The 8 D&D Player Types and How to DM Them

In an ancient tome — the 4th Edition Dungeon Master’s Guide — WotC broke down what it considered to be the eight main types of players and gave DMs tips on how to handle them. Understanding who your players are, what they want and why they play can be a big help in DMing them. At the same time, how much should a DM have to adjust their game to fit different kinds of players?

In this episode, we revisit the eight player types to talk about whether the advice still applies, how we relate to different types of players (sometimes poorly), and strategies to bring out the best in your party and yourself.

2:00 Understanding different types of players — a 4E lessons today’s DMs should learn

4:00 The 8 player types according to 4E: Actor, Explorer, Instigator, Power Gamer, Slayer, Storyteller, Thinker and Watcher

7:00 Casting different player types into the right roles

• 10:00 How we handle Actors and Explorers
• 16:00 Engaging Watchers and Storytellers
• 18:00 Instigators starting trouble we still talk about decades later

20:00 Helping players understand their power to impact an RPG game

22:00 How we engage or don’t engage with different player types (Thorin does not put on a show)

• 23:00 Philosophies in encounter building
• 25:00 Is the DM more (most?) responsible for everyone’s fun?
• 27:00 Monster wrangling for Slayers and Power Gamers

30:00 To what extent do we influence PC character selection and party roles?

35:00 Pitching you campaign to players (shout out to Matt Colville)

41:00 Is it the DM’s job to adjust to the players, or should they adjust to you?

44:00 Specific strategies we use to interact with different player types

52:00 Curse of Strahd: What to do when even the module designer tones down the encounter

57:00 What your encounters teach the players: Should they be brave or scared in your game word?

1:04:00 Fun with secret Lovecraftian monsters

1:06:00 Getting players to accept and embrace the consequences of their actions

1:09:00 How different groups and circumstances impact DM style, players types and game expectations

1:13:00 It’s important to also play as a PC

1:16:00 Final thoughts: The DM is a player, too