Roleplaying Online - The Player's Side

In any roleplaying game, both the players and the games master have certain responsibilities, some of which overlap. After all, everyone is responsible for ensuring that the session is pleasant, and free of acrimony, and that if the house burns down the character sheets are saved. You know, the usual responsibilities.

Beyond that, the GM provides the setting, and mediates all reactions between the world and the players' party. Some of his responsibilities include not destroying the players' suspensions of disbelief (How can the orc, who just moments ago was lifting giant rocks, not be able to lift this puny dagger? Whaddaya mean, because you said so?), and presenting interesting puzzles, hooks, and adventures for the players to partake of.

The players, however, have equally onerous responsibilities. How many fascinating mysteries have been derailed by the player who forgot to write down a crucial clue? Naturally, the GM can always remind the player, but this destroys much of the challenge of sifting the useful clues from the red herrings. And frequently gives the whole game away. Similarly, how many combats have been slowed down while players laboriously recalculate the effect of their die-rolls?

Playing online poses several unique challenges. The medium is slower than playing face to face, and furthermore it is much harder to get the attention of a player who has wandered away from her computer. And that's assuming you know that she's wandered off, rather than just being lagged or typing up a really long pose. (What? I can't go smell the roses? It's a beautiful day outside. I'm sorry; were you waiting for me?)

Therefore I hereby present a manifesto of what I believe the player's responsibilities are. Comments are welcome and may well be incorporated into the final version. Standard disclaimer: a few of the examples are D&D 3rd ed specific.

• Arrive for the game on time whenever possible; provide maximum advance notice if you can't make the game. (If you make the arrangements for a trip four weeks from now, say, warn the GM now. The more advance notice, the better. But sometimes maximum advance notice is very short, and unavoidable. Informing the party as soon as possible is best.)
• Have your character sheet handy. Pre-compute the formulas for common rolls. (I roll to hit the orc ... that's 1d20+ ... ummmm ... 3, and then I have a bonus ... and that hits armour class ... is much slower than just rolling the dice and announcing the result to your GM.) Some rolls which you should probably always know are search, spot, listen, hide, and initiative (and, of course, to hit and - assuming you're so lucky - damage).
• Make sure your GM has easy access to a current copy of your character sheet. (In face to face, you can always make a photocopy. Online, reasonable options include emailing the sheet to your GM or hosting the sheet somewhere (including right here, on the Pandora's Lair website).) It goes without saying that the character sheet should be formatted so that the GM can read it quickly and easily. (And that the GM will tell you if your beautiful MSWord document looks like random line noise in her text-only unix-based e-mail program.)
• Keep notes. Some GMs like to sprinkle innocuous little clues throughout the game. Most GMs expect the player to track how many spells have been memorized, and cast, and how many arrows have been expended, etc. (Those iron rations are two years old. You've been spelunking in this cave system for six months. What do you mean they haven't been eaten yet?) One of the wonderful side effects of gaming online is that it is usually very easy to open a little text-editing window on the side in which to keep your notes.
• Before the game starts, quickly review recent notes. The ones you've been making assiduously, right? At Pandora's Lair we encourage the posting of game logs as soon as possible so you have an opportunity to review what happened last week before your character absentmindedly wanders off the precipice.
• Stick with your computer, or let the party know when you have to go idle for any length of time. (If, say, UPS is at the door with a package and you have to run down 12 flights of stairs to go get it, by all means do. Just let us know that you're busy out of game, and maybe even provide a few hints on what the GM should do with your PC while you are idle.) Stronger yet; stick with the game. The more players get distracted (Ooooh! Shiny website!), the slower the game gets for everyone. Staying in character as much as possible is a Very Good Idea(tm) too.
• Have fun! If you're not having fun, talk to the GM between games.