There’s a balance between presenting interesting content for the players to interact with and giving the players their agency to unfold the scene around them.
@@daddyrolleda1 loving the group pictures Martin. Not sure if you have posted them before. If so I hadn't seen them as I usually put your videos on and listen more than watch. Give her a big Happy B-day hug Martin. I had 2 daughters and they've grown and left the nest and the pics did bring my some incredibly fond memories of playing D&D with them. The crazy things young ladies can think of when role playing.. had me rolling on the floor laughing at times. Don't think that was an option for the poll for DM's but hey. DM's need to have fun as much as the players do!
So glad you enjoyed them! This is probably the most pictures I've shown of the group in a single video, but I've showed a few before from time to time. So cool that you also played D&D with your kids! I am not really looking to my daughter growing up and leaving the nest, but I know it's going to happen so I just have to prepare myself. 🙂 Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thanks for calling out these differences - so many people still have no idea how things worked in the past versus the current. Having had a separate experience with Gygax and Arneson, and how uniquely they handled their games and built and designed their “module” approaches, continue to give me old memories that I enjoy relating to how we operate today. ❤
I truly appreciate your support of this video! My "DM Advice" videos always generate far less interest than my "D&D History" videos and this one is no exception - it's ranking 10 out of 10 in terms of views. But, I enjoy making it and my hope is that it helps folks who are perhaps new to the game, but I also think it's important even for experienced DMs to keep their skills fresh. I'm so glad you enjoyed the video, and once again I really appreciate your support. Cheers!
Thanks for the video! I, too, am an old school DM who believes story is a byproduct of gameplay. We play the game and whatever transpires becomes the story of that game. I missed the poll or I would have probably added Worldbuilding as an answer / option. I think what some folks might miss is the idea that while the DM is not a Storyteller, in my style of DMing, he does create a world full of story elements, nouns (persons, places, and things), and the nouns have verbs tied to them, the places and things have adjectives. NPCs have things they plan to do and unless PCs get in the way, those things will often come to pass. The world exists and is not static. Now, of course, a DM only has so much time to devote to even be thinking about their setting, so there are limits. Call me Old Fashioned. Cheers!
Glad you enjoyed this! It's my lowest performing video of the last 10. I guess people just want more and more history and less DM Advice! 😀 So, thanks for watching. And, I do get your point about Worldbuilding. Totally makes sense. Thanks!
As a father of a teen-age daughter whom I also introduced to Dungeon & Dragons, I wish your daughter a Happy Birthday. One thing I have found useful to help keep things moving is if a rule needs to be looked up, designate 1 of the players at the session to be the rule-looker-upper so you as the DM are able to keep going and not have to stop and look something up.
I don't know if it comes down to only one skill, but I'd say portraying the game world with verisimilitude is the most important for me. If the job of the players is to do what their characters would do, then the job of the dungeon master is to do what everything else in the world would do. And that's not just about motivations, it's ensuring that fearsome threats are truly dangerous and respond in an accurate manner. I don't know if you'd call it logical, but players that know they're in an environment that responds appropriately to their actions will feel like they truly inhabit it. Providing a living, breathing World from which story emerges is essential to the job.
Really great thoughts - thanks for sharing! I love hearing about other peoples' priorities, and I do think this is a good one. As you said, I don't think there's any one single thing but a combination. Thanks for watching and sharing!
I really appreciate that. Thank you so much! Mom is gone at a work event tonight and "Daughter Rolled A 1" is making me dinner, despite me telling her multiple times that I would help. She's capable... I just feel guilty!
Over the decades much has changed. Looking back, improvisation. Not being the best at it. Simply willing to do so when the need arises. Saw many that thought they could prep and anticipate what the kittens will do. No one, not I or you can really know what the players will do. Willing and ready to roll with anything is by far the crucial factor in ttrpgs. On both sides of the screen.
Yes definitely - a few folks who answered the poll selected "Other" and then said "Flexibility" or "Adaptability" which I think fits what you're saying. Thank you for watching and commenting!
Players casting spells because they only read the name and have no idea what it does is a tale as old as time! Back in 1988, a cute girl at camp told me "Listen to this song." and put her Walkman headphones on me. "Girlfriend in a Coma" blew me away and I didn't even ask her name. I'm still in love with The Smiths.
Happy birthday to your little girl. I started playing 5e with my kids when my son when was 12, he wanted to just fight monsters, my daughter was 9, she wanted pets and to shop.
hahahah... so true yeah. I've made that comment to Martin before. He has a very soothing kind of voice. His videos are wonderful for evenings to just wind down. A bottle of wine and a Daddy Rolled A One video and all is good in the world. I suppose Martin never sang in a band.. one of my favorite comments for some singers is they could be singing the Yellow Pages and you'd still be enthalled. I mean.. Paul McCartney... don't tell me he couldn't make you swoon by reading off names out of the phone book
The DM is a party host. 1st they're throwing a party because they want to have fun with the guests. They decide on a theme if any. They take into account the tastes and needs of their guest, but not every party is for everyone.
in my humble opinion, DMs tend to focus on their obligation not their most important skill is.... to have fun, yes for the DM that means a bit of work compared to the players but the bottom line is have fun, whatever fun it is at your table. For me i have fun prepping for games, and then it culminates when i see my players have fun. That in and of itself is a skill, not easy for some and very detailed for others, but no matter, have fun create a fun atmosphere for your table, if that means telling story or leading the game smoothly or knowing the mechanics well, whatever it is.... have fun, smile and play play play!
I like this comment a lot! Thanks for watching and commenting! So many people commented on my poll and said "have fun" but I like the way you articulated it and added details. Thanks!
@@daddyrolleda1 awe schucks thanks DDR1 i try, most days i cant even say my name but once in a blue i can come up with a couple words that make sense ... :) cheers Keep 'em Rollin'
OMG, we 100% rebelled against the Dragon Lance modules. We all were reading and loved the books but hated playing the characters, the limits of the world, and the railroad feel of playing out the story. No one wanted to play a cleric under the best of circumstances, nevermind one with no spells.
I never read the books until just last summer (!) but I do remember the short story that appeared in Dragon #83. I thought the world seemed really interesting and so different, which intrigued me, but I never played or ran the modules myself, despite owning them since the 80's!
@@daddyrolleda1 We were very excited to play in and explore the world. We were not keen on just following the existing story as the characters. The currency really pissed us off too if I recall. I'm laughing at how heated we were like our DM was assaulting us. If I recall correctly he was calm and was like, "ok we can do something else."
Read the first 2 trilogies as they came out, and loved them. Never felt any need to read any further books in the world, however. I was vaguely aware that there were adventures to go with the novels, but I never bought modules so I had no idea what they were like. At some point later on, I found out how the Dragonlance adventures were structured, and my main thought was “why would anyone want to play these? You don’t get to play your own characters!”
we read the books but gave up on the modules when Fewmaster Toade avoided certain death with plot immunity. I am a fan of the world moving on on its own, but affected by the actions/inaction of the PC's., and not a fan of quantum ogres.
I feel like you always do a good job do I rarely feel the need to comment but as a fellow vinyl user I had been looking for new pressing of my favorite albums. My turntable cannot preload albums so I don't get to use them in games as often as I want. I hope you daughter had a good birthday.
Great video Martin! I too used to think I had to come up with a big story and somehow steer the ship for everyone but being flexible and LISTENING to players makes it way easier. I also went back to Moldvay with all my 4e/5e knowledge and strip things down to simple die rolls. Keep it moving and let the players fill in the colors.
Great video as usual! I loved you showing your notes. I always find that very personal, also: fantastic notes, so orderly and tidy! I can only wish… I am a bit younger than you, in my late 30s now, and I have been playing d&d and dming for about 25 years now. Started in the late 90s and played a bit of advanced before moving on to 3rd edition in 2002. I feel like this is a question that has been asked millions of times over the last two decades. I love how this question never dies. It never gets old. It always comes back with each new generation of players; just like the “which one is the best ttrpg system?” And Just like with the age old question, “what makes a great musician/athlete/actor etc… the best?”, determining what skill is the most important for a good dm is an impossible task, because people seek to get different things from entertainment, and there are way too many social and environmental factors involved. Who is the better director? Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch, Akira Kurosawa, or Stanley Kubrick? It depends, and if you are into movies you have probably enjoyed and preferred each one of them at different times. Being a good referee, being a great storyteller, being able to build amazing, engaging and fun encounters, having a masterful sense of pacing, being creative, being able to master different forms of story development, how much synergy there is between game system, setting and DMing style. the quality of the plot matrix they can build, being great at worldbuildind… great improv skills, voice acting skills, listening to your players and helping them shine, great musical choices and timing for the changes in music… the list is endless. But while on the subject of what makes a good dm: I do not have twitter or other socials, but if I had, I would have loved to vote for another option: awareness. My two cents is that a Dungeon Master is an entertainer, and the rule in the world of entertainment is that there are no rules. But you certainly have to be aware of the audience you have and who you wish to attract. You need the right game for the right people. Dizzy Gillespie and Eminem are both great artists and masters at their craft in their respective fields, but while there may be some people who are into both, they have for the major part different audiences. So, while I said I don’t think there’s a right answer, if I had to pick one, it would probably be awareness; on a personal, social and environmental level. A game master needs awareness, that’s the only real thing they can’t lack. Personal awareness to understand when he’s being too self centered, or too stubborn, or unprepared. Social awareness to be able to understand his players, the general vibe at the table, and the social skills to resolve any sort of bad blood at the table. Environmental awareness to understand that based on the people, the place, the time, the frequency of games, different styles of campaigns and different systems can work better or worse. Just like you can be all sorts of movie director, but if you are not good at managing and allocating time and resources your movie is not gonna work out, the same rule applies to DMing. I remember the first time I saw acquisitions incorporated, I thought Chris Perkins was out of his mind for the way he directed his game, but as I got older, I started to understand a lot of what he did back then was catered towards the live audience they had at PAX, and playing that campaign the way I play with my long time friends would have been extremely boring for the spectators. I had never seen a d&d game with an actual audience before that, and I now realise many of his and his adventurers’ group choices. The same can be said for Matt mercer and critical role, or the professor at dungeon craft, I recently played with a guy who was really into pirate Borg and he had the most bizarre dming style, quirky and fun, very rough around the edges, perfect for the system and the setting. Thank you for your amazing videos, and sorry for the long comment, I love talking about dming, and see this hobby of ours grow and get bigger and better as time moves forward. If you managed to arrive at the end of this wall of text, kudos! Excelsior!
While I really like your history videos, the campaign prep/dming videos are also a nice treat, especially after a long string of deep history dumps. I’m a big fan of rum old fashioneds!
Thank you so much for saying this! I love making my DM Advice videos but yes, I think I kind of got pigeon-holed as the "D&D History Guy" and while I do love making those, too, I feel like at a certain point, the history starts to get so niche that it's not as broadly appealing. Rum Old Fashioneds are delicious! I also like them with Mezcal. Thanks as always for watching and commenting, and for your support of the channel. Cheers!
I have just discovered Some ghouls are bigger than others Some ghouls are bigger than others Some ghoul's hit dice are bigger than other ghoul's hit dice 🎸🎶🎸🎶
That's definitely a good one! It is very important - I've had quite a few DMs who didn't do that and instead tried to push us to do things we didn't want to do, and those games ended up falling apart. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I haven't finished the video yet, but I feel like I need to make a comment on the twitter poll. Telling a story is for my players to do, not me. I provide a world and a set of rules with which to interact with said world. If telling a "story" is my prime job as a GM/referee, I should just write a novel instead. I don't like railroads as a GM or player; railroads are necessitated with a long overarching story.
That is definitely a viewpoint that many of my Twitter followers commented (the exact same thing about "writing a novel" which is something I've said myself before) once they saw that "Tell a Great Story" was "winning" the poll. When you get a chance to go through the rest of the video, I talk about how my "story" evolves naturally from the player's actions and interactions with the world, and I string them together so it *seems* like a story (one player even thought I'd written it out ahead of time, which I hadn't) but it's all just me reacting to what they are doing, and the story emerges from that. So, yes, I agree with you. But I know a lot of folks like to script things out for whatever reason. Thanks for commenting, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the video when you get a chance to finish.
Just got around to finishing it. once again, a fantastic listen. Even though we share the same DM/GM philosophy, it's always great to hear new things that come up. When you were describing the guitar busking, I was thinking of a very similar system.
I have the first album on cassette and I think I upgraded also to CD when that was a thing. I'm a huge New Order fan, so getting an album that had Bernard Sumner, Johnny Marr, and guest vocals by Neil Tennant was HUGE! I was a big fan of their song on the "Cool World" soundtrack as well.
Great video! Open world hex based crawl classic adventure gaming FTW. The players and their choices ARE the story. Freedom is paramount. The players can literally do anything. They are not the center of the world, but they are the center of the game. The DM sets up the world and the players go into it with their own goals. The players actions and the DMs reactions drive the plot of the game.
I discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago. I'm French, and Dungeons and Dragons helped me improve my English skills because, at one point, TSR had decided to stop translating AD&D in French (around 1987 or 1988, If my memory is good.) I've been playing (dming would be more accurate) for 37 seven years ( only AD&D the first and 2nd edition .) I generally prefer to create my own stories in the Forgotten Realms campain setting rather than using official modules. When I DM I like listening to the players' ideas or awes and when I consider that they can improve the story, I make ajustments to add drama or mystery to my scenario thanks to them. If I had to answer your question, I would say that the first skill of the DM is to entertain players. If everybody has fun, it's a success. Since you seem to know a lot about the origins of this wonderful game, I'd like to ask you if you have a link where Gary Gygax can be seen mastering. I've been looking for it for ages but I have never found anything except short videos that only last a couple of minutes. Congrats for all these interesting videos about D&D!
great video, i really liked hearing about the OSE campaign. sounds like a fun game! also, i think a great DM should always keep in mind that RPGs are games and they're meant to be fun for everyone involved. don't sweat the small stuff!
Great video, got me thinking. When shopping for equipment swords e,g, Have random events, just story type events mainly, "your visit to the market was very enjoyable, reduce your costs by 10%." Events could be worse like pickpockets, rolls could be made in such cases.
I think it’s less a skill and more of an attitude. You clearly have a passion and enthusiasm for the game that your players probably feel. Your energy and interest keep them coming back for more adventures.
@@daddyrolleda1 Do you remember a module that involved travelling back in time to Blackmoor? I can't remember if it was set in Greyhawk or Mystara. I played in the adventure and it was DMed by a friend who is sadly no longer with us. I'm just trying to recall the name of it - I remember starting the game in a house (or an Inn) and we couldn't leave it easily. There may have been relics in it from the future as well. I think it is pretty high level. You seemed to be able to travel from era to era in Blackmoor ( I may be wrong).
I'm not 100% certain, but I think you may be talking about the DA series of modules (DA1-4): www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17125/DA1-Adventures-in-Blackmoor-Basic I sadly never picked these up when I had a chance, so I'm not super familiar with them. Does it sound familiar?
I commented this on the X poll "be a clockwork god" but didn't expand on it. Make the world at a macro-level, but at the table, the micro-level, the GM should only react to dice rolls and PC actions. For dice rolls I mean something like the following: interaction with NPCs with reaction rolls, conflict with factions roll tables, item availability roll tables, and encounter/monster tables. Creating tables should be tailored to the world, mainly the local area, and be made at macro-level prep stage.
Ah, yes! I remember that comment! Thanks for adding more context here. Totally makes sense. I really appreciate you interacting and engaging on both platforms. Thank you!
A DM only has three responsibilities: 1) Present the game world and all the people, places, and things in it; 2) Present challenges to the PCs; 3) adjudicate the rules. Nothing more. It is not the DMs job to tell a story or to make fun. This is a group sport, and the players are responsible for their own fun. You get out of the game what you put into it.
Whoo hoo! New video! Can’t wait to watch. Just FYI I had to make a new FB account. I sent a friend request from it. It’s my last and first name reversed. It is legit me. I have the TSR wizard as a profile pic.
Ah! Here's your comment! Yes, for whatever reason, the UA-cam settings don't show me replies to comments so it's a manual thing in their interface for me to remember to go back and check them. My friend still has his original collection in his house and 99% of his store inventory is stuff he's picked up at estate sales and/or stuff he's ordered. He used to be focused on used stuff and mostly jazz, but the market has dictated a higher percentage of her records (which of course have just the slimmest of margins) and also a shift toward more rock. His jazz section is still pretty decent and he's an Official Blue Note dealer, but it's still not what he wanted it to be.
Agree with DRa1, for games I DM I prefer the story to emerge from the gameplay rather than from my predetermined story. I feel this gives the players real agency, which for me is the whole point of playing an rpg, the choices of the players should directly affect what happens in the world. This also has the side benefit of making the sessions as interesting for me as the players, I'm never sure what's going to happen next! I can plan the next session or two, but there's always the chance (and it happens regularly!) that the players do something I really wasn't expecting and it's fun to run with that. My group started the Dragonlance modules back in the day and hated it, it felt incredibly restricting to have to play pre-gens we had no attachment to, and follow a plot that seemed impervious to player action, dead after 3 sessions. I much prefer the zero to hero old school way, where characters start basic (no need for a 4 page essay about your upbringing!) and gain character as they adventure and gain levels and power, stops players feeling too bad if their character is killed at low levels (much more likely in old school) while giving them a strong connection once their character has made it through a few sessions. However DRa1 may be underplaying his storytelling chops, adding the mutant goblins is a great example of storybuilding in your gameworld, a lesser DM might have just left the goblins the same (minus an alchemist and lab!) when the party returned.
well, i used to plan out everything as a gm, main story, side stories, intrigues, wars and conflicts out several sessions in advance - turns out, i have come to honestly not need more than just a good setup and a fine first session and some notes on what they could encounter in the future - i don't think i am the best game master but i am learning all the time since i ran my first adventure and to now, a big difference i hope for my players in the last 25 years of gm'ing
I believe one thing that gets overlooked is in my opinion it’s everyone playing, meaning it’s not the DM’s game or Players game, it’s everyone’s and I mean by that is there has to be give and take. The story is very important but we can’t just have the DM run the story that’s it, nothing else, do it or die type. Lots of DM’s are very crunchy and want things done their way. I think there has to be conversation on what everyone enjoys and lets the game flow, that’s what I try to do. I do have certain rules that I stand by but I think for everyone to enjoy D&D the DM needs to listen to their players and adjust accordingly
Absolutely! I think they saw the potential of supplements (similar to new card sets) selling like hotcakes to players who wanted more and more options to "build" their characters, and that's why the design for 3E was so different from what had come before.
The rules lighter systems have definitely allowed me to run a smoother faster game. My players, especially those who have played 3.5 -5, are still a little stuck on relying on their character sheet to tell them what they can do instead of just asking to do something.
"Playing your sheet" is a pretty common occurrence among players in the 3E/4E/5E era (including stuff like Pathfinder). I was going to use 5E for my daughter's group, but I'm so glad I stuck with my gut to run B/X for them, as those sheets are so minimal that they only look at them when I ask them to make a saving throw or to subtract hit points, etc. Otherwise, they pretty much do what you said at the end - they ask me "Can I do this?" and then I say either "Yes" or "Yes, but you need to roll for success" or "Yes, but you need to roll for success and if you fail there will be a negative consequence" (a worse consequence than just "I failed the roll"). Thanks for watching and commenting, and for your support of the channel.
listening to the players and being very flexible!!😉👍 unfortunately I am none of those and while flexible, with myself...I care less about the players wishes and care more about the game I am playing and try to get players to be more flexible in ACCEPTING my game!!😉😁😏
I can definitely be a challenge, especially when as the DM you've put a lot of time, effort, and creativity into planning things out. I had that problem in a long-running 3E game of mine (that's technically still going) and now I've decided that doesn't work for me any more. I don't plan any farther ahead than the next session. I create relationships between people and events that have happened in previous sessions to make it look like I had that planned all along, when really all I'm doing is tying things together that the players thought of. They think it's brilliant and have no idea that the "story" was created by their actions, not pre-planned in advance!
Pretty sure there's rules for busking in the 2e bard book, too. As far as style differences you mentioned, I feel like it's less pronounced. Like regarding starting level - I think pretty much all of PF1 APs start you at 1, just locals or travelers getting swept up in events. Meanwhile, GDQ (the first adventure path?) starts you at level 9. And GDQ definitely has mystery and a story unfolding over time. It might be a little more fill in the blanks and dependant on exploration and so on than what comes out today, but it's there. And newer things I've played (mainly PF or FFG Star Wars since I don't touch WotC) have side treks and red herrings and sidebars of 'what if the players do this'.
We play mostly in Home Grown campaigns, so since it is his world there are no books for it unless he has written it out. That being said, we enjoy being his players because of the story that unfolds as we make our way through the world. So "Story Telling" to me is not really accurate. I think it is more of story describing and incorporating into the world and what is going on. He also has to react to the things that we do or come up with in response to the situations. We recently had a TPK because my character died and my new character's backstory revolved around his job of protecting a portal to the Faewild. He allowed the backstory to exist like I said it, but added that monstrosities had been coming out of the portal because it was not stable over the last year (which fit into the main story arc) and was jumping to a different "world" and I had been defending the few things coming through. When the players teleported near my camp, they found me fighting (and over my head) with creatures. They decided to help. Well one player's character was knocked unconsciousness and taken into the portal...where we all wound up going in to save him...and all died trying. That type of sideline to his campaign totally derailed about a year's worth of work toward our goal of ending the bad guy's terror. The new campaign will start 50 years into the future and all of the bad stuff that was going to happen if we failed did...now what are we going to do? Well that is up to us and up to him to let that story happen and incorporate it into what's happening in the world. To me, that is the DM's job. Again, great, insightful video! Can't wait to get my books. I usually get stuff like that and give it to my son who can then blend it into his campaigns.
Yes! The files are done and I am literally right now trying to figure out how to upload them to DriveThruRPG for fulfillment. I've never done this before and I have a lot of moving pieces with the different versions (parchment background, plaint white background, PDF only, POD softcover, POD hardcover) and it's very confusing to me how to upload them. I just sent an email to publisher support a few minutes ago and am waiting for their response. The short answer is "soon" - everything's done and I just need to upload it!
I am a fan of telling a good story as a GM. However, it is important to note that a good storytelling GM is not telling a prewritten story. Rather they are letting the players enter a situation, decide on thier actions and use this to create a story (driven by the PCs, not some pre ordained script). Also note that this story is collaboratively created, it's not 99% the GM I was a fan of the Dragonlance novels but disliked the modules as they felt like forced story. Although, it can be fun to play them if you accept that they are more like a choose your own adventure module.
that bit you read from Dragonlance sort of says it all. While I wouldn't go as far as saying it wasn't D&D... I would say it is a VERY different game from what we first learned to play, much less what Hasbro has done it in its later editions which my opinions are far more 'unproductive' thus not worth expressing. In how we learned to play to play Martin and in that .. yes the DM needed to be a great storyteller for we didn't have have predestinated events and plots. Role playing and problem solving were king, not power gaming murder hobos like today's game has evolved. The events, adventures and settings were far more bare boned and open ended and we as DM's lived and thrived in using our quick wits and imaginations for the players of our group and creating memorable gaming sessions were the DM was the star, not some fantasy writer who wrote some adventure plot and damn it man.. you WERE going to follow it haha
I agree with that, as you probably heard in the video. I feel the players take actions based on challenges I designed for them, and then I narrate the results of their actions which helps to create a story.
Rules, adjudicating & Conflict Designer IS the Answer. Storytelling is the Table's Responsibility. Everyone that Put the Story on the DM is Flat out Wrong. And quite frankly, you don't want those players anyways. Same type of player that will sit there & do nothing, expect to be entertained or complain that the DM is railroading them.
Around 1981 to 1986. My dad's work transferred us there from Reno, and then in 1986 transferred us here to Southern California, where I've been ever since.
@@agilemonk6305 Do you find that fun and exciting? If you could pick one place you'd want to live of all the places you've been, where would it be? We lived in Sandy when I lived there. My dad worked for an oil company and they kept moving him all throughout the Pacific and Mountain states based on his niche job skills and where they needed him. I recall at one point, I went to different 4 schools in five years, and three of those were in my high school years. It was kind of rough always being the new kid.
I think a lot of the pushback on “Being A Good Storyteller” comes from the OSR community and their tendency to sort of stereotype the way D&D was played back in the day based on their own experiences, which tended to not be very sophisticated as they were still kids when they were running the game. There were plenty of story heavy games out there (just look at Blackmoor!), but they were taking place among older players. Same is true for people playing fantasy races, some of them originally monsters. Very common in the early days but yet the OSR people act like it wasn’t invented until 3e. I think I agree that being a good storyteller is an important DM skill, but that D&D is a different type of story than something like a novel. Since it’s interactive, the DM needs to focus on fleshing out the world and NPCs in order to give the players lots to interact with, rather than trying to make a big epic plot. I guess another DM skill is also managing players which is arguably the most important aspect of the game. Getting everyone involved to come together and have a good time is key, otherwise you are not really gaming… and the ability to do so successfully is what makes certain DMs better than others really. The only wrong way to play D&D is to not have fun doing it.
Listening - telling a great story is subjective. What if your stories absolutely fantastic but I don't like Shakespeare? Am I going to have fun at your game? No. I might say your story skills are fantastic but this is not the type of story I'm interested in can we please get some Conan. Rulings is well you have to compromise and do things that your players see fare as well. Table talk is your best friend as a dungeon master. Talking with your players encouraging talk letting them explore the story what ifs that they bring or what they think is going on even though it's not That's where they're fun is. Listen to your players and provide them with the things that they seem excited about. Listen to how they believe rules work. Listen to the desires listen to their interpretation of your clues and run with those. Listen to your players and you will provide them with the story they want and no matter how poorly you may think the story is, they're going to have fun and you're all going to participate in a great tale.
The title says "number 1 skill" but you go on to say number 1 job. The prior would be improvisation while the latter would be to tee up good story options for the players to latch onto. You don't tell a story as much as you run a world where the players can tell a story.
That's true - I think I used "job" and "skill" interchangeably, but shouldn't have. Thanks for your thoughts - all good points! And thanks for watching and commenting!
I think a lot of people fundamentally misunderstand the 5e design philosophy (not entirely their fault as the system doesn't communicate this well), but because it was a huge step back in complexity from 3.x/4e the system actually shines with more rulings and adjudications, but many players mistakenly think that the rules are intended to be more comprehensive than they are, which to be fair is a problem that D&D has had since AD&D at least.
I disagree, I didn't see a 5e adventure made like the dragonlance modules. There's often a chain of locations, not a chain of events. It changes everything. You have to go take the McGuffin, but the events are not scripted, you don't have to make NPCs survive so they can betray the players next time, encounters are not scripted so the players have to be taken prisoners... Really not the best comparison.
Tell a Great Story is bullshit. The correct answer is negotiating the game quickly, painting a picture, improvisation and adaptation. The story _emerges_ out of those things. Fairness is also a bad take from the comments. If the characters do something absolutely stupid and don't expect to be punished out of "fairness" - they're not playing D&D. They're playing I want to Win Story Time with Dice.
I feel like you always do a good job do I rarely feel the need to comment but as a fellow vinyl user I had been looking for new pressing of my favorite albums. My turntable cannot preload albums so I don't get to use them in games as often as I want. I hope you daughter had a good birthday.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting! I really appreciate it and thanks for letting me know you enjoy my videos even if you don't always comment. I use Spotify playlists when I run the game for my daughter and her friends, mostly using sound-effects and "RPG Atmosphere" stuff by Michael Ghelfi, versus actual songs. It seems to work great and I have gotten into a pattern where I can usually predict with decent accuracy how long they might take to do something before switching to the next sound effect. But I can also easily pause, forward, or rewind on my phone (I stream it through a Move speaker).
There’s a balance between presenting interesting content for the players to interact with and giving the players their agency to unfold the scene around them.
Happy Birthday to Daughter Rolled a One!
I appreciate that! Thank you so much!
@@daddyrolleda1 loving the group pictures Martin. Not sure if you have posted them before. If so I hadn't seen them as I usually put your videos on and listen more than watch. Give her a big Happy B-day hug Martin. I had 2 daughters and they've grown and left the nest and the pics did bring my some incredibly fond memories of playing D&D with them. The crazy things young ladies can think of when role playing.. had me rolling on the floor laughing at times. Don't think that was an option for the poll for DM's but hey. DM's need to have fun as much as the players do!
So glad you enjoyed them! This is probably the most pictures I've shown of the group in a single video, but I've showed a few before from time to time. So cool that you also played D&D with your kids! I am not really looking to my daughter growing up and leaving the nest, but I know it's going to happen so I just have to prepare myself. 🙂 Thanks for watching and commenting!
Thanks for calling out these differences - so many people still have no idea how things worked in the past versus the current. Having had a separate experience with Gygax and Arneson, and how uniquely they handled their games and built and designed their “module” approaches, continue to give me old memories that I enjoy relating to how we operate today. ❤
I truly appreciate your support of this video! My "DM Advice" videos always generate far less interest than my "D&D History" videos and this one is no exception - it's ranking 10 out of 10 in terms of views. But, I enjoy making it and my hope is that it helps folks who are perhaps new to the game, but I also think it's important even for experienced DMs to keep their skills fresh.
I'm so glad you enjoyed the video, and once again I really appreciate your support. Cheers!
Thanks for the video! I, too, am an old school DM who believes story is a byproduct of gameplay. We play the game and whatever transpires becomes the story of that game. I missed the poll or I would have probably added Worldbuilding as an answer / option. I think what some folks might miss is the idea that while the DM is not a Storyteller, in my style of DMing, he does create a world full of story elements, nouns (persons, places, and things), and the nouns have verbs tied to them, the places and things have adjectives. NPCs have things they plan to do and unless PCs get in the way, those things will often come to pass. The world exists and is not static. Now, of course, a DM only has so much time to devote to even be thinking about their setting, so there are limits. Call me Old Fashioned. Cheers!
Glad you enjoyed this! It's my lowest performing video of the last 10. I guess people just want more and more history and less DM Advice! 😀 So, thanks for watching. And, I do get your point about Worldbuilding. Totally makes sense. Thanks!
As a father of a teen-age daughter whom I also introduced to Dungeon & Dragons, I wish your daughter a Happy Birthday.
One thing I have found useful to help keep things moving is if a rule needs to be looked up, designate 1 of the players at the session to be the rule-looker-upper so you as the DM are able to keep going and not have to stop and look something up.
I don't know if it comes down to only one skill, but I'd say portraying the game world with verisimilitude is the most important for me. If the job of the players is to do what their characters would do, then the job of the dungeon master is to do what everything else in the world would do. And that's not just about motivations, it's ensuring that fearsome threats are truly dangerous and respond in an accurate manner. I don't know if you'd call it logical, but players that know they're in an environment that responds appropriately to their actions will feel like they truly inhabit it. Providing a living, breathing World from which story emerges is essential to the job.
Really great thoughts - thanks for sharing! I love hearing about other peoples' priorities, and I do think this is a good one. As you said, I don't think there's any one single thing but a combination.
Thanks for watching and sharing!
@@daddyrolleda1 no problem, really enjoying the content, especially anything to do with 2E or FASERIP.
Happy birthday,, Daughter Rolled a One!
I really appreciate that. Thank you so much! Mom is gone at a work event tonight and "Daughter Rolled A 1" is making me dinner, despite me telling her multiple times that I would help. She's capable... I just feel guilty!
Over the decades much has changed. Looking back, improvisation.
Not being the best at it. Simply willing to do so when the need arises.
Saw many that thought they could prep and anticipate what the kittens will do.
No one, not I or you can really know what the players will do.
Willing and ready to roll with anything is by far the crucial factor in ttrpgs. On both sides of the screen.
Yes definitely - a few folks who answered the poll selected "Other" and then said "Flexibility" or "Adaptability" which I think fits what you're saying.
Thank you for watching and commenting!
Players casting spells because they only read the name and have no idea what it does is a tale as old as time! Back in 1988, a cute girl at camp told me "Listen to this song." and put her Walkman headphones on me. "Girlfriend in a Coma" blew me away and I didn't even ask her name. I'm still in love with The Smiths.
Happy birthday to your little girl. I started playing 5e with my kids when my son when was 12, he wanted to just fight monsters, my daughter was 9, she wanted pets and to shop.
Haha! So funny! Thanks for sharing this, and for watching. And, thanks for the birthday wishes for my daughter. Cheers!
I could listen to you ralk ahout paint drying rates. ❤
hahahah... so true yeah. I've made that comment to Martin before. He has a very soothing kind of voice. His videos are wonderful for evenings to just wind down. A bottle of wine and a Daddy Rolled A One video and all is good in the world. I suppose Martin never sang in a band.. one of my favorite comments for some singers is they could be singing the Yellow Pages and you'd still be enthalled. I mean.. Paul McCartney... don't tell me he couldn't make you swoon by reading off names out of the phone book
The DM is a party host. 1st they're throwing a party because they want to have fun with the guests. They decide on a theme if any. They take into account the tastes and needs of their guest, but not every party is for everyone.
That's a really great analogy! I like it! (And, thanks for the multiple comments - I really does help the channel).
@@daddyrolleda1 I shall ramble on!
in my humble opinion, DMs tend to focus on their obligation not their most important skill is.... to have fun, yes for the DM that means a bit of work compared to the players but the bottom line is have fun, whatever fun it is at your table. For me i have fun prepping for games, and then it culminates when i see my players have fun. That in and of itself is a skill, not easy for some and very detailed for others, but no matter, have fun create a fun atmosphere for your table, if that means telling story or leading the game smoothly or knowing the mechanics well, whatever it is.... have fun, smile and play play play!
I like this comment a lot! Thanks for watching and commenting!
So many people commented on my poll and said "have fun" but I like the way you articulated it and added details. Thanks!
@@daddyrolleda1 awe schucks thanks DDR1 i try, most days i cant even say my name but once in a blue i can come up with a couple words that make sense ... :) cheers Keep 'em Rollin'
OMG, we 100% rebelled against the Dragon Lance modules. We all were reading and loved the books but hated playing the characters, the limits of the world, and the railroad feel of playing out the story. No one wanted to play a cleric under the best of circumstances, nevermind one with no spells.
I never read the books until just last summer (!) but I do remember the short story that appeared in Dragon #83. I thought the world seemed really interesting and so different, which intrigued me, but I never played or ran the modules myself, despite owning them since the 80's!
@@daddyrolleda1 We were very excited to play in and explore the world. We were not keen on just following the existing story as the characters. The currency really pissed us off too if I recall. I'm laughing at how heated we were like our DM was assaulting us. If I recall correctly he was calm and was like, "ok we can do something else."
Read the first 2 trilogies as they came out, and loved them. Never felt any need to read any further books in the world, however.
I was vaguely aware that there were adventures to go with the novels, but I never bought modules so I had no idea what they were like. At some point later on, I found out how the Dragonlance adventures were structured, and my main thought was “why would anyone want to play these? You don’t get to play your own characters!”
we read the books but gave up on the modules when Fewmaster Toade avoided certain death with plot immunity.
I am a fan of the world moving on on its own, but affected by the actions/inaction of the PC's., and not a fan of quantum ogres.
@@Gwythaintny 100%.
I feel like you always do a good job do I rarely feel the need to comment but as a fellow vinyl user I had been looking for new pressing of my favorite albums. My turntable cannot preload albums so I don't get to use them in games as often as I want. I hope you daughter had a good birthday.
Stair Master Fighting Feat made me laugh. I think you train that feat at the 24-Hour Fitness Center in Waterdeep.
Glad you got a chuckle out of that! It was a spontaneous comment but I thought it made sense in the context of what I was talking about. Cheers!
Great video Martin! I too used to think I had to come up with a big story and somehow steer the ship for everyone but being flexible and LISTENING to players makes it way easier. I also went back to Moldvay with all my 4e/5e knowledge and strip things down to simple die rolls. Keep it moving and let the players fill in the colors.
Great video as usual! I loved you showing your notes. I always find that very personal, also: fantastic notes, so orderly and tidy! I can only wish…
I am a bit younger than you, in my late 30s now, and I have been playing d&d and dming for about 25 years now. Started in the late 90s and played a bit of advanced before moving on to 3rd edition in 2002. I feel like this is a question that has been asked millions of times over the last two decades.
I love how this question never dies. It never gets old. It always comes back with each new generation of players; just like the “which one is the best ttrpg system?”
And Just like with the age old question, “what makes a great musician/athlete/actor etc… the best?”, determining what skill is the most important for a good dm is an impossible task, because people seek to get different things from entertainment, and there are way too many social and environmental factors involved.
Who is the better director? Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch, Akira Kurosawa, or Stanley Kubrick? It depends, and if you are into movies you have probably enjoyed and preferred each one of them at different times.
Being a good referee, being a great storyteller, being able to build amazing, engaging and fun encounters, having a masterful sense of pacing, being creative, being able to master different forms of story development, how much synergy there is between game system, setting and DMing style. the quality of the plot matrix they can build, being great at worldbuildind… great improv skills, voice acting skills, listening to your players and helping them shine, great musical choices and timing for the changes in music… the list is endless.
But while on the subject of what makes a good dm: I do not have twitter or other socials, but if I had, I would have loved to vote for another option: awareness.
My two cents is that a Dungeon Master is an entertainer, and the rule in the world of entertainment is that there are no rules. But you certainly have to be aware of the audience you have and who you wish to attract. You need the right game for the right people.
Dizzy Gillespie and Eminem are both great artists and masters at their craft in their respective fields, but while there may be some people who are into both, they have for the major part different audiences.
So, while I said I don’t think there’s a right answer, if I had to pick one, it would probably be awareness; on a personal, social and environmental level. A game master needs awareness, that’s the only real thing they can’t lack.
Personal awareness to understand when he’s being too self centered, or too stubborn, or unprepared.
Social awareness to be able to understand his players, the general vibe at the table, and the social skills to resolve any sort of bad blood at the table.
Environmental awareness to understand that based on the people, the place, the time, the frequency of games, different styles of campaigns and different systems can work better or worse.
Just like you can be all sorts of movie director, but if you are not good at managing and allocating time and resources your movie is not gonna work out, the same rule applies to DMing.
I remember the first time I saw acquisitions incorporated, I thought Chris Perkins was out of his mind for the way he directed his game, but as I got older, I started to understand a lot of what he did back then was catered towards the live audience they had at PAX, and playing that campaign the way I play with my long time friends would have been extremely boring for the spectators. I had never seen a d&d game with an actual audience before that, and I now realise many of his and his adventurers’ group choices.
The same can be said for Matt mercer and critical role, or the professor at dungeon craft, I recently played with a guy who was really into pirate Borg and he had the most bizarre dming style, quirky and fun, very rough around the edges, perfect for the system and the setting.
Thank you for your amazing videos, and sorry for the long comment, I love talking about dming, and see this hobby of ours grow and get bigger and better as time moves forward.
If you managed to arrive at the end of this wall of text, kudos! Excelsior!
While I really like your history videos, the campaign prep/dming videos are also a nice treat, especially after a long string of deep history dumps.
I’m a big fan of rum old fashioneds!
Thank you so much for saying this! I love making my DM Advice videos but yes, I think I kind of got pigeon-holed as the "D&D History Guy" and while I do love making those, too, I feel like at a certain point, the history starts to get so niche that it's not as broadly appealing.
Rum Old Fashioneds are delicious! I also like them with Mezcal.
Thanks as always for watching and commenting, and for your support of the channel. Cheers!
I have just discovered
Some ghouls are bigger than others
Some ghouls are bigger than others
Some ghoul's hit dice are bigger than other ghoul's hit dice 🎸🎶🎸🎶
Commenting as I watch so you get a bunch. I burst out laughing at "This song rules!" Took me back!
Ah! Thanks for staying through to the end to hear that! I appreciate it!
I think the single most important trait in being a good DM is the ability to listen to your players.
That's definitely a good one! It is very important - I've had quite a few DMs who didn't do that and instead tried to push us to do things we didn't want to do, and those games ended up falling apart.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
I haven't finished the video yet, but I feel like I need to make a comment on the twitter poll.
Telling a story is for my players to do, not me. I provide a world and a set of rules with which to interact with said world. If telling a "story" is my prime job as a GM/referee, I should just write a novel instead. I don't like railroads as a GM or player; railroads are necessitated with a long overarching story.
That is definitely a viewpoint that many of my Twitter followers commented (the exact same thing about "writing a novel" which is something I've said myself before) once they saw that "Tell a Great Story" was "winning" the poll.
When you get a chance to go through the rest of the video, I talk about how my "story" evolves naturally from the player's actions and interactions with the world, and I string them together so it *seems* like a story (one player even thought I'd written it out ahead of time, which I hadn't) but it's all just me reacting to what they are doing, and the story emerges from that. So, yes, I agree with you.
But I know a lot of folks like to script things out for whatever reason.
Thanks for commenting, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the video when you get a chance to finish.
Just got around to finishing it. once again, a fantastic listen. Even though we share the same DM/GM philosophy, it's always great to hear new things that come up. When you were describing the guitar busking, I was thinking of a very similar system.
I am definitely making that cocktail by the way. Gin is my jam. Excellent record, btw.
Love this album, thanks for playing it. Johnny Marr is an underrated guitarist.
Agreed! How did you like his work with "Electronic"?
@@daddyrolleda1 i don't have any of it, didn't listen that much
I have the first album on cassette and I think I upgraded also to CD when that was a thing. I'm a huge New Order fan, so getting an album that had Bernard Sumner, Johnny Marr, and guest vocals by Neil Tennant was HUGE! I was a big fan of their song on the "Cool World" soundtrack as well.
Great video! Open world hex based crawl classic adventure gaming FTW.
The players and their choices ARE the story. Freedom is paramount. The players can literally do anything. They are not the center of the world, but they are the center of the game. The DM sets up the world and the players go into it with their own goals. The players actions and the DMs reactions drive the plot of the game.
I discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago. I'm French, and Dungeons and Dragons helped me improve my English skills because, at one point, TSR had decided to stop translating AD&D in French (around 1987 or 1988, If my memory is good.) I've been playing (dming would be more accurate) for 37 seven years ( only AD&D the first and 2nd edition .)
I generally prefer to create my own stories in the Forgotten Realms campain setting rather than using official modules. When I DM I like listening to the players' ideas or awes and when I consider that they can improve the story, I make ajustments to add drama or mystery to my scenario thanks to them.
If I had to answer your question, I would say that the first skill of the DM is to entertain players. If everybody has fun, it's a success.
Since you seem to know a lot about the origins of this wonderful game, I'd like to ask you if you have a link where Gary Gygax can be seen mastering. I've been looking for it for ages but I have never found anything except short videos that only last a couple of minutes.
Congrats for all these interesting videos about D&D!
great video, i really liked hearing about the OSE campaign. sounds like a fun game! also, i think a great DM should always keep in mind that RPGs are games and they're meant to be fun for everyone involved. don't sweat the small stuff!
Thanks!
I am so sorry I missed this, but thank you so much! Your support of the channel is very much appreciated. Cheers, my friend.
Woot. A new video from Brother Martin. Listening now. ❤
Hope you enjoy it! Thanks so much for watching (listening)! Cheers!
Great video, got me thinking. When shopping for equipment swords e,g,
Have random events, just story type events mainly, "your visit to the market was very enjoyable, reduce your costs by 10%."
Events could be worse like pickpockets, rolls could be made in such cases.
That's exactly the kind of stuff I like to do! Great ideas.
Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers!
I think it’s less a skill and more of an attitude. You clearly have a passion and enthusiasm for the game that your players probably feel. Your energy and interest keep them coming back for more adventures.
I like that - more of an attitude! Thanks for watching and commenting, and I appreciate the compliment on my DM style. Cheers!
@@daddyrolleda1 Do you remember a module that involved travelling back in time to Blackmoor? I can't remember if it was set in Greyhawk or Mystara. I played in the adventure and it was DMed by a friend who is sadly no longer with us. I'm just trying to recall the name of it - I remember starting the game in a house (or an Inn) and we couldn't leave it easily. There may have been relics in it from the future as well. I think it is pretty high level. You seemed to be able to travel from era to era in Blackmoor ( I may be wrong).
I'm not 100% certain, but I think you may be talking about the DA series of modules (DA1-4): www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/17125/DA1-Adventures-in-Blackmoor-Basic
I sadly never picked these up when I had a chance, so I'm not super familiar with them. Does it sound familiar?
@@daddyrolleda1 thanks, I’ll check this out.
I like this episode. Great work
I commented this on the X poll "be a clockwork god" but didn't expand on it. Make the world at a macro-level, but at the table, the micro-level, the GM should only react to dice rolls and PC actions. For dice rolls I mean something like the following: interaction with NPCs with reaction rolls, conflict with factions roll tables, item availability roll tables, and encounter/monster tables. Creating tables should be tailored to the world, mainly the local area, and be made at macro-level prep stage.
Ah, yes! I remember that comment! Thanks for adding more context here. Totally makes sense.
I really appreciate you interacting and engaging on both platforms. Thank you!
You've inspired me to create a Stairmaster Fighter!
Thanks for getting that joke. But it seems like it could be a thing, right?
@@daddyrolleda1 in the right campaign, definitely! 😆
A DM only has three responsibilities: 1) Present the game world and all the people, places, and things in it; 2) Present challenges to the PCs; 3) adjudicate the rules. Nothing more. It is not the DMs job to tell a story or to make fun. This is a group sport, and the players are responsible for their own fun. You get out of the game what you put into it.
Completely agree about the fun part.
Whoo hoo! New video! Can’t wait to watch. Just FYI I had to make a new FB account. I sent a friend request from it. It’s my last and first name reversed. It is legit me. I have the TSR wizard as a profile pic.
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I really appreciate your support every time. It means so much. And I will go check FB right now - thanks for the heads-up!
@@daddyrolleda1whoo hoo! My record collection is famous. I could never own a record store though. I’d keep too many albums for myself. 😂
Ah! Here's your comment! Yes, for whatever reason, the UA-cam settings don't show me replies to comments so it's a manual thing in their interface for me to remember to go back and check them.
My friend still has his original collection in his house and 99% of his store inventory is stuff he's picked up at estate sales and/or stuff he's ordered. He used to be focused on used stuff and mostly jazz, but the market has dictated a higher percentage of her records (which of course have just the slimmest of margins) and also a shift toward more rock. His jazz section is still pretty decent and he's an Official Blue Note dealer, but it's still not what he wanted it to be.
Agree with DRa1, for games I DM I prefer the story to emerge from the gameplay rather than from my predetermined story. I feel this gives the players real agency, which for me is the whole point of playing an rpg, the choices of the players should directly affect what happens in the world. This also has the side benefit of making the sessions as interesting for me as the players, I'm never sure what's going to happen next!
I can plan the next session or two, but there's always the chance (and it happens regularly!) that the players do something I really wasn't expecting and it's fun to run with that.
My group started the Dragonlance modules back in the day and hated it, it felt incredibly restricting to have to play pre-gens we had no attachment to, and follow a plot that seemed impervious to player action, dead after 3 sessions.
I much prefer the zero to hero old school way, where characters start basic (no need for a 4 page essay about your upbringing!) and gain character as they adventure and gain levels and power, stops players feeling too bad if their character is killed at low levels (much more likely in old school) while giving them a strong connection once their character has made it through a few sessions.
However DRa1 may be underplaying his storytelling chops, adding the mutant goblins is a great example of storybuilding in your gameworld, a lesser DM might have just left the goblins the same (minus an alchemist and lab!) when the party returned.
well, i used to plan out everything as a gm, main story, side stories, intrigues, wars and conflicts out several sessions in advance - turns out, i have come to honestly not need more than just a good setup and a fine first session and some notes on what they could encounter in the future - i don't think i am the best game master but i am learning all the time since i ran my first adventure and to now, a big difference i hope for my players in the last 25 years of gm'ing
I believe one thing that gets overlooked is in my opinion it’s everyone playing, meaning it’s not the DM’s game or Players game, it’s everyone’s and I mean by that is there has to be give and take. The story is very important but we can’t just have the DM run the story that’s it, nothing else, do it or die type. Lots of DM’s are very crunchy and want things done their way. I think there has to be conversation on what everyone enjoys and lets the game flow, that’s what I try to do. I do have certain rules that I stand by but I think for everyone to enjoy D&D the DM needs to listen to their players and adjust accordingly
Its no surprise to me that D&D became more deck builder style after being bought by the company behind Magic the Gathering.
Absolutely! I think they saw the potential of supplements (similar to new card sets) selling like hotcakes to players who wanted more and more options to "build" their characters, and that's why the design for 3E was so different from what had come before.
The rules lighter systems have definitely allowed me to run a smoother faster game. My players, especially those who have played 3.5 -5, are still a little stuck on relying on their character sheet to tell them what they can do instead of just asking to do something.
"Playing your sheet" is a pretty common occurrence among players in the 3E/4E/5E era (including stuff like Pathfinder). I was going to use 5E for my daughter's group, but I'm so glad I stuck with my gut to run B/X for them, as those sheets are so minimal that they only look at them when I ask them to make a saving throw or to subtract hit points, etc. Otherwise, they pretty much do what you said at the end - they ask me "Can I do this?" and then I say either "Yes" or "Yes, but you need to roll for success" or "Yes, but you need to roll for success and if you fail there will be a negative consequence" (a worse consequence than just "I failed the roll").
Thanks for watching and commenting, and for your support of the channel.
listening to the players and being very flexible!!😉👍
unfortunately I am none of those and while flexible, with myself...I care less about the players wishes and care more about the game I am playing and try to get players to be more flexible in ACCEPTING my game!!😉😁😏
I can definitely be a challenge, especially when as the DM you've put a lot of time, effort, and creativity into planning things out. I had that problem in a long-running 3E game of mine (that's technically still going) and now I've decided that doesn't work for me any more. I don't plan any farther ahead than the next session. I create relationships between people and events that have happened in previous sessions to make it look like I had that planned all along, when really all I'm doing is tying things together that the players thought of. They think it's brilliant and have no idea that the "story" was created by their actions, not pre-planned in advance!
Pretty sure there's rules for busking in the 2e bard book, too.
As far as style differences you mentioned, I feel like it's less pronounced. Like regarding starting level - I think pretty much all of PF1 APs start you at 1, just locals or travelers getting swept up in events. Meanwhile, GDQ (the first adventure path?) starts you at level 9. And GDQ definitely has mystery and a story unfolding over time. It might be a little more fill in the blanks and dependant on exploration and so on than what comes out today, but it's there. And newer things I've played (mainly PF or FFG Star Wars since I don't touch WotC) have side treks and red herrings and sidebars of 'what if the players do this'.
Fairness
Definitely a key skill to have!
#1 skill is to help the players tell THEIR story, not the DMs story.
Yes, agreed! Thanks for watching and commenting.
you know one of the things uou learn when writting a screenplay is that the story is set up and determined after the first 5 pages
We play mostly in Home Grown campaigns, so since it is his world there are no books for it unless he has written it out. That being said, we enjoy being his players because of the story that unfolds as we make our way through the world. So "Story Telling" to me is not really accurate. I think it is more of story describing and incorporating into the world and what is going on.
He also has to react to the things that we do or come up with in response to the situations. We recently had a TPK because my character died and my new character's backstory revolved around his job of protecting a portal to the Faewild. He allowed the backstory to exist like I said it, but added that monstrosities had been coming out of the portal because it was not stable over the last year (which fit into the main story arc) and was jumping to a different "world" and I had been defending the few things coming through. When the players teleported near my camp, they found me fighting (and over my head) with creatures. They decided to help. Well one player's character was knocked unconsciousness and taken into the portal...where we all wound up going in to save him...and all died trying.
That type of sideline to his campaign totally derailed about a year's worth of work toward our goal of ending the bad guy's terror.
The new campaign will start 50 years into the future and all of the bad stuff that was going to happen if we failed did...now what are we going to do? Well that is up to us and up to him to let that story happen and incorporate it into what's happening in the world.
To me, that is the DM's job.
Again, great, insightful video! Can't wait to get my books. I usually get stuff like that and give it to my son who can then blend it into his campaigns.
Nobody expects the inquisition
Thank you for catching that! You're the first (and only) so far! Gold star for you! ⭐
Thank you for watching and commenting!
Also, any rough idea of a timeline for getting PDFs/PODs out for your highly successful Kickstarter?
Yes! The files are done and I am literally right now trying to figure out how to upload them to DriveThruRPG for fulfillment. I've never done this before and I have a lot of moving pieces with the different versions (parchment background, plaint white background, PDF only, POD softcover, POD hardcover) and it's very confusing to me how to upload them. I just sent an email to publisher support a few minutes ago and am waiting for their response. The short answer is "soon" - everything's done and I just need to upload it!
That's great news. Looking forward to reading through it all!
#1 job is to consume pizza and guzzle beer!
I am a fan of telling a good story as a GM. However, it is important to note that a good storytelling GM is not telling a prewritten story. Rather they are letting the players enter a situation, decide on thier actions and use this to create a story (driven by the PCs, not some pre ordained script). Also note that this story is collaboratively created, it's not 99% the GM
I was a fan of the Dragonlance novels but disliked the modules as they felt like forced story. Although, it can be fun to play them if you accept that they are more like a choose your own adventure module.
that bit you read from Dragonlance sort of says it all. While I wouldn't go as far as saying it wasn't D&D... I would say it is a VERY different game from what we first learned to play, much less what Hasbro has done it in its later editions which my opinions are far more 'unproductive' thus not worth expressing.
In how we learned to play to play Martin and in that .. yes the DM needed to be a great storyteller for we didn't have have predestinated events and plots. Role playing and problem solving were king, not power gaming murder hobos like today's game has evolved. The events, adventures and settings were far more bare boned and open ended and we as DM's lived and thrived in using our quick wits and imaginations for the players of our group and creating memorable gaming sessions were the DM was the star, not some fantasy writer who wrote some adventure plot and damn it man.. you WERE going to follow it haha
It's not to tell a story at all. The entire group generates the "story".
I agree with that, as you probably heard in the video. I feel the players take actions based on challenges I designed for them, and then I narrate the results of their actions which helps to create a story.
@@daddyrolleda1 yup, just hadn't gotten that far yet. 😁
Rules, adjudicating & Conflict Designer IS the Answer.
Storytelling is the Table's Responsibility.
Everyone that Put the Story on the DM is Flat out Wrong.
And quite frankly, you don't want those players anyways. Same type of player that will sit there & do nothing, expect to be entertained or complain that the DM is railroading them.
Martin. When did you live in Utah?
Around 1981 to 1986. My dad's work transferred us there from Reno, and then in 1986 transferred us here to Southern California, where I've been ever since.
@@daddyrolleda1 Got it!
I forget... did you used to live there?
@@daddyrolleda1 I live in Utah now. Don’t ask me how. But life and career have had me living all over the world.
@@agilemonk6305 Do you find that fun and exciting? If you could pick one place you'd want to live of all the places you've been, where would it be?
We lived in Sandy when I lived there. My dad worked for an oil company and they kept moving him all throughout the Pacific and Mountain states based on his niche job skills and where they needed him. I recall at one point, I went to different 4 schools in five years, and three of those were in my high school years. It was kind of rough always being the new kid.
I think a lot of the pushback on “Being A Good Storyteller” comes from the OSR community and their tendency to sort of stereotype the way D&D was played back in the day based on their own experiences, which tended to not be very sophisticated as they were still kids when they were running the game. There were plenty of story heavy games out there (just look at Blackmoor!), but they were taking place among older players. Same is true for people playing fantasy races, some of them originally monsters. Very common in the early days but yet the OSR people act like it wasn’t invented until 3e.
I think I agree that being a good storyteller is an important DM skill, but that D&D is a different type of story than something like a novel. Since it’s interactive, the DM needs to focus on fleshing out the world and NPCs in order to give the players lots to interact with, rather than trying to make a big epic plot.
I guess another DM skill is also managing players which is arguably the most important aspect of the game. Getting everyone involved to come together and have a good time is key, otherwise you are not really gaming… and the ability to do so successfully is what makes certain DMs better than others really. The only wrong way to play D&D is to not have fun doing it.
Listening - telling a great story is subjective. What if your stories absolutely fantastic but I don't like Shakespeare? Am I going to have fun at your game? No. I might say your story skills are fantastic but this is not the type of story I'm interested in can we please get some Conan.
Rulings is well you have to compromise and do things that your players see fare as well.
Table talk is your best friend as a dungeon master. Talking with your players encouraging talk letting them explore the story what ifs that they bring or what they think is going on even though it's not That's where they're fun is. Listen to your players and provide them with the things that they seem excited about. Listen to how they believe rules work. Listen to the desires listen to their interpretation of your clues and run with those.
Listen to your players and you will provide them with the story they want and no matter how poorly you may think the story is, they're going to have fun and you're all going to participate in a great tale.
The title says "number 1 skill" but you go on to say number 1 job. The prior would be improvisation while the latter would be to tee up good story options for the players to latch onto. You don't tell a story as much as you run a world where the players can tell a story.
That's true - I think I used "job" and "skill" interchangeably, but shouldn't have. Thanks for your thoughts - all good points! And thanks for watching and commenting!
I think a lot of people fundamentally misunderstand the 5e design philosophy (not entirely their fault as the system doesn't communicate this well), but because it was a huge step back in complexity from 3.x/4e the system actually shines with more rulings and adjudications, but many players mistakenly think that the rules are intended to be more comprehensive than they are, which to be fair is a problem that D&D has had since AD&D at least.
You think teen girls like pets? Wait till you DM for my group of veterinarians😂
Oh my goodness, I can only imagine! I bet it's a lot of fun, though!
Thanks for watching and commenting, and for your support of the channel!
I disagree, I didn't see a 5e adventure made like the dragonlance modules. There's often a chain of locations, not a chain of events. It changes everything. You have to go take the McGuffin, but the events are not scripted, you don't have to make NPCs survive so they can betray the players next time, encounters are not scripted so the players have to be taken prisoners... Really not the best comparison.
But how son is now?
Such a great song!
Tell a Great Story is bullshit.
The correct answer is negotiating the game quickly, painting a picture, improvisation and adaptation. The story _emerges_ out of those things.
Fairness is also a bad take from the comments. If the characters do something absolutely stupid and don't expect to be punished out of "fairness" - they're not playing D&D. They're playing I want to Win Story Time with Dice.
I feel like you always do a good job do I rarely feel the need to comment but as a fellow vinyl user I had been looking for new pressing of my favorite albums. My turntable cannot preload albums so I don't get to use them in games as often as I want. I hope you daughter had a good birthday.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting! I really appreciate it and thanks for letting me know you enjoy my videos even if you don't always comment.
I use Spotify playlists when I run the game for my daughter and her friends, mostly using sound-effects and "RPG Atmosphere" stuff by Michael Ghelfi, versus actual songs. It seems to work great and I have gotten into a pattern where I can usually predict with decent accuracy how long they might take to do something before switching to the next sound effect. But I can also easily pause, forward, or rewind on my phone (I stream it through a Move speaker).