This is my first ever Memo to the Players. Specifically, your players. I’m taking time out of my busy life to do your job. To teach your players how to play D&D right. And I’m not talking about rules and mechanics. No. I’m teaching them how to actually do stuff in the game: take actions, portray characters, interact socially, explore the wilds, survive dungeons, all sorts of crap like that.

Below’s a short memo for your players. Seriously short. Under a thousand words short. It’s less than five minutes of reading time on average. Make your players read it and watch them grow infinitesimally less crappy. And read it along with them so you know what it says.

But less crappy players need a less crappy GM. So, there’s a memo for you too. After all, if you’re not running the game right, the advice I just gave your players isn’t going to work. That other memo tells you the behind-the-scenes stuff you’ve got to do to make my advice work.

And if you’re a player and you want a less crappy game, share this stuff around with your fellow players and your GM. If your GM won’t read it, let me know. I’ll take care of them.

You can either download the memos as separate PDFs or read them both below.

Download Memo to the Players #1: Taking Action
Download Memo to the Game Master #1: Taking Action

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Memo to the Players
Re: Taking Action

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Here you are. You’re playing a table-top role-playing game. The Game Master’s yammering on about dark dungeon rooms and the pungent stench of mildew when, crap, what did he just say? “What do you do?” Everyone’s looking at you. It’s time to act.

That’s how TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons play out. The GM describes the situation, you tell the GM what your character does, and the GM determines the outcome. Usually by asking you to roll some dice. The GM tells you what happened and around you go again.

But how do you pick the best action? How do you tell your GM what you do?

Listen First, Think Second

Good actions start with good listening. Seriously. Lots of players stop listening as soon as they hear words like ‘treasure chest’ or ‘ogre’ or ‘jewel-studded idol.’ They think, “well, I’ve definitely got to grab and/or kill that” and get so focused on their next action that they miss whatever important details come next. Don’t do that. Listen. It makes it less likely you’ll blunder into some stupid hazard. Or piss your GM off by making him repeat himself.

Once you know what’s going on, think about your character’s goal. Don’t look down at the character sheet. Don’t try to decide what to do. Ask yourself, “what am I actually trying to accomplish here and now?”

Next, think about how to make that happen. How can you kill the ogre? Open the locked chest? Grab the idol before your allies do? Convince the city watchman to let you go with a warning? What action will get you there?

Finally, think about what tools and resources you’ve got to make that happen. Tools and equipment help. Training and talent help. But don’t ignore the world around you. Is the ogre on the edge of a chasm? Is there a discarded metal bar near the chest? Is the guardsman young and nervous?

Talk Third, Fourth, and Fifth

Now, tell the GM what you want to accomplish, how you want to accomplish it, and what tools and information you’re using to accomplish it.

“I want to kill the ogre by stabbing him with my longsword.”
“I want to open the chest by breaking the lock with that iron prybar.”
“I want to scare the guard away by threatening him; we outnumber him four to one.”

Practice that. “I want to X by Y using Z.” It’ll never fail you.

And that’s how you Take Action. Next time, I’ll tell you how to Portray Characters.

Bonus Tips

• Don’t Make Your GM Guess. The more your GM knows about what you’re trying to do and how, the better off you are. If you’re searching because you think there’s a trap, tell the GM so. If you think the books hide some vital clue, tell the GM what you suspect. If you’re ready for a fight, let the GM know you’ve got your weapons ready.
• One Thing at a Time. Don’t spout out a long string of actions and conditions. Stick to one action with one outcome at a time. See how one action plays out, then take the next one. RPGs are a conversation, not a bunch of speeches. Unless you’re the GM, of course. GMs do a lot of speeches.
• Don’t Sweat the Character Sheet. It’s good to know what your character’s good at, but that’s not all your character can do. Look at the character sheet as a bunch of bonuses, not a list of possible actions. Most actions in RPGs don’t, by themselves, lead to disaster. Be willing to risk failure. Usually, if you pick the right action for the situation, you’re more likely to succeed than if you picked the thing your character is best at.
• Don’t Sweat the Rules Either. TTRPGs are open-ended. You can try almost anything you can imagine. Your GM can handle any brilliant thing you can think of. Don’t worry about whether there’s a rule for it. Just tell the GM what you want to do and how you want to do it. The rules are his problem.
• Don’t Ham it Up. Are you a famous actor doing a D&D performance for millions of people on YouTube? No? Then don’t try to put on a show. You don’t have to be super descriptive. You don’t even have to talk as your character. Be clear. Speak naturally. Tell the GM what you want to do, how you want to do it, and what you’re using.
• GMs Love When You Pay Attention. Seriously. If you use the information your GM provided — either in the scene or earlier — it’ll usually make the GM so happy that they’ll give you some kind of bonus. Show the GM you’re paying attention and they’ll pay you back.
• When All Else Fails, Ask. Know what you want to do but can’t figure out how to do it? Ask. Need more information before you decide what to do? Ask. Have an idea but you’re not sure if it’s a good one? Ask. Ask your GM. He’ll help. And don’t ask the GM about what the rules say. If you ask about the rules, your GM will quote the rules. If you tell the GM what you’re trying to accomplish, your GM will help you make it happen.

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Memo to the Game Master
Re: Taking Action

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Do you want your players to take clear, concise, decisive action? If you’re not a professional voice actor doing a D&D performance on YouTube — or you don’t dream of becoming one — then I assume the answer’s a resounding ‘yes.’ Well, you’ve got to make that happen. Train them to Take Action right and smack them hard when they Take Action wrong.

Not literally. For legal reasons, I can’t advise you to actually smack your players.

Don’t Fill in the Blanks

If you don’t force your players to say, “I want to X by Y using Z” every time, they won’t learn. If they leave something out, make them fill it in. If a player says, “I want to attack the ogre,” you say, “oh yeah? With what?” If a player says, “I break the lock” or “I pick the lock,” you say, “with what? Your bare hands?” If a player says, “I persuade the guard,” you say, “how? What’s your argument? Are you just saying ‘please’ really, really hard?” If the players all blurt out, “we go through the door,” you say, “okay? But who’s going through first? Weapons readied? What weapons? Who’s next?” And so on. They won’t learn if you don’t teach them.

Don’t Make the Players Do More

Players have one job. To tell you, clearly and concisely, what they’re trying to accomplish, how they’re trying to accomplish it, and what tools and resources they’re using to accomplish it. That’s it. Don’t make them spin elaborate descriptive prose. Don’t make them speak as their characters would. And don’t give prosaic thespians any extra special bonuses for being prosaic thespians. No advantage, no extra experience points, no nothing.

Stop the Players from Doing More

Some players don’t need you encouraging them. They’ll put on a big damn performance for every action. Flowery descriptions, bad accents, inner monologue made outer. Performance role-play like that is great for YouTube content, but it sucks for team-based games about adventurers overcoming challenges by interacting with each other and the world. It’s a series of speeches, not interactive play. Put the kibosh on it. Interrupt your performers and ask them what they’re doing, how, and with what. And leave it at that. If a player finds that restrictive, let them go launch a Twitch channel and a Patreon. Tell them Angry says “good f$%&ing luck!”

Reward Interaction

Get the players thinking about their allies and the world by rewarding interaction and teamwork above all else. If the players use the environment to solve problems, if they use information they’ve discovered to overcome challenges, and if they look for ways to work together, give them a boost. And make sure they see it. Tell them when you reduce a DC because they’re using the guard’s fear as leverage. Give them advantage for using the broken iron bar as a makeshift prybar.

Don’t Answer Questions About the Rules

If a player asks you about the rules, they’ve got an ulterior motive and you’ve got to dig for it. Never make a ruling until you know exactly what you’re ruling on. Ask “why do you want to know that? What are you trying to accomplish? What’s your goal here? What are you thinking?” Keep asking questions until you pry an action declaration — or something close — out of the player. Then rule on that. Make the players work hard to get an answer about the rules. No matter how innocent or straightforward the question seems to be. The goal’s to get the players to think about the world, not the game’s rules.

Earn Your Players’ Trust

The players have to trust you. Not to be fair and objective. Not to know to rules. They have to trust you to work with them. They’ve got to believe that when they’re trying to accomplish something, you’ll try to make it happen. That doesn’t mean you let them get away with anything; it’s okay to tell the players something’s impossible. And it doesn’t mean you’ve got to give them all the answers; it’s okay to tell them they’ve got to figure something out or find an in-world resource. You just want your players to treat you like the first, best source of information they’ve got access to.

Always give your players the benefit of the doubt. If something went unsaid or forgotten — if something wasn’t clear — assume the players’ best intentions. Don’t be a gotcha GM. If the PCs are in hostile territory, assume they’re ready for a fight. Even if they forget to say it and you forget to ask. If a player doesn’t see an opportunity attack coming, don’t laugh and throw an attack roll at his head. Warn him.

Always tell your players the stakes, the risks, the costs, and the consequences unless you have a really good reason not to. A damned good reason. A really, amazingly damned good reason. And always give your players a chance to back out once you tell them the risks.

Practice this line, “if you do X, you’re risking Y; are you okay with that?” Make that your catchphrase.

If a player attempts the impossible, tell them it’s impossible. Say, “that won’t work.” Better still, say, “that won’t work; but what’s your goal? Maybe there’s a way to do it.” Don’t just say, “you fail.” Or worse, say, “roll a die; you fail! Ha!”

And that’s how you get your players to Take Action properly. Next week, I’ll tell you how to get them to actually Portray Characters.