Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gilean 12-17-06, 05:46 AM	So, you GMing a good game and the players are good. Everything is going well. What sorts of stuff do the players do to make this happen? This is what I have noticed or heard others noticing, in no particular order: Know the rules. Help others and you, on request, with rules questions. Respect other participants. Work as a team. Co-operate, share the spotlight, that sort of stuff. Conflict amongst themselves with a good sense of sportsmanship. Some very good games have had intra-party tension, sometimes even outright fighting. But everyone knew that would be the case. Share your vision. If you think this particular monster is cool and players have the same thought, the mosnter will be cool. Play characters as persons. Have characters who change organically, react believably, who are three-dimensional. Act well. Do entertaining in-character dialogue, do accents well. Grab hooks and have them. Characters have clear buttons and players respond when those are pushed, and do it in interesting way. Enthusiasm. The players are jazzed about the game. I'm sure there is plenty of stuff I'm missing here. Do you have any, or any relevant actual play examples?
denner 12-17-06, 08:19 AM	The players shut up when i the DM speaks
Board_Rider 12-17-06, 10:47 AM	For me it's all of those things will minimal cross table talk thrown in. I am all for shooting the s---, however there should be a limit. I must note however that lately I just sit back and let the players talk...their gaming time.
krichaiushii 12-17-06, 12:07 PM	When at the game, pay attention to the game; no handheld video games, no tv, no cellphone conversations, no book reading, no card games on the side. That said, be prepared for your turn, especially during combat. Follow any house/table rules the host may have - particularly regarding obscene language and cleaning up after yourself.
Thubby 12-17-06, 12:21 PM	knowing the appropriate time for silly comments or old stories. you are with your friends, and its that kind of stuff that makes it all the more enjoyable. but when in the dark terrible dungeon of the evil lich lord, its hardly the time for a lotr joke.
SunTzuWarmaster 12-17-06, 12:24 PM	As a DM, chuck out problems. Don't think of the solutions (players always botch specific solutions), just chuck out problems. Characters usually have the time to bond during a time of group conflict. This can be as simple as "You come to a 70 foot high cliff, it appears that there used to be some sort of elevator, but it is currently broken". Players will often speculate as a group as to why the elevator is broken, how it can be repaired, how they can climb, the best one to climb, whether there are(or will be) enemies at the top, ect.
Gilean 12-17-06, 01:42 PM	So, Focus on the game. Tell jokes when the game is slow, not during climatic and exiting moments. Follow the table rules of behaviour. In combat, decide what you will do before your turn.
Crash169 12-17-06, 05:09 PM	For all those damned Druids out there: Prepare all your stinkin animals before hand, Have their stats on quick sheets. It's annoying when the druid takes 5 minutes on his turn looking up all the stats for his animals, even though I know his animals are whats going to save the party from total annhilation :P
Gilean 12-18-06, 05:59 AM	Same with other summoners and paladins, right?
mkill 12-18-06, 10:28 AM	You can generalize that even more... * Know your own character's abilities. In the group I'm playing I always have to remind the wizard player to cast his damn spells. He has the Identify spell for I-don't-know-how-many sessions now but we still run around with tons of unidentified items. Really, I love that character and he plays her well, role-playing wise, but it's annoying when the rogue has to metagame, buy a pearl, put it in the hand of the damn wizard and say: "Can you please take 15 mins now and identify this rapier? THANK YOU!" I wonder how long it will take him to pick up Repair Construct, I mean, he's only been together in one group with our Warforged for 5 levels....
Thubby 12-18-06, 02:32 PM	it's annoying when the rogue has to metagame, buy a pearl, put it in the hand of the damn wizard and say: "Can you please take 15 mins now and identify this rapier? THANK YOU!" I wonder how long it will take him to pick up Repair Construct, I mean, he's only been together in one group with our Warforged for 5 levels.... how is that metagaming? its rather sensible to think a mage could identify or know about magic stuff. anyone of experience would know they use a spell (identify)...
Anaxander 12-18-06, 02:49 PM	knowing the appropriate time for silly comments or old stories. you are with your friends, and its that kind of stuff that makes it all the more enjoyable. but when in the dark terrible dungeon of the evil lich lord, its hardly the time for a lotr joke. Yes! As a DM I can become so annoyed when players make stupid out-of-game references during 'serious' play moments. Although... a player becomes a good player when he becomes immersed in the game and immersion is for the largest part the task of the DM.
Gilean 12-19-06, 05:48 AM	Although... a player becomes a good player when he becomes immersed in the game and immersion is for the largest part the task of the DM.Can you elaborate? Specifically, what do you mean by immersion and how can GMs facilitate it?
Anaxander 12-19-06, 07:39 AM	Can you elaborate? Specifically, what do you mean by immersion and how can GMs facilitate it? Can you elaborate? Specifically, what do you mean by immersion and how can GMs facilitate it? Well this was a thread on player behavior and not on the role of the DM... But I think that the contribution of the DM in creating 'good players' is twofold: 1. Encouraging roleplay Players are good players when they are emotionally attached to their character. When players care for their character they wont make silly jokes when their character is threatened by the BBEG. How can a DM make the players care for their character? - let your players take their time for character generation; let them start from a concept, not from a class; create backgrounds and personalities; give them each some minor unique character trait/feat - when running the game: bring up characters' backgrounds, personality quirks - when running the game: bring up players likes and dislikes and play with it. Eg: If a player is scared of spiders, do not hesitate to throw some at him in character. If a player likes cats, make a villain which kills cats for his pleasure. Stupid examples, but you get the idea. - when running the game: do not let the rules stand in your way if your player wants to do something original, something cool. If he scores a critical hit and says for the laugh of it: I chop of his right arm, make him chop of the right arm of his foe. Don't do this every time though... 2. Creating an interactive and believable world - let the actions of the PCs impact the world. This doesn't always have to be on a large scale. - create NPCs for which the PCs start to care or which they learn to hate or fear. - give the PCs the chance to shine as heroes, but do not fear to point out to them (in-game of course) that there are forces which are stronger than them (and which could easily kill them). Players shouldn't be frustrated, neither should they be bored.
Gilean 12-19-06, 08:23 AM	That all makes sense; if you have any more to say, starting another thread is probably more appropriate.