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Cooperation Versus Character – Player Tips for Your Gaming Table

Loud footsteps echo through the stonework halls as you pursue the fleet goblin. The breath comes heavy and hot in your lungs as you round a corner and, without warning, there he is. A dead end! You have the jewel thief dead to rights. He throws his dagger to the ground with a clatter.

MARLENE (playing Warner, the paladin): “All right, give it up. You’re all out of options.”

JEFF (the Dungeon Master, voicing the goblin thief): The goblin cringes, then lets out a long breath, his eyes downcast. “Okay. Okay. I don’t have the Egret’s Emerald on me, though.” His eyes brighten slightly. “We can make a deal though. If I show you where the emerald is, I’ll leave town. I was just trying to get out from under the Guild anyway. Just don’t turn me in. They’ll kill me in jail.”

Do you Cooperate at Your Gaming Table

DAVID: (playing Saiya, the rogue): I stroke my chin, my eyes calculating. I whisper, “We can talk about that. After all, we’re the good guys, right? At least we can screw him out of the gem’s location before we turn him over to the magistrate. Let’s settle down to talk–”

GEORGE: (playing Woodrow, the fighter): I ignore everyone else and step forward, my sword drawn and pointed at him. “No deal! You’re under arrest and wanted by the authorities of Lordin.”

DAVID: Uh, what?

MARLENE: Shouldn’t we at least get the location of the—

GEORGE: No, look here on my character sheet. I’m Lawful Good. That means I obey the law at all times. I’m all about taking down evil and we’ve caught this guy red-handed so I’m taking him in. Boom.

DAVID: Well, yeah, okay, we can turn him in, but let’s at least talk about it first—

GEORGE: I pull out the wanted poster with the goblin’s picture on it and wave it at the other members of the party. “This is all the authority I need and I’m bringing him in, and if you go against me then I’m taking you in too!”

MARLENE: [Looks at other players.] “Uh, Woodrow, let’s talk about this—“

GEORGE: “No dice! Either you’re with me or against me.” [To the DM] I pay special attention to the thief’s hands. If they move in a way I don’t like then I’m going to whap him upside the head with the flat of my blade.

DAVID: Oh, hell with this. I use my potion of invisibility and just leave. As a matter of fact, not only do I leave the room, I just go back to town. You guys can look me up at the bar if you want me. [DAVID gets up from the table in disgust.]

MARLENE: David? [Gets up from the table to talk to David.]MIKE (playing Katz, the cleric): [Sits down at the table, looks around.] Where’s David? I got him a Code Red. [Looks confused.] Did I miss something?

JEFF: [Places head in hands.] Shoot me.

Player Tips for Cooperation at Your Gaming Table

Of course, put in these terms, this type of player is the first to act indignant. Acting in accordance with my character’s design, they say, is not destructive at all. It’s just GOOD ROLE-PLAYING! Doing what it says my character would do on my character sheet is GOOD ROLE-PLAYING.

And if the rest of you were GOOD ROLE-PLAYERS then these conflicts wouldn’t keep popping up. You just don’t appreciate GOOD ROLE-PLAYING.  Is it good, though? Is it really good role-playing? The answer is a resounding, heartfelt no, for the following reasons:

1.. Tabletop RPGs are by and large cooperative, and collaborative. This extends not only into the real-world metagame, where players sit down at a table and agree to work together, but in the in-game agreement that the players, in a group, are pursuing a common goal. Willfully fracturing the goodwill of the group in order to pursue a personal goal openly defying the line of narrative is no different than a wide receiver running out into the end zone despite the quarterback and/or coach calling a different play. If the majority of the group is against an action and you roll with it anyway for no good reason except “It’s what my character would do,” you’re being an ass.

2. People can be convinced. In the real world (maybe not in Congress,but most of the real world) people convince each other to go against their initial decisions all the time. Believing that every decision is “my way or the highway” and acting upon that presupposition runs counter to the very notion of good role-playing, which is, at its heart, your character being played as if they were a real person. And if someone acts that way as a real person, guess what? They don’t have a lot of people wanting to be in their group of friends. Or adventuring company. It’s hard to entrust your life to someone who doesn’t view your goals, welfare, or perspective as important or valid.

3. The game is a game. Keeping things rolling along so everyone can enjoy himself or herself is the whole point of playing a game together. An in-depth study and examination of your character’s thought processes and behavior is not, generally speaking, the goal of a role-playing group. Now, everyone likes being in the spotlight, and sometimes the spotlight is indeed on you. But hogging that spotlight doesn’t only frustrate the other players. It is destructive to the Dungeon Master’s power to establish narrative.

4. It is not your job to police all in-character behavior, as long as it does not actively hurt the party. This is at the very foundation of not only teamwork, but also friendship in general. Nobody likes someone constantly nit-picking at every word, thought, or action that does not align in perfect harmony with his or her own view.

Cooperative play is meant to be just that—cooperative. Worrying more about the ‘right’ way to play your character than the enjoyment of your fellow players or their characters’ contributions ensures that few, if any, will want to adventure alongside you in the future.

Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!

Written by:

Daniel Helmick is a former employee of Wizards of the Coast’s D&D Insider and D&D Research and Development studios. Follow him on Twitter, @JabJabSliceJab.