Jason has inspired me on how he runs. My most memorable fight so far has been a mental fight. I had a npc and 2 people with dominate. Great times. The npc was winning until my player was willing to scarfice himself for his sire and he rolled a crit.
discovered this channel the other day by pure accident, and I'm loving every single video. I'm watching the entire "vampire the masquerade" campaign you guys had, and it's amazingly well done. I was wondering, any chances of seeing something like that, but with Werewolf The Apocalypse or The Forsaken? I'd love that :)
@@JasonCarl Well, I'm talking about the way you speak and how deadpan you are. Ivan's persona is more nerd than yours. Your persona is more the cool teacher who likes to play RPGs.
Vampire the masquerade has really caught my attention lately. I have yet to play a game, but after researching much media Jason Carl inspires me to want to be a storyteller. I want to be able to paint pictures in people's minds and take them to faraway places. It's seems so rewarding!
aight, I come from further the future to say, VTMB2 still on the making, but seems like they changed from hardsuit to a new mistery company and they are rebuilding it from sctach, a total revamp to the work done . Opinion: Maybe the game will take more years but rescuint the IP from hardsuit labors studio was the rightthing to do, this people are incompetent.
I say, stop reading, scroll back up, then watch this video again. This is really good. For those who come back to the comment section, I enjoy some of the approaches to encounter design quite a bit. I'm not sure what else to add, except I like to add depth to the world in a way where some monsters are actually sleeping, eating, or otherwise preoccupied. If the world feels alive, the game feels better. That... and provide escalation for your stealth section failures, folks. Pile on the guards in the castle or swarm with the hive if it is an insect-centric dungeon.
Before I had much experience as a DM, I put a lot more thought and effort into balancing encounters. Then I heard some great advice from Web DM, which was effectively, once your players have hit level 5, it doesn't really matter what you throw at them. They'll find a way to overcome it. Although there are certainly exceptions to this, I've generally found it to be true. My party of 5th level characters recently managed to take down a young black dragon with max HP in its lair, even though it knew they were coming and had a cleric cultist there to heal him. One thing I've learned though, is that especially when you have a larger party, with around 6 characters, it's best to give your important bosses Max HP. Otherwise one bad initiative roll can mean the boss never gets a single round to act, thanks to action economy. I'd never pull something like he describes in the video, where your damage is meaningless until round x, but giving the boss max HP means they'll most likely get at least one round to do something before the party focuses them down. Also, if you want to make a boss more challenging but don't want to TPK the group, give them better defensive abilities, rather than offensive ones. For example, maybe instead of giving the 5th level wizard fireball, give him Blink. This makes the fight more interesting, but not necessarily more lethal.
7:27 that is what one can call the "the beast day of my life in D&D " It take good DM-ing to allow and give these and its and decision, but to make someone so much happy :D its crown achievement in this game :D I love that you allowed it
Love it! the dragon bit. Truly herioc moments reflected by dice are amazing. Playing a 3.5 game with my Dad as DM. Took the feat that gave you an heirloom weapon that grows in power as you feed it XP or whatever. We did random qualities on the weapon as it grew. One such random roll was that it gained the Disruption ability. 2 or 3 sessions later que the boss fight with an undead hydra. The initial panic sets in, we reposition to try and limit how many heads can reach the party and the first hit I land with my weapon it rolls a nat 1 on its save. I, as a player, was fully expecting it to not die. Maybe the DM would give it some bonus damage or something like that but this is a boss, a one shot is likely not a thing. Que my dads epic description of my holy warrior (Custom cleric based class I made up that feels a lot like a defensive version of pathfinders Warpriests) obliterating this undead hydra with a single blow of his holy Maul I wield with one hand (Goliath). It was an epic scene.
Can anyone tell me if there are videos of Jason Carl DMing D&D? I've been learning so much from his storytelling in L.A. By Night and want to apply his approach to D&D, so it'd be even more helpful to see how he himself approaches D&D, given the differences between D&D and V:tM in terms of mechanics.
In something like Vampire, and especially if you allow some sort of PVP, how do you balance that? How do you handle character death, especially if it happens often (For example, in a LARP or a large westmarch-style tabletop game)? :D
btw if you think the boss enemy may be to weak, weaken the group before: addiutional attacks, stealing from them, diversion ... thta if you do not want to alter the boss itself. Also, if the characters are always eager to leave only dead enemies behind: If they are unlucky or dumb, dont hesitate to kill the characters too. Heroism is not killing the biggest enemies, it is about overcoming there own fears (for themselves or others) and maybe about what they would sacrifice.
Geek and Sundry need to get Jason Carl for DM in some dungeons and dragons, what a talent, as a GM he is certainly fantastic but D&D is where the real magic is.
Balancing encounters? What kind or dark sorcery is that? I tend to use dynamic encounters that can escalate depending on how they are handled, and while doing that I have a shitload of monsters hidden up my sleve that might show up and join the fight. That way I can easily ramp up an encounter if I find it's less challenging than I wanted it to be.
Reinforcements are ok but enemies leaving not so much. I really hate when that happens and I never use it myself. And sometimes things just go south.. It is not a bad thing. It happens. Stuff happens.
@Danilo Soares Couto Typically I don't. I feel like that robs some of the drama that dice rolling can create. If I feel that I've misjudged the players strength, and the combat is going very poorly for the players, some dice rolls could go the players way. However, if it fits the narrative, sometimes an intelligent foe can take them prisoner instead of finishing them off, and no dice roll modification is necessary. It's very situational.
I roll in fromt of the players, and so fudging rolls isn't really possible, but I may narrate the situation as maybe not as bad or ome sided. When it comes to combat I may say a player outright killed an enemy if they'd otherwise be left with 1 or a couple hp, knowing if they got another turn they'd get a killing blow on that drowned player. It gives the player that dramatic moment of slaying the beast and saving their ally just moments before certain doom. However, in some cases, I don't pull my punches because I try to test my players or get them a bit more invested in a fight. There was one match where an important npc, who was the one who would secure they payment back in the city, was eviscerated because they treated the situation lightly. One key note, if your players are just autoattacking with weapons and cantrips and refusing to invest more in the encounter, then the encounter has to end very soon or difficulty has to be stepped up a few notches.
Here in Brazil we have a extensive discussion about "dynamic encounter difficult". Some say if you Fudge a roll, or even Bulk it up an Monster HP, or something in this area... your not player RPG anymore, your just storytelling. And some other group agree with those "dynamic difficult" if it will create a nice moment. It's nice too see a non-binary opinion about this. Thx guys.
@@DanCoutoS that's the beauty of D&D :) it's both an rpg and storytelling game. Just this past sunday I did a 1shot adventure that was nothing more than players running from room to room killing enemies and getting loot, I didn't alter any numbers nor could I fudge any rolls. However, our normal game, which is a campaign that has been going on for over a year in real time, there's many different things going on in the world, overarching plots and factions all with their own motives, and sometimes it's unfun to let a player die in a fight against no-name bandits because a few bad rolls when there's plenty more epic stuff for them to encounter later (heck, maybe they'll find a true hero's death that way?)
If the players know their GM will make an encounter take a minimum number of rounds, they will likely spend the opening rounds defensively, and not waste any powerful items, actions, or spells. If the GM does it from time to time, it probably isn't a problem. If they do it all the time, the players can sleep through the first 3 rounds.
THE UNDISPUTED BARON OF THE VALLEY BAYBAY!
Also i can listen Jason Carl speak for hours without ever growing tired of it. such a good storyteller.
That's very kind, thanks!
I'm a simple man. I see B. Dave and Jason, I hit Like.
Undisputed host.
The key is always more Juan. There's never too much Juan.
There can be only Juan.
@@lysander1 he Juanders the world, from New York to TaiJuan to TiaJuana.
More Juan in L.A. by Night Season 3, then? Hmm. I have made a note.
@@JasonCarl I'm not above bribery.
@@Droogie128 neither am I. :)
Jason has inspired me on how he runs. My most memorable fight so far has been a mental fight. I had a npc and 2 people with dominate. Great times. The npc was winning until my player was willing to scarfice himself for his sire and he rolled a crit.
I'm glad it was fun for you and your player! :D
@@JasonCarl You sure taught me a good bit watching la by night
LOL I wondered why B. Dave was always trying to ST from the player chair.
Hope you are keeping an eye on him Carl. :-P
I'm on it. ;)
This is - hands down - the best advice for people running games. Thank you.
Watching you two interact outside of gameplay is adorable ^^ great episode
Thank you!
Jason Carl shows how active listening in conversation is done
discovered this channel the other day by pure accident, and I'm loving every single video. I'm watching the entire "vampire the masquerade" campaign you guys had, and it's amazingly well done.
I was wondering, any chances of seeing something like that, but with Werewolf The Apocalypse or The Forsaken? I'd love that :)
Thanks for the kind words! :D
Here I was, totally expecting B. D. Walters to say that he's the undisputed baron :D
Jason Carl is one of the most likeable Storytellers. Other one that is as likeable is Ivan Van Norman.
You say that now, but wait until you're a player at my table. ;-)
@@JasonCarl Well, I'm talking about the way you speak and how deadpan you are. Ivan's persona is more nerd than yours. Your persona is more the cool teacher who likes to play RPGs.
@@JasonCarl Oh, please. Allow me to try 😉
Vampire the masquerade has really caught my attention lately. I have yet to play a game, but after researching much media Jason Carl inspires me to want to be a storyteller. I want to be able to paint pictures in people's minds and take them to faraway places. It's seems so rewarding!
The question is: is Jason Carl excited with bloodlines 2, too?
YES. YES, HE IS. :D
@@JasonCarl What about now?
aight, I come from further the future to say, VTMB2 still on the making, but seems like they changed from hardsuit to a new mistery company and they are rebuilding it from sctach, a total revamp to the work done . Opinion: Maybe the game will take more years but rescuint the IP from hardsuit labors studio was the rightthing to do, this people are incompetent.
@@youtubesucks3882 😭😭😭 staahhppp
I say, stop reading, scroll back up, then watch this video again. This is really good.
For those who come back to the comment section, I enjoy some of the approaches to encounter design quite a bit. I'm not sure what else to add, except I like to add depth to the world in a way where some monsters are actually sleeping, eating, or otherwise preoccupied. If the world feels alive, the game feels better.
That... and provide escalation for your stealth section failures, folks. Pile on the guards in the castle or swarm with the hive if it is an insect-centric dungeon.
Great video, guys!
(And despite the ending seeming a bit random, I really like that couple's hair!)
Hoping for another season of L.A by Night. I really want to see how your tips work in game. #BeAsGoodAsJason
Season 2 just completed its regular run and the episodes are uploading here on UA-cam every Wednesday. :)
Before I had much experience as a DM, I put a lot more thought and effort into balancing encounters.
Then I heard some great advice from Web DM, which was effectively, once your players have hit level 5, it doesn't really matter what you throw at them. They'll find a way to overcome it. Although there are certainly exceptions to this, I've generally found it to be true. My party of 5th level characters recently managed to take down a young black dragon with max HP in its lair, even though it knew they were coming and had a cleric cultist there to heal him.
One thing I've learned though, is that especially when you have a larger party, with around 6 characters, it's best to give your important bosses Max HP. Otherwise one bad initiative roll can mean the boss never gets a single round to act, thanks to action economy. I'd never pull something like he describes in the video, where your damage is meaningless until round x, but giving the boss max HP means they'll most likely get at least one round to do something before the party focuses them down.
Also, if you want to make a boss more challenging but don't want to TPK the group, give them better defensive abilities, rather than offensive ones. For example, maybe instead of giving the 5th level wizard fireball, give him Blink. This makes the fight more interesting, but not necessarily more lethal.
Hey. Really quick. When is LA By Night coming back to UA-cam?
Very, very, very soon. :)
Jason Carl 😵
@@JasonCarl you tease, but good to know ;-)
7:27 that is what one can call the "the beast day of my life in D&D " It take good DM-ing to allow and give these and its and decision, but to make someone so much happy :D its crown achievement in this game :D I love that you allowed it
Love it! the dragon bit. Truly herioc moments reflected by dice are amazing.
Playing a 3.5 game with my Dad as DM. Took the feat that gave you an heirloom weapon that grows in power as you feed it XP or whatever. We did random qualities on the weapon as it grew. One such random roll was that it gained the Disruption ability. 2 or 3 sessions later que the boss fight with an undead hydra. The initial panic sets in, we reposition to try and limit how many heads can reach the party and the first hit I land with my weapon it rolls a nat 1 on its save. I, as a player, was fully expecting it to not die. Maybe the DM would give it some bonus damage or something like that but this is a boss, a one shot is likely not a thing. Que my dads epic description of my holy warrior (Custom cleric based class I made up that feels a lot like a defensive version of pathfinders Warpriests) obliterating this undead hydra with a single blow of his holy Maul I wield with one hand (Goliath). It was an epic scene.
Oh, yes! A great video. Cheers Jason! By the way, new music on the way soon. ;D - just a while to wait still.
1:00 Yes and I miss seeing more of you Carl :D
Undisputed baron of my heart ❤. In the most platonic way possible
Can anyone tell me if there are videos of Jason Carl DMing D&D? I've been learning so much from his storytelling in L.A. By Night and want to apply his approach to D&D, so it'd be even more helpful to see how he himself approaches D&D, given the differences between D&D and V:tM in terms of mechanics.
In something like Vampire, and especially if you allow some sort of PVP, how do you balance that? How do you handle character death, especially if it happens often (For example, in a LARP or a large westmarch-style tabletop game)? :D
Forgotten Realms is very dark, well, as I encountered it.
Also own an original Hollow world box still and love it! :p
you guys are awesome! love la by night!!!!
Good Morning Mr. Carl.
Bonjour Mr. Coop.
btw if you think the boss enemy may be to weak, weaken the group before: addiutional attacks, stealing from them, diversion ... thta if you do not want to alter the boss itself.
Also, if the characters are always eager to leave only dead enemies behind: If they are unlucky or dumb, dont hesitate to kill the characters too.
Heroism is not killing the biggest enemies, it is about overcoming there own fears (for themselves or others) and maybe about what they would sacrifice.
Geek and Sundry need to get Jason Carl for DM in some dungeons and dragons, what a talent, as a GM he is certainly fantastic but D&D is where the real magic is.
Balancing encounters? What kind or dark sorcery is that? I tend to use dynamic encounters that can escalate depending on how they are handled, and while doing that I have a shitload of monsters hidden up my sleve that might show up and join the fight.
That way I can easily ramp up an encounter if I find it's less challenging than I wanted it to be.
I love these men... and Alex Ward! (edit: also X and his similes... or metaphors)
Colville would say encounter balance is meaningless. Create drama and adjust on the fly.
Different strokes for different folks. Just be aware of the possibilities and pick the playstyle you like most.
Roland P. Amen
The people in this video you are commenting on ALSO share their opinion on the same point at 10:00
Have you done a campaign where the PC's play as monsters
Keep that giant, metal d20 away from my nicely-painted minis.
Reinforcements are ok but enemies leaving not so much. I really hate when that happens and I never use it myself. And sometimes things just go south.. It is not a bad thing. It happens. Stuff happens.
How you guys feel about... Fudging the roll as a DM?
@Danilo Soares Couto Typically I don't. I feel like that robs some of the drama that dice rolling can create. If I feel that I've misjudged the players strength, and the combat is going very poorly for the players, some dice rolls could go the players way. However, if it fits the narrative, sometimes an intelligent foe can take them prisoner instead of finishing them off, and no dice roll modification is necessary. It's very situational.
I might fudge it if it's late and a failure means a long detour.
I roll in fromt of the players, and so fudging rolls isn't really possible, but I may narrate the situation as maybe not as bad or ome sided. When it comes to combat I may say a player outright killed an enemy if they'd otherwise be left with 1 or a couple hp, knowing if they got another turn they'd get a killing blow on that drowned player. It gives the player that dramatic moment of slaying the beast and saving their ally just moments before certain doom. However, in some cases, I don't pull my punches because I try to test my players or get them a bit more invested in a fight. There was one match where an important npc, who was the one who would secure they payment back in the city, was eviscerated because they treated the situation lightly. One key note, if your players are just autoattacking with weapons and cantrips and refusing to invest more in the encounter, then the encounter has to end very soon or difficulty has to be stepped up a few notches.
Here in Brazil we have a extensive discussion about "dynamic encounter difficult".
Some say if you Fudge a roll, or even Bulk it up an Monster HP, or something in this area... your not player RPG anymore, your just storytelling.
And some other group agree with those "dynamic difficult" if it will create a nice moment.
It's nice too see a non-binary opinion about this.
Thx guys.
@@DanCoutoS that's the beauty of D&D :) it's both an rpg and storytelling game. Just this past sunday I did a 1shot adventure that was nothing more than players running from room to room killing enemies and getting loot, I didn't alter any numbers nor could I fudge any rolls. However, our normal game, which is a campaign that has been going on for over a year in real time, there's many different things going on in the world, overarching plots and factions all with their own motives, and sometimes it's unfun to let a player die in a fight against no-name bandits because a few bad rolls when there's plenty more epic stuff for them to encounter later (heck, maybe they'll find a true hero's death that way?)
If the players know their GM will make an encounter take a minimum number of rounds, they will likely spend the opening rounds defensively, and not waste any powerful items, actions, or spells.
If the GM does it from time to time, it probably isn't a problem. If they do it all the time, the players can sleep through the first 3 rounds.
For one moment I thought the title was "Balding Encounters".
Might as well be, right? ;)
Oof
You are at the bottom so here’s a like
I don't feel like I learned anything about balancing encounters from this video, but nice video anyway
Good Video! But thought It was gonna be about how to Balance combat. Not why you should balance it...
I have 4 of those large D20's, and i pull one out if my dice start rolling bad.
💜💜💜
B. Dave Walters is like the love child of Will Smith and CohhCarnage (voice and mannerism)
And I thinked that I was the only one!? Whew.. I am not crazy. Then..
Thanks so much bdave :D youre so tall :|
Jason Carl totally NOT a vampire.