It has been said that every cloud has a silver lining. As a recent BBC article illustrates, TTRPGs have been instrumental for many people in maintaining a sense of social connection in the face of Covid-19 pandemic. Already gaining in popularity over the last few years, TTRPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons have received a spike in interest as a consequence of the lockdowns. This surge in interest continues into 2021, with more people than ever playing TTRPGs. This means that there are a lot of new players out there. As it happens, one of those new players is my son. Like many other players new to TTRPGs, he began his foray into TTRPGs as a means of staving of cabin fever during the Covid lockdown.  

Now, I have been promising my son for years that we would begin playing TTRPGs when he was old enough. So, about four months ago when Eric invited me to play in a Planescape campaign with some of our friends, I asked if my son could join us and Eric agreed. My first challenge was to explain the nature of a TTRPG to my son. Unlike other games, there are no winners or losers in a TTRPG. In this sense, a TTRPG is not so much a game as it is an exercise in collaborative storytelling. After clumsily conveying this, we rolled up some 5E characters, complete with backstories that include potential story hooks for the DM to utilize. Over the course of the first couple of game sessions, I found myself offering advice on how to play effectively and how to be an asset to the party. We are now six sessions in and my son’s character is a vital and valued member of the party. It occurs to me that the advice I gave my son may be of some use to other players new to TTRPGs. So, here are some tips designed to help new players get acclimated to the game.

Show up prepared and give the GM your undivided attention.

Whether you’re playing remotely or IRL, make sure you show up to the game on time and ready to play. Nobody wants to wait for you to update your character before getting started. While the game is in session, avoid distractions and focus on the game. In addition to potentially missing important information, you risk becoming a distraction yourself. So, when the game is on, put your phone away and keep the sidebar conversations to a minimum.

A solid character concept and backstory is preferable to a collection of stats designed for power gaming.

In most TTRPGs, there are objectively better and worse character builds in terms of achieving some particular end (damage output, number of spells, etc.) That being said, it isn’t necessary to build a character with this in mind. In fact, it is often much better to build a character where the focus is on story, not stats. This isn’t to say that you should intentionally nerf your character, but playing a “suboptimal” character build based on an interesting character concept can be incredibly rewarding. As I mentioned above, the goal of a TTRPG is to tell a good story, and this is much more easily accomplished by creating characters that have depth. The key to imbuing your character with a unique personality, quirks, and aspirations is to create a good backstory. A fleshed-out backstory not only breathes life into your character, but also gives the GM plenty of story hooks to work with.

Build your character with an eye toward strengthening the party.

While optimizing your character mechanically isn’t necessary, you do want your character to be an asset to the party. One way to ensure that your character is an asset to the party is to create a character with the needs of the party in mind. When invited to play in a TTRPG campaign, the first question I always ask is “What is everyone else playing?” Finding out what type of characters the rest of the players are going to play allows me to create a character that shores up some potential deficiencies in the party’s capabilities. For example, if the other players are playing a rogue, a ranger, and a sorcerer in a D&D campaign, I will likely play a divine caster. This ensures that the party has someone who can reliably buff and heal the party and remove negative status effects after a difficult encounter. Maybe your party has all of the essentials covered already, in which case, the type of character you play won’t be quite as important (in terms of party effectiveness). If not, creating a character according to this maxim will ensure that your character is an asset to the party and increases the odds that the party will be successful.

Use character alignment as a roleplaying guideline.

Most TTRPGs utilize game mechanics that provide a guideline for roleplaying a character. For example, in addition to background traits that flesh out a character’s history and aspirations, characters in D&D have an alignment. Two characters with identical background traits and different alignments will be roleplayed very differently. While background traits serve to define a character’s motivations, alignment provides a worldview that forms the basis upon which characters make decisions. Players new to TTRPGs can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the open-endedness of collaborative storytelling, but by leaning into alignment, players have a powerful tool for roleplaying consistent and believable characters.

Don’t hog the spotlight.

Often in TTRPGs, situations arise where multiple players will want their characters to do different things, all of which require the GM’s attention. Usually this occurs in non-combat situations, where players are not required to act in a particular order. A good GM will be able to navigate these situations without too much trouble and ensure that everyone has had a chance to act. Nonetheless, be courteous to other players and make sure that you aren’t demanding too much of the GM’s attention. In a combat situation, wait for your turn to act and don’t try to act on someone else’s turn.

On your turn, describe your character’s actions in detail.

When it’s your turn to act, particularly in a combat situation, describe in detail what your character is doing. If your character attacks a monster, you might describe the attack by saying “I leap over the table and lunge at the eye tyrant with a vicious downward slash of my sword.” This is much more interesting than simply saying “I hit him with my sword.” Additionally, you might have your character address an opponent with threats, mockery, or a fearsome war cry. Vivid descriptions and combat chatter build immersion and enrich the overall roleplaying experience. Some GMs incentivize this by rewarding particularly good descriptions with an inspiration point.   

Avoid breaking immersion.

Sometimes, during a game session, the players are completely focused on the adventure to the point of suspension of disbelief and the concerns of real life are momentarily forgotten as the players find themselves totally immersed in the story as it unfolds in their mind’s eye. This state of immersion is what roleplaying is all about. Unfortunately, immersion is fragile. Untimely intrusions from the real world, such as a phone ringing or a player making a joke out-of-character, can instantly destroy it. Immersion takes time to build, and while it is impossible to sustain indefinitely, players should do all that they can to avoid breaking it. Aside from the obvious, one thing that can break immersion is metagaming. Metagaming is when a character attempts to act on information that the player is aware of but the character is not. Not only does this break immersion, but it is also bad roleplaying.

If you are playing IRL, be sure to bring snacks for the GM.

Now that life is beginning to return to some semblance of normalcy, many players have the opportunity to play TTRPGs in person. If you are a new player looking to play a game session for the first time IRL, do yourself a favor and be sure to bring snacks for the GM. A well-fed GM is a happy GM.

I hope you found these tips useful. Until next time, happy roleplaying!