What do you think is your DM’s level or your level as DM? GAMEPLAY STORYTELLING ETIQUETTE EXTRA GSEE I prefer to be: 5+5+5+0 = 15 But my previous group forces me to be: 5+5+5+4 = 19
“Trainers can carry as many Pokémon’s as they wish. However, how much love and attention will they be able to give to each of them? That why we limited it to 6.”
"Appreciate your players." I aid a school's D&D club as a consultant, mentor, and more. One of the things I teach the students is everyone's number 1 responsibility, being respectful of eachother and facilitate fun through the game for all. This applies to the DM as well in at least 2 ways. 1) Leading by example and 2) A DM is a not DM if they have no players. Sure you may have campaigns you have prepared and know some rules, but you can't be a DM for "no one."
This is awesome - for some reason I've been anxious about DMing the next session, which actually starts in just a few hours - I'm glad I caught this video
CJ, I just recently got interested in d and d, and your videos were the first that I watched (because I was looking for a streamlined animated explanation of play). They were funny, informational, and thought provoking. I am very interested in d and d as an cooperative storytelling experience with friends, and I can’t wait to put my ideas into a game. I guess I am officially a level 1 GM, having just got my core rule book set 2 days ago, and I finally wrangled 4 interested (and new) players from my group of friends and their friends. Finding players happened a little faster than I expected so now I’m trying to put together our first game. Thank you for your content!
I feel being targeted lol. I mean seriously 1. Forever DM 2. School DnD club 3. Huge number of players Anyways thanks for the advise. I will sure use them when dming my next game.
You can always suggest co-DMing, It allows players to get a feeling for DMing Making them more aware Or even start DMing on their own. Allowing you to take a day off, Become a player for once Or split the group into smaller ones. If you have a group of experienced players, You could run a God Must Be Crazy One-shot, (Aka everyone gets a God point that they can expand to become the DM) This gives the players a chance to influence the story And develop a DMing style.
I'm a forever dm. Desperately craving for a taste of dragon slaying rather than being the dragon slayed. Last time in the player video i judged my forever player using your video's criteria. Now its time to do some proper reflection and judge MYSELF. Gaming: 3.3 i can't decide on whether im a 3 or 4 so to be humble I'll say I'm a 3. As a rules lawyer I of course know the rules. I know them and follow them too much sometimes to a detriment. Players can't challenge my rulings or help clarify for me because they are apparently too illiterate to even try. So when something isn't in the book... Well wait 10 minutes for me to come up with rules for it... This is why pacing and choices isn't a category i belong to. Adjust rules and homebrew is one I belong to though. I once tried making my own tabletop ruleset for crying out loud! I guess I just really love rules... Its all I care about now that I'm retrospecting about it! As a game developer, i know how to write and run a good game. Applying theories and knowledge I use crafting my computer games over to the table. With varying levels of success... I'm sort of adaptable but sort of not, which is why I wonder if I'm 3 or 4. Lol. Storytelling: 2 I'm also a writer, i mostly write fanfiction. The occassional short story, a poem here and there, and 1 unfinished novel that will never be finished. I think I do pretty well in story, gaming, and worldbuilding. But that's actually it for my storytelling skills. I get too caught up in my stories and worlds that I often forget I'm writing a game for my players. Not a novel, or a script for a film. I always seem to leave the players as an afterthought... So I'm 2 in story telling. I'm one of those horror dm's that railroad players apparently. Which is why I've been making more sandbox type campaigns and improvise more stuff on the fly so I can improve. Try to... Etiquette: 5 I'm actually a perfect score here. Nice. I obviously am not a hobo and anyone with access to youtube should have access to daily baths as well. I have a schedule and I stick to it. Even if no one shows up I'll show up as it is my responsibility as a DM to have proper etiquette. I'm always prepared, rarely scatterbrained, always have my notes and such. And we have a no phones allowed rule in the table. Oh and yeah, I know how to set boundaries. Nothing offensive unless we cool about it. Extra: 2 I'm a bookworm, and I'm socially awkward, suffering from minor depression and a crippling social anxiety. I am no charismatic leader, my charisma score would be a 3. But I make it a point to appreciate my players for sticking with all the sessions I run because 99% of my sessions are absolute messes. My roleplaying is decent though I get into character a little too much and I'm gifted with a natural wide pitch, i can range from manly deep voice to girly kawaii desu anime loli girl with ease. So my dm level is 12. A number that I believe is wayyy too oversaturated a number. My skill as a dm is apparently comparable to that of a wizard that can cast 6th level spells.
Goodness, I know I often don't appreciate my players enough. Mostly because I work so hard to get the sessions working (too much so) that I just end up tired. They become work, satisfying work and I am really glad they are enjoying themselves, but excessive self-sacrifice just leads to burn out and then no one is satisfied.
I'm running a Pathfinder campaign for a couple of friends and my brother, but mainly for him since he was struggling with M.S. and it was going great in the begining until another friend showed wanted cause like to be included. He's a great friend but a terrible player tried on several occasion to see where i lost but he makes no effort to learn the rules and always tries to be disruptive and never wants to wait for his turn. After a few sessions i decided to not invite him anymore he argues that's all we do, but it's not i schedule it only once every 2-3 weeks cause Dming does take a lot of prep and I didn't like my last dm scheduling it every week. It was a tough decision but i don't want someone to throw a wrench in everyone else's experience just they can feel included but not put forth effort. That when i realised how much actual work a dm puts in.
4 + 3 + 4 + 4 I run sandbox games, so there's no story except what the players decide to do. However, that doesn't mean nothing is happening: Factions and their cultures and histories run in the background, ready to be plucked out as an element at a moment's notice, and a lot of current events center around the interactions players have with NPCs related to their current goals. The best way I've found to level up? Get feedback from your players. Ask them what they want to see more of, ask for their opinion on what's happening, and ask what goals they're looking to accomplish for their characters. Even a game with no underlying plot can be appealing if players can acquire goals and meaningfully make progress in them.
CJ, glad to see you still posting videos! After what’s been happening in the world today, No new videos for a while had me a little concerned! Here’s to your health and happiness!
Must admit that my storytelling is improvised. Usually prepare the maps, enemies, and a general idea of the story the rest is improvised by the players choises
Santi Cabrera P I’m kinda similar. When I make a story for a campaign all I usually do for the story is give them a start and a goal and then the rest is up to them
4+4+4+4= 16 Holy crap on a butter stick. I was sure I was going to give myself a crummy score. I'm a new-ish DM but I've played many games over the years so I understand enough of the rules to play the games. I always like to add a tiny hint of homebrew for players to make them feel meaningful, unique, and that much more personal. Pacing and preparation I still struggle with as a whole from time to time. Thankfully my group is really chill where my skill level is on that. And I would give myself a 5 on EXTRA but I had to think if I really wanted to be the counselor for my players when they get in a bad mood. I set it to the side when I remembered the time one of our player's mic was acting finicky so his input didn't always come through. He was fuming mad and frustrated even after we all realized what was going on. He took it out on the GM low-key after we just got back from a 3-month hiatus, and afterwards I really kicked his ass for it. It's been forever since, and we're all good. Still gaming every weekend or so to this day. I love my buddies, but I'm way too in-your-face to be their counselor. So a 19 will have to be my max. :P
@@marcar9marcar972 sounds good man. We all have are number of Max players and I'm happy that you have found yours. Now me and you should just worry about are players having fun.
I'm a noob at 'DM'ing and I do a bit of homebrewing and my sessions are a bit more party-esque than serious consequences; not the most professional way of doing D&D campaigns but my friends (one of which is usually the DM) were all right with it
I used the combat with story like a bunch of mages with a cannon against an incoming threat with the heroes that are fighting*player is flying*. One of the players don't like to be remembered of the past session story because this one players want to play*bi polar and stress*
Level 11 DM here. I'm fairly young, actually, but I started DMing around Grade 7, and I'm now going to graduate. I like to think I've obtained alot of knowledge about how to DM these past years, and was kind of disappointed by my level in the video, but that just means I was slacking because I thought I was hot shit. I'll write these down, and definitely put in the work to become an awesome DM. Of course, I'll have to work with my players to do so, but I won't stop trying until I hit level 20. And hey, maybe one day I can become an Epic level DM.
I'd say I'm a 5 + 5 + 4 + 3 so level 17. I have trouble with proper preparation which connects to the logistics part. And the counseling part, we could all work on.
Matt Mercer et al. are not playing real RPG, but scripted games. It is like RPG is a laser-beam shot through a half-silvered mirror, splitting the game into two beams. They are only showing you the beam with role-playing (professional voice-actors) and joking around. They are not showing you the beam where you deal in numbers, must master the big books, and the delay and frustration of hunting around for the correct rule. RPGs didn't spread in the 70s and 80s through the drama-majors. It was the STEM students spreading it around, don't forget! It is true that the greatest feature of tabletop RPG, which is key to get them away from video games on their phone, is to tailor the game to EACH player in a way a rigid pre-programmed computer game can't do. Does a player want more combat? Role-playing? Story-telling? Political intrigue? Maybe they are even the one who wants to keep track of money and be an accountant (particularly roaming around the stars in Traveller?) As GM, you can tailor the experience as you spotlight each player, and give them what they want. Listen to your players' questions, it shows what interests them first about a situation, and use that.
Dracopol - your advice is great, but I’m 100% certain they ain’t scripting nothing. I have had exactly the kinds of games they show, with dramatic moments, tension between players and DM, great in-character moments with other players at the table, and, yes, humor just as blue as theirs, if not more so. The main difference is, as you say, we’re not a table of voice actors with YEARS of acting and improv training, which is what really makes their play seem so seamless. However, I disagree that they never show the number crunching, the table pauses while rules are debated; they have actually shown those, too, and the players have many times messed up their interpretation of a rule or spell. The “cast” (as they call it, but they’re players pure and simple) have stated many times they are actually playing, not following some script, and I have had enough table experience that I completely believe them. Now, the players do sometimes think ahead of time about plot resolutions they can bring up during their live shows - but actual game time is not after any rehearsals, Matt has genuinely been stunned at times by his players (Jester and the Cupcake was a fantastic recent example!)
Yeah, I currently fell into the problem of having 10 players, this just happened last week so what I'm thinking is switching the campaign to a West Marches style and spread the game over 2 days rather than one, and well just having players alternate groups, in theory this should reduce the player count to around 4 to six per session which is much more manageable, but it's the first time I'm ever trying something like this so I don't know, it sounds good on paper but I'm about to bring it up to the players on Saturday since I don't like running for 10 players, mostly because 3 of them are really shy and it's very hard to encourage them to play when I'm busy with 7 very active players, besides combat takes way too long with 10 players and that's just not something I like. I like the whole group and I think all of them are decent players, so I don't want to start kicking people out, so that's why I'm looking for alternative solutions. As for my DM level, to be honest I don't care, I'm constantly trying to improve but I make mistakes all the time, besides I don't consider myself a good judge of character so I see no point in trying to rate myself, that being said while I'd like to think I'm decent I am pretty lazy and end up making most stuff up on the fly, and I get bored of campaigns really easily and always want to switch stuff up, which is the reason why I have really only ran One-Shots or 3-session games throughout my GM-ing career, I'm currently trying my hand at my first ever campaign and I'm not really happy with it, but I'm hoping I can turn it around, the players claim to be enjoying it but I'm not sure if they say so just because they don't want to make me feel bad, which is a shame because I try to remind them every now and then that I want to make a game that's specifically for them and if they give me feedback I'll try to use it to make the game better, but I guess they're just not into giving feedback.
5 + 4 + 3 + 1 = 13 I feel that worldbuilding mostly passes over some of my players head and they mostly suffer to things that I provided through world building... so I sometimes just copy-paste a pre-made world and society to make it easier for them to understand the world. I also have an erratic schedule and easily distracted by the needs of my family. There are cases that we need to take a break or end a session early because I get a call from my mother or my brothers. the Extra part is where I scored the lowest. I'm not leader material, I can't do voice, not rich enough to cosplay, uses online tools instead of paper, and I won't stick my nose to my players problem. The only thing extra I do is appreciate my players. I draw their characters from time to time, create and open an arc in the story that focuses on a single character to make them feel their characters grow, and other stuff.
it's 2020, we don't have to flip through the book to look anything up anymore...i went to an adventure league game and had to DM and someone was casting spells and another player looked up the spell stats on his phone instantly and i didn't have to flip through the book
I have been using your channeler class for my current character and I am loving it. I am just wondering, does your phantasm use your saving throw and skill proficiencies when making checks. Thanks for the awesome class
I need to pick up the slack. I"m doing my best, but.... I'm a first time DM still, still running my first game and I'm STILL trying to sort everything out. Kinda not helpful that I am trying to stick to a capacity of 6 at most players and a few of them are problem people who have nearly broken me a few times. k Also just a tiny bit of laser eyes in the thumbnail, and we have CJ's final form... add horns, and it becomes CJ when he's about to destroy a character someone's VERY attached to.
It's funny how the last point of etiquette was talking about boundaries and how children shouldn't take part in "adult" games, while I as the youngest person in my group run a low-key campaign where one of the players is essentially a drug dealer and innuendos are suffused with each session, truly riveting.
7:12 Terrible Writing Advices sums it up perfectly : Dumb Author (with a just a dumb smile): So, are your expectations subverted yet? Displeased reader (angry): Yes. I was expecting a good story.
@@CaseyWilkesmusic Dungeon crawls were emphasized in the early game because it narrows the sample set of decisions (go left, go right, go straight) and the goal is clear: explore the dungeon, kill all monsters and fulfill the goal if it's a quest or a rescue. That much was enough to inspire countless computer games. The Basic Box of D&D was about initial levels and dungeons, then more boxes revealed outdoor travel, city governance, wars and sieges, other planes and even demigodhood. As a progression it's okay.
Actually, some vidiogames can secretly ajust difficulty on the fly too, and I wish more games had a way to turn it off! It's pandering! If I want to change the difficuty, I go into the settings and change it myself. (Expecially when your passing back and forth a singleplayer game. I don't want the other player to have a harder or easyer time, because the other player is playing well or poorly.)
"maste pacing & choises example" I would give the players advantage for doing something like that but the info that they get is entirely dependant on the role.
in this video you mention people being paid to be a DM, im interested in helping new players in my community learn, whats the best way for me to find these new players in need?
Try the drakkenheim campaign from Dungeon Dudes You may love how Monty Martin is an excellent DM His players are quite fun Channel co host kelly mclaughlin, then their good dnd friends jill danaitis and joe o gorman
What do you think is your DM’s level or your level as DM?
GAMEPLAY STORYTELLING ETIQUETTE EXTRA
GSEE
I prefer to be: 5+5+5+0 = 15
But my previous group forces me to be: 5+5+5+4 = 19
I think I am 14 because my leadership is not so good
I'd like to think I'm;
2+3+5+3= 13
I think I'm 3 + 3 + 4 + 3
Level 13 DM with only three sessions.
I'm watching it just after DMing an almost 8h session! I'm glad to see I'm a Lv.15 DM, but w/o maxing any of the 4 ranks, just higher than average.
5 + 5 + 4.5 + 5 = 19.5 Damn my inconsistent scheduling with online groups! YOU HAVE KEPT ME FROM MY PERFECT SCORE!!!
“Trainers can carry as many Pokémon’s as they wish. However, how much love and attention will they be able to give to each of them? That why we limited it to 6.”
Words of a true Pokémon Master.😌
"Appreciate your players."
I aid a school's D&D club as a consultant, mentor, and more. One of the things I teach the students is everyone's number 1 responsibility, being respectful of eachother and facilitate fun through the game for all. This applies to the DM as well in at least 2 ways. 1) Leading by example and 2) A DM is a not DM if they have no players. Sure you may have campaigns you have prepared and know some rules, but you can't be a DM for "no one."
When he said “B I G P E E P E E E N E R G Y” I really felt that
I died lol
This is awesome - for some reason I've been anxious about DMing the next session, which actually starts in just a few hours - I'm glad I caught this video
Masked_Katz you’ve got this
CJ, I just recently got interested in d and d, and your videos were the first that I watched (because I was looking for a streamlined animated explanation of play). They were funny, informational, and thought provoking. I am very interested in d and d as an cooperative storytelling experience with friends, and I can’t wait to put my ideas into a game. I guess I am officially a level 1 GM, having just got my core rule book set 2 days ago, and I finally wrangled 4 interested (and new) players from my group of friends and their friends. Finding players happened a little faster than I expected so now I’m trying to put together our first game. Thank you for your content!
I feel being targeted lol.
I mean seriously
1. Forever DM
2. School DnD club
3. Huge number of players
Anyways thanks for the advise. I will sure use them when dming my next game.
Bro same I also run a DND Club at my HS
You can always suggest co-DMing,
It allows players to get a feeling for DMing
Making them more aware
Or even start DMing on their own.
Allowing you to take a day off,
Become a player for once
Or split the group into smaller ones.
If you have a group of experienced players,
You could run a God Must Be Crazy One-shot,
(Aka everyone gets a God point that they can expand to become the DM)
This gives the players a chance to influence the story
And develop a DMing style.
I'm a forever dm.
Desperately craving for a taste of dragon slaying rather than being the dragon slayed.
Last time in the player video i judged my forever player using your video's criteria.
Now its time to do some proper reflection and judge MYSELF.
Gaming: 3.3
i can't decide on whether im a 3 or 4 so to be humble I'll say I'm a 3.
As a rules lawyer I of course know the rules. I know them and follow them too much sometimes to a detriment. Players can't challenge my rulings or help clarify for me because they are apparently too illiterate to even try. So when something isn't in the book... Well wait 10 minutes for me to come up with rules for it...
This is why pacing and choices isn't a category i belong to.
Adjust rules and homebrew is one I belong to though. I once tried making my own tabletop ruleset for crying out loud! I guess I just really love rules... Its all I care about now that I'm retrospecting about it!
As a game developer, i know how to write and run a good game. Applying theories and knowledge I use crafting my computer games over to the table. With varying levels of success...
I'm sort of adaptable but sort of not, which is why I wonder if I'm 3 or 4. Lol.
Storytelling: 2
I'm also a writer, i mostly write fanfiction. The occassional short story, a poem here and there, and 1 unfinished novel that will never be finished. I think I do pretty well in story, gaming, and worldbuilding. But that's actually it for my storytelling skills.
I get too caught up in my stories and worlds that I often forget I'm writing a game for my players. Not a novel, or a script for a film. I always seem to leave the players as an afterthought... So I'm 2 in story telling. I'm one of those horror dm's that railroad players apparently.
Which is why I've been making more sandbox type campaigns and improvise more stuff on the fly so I can improve. Try to...
Etiquette: 5
I'm actually a perfect score here. Nice. I obviously am not a hobo and anyone with access to youtube should have access to daily baths as well. I have a schedule and I stick to it. Even if no one shows up I'll show up as it is my responsibility as a DM to have proper etiquette.
I'm always prepared, rarely scatterbrained, always have my notes and such. And we have a no phones allowed rule in the table. Oh and yeah, I know how to set boundaries. Nothing offensive unless we cool about it.
Extra: 2
I'm a bookworm, and I'm socially awkward, suffering from minor depression and a crippling social anxiety. I am no charismatic leader, my charisma score would be a 3. But I make it a point to appreciate my players for sticking with all the sessions I run because 99% of my sessions are absolute messes. My roleplaying is decent though I get into character a little too much and I'm gifted with a natural wide pitch, i can range from manly deep voice to girly kawaii desu anime loli girl with ease.
So my dm level is 12.
A number that I believe is wayyy too oversaturated a number.
My skill as a dm is apparently comparable to that of a wizard that can cast 6th level spells.
CJ: Last time, I did a video on how to be a better player.
You did what? Damnit, TH-cam! Give me notifications!
Goodness, I know I often don't appreciate my players enough. Mostly because I work so hard to get the sessions working (too much so) that I just end up tired. They become work, satisfying work and I am really glad they are enjoying themselves, but excessive self-sacrifice just leads to burn out and then no one is satisfied.
3:53 sorry for zoning out on the lesson, but I can see the murder hobo in the back as a mini! Next to the orc.
I'm running a Pathfinder campaign for a couple of friends and my brother, but mainly for him since he was struggling with M.S. and it was going great in the begining until another friend showed wanted cause like to be included. He's a great friend but a terrible player tried on several occasion to see where i lost but he makes no effort to learn the rules and always tries to be disruptive and never wants to wait for his turn. After a few sessions i decided to not invite him anymore he argues that's all we do, but it's not i schedule it only once every 2-3 weeks cause Dming does take a lot of prep and I didn't like my last dm scheduling it every week. It was a tough decision but i don't want someone to throw a wrench in everyone else's experience just they can feel included but not put forth effort. That when i realised how much actual work a dm puts in.
4 + 3 + 4 + 4
I run sandbox games, so there's no story except what the players decide to do. However, that doesn't mean nothing is happening: Factions and their cultures and histories run in the background, ready to be plucked out as an element at a moment's notice, and a lot of current events center around the interactions players have with NPCs related to their current goals.
The best way I've found to level up? Get feedback from your players. Ask them what they want to see more of, ask for their opinion on what's happening, and ask what goals they're looking to accomplish for their characters. Even a game with no underlying plot can be appealing if players can acquire goals and meaningfully make progress in them.
I haven't even played d&d but its personalities like you who make me watch the content related to it.
Agreed as a DM it helps to play once in awhile too.
Remember to have fun.
CJ, glad to see you still posting videos! After what’s been happening in the world today, No new videos for a while had me a little concerned! Here’s to your health and happiness!
The energy of this video is great
A D&D channel and an History channel, I came looking for gold and found diamonds!
Great video certainly gave me as a DM some ideas on how to improve
Must admit that my storytelling is improvised. Usually prepare the maps, enemies, and a general idea of the story the rest is improvised by the players choises
Santi Cabrera P I’m kinda similar. When I make a story for a campaign all I usually do for the story is give them a start and a goal and then the rest is up to them
4+4+4+4= 16
Holy crap on a butter stick. I was sure I was going to give myself a crummy score. I'm a new-ish DM but I've played many games over the years so I understand enough of the rules to play the games. I always like to add a tiny hint of homebrew for players to make them feel meaningful, unique, and that much more personal. Pacing and preparation I still struggle with as a whole from time to time. Thankfully my group is really chill where my skill level is on that.
And I would give myself a 5 on EXTRA but I had to think if I really wanted to be the counselor for my players when they get in a bad mood. I set it to the side when I remembered the time one of our player's mic was acting finicky so his input didn't always come through. He was fuming mad and frustrated even after we all realized what was going on. He took it out on the GM low-key after we just got back from a 3-month hiatus, and afterwards I really kicked his ass for it. It's been forever since, and we're all good. Still gaming every weekend or so to this day.
I love my buddies, but I'm way too in-your-face to be their counselor. So a 19 will have to be my max. :P
I played with a large group once..... 5 players is now my Max in any game.
Alainpro Fredric I’ve done six I believe and it didn’t go too bad
@@marcar9marcar972 sounds good man. We all have are number of Max players and I'm happy that you have found yours. Now me and you should just worry about are players having fun.
I'm a noob at 'DM'ing and I do a bit of homebrewing and my sessions are a bit more party-esque than serious consequences; not the most professional way of doing D&D campaigns but my friends (one of which is usually the DM) were all right with it
Hearing that intro alone made me want to go build a skyscraper.
man this guy putting out videos like he got 3 mil subs... amazing content!
Cool video
The last ones are just as much expectations for players as DMs.
You're so wholesome. Instead of being a 2nd rate DM legend, be a 1st rate You. Much love, my man
I used the combat with story like a bunch of mages with a cannon against an incoming threat with the heroes that are fighting*player is flying*. One of the players don't like to be remembered of the past session story because this one players want to play*bi polar and stress*
I like hot the dm in the animation had grown a little beard, probably just like CJ
Level 11 DM here. I'm fairly young, actually, but I started DMing around Grade 7, and I'm now going to graduate. I like to think I've obtained alot of knowledge about how to DM these past years, and was kind of disappointed by my level in the video, but that just means I was slacking because I thought I was hot shit.
I'll write these down, and definitely put in the work to become an awesome DM. Of course, I'll have to work with my players to do so, but I won't stop trying until I hit level 20.
And hey, maybe one day I can become an Epic level DM.
I think it would be neat if the next "how to play" series was Vampire the masquerade, a favorite of mine indeed!
Dag'gone, guy! Just had to bring up GOT and reopen those deep wounds AGAIN😭. That scar will never heal...
I'd say I'm a 5 + 5 + 4 + 3 so level 17. I have trouble with proper preparation which connects to the logistics part. And the counseling part, we could all work on.
Fantastic video. I know where I need to work on. Hope to see you at Nerdarchycon.
Honestly I get tired being the dm after awhile but I usually end up as the DM
What's funny is I'm in college wanting to BECOME a psychologist 😅 so it becomes a habit, I try to keep those outside of the game though.
Matt Mercer et al. are not playing real RPG, but scripted games. It is like RPG is a laser-beam shot through a half-silvered mirror, splitting the game into two beams. They are only showing you the beam with role-playing (professional voice-actors) and joking around. They are not showing you the beam where you deal in numbers, must master the big books, and the delay and frustration of hunting around for the correct rule. RPGs didn't spread in the 70s and 80s through the drama-majors. It was the STEM students spreading it around, don't forget!
It is true that the greatest feature of tabletop RPG, which is key to get them away from video games on their phone, is to tailor the game to EACH player in a way a rigid pre-programmed computer game can't do. Does a player want more combat? Role-playing? Story-telling? Political intrigue? Maybe they are even the one who wants to keep track of money and be an accountant (particularly roaming around the stars in Traveller?) As GM, you can tailor the experience as you spotlight each player, and give them what they want. Listen to your players' questions, it shows what interests them first about a situation, and use that.
Bruh, there's no writers room. They're just really story focused RPers.
@@gdf40 Oh, you think? With a week to prepare between games? That's cute. I suppose you think wrestlers defending the honour of a lady is real too...
I sense a 3.5 DM that works to hard.
Dracopol - your advice is great, but I’m 100% certain they ain’t scripting nothing. I have had exactly the kinds of games they show, with dramatic moments, tension between players and DM, great in-character moments with other players at the table, and, yes, humor just as blue as theirs, if not more so. The main difference is, as you say, we’re not a table of voice actors with YEARS of acting and improv training, which is what really makes their play seem so seamless.
However, I disagree that they never show the number crunching, the table pauses while rules are debated; they have actually shown those, too, and the players have many times messed up their interpretation of a rule or spell. The “cast” (as they call it, but they’re players pure and simple) have stated many times they are actually playing, not following some script, and I have had enough table experience that I completely believe them. Now, the players do sometimes think ahead of time about plot resolutions they can bring up during their live shows - but actual game time is not after any rehearsals, Matt has genuinely been stunned at times by his players (Jester and the Cupcake was a fantastic recent example!)
Yeah, I currently fell into the problem of having 10 players, this just happened last week so what I'm thinking is switching the campaign to a West Marches style and spread the game over 2 days rather than one, and well just having players alternate groups, in theory this should reduce the player count to around 4 to six per session which is much more manageable, but it's the first time I'm ever trying something like this so I don't know, it sounds good on paper but I'm about to bring it up to the players on Saturday since I don't like running for 10 players, mostly because 3 of them are really shy and it's very hard to encourage them to play when I'm busy with 7 very active players, besides combat takes way too long with 10 players and that's just not something I like.
I like the whole group and I think all of them are decent players, so I don't want to start kicking people out, so that's why I'm looking for alternative solutions.
As for my DM level, to be honest I don't care, I'm constantly trying to improve but I make mistakes all the time, besides I don't consider myself a good judge of character so I see no point in trying to rate myself, that being said while I'd like to think I'm decent I am pretty lazy and end up making most stuff up on the fly, and I get bored of campaigns really easily and always want to switch stuff up, which is the reason why I have really only ran One-Shots or 3-session games throughout my GM-ing career, I'm currently trying my hand at my first ever campaign and I'm not really happy with it, but I'm hoping I can turn it around, the players claim to be enjoying it but I'm not sure if they say so just because they don't want to make me feel bad, which is a shame because I try to remind them every now and then that I want to make a game that's specifically for them and if they give me feedback I'll try to use it to make the game better, but I guess they're just not into giving feedback.
5 + 4 + 3 + 1 = 13
I feel that worldbuilding mostly passes over some of my players head and they mostly suffer to things that I provided through world building... so I sometimes just copy-paste a pre-made world and society to make it easier for them to understand the world.
I also have an erratic schedule and easily distracted by the needs of my family. There are cases that we need to take a break or end a session early because I get a call from my mother or my brothers.
the Extra part is where I scored the lowest. I'm not leader material, I can't do voice, not rich enough to cosplay, uses online tools instead of paper, and I won't stick my nose to my players problem. The only thing extra I do is appreciate my players. I draw their characters from time to time, create and open an arc in the story that focuses on a single character to make them feel their characters grow, and other stuff.
it's 2020, we don't have to flip through the book to look anything up anymore...i went to an adventure league game and had to DM and someone was casting spells and another player looked up the spell stats on his phone instantly and i didn't have to flip through the book
I have been using your channeler class for my current character and I am loving it. I am just wondering, does your phantasm use your saving throw and skill proficiencies when making checks.
Thanks for the awesome class
The phantasm uses the channeler's saving throw.
@@DontStopThinking thanks
“Your DM isn’t your mom.”
No, I’m worse.
I need to pick up the slack. I"m doing my best, but.... I'm a first time DM still, still running my first game and I'm STILL trying to sort everything out. Kinda not helpful that I am trying to stick to a capacity of 6 at most players and a few of them are problem people who have nearly broken me a few times. k
Also just a tiny bit of laser eyes in the thumbnail, and we have CJ's final form... add horns, and it becomes CJ when he's about to destroy a character someone's VERY attached to.
12:10 I feel like he straight up called me out LMAO
Yeah! Finally!
It's funny how the last point of etiquette was talking about boundaries and how children shouldn't take part in "adult" games, while I as the youngest person in my group run a low-key campaign where one of the players is essentially a drug dealer and innuendos are suffused with each session,
truly riveting.
7:12 Terrible Writing Advices sums it up perfectly :
Dumb Author (with a just a dumb smile): So, are your expectations subverted yet?
Displeased reader (angry): Yes. I was expecting a good story.
2:57 What is "a play style that may no longer be relevant"?
I’m guessing the old school style that focuses more on dungeon crawling than overland travel etc.
@@CaseyWilkesmusic Dungeon crawls were emphasized in the early game because it narrows the sample set of decisions (go left, go right, go straight) and the goal is clear: explore the dungeon, kill all monsters and fulfill the goal if it's a quest or a rescue. That much was enough to inspire countless computer games.
The Basic Box of D&D was about initial levels and dungeons, then more boxes revealed outdoor travel, city governance, wars and sieges, other planes and even demigodhood. As a progression it's okay.
Not all battles in DBZ stop the story, but most do in DBS
Level 16, not bad
Actually, some vidiogames can secretly ajust difficulty on the fly too, and I wish more games had a way to turn it off! It's pandering! If I want to change the difficuty, I go into the settings and change it myself.
(Expecially when your passing back and forth a singleplayer game. I don't want the other player to have a harder or easyer time, because the other player is playing well or poorly.)
"maste pacing & choises example"
I would give the players advantage for doing something like that but the info that they get is entirely dependant on the role.
in this video you mention people being paid to be a DM, im interested in helping new players in my community learn, whats the best way for me to find these new players in need?
3 + 5 + 5 + 2 = 15
I'm a lvl. 1 Crook
There’s truth at 7:04.
Knowing small parts of the game in a homebrew game you should know how to play the game.
I got like a 3+2+4+2 so 11/20 average DM or a failure DM only 55%
Try the drakkenheim campaign from Dungeon Dudes
You may love how Monty Martin is an excellent DM
His players are quite fun
Channel co host kelly mclaughlin, then their good dnd friends jill danaitis and joe o gorman
my favorite online DnD stream!
it's far worse than ducks.
Are you going to update the Channeler anytime soon? 🥺
Was that a JoJo reference
Breathing is a jojo reference.
@@ataberkdedemen9802 "The World" is a Jojo reference
There's one at 5:10
I once tried to play a 13 player game . Recommendation don't do it
I spy a Jojo reference. Time stamp, anyone?
You mean his class the channeler?
First
Second
Third
Biggest of fourths