Why your new player is an A**hole

Every player goes through three phases of playing a game as they get comfortable in the rules. When you want to understand why another player at your table may be approaching the game in a different way than you, it may be useful to understand this natural progression. Most notably, almost every player goes through an asshole phase. While annoying, it is normal and it will (usually) pass. This article isn’t for that new player, they’re too busy fireballing the town guards. This is for the experienced player to appreciate the growth they’re watching.

Phase 1: Exploration

When a player first dives into a game, they need to learn the rules of the game. As soon as they feel comfortable taking action in a game, they begin to test boundaries. People say you can do “anything” in a TTRPG, so they want to see how far the game will let them go. This may result in “bad manners” moves, like attacking NPCs other people are talking to. And it is totally normal to do this! If you are a more experienced player, enjoy the antics rather than fight them. Do let the new player face consequences for doing what they did, though. An important piece of DnD is understanding that the world responds.

When a new player explores, they will generally explore just one aspect or system of the game. This can take different shapes based on what the player is interested in. If they want to explore talking, they may insult the noble who hired the party. If they want to explore skill checks, they may try to steal from shopkeeps. If they want to explore combat, they may try to start barfights with random commoners. Each of these activities is something that most games prevent you from doing. But they can do it in a TTRPG, and it is important for them to find the boundaries and consequences of their actions.

After a player has explored a system, one of two things will happen. The most common is that the player will stay interested in the system they just explored and move on to the mastery phase. But if they decided that their bad manners were punished too severely or the system wasn’t exciting enough, they may move on to another system and begin again. A player might spend their whole gaming life in the exploration phase of their game, and that is fine. TTRPGs are massive, and even within a single campaign a player may be able to explore: A class, a new set of skills, new spell domains, and a new personality type. Considering a campaign often ends in less than 6 months, it can take longer than that just to explore the systems of your one character.

Phase 2: Mastery

Once a player has tested the boundaries of the game, they start to “get it.” They understand the limits of the game from the consequences of their actions in the exploration phase. Now they begin to set their own goals.

Each player may come to the table interested in something different, so this goal setting might be unique per person. The player who used to insult townsfolk now wants to find out how to take over the local thieves guild. They start trying to manipulate NPCs via diplomacy or subterfuge. The player who loved skill checks and stole from shopkeeps might dive into crafting in order to make items cheaper and more available for the whole party. The bar-brawler may try out every single weapon in the game to decide which is better: a d6 damage hook with a bonus to tripping or just a d8 damage sword.

this is when you might suddenly see your new tablemate begin to devour books. They buy a new setting book, and they start asking the GM to allow them to use homebrew rules they found online. The mastery phase is an exciting one, when a player knows enough to understand their options, but not so experienced that they become jaded about anything. Look to players in the Mastery phase to keep energy at the table high, and to help you find new options if you’re feeling bored.

This phase is about a player choosing their specialty and really growing to understand its systems. Depending on your game, the most common systems are of roleplay, of skill checks, or the systems of combat. Once they have fully internalized their system of choice, a player will go either way: back to exploration of other games/systems, or on to optimization.

Phase 3: Optimization

When a player has mastered one or more systems, they may move on to the optimization stage. This is where a player aims to “beat” the game with their system. Players discover combos, optimal strategies, or begin to trawl online forums for the “best” builds. They’re going to try to use their specialty to defeat every encounter, because when you have a hammer, every solution is a nail. Especially when the hammer is adamantium with a +5 enchantment.

The RP player above may mobilize their new thieves guild to run dungeons for them. The skill user crafter may find that combination of feats that seems to exist in every RPG where you turn crafting costs negative and “as long as we spend the next 2 years crafting, I can get us all free artifact weapons!” The fighter is going to have a character sheet with 1 level in every possible class to get barbarian damage with rogue sneak attack plus paladin smite with a fighter critical to kill a dragon in a single swing.

Players can get stuck here for a long time. You can’t go back to the mastery phase from here because you know the systems too well. But when you’ve min-maxed your 10th character, you may wistfully remember the days when poring over feats and builds gave you joy. The only ways out of phase 3 are to stop playing, or to explore a new system. In my personal games, people asked me why I never play a wizard anymore after having played one for 10+ years at every opportunity. Its because it just became a spreadsheet to me. But then my first fighter?! Woah there was a whole new world out there. Back to exploration, please.

We’re not just in One phase

Remember that TTRPGs have tons of systems in them. A brand new player is exploring all systems, but veteran players may be Exploring roleplaying while Optimizing combat. Don’t be afraid to shift your focus and get a breath of fresh air with your exploration. You can always return to your spreadsheets later.

See ya later, friends.