Barbarian class opener illustration I painted for Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook 2024.
Not only was it an amazing brief to work on with it's awesome depiction of a barbarian post dragon slaying, but it was fully illustrated in @Krita as well.
Question to the D&D crowd: I'm currently prepping some D&D sessions and I remember someone (I think it may have been Mike Shea/ @slyflourish ) mention something like "Cat Doors" to teleport between locations, along with some other GMing techniques to cover great distances in-game in an engaging way.
Do any of you know in what publication he describes those?
I have had a bunch of different player-types at my tables over the past few years, and I thought I’d share some of their quirks. This isn’t an “RPG horror story,” though. People have fun in different ways, and I want to celebrate them!
Sometimes a player…
<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor" id="plays-in-a-game-for-years-and-has-no-idea-what-the-system-is"></a>…plays in a game for years, and has no idea what the system is
This may be the type I grin at the most. Anyone who will sit down at a table, physical or virtual, and roll dice for years on end is someone I appreciate. When players do this while having no idea what game they’re actually playing all I can do is applaud.
<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor" id="knows-every-aspect-of-how-a-game-is-designed-and-will-make-their-character-all-powerful"></a>…knows every aspect of how a game is designed, and will make their character all powerful
Some folks just enjoy min/maxing their characters, and will pursue this in any system they play.
<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor" id="will-play-any-system-but-will-almost-never-buy-the-books"></a>…will play any system, but will almost never buy the books
Players of this type want to roll dice and have fun. Investing money in all the books, however, isn’t something that holds interest for them. They tend to be quick studies on the way a game works, however, and will try any game. I’m guessing this is the majority of folks around any table–with some folks picking up new systems faster than others.
<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor" id="never-plays-a-human"></a>…never plays a human
This player’s catch phrase is, “I play a human in real life every day.”
<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor" id="is-looking-for-catharsis"></a>…is looking for catharsis
These players use the game to express things they feel they can’t in real life. This need may emerge from past trauma, a miserable job, or even just a bad day at work–but it often is expressed as, “See the thing, hit the thing.” Because everyone needs catharsis at some point, I’m pretty sure most players become this player-type at some point in their journey. I know there are days when I’m happy there are things I can hit in the game. I don’t manage to hit them because dice hate me, but I remain glad they exist.
<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor" id="keeps-trying-to-use-5e-mechanics"></a>…keeps trying to use 5e mechanics
It’s what these players know, and it’s what they like. But they also enjoy playing so will join any table to which they’re invited. At the same time, they will keep trying to make any game into 5e by trying to get attribute increases or new special moves when they level up. This often isn’t done on purpose, it’s just what they know so it’s how everything gets framed.
In reality, “5e” can be replaced with any system with which a player is most familiar. I’ve just encountered the phenomenon with 5e as the baseline. Grodnards talking about how armor class used to be descending, for example, also fit here.
<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor" id="just-wants-to-play-5e"></a>…just wants to play 5e
They know what they like, and that’s where they’re gonna stay. They’ll try other systems, but have spent years understanding the nuances of 5e and will get back to it as fast as they can. That’s where they have fun, and since that’s what playing games is all about that’s ok by me. I just don’t get to play with them much since I don’t enjoy running 5e.
<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor" id="enjoys-the-show"></a>…enjoys the show
They want music, terrain, and lights–the full kit. They also get full into character and spend time developing how their PC acts and speaks. For these players the spectacle of the session is as important as what’s happening inside the world itself. This can be huge fun for everyone, triggering any number of memorable moments, but minimalist setups don’t hit their sweet spot.
<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor" id="is-a-chaos-demon"></a>…is a chaos demon
In any in-game situation these players will do something odd, bordering on non-sensical. This is often done to provide comic relief for the table, which can be a good thing. Sometimes, however, the chaos can derail serious moments or take attention away from important details. My super-hero character, The Bolt, frees me to play as a chaos demon and it’s a lot of fun. It does, however, take a bit of work to make sure it’s not taking away from other players.
<a aria-hidden="true" class="anchor" id="can-t-lean-into-failures"></a>…can’t lean into failures
Confession time. This was me when I jumped back into the hobby at the start of the pandemic. Dice hate me, and it was frustrating when my paladin swung a sword and missed while the casters all blew up the scene. I can say from experience, however, players who can’t lean into failure miss out on one of the more enjoyable aspects of the hobby–that moment when you have to deal with what happens next.