A New Blog Series

I was listening to a podcast the other day (specifically “Down With D&D”, which you can find here) and the host mentioned something that hit close to home for me:

The internet has heaps of helpful information about how to be a better RPG referee (DM, GM, Storyteller, whatever). Books, websites, blogs, YouTube video series, you name it. However, there’s precious little about how to be a better RPG player. This blog series seeks to address that lack, if only slightly, and in my usual more-than-slightly opinionated way.

The series is based on more than 30 years of experience playing TTRPGs, as well as observations about basic human nature, and inspiration from such sources as Kenneth Hite, Robin Laws, Mike Shea, Web DM, Matt Mercer, Geek & Sundry, Chris Perkins, Matt Colville, “DnD” and “RPG” on Reddit, Twitter threads, con panels, and many more I can’t possibly remember.

Pretty much all of what these posts contain can be distilled into one sentence: Don’t be a selfish jerk.

Literally every player issue I’ve ever encountered has its genesis in the player being a selfish jerk. Sometimes it’s intentional. Sometimes it’s thoughtlessness. Sometimes it’s cluelessness.

I’m never going to impact the intentional jackwagon. That person won’t even read this series unless forced to at knifepoint. This work is directed at the thoughtless and clueless. Both of those can be fixed. Intentional jerks are going to be intentional jerks, and that can’t be fixed.

Players, if you remember nothing else, remember this: be mindful. If you can do that, you’ll have a lifetime of great experiences at the gaming table.

Every week you’ll get a different post with tips and tricks in this series. But if you don’t want to wait, you can get the whole thing here, along with a crap-ton of the aforementioned GM tips.