I’ve shared some advice for game masters to take some of the crunch out of our game; this makes everyone’s life a little easier. Now let’s look at things players can do to make life easier for the game master and make your game better.
Don’t roll
This might sound weird, but don’t just roll; you break the flow of the game. It should go, GM describes the situation, players describe their actions and if rolls are necessary then the GM will call for a roll. Following this guide you don’t have situations like:
GM: You enter a 20 x 20 room, it is completely empty.
Player: *rolls a 20* I am doing perception to see what’s in the room.
GM: The room is completely empty, walls, floor, ceiling and you.
Player: But, but I rolled a 20.
All this leaves us with is a frustrated GM, frustrated player and a wasted crit.
Know your own abilities
This is one that annoys me so much that we have a rule at the table; if you don’t know how it works, you can’t use it. None of us want to sit around for 15 minutes while you figure out the ability you think is so cool. If it’s that good you should have figured it out before playing. GM’s have to put in hours a week (possibly) preparing the game, you could at least read your abilities.
Backstory
This can be tricky, especially if this is your first rodeo. If you can’t think something up, instead answer a set of questions to at least give yourself and your GM some guide. If you have a story full of hooks, characters and places; a good GM will pull them all into the story (credit to Pins for these):
Where did I come from?
What did I leave behind?
Did anything interesting happen to me/my family?
Am I a member of any organisations?
Do I have a secret?
This is a great start, what questions would you add?
What things could your players do to make your game better?
The Temple of Ravens 