Over the four-plus decades I’ve been involved in D&D, both as a player and as a dungeon master, I’ve sat at the table with some truly outstanding players. Can you guess what they all had in common?
In this article, I’ll go over the two key characteristics I’ve seen in those remarkable D&D players and how you can develop that in your own play as well. You may be surprised at how easy they are to adopt.
What the Two Things Are
There are many qualities that can make someone a better D&D player. Showing up on time, being accepting of others and being a team player, things like that are wonderful, and I think are fairly obvious, but they aren’t what this article is about.
Instead, I’m going to talk about two things that can functionally make you a better D&D player, and they’re not about min-maxing or picking some optimal class combo. These things are what will enable you to not just have fun, but make your game play more effective AND make the gaming experience more fun for everyone at the table.
The first is mechanical in nature and the second is more about you as a player.
I. Know Your Character
When I say the first way to become an ace D&D player is mechanical, I’m not talking about optimizing your stats or equipment or spell selection. This isn’t min-maxing.
What I’m talking about is knowing your character inside and out. It’s not about which class or ancestry combination you choose, or what weapons or spells to select. It’s about being intimately familiar with the character you have.
The Parable of the Guitar Player Who Sucked
Here’s an example of what I mean. When I was younger, I bought a used guitar and took a stab at learning how to play. I sucked at it and was convinced it was because my guitar was a cheap knock-off and not an expensive model. A good friend of mine, Josh, who was much older and wiser than me, asked to see the guitar. I brought my axe and my little practice amp to his house and plugged it in.
He started playing something bluesy and, to my ears, sounded like BB-freaking-King. I was shocked, not at his ability, but at the guitar. I felt betrayed. How could that cheap-ass guitar that couldn’t play an in-tune note sound so great in my friend’s hands?
He told me something I remember to this day. He said,
“A craftsman never blames his tools.”
That was when I learned two valuable lessons: One, I’m not cut out to be a guitar player. Second, knowing how to use your tools well is far more important than the quality of the tools themselves.
Know Your Stuff
Here’s what knowing your character is all about. You start with your six basic stats. Understand your character’s strengths and weaknesses, and make choices during the game based on them. Don’t attempt stealth moves if you’ve got crap dexterity. If you have a high charisma, take a more prominent role in interaction with NPCs.
Be very familiar with your gear. If you’re a melee type, understand how your weapons can be used most effectively and in which situations they reveal their peak effectiveness.
Gear familiarity goes beyond weapons, of course. Learn how to use iron spikes and rope and 10′ poles in creative and useful ways. It’s surprising how versatile these otherwise mundane items can be. Even a flask of oil can be profoundly useful in a wide variety of situations.
Know Your Magic
If you’re a spellcaster, it’s not unreasonable to expect you to memorize the spells available to your character, at least at lower levels. At higher levels, have a list of which spells are accessible to your character and which ones you’ve chosen for that day’s adventuring and keep it handy in an efficient format.
Speaking of spells, become as knowledgeable as you can about how they work and what their limitations are. This applies to ranges and duration and if they require concentration. Give some thought to how spells can be used creatively. The classic example is casting Light on the eyes of a dragon in order to blind it. That’s very effective in old-school rules, and less so but still useful in 5e. Become an expert in how your character’s area of effect spells can be used.
Finally, figure out which magic items are best suited to which character in your group. If you play modern rules, be aware of which magic items need to be attuned and which ones don’t, and plan accordingly before getting into areas where combat or other tactical action is needed.
Know Your Background
Some groups place a higher priority on character backstories than others. If that describes your table, remember that your character’s history doesn’t necessarily have to be long-winded or overly deep, but you should at least have a strong understanding for how it influences your character’s behavior.
When you play your character not just mechanically well, but I guess you could say spiritually well, you’re adding depth to the game experience for everyone around the table. You can tell when you’re pulling this off when the other players refer to your character more and more, almost as if they are a beloved actor in their favorite movie.
II. Be Engaged
The second way to become an ace player has nothing to do with your character, and everything to do with how you actually play the game. It all comes down to something we were taught at a very young age when we first started school: Pay attention.
Yes, pay attention in class. This means you are engaged and always thinking not only about how your character can individually make their biggest impact, but how your character can make their biggest impact as a team player.
This means you are paying attention to what’s happening not only with monsters and NPCs, but by keeping tabs on what the other members of your adventuring party are doing. Can your character do things that make other characters more effective in their efforts? Think tactically and strategically with the mindset that your character is part of a team with a shared objective.
D&D is a Team Sport
D&D is a group activity where each participant has a specific and often unique part to play. Your character might be the quarterback or the wide receiver, or they may be the free safety or even the kicker.
Whatever your character’s role is within the group, think about how your character’s strengths and weaknesses and assets can help the group’s efforts to the greatest degree.
Think Ahead
Communicate with the other players. It’s not their job to memorize your wizard’s spell list or your fighter’s weapon proficiencies. When you see an opportunity where your character can help someone else in the party, speak up and let them know.
“Hey, I’ve got a spell that can make your rogue harder to detect.”
During combat, pay attention to initiative order and think ahead about what your character will do when your turn comes up. DMs love players who are engaged, aware of what’s going on, and already know what their next action will be.
You will likely have to adjust your plans a little bit as circumstances change, though, so remember the motto: SEMPER GUMBY … always flexible.
When Players Suck
There are ways to tell when someone’s not being an ace player. They’ve got their head down into their phone or they’re doodling on their notepad in the middle of combat. This may be the fault of the dungeon master because they don’t handle combat in an efficient manner or whatever, but it’s still the individual player’s responsibility to stay engaged the best they can.
Another tell for disengaged players is when it’s their turn and they ask, “What’s happening?” Or, let’s say they’re a spellcaster and require frequent suggestions from other players or the DM about what spells are useful, or useless, in a given situation. New players need that advice, but once you get some experience under your belt, that excuse wears thin.
The game moves slower and the fun starts to leak out onto the floor when the group has a player who’s checked out or clueless about their character.
At that point, what is the point of you playing the game if you’re not going to actually play the game?
How They Work Together
These two methods for better play reinforce each other in a way that’s definitely worth talking about. When you know your character thoroughly, you have something to bring to every game. When you’re paying attention to every scene, you find the places to add to the experience, not drag it down. A player who knows their character well but isn’t tuned in to what’s happening misses the moments where that character would have made a real difference. A player who’s fully present but hasn’t done the work on their character can only react to what’s directly in front of them.
Put both together, though, and something great happens. You start contributing to moments that are not just fun, but become memorable in the best possible way. The other players start to rely on you and your gameplay because you add, not subtract, from their fun. You become the kind of player that lifts up the experience for everyone at the table, the DM included.
