Greetings, gamers from all systems, places and timelines!
Some characters excel while marching to the beat of their own drum but not so much when in a group. The problem is, generally speaking, that D&D is a collaborative game. So, that lone wolf will need to learn to hunt in a pack. Min-maxing be damned, a first-level character trying to solo an ordinary bugbear could pretty easily get their ass handed to them.
While most can agree that everyone is stronger together as a team, it will neither ensure success nor team chemistry. This is why we’ve put together a list of tips to help your group of adventurers work more effectively together during whatever path their choices and story takes them on.
1. Know Your Limitations and the Rest of the Party’s, Because TPKs Suck
While it’s great to be able to catch when the barbarian forgets to roll with advantage on their initiative, that’s only part of the larger picture. Nothing puts a damper on the momentum of a campaign like a crushing defeat: The dreaded Total Party Kill (TPK).
To avoid this, pay attention to how all of the characters handle each individual battle. This gives you somewhere to benchmark from. For example, if the group struggled to take down a single ogre and later you see two hill giants coming down the road, maybe you should get the hell out of dodge! Use this knowledge well to make sure that your plans for greatness are not divorced from the reality of your fantasy world.
2. Know Thy Enemy, But Make Sure Everyone Also Knows the Story, Too
They say you can’t move forward if you don’t know where you’ve been. And even the most interesting characters will come off like walking dumpster fires if they can’t remember what’s going on in the story they’re starring in. Not to mention, how is anyone supposed to formulate a solid plan for anything if the last session was a collage of memories and no one can even agree on what order they happened in?
Therefore, it is recommended to have a game plan going into a session for what the party wants to do, and don’t be afraid to ask the DM for clarification beforehand. This way, you can hit the ground running and avoid that uncomfortable moment of silence when the DM asks what everyone’s next move is.
If you are the DM, do yourself a favor and open your game with a solid recap to stamp out confusion and missed details.
3. Help the Other Characters Complete Their Goals
When it comes to being in a party, you are all in this together. But that doesn’t mean your collective gaming experience shouldn’t allow individual characters a moment in the spotlight. Sometimes, being a good player is about passing the basketball rather than trying to run down the court and score every time you get within 10 feet of it.
Likewise, challenge your fellow party members to be more than they were at the start of the adventure, aside from just gaining additional hit points and attack bonuses. The best story arcs need character progression or there will be no growth or development from the struggles faced. A character who doesn’t change over time outside of powers and abilities can be just plain boring. Just like a character who always wins isn’t inherently interesting and is likely to make the entire story less interesting as well.
4. Give the DM as Much or as Little as They Need to Work With
While you have the freedom to do whatever you like, sometimes it’s nice to throw the DM an easy pitch and go with the flow. Because, If what they have prepared was a murder mystery, and you and the party go off dragon hunting, you obviously won’t get the level of detail you would have previously. Not to mention, it’s nice not having to do all the heavy lifting in every scene.
With that said, turn the pages of the DM’s story to make the overall gaming experience more interesting for everyone. Maybe one or two players had a blast in some entirely random encounter. But undoubtedly, some of the other players might be asking, “Hey, what’s going on with that side quest we started?” or “I don’t know the actual plot?”
However, in the best-case scenario, the players could take what information or story the DM shares and help it become something greater than intended. For example, the story is about bandits attacking travelers, but their motives are suspected to be more than just enriching themselves. Then one of the players comes up with an idea about these motives that’s so good the DM incorporates it into the actual story.
5. As a DM, a Bit of Encouragement Doesn’t Hurt
Let’s be honest, just like every story we tell, we would like the next group we run a game for to be legends both in and outside the game. You know, those awesome characters that your friends still talk about long after the campaign has ended. But that doesn’t always happen. Perhaps you could subtly draw the party closer together using quests, the story or even in-game activities that bring the characters more together than when they started out?
Once I even went so far as to allow the party the opportunity to perform some thinly veiled team-building exercise for in-game rewards. Was this cheesy? The case could be made that it was. However, it did help the characters work better together, and no one complained because it genuinely felt like it moved the story forward. This can be accomplished by introducing a powerful and mysterious NPC whose motives aren’t necessarily clear, but they align enough for them to also want the party to succeed.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, both the players and the DM should be working towards the goal of having a successful party that will be filled with memorable stories and characters. An adventuring party is like a car: It’s made up of a number of parts that all need to be in good working order if you want it to run smoothly.
If you’re a player, treat your other team members like assets. Get to know them and help them succeed in their goals, so they’ll be willing and able to do the same for you. If you’re the DM, consider the importance of the party working well together and do what you can behind the scenes to motivate them to uncover the mysteries of the plot and the world it is set in. How obvious you make your efforts is entirely in your hands.