What exactly is a good player?

In my very humble opinion, a good player is at the table for only two reasons. Too have fun and play with their friends. This answer is very vague on purpose because every game is different and group of players is different. Some players take their game nights very seriously while others just want attention and other players just want to see how much they can get away with. All of this is fine if it fits in with the group dynamics and the culture in that specific game.

So what makes a good player? Someone who can work well with their group to increase the amount of fun for everyone at the table. The whole point of playing in a group is to enjoy being together and creating something fun that you wouldn't be able to create by yourself. 

The World is your Classroom

If you are here you probably already know what all this is. so I'll get on with it!

Watching others play role playing games such as Critical Role or Adventure Zone can help you learn how to be a better role player and actor. We always want to learn from the best! Here are some excellent takeaways that I got from the players of Critical Role.

Good palyers are attentive and prepared

During a battle, the players are always ready for their turns and they know what they want to do. Making a choice on their turn is always better than stalling. You'll never see the CR cast wasting time by not making a decision. If they don't know what to do, they ask for help, in character, and the group role plays to get to a solution.

Act like you are reading from a script. Your character is not in every scene and they shouldn't be, in order to make a good story. Your character is not talking in every conversation. Good players know that some scenes are not all about them, other players need their own screen time too. Caleb doesn't interrupt when Fjord and Beau are having a conversation, unless it adds to the interaction.

Wait for your turn before your characters speaks. Wait until a scene is over before you try to start a new one or try to change the subject. Wait for a conversation to be over before starting a new one.

Good players Don't interrupt

The players in Critical Role never interrupt the DM. They always wait for Matt Mercer to finish his story or describe what is going on before they do any talking. They show the ultimate respect for their DM and other players.

The players never argue with the DM, whatever he says goes. The only thing that arguing accomplishes is wasting your play time.

Don't be the player who is always interrupting. The players need to hear the DM so they know what is going on. You should be listening too. A good DM will give you a chance to role play or make decisions, you'll just have to wait for it. It's okay to ask questions and offer suggestions. But never interrupt the DM or the players who are trying to role play. Role playing is a collaborative experience, and it only works when you let other people have a turn to talk. 

Another player interrupting or trying to change the subject will always destroy the flow of a conversation and therefore the flow of the game. Wait for the scene to play out before you take your turn. You will never see players on Critical Role  interrupting or trying to take up all the attention.

An intersting story can only develop when a scene comes to its conclusion.
Allow yourself as a player to sit back and watch the game unfold. Take your time with the game and let the story develop naturally, one scene at a time.

 Don't try to advance a scene until the previous one is over. This is especially important for DM's who ignore or dismiss a player trying to role play. Matt Mercer never interrupts his players when they are role playing. Matt is usually in character as an NPC, role playing along with them.

When the other players are done talking, that is your cue to either react and say something in character. Do not interrupt or change the subject until that story beat or plot point is concluded.

The Role-play Is Only as Good as it's players

The players rarely bring up side conversations, and if it happens, they are still very quiet and focused on the story. There is no talk that is completely out of game. Save it for the commercial break. If a pop culture reference is mentioned, they still keep it within the confines of the story. The players never go off on tangents and talk about a subject that isn't part of the game. Good players stay focused because they know that the show must go on.

Everyone in Critical Role acts like respectful adults who go with the flow of the game and they are mature enough to listen and wait patiently for their turns. When Nott and Jester are playing cards, the other 5 players listen patiently and let the scene play out to it's conclusion. Only one conversation should be happening at a time, no matter who is talking.

Role play doesn't work unless at least two characters are involved and interacting with each other. The cast is constantly reacting and asking questions in character to keep the energy and role play alive. If you want more role play in your group, you need to react in character to whatever is going on. When you react to another player, who is role playing, it gets you into the scene and lets the other characters role play with you.

If a character says something and no one else reacts or get involved, then the role play dies.  Role won't ever happen if other players are dismissive or don't engage in the conversation. A lot of lines that are spoken in character fall flat simply because other players never respond to them. 

The cast of critical role are always engaged and always ready to react. Their performances are fun and entertaining because of how much energy they put into staying in the action and paying attention.

The CR Players are confident in their characters, choices and actions. They think before they speak. Having confidence means knowing you can handle whatever comes up. A good player learns and grows along with their character throughout the course of the game.

Support your game to make endure

Why does critical role work so well? Why do they have a game full of energy and continues to work for multiple seasons?
Aside from them being professional actors, they do whatever they can to support the game and the story.

Critical Role avoids all the pitfalls of game ending behaviors. There isn't a player who is constantly trying to get all the attention. They always share the scenes with other players. There is no interruptive player who messes things up for other players. They are all great listeners and they know how to react and engage in the story without upstaging others.

The PC's are always supporting each other to keep the story moving forward. Make sure your character is supporting the other characters with their goals or plans. The more effort you put into the characters friendship, the more you will get out of it. You won't get a Beau and Jester without that conscious effort. Your characters are always playing and fighting together they should become friends pretty quickly.

 If you want your game to last 6 seasons and a movie, then give the DM and PC's all of your attention and support.

The DM is a great listener too, he doesn't rush a scene forward, he takes the time to listen to his players role play.

 But the most important reason that this show has gone on so long is that everyone continually supports each other. The players take the time to make sure their characters genuinely care for and support the other characters during the game. Supporting other characters goals and plans,  creates a lasting bond you will never see in other games.

You will never see a lone wolf edge lord character who is only out for himself in Critical Role. Because it is a group game. A game where supportive characters make a better story. The loner has no place in a group game and Critical Role knows it.

Show kindness and Respect

If you want a good story and you want to put on a good show, remember to always be attentive, always be ready for your turn. Do not interrupt or try to change focus when a scene is already in play. Do not hog the spotlight. Be active in the story by reacting and engaging, in character,  with what is going on. Go with the flow.

Be supportive of all the players and make an effort to include them all. This applies to players and game masters alike. If you aren't including others,  no one will want to play with you.

And most importantly be a good listener. The best way to get support from other players is to support them first. Listen to other ideas and work with each other. The player who listens is the player that will be included.

Establish game rules and behavior first

Give your attention to other players

If another player is always interrupting or trying to hog all of the attention your other players will never get their turn. This selfish player is probably trying to do everything without giving other players a chance. This is easy to control by simply giving the attention to another player. Interrupt the rude player if you have to.

"We know what you are about to do, now lets take turns and see what our paladin would like to do." As the DM you need to take your attention away from that player.

Stop the murder hobo in Their tracks

"Before you move to attack the bartender, you realize that the bar is full of royal guards and other witnesses who probably want to enjoy their dinner."

"Before you attack the king, the two guards closest to you grab the crossbow out of your hands. "

Enlist the players for help

This is another diversion tactic, but a little more involved. Talk to the other players. "You see your rude companion about to attack the bartender, what are you going to do." Say this to every player before their turn. Let all the other players go first and hopefully they will help stop or otherwise slow down the attacking player.

Dealing with a party of murderers

If your whole party is a group of murder hobos, it might be hard to ask for help from other players.  So get more NPCs involved. Bring in guides or advisors who can speak for you as the DM. Warn the players of the consequences.

"I really don't think you would want the entire kingdoms army on your tail, if you do try to kill the king." 

"If you allow this fire to burn down the entire forest, it will be your heads that the wrath of the gods come down upon!" Let your party of hobos reap what they sow.

If the party wants to act like villains, every NPC in your world will treat them like villains.

Bring alignments into play and make the players suffer every time they don't act accordingly. Make them ask their gods for forgivenss in order to get their magic back. Have the thieves guild set up rules of conduct or the players won't get to be a member.  Rouges might steal, but do they draw the line at murder?

Players need to deal with consequenses

If the player still insists after a warning. Say this. "You hit the bartender in the face and suddenly you feel the point of a sword in your back. One of the guards has hit you for 900 damage. (Don't even roll for attack or damage at this point. Do enough damage to teach a lesson.)You are now unconscious and are currently being dragged toward the prisons. Now what do the other players want to do?"

Consequences are only limited by your imagination.

Players killed a bartender or burnt down a town? Now there is a price on their heads. High level NPCs will always be hunting them down. Rogue NPCs will turn them in for a reward at any moment.

The PCs are never the strongest people in your world. If they just keep surviving, throw something stronger at them. Make them learn their lessons the hard way. There is always a bigger fish. There will always be something or someone stronger than your PCs. Bring the gods down if you have to. Have celestials and archons hunt the players down. You have my permission to make your murder hobos life a living hell.

Even more consequenses

The murder hobos faces are plastered on wanted posters everywhere. Every NPC knows what the players look like. Guards won't let your party into town. Shopkeepers and taverns refuse to serve the criminal party. "You burnt down my grannys hometown! There's no way I will let you into our city!"

If the party has a reputation for evil, cultists, murderers, and other criminals might want to join forces with the party. "We know you killed the royal guards in the city, maybe you can help us destroy them all! Take down their peacekeeping ways!" or, "Clearly you don't have any qualms about preserving life, so maybe you can help us summon our great god of death"

At this point the players should be questioning their morality, if not, the campaign just turned into a villains story. An evil party. All the good guys will be constantly hunting them down.

Combat Tactics For Dungeon Masters.

 By Keith Ammann.

After reading The Monsters Know What They're Doing , I had found what I was missing. This book taught me how to interpret the stats to make the D&D creatures come to life. Now my creatures and boss battles are so much more engaging and dynamic than ever before!

 The Monsters Know What They’re Doing is not a replacement for the D&D monsters manual. You’ll still need the manual and the Players Handbook for game rules. The Monsters Know What They’re Doing focuses on things you won't find in the monsters manual. Keith's focus leans more toward monster's tactics and instincts more than just a block of stats.

 I’ve been DMing for over 15 years now, (started with 3rd edition) and the combat tactics I have learned from this book are greatly appreciated. Most of the information Ammann gives us is pretty new to me. My mind was blown when I first sat down to read The Monsters Know What They're Doing. 

When it comes to monsters, my DM style was completely lazy. I usually ignore most stats, I hate math and numbers, and I never calculate experience points, and I always thought CR was just a guideline.

When preparing, I only ever paid attention to enemy attacks, spells I liked, and special abilities. I rarely thought twice about ability scores, and skills like perception, stealth and the rest. I never thought twice about how goblins actually behave in battle. I just threw them at the players and treated the goblins like low level cannon fodder.

 Boy was I wrong.

Kieth says, “High-strength and high-constitution creatures are brutes that welcome a close-quarters slugfest.” Before now, all I would see is how much damage a monster does.

Ammanns advice gets deeper and more specific. Every section and chapter in the book focuses on a different type of monster; NPCs, undead, dragons, aberrations, constructs, demons and much more. 

I am currently excited to run a vampire in one of my current campaigns. I learned how a vampire would use its spells, and special abilities more tactfully long before a battle even starts. I learned the way it can manipulate other monsters and PCs to its advantage.

I admit that I haven’t read the whole book, I have just skipped around and read about the creatures that I was interested in or was planning on running in an upcoming session.

This Book makes it easy for DM’s to skip around and find the info they need. The organization is great for campaign planning when you don’t have much time.

If you aren’t too familiar with the 5th edition rules, it might get kind of confusing. But I don’t think that would be a problem for most DMs.

I learned and will continue to learn how to run monsters and enemies more effectively than I ever had before. Ammanns’ book is an amazing resource that I will be using for many more years to come. 

A professional dungeon master never stops learning. If you want to improve your encounters, and your game, this book is most definitely for you. I believe every dungeon master could benefit from Keith Ammanns sage advice.

The Monsters Know What They’re Doing is an insightful eye opener that deserves its place on the shelf next to the Dungeon Masters guide. It is essential reading for dungeon masters who want to improve their game.

Be Prepared and Be Ready For Your Turn

A good Dungeons and Dragons player will always have a general idea of what their character wants to do and what their goal is. This is key during battle. Know what dice you need to roll before your turn. Know when you are next in initiative.

Know what your spells and abilities can do beforehand. If you are ready to go, the battles are quicker and the game runs a lot more smoothly.

Don't waste the parties time by looking stuff up during your turn and trying to figure out what to do. You should have time before your turn to look up what you need to. Make sure you know everything on your character sheet and what dice you need to roll for a specific attack or ability.

You don't need to know all the rules, that's to much work and can get overwhelming quickly. All you need to know are the attacks, abilities, and spells that you are planning on using.

Make the game run smoothly by being prepared.

If you don't know, ask questions before a battle starts or before your turn.

Use your Ablities and items in creative ways

Don't be a dick. don't fight Against other players

There is a big difference between playing a character, and just generally being an asshole. Don't waste too much time debating with other players. No one wants to sit there for an hour while you argue about opening the next door. It's tedious and no fun. This is not a competitive game.

 No one wants to watch you try to kill the other players. The games take long enough without your pointless squabbles. I'm not going to sit there wasting my game time while you are basically measuring your long sword against other players.

We are not here to feed your insecure nerd ego and your ego has nothing to do with the game. Leave the ego at home.

If you want a fight, go play a video game online and don't waste our time at the table. D&D is a group game, and you should be working together. As a DM I do not allow players to fight each other.

Do Not expect other players or the DM to know all the rules. Do not argue with the DM. It's OK to tell the DM what the rule is, but you have to let the DM  make the final decision. You have to accept that decision and move forward.

It's okay to help out and let people know the rules. There is no reason to hide information. There is no benefit to criticizing or making someone feel bad about not knowing a rule or ability.

No one will want to play with you if you are purposefully being mean, or making things harder.

Don't condescend or berate other players when they don't know something.

Be Appreciative

Be happy that you have a group to play with.

Be thankful that you have a great game master who builds amazing worlds for you to play in and continuously runs games for you.

Be grateful that you are always invited back to their table.

Remember to have fun!

Come to the gaming table with a good attitude, and maintain that attitude.

The better you feel and the happier you are, the game will be that much more enjoyable for everyone.

The key here is to maintain a good attitude. Like maintaining a car or a good looking costume.

Being happy is a habit you have to form just like anything else in life. Being happy and actively choosing that is an essential part of any experience.

Especially a game where you have to work with other people. Choosing to be happy is essential to having fun. Having fun is what the game is ultimately all about!

Get organized

Have an idea about what you are going to do next. Before your turn.

Be creative and ask questions.

Use your abilities and magic items.

Support other players. Be a good listener. Do what you can to help out the dungeon master. Don't be a dick.

Keep the game moving forward.

maintain a good attitude for a great game!

Thank You!

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make it personal

Every encounter Pete has with Doc Ock is also part of his personal story. When our villain decides to rob a bank, he doesn't just go to a random bank in the city. It's at the bank where Pete and Aunt May are visiting. This bring two plot lines together with them trying to get a loan. 

Give your villain a plan, and put your players in the villains path or vise versa. Once the players find out about the villain and are directly in their path, they can decide what to do about the baddie.

This is my favorite way of introducing the big bad and easily moves the plot forward. This is also a good way to set up the baddies in a way that the players see it directly. The players should not know the full extent of the bad guys plans right away, but they'll get a taste of it.

Spider-Man tries to stop Doc Ock, and when he grabs a meat shield, it's not just a random citizen at the bank, it is, of course Aunt May. This is a great example of raising the stakes. It's not just a nameless NPC who could get hurt, but someone your players should care about.

In the spirit of keeping things personal, we have another plot thread about Harry. He blames Spidey for his fathers death and is out to seek justice.

Every person in Peters life is affected by the story. Keeping things personal. 

Doc Ock and Harry end up working together, and theirs plans involve Peter. Once the villain meets your players, they need to start anticipating the players moves if they know the heroes will try to get in their way.

keep Your story moving forward

Just as Peter and MJ start patching things together and things might start going well, is the exact moment that Doc Ock attacks, interrupting their almost kiss.

This is hard to plan as a DM, because the players can be unpredictable. You can always interrupt the players when they are trying to rest or shop. 

Don't interrupt too often though because the players will get sick of it and they'll stop having fun if they can't catch a break. 

This continually raises the stakes if our hero doesn't seem to get a break. In the end, Doc Ock keeps MJ as a prisoner so she doesn't go to the police. Our villain doesn't know that she has a connection to Spidey, but we do, and of course you as the DM will know how to make it personal.

Raising The Stakes

The final battle in Spider-Man 2 is a great example of crafting an exciting and memorable encounter. 

Just defeating the bad guy isn't enough, especially in a boss battle. Spidey has to fight Doc Ock, save Mary Jane, and turn off the reactor all at the same time. 

The stakes are raised again because not only is MJ in danger but the entire city could be destroyed. Give your players lots to do in a boss battle and it will be a lot more interesting. 

You can also create a time limit to put pressure on your players. Deactivate the reactor (magic item, demon summoning etc.) so nobody dies. Spidey is also fighting someone who he knows and respected.

 To make things more exciting, the building they are fighting in is falling down all around them, adding more risk to MJ and our players. Adding danger in the location itself builds a more epic encounter. 

Add traps, puzzles, magic items that could do damage, rough terrain and anything else you can think of to make it more interesting.

Allow Role-Play During Battle

I also love this because they continue to tell the story during battle. Peter takes a turn to try to talk to Ock. He reveals himself and makes it personal to the villain and ultimately MJ. Peter talks Doc Ock out of fighting and it works. 

Give your players chances to talk and role play during their turns instead of just fighting. The bad guys can do this too. They will seem much more realistic and add depth to characters and battles.

Remember to have big plans for the bad guys and put the players in their path. Make sure the bad guys are connected to a player or players in some way. 

Use NPC's that the players care about so we can toy with their emotions by putting them in danger. Add more than one goal to a boss battle. 

Insert something dangerous in the environment for the players to deal with. Encourage players and enemies to role play during battle. 

Be adaptable to your players. 

And above all, have fun!

Start Simple.

I think the best way to start a story for your dungeons and dragons game is to find out what the players want and integrate their backstories into your plot.

This gives you a great foundation to build on. This way you aren't totally starting from scratch and it lets the players be involved in the process.

The DM isn't the only one who wants to be creative, so let your players give you ideas and goals for their characters.

Use MacGuffins. A MacGuffin is an artifact or a goal that the players are trying to find or fight for. The term was created by Alfred Hitchcock for his style of storytelling.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin

The best part is, a MacGuffin can be anything, including characters.

 The best examples are; the plans to the death star, the lost ark, the wizard of oz, or the infinity stones.

 In Wizard of Oz, the characters goal was to make it back home.

The MacGuffin was getting the wizards help.

A MacGuffin is a means to an end.

A driving force to keep the characters motivated to do something and the plot to move forward.

In a mystery story, every lead or clue, that the detective finds is a MacGuffin.

A suspect or missing character can be a MacGuffin too.

 Like Will Byers in the first season of stranger things. The characters were all motivated to find Will and they wind up getting caught up in the their own stories.

Part One.

Let's say one of your players is a wizard who wants to learn a forgotten spell on a magic scroll. Simple story with the scroll as the MacGuffin.                                                                    
Now, let's add some obstacles.  First problem may be finding the location of the scroll.

 The players could ask around town, meet NPC's that might be important later.

Players get info from some ancient myths or local legends about a hidden temple or crypt. Maybe they have to seek out a NPC who is lost in the woods somewhere before they get the right information.

The temple can be your "dungeon" where players will have to fight through different monsters, riddles, and traps in order to find the scroll.

All these are obstacles in your players way.

You can even add obstacles on the way to the dungeon. Add a gorge in the forest that needs crossing and the old rope bridge there has fallen apart.

The players fight their way through the dungeon, solve some puzzles, and obtain the scroll.

Part Two.

A boss or some bandits steal the scroll for their own goals, and now the players have to track down the enemy.

One of the enemies could be introduced in the starting town, and she hears about the players looking for the scroll. This big bad wants the scroll for herself.

The enemies can be anything, vampires, orcs, bandits of any race and class, and a character or two relating to a players backstory.

Make it personal by adding a bad guy from a players backstory, a guy who killed Uncle Ben, or an orc from a tribe that killed a players parents.

This gives the players more motivation to find the bad guys and it makes the story personal to the characters.

The players still have the same goal of retrieving the scroll, but now it's personal.

The players might want revenge.

After the enemies steal the scroll, they hide it in one of their hideouts, which could be the next "dungeon" location the players have to get through.

Same MacGuffin, new obstacles.

The next location can be anything that is part of the PC's or enemies stories. A warehouse, a thieves guild or a valley hidden in the mountains.

Same formula, the players have to fight enemies and get past traps in the second location.

After fighting through the dungeon and defeating a mini boss at this second location, The players could finally get the scroll.

The story setup with the scroll is now paid off and a players got what he wanted.

But now the adventuring party is involved in a plot with the bad guys!

The big bad evil guy continues her evil plans without the MacGuffin scroll.

Part Three.

The players find out that the baddies are going to enslave, take over, or destroy the town where the players live.

Lives are at stake!

The players have family that lives in this town.

The Players have to stop them!

Stopping the enemy and saving the town is the new MacGuffin.

The enemy is now the goal and the obstacle.

The villains could send out mercenaries or assassins to try to get rid of the players before the players even get back to town.

The bad guys are now consciously putting obstacles in the player way.

Once our heroes arrive in town, they have more problems and obstacles.

Treat the town itself as a "dungeon" location.

The bad guys have barricaded the roads and buildings, lighting houses on fire, creating obstacles for our players.

Add new goals.

An NPC runs up to the players and tells them that the players family is locked up or are about to be sacrificed to an evil god.

Make sure you have some NPC or another story device that lets the players know what their new goals are and what is at stake.

The villain doesn't need to know that it's the family, they just needed sacrifices and the family just happened to be there.

If you want the villain to be extra evil, she would know about the family in order to make the players suffer.

Not only do the players have to fight through enemies and defeat the villain, they have the new goal of saving the family and townspeople people as well.

The enemies will use as many obstacles as they can in order to slow down the heroes so they can achieve their goal.

First of all make sure you have a backstory created and a simple goal for your character to eventually accomplish. Having even a few sentences of your characters backstory and goals is a lot better than nothing at all.

If you are lucky enough to have a session zero, make sure to be utilizing that time.

If you jump into a game and don't have time to prepare a character, that's OK. Characters grow best just like anything else, they need to be nurtured and have time to grow during multiple game sessions. 

It's totally OK to develop your character in game. It happens all the time. Players are always making decisions about their characters during the game. Let them evolve naturally instead of trying to force personality detail right away.

 It's great to be a supporting player, As long as you are consciously making decisions and using your abilities that help out the rest of your party.

The more time you spend with the character and the more encounters you are exposed to, the more you will get to know them.

If you do have a catch-phrase, I would suggest making it reflect you characters goals or alignments. 

Captain America says "I could do this all day." This shows that he will always stand up to bullies and never back down. 

Maybe your catchphrase reflects what you believe in or what you care about. "Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. ... I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come." 

Say something that reflects your goals. "You killed my father, prepare to die."

If you have a simple action ready to go, you'll cut down on the need to perform or think on your feet.

How does your cleric or wizard meditate? How do they cast their spells?

What does your character do when they are standing watch? Does your character have a victory dance they do after they make a kill? Are they obsessed with making sure all the adventuring gear is organized? 

Do they take time to talk to horses or other pets? Is your character always using magic to change their hair color?

Does your character keep a journal? Do they write poems or songs? Are they always doing some kind of research?

Does your character like to whittle or carve wood? Make toys? Forge weapons? Tell stories? Buy low and sell high? Knit sweaters? Make jewelry? Constantly make bets? Flirt? Host parties? Wear costumes?

Making small character choices will prepare you when you need to make more drastic choices.

Use actions that don't disrupt the game flow or stop other players from doing what they want to do.

Simple choices can be made while still be participating in the game. Keep these specific actions prepared and ready to go, any time there is a chance to role-play.