Relating to Your Fellow Gamers: Being a Good Party Member

Roleplaying is a little different from playing a TCG or war game because you're working with the people at the table, rather than against them. As such the etiquette changes a little bit. More stuff stays the same than changes, though.

Be polite Accept the fact that other people are going to have different ideas about what is fun. You may not get to do everything exactly the way you want to, but compromise can mean that you at least get to do some of the things you like. Be patient when people have to stop and check rules. Yes, they should have looked it up beforehand. That doesn't make it okay for you to be rude to them.

Be efficient Do things as quickly as possible, so that the game moves on. Be ready to take your turn in combat, so other people don't have to wait to take theirs. Know your place in the initiative order, so you don't have to be reminded its your turn. Know the rules for your character. You don't want to have to keep going back to the book to find things every time you want to do something. Also, don't have your character go wandering off by himself for extended periods of time. It slows down the game and makes the others have to wait while you're off pursuing your own ends. "But that's what my character would do. He's a loner." There's an important point to remember when playing a character like that: don't. I don't care how cool you think your character is, everyone else thinks you're a tool for trying to hog the session. Roleplaying is a group activity, act accordingly.

Be helpful. A role playing party is a team. Each character needs to act in concert with the others to accomplish the parties goals. If you're constantly acting against the other party members, you need to stop and reconsider what your goals are. Along the same lines, don't just do whatever stupid, random thing you think of. "But that's what my character would do! She's doesn't want the party to succeed" or "He's impulsive." There's something very important you need to do when playing a character like that to make sure you don't become a detriment to the party. Get a new character. If you're too selfish or socially inept to understand why the above behaviors are unacceptable, then you might as well quit trying to roleplay now. Do us all a favor and lock yourself in a dark room with a video game console. Or just eat a bullet.

Be friendly. Make an effort to get along with everyone at the table. You don't have to be best friends, but you at least have to remain civil while you're playing.

Don't be too friendly. Roleplaying can be a great way to meet new people. Please don't be the guy that hits on all the women at the table, though. That guy's a dick, and nobody likes him. The women are there to roleplay, so put it on ice until after the game. Gaming with a significant other can be a great bonding experience. However, please keep the displays of affection to a minimum. They slow down the game and tend to annoy the more perpetually single members of the group. In game romances can be interesting, but check with everyone before hand to see what they're comfortable with. And make sure it doesn't take too much time away from the main plot. You don't want the uninvolved players sitting around waiting for you to finish hitting on Serving Wench #47.

Follow these rules, and you should get invited back to a game. Again, the mantra is: don't be a dick.