all involved.

I hope I never lose 'em.

 

[Quasqueton]

When I've made a mistake in their favor, they correct me! I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "Ummm... I think you forgot I'm still flat-footed."

Yeah, that kind of thing is pure gold to me.

Interesting that a thread to praise Players gets two replies then drops off the page, yet a thread bitching and moaning about Players will hang around for a week with dozens of folks adding their own nightmare experiences.

Quasqueton

 

[EricNoah]

My guys are frickin' awesome. They come prepared, they remember details from previous sessions, they do a great job of not using player knowledge to help their characters when it wouldn't make sense, they look stuff up for me when I'm too busy to do it, they remind me of stuff I forget even if it hurts their characters, they show up on time, they bring food, they help me test out new rules, they're flexible, they provide me with their character sheets when they can't be there, they make me laugh (a lot!), the two who are my DMs in other games don't take out my mistakes on my characters, they frequently say "thank you" after the game, and, perhaps most importantly, they take the bait when it's time to get a new adventure rolling. I think if I could ask for one thing it would be for one of them to DM a one-shot now and then to give me a break. But overall, my group is simply perfection.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

My guys are frickin' awesome. . . they frequently say "thank you" after the game, and, perhaps most importantly, they take the bait when it's time to get a new adventure rolling. I think if I could ask for one thing it would be for one of them to DM a one-shot now and then to give me a break. But overall, my group is simply perfection.

Amen to all that! I must also say, that my current group is awesome because one of them did run a one-shot so that I could get to play. He admitted that he hates DMing, but he was willing to do it for me. Great players show up every week smiling and looking for more.

One more thing. All of my games over the years have seen one common factor that lets me know that I have good players.

They make me laugh!

 

[Gnarlo]

My group does not have the strongest grasp of the rules. Their tactics leave a lot to be desired. Roleplay is not their forte (though it's improving). Beyond the PHB, they haven't shown a huge desire to purchase or use supplements. Getting our schedules to line up and have time to play can be a major pain.

But they are great guys and, next to my wife, my best friends. They are funny, smart, they come to play and have a good time and are perfectly willing to laugh at each other and themselves in order to do it. I love each and every one of them

 

[Harlock]

My group does not have the strongest grasp of the rules. Their tactics leave a lot to be desired. Roleplay is not their forte (though it's improving). Beyond the PHB, they haven't shown a huge desire to purchase or use supplements. Getting our schedules to line up and have time to play can be a major pain.

But they are great guys and, next to my wife, my best friends. They are funny, smart, they come to play and have a good time and are perfectly willing to laugh at each other and themselves in order to do it. I love each and every one of them

I can almost ditto this. Almost.