How to Be a Good Player in Tales of the Dreaming
by Dan Comstock
In an effort to be even more pretentious, I'd like to share some advice. Hopefully both new and old players can benefit from some of these tips. Note that these tips aren't advice on how to amass loot or win friends and influence people, but are general tips on how to be a good player, not a good character.
1. Keep quiet out-of-game. It's alright to bullshit about a game, but you don't want to show your hand. Remember that the people you're talking with ARE trying to guess your motivation, and telling your story out-of-game is a sure way to make it difficult for them to seperate OOG information with IG information.
2. Know the rules. This sounds dumb, because every player is supposed to know the rules, but I really mean it. Know the rules inside and out, this way you have the upper hand when these debates come up. If you know the rules, you know the game. Being decisive and be correct earns you respect. Don't be afraid to be a rules-lawyer -- the game NEEDS people who enforce the rules.
3. Be real. It's completely awesome to enhance your roleplaying with your character background, role play quirks and traits, that sort of thing, but don't go too overboard. That's not to say you can't play an extreme character, but remember to do it with style. Don't do things in public that will embarass your fellow players - this is a good way to be slowly shunned from the community. Social norms in the Dreaming aren't that different from the real world - If you insist on wearing makeup and crazy costumes, you're ostracizing yourself. People will notice. Don't be that guy.
4. Style. There's a difference between the assasin who plays it cool and quiet and the assasin that poses dramatically after a kill. One has style and one is a twink. Though you can have a lot of fun envisioning the game as a movie, even characters in movies sound dumb without background music. It's possible to be a badass without cheesy one-liners spouted off during battle, and it's possible to be dramatic without being a drama queen. Think about how other people are seeing you.
Correlary to 3 and 4 - Remember: you're being watched, so represent us well! And I don't just mean by other players -- for most people on campus, we're just that weird group of people with swords. Some are curious, some are neutral, and some already hate us. Though we're not a spectator sport, people DO pay attention to us. It's fine to roleplay in front of the Wakes, don't be melodramatic. To some extent Tales of the Dreamingis a sport, and to some extent, this is just glorified D&D. The common person can understand a sport, and probably thinks swordfighting is pretty cool, but if they ask, they don't want to hear a long description of the game, your character, the rules, et cetera. When telling outsiders about the game, wait for them to ask questions, don't dump a ton of information on them. If they're genuinely interested, they'll play, but don't scare them off!
5. If you're bored, do something about it! If a night is boring, it's not plot's fault - it's yours! I can't emphasize this enough - you should start guilds, orders, plots to kill each other, marketplaces, events, et cetera. The game will be so much more interesting if you engage yourself in the politics rather than trying to be cool with everyone. World peace would be nice in real life, but it would make a really boring Dreaming!
6. Death isn't final so don't take it too seriously. Sure, if someone murders you, you should be really pissed off in-game, but don't take your conflict out-of-game. It's frustrating to die at the beginning of an exciting night, or even to die at all, but when it happens, die gracefully. Don't set an example for other players by whining or throwing a hissy fit. On the same note, 8. Keep In-Game! There are few things more irritating than when you're roleplaying with another character and someone starts talking about out-of-game things. If you have an out-of-game question or comment, pull the person aside, or wait till an appropriate break in conversation. If you go out-of-game, you'll drag other people down with you.