Are You A Good D&D Player?

My Dungeon Master recently shared an interesting video with me by Taking20, in which the presenter Cody, shares his thoughts on what make a great – and not-so-great – Dungeons & Dragons player.

He categorises players into tiers, and gives the qualities that he feels define each tier.

Partly because I’m more of a word man than a video junkie (i.e. I wanted to see his points in a form that I could easily refer back to), and partly because some members of my group were too lazy busy to watch a 20 minute video they could benefit from, I decided to make a list of Cody’s tier system for quick and easy consumption.

There are a number of great takeaways from the video, and – just as the author intended – it is a very useful barometer to measure your own play style by, whether you’re fairly new to the game or a decades-old veteran of the art.

Tier 0 – Disruptive Player

Cody’s Definition: These players destroy campaigns and break up groups, because people don’t enjoy playing with them.

Traits:

• They argue with DM’s rulings
• They don’t pay attention in combat (they’re on their phone)
• They hog every situation, try to fulfil every role on the table
• They may over-roleplay mundane moments (eg. buying some rope), thereby slowing the game narrative to a crawl
• They are unprepared, and don’t know their character’s abilities
• They ‘pout’, ie. sulk when things don’t go their way

Tier 1 – Beginners

Cody’s Definition: These are the newcomers learning the game. You should be able to leave this tier quickly.

Traits:

• Don’t know the rules
• Need constant help

Cody is quick to point out that everyone has a right to occupy this tier as a beginner, but you should be heading out of it after just three or so sessions, provided you’re not planning to be disruptive tier 0 persona.

(NB. Cody’s maths get a bit wonky here, as he goes straight from Tier 1 to Tier 3. I’ve taken the liberty of correcting him).

Tier 2 – Average Player

Cody’s Definition: This is basically Cody’s minimum expectations of a non-beginner player.

Traits:

• Has a solid understanding of the rules
• Take notes when the DM introduces a new PC
• Show up to first session with readymade character, with ideas for a backstory, personality and character motivation
• They understand their class mechanics (“if you don’t understand your class mechanics by the third session you’ve slid down into a disruptive player” says Cody, who brooks no bullshit!!!).
• Have an understanding of the setting / campaign world
• Understand the basics of roleplay, make choices based on their character
• Manage to hold back from metagaming around 50% of the time (ie. don’t offer advice when they’re unconscious, etc.).

Tier 3 – Good Player

Cody’s Definition: Cody defines a good D&D player by the following traits…

Traits:

• Know how to involve others in the game (and can do it in character)
• Recognise party roles, allow everyone their moment in the spotlight
• Recognise story hooks that the DM lays out, and follow up on them
• Don’t create annoying motivational issues for their PC that threaten the advancement of the story
• Understand how to roleplay, and can truly avoid metagaming, acting according to their character knowledge etc.
• Know how to accept character death

Tier 4 – Great Players

Cody’s Definition: Beyond good, these traits make a great player…

Traits:

• Have mastered the art of improv, can go with the DM’s flow and invent new story details on the spot that add to the story
• They can read the table, and help move the game along when necessary
• Can make player vs. player conflict fun, without escalating it and derailing the session

Tier 5 – Extraordinary Players

Cody’s Definition: You are ready to star in Critical Role!

Traits:

• They are fully immersed in their character (without losing sight of the above points)
• May have mastered voice acting (or may not)
• Know what their character would do in certain situations
• Have defining vocabulary and catchphrases
• Constantly try to improve as players

Anyway I think it’s a really interesting tier system, and quite an exacting set of standards to hold oneself up to.

Here is the video if you want to check it out. For more on gaming etiquette check my twin posts on traits of annoying D&D players and qualities of great D&D players, where I look at some of these issues from a slightly different angle.