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!!
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.
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.
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.
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.
@@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.
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.
@@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
+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 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!
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! ✊
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.
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!!!
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
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
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.
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!
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!!!
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 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.
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 :)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!!
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?
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’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!
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
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.]
14:03 because the rounded down average of a d4 is 2. I believe the “proficiency dice” variant was the original and they didn’t just want to change everything to remove support for an optional feature.
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.
Like others have stated here and in other videos, you're very effective at explaining the game. I recently started again after a hiatus of...let's see now...30 years! I am glad that 5e is out because, if all you ever played was D&D and AD&D, it's not too tough to learn. The real fundamentals haven't changed at all of course and the real heart of the game is in the collective minds of the players and the DM. I don't mind when you're videos are long because it's just plain entertaining to listen to. Please keep up this work--great job!
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!
I want to say 2 things 1: thanks for making these videos. they really help me as a starting DM, more often than not with what i forget when running the game. 2: i really like your enthousiasm you show While talking about all the things you talk about in the "running the game" videos. It makes me want to DM even more and took away my "fear/insecurity" at being a DM. Can't thank you enough.
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.
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.
Dude! You should really have more subs. Like, in the few hours I have invested watching your videos, I have learned way more about DM'ing than days of studying the rulebooks. Granted, you are not actually teaching DnD but teaching the mindset a DM must have to make an enjoyable adventure. To me, that was always the one thing that I had the most problem grasping through the books. Thank you for being awesome!
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).
Great Video Matt, I believe that Gary Gygax said that a heroic character needs two stats of 15 or higher. This is the method I use which is found in the 3.5 DMG page 169. 5. Organic Characters: Roll 4d6 six times, discarding the lowest die each time. Place in order (Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, Cha) as rolled. Reroll any one ability score of your choice, taking the new roll if it’s higher. Then switch any two ability scores. This method allows some choice but doesn’t let a player have all her ability scores exactly where she wants them. A character might have to learn to cope with unwanted clumsiness (just as in real life), or she may have a personal talent that isn’t usual for a member of her class (such as a high Strength score for a sorcerer).
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.
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 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.
Just wanted to say, I ran a one-shot D&D game tonight after watching the four previous videos, and I think the advice really helped make the session better! Already had the dungeon mapped out and all those details sorted, but I was just gonna drop them in at the first encounter originally. Instead, they got their mission, investigated a little bit before heading off, and tracked down the goblin's lair themselves. Had to rush a bit near the end, but because of that, I got to leave it on a great cliffhanger, possibly setting up a future campaign (we're already in a campaign, but our GM was busy tonight, hence my one-shot)! So thank you for these videos, I'll watch the rest soon!
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.
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!
On a personal note Matthew or Matt, I'd like to thank you for your videos. This is the first time I've actually taken the time to write anything in the comments on youtube. Anyways, my wife and I played our first game a month ago and found out we loved it. We bought the starter kit, DMG and the Player books....... We felt very in over our heads with how much there is to this. But none the less we were very excited about getting the books to we could learn it. THANK YOU SO MUCH, for basically simplifying everything the books said. We honestly tried reading them cover to cover and our brains just melted or exploded (Whichever works). I Love the ideas and new ways of thinking you have provide us. The thing about starting on level 7 with your friend and the whole prison thing, absolutely brilliant! And how you said you would adjust accordingly to the players. I think for another video if you could explain more on HP and attacks for monster's or villains would be great for others who seemed confused. However if they watch 1-4 of your videos like I did they might figure out how to size up monsters. One thing that I have a question on is how characters level up, manly on how you as a DM give out XP and then how do you know the player has gained enough to level up. I haven't seen all your videos yet, and don't know if you have already done that, these were just a couple of things I know I struggled understanding. Again thank you so much for making these videos, thank you for keeping them fairly short (for the most part), for all the example of how to be a good DM and a down to earth guy. Seriously the best
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.
Hey, I've been listening to your videos a lot recently. I DM frequently, usually improvising the entire adventure as I go (I often don't know if I'm DMing until 5 minutes beforehand). Just want to say thanks, cause you're giving me all sorts of ideas I hadn't thought to think about for quite a while. Some really great tips for creating a more believable world, and running a game that'll ensnare the players in it's webs. Thanks again, and I'll keep listening!
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.
You are such a great human being. I love watching these videos to get a better grasp on being a DM. I tried once, and neither the players or I had any idea what we were doing.
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 :)
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.
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.
Hey Matt- I haven't run games since before 3rd edition and felt like I would never be able to remember the skills, tricks, and best practices to get started again. Thank you for these videos. I feel like they are reawakening a long dormant portion of my brain and soul. I feel indebted for your efforts and wanted to convey my heartfelt gratitude. Much obliged dude.
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.
+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
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.
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.
Your videos are great. I have a fairly new group I'm running for and some of your advise has been very helpful. I like yourself, have been playing or running the game for years and have still found your videos very helpful and insightful. So thank you! For stats, we do the point buy. Rolling as you said was a bit too random, and none of us care for the matrix. Surprisingly it's great how the players have fleshed out their characters within the point buy.
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.
'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
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.
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.
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.
I have just stumbled on your channel, and I have to say it's awesome. I have been roleplaying since the late 80s, but have stopped table-topping for about 15 years. Your content is so good, I've gone ahead and re-formed my old roleplaying group. We're now separated by the Atlantic ocean, but I have the itch to DM again and we'll make it work. Thanks for the inspiration!!!
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
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
This video is fantastic! I'm a first time DM (and really first time D&D player all together.. ahhhh!!!), and I wish I'd seen this video before I saw down with my players to make characters. I think I had to read through the Players Handbook about 15 times on the section about Ability Scores before my math-hating brain finally understood. We got things sorted after about two hours, and I'm so glad we got it right! Yay maths! Thank you so much for making these videos! I'm learning so much and I'm so excited to put these new tips and tricks to use!
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.
Gotta say man you make DnD sound amazing, allot of quick cuts in some of your videos but still do an amazing job at describing and getting the point across but also at the same time keeping the topic interesting, awesome job man.
I'm late to this series (and to D&D at almost 50 years old) but I'm a brand new DM and your videos are helping me tremendously to feel less intimidated. Also sparking all sorts of ideas. Thank you for sharing your experience and resources!
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 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.
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
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
Your voice is amazing! Sometimes people drone on for 20 minutes and put you to sleep but something about the way you talk just keeps my interest. It makes covering this kind of material, which is usually boring, enjoyable. You bring up lots of things that people don't usually think about. I know when I first started as a DM I was horrible. I've gotten better, through watching Mercer and Perkins (and various videos) but I'm still not amazing. Keep up the great work and sorry for the semi-wall-of-text.
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!
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)
Great new DM video. You can read so much in the books but it all seesm to make much more sense when you explain it. The Cargo Cult reference is well worth looking up, so interesting. Thank you for these videos.
I have just discovered this channel. I played DND back in the 80's and am trying to rediscover it with some of my friends. I really appreciate your time and effort creating this series and I am learning so much! I've yet to produce my first game (I wasn't originally wanting to be DM--I wanted to go find someone experienced, but we're going to struggle through it together).
I came across an idea when coming up with characters using online creators that lends to a more improv idea like you mentioned. First, you pick your race (or second), then you roll 4d6 droplow for each stat, all before you pick your class. What this sets up is who your character is as a being in a world, you were born into a peoples, and you have the body and mind you inherited from your parents and your upbringing. From there, naturally as someone who knows their strengths, weaknesses and overall preferences, your character then would choose the career/class they take. Like a halfway between "bring your own character idea" and something of an improv/random generated. Nothing revolutionary, and the description isn't great (2:30am) but I liked the idea.
I just want to add you to my "I wish he was my DM" list right under Mercer. I love the way you explain the game because I can just follow you without misunderstanding anything everything is explained really well. I don't mind the video length at all so I look forward to seeing how you deal with it. Thanks again.
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.
Just subbed to your channel. I DM sporadically, and your videos are a godsend for generating ideas for D&D sessions. About your comment about an all-monk party, that's pretty cool. I also think that with the variety of Domains available to Clerics for 5th Edition, and how cool and amazing they are now, and all Cleric party would be pretty boss too.
So I always like to come back and re-watch this video. This time, I had rolled a new character, and your comment at around 1:30 made me chuckle. "Realistically it is between 8 and 18. It's very rare these days you see a character with scores of 3 or 4." I have a character that rolled a 5 in Intelligence. He's barely able to comprehend language. He's a HOOT to play.
"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
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"
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
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!
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!!!
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!
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 ,
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.
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?
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 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!
Willow clip?? This series just impossibly keeps getting better and better!
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!!
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!
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 :)
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!"
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.
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!
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 just recently found your videos. It’s really making me want to start playing D&D again. Thanks, man!
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.
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!
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'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.
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!
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.]
14:03 because the rounded down average of a d4 is 2. I believe the “proficiency dice” variant was the original and they didn’t just want to change everything to remove support for an optional feature.
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 (:
Like others have stated here and in other videos, you're very effective at explaining the game. I recently started again after a hiatus of...let's see now...30 years! I am glad that 5e is out because, if all you ever played was D&D and AD&D, it's not too tough to learn. The real fundamentals haven't changed at all of course and the real heart of the game is in the collective minds of the players and the DM. I don't mind when you're videos are long because it's just plain entertaining to listen to. Please keep up this work--great job!
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
I want to say 2 things
1: thanks for making these videos. they really help me as a starting DM, more often than not with what i forget when running the game.
2: i really like your enthousiasm you show While talking about all the things you talk about in the "running the game" videos. It makes me want to DM even more and took away my "fear/insecurity" at being a DM. Can't thank you enough.
One nice advantage of having six stats is that when designing a dungeon you can roll 1D6 and put a skill check there
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.
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?
Dude! You should really have more subs. Like, in the few hours I have invested watching your videos, I have learned way more about DM'ing than days of studying the rulebooks. Granted, you are not actually teaching DnD but teaching the mindset a DM must have to make an enjoyable adventure. To me, that was always the one thing that I had the most problem grasping through the books. Thank you for being awesome!
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.
Great Video Matt, I believe that Gary Gygax said that a heroic character needs two stats of 15 or higher.
This is the method I use which is found in the 3.5 DMG page 169.
5. Organic Characters: Roll 4d6 six times, discarding the lowest die each time. Place in order (Str, Dex, Con, Int, Wis, Cha) as rolled.
Reroll any one ability score of your choice, taking the new roll if it’s higher.
Then switch any two ability scores.
This method allows some choice but doesn’t let a player have all her ability scores exactly where she wants them. A character might have to learn to cope with unwanted clumsiness (just as in real life), or she may have a personal talent that isn’t usual for a member of her class (such as a high Strength score for a sorcerer).
We use the Dexerity ability score if players tie on a imitative roll.
Imitation should be performance roll.
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.
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.
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 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.
Just wanted to say, I ran a one-shot D&D game tonight after watching the four previous videos, and I think the advice really helped make the session better! Already had the dungeon mapped out and all those details sorted, but I was just gonna drop them in at the first encounter originally. Instead, they got their mission, investigated a little bit before heading off, and tracked down the goblin's lair themselves. Had to rush a bit near the end, but because of that, I got to leave it on a great cliffhanger, possibly setting up a future campaign (we're already in a campaign, but our GM was busy tonight, hence my one-shot)! So thank you for these videos, I'll watch the rest soon!
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 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!
Fantastic channel! Critical Role needs to have you guest star.
On a personal note Matthew or Matt, I'd like to thank you for your videos. This is the first time I've actually taken the time to write anything in the comments on youtube. Anyways, my wife and I played our first game a month ago and found out we loved it. We bought the starter kit, DMG and the Player books....... We felt very in over our heads with how much there is to this. But none the less we were very excited about getting the books to we could learn it.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, for basically simplifying everything the books said. We honestly tried reading them cover to cover and our brains just melted or exploded (Whichever works). I Love the ideas and new ways of thinking you have provide us. The thing about starting on level 7 with your friend and the whole prison thing, absolutely brilliant! And how you said you would adjust accordingly to the players.
I think for another video if you could explain more on HP and attacks for monster's or villains would be great for others who seemed confused. However if they watch 1-4 of your videos like I did they might figure out how to size up monsters. One thing that I have a question on is how characters level up, manly on how you as a DM give out XP and then how do you know the player has gained enough to level up. I haven't seen all your videos yet, and don't know if you have already done that, these were just a couple of things I know I struggled understanding.
Again thank you so much for making these videos, thank you for keeping them fairly short (for the most part), for all the example of how to be a good DM and a down to earth guy. Seriously the best
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.
Hey, I've been listening to your videos a lot recently. I DM frequently, usually improvising the entire adventure as I go (I often don't know if I'm DMing until 5 minutes beforehand). Just want to say thanks, cause you're giving me all sorts of ideas I hadn't thought to think about for quite a while. Some really great tips for creating a more believable world, and running a game that'll ensnare the players in it's webs. Thanks again, and I'll keep listening!
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.
My guy, your voice is so soothing and easy to listen to. You're doing an amazing job explaining all this to this new DM. Thanks so much, man.
At first glance I read "Ruining the game" instead of "Running"😂😂
You are such a great human being. I love watching these videos to get a better grasp on being a DM. I tried once, and neither the players or I had any idea what we were doing.
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!
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.
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.
Hey Matt- I haven't run games since before 3rd edition and felt like I would never be able to remember the skills, tricks, and best practices to get started again. Thank you for these videos. I feel like they are reawakening a long dormant portion of my brain and soul. I feel indebted for your efforts and wanted to convey my heartfelt gratitude. Much obliged dude.
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
Thanks for all the info. Your insight is most welcome! I used to play D&D many many years ago and I recently got into 5th Edition.
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.
Your videos are great. I have a fairly new group I'm running for and some of your advise has been very helpful. I like yourself, have been playing or running the game for years and have still found your videos very helpful and insightful. So thank you!
For stats, we do the point buy. Rolling as you said was a bit too random, and none of us care for the matrix. Surprisingly it's great how the players have fleshed out their characters within the point buy.
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.
'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
why roll the six sided die, in the words of Tevye, IT'S TRADITION!
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 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?
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.
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 only recently discovered your channel. So glad I did. I've been binging your content for about a week now. Really excellent work, brother.
hahahaha 21:46. I realize you're wearing your jammies. nice. love you and your videos.
It's just a polo shirt, man.
I have just stumbled on your channel, and I have to say it's awesome. I have been roleplaying since the late 80s, but have stopped table-topping for about 15 years. Your content is so good, I've gone ahead and re-formed my old roleplaying group. We're now separated by the Atlantic ocean, but I have the itch to DM again and we'll make it work. Thanks for the inspiration!!!
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
This video is fantastic! I'm a first time DM (and really first time D&D player all together.. ahhhh!!!), and I wish I'd seen this video before I saw down with my players to make characters. I think I had to read through the Players Handbook about 15 times on the section about Ability Scores before my math-hating brain finally understood. We got things sorted after about two hours, and I'm so glad we got it right! Yay maths! Thank you so much for making these videos! I'm learning so much and I'm so excited to put these new tips and tricks to use!
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 👍
Gotta say man you make DnD sound amazing, allot of quick cuts in some of your videos but still do an amazing job at describing and getting the point across but also at the same time keeping the topic interesting, awesome job man.
did Jordy ever give the go ahead for playing again??? please senpai I must know
I'm late to this series (and to D&D at almost 50 years old) but I'm a brand new DM and your videos are helping me tremendously to feel less intimidated. Also sparking all sorts of ideas. Thank you for sharing your experience and resources!
You need to get jordi and get that game on youtube immediately. please. pretty please.
*continues marathoning*
This is such an awesome series! I hope I one day have a D&D adventure repertoire as extensive as yours.
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 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.
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.
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
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
Your voice is amazing! Sometimes people drone on for 20 minutes and put you to sleep but something about the way you talk just keeps my interest. It makes covering this kind of material, which is usually boring, enjoyable. You bring up lots of things that people don't usually think about. I know when I first started as a DM I was horrible. I've gotten better, through watching Mercer and Perkins (and various videos) but I'm still not amazing. Keep up the great work and sorry for the semi-wall-of-text.
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)
Great new DM video. You can read so much in the books but it all seesm to make much more sense when you explain it. The Cargo Cult reference is well worth looking up, so interesting. Thank you for these videos.
I have just discovered this channel. I played DND back in the 80's and am trying to rediscover it with some of my friends. I really appreciate your time and effort creating this series and I am learning so much! I've yet to produce my first game (I wasn't originally wanting to be DM--I wanted to go find someone experienced, but we're going to struggle through it together).
These are excellent Matt! Great pace throughout, and so informative!
I came across an idea when coming up with characters using online creators that lends to a more improv idea like you mentioned.
First, you pick your race (or second), then you roll 4d6 droplow for each stat, all before you pick your class. What this sets up is who your character is as a being in a world, you were born into a peoples, and you have the body and mind you inherited from your parents and your upbringing.
From there, naturally as someone who knows their strengths, weaknesses and overall preferences, your character then would choose the career/class they take.
Like a halfway between "bring your own character idea" and something of an improv/random generated.
Nothing revolutionary, and the description isn't great (2:30am) but I liked the idea.
I just want to add you to my "I wish he was my DM" list right under Mercer. I love the way you explain the game because I can just follow you without misunderstanding anything everything is explained really well. I don't mind the video length at all so I look forward to seeing how you deal with it. Thanks again.
+TheWondergnome Honored to be #2 after Matt Mercer! That dude is way better at voices than me, but I have better minis. :D
Hahaha, I can't wait to see the fabled collection!
+Matthew Colville Uh oh, I think you may start something here... Mercer loves his minis.
It fills my heart with joy to see three quarters of a million people watched videos to learn how to run D&D better.
I love the Willow reference!!!
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.
Just subbed to your channel. I DM sporadically, and your videos are a godsend for generating ideas for D&D sessions. About your comment about an all-monk party, that's pretty cool. I also think that with the variety of Domains available to Clerics for 5th Edition, and how cool and amazing they are now, and all Cleric party would be pretty boss too.
So I always like to come back and re-watch this video.
This time, I had rolled a new character, and your comment at around 1:30 made me chuckle. "Realistically it is between 8 and 18. It's very rare these days you see a character with scores of 3 or 4."
I have a character that rolled a 5 in Intelligence. He's barely able to comprehend language. He's a HOOT to play.
Just noticed the Axis and Allies box behind, really neat - have the same one in my closet as well.