The Queer Uncanny

Oh boy, do I ever.

So, first of all, it’s going to depend on what edition you’re playing for exact specifics. The most current edition is 5e, but people still play all the others to varying degrees, and 3.5 in particular is pretty popular (my games run in 3.5 because it’s the version I’m most familiar with and most comfortable controlling). So I’m gonna skip any specific mechanical advice, and instead go to stuff that can apply to any version you’re playing.

AS A PLAYER:

Try to familiarize yourself with the general rules. You don’t have to know everything, you definitely don’t have to have it memorized, but having a basic sense of how the game functions is extremely useful and can help you do more interesting things with your character, either in creation or roleplaying.

It’s more important to have a good character than good stats. In fact, having a bad stat or a specific skill you’re just terrible at can end up making the game a lot more exciting sometimes!

A good character is one who can play well off the others in your team. What exactly that looks like will depend on what kinds of characters everyone else is playing. If you can character-build together, or in consultation with a DM who is keeping track of everyone, that can really help you get an interesting group dynamic going.

“Playing well off the others” does not necessarily mean you have to have a good relationship with the rest of your group–just that you should have an interesting dynamic that both parties can make use of. If both players are into it, characters clashing can be a lot of fun. The important thing is to engage (the broody, reserved, lone wolf badass stereotype? Yeah, just about the most boring way to put yourself into a game).

Your character should have a reason to engage with the plot as well. It doesn’t have to be complex: “I want to get paid” and “these guys are my friends” are both perfectly valid reasons. But you shouldn’t be left there wondering why you’re bothering with this storyline at all. Make someone who wants to be there, for as simple or complex a reason as you want.

Don’t be afraid to get weird with your actions. You don’t have to just do a straightforward move-attack-damage. D&D is pretty comprehensive. There are rules for weird things. I had a player use a door as a weapon in a fight once. Get creative.

Work with your DM and the other players. Despite the combat focus, a long-running, plotted D&D campaign is at its base a collaborative game. You’re telling a story together. Don’t go into it thinking you need to “win.” Don’t go into it to ruin the other players’ fun. Act in good faith, and be good to each other.

AS A DM:

Know your material. This is much more important for a DM than it is for a player. Again, you don’t have to have everything memorized, but you should have a passing familiarity with the core rules and know where to find the less commonly used stuff. The d20 SRD is super useful for that, since it’s searchable–I use it constantly for my games.

Your players manage themselves. You manage everything else. That includes translating their creativity into game rules and telling them what to roll to make it work. That is a lot easier to do when you know the rules. Know your material.

Know your own storytelling style. Where do you fall on the planning vs. improvising scale? Personally, I’m a planner: I pre-make all my maps, I write all my descriptions out ahead of time so I’m not fumbling with what a room looks like, and I use a structured plot with specific goals so I know what my players will want to accomplish. I build a very solid framework so that I can improvise within it without breaking anything, because that’s what I need. Do what you need.

Be clear about what kind of game you’re playing from the start. If it’s story-based, you’ll want players who are ready to play a story. If you just want to fight stuff as efficiently and powerfully as possible, you’ll want players who enjoy that. How you manage your encounters and plot will be different depending on your goals for the game.

You have the right as a DM to refuse to play with someone who isn’t willing to work with you. A character being antagonistic is one thing; a player being antagonistic is quite another. If someone is ruining the game for everyone else and refusing to change their behaviour, you can tell them they’re not welcome anymore.

Don’t let problem players hide behind “I was just playing in character” as an excuse. Yes, you want players who can get into character, and no, characters don’t all have to get along with everyone else, but if a character seems designed specifically to disrupt everyone else’s fun, the player chose to make that character. You don’t have to allow it.

As the DM, you tailor the world. Build a world your party can use. If you don’t have anyone in the group who’s good with traps, don’t build a lot of traps. Give your players challenges for them, not challenges for any generic party of adventurers that should happen along.

Be fair. Don’t go easy on your players, but don’t overwhelm them either. If they do something stupid, they should face consequences. Conversely, if they do something really great, give them a bonus (the standard “base bonus unit” in 3.5 is +2. That may be different for other editions).

DMs are allowed to cheat. This is why DM screens and secret rolls are useful. Say an attack would kill your player and you don’t actually want that person dead–you don’t have to go through with it. Tell them it didn’t hit as hard as you rolled. You’re allowed to do that. Just don’t cheat to make things worse for them. If they get horrible consequences they need to have earned them. See above re: being fair.

Memorize this sentence: “technically the game rules say that’s not how it works, but, counterpoint: I’m the DM and can do whatever I want.” Deploy it judiciously in the interest of making things more interesting, more fun, or more suited to your story.

Actually on topic: Jared giving real good advice over here. Elaboration on the prep question: I’m the one at the opposite end of the scale from Jared as a GM. The way that I prepare is to 1. know the rules of my world, 2. write some key descriptions of places (only the really important ones!), write keywords for major characters in an arc. 3. improvise to hell and back. I know a lot of people find the Dungeon World system of fronts a bit confusing, but it aligns pretty closely with the way I plan by default: the idea is that the world is always moving, and there are a number of catastrophes that will play out if the player characters don’t do anything about them. I know the major players in each impending situation, and I have some ideas about what the endgame would be if nobody did anything about it. I have warnings I can drop obliquely into a game: showing the players the barrel of the gun, so to speak. I DON’T, however, usually plot out exactly what will happen in any given session; having that base framework lets me improvise, and I often end up adding locations or NPCs that I make up on the fly because of a decision a player character makes. It suits a story-heavy game where the players have a big say in the shape of that story especially, and it can be REALLY demanding for players as such. If you want more control over what you’re going to put on screen, or if you’re more interested in setting up cool fights and letting people kick ass in a situation where they don’t have to worry so much about making complicated narrative decisions, you probably want to go Jared’s route.

(My games have a  l o t  of important NPCs to keep track of. I have a fucking spreadsheet that all my players can see so that we don’t get totally lost. It includes NPCs that I’ve introduced AND NPCs that they’ve introduced as contacts, friends, etc.)

And Abeni Casanti.