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Took notes, so might as well share them! 10 - Difficult Terrain 9 - Levels & Elevation 8 - Hazards 7 - Terrain-Related Events 6 - Traps During Combat 5 - Environmental Features and Objects 4 - Moving and Changing Environment 3 - Encourage Non-Standard Tactics 2 - Lighting and Visibility 1 - Standing Liquids And thank you for the great content! :)
This what made 4e battle fun , it was full ideas to pepper and spice your battle maps with all kind of cool stuff . Those are very easy to bring to 5e and both 4e DMGs are a good read if you want to expand more .
@@sylvaincousineau5073 Fair, I didn't mean to offend anyone, that's my experiance and from what I have heard, a lot of other people's as well. And yes, there were parts of it that were well made, but, I believe that on the whole, it was rather unbalanced and disappointing, as well as being much more difficult for the DM.
@@Veran42 i'm not offended at all , so no worries . :) Personally i find the game way to balance to the point classes were a bit too symmetric , IMHO the the DM part super easy to plan . But no game is perfect it all matter of personal taste and live with it . 🍺
Honestly... as soon as you said dont use all 10 on the same map, I started thinking of ways to use all 10 in the same map lmao. Some sort of clockwork trap hell tower boss room where everything is just constantly changing and going nuts every turn change. Would make for an extremely slow combat, but I guarantee everyone at the table will be tripping balls if you led up to it the right way.
I never thought the enviroment of the Arenas needed so much attention as now, that I am developing a custom Avatar (ATLA/TLoK) RPG system, based on some key DnD mechanics. The possibilities are almost endless, and could determine the whole outcome of an Encounter (like with those naughty waterbenders).
Drop 3D printed (or purchased or otherwise crafted) furniture or other "terrain features" in. Now they can see why the terrain is difficult. They can see the dresser that might have something in a drawer or secret panel. They can see the treasure chest.....
@@theDMLair What do you think of declaring the crowd of people in a tavern "Difficult terrain"? (Basically a mob of bystanders you have to get through to get somewhere.... Possibly with the players having to make an opposed str check once the crowd becomes panicked and starts to flee to avoid being knocked over and trampled....)
Devious DM is DMing Deviously! I love to add small traps to specific areas in a room. Even something as simple as a weak section of roof that collapses in when.... Fill in the blank. I'm currently working on a full puzzle room/wall that needs to be solved quickly while fighting hordes of enemies. The longer they take, the harder the enemies become. Mwuahaha
@@theDMLair Think about a suspenseful point in many movies. One member of the team is trying to solve an impossible problem while the rest are slowly being over run.... then suddenly, "I GOT IT" and everyone gets to safety. It allows a moment of feeling pure bliss. Only for me to prepare to take it away again. haha
About miniatures: Raid your old toys for stuff to put on the battle map. Get your players in on this, your grandmother, your younger sister, your dog. Not your cat. It will just throw all the toys off the table. Scour attics and keep a look out at garage sales and dollar stores for little knickknacks. I have a box where I collect stuff like lego-treasure chests, plastic gems, doll house furniture, an eraser shaped like a dinosaur, funny shaped stones... some LotR figures out of cereal boxes that were too big for minis I painted grey and now they're imposing statues. Until you expand your collection of nice minis and terrain, those will do just fine. We're already playing make-belief, is it really that bad if the giant's furniture is pink, if you can have it actually topple over, have minis fight on top of it or get trapped under the doors?
I've only been Dming Bi-monthly for about 4 months now and your content has been super helpful in sparking my imagination! I've always felt that my combat always end up just being a slog fest between the PCs and my monsters but I'm always afraid that I might add to much crazy stuff and make it too hard on my PCs and end up killing a player by accident. Do you have any tips for possibly balancing all these fun mischievous ideas so I don't end up doing that? Also with traps it seems as soon as you throw one in they just constantly check for them and they become next to useless and just adds more rolls for my rogue to do...how do you handle that?
Hey dude, that awesome you've begun DMing! Some of the most fun I've ever had. And glad my videos have been helpful! A battle only needs 1 or 2 "special" elements to make it more interesting than the toe-to-toe slug fest you described. A cliff that the enemies try to push the PCs off; a bridge that goblins are trying to cut the ropes of as PCs try to cross while fighting; pits opening up beneath their feet while they move across a field trying to get at archers picking them to pieces; kobolds pushing big rocks down on their heads as they fight in a cavern -- each of these things would make an interesting fight, and there's only one element. So, to try to balance things, just pick 1 or 2 special things and see how it goes. With experience you will get a feel for what your players can handle and how much is too much. You'll also learn the art of dialing it back, having your enemies try less hard to kill the PCs, when you realize that you've overdone an encounter. Not by fudging dice (that's fairly obvious) but just by having the enemies use poor tactics or make mistakes. Regarding traps, I generally only place 1 or 2 traps in an entire adventure (that might span 3-4 game sessions). If your rogue wants to check for traps everywhere, that's okay. Let him. It just a perception check. It takes 5 seconds maybe and checks say a 10x10 area for any traps. If the rogue is constantly checking for traps and you feel its really slowing the game down, LET IT SLOW THE GAME DOWN. Let the players FEEL how slow it is AND let them FEEL the "absurdity" of it when there are usually very few traps. You're playing a time game. Let them check as often as they want, and when there are no traps, reply happily and with a smile, "Nope! No traps!" I use this to get in their heads, in a good-natured sort of way, and make it part of the game. Eventually, they will stop checking so much because THEY want to speed things up, especially when they realize that dungeons aren't brimming full of traps. I put traps in strategic places that make sense. Smart players will catch on to this and start using their brains to check places that are likely to be trapped instead of checking everywhere. (This is what my players do.)
@@theDMLair Thank you so much! Currently I got them in a hidden underground dwarven town and part of it has been overrun with monsters from "farther below" insert spooky music here I was thinking of making earthquakes a thing as suggested in the video. Having debris falling from the ceiling of the cavern or building they are in. Maybe opening up pits in the town where more monsters come from that they have to seal up or something...I think it i=might make the fights a bit more interesting!
P.S. As a personal side note I love DMing and as much as on a surface level it just seems like a nerdy gamer thing to do I have seen marked improvements in other aspects of my life. Been more comfortable in social situations, having friends come over every two weeks has made me more conscious about how I keep my home, and I've seen my motivation and work ethic in producing adventures spill over into my job and other important life things. I think that your videos and other youtubers like you have really helped me keep that motivation and I honestly appreciate all the work you do in making these videos. I know that it isn't always easy!
Yeah the earthquakes sounds great. I agree that DnD can absolutely improve other areas of our lives. I'm very happy and honored to be a part of helping others in that way! 😁
The Tiamat poster on the wall is off Amazon fro $20: amzn.to/2TDp94p There were lots of other cool ones, too. Like the beholder poster from the DMG cover.
All different sizes. Mix it up. Small is 10x10 for a tight battle and difficulty moving about. Larger sizes introduce more opportunities and challenges based on terrain. So use a mix of sizes. Keeps things fresh and interesting.
I want to make a boss that is a huge mechanic worm on a cube elevating on air and they are going to fight on that cube and they can go on each side but the monster can change side without going from outside but from the inside and I don't want the creature being more powerful than my players can hundle so how I can make a 50ft-100ft cube on the air more interesting without putting difficult terain because already they have a huge disanvatage on the position of the creature because of the almost instant transport it can use and I want to make them change sides and not staying in the same and just being hitting the boss without change tactics plz help
Maybe every round the cube rotates and slams into a hard surface on just one of the faces. Then, your players each round have to decide if they will move to a different face of the cube, stay, split up, etc. Make the side that gets slammed random and make the damage enough for them to want to avoid it.
@@theDMLair omg that's something I didn't thought at all thanks so much I follow almost all your instructions in y battles and I was never disappointed
Always! 😁 Except IRL, cuz people would think I'm psycho. Which I may be a little. I just get it all out in my videos so I can pretend to be normal IRL. 😬
Join our Discord community of dungeon masters! discord.gg/Msat4NB
Get FREE D&D adventures here: bit.ly/FreeDnDAdventures
📣 What do you do to improve your combat maps?
Me: "You enter a a faintly lit-"
3/4 of my players: *"I HaVe DaRkViSiOn"*
WAR JP alt-art Nissa. Good taste.
Took notes, so might as well share them!
10 - Difficult Terrain
9 - Levels & Elevation
8 - Hazards
7 - Terrain-Related Events
6 - Traps During Combat
5 - Environmental Features and Objects
4 - Moving and Changing Environment
3 - Encourage Non-Standard Tactics
2 - Lighting and Visibility
1 - Standing Liquids
And thank you for the great content! :)
Oh! And 0: Don't put them all up at once! ;)
Awesome, thanks!
The exploding air when exposed to blood is absolutely golden. I'll steal it, if you don't mind
😂 I’ve gotten to the point that I hit like on your videos before I watch the video. I appreciate that they are quick and valuable.
This what made 4e battle fun , it was full ideas to pepper and spice your battle maps with all kind of cool stuff . Those are very easy to bring to 5e and both 4e DMGs are a good read if you want to expand more .
Cool! I'll need to check out the 4e DMGs then! Always looking for ideas to make battles more interesting! 😀
The problem was that the rest of 4e sucked
@@Veran42 this is your personal opinion , i had lot of fun with it .
@@sylvaincousineau5073 Fair, I didn't mean to offend anyone, that's my experiance and from what I have heard, a lot of other people's as well. And yes, there were parts of it that were well made, but, I believe that on the whole, it was rather unbalanced and disappointing, as well as being much more difficult for the DM.
@@Veran42 i'm not offended at all , so no worries . :) Personally i find the game way to balance to the point classes were a bit too symmetric , IMHO the the DM part super easy to plan . But no game is perfect it all matter of personal taste and live with it . 🍺
This editing is masterful
Thanks!
I've been enjoying your videos. Practical, to the point, and most importantly, useful.
Honestly... as soon as you said dont use all 10 on the same map, I started thinking of ways to use all 10 in the same map lmao. Some sort of clockwork trap hell tower boss room where everything is just constantly changing and going nuts every turn change. Would make for an extremely slow combat, but I guarantee everyone at the table will be tripping balls if you led up to it the right way.
I liked the humor in this one, it wouldnt be a subject a lot of people would search, but those who did were entertained I'm sure
I never thought the enviroment of the Arenas needed so much attention as now, that I am developing a custom Avatar (ATLA/TLoK) RPG system, based on some key DnD mechanics. The possibilities are almost endless, and could determine the whole outcome of an Encounter (like with those naughty waterbenders).
lol @ "The world is not flat. Unless it is ..."
Yeah... Trying not to offend any of the flat world folks out there... 😓
Well, it's a fantasy anyway...
Ooodles of tips and tricks in here I'll need to try out. Well done!
Thanks! 😁👊
Drop 3D printed (or purchased or otherwise crafted) furniture or other "terrain features" in.
Now they can see why the terrain is difficult.
They can see the dresser that might have something in a drawer or secret panel. They can see the treasure chest.....
Yeah, totally. I love using terrain minis on my maps for this very reason.
@@theDMLair What do you think of declaring the crowd of people in a tavern "Difficult terrain"? (Basically a mob of bystanders you have to get through to get somewhere.... Possibly with the players having to make an opposed str check once the crowd becomes panicked and starts to flee to avoid being knocked over and trampled....)
Devious DM is DMing Deviously! I love to add small traps to specific areas in a room. Even something as simple as a weak section of roof that collapses in when.... Fill in the blank. I'm currently working on a full puzzle room/wall that needs to be solved quickly while fighting hordes of enemies. The longer they take, the harder the enemies become. Mwuahaha
That's awesome dude. Bring them to the point of dispare and giving up, only to finally succeed. Then watch your players celebrate like never before. 😁
@@theDMLair Think about a suspenseful point in many movies. One member of the team is trying to solve an impossible problem while the rest are slowly being over run.... then suddenly, "I GOT IT" and everyone gets to safety. It allows a moment of feeling pure bliss. Only for me to prepare to take it away again. haha
Exactly! And that's precisely a DM's job. Challenge > Dispair > Victory > Bliss.... Rinse and Repeat.
This is why DMimg is so much fun. 😈
Love your background wall
About miniatures: Raid your old toys for stuff to put on the battle map. Get your players in on this, your grandmother, your younger sister, your dog. Not your cat. It will just throw all the toys off the table. Scour attics and keep a look out at garage sales and dollar stores for little knickknacks.
I have a box where I collect stuff like lego-treasure chests, plastic gems, doll house furniture, an eraser shaped like a dinosaur, funny shaped stones... some LotR figures out of cereal boxes that were too big for minis I painted grey and now they're imposing statues.
Until you expand your collection of nice minis and terrain, those will do just fine. We're already playing make-belief, is it really that bad if the giant's furniture is pink, if you can have it actually topple over, have minis fight on top of it or get trapped under the doors?
How do you suggest to draw a battle maps without any material (ex: that square map builder you use in the vídeo)?
Make a small conpass with a space of 3 by 3 and north so if you use roll20 you can adjust the grid and freestyle dungeons (kinda)
I've only been Dming Bi-monthly for about 4 months now and your content has been super helpful in sparking my imagination! I've always felt that my combat always end up just being a slog fest between the PCs and my monsters but I'm always afraid that I might add to much crazy stuff and make it too hard on my PCs and end up killing a player by accident. Do you have any tips for possibly balancing all these fun mischievous ideas so I don't end up doing that? Also with traps it seems as soon as you throw one in they just constantly check for them and they become next to useless and just adds more rolls for my rogue to do...how do you handle that?
Hey dude, that awesome you've begun DMing! Some of the most fun I've ever had. And glad my videos have been helpful!
A battle only needs 1 or 2 "special" elements to make it more interesting than the toe-to-toe slug fest you described. A cliff that the enemies try to push the PCs off; a bridge that goblins are trying to cut the ropes of as PCs try to cross while fighting; pits opening up beneath their feet while they move across a field trying to get at archers picking them to pieces; kobolds pushing big rocks down on their heads as they fight in a cavern -- each of these things would make an interesting fight, and there's only one element. So, to try to balance things, just pick 1 or 2 special things and see how it goes. With experience you will get a feel for what your players can handle and how much is too much. You'll also learn the art of dialing it back, having your enemies try less hard to kill the PCs, when you realize that you've overdone an encounter. Not by fudging dice (that's fairly obvious) but just by having the enemies use poor tactics or make mistakes.
Regarding traps, I generally only place 1 or 2 traps in an entire adventure (that might span 3-4 game sessions). If your rogue wants to check for traps everywhere, that's okay. Let him. It just a perception check. It takes 5 seconds maybe and checks say a 10x10 area for any traps. If the rogue is constantly checking for traps and you feel its really slowing the game down, LET IT SLOW THE GAME DOWN. Let the players FEEL how slow it is AND let them FEEL the "absurdity" of it when there are usually very few traps. You're playing a time game. Let them check as often as they want, and when there are no traps, reply happily and with a smile, "Nope! No traps!" I use this to get in their heads, in a good-natured sort of way, and make it part of the game. Eventually, they will stop checking so much because THEY want to speed things up, especially when they realize that dungeons aren't brimming full of traps. I put traps in strategic places that make sense. Smart players will catch on to this and start using their brains to check places that are likely to be trapped instead of checking everywhere. (This is what my players do.)
@@theDMLair Thank you so much! Currently I got them in a hidden underground dwarven town and part of it has been overrun with monsters from "farther below" insert spooky music here I was thinking of making earthquakes a thing as suggested in the video. Having debris falling from the ceiling of the cavern or building they are in. Maybe opening up pits in the town where more monsters come from that they have to seal up or something...I think it i=might make the fights a bit more interesting!
P.S. As a personal side note I love DMing and as much as on a surface level it just seems like a nerdy gamer thing to do I have seen marked improvements in other aspects of my life. Been more comfortable in social situations, having friends come over every two weeks has made me more conscious about how I keep my home, and I've seen my motivation and work ethic in producing adventures spill over into my job and other important life things. I think that your videos and other youtubers like you have really helped me keep that motivation and I honestly appreciate all the work you do in making these videos. I know that it isn't always easy!
Yeah the earthquakes sounds great. I agree that DnD can absolutely improve other areas of our lives. I'm very happy and honored to be a part of helping others in that way! 😁
King Crimson activated at 1:06
Good Ideas
Ochre Slimes in glass tubes in a fragile wizard lab.
Oh nice. PCs dropping AOEs and finding nasty surprises. 😈
Where do you get your poster at??
The Tiamat poster on the wall is off Amazon fro $20: amzn.to/2TDp94p
There were lots of other cool ones, too. Like the beholder poster from the DMG cover.
Greetings! Just catching up, how big you suggest a combat room should be? Considering movement, attack or spells range and size of the monsters
All different sizes. Mix it up. Small is 10x10 for a tight battle and difficulty moving about. Larger sizes introduce more opportunities and challenges based on terrain. So use a mix of sizes. Keeps things fresh and interesting.
This guy looks like discount Jon Moxley.
The World is not flat...well my "planet" that i desinged is xD
I love elevations but it's so hard to implement digitally because I don't know a VTT that can present elevation that's not total AIDS.
As I was watching this I was asking myself how I'm going to fit all of these into my next combat... oops
I want to make a boss that is a huge mechanic worm on a cube elevating on air and they are going to fight on that cube and they can go on each side but the monster can change side without going from outside but from the inside and I don't want the creature being more powerful than my players can hundle so how I can make a 50ft-100ft cube on the air more interesting without putting difficult terain because already they have a huge disanvatage on the position of the creature because of the almost instant transport it can use
and I want to make them change sides and not staying in the same and just being hitting the boss without change tactics
plz help
Maybe every round the cube rotates and slams into a hard surface on just one of the faces. Then, your players each round have to decide if they will move to a different face of the cube, stay, split up, etc. Make the side that gets slammed random and make the damage enough for them to want to avoid it.
@@theDMLair omg that's something I didn't thought at all thanks so much
I follow almost all your instructions in y battles and I was never disappointed
Awesome! Always happy to help. Make sure to give me a holler after the battle and let me know how it went!
@@theDMLair I will but the battle will happen in 2 sesions(2 weeks) and that means more planing
How much of the room explodes with blood?
All of it! Lol
I love all these people who skipped 4e entirely discovering "new" exciting ideas.
Can't really blame them though.
Oh now blind man wants to be part of 1 of your games
Do you always talk like that? xD
Always! 😁
Except IRL, cuz people would think I'm psycho. Which I may be a little. I just get it all out in my videos so I can pretend to be normal IRL. 😬
@@theDMLair Best response ever lol.