Azrakan you can have regular goblins too. they're motivated by their desire to not die, but the necromancer kinda wants them to, so he can raise them with extra loyalty.
True, thats actually pretty fair. That being said, the reason I'm going to be using zombie gobs is that there is no necromancer, but rather the land itself is raising them as a natural side effect of the story. If anything I'm going to sequence the team's encounters vs goblins as 1) Regular Goblins just being in the team's way a couple times, 2) Undead Goblins en masse that become their own arc, and 3) Giant Goblins when the team finally know the situation thats going on as a way to introduce them to the Giant Monster arc.
"Then when the players fought this awesome half-vampire monk they were fighting Craig's old character and they were like, 'Wow, we hate this!' Super memorable!"
"Floating across the floor towards the inkeep as though the act of walking itself was beneath him" That is one of the best description of a characters gate I've read in a long time. You get a clear picture not only how he moves but his personality within his movement.
Hi Matthew, At the age of 30, I just got home from playing my first ever D&D session this evening. I never would have sought out a place to play without these videos.
I know there is a star wars reference I can put in here... I got it! master RedXiongmao! you must save us from the boredom of regular life with your dming skills! you are our only hope!
Same here. Though it does make me slightly melancholic. With a smaller channel he could more directly interact with his viewers and he also didn't have to consider, to quote the man himself, that he is a product.
+Aaron Jarrett That's exactly what these videos are about! You can pick up the 5e starter set for around $20. Grab like 2 or 3 other friends and DM for them. The starter set gives you a nice little adventure (I do warn that the first dungeon is a little unbalanced. Try reading online) and just play! Have one day for character creation. You can all work together, figure out the rules from the rule book you get given in the set. Then have another set and just go for it! It's how I started about 2-3 months ago. I'm in the process of world building a campaign of my own for my friends now and it's fantastic. Feel free to ask me more questions, from a newbie to a newbie.
+Aaron Jarrett I play as a DM and still completely agree with your comment....just happy to sit and listen to his ideas and stories of past and current campaigns.
While I'm commenting on your videos, I should say here that your introduction of Caloril in this video is a paragon of narration, applicable well outside the RPG context. I played the first 5 minutes of this to my s/o, who doesn't game at all, but who is a performer... she was absolutely hooked.
Man that introduction to that villain had me hooked. I've just found your channel but that opening alone shows your skill as a storyteller you have earned a subscriber.
As me being a non native, self taught, not perfect at all English speaker I have you say that, even talking as fast as a gatling gun, Matthew has one of the most perfectly comprehensible English I've ever heard. Thanks for the content in general and for this video in particular, this has helped me SO much to develop my first big campaign as a DM.
"I didn't want the video to get too long." at 22 minutes, with 8 minutes left in the video. Classic Colville! :D I, for one, love the long videos. Wouldn't mind an hour a day! \o/
I also love the long videos. I've watched them all (some twice) and not once have I been bored. If my mind wanders it's because Matthew inspired an idea.
If Phil feels his warlock is underpowered, you may wish to tell him, if he is unaware, that warlocks get all their spell slots back on a _short_ rest, unlike the other classes. One of my players didn't realize this until recently. Other than that, I don't really know much about warlocks. I do know that my warlock player usually deals lots of damage with AoE spells, and he also has an invocation that lets him add his charisma modifier to his eldritch blast damage. He seems pretty effective.
+Noah Topper Warlocks are the best. They are well known for being very powerful blasters, having the best attack cantrip and the Invocations that make it better. But they can excel at a lot of things. Phil should have a think about what he wants to do for the group. Several of their Invocations make powerful spells at-will(detect magic, mage armor, arcane eye, speak with dead, all effectively made cantrips for the Warlock) to make up for their odd Pact Magic, and they can be hell on wheels for sneaking around and infiltrating in disguise. They usually run out of spell slots before other casting classes in a combat, but they can have a power nap and be back in shape when the wizard and cleric is starting to get nervous. If Phil doesn't find joy in the class in a few levels, Warlock multiclasses hilariously well with other Charisma casters, even Paladin, and he could write his own oaths to his Patron.
My level three warlock and I thank you deeply for this two year old comment. I had no idea about the short rest refresh. This is huge. I'm so glad I didn't find out even later.
Could be an issue with the party not taking enough short rests. My party in general doesn't get a lot back on a short rest, so the Warlock is often starved for slots.
I know this post was made a while ago, but the other reason he may feel underpowered is because his warlock is not specialising into any particular part of being a warlock, instead mixing together different elements. In general, focusing on being the best warlock at one or two things possible is a lot better and more fun, I find.
Also having the heros meet the big-bad early on sets it up so later the big-bad can deliver classic dialogue. " I knew I should have killed you " ; or after fighting after an all out battle that the heros could not have actually won against the higher level big-bad, he or she might be impressed with them and try and recruit them ( or one of them ) " You fought well , join me ... "
When my friends and I started playing in high school, we totally didn't know the rules. We were using the 2nd edition books one of us found in his attic with a 3rd edition module someone picked up, and it was an absolute blast.
The belgariad was the one about the blue rose gem that had tons of power or something right? I've got the books, but it must have been like 10 years since I read them, and I'm only 24 :). I really enjoyed reading it, but can't really remember much of it now.
+Atrinoch You're gonna be disappointed! My game is pretty much like everyone else's! But that's one reason I want to get it recorded; I want people to see it so they'll think "Oh hell, *I* can do that!"
+Matthew Colville no way! You write for a living. I'm sure it's super epic, but you've been playing for so long you've got to be used to it. It sounds so good when you describe it so it has to be even better actually being there.
As soon as I heard "red gold" I immediately thought of the Belgariad! This is wonderful. I'm enjoying your videos so much, and as a noob player and even more noob DM I'm finding them so incredibly insightful and helpful. Thank you so much for making them :)
had my players have to leave a falling base in a grand war in the region. they had to escort a couple of capsules to a hidden location behind the enemy lines. the had to sneak through front lines and through some enemy controlled terrain. when they arrived at the hidden base, they found out they brought will destroy everything in the area. everything allies, enemy, innocents, everything. " wait, we're the bad guys?" was the greatest thing ive heard on my table. the party have foiled the plans, and are now fleeing through enemy controlled territory, seeking out allies, but can trust anyone.. Super fun!! Great videos!. only find them recently, ergo commenting on a 7 year old video.
Be an actor. Or be very creative. There's no quick and dirty way to get good at improvisation. It's something that comes with experience. Often improvisation is simply reusing ideas you've known or used in the past and adapting them to a new or current situation. Your mileage may vary. So don't be afraid to work from a script for most of the time if need be.
@@Madhattersinjeans I DM'd my first session a few weeks ago and everyone immediately went off the rails for what I had proposed. But before I'd describe a new place or a PC or something important, I'd close my eyes, visualize it, then describe it. My PC's thought I had everything planned in the festival they explored. Nope. I had to make up not one, but FIVE magical carnival games on the fly. They thought it was all prepared. Nope. :P
I watch this at least once a year and it has made me use "Scion of X" for a lot of my villains. Now every time I introduce one I have to explain to at least one person that its not Psion and they do not have psychic powers thank you Matthew.
Given that Matt borrowed from Where No Man Has Gone Before for the Omega Nails plot, I wonder if it's not a nod to The Alternative Factor... The Madman pursuing The Murdering Monster.
For fallen heroes like Domnall and Lady Sariel, have you considered having them be aware of what's going on but powerless to stop it while the evil version of them is in control? For example, Lady Sariel's soul could still be in her body despite being undead, and Caloril the Vile just made an evil copy of it and forced it into her body. It would be an "And I Must Scream" scenario of sorts, although it might not be readily apparent to the players until Graves tries to read her mind.
Reminds me of what happened to Durkon in the webcomic Order of the Stick lol. He was basically imprisoned in his own body by a vampire, who can talk to him and sift through his memories for useful information.
Best part about that is it opens the door to reviving the old character, though if she's still undead that would be a weird one. Maybe she can never fully get rid of the evil without finally dying, so she may regain her autonomy but is still undead with an evil entity inside her trying to control and manipulate her. I'd love to see that happen in a game.
Appropriately powerful revival spells (mainly True Resurrection or even Miracle), or the use of Wish (as in the case of vampires), can revive certain characters from undeath. The character can also be revived normally if you kill the vampire. And that's just the stuff that's RAW, you can come up with other stuff on your own. For instance, if your party is acting on the behalf of a god/goddess they might reward them by reviving their fallen/corrupted comrade.
Phil (?) will likely have received Warlock advice by this point, but if I may, I suggest the following: My Warlock builds are almost exclusively Blade Pact builds. A Blade Pact Warlock is never disarmed, and with the right Invocations, always ready. All that's required is taking the right Patron and spell choice to maximize your ability to get in and out of combat. Pact Weapon, Thirsting Blade, Armor of Shadows, and Agonizing Blast would be my 5th level choice. Add the Tough feat, and you have essentially a Fighter, but with built in magical armor, a magical melee weapon they cannot lose, and a ranged weapon in the form of Eldritch Blast+Hex. Since Phil has an...owl...? ...He has Find Familiar and is obviously a Chain Pact (unless he has the Magic Initiate, or Ritual Caster feats, or learned the spell as part of being a Tome Pact Warlock with the right Invocation...yeah...this can be confusing). If he is a Chain Pact, he deserves a better familiar, as they are allowed an Imp, Quasit, Psuedodragon, or Sprite. In any regard, it's important to pick the right Invocations to match spell choice or play style. Devil's Sight (invocation) partnered with the Darkness spell works well. Hold Person to a Bladelock is basically pre-arranged murder. Blindness/Deafness matched with Hex (Wisdom) could render a foe in a bad way, as one sense is gone and the other is at Disadvantage to detect your presence. B/D is not a concentration spell, allowing Hex to work. Any Pact Warlock can take advantage of this. Phil could really maximize his Familiar by using it to deliver touch-based spells like Vampiric Touch. Eldritch Blast as a cantrip cannot be overstated, especially when paired with the Hex Spell. Agonizing Blast as an Invocation turns this combo into great damage generation, because each beam of the Blast will do 1d10+1d6+Charisma Mod. At 5th level, that means twice that potential. It gets even moreso from there. There are other Invocations for this Cantrip that extend range or create knockback - which can be brutal when knocking guard off high castle walls. Dropping Hunger of Hadar over an area that has a simple Grease spell can be brutal. Really, it comes down to how Phil looks at his playstyle and how he wants to engage his foes. Everyone has a preference. Since he's a Great Old One pact, using more of the bonus Pact spells might be useful, as they create fear, confusion and madness. Using his Patron as an inspiration, generating this kind of chaos among his foes might be not only thematic, but effective.
I just wanted to point out: I've listened to this entire series, five times now. And I keep getting something new out of it each time. Thank you for putting so much of your time and life energy into this Matt. You're the best.
+Mary Meissinger it's really NOT! :D that's why I want to record a session so people will see my game is just like everyone else's. If you could see my game you'd say "oh hell *I* can do that!" Which is sorta the point!
+Matthew Colville +Jim Murphy Haaha he's not fooling anyone ! He taught me to care about my players so many DM's don't do that , and the detail in his maps and the props that hes use are so cool .I really hope your able to get a session recorded ,I'd love to see players interact with you.
I go to these videos over and over for reference. So useful. Thank you so much Matt Coleville “D&D is not the things written between the covers of the books (sic) D&D is what happens at the table among the people playing the game.”
Totally agree about the rule ignorance, and not just regarding D&D. When I first started playing a board game called Splendor, we played using the rules as understood by the game's owner. Turns out there were several rules he'd got wrong, but the game was still plenty of fun with the wrong rules. Now we know how they actually work, we play properly, but it does show that no matter what the official rules may be, it's okay to tinker with them.
DrawnSteelHero I know you made this Comment 10 months ago but I thought I'd respond anyway: I like Splendor a lot too, and the rules are confusing and boring when you first start but get better lol.
I love splendor and I didn't find the rules confusing. Then again I didn't actually play when I learned the rules. I learned the rules from watching other people play. Though I wish the game was larger to support more than 4 people playing because that in my opinion is the only real downside.
One thing I'm personally pretty open to, especially with D&D, is if you don't like how a certain rule is meant to work, change it. As long as it's not unbalancing the game and still fits with the rest of the rules you do chose to abide by then go ahead and change it to something that works for you and your group.
Matt, I'm a new DM 5 sessions in, and your videos are really saving me. My party is up to 8 people now. Everyone loves the game and I have a hard time turning people away. In any case, I find that after a session I'm pretty drained. I can't eat really while it's going because I'm thinking too much and talking there is a lot to organize and remember. I game on Thursday nights, and though I love doing it, I'm finding that on the weekend, when I should really be planning out the next session, my mind wanders and I put it off. I usually spend the night before the session scrambling to come up with something interesting and memorable. I'm running the starter set right now (Lmop) and embellishing heavily. I'm really looking forward to your "finding the content" video you mentioned that is coming up. I love this episode!
Read and watch series that entertain you. Then, blatantly rip off stuff that you like. Character traits for npcs, villains, plot twists... you name it. It also helps to carry a notebook or pad to scribble down ideas. If none of your players are around, dictate ideas into your phone for later... A good ripoff is almost always more entertaining than bad or hurried originality, although time pressure occasionally yields some real gems. I just realized that you've probably gone on to becoming an even better DM in the two years that have passed, but even two years ago you ran a game for eight players! That is already a feat that few may rival.
Seven years late to the show, but I thought I smelled some Black Company references with that opening! I love that series, you sir are a man of taste and I applaud
Little did he know a bit less than 2 years later he raised 2 million bucks to publish a book about a somewhat smallish part of the game overall. Good job Matt C. you really are a wellspring of good for the game.
I just ran this inn scenario for my players for a one-off since a few of the group couldn’t make it. One of the best scenarios I’ve ever ran, can’t that you enough for the idea!
"We're only as good as the obscurity of the references we steal from" My new favorite quote. Also, hey! I've used the Belgariad too! I love that series!
I doubt you still read comments 4 years later which is absolutely fine. I just wanted to share that I recently played my first round of D&D as a player after 3 previous sessions of character creation and combat trials to get a feel for the game before we started our campaign. That sparked my interest in DMing. Then I stumbled across your videos. Now I've spent 30 minutes to even hours a day watching you, reading and researching. I've already asked a couple close friends if they would like to start a campaign and we're all waiting to see what our schedules look like but I'm so excited at even the possibility to try and DM. Thank you so much for all this wonderful content and the passion you pour into your videos.
I started DMing Descent into Avernus Campaign, and listening to Matts stories and insight have helped me a lot! And I have been playing dnd on and off for 15 years.
Ok, that idea of letting friends who are not currently in the campaign play the bad guys is amazing. It is something I absolutely HAVE to try...although I very, very rarely have one and the same bad guy for longer parts of the campaign.
My main problem with your videos is that they inspire me so much that I start dreaming up a campaign after watching for a few minutes and end up completely zoning out for the rest of the video
Thank you so much for making these videos! My friend group has a DnD campaign going and our DM isn't very confident that we're enjoying the game or that he's doing well. I send him your videos and he always talks about how cool and how many ideas he has. It's so nice to see him be confident thanks to you!
Great stuff, although I prefer the term 'Misunderstood Guy' to 'Bad Guy'. Just to share, in one of my games I made the recurring villain the identical twin brother of the wizard PC. This inevitably created a lot of headaches for the party because whenever they came across surviving victims of the evil wizard's nefarious handiwork they would frequently mistake the wizard PC for his evil sibling and be blamed for his deeds as his accomplices. To make matters worse, because of a somewhat convoluted backstory involving a magical experiment conducted by the twins' somewhat deranged father (also a powerful wizard), their life essences became tethered to each other but also created an arcane polarity between them, causing magic to work unpredictably or fizzle entirely whenever one brother cast spells directly on or in close proximity of the other. Even worse, if one of them died it was theorized (as laid out in their father's notes) that his twin would also die and the resulting resonance would cause a tear in reality. While the theoretical death effect was never put to the test (it was a 1% chance that would still test positive with Legend Lore), it created an unusual dynamic between the PCs and the evil wizard whereby they could only ever foil his plans and slay his minions but never take him out personally for fear of the repercussions. In turn, the evil wizard would sometimes assist his brother in the form of warnings, useful information, or 'care packages' of scrolls and potions. The evil wizard did this when the mood suited him in order to flaunt his superiority and in the process annoy the PC wizard (because brothers sometimes suck, Neutral Evil ones even more so) and because despite everything, at the end of the day he and the wizard PC were still family. I found this whole situation really interesting because under normal circumstances these two sides would simply annihilate each other on sight. But here, because of what was essentially the threat of mutually assured destruction, good and evil needed to coexist to a certain degree and that, in turn, fostered dialogue (a fair amount of which was trash talking, but still). Also, because the evil wizard was occasionally helping them deal with other powerful villains (really just the evil wizard's rivals, but they were unaware of this), it created a blurring of ethical lines and every so often the PCs would find themselves letting the evil wizard get away with certain with things, never enough to change anyone's alignment, but, you know...baby steps. Needless to say, one of the main goals of the wizard PC was to find a means of undoing the effect that magically bound him to his brother, but sadly I never got to bring this particular campaign to any satisfying conclusion.
"As writers, we're only as good as the obscurity of the references we steal from" I hope you don't mind, but I will be "honoring" this phrase regularly in the future. Naturally, I will lose track of where I got this phrase, and soon people will think I came up with it. Such is the lot of those who are truly inspired in their creativity. Well done good sir... Well done.
You know, I just started watching your videos because your explanations were useful (and you are a great orator) for my personal writing hobby, but now I really wanna get into D&D :0
Congratulations! This comment made me smile. I just ran my first short campaign for my friends, to introduce them to the game, and to test out DMing. It went crazy well and we will continue to play. Matt is the reason I play and I'm eternally grateful to him.
I just watched all your "Running the Game" Videos within 2 days. Mat you are a joy to watch and listen. Your stories and advice are great. I hope for many more video in the coming months or years.
I just found your channel over the weekend and I've been churning through this playlist, thank you SO MUCH! I've played a decent amount of DnD but only recently have I decided to start running my own game for friends. My plan from the beginning was to run the Yawning Portal campaign for them, but then I started weaving my players' backstories in, and tweaking things, and I just wanted to say it's a huge relief to hear a much more seasoned DM like yourself talk about letting pre-packaged campaigns do a lot of the heavy lifting while inserting custom content around it.
i've watched all of your running the game videos, and i am working my way through them a second time. They are great to listen to at work. They really help me get through the day slogging away at monotonous graphic design and production work. THANK YOU
Honestly, a warlock is essentially an archer with a bit of magical options. He should be focusing on things boosting eldritch blast in his invocations. Think things like agonizing blast and the range increase one. The spells are limited but come back in a short rest. Tell him to USE THEM during combat. They are literally a combat blaster wizard who sends out a bunch of eldritch blasts. They have decent damage if you treat them like an archer with some magical options for flavor. He will feel really bad outside of combat if he plays as an archer, he has poor skills and skill selection, so you need to use your magic but then you literally only have eldritch blast left in combat. Eldritch blast is essentailly 'shoot an arrow' that's better damage than an arrow. Warlocks scale well and get the same 6+ level spells as bards essentailly in uses per day. Warlocks are pretty much just blasters though, think old school evocation wizards. His utility spells that he has should generally be the ones granted by his patron status. Those are the flavor spells, he needs to focus on damage because that's what warlocks do, they're an archer with some extra magical oomph but less survival. Warlock is SUPER overpowered btw if you let your players short rest too often since they get their spells back on short rest, be careful on that. But the non damage spells are usually dictated by the patron and their 'domain' style spells. The warlock doesn't chose his own powers though(for crunch we let the player chose on level up, but... you don't have to), they're granted by the patron, have some fun with him. It's also the EASIEST way btw to help a warlock player out. The patron is usually extremely knowledgable as a great old one. If you know your warlock is about to be poop cause he has very little to do with undead other than 'I cast eldritch blast' maybe his patron will impose a minor penalty and CHANGE his spells(you get to do this as the DM running his patron). Honestly, if your warlock is struggling to feel good, change his spell loadout as his patron, you can influence him that way and give him a little more fun suddenly having a different spell set. Just make sure he doesn't get to abuse or chose the spells, and if negotiating(yes you can talk to your patron) you can take something FROM the player to change spells.
+David Folsom I agree very much with the range blaster concept of the class. Usually what the Warlock is very strong when it's spamming Eldritch Blasts. And it is his trademark spell. It's what most think of when they go about trying out the Warlock class. Though, depending on the group or DM, certain other options are certainly fun to try too. Endless Disguise Self or Silent Image can create lots of interesting scenarios (from his Invocations). Or add proficiency to two social skills. Some things can be changed around but overall I feel the Warlock is a ranged blaster when he is at his best. But I very much disagree with the DM interfering with his spell selections. That is something the player himself should decide, always and regardless of class. Just as the other classes that have deities or other divine entities bestowing them power but don't dictate anything else. The Warlock already has a very limited number of spell slots and taking away the option to choice what he should know of spells from his as player feels very unfair in my opinion. They get access to magic through the power of their Pact - but the patron doesn't necessarily do anything.
Tommy Frost The gm changing his spell selection is mostly so he can have some variety while he figures out what he REALLY likes. It's something the player is involved in trying to get a change, but the DM has the eventual choice is what I mean. Like your warlock goes 'Man I feel crappy in X situations with no tools' because they chose wrong. You as a DM have noticed they never use X you can see about having a little fun change over time.
David Folsom That's my issue with Warlock is because eldritch blast is the option everyone uses because it is the focus of the class, but I don't want a warlock like that.
its not much of a solution at higher levels, but if you use the hexblade warlock from unearthed arcana for the the first five to ten levels you can be a really effective melee fighter with spell options.
Gosh, this intro, this narration, I love it! I keep coming back to this video from times to times when I need inspiration, or just a good narrator telling awesome stuff. And the examples, insights and advices are so useful. Today, I finally recieved Priest and Thief, the first books outside a rulebook or a campaign setting I'll be reading since years. I'm excited!
First time viewer. (Literally... this is my first video of yours.) Love this video. You sir, have gained yet another subscriber :) Def gonna listen to this while working on my upcoming campaign in 3.5
I ran this opening months ago introducing a new party to D&D. It was a huge hit. I heard and audible "oh s###" at the "floating across the ground, as though the act of walking itself is beneath him".
I'm DMing a game for the first time in a week, we are all complete novices at this and I ended up DMing but the more I think about it the more I get excited about the prospect. Anyway, for our first two sessions we have a player attending- Sam - who will not be able to attend other sessions (He's in the Royal Air Force so doesn't have the time), I want the first couple of sessions to be geared towards giving his character a decent arc. So we're playing the Lost MIne of Phandelver from the starter set - seeing as we're all starters it seemed a good place to... start. And I've decided that Sam's character will be an apprentice to the wizard Iarno Albrek - the missing wizard who the party can look for in the Redbrand manor. Anyway, spoilers for LMP - but in the quest Iarno is the bad guy and is in charge of the Redbrand bandits. I have made some adjustments such that when the party reaches the wizard's chamber they find Iarno in the middle of some great and terrible magical experiment - he is drawing magical power from a soul trapped in a giant glass flask - the figure in the flask being Sam's character. Shock, horror! Turns out that Sam has been playing a construct which has inhabited his body and Iarno is using him to draw more poo souls for his experiments. Then I say "Sam (he's not chosen a name yet) attacks Flynn" and then Sam fights alongside Iarno and some bandits against the party. If the party smashes the flask then Sam regains control and switches sides etc. Eventually Iarno flees or is captured or killed, and Sam's character thanks the party - he can then drop in and out of the story as and when Sam is able to play him (I'm going to give him some dodgy ethereal travel abilities as a result of being separated from his essence for so long). I did steal it somewhat from your vignette you mentioned a few videos back, hope you don't mind.
Matt, thank you for these videos...they are simply awesome (and please don't shorten them, their length is fine). I am an old school fan (AD&D,2e), but more so am in love with Castles and Crusades because of its simplicity and feel. Please keep the videos coming, as they are incredibly helpful for improving the real aspect of D&D...(or C&C) and that is the story and plot line aspect. So far you have inspired me greatly to add bad guy levels that cross adventures...and I think that is just super cool.
WOO HOO!!! Someone else has read the Belgariad!!!! I literally cheered when you said that, and told my family that you are officially the coolest person on youtube. (No one else I've ever talked to has read it.)
Omg! I just realized my strahd gave my players a single good coin with his effigy on it. That means they possess something he can use to scry on them! Thanks Matt!!
I love this channel. I'd like a video on random encounters, and how to run encounters who are not for the players, I realized my friends realized everything is balanced around their characters, but since they aren't familiar with the monster manual that much, its hard for them to gauge the difficulty of an encounter, so I'd really like some tips of not killing people with over powered encounters, but also give them a feeling that the world is alive.
+kikedragoon The simplest way to show the players that they're out of their depth is the one Matt mentioned in the video - have the bad guys effortlessly stomp them but leave them alive because they're beneath their notice.
Hi! I'm relatively new to the whole DnD world, only having played half a dozen times, and I'll be hosting my first session next Thursday. I'm so excited! Mostly thanks to you I've now got a little boy to rescue, a dungeon, riddles, fights and a (hopefully epic) Bad Guy lined up for my new players. None of those are exactly like yours, but your tips and tricks are fantastic and a great help - and I probably never would have dared to do this if not for your videos. So thanks!
You really are a great inspiration and example to other, maybe not-so experienced GM's like myself. Your Stories about cursed Gold and early encounters of Bad Guys helped me solve a problem i had about introducing my pc's to a main sidequest i was planning. thanks for that
it is neat hearing you talk about how exciting it is to have reached 10K subs here - now to see you with 320K! subs is really cool. I only just recently heard about you and have started watching your videos and they are exceptionally well done and I can see why you've got the number of subs that you do. The format of the videos is really good. Particularly how the different aspects of the topic are broken down and picked apart in detail - as well as the videos ending with a clear summary and conclusion. I've been gaming for about 30 years as well and I've definitely picked up some good ideas already from watching the few videos I've seen so far, and I look forward to watching many more. Thanks very much for the super content and the effort.
I've been digging this entire playlist. Haven't played in years and have been prepping a 1player campaign for my wife. Btw your video on running a session for one player really helped with some ideas. Just wanted to take an opportunity to say thank you for the great content.
this put me immediately in mind of Austin Kleon's inspirational little book, "Steal Like An Artist." great reinforcement here. love it. and i've totally stolen from The Black Company myself. what a brilliant series.
Mathew, Just have to tell you how much you are helping me and my friends, We are pretty experienced Pathfinder players but a lot of us are new GM's (especially me). All your videos have really been a help to all of us ( ME especially) for creating the campaign to making villans (so many good tips on villains form this video) and so much more. Thank you for all your work on these videos and I cant wait to hear what happens to Graves and his companions as they face off against the orcs. PS. All the references have been great.
Hey Matt, I LOVE your videos - great advice all round :) What I really dig about your 'set', is how you cycle the display board games on the shelf behind you. Its like 'board game of the week' or somesuch. so cool!
Love your vids, Matt! They are extremely helpful and fun to watch. I'm a first time DM playing with first time players, and had my third session just yesterday, and the players seem to love it. I'm looking forward to your video about finding and reskinning new adventures. I love making my own adventures by rehashing bits of games I played or books I read, but I spent way to much time trying to write the perfect adventure and the perfect plot. Having some kind of reference guide for existing adventures to further my custom campaign will help out tremendously! Stay awesome!
Thank you so much, Matt. I just noticed, through watching this video, that my previous DM stole a looooooot of bad guy content from this particular video. And I LOVED it. My character straight up HATED the bad guy that bought corpses because she felt like he was belittling and using her. It was great and I hope to one day become a DM just as skilled as the likes of yourself, Mercer and the many others who I see as my idols of D&D. Thanks.
I just want you to know your videos have inspired me to be a better (I think) character. I have a lot more fun with each session now, and I now set an intention before every game of 'I am going to try and have as much fun as possible' which I learned from watching your videos. So thank you!
Definitely. involving players in your story arcs is perfect for their agency in storytelling. I used to run a party of ten players, over seven years. At one point, the party split, and I found that in order to play each session without leaving anyone out, or running long gaps between each groups arc, the non-spotlight group controlled monsters or NPCs the in-spotlight team was interacting with, or up against. And it worked. It was a welcome change of pace, and expanded the attitudes and characteristics of the NPC lineup.
I like how you weave a fascinating story for your players, so neither the story nor the characters are one-dimensional. That's a great quality in a DM. And the red gold thing sounds really fascinating. I'm going to ruminate on that for a while. "I see red; hurts my head..."
I'm five years late here....but man your videos sure do make a brand new DM a lot less anxious/stressed about running the game. Thanks for what you do, good sir.
Over the past few days I've been watching this playlist to help prepare myself for a party of 8 that I brought together to DM, and I have never DM'ed, but these videos have really help!
Hi Mathew, rewatching your videos as a refresher because everyone needs to hear this stuff again every now and then; but when it comes to who knows the rules best, my players do. As the DM I learned enough to run my monsters, create monsters and ask for ability checks. They need to help eachother and know everything when it comes too their characters. When my friend and I switch roles I'm asking for help with my character because I have so much in my head, it's hard to remember characters on top of it all. Anything else I've learned about the rules accept what I need to know to baseline DM, my players have looked up as we play and we talk about it at the table.
silly Mathew. everyone knows that when you can't decide between goblins or undead, just make them undead goblins
I was a fool not to think of that!
Mind Blown.
When I finally get around to DM'ing when my schedule finally clears up, undead goblins are actually in line for a recurring part of my campaign :D
Azrakan you can have regular goblins too. they're motivated by their desire to not die, but the necromancer kinda wants them to, so he can raise them with extra loyalty.
True, thats actually pretty fair. That being said, the reason I'm going to be using zombie gobs is that there is no necromancer, but rather the land itself is raising them as a natural side effect of the story. If anything I'm going to sequence the team's encounters vs goblins as 1) Regular Goblins just being in the team's way a couple times, 2) Undead Goblins en masse that become their own arc, and 3) Giant Goblins when the team finally know the situation thats going on as a way to introduce them to the Giant Monster arc.
"For instance, I often have bad guys resurrect dead good guys. They HATE that!"
*menacingly-self-satisfied DM stare*
hilarious
sorry for the late reply but what minute is this?
@@michaelstraw211217:10
"Then when the players fought this awesome half-vampire monk they were fighting Craig's old character and they were like, 'Wow, we hate this!' Super memorable!"
"steal from stuff no one has ever heard of, and you are a genius" SO TRUE
+Elizabeth Reece Unknown source quote
Nothing is original. Seriously. Read older literature (or the SparkNotes of it) and you'll see how far the copy+paste idea stretches in the past.
-Ian Hall-Watt
Honestly, I tell my players what i steal from sometimes to get them to actually Read/play it (I love stealing from my favorite game Baldurs gate)
I'm running a campaign for all new players so you bet I'm gonna steal some of Matthews genius probably also stolen ideas xD
"As DMs we're only as good as the obscurity of the references we steal from" HAHA! Brilliant. Couldn't agree more ;)
"Floating across the floor towards the inkeep as though the act of walking itself was beneath him"
That is one of the best description of a characters gate I've read in a long time. You get a clear picture not only how he moves but his personality within his movement.
It's beautiful, and perfectly paints the moment for the players
Hell, if I had the ability to fly, it *would* be beneath me to walk anywhere!
And it's a great pun, too ;) (Walking is beneath him, heh)
You “read”?
I think you meant "gait"
"Well that's the end of the video."
*Video carries on for another 10 minutes*
Fucking hell Matt haha
Matt Colville:"You have reached the MIDDLE OF THE FILM" *1/5 of the way through the video.
Me: Uh oh
Hi Matthew,
At the age of 30, I just got home from playing my first ever D&D session this evening. I never would have sought out a place to play without these videos.
+RedXiongmao When do you start DMing!? :D
+Matthew Colville Already asking a newbie when, not if, she's going to be a DM? I knew I liked you.
+RedXiongmao It's the entire reason we're here! It's your destiny!
@@mcolville Luke, you must GM, it is your destiny!
I know there is a star wars reference I can put in here... I got it!
master RedXiongmao! you must save us from the boredom of regular life with your dming skills! you are our only hope!
I still come back to watch this intro when I want inspiration for DMing. There's so much great stuff to unpack there!
Same here.
Though it does make me slightly melancholic.
With a smaller channel he could more directly interact with his viewers and he also didn't have to consider, to quote the man himself, that he is a product.
I dont even play D&D, I just love listening to this man.
+Aaron Jarrett Well you should run D&D! I bet you'd like it!
+Matthew Colville My girlfriend and I have always talked about it but we don't even know where to start!
+Aaron Jarrett Roll app.roll20.net/lfg/search/
+Aaron Jarrett That's exactly what these videos are about! You can pick up the 5e starter set for around $20. Grab like 2 or 3 other friends and DM for them. The starter set gives you a nice little adventure (I do warn that the first dungeon is a little unbalanced. Try reading online) and just play! Have one day for character creation. You can all work together, figure out the rules from the rule book you get given in the set. Then have another set and just go for it! It's how I started about 2-3 months ago. I'm in the process of world building a campaign of my own for my friends now and it's fantastic. Feel free to ask me more questions, from a newbie to a newbie.
+Aaron Jarrett I play as a DM and still completely agree with your comment....just happy to sit and listen to his ideas and stories of past and current campaigns.
While I'm commenting on your videos, I should say here that your introduction of Caloril in this video is a paragon of narration, applicable well outside the RPG context. I played the first 5 minutes of this to my s/o, who doesn't game at all, but who is a performer... she was absolutely hooked.
Well you should run D&D for her! She'll be super hooked!
thanks matt
yeah he's a writer
Man that introduction to that villain had me hooked. I've just found your channel but that opening alone shows your skill as a storyteller you have earned a subscriber.
"steal from stuff no one has ever heard of, and you are a genius"
I'm stealing that idea about stealing wizards. It's genius.
"I've made this channel because I want more people to run D&D"
Well you certainly succeeded among my small group of friends.
Me as well!
As me being a non native, self taught, not perfect at all English speaker I have you say that, even talking as fast as a gatling gun, Matthew has one of the most perfectly comprehensible English I've ever heard. Thanks for the content in general and for this video in particular, this has helped me SO much to develop my first big campaign as a DM.
I have to turn him down to .85, but yeah...he has a great voice. Hope your campaign went well.
"I didn't want the video to get too long." at 22 minutes, with 8 minutes left in the video. Classic Colville! :D I, for one, love the long videos. Wouldn't mind an hour a day! \o/
I also love the long videos. I've watched them all (some twice) and not once have I been bored. If my mind wanders it's because Matthew inspired an idea.
If Phil feels his warlock is underpowered, you may wish to tell him, if he is unaware, that warlocks get all their spell slots back on a _short_ rest, unlike the other classes. One of my players didn't realize this until recently. Other than that, I don't really know much about warlocks. I do know that my warlock player usually deals lots of damage with AoE spells, and he also has an invocation that lets him add his charisma modifier to his eldritch blast damage. He seems pretty effective.
+Noah Topper Warlocks are the best. They are well known for being very powerful blasters, having the best attack cantrip and the Invocations that make it better. But they can excel at a lot of things.
Phil should have a think about what he wants to do for the group. Several of their Invocations make powerful spells at-will(detect magic, mage armor, arcane eye, speak with dead, all effectively made cantrips for the Warlock) to make up for their odd Pact Magic, and they can be hell on wheels for sneaking around and infiltrating in disguise.
They usually run out of spell slots before other casting classes in a combat, but they can have a power nap and be back in shape when the wizard and cleric is starting to get nervous. If Phil doesn't find joy in the class in a few levels, Warlock multiclasses hilariously well with other Charisma casters, even Paladin, and he could write his own oaths to his Patron.
My level three warlock and I thank you deeply for this two year old comment. I had no idea about the short rest refresh. This is huge. I'm so glad I didn't find out even later.
koritsimou Warlocks are beast, dude
Could be an issue with the party not taking enough short rests.
My party in general doesn't get a lot back on a short rest, so the Warlock is often starved for slots.
I know this post was made a while ago, but the other reason he may feel underpowered is because his warlock is not specialising into any particular part of being a warlock, instead mixing together different elements. In general, focusing on being the best warlock at one or two things possible is a lot better and more fun, I find.
Also having the heros meet the big-bad early on sets it up so later the big-bad can deliver classic dialogue. " I knew I should have killed you " ; or after fighting after an all out battle that the heros could not have actually won against the higher level big-bad, he or she might be impressed with them and try and recruit them ( or one of them ) " You fought well , join me ... "
When my friends and I started playing in high school, we totally didn't know the rules. We were using the 2nd edition books one of us found in his attic with a 3rd edition module someone picked up, and it was an absolute blast.
Man, been 25 years since I read the Belgariad! Forgot about the cursed Murgo gold!
Thank you for making me feel old. LOL
I've now heard of the Belgariad from two different content creators that I really enjoy, I may have just ordered the first volume.
I'm looking forward to it. This is one time I'm very glad to have amazon prime.
One more Belgariad lover here. Hope you enjoy it like I did!
The belgariad was the one about the blue rose gem that had tons of power or something right? I've got the books, but it must have been like 10 years since I read them, and I'm only 24 :). I really enjoyed reading it, but can't really remember much of it now.
Blue stone(Belgariad), Blue rose was the sparhawk books Alipheese.
Ugh dude! I can't wait to see a full session of D&D where you DM! You're such a good story tell I wish I was there watching or playing your campaign!
+Atrinoch You're gonna be disappointed! My game is pretty much like everyone else's! But that's one reason I want to get it recorded; I want people to see it so they'll think "Oh hell, *I* can do that!"
+Matthew Colville no way! You write for a living. I'm sure it's super epic, but you've been playing for so long you've got to be used to it. It sounds so good when you describe it so it has to be even better actually being there.
+Atrinoch no he is telling you the truth, we have had great games but so can you.
As soon as I heard "red gold" I immediately thought of the Belgariad! This is wonderful. I'm enjoying your videos so much, and as a noob player and even more noob DM I'm finding them so incredibly insightful and helpful. Thank you so much for making them :)
had my players have to leave a falling base in a grand war in the region. they had to escort a couple of capsules to a hidden location behind the enemy lines. the had to sneak through front lines and through some enemy controlled terrain. when they arrived at the hidden base, they found out they brought will destroy everything in the area. everything allies, enemy, innocents, everything. " wait, we're the bad guys?" was the greatest thing ive heard on my table. the party have foiled the plans, and are now fleeing through enemy controlled territory, seeking out allies, but can trust anyone.. Super fun!!
Great videos!. only find them recently, ergo commenting on a 7 year old video.
I propose for next topic: How to improvise without players noticing
That's really good he should do this.
Flip open a notebook and pretend to read it before telling what happens
Be an actor.
Or be very creative.
There's no quick and dirty way to get good at improvisation. It's something that comes with experience.
Often improvisation is simply reusing ideas you've known or used in the past and adapting them to a new or current situation.
Your mileage may vary. So don't be afraid to work from a script for most of the time if need be.
@@Madhattersinjeans I DM'd my first session a few weeks ago and everyone immediately went off the rails for what I had proposed. But before I'd describe a new place or a PC or something important, I'd close my eyes, visualize it, then describe it. My PC's thought I had everything planned in the festival they explored. Nope. I had to make up not one, but FIVE magical carnival games on the fly. They thought it was all prepared. Nope. :P
doesnt matter if they notice and the intelligent ones always will notice
the REAL topic : how to improv in a fun way so no one cares
I watch this at least once a year and it has made me use "Scion of X" for a lot of my villains. Now every time I introduce one I have to explain to at least one person that its not Psion and they do not have psychic powers thank you Matthew.
"The betrayed and the betrayer chasing each other across universes."
Is that a Dark Tower reference by any chance?
Given that Matt borrowed from Where No Man Has Gone Before for the Omega Nails plot, I wonder if it's not a nod to The Alternative Factor... The Madman pursuing The Murdering Monster.
As someone who likes the long videos, I'm super happy to see you haven't reduced the length yet.
For fallen heroes like Domnall and Lady Sariel, have you considered having them be aware of what's going on but powerless to stop it while the evil version of them is in control? For example, Lady Sariel's soul could still be in her body despite being undead, and Caloril the Vile just made an evil copy of it and forced it into her body. It would be an "And I Must Scream" scenario of sorts, although it might not be readily apparent to the players until Graves tries to read her mind.
Thats a nice twist.
Reminds me of what happened to Durkon in the webcomic Order of the Stick lol. He was basically imprisoned in his own body by a vampire, who can talk to him and sift through his memories for useful information.
Best part about that is it opens the door to reviving the old character, though if she's still undead that would be a weird one. Maybe she can never fully get rid of the evil without finally dying, so she may regain her autonomy but is still undead with an evil entity inside her trying to control and manipulate her. I'd love to see that happen in a game.
Appropriately powerful revival spells (mainly True Resurrection or even Miracle), or the use of Wish (as in the case of vampires), can revive certain characters from undeath. The character can also be revived normally if you kill the vampire. And that's just the stuff that's RAW, you can come up with other stuff on your own.
For instance, if your party is acting on the behalf of a god/goddess they might reward them by reviving their fallen/corrupted comrade.
Thumbs up for "And I must Scream" reference.
OMG I love the idea of someone else running a bad guy off-screen in your campaign. That's something I'm definitely going to employ.
My art professors championed a quote:
"Good art is made, great art is stolen"
And here I am, a massive fan of vaporwave
Powerful stuff man
After 5 years of dm’ing and following your advice its about time I use this to start of a new campaign
HE DID THE EPISODE ON KEEPING TIME! IT TOOK A YEAR, BUT HE DID IT. I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M YELLING!
I’ve watch this video six times in three years. It’s great every time.
Phil (?) will likely have received Warlock advice by this point, but if I may, I suggest the following:
My Warlock builds are almost exclusively Blade Pact builds. A Blade Pact Warlock is never disarmed, and with the right Invocations, always ready. All that's required is taking the right Patron and spell choice to maximize your ability to get in and out of combat. Pact Weapon, Thirsting Blade, Armor of Shadows, and Agonizing Blast would be my 5th level choice. Add the Tough feat, and you have essentially a Fighter, but with built in magical armor, a magical melee weapon they cannot lose, and a ranged weapon in the form of Eldritch Blast+Hex.
Since Phil has an...owl...? ...He has Find Familiar and is obviously a Chain Pact (unless he has the Magic Initiate, or Ritual Caster feats, or learned the spell as part of being a Tome Pact Warlock with the right Invocation...yeah...this can be confusing). If he is a Chain Pact, he deserves a better familiar, as they are allowed an Imp, Quasit, Psuedodragon, or Sprite.
In any regard, it's important to pick the right Invocations to match spell choice or play style. Devil's Sight (invocation) partnered with the Darkness spell works well. Hold Person to a Bladelock is basically pre-arranged murder. Blindness/Deafness matched with Hex (Wisdom) could render a foe in a bad way, as one sense is gone and the other is at Disadvantage to detect your presence. B/D is not a concentration spell, allowing Hex to work. Any Pact Warlock can take advantage of this.
Phil could really maximize his Familiar by using it to deliver touch-based spells like Vampiric Touch.
Eldritch Blast as a cantrip cannot be overstated, especially when paired with the Hex Spell. Agonizing Blast as an Invocation turns this combo into great damage generation, because each beam of the Blast will do 1d10+1d6+Charisma Mod. At 5th level, that means twice that potential. It gets even moreso from there. There are other Invocations for this Cantrip that extend range or create knockback - which can be brutal when knocking guard off high castle walls.
Dropping Hunger of Hadar over an area that has a simple Grease spell can be brutal.
Really, it comes down to how Phil looks at his playstyle and how he wants to engage his foes. Everyone has a preference. Since he's a Great Old One pact, using more of the bonus Pact spells might be useful, as they create fear, confusion and madness. Using his Patron as an inspiration, generating this kind of chaos among his foes might be not only thematic, but effective.
I use the Cheshire Cat as my go-to example for True Neutral.
.... and the momeraths outgrabe....
I just wanted to point out: I've listened to this entire series, five times now. And I keep getting something new out of it each time. Thank you for putting so much of your time and life energy into this Matt. You're the best.
Your storytelling is just .... Enthralling ! Playing D & D with you as the DM must be the most amazing thing ever
+Mary Meissinger it's really NOT! :D that's why I want to record a session so people will see my game is just like everyone else's. If you could see my game you'd say "oh hell *I* can do that!" Which is sorta the point!
+Matthew Colville ohm he is good, don't let him fool you
+Jim Murphy Jim is the best DM I've played with, he's just being nice to me.
+Matthew Colville +Jim Murphy Haaha he's not fooling anyone ! He taught me to care about my players so many DM's don't do that , and the detail in his maps and the props that hes use are so cool .I really hope your able to get a session recorded ,I'd love to see players interact with you.
"steal from stuff that no one knows about, and your a genius." is totally my ethos.
I go to these videos over and over for reference. So useful. Thank you so much Matt Coleville “D&D is not the things written between the covers of the books (sic) D&D is what happens at the table among the people playing the game.”
Along with Tolkien, it was the Belgariad that got me into fantasy fiction!
Totally agree about the rule ignorance, and not just regarding D&D.
When I first started playing a board game called Splendor, we played using the rules as understood by the game's owner. Turns out there were several rules he'd got wrong, but the game was still plenty of fun with the wrong rules. Now we know how they actually work, we play properly, but it does show that no matter what the official rules may be, it's okay to tinker with them.
DrawnSteelHero I know you made this Comment 10 months ago but I thought I'd respond anyway: I like Splendor a lot too, and the rules are confusing and boring when you first start but get better lol.
I love splendor and I didn't find the rules confusing. Then again I didn't actually play when I learned the rules. I learned the rules from watching other people play.
Though I wish the game was larger to support more than 4 people playing because that in my opinion is the only real downside.
One thing I'm personally pretty open to, especially with D&D, is if you don't like how a certain rule is meant to work, change it. As long as it's not unbalancing the game and still fits with the rest of the rules you do chose to abide by then go ahead and change it to something that works for you and your group.
Matt, I'm a new DM 5 sessions in, and your videos are really saving me. My party is up to 8 people now. Everyone loves the game and I have a hard time turning people away. In any case, I find that after a session I'm pretty drained. I can't eat really while it's going because I'm thinking too much and talking there is a lot to organize and remember. I game on Thursday nights, and though I love doing it, I'm finding that on the weekend, when I should really be planning out the next session, my mind wanders and I put it off. I usually spend the night before the session scrambling to come up with something interesting and memorable. I'm running the starter set right now (Lmop) and embellishing heavily. I'm really looking forward to your "finding the content" video you mentioned that is coming up. I love this episode!
+boneforge Well, take some heart in the fact that what you describe is basically what I do too!
+Matthew Colville Heart taken!
Read and watch series that entertain you. Then, blatantly rip off stuff that you like. Character traits for npcs, villains, plot twists... you name it.
It also helps to carry a notebook or pad to scribble down ideas. If none of your players are around, dictate ideas into your phone for later...
A good ripoff is almost always more entertaining than bad or hurried originality, although time pressure occasionally yields some real gems.
I just realized that you've probably gone on to becoming an even better DM in the two years that have passed, but even two years ago you ran a game for eight players! That is already a feat that few may rival.
Seven years late to the show, but I thought I smelled some Black Company references with that opening! I love that series, you sir are a man of taste and I applaud
Little did he know a bit less than 2 years later he raised 2 million bucks to publish a book about a somewhat smallish part of the game overall. Good job Matt C. you really are a wellspring of good for the game.
He is a river to his people!
This comment aged like wine
I just ran this inn scenario for my players for a one-off since a few of the group couldn’t make it. One of the best scenarios I’ve ever ran, can’t that you enough for the idea!
"We're only as good as the obscurity of the references we steal from" My new favorite quote. Also, hey! I've used the Belgariad too! I love that series!
I doubt you still read comments 4 years later which is absolutely fine. I just wanted to share that I recently played my first round of D&D as a player after 3 previous sessions of character creation and combat trials to get a feel for the game before we started our campaign. That sparked my interest in DMing. Then I stumbled across your videos. Now I've spent 30 minutes to even hours a day watching you, reading and researching. I've already asked a couple close friends if they would like to start a campaign and we're all waiting to see what our schedules look like but I'm so excited at even the possibility to try and DM.
Thank you so much for all this wonderful content and the passion you pour into your videos.
I started DMing Descent into Avernus Campaign, and listening to Matts stories and insight have helped me a lot! And I have been playing dnd on and off for 15 years.
You say “we” a lot, I like that. Thank you Colville
Ok, that idea of letting friends who are not currently in the campaign play the bad guys is amazing. It is something I absolutely HAVE to try...although I very, very rarely have one and the same bad guy for longer parts of the campaign.
If you put this on 0.5 speed he sounds drunk xD
Oh god he does!
Perhaps it's how he emphasizes things?
wat the hek?
And at 1.25 it sounds like he's coked up.
OH MY GOD
Marlon Duarte thanks for 60 Minutes of joy
My main problem with your videos is that they inspire me so much that I start dreaming up a campaign after watching for a few minutes and end up completely zoning out for the rest of the video
My dad made me read the Belgariad when I was 12 and i loved him for it! Love that you referenced it!
Thank you so much for making these videos! My friend group has a DnD campaign going and our DM isn't very confident that we're enjoying the game or that he's doing well. I send him your videos and he always talks about how cool and how many ideas he has. It's so nice to see him be confident thanks to you!
Great stuff, although I prefer the term 'Misunderstood Guy' to 'Bad Guy'.
Just to share, in one of my games I made the recurring villain the identical twin brother of the wizard PC. This inevitably created a lot of headaches for the party because whenever they came across surviving victims of the evil wizard's nefarious handiwork they would frequently mistake the wizard PC for his evil sibling and be blamed for his deeds as his accomplices.
To make matters worse, because of a somewhat convoluted backstory involving a magical experiment conducted by the twins' somewhat deranged father (also a powerful wizard), their life essences became tethered to each other but also created an arcane polarity between them, causing magic to work unpredictably or fizzle entirely whenever one brother cast spells directly on or in close proximity of the other. Even worse, if one of them died it was theorized (as laid out in their father's notes) that his twin would also die and the resulting resonance would cause a tear in reality.
While the theoretical death effect was never put to the test (it was a 1% chance that would still test positive with Legend Lore), it created an unusual dynamic between the PCs and the evil wizard whereby they could only ever foil his plans and slay his minions but never take him out personally for fear of the repercussions. In turn, the evil wizard would sometimes assist his brother in the form of warnings, useful information, or 'care packages' of scrolls and potions. The evil wizard did this when the mood suited him in order to flaunt his superiority and in the process annoy the PC wizard (because brothers sometimes suck, Neutral Evil ones even more so) and because despite everything, at the end of the day he and the wizard PC were still family.
I found this whole situation really interesting because under normal circumstances these two sides would simply annihilate each other on sight. But here, because of what was essentially the threat of mutually assured destruction, good and evil needed to coexist to a certain degree and that, in turn, fostered dialogue (a fair amount of which was trash talking, but still). Also, because the evil wizard was occasionally helping them deal with other powerful villains (really just the evil wizard's rivals, but they were unaware of this), it created a blurring of ethical lines and every so often the PCs would find themselves letting the evil wizard get away with certain with things, never enough to change anyone's alignment, but, you know...baby steps.
Needless to say, one of the main goals of the wizard PC was to find a means of undoing the effect that magically bound him to his brother, but sadly I never got to bring this particular campaign to any satisfying conclusion.
Having someone else control the villians sounds AMAZING and really inspiring. It sounds like a great way to keep me creative as a gm
Probably won’t see this as I’m posting so late, but I thoroughly enjoy your content and I’m looking to buy your books. Thank you!
"As writers, we're only as good as the obscurity of the references we steal from"
I hope you don't mind, but I will be "honoring" this phrase regularly in the future. Naturally, I will lose track of where I got this phrase, and soon people will think I came up with it.
Such is the lot of those who are truly inspired in their creativity. Well done good sir... Well done.
You know, I just started watching your videos because your explanations were useful (and you are a great orator) for my personal writing hobby, but now I really wanna get into D&D :0
And here I am, DMing for my friends.
Congratulations! This comment made me smile. I just ran my first short campaign for my friends, to introduce them to the game, and to test out DMing. It went crazy well and we will continue to play. Matt is the reason I play and I'm eternally grateful to him.
I just watched all your "Running the Game" Videos within 2 days. Mat you are a joy to watch and listen. Your stories and advice are great. I hope for many more video in the coming months or years.
+1 for THE BLACK COMPANY - Glenn Cook is criminally underappreciated . . .
Agreed. It's a real shame that he is barely known even though he has shaped modern fantasy more than pretty much anyone other than Tolkien himself.
I just found your channel over the weekend and I've been churning through this playlist, thank you SO MUCH! I've played a decent amount of DnD but only recently have I decided to start running my own game for friends. My plan from the beginning was to run the Yawning Portal campaign for them, but then I started weaving my players' backstories in, and tweaking things, and I just wanted to say it's a huge relief to hear a much more seasoned DM like yourself talk about letting pre-packaged campaigns do a lot of the heavy lifting while inserting custom content around it.
It's funny, when I see you in motion you always seem so positive, fun and excited, but whenever I pause the video you look angry and scary lol!
i've watched all of your running the game videos, and i am working my way through them a second time. They are great to listen to at work. They really help me get through the day slogging away at monotonous graphic design and production work. THANK YOU
Honestly, a warlock is essentially an archer with a bit of magical options. He should be focusing on things boosting eldritch blast in his invocations. Think things like agonizing blast and the range increase one. The spells are limited but come back in a short rest. Tell him to USE THEM during combat. They are literally a combat blaster wizard who sends out a bunch of eldritch blasts. They have decent damage if you treat them like an archer with some magical options for flavor.
He will feel really bad outside of combat if he plays as an archer, he has poor skills and skill selection, so you need to use your magic but then you literally only have eldritch blast left in combat. Eldritch blast is essentailly 'shoot an arrow' that's better damage than an arrow. Warlocks scale well and get the same 6+ level spells as bards essentailly in uses per day. Warlocks are pretty much just blasters though, think old school evocation wizards.
His utility spells that he has should generally be the ones granted by his patron status. Those are the flavor spells, he needs to focus on damage because that's what warlocks do, they're an archer with some extra magical oomph but less survival. Warlock is SUPER overpowered btw if you let your players short rest too often since they get their spells back on short rest, be careful on that. But the non damage spells are usually dictated by the patron and their 'domain' style spells.
The warlock doesn't chose his own powers though(for crunch we let the player chose on level up, but... you don't have to), they're granted by the patron, have some fun with him. It's also the EASIEST way btw to help a warlock player out. The patron is usually extremely knowledgable as a great old one. If you know your warlock is about to be poop cause he has very little to do with undead other than 'I cast eldritch blast' maybe his patron will impose a minor penalty and CHANGE his spells(you get to do this as the DM running his patron). Honestly, if your warlock is struggling to feel good, change his spell loadout as his patron, you can influence him that way and give him a little more fun suddenly having a different spell set. Just make sure he doesn't get to abuse or chose the spells, and if negotiating(yes you can talk to your patron) you can take something FROM the player to change spells.
+David Folsom I agree very much with the range blaster concept of the class. Usually what the Warlock is very strong when it's spamming Eldritch Blasts. And it is his trademark spell. It's what most think of when they go about trying out the Warlock class.
Though, depending on the group or DM, certain other options are certainly fun to try too. Endless Disguise Self or Silent Image can create lots of interesting scenarios (from his Invocations). Or add proficiency to two social skills. Some things can be changed around but overall I feel the Warlock is a ranged blaster when he is at his best.
But I very much disagree with the DM interfering with his spell selections. That is something the player himself should decide, always and regardless of class. Just as the other classes that have deities or other divine entities bestowing them power but don't dictate anything else. The Warlock already has a very limited number of spell slots and taking away the option to choice what he should know of spells from his as player feels very unfair in my opinion.
They get access to magic through the power of their Pact - but the patron doesn't necessarily do anything.
Tommy Frost The gm changing his spell selection is mostly so he can have some variety while he figures out what he REALLY likes. It's something the player is involved in trying to get a change, but the DM has the eventual choice is what I mean. Like your warlock goes 'Man I feel crappy in X situations with no tools' because they chose wrong. You as a DM have noticed they never use X you can see about having a little fun change over time.
David Folsom That's my issue with Warlock is because eldritch blast is the option everyone uses because it is the focus of the class, but I don't want a warlock like that.
its not much of a solution at higher levels, but if you use the hexblade warlock from unearthed arcana for the the first five to ten levels you can be a really effective melee fighter with spell options.
Gosh, this intro, this narration, I love it!
I keep coming back to this video from times to times when I need inspiration, or just a good narrator telling awesome stuff.
And the examples, insights and advices are so useful.
Today, I finally recieved Priest and Thief, the first books outside a rulebook or a campaign setting I'll be reading since years.
I'm excited!
First time viewer. (Literally... this is my first video of yours.)
Love this video. You sir, have gained yet another subscriber :)
Def gonna listen to this while working on my upcoming campaign in 3.5
I ran this opening months ago introducing a new party to D&D. It was a huge hit. I heard and audible "oh s###" at the "floating across the ground, as though the act of walking itself is beneath him".
I'm DMing a game for the first time in a week, we are all complete novices at this and I ended up DMing but the more I think about it the more I get excited about the prospect. Anyway, for our first two sessions we have a player attending- Sam - who will not be able to attend other sessions (He's in the Royal Air Force so doesn't have the time), I want the first couple of sessions to be geared towards giving his character a decent arc.
So we're playing the Lost MIne of Phandelver from the starter set - seeing as we're all starters it seemed a good place to... start. And I've decided that Sam's character will be an apprentice to the wizard Iarno Albrek - the missing wizard who the party can look for in the Redbrand manor. Anyway, spoilers for LMP - but in the quest Iarno is the bad guy and is in charge of the Redbrand bandits. I have made some adjustments such that when the party reaches the wizard's chamber they find Iarno in the middle of some great and terrible magical experiment - he is drawing magical power from a soul trapped in a giant glass flask - the figure in the flask being Sam's character. Shock, horror! Turns out that Sam has been playing a construct which has inhabited his body and Iarno is using him to draw more poo souls for his experiments. Then I say "Sam (he's not chosen a name yet) attacks Flynn" and then Sam fights alongside Iarno and some bandits against the party. If the party smashes the flask then Sam regains control and switches sides etc. Eventually Iarno flees or is captured or killed, and Sam's character thanks the party - he can then drop in and out of the story as and when Sam is able to play him (I'm going to give him some dodgy ethereal travel abilities as a result of being separated from his essence for so long).
I did steal it somewhat from your vignette you mentioned a few videos back, hope you don't mind.
Matt, thank you for these videos...they are simply awesome (and please don't shorten them, their length is fine). I am an old school fan (AD&D,2e), but more so am in love with Castles and Crusades because of its simplicity and feel. Please keep the videos coming, as they are incredibly helpful for improving the real aspect of D&D...(or C&C) and that is the story and plot line aspect. So far you have inspired me greatly to add bad guy levels that cross adventures...and I think that is just super cool.
WOO HOO!!! Someone else has read the Belgariad!!!! I literally cheered when you said that, and told my family that you are officially the coolest person on youtube. (No one else I've ever talked to has read it.)
Omg! I just realized my strahd gave my players a single good coin with his effigy on it. That means they possess something he can use to scry on them! Thanks Matt!!
I love this channel. I'd like a video on random encounters, and how to run encounters who are not for the players, I realized my friends realized everything is balanced around their characters, but since they aren't familiar with the monster manual that much, its hard for them to gauge the difficulty of an encounter, so I'd really like some tips of not killing people with over powered encounters, but also give them a feeling that the world is alive.
+kikedragoon The simplest way to show the players that they're out of their depth is the one Matt mentioned in the video - have the bad guys effortlessly stomp them but leave them alive because they're beneath their notice.
Wouldn't that be more in touch with an intelligent villain?
Fun hearing Matt talk about 10000 subs here in 2121 with 30 times that! MCDM for life
Advice for Phil: eldritch blaaäst!
Hi! I'm relatively new to the whole DnD world, only having played half a dozen times, and I'll be hosting my first session next Thursday. I'm so excited! Mostly thanks to you I've now got a little boy to rescue, a dungeon, riddles, fights and a (hopefully epic) Bad Guy lined up for my new players. None of those are exactly like yours, but your tips and tricks are fantastic and a great help - and I probably never would have dared to do this if not for your videos. So thanks!
"Don't get in a fight."
...
Sounds like something said at best a minute before a fight.
You really are a great inspiration and example to other, maybe not-so experienced GM's like myself. Your Stories about cursed Gold and early encounters of Bad Guys helped me solve a problem i had about introducing my pc's to a main sidequest i was planning. thanks for that
10 000 subscribers? How about 300k+ :D Go Matt!
4 years late but as soon as the guy came to collect the bodies it reminded me of the Black Company!! So glad those books are getting some love!
Now this was interesting... And it showed me that I'm still not reading enough.
I love that your early adventures talk about you only having a few thousand subscribers and look now. It is great when deserving people get popular.
Whenever I watch this, I’m always in the dilemma of wanting to show these to my players but at the same time to shamelessly steal all your ideas.
it is neat hearing you talk about how exciting it is to have reached 10K subs here - now to see you with 320K! subs is really cool. I only just recently heard about you and have started watching your videos and they are exceptionally well done and I can see why you've got the number of subs that you do. The format of the videos is really good. Particularly how the different aspects of the topic are broken down and picked apart in detail - as well as the videos ending with a clear summary and conclusion. I've been gaming for about 30 years as well and I've definitely picked up some good ideas already from watching the few videos I've seen so far, and I look forward to watching many more. Thanks very much for the super content and the effort.
"Domnall?"
"Who the hell is Domnall?"
I've been digging this entire playlist. Haven't played in years and have been prepping a 1player campaign for my wife. Btw your video on running a session for one player really helped with some ideas. Just wanted to take an opportunity to say thank you for the great content.
my DM made our bad guy a NPC on our team
That is truly epic. Just as they find out that their torch-bearer "Verbal" was Keyser Söze all along...
this put me immediately in mind of Austin Kleon's inspirational little book, "Steal Like An Artist." great reinforcement here. love it. and i've totally stolen from The Black Company myself. what a brilliant series.
Wow, someone drank a "potion of haste" as it seems 😄...
Mathew,
Just have to tell you how much you are helping me and my friends, We are pretty experienced Pathfinder players but a lot of us are new GM's (especially me). All your videos have really been a help to all of us ( ME especially) for creating the campaign to making villans (so many good tips on villains form this video) and so much more. Thank you for all your work on these videos and I cant wait to hear what happens to Graves and his companions as they face off against the orcs.
PS. All the references have been great.
I know these are older videos. But already you have inspired and have lifted my game by far! Thank you for inspiration on becoming a better new GM.
Hey Matt, I LOVE your videos - great advice all round :)
What I really dig about your 'set', is how you cycle the display board games on the shelf behind you. Its like 'board game of the week' or somesuch. so cool!
Love your vids, Matt! They are extremely helpful and fun to watch. I'm a first time DM playing with first time players, and had my third session just yesterday, and the players seem to love it.
I'm looking forward to your video about finding and reskinning new adventures. I love making my own adventures by rehashing bits of games I played or books I read, but I spent way to much time trying to write the perfect adventure and the perfect plot. Having some kind of reference guide for existing adventures to further my custom campaign will help out tremendously!
Stay awesome!
Thank you so much, Matt. I just noticed, through watching this video, that my previous DM stole a looooooot of bad guy content from this particular video. And I LOVED it. My character straight up HATED the bad guy that bought corpses because she felt like he was belittling and using her. It was great and I hope to one day become a DM just as skilled as the likes of yourself, Mercer and the many others who I see as my idols of D&D. Thanks.
I just want you to know your videos have inspired me to be a better (I think) character. I have a lot more fun with each session now, and I now set an intention before every game of 'I am going to try and have as much fun as possible' which I learned from watching your videos. So thank you!
Definitely. involving players in your story arcs is perfect for their agency in storytelling. I used to run a party of ten players, over seven years. At one point, the party split, and I found that in order to play each session without leaving anyone out, or running long gaps between each groups arc, the non-spotlight group controlled monsters or NPCs the in-spotlight team was interacting with, or up against. And it worked. It was a welcome change of pace, and expanded the attitudes and characteristics of the NPC lineup.
I like how you weave a fascinating story for your players, so neither the story nor the characters are one-dimensional. That's a great quality in a DM. And the red gold thing sounds really fascinating. I'm going to ruminate on that for a while. "I see red; hurts my head..."
Thanks!
I'm five years late here....but man your videos sure do make a brand new DM a lot less anxious/stressed about running the game. Thanks for what you do, good sir.
So much quality content in all your videos. Loving the frequency
Over the past few days I've been watching this playlist to help prepare myself for a party of 8 that I brought together to DM, and I have never DM'ed, but these videos have really help!
Hi Mathew, rewatching your videos as a refresher because everyone needs to hear this stuff again every now and then; but when it comes to who knows the rules best, my players do. As the DM I learned enough to run my monsters, create monsters and ask for ability checks. They need to help eachother and know everything when it comes too their characters. When my friend and I switch roles I'm asking for help with my character because I have so much in my head, it's hard to remember characters on top of it all. Anything else I've learned about the rules accept what I need to know to baseline DM, my players have looked up as we play and we talk about it at the table.