Tips For Being A Better Adventurer In D&D 3.5

[Bartmanhomer]

Hello everybody. Today I'm giving you tips on how to be a better adventurer in D&D 3.5.

1. Create a character sheet.

2. Well you start adventuring always listen to your party.

3. Teamwork. All party members are don't always see eye to eye. You always remember to work together as a team.

4. If your party member is in trouble facing a powerful enemy help him or her out.

5. Have fun. Everybody want to win in D&D 3.5 but it very fun as well.

I hope these tips will help you improve being a good adventurer. Thank you and happy adventuring. :smile:

[Grod_The_Giant]

1. Create a character sheet.
Better yet, create a good character sheet. Do the math ahead of time. Do multiple sets of math ahead of time if you have common buffs or buffing class abilities like Rage. Write down your class features, your feats, your magic items. Write down what they all do, in enough detail that you can use 'em without needing a book. Need to do a lot of grappling, or tripping, or climbing? Write down those rules too. Hell, print out the official write-ups of all your stuff and stick 'em in a binder. Your goal is to never have to touch an actual rulebook during the game.


4. If your party member is in trouble facing a powerful enemy help him or her out.
If your party member is in trouble in real life, help them out too. Someone missing the spotlight all night? Try to draw them into things. Ask what their feeling on things is, suggest actions they can take, do what you can to pass the torch to them.


5. Have fun. Everybody want to win in D&D 3.5 but it very fun as well.
This above all else.

[Bartmanhomer]

Better yet, create a good character sheet. Do the math ahead of time. Do multiple sets of math ahead of time if you have common buffs or buffing class abilities like Rage. Write down your class features, your feats, your magic items. Write down what they all do, in enough detail that you can use 'em without needing a book. Need to do a lot of grappling, or tripping, or climbing? Write down those rules too. Hell, print out the official write-ups of all your stuff and stick 'em in a binder. Your goal is to never have to touch an actual rulebook during the game.


If your party member is in trouble in real life, help them out too. Someone missing the spotlight all night? Try to draw them into things. Ask what their feeling on things is, suggest actions they can take, do what you can to pass the torch to them.


This above all else.

Yeah. I could have explained a bit more clearer than what I post.

[WarKitty]

2. Well you start adventuring always listen to your party.

Actually, listen to your party before you start adventuring. I've seen too many game problems because two people made characters that just couldn't get along.

[Bartmanhomer]

Actually, listen to your party before you start adventuring. I've seen too many game problems because two people made characters that just couldn't get along.

Yes. That too. :smile:

[Doorhandle]

On the game-based side of better adventuring is this list: The List of Character Survival Techniques v1.2 (http://spatula-city.org/~chrispee/dnd/char_survival.pdf)
Basically includes anything you could want to include in a utility belt, not to mention a good number of tactics to cover anything your equipment does not.

One key bit of informaiton that applies to every situation, however, is this:



* 5. Be interesting (Xiphias Gladius)
I have had at least one GM change a die roll so that I didn’t die, just because he liked my character.
In my experience, GMs are much more willing to let boring characters poorly played die, while they
will go out of their way to find some way of keeping favorite fun characters alive.

[Celestia]

Poke everything with a ten foot pole.

[Blu]

Don't just play the game... Roleplayed it. Make your character an individual of the world, with toughts, beliefs, motives and flaws, not some random guy that poped up looking for a adventure.


Poke everything with a ten foot pole.

Couldn't agree more.

[Kelb_Panthera]

If you think you have too much rope, you're wrong.

Don't forget to bring a towel.

[Deophaun]

4. If your party member is in trouble facing a powerful enemy help him or her out.
If your party member is about to start trouble with a powerful enemy, grab some popcorn.

If your party member is in trouble facing a weak enemy, crack a beer.

[QuickLyRaiNbow]

Hello everybody. Today I'm giving you tips on how to be a better adventurer in D&D 3.5.

1. Create a character sheet.

2. Well you start adventuring always listen to your party.

3. Teamwork. All party members are don't always see eye to eye. You always remember to work together as a team.

4. If your party member is in trouble facing a powerful enemy help him or her out.

5. Have fun. Everybody want to win in D&D 3.5 but it very fun as well.

I hope these tips will help you improve being a good adventurer. Thank you and happy adventuring. :smile:

6. Deal with in-game problems in game. Deal with out of game problems out of game.

That is, I think, the most important piece of advice to absorb for players, even experienced ones.

People frequently ask about how to get even with their DM, what to do about problematic players, how to handle ad hoc balance changes and so forth. Learning to separate problems that are entirely within the game world from problems that aren't is a critical step towards reduced conflict and stress-free gaming for all. You can keep a gaming group together and productive by application of this one single rule when it might otherwise be impossible.

[martixy]

A little 0-session checklist I think every group should go through is:

1. Determine everyone's expectations of the game. Is it a serious campaign? A light-hearted one? Mostly combat and dungeon crawling? Politics and murder mysteries?
2. Determine each player's motivation. Being a badass? Goofing off? Planning and strategy? Puzzles? Story? Drama? Exploration?
3. Determine the lethality rating everyone is comfortable with. Is it okay to kill or maim player characters? Is someone particularly attached to his PC?
4. Determine the subject matter allowed on the table. PG-13 or R-rated? Is torture okay? Sex? Rape? Racism? Genocide? To what extent?
5. How much should the DM railroad? This is actually a thing. Some groups behave like lost puppies when given freedom. Others chafe under the rails.
6. How much creative license do the players have over the setting? Some DMs are highly authoritarian, others relish input from the creative player.
7. Determine metagame procedures. What happens when the die rolls of the table? Is it open DM rolls or behind the screen? Can you request rolls whenever you feel like it or are they strictly DM-mandated only.

...
There's probably a few others, but these are off the top of my head.

[Celestia]

What happens when the die rolls of the table?
You reroll it. That's standard practice everywhere I've ever been. I didn't even know that this could be an issue.

[Bartmanhomer]

Those are very good tips. I should update them.

[Zombimode]

A little 0-session checklist I think every group should go through is:

Really, no.

In Detail:


1. Determine everyone's expectations of the game. Is it a serious campaign? A light-hearted one? Mostly combat and dungeon crawling? Politics and murder mysteries?

I'm almost with you on that. But you have it backwards. The DM should describe the idea for the game and determine if the Players are interested. The description should be clear enough, so that the Player can make an informed decision based on their preferences and curiosity.


2. Determine each player's motivation. Being a badass? Goofing off? Planning and strategy? Puzzles? Story? Drama? Exploration?
Impractical and unnecessary.
Impratical because Players motivations tend to be complex. They also don't have to be immediatly obvious, so the answers you will receive are likely not complete or even correct.
It is also unnecessary, because by expressing interest in the campaign premise, the Player already did the introspective work: if a Player Expresses interest in the campaign premise, their Motivations are likely to align with the game.
Again, you have it backwards.


3. Determine the lethality rating everyone is comfortable with. Is it okay to kill or maim player characters? Is someone particularly attached to his PC?
4. Determine the subject matter allowed on the table. PG-13 or R-rated? Is torture okay? Sex? Rape? Racism? Genocide? To what extent?
5. How much should the DM railroad? This is actually a thing. Some groups behave like lost puppies when given freedom. Others chafe under the rails.
6. How much creative license do the players have over the setting? Some DMs are highly authoritarian, others relish input from the creative player.
In part, the same answere as to Point 2 applies to all of These Points: some of those aspects are part of the campaign premise.
Others are part of the DM's personal style. If the DM and the Players don't have gamed together already, it may be good practice for the DM to say a word or two about their style.
Talking Things out beforehand is counterproductive. Every game is, in part, a new experience. And new experiences have to be evaluated while you are making them.
Potentially sensitive Topics Need to be handled with care. But this is just part of good manners, decency and Basic empathy. Skills that adults should have anyway.
If a Player is seriously bothered by something in the game, they can always speak up and the DM shoud take these concerns seriously.


7. Determine metagame procedures. What happens when the die rolls of the table? Is it open DM rolls or behind the screen? Can you request rolls whenever you feel like it or are they strictly DM-mandated only
Sure, it probably doesn't hurt if some or all of These Points are made clear at session 0. But I absolutely see no Need for it.
So the die rolls of the table. The DM says "Doesn Count, roll again.". Case closed.
So the DM always/sometimes/never rolls behind the Screen. Why would the Players even bother? This is a personal decision of the DM.
And the last Point is System dependent, right?


All in all, yes, it is important for the Players to know what the game is about. And the DM should not be ignorant to the Players tastes.
But as Long as the Players and the DM are adults they should treat eachaother as such. And that includes both taking responsibility and letting others be responsible.
The way you've described your session 0 checklist makes me think that you are used to game with children and Teenagers.

(And sorry for the random capitalization. This is Windows10's doing.)

[martixy]

In general you are correct. In an ideal world. This is more of a "better safe than sorry" checklist. You'd be surprised how many adults behave like children.

With 1. You are completely right. DM describes the idea for the game. But it doesn't hurt to have a wishlist from the players. Even if it is a cloak and dagger campaign, and a player ideally wants a more heroic feel, the DM could probably sneak in a moment or two occasionally that scratches that itch.

For #7, that was a couple of lousy example to illustrate the idea. I was sleepy. :)

And yes, this is mostly for newish groups. Friends or experienced groups usually have an implicit understanding of most of these points.