Do you imagine that one day the idea of "reinterpreting events" @33:40 could become a stand alone video? As a DM I find myself doing this often, and I think it is a crucial component of improvising content.
I don't think the first half was unwatchable or anything. Frankly, as a viewer (more properly a listener), the "boring" talky bits are generally more interesting than the 30 minutes of people rolling dice and calling out numbers...
I do in part agree with you. As a veiwer for entertainment purposes, I enjoy the RP sessions immensely. But, on the other hand, as a beginner DM myself I truly enjoy watching how Matt implements the abilities of the monsters during the encounters.
Yes. And watching him suddenly smile and get real excited once he figured it out was great, too. He knows what he's about to fight and he's eager to fight it, which is always nice.
I think that sometimes Phil crosses the line into actually stating the reasoning behind his in-character statements, but he did this bit exactly right.
I just love the political complexity in Matt's campaigns. i follow the campaign diaries really closely to learn sth so i can deploy it in my own games.
I definitely understand why the players treat things like "no weapons in the city unless you're a knight" as an immutable rule. In a video game, if some said that to you, it would be a GAME MECHANIC, and it would be a literal physical reality that the game wouldn't let you bring a weapon into the city until you completed the requirement. Doing the thing with the courier seals was a smart way to communicate that they can treat this like a real world and not a game.
As someone who listens to the regular campaign as a podcast, these recaps are really helpful for making sure I didn't miss anything when real life intrudes on podcast listening. This new addition of the video cut-away is even more helpful because I get to see the facial expressions and body language in at least a few of the more notable scenes. All of this to say, thanks for all the work you put into this and everything you all do.
The military college opportunity seems so cool to me. Its a great way to make the chain seem like the real deal. Besides that, it's a chance for Slim to be Slim.
As soon as you introduced Demelsa (spelling?), I instantly went 'It's that girl from The Night Manager!' So, yeah, you did a really spot-on job of portraying her!
30:55 I think your problem is to high expectations. Realistically speaking if you go to a Starbucks and see the Barista writing something on their tablet... even if it was a binder, would you be like "Hey, whatcha working on?" I think not. Similarly your players will not look at the Librarian Playwright as someone worth inquiring about. This woman worked there, she'll probably have a reason to write all of these things. If you wanted your players to question her about her being a playwright you should have her accidentally drop her notes and make the players pick it up and see that is working on a play. That might have sparked a conversation. As Gamedesigner there is a great GDC talk about Loners in MMO... and how a lot of people do not like to be the ones to 'engage'... and you have a very passive group, based on everything i've seen thus far. I mean, i still have no idea what personality the Goblin or King has (I have a better understanding of Copper than of king, tho). So you need to get them to react to you.
Yeah, it would feel deeply weird to me to ask someone in that situation about their personal life. Doubly so in this case, since they're literally on a mission! It makes sense to ask her about where this particular document would be, how to deal with the undead, etc. (and didn't it come out that she carries a rapier?) because that stuff is directly relevant. I've also been in groups where nobody wants to be the first to speak up, but not necessarily because they didn't want to engage at all. It was more like "am I sure it's OK for me to be the one to do this, or would I be stepping on someone's toes?" How to curb that and not be "too deferential" as a player might be an interesting topic for a discussion.
@@Dorian_sapiens Well... he gets the advise anyway. That is the nice thing about us Random NPCs... you stroll through the level and pass by them... and suddenly they blurt out their voice lines if you want it or not. It gives the players a chance to react to those NPCs, if they want to.
That part about going back and recontextualising stuff that already happened was great, I do that too and always feel a little bad about it, but hearing that you do it as well puts me at ease!
God I can’t stop talking about how much I love these I miss so much in an episode from audio processing issues so hearing about things I miss are so nice
Thanks for this, Matt. The behind the scenes analysis is great and really helpful for DM's as we also go through some of the same processes and have some of the same questions in our games.
Dont know if youll recognize my name from past comments, (long time fan) just had to mention how much i loved the editing in this video. The funny edits arent something I expect from your usual videos, but they were great here! The reference shots of the stream, like Tom and the gelatinous cube, were absolutely great. But when you said, "it was about time for something to happen" zoomed on your face and said, "so somethin' needs to happen!" I absolutley laughed out loud.
I was thinking of Olivia Coleman from the night manager as soon as you introduced that character and it makes me unreasonably happy that there is really a connection.
These videos are great, and I think probably the most important ones for a new DM specifically to watch if they're watching The Chain. Ruminating on how sessions went and how you can improve to me has been more important than spending that time on prep for the next session. It can cut into quantity of prep but improves the quality of it.
I'm surprisingly captivated by this campaign and I think it's at least in part because of the tone you've set at the table. I perceive that tone as "we take our job and products seriously, but our jobs and products are not serious".
Loving the campaign so far. As a viewer I can feel the tension that's revolving around what the chain does next. Great writing and great plays from the team 👍.
I loved your note at the end, about the process of always wanting to pick apart what happened to find the pieces you're unhappy with (and want to improve). When I experience that, it sometimes feels like "what's wrong with you, why can't you just let yourself feel happy and satisfied," so it's nice to feel some camaraderie. I also want to get better at accepting that as part of the process, and finding more peace with it. Because I think you're right, i think it is part of creating something you care about. Being completely satisfied with what you've done would make it very hard to get better.
Tbh I think they players don't lean into the npcs because they think that picking a side or talking to the wrong person just one time will get them killed, and they'll look stupid. I think everyone is really scared of looking stupid on camera. That's why they're trying to get boots a title, so they can be their own faction and don't have to risk anything allying with the forces in the city. Maybe there needs to be a bigger, more tangible benefit for allying with someone.
Hmm, I think it's a valid choice they're making - they're clearly thinking about the likely consequences of their decisions. I got the sense that when Angel or what's-her-name told them about what it might be like to be a knight who's beholden to Sharomi, they were like "yeah, that's smart". Seeking out someone to ally themselves with who's more closely aligned with their own interests and desires is a good thing, I think. And being a noble will allow Boots not only to start his own faction, but also to "get into the right parties", with more opportunities to seek out contacts and also to just make stuff happen. Aren't they trying to get in contact with some faction that's also anti-Ajax? Boots becoming socially connected could help them do more of that as well.
Pretty much any group I've ever played with or run a game for would be looking to get knighthoods without strings attached if it were at all possible. The entire reason they were looking at the Heraldic Society as a possible source. Personally, I'd like to see Matt be a little more definitive with the information he's giving to the players. It's still not really clear if Boots getting a title will get them knighthoods at all (the Privy Council might have to vote to give the House of Boots a quota). If it doesn't, this whole quest is kind of a waste of time.
Thanks for the insight in your post-mortem Matt! It helped me empathize with my DM which allowed me to realize that when in a city I should have a list of things that I as a player want to do instead of relying wholly upon the DM to provide activities (I don’t think the Chain is guilty of this, just me) and that when a DM singles out an NPC and really gives them some color that might be a good time to slow down, ask questions and explore. Like you, I love the role playing element but I tend to get self conscious when role playing because I don’t want to waste the other players time with my flavor of fun.
Speaking as the audience, Matt, I have found all of your streams to be extremely watchable (I always watch the VOD, because timezones, but it gets priority over basically the entirety of the rest of youtube once it goes up).
To have a refresher right before the stream is really nice, I reckon. I only watch it on UA-cam anyways but even having it discussed half a week before it comes out on UA-cam is still good. It was a good change.
Constantly reinterpreting events is a fun way of creating content and basically get the players to help you build the world. You do run the risk of accidental plotholes though. Doing this becomes a whole lot easier if you have your players write a journal entry summary for every session about what they did and what were their POVs on what happened. It's a hoot to cross-reference how the players interpreted something happened with your own GM notes. Sometimes, you like the players' interpretations so much or it gives you inspiration that you might completely rewrite the "behind-the-scenes" justifications and events that happened.
Matt talking about double and triple consciousness resonates with me. I am MUCH more aware of how my game is going now vs the campaign I was running a year ago. I am much more critical of myself because of this. This weeks session for example, was some roleplaying with a dragon wyrmling and then some puzzles. I ended the session thinking how boring it was because everyone was so quiet. It was only later and chatting with one of the players, kind of a debrief we seem to do each week, that I felt a lot better because I got HIS point of view. Long winded, but basically double consciousness is a double edged sword. It helps but it can also hurt (make you doubt yourself)
These are great! I love watching these after the chain episodes. Sometimes it gives you some really good tips on how to improve your DMing, and they are always enjoyable.
More clips from the stream!!! I know it's probably more work, but as someone who doesn't have time to watch the whole stream, it gives these campaign diaries a lot of personality.
Cuts to the awesome moments from the stream are awesome. More please! Listening to you talk about Capital and everything that's going on is really inspiring me to work on the two major cities in the world I'm DMing. I want to have them ready for when my players get there. (Thankfully I have plenty of time because I blew up the docks of the current town in the first session.) Capital feels just so alive. I definitely want to try to capture that with Hub and Beachhead.
To be fair to your players, several of them are Lawful characters and thus are likely to view statements like "Only knights MAY take weapons into the city" as "Only knights CAN take weapons into the city."
Also, this city seems pretty technically and legally advanced. I can totally see myself being less likely to try to smuggle my weapons here than in a setting with a lower tech level. I also don't know what the consequences would be if they get caught; I haven't watched every minute of the stream, so I may have simply missed it, but if the players don't know what the consequences of getting caught with weapons in the city are either, then that could be why they're willing to wait to do it legally. If it's the same as the fake seals (they just have to pay someone a bribe), then that's one thing; if they'll go to jail, that's another. My assumption has been that if they tried to go into the city with their weapons, they'd be physically barred from the area until they surrendered them - that comes from living in the modern world, I guess, and from things like that one part of Lord of the Rings. If that's not the case, then the choice is much lower-stakes, which is great, but it's not so great if the players don't realize that.
Hey Matt, I really enjoy your campaign diaries. I also like when they get released on Wednesdays, it helps me remember what has happened and gets me pumped for the show. Thanks.
Your insights are so helpful. Nice work on this one. The clip inserts are a great touch - hope to see more of that in the future. Always seeking to improve myself, too!
Give the players an NPC with which they can interact who's an outsider like them. It'll be more natural for them because this person may know about the same amount of information and is in a similar situation.
The re-imagining events has really paid dividends in my current campaign - also keeps the GM juices flowing. Highly recommend it! I also LOVED the eggs comment.😆😆😆
I will have this encounter in my game. I only hope to pull it off half as well as you did Matt. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see how you use Gelatinous Cubes and Mimics.
I think the reason none of the players inquired as to what the librarian was doing is simply because the first line she says is "oh, what, ha ha, nothing nothi- wait, you're not police?" I as a viewer inferred that whatever papers she was hiding were illicit in some way instead of being personal. The _feeling_ I've had from Capitol in general is more like the City of Thieves from Adventure Time, where everyone has something to hide from someone, than it being this metropolis full of aspiring artists and bleeding heartthrobs who've dedicated their lives to theatre or music. I recognize that we've only been in Capitol for a total of like 3 sessions and that time has been dominated by politics (and places to eat) but unless I've missed it, you've never described a place as having a bard rehearing nearby, two actors obviously in their costumes taking a break between showings, a couple dueling to settle an insult, or a person happily putting all their money down in luck based gambling. Again unless I'm just not remembering or not perceptive enough to pick up on things like that, the two instances I can recall that get closest to the culture described in your "pantheon of gods" worldbuilding video is during the robot-boys chase sequence Slim jumped over an active stage with a play happening on it and you once said something about a college that nobles send their kids to to learn an art.
Keep in mind they've mostly only been in the Staids, a port area like that will have a different feel than the main part of the city where all the nobles and rich arts patrons are.
I find it very interesting that anytime in your campaign diaries you mention that part of the campaign was probably boring for the audience that I find these parts of the campaign the most entertaining and my favorite parts to listen to. It could be that I'm listening to the podcast and not watching it so the combat isn't as entertaining. Or that I just love the role playing so much more. Either way, love all the work you and everyone put into everything!
Sorry for taking 24 hours to start watching, power outage at work as an electrician means no time for Matt Colville. But I'm here now to support Campaign Diaries
Danke man. Richtig gute Ideen für meine homebrew Abenteuer. Thanks man. Brilliant ideas that i want to use for my homebrew adventures. Keep it up, i like your videos!
I really enjoyed the 'embarrassingly old school encounter' this session. It's actually the only combat encounter in this series that I haven't skipped past when listening to the podcast. It would have been a hilarious shame if it had resulted in a TPK though XD
Easiest fix for players not engaging with NPCs- Add an intermediary. A lowly, opinionated clerk who travels with them. Kind of guy who hides in the background during fights, who gives them options in-game, and whose life can be altered by the players. Very important that they're not a combat personality (but only because you have too many PCs for that to work); maybe they're just a scribe or something. You can actually add a lot of roleplay variety by switching this person out every sessions or so. Make them have opinions of each other, that kind of thing. This will help because the important NPCs are simply too important; nothing the players do can actually affect major NPCs lives. Another thing the clerk can do is create a point where the players have to react. If they're in listener mode with important NPCs, have the clerk say, "They think you're too stuffy to talk to, milord," and you'll see your PCs jump right in character. That's how I'd address that issue.
As a fellow DM I have always had a hard time running or playing in campaigns with politics, and it wasn't until this video that I was able to define why. I have always, always felt Dungeons and Dragons was the Hero's Journey of the players (PCs). How are you supposed to be a political hero? I think that question sums up my disconnect with it, when I fight monsters and get treasure and level up, I am pro-active with agency. I am solving a mystery, or trying to stop the BBEG, Or saving the kingdom from the disaster foretold by the Prophet Maguffin during the age of guys that were so-so at predicting the future. I know how to be that hero, I don't know how to be the hero of political infighting and maneuvering, nor do I know how to tell I defeated the challenge and leveled up at politics. Putting some thought into it, I came up with a TV model I could base it on, the show Arrow. Season 4 team arrow fight off magic and the criminal element and a political take over and the arrow becomes mayor. I know how to cast counterspell vs a 6th level spell, I need to roll a 16 or better on an arcana check. I don't know how to cast Counter Endorsement when my political rival gained the favor of the merchants guild, or what I need to roll to defeat it. The other hard part is this; the players can deal with one fight, encounter at a time. In a web of politics, things are going on around them, plot lines advancing and only changed by the players if that is the strand of spider silk they pull on that week. When they find out that over on thread 6, (one they didn't choose or get to quick enough) the plot advances and all they can do is listen to a recap, and all they can say is either glad we didn't go there or that sounded like fun too bad we missed it. For me as a DM I think I would have to find answers for this before I ever ran a campaign like it, and as a player I would have to ask the DM if She/He/They had answers for a good many of them. With all this said I love watching The Chain, and think the story has been amazing so far. The questions I pose are just that questions, they are not a critique, but an exercise to try to understand this type of game play and to master it.
I'd love it if you could do a Running the Game bit on your retroactive additive politics as a method to fix encounters the DM isn't happy with. That struck me as a very novel idea, and one I'd like to pick your brain about some more.
Commentary starts at 29:47
Do you imagine that one day the idea of "reinterpreting events" @33:40 could become a stand alone video? As a DM I find myself doing this often, and I think it is a crucial component of improvising content.
So helpful
Matt, I adore the cuts to the stream. Very helpful and funny. Also learned a lot about old school play from mimics and cubes
I don't think the first half was unwatchable or anything. Frankly, as a viewer (more properly a listener), the "boring" talky bits are generally more interesting than the 30 minutes of people rolling dice and calling out numbers...
I do in part agree with you. As a veiwer for entertainment purposes, I enjoy the RP sessions immensely. But, on the other hand, as a beginner DM myself I truly enjoy watching how Matt implements the abilities of the monsters during the encounters.
Your Gelatinous Cube / Mimic encounter deserves a Jim Murphy gold star!!
Tom keeping his mouth shut was brilliant. Shows that he is an amazing player!
Yes. And watching him suddenly smile and get real excited once he figured it out was great, too. He knows what he's about to fight and he's eager to fight it, which is always nice.
Ever since Nails he's been my favorite
Phil prompting the statement "Gith are hatched, apparently" is a great example of "Say, don't tell" lol
I think that sometimes Phil crosses the line into actually stating the reasoning behind his in-character statements, but he did this bit exactly right.
But Slim's statement that she must have 30 to 40 eggs in her, pure gold!
I'm so glad you put the egg clip in there so I could see it again, it's so good
Love the clips from the stream, brought a smile to my face.
Yeah - really liked this added aspect esp the tom bit!
Pulling off a really good hidden retcon that justifies previous events and sets up future ones is a very satisfying feeling.
I just love the political complexity in Matt's campaigns. i follow the campaign diaries really closely to learn sth so i can deploy it in my own games.
BEST ENCOUNTER EVER! LOVED when this happened on the stream. The cube eating the mimic who had grappled boots was awesome. MOST old school encounter.
I definitely understand why the players treat things like "no weapons in the city unless you're a knight" as an immutable rule. In a video game, if some said that to you, it would be a GAME MECHANIC, and it would be a literal physical reality that the game wouldn't let you bring a weapon into the city until you completed the requirement. Doing the thing with the courier seals was a smart way to communicate that they can treat this like a real world and not a game.
As someone who listens to the regular campaign as a podcast, these recaps are really helpful for making sure I didn't miss anything when real life intrudes on podcast listening. This new addition of the video cut-away is even more helpful because I get to see the facial expressions and body language in at least a few of the more notable scenes. All of this to say, thanks for all the work you put into this and everything you all do.
The military college opportunity seems so cool to me. Its a great way to make the chain seem like the real deal. Besides that, it's a chance for Slim to be Slim.
As soon as you introduced Demelsa (spelling?), I instantly went 'It's that girl from The Night Manager!'
So, yeah, you did a really spot-on job of portraying her!
Please interject these videos with more clips from the game. That was amazing
30:55 I think your problem is to high expectations. Realistically speaking if you go to a Starbucks and see the Barista writing something on their tablet... even if it was a binder, would you be like "Hey, whatcha working on?" I think not. Similarly your players will not look at the Librarian Playwright as someone worth inquiring about. This woman worked there, she'll probably have a reason to write all of these things. If you wanted your players to question her about her being a playwright you should have her accidentally drop her notes and make the players pick it up and see that is working on a play. That might have sparked a conversation. As Gamedesigner there is a great GDC talk about Loners in MMO... and how a lot of people do not like to be the ones to 'engage'... and you have a very passive group, based on everything i've seen thus far. I mean, i still have no idea what personality the Goblin or King has (I have a better understanding of Copper than of king, tho). So you need to get them to react to you.
Good comment, I was thinking similar things. If she had been loudly testing some lines of dialogue for example
Yeah, it would feel deeply weird to me to ask someone in that situation about their personal life. Doubly so in this case, since they're literally on a mission! It makes sense to ask her about where this particular document would be, how to deal with the undead, etc. (and didn't it come out that she carries a rapier?) because that stuff is directly relevant.
I've also been in groups where nobody wants to be the first to speak up, but not necessarily because they didn't want to engage at all. It was more like "am I sure it's OK for me to be the one to do this, or would I be stepping on someone's toes?" How to curb that and not be "too deferential" as a player might be an interesting topic for a discussion.
Didn't you hear him? He's perfectly capable of diagnosing the problem on his own and doesn't want advice from random NPCs on the internet.
@@Dorian_sapiens Well... he gets the advise anyway. That is the nice thing about us Random NPCs... you stroll through the level and pass by them... and suddenly they blurt out their voice lines if you want it or not.
It gives the players a chance to react to those NPCs, if they want to.
That part about going back and recontextualising stuff that already happened was great, I do that too and always feel a little bad about it, but hearing that you do it as well puts me at ease!
God I can’t stop talking about how much I love these I miss so much in an episode from audio processing issues so hearing about things I miss are so nice
This, so much this!
As someone who works in a library, I loved the descriptions of this library
Thank you a million times for those epic cuts to the stream. That’s exactly what these recaps have needed!!!
Just wanted to say the first part of the evening felt perfectly watchable to me. The NPCs were lovely.
Adding the clips of the moments you're talking about is awesome!
Thanks for this, Matt. The behind the scenes analysis is great and really helpful for DM's as we also go through some of the same processes and have some of the same questions in our games.
Dont know if youll recognize my name from past comments, (long time fan) just had to mention how much i loved the editing in this video. The funny edits arent something I expect from your usual videos, but they were great here! The reference shots of the stream, like Tom and the gelatinous cube, were absolutely great. But when you said, "it was about time for something to happen" zoomed on your face and said, "so somethin' needs to happen!" I absolutley laughed out loud.
I really enjoyed the first half. as a viewer, seeing little glimpses of the npcs without necessarily learning everything makes it feel real to ME
The guest lecture seems like a really interesting roleplaying scenario. I can't wait to see it!
I was thinking of Olivia Coleman from the night manager as soon as you introduced that character and it makes me unreasonably happy that there is really a connection.
The last two sessions have been great. You guys are really hitting your stride!
This was my favourite roleplay episode so far
Hope the headaches are manageable. We need to keep the Colville Elder Brain happy so us tadpoles can mature into happy mind flayers.
The zoom in on Tom with the added sound effect was amazing!
These videos are great, and I think probably the most important ones for a new DM specifically to watch if they're watching The Chain. Ruminating on how sessions went and how you can improve to me has been more important than spending that time on prep for the next session. It can cut into quantity of prep but improves the quality of it.
I'm surprisingly captivated by this campaign and I think it's at least in part because of the tone you've set at the table. I perceive that tone as "we take our job and products seriously, but our jobs and products are not serious".
Just finished your book, Thief. Loved it. Hope you somehow find some time to work on Fighter :)
Putting the reference clips in this video is aces 👌
I woke up my neighbors laughing at the cube. Watching Tom try not to spoil the moment was the best.
Loving the campaign so far. As a viewer I can feel the tension that's revolving around what the chain does next. Great writing and great plays from the team 👍.
I loved your note at the end, about the process of always wanting to pick apart what happened to find the pieces you're unhappy with (and want to improve). When I experience that, it sometimes feels like "what's wrong with you, why can't you just let yourself feel happy and satisfied," so it's nice to feel some camaraderie. I also want to get better at accepting that as part of the process, and finding more peace with it. Because I think you're right, i think it is part of creating something you care about. Being completely satisfied with what you've done would make it very hard to get better.
This is fabulous! I love watching the sessions well enough, but Matt's enthusiasm and energy take it all to Eleven.
Love the way you steer things. Feels like a real home game. Keep it up!
That spymaster woman was a thing of beauty.
Tbh I think they players don't lean into the npcs because they think that picking a side or talking to the wrong person just one time will get them killed, and they'll look stupid. I think everyone is really scared of looking stupid on camera.
That's why they're trying to get boots a title, so they can be their own faction and don't have to risk anything allying with the forces in the city.
Maybe there needs to be a bigger, more tangible benefit for allying with someone.
Hmm, I think it's a valid choice they're making - they're clearly thinking about the likely consequences of their decisions. I got the sense that when Angel or what's-her-name told them about what it might be like to be a knight who's beholden to Sharomi, they were like "yeah, that's smart". Seeking out someone to ally themselves with who's more closely aligned with their own interests and desires is a good thing, I think. And being a noble will allow Boots not only to start his own faction, but also to "get into the right parties", with more opportunities to seek out contacts and also to just make stuff happen. Aren't they trying to get in contact with some faction that's also anti-Ajax? Boots becoming socially connected could help them do more of that as well.
Pretty much any group I've ever played with or run a game for would be looking to get knighthoods without strings attached if it were at all possible. The entire reason they were looking at the Heraldic Society as a possible source.
Personally, I'd like to see Matt be a little more definitive with the information he's giving to the players. It's still not really clear if Boots getting a title will get them knighthoods at all (the Privy Council might have to vote to give the House of Boots a quota). If it doesn't, this whole quest is kind of a waste of time.
Thanks for the insight in your post-mortem Matt! It helped me empathize with my DM which allowed me to realize that when in a city I should have a list of things that I as a player want to do instead of relying wholly upon the DM to provide activities (I don’t think the Chain is guilty of this, just me) and that when a DM singles out an NPC and really gives them some color that might be a good time to slow down, ask questions and explore. Like you, I love the role playing element but I tend to get self conscious when role playing because I don’t want to waste the other players time with my flavor of fun.
Speaking as the audience, Matt, I have found all of your streams to be extremely watchable (I always watch the VOD, because timezones, but it gets priority over basically the entirety of the rest of youtube once it goes up).
I love this new timing for the campaign diary, and I hope it takes some of the pressure off of you and Jerry!
To have a refresher right before the stream is really nice, I reckon. I only watch it on UA-cam anyways but even having it discussed half a week before it comes out on UA-cam is still good. It was a good change.
I love that MGS sound effect.
I have to say that Mimic/Cube battle at the end was so classic. I loved every moment of it!
love to see a DM having fun!!
Constantly reinterpreting events is a fun way of creating content and basically get the players to help you build the world. You do run the risk of accidental plotholes though.
Doing this becomes a whole lot easier if you have your players write a journal entry summary for every session about what they did and what were their POVs on what happened. It's a hoot to cross-reference how the players interpreted something happened with your own GM notes. Sometimes, you like the players' interpretations so much or it gives you inspiration that you might completely rewrite the "behind-the-scenes" justifications and events that happened.
No! - Too Soon! Too Soon! - Must watch entire stream first!
Matt talking about double and triple consciousness resonates with me. I am MUCH more aware of how my game is going now vs the campaign I was running a year ago. I am much more critical of myself because of this. This weeks session for example, was some roleplaying with a dragon wyrmling and then some puzzles. I ended the session thinking how boring it was because everyone was so quiet. It was only later and chatting with one of the players, kind of a debrief we seem to do each week, that I felt a lot better because I got HIS point of view.
Long winded, but basically double consciousness is a double edged sword. It helps but it can also hurt (make you doubt yourself)
I love that you're including clips from the stream! I don't have time to watch the streams so it's really nice to see the best bits.
These are great! I love watching these after the chain episodes. Sometimes it gives you some really good tips on how to improve your DMing, and they are always enjoyable.
More clips from the stream!!! I know it's probably more work, but as someone who doesn't have time to watch the whole stream, it gives these campaign diaries a lot of personality.
Cuts to the awesome moments from the stream are awesome. More please!
Listening to you talk about Capital and everything that's going on is really inspiring me to work on the two major cities in the world I'm DMing. I want to have them ready for when my players get there. (Thankfully I have plenty of time because I blew up the docks of the current town in the first session.) Capital feels just so alive. I definitely want to try to capture that with Hub and Beachhead.
To be fair to your players, several of them are Lawful characters and thus are likely to view statements like "Only knights MAY take weapons into the city" as "Only knights CAN take weapons into the city."
Also, this city seems pretty technically and legally advanced. I can totally see myself being less likely to try to smuggle my weapons here than in a setting with a lower tech level. I also don't know what the consequences would be if they get caught; I haven't watched every minute of the stream, so I may have simply missed it, but if the players don't know what the consequences of getting caught with weapons in the city are either, then that could be why they're willing to wait to do it legally. If it's the same as the fake seals (they just have to pay someone a bribe), then that's one thing; if they'll go to jail, that's another.
My assumption has been that if they tried to go into the city with their weapons, they'd be physically barred from the area until they surrendered them - that comes from living in the modern world, I guess, and from things like that one part of Lord of the Rings. If that's not the case, then the choice is much lower-stakes, which is great, but it's not so great if the players don't realize that.
Hey Matt, I really enjoy your campaign diaries. I also like when they get released on Wednesdays, it helps me remember what has happened and gets me pumped for the show. Thanks.
Your insights are so helpful. Nice work on this one. The clip inserts are a great touch - hope to see more of that in the future. Always seeking to improve myself, too!
Give the players an NPC with which they can interact who's an outsider like them. It'll be more natural for them because this person may know about the same amount of information and is in a similar situation.
The re-imagining events has really paid dividends in my current campaign - also keeps the GM juices flowing. Highly recommend it! I also LOVED the eggs comment.😆😆😆
I don’t know who my favorite character is but I can safely say Töm (not Tom) is my favorite player
25:23 Boots? Boots!? BOOOOTS!!
DUN DUN DA-DUN! DUN DUN DUN!
I will have this encounter in my game. I only hope to pull it off half as well as you did Matt. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see how you use Gelatinous Cubes and Mimics.
The more we learn about capital the more I fall in love with it. You should definitely write a novel that takes place in the city
I really like these breakdowns
I look forward to to these, thank you for continuing to make them!
Brilliant interplay between the gelatinous cube and mimic!!
This was the best campaign diary as well as the best episode so far.
I actually enjoyed the first half of the last episode. In some ways, I enjoyed it better that the second half. Wonderful story, Matt!
Watching this as part of my session prep for next week that will heavily feature a library
The cube over mimic evil plan pops up at ?t=11625 in the session video.
I think the reason none of the players inquired as to what the librarian was doing is simply because the first line she says is "oh, what, ha ha, nothing nothi- wait, you're not police?" I as a viewer inferred that whatever papers she was hiding were illicit in some way instead of being personal.
The _feeling_ I've had from Capitol in general is more like the City of Thieves from Adventure Time, where everyone has something to hide from someone, than it being this metropolis full of aspiring artists and bleeding heartthrobs who've dedicated their lives to theatre or music. I recognize that we've only been in Capitol for a total of like 3 sessions and that time has been dominated by politics (and places to eat) but unless I've missed it, you've never described a place as having a bard rehearing nearby, two actors obviously in their costumes taking a break between showings, a couple dueling to settle an insult, or a person happily putting all their money down in luck based gambling.
Again unless I'm just not remembering or not perceptive enough to pick up on things like that, the two instances I can recall that get closest to the culture described in your "pantheon of gods" worldbuilding video is during the robot-boys chase sequence Slim jumped over an active stage with a play happening on it and you once said something about a college that nobles send their kids to to learn an art.
Keep in mind they've mostly only been in the Staids, a port area like that will have a different feel than the main part of the city where all the nobles and rich arts patrons are.
Here before the time stamp for the recap and behind the scenes!
Could you do a video about organizations like you did for combat
Here before the title change!
Voiced what was the original title?
@@Hazel-xl8in campaign diary 015 2. Most likely the file name of his second edit of the video that he uploaded to UA-cam.
I find it very interesting that anytime in your campaign diaries you mention that part of the campaign was probably boring for the audience that I find these parts of the campaign the most entertaining and my favorite parts to listen to. It could be that I'm listening to the podcast and not watching it so the combat isn't as entertaining. Or that I just love the role playing so much more. Either way, love all the work you and everyone put into everything!
I successfully split my party with your gelatinous cube trap.. lots of laughs, everyone loved it!
The cube was the greatest moment of the campaign, for pure and unadulterated DND
Sorry for taking 24 hours to start watching, power outage at work as an electrician means no time for Matt Colville. But I'm here now to support Campaign Diaries
Danke man. Richtig gute Ideen für meine homebrew Abenteuer.
Thanks man. Brilliant ideas that i want to use for my homebrew adventures. Keep it up, i like your videos!
This has been the best Diary so far!!
I really enjoyed the 'embarrassingly old school encounter' this session. It's actually the only combat encounter in this series that I haven't skipped past when listening to the podcast. It would have been a hilarious shame if it had resulted in a TPK though XD
Agreed. I absolutely loved the whole thing, while sometimes combat feels like it drags a bit.
Easiest fix for players not engaging with NPCs-
Add an intermediary. A lowly, opinionated clerk who travels with them. Kind of guy who hides in the background during fights, who gives them options in-game, and whose life can be altered by the players. Very important that they're not a combat personality (but only because you have too many PCs for that to work); maybe they're just a scribe or something.
You can actually add a lot of roleplay variety by switching this person out every sessions or so. Make them have opinions of each other, that kind of thing.
This will help because the important NPCs are simply too important; nothing the players do can actually affect major NPCs lives.
Another thing the clerk can do is create a point where the players have to react. If they're in listener mode with important NPCs, have the clerk say, "They think you're too stuffy to talk to, milord," and you'll see your PCs jump right in character.
That's how I'd address that issue.
"I did this and you can too."
Matt Colville in a nutshell.
Bards eventually get an 8th level spell. Glibness, where their Charisma checks can be no less than 15 for the duration
I'm here even without my notification not working.
As a fellow DM I have always had a hard time running or playing in campaigns with politics, and it wasn't until this video that I was able to define why. I have always, always felt Dungeons and Dragons was the Hero's Journey of the players (PCs). How are you supposed to be a political hero? I think that question sums up my disconnect with it, when I fight monsters and get treasure and level up, I am pro-active with agency. I am solving a mystery, or trying to stop the BBEG, Or saving the kingdom from the disaster foretold by the Prophet Maguffin during the age of guys that were so-so at predicting the future. I know how to be that hero, I don't know how to be the hero of political infighting and maneuvering, nor do I know how to tell I defeated the challenge and leveled up at politics. Putting some thought into it, I came up with a TV model I could base it on, the show Arrow. Season 4 team arrow fight off magic and the criminal element and a political take over and the arrow becomes mayor. I know how to cast counterspell vs a 6th level spell, I need to roll a 16 or better on an arcana check. I don't know how to cast Counter Endorsement when my political rival gained the favor of the merchants guild, or what I need to roll to defeat it. The other hard part is this; the players can deal with one fight, encounter at a time. In a web of politics, things are going on around them, plot lines advancing and only changed by the players if that is the strand of spider silk they pull on that week. When they find out that over on thread 6, (one they didn't choose or get to quick enough) the plot advances and all they can do is listen to a recap, and all they can say is either glad we didn't go there or that sounded like fun too bad we missed it. For me as a DM I think I would have to find answers for this before I ever ran a campaign like it, and as a player I would have to ask the DM if She/He/They had answers for a good many of them. With all this said I love watching The Chain, and think the story has been amazing so far. The questions I pose are just that questions, they are not a critique, but an exercise to try to understand this type of game play and to master it.
Need to always improve must extricate every single droplet of fun juice you can.
As many others i want to say that the stream-flashbacks are great.
Can’t wait for tonight!
I'd love it if you could do a Running the Game bit on your retroactive additive politics as a method to fix encounters the DM isn't happy with. That struck me as a very novel idea, and one I'd like to pick your brain about some more.
You may be able to kickstart a 3rd book that is your campaign setting. I bet a lot of people would be into that
I agree that the accent clips from the stream are fun and illustrative.
That cube was one of the best thing in this campaign
Dwarves as short Klingons is genius.
I LOVE the clips from the stream, great idea
"The Dragon Knights are incorruptible! ... well except for that one guy who betrayed the king and joined Ajax... otherwise Incorruptible!"
Oh man! The night manager is awesome!
I don't watch the real play feed but these diaries are invaluable