User blog comment:Mr. Bambu/Workshop for My D&D Table/@comment-28340828-20180919230742/@comment-28876888-20180919232853

1. Don't go for a big table. I play at a table of 10-12 people, which means we often have cases of too much happening and not much getting done. I'd suggest a moderate 5-6 to have a fair amount of variety.

2. Don't be afraid to break given rules. D&D has a lot of things that are guidelines. If you feel that one such guideline is restricting, break it. There's also plenty of "add-on" content available online, including campaigns for most video games and even a Naruto class. This is called Homebrew and I heavily endorse using it, or making your own, if you have the know-how to do so.

3. Play with at least one person you know beforehand. As in, if you have to join a table, try to know a person at that table. It is possible to play with complete strangers, but having something familiar to cling to is helpful.

4. Try your hardest not to fight IRL with your players. Out of game struggles have caused in-game events that turned out negatively, including killing other players.

5. Play carefully. This is not a game where if you die after a long time of living you just respawn (unless you're playing a game that does so, I guess)- this game will and regularly does permanently kill your players. The only reason my table comes back is due to high level magic.

6. Don't let one player get vastly more powerful than the others. This is called "The Table Captain", in which one player is the one on which the story/campaign largely hinges. He has the most money and the most things going on in his character's life, with other characters being sideshows.

7. Have fun. If it ain't fun, suggest a change. Or play with another group.

8. Try to keep a good sense of humor. For our table at least, comedy propels a LOT of the content and it makes it much more enjoyable. Don't let this distract you from the game, but have it be an add-on.

9. Don't get too beaten up if you do something bad in game. A dice roll once meant I lost a relic-class sword a friend had given me (Curufin of the Bow, seen above) by shattering it against an enemy's hide. I got so upset I nearly left, because I had no way of fixing it. I did, I just didn't see it at the time. So keep your head up, boyo.

10. Literally anything can happen. Expect the unexpected.

And, in closing, never trust the DM. They are not biased towards or against you (normally), but rather completely neutral. This means they are not to be trusted and could potentially ask a very innocent question one moment, or ask for a simple roll of the dice, and the next, several dozen demons are attempting to attack you.

I've been considering hosting a table for the VSBW if you're interested.