Tips for improving my DnD gameplay? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Tips for improving my DnD gameplay?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
sublimeprince
Mar 25, 2012 21:39:28 I am not new to DnD, but I have only actually played with a large gaming group a limited amount of times in my life. I played a lot of DnD on my own with me as DM as a kid or with neighborhood friends. Most of the time I was reading D&D novels as a kid instead because I had no one to play with. As an adult I have found a few groups to play with, but it has been sporadic sometimes and only a once a month or once every two months meeting. With this infrequent game playing I am finding a few problems I am having.

First, since it is often a month or two months since I even looked at a DnD book and actually played a game, I often completely forget what I learned the previous month and have to relearn where to look on my character sheet, what numbers to add, and what books to thumb through to find descriptions of my special attack moves and spells.  Either the other players are very fast studies and can retain everything from over a month or they play the game a lot more frequently outside the game group with friends or other DnD groups. Once a month is not enough playing to really get on the ball and to be able to play my character effectively.

Second, having a very quiet reserved personality does not work in my favor in this game. For example, I have worked as a Java/web programmer for a few years and I noticed people in this career tend to be very quiet and to themselves like I am so I easily fit into that kind of work enviornment. Not so in DnD, people in this game seem extremely outgoing and vivacious. I sometimes worry since I am so reserved that they translate that into lack of interest in the game. Starting conversations and opening up to strangers or even causal aquantences is very difficult for me, I like to keep my thoughts and feelings to myself unless I am in the company of very close friends. It can take me years before I trust people enough to really warm up to them.

Thoughts on improving gameplay?

#2
crimsyn
Mar 26, 2012 1:06:41 Well, D&D isn't that complicated of a system. At its heart, it's basically "d20 + stuff" for pretty much everything.

Since it looks like you're not using the character builder, I'd recommend that you simplify your character sheet. Most of the character sheet is taken up by calcuations. So, keep the original for when you're levelling, but make a simplified version that contains:

Initiative
Defenses
HP
Action Points
Passive Insight & Passive Perception
Skills (just the final modifier)

This way everything you need isn't just a big jumble of numbers, most of which only come into play when you're doing calculations when levelling.

Secondly, you mentioned "what books to thumb through." What you should be doing is copying down the powers you're taking onto cue cards or a sheet of paper. When you do this, also write down the actual numbers (instead of Strength vs. AC, 1[W] + Strength damage; write d20+10 atk, 1d12+7 dmg) so you don't have to go flipping through your character sheet to find what your strength score is and adding up all your feat bonuses and weapon proficiency and whatnot. All you have to do is look at the power, roll what it says, and add any temporary modifiers such as combat advantage. With all this written down and in front of you, you shouldn't have to crack open a book during your session.

Finally, write down somewhere any other useful things to keep track of, like feats and magic item properties.

Having everything in front of you, with no clutter, and with the default rolls written down will save you a lot of time.
#3
Mr.Durriken
Mar 26, 2012 9:22:28
The mechanics and rules are not that important to game play. Fun is #1. If you have a long time between session, keep a blank notepad at the table and take alot of notes, record the name/race/class of the other PC's and any anecdotes to remember something about them, write the name of any NPC you run into with some note about them. If something significant happens, make a note. Make a record of plot hooks and quests that the party is undertaking.

Don't worry about the tactical stuff, try to focus on who your character is, how your character acts and talks. Be your character, not your characters combat powers. Get outside of the character sheet and explorer your character. For quiet reserved people this can be very hard to do. Baby steps and you'll get there. As you get into your character more, the immersion and interaction with the other PC and NPC will become more fun for everyone and doing non-optimal stuff in combat will not matter one bit to the fun of the game.

Also if you are looking for more game, check out the D&D Encounter at you FLGS. It's causal play that last 1-2 hours every wednesday and usually covers one encounter and some roleplay. It is designed to be accessible to all levels of play, in particular new and returning plays, but can be fun for veterans as well.

TjD
#4
frothsof
Mar 26, 2012 10:08:59 read the books?
#5
sublimeprince
Mar 26, 2012 12:18:41

The mechanics and rules are not that important to game play. Fun is #1. If you have a long time between session, keep a blank notepad at the table and take alot of notes, record the name/race/class of the other PC's and any anecdotes to remember something about them, write the name of any NPC you run into with some note about them. If something significant happens, make a note. Make a record of plot hooks and quests that the party is undertaking.

Don't worry about the tactical stuff, try to focus on who your character is, how your character acts and talks. Be your character, not your characters combat powers. Get outside of the character sheet and explorer your character. For quiet reserved people this can be very hard to do. Baby steps and you'll get there. As you get into your character more, the immersion and interaction with the other PC and NPC will become more fun for everyone and doing non-optimal stuff in combat will not matter one bit to the fun of the game.

Also if you are looking for more game, check out the D&D Encounter at you FLGS. It's causal play that last 1-2 hours every wednesday and usually covers one encounter and some roleplay. It is designed to be accessible to all levels of play, in particular new and returning plays, but can be fun for veterans as well.

TjD

Thanks everyone so much for their help last few threads I have made. I read DnD books I have in my spare time. I just have 3.5 edition players handbook and 2nd edition books from the late 80's; I am too cheap to fork over the money for 4th ed. I feel that 3.5 ed is close enough and I tend to be very stingy with my pachecks. If I can be cheap and save a few bucks I will. They have 4th ed at my public library so I might take a library trip and just photo copy the pages I need. I also might try to borrow a 4th ed book from another player and photo copy the essential pages.

I will try taking notes , maybe even bring a laptop to type on. I will feel rather insecure if I am the only one in the group who needs to take notes to remember everything, but it will in the long run create a much more enjoyable role playing experience for me and improve my ability to play my character well.

I also have to work on becoming better at playing in character and acting like my character. Keeping notes would also help me become better at playing in character rather than resorting to out of character dialog.







#6
Frostball
Mar 28, 2012 10:18:10 Wow, 2nd ed and 3.5 are definitely not close enough to 4e. They are all kinds of different. Could be a part of your problem.
#7
AdenB
Mar 28, 2012 16:17:29 4th edition is very different from other editions. If you're playing a 4e game, you'll definitely need to get your hands on the relevant materials somehow.

Also, taking notes is great, I do it all the time.
#8
Bohrdumb
Mar 29, 2012 12:29:22 I would suggest a few things:
1) Get a DDI subscription - it's cheaper on the whole than buying a bunch of the books and gives you almost all of the relevant information. It also gives you access to the character builder through which you can begin to parse what information is coming from, and going to where.

As a programmer this might actually be easier for you than it might seem. If your brain works logically you may be able to parse the information faster than others.

2) Talk to your group - This doesn't have to be a long, laborious conversation but give them a little insight something like 'Hey, I'm not a huge talker, but I'm really enjoying myself.' And back to play you go.

3) Match personalities - I was very quiet my first few times at the table, and so I played characters who were similarly quiet. It meant I could roleplay fairly well without having to overreach too much.

4) Have fun - That is the central goal. if you find yourself not having fun, make immediate changes to rectify.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 sublimeprince Mar 25, 2012 21:39:28	I am not new to DnD, but I have only actually played with a large gaming group a limited amount of times in my life. I played a lot of DnD on my own with me as DM as a kid or with neighborhood friends. Most of the time I was reading D&D novels as a kid instead because I had no one to play with. As an adult I have found a few groups to play with, but it has been sporadic sometimes and only a once a month or once every two months meeting. With this infrequent game playing I am finding a few problems I am having. First, since it is often a month or two months since I even looked at a DnD book and actually played a game, I often completely forget what I learned the previous month and have to relearn where to look on my character sheet, what numbers to add, and what books to thumb through to find descriptions of my special attack moves and spells. Either the other players are very fast studies and can retain everything from over a month or they play the game a lot more frequently outside the game group with friends or other DnD groups. Once a month is not enough playing to really get on the ball and to be able to play my character effectively. Second, having a very quiet reserved personality does not work in my favor in this game. For example, I have worked as a Java/web programmer for a few years and I noticed people in this career tend to be very quiet and to themselves like I am so I easily fit into that kind of work enviornment. Not so in DnD, people in this game seem extremely outgoing and vivacious. I sometimes worry since I am so reserved that they translate that into lack of interest in the game. Starting conversations and opening up to strangers or even causal aquantences is very difficult for me, I like to keep my thoughts and feelings to myself unless I am in the company of very close friends. It can take me years before I trust people enough to really warm up to them. Thoughts on improving gameplay?
#2 crimsyn Mar 26, 2012 1:06:41	Well, D&D isn't that complicated of a system. At its heart, it's basically "d20 + stuff" for pretty much everything. Since it looks like you're not using the character builder, I'd recommend that you simplify your character sheet. Most of the character sheet is taken up by calcuations. So, keep the original for when you're levelling, but make a simplified version that contains: Initiative Defenses HP Action Points Passive Insight & Passive Perception Skills (just the final modifier) This way everything you need isn't just a big jumble of numbers, most of which only come into play when you're doing calculations when levelling. Secondly, you mentioned "what books to thumb through." What you should be doing is copying down the powers you're taking onto cue cards or a sheet of paper. When you do this, also write down the actual numbers (instead of Strength vs. AC, 1[W] + Strength damage; write d20+10 atk, 1d12+7 dmg) so you don't have to go flipping through your character sheet to find what your strength score is and adding up all your feat bonuses and weapon proficiency and whatnot. All you have to do is look at the power, roll what it says, and add any temporary modifiers such as combat advantage. With all this written down and in front of you, you shouldn't have to crack open a book during your session. Finally, write down somewhere any other useful things to keep track of, like feats and magic item properties. Having everything in front of you, with no clutter, and with the default rolls written down will save you a lot of time.
#3 Mr.Durriken Mar 26, 2012 9:22:28	The mechanics and rules are not that important to game play. Fun is #1. If you have a long time between session, keep a blank notepad at the table and take alot of notes, record the name/race/class of the other PC's and any anecdotes to remember something about them, write the name of any NPC you run into with some note about them. If something significant happens, make a note. Make a record of plot hooks and quests that the party is undertaking. Don't worry about the tactical stuff, try to focus on who your character is, how your character acts and talks. Be your character, not your characters combat powers. Get outside of the character sheet and explorer your character. For quiet reserved people this can be very hard to do. Baby steps and you'll get there. As you get into your character more, the immersion and interaction with the other PC and NPC will become more fun for everyone and doing non-optimal stuff in combat will not matter one bit to the fun of the game. Also if you are looking for more game, check out the D&D Encounter at you FLGS. It's causal play that last 1-2 hours every wednesday and usually covers one encounter and some roleplay. It is designed to be accessible to all levels of play, in particular new and returning plays, but can be fun for veterans as well. TjD
#4 frothsof Mar 26, 2012 10:08:59	read the books?
#5 sublimeprince Mar 26, 2012 12:18:41	The mechanics and rules are not that important to game play. Fun is #1. If you have a long time between session, keep a blank notepad at the table and take alot of notes, record the name/race/class of the other PC's and any anecdotes to remember something about them, write the name of any NPC you run into with some note about them. If something significant happens, make a note. Make a record of plot hooks and quests that the party is undertaking. Don't worry about the tactical stuff, try to focus on who your character is, how your character acts and talks. Be your character, not your characters combat powers. Get outside of the character sheet and explorer your character. For quiet reserved people this can be very hard to do. Baby steps and you'll get there. As you get into your character more, the immersion and interaction with the other PC and NPC will become more fun for everyone and doing non-optimal stuff in combat will not matter one bit to the fun of the game. Also if you are looking for more game, check out the D&D Encounter at you FLGS. It's causal play that last 1-2 hours every wednesday and usually covers one encounter and some roleplay. It is designed to be accessible to all levels of play, in particular new and returning plays, but can be fun for veterans as well. TjD Thanks everyone so much for their help last few threads I have made. I read DnD books I have in my spare time. I just have 3.5 edition players handbook and 2nd edition books from the late 80's; I am too cheap to fork over the money for 4th ed. I feel that 3.5 ed is close enough and I tend to be very stingy with my pachecks. If I can be cheap and save a few bucks I will. They have 4th ed at my public library so I might take a library trip and just photo copy the pages I need. I also might try to borrow a 4th ed book from another player and photo copy the essential pages. I will try taking notes , maybe even bring a laptop to type on. I will feel rather insecure if I am the only one in the group who needs to take notes to remember everything, but it will in the long run create a much more enjoyable role playing experience for me and improve my ability to play my character well. I also have to work on becoming better at playing in character and acting like my character. Keeping notes would also help me become better at playing in character rather than resorting to out of character dialog.
#6 Frostball Mar 28, 2012 10:18:10	Wow, 2nd ed and 3.5 are definitely not close enough to 4e. They are all kinds of different. Could be a part of your problem.
#7 AdenB Mar 28, 2012 16:17:29	4th edition is very different from other editions. If you're playing a 4e game, you'll definitely need to get your hands on the relevant materials somehow. Also, taking notes is great, I do it all the time.
#8 Bohrdumb Mar 29, 2012 12:29:22	I would suggest a few things: 1) Get a DDI subscription - it's cheaper on the whole than buying a bunch of the books and gives you almost all of the relevant information. It also gives you access to the character builder through which you can begin to parse what information is coming from, and going to where. As a programmer this might actually be easier for you than it might seem. If your brain works logically you may be able to parse the information faster than others. 2) Talk to your group - This doesn't have to be a long, laborious conversation but give them a little insight something like 'Hey, I'm not a huge talker, but I'm really enjoying myself.' And back to play you go. 3) Match personalities - I was very quiet my first few times at the table, and so I played characters who were similarly quiet. It meant I could roleplay fairly well without having to overreach too much. 4) Have fun - That is the central goal. if you find yourself not having fun, make immediate changes to rectify.