How to Be a Better Player: Lesson #1 - Be There

There's a huge amount of DM advice out there, covering just about every conceivable topic, and even a few that are inconceivable (or, at least, I hope someone's written about how to run a game like "The Princess Bride"). However, there's relatively little out there about how to be a better player, which seems a bit of an oversight given that players outnumber DMs about 4-to-1.

So, I figured I'd start an occasional series about how to be a better player. And I figured I'd start by repeating something I once saw on another column in another age - a lesson so simply it probably should go without saying.

Lesson #1: Be There

Now, at the most basic level, this is obvious - if you're not there, you can't play at all! But it also covers such basic things as committing to the things you sign up for: if you sign up for a campaign, you need to be able to commit to attend sessions regularly; you shouldn't no-show without good reason, and you certainly shouldn't no-show without notice (especially in an era of ubiquitous communications).

And so on and so forth. But that's all just such basic courtesy that it really shouldn't need said. And, frankly, if it does need said then I think I'll play with those guys over there instead.

But there's a second aspect to the advice beyond simply being physically present, and that's about being mentally present - if you're there to game, be there to game! That means avoiding distractions like the internet, the TV, off-topic chat, and so on and so forth. And if you can't do those things (as sometimes people can't), maybe it's better to take the night off the game and go fix whatever the issue is?

(Of course, as with all things, it's worth noting that I'm not calling for perfect. Like's a tricky beast at the best of times, and it simply won't be possible to attend every session, to be 100% focussed every time, and so on. That's all fine. Really, the goal is an effort in good faith, which is no bad thing. And every so often, it can help to have these things spelled out as a reminder.)