do you feel like a ‘bad player’ when you play TTRPGs, like dungeons and dragons? do you feel inadequate, or like you’re letting people down? do you wonder how you can fight these feelings, and be the kind of player who everyone loves to have at the table?
this is part 1 of my guide on how to do that.
okay, so let’s say you’re playing a D&D campaign, and your DM, JRR Tolkien, says that he’s gonna do something cool and different this time. it’s a large-scale narrative with PCs who might split up a lot, and the tone is a desperate struggle against cosmic evil, with the PCs being heroes who fight against it even though most people have given up or can’t see the threat.
step one of being a good player here is don’t join this game unless you’re ready for all that. really. not playing things you don’t like is part of being a good player. if you want a sci-fi game or an anime game, don’t join Lord of the Rings. if you want wacky shenanigans in an optimistic, stable world, don’t join Lord of the Rings. if you want to be a ruthless bandit who’s in it for the money, don’t join Lord of the Rings.
being a good player is knowing what you want, telling the person running the game what you want, and not joining games that aren’t what you want. the person running the game worked really hard on it! the other players love the game’s premise and want to see it happen! it sucks to have a player who isn’t enthusiastic about the goal, because they fight the premise and make that work feel worthless.
but what if you like Lord of the Rings, actually? and you really want to join?
that’s great! it’s time to Become Aragorn, which is step two of being a good player.
aragorn is the best PC you could ask for in your D&D game. here’s why, and here’s how to emulate that behaviour:
aragorn is perfect for the campaign. the DM asked for heroes in a world that’s losing its hope. he asked for characters who are talented at traveling long distances and rallying others to a daunting cause. so who’s aragorn? he’s a wilderness ranger who’s the lost king of gondor! all his skill points are in survival and persuasion! he was raised by elves, but rejects their fatalism and would rather die protecting humankind! aragorn is so perfect for this campaign!
when you create your character, ask the GM and players what they want to see in the campaign, what the tone is, what would be cool to see. figure out what kind of character supports the tone the group is going for. and then make that character. do the thing that everyone agreed on, and play it to the hilt. everyone will have so much more fun this way, it’s unbelievable. if you have a cool idea that doesn’t match the tone, then match the tone anyway! nothing is cooler than everyone agreeing on what the game should be like, and all of you getting that experience! one out-of-place character can spoil this.
aragorn is a fan of the other characters. when someone else is good at something, he spotlights them. he asks legolas what his elf eyes see. he places trust and faith in frodo and doesn’t try to recapture him when he decides to leave. when boromir’s being weird, he engages with that weird behaviour, trying to figure out what its source is and challenging boromir’s views. being a fan of someone else’s character means engaging with what THEY think is cool about that character. legolas loves being a cool elf! frodo likes angst and being an unlikely hero! boromir wants people to be part of his corruption arc!
when you see someone go back to the same elements or actions, have your character put the spotlight on those actions too by engaging with them. if you’re in a situation where the cool stuff about another character would come in handy or make for an awesome moment, don’t take that spotlight yourself! encourage them to handle it! they’ll have fun and feel great, and you’ll get to see them do cool stuff! everyone wins.
aragorn does things. this one sounds simple but it’s the most important one. tabletop rpgs are about telling fictional stories, and nothing happens in a story without characters going and doing it. if the GM puts the spotlight on you, or if everyone else is hesitating, do something! do the most exciting thing you can think of, or what you think your character would do, or what you think the other players would find cool.
but don’t do nothing. doing nothing sucks. aragorn never did nothing; he was always debating at the council or guiding the hobbits or chasing the orcs or navigating the paths of the dead. if you do nothing, you don’t need to be here; you could be reading a novel or watching a movie instead. getting to take action is the point of being a player! learn to love it. do it even when it’s risky or you’re not sure. cultivate confidence and remind yourself that the other players want to see what you do.
make sure to remember the tone when you do things. don’t do things that don’t match the tone, and don’t do things that undermine other people’s characters. aragorn does things that are surprising sometimes. he even makes mistakes. but he never stops feeling like a Lord of the Rings character, because aragorn’s player knows what they’re here for. be like that.
so that’s how to Be Aragorn. make a character who fits the game’s vision, take the spotlight when you see a chance to do something cool that matches the vision, and encourage other people to do cool stuff that matches the vision. so many players just sit there hour after hour, watching but not engaging. those players are boring to have around, and are locking themselves out of the fun of RPGs. nobody benefits. if you’re one of those players, there’s time to change. make your next character an aragorn. when something cool could happen, be the one to do it. a whole new world will open up for you.
red-headed android 