I'm curious. Have you ever had a favourite player? What was so great about them?
Obviously blatant favouritsm is no good, but as a GM what do you really like to see in your players? Enthusiasm is definitely a top contender for me.
and as a player, what do you like to see in your fellow players?
I am my favourite player
I have traits I prefer in players. I'm running games for mostly new players right now so they are not developed yet, but I like players who can get past the whole early stage of role playing, the murder hobo phase.
Like I said most of mine right now are new so I don't mind, but I dislike when veteran role players fall back on that, because it's just so easy and not interesting to run for.
So ya, my favorite players are those that give me an interesting character to work with.
As a player, I enjoy playing with people who:
Aren't afraid to let in-character choices and decisions cause a -little- party drama,
Are willing to compromise a little for the good of the group, or at least willing to warn us when an action would cause their character to fly off the handle/what-have-you,
Play characters with actual personality, not just "I get drunk and shoot things," and
Understand that my character's opinion of their character is not necessarily my opinion of their character or the player.
>>44398074
My first game dming, my favorite player was our hippie friend who decided to play an ent that couldn't talk.
He fit the part perfectly, he never said a word that wasn't an action or OOC.
He swiped a dataslate from an NPC and converted it to a writing pad, so I even bought him a dry erase board in black and an expo marker in neon green. He loved it
Also he was quietly putting together materials to turn into this fucked up hanging tree with a bunch of rope and a bag of holding. He started sticking carcasses in his branches
I love people that know how to be eccentric in the right ways
>>44399219
i can agree with most of these and i think i would like your group
as someone who's never DMed, here's things i like to see in other people playing with me
>okay with not being the most important character or what have you, just making a good story
>involved with the lore of the setting
>enthusiastic to interact with everyone else in the party
>considerate of everyone else at the table, within reason (good examples: asking if it's okay to smoke, if it's okay to eat, finishing their turn before getting up for the bathroom ... etc)
>>44398074
Funny you ask, my players are always accusing me of playing favorites when someone's character dies several times in a row while someone else's gain a bunch of levels ahead of the rest of the party.
Not my fault if you like to do the same stupid shit over and over to see if the result will be any different like this thief/bard/edgywhatever I had who would go sideways from the party running and screaming in cave dungeons all the time and then wonder why the giant salamander/werebat/gelatinous cube would attack him alone every single time.
>>44398074
I have a player in my game right now who gets the zen of my setting and my DM-style more than any player I've met.
I am thinking of playing a wolf character (a wolf, not a beastman or wtv). I wonder if people would find it interesting if I didnt talk like >>44399293 .
Im okay with both talking and not talking
>>44402056
Polite sage for double post
I dont want to bore/annoy any player thats why im asking
>>44402056
are you going to play like a ranger's or druid's animal companion?
I don't get how a animal goes around gaining levels. But maybe that's true role playing, being immersed in your roll.
I have a lot to think about.
>>Players who get into character and stay there all session.
>>Players who are comfortable not rolling combat dice every session.
>>Players who want to make their own story, not have me tell them one.
>>Players who tell me what they want before I write a bunch of plot that doesn't appeal to anyone.
>>Players who work out where they all fit in the group before the first session.
>>Players who do not drag a miserable romantic partner to games.
>>Players who get off their damn phone and laptop for the entire session.
>>44402333
Yea i guess it depends on a lot of things.
>>44402352
>>Players who get off their damn phone and laptop for the entire session.
Yes.
>>44398074
I've got a player who goes out of his way to try to keep the party together.
I'm glad I have him, but I wish I didn't need him so much.
As long as they reminisce about something they liked about the session later on I'm alright. Even games I thought I was doing awful with I occasionally get a player bringing up a "Remember that time in Anon's game where we" story. If everyone is having a good time and making memories I'm happy.
Enthusiasm, which leads to better roleplaying--also, hopefully the others catch the influence.
Good ones must be proactive. They make decisions and say shit. Don't make me make NPCs that hunt you for no reason other than you avoiding risk!
>>44402352
>>Players who get off their damn phone and laptop for the entire session.
PLEASE SOMEONE SHOOT THE FUCKERS IN THE BENIS
>>44399293
Holy shit that hanging tree thing sounds amazing. The arboreal version of fucked up voodoo witch doctor shit.
How hard is it to just ask someone to put their phone away? Betas detected.
I've got four players that I love. Oddly enough my best friend among them is my least favourite by a very small margin.
Two are constantly stepping over one another for first place, though. Couldn't ask for a better group.
I have a particular favorite player, yes. I don't reward him in-game or give him an indication that I regard him as such, but I do.
He:
>Is almost always at the session and on time. I think he's missed maybe 2 or 3 sessions in the two years I've played with him.
>Actually takes notes of what happens every week, during the session.
>Keeps track of pretty much everything, including a lot of NPCs and stuff.
>Roleplays, all the time. As in, he's pretty much always in-character, and he's not afraid to do things.
>Actually narrates his attacks in combat.
>Is the only one who ever tries to talk to NPCs/enemies.
The rest of the group are good guys, don't get me wrong. But seriously, if only I had more players that gave half a shit like that.
Sadly, players who care about anything are like, one in a million to begin with. And that's in the already small minority that aren't complete garbage.
>>44398074
I am pretty happy with my group. They get invested in the game and their characters, give me a lot of ideas to riff on, and are reacting well to my attempts to give them more narrative control. Basically, the more active you become in adding to the game world and story, the happier I am.
I'm especially fond of one of them, we've been playing together on and off for years and we were players in the last long-running game I was in before foreverGMing. We used to writefag a lot for that game, it was almost more enjoyable than the game itself.
>>44403922
Have you ever asked someone to stop smoking?
It doesn't work, this is an addiction, just to social media or whatever gaybumblasting they NEED to inspect in 1.5minutes unless you tell them their character is now bleeding out
>>44402352
>>>Players who do not drag a miserable romantic partner to games.
Holy Fuck this.
This one player, while a corner stone of the group doesn't seem to get that while all the girls he invites to play act interested, they're all going to end up uninvested and on their phones the whole time.
And for me, any IC conversations between players, especially when It's not even relevant at the moment.
>>44398074
My favorite player is a guy who've I've seen go from That Guy randumb murderhobo to a mature and responsible leader of PCs and NPCs alike, over the course of one campaign.
>>44402352
>tfw I'm the only person in my group to do all of these
When I start DMing in like two weeks I'm getting a bin for electronics and all the electronics will stay there for the session, barring any breaks we take as a group.
First time DMing in a lot of years, I barely knew the system (3.5) and this players appears:
>Experienced gamer who knows the system perfectly but respects my decisions even when I'm wrong, and helps when I dont know.
>Tries to justify in-game everything whats going on even if it doesnt makes much sense.
>Understands where is the plot going but lets other players to discover by themselves, and only helps when it's needed.
>Min-maxed character focusing on allow the party to survive.
>Helped a lot balancing the system. And always was offering to help.
>Always lets others to speak first.
I did a campaign pretty mediocre because I was inexperienced, but having this player in the group made it just epic, and he teached all of us how to be an excellent person. Good luck A. wherever you are!!
I have a player right now that is just totally enthused with the setting. He takes a bunch of notes, is good at staying IC, and actually notices a lot of little details I throw in. I love the other PCs but they tend to be super oblivious unless I make things obvious. OOC he's a funny, pleasant dude and I'm glad we have him at the table. He's the origin of a lot of our in-jokes.
When I'm a player I like when people are cooperative and try to make sure everyone's having fun. They don't let IC things effect OOC interactions. That might sound obvious but I've played with some really butthurt spergs in my day. I think a little IC dramas a lot of fun.
and while I'm at it, I like flexible GMs. I like when GMs let us discover things and progress the story, rather than throwing stuff at us. That's why when I GM I have a rough outline of the story and know how the campaign will arc, but I try to find a way to coordinate plotpoints so they are a result of the players' actions. I like seeing their reactions when they find out how much they're screwing with the world. I also tend to fudge minor rolls if the result is gonna be more entertaining for them.
>>44401949
What's the setting anon?
>>44398074
Basically
>The guy who tries, who makes a character and not a bunch of numbers, who takes notes when he can't remember stuff, who is interested in more than gold and experience
They are tough to find, but I've had quite a few in my time GMing
>>44404296
What a guy!
I honestly just try to keep track of who's having fun and who's not. I really like it when my players have fun. I guess roleplayers who get really excited just to be roleplaying are the easiest to take care of in this way, but if someone is there to do X, I want to witness what they'll do with that X. I'm a talk-to-everyone completionist in video games and I guess as a DM as well.
I also really like players who provide challenge for me with their own creative improvisation schemes. Half the things I make just, I intentionally leave gaping holes where it's likely some creative thought can bring us to a solution I didn't specifically plan for, and I encourage that. If the quest is two deaf magical boulders that can't communicate intend to fight each other, I would love (and loosely plan for) the unlikely circumstance of the boulders being united as friends.
