My old DM had a little slit on his dm screen and a bunch of paper "loading screen tips" and whenever he needed to look something up he would slide a loading screen tip into the slit and we all called it "buffering". Having a bit helped us keep our disbelief suspended while also lampshading the fact that he needed to look things up in the first place
To continue the point about summarizing- DMs, you can end a scene. You have the power. I believe in you. The players may even be waiting on you because they don't know how, or they don't all realize they have that power. Perhaps they assume you must still have something else planned (or surely you would have ended the scene), and they should just keep roleplaying out nothing until something happens, meanwhile you assume THEY must not be done, since they haven't stopped. All the while, one or two players have sensed the drag and are desperately trying to wrap up the scene, but no one notices. They eventually leave the conversation or just stop talking and open a new Heroforge tab. Just say "he leaves" or "you set off into the forest", etcetera. You're the DM. It doesn't hurt our feelings when you tell us what happens. You can even ask "Does anyone have anything they want to do, or can we move on?" Friends don't let friends talk themselves in circles for 3 hours. Please, please gods just end the scene.
Only one dm in all my time playing has bugged me with ending scenes early and that guy cut everything short like a speedrunner. RP? Combat? Bored immediately. Exploration? Non-existent. Other than that extreme exception, I've never had any issues with a dm trying to keep the pace of the game up so we can hit a certain point in their session notes by session's end.
@@mnmnrtThat is totally valid for you and your group! But not everyone plays old school dungeon crawls. Roleplaying and thus acting is part of the TTRPG. How much and how free this roleplaying is (by which I mean how much players roleplay outside the DM prompts) differs wildly. So the advice OP gives is very valid for groups that roleplay/act out scenes apart from dungeons.
It makes sense. I always think of picking a lock. If you have nothing happen, whats stopping the player from just staying there picking the lock until he does. A failure means you either destroyed the mechanism, causing it to be forever locked or they are unable to pick the lock in time and someone catches them. Or maybe the noise you make while trying to pick it attracts nearby monsters. Failure doesn't mean nothing, failure doesn't mean you couldn't do the thing, failure is trouble.
The part about tests failing having to mean something I learnt from 4th edition. 4e DMG is one of the best DM books ever written. If you never read it, try to read at least the part about skill challenges, lots of good advice and some good examples of how to use skill checks and narration well together
First, hats off to you. GM of weekly games for 44 years here. Since 5e modern players state my philosophy and style are antiquated. Yet, here you are proclaiming my identical philosophy and way of doing things--at least before 5e (and 3.0). Over the past decade I have played tug of war with players that cannot comprehend DnD beyond what is force-fed to them by media, blogs, and marketed-to-make-money books. Recently, the status-quo rules-lawyers have been wearing me down. THANKS for the pep talk. [Watched AMA and wondered, "What is your age?" "Are we twins?" Yes, I have a long-lost twin.] Finally, you are a talented videographer, comedian, and obviously a skilled gamemaster.
@@mnmnrt I know rules, but rule-mongers that do not allow a DM to color outside the lines is a hinderance to flexibility in interpreting any given situation. Worse, those kinds of players do use their imagination to jimmy a lock open with a stiletto dagger--without a thieves tool proficiency, or use a bedroll and blanket to catch a PC jumping from a great height to negate damage, a'lah fireman's catch. Rules As Written are binding in every sense of the word. Most of all it binds a person's imagination.
One piece of advice that goes alongside the "summarise if one character goes on a branching sidequest" that I learned from a recent session where my players were trying to get into the house of evil nobles who had tricked them away fro the scent of the crime the first visit they made and had now wouldn't speak to them again, where 3 of the plaeyrs made a big scene at the front gates as a distraction to cover for a solo player to sneak in through the back, I started with the 3 to begin their distraction then would routinely cut back from one scene to another, as soon as one person seemed unsure what to do and needed time to think that was more than like 30 seconds I'd ask one more time before cutting to the other perspective to give time to think over what they wanted to do next, the scenes were linked and all too important to summarise because failing to hold the guard's attention would have them go back into the house and risk exposing their infiltrator, while needing to still keep things peaceful enough to avoid an outright fight seemed desired, while obviously needing to describe the route that the one thief was taking and what she found on her path.
O.k. that was one sentence! Also "...who had tricked them away fro the scent of the crime the first visit they made and had new wouldn't speak to them again..." WTF!? Look, you have a lot to say, and I might want to know what it is if I understood it. Please consider picking up a book called "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" the funniest book about punctuation ever written. Also, you know you can edit your own comments, right? Seriously I do want to know how that story went.
That's a number of good points! But allow my to boil out my one favorite. When running two or more entities (players or groups) simultaneously, always look for a moment of doing to switch the POV. Does wonders for the pacing and motivation
FINALLY! I'm glad someone mentioned the "breaking down a door" situation. I hate it when I want to do a simple roleplaying action outside of combat and the DM makes me roll the dice. Like dude, there's no risk involved. Just let the barbarian smash a few things for free! 🔥
Really? REAAAAAAALLY? The only vid with good content AND engaging presentation I've watched about D&D in... don't even remember. And this vid has 5.5K visits in 2 weeks. And the channel only 4K subs... COME ON!
If you like this channel you'll /probably/ like Arbiter of Worlds, too: www.youtube.com/@TheArbiterOfWorlds/videos No, nobody asked me to mention that. They're /very/ different channels but both have excellent content.
There are a few meaningful ways to get better at the rules without having to memorize everything- - Be a player (no better way to learn class abilities and spells) - WATCH people play (You get a really good feel for applicable rules, and a lot of the podcasts/streams are really enjoyable to listen to on a car ride!) - As part of DM prep (and I know this is crazy) read part of the player’s handbook/DM guide. Just refresh yourself on one mechanic before each session for, like, 5 minutes. This actually helped A LOT when I was DM’ing-and sometimes before the rule even came up! This can always be the time during which you review the rules question from the last time, but still!
When you were talking about how "if every moment is important, none of them are" I was half expecting a jump cut to Syndrome from the Incredibles 🤣 Great video and love your style, keep up the content!
I actually laughed out loud at this!! WOW, just wow. Great content- great presentation, and I like that no PHBs were harmed in the making of this UA-cam video.
This reminds me of when video games will use cutscenes for unimportant stuff like walking thru a door, or something super mundane. Like setting the scene is fine, if it’s the party’s first time there, but I try not to get too lost in the description, since we can always fill in the details only if necessary. And especially for shopping, unless the player asks for some specific detail about the shop or the clerk, I just list what they have available and let them choose and move on.
The rule of thumb I use is this: Roll the dice only if you have interesting Failure and Success states. If you can only determine one, then a dice roll is just begging for the other....
One of the hardest lessons I had to learn was "directing" gameplay. My games were most likely to flounder between gameplay and plot moments because I gave players total agency in how to get to their destination. When I said "how do you get there?" Instead of giving me generic "I take to the rooftops," or "I go down the path on the left." They would say "I walk backward on the left path, doubling back and making use of Misty Step twice to ensure that we're not tracked." That's just the kind of players they are, overly suspicious and cautious at all times unless I give them reason to think that they're safe, and even then they'll probably try to bar and magically seal every door and window. This makes it impossible to send them on a chase through a magic gargoyle factory, because I already started off on the wrong foot. (This is a point you made in a previous video). Ending scenes, or transitioning between scenes was always my biggest weakness as a DM. Learning to ask "Okay, as you all make camp, does anyone do anything before bed?" Instead of asking "What do you do?" At the end of the day?" Game-changer. Literally.
Subbed. We have similar ideas on what character abilities are for. As I do my own design work, it’s nice to have sane voices while the “brilliant” ideas swirl around in my head.
If I have a split the party RP scene coming up, where appropriate, I let my players play random NPCs in scenes their characters aren't in. It lets them engage in silly ways their characters wouldn't be able to narratively.
Another great video! Awesome content, great ideas. I too prefer to keep the story moving. Typically, my players don't know when I'm following the railroad, or when I'm making stuff up. I also appreciate your occasional pistol brandishing. Curious to know what you carry, and if it has any magical bonuses on it. See you on the next one, can't wait!
These videos are AWESOME! I love seeing your content and glad to see your channel gaining some traction. I can feel the passion radiating from these videos!
I really enjoy this videos! I am new to both table top rpg's and dming. I am trying to learn as much as i can to make a nice experience for my friends. These videos help a lot !
The thumbnail: "Woops, I injected piss in my PHB, silly me" More seriously, to people who think about D&D this way (2:00) I say PLEASE try out stuff like Dungeon World, or original B/X, or just lighter-weight games in general like Knave or something. There are _so_ many RPGs specifically geared towards rulings over rules, and they're so much better for playing this way, it's absurd to me that instead, people pretend they're playing "D&D 5e" while just ignoring a lot of the 5e-ness. (That's ignoring that there's ""crunchier"" games that are still easier to play because they still don't do excessive rules minutae like D&D 5e does...) And as far as "does this spell have somatic components?" the player should know that already. They prepared the spell. Not the GM's job. Immediate edit: ...yeah I should've assumed that this was being suggested as a one-time problem 2:58 Now THIS I can get behind. Dice rolls are there for when the outcome is uncertain. If it seems obvious how something _should_ go just let it go that way. Even if a player did something that might confer a bonus to a roll, maybe that just pushed it from "might fail" to "yeah you got it". Only roll if failure might be interesting rather than slowing things down for no good reason. Also damn you put some work into this, sticking your dice in a blob of jelly n' everything 3:55 To this (fail states where nothing happens are pointless) I could play devil's advocate and point out that 5e's lack of proper dungeon rules contribute to this. You failed to unlock a chest, why not just roll to unlock it again? Traditionally, because every time you do that you're burning time and time = stuff happening and stuff happening is usually bad in a spooky dungeon. Same goes for why maze-like dungeon maps could be somewhat interesting. The Angry GM's "tension dice" system is a super good modern take on it. 4:40 I've always struggled with this because it feels like taking away player agency if it's done at the wrong time, but a lot of players seem to expect their agency to be taken away and won't ever say they're going to move on until you _forcefully_ move them on. It's frustrating. I'd like to think it's usually a failure to make sure that the players know what they're actually aiming to do at the time, and if they really have a goal they're set on, they'll start just going for it. I've managed it before and it's always a lot of fun.
господи какая подача роликов, никто так не парится о подаче как ты, и это офигенно. ты лучше чем ginny di что просто открывает рот перед камерой с гринскрином.
I do think failing to kick in a door is a valid outcome, it should just make sense. Telling my player to go back and try something else imho is just as much of a fail state as fighting some arbitrary and skippable encounter. In fact, I would rather they try exploring this specific part of the world more and finding some way behind that specific door instead of figthing an encounter that is taking up a lot of time and plays out more or less like all the other encounters. This door just can not be the only way forward, kicking it in should not be the lowest effort way, the default way, the fallback option, especially when they now can't use it. If there are three way through that door and in addition three other ways to advance the plot, then I really don't care about stopping the momentum. By making sense I mean that a barbarian should not be stopped by a basic wooden door just because of a 1. It does not suddenly exceed his power. In that case I agree that the player should just succeed and get some undesired outcome as a fail-reward. But if that's not the case, if a normal person is confronted with a decent door, not getting in is kinda the point.
Yeah, sometimes rolling on the mundane actually creates the most memorable moments of the night. Going to Critical Role as an example - who will forget Wil Weaton's failed attempts to open a door? It was hilarious! He got angry after failing to kick it open and swung at it with his axe, then failed that so hard he actually stuck the axe in the wall behind him on the backswing. And opening doors became a thing because they, as a party, failed on those rolls so often that doors became a BBEG in their own way and created an inside joke amongst the players. Sometimes, I do think people can take the game too serious and only want the "epic" moments, but I think skipping over too much can drain just as much fun from the game.
This is why I try to get dms who are weaker on the rules side of things to leave rule look-ups to me. I know where to look and can just shoot a quick private message behind-the-scenes of the pasted text while they do anything else to keep the overall pace of the game up, such as by preparing an enemy's next turn or getting npc dialogue notes up. I got your back, bud!
I just recently found out I've been doing off hands backwards and told my players, hey this was my bad but going forward it's going to be this way.itvwas out of table where that kinda stuff should be.
Seriously, really great job, and great editing! Very creative. Ironically, this content looks like it would draw in precisely goldfish DMs cocked out on tiktok (like me).
Hey Bro congrats you made it to the top of my recommended :POGCHAMP: Like the 1st top left video. I WAS LIKE MY BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII -high fives self because im alone-
A great rule in D&D 5e is the passive skill checks rule. A lot of GMs use this rule for passive perception checks, but if there isn't any consequences to an action(aka, there isn't a 'fail state'), just pretend they take 10 to see if they succeed in the moment. You can also use the take 20 rules in the DMG as well, meaning they take about a minute to complete the action, but succeed anyways.
funniest part about the dice section of the video is that im pretty sure RAW a dm is supposed to limit the amount of dice a player is supposed to roll and make everything else a passive thing
For the part at 3:00, i somehow managed to find a party that has 3 members that need to count with their fingers for each roll they do... It frustrates me to no end each pause we have to do between rolls for them to add up. I try to give the quick answer, but theyll just continue their counting to "make sure its right"
Another great vid doc! Things that slow the game: Checking Rules during play Unnecessary Rolls Playing out boring scenes Although I think unnecessary rolls specifically can be great if you know to ALWAYS apply the "Yes, but.." strategy. Kicking a door will always succeed, but a low roll could mean your foot gets stuck in the door, which can be both amusing in a safe environment and potentially deadly in a hostile one. One of the best stories is a guy who pet a dog and asked to roll how good his petting was, it was an unnecessary roll, but when he ended up rolling a nat 1, it turned out that instead of petting the dog he kicked it, sending it flying 😂
ok, that last tip is actually help full. I tend to play out a scene a lot more becasue I want to have my players feel a bit more weight with the world around them and I need to learn to slow things down(hence why I set the secene in order to not rush), but yeah, some times summerizing can and should be used to help with less important events. Thank you.
If one of my players wants to use a spell, I tell him HE has to keep track of range, components, saves, durations, etc. DMing is already too much bookkeeping, I'm not doing his homework, too. If he doesn't know it already, then he's stuck with my ruling (and if he goes full rules lawyer and looks it up after the ruling, too bad, his window of opportunity has passed, write it down for next time, dude!) This also applies to weapons, though it rarely comes up. Granted, this may be a bit harsh. But i usually only have to play this card once, and, surprisingly, I've gotten shockingly little pushback on it.
At my table we highly value the specific rulings and details of things. We find that fun. But at the same time, it is I and another player on the table that maintain the rule integrity of the table and we just remind the DM rather than the DM being the one that pauses the game So yes you're right still
@@DeficientMaster You literally gave me chills when I heard that damn RESP monitor's alarm. Almost dropped my cross word puzzles book, even though I'm not at work now. Props to you
One of the first things I've house-ruled was keeping combats from lasting sixteen hours. Sure, combat is exciting and dangerous 'cause your character can get [unaIi^ed]! But if it takes three hours to fight five goblins to a TPK you're probably not doing it right... I have found that initiative is a big place to speed things up, strangely. Each player rolls their own initiative and, as long as there aren't BBEGs or a LOT of baddies in the fight, the baddies get one roll for all of them. Each player gets to roll, which provides a sense of personal agency, but I only have to roll once which keeps things moving along. (Rolling once for the entire party removes the feeling of control from the players, IMHO. They just modify it for their DEX and remember what segment they are doing their thing on. I just call out segments and whoever's got it does their thing. It prevents a lot of, "everyone trying to go first," too. It's orderly and quick.)
I have every ability and spell printed on a card for my players. Looking up rules becomes very easy with that, they just hand me the card if I need clarification. Also you don't need to memorize everything, but i look over all the spells and abilities my players have and make sure I understand their abilities so it doesn't catch me off guard in game. Also just consuming a lot of DnD content and playing with different groups over years you learn about the most confusing rules interactions that come up often and how other dms deal with them. I will never spend more than a minute looking up a rule, if I am then I will make a ruling and move on. Game flow is very important, but making bad rulings can make players upset and that is something that can be avoided by just being prepared. And this is the type of prep that will only benefit your game, it not like writing some adventure that the players avoided completely, they players will be using their magic and abilities regardless of what they end up doing and it helps game flow so much to just be aware who can do what.
My take on the rolls is: except during combat. In Pathfinder's rules on skills, I like how clear certain things are, such as it stating you can basically take 10 unless there is a threat like combat... Which is the same concept as passive scores, really. Then there's also taking 20 where it won't work on a take 10 but maybe if I spend 20 minutes trying I will succeed (Not always 20 minutes) while in-game it takes mere seconds. But, as I said, you're going to be rolling every check in comvat no matter how trivial (maybe not no matter how trivial... if you have a +20 to climb a rope on a slope, by golly you can climb a rope on a slope)... Because in combat wasting time is, or can be, a pretty big fail state.
I just keep a smart list of rules in my note taking app. I don't recall what that spell does or how much damage or what the area of effect is? I just look it up. It took forever for me to do it. But I have all of that stuff directly in the notes app I use to keep track of the game as a whole. All my pictures, maps, sounds, music, character notes, encounter notes and everything exist in a single file and all of it is searchable.
Notes If there’s a conflict, make a ruling and move on. If you get flak, let the player have their way and move on, or play the DM god card if necessary. Dice shouldn’t be used for mundane activities, or when an action does not have a fail state. Decide between playing out a scene or summarizing based on whether it is important, drama, and/or detailed OR boring and mundane.
We all really need to just comment, just to comment. Like to increase the ratings, These videos are absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so lets spam those comments
I think you really nailed it. I want to do better at my table now. I was trying to emulate critical role and they spend way to much time on mundane things.
I’ve watched quite a few of your videos now, and it makes me wonder, outside of being the only one capable, or being a control freak, why does anyone want to dm? It feels like such an impossible task, even if you have the best guides around, I struggle to have enough creativity to make a character in time, I have no clue how you guys can make a whole world in the same time and dozens of side characters
I see how this advice is good for some... But personally I'd quit if my GM followed all these rules. Having the GM say your spell does something it doesn't just because he doesn't want to look up the rules can leave players feeling like they're spectators listening to the GM tell a tale that the players have no part of. Like, I get the general idea, but that shit is not for me.
Better Option: if your players want to play a spell caster they should know & have spells they use on hand be it cards, labelled or any other method they choose to use. Your the DM & not their nanny so why should you be going out of your way to explain how their class works if they are not the new of new players. I main wizard & I have everything set out for DM's convenience as I don't want to waste his or my time to get on with funny dice story telling game. All the DM really needs is the 3 core books & Xanathar's Guide to Everything to know the ttrpg mechanics which come up on occasion but not as often as you think.
@DeficientMaster right but how do you summarize it if it that question makes since my party is bad about splitting off to talk to whatever npc alone because they have a certain opinion on em
@@ghoultric I have some thoughts that I think are worth a future video. But my quick answer comes down to learning how to pace the separated groups & when to switch to the other. My go-to lately is to give them details or present a question THEN swap to next group while that first group is thinking of their response. Rinse and repeat for second group.
@DeficientMaster alright cool thank you so much. Also, I binged basically your entire channel yesterday. You deserve to be noticed by Ginni D. you'll make it one day brother
My old DM had a little slit on his dm screen and a bunch of paper "loading screen tips" and whenever he needed to look something up he would slide a loading screen tip into the slit and we all called it "buffering". Having a bit helped us keep our disbelief suspended while also lampshading the fact that he needed to look things up in the first place
ROFLMAO!
I'm soooo stealing this idea!
To continue the point about summarizing- DMs, you can end a scene. You have the power. I believe in you. The players may even be waiting on you because they don't know how, or they don't all realize they have that power. Perhaps they assume you must still have something else planned (or surely you would have ended the scene), and they should just keep roleplaying out nothing until something happens, meanwhile you assume THEY must not be done, since they haven't stopped. All the while, one or two players have sensed the drag and are desperately trying to wrap up the scene, but no one notices. They eventually leave the conversation or just stop talking and open a new Heroforge tab. Just say "he leaves" or "you set off into the forest", etcetera. You're the DM. It doesn't hurt our feelings when you tell us what happens. You can even ask "Does anyone have anything they want to do, or can we move on?" Friends don't let friends talk themselves in circles for 3 hours. Please, please gods just end the scene.
thank god my games don't have scenes. I run dungeons, not stage plays.
Only one dm in all my time playing has bugged me with ending scenes early and that guy cut everything short like a speedrunner. RP? Combat? Bored immediately. Exploration? Non-existent. Other than that extreme exception, I've never had any issues with a dm trying to keep the pace of the game up so we can hit a certain point in their session notes by session's end.
@@mnmnrtThat is totally valid for you and your group! But not everyone plays old school dungeon crawls. Roleplaying and thus acting is part of the TTRPG. How much and how free this roleplaying is (by which I mean how much players roleplay outside the DM prompts) differs wildly. So the advice OP gives is very valid for groups that roleplay/act out scenes apart from dungeons.
@@mnmnrt Imagine bragging about not role playing in a role playing game.
@@heliosfromacrossastar878 No. Your group is shit and your games are shit.
My god-the production quality on these videos! The six-year-olds pointing then the real gun coming out! Ohhhh my gawd!!
Failing a dice roll having a fail state instead of nothing happening is such good advice!
It makes sense. I always think of picking a lock.
If you have nothing happen, whats stopping the player from just staying there picking the lock until he does.
A failure means you either destroyed the mechanism, causing it to be forever locked or they are unable to pick the lock in time and someone catches them. Or maybe the noise you make while trying to pick it attracts nearby monsters. Failure doesn't mean nothing, failure doesn't mean you couldn't do the thing, failure is trouble.
The part about tests failing having to mean something I learnt from 4th edition. 4e DMG is one of the best DM books ever written. If you never read it, try to read at least the part about skill challenges, lots of good advice and some good examples of how to use skill checks and narration well together
First, hats off to you. GM of weekly games for 44 years here. Since 5e modern players state my philosophy and style are antiquated. Yet, here you are proclaiming my identical philosophy and way of doing things--at least before 5e (and 3.0). Over the past decade I have played tug of war with players that cannot comprehend DnD beyond what is force-fed to them by media, blogs, and marketed-to-make-money books. Recently, the status-quo rules-lawyers have been wearing me down. THANKS for the pep talk. [Watched AMA and wondered, "What is your age?" "Are we twins?" Yes, I have a long-lost twin.] Finally, you are a talented videographer, comedian, and obviously a skilled gamemaster.
44 years!!! R E S P E C T!!! Remember the White Boxed Set when the magic system was "make up a magic system"?😅
sorry your players know the rules better than you do. guess you should swallow your ego and learn from them.
@@mnmnrt I know rules, but rule-mongers that do not allow a DM to color outside the lines is a hinderance to flexibility in interpreting any given situation. Worse, those kinds of players do use their imagination to jimmy a lock open with a stiletto dagger--without a thieves tool proficiency, or use a bedroll and blanket to catch a PC jumping from a great height to negate damage, a'lah fireman's catch. Rules As Written are binding in every sense of the word. Most of all it binds a person's imagination.
@@d20dragontales no
@@mnmnrt Yes
Always great advice! Fabulous editing and voice acting worthy of the best films. Note, however, that the wedding ring was kept on over the gloves.
Firing my actor immediately
the medical professional in me screamed at the ring too lol
@@DeficientMaster Your game will probably soon die from sespsis as we speak!
Only if it was infected by rules lawyers, @@cubescihist6737.
One piece of advice that goes alongside the "summarise if one character goes on a branching sidequest" that I learned from a recent session where my players were trying to get into the house of evil nobles who had tricked them away fro the scent of the crime the first visit they made and had now wouldn't speak to them again, where 3 of the plaeyrs made a big scene at the front gates as a distraction to cover for a solo player to sneak in through the back, I started with the 3 to begin their distraction then would routinely cut back from one scene to another, as soon as one person seemed unsure what to do and needed time to think that was more than like 30 seconds I'd ask one more time before cutting to the other perspective to give time to think over what they wanted to do next, the scenes were linked and all too important to summarise because failing to hold the guard's attention would have them go back into the house and risk exposing their infiltrator, while needing to still keep things peaceful enough to avoid an outright fight seemed desired, while obviously needing to describe the route that the one thief was taking and what she found on her path.
O.k. that was one sentence! Also "...who had tricked them away fro the scent of the crime the first visit they made and had new wouldn't speak to them again..." WTF!?
Look, you have a lot to say, and I might want to know what it is if I understood it. Please consider picking up a book called "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" the funniest book about punctuation ever written.
Also, you know you can edit your own comments, right? Seriously I do want to know how that story went.
That's a number of good points! But allow my to boil out my one favorite.
When running two or more entities (players or groups) simultaneously, always look for a moment of doing to switch the POV. Does wonders for the pacing and motivation
Eats, Shoots, & Leaves is a _great_ book, @@b0therme! And, if you're into that kind of thing, pretty hilarious, too.
This dude is single handedly changing the way I will dm in a single morning. Still no miss
FINALLY! I'm glad someone mentioned the "breaking down a door" situation.
I hate it when I want to do a simple roleplaying action outside of combat and the DM makes me roll the dice. Like dude, there's no risk involved. Just let the barbarian smash a few things for free! 🔥
This is my favorite d&d channel. You’re awesome keep it up!
Really? REAAAAAAALLY? The only vid with good content AND engaging presentation I've watched about D&D in... don't even remember. And this vid has 5.5K visits in 2 weeks. And the channel only 4K subs... COME ON!
Don't despair, DM. One day the algorithm will give you the deserved boom 💣💣💣💣💣
I am sure the retention rate is pretty high. Maybe the clic ratio is not high enough??? Anyhow, this channel deserves being in hundreds-K subs 👌
If you like this channel you'll /probably/ like Arbiter of Worlds, too: www.youtube.com/@TheArbiterOfWorlds/videos
No, nobody asked me to mention that. They're /very/ different channels but both have excellent content.
3:29 when you pulled the frigging glock I lost it!
love the typos
Firing my editor immediateyl
There are a few meaningful ways to get better at the rules without having to memorize everything-
- Be a player (no better way to learn class abilities and spells)
- WATCH people play (You get a really good feel for applicable rules, and a lot of the podcasts/streams are really enjoyable to listen to on a car ride!)
- As part of DM prep (and I know this is crazy) read part of the player’s handbook/DM guide. Just refresh yourself on one mechanic before each session for, like, 5 minutes. This actually helped A LOT when I was DM’ing-and sometimes before the rule even came up! This can always be the time during which you review the rules question from the last time, but still!
When you were talking about how "if every moment is important, none of them are" I was half expecting a jump cut to Syndrome from the Incredibles 🤣 Great video and love your style, keep up the content!
I really like how you combine an interesting topic with a little story or setting to make it entertaining.
Absolutely LOVING the channel, man!
This bro is making me take notes, keep pumping this videos plz
Love it. Funny but informative 👍 cannot wait to the next episode
I actually laughed out loud at this!! WOW, just wow. Great content- great presentation, and I like that no PHBs were harmed in the making of this UA-cam video.
This reminds me of when video games will use cutscenes for unimportant stuff like walking thru a door, or something super mundane. Like setting the scene is fine, if it’s the party’s first time there, but I try not to get too lost in the description, since we can always fill in the details only if necessary. And especially for shopping, unless the player asks for some specific detail about the shop or the clerk, I just list what they have available and let them choose and move on.
Love how I just instinctively was eyerolling when the DMG entered the frame. 😂
The rule of thumb I use is this:
Roll the dice only if you have interesting Failure and Success states.
If you can only determine one, then a dice roll is just begging for the other....
One of the hardest lessons I had to learn was "directing" gameplay. My games were most likely to flounder between gameplay and plot moments because I gave players total agency in how to get to their destination. When I said "how do you get there?" Instead of giving me generic
"I take to the rooftops," or "I go down the path on the left." They would say "I walk backward on the left path, doubling back and making use of Misty Step twice to ensure that we're not tracked." That's just the kind of players they are, overly suspicious and cautious at all times unless I give them reason to think that they're safe, and even then they'll probably try to bar and magically seal every door and window.
This makes it impossible to send them on a chase through a magic gargoyle factory, because I already started off on the wrong foot. (This is a point you made in a previous video).
Ending scenes, or transitioning between scenes was always my biggest weakness as a DM. Learning to ask "Okay, as you all make camp, does anyone do anything before bed?" Instead of asking "What do you do?" At the end of the day?" Game-changer. Literally.
how many dnd books of yours just getting damaged by making your videos? And how many do you have in storage? thank you for your content
Rick solid content dude. So sad when I realized you just started because I was ready to binge for a few hours haha. Subscribed😊
Subbed. We have similar ideas on what character abilities are for. As I do my own design work, it’s nice to have sane voices while the “brilliant” ideas swirl around in my head.
The funniest and best DM channel I’ve found by far 😂
If I have a split the party RP scene coming up, where appropriate, I let my players play random NPCs in scenes their characters aren't in. It lets them engage in silly ways their characters wouldn't be able to narratively.
Another great video! Awesome content, great ideas. I too prefer to keep the story moving. Typically, my players don't know when I'm following the railroad, or when I'm making stuff up. I also appreciate your occasional pistol brandishing. Curious to know what you carry, and if it has any magical bonuses on it. See you on the next one, can't wait!
3:33 This definition of FAIL STATE 🤯 👍😘👌
A perfectly executed dice-section 2:40
You're putting on a clinic on how to create great RPG content. Subbed.
These videos are AWESOME! I love seeing your content and glad to see your channel gaining some traction. I can feel the passion radiating from these videos!
Its funny that he asked if we have subscribed yet and right beneath it, it says which is pointless lol
What you mean shopping is boring?
Last time we spent the entire session browsing through stores to find the perfect outfit for the characters!
Such and amazing production on top of a very solid advice video, earned my subscribe
3:25 lmao okay subscription earned. I love the dark humor 😂
Also, nice piece. 😇
I really enjoy this videos! I am new to both table top rpg's and dming. I am trying to learn as much as i can to make a nice experience for my friends. These videos help a lot !
The thumbnail:
"Woops, I injected piss in my PHB, silly me"
More seriously, to people who think about D&D this way (2:00) I say PLEASE try out stuff like Dungeon World, or original B/X, or just lighter-weight games in general like Knave or something. There are _so_ many RPGs specifically geared towards rulings over rules, and they're so much better for playing this way, it's absurd to me that instead, people pretend they're playing "D&D 5e" while just ignoring a lot of the 5e-ness. (That's ignoring that there's ""crunchier"" games that are still easier to play because they still don't do excessive rules minutae like D&D 5e does...)
And as far as "does this spell have somatic components?" the player should know that already. They prepared the spell. Not the GM's job.
Immediate edit: ...yeah I should've assumed that this was being suggested as a one-time problem
2:58
Now THIS I can get behind. Dice rolls are there for when the outcome is uncertain. If it seems obvious how something _should_ go just let it go that way. Even if a player did something that might confer a bonus to a roll, maybe that just pushed it from "might fail" to "yeah you got it". Only roll if failure might be interesting rather than slowing things down for no good reason. Also damn you put some work into this, sticking your dice in a blob of jelly n' everything
3:55
To this (fail states where nothing happens are pointless) I could play devil's advocate and point out that 5e's lack of proper dungeon rules contribute to this. You failed to unlock a chest, why not just roll to unlock it again? Traditionally, because every time you do that you're burning time and time = stuff happening and stuff happening is usually bad in a spooky dungeon. Same goes for why maze-like dungeon maps could be somewhat interesting. The Angry GM's "tension dice" system is a super good modern take on it.
4:40
I've always struggled with this because it feels like taking away player agency if it's done at the wrong time, but a lot of players seem to expect their agency to be taken away and won't ever say they're going to move on until you _forcefully_ move them on. It's frustrating. I'd like to think it's usually a failure to make sure that the players know what they're actually aiming to do at the time, and if they really have a goal they're set on, they'll start just going for it. I've managed it before and it's always a lot of fun.
Counterpoint: Know everything about spells your players have
Unless your party has 4 spellcasters
господи какая подача роликов, никто так не парится о подаче как ты, и это офигенно.
ты лучше чем ginny di что просто открывает рот перед камерой с гринскрином.
I do think failing to kick in a door is a valid outcome, it should just make sense.
Telling my player to go back and try something else imho is just as much of a fail state as fighting some arbitrary and skippable encounter. In fact, I would rather they try exploring this specific part of the world more and finding some way behind that specific door instead of figthing an encounter that is taking up a lot of time and plays out more or less like all the other encounters.
This door just can not be the only way forward, kicking it in should not be the lowest effort way, the default way, the fallback option, especially when they now can't use it. If there are three way through that door and in addition three other ways to advance the plot, then I really don't care about stopping the momentum.
By making sense I mean that a barbarian should not be stopped by a basic wooden door just because of a 1. It does not suddenly exceed his power. In that case I agree that the player should just succeed and get some undesired outcome as a fail-reward. But if that's not the case, if a normal person is confronted with a decent door, not getting in is kinda the point.
Yeah, sometimes rolling on the mundane actually creates the most memorable moments of the night. Going to Critical Role as an example - who will forget Wil Weaton's failed attempts to open a door? It was hilarious! He got angry after failing to kick it open and swung at it with his axe, then failed that so hard he actually stuck the axe in the wall behind him on the backswing. And opening doors became a thing because they, as a party, failed on those rolls so often that doors became a BBEG in their own way and created an inside joke amongst the players. Sometimes, I do think people can take the game too serious and only want the "epic" moments, but I think skipping over too much can drain just as much fun from the game.
I just finished my first session with my new group and got recommended this video 💀
This is why I try to get dms who are weaker on the rules side of things to leave rule look-ups to me. I know where to look and can just shoot a quick private message behind-the-scenes of the pasted text while they do anything else to keep the overall pace of the game up, such as by preparing an enemy's next turn or getting npc dialogue notes up. I got your back, bud!
I just recently found out I've been doing off hands backwards and told my players, hey this was my bad but going forward it's going to be this way.itvwas out of table where that kinda stuff should be.
Seriously, really great job, and great editing! Very creative.
Ironically, this content looks like it would draw in precisely goldfish DMs cocked out on tiktok (like me).
Hey Bro congrats you made it to the top of my recommended :POGCHAMP:
Like the 1st top left video. I WAS LIKE
MY BOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII -high fives self because im alone-
A great rule in D&D 5e is the passive skill checks rule. A lot of GMs use this rule for passive perception checks, but if there isn't any consequences to an action(aka, there isn't a 'fail state'), just pretend they take 10 to see if they succeed in the moment. You can also use the take 20 rules in the DMG as well, meaning they take about a minute to complete the action, but succeed anyways.
Came back to this after the demonetization notice.
funniest part about the dice section of the video is that im pretty sure RAW a dm is supposed to limit the amount of dice a player is supposed to roll and make everything else a passive thing
I usually just make up rules as we play. Works the best.
I love all deficient master videos
For the part at 3:00, i somehow managed to find a party that has 3 members that need to count with their fingers for each roll they do... It frustrates me to no end each pause we have to do between rolls for them to add up. I try to give the quick answer, but theyll just continue their counting to "make sure its right"
Another great vid doc!
Things that slow the game:
Checking Rules during play
Unnecessary Rolls
Playing out boring scenes
Although I think unnecessary rolls specifically can be great if you know to ALWAYS apply the "Yes, but.." strategy. Kicking a door will always succeed, but a low roll could mean your foot gets stuck in the door, which can be both amusing in a safe environment and potentially deadly in a hostile one.
One of the best stories is a guy who pet a dog and asked to roll how good his petting was, it was an unnecessary roll, but when he ended up rolling a nat 1, it turned out that instead of petting the dog he kicked it, sending it flying 😂
ok, that last tip is actually help full. I tend to play out a scene a lot more becasue I want to have my players feel a bit more weight with the world around them and I need to learn to slow things down(hence why I set the secene in order to not rush), but yeah, some times summerizing can and should be used to help with less important events. Thank you.
If one of my players wants to use a spell, I tell him HE has to keep track of range, components, saves, durations, etc. DMing is already too much bookkeeping, I'm not doing his homework, too. If he doesn't know it already, then he's stuck with my ruling (and if he goes full rules lawyer and looks it up after the ruling, too bad, his window of opportunity has passed, write it down for next time, dude!) This also applies to weapons, though it rarely comes up.
Granted, this may be a bit harsh. But i usually only have to play this card once, and, surprisingly, I've gotten shockingly little pushback on it.
Man I feel so bad for your books.. But truth is the videos are worth it!
That was actually really helpful and eye-opening. Great video, doctor!
(not an actual doctor)
I stop everything I’m doing when I get this notification
Love the ring over the gloves.
At my table we highly value the specific rulings and details of things. We find that fun.
But at the same time, it is I and another player on the table that maintain the rule integrity of the table and we just remind the DM rather than the DM being the one that pauses the game
So yes you're right still
The doctor bit is very refreshing and works really well as a metaphor here
I just really wanted to give a rulebook CPR.
@@DeficientMaster You literally gave me chills when I heard that damn RESP monitor's alarm. Almost dropped my cross word puzzles book, even though I'm not at work now. Props to you
@@АлексейБ-о3б Don't ya just love the micro dosing of trauma throughout your medical career?
Ur the only DND I watch now cuz fresh and funny
Your content is fantastic
Another banging vid as always, thanks!
Aspiring DM. Thank you so much for your videos ❤ I'm so tired of the needlessly-long analysis-paralysis videos out there.
Your missing your end card leading to another video
One of the first things I've house-ruled was keeping combats from lasting sixteen hours. Sure, combat is exciting and dangerous 'cause your character can get [unaIi^ed]! But if it takes three hours to fight five goblins to a TPK you're probably not doing it right...
I have found that initiative is a big place to speed things up, strangely. Each player rolls their own initiative and, as long as there aren't BBEGs or a LOT of baddies in the fight, the baddies get one roll for all of them. Each player gets to roll, which provides a sense of personal agency, but I only have to roll once which keeps things moving along. (Rolling once for the entire party removes the feeling of control from the players, IMHO. They just modify it for their DEX and remember what segment they are doing their thing on. I just call out segments and whoever's got it does their thing. It prevents a lot of, "everyone trying to go first," too. It's orderly and quick.)
I have every ability and spell printed on a card for my players. Looking up rules becomes very easy with that, they just hand me the card if I need clarification. Also you don't need to memorize everything, but i look over all the spells and abilities my players have and make sure I understand their abilities so it doesn't catch me off guard in game. Also just consuming a lot of DnD content and playing with different groups over years you learn about the most confusing rules interactions that come up often and how other dms deal with them. I will never spend more than a minute looking up a rule, if I am then I will make a ruling and move on. Game flow is very important, but making bad rulings can make players upset and that is something that can be avoided by just being prepared. And this is the type of prep that will only benefit your game, it not like writing some adventure that the players avoided completely, they players will be using their magic and abilities regardless of what they end up doing and it helps game flow so much to just be aware who can do what.
Thought provoking and unexpectedly profound. So, that’s why we roll dice in combat!
My take on the rolls is: except during combat.
In Pathfinder's rules on skills, I like how clear certain things are, such as it stating you can basically take 10 unless there is a threat like combat... Which is the same concept as passive scores, really.
Then there's also taking 20 where it won't work on a take 10 but maybe if I spend 20 minutes trying I will succeed (Not always 20 minutes) while in-game it takes mere seconds.
But, as I said, you're going to be rolling every check in comvat no matter how trivial (maybe not no matter how trivial... if you have a +20 to climb a rope on a slope, by golly you can climb a rope on a slope)... Because in combat wasting time is, or can be, a pretty big fail state.
Great content as always!
The fail state is you failed to succeed
Looking forward to watching your channel grow. I love your style and your takes on the game.
I just keep a smart list of rules in my note taking app. I don't recall what that spell does or how much damage or what the area of effect is? I just look it up. It took forever for me to do it. But I have all of that stuff directly in the notes app I use to keep track of the game as a whole. All my pictures, maps, sounds, music, character notes, encounter notes and everything exist in a single file and all of it is searchable.
Notes
If there’s a conflict, make a ruling and move on. If you get flak, let the player have their way and move on, or play the DM god card if necessary.
Dice shouldn’t be used for mundane activities, or when an action does not have a fail state.
Decide between playing out a scene or summarizing based on whether it is important, drama, and/or detailed OR boring and mundane.
Excellent advice.
Your channel is going to blow up with success! The humor, the edits and the originality is off the charts 🔥
We all really need to just comment, just to comment. Like to increase the ratings, These videos are absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so lets spam those comments
Another banger video
I think you really nailed it. I want to do better at my table now. I was trying to emulate critical role and they spend way to much time on mundane things.
I’ve watched quite a few of your videos now, and it makes me wonder, outside of being the only one capable, or being a control freak, why does anyone want to dm? It feels like such an impossible task, even if you have the best guides around, I struggle to have enough creativity to make a character in time, I have no clue how you guys can make a whole world in the same time and dozens of side characters
I want to know where he got all of the medical equipment.
You should run a game of Far Trek, I think you would have a lot of fun!
actually good advice, and pretty funny too
Received. Thank you
🤣😂 your ring is on the outside of the glove
Cherry crush 26 sec in and we know this is a good video
I see how this advice is good for some... But personally I'd quit if my GM followed all these rules. Having the GM say your spell does something it doesn't just because he doesn't want to look up the rules can leave players feeling like they're spectators listening to the GM tell a tale that the players have no part of.
Like, I get the general idea, but that shit is not for me.
Yes I read the text. Yes I subscribed
You deserve to be famous
whoop
You might not be a doctor but no WAY you don't work in medicine. Lookin at you with my beady uncertified ED Tech eyes.
Man, I ❤ deficient master
And I ❤️ you, @jonahgreene4526
Better Option: if your players want to play a spell caster they should know & have spells they use on hand be it cards, labelled or any other method they choose to use.
Your the DM & not their nanny so why should you be going out of your way to explain how their class works if they are not the new of new players.
I main wizard & I have everything set out for DM's convenience as I don't want to waste his or my time to get on with funny dice story telling game.
All the DM really needs is the 3 core books & Xanathar's Guide to Everything to know the ttrpg mechanics which come up on occasion but not as often as you think.
Has ginni noticed the channel yet? :P
I think the world would implode if she did
She's too busy selling thirst trap calendars
Obligatory "move up in UA-cam algorithms " comment (:
Keep up the good work!
By summarizing single player stuff what do you mean?
When the party is split. Especially if it's just one player separated from the party doing reconnaissance.
@DeficientMaster right but how do you summarize it if it that question makes since my party is bad about splitting off to talk to whatever npc alone because they have a certain opinion on em
@@ghoultric I have some thoughts that I think are worth a future video. But my quick answer comes down to learning how to pace the separated groups & when to switch to the other.
My go-to lately is to give them details or present a question THEN swap to next group while that first group is thinking of their response. Rinse and repeat for second group.
@DeficientMaster alright cool thank you so much. Also, I binged basically your entire channel yesterday. You deserve to be noticed by Ginni D. you'll make it one day brother