This post is a summary of my series on the fundamental skills every D&D player should focus on improving. If you want a printable version, go here.
I break the skills down into 3 areas. You can read the full post on each area here:
These skills are targeted at players rather than DMs, but I think the concepts are useful to anyone.
The tips are meant for regular people who want to improve their game. None of these ideas or recommendations require innate skills, methodical practice, or particular styles of play. It’s just a collection of things I wish someone would have told me when I was new to the game. Don’t feel like you need to implement every single one of these ideas in your next session. Just pick a few that resonate with you and try working them into your game.
Making your character
The key thing to remember is that you aren’t building the hero of the story. Your goal is to create a character that will have interesting interactions with other party members.
Attach your character to the world
- Involve the DM in your character creation process.
- Before you write down any proper nouns, ask the DM if there’s something already in the world that’s a good fit.
- Create 3 NPCs that are broadly interesting and could be brought up later in the campaign.
Pick a motivation framework
- Don’t set a specific goal. Wait until you have more knowledge of the campaign’s direction to pick your ultimate mission.
- Instead, write a 1-2 sentence summary that describes the types of things your character cares about.
- List 5 different journeys that would satisfy the 1-2 sentence summary you wrote.
- For each journey, write a concrete step that your character could take down that path.
- If you can’t think of a specific step for each journey, make the journeys more concrete.
- If all the steps sound the same, make the journeys more distinct.
Explore your character’s personality
- Write 3 likes and 3 dislikes for your character. What does your character like to do when they aren’t pursuing a goal?
- What tone does your character usually use when talking to others?
- What is the default method you use to get what you want from other people?
Make sure the tone of the campaign and the interactions you’re imagining for your character match
Avoid playing characters that you fan(boy/girl/person) over
- Your primary desire to play the character should be the interactions they enable, not the cool things they’ll do.
- Make sure you can see your character in supporting roles just as often as leading ones.
Leave holes in your backstory
- Write 10 open-ended questions about details of your character’s life or personality that you intentionally don’t answer.
- If writing the question causes you to answer it in your mind, write another one.
What to do at the table
The most important realization to make is that you are just as responsible for the quality and content of the story as your DM is.
Be an active player
- Make sure you’re helping with at least one of the logistics required to run the game.
- Find one thing you can do to enhance everyone’s gaming experience.
- Pay attention even when you’re not involved in a scene.
- Take lots of notes.
Be proactive
- Form your own goals instead of waiting for the next plot hook.
- Act on all the details you specified during character creation.
- Ask other players about their backstories. Spend some time helping them achieve their goals.
- Don’t rely on your DM for every detail. Make assertions about the world.
Help other players be awesome
- When another player is having a moment, don’t interrupt.
- Avoid the phrase, “while they’re doing that…”
- Think of something you can do that directly helps the other player achieve their goal.
- When you’re in the spotlight, give hooks for other players to jump into the scene.
Don’t undermine other party members
- Other than very rare circumstances, never try to stop another player’s actions or plans.
- When another player does something crazy or dumb, jump in and help them succeed.
- If someone is repeatedly taking actions that the party thinks are bad ideas, have the characters talk about it in game.
Share intent, not outcomes
- Don’t try to plan several steps ahead or specify the outcome of an action.
- Share your intent and what you would like to try.
- Focus on the phrase “my goal is… I’ll try…”
Think out loud
Don’t hoard resources. Offer them to other players and NPCs frequently
Pay attention to the structure of the story
- Write a sentence describing each scene. Know who hasn’t talked in a while and who’s having a frustrating session.
- Understand the goal and tone of a scene.
- Pay attention to the length of a scene. If energy is lagging, change things up.
What to do between sessions
Since most of us aren’t experienced actors and improvisers, we can use the time between sessions to think about our character and their relationships.
Amplify the little things
- After every session, write down 1 small interaction that you had with each member of the party.
- Even that interaction was a tactical decision made by the players, treat it as a genuine character decision.
- Based on that, come up with a plan for how your character can build on the interaction in the next session.
Check in
- Review how the last session went. Did everyone seem to have fun?
- Identify any changes you need to make to your character to make sure everyone is having a good time.
Plan
- Start a group chat so your party can plan for battles and NPC interactions you know are coming.
- By the time the next session starts, make sure you know:
- Key information you need to find out
- Resources you need to gather
- A rough outline of your goal and how you intend to achieve it
Evolve your character
- Use big campaign events as an opportunity to increase your connection to the world and improve your party interactions.
- Character growth should generally be positive.
- Good directions for character growth:
- Adopt the goal of another party member, but for different reasons
- Form a goal about another party member
- Start caring about something that others dismiss
- Make the campaign goal your personal goal
Review your notes
- Spend 10 minutes before a session reviewing your notes from the last session.
- Every month, do a more thorough review of your notes to remember details from throughout the campaign.
Summary
The key to being a great D&D player is being engaged and generous. You’re not here to tell your character’s story. The goal is to build something awesome with all your friends. Focus on interactions. Help others achieve their goals. Feel a sense of ownership over the quality of the story.
