It's aawesome how your videos still manage feel fresh and fun while covering similar topics you've been over before. I always am pleased when I see one in my sub box.
I started a game night with my kids. They're all teenagers now and I wanted to find a way to spend time with them and get them off their electronics. So I'm DM-ing our D&D game, and your videos have been a huge help.
I love crafting huge open world maps full of towsn and as many events as I can, then just let that party roam. Which really helps me to DM. Love the videos mate and gotta say in the grand scheme of things your probably the best DND youtuber there is. Keep up that amazing work, I got a campaign to run!
As a new GM this is SOOOO USEFUL! Thank you so much I’m still kinda trying to engage my players in their first adventure (which, spoiler alert, I’m not 100% sure of what it’s about yet).
I begun my campaign with a generic "save the person from goblins" and "defeat the evil wraith" but with a subtle air of a dark shadow hanging over it... Now their combating an encroaching eldritch being, a master manipulator, and an undead bandit general, and both their armies
Imagine: The players kill a family, whether on purpose or on accident (the family could have been evil). They don't manage to kill one of the sons, who then puts himself in a predicament to be saved by the party. They save him and take him as a squire. Having the boy grow and learn, finding all the weaknesses and strengths of the PCs. Then when they least expect it, are attacked by the boy in the middle of the night when his extended family has arrived.
Well... You've finally done it. I've taken my favorite epic book series (Belgariad & Mallorean) removed the base group... And have planned it as a campaign. Hopefully, all will go well. Last time I DM'd, was in 1983... So, it's been a while.
I started my group in a jailcell a la Elder Scrolls and them not knowing what happened the night before and how they got in the cell. This way I can make them either being drunk and smashin shit in the inn, a magical affair that made them fight something the night before and the guards knocked them out cold due to either them being the villians or not knowing what to do, etc. This gives you easy access to NPCs, quests given by the captain of the guard, the lord of the city, etc.
Something I've never seen that would be cool is starting characters off as survivors of a huge battle siege. Especially if that battle siege was perpetrated or defended against by their own previous characters.
Thoughts: All the PCs start with amnesia. No one knows who they are, aside from race and possibly something indicating their class. Or they stumble across their abilities that their body remembers from muscle memory and such. As the campaign goes along, have the players dream about their past. Or get snippets of possibilities. Were they evil? Perhaps make one of them an evil sorcerer who has forgotten his magic or somehow had a mind erasing spell go south and also affect him. They could have access to an actual background, but they can't metagame that they know what it is without investigation.
Idea for a game: Players all have a 1-2 hour session 0 to establish their character's motivations and get them all moving in the same direction. Example: John the PC gets off of work and meets his finance for a date. Maybe we throw in a little combat if they are that type of character or player, such as a drunk at the bar or a mugger. The date goes really well and they go back to his apartment. Fade to black. The next morning he wakes up to find the bed soaked in blood, with strange symbols carved in her naked, headless body. Maybe I should learn "Call of Cthulhu" so I can run this.
That's how I like to do my campaigns. I call it the player's starting session (session 0). I like to use them to let the players get to know their characters and ease into the system and world
Greetings I stumbled across your channel to become an efficient GM for my first game. Something I like to pride myself on doing is looking at how GM's run their own settings, and note cool tactics and ideas that they bring to the table, as well as how their own behaviors can also affect the comfort of the players. As someone who aspires to put my best foot forward for my future player base, I was wondering if you had a campaign going on that I could possibly sit in on and/or potentially join. After seeing many of your videos, I feel it would be in my best interest to learn more closely with someone of your own styling. If you're willing to help a brother out I'm happy to give you my skype or discord so we can sit down and chat about things before hand. I feel any sort of bond forged, especially over similar interests, is done with a "session zero" kind of chat, to get a feel for one another. Let me know below, and may the dungeons of dragons be ever plentiful with their hoards.
There is a third way to start a campaign, I have usually taken the path of allowing the players to find their way into the campaign which seems to give the players a sense of ownership of the campaign.
I find giving the players something to _do_ pretty much immediately is best. Roleplaying is about the decisions the players have their characters make. So present them with decisions to make.
@@nickwilliams8302 Giving someTHING to do is a way to do it, I personally prefer to give them paths that will bring them to the same choices down the line. If there is one choice I feel like I am forcing them to conform to my story. This doesn't make my path any better than other paths just another way and one I feel most comfortable with.
@@lancepickett5653 Well, one choice isn't much of a choice, is it? But ultimately, there's no replacement for talking to your players before the campaign to find out what kind of things they're interested in doing.
@@nickwilliams8302 I was commenting on the fact that there are more ways to handle the campaign than the fact that they do it the way the GM has decided they do it, it's not my way or the campaign is not the campaign that you prepared.
I once began an online sandbox game. They arrived on a new, undiscovered continent. The world they built was their own and TBH it was a bit of a social experiment. Some greedy characters grew in power and became antagonists. Some built shops. Others were soldiers and adventurers. I provided the geography, but almost everything else came from players. Don't worry so much about the story, build it with the players. They will come up with great stuff and as a GM I'm discovering the story along with them.
Adventure One: Scheduling
A dangerous endeavor, one that takes the lives of many great adventurers
You see, many try using the monster, "Wait, was I supposed to bring my character sheet?", from page 352 of the Monster Manual
It's aawesome how your videos still manage feel fresh and fun while covering similar topics you've been over before. I always am pleased when I see one in my sub box.
I started a game night with my kids. They're all teenagers now and I wanted to find a way to spend time with them and get them off their electronics. So I'm DM-ing our D&D game, and your videos have been a huge help.
That's awesome to read, have fun@
I know it's a few years on now, how did your games go?
Everyone knows the best sentance to begin session zero is "Everyone, roll for initiative."
Second best is... "hey, you're finally awake."
I love crafting huge open world maps full of towsn and as many events as I can, then just let that party roam. Which really helps me to DM. Love the videos mate and gotta say in the grand scheme of things your probably the best DND youtuber there is. Keep up that amazing work, I got a campaign to run!
As a new GM this is SOOOO USEFUL! Thank you so much I’m still kinda trying to engage my players in their first adventure (which, spoiler alert, I’m not 100% sure of what it’s about yet).
Thank you so much(comma), I’m still (etc). Punctuation is important. 😬
I begun my campaign with a generic "save the person from goblins" and "defeat the evil wraith" but with a subtle air of a dark shadow hanging over it... Now their combating an encroaching eldritch being, a master manipulator, and an undead bandit general, and both their armies
Damnit Guy I needed this video yesterday; I just did my first session as a dm. Great advice though
Imagine:
The players kill a family, whether on purpose or on accident (the family could have been evil). They don't manage to kill one of the sons, who then puts himself in a predicament to be saved by the party. They save him and take him as a squire. Having the boy grow and learn, finding all the weaknesses and strengths of the PCs. Then when they least expect it, are attacked by the boy in the middle of the night when his extended family has arrived.
Well... You've finally done it. I've taken my favorite epic book series (Belgariad & Mallorean) removed the base group... And have planned it as a campaign. Hopefully, all will go well. Last time I DM'd, was in 1983... So, it's been a while.
Adventure One: Necromancy
Lol, the intro was me last week. Except I was hungover because it was my little brothers birthday the night before
Shout-out to everyone that made a barkeeper's daughter in the little backwater village
Nice.
Thanks again, Guy!
I started my group in a jailcell a la Elder Scrolls and them not knowing what happened the night before and how they got in the cell. This way I can make them either being drunk and smashin shit in the inn, a magical affair that made them fight something the night before and the guards knocked them out cold due to either them being the villians or not knowing what to do, etc. This gives you easy access to NPCs, quests given by the captain of the guard, the lord of the city, etc.
Maybe after the campaign creator series is finished you could have an epic character creator series?
I would love to sit down and have a conversation with you, Guy. I'm a huge fan even though we have different ideas of how to run the game.
Something I've never seen that would be cool is starting characters off as survivors of a huge battle siege. Especially if that battle siege was perpetrated or defended against by their own previous characters.
Adventure One: Cat Wrangling
I am one minute in the video and already feel caught red handed telling my players not to play T-T
I've got a.....disease
Thoughts:
All the PCs start with amnesia. No one knows who they are, aside from race and possibly something indicating their class. Or they stumble across their abilities that their body remembers from muscle memory and such.
As the campaign goes along, have the players dream about their past. Or get snippets of possibilities. Were they evil? Perhaps make one of them an evil sorcerer who has forgotten his magic or somehow had a mind erasing spell go south and also affect him.
They could have access to an actual background, but they can't metagame that they know what it is without investigation.
We do in fact suggest that you game on.
Idea for a game:
Players all have a 1-2 hour session 0 to establish their character's motivations and get them all moving in the same direction.
Example: John the PC gets off of work and meets his finance for a date. Maybe we throw in a little combat if they are that type of character or player, such as a drunk at the bar or a mugger. The date goes really well and they go back to his apartment. Fade to black. The next morning he wakes up to find the bed soaked in blood, with strange symbols carved in her naked, headless body.
Maybe I should learn "Call of Cthulhu" so I can run this.
That's how I like to do my campaigns. I call it the player's starting session (session 0). I like to use them to let the players get to know their characters and ease into the system and world
world anvil vs big
Greetings I stumbled across your channel to become an efficient GM for my first game. Something I like to pride myself on doing is looking at how GM's run their own settings, and note cool tactics and ideas that they bring to the table, as well as how their own behaviors can also affect the comfort of the players. As someone who aspires to put my best foot forward for my future player base, I was wondering if you had a campaign going on that I could possibly sit in on and/or potentially join. After seeing many of your videos, I feel it would be in my best interest to learn more closely with someone of your own styling. If you're willing to help a brother out I'm happy to give you my skype or discord so we can sit down and chat about things before hand. I feel any sort of bond forged, especially over similar interests, is done with a "session zero" kind of chat, to get a feel for one another. Let me know below, and may the dungeons of dragons be ever plentiful with their hoards.
That's funny like people still use phones ;)
There is a third way to start a campaign, I have usually taken the path of allowing the players to find their way into the campaign which seems to give the players a sense of ownership of the campaign.
I find giving the players something to _do_ pretty much immediately is best. Roleplaying is about the decisions the players have their characters make. So present them with decisions to make.
@@nickwilliams8302 Giving someTHING to do is a way to do it, I personally prefer to give them paths that will bring them to the same choices down the line. If there is one choice I feel like I am forcing them to conform to my story. This doesn't make my path any better than other paths just another way and one I feel most comfortable with.
@@lancepickett5653 Well, one choice isn't much of a choice, is it?
But ultimately, there's no replacement for talking to your players before the campaign to find out what kind of things they're interested in doing.
@@nickwilliams8302 I was commenting on the fact that there are more ways to handle the campaign than the fact that they do it the way the GM has decided they do it, it's not my way or the campaign is not the campaign that you prepared.
I once began an online sandbox game. They arrived on a new, undiscovered continent. The world they built was their own and TBH it was a bit of a social experiment. Some greedy characters grew in power and became antagonists. Some built shops. Others were soldiers and adventurers. I provided the geography, but almost everything else came from players. Don't worry so much about the story, build it with the players. They will come up with great stuff and as a GM I'm discovering the story along with them.
Honestly, fuck world anvil for its stingyness and bugs, its not usable while free and is waaaaay to overpriced for what you get.