While I love being a GM, I rather suspect that I am crap at playing roleplaying games with a player character. As is typical of humans, I hate to see the kinds of things I do at the table when I am the GM. While there’s probably nothing terribly surprising in the kinds of stuff I dislike players doing, all of them are behaviours I’ve exhibited recently.

Here’s a quick list off the top of my head:

1. Reluctant to play – might show up, might not
2. Don’t read the rules
3. Don’t read the world notes
4. Last to make a character
5. Take whatever character is easiest to make, then whine about the build
6. Complain about rules you don’t like during the game
7. Point out the flaws in the adventure during the game
8. Allow personal interruptions and disappear for minutes at a time

These behaviours make me feel ashamed, which in turn makes me less likely to want to play at another GM’s table. My self-consciousness is palpable, and I simply end up talking myself out of being in the group. I am quite convinced that I am the worst kind of player.

The question, of course, is why I will read the rules, create a world and write it up, make characters for games I am running or planning to run, generally roll with the rules of a game in-session, cover for the flaws in my adventures, and do my best to bat away interruptions when I am GMing?

Why are we such inconsistent beings? I would never put up with me at my own table.

WTF?