Making Characters | Running the Game
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.ย. 2024
- Episode 4: Making characters in D&D can be a strange experience if you've never done it before. What are all these numbers? Why am I rolling this? And what kinds of characters should we all make?
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"It's YOUR game." -Matt, every video he's ever done
Even now
I come back to rewatch these pretty often, and I love that he continuously reminds the audience that WE are in control of the experience.
Too many times have I played with a DM that feels they have no choice but to halt gameplay or make a buzz-kill decision for no reason other than "that's what the rules say," or "that's what the story is supposed to be." If that's how one wants to DM, then whatever, but some folks need to be reminded that they can run the game literally however they want!!
Truth!
I like to think about it from the storytelling perspective. As the dm, the mechanics are there for reliability. If something happens or conditions are different and you think it adds to the story, you have the power to do so.
Edit: It feels cliche as advice but it’s been one of the best aspects of my groups over the years. Death is still very real, but it’s always at least interesting.
While talking about unconventional party makeups, I was reminded of when our current DM told us about a campaign where every player was a bard. They were basically a magical, adventuring rock band.
That's kinda awesome.
for a one-shot the party was made up of 4 aarokocra rogues. they would stealth in, all attack once, and fly out of range. then they would fly back down, attack again, and rinse repeat.
That. Sounds awesome!
@@RobinTheJester That is remarkably dickish. I approve.
You should try team LSD a party of illusion wizards
THIS WAS NOT A SHORT VIDEO! God! I'll get the hang of this.
+Matthew Colville There is a lot of information in there. I would rather you didn't try to make them shorter ;']
+Matthew Colville I second Edward's comment. Trying to fit a specific length of video would force you to decide what is 'most important' and makes you cut information out that might really help people. Loving the series so far, and can't wait till the next episode!
+Matthew Colville Although you went longer than you thought you would, you didn't go off topic. You gave context to your main points and made it easier for people to nail down this weird thing called DnD. I've been playing this game since high school and I honestly understand it and the mechanics a lot more now that I've watched your videos. If you want shorter videos, then I think you'd need to break up the topics more, if that's possible. I don't think you should try to cut any information out.
+Matthew Colville I wholly agree with all the previous responses.
+Matthew Colville There's a lot of DM-stuff on youtube. They all try to fit into the youtube-format of being short and focused. The strength of your videos is that they're exactly the opposite without ever going off topic. I am yet to meet a DM that doesn't want to discuss everything about D&D and I think everyone who like your videos like that they're long. Keep using examples from your games. It's a great way of getting your point through.
Honestly, I'd even like longer videos, haha. Really excited about your thoughts on worldbuilding. Thanks for being awesome!
Back in the day I got into a campaign with a couple of friends and it was the first time I got a DM that ran a "Session #0", meaning we all got together and rolled up our characters, so I had another 4 witnesses for what I'll write next, and it's not a joke.
4d6, keep the 3 highest, keep the stats in a row.
I rolled a 18 str, 14 dex, 18 con, 12 int, 14 wis, 17 charisma.
So naturally, by lvl 7, my Paladin is basically Superman, and we get through most combats with me doing most of the damage, absorbing most of the attacks and basically 3 other guys hiding behind me.
So, as it was getting more and more ridiculous, I ASKED our DM in between sessions to reroll a new character, and if we could set it up, and what we did was kinda epic.
So we're running through the motions in a simple dungeon crawl, lots of spiders, a few skeletons, a couple wraiths etc, and at one point there's a "Balrog of Morgoth" scene (big-@ss pit fiends vs 3 lvl 7 chumps and a lvl 7 hero) so we start running (me running away last). We get to a rope bridge, and they're running like there's no tommorow, so they're not looking behind. As soon as the rest of the party crosses the bridge, my paladin cuts it from in front of him. There was a "fly, you fools moment", turns around lifts his big-@ss sword, and sprints into the pit fiends. And that was it...
They never saw him again, don't know if he's alive or dead (he's dead), and I go silent for the rest of the session.
Next session, a Dragonborn monk who was a friend of my paladin "felt a disturbance in the force", so he knew he had to come help his friends, now that they were alone in the world. He was my new character and he got me to the end of that campaign.
Our DM let me roll a lvl 7 character (because it was my suggestion that we killed my super pc), so we could have a more balanced party.
Totem PsyClinic that’s a awesome way to go out
This is honestly the best thing I've read all week.
@@shortstackgames
Me too 😂😂
Thats why I prefer using point buy instead. It doesn't lead to balance issues like that.
@@shadowscall7758 But that great story only happened because of that balance issue. Sometimes one player rolls great and is way more powerful than the others, but as long as the group likes it, that can be fun. Sometimes it's fun to play as the cowardly wizard that's a sidekick to the "main character" paladin
also interesting to note, there isn't one class for one roll.
the frontliner is often a fighter or barbarian, but you can also use a melee ranger, bladelock, bulky monk, or war cleric.
if nothing else, a beastmaster with a pet giant crab ends up with an AC 21 grappler.
A healer can be done by clerics, bards, druids, rangers, paladins or even a bear totem barbarian filling up his inventory with nothing but healing potions.
just imagine a goliath 'shaman' who's idea of healing is jamming a bottle down your throat.
voodoodummie This made me laugh outloud.
The Scarred Lands players guide (a third-party 5e supplement made by Onyx Path Publishing for their Scarred Lands setting) had a Monk subclass called the Way of Mercy. It's all about giving the monk the ability to use Ki to fuel healing spells. They get a bare-bones selection of spells, but can adequately fill the roll of healer. A very mobile healer, at that.
A character I thought of for it would be a snake-man and former doctor (disbarred after being framed for killing a patient, after he refused to do so in the interests of political expediency). Learned martial arts after losing his medical license, in order to better protect his patients. Nonetheless, he's a pacifist, taking seriously the adage "first, do no harm"; he'll only fight when no recourse exists, and only knocks his opponents out. Combine this with proficiency with the Herbalism Kit (for making potions and lesser herbal remedies), and taking the Healer feat (so he can restore HP with Healer's Kits). Basically, a character who doubles down on healing. Just all in. Like a good doctor should.
@@Bluecho4 Well, now that subclass is official
@@yooooo8600 The official Way of Mercy is subtly different than the Scarred Lands Way of Mercy. More a mixture of healing and harm, whereas the latter focused on healing far more (and just outright let the Monk use Ki to cast a selection of spells normally associated with Clerics).
They have the same name, but go in different directions.
i think i had some college Shaman friends. "you need a drink" "here have another drink"
Here's an idea if the players want to roll but you want things fair. Every player rolls one or two set of 4d6, and when you have a total of 6 rolls, that's your pool. Then everyone uses that pool and assigns them as they like to make their character. Everyone gets the same stat pool, but have the choice of character design. You get the excitement of dice rolling but a level plain of stats
That sounds quite cool, and would fish out mildly wanky players who would complain.
Byootiful.
This is similar to the Baulder's Gate computer game, which I quite enjoyed.
I've done that for quite some time. Now, I let everyone roll their own stats (4d6L1, in order). If they don't like the stats (or their total modifier bonus is less than +6, they can roll a second set. If they don't like either one, they get to use a standard array of 16, 15, 13, 13, 11, 8. It's a smidge more powerful than the book standard, but I like slightly more powerful characters, as it lets me throw stronger foes at them.
I personally like to let everyone roll the 6 times, then assign to the stats they want. Allows the fun of optimising for the class they want, and still have the fun of randomness
Omg I love it!
Dude! I played D&D as a kid and now as a grizzled 43 year old dad I'm getting my 11 year old kids turned onto the hobby. Your channel is brilliant; your knowledge, passion, and ability to communicate come out very strongly!
oh, and I love the Rush t-shirts! ✊
Dont say that
Same here on all! Well... I am about to turn 45!
40 here and haven't played since I was a kid and to my surprise my 12 year old asked about it. Couple weeks later, a whole lot of DM Scotty from TheDMsCraft (I love crafting stuff for my games, even as a kid when it was random toys. Castle Greyskull got used a lot back in the day lol) and we are into our second campaign and it's more fun than ever.
Middle school kid playing cuz mom mentioned it
I stayed getting interested in DND from pop culture references, like in TV shows. I like how kids can greet interested in it.,like me. I'm going to get the starter set soon!!!
Okay... so I have to say that I not only love your videos, but you have somehow managed to gain the only readable comments section I have EVER seen on YT. I have never taken the time to read comments to the bottom and expand every one. I go back to last week's videos to read the new ones. LOL You give great information in comments too. I have enjoyed many questions I would not have even thought to ask. Thank you for taking us on this journey. P.S It seems to me you have got a handle on this just fine.
+RaisinGirl13 It's because of awesome people like you!
We shall all be awesome together!
Raisin_Girl13 ,
My players rolled for their stats, and we ended up with a dwarf wizard with 4 charisma, which is always a joy to watch him roleplay.
we have a guy with Wisdom 4. On last session he climbed iside an obviously possessed set of armor and got taken over by a demon, then, after getting rescued, decided to take a swim in a magic pond of unnknown origin... It IS a joy of watching him roleplay, but the guy is the embodiment of chaos and got us into literal Hell. As fun as it is, we lost 2 pc there in very unfortunate events that included a Shoggoth (this guy's creation) and him sitting our cleric on a demonic throne that sucked the soul out of his body
I randomly came across your channel, and it's my saving grace. Both myself and my friends are super new to DnD, and for some reason we made the mistake of starting with 4e. Being hardcore wow and other rpg players, we thought this would be easy to pick up. Boy were we ever wrong! Since we are all learning together, we have discovered that the person who was going to DM, doesn't make a good DM, and I who started out as a cleric is far more into world building, our quiet friend just wants to roleplay, and my husband wants to live by the rulebook in all things. We are learning so much about ourselves and each other. Your channel is very relatable and easy even for this noob to follow. We have no experienced players in our group to answer questions or show us the way, so your channel has helped us so much! THANK YOU!!!
How's it going now?
Willow clip?? This series just impossibly keeps getting better and better!
I think you might be the best at explaining DND ever. I have watched alot of vids on DND, plalying dnd, streams, etc. Anyways I really like them. I think these videos will go well with more visuals, kind of like the dungeon making video. I know this is for DM's and it may not make sense for this particular set of videos though. I would also like to see you run a game. Anyways these are my favorite videos atm. Thanks for making them, really like it.
+StahPK I've long been planning to record my sessions and use them as B-Roll for these videos, I just haven't found a low-impact, high-quality way to do it. But stay tuned!
+Matthew Colville
I don't normally follow podcasts, but I'd follow this if it was a podcast. just saying.
Please do this! When you can, of course :)
Gotta agree with you StahPK
yeah! Before this, I had no idea how to make a character. Looks like I'll have to edit my character sheet later.
Playing in a campaign right now where, throughout the character creation session, we all decided that we would be part of a travelling carnival turned adventurers and we all served a different role in the carnival. My character is named Thola, the carnival's acrobat (monk) with a bad temper yet unwavering loyalty to her friends and family.
+Erik Raffanelli That is a great idea! Gives everyone an excuse to know each other, but doesn't limit the party the way a Wizards Order or Thieves' Guild might. Whoever came up with that idea is smart!
You don’t need to look up the modifier in the book, it’s just the ability score divided by two minus five. So a score of ten dived by two is five, and five off of that is zero.
I had a player say to me 'What's an orc'...
XD She knows so little about fantasy this is going to be amazing.
The USA currently has one as their president, I'd suggest starting there.
Hey now, that's hardly fair...to Orcs.
I would say Trump is comparable to a Troglodyte, except I even kind of feel bad for bad-mouthing Troglodytes like that. A Troglodyte could do far less harm, for one.
Guys... Trump is obviously a Bugbear. Didn't the orange skin and impulsive behaviour gave it out? :P
Bugbears have hair.
Reminds me of the legend of Eric the paladin and the dread gazebo. I recommend looking it up.
I know I’m about a year and a half late but I want to thank you for this video. I’m pretty sure this is one of the big reasons I’m listening/watching critical role now, and 72 episodes in and I’m starting to plan my own campaign again. You’re an inspiration and I appreciate you.
I appreciate you!
I know I'm late to this party, but I wanted to chime in with my VERY first experience in DM'ing... I was running a party of ALL BARDS. It was glorious, and while we only played for one adventure arc, it was a really awesome time.
"Oh, I'm Grunkle the Funkle and this is my troupe of gnomes."
"We're all Bards!"
I'm DMing for the first time and this series has been INSANELY helpful to me, since I'm teaching myself. Keep up the great work!!
4D6-drop-lowest in order? That's basically a modern version of the old first edition rules, also known as "Honest Rolls Characters".
WatcherCCG it would be interesting to allow something smaller to the variance he described. 5d6 drop 2 on your favored stat and 3d6 on a weak stat. 4d6 on the rest
Phnxkon if you're the DM sure, do it.
I like 2d6+5. It has a significantly higher floor (can't get below 7), but a slightly lower ceiling (max is 17). It has greater variance because it uses fewer dice than the 3d6 curve (which is fun for a guy like me who likes random chance). And, lastly, it still allows for a 5 or a 6, or an 18 or 19, after racial modifiers.
[I'm assuming 3.5e, because -5th edition sucks- it's what I'm most used to.]
That was great. I learned quite a few things I hadn't thought about, which is always a nice moment.
And for all deities' sake, please don't try to shorten these. Make the videos as long as you need them to be. Not only is it interesting in general, but it is both entertaining and enlightening to hear about tangents of hypothetical scenarios, your own experiences playing, and background about why something functions like it :)
25 year D&D DM veteran and I love your videos. It not only reinforces my game style, but it's amazing how much there is still to learn. Well done!
Got through the section on stats, and for my house games, we've found this to be the best method we can find for determining your characters ability scores. We use the standard array (15,14,13,12,10,8) but then you can raise or lower numbers on a 1 for one basis. Example: If you wanted to raise your 15 to a 16, you'de have take a point from one of the other scores. So you could raise your 15 to a 16, and lower your 14 to a 13, or a 13 to a 12, etc. the only caveat we add to this method is that no stat (including racial bonuses) can be higher then 18 at character creation. This means to get a 20 in a score requires at least one ability increase.
Using this system lets you customize your stats for the character and class you want to make, but the total of everyone's scores always adds up to the same number. So no one has better ability scores then anyone else and you dont have to worry about the one guy who rolls amazing and the other guy who rolled poorly.
Its nice to make a guy with 2 high states, but sucks with the other stats, or the more average guy who's decent at a few things, but doesn't suck at anything. It provides a nice balance between, well, balance in characters, but also freedom to make the character you want.
Best system I've found by far for determining ability scores in D&D 5E.
I did this with my DM! But since I rolled really well, I bought a +1 on a -2 basis. Still I'm really happy with my Wizard (:
One nice advantage of having six stats is that when designing a dungeon you can roll 1D6 and put a skill check there
For 5e, the "healer" feat makes any human variant at level 1 better than a cleric for healing if they spend their starting gold on medicine kits.
This is the 5th video of yours I've watched now. They are all excellent. Thank you! I and my oldest six kids have been playing D&D for about a week now using the starter kit. These videos have made it all make more sense. Really really appreciate it.
Oldest six kids? o_O Will save to disbelieve!
We use the Dexerity ability score if players tie on a imitative roll.
Imitation should be performance roll.
At the point where you're discussing Wolverine, it reminded me of D&D scenario that my group played. Basically we said what would the Jedi be like in a D&D fantasy setting before Starships and Technology. My player went with a psionic monk. One of the questions that we had to answer for the Jedi was what would a precursor fantasy version of the lightsaber be?
There's a sword made of sunlight you could use!
Might have been said before, but rolling stats in order was how old school D&D, like B/X, works to create characters. Then it had required stats for classes as well as bonus XP if abilities are high enough.
HOW DID YOU GUYS GET OUT OF THE TRAPPED ROOM??!!
Seriously, I am super curious now
I came down here to find out too :(
SPOILER ALERT
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R2D2 saved them.
maybe they punched the walls open.
Climb up to the top and punch the roof out or dig a hole out the bottom.
Kinda depends on what the characters were like though, could just throw out guesses for eternity really.
Matthew Colville, are you going to answer this?
Sorry for commenting on a 2-yr old video, but regarding non-"balanced" parties... If you're missing a fighter character or a healer or a wizard, thief... The DM could very well taylor or tweak the adventure to the character classes that are available at the table.
So, really, just let players play with whichever characters they would like to play.
Explaining those roles to beginners could be challenging, so maybe a DM should concentrate on the core 4 classes.
You should not change the scenario. The party can always hire NPCs, or figure it out for themselves how to work around them.
I am 30 and have no friends who play dnd. I’m one of the COVID/Critical Roll era interested. I’m getting ready to start a campaign with some other new guys in a world of my imagining. I want to say that this is an amazing video series. You have demystified and simplified and adjusted my thought process on so many things. I just discovered your channel (and you) and want to say you are making the most valuable educational content on DnD that I have found anywhere on TH-cam. THANK YOU!!!
I'm really grateful you for giving me way to explain my new players "esoteric side of d&d math". Thank you very much.
+AlexGidra That was my goal! Super happy it was useful for someone.
19:08 My friend made an all monk one shot, and it turned into a full campaign with each of us as DM for a chapter or two. Lots of fun.
I like the system that lets you put points in to your ability scores because it still adds up the same as the 8,10,12,13,14,15 method (which I like as well).
I like that as well. However, a friend of mine rolled an elf paladin and got 17 dex and 8 str. The dex pally is actually quite interesting!
we generally let people pick point buy or roll.
Rolling is 4d6 6 times drop lowest use sum. Put those 6 numbers anywhere you want.
If you have a player that is upset with low stats, especially compared to another player, it gives an opportunity to give them ridiculous magic items to help balance things out and make adventures feel more rewarding.
I have removed modifiers sort of. All stats are generated by 1d6 -2 and then use the full stat instead of modifiers. New players have taken to it (because modifier is convoluted). I really like it in low magic settings, you really get your money out of buffs. To balance you would half the stat effect of ALL spells.
That's an interesting system. I've heard of a version where the stats rolled equal the DC to checks you have to make requiring that stat.
I ran a one shot with the best/worst way to roll for ability scores.
For every stat players rolled a 1d20 1d10 and 1d4.
The d20 was their base score.
The d4 was a modifer
Roll a d10, if it was even, you add the d4 to your base score, if it is odd, you subtract the d4 from the base score.
Leaving the absolutely terrible range of having an ability score between -3 at the lowest and 24 at the highest.
Having lvl 1 characters with ability modifiers that were up to -7 was hilarious.
I just recently found your videos. It’s really making me want to start playing D&D again. Thanks, man!
I wish I knew about the two 15's implement when I rolled up my forest gnome warrior. His strength was a 13, dexterity was 11, 11 constitution, 7 intelligence, 3 wisdom and 3 charisma.
That adventure you described was absolutely amazing. I felt like I was watching a short film, indeed it was very inspiring. I hope I can DM like that too. Great job on the tutorials!
commented on the wrong vid lol, talking about the fifth episode
Ability scores are not only used to find the Ability modifier in the table. There're ability drain, manual that boost the score from +1 to +5, etc.
FYI:
The The Executive Character Sheet is no longer available from that site
The spreadsheet was taken offline. The website D&D Beyond is the official Wizards of the Coast service for things like character generation.
Without getting too much into the legal side, the spreadsheet contained material from the published books that was not part of the rules published for free. Several tools that contained material like this were all taken offline when D&D Beyond finally launched. Not getting into any discussion about why, just letting you know what happened.
The spreadsheet may still be available some places but no longer on ENworld's forum.
@@SadPenguinInSnow understood.
About party balance, I ran a game where the party was as follows: Dragonborn Gold Dragon Knight (homebrew class I made, my friend was basically playtesting it), Tabaxi Shadow Monk, Tabaxi Assassin, and Halfling Gloomstalker. We did not have a healer until the monk died from charging after the Dragon Knight and getting ambushed by two monsters that popped out of the wall. They did fine in most fights, the fights just didn't last very long, and were incredibly swingy. Since the party would attack, do stupid damage, kill at least one thing (usually), and then be attacked by what was left. Suffice to say, after the monk's player made a Firbolg Shepherd Druid, I had to change my encounter design.
Fantastic channel! Critical Role needs to have you guest star.
We have just set up a fill-in game (3.5 ed) for when the DM is not available (for work reasons), and all they players are really excited about it. I told them that they are going to be a group of mercenary monster hunters but with a twist … they are all Monsters. I gave them a list of available monsters and told them they will all start at ECL 10. [FYI: We have a house rule that when using a Monster Class from Savage Species, the monster can delay a size increase by taking character levels (up to their current HD).]
The group they made was: A Grig Spellthief, a Faerie Dragon, an Air Elemental Sorcerer, an Athach Cleric, a Troll Ranger, and an Ogre Spirit Shaman.
a few notes: 1) I prefer a point-buy system, like in shadowrun or my system Enrora, it enables players to generate (hopefully) balanced characters while still letting them be more unique. At one point I made a way to generate a random list of numbers that always added up to the same number, just to throw in that "what will happen?" aspect of rolling for stats. 2) I like to build campaigns around what the party is built up from, like I prefer to shift encounters around what the party dynamic is to make things interesting, challenging and possible given the party. 3) Monks in 3.5 were ridiculously broken, no character should be able to punch a dragon to death on their own.
That idea about rolling different numbers of die for stats based on your class is very cool. It insures the character can be effective at their roles; but, still adds variability, more so at the ancillary attributes.
I came up with an alternative point-buy system which I really like. It is more for campaigns that are a little bit more grounded and for players that can go a little overboard on being competitive.
Each stat starts at 10.
You then get 12 points.
You can spend those points on the stats as you see fit as long as they fit within the restrictions.
You can take points away from other stats to increase others.
The minimum you can have is 6 and the maximum you can have is 15.
After racial bonuses, the most you can get is 17. In the campaign that I will be running, you won't be able to get a +4 modifier in anything until level 4, since magic items will be quite rare (especially at early levels).
It keeps the party pretty well balanced. At least for the first few levels.
I just want to thank you for these videos. I was on Reddit earlier today reading a post about "Can a DM cheat?" and someone referenced your Fudging Dice Rolls video. I checked it out and realized you had a whole series about being a DM for the first time. I knew it was fate.
I'm currently part of a 4 member party, including myself, plus our knowledgeable DM. He knows his stuff. He's by no means a "pro" as we've all really just started out. Myself and our DM had both been wanting to get into D&D and had the books and ran mini campaigns between us two just to get a grasp. We were fortunate enough to find a few others in town who were not only willing to try, but actually very excited. And that's what made it great. I always hear these horror stories of people having that one doosh in their party who has to sour the experience somehow. But so far we've been lucky. Everyone is eager and willing to learn. No one has an attitude or gets bitter if things go awry. There have been a couple instances of slight annoyance. Like when my Arcane Trickster Rogue was stealthing around away from the party and happened across a chest that he opened alone, found a bunch of treasure, pocketed quietly, and then our Goliath Barbarian proceeded to question me about the treasure I found and if I was going to split up between the party. The DM and I had to kindly remind him that there is a difference between character knowledge and player knowledge. Just becuase you as the player knew I found that treasure doesn't mean your character would know and ask about it. He still seemed bothered by the fact my Thief Rogue wasn't going to share so I decided in game that my Rogue apparently needed a conscience to avoid any future conflicts. Oh well. And then there's the peeve I have about one of our other players who insists on pronouncing the dice as "two DIE six damage" instead of "two DEE six damage" like most everyone I've ever heard. Every time he refers to a dice it's "DIE this, DIE that". Not a big issue. But still. Point being, we have a good party.
But our DM has asked me if I would run a game so he can get out from behind the screen sometimes. I'm nervous as all hell. These videos are helping me alot. So thanks again. 🤟🏻😳 #TerrifiedFutureDM
Stick with it and it'll be a blast. It definitely starts off bumpy but I also recently became a DM for a party of 5 player!?! And well of course things started off slow but this series of videos is a true lifesaver! I would suggest focusing on improvements after each session and honestly if you feel like you should've changed something while you were playing, WRITE THAT DOWN! This will make your life way easier with processing how you want to run things in the future sessions. It also gives you a direct way to go over sessions quickly by just looking over what mistakes you think you made in your own opinion. Fix those and you will begin to love being a DM and the CONTROLLER of the world of D&D. With time and I assure much quicker than you may think, you will begin to develop your own liking for being a DM as well as your own newly found creative side that adds that fantasy mystery and fun to the player's world!
@@Liam-tw6ii Thank you for the advice. I'll definitely remeber that. And I can't wait. I already have a bunch of ideas for creating my own campaigns and worlds. Kinda psyched to get into the DM thing.
Tyler Messer that’s the best part and assuming you havent started, just prepare yourself for the excitement you’ll feel between sessions. In my experience some of my favorite parts of any campaign is what I think of adding to our home brew in the next session. The main being what kinds of ways can I surprise my adventurers and make them eager to return for more! Good luck!
This is only a strictor version than what you lay out. I kinda like the hardcore Gygaxian way (I think it's in 1st ed PHB or DMG), to roll 3d6 x 6 and those exact numbers (in order) where their stats for Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, Cha.
Naa dude. 2D4. Drop everything except the highest. In order of stats.
I always put them in order from the Advanced D&D list;
STR
INT
WIS
DEX
CON
CHA
I've tried to do the new ways, physical and then mental, but 30 years of old school D&D is hard to shake. I just design my own sheet and Xerox a bunch of them. It's faster to write and read my own compared to the Phandelver blank sheets, but I pass those out to my players.
I like that old method too, but for my players who I DM for, I have a custom system that gives players a little more flexibility in assigning scores to stats.
3d6, in order, may reroll one of them, then can swap any two; then adjust for race, and then (this is where it gets interesting and allows for heroic stats) player may add one more d6 to any stat.
This can make it possible to have a dwarf with truly legendary constitution, e.g.
It allows for the fun of randomness, the possibility of still ending up with one or two low scores, and for the chance of getting a +5 bonus to something.
Latest character made with this method has 7 Wis, but 20 Dex - probably won't notice the trap, but will likely be able to jump out of the way!
This method doesn't work well in practice. It can create some really bad characters that the player will just try to suicide so that they can reroll a better character.
I'm preparing for my very first campaign alongside a bunch of other brand new players. My favorite part of the set up was taking each player's character ideas and working with them to balance out the team. There's a barbarian with greataxe, great. The next player decided on a ranger with a sword and shield. Maybe not min-maxed, but by taking an herbalism kit, making potions a bonus action, and highlighting crowd control spells, boom, we have a support. The final player recognized we needed a ranged party member but was deadset on having a cool axe. Problem solved, we decided she would have two cool axes she could throw.
More important than the balance of the party, I was trying to make each character feel unique and still cohesive. It's fun being able to problem solve and come up with a unique character you wouldn't have thought of otherwise.
I like to use ability scores as the DC for certain checks. So to bribe a town guard with Cha 12 might take a persuasion of DC 12, and so on.
G3 XE That's how I think it should work too! Has that worked well for you in a practical sense?
'Middle-aged' man here, about to start my first 5th edition campaign in a couple of months, after taking a 15+ year hiatus from tabletop RPGs. (Got my first boxed set somewhere around 1985, and played fairly regular until 3.0 came out - didn't feel I needed more books at the time) Tried Pathfinder - it's cool, but 5th ed seems to re-kindle my love for D&D. Got the world roughly laid out, now populating the world. Just started this series. Great, inspirational, and educational content. I just wanted to say thanks for the help! Rock on, sir.
Having played both, I personally prefer pathfinder a bit more. Both are really good, but at least from what I've found, due to the larger skill list, BAB, and just the sheer amount of classes in the game, that you can be more varied. Like when I started my main campaign, I was a magus, which is just a better Eldritch Knight. Now that that characters dead, I play a Hell Knight, which is like a Lawful Paladin, but serves Hell
I've always had problems with deciding whether or not a person should make a skill check based on their stats if the person playing that character doesn't think to do it. like a person whose Int is 18+ making a skill check based on his Int when the person has an obvious Int lower than his character. or a Wis check when the person is all that wise in real life. It's like playing Sherlock Holmes and having no clue about investigating crime scenes
so what do you do about combat? because lets face it, the average dnd player isnt succeeding on a str or cha check in real life any time soon.
in real life, you could easily imagine what it would be like to be super strong, super dexterous, or extremely attractive. those are physical aspects, but it's been proven that people with extremely high intelligence don't think the way normal people think. I know how to adjust for increases in strength and whatnot b/c it's a direct path from being able to lift 100lbs to 500lbs, on the other hand, intelligence is not something that is easily grasped b/c it's all internal
I agree with you there, Danny. A puzzle that the character shouldn't be able to solve but the player can should result in the puzzle not being solved. Likewise, a hyper-intelligent character with a player who isn't that smart can be difficult too. They SHOULD know the answer to the puzzle, because it's obvious to the character but not the player. An important distinction to make. This can be the problem with the non-combat skills (Charisma, Intelligence, and Wisdom).
The player isnt the character. Make them roll things that would seem to be difficult for the character or easy for the character to help them out. I had that issue playing a character with 6 int in l5r (its 1-10 anything above a 4 is pretty high) and im thinking "my character could solve this issue better than me but im having trouble seeing the solution" opposite of that someone playing a barbarian with 3 int shouldnt reallly be able to solve complex problems reguardless of how easy they are to the player. Its like suggesting you can use your own mental stats instead of your characters and i think its a pitfall for some games
My first DM explained a few different methods to us and let us pick which one we each individually wanted to do, with the logic of, do you want to take the safe route and use one of the predetermined number systems or do you want to risk it and role, with the chance of much better (or worse) stats. He also said that he could get a slight gage on how we would play depending on how we chose to make our characters. It was pretty interesting
At first glance I read "Ruining the game" instead of "Running"😂😂
There's a stat roll option that I've used to great success in the past, similar to the point pool. Based on the experience of the players and their will for a challenge, I give them a number between 10-12 (Hard, Normal, Easy). From there, they are allowed to add or subtract from any stat to provide for another. For example, a warrior may choose to +4 his strength, increasing it from 11 to 15, but now he must remove a total of 4 from his other status, so he chooses -3 wisdom and -1 intelligence.
why roll the six sided die, in the words of Tevye, IT'S TRADITION!
I feel like i need a basics video cuz by 4:27 I was like
"...huh?"
"what's a modifier? You're talking too fast!" XD
Say you have a Strength of 17. That isa really good score.
Because your character has a higher than average Strength, when you use a weapon, or just hit something with your fists you do a little more damage, because you are strong.
You are also a little more likely to penetrate your opponent's armor. Because you are strong.
So in combat you make a roll on a 20 sided die to see if you hit. your STR modifier is +2 so you add 2 to the number you rolled to hit. Then umber on the die may not be high enough to be a hit but the +2 might boost your modified roll to a high enough attack roll so you do hit. Then you roll the appropriate dice to determine damage and you add 2 to that number as well.
In other Attributes you would add (or subtract) the appropriate modifier based on the action you are attempting which uses that attribute.
Unbalanced parties have the most potential for memorable stories, yes.
An archaeologist's expedition (wizards and rogues), a thieves' guild (rogues with a few rangers), a mercenary company (rangers/wizards/rogues), crusaders (paladins, clerics and fighters), etc. PC's united with not only common cause but common skillsets, exploring different niches within their own particular class, has a lot of potential.
One fighter in the company may be a frontline tank, the other may use bow and arrow, while yet another is some sort of flanker with dual wielding.
One rogue may be more a thiefly sort more concerned with getting in and outunseen, while another (possible in 3.5, not sure about 5e) is some vicious bounty hunter with a greatsword.
They won't be able to do things a more balanced party could do, but a good DM will learn to work with that. An abundance of healing potions will overcome the most obvious handicap they face. If they encounter some sort of demon and don't have a wizard or cleric capable of casting Magic Weapon, this is also better. Either A: The demon will eventually go down as they overcome its DR through brute force or B: They are forced to retreat, consulting mystics and priests to discover how to fight it, perhaps even embarking on another quest simply to find a weapon capable of bringing down their foe.
I haven't played D&D in years, but one thing that always irked me was when my players would obsess over having a balanced party. I tried to tell them to just play what they wanted and let me worry about making sure things didn't get unfair. (Or at least, TOO unfair, lol... I did once make them fight 100 zombies and a lich in one encounter at level 7. Though that's mostly because there was a turn-focused cleric and a paladin. Amazingly the fight only lasted about an hour to an hour and a half, despite quite a few friendly NPC's being in play as well and a lot of me narrating the path the battle took.)
I believe this video was a good length (not short). I wouldn't mind it being longer, or maybe a post twice a week? wishful thinking? Anyways, Thanks for the vid Matt! Would you happen to have a simplified way to manage inventory. I'm running a game for a group that is pretty new to rpgs and I'm concerned that keeping track of inventory weight just isn't fun.
I would just give them a bag of holding or two soon. that way you don't have to worry so much
+chocobarohenrawr I'm not an experienced DM like Matt, but I'd say tracking weight isn't really relevant unless your party is hoarding heavy items, or you have some notably weak characters. In my current campaign I don't track the numbers specifically, but keep in mind a general idea of how much weight they should be able to carry.
+chocobarohenrawr I don't really expect my players to manage how much weight they can carry, aka Encumbrance. The exception is when the treasure is such (something big and heavy, or lots of gold) that it's unreasonable to expect them to carry it all back.
Part of the fun of adventuring is "Ok, how do we get this loot back to town?" :D
My DM was running another group without a Cleric, but they did have a Pact of the Chain Warlock with an imp for a familiar. They gave the imp a Bag of Holding full of healing potions. Imps can become invisible, so it was running around invisible administering healing potions to whoever dropped. Thief Rogues can do something similar - using items as a bonus action.
I’m just starting to listen/watching your videos and they are amazing, I’m getting lots of ideas for my first campaign as a DM.
You mention in this video about a Excel document, but the link that you put in the description says that it was taken down. Is there any other place to get that document? Or any similar you can recommend? Thank you :)
I am wondering the same thing...Where can we get a (good) spreadsheet calculator thingie?
Thanks in advance!
P.S. Love your videos, very informative!
My method is a hybrid of 4d6k3 and point buy. Roll the stats, calculate how many points that gives you, and if it is lower than what point buy would have granted, then you have an opportunity to increase your rolls manually. You cannot lower any of the rolls to get more points, however. Doesn't stop some high-rollers from being more powerful, but it at least stops anyone from having worthless stats, and keeps the randomness factor. Then apply to whatever stats you want, because I tend to play with people who have a clear idea of what character they want.
Not a fan of assigned stats personally, it offers less choice in what you can be, kind of punishes things if you go in with a concept in mind rather than making one on the spot. I also prefer point buy, simply because the party is then balanced stat wise
@Taylor H. That's really good.
For Stat generation I've found I like using this method. Everyone gets one 18 and one 8 to put where ever they want. Then they roll 1d8+9 for the rest of their abilities.
This ensure's everyone has a strong point and a weak point and keeps the rest of the stats in a fun range where nobody risks getting all 6's and I don't have to worry about someone getting super high rolls on all their stats. It's also very simple and quick. I often use this method to generate NPC stats.
hahahaha 21:46. I realize you're wearing your jammies. nice. love you and your videos.
It's just a polo shirt, man.
Listening to this gave me an idea for a interesting start for a game:
You are all members of a traveling circus troupe, one day while traveling you are caught in a battle between a group of adventurers and a horde of (insert monster here) in the battle both the adventurers and monsters and most of your troupe are wiped out.
In the aftermath of the battle you realize that these adventurers were the Heroes of Somesuch and without them providing hope, the world will fall into despair, so you and you troupe mates decide to impersonate and take up the mantle of these heroes. The magician takes up the robes and spellbook of the fallen wizard, the clown become the mysterious monk, the animal tamer becomes the Druid or ranger, the strongman becomes the Barbarian, the lead actress becomes a paladin of light, etc. etc.
Is that interesting? Or does it only sound cool to me?
The Executive Character Sheet! = broken link/missing file
Note that this video is approaching 4 years old and the ecosystem has changed a lot in the meantime. In 2019 you're probably better off going with D&D Beyond or whatever is in your VTT platform of choice.
I do tend to prefer some party balance, but the nice thing about party balance is that there isn't just one class that fills each role. You can tank as a Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Paladin, maybe even a Ranger, etc. Healer can be a Bard, Cleric, Druid, Paladin, Ranger, Wizard, etc. Diplomat can be pretty much anyone with a decent Charisma score.
I think the way to go is to let people play whatever character they want, and then steer them towards making decisions that benefit the party as a whole.
You need to get jordi and get that game on youtube immediately. please. pretty please.
*continues marathoning*
My system is very simple: 3d6 for stats. For each stat, you get to pick where it goes. If you want to reroll any dice, you MUST reroll ALL your rolls and every time after the first free reroll I will randomly (it's not actually random. I can sometimes be a dick about it) lower one of their stats by 2 points. Just one Stat by a total of two. Every roll after that is stacked. 3rd reroll -2 & -2, 4th reroll -2/-2/-2, and so on so forth until I subtract 2 from all of your scores. Once i reach that point there are no rerolls available. It basically gives them an air of control while simultaneously being super fun for me.
How would you handle a player that refuses to make a character sheet and threatens to quit when pushed to do so? Its my best friens playing in a game I'm running, it seems odd and I cant find a way to broach it and explain to him how important it is.
I am serious, he's a good friend and popular with the other players, everything else is going well for the most part! I just need the information to make an argument that is so painfully obvious to me and you that its flabbergasting and I don't know where to start!
It does suck, I plan to make his sheet, maybe he'll see how handy it is and want a copy! haha! But really what do you say to a person who's adversarial enough to say "there's not rule that says: I have to have a character sheet"
I've put my foot down on stuff, I wont tolerate just "anything". But the most important thing to me is having the group in the first place, I dont want to destroy that, the character sheet issue is close to big enough to make me give up but not quite, so you can see how an issue like this on the verge is so glaringly annoying. I do what I need to do for the fun of all in my group, meanwhile working it to get what I need from my players to make my time and effort more efficient. So blowing up on him is not a real option, but I think either I make him one and he allows me to manage it or I'll have put up an ultamatum that is on him and let everyone know. It's just really annoying but I'd still probably rather deal with the BS than cancel it all together.
Did he read the fucking book? Every section of "creating a character" in the PHB ends telling you to write the stuff in your char sheet. Smash the open book in his fucking face and tell him to do it or get out.
Matheus Evangelista de Souza ...Don't do this. You both lose out in this case.
I highly recommend playing around with making, and especially rolling, totally wacky characters. I once ran a one-shot where we rolled characters before playing, but after some special chocolate, and we rolled everything. I had the players roll stats on d20s, roll for their race, class, background stuff, even equipment. It was bananas and awesome. The wizard had 7 Int but 20 Dex, so he was melee fighting with a sword the whole time and throwing around some cantrips. Try stupid things with it!
did Jordy ever give the go ahead for playing again??? please senpai I must know
Just noticed the Axis and Allies box behind, really neat - have the same one in my closet as well.
Hey Mat, it's 2019 and I can't find your Executive Character Sheet
The spreadsheet was taken offline. The website D&D Beyond is the official Wizards of the Coast service for things like character generation.
Without getting too much into the legal side, the spreadsheet contained material from the published books that was not part of the rules published for free. Several tools that contained material like this were all taken offline when D&D Beyond finally launched. Not getting into any discussion about why, just letting you know what happened.
The spreadsheet may still be available some places but no longer on ENworld's forum.
@@SadPenguinInSnow Thank you for the reply. Very informative and helpful 👍
Im running my first DnD character with some friends and family who either know nothing or know a little, and what were doing for our dice roll to make things more interesting is this. You do the normal and roll 4 D6, but, if all of the dice are the same number, you take all 4 dice as is. Seeing as it is uncommon for it to happen, it can add so much more to character creation. On one hand you became super powerful on one area by rolling all 6s and getting 24 in one stat, or being super weak by rolling all 1s and only getting 4. Everyone was really into this idea, espesally the ones whove played before as it add a little something extra and unique that can happen to each character.
I'm definitely going to steal this idea. Something about it activates my Minor Irrational Compulsion for dice collecting, as well as gambling.
what, someone DOESN'T want to be a thief?!
Then they roll a barbarian and hit the locks and traps with their waraxe until the same effect is made
Back in 2E, I knew someone who rolled up a character with 18/00 strength the very first time they created a character - and that was using the old-school 6x3d6, in the order they were rolled (the /00 is something specific to Warrior classes in that system - a Warrior character with 18 strength rolled 1d100 for an additional strength stat - so if they rolled 42, their strength would be "18/42" - 18/00 was 18 on the 3d6 and then 100 on the d100, or the best possible roll...)
You goofed. The Thief was not a character class in 1974. It first appeared in the Greyhawk supplement. Also, I've never understood the "You've been captured, now go on a suicide mission to gain your freedom." Me: "Yep, I head in the direction of the mission." And just keep going.
In fact the thief was invented by the folks at Aero Hobbies, which I've been to several times, up in L.A..
Who said the thief was a character class in 1974?
Also, your character who just keeps going dies when their collar explodes. Thanks for playing! Probably there's another table you'll be happier at!
Always nice to get some little known info. At least, I didn't know that.
edlaprade he really just seemed to be giving a little example of something he played. Do you need to explain it all and make the video longer? Or can we assume during the game there was a reason they didn't do that and then take at value what the story was told for (ie interesting character creation)
I always wanted to DM for my friends, but was a bit lost at how to begin. We just had our first session and they loved it. Thank you so much for making this series, it has really helped me a lot.
Basic D&D actually makes use of the Ability Modifier. Skill rolls are "Roll 1d20, if it's at or below X, you win at D&D."
i made a combination of roling and adjusting - for balancing:
1) The players role 4d6 six times (take the 3 best) and write it down.
2) compare the total numbers with 70
3) adjust the single attributes by adding (max 16) or subtracting that you end up with a total of 70
I use the first number in the ability score on rare occassions, as tie breakers for opposed ability checks. For example, when two characters do an opposed strength check, and they get a tie, the ability score acts as a tiebreaker of sorts, that (in 5e) results in advantage on that character's next roll in the contest. When the penalized character then still manages to pull a victory the next round, their sense of accomplishment is all the greater.
I started watching yesterday from the beginning of this series and wow man you are amazing. By far the best I’ve seen on here talking about d&d, I’m currently designing my first ever adventure to dm with my house mates, was kinda overwhelmed initially but you make it so much more bearable, love the tips and inspiration you give keep up the excellent work mae
I was an anthropology major in college. My favorite character I've played so far was one in which I put a lot of my own academic background - a half-elf College of Lore bard and a fantasy equivalent of an ethnomusicologist. In a world where scholars sat in their towers with their tomes my character had the novel (in-universe) approach of going directly to the people groups he was studying, with the goal of compiling the songs and musical styles and significance thereof of the world into one great magnum opus. Extremely fun to play, and the knowledge skills and many languages in his repertoire came in very handy in many situations.
The Balanced party part really sticks with me as our party is fairly damage leaning. We have a Barbarian, a Fighter, a Monk a Ranger and our lone healer is the Bard. I think the way I went about with it, accidentally so, as the fighter was that while my fighter isn't the strongest (I'm kinda going for a feat based fighter? Could change later on), he has a high Charisma and Dexterity like a thief, to where I could be able to be useful in some thievy ways, tied to my fighter's backstory before he became a fighter. It's helped create a running game, where our Barbarian player always asks me why I am at such low strength, but my Charisma is that high. It usually comes up when I miss a target. And that happened a lot last session.
OK I'm going to give my own method for rolling ability dice for players...it's a bit weird, but as far as I've checked it, it ALWAYS produces a good result. It goes like this:
You start by rolling 4d6 and discarding the lowest for each of the stats.
You then distribute the totals to the stats as normal.
So far so good, but here is where it gets fun:
You make a temporary point pool that we will call..."the pool".
Now you go through each ability individually and when a stat is lower than 13 you add points to the pool based on the difference. When a stat is higher than 13, you subtract points from the pool based on the difference (The pool CAN be negative). For example: If a character has 8 STR you add 5 points to the pool, and if it has 16 STR you subtract 3 points from the pool.
When you are done calculating the pool, you take pool total and tell the player that they need to add (or subtract) all the points in this pool from ONE ability score. They cannot just add the points wherever they want, it has to be on 1 ability score. If that ability reaches 20 or 3, they can then continue adding or subtracting from another ability. (if you find the 20 or 3 too extreme, just make the maximum numbers 18 and 6).
I know it sounds complex, but once you do it a few times it's really simple and it's actually not something the players have to worry about anyway (you can calculate the pool for them). The result of this method is that players ALWAYS have an above average total, but in most cases some of their stats will be really low, while others will be really high. It also makes it so when you roll bad, you actually like it because it will effectively allow you to reach a higher maximum on your key abilities. It also actually limits the power of people who rolled really high. So in essence, it creates vastly different characters, but no one is ever TOO strong or TOO shitty (which is frankly kind of the point).
My favorite stat method is the Tic-Tac-Toe method. Create a 3x3 grid like so:
Int Wis Cha
Str |___|___|___|
Dex |___|___|___|
Con |___|___|___|
Roll 3d6 and place the score in whichever open space you like. Repeat this 8 times, then assign each stat one unused score from its row or column.
I’m so glad I found your channel. You are truly a gold mine of excellent information and you provide it in such a meaningful and understandable fashion. I truly feel that I’ll be running my first campaign in no time thanks to you!
You know, you make an excellent point here: There are so many things in tabletop RPGs that we as players accept because "that's how it always was". I never once questioned the whole score vs modifier thing, but it really doesn't make sense anymore. Listening to you talk about this subject has greatly helped me with designing my own system, simplifying it in such a way that the players get the fun of a complex system but understand *why* they are doing things.
Amen to the party balance idea. The game is so much more fun when you just play what you want. Besides, a good GM will balance things for the party you have.
I started using a system we called the "Chinese menu" pick system for generating stats. There are 3 columns of 2 numbers, one is high and one is low and you take them in pairs. The first column is 18-10, 17-11, 16-12, 15-13. The second is 15-7, 14-8, 3-9, 12-10. The third is 13-7, 12-8, 11-9, 10-10. It's close to 4d6-L and gives people choice as opposed to a simple list.
Found your channel just a week ago, but I have loved your videos.
I thought I'd share the system my players and me use: We roll 4d6 (drop the lowest) 7 times, then drop the second to last score. When wanting to play a higher power campaign we roll two columns of scores, and the player can choose which one to use. You can't pick scores from each one, you have to take the whole column. You can even try to roll new columns, but you must discard the oldest one each time, and also, you must reduce your second highest score in the new column by 1 for each new column you roll.
I played D & D & Gamma World all throughout my pre-teens and teenage years. I have a 9 year old son now and I've been wanting to start playing D & D again to teach my son. After binge watching your first 3 youtube videos, I'm going to buy DM's Guide, Players Handbook and Monster Manual. (So sad, I used to have a shelf full of D & D books.)
Thank you so much for posting these videos. They are a lot fo fun to watch and I'm learning (and relearning) a lot about D & D too.
My current group that I am DMing for, I let them make a character with whatever class they wanted, and no one chose a Rogue. I told them, you might have a tough time with traps and locks. They were okay with that and so I was like sounds great. It has made the game so much more interesting because when they want to pick the lock on a chest or whatever, now they have to really think about it and brainstorm.
I remember a few decades ago when our DM made us create a group of 6th level Characters to DO "Expedition to Castle Ravenloft". He was a bit pissed when we got together and created a group of 5 PALADINS and a LG CLERIC of Pelor, and we went and creamed the place. He found out how difficult it was to kill 6 characters blessed with the Domain of Healing.
I like to DM high powered games, so my method is letting all players roll 4d6 drop lowest, but the highest ability set among all the players become everyone's ability set. And they can put them where they want.
I fail to understand why anyone would give this 23 minute D&D sermon of awesomeness a dislike... grrrr.
Call it blind frustration
Call it blind man’s bluff
Call each other names -
Your voices rude - your voices rough
Then you learn the lesson
That it’s cool to be so tough
- The Professor (AKA Pratt)
You can try this;
-Take 4d6 and roll 7 times, one for each stat (depending how many you have in your system), drop the lowest dice for each.
-If you have a very low stat still in your main stat, i offer my players to give away health points (hit points) to get it to max 16, but only on their main stat.
That way, a player can still have his archetype character he wish and be good at his specific task but still have low stats to role play. He also have to be more careful (give him a sense of danger...) with his character since he had to sacrifice health points.
I totally agree that some people want to bring their own heros into the game. I now warn my player from the start that getting a Level 1 Ninja is like hiring Clumsy Frodo. Playing Frodo is fun, playing a Ninja Frodo is just frustrating...be prepared! So that way, they know that being a Ninja is gonna be a journey and they are starting at the bottom of it. No more annoying Ninjas, impossible to handle players!.
Also, for a first try of the game to new player, i suggest new player to create only what i call a 'dummy' character to try the game before joining. Funny enough, most people still get attach to that character and decide to continue with it, just changing their name and background info (which they get to think about before the next session.) Win-Win.