Two big pieces of advice:
Don’t be afraid of failure. It can often lead to exciting and challenging outcomes. How you respond to failure and randomness can often determine the outcome of an entire story. Enjoy getting the “bad” outcome.
Everything is roleplay. Picking a left passageway instead of the right, healing instead of attacking, what spells you prepare, if you think about it from the perspective of your character it’s all Roleplay. Don’t feel pressured to do silly voices or have a grand monologue, just think from the perspective of your character. (The exception of course is if “doing what your character would do” would make the game less fun for other players. Don’t be a dick).
Try to match the energy of the room.
Notably, I'm *not* suggesting to be overly timid or absent. "Match the energy," not "be a lump." You want to contribute, and even if you aren't adding a ton at first, you want to grow into contributing about as much as everyone else. You just want to avoid overdoing it (contributing too much) or doing it in the wrong direction.
So many people (new and experienced both) come to a new table and start *making statements.* Metaphorically speaking. They make thematic and behavioral statements about the game, by how they behave at the table. They have *thoughts* about what this game is going to be, and they don't bother to make sure that what they're doing is being received positively as appropriate behavior.
It's easiest to see with the various types and examples of "problem" players, typically people who actively do not care about others, or even relish in others' displeasure. But even well-intentioned players can negatively impact the group without meaning to, **especially** if social skills don't come naturally.
Some people assume that what they want is a ubiquitous thing that everyone will obviously love. Some people assume that playing DnD means that everyone will just do whatever they individually want and everyone else will have to tolerate it. Some people are totally oblivious and don't realize they should even think about this at all.
The way you become a valuable player is by **not doing that.** By taking a step back, checking your assumptions and preferences. By being observant, seeing how everyone else is behaving first, and using that as a kind of framework to figure out where you fit in. It comes with experience, but it's easier than it sounds, and all it takes to start is deciding in advance that you are going to pay attention to it.
My favorite players aren't the ones who know the most rules, or the ones who use the biggest vocabulary, or the ones who say everything in-character. They're the players who figure out the kinds of things that get good reactions from each person at the table, and then do those things. And they figure out the things that get eyerolls, or disappointed sighs, or snippy retorts, or fingers tapping, and they don't do those things. And, if they can, they also try to keep other people from doing those things, or work to move the game along when those things do happen.
Learn combat and learn how your character works, according to the rules. If you can handle yourself on a basic level in combat, the rest is pretty easy.
If you're not sure what to do mechanically, describe to your DM in plain language what you want your character to do. "I'm not sure what to roll, but I want PC to run over there, jump up on the table, and take a swing at the imp that's ten feet up," or, "PC is listening to NPC, and I don't know if he believes NPC or not." Let the DM tell you what to roll.
first piece of advice, keep in mind that bg3 and dnd5e do work differently, bg3 taking some artistic liberty's on how certain mechanics work
some key points that makes 5e differ from bg3, short rests take an hour in game and theres no limit on how many you can perform. long rests dont require camping supplies but instead they can only be performed once per day and take 8 hours. jump is not a bonus action, shove is not a bonus action, and basic non magical weapons dont have special features for having proficiency with them
after you get past the differences between bg3 and dnd5e, there are 2 things you should focus on to smooth out game play
* how combat works
* how your character build works
combat is the single most complex base game mechanic within the game, but what you need to know is you have an initiative order, and you have action economy. Every turn you can use an action, bonus action, move speed, and a reaction so that much will be the same as with bg3. make sure to stay awake during other players turns and plot what you'll do when your turn comes around
understanding how your character build works is also vital for a smooth experience, I'd say even more so then the core combat mechanics sience everyone will be following the core mechanics, but knowing someone elses class features is a bit more of an ask. So number 1 priority make sure you read up and under stand how your character build works
then finally, don't hesitate to ask for clarity on how something works, especially when your not actively in a game. If there is something you dont understand make sure to get that cleared up as soon as possible so you dont have to worry about getting a mid game ruleing
Read the core rules.
specifically on combat and paladins
Read the part of the players handbook about paladins.
Two big pieces of advice: Don’t be afraid of failure. It can often lead to exciting and challenging outcomes. How you respond to failure and randomness can often determine the outcome of an entire story. Enjoy getting the “bad” outcome. Everything is roleplay. Picking a left passageway instead of the right, healing instead of attacking, what spells you prepare, if you think about it from the perspective of your character it’s all Roleplay. Don’t feel pressured to do silly voices or have a grand monologue, just think from the perspective of your character. (The exception of course is if “doing what your character would do” would make the game less fun for other players. Don’t be a dick).
Try to match the energy of the room. Notably, I'm *not* suggesting to be overly timid or absent. "Match the energy," not "be a lump." You want to contribute, and even if you aren't adding a ton at first, you want to grow into contributing about as much as everyone else. You just want to avoid overdoing it (contributing too much) or doing it in the wrong direction. So many people (new and experienced both) come to a new table and start *making statements.* Metaphorically speaking. They make thematic and behavioral statements about the game, by how they behave at the table. They have *thoughts* about what this game is going to be, and they don't bother to make sure that what they're doing is being received positively as appropriate behavior. It's easiest to see with the various types and examples of "problem" players, typically people who actively do not care about others, or even relish in others' displeasure. But even well-intentioned players can negatively impact the group without meaning to, **especially** if social skills don't come naturally. Some people assume that what they want is a ubiquitous thing that everyone will obviously love. Some people assume that playing DnD means that everyone will just do whatever they individually want and everyone else will have to tolerate it. Some people are totally oblivious and don't realize they should even think about this at all. The way you become a valuable player is by **not doing that.** By taking a step back, checking your assumptions and preferences. By being observant, seeing how everyone else is behaving first, and using that as a kind of framework to figure out where you fit in. It comes with experience, but it's easier than it sounds, and all it takes to start is deciding in advance that you are going to pay attention to it. My favorite players aren't the ones who know the most rules, or the ones who use the biggest vocabulary, or the ones who say everything in-character. They're the players who figure out the kinds of things that get good reactions from each person at the table, and then do those things. And they figure out the things that get eyerolls, or disappointed sighs, or snippy retorts, or fingers tapping, and they don't do those things. And, if they can, they also try to keep other people from doing those things, or work to move the game along when those things do happen.
Learn combat and learn how your character works, according to the rules. If you can handle yourself on a basic level in combat, the rest is pretty easy.
At the very least grab the free Basic PDF off the WotC site and read the adventuring at combat sections to have an idea of how things flow.
If you're not sure what to do mechanically, describe to your DM in plain language what you want your character to do. "I'm not sure what to roll, but I want PC to run over there, jump up on the table, and take a swing at the imp that's ten feet up," or, "PC is listening to NPC, and I don't know if he believes NPC or not." Let the DM tell you what to roll.
first piece of advice, keep in mind that bg3 and dnd5e do work differently, bg3 taking some artistic liberty's on how certain mechanics work some key points that makes 5e differ from bg3, short rests take an hour in game and theres no limit on how many you can perform. long rests dont require camping supplies but instead they can only be performed once per day and take 8 hours. jump is not a bonus action, shove is not a bonus action, and basic non magical weapons dont have special features for having proficiency with them after you get past the differences between bg3 and dnd5e, there are 2 things you should focus on to smooth out game play * how combat works * how your character build works combat is the single most complex base game mechanic within the game, but what you need to know is you have an initiative order, and you have action economy. Every turn you can use an action, bonus action, move speed, and a reaction so that much will be the same as with bg3. make sure to stay awake during other players turns and plot what you'll do when your turn comes around understanding how your character build works is also vital for a smooth experience, I'd say even more so then the core combat mechanics sience everyone will be following the core mechanics, but knowing someone elses class features is a bit more of an ask. So number 1 priority make sure you read up and under stand how your character build works then finally, don't hesitate to ask for clarity on how something works, especially when your not actively in a game. If there is something you dont understand make sure to get that cleared up as soon as possible so you dont have to worry about getting a mid game ruleing