Player Commandments

[Hussar]

If you could make a "ten commandments" type document to guide players towards better gaming for everyone, what would you put on it? It doesn't have to be limited to 10. Here are some of mine:

• Thou shalt not metagame. Use only knowledge that thy character has, and do thy best to 'forget' that which thy character dost not know.
• Thou shalt die with dignity and accept thy fate. Thou shalt not whine, nor accuse thy DM of being unfair, but thou shall begin creating thine new character with few complaints.
• Thou shalt pay attention, even when it is not thy turn, and so thou shalt not ask a question that has already been answered twice.
• Thou shalt not correct thy DM. Thou mayst question thy DM, but thou wilt bow to thy DM's final ruling when it is made. Thou wilst then save arguments until after thy game.
• Thou shalt know the basics of the rules for thine own abilities, or at least be able to look up thine abilities if there is need.

 

[Whisper72]

Thou mayest bring refreshments and nourishment to the table, but thou shalt not make a pig's sty out of the DM's home

P.S.: thou mayest attempt to bribe the DM with aforementioned refreshments and nourishment, but may not expect results therefrom...

Thou shalt not cheat, neither on die-rolls nor on the amount of spells left nor on abilities, items, skills etc. that thine character possesses

 

[delericho]

If you are going to miss a session or be late, thou shalt inform the host and the DM of this, so they know not to expect you.

 

[Whisper72]

Thou shalt have respect for the fact that the DM puts in a multiple of effort (in time and usually also money) into the game, and act accordingly

 

[Umbran]

Thou shalt speak with the Gamemaster when fun has not been available to you.

- In this, thou shalt be open-minded and thou shalt not cast blame or disparagement, but simply seek a fair and honorable solution to thine problems.

 

[Hussar]

• Thou shalt use only the books which thy DM approveth of.
• Thou shalt not use books thou hast downloaded from ye Internet. Thou shalt support the hobby by paying for books.
• Thou shalt not expect the DM to changeth his campaign to suit your needs. Thou mayest ask, but, never expect.

 

[JoeGKushner]

• Thou Shall Bathe
• Thou Shall Change Thy Clothes
• Thou Shall Bring Thy Own Dice
• Thou Shall Bring Thy Own Pen and Paper
• Thou Shall be Responsible for knowing all thy character's abilities.
• Thou shall not dribble on the GM's bathroom floor.
• Thou that dripple will clean it up or receive a beating.
• Thou shall 'borrow' nothing with the owner's approval.
• Thou shall not expect the host to provide food and drinks
• Thou shall not engage in fistcuffs with the other players.
• Thou shall realize that if thou are the only one with a problem, it's not changing. Deal with it.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

Thou shalt not have thy fun at the expense of others.

I don't care if your lifelong dream is to play a half-drow/half-dragon assassin who's shapeshifted and is masquerading as an elven princess in order to lull the party into a false sense of security so you can murder them in their sleep and take their stuff -- if it's going to cause in-game and out-of-game problems, knock it off.

 

[The_Gneech]

Thou shalt not make a joke character. Neither shall thee make only weirdies all the friggin' time.

Thou shalt give thy character a proper name.

Thou shalt gain a working knowledge of the mechanics your character uses.

Thou shalt not talk over other players.

Thou shalt not insist on being the hero every time.

Thou shalt not make a skill monkey, play it like a fighter, and then get annoyed when thy skill monkey is creamed.

Thou shalt care and pay attention to what's going on or get thee the hell out.

-The Gneech

 

[Umbran]

• Thou shall realize that if thou are the only one with a problem, it's not changing. Deal with it.

I disagree with this one. There's lots of times where you can flex for one person and not cause notable issues for anyone else. "All for one and one for all" really calls for the individual bvending for the group, and the group occasionally bending for the individual. It's that thing we call cooperation