Being a Player in an RP campaign can be one of the most fun and rewarding experiences you will ever have. The comradery of your RP group and the characters, places and stories that swirl around in your head can lead to great memories you recount years down the track.

As a Player, this would seem a simple and easy deal then, show up, roll your dice, have fun with no strings attached and leave at the end… but in actuality, the position of the player in all this is as influential and cultivating a role as it is a beneficiary to a lot of hard work. Now, I am not saying don’t have fun, as fun is the central part of an RP experience, and in fact, if the players are really enjoying the experience it is one of the most rewarding parts for the GM, but here are some things to think about:

The GM has a lot of work to do every session, and this doesn’t only include what prep or planning they may do leading up to it. They may spend days drawing maps, fleshing out NPC’s and writing stats for your enemies. Weeks of work in the background of their day-to-day lives may go into a single two-to-four hour session played out around the table. As such, aside from the reward of you having a good time, a little feedback at the end can be wonderful for your GM.

Yes, positive feedback is of course always good, but constructive critique can be some of the best assistance too. This could include, for example, that you didn’t feel the adventure really allowed the Rogue of the party to use their skills, (not that Rouges are usually short of Skills), such as no locks to pick or traps to find, or it was a combat heavy adventure so the Rogue’s stealthy sneak attacks were never used to great effect. The best part about this feedback is that the Rouge may not even be your character, remember I said ‘an influential cultivating role’? Well here it is. The GM has all of the characters to consider, the plot, the timing and pace of the game, player interest, where to end the adventure and where to start the next, their schedule, the players’ schedules, and the list just keeps going…

It is easy to get crushed under the weight of these issues as a GM, and they are fraught with worry the whole time, while also trying to enjoy the game. If a Player is looking at their phone too much, they are not interested; if they are yawning, the adventure is boring. These small details will all be on the GM’s mind, so as a player you can lend a little support.

Try not to look at your phone too much during the Game, it can be hard but the gesture will be appreciated. If you have something urgent you’re waiting for or need to respond to just talk to your GM about it beforehand so they are aware. If you were really tired from a big week of work or a night out, let them know when you start to yawn, or at least at the end. “Great game, sorry about all the yawning, I was really smashed and worked all week”. These simple words will mean a lot to your GM.

Or even as said earlier, try to notice and recognise details about the game and other players’ experiences, which brings us to one of the most important things to remember as a player, and possibly the most vital element of your Player role… It’s tough, I know but I am going to say it:

The Game is not only all about you, and you are not the only Player.

Okay, now that we addressed the elephant in the room, there it is. Yes, you should enjoy the experience as much as possible, but be mindful of your other players and their experience. If you’re dominating the limelight all the time, other players can get tired of being a sidelined onlooker, can start to lose interest and the campaign can die off.

There will always be dominant personalities, and that is okay, but if you are that person, encourage or help the other players to have their moment. The GM will do his best, but as I said he has a lot on his plate. Or, if you’re a quiet player who has trouble edging into the action, discuss with your GM a good way to get his attention. Yes, in combat rounds with initiative and such the player always has a turn, but in story or the actual role-playing set-up elements, some players may just hog all the limelight, and that can be where discord is sown in a great group. If you feel you’re losing action to another player, maybe mention that you feel like you’re not being heard in games. Or, if you can’t think of anyone in your group who does this, maybe you are that person!

In the end as a player you are just as responsible for the fun of the campaign as the GM and your other players. So, work together to really share those great memories. We all know them: the Games years down the track, back in your fourth or fifth DnD campaign, when everyone still talks about Brad’s Barbarian throwing Tina’s Gnome Thief up into the rafters to tie a rope for their escape from the fire in the church.

Just like a great line or scene in a movie, or a treasured page in a book, these shared events are things you will hold onto for years to come, things you will think about and smile.