"Are you a loyal knight? Or are you a mercenary in Noble's Armor?" Good god, Colville. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were an excellent writer.
Preventing a knight from making demands by promoting Nicodemas to a Count is some masterful storytelling. I rarely read even dedicated novels with such interesting twists. I wish I thought of it first!
I asked my son (age 11) what he wanted to watch, and instead of flipping on the tv, he put on your shows. I was watching them at night 1st for a while making supper or doing chores, and now hes showing his friends and playing with the shield of andrum in the back yard. . . :) thank you for the enjoyable rants of the mage apparently faked his death via illusion and came back after he tricked the evil gaurd to kill him an pulled a jack sparrow i dont care what the cannon says. . . . (ps apparently the dm is cannon) Ejoy all your posts . . .
SO. . . . His full name is Jack Arthur Indiana Russell Gary Hamish miller Duclos. My family and his mother have a naming tradition that I would best describe as drunken Pokémon singing ‘collect them all’. Indiana (Jones) was our first date. WE name the last member of our family who died Russell for my grandfather and Hamish for her grandfather to honor past members. Also we never married so Miller for her Duclos for me. It wasn’t till much after that my friends pointed out we just dwarfed his name. He’s 11, and he’s story telling the assault on Rend by goblins. He used his allowance to go to the dollar store, and bought 15 green helium balloons with bases, put faces on them with marker and numbered them for hp. When his friends and cousins showed up, he had them assault the back yard. When they got close to the goblins he yelled "car" which is candian for "Time Stop" pointing out the 2 balloons saying they were goblins. He made them take rolls, take steps in real life and play it out based on the die. When they died (the goblin balloons), he took them of the field of battle When they finally got into the back yard, it was regular table top and every goblin on the board you killed got a gummy bears, olive or cheese stick. When they got to the boss scene, it was back yard with balloons. So they ‘acted out’ the combat and if you kill a goblin you get to pop the balloon. Which was really annoying as apparently picking up the balloon after it popped isn’t as much fun as leaving it for some adult to pick up the next day. . It ended with Edmond being saved from a cage, not alter (for some reason). Aragon, Starwalker and Time warner then walked in and order lord Edmond to go north with them to get an army . . . . Your mage lost his familiar to Peach bottom played by cousin Jaden (age 6) a level Vampire Princess. She adopted him and she can fly which is why shes a better parent. The Half ogre lord (not count, because thats a cookie monster thing and its not a real title) has told the cast to go to the sewers of New Toronto and get the holy blade that will help out in the war against Sexton. Yes Sexton, the ancient device that leads people to land, but on land is useless and gives you bad information. Apparently remembering a name is not important to jack, probablly because he has so many and eveyrone calls him differently. The take away is that kids will take away what they want and ignore the rest. Like popping balloons. Thanks for the rambling. . .
+Matthew Colville between your GM tips and your campaign diary videos I've been much better able to put together a cohesive story for my group of 9 players
For some reason this is the most engaging campaign diary I’ve watched (I’ve been hopping around,) maybe it’s the content or the introduction of a second group, or maybe I’m the factor that’s different
I've been holding off on watching these Diaries, but now that I've started, I can't stop. Holy shit, Lord Edmund. I can only dream of pulling something that like that off.
Hi Matt, I've been DMing for a long (OMG long) time, but I still watch your videos because, in my opinion, you never stop learning how to be better at it... plus there are always new things to steal from other DM's methods. After watching this and a couple other videos, I decided to take your advice and contact a friend of mine whose old PC is now a major NPC in my campaign setting, much like the Baron you mentioned in this video, to ask him what his character would do as a result of what's going on in my current campaign arc. His answer was so completely not what I had planned, but so perfect. It will throw a huge wrench into what I thought I was going to do, but it will be insanely cool and have far-reaching consequences for my world. So now I have him involved in controlling his old PC's actions and I cannot wait to see how this plays out in the current campaign. I can't believe that in 35+ years I've never thought to do this before... thanks for the suggestion! I think it's going to make the campaign even better than I had planned. Also, I'm using your videos as sort of a textbook as I teach my 12 year old daughter to DM. We watch a video together, then talk about it, and she goes off and plans and comes to me for advice... then once she feels like she's got that down, we watch another video and start the process over again (though I've cheated and watched them all without her... because they're addictive.)
"I will someday write these rules up in a nice way and put them on the dms guild" yes that, oooorrr you might make the most successful Role-Playing kickstarter in history out of it. I so hope this book delivers!
I really enjoyed listening to this story. With all those amazing details you kept it really tight. Also this idea of a half-orc who can take orc-weapon in one hand 'because he is half-orc', made me admire your flexibility as a DM.
Omg! The Baron granting Macadamia (hehe) that title at that moment was a boss level chess move! My eyes widened halfway through him speaking once I realized what was happening. Bravo, Matt! Bravo!
Oh my god. I've been simply enjoying your campaign diaries (in order) up until now, but you literally had me on the edge of my seat, ears perked and eyes glued to the screen (the last one not literally) with your description of events here. Before I was just enjoying myself, but now I am both in awe and insanely jealous. I would love to have someone like you as a DM. I can only hope that, as you were the one who inspired me to DM for my friends, that I can become even half as good a storyteller as you.
Probably relevant @Matthew Colville, Eldritch Knights can have up to two bonded weapons. So Nicodemus can bond Wound without giving up the game with the Sword of Stars.
The rogue player in the group I DM got to literally have a conversation with himself when he rolled high on a contested check that a special dagger he found allows him to make to impose his will on creatures he holds the dagger's blade against (as in, inside a cut or stab wound). He beat the bandit leader's check by over 10 points (his first time winning by that much), and so revealed the full extent of the dagger's power. He basically negotiated a truce with the bandit group, ending a combat that was looking like a tpk. It was a great night. I only mentioned this because your conversation between the two npcs reminds me of the one he had with himself during the negotiations. ;)
Having irl people play some of the in game lords on a lardge scale level is such a cool idea. I might steal that idea when i have enough DnD experience to pull it off
Your games are so epic. I am envious of your players, and try to emulate the kind of compelling storytelling in my own campaign for my players. Its early days but I think it's working - largely thanks to the inspiration from your videos.
Matt, I totally love how you tell the story of Lorn Edmund making Nicodemus into a Count...your storytelling skill are amazing. You made the voices so tense and exciting! So well done... I could watch you reading a phone book and enjoy it. :)
I just wanted to say that I really enjoy the character of Edmund the way you have described him. He sounds like a very detailed NPC, and appears to have a thoughtfulness beyond his years. I aspire to make my NPCs just as richly detailed.
I would like to thank you for all the time and effort you put on your videos to give us players, apiring DMs, and people that wanna learn about D&D a perspective about the game. I play D&D for several years and i never had a propper chance to DM before. My mother has problem with depression and i study and work all day long so i can help her with the bills. And i have little time to spend with her. So, after watching your videos i had a great ideia... I'm gonna DM to my mother. It's a way i have to keep in touch with her, and teach her something i like and stimulate her to think new situations. And i would like to thank you because you inpired me with your videos and tips. I'm in touch with our DM, witch is helping me alot here to, and he is going to help me with the campaing, because i have nothing really prepared yet. Just the outline of the adventure (Your first episode of running the game... THAAANKS). I'm planing to start this sunday. Wish me luck. And keep doing what your doing. I'm sure that i'm not the only one you inspired.
Awesome video Matt! I love seeing all the cool stories you have going on all at once and how you make them all fit together. Hopefully one day my campaigns will run as smoothly as yours do!
I look forward to these campaign diaries every week. Your/Their story is fantastic, and the enthusiasm you have for the game is evident in your retelling. Keep it up!
Eldritch Knights can have 2 weapons bonded to them at a time. So Nicodemus can have both Wound and The Sword of Stars bonded to him but he has to make separate actions to call each of them to his side.
Can you bound shields as a Eldritch Knight? In that case he should totally do it, if someone disputes his claim and takes the shield he can just call it back and rollplay it into an advantage.
This video was the inspiration for me last week in my game and it created an EPIC moment in the game for my players, and got them talking about it afterward, which as a new DM, I feel pretty good about. :)
I love watching your videos! You are the DM I dream to play with! Looking forward to what happens next with little Lord Edmund! I always feel like I'm personally there in your world and I'm loving every minute of it. Great job. I can't wait until more people realize how awesome you are and you get the recognition you deserve!
I dont know why i get so pumped up about you remarking the importance of bards but im excited! I started watching these after the DM-ing 101, even though i also love being a dm bards are my favorite class, ANYWAY love your videos!
Very nice :) After last week's campaign diary and you're description of how lord Kenway and his player are currently involved in the campaign I've been working to make somewhat similar additions to my main campaign. The campaign is set in an alternate reality of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn world and one of the primary arcs of the campaign is focused around the competition and conflict between a couple of dozen of the most powerful Noble houses in the Empire. I currently have 3 crews actively running in the campaign, 2 of which are part of 2 of these noble houses and are generally deciding the direction each house takes in their attempts to gain power and allies. I have a chart for my own reference that shows the major alliances between all the houses but of course fully fleshing out the other 21 major houses and their plots isn't particularly practical so I've naturally been focusing on the ones the players are directly interacting with. The others are considered to be highly active behind the scenes, most of their actions and plans just aren't particularly relevant to the players. It's worked well enough, but it does hurt the feeling of a proper living world I think. So I've been asking a few people if they'd like to take broad control over one of the houses, dictating general policy, which houses to seek alliances or better relations with and if and when they want to send troops or strike teams to target other houses. In theory this should make the world feel considerably more alive and make the other houses seem considerably more active while still being manageable for me :) So thanks for the idea :)
I can't understand people complaining about Matthew's speed while talking. I'm not even native, and not only I understand him pretty well, I'm incredibly fascinated by his way of speaking. I wish I had a master so narrative.
Mat you are awesome and a great help. as a DM i have taken some of the things iv learned from you and put it into my campaign. youre great and i hope to see more videos.
Awesome recap! I love awarding pcs with lands and titles; one of my groups is actually on an adventure with titles as potential rewards for success right now. It's a great way to tie the pcs in to the world.
Sorry, just now getting caught up on these & I love them. This episode, in particular, with the feudal politics being kind of front & center, really reminded me of a series of books I love called the Spellmonger series. I enjoyed that a great deal. Also, yes, I bought your first book, though I have yet to actually sit down & read it
Hah, Bravo. You got me super involved with your storytelling. My players are the same way - they enjoy having control over their characters, but they do trust and like me driving the main storyline forward. I make sure and give them freedom to control their own destiny, but they willingly follow my lead because they like my storytelling (which I have to give credit to them for, they drive a large portion of my ideas with their own).
Matt love your dm diaries, you are masterful and give me great ideas! Also your speed of cadence is the same rate I think/speak all the time so keep it up! Great work as always.
12:39 and thus, the 1974 rules for why elves can freely switch between fighter and magic user shows it's foresight. All the best blades were made by ancient elves! And they live long enough to learn both magic and weapon skill (unless they fail badly at either and die).
An idea for the army that might attack the keep: Lady Sariel forges an allaince of her own troops, wildernis creatures and forces from the ursurper in Beddegar to take out the heroes, while Sariel, during the attack, sends a small but elite force (single creature? multiple creatures? separate creatures from the army? same type of creature?) to get the Sword of Stars from the ranger, and if she has heard of any other powerfull and important items the heroes have (shield?), those are targeted by the task force to.
building off of your point of not needing it to be made "fair" is the concept of diehard-syndrome. every player wants to be beaten broken and nocked down again and agin, but they want to be able to get up, they want to be able to smile teeth filled with blood at the end atop the corpse of the big bad and i absolutely love that concept.
Daaaamn, that was so cool! UGh, I kind of wish my campaigns went that way, now that I'm older and I look back to my campaigns where I was a player wishing I had fed my DM better with better roleplaying, but I was young and sober, too awkward to act out and grasp things. Now I am so eager to play and to DM for my friends but life has happened and moved out of the country. I'll have to actually go deep into preparation and set it all online, I guess.
That was amazing. On this note, I hope one of your videos concerning how to DM (I haven't watched them all yet) will go into how to play several NPCs 'simultanously' as that is something I find very awkward to do.
I love watching these old videos where he talks about someday getting these stronghold rules out while my copy of strongholds and followers sits on the shelf next to me
Damn...Once I praised in another comment, in another video your way of DMing, you are not only a brilhant storyteller but very fun, but now I have to praise your players too! They are very creative and perceptive! I don´t know if thats the result of how you DM or if they are just..very attentive players hehe
"Are you a loyal knight? Or are you a mercenary in Noble's Armor?"
Good god, Colville. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were an excellent writer.
Wooh... Harsh.
I'm guessing this was intended as a compliment. :)
Keith Foyston I thought that was clear :)
He's fantastic.
My jaw legitimately dropped and I grinned like an idiot upon hearing this bit. Absolutely fantastic writing and role playing.
I wanted to throw my table up at work when that line was dropped.
"I will someday get these rules written up and in a nice manner." -> Multi-million dollar kickstarter
Seriously, seeing this now while K+W is in production and S+F has been so successful makes me so happy for MCDM and Matt
@Quinton Lucas f off bot
Glad to see the bot f'd off
Preventing a knight from making demands by promoting Nicodemas to a Count is some masterful storytelling. I rarely read even dedicated novels with such interesting twists. I wish I thought of it first!
I could watch matt talk about paint drying. This stuff is better than Netflix!
Best date ever = Matthew and chill?
SAME!!! 😂😂😂
1 tip to financial freedom "Cancel Netflix, watch Colville"
I have been binge-watching Matt talk to a camera xD
X.x@@endrankluvsda4loko172 7?7
I asked my son (age 11) what he wanted to watch, and instead of flipping on the tv, he put on your shows. I was watching them at night 1st for a while making supper or doing chores, and now hes showing his friends and playing with the shield of andrum in the back yard. . . :) thank you for the enjoyable rants of the mage apparently faked his death via illusion and came back after he tricked the evil gaurd to kill him an pulled a jack sparrow i dont care what the cannon says. . . . (ps apparently the dm is cannon) Ejoy all your posts . . .
That's awesome, what's your son's name?
SO. . . . His full name is Jack Arthur Indiana Russell Gary Hamish miller Duclos. My family and his mother
have a naming tradition that I would best describe as drunken Pokémon singing ‘collect them all’. Indiana (Jones) was our first date. WE name the last member of our family who died Russell for my grandfather and Hamish for her grandfather to honor past members. Also we never married so Miller for her Duclos for me.
It wasn’t till much after that my friends pointed out we just dwarfed his name.
He’s 11, and he’s story telling the assault on Rend by goblins. He used his allowance to go to the dollar store, and bought 15 green helium balloons with bases, put faces on them with marker and numbered them for hp. When his friends and cousins showed up, he had them assault the back yard. When they got close to the goblins he yelled "car" which is candian for "Time Stop" pointing out the 2 balloons saying they were goblins. He made them take rolls, take steps in real life and play it out based on the die. When they died (the goblin balloons), he took them of the field of battle
When they finally got into the back yard, it was regular table top and every goblin on the board you killed got a gummy bears, olive or cheese stick.
When they got to the boss scene, it was back yard with balloons. So they ‘acted out’ the combat and if you kill a goblin you get to pop the balloon. Which was really annoying as apparently picking up the balloon after it popped isn’t as much fun as leaving it for some adult to pick up the next day. . It ended with Edmond being saved from a cage, not alter (for some reason). Aragon, Starwalker and Time warner then walked in and order lord Edmond to go north with them to get an army . . . .
Your mage lost his familiar to Peach bottom played by cousin Jaden (age 6) a level Vampire Princess. She adopted him and she can fly which is why shes a better parent.
The Half ogre lord (not count, because thats a cookie monster thing and its not a real title) has told the cast to go to the sewers of New Toronto and get the holy blade that will help out in the war against Sexton. Yes Sexton, the ancient device that leads people to land, but on land is useless and gives you bad information. Apparently remembering a name is not important to jack, probablly because he has so many and eveyrone calls him differently.
The take away is that kids will take away what they want and ignore the rest. Like popping balloons. Thanks for the rambling. . .
"Bards certify the law."
Yes.
So much yes...
#BardsForLife
Love EJ/Nicodemus's sassiness in the face of the knight. What a baller.
Coming back 7 years later to watch all of these while working and just smiling the whole time
I cannot take my eyes of your king-of-eagles-orson-welles-10-commandments hair
I know, right? I keep getting distracted and having to rewind...
Same
Man, I got goosebumps watching you portray that exchange where Edmund grants Nicodemus the title. Bravo, sir. Bravo.
22:41 From here on is just masterful. I got progressively more and more excited about this right up to the conclusion! Absolutely excellent writing!
Matt, your videos are consistently my favorite and most anticipated videos on youtube each week!! Thank you!!
You're welcome! Go run D&D!
+Matthew Colville between your GM tips and your campaign diary videos I've been much better able to put together a cohesive story for my group of 9 players
For some reason this is the most engaging campaign diary I’ve watched (I’ve been hopping around,) maybe it’s the content or the introduction of a second group, or maybe I’m the factor that’s different
That’s what I get for commenting in the middle, Count Nick!!
I've been holding off on watching these Diaries, but now that I've started, I can't stop. Holy shit, Lord Edmund. I can only dream of pulling something that like that off.
I have no problem with the idea of a 4 hour video. Just saying...
I second this motion.
third!
fourth !
Fifth!
Redlius1 Sixth!
Hi Matt, I've been DMing for a long (OMG long) time, but I still watch your videos because, in my opinion, you never stop learning how to be better at it... plus there are always new things to steal from other DM's methods.
After watching this and a couple other videos, I decided to take your advice and contact a friend of mine whose old PC is now a major NPC in my campaign setting, much like the Baron you mentioned in this video, to ask him what his character would do as a result of what's going on in my current campaign arc. His answer was so completely not what I had planned, but so perfect. It will throw a huge wrench into what I thought I was going to do, but it will be insanely cool and have far-reaching consequences for my world.
So now I have him involved in controlling his old PC's actions and I cannot wait to see how this plays out in the current campaign. I can't believe that in 35+ years I've never thought to do this before... thanks for the suggestion! I think it's going to make the campaign even better than I had planned.
Also, I'm using your videos as sort of a textbook as I teach my 12 year old daughter to DM. We watch a video together, then talk about it, and she goes off and plans and comes to me for advice... then once she feels like she's got that down, we watch another video and start the process over again (though I've cheated and watched them all without her... because they're addictive.)
"I will someday write these rules up in a nice way and put them on the dms guild" yes that, oooorrr you might make the most successful Role-Playing kickstarter in history out of it. I so hope this book delivers!
+tharrock337 Yeah turns out the DM’s guild wants 50% of the take. Fuck that!
That twist with Lord Edmund Ordaining Nicodemus was a masterstroke of a twist and I love it
I really enjoyed listening to this story. With all those amazing details you kept it really tight. Also this idea of a half-orc who can take orc-weapon in one hand 'because he is half-orc', made me admire your flexibility as a DM.
Omg! The Baron granting Macadamia (hehe) that title at that moment was a boss level chess move! My eyes widened halfway through him speaking once I realized what was happening.
Bravo, Matt! Bravo!
You are a fantastic story teller. I look forward all week to your campaign diary! Thank you for doing this.
That confrontation with the young baron, the knight and the party gave me a rush!
Thanks for such great story-telling.
Oh my god. I've been simply enjoying your campaign diaries (in order) up until now, but you literally had me on the edge of my seat, ears perked and eyes glued to the screen (the last one not literally) with your description of events here. Before I was just enjoying myself, but now I am both in awe and insanely jealous. I would love to have someone like you as a DM.
I can only hope that, as you were the one who inspired me to DM for my friends, that I can become even half as good a storyteller as you.
Probably relevant @Matthew Colville, Eldritch Knights can have up to two bonded weapons. So Nicodemus can bond Wound without giving up the game with the Sword of Stars.
Im screaming at my phone at Nicodemus becoming a count, this is insanely good DMing on your part and RPing on your players
The rogue player in the group I DM got to literally have a conversation with himself when he rolled high on a contested check that a special dagger he found allows him to make to impose his will on creatures he holds the dagger's blade against (as in, inside a cut or stab wound). He beat the bandit leader's check by over 10 points (his first time winning by that much), and so revealed the full extent of the dagger's power. He basically negotiated a truce with the bandit group, ending a combat that was looking like a tpk. It was a great night. I only mentioned this because your conversation between the two npcs reminds me of the one he had with himself during the negotiations. ;)
All in favor of 4 hour long videos? :D
Listen...
please record your sessions and post them....
That is what we'd do, yes :P
Matt. You are a story telling genius. I’m getting the chills listening to this! Incredible stuff!!
Having irl people play some of the in game lords on a lardge scale level is such a cool idea. I might steal that idea when i have enough DnD experience to pull it off
"i will someday get these rules written up in a nice manner and up in the DMs guild"....
2 Kickstarters later and we got two amazing beautiful books
Your games are so epic. I am envious of your players, and try to emulate the kind of compelling storytelling in my own campaign for my players. Its early days but I think it's working - largely thanks to the inspiration from your videos.
Matt, I totally love how you tell the story of Lorn Edmund making Nicodemus into a Count...your storytelling skill are amazing. You made the voices so tense and exciting! So well done... I could watch you reading a phone book and enjoy it. :)
I just wanted to say that I really enjoy the character of Edmund the way you have described him. He sounds like a very detailed NPC, and appears to have a thoughtfulness beyond his years. I aspire to make my NPCs just as richly detailed.
When you brought up Bards, I immediatly thought of them hiring bards to spred this news.
I would like to thank you for all the time and effort you put on your videos to give us players, apiring DMs, and people that wanna learn about D&D a perspective about the game. I play D&D for several years and i never had a propper chance to DM before. My mother has problem with depression and i study and work all day long so i can help her with the bills. And i have little time to spend with her. So, after watching your videos i had a great ideia... I'm gonna DM to my mother. It's a way i have to keep in touch with her, and teach her something i like and stimulate her to think new situations. And i would like to thank you because you inpired me with your videos and tips. I'm in touch with our DM, witch is helping me alot here to, and he is going to help me with the campaing, because i have nothing really prepared yet. Just the outline of the adventure (Your first episode of running the game... THAAANKS). I'm planing to start this sunday. Wish me luck. And keep doing what your doing. I'm sure that i'm not the only one you inspired.
Awesome video Matt! I love seeing all the cool stories you have going on all at once and how you make them all fit together. Hopefully one day my campaigns will run as smoothly as yours do!
Always a pleasure to listen to your campaign stories! If there aren't DM lessons there's always a ton of great story ideas! Thanks for sharing.
I've listened to this countless times. It still moves me. Good job!
I don't think I've ever been moved by a youtube video, but I did shed a tear at 24:35
I look forward to these campaign diaries every week. Your/Their story is fantastic, and the enthusiasm you have for the game is evident in your retelling. Keep it up!
"As one player basically tries to infodump the entire campaign into lady Avelina's head" 'I had to laugh so hard at that, I spilled my coffee.
GENIUS! Seriously I got crazy goosebumps when the NPCs squared off.
This is one of my favorite Campaign Diaries. I really miss them.
Every time I watch this video I still get so hyped up for that confrontation with the knight and the promotion to count. It’s so satisfying
Eldritch Knights can have 2 weapons bonded to them at a time. So Nicodemus can have both Wound and The Sword of Stars bonded to him but he has to make separate actions to call each of them to his side.
Can you bound shields as a Eldritch Knight? In that case he should totally do it, if someone disputes his claim and takes the shield he can just call it back and rollplay it into an advantage.
RAW you cannot because shields are considered armor.
@@matthewyoung4597 ROC you can, because it'd be baller
This video was the inspiration for me last week in my game and it created an EPIC moment in the game for my players, and got them talking about it afterward, which as a new DM, I feel pretty good about. :)
Matt, you didn't start your video with "When last we left our heroes". How do I know the game has begun!?
He was re-capping until 04:41 xD
He did just at 4:40 instead, after the introduction ^^
my goodness, your story is so very complex and truly a wonder. i am in awe! my dming skills pale in comparison and i am inspired no end
I love watching your videos! You are the DM I dream to play with! Looking forward to what happens next with little Lord Edmund! I always feel like I'm personally there in your world and I'm loving every minute of it. Great job. I can't wait until more people realize how awesome you are and you get the recognition you deserve!
I dont know why i get so pumped up about you remarking the importance of bards but im excited! I started watching these after the DM-ing 101, even though i also love being a dm bards are my favorite class, ANYWAY love your videos!
Wonderfully done Matt. Loving these updates and seeing the style in which you run your campaign.
Very nice :)
After last week's campaign diary and you're description of how lord Kenway and his player are currently involved in the campaign I've been working to make somewhat similar additions to my main campaign. The campaign is set in an alternate reality of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn world and one of the primary arcs of the campaign is focused around the competition and conflict between a couple of dozen of the most powerful Noble houses in the Empire. I currently have 3 crews actively running in the campaign, 2 of which are part of 2 of these noble houses and are generally deciding the direction each house takes in their attempts to gain power and allies. I have a chart for my own reference that shows the major alliances between all the houses but of course fully fleshing out the other 21 major houses and their plots isn't particularly practical so I've naturally been focusing on the ones the players are directly interacting with. The others are considered to be highly active behind the scenes, most of their actions and plans just aren't particularly relevant to the players. It's worked well enough, but it does hurt the feeling of a proper living world I think. So I've been asking a few people if they'd like to take broad control over one of the houses, dictating general policy, which houses to seek alliances or better relations with and if and when they want to send troops or strike teams to target other houses. In theory this should make the world feel considerably more alive and make the other houses seem considerably more active while still being manageable for me :) So thanks for the idea :)
All of this is great! I'm absolutely inspired to start a campaign for my friends. Thanks, Matt.
bards=notaries??? Now I feel dirty. I hate bards, but I am a Notary and your explanation makes complete sense. The old name for Bard was Scop, btw.
God, Nicodemus' ascension to counthood is one of the most badass things I've ever heard
This video is masterful, I could see the threads culminating and the resolution gave me chills
I can't understand people complaining about Matthew's speed while talking.
I'm not even native, and not only I understand him pretty well, I'm incredibly fascinated by his way of speaking. I wish I had a master so narrative.
I got to say sir, your tales are resourceful, I'm about continue a campaign tomorrow, and thanks to you, I've overcome my writers block
Mat you are awesome and a great help. as a DM i have taken some of the things iv learned from you and put it into my campaign. youre great and i hope to see more videos.
God five years ago. I remember waiting for these to come out.
That was a super interesting part of the tale. That moment with the standoff and how it is resolved sounds like it was a great moment :)
Awesome recap! I love awarding pcs with lands and titles; one of my groups is actually on an adventure with titles as potential rewards for success right now. It's a great way to tie the pcs in to the world.
Come for the insight, stay for the storytelling. Thanks for keeping it PG. My kiddos enjoy your videos too.
Sorry, just now getting caught up on these & I love them. This episode, in particular, with the feudal politics being kind of front & center, really reminded me of a series of books I love called the Spellmonger series. I enjoyed that a great deal. Also, yes, I bought your first book, though I have yet to actually sit down & read it
Excellent video, masterful storytelling! Loved the twist with Nicodemus getting a noble title.
Making that guy the Baron was a hell of a twist and it top the plot chart... Nicely done... Big fan
Great content Matt. Love hearing these campaign diaries! Can't wait for the live stream!
Hah, Bravo. You got me super involved with your storytelling. My players are the same way - they enjoy having control over their characters, but they do trust and like me driving the main storyline forward. I make sure and give them freedom to control their own destiny, but they willingly follow my lead because they like my storytelling (which I have to give credit to them for, they drive a large portion of my ideas with their own).
I like how the take charge attitude of the young noble annoys the PC at first, but saves them from a hostile encounter.
You put together an amazing story, I just gotta say. I'm late to the party, but watching your videos brings back many victorious moments ^^
Matt love your dm diaries, you are masterful and give me great ideas! Also your speed of cadence is the same rate I think/speak all the time so keep it up! Great work as always.
I just wanted to say thank you for the videos on ways to DM and so one I feel more confident now I can do this
12:39 and thus, the 1974 rules for why elves can freely switch between fighter and magic user shows it's foresight. All the best blades were made by ancient elves! And they live long enough to learn both magic and weapon skill (unless they fail badly at either and die).
These videos are wonderful, thank you so much. They really help me as a DM!
Man, I had forgotten how good this Campaign Diary was!!! It’s SUPER dramatic!!
wish i could like this more than once. Getting ready to read your books on my phone.
The Dragon Tooth sword a Thrice broken singing sword of slaying?
Jim Murphy I have no idea what that is but id love that weapon
If I remember correctly, you invented the teeth of the Dragon, right Jim Murphy?
Two years later and this is blowing my mind!
HOLY S***T what a plot twist!!! My good sir, you are an excellent storyteller!!!
This entry was seriously more entertaining than the last few films I watched combined.
Thanks Matt. Keep them coming please. Excellent videos, nearly as enjoyable as your books!
So much fun to listen to, thanks for sharing!
That NPC dialogue was amazing, I had to rewind the video to listen to it a second time.
An idea for the army that might attack the keep: Lady Sariel forges an allaince of her own troops, wildernis creatures and forces from the ursurper in Beddegar to take out the heroes, while Sariel, during the attack, sends a small but elite force (single creature? multiple creatures? separate creatures from the army? same type of creature?) to get the Sword of Stars from the ranger, and if she has heard of any other powerfull and important items the heroes have (shield?), those are targeted by the task force to.
Nicodemus is so Bruce Campbell!
*Happy Squeak!* Just what my Friday needed after an Apocalypse
WICKED!!! Love it! Especially the part of the Bards. So true!
That court drama was brilliant! Loved it!
building off of your point of not needing it to be made "fair" is the concept of diehard-syndrome. every player wants to be beaten broken and nocked down again and agin, but they want to be able to get up, they want to be able to smile teeth filled with blood at the end atop the corpse of the big bad and i absolutely love that concept.
Correct. :D Every player wants to be John McClane. They want to get their ass kicked and win all the way through.
Daaaamn, that was so cool! UGh, I kind of wish my campaigns went that way, now that I'm older and I look back to my campaigns where I was a player wishing I had fed my DM better with better roleplaying, but I was young and sober, too awkward to act out and grasp things. Now I am so eager to play and to DM for my friends but life has happened and moved out of the country. I'll have to actually go deep into preparation and set it all online, I guess.
These plots are so amazing, thanks for those diaries :)
amazing. i've been waiting all week for this good job sir.
I love this story.
You are a helluva story teller, Mr. Colville.
That was amazing. On this note, I hope one of your videos concerning how to DM (I haven't watched them all yet) will go into how to play several NPCs 'simultanously' as that is something I find very awkward to do.
This was awesome :) Really looking forewards to taking a look at those ruler rulez.
That was an awesome story about the Lord of Rend! And the party does know a bard: you!
A lot of cool info in here. Thanks for these Matt!
I love watching these old videos where he talks about someday getting these stronghold rules out while my copy of strongholds and followers sits on the shelf next to me
Damn...Once I praised in another comment, in another video your way of DMing, you are not only a brilhant storyteller but very fun, but now I have to praise your players too! They are very creative and perceptive! I don´t know if thats the result of how you DM or if they are just..very attentive players hehe