When you show up to play or dungeon master a game of Dungeons & Dragons, you're going to encounter monsters, dungeons, gnomes, dwarves, dragons, and all kinds of other fantastical things that will keep you coming back to the game for more.
You'll also encounter all kinds of actual people while playing.
Some of your fellow D&D players will be enjoyable to deal with, and you'll be looking forward to playing with them again. Other will be less pleasant, even to the point of ruining the game.
Most D&D players fit into one of these archetypes. Here are the main types of D&D players you'll encounter. Which are you?
1. The Actor
The Actor is the player who loves their character and never stops role-playing. This isn't necessarily a bad trait to have, as it can help immerse the other players in the game (assuming they're willing to play along).
Just don't try to ask them a question outside of the game unless you want their gnome rogue to answer in its squeaky voice.
2. The Enforcer
One of the first things I learned when I started dungeon mastering was that fun is more important than following to rules to the letter. The Enforcer disagrees with this notion and they're going to call you on every single rule violation.
3. The Sleeper
The DM put lots of effort into writing their campaign but The Sleeper didn't hear a word of it. They're on their phone, starting at the ceiling, and doing just about anything else besides paying attention to the game.
They showed up because their friend dragged them along or they just want to fight and don't care about anything involving story. Either way, they just don't seem to care.
4. The I Am Evil
D&D leaves a lot of room for good and evil characters, and some people show up only to be as evil as possible, even if this means stealing from other players, killing quest-giving NPCs, and generally screwing up everything you have planned.
5. The Noob
The Noob is the guy who shows up to the game without knowing anything about how RPGs work.
They don't even seem like they've played a video game with leveling mechanics before, and they certainly didn't watch any videos explaining the mechanics of D&D before they showed up.
Oddly enough, though, this is 16th time they've shown up and played with this group, so their lack of knowledge is rather odd.
6. The Murderhobo
The Murderhobo is one of the most hated types of D&D players by both dungeon masters and other players. All they want to do is kill.
A friendly NPC approached the players? Let's attack them! A merchant appears, selling the rarest items anyone in your group has ever seen? Attack! The king requests help from your party? Attack!!! Whoever they are, they must die!
Killing stuff is part of the game, but there's always a time and place for it. It should be within reason. The Murderhobo's thirst for combat is so strong that it becomes frustrating.
7. The Powergamer
This player doesn't think of D&D as a fun role-playing experience. They want to build the perfect character, level up as quickly as possible, and mix-max every single possible stat.
This is a perfectly acceptable way to play, but it does kind of miss a lot of the point of the game. It shouldn't be about being the most powerful character possible, but about roleplaying and having fun.
8. The Metagamer
This player is similar to The Powergamer, except they're less concerned with the power of their character and more worried about exploiting the game's mechanics to accomplish their goals.
They calculate armor class based on what has hit and missed. They use what they—the player—know to make decisions as their character, which isn't really in the spirit of D&D.
9. The Cheater
The Cheater never seems to show what they rolled, but they always seem to succeed.
Is there a lock they want to pick with a DC of 20? By a miracle, they just happen to roll a 21—and scoop their dice up quickly before anyone can verify. If you ask about it, they assure you that their results are true.
Is your party on the verge of wiping while the last remaining monster has 13 HP left? Well, what do you know! Not only does The Cheater succeed in hitting, they perfectly deal 13 damage!
If it happens once or twice, that's totally normal. These coincidences are bound to happen in a game as heavily influenced by luck as D&D. But for The Cheater, it happens all the time.
10. The "Winner"
Like The Metagamer and The Powergamer, this type of player wants to succeed. But they treat the game like it's a competition.
They want to brag about how much damage they did to the monster and how they carried the group. They want to make the most gold. They just want to be better than everyone else, and that's not fun for anyone except them.
