I did a food dungeon for some of my restaurant working friends (chefs, line cooks, bartenders, barbacks, etc.). Peanutbutter slimes and grape jelly oozes, meat elementals, environmental herbs, culinary traps (fryer oil was the worst). Weapons had advantage on certain food types, etc. I have since lost that notebook. :(
I can just see it, a Noble's cook tasks the players with getting ever increasing bizarre ingredients only to one day confuse a ritual with a recipe. Giant sentient meat pie boss fight anyone?
Seriously great idea. I'm not aware of any food-based rpg material out there, but there should be. Maybe you've got a ks in the making... Throw in some appropriate character backgrounds, a few spells and magic items, I could think of other stuff too, but it's all right there.
@@MemphiStigI think one of the chain fast food restaurants actually made a food kingdom based ttrpg as a joke some years back? Either Burger King or KFC to my poor recollection
One more encounter type for ya: The combat encounter meant to be skipped. Make your dungeon feel more dangerous by having a lot more potential combat encounters in them, that all have relatively easy ways of avoiding them. From talking, to sneaking, to getting the monsters to die from a dungeon trap. Its up to the players to discern the best way to conserve their resources and not fight everything in front of them.
Unfortunately, you must not abuse it or you will start taking away the freedom that most players want. The ability to actually fight sometimes is important. It empowers the party, makes them feel as if their characters can actually take on the threats. They may have tricked or trapped this monster, but that one they took down through their other skills. Otherwise your game just becomes a bunch of puzzles, a point-and-click paper adventure
@@jeanremi8384 he mentioned to only do it for some. plus if your players are feeling bloodthirsty they can very much kill them, there is just other ways
This is a dangerous one, because a lot (most?) players work under the assumption that if it's in front of them, it can be solved. You need to make it ABUNDANTLY clear that they can't handle the encounter, or they'll try to do it and get stomped, then blame you.
@@DFAnton my players go out of their way to skip encounters, as they like feeling clever so I dunno about most. Also the encounters don't have to be hard, they just have to be plentiful so players know they need to conserve resources for the actual boss. I've killed 3 PC's in my DMing career and nobody has lost it on me yet
Monarch Factory described a houserule she uses in one of her videos where when you set off a trap, you get a “click”, some kind of clue about what the trap does. Before you roll you can preemptively take an action to either evade the trap or at least make your save easier, stuff like raising your shield to block the dart or hitting the floor to dodge it. What you decide to do affects how hard the save will be and can potentially circumvent the roll entirely
Mister De Mico, I just want to thank you for taking the time to put out such high-quality content, both in terms of video editing/production and actual game design. Your videos have inspired so many aspects of what I do as a DM, and I am eternally grateful.
Dungeon Masterpiece has great advice on this topic. There's a lot of good information in this video above, but I think there are critical things you've missed. For instance, making the dungeon as a part of the living world--why is it here in the first place, what is it's role in local history and how is impacting towns, villages and cities nearby? In a narrative driven game, looting random dungeons isn't really a compelling story hook--the dungeon needs to be intruding and impacting the lives of the people nearby. The movie Thirteenth Warrior is an excellent example of this. Though it wasn't a technical dungeon in a classical D&D sense (I would argue that North of the Wall as a wilderness dungeon) , in Game of Thrones, Crastor's Keep north of the wall was another example of this---it was absolutely creepy when all of Crastor's wives stood up and started saying, "give to the gods...." It was a whole new dimension of, "just what the hell are we dealing with here?" These are great examples of what I mean by how does the existence of the dungeons intrude. I'm not so sure the notion that you're right about the current trends in the TTRPG space. It's certainly the direction WOTC has gone---but OSR style games are gaining popularity and converts from 5E. Ben Milton on Questing Beast has it on the nose when he outlined the difference between official D&D and folk D&D. And the truth is that official D&D is going to be in it's own walled garden with endless micro transactions in the not too distant future. Live pen and paper tabletop play for 5E will become another type of OSR.
The most fun dungeon I've ever run was a dungeon crawl within the literal mind of an elder God in search of campaign defining answers 😅 It included bodily defense constructs (white blood cell - like beings), world's surrounded around particular senses, fast travel by the electrical nerve-train and a whole fantasy realm where his dreams of certain constructs eventually came to life into the real world.
As an old RPG head (been playing over 20 years), OSR player, and dungeon crawl enjoyer, I'm glad you didn't give this the "crawl bad" treatment so much as just explained that there's a rise and fall in the trends in any given way. I appreciate that even though you don't favor my camp, you didn't disrespect our way of doing things. Your stuff is pretty handy even for those anyway, since you can break up individual things within a megadungeon with stories and encounters like the ones you build.
I'm with you. Haven't played 5th nor will I. BECMI and AD&D are my games. Glad to be an old fart. I'll be interested to see if today's crop of players are still going 40 years from now.
2:03 I’ve run dungeons as heists for a while now. “Get back my people’s stolen artifact from the Empire, It’s too well-protected for us to get it back,” is always a strong hook.
Just started watching and wanted to propose a possible video idea "Alinment Flip" where you could take beings that are characterised as always evil,good,neutral etc.. and create a version that is the opposite yet still recognizable example Mind Flayer->Mind Healer or something like that
He's very vocal about how he hates alignment lol. I don't think I see him doing this. Because a good aligned mind flayer isn't a different creature. It's just a friendly mind flayer.
@@Turabbo I know that he doesnt like alinments but i honestly drew a blank on a name other than that, and i had in mind what happens when for example a number of friendly mind flayers converge and try to form a society? What will change about them, what new flavour will they bring to the table? It is kinda fun to think about
@@Turabbo Honestly, I think that's more reason the idea's good. It flips the "stereotype" of any given thing's alignment on its head to show that you don't *need* to follow that as a strict rule (Cause I imagine it can be hard to break away from that without having an example or two). That's how I see it, anyway.
@@Turabbo Yes, video game tends toward an alignment system that's mostly "Gandhi or Hitler, those are your only options", and he has admitted that's a strong foundation for him. Plus for most types of creatures alignment shifting is just 'give this group a different culture, or swap out their gods." Well except for outer plains creatures, Demons aren't just evil, their made out of evil which makes it very hard to justify any changes beyond just using a half fiend because "Their mortal half provides the capacity for them to be something other than pure evil."
Y'know, this video has made me realize that in all my years DMing, I've never actually used a "dungeon" in this sense, just conflicts and challenges that arise naturally in the wider world of the campaign.
This video made me appreciate how well integrated and realistic the dungeons are in Pokémon. Looking at the original games you have caves to travel through (Mt. Moon, Rock Tunnels), Caves with Legendary Pokemon at the end (The Seafoam Islands, Cerulean Cave), abandoned human construction (Cinnabar Mansion, the Power Plant) and active buildings (the Game Corner, Silph Co., Pokémon tower) all acting as dungeons and almost always with a reward at the end without diving into any explicit dungeons in the classic sense.
1. Listen to what your players want to do. 2. Give them enough of that to make them feel like they have a say in the story of the game. 3. Alternatively, design the dungeon with the other players on the fly with their direct input as you all play together. (In other words, collaborate and improvise.) 4. Repeat step one. This works for every part of D&D, including dungeon design.
This Dungeon making advice will be really helpful, thanks! I've had several dungeon ideas in the works, but haven't been able to properly realise them. Now I should be able to actually make them playable. The part about picking a theme at the start and having it be represented in basically every aspect of the dungeon is really cool, and should make the process easier and more fun, at least for me.
You made this just in time, I needed inspiration for a Mind Control themed dungeon for my players TOMORROW. They’ve been hunting a Mind Flayer Arcanist for a while so yeah
This is incredibly helpful! Not just from a DMing perspective, but from a more conventional story writing perspective too. I'm really glad you made this and can't wait to see what else you create and talk about. I hope you have a great day ^.^
This is a good process for developing a dungeon. I started playing D&D back in the early 90's and have spent my share of time in AD&D dungeon crawls. I think a change of pace and scenery is welcomed and enjoyed by most players. I appreciate what you do.
Why is it that I never found about this channel before?! The content is great, the editing and humour are on point, the advice is not only solid but deeply useful, and the additional content is not only great, but deeply appreciated. This channel deserves... no, scratch that, has EARNED far more subscribers, views and likes than it has! "We shall watch your career with great interest..."
I for one, LOVE the more game design centric videos. Pushing myself to change rules and mechanics can be a challenge, but videos like these help a lot!
If you ever decide to compile all your work into a book, know that I would absolutely buy that book. These are the greatest videos for D&D, and I look forward to the release of the next o e every time I get to the end of the video.
as someone planning to study game design i absolutely love all these game designy vidoes! they give me a look into the thought process of a professional and i feel like i learn a ton!
Please keep bringing the game design videos! Once you've DMed for any length of time, you realize that game design is a lot of what you do during prep.
I wanted to come down here and say; while I might not speak for everyone, I enjoy when you break down stuff in terms of game design. You may think it feels preachy but to people like me who are game design adjacent hearing the terms and explanations of them really help. Being a DM is very close to game design because we are responsible for the mechanics at our table. So thank you
Hey, thank you for making these. I stop everything to watch your videos when they drop. They're a bright and happy part of my day. You deserve all the opportunities you are getting here, have fun at Gencon.
I had a 4-room dungeon themed around kobolds. Kobolds have large communities, so the mechanic was reinforcements; designated "leader" kobolds would call in more kobolds at the end of each round of combat. It didn't end well. The boss kobold called in additional leader kobolds, which led to compiling reinforcements. Despite focusing down the boss and defeating him, those guys were overrun by the legion that had built up. 😅
I LOVE the game design videos! Your depth of experience in this and ability to articulate it clearly (and enjoyably) is one of the things that makes this the best dnd channel 😍
As always, an amazing video! I’m really looking forward to a paladin Litch episode! My very first, proper, full-size dungeon adventure was with my first campaign. Way back ages ago in my setting there was a temple to a god of dreams who has long since been forgotten. They found the entrance and some parts of the temple in utter ruined in many places blocked off, but when they camped for the night at the entrance, they woke up to find that have been completely restored! They learned things about the history of the world, were able to solve some puzzles with minimal combat and used what they learned to realize that this wasn’t the temple of dreams restored, they were still in a dream and had never woken up.! When they did wake up, they were able to use what they learned to find the treasure room and ransack it.
I watched this video like an hour ago, sat down with the google doc, and made a whole dungeon arc in like 30 minutes. It’s got the theme of healing, takes place in an old Druid grove that used to cater to people from all over that were deadly sick. Something is going on where people in the nearby area are being healed, but healing so much that they are actually anti-aging. I won’t go into the rest in case someone from my table sees this, but I am soooo excited. Thank you so much!
I made a “sort of dungeon” for a campaign I want to do. The party finds a bunker that was a prison that they were all supposed to relocate to. When they reach it, they see the door is left open. Once they descend the stairs they discover a werebat (possibly modified to accommodate what I’m using it for) they need to turn on these lights in the rooms to drive out the werebat and use sound to direct away from where they need to be. Obviously traps aren’t a thing that would make a lot of sense, nor would many combat encounters since this place would’ve only been recently breached. But I still think it would be very fun to run.
In my Eberron campaign the party had to clear out an ancient underground hobgoblin fortress to claim it as their base. However, a rival band of monsters want to claim it for Daask. It was a race to see who could claim the command center first. Rooms were locked with different level keys throughout the complex to allow further exploration and many rooms had hazards from long ago to add obstacles. It was a fun session.
I love this idea of a theme throughout. I'm designing my first dungeon crawl and can use this to help me design it. Now to think of mechanics associate with greed/gluttony. Thanks again!
Best dungeon I ever had was breaking prisoners out of a Goblin camp inside a huge cave system. The first half was stealth, assassinations, and traps, and the second half wad a "combat" section that used horde rules as the players were chased by a ton of goblins mixed with elite soldiers employed by the BBEG. It ran a lot like the goblin scene from the Hobbit and was a ton of fun.
Omg gosh! My husband and I came across your fey wild video, and that was already incredible and insightful! But wow! I'm so glad we found this one! Thank you for using your knowledge on game design to share in really concise and thoughtful ways to incorporate into dming!
This was the exact video i needed right now! I love dungeons but always felt like i had trouble making them interesting and fun to play in. I love the mechanics talk!! I would love more videos like this. Great stuff!
I ran the Feywild dungeon for a few friends for my birthday, and they all absolutely loved it. It was also such a huge weight off me not having to prepare the game and just running it, best birthday gift I could ask for :)
This channel was my gateway drug to D&D. Now I've binged critical role, am looking for a good group to do sessions with, and desperately gnashing at the bit when a new pointy hat video comes out. Thank you for getting me addicted to the high of nerdy worldbuilding and creative writing with Tabletop games, its completely destroyed my life in an affectionate sense.
I'm a newbie baby DM, as in one day last year my boyfriend and I just decided to play D&D without actually knowing what we're getting into and now we're here. Me and my player's have been learning D&D on the fly, and I'm learning to DM on the fly. It's been chaotic, but fun. All that just to preface that I really, REALLY appreciate these types of videos from you Pointy. The game design aspect you mentioned is something that hits the g-spot of my DM'ing brain and is probably my favorite part of prepping. I love your videos, I love your style, I love topics like this, and I love this channel. Please continue making more videos and have a lovely day.
The quality of your videos is fantastic. I honestly feel joy whenever i see that you brought out another ones of these bangers. Thank you for your effort!
Literally my go-to for good quality DND content. You provide aspects and advice that really set apart from other content creators:) I can’t wait to watch this channel continue to grow
Mister De Mico ! Can't wait to watch your video ! You're rapidly becoming my favourite DnD youtuber. Actually I named an NPC bard "Antonio de Mico" in my campaign, it just rolls off the tongue ! Big love 💋
I watched the Feywild video, don't worry 🙌✨🦄 Love your content Mr Hat! Awesome to hear your thought processes on this too. Currently trying to create a Feywild campaign arc to run for my usual group to give the DM a break so while I'm still anxious and unsure, I'll definitely find this video and that one invaluable!
i just ran my first real session of my own campaign setting and it went EXTREMELY WELL with huge thanks to your videos. i love your content so much, Mr. Demico and i beg you, NEVER STOP!!
I swear to God you must be omniscient. I’ve been planning a campaign over the last few months and every single time I get snagged on something or need some inspiration, you come out with a video that addresses that very thing. Thank you so much for all of the help and inspiration you provide! 🤩
As someone who (hopefully if I get enlisted) studies and finds game design an interesting topic I think it was a great video, keep up the good work and thank you for the guide to dungeon build, I may not use it myself since I personally suck at DMing but it can come in handy to some of my DM friends ^^ Ps. Have fun at the Gencon
As a hopeful DM to be this is great thanks Mr.Hat. Also I was wondering if you could do a video on Changelings, they're one of my personal favorite races but they can be done poorly, so advice would nice.
As a fellow GM with a background in game-dev, I LOVE this kind of content. I love sculpting game mechanics to fit the themes of my games, I tend to slot in homebrew and optional rules to better reflect what the games are about (I used the spell point system for my MTG game to mirror the mana system of MTG, all the players were spell casters in one way or another so it let me toy around with that system to better reflect that style of spell casting).
I know this is an old video and you probably don’t check the comments anymore, but I finally ran across this one in your archive and I found it at the perfect time. I’m planning to DM my first game and this is giving me great ideas for turning my themes into game mechanics to better tell the story I’m trying to tell.
Honestly this has really helped in making me think of dungeons as more than a creepy hole in the ground with loot. Definitely going to be applying these ideas
That was a great video. I realized that that's how I was doing my dungeons, but without proper words in those concept, it was hard to really figure out what I needed to do, and keep the vibe on during improvised parts. Thank you for those words!
Love your breakdown here, especially the whole "make the final/big encounter of the dungeon fit the theme and mechanics that were introduced early in the dungeon"--it really helps preserve immersion and satisfaction!
These are the best videos. This is the type of thing that SHOULD be in the dmg because its so ubiquitous to dnd games while just as often glossed over by those writing advice or instruction. Like all advice for DMs though, just start. Don’t Let “Perfect” Be the Enemy of “Good” is cliche but also really true here. Have a reason to be there, a theme, have a few encounters that use supporting mechanics, and then end it. Have fun.
I just wanted to say, I started watching you a few weeks back and I'm very impressed with the content here. And making it easily accessible and free in the description is such a step above and a mile beyond other creators in my book. I just subscribed and am eager for future content and to sift through past content! Happy to see where you go!
Huge thanks for this video! I've been working on my first DnD campaign, and these steps will definitely help me to create an exciting journey! You're the best💯
the implication youre making is that someone is making these dungeons on purpose and filling them with monsters as a test which is hilarious to imagine
He was so close to getting it when he mentioned pyramids. They're meant to prevent entry to protect something. As is a dungeon in a traditional dungeon crawl. It's not meant to be a theme park for the players to ride all the rides in. It's meant to prevent them from reaching the end.
Love this (and most of your) videos. Amazing distillation of what makes things work in a very entertaining way. This helped me understand why sometimes a dungeon hits so much better and sometimes it falls kinda flat. Definitely taking some notes for my next dungeon building session
Thanks mr. hat I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and build a very small dense locked in game where I need rooms and different spaces to react to the player and have trigger able events and some sound advice is really what I needed. I’ve got my theme locked in and will be writing all events to add to the story of the session.
I am running Rime of the Frost Maiden for an LGS and for Halloween designed a haunted inn homage to the Shining for my players to enjoy. Without watching this video prior, I was able to check all of the boxes you prescribed and it has been one of my most satisfying DM creations. I love your content and apply your tips all the time. I think we’re kindred spirits or something. Keep up the great work and keep that familiar in check!❤
So far I'm just winging it half the time and improv almost everything, your videos(as well as others) are a godsend a wellspring of cool ideas and fun times to be had, so far my players love whatever sleep deprived amature hour shit I have been doing
This video was very affirming! Thank you so much! I built a “Raid” like dungeon themed around the pro’s and con’s of gaining power. Came up with new mechanics, thought of ways for all players to have to contribute (not just by combat), etc. My table seemed to really like it as each encounter was treated like a combat puzzle (similar to Destiny Raids), but they’re all my friends so there might have been some bias in their opinions. Sounds like others would enjoy it as well, so, again, thank you for this video!
Love your videos, you actually give me the inspiration to run games and make me excited for my favorite hobby. Don’t stop being fabulous for even one minute.
Great work! I use dungeons exactly like that; sparingly. They are usually no more than a few rooms, I also avoid calling them dungeons, I call them ruins, tombs, crypts, etc. My dungeons are the leftover cellar from a ruined temple, the abandoned keep repurposed but not repaired by the evil dragon, the sewers beneath the city where the kobolds have built their warren... etc. One of my favorite dungeons I designed was a manor where things were stuck in a time loop, the players kept traveling forward and backward in time during three different eras of the building (at its prime, at its fall, and in the present). They relived the same encounters over and over, learning more about the history of the manor and the family that once owned it and eventually they discovered the devil that was the catalyst for all of the destruction. They fixed the past by defeating that devil and in the future there was a prosperous town with a new noble house in charge of it instead of a rundown village full of terrified fishermen.
I for one really like your more game-design focused videos, as well as your general tips for improving gameplay, cause not only are your observations on certain roadblocks typical of TTRPGs great, but you also tend to give fresh solutions that I'm not used to seeing everywhere! Keep it up dude :D
😱 I don't have to come back later to take notes, after verifying w/ the first watch that the video was worth it? My hero. Plus a an example dungeon to study? Wow. First video I've seen by you, but that's an instant subscription. Quality is crystal clear.
It's too dangerous to go alone, take this (me, take me)
Magic +1 pointy hat of advice
Okay, come here lil buddy
I will gladly have someone with your intellect with me
Mi boy wiz get ya
*equips the pointy hat* :D
I did a food dungeon for some of my restaurant working friends (chefs, line cooks, bartenders, barbacks, etc.). Peanutbutter slimes and grape jelly oozes, meat elementals, environmental herbs, culinary traps (fryer oil was the worst). Weapons had advantage on certain food types, etc. I have since lost that notebook. :(
PLEASE LET ME STEAL THIS THIS IS SO FUCKING COOOOLLLL
I can just see it, a Noble's cook tasks the players with getting ever increasing bizarre ingredients only to one day confuse a ritual with a recipe. Giant sentient meat pie boss fight anyone?
Fried chicken zombies? Peanut brittle darts? SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALL TORANDO
This is literally cloudy with a chance of meatballs and I love it
Seriously great idea. I'm not aware of any food-based rpg material out there, but there should be. Maybe you've got a ks in the making... Throw in some appropriate character backgrounds, a few spells and magic items, I could think of other stuff too, but it's all right there.
@@MemphiStigI think one of the chain fast food restaurants actually made a food kingdom based ttrpg as a joke some years back? Either Burger King or KFC to my poor recollection
One more encounter type for ya: The combat encounter meant to be skipped. Make your dungeon feel more dangerous by having a lot more potential combat encounters in them, that all have relatively easy ways of avoiding them. From talking, to sneaking, to getting the monsters to die from a dungeon trap. Its up to the players to discern the best way to conserve their resources and not fight everything in front of them.
Unfortunately, you must not abuse it or you will start taking away the freedom that most players want. The ability to actually fight sometimes is important. It empowers the party, makes them feel as if their characters can actually take on the threats. They may have tricked or trapped this monster, but that one they took down through their other skills. Otherwise your game just becomes a bunch of puzzles, a point-and-click paper adventure
Just reminds me of my messed up first play of Undertale.
@@jeanremi8384 he mentioned to only do it for some. plus if your players are feeling bloodthirsty they can very much kill them, there is just other ways
This is a dangerous one, because a lot (most?) players work under the assumption that if it's in front of them, it can be solved. You need to make it ABUNDANTLY clear that they can't handle the encounter, or they'll try to do it and get stomped, then blame you.
@@DFAnton my players go out of their way to skip encounters, as they like feeling clever so I dunno about most. Also the encounters don't have to be hard, they just have to be plentiful so players know they need to conserve resources for the actual boss. I've killed 3 PC's in my DMing career and nobody has lost it on me yet
Monarch Factory described a houserule she uses in one of her videos where when you set off a trap, you get a “click”, some kind of clue about what the trap does. Before you roll you can preemptively take an action to either evade the trap or at least make your save easier, stuff like raising your shield to block the dart or hitting the floor to dodge it. What you decide to do affects how hard the save will be and can potentially circumvent the roll entirely
Addendum: I really like this rule as it makes traps a kind of mini-puzzle where the player has to think fast or suffer the consequences
@@mollywantshugs5944 I believe that idea comes from The Angry GM, not 100% sure but they're a great resource with the same concept.
What if you hit the deck but it was a trapdoor. Roll avoided cuz there’s no coming back from that
@@ctje1638 I would make them roll with disadvantage and laugh at them 😆
@@ctje1638"You feel your feet drop as the ground below you gives. What do you do?"
"I HIT THE DECK" -- says literally no one ever
Mister De Mico, I just want to thank you for taking the time to put out such high-quality content, both in terms of video editing/production and actual game design. Your videos have inspired so many aspects of what I do as a DM, and I am eternally grateful.
Adding on to your comment, I'm amazed that he's able to do it so quickly and consistently too
@@gamersedge891 i really need to learn his motivation lol
And the best part? Its absolutely **drum roll** FREE
I agree +1
Dungeon Masterpiece has great advice on this topic. There's a lot of good information in this video above, but I think there are critical things you've missed. For instance, making the dungeon as a part of the living world--why is it here in the first place, what is it's role in local history and how is impacting towns, villages and cities nearby? In a narrative driven game, looting random dungeons isn't really a compelling story hook--the dungeon needs to be intruding and impacting the lives of the people nearby. The movie Thirteenth Warrior is an excellent example of this. Though it wasn't a technical dungeon in a classical D&D sense (I would argue that North of the Wall as a wilderness dungeon) , in Game of Thrones, Crastor's Keep north of the wall was another example of this---it was absolutely creepy when all of Crastor's wives stood up and started saying, "give to the gods...." It was a whole new dimension of, "just what the hell are we dealing with here?" These are great examples of what I mean by how does the existence of the dungeons intrude.
I'm not so sure the notion that you're right about the current trends in the TTRPG space. It's certainly the direction WOTC has gone---but OSR style games are gaining popularity and converts from 5E. Ben Milton on Questing Beast has it on the nose when he outlined the difference between official D&D and folk D&D. And the truth is that official D&D is going to be in it's own walled garden with endless micro transactions in the not too distant future. Live pen and paper tabletop play for 5E will become another type of OSR.
The most fun dungeon I've ever run was a dungeon crawl within the literal mind of an elder God in search of campaign defining answers 😅
It included bodily defense constructs (white blood cell - like beings), world's surrounded around particular senses, fast travel by the electrical nerve-train and a whole fantasy realm where his dreams of certain constructs eventually came to life into the real world.
… How did your characters get in the god’s brain in the first place?
@@pablotomasllodra4423they are god brain eating amoeba, elder god probably took a swim in the astral sea
As an old RPG head (been playing over 20 years), OSR player, and dungeon crawl enjoyer, I'm glad you didn't give this the "crawl bad" treatment so much as just explained that there's a rise and fall in the trends in any given way. I appreciate that even though you don't favor my camp, you didn't disrespect our way of doing things. Your stuff is pretty handy even for those anyway, since you can break up individual things within a megadungeon with stories and encounters like the ones you build.
I loved running the Undermountain megadungeon. Sad that type of play isn't too popular anymore.
I'm with you. Haven't played 5th nor will I. BECMI and AD&D are my games. Glad to be an old fart. I'll be interested to see if today's crop of players are still going 40 years from now.
2:03 I’ve run dungeons as heists for a while now. “Get back my people’s stolen artifact from the Empire, It’s too well-protected for us to get it back,” is always a strong hook.
I like the hooks used for conquistadors, VOC goons and other adventuring bums. Explore shit and get stuff.
Just started watching and wanted to propose a possible video idea "Alinment Flip" where you could take beings that are characterised as always evil,good,neutral etc.. and create a version that is the opposite yet still recognizable example Mind Flayer->Mind Healer or something like that
Or kindly goblins called dobbs. It’s a cool idea I’d like to see him expand on
He's very vocal about how he hates alignment lol. I don't think I see him doing this.
Because a good aligned mind flayer isn't a different creature. It's just a friendly mind flayer.
@@Turabbo I know that he doesnt like alinments but i honestly drew a blank on a name other than that, and i had in mind what happens when for example a number of friendly mind flayers converge and try to form a society? What will change about them, what new flavour will they bring to the table? It is kinda fun to think about
@@Turabbo Honestly, I think that's more reason the idea's good. It flips the "stereotype" of any given thing's alignment on its head to show that you don't *need* to follow that as a strict rule (Cause I imagine it can be hard to break away from that without having an example or two). That's how I see it, anyway.
@@Turabbo Yes, video game tends toward an alignment system that's mostly "Gandhi or Hitler, those are your only options", and he has admitted that's a strong foundation for him. Plus for most types of creatures alignment shifting is just 'give this group a different culture, or swap out their gods."
Well except for outer plains creatures, Demons aren't just evil, their made out of evil which makes it very hard to justify any changes beyond just using a half fiend because "Their mortal half provides the capacity for them to be something other than pure evil."
Y'know, this video has made me realize that in all my years DMing, I've never actually used a "dungeon" in this sense, just conflicts and challenges that arise naturally in the wider world of the campaign.
This video made me appreciate how well integrated and realistic the dungeons are in Pokémon. Looking at the original games you have caves to travel through (Mt. Moon, Rock Tunnels), Caves with Legendary Pokemon at the end (The Seafoam Islands, Cerulean Cave), abandoned human construction (Cinnabar Mansion, the Power Plant) and active buildings (the Game Corner, Silph Co., Pokémon tower) all acting as dungeons and almost always with a reward at the end without diving into any explicit dungeons in the classic sense.
1. Listen to what your players want to do.
2. Give them enough of that to make them feel like they have a say in the story of the game.
3. Alternatively, design the dungeon with the other players on the fly with their direct input as you all play together. (In other words, collaborate and improvise.)
4. Repeat step one.
This works for every part of D&D, including dungeon design.
This Dungeon making advice will be really helpful, thanks! I've had several dungeon ideas in the works, but haven't been able to properly realise them. Now I should be able to actually make them playable. The part about picking a theme at the start and having it be represented in basically every aspect of the dungeon is really cool, and should make the process easier and more fun, at least for me.
Dude. I’m a first time DM, and I’m struggling with a bunch of stuff like this and your videos have been game changers for me. Thanks!
You made this just in time, I needed inspiration for a Mind Control themed dungeon for my players TOMORROW. They’ve been hunting a Mind Flayer Arcanist for a while so yeah
This is incredibly helpful! Not just from a DMing perspective, but from a more conventional story writing perspective too. I'm really glad you made this and can't wait to see what else you create and talk about. I hope you have a great day ^.^
This is a good process for developing a dungeon. I started playing D&D back in the early 90's and have spent my share of time in AD&D dungeon crawls. I think a change of pace and scenery is welcomed and enjoyed by most players. I appreciate what you do.
Why is it that I never found about this channel before?!
The content is great, the editing and humour are on point, the advice is not only solid but deeply useful, and the additional content is not only great, but deeply appreciated.
This channel deserves... no, scratch that, has EARNED far more subscribers, views and likes than it has!
"We shall watch your career with great interest..."
I for one, LOVE the more game design centric videos. Pushing myself to change rules and mechanics can be a challenge, but videos like these help a lot!
If you ever decide to compile all your work into a book, know that I would absolutely buy that book. These are the greatest videos for D&D, and I look forward to the release of the next o e every time I get to the end of the video.
as someone planning to study game design i absolutely love all these game designy vidoes! they give me a look into the thought process of a professional and i feel like i learn a ton!
"Number A" physically hurt me haha
Great video as usual!!!
Please keep bringing the game design videos! Once you've DMed for any length of time, you realize that game design is a lot of what you do during prep.
I wanted to come down here and say; while I might not speak for everyone, I enjoy when you break down stuff in terms of game design. You may think it feels preachy but to people like me who are game design adjacent hearing the terms and explanations of them really help. Being a DM is very close to game design because we are responsible for the mechanics at our table. So thank you
Hey, thank you for making these. I stop everything to watch your videos when they drop. They're a bright and happy part of my day. You deserve all the opportunities you are getting here, have fun at Gencon.
I gave a fierce thumbs up when you said that combat isn't the only kind of encounter. Thank you for trying to teach people that.
Just in the process of making a dungeon under a mansion, you're a lifesaver!
I had a 4-room dungeon themed around kobolds. Kobolds have large communities, so the mechanic was reinforcements; designated "leader" kobolds would call in more kobolds at the end of each round of combat.
It didn't end well. The boss kobold called in additional leader kobolds, which led to compiling reinforcements. Despite focusing down the boss and defeating him, those guys were overrun by the legion that had built up. 😅
I LOVE the game design videos! Your depth of experience in this and ability to articulate it clearly (and enjoyably) is one of the things that makes this the best dnd channel 😍
THis is just GREAT !! I was doing this already but it was intuitive. Now, you put it in a system. THis is just great...again !
As always, an amazing video! I’m really looking forward to a paladin Litch episode!
My very first, proper, full-size dungeon adventure was with my first campaign. Way back ages ago in my setting there was a temple to a god of dreams who has long since been forgotten. They found the entrance and some parts of the temple in utter ruined in many places blocked off, but when they camped for the night at the entrance, they woke up to find that have been completely restored!
They learned things about the history of the world, were able to solve some puzzles with minimal combat and used what they learned to realize that this wasn’t the temple of dreams restored, they were still in a dream and had never woken up.! When they did wake up, they were able to use what they learned to find the treasure room and ransack it.
I watched this video like an hour ago, sat down with the google doc, and made a whole dungeon arc in like 30 minutes.
It’s got the theme of healing, takes place in an old Druid grove that used to cater to people from all over that were deadly sick. Something is going on where people in the nearby area are being healed, but healing so much that they are actually anti-aging. I won’t go into the rest in case someone from my table sees this, but I am soooo excited. Thank you so much!
Just a quick comment to thank you for all the work you've done for your ttrpg community 😊❤
I made a “sort of dungeon” for a campaign I want to do. The party finds a bunker that was a prison that they were all supposed to relocate to. When they reach it, they see the door is left open. Once they descend the stairs they discover a werebat (possibly modified to accommodate what I’m using it for) they need to turn on these lights in the rooms to drive out the werebat and use sound to direct away from where they need to be. Obviously traps aren’t a thing that would make a lot of sense, nor would many combat encounters since this place would’ve only been recently breached. But I still think it would be very fun to run.
adoro seus vídeos e seus temas no mundo do DnD, eu só jogo a versão 5e na maior parte do tempo, um abraço Antônio se cuida irmão!
Brasileiro tbm?
@@elvisjunior192 curiosamente tem bastante brasileiro que vê os vídeos dele
Aqui mais um br pra conta dos senhores 😊
@@RockingRavine nem me fala kkkkkkkkkkk
Brbrbrbrbr
In my Eberron campaign the party had to clear out an ancient underground hobgoblin fortress to claim it as their base. However, a rival band of monsters want to claim it for Daask. It was a race to see who could claim the command center first. Rooms were locked with different level keys throughout the complex to allow further exploration and many rooms had hazards from long ago to add obstacles. It was a fun session.
How does the monster progression work? Do they reach room g on turn 11?
I love this idea of a theme throughout. I'm designing my first dungeon crawl and can use this to help me design it. Now to think of mechanics associate with greed/gluttony. Thanks again!
Best dungeon I ever had was breaking prisoners out of a Goblin camp inside a huge cave system. The first half was stealth, assassinations, and traps, and the second half wad a "combat" section that used horde rules as the players were chased by a ton of goblins mixed with elite soldiers employed by the BBEG. It ran a lot like the goblin scene from the Hobbit and was a ton of fun.
As a new hopeful DM vids like this are amazing and much needed. Thank you for all your hard work. ❤❤❤❤
Omg gosh! My husband and I came across your fey wild video, and that was already incredible and insightful! But wow! I'm so glad we found this one! Thank you for using your knowledge on game design to share in really concise and thoughtful ways to incorporate into dming!
This was the exact video i needed right now! I love dungeons but always felt like i had trouble making them interesting and fun to play in. I love the mechanics talk!! I would love more videos like this. Great stuff!
Thank you for the tips. Just made a dungeon, an Artificer's old lab with moving clockwork platforms, monster filled test tubes, and some robots
Love this type of content, especially with the way it’s delivered. Please keep providing us with more of this game-design-led inspirations.
personally, as a aspiring game designer I would actually love more game-design oriented videos (or maybe a whole series pretty please oh mighty hat?)
As a game designer that’s poured hours into understanding this kind of stuff… yeah, I do like your more game dev-y videos 🎉
Keep an eye out for Nature and Cryptids for me! Thanks buddy, you’re the best narrator on UA-cam by far.
As someone into game design, I love videos like this. Give me MOAR!
I ran the Feywild dungeon for a few friends for my birthday, and they all absolutely loved it. It was also such a huge weight off me not having to prepare the game and just running it, best birthday gift I could ask for :)
The link is broken to me, did you manage to download it just fine?
I was curious as to how the actual mechanics would play out.
The link is broken for me too Q~Q
This channel was my gateway drug to D&D. Now I've binged critical role, am looking for a good group to do sessions with, and desperately gnashing at the bit when a new pointy hat video comes out. Thank you for getting me addicted to the high of nerdy worldbuilding and creative writing with Tabletop games, its completely destroyed my life in an affectionate sense.
Look up angrygm blog. He's really good
I'm a newbie baby DM, as in one day last year my boyfriend and I just decided to play D&D without actually knowing what we're getting into and now we're here. Me and my player's have been learning D&D on the fly, and I'm learning to DM on the fly. It's been chaotic, but fun.
All that just to preface that I really, REALLY appreciate these types of videos from you Pointy. The game design aspect you mentioned is something that hits the g-spot of my DM'ing brain and is probably my favorite part of prepping. I love your videos, I love your style, I love topics like this, and I love this channel. Please continue making more videos and have a lovely day.
I AM ABOUT TO MAKE A DUNGEON FOR MY CAMPAIGN THANK YOU SO MUCH😭
The quality of your videos is fantastic. I honestly feel joy whenever i see that you brought out another ones of these bangers. Thank you for your effort!
Another absoloutly fantastic video, I do now hope we get a part 2, How to Make GOOD D&D Dragons
Literally my go-to for good quality DND content. You provide aspects and advice that really set apart from other content creators:) I can’t wait to watch this channel continue to grow
Mister De Mico ! Can't wait to watch your video ! You're rapidly becoming my favourite DnD youtuber. Actually I named an NPC bard "Antonio de Mico" in my campaign, it just rolls off the tongue ! Big love 💋
I do like these! You're summing up and putting to use the principles I forgot that I learned about from Extra Credits half a decade ago.
Thank you
I watched the Feywild video, don't worry 🙌✨🦄
Love your content Mr Hat! Awesome to hear your thought processes on this too. Currently trying to create a Feywild campaign arc to run for my usual group to give the DM a break so while I'm still anxious and unsure, I'll definitely find this video and that one invaluable!
i just ran my first real session of my own campaign setting and it went EXTREMELY WELL with huge thanks to your videos. i love your content so much, Mr. Demico and i beg you, NEVER STOP!!
Always love your intros, well done mr Hat!
I swear to God you must be omniscient. I’ve been planning a campaign over the last few months and every single time I get snagged on something or need some inspiration, you come out with a video that addresses that very thing. Thank you so much for all of the help and inspiration you provide! 🤩
Gets all pumped up to make a dungeon. Gets curious to find out what this Fey dungeon looks like, Clicks link to Fey dungon....404
This came out when I felt I needed to improve my dungeons drastically. Amazing timing
As someone who (hopefully if I get enlisted) studies and finds game design an interesting topic I think it was a great video, keep up the good work and thank you for the guide to dungeon build, I may not use it myself since I personally suck at DMing but it can come in handy to some of my DM friends ^^
Ps. Have fun at the Gencon
As a hopeful DM to be this is great thanks Mr.Hat. Also I was wondering if you could do a video on Changelings, they're one of my personal favorite races but they can be done poorly, so advice would nice.
As a fellow GM with a background in game-dev, I LOVE this kind of content. I love sculpting game mechanics to fit the themes of my games, I tend to slot in homebrew and optional rules to better reflect what the games are about (I used the spell point system for my MTG game to mirror the mana system of MTG, all the players were spell casters in one way or another so it let me toy around with that system to better reflect that style of spell casting).
The Jenny Nicholson numbered list broke me
You're such a legend man. Making it easy for new and old DMs and we really can't thank you enough!
Thanks from a South African DM / player!
The Fey Dungeon link does not work.
I know this is an old video and you probably don’t check the comments anymore, but I finally ran across this one in your archive and I found it at the perfect time. I’m planning to DM my first game and this is giving me great ideas for turning my themes into game mechanics to better tell the story I’m trying to tell.
Tried to check out the Fey dungeon and got a message saying the file type doesn't exist?
I do like these game design videos. And absolute chefs kiss on mentioning having the various boss mechanics tested out throughout the dungeon.
the link for the fey dungeon doesn't work
Honestly this has really helped in making me think of dungeons as more than a creepy hole in the ground with loot. Definitely going to be applying these ideas
Fey DUngeon file doesnt exist anymore :(
That was a great video. I realized that that's how I was doing my dungeons, but without proper words in those concept, it was hard to really figure out what I needed to do, and keep the vibe on during improvised parts.
Thank you for those words!
The docs link doesn't work anymore
They do now
Love your breakdown here, especially the whole "make the final/big encounter of the dungeon fit the theme and mechanics that were introduced early in the dungeon"--it really helps preserve immersion and satisfaction!
Mr Pointy Hat, the link to the adventure doesn't work anymore!
These are the best videos. This is the type of thing that SHOULD be in the dmg because its so ubiquitous to dnd games while just as often glossed over by those writing advice or instruction. Like all advice for DMs though, just start. Don’t Let “Perfect” Be the Enemy of “Good” is cliche but also really true here. Have a reason to be there, a theme, have a few encounters that use supporting mechanics, and then end it. Have fun.
Fey dung link does not work.
I just wanted to say, I started watching you a few weeks back and I'm very impressed with the content here. And making it easily accessible and free in the description is such a step above and a mile beyond other creators in my book. I just subscribed and am eager for future content and to sift through past content! Happy to see where you go!
Broken link? Dungeon isn’t accessible in the Link
Huge thanks for this video! I've been working on my first DnD campaign, and these steps will definitely help me to create an exciting journey!
You're the best💯
the implication youre making is that someone is making these dungeons on purpose and filling them with monsters as a test which is hilarious to imagine
He was so close to getting it when he mentioned pyramids. They're meant to prevent entry to protect something. As is a dungeon in a traditional dungeon crawl. It's not meant to be a theme park for the players to ride all the rides in. It's meant to prevent them from reaching the end.
I seriously can't get enough of these videos. This was very interesting to watch, and I hope to use this to help make a dungeon if I ever DM a game
DUNGEON LINK DOESN'T WORK
Love this (and most of your) videos. Amazing distillation of what makes things work in a very entertaining way. This helped me understand why sometimes a dungeon hits so much better and sometimes it falls kinda flat. Definitely taking some notes for my next dungeon building session
Thanks mr. hat I’m stepping out of my comfort zone and build a very small dense locked in game where I need rooms and different spaces to react to the player and have trigger able events and some sound advice is really what I needed. I’ve got my theme locked in and will be writing all events to add to the story of the session.
I am running Rime of the Frost Maiden for an LGS and for Halloween designed a haunted inn homage to the Shining for my players to enjoy. Without watching this video prior, I was able to check all of the boxes you prescribed and it has been one of my most satisfying DM creations. I love your content and apply your tips all the time. I think we’re kindred spirits or something. Keep up the great work and keep that familiar in check!❤
So far I'm just winging it half the time and improv almost everything, your videos(as well as others) are a godsend a wellspring of cool ideas and fun times to be had, so far my players love whatever sleep deprived amature hour shit I have been doing
i just came up with a dungeon theme the other day and was stuck on how to put it into action, this cannot be a more perfect video to see right now!
This video was very affirming! Thank you so much! I built a “Raid” like dungeon themed around the pro’s and con’s of gaining power. Came up with new mechanics, thought of ways for all players to have to contribute (not just by combat), etc. My table seemed to really like it as each encounter was treated like a combat puzzle (similar to Destiny Raids), but they’re all my friends so there might have been some bias in their opinions. Sounds like others would enjoy it as well, so, again, thank you for this video!
Love your videos, you actually give me the inspiration to run games and make me excited for my favorite hobby. Don’t stop being fabulous for even one minute.
Great work! I use dungeons exactly like that; sparingly. They are usually no more than a few rooms, I also avoid calling them dungeons, I call them ruins, tombs, crypts, etc. My dungeons are the leftover cellar from a ruined temple, the abandoned keep repurposed but not repaired by the evil dragon, the sewers beneath the city where the kobolds have built their warren... etc. One of my favorite dungeons I designed was a manor where things were stuck in a time loop, the players kept traveling forward and backward in time during three different eras of the building (at its prime, at its fall, and in the present). They relived the same encounters over and over, learning more about the history of the manor and the family that once owned it and eventually they discovered the devil that was the catalyst for all of the destruction. They fixed the past by defeating that devil and in the future there was a prosperous town with a new noble house in charge of it instead of a rundown village full of terrified fishermen.
Honestly the fact that you put out so much great free content out there it’s genuinely crazy.
The game design-y videos are my favorites of yours, and I'd love to see more like this!
I have been teaching myself gamedesign for a few years now but you videos always bring up cool new ideas and design perspectives to take...
I for one really like your more game-design focused videos, as well as your general tips for improving gameplay, cause not only are your observations on certain roadblocks typical of TTRPGs great, but you also tend to give fresh solutions that I'm not used to seeing everywhere! Keep it up dude :D
😱 I don't have to come back later to take notes, after verifying w/ the first watch that the video was worth it?
My hero. Plus a an example dungeon to study? Wow.
First video I've seen by you, but that's an instant subscription. Quality is crystal clear.
I have 3 hours to make a dungeon for tonight's game, and your amazing work will be my guide for today. Wish me luck!