Having an awesome and powerful tabletop RPG character is great, but the character is only as good as the person playing them.  It’s fairly easy to level up your D&D or Pathfinder character; you pick a new spell, or a new feat, maybe a stat increase, and then it’s back to gaming, but how do you level up as a player?  James Haeck over at Geek & Sundry came up with some excellent tips for being a better player, both at the table and in life.  Here’s a few of James’ suggestions on improving your game:

BEFORE THE GAME

1. Be a good person.Wheaton’s Law: “Don’t be a dick.” You’re all friends here, and you should treat them that way. Don’t forget that the DM is your friend, too; they aren’t out to get you, even if it might seem like it sometimes. Is the roleplaying getting too heated and it looks like people are getting angry in Real Life? Take a step back and assess: are we still having fun?
2. Make friends with your gaming buddies. Gamers in school don’t have to worry about this one as much; odds are your gaming group is already made up of close friends. But if you’re not, try and put in the effort to get to know your party members.
3. Make your DM’s life easier. A good DM is more precious than gold. If you don’t know why, ask your DM how much they do to prep for the campaign, schedule game nights, get snacks… the list goes on. How can you give back? Look for little things you can do for the DM, things like showing up right on time, bringing snacks of your own (or offering to pay them back for food), and even taking over little tasks during the game, like tracking initiative. If you’re an artistic person, you might even want to make drawings, short stories, or songs about your campaign. Everyone (everyone!) loves fan art.

These are just a few of Haeck’s tips, all of which can help take your game, and yourself, to the next level.  Check out the full article over at Geek & Sundry for the rest.