My ideal fellow players…

NB: I wrote the following last summer in preparation for new campaigns. I am posting it here as a place to point people when I’m in that situation.

…Respect other players as people with a valuable set of experiences and perspectives. This means never giving anyone a reason to think that you look down on folks because of their identities or backgrounds. Roleplay is enriched by the contributions of folks who might see our world (real or imagined) differently than we ourselves do.

…Show up on time, ready to play. This is closely related to the previous point. If a group is wasting time waiting, it doesn’t foster a healthy mindset. Many folks have to make sacrifices to have time to play, and we should all respect that about each other. This also applies to our own turns: be ready to act, rather than retuning into a game after indulging in distraction.

…Engage with both the game as mechanics and the story as narrative. For me, that game is most often D&D 5e, but regardless, any RPG has at least some aspects of both. Rules bind us all in a game because they reflect a shared set of expectations. Story evolves from our play within those rules.

…Focus on collaboration, not competition. The goal of these games comes down to working together to weave a tapestry of a story. Hopefully this is a story of triumph, but even in defeat, we play with each other, not against one another.

…See patience as a virtue they strive to uphold. We are all human, regardless of our characters, and that means we always have to work to do better. Allowing everyone else the room to grow helps them do the same when we inevitably need the same.

This includes everyone at the table – including the GM!