At first I thought about framing this video as ways to make your DM's life harder
But let's be honest, we all know what that would be
Take the Keen Mind feat
Ask to read every book you come across
Wait a second, I'm just describing Caleb Widogast
Hello friends, Ginny Di here
And if this is your first time on my channel, then welcome!
I talk about D&D and tabletop gaming
I make music videos, and roleplay practice videos and costumes
And if you like this video, you will probably like a lot of mine
I will link to my D&D playlist in the cards in case you want to check out more
A few weeks ago we talked about how DMs
might be making games unpleasant for their players
So today I thought I would flip the script a little
And we can talk about what players can do to make their DM's work easier
Let's face it DMing is way harder than playing
I don't think there's anyone who would dispute that
Oh wait we're on the internet, there's always someone ready to dispute
But seriously DM'ing is hard
There's so much to pay attention to
And oftentimes players expect their DM to be on top of everything
So I asked game masters on Twitter what their players could do
to make DMing easier for them
And gosh, they had a lot to say
Today I'm going to break down the 10 asks
that came up over and over again in this thread
And in conversations that I've had with DMs
And even in my own, admittedly limited, experiences running games
Of course every table is different
And your DM might not necessarily agree with all of these things
So as usual, I encourage you to, you know, communicate
You know that stock photo of the guy
comically attempting to hold a bunch of limes in his arms
That's your DM during combat
trying to juggle initiative order, multiple combatants, NPC allies
status conditions, concentration, area of effect spells, difficult terrain
advantage and disadvantage, lair actions
And keep all of it going quickly and efficiently so their players don't get bored
Trust me, your DM is gonna drop some limes
That's why one of the most requested things for players to help with
is just keeping track of your own shit
If you hit something with Guiding Bolt
Take responsibility for reminding the next player to target that creature
that they get advantage
If you're using a concentration spell
Remind the DM that you need to make a concentration check after taking damage
Let them know when your turn is over
Just hold, like, two limes
If everybody at the table participating in this weird lime metaphor
holds a few limes
Your DM will be left with a much more manageable amount of limes
Why do I suddenly want tequila?
I know we're not all Leslie Knope, I mean, I am
But I know that a lot of people aren't
So it's not like every single person has to have
a color-coded binder for session notes
put together like an aesthetically pleasing and information-rich scrapbook
If you want to see mine, though
I'll put the link to my character journal tour into the cards
The point is, you don't have to do all that, but you should consider taking notes
Taking good session notes has not one, not two, but three really key benefits
First it keeps you focused
If you're taking notes you are paying attention
which just makes for a better game overall
We'll touch on that more later
Second it takes the burden off of your DM to remind everybody what's going on
You can take part in the recaps at the beginning of sessions
Players can answer each other's questions
And you won't have to be constantly asking the DM
to repeat basic world building or lore information
And third it's likely that your DM is improvising at least some
if not the majority of what they are telling you in any given session
If you ask for a random NPC's name
chances are that your DM is making it up on the spot
So if you ask what that name was later, they probably won't know
By taking notes you're increasing the likelihood
that somebody documented whatever random answer
your DM pulled out of thin air
when you asked an unexpected question five months ago
Okay gut check
What percentage of each session is your DM speaking versus the rest of the party
It can be really exhausting for a DM to be basically performing
delivering non-stop exposition and description for an entire three, four, five hour session
Even the most experienced of game masters
need a little down time to keep up their energy
The easiest way to give them that is just to roleplay amongst yourselves
Spend 15-20 minutes just having a conversation
with your fellow party members in character
Get to know each other
Engage with each other's backstory
Discuss new information, or lore that the party has learned
Strategize for an upcoming mission or battle
Not only does interparty roleplay take the heat off of the DM for a while
It also gives you a chance to connect with your party members
and develop your character relationships
It's alive
It's alive!
Hahaha It's alive!
It's- Ah, dang it
This happens every time I try to
create a fun and exciting new monster to challenge my players
Sometimes I want to go beyond the classic monsters
And hit them with something they've never seen before
But I can't seem to get the hang of conceptualizing
creating and using my own homebrew monsters
-Why don't you try the Cobalt Guide to Monsters?
-Yes! It is alive!
-Wait, Kobold guide to what?
-Monsters!
It's a book from Kobold Press in which master writers from across the gaming industry
share their simple but effective step-by-step processes for creating your own monsters
-That does sound useful, what kind of stuff does it cover?
-How to write great descriptions, motivations, and psychology
to drive your monster's behavior
How to use its environment and resources
And even realistic alternatives to just fighting, so your encounters have variety
That sounds amazing where do I get my copy?
-From Koboldpress.com
Don't worry there's a link in the description
-But do you think I really need it?
After all I made you, maybe I'm already a master of monsters
-Oh no, I'm very bad, you did a bad job
-You look fine
-No trust me, I don't have any blood lust at all
In fact I'd really like to try gardening
-Why does this keep happening?
Fine, ask the land kraken to get you a trowel
He's probably in the kitchen making cupcakes
You've probably heard me rant before
about how important I think it is for players to have the freedom to create characters
that are unique and inventive
And that players feel connected to
So please understand that I am not saying that you have to make a certain type of character
for your DM's sake
However, I do agree with the many DMs who said that players
should at least give them something to work with
If you create a character who doesn't have any reason to be involved
with the world with the plot with the party
that often puts the onus on the DM to find a way to tie them in
On that same note, make sure that you're thinking at least on a basic level
about your character's backstory, personality, and goals
Many DMs want to be weaving things into the plot
that will engage and connect with your character
But that's very hard to do if your character is just an empty shell
It doesn't need to be complicated or in-depth or even original
But give your game master something to work with besides your race and class
Let's face it
Scheduling is the worst part of tabletop games
And I get it most of us are adults
We're busy we have jobs, and families, and lives
And we can't always drop everything to do a five-hour dungeon crawl
But the responsibility of scheduling often falls to the DM
and from what I hear, players are not making it easy on them
For most DMs the bar is literally on the floor
they just want you to reply to scheduling requests
When they say hey how's next Friday at 7pm
They don't want to be left on read
But if you want to really help your DM
You might offer to just manage scheduling yourself
Offer to take on the task of connecting with the party to find a date that works for everyone
And most important of all actually show up to the games
To be honest, I can't believe that this is even something that needs to be said
Because the only reason to play D&D is that you enjoy playing D&D
Like it's a hobby, we do it for fun
But so many DMs told me that their players sometimes just no-call no-show
to a game they play for fun
Please, please, don't do that
Let me explain what I mean by plan ahead
Because I'm not at all saying that your characters need to know what they're doing
In fact I would go so far as to say that most D&D characters do not know what they're doing
at any given time
But at the end of a session
especially if you're at some sort of hub or stopping point
Your DMs are begging you to just give them a little clue about what you want to do next time
If you finish a quest and bed down at the inn in a major city
Your DM doesn't know what to prep for next time
Are you gonna wake up and try to charter a boat?
Are you gonna teleport to a completely different city?
Are you gonna follow up with an NPC that you haven't spoken to in a dozen sessions?
Are you gonna go to the library to do lore research?
If you can just give your DM a heads up at the end of the session
The next one will be much more enjoyable because they will have prepared for it
I can say this from personal experience
Nothing takes the wind out of your sails as a DM
like looking up and finding your players on their phones
Your game master is working really hard to transport you into a magical world
where you can play out all of your adventure fantasies
The least you can do is give them your undivided attention
This especially applies to combat
If your DM has to remind every single player what's going on at the beginning of their turn
combat time is gonna double
Pay attention in between your own turns
and have a plan for what you're gonna do before your turn comes up
And yes, sometimes things will happen that force your plans to change
But it's not fair to make everybody sit around
while you brainstorm a move
that you could have been thinking about for the past 10 minutes if you hadn't been distracted
It bears saying, I have ADHD and I know that it can be near impossible
to focus fully on one thing for hours at a time
And if you're like that too, I encourage you to find coping strategies
that make the game fun for you but also work for your DM
I like to doodle during sessions or hand sew something that occupies my hands
but doesn't stop me from engaging with the game
Maybe you need more frequent short breaks
Whatever it is, communicate with your DM about your needs
But checking Twitter mid-game
That is not a coping strategy, it's just rude
I will preface this one by saying that not every DM is going to feel the same way about this one
But many people expressed that they wished their players would tell them
what they do and don't like about the game
Your DM is trying to provide a fun and exciting experience for you
But that can be hard to do if players aren't giving their game master any feedback
It's especially frustrating to be able to sense that players are not having a good time
But not have any actual information about why or how to fix it
Check in with your DM and just see if they would like players
to provide constructive feedback on what they're enjoying
and what they think might make the game more fun for them
Even if you don't have any critiques
Just telling your DM in so many words that you're having a good time
Can be a huge morale booster
I've noticed that the vast majority of DMs are plagued by insecurities
and are often our own worst critics
A little reminder that you appreciate all their hard work can mean more than you might know
The DM already has a lot to keep tabs on
without being expected to memorize the entire party's character sheets
It is your job to understand your own character
That means learning your abilities and how they work
It means reading your spells and keeping track of your spell slots
It means remembering that your half-elf
has advantage on saving throws against being charmed
Or that your halfling character gets to reroll 1s
It means learning what sneak attack means
This isn't just a matter of mechanics either
You should do your best to learn anything narrative
that your character should know too
For example if you play a paladin or a cleric
You should read up on your chosen god
If your DM gives you information that your character would know
write it down, so you can reference it later
Your character is your responsibility so keep track of their shit
A bunch of DM said that they wished their players
would just take ownership of the game a little more often
They're tired of having to ask their players what they want to do
or worse even suggest courses of action
When the DM describes a room don't just sit there expectantly afterwards
waiting for something to happen
Ask about it!
Do you want to look closer at something?
Do you want to open a drawer or a cabinet?
Do you want to check something for traps?
You don't have to wait for your DM to call for a skill check in order to do something
You can say "I'd like to look for tracks in the mud"
Or "Can I examine the body to figure out how it died"
Don't make your game master hold your hand
One of the most exciting parts about D&D is that it's open world
You can do pretty much anything
So do something
Don't make your DM drag it out of you
I'm not saying you need to do all 10 of these things
But if you want to show a little appreciation for your DM
Just consider these suggestions as ways to take some of the pressure off
They're working really hard to create a fun game for you
Make it as easy as possible for them and everyone will have a better time
Do you have any tabletop related topics that you would like me to address in a video?
Please let me know in the comments
And if you found this useful make sure to check out my D&D advice playlist for more
And subscribe so that you won't miss future videos
And so I can keep creeping closer to that shiny golden play button
Only 775,000 left to go
There's no tequila in this it's sparkling water