How to be a Great player, not just a mediocre one!

[Deremir]

DISCLAIMER
New players don't worry about being good or not. Everyone is bad when they first start and get better as they continue. It's like leveling! I suggest looking at some of the more basic "how to roleplay/play RPGs" threads (they'll help you starting out far more than this one)


So we have all seen the "I'm new, how do I do this thing called 'roleplay'?" threads, they're a dime a dozen on these forums. What I haven't seen are any threads on how to go from being an ok player to a great one. So for all the veterans out there, do you have any tips or tricks you use to make your characters really good, or your party really cohesive, or just otherwise be one of those players your DM loves to have around?

[Ralanr]

Stick to your character, even in some situations where it might be a bad idea.

Though you should also know your dm.

[Flickerdart]

There's only one thing you need to do: be aggressive.

[goto124]

To be a great player, you must first be a mediocre one.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, since I'm not even a mediocre player yet I think.

[BayardSPSR]

Have a sense of drama: know how to escalate tension to make the game more interesting for everyone.

Have a sense of humility: be interested in your fellow players' characters and your GM's world, and give them the spotlight they deserve.

Have a sense of empathy: take pleasure in everyone else's fun.

Ask questions in search of interesting answers.

Know your time: die bravely and with dignity.

Most importantly: bring snacks.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

Stick to your character, even in some situations where it might be a bad idea.

Though you should also know your dm.

Yeah. This. I had a Warlock who thought he was a Thief, and so he tended to help himself to any and all gold in the room. That is, until he stole from a Ghost. I gave him several chances to put it back, even outright stating that it was fake and merely of sentimental value to the ghost, but he decided to play out his personality flaws. So he died when the ghost smashed him through a wall. There was a Cleric on hand to stabilize him, but it was a close call. Either way, he spent a very long time debating the decision even though he knew it was about to kill him, and a longer time convincing the Paladin he was still sane. Both in and out of character.

When you can let a stupid character act stupidly and get killed/maimed for being stupid, you have become a good roleplayer.

[Lacco]

Take responsibility for fun of every person at the table (both players and the GM).

Help other roleplay their character. Create situations so they can shine/roleplay.

Breathe the atmosphere. If your character should be afraid, be afraid. Pull other players into the atmosphere.

Accept consequences for your action. Then, invite consequences.

Find ways, how your character will benefit the scene, even if normally you would say "It's not what would my character do!".

There will be times, when you will want to smack other PCs/attack them. Discuss it with both player/GM how this can be roleplayed so you both have fun/enhance the enjoyment of others.

Spoiler: Perfect player

Show

...once I had a perfect roleplayer at my table for 3 games. What he did?
Paid attention to all what happened - he listened to what GM said, thought about it, listened to the players, watched their rolls, suggested better tactics OOC. Looked at the world always by the eyes of his PC. Joked IC. Pulled the other players "into" the game. He had great ideas, immediately identified with his PC up to being sad when his foster father was killed/happy when he revenged him. Didn't fret over his death - he invited it in a way as a possible roleplaying.
He even carried on in IC banter during the breaks - or discussed strategy/rules during them.
And he had the best one-liners.
And he made others roleplay better just by giving them a good example.

...and he also made me try as hard as I could to be a good GM.

[Jay R]

Lose well. When the ruling goes against you, when the dice fall wrong, when the plan doesn't work, when you have to run away from the goblins, act in character, move on, and enjoy the game.

From The Three Musketeers, 1973 (Michael York version):
Lady de Winter: Your Eminence is a great player - great enough to lose. I do not like to lose.
Cardinal Richelieu: You must suit yourself, Milady. But if in the end you should, do it with a becoming grace.

And do more than fight. Build the character to do more than fight. Make somebody who is cool to play even when there's no fight going on.

Don Diego de la Vega: You have passion, Alejandro, and your skill is growing. But to enter Montero's world, I must give you something which is completely beyond your reach.
Alejandro Murrieta: Ah, yes? And what is that?
Don Diego de la Vega: Charm.

[You can do a lot worse than getting advice on how to play a role from Charlton Heston and Anthony Hopkins.]

[Telonius]

The basics: Come prepared. Know what your character can do. Respect the other players and the DM. Respect their time. Respect the rules. If you know you're going to be absent, give as much advanced warning as possible.

Getting from good to great: Find out what the table thinks is fun, and help it to get there. Give good advice. Listen. Share the spotlight. Do things that make the others look awesome. Stay in character. And (maybe most important) have fun. That's really how you win D&D

Most often, you won't know for sure how well you've been doing until you have to miss a session. That's when the rest of the group can really tell: by the you-shaped hole in the game.

[Galen]

Make a character that fits within the group and within the DM's world. That's the foundation. If your foundation (the character concept) is crooked, no amount of paint will make the structure look good. To figure out what fits and what doesn't, talk it out with the DM and fellow players.

[Ralanr]

Don't accuse others of playing terrible characters. I've done that and all it does is make you look like an ass.

[Seto]

About being an agreeable person to game with at a table : work with your DM. When you notice they are trying to feed you plot hooks, don't be stubborn and go with it. When they are giving you information that advances the game, listen to them and show them that you listen. Take notes, use the characters' or places' in-game names, etc. Empathize with them and try to make their work easier. Do not endorse an adversarial mentality. Step two : work with the other players. If they're less experienced than you are, take the time to explain what is happening and introduce them to parts of the game they're not familiar with. Do not hesitate to give them ideas, mechanical or fluff-wise (while underlining that they are just suggestions and that the choice is theirs). Insist on teamwork : organize plans that put to good use every characters' abilities. Part of being a great player is being able to metagame just enough that it helps the game and smoothes things over (no "I'm killing your character because that's what my character would do", no "haha, let's ignore the plot, the DM is supposed to suffer") without breaking immersion.

About being a good roleplayer : work with your DM. You'll want to play not a fixed character, but one who has opportunities to evolve, change worldviews and allegiances and overall explore their psychology. In order to do this, you need to both have plans, and be able to change them in accordance with what happens in the game that you did not predict (kind of like the DM). Do not hesitate to suggest ideas to your DM : either flesh out a part of the world in relation to your character (for example, if I'm playing a Dwarf, I'll ask the DM if I can co-design the dwarven society of my character's home mountains), and ask for opportunities : be able to say not only "this is what my character wants" (which gives the DM ideas for plot hooks), but also "this is where I would like to go with my character, please help make it happen" (for example if I'm playing an Evil character whom I would like to take the path of redemption, I can ask the DM to give me moral dilemmas etc.). Step two : work with the other players. Coordinated backstories help to have a cohesive party, and it is very helpful to plan in advance the evolution of relationships between characters. It's nice roleplaying to decide that my Wizard is distrustful of Warriors and that he'll amend his position over time and become closer to the Fighter. It's great roleplaying to do the same thing while arranging with the Fighter's player for both characters to have a smooth and dynamic shift in their relationship, and for that shift to play convincingly before the other persons' eyes with everyone on the same board.

So, work with your DM and your fellow players. Of course it requires gaming with decent and reasonable people who try to make the game fun for everyone.

[Geddy2112]

Roleplaying is cooperative storytelling, so to be a great roleplayer, you need to be great at cooperating, and great at telling a story. That's it.

[nedz]

What sort of great player do you want to be ?

There are several different types, the following list is not exhaustive:

• Great Tactician — you have to study RL tactics for this, most are applicable
• Great Strategist — again study strategy in RL and always plan ahead
• Great Actor — this has several sub-types
  
  • Cinematic — pull lots of stunts and always aim for the Rule of Cool
  • Stylistic — always choose the option which fits the style of your character
  • Method — get inside the head of your character and always do what your character would do. This is very hard to pull off without being a jerk, if your character is a jerk then tone it down if you are annoying the rest of the party too often: they should grin and groan not explode in a rage

You should always consider what you bring to the group.

• Maybe you run the parties accounts ?
• Maybe you record the events so that you can re-tell the tale of the last session at the start of the next ?
• Maybe you tell good jokes ?
• Maybe you provide leadership ?
• Maybe you entertain the table with your antics ?
• etc.

You should create a character which allows you to fulfil the above roles of your choice.

Really though this is about adding enjoyment to the game for everyone, which is entirely dependant upon the group dynamics. Great players do not have fun at other player's expense, but this is no different to any other activity I guess.

[BayardSPSR]

Really though this is about adding enjoyment to the game for everyone, which is entirely dependent upon the group dynamics.

This is the trick. There's no value in being That Guy who overshadows everyone else.

[goto124]

So losing makes me a great player?

[Sith_Happens]

Before making your character, ask the GM questions. Lots of questions. What is the campaign going to be about? What sorts of activities and challenges does the GM hope for it to focus on? What sort of tone are they shooting for? What are the most important or notable things about the setting, at least those that the PCs will be assumed to be familiar with? How effective/optimized/powerful of a character does the GM expect, hope, or prefer that you make? What, in the GM's eyes, does an effective/optimized/powerful character look like?* What sorts of characters are the other players planning on playing? And so on.

If the GM is someone you don't have a history with there's a not insignificant chance they'll find you annoying for asking so many questions. But, provided they actually answer the questions,** they'll thank you later for having asked.

* Do not ask the previous question without also asking this one. There's lots of GMs out there who are going to say they want you to bring a "powerful" character but think that that means a single-classed Fighter with Monkey Grip and Weapon Specialization in D&D 3.5, or a character with two dots in every skill in WoD, or something else along those lines. And if you go in without knowing about that "but" there are two distinct yet equally painful ways things could go wrong:

1. You're told to make a "powerful" character, show up with something stronger than a Monkey-Grip-Fighter-or-equivalent (hereby abbreviated as "MGFoE") because you assume that's what the GM meant, and accidentally ruin the game because everyone else is playing an MGFoE and the GM has no idea how to challenge anything better.

2. You're told to make a "not so strong"/"middle of the road"/"on the weaker side" character, show up with an MGFoE because you think that's what the GM meant, and get falsely accused of trying to ruin the game with an overpowered character.

Alternatively, maybe you're the one with less character-building chops and end up being dead weight because of it.

** If they instead respond by accusing you of trying to metagame, that's an early red flag that maybe they're not the sort of GM it's worth your time to be playing with.

[Rakoa]

So losing makes me a great player?

You're only losing if you and your fellow friends aren't having fun.

[goto124]

I guess there's a difference between 'dying well' and 'dying every 5 seconds'.

[Maglubiyet]

Bring props. Preferably your character's main weapon, helmet, and shield. Wear them always. Bring glitter, holy water, or blueberries if you're a spellcaster. A banjo or kazoo if you're a bard. And don't forget your familiar, animal companion, or mount (substitute stuffed animals as necessary).

Speak as your character would. Scottish, British, or Slavic (for evil humanoids) accents. Old-timey English with lots of "thou's" and "thines". Shout warnings and commands.

Act out the action in the game. Great Cleave, Spring Attack, Dodge. Pick Lock, Fireball, Charm Person. When injured collapse on the ground. Puncture a concealed bladder full of sheep's blood.

*Never* break character. Ever. When pizza arrives remember you are still Thork the half-orc barbarian. As you walk around the room don't forget that you've got Dragongraft legs or webbed feet. When greeting the host's wife/husband roll your Sex Appeal skill.

If you do all of this you will be the greatest player in history. I would probably buy you a plane ticket to come out and attend one of my gaming sessions.

[McStabbington]

A good player builds strengths into his character. A great player builds vulnerabilities into his character.

By this, I don't mean screwing up the character construction or anything like that. I mean building things into your character that can wound him, buttons that can be pushed. These may seem like characteristics that a good player learns to avoid, but the thing is, drama comes from conflict, and a person can only be conflicted when something that he wants or desires or needs is threatened.

Just to use an example, the first time I ever really transcended above a mediocre powergamer was when we were playing a Star Wars D20 game. I was playing a Jedi Consular who was plenty capable in a lot of areas, but while I had huge numbers of skill points (human + Jedi Consular/Rogue + 18 Intelligence = a Jedi that at level 14 had more skill points in Force Powers than Master Yoda), I had been spreading them out over 13-14 different abilities.

So while Force Lightning was about the only thing he couldn't do with the Force, he was always the second-best at any skill. He was talented at Force lifting, but not as good as the dedicated heavy of our group. He could heal, but not as well as the healer. He could enhance his dexterity quite easily, but not as easily as the dedicated lightsaber artist. He couldn't see the future for crap, but that was only because I never once rolled higher than a 3 (no joke); technically, he was second-best at Force Mysticism as well. Heck, technically my character was a gifted tech and computer user . . . just not as good as the droid we brought along. And as a middling powergamer, this made me very anxious and tense when I played him.

Well, one day another player said that I should really just give up the whole jack-of-all-trades thing and just put my points into one or two skills to max them out, because that would just give the character some focus. To which I bit back something to the effect of wondering why she thought the jack-of-all-trades thing didn't give my character focus.

Now of course, it was something I only said in the heat of the moment, because I was just a terrible player who metagamed and powergamed in equal measure. But for the first time in my roleplaying life, a character came alive for me. Suddenly, the anxiety and tension I felt wasn't me projecting onto the character. It was the character being anxious and insecure, always sure that if he were better with a lightsaber, or more charismatic, or able to get a damn force vision (sorry, that run of bad luck just infuriates me to this day), then he would be able to sit on the Council sooner, or had more respect from the other players. And all the while he was ignoring just how ridiculously capable he was at so many different capabilities. By the end, he could Force Whirlwind, knew two different lightsaber styles, and there wasn't a single light-side power that he wasn't at least highly proficient at. Once he learned what he was, he would have been the guy who handled the younglings and headed the Academy. As it was, the fact that he was always the little brother in his own mind always hamstrung him.

I really wish I could get that character back for another campaign. And break those damn dice with a hammer.

[goto124]

Let's say a total newbie comes across this thread, and decides to follow its advice. How well will it go? 0-0

[Darth Ultron]

Let's say a total newbie comes across this thread, and decides to follow its advice. How well will it go? 0-0

It depends what a Great Player is....

[Jay R]

So losing makes me a great player?

Oh, yes, that reminds me. Don't try to twist what the DM and the other players say to make it sound stupid. You're all in this together. Help them play their part in a cool, interesting way, and they will help you play your part in a cool, interesting way.

To answer the main part: In any exciting game, there will be lots of moments when you lose the point you are working on at that moment. Play it well, losing with class and dignity, and move on to the next step. Yes, treating your losses like this will help make you a great player. That conversation with Richelieu also included the following.

Richelieu: They have won, we have lost. The point, that is; the game continues.

[Seto]

Let's say a total newbie comes across this thread, and decides to follow its advice. How well will it go? 0-0

Not well because they'll be overwhelmed by the advice and mess up while trying to do everything at the same time. Thankfully the OP didn't ask "how to learn basic roleplay", but "how to go from an ok roleplayer to a great one", which assumes you've got the basics down and are more able to skim this thread, handpick the advice that best suits you and implement it.

[Ralanr]

Not well because they'll be overwhelmed by the advice and mess up while trying to do everything at the same time. Thankfully the OP didn't ask "how to learn basic roleplay", but "how to go from an ok roleplayer to a great one", which assumes you've got the basics down and are more able to skim this thread, handpick the advice that best suits you and implement it.

Perhaps we should make a disclaimer: New players don't worry about being good or not. Everyone is bad when they first start and get better as they continue. It's like leveling!

[Seto]

Perhaps we should make a disclaimer: New players don't worry about being good or not. Everyone is bad when they first start and get better as they continue. It's like leveling!

I like that :)

[Flickerdart]

A good player builds strengths into his character. A great player builds vulnerabilities into his character.

Note that a terrible player builds vulnerabilities but not strengths into his character. Nobody wants to play with Sir Deadweight of Lodestone.

[Red Fel]

I see several ground rules that everyone should follow. Some have already been mentioned.

1. Make sure everyone is enjoying. Yes, this is the ultimate duty of everyone at the table, player and GM alike. That doesn't mean everyone should be happy or unchallenged, but it does mean that every player should be enjoying what's going on. And that means that, as you play your character, you should be adding to their enjoyment whenever possible, not subtracting from it.
   • Corollary: Don't be the star. Everyone gets their chance to shine, in a good game it arrives organically. Forcing it - even if you think you're entertaining everyone - is more likely to detract from their enjoyment, not to increase it.
2. Know your character. This means several things.
   • Mechanics. Really? Mechanics add to roleplay? Yes. For example, if you're playing a Half-Orc with a 6 Charisma, it is amusing if you try to be charming and gregarious, in the same sense as it's amusing to watch a cat run repeatedly into a closed door in a misguided attempt to open it. If you insist that your character can and should perform that role, however, it goes from amusing, to absurd, to annoying. Knowing the mechanics of your character allows you to play it well within those constraints.
   • Proclivities. "It's what my character would do" is both a mantra and an expletive. A mantra, because you obviously don't want to do something that's completely out of character for your character. An expletive, because it's often used as an excuse to engage in disruptive behavior in violation of Rule #1. Nothing must violate Rule #1. Think of your character as a person, a person with habits and tendencies and desires. Then do as that person would do. However, remember that no person is a machine with a singular fixed path; at any time, you have many ways to go about doing what you want. When possible, do what your character would do, but in a manner that is conducive to everyone's enjoyment.
   • Personality. A character isn't just a piece of paper with numbers. It's a person. Be as thorough as you like fleshing them out. Come up with a personal history. Friends. Loved ones. Personal traumas and triumphs. Give them an emotional spectrum. Are they energetic, cold, detached, affectionate, silly, sarcastic? Give them goals, short-term and long-term. Nobody would go into the adventuring business for no reason; come up with several. If you've got the talent for it, consider adding inflection to their speech. (Note: Don't do this unless you can pull it off. Remember Rule #1.)
3. Play your character. Once you know the mechanics, know the character, and most importantly remember Rule #1, just settle in. You'll find it's a lot like acting, story telling, or improvisational theater. Different people have different ways they do it. Some plan out reactions to different stimuli. Others work organically. Do what works.
4. Don't build Mary Sue. This means several things.
   • First off, Mary Sue has all of the strengths and none of the weaknesses. As others have mentioned, don't do that. Every character is a flawed human being, even if you're not playing an actual human - it's fine to have strengths and weaknesses alike. It makes a character more of a person!
   • Second, the world revolves around Mary Sue. Don't be that. The world may well revolve around the PCs as a group, but when it starts to revolve around your PC specifically, you're running afoul of Rule #1.
   • Third, the rules don't apply to Mary Sue, whose actions never have negative consequences. The rules do apply to your PC, and your PC's actions do have consequences. Raging against the consequences of your actions, particularly when they run afoul of rules, won't end well. Your PC, if he or she has any level of intelligence, should be able to appreciate that, for example, killing guards results in arrests, and touching obviously magical objects may be dangerous. Some common sense will serve you better than the perceived ability to talk the GM out of things.
5. Talk to the other players. As a fledgling roleplayer, don't be afraid to learn from those with more experience, or learn alongside those who are starting out like you are. As an experienced roleplayer, take critique and suggestions from those at your table. Roleplaying is a collaborative effort, and learning how the people at your table play can ensure that you play a fitting character, and that everyone abides by Rule #1.
6. Make sure everyone is enjoying. From start to finish, that's the goal of great roleplay.

[Deremir]

Perhaps we should make a disclaimer: New players don't worry about being good or not. Everyone is bad when they first start and get better as they continue. It's like leveling!

I agree as well, I'll just highlight and copy here....