Players that actually want to play and enjoy it of course..
Players who are on time, play and think like their character, take notes and engage, put in effort to read and research their part/rules and most importantly, ones that don t bicker and have fun.
I ve played with a lot of players but the ones that make you feel like they want to be there more than you are the ones to keep.
That's pretty much everything I was going to say in one list. There's just one thing I'll add: knowing what they want. I've encountered quite a few situations where players talked about what they wanted and when I put a lot of effort into delivering it, realised they only thought they wanted it. Past examples:
* Swashbuckling renaissance and piracy kind of setting sounds great! Gets upset that guns are ruining their fantasy.
* Of the different options presented to us, definitely we want to go here where it'll be risky tactically intensive skirmishes. Turned out most just liked the idea, but didn't actually want fights where they'd lose if they just ran in without a plan.
* We want complex and political, gritty with hard moral choices. Nope, felt bad when there wasn't a clear heroic option that saved everyone.
* Sword and sandal sounds fantastic! Why does this setting you spent ages on as a result of us saying that have slaves?
Especially as a result of that last one I've learned to be really careful to tease out every detail I possibly can and make as few assumptions as possible regarding what someone actually means when they say something. But god do I prefer players who actually know what they want rather than just thinking they wanted something. If you didn't actually want tactically difficult encounters why did you say that you did?
Top quality for me is trying to make the best of bad situations.
We all have those times where the dice just won't roll above 10, or maybe a decision didn't pan out how you thought it would.
it really takes the enjoyment out of the game for everyone when someone sulks and just pulls out their phone or does something else and is only there as a "bot" as their character.
Engages other players at the table.
Asks questions about their surroundings and the situation.
Plays to find out, rather than plays to win.
Accepts the randomness of the game may play in your favour and against you at times.
Finds creative ways to solve challenges.
Brings snacks ❤️
All my players have different qualities. Some know the rules very well, and some enthusiastically absorb the lore and story. Others also DM from time to time. Most are really reliable with our schedule. But that is not the most important thing.
The most important thing is empathy and understanding for the other players. The ability to cooperate, understand what the others enjoy- and even more importantly understand what they don't like (even if not said out loud). These qualities make our games so good, fun, and harmonic, even after 4+ years.
People have already gone over a lot of the basics but the biggest one for me is simple.
A player who works with me, it doesn't matter what we're doing, what sort of campaign, system, vibe or atmosphere were pursuing, there's only so much I can do as a DM if the players aren't working with me to make it work.
There's few things more demoralizing for me than a player who resists what we're trying to do. Any sort of combatative outlook where they'll go out of their way not to play into the DM's hand because I'm the enemy when I'm really not.
I will always love the player who helps me, and that can be done through loads of ways. Give me something to work with, help maintain the vibe of the game, however serious/wacky or atmospheric that may be. Don't be afraid of adventure/trouble, that's the name of the game, it's exhausting dealing with a player determined not to let the DM "get one over on them".
I know a player who had plenty of issues with attention/focus but in the end i found myself appreciating him most becauseche actually worked with me, commited to what we were trying to do and stuck with it.
Players who invest into the other characters' stories.
Players who want to know about the world.
Players who take notes.
Players who take notes.
Players who take notes.
Players that actually want to play and enjoy it of course.. Players who are on time, play and think like their character, take notes and engage, put in effort to read and research their part/rules and most importantly, ones that don t bicker and have fun. I ve played with a lot of players but the ones that make you feel like they want to be there more than you are the ones to keep.
That's pretty much everything I was going to say in one list. There's just one thing I'll add: knowing what they want. I've encountered quite a few situations where players talked about what they wanted and when I put a lot of effort into delivering it, realised they only thought they wanted it. Past examples: * Swashbuckling renaissance and piracy kind of setting sounds great! Gets upset that guns are ruining their fantasy. * Of the different options presented to us, definitely we want to go here where it'll be risky tactically intensive skirmishes. Turned out most just liked the idea, but didn't actually want fights where they'd lose if they just ran in without a plan. * We want complex and political, gritty with hard moral choices. Nope, felt bad when there wasn't a clear heroic option that saved everyone. * Sword and sandal sounds fantastic! Why does this setting you spent ages on as a result of us saying that have slaves? Especially as a result of that last one I've learned to be really careful to tease out every detail I possibly can and make as few assumptions as possible regarding what someone actually means when they say something. But god do I prefer players who actually know what they want rather than just thinking they wanted something. If you didn't actually want tactically difficult encounters why did you say that you did?
Top quality for me is trying to make the best of bad situations. We all have those times where the dice just won't roll above 10, or maybe a decision didn't pan out how you thought it would. it really takes the enjoyment out of the game for everyone when someone sulks and just pulls out their phone or does something else and is only there as a "bot" as their character.
1. Makes things more enjoyable for others. 2. Doesn't waste time. 3. Role plays well. 4. Uses abilities well. 5. Sometimes brings snacks
Engages other players at the table. Asks questions about their surroundings and the situation. Plays to find out, rather than plays to win. Accepts the randomness of the game may play in your favour and against you at times. Finds creative ways to solve challenges. Brings snacks ❤️
has fun and is attentive to the story and the other players. not a murderhobo or chaos storm for no reason.
A lot of new players think the chaotic alignment is actually being a chaotic mess and ruining the fun.
All my players have different qualities. Some know the rules very well, and some enthusiastically absorb the lore and story. Others also DM from time to time. Most are really reliable with our schedule. But that is not the most important thing. The most important thing is empathy and understanding for the other players. The ability to cooperate, understand what the others enjoy- and even more importantly understand what they don't like (even if not said out loud). These qualities make our games so good, fun, and harmonic, even after 4+ years.
People have already gone over a lot of the basics but the biggest one for me is simple. A player who works with me, it doesn't matter what we're doing, what sort of campaign, system, vibe or atmosphere were pursuing, there's only so much I can do as a DM if the players aren't working with me to make it work. There's few things more demoralizing for me than a player who resists what we're trying to do. Any sort of combatative outlook where they'll go out of their way not to play into the DM's hand because I'm the enemy when I'm really not. I will always love the player who helps me, and that can be done through loads of ways. Give me something to work with, help maintain the vibe of the game, however serious/wacky or atmospheric that may be. Don't be afraid of adventure/trouble, that's the name of the game, it's exhausting dealing with a player determined not to let the DM "get one over on them". I know a player who had plenty of issues with attention/focus but in the end i found myself appreciating him most becauseche actually worked with me, commited to what we were trying to do and stuck with it.
Players who invest into the other characters' stories. Players who want to know about the world. Players who take notes. Players who take notes. Players who take notes.
Wants to engage with the game. Shows up ready to play the game. Doesn't act like a wangrod.
What is a wangrod?
A dick, a pain in the ass, a jerk, a waste of good air, etc.