Winning as a Player

This is a thread that I posted to Twitter, thus the abbreviated length and detail. I may go into it further later but I wanted to share it here as well. Enjoy.

The conversation around success at RPGs has been focused around DMing properly because most of the people involved in the discussion are DMs. The player side of the table needs some attention so I’m going to share some advice to lead your adventuring party to the next level.

My perspective is from the brOSR lens of 1:1 time, use of downtime, and Patrons. I have no interest in debating the viability of these gaming mechanics. They simply are. The advice that I offer will be valuable even in conventional games but shines best in the light of the aforementioned mechanics.

The single most important thing that affects your success at the table is the cohesion of the players in the game. Everyone needs to be on the same page in regards to why they’re playing and what they hope to get out of it. Some call it alignment language, which I think is apt, but whatever you call it, you have to be a unit as people before you can be one as PCs.

The most successful parties are smaller. You get diminishing returns on party sizes above 4 in every aspect of the game but combat effectiveness and downtime hook generation. Efficiency is key to success and smaller parties are more efficient.

You must set goals as a group. Chasing every random hook that pops up leads to chaos and ineffectiveness. Ignore a rumor or hook in favor of your stated goal. Focus on the task at hand and execute in pursuit of that goal, always.

In the event of conflict within the party, use downtime to resolve it in interesting ways. Murder is an option, but it’s boring. Theft, loss of face, and sabotage are all much better options than declaring that your foe should roll initiative.

If it must come to violence, make it gameable. A duel, a joust, march armies against each other. Make it an event, make it interesting, make the world care. Otherwise you’re two petty murderhobos damaging unit cohesion for nothing.

Time is as important of a resource as gold or xp. Utilize your downtime. Research your hooks, shop, and communicate to prepare for the session to come. Do not waste valuable table time RPing what’s for dinner at the inn. This can be handled along with every other bit of minutiae in downtime.

Discord is the best tool for managing an RPG campaign with robust options to organize specific channels, searchable and pinnable posts, voice chat, image or document dumps for rules, etc. Encourage your DM to use it for the campaign. You can even start your own for just the party. 

You will find yourself in time jail on your primary PC. This is good. Develop a secondary team with new goals. Use the opportunity to play something out of your comfort zone. But always pursue these efforts as a unit.

The responsibility of the team’s success is not on the DM. He is an impartial arbiter of the world. It is shared among the players. Each of them should take on an important role within the team: Caller, Mapper, Quartermaster, and Annalist.

The Caller is the leader of the group. He collects input regarding their activities and finalizes these before reporting to the DM. He drives the direction of the party in pursuit of efficiency. He helps organize and plan during downtime to set the team up for success during the session.

The Mapper knows where things are. Whether in dungeons or wilderness, the party must know where they are in relation to their objective. Some systems have in-game mechanics to aid in this, some don’t, so plan accordingly.

The game is about resource management. The Quartermaster makes sure the group has the food, equipment, and carrying capacity to accomplish their stated goal. He is also the treasurer, responsible for treasure splits, item identification, and party fund management.

The Annalist keeps a log of activity, notes during and after the session. The bits of lore that pop up during the session need to be recorded so research and discussion can happen around them in downtime.

Amateurs talk strategy, pros talk logistics. Know how long it takes to get to the dungeon, what terrain you’re traveling through, and what supplies and security you need to bring. Form a base camp if the dungeon is far, hire mercs to protect it.

Party finances will differ by table, but you need a treasury to fund group endeavors. Treasure splits by HD, even splits, or some other contrivance is system to system and not particularly relevant. Do not starve the goal by hoarding your gold.

Combat effectiveness is focused on the most in RPGs but has the least impact on success. Know your PC’s strengths and weaknesses, play to your role, and work with your team. Even a bad plan has a better chance of success when you’re unified.

Patrons are people in the role of NPCs. Interact with them knowing that they are X factors without any of the DM’s limiting factors that normal NPCs would be restrained by. They will hand out inordinate amounts of gold or hang you with equal likelihood. 

The DM is neither friend nor foe but he does not need to know your every thought. Communicate privately with your team and allow the Caller to lay out final plans and actions. A surprised DM is a good DM.

Trust in the DM’s rulings, work within the game as it is presented, and respect the time that he has allotted for downtime management. The DM will set boundaries on these things and you should honor them.