Use code DEFICIENTMASTER at checkout for a 30 day trial on any dScryb subscription! dscryb.com/deficientmaster Wait, those Big Blue Pill tablets look kind of like...
I've written two books and something I've always adhered to is that the scene is the first character. It is the thing doing everything to which the other characters merely act upon. Movement or characters moving within it is paramount. Good on you.
I like how he described the suit of armor as shiny despite being in a dusty abandoned mansion. Little details like those indicates thats there is somthing going with the armor
I love adding information like that to make my players wonder if they have missed something. Sometimes it's a great tool to create tension. I use glass beads as tokens for monsters, labeling them by number with dry erase markers. It's funny to label 1-5 and put a triangle on the last one. They were going out of their mind wondering why that one was labeled differently. Was it a boss? Did it have something special? Nope, just a goblin. But the tension was real.
I also try to personalize an item here or there to give characters role playing cues during the explanation of the room. Like the the druid notices the mounted elk head (hidden- it's an older buck that saw many years), or the intelligent wizard notices the chess game, or the rogue looks at the armor and doesn't recognize the model from any time he was in the military (hidden- must be from older times or a custom armor). That helps the players stay in character or feel like their backstory matters.
Right, instead of the fighter seeing the chess set and rolling poorly? I feel like it's a bit more railroading if I directly point out the object that **I** want each PC to look at. Thoughts?
@@lincolnmaahs18 Hmm... Fair, but I think that actually does support my earlier thought. Simply because I do know my players and I did do that for them in the past - which they called me out on. Not in a negative way but that's why I questioned the OP in the first place, because I recall a time where I did do that but I don't think it worked. That being said, I appreciate the advice. Everyone's game will always be different!
@@GnarledStaff Ah, that's a great idea. Possibly have the personalization as hidden information that's revealed depending on who investigated it. 🤔I like that.
A small tipp: Placement of your information in the description. A lot of advice says that players tend to ask about the *last* thing you mentioned, but in my games that tend to have more mystery that is not true at all - it is probably because my players expect me to hide the information somewhere in the middle of my description to make it less obvious. In your example, with the gothic study... well, you get the idea: Id place the suit of armor / elk head last in my description and the chess set somewhere in the middle. I am manipulative like that. If it is a combat room, I like to be pretty sparse with the information and sentence length, but tell them about the enemies last. "You walk into a gloomy gothic study. Curtains flutter in the wind beside the open window. Three gentlemen with a mean grin approach you, cracking their knuckles."
I don't use a battlemap - I use a whiteboard and draw circles and rectangles lol. My players are deaf so while I describe the room in sign language, I also provide a transcription of the description of the room. This is because my sign language isn't fantastic. However, I may incorporate this in future campaigns where there is no language barrier, as I've noticed players really enjoy the ability to see the words visually. I've never had an issue with positioning my information because they have my description.
“You enter an unassuming hall of moderate scale. There is a blank tapestry hanging midway at the left wall. To the right wall is a box enscribed with the words “cat inside?”. A snarling, famished tarrasque leaps out at you for the locale’s center. Several unused sheets of parchment adorn a makeshift desk.”
Oh great puppeteer of Deficent Master, I present you my sacrifice *dumps a whole dice set on the table* Relieve me from this mortal coil of insignificance and suffering, transcend me into the worlds beyond! Amen. (Also God bless RNGesus.)
As a DM, I watch a lot of "DM advices" videos, but more often than not I end up thinking "well, I already do that" or "I don't really agree with what is explained here" or "I don't think it really applies to my DMing style". This video, however, made me realise how shallow my descriptions of the players's environments are, and how improving them will increase immersion, help the party make decisions, and create puzzles that make sense in the context of the narrative. This is definitly something I need to work on. Thanks for this insightfull video ! I'll sub and start checking your other videos !
You should definitely check out Solo Roleplaying then! It's a great way to prep, to practice scenes and encounters ahead of time, and especially to improve your general GM skills through practice (also, helps not to feel so down when the group has to cancel, since you can still play, at least!)
This has to be one of the best ads I've ever seen. I'm glad I wasn't drinking my tea at that time, or I would have needed another keyboard. That aside, great video. I'm currently preparing a HUGE ASS "Hexploration" for my players (205 hexes to fill), and it is really welcome.
@@MichaelGhelfiStudios Sure. Still, random gens like those in Worlds Without Number can work two nice when you let the emerging context guide the interpret of each result. But certainly it's not for every situation. I wish you an enjoyable creation process and game!
Your room description template in your "d&d modules suck" video was such a game changer for me. Through the power of using Obsidian as my note taking app of choice, I now have neat room description templates to drop in that remind me to list the room specs, what players see, hear, smell and feel, the interactable room elements, and the exits if needed. Thanks for all your creative and entertaining insights!
I always recommend giving the players something to help them move forward regardless of success or failure. When handing out information, I try to give them something, even if it's not what they asked for. • Success: "You remember hearing about Dunbarrow Keep and the many twisty caverns underneath, especially the one that is said to..." (They get the information you wanted to give them.) • Failure: "You remember hearing something about this, maybe from a history book? You remember that Zoe the Wizard loves history books, maybe they know more." (They get a path toward the information.) • Crit Failure: "You remember overhearing something about this at the tavern, but as you try to recall, that one drinking song gets stuck in your head. 'Xardoth the mad, was a very stout lad, but he sampled his own potion and it turned out quite bad!'" (Not information relevant right now, but when they come across the animated remains of Xardoth the mad later on, they'll remember that drinking song.)
Literally brought back my sanity. As a new DM, you make this so much more understandable. Suggestion: I would like to see how you organize your story lore. Say like if your player requests to know more information about the towns history. Keep up the great work!
Oh my gods your presentation style only keeps improving. It's seriously unique and I love it. And HUH. That way of making secret doors be hidden information, but not "secret" information, including the traps, but the ways of triggering them or opening them are "secret" is a nifty idea. I think I may adopt this concept!
Notes: @0:00 - Intro @1:42 - Passing the Ball The GM passes players information. The players pass questions or actions. This technique helps balance not enough & too much detail. @2:51 - Describing the room One or two adjectives describing the room itself, a sentence or two that involve senses other than sight, and an element of movement. @4:23 - dScryb sponsorship @5:38 - Landmark Details Like a point-and-click adventure, landmark information highlights what elements of the scene your players should be interested in. There should be as many landmarks as characters in the party (sometimes more). Remember to allow players to interact with elements that you didn't specify (they may have an interesting idea). @8:33 - Hidden Information Hidden information is revealed by players asking for more information about a landmark detail. It is often "behind" or "inside" the landmark, but not necessarily. One of the examples of "Hidden Information" is the layout of a chessboard, since the landmark detail was only the location of the chess set, and that it was mid-game. Hidden information is obtained by spending time and taking a risk. @9:29 - Secret Information Details that players only have access to after beating something (like a skill check or puzzle). Traps and Treasure are "Hidden Information", but opening the Treasure or disarming the Trap is hidden behind Secret Information. @10:38 - Outro
Hey! Definitely an idea I've been kicking around. Was playing in my brother's game a bit but I'm about to run a Star Wars game for my group. I got some ideas to make the actual play helpful and not just be a crappier version of Critical Role or Dimension 20. We shall see!
I think "Campaign Diaries" are a bit more helpful for GM skill improvements than "Actual Play" raw footage, because it allows the creator/host to focus the story for the TH-cam audience, rather than juggling the table audience and the viewing audience.
@@DeficientMasterHonestly, a Solo series (even a mini-series) would even be helpful! Whether you do it with Mythic GameMaster Emulator, DM Yourself, or The Solo Adventurer's Toolbox 1&2, doesn't matter, so long as we get to see your creativity!
this type of unoriginal comment that seemingly crops up on every video HAS to be by bots - right? Please restore a little of my faith in humanity by saying yes.
This is exactly the kind of video I needed to learn how to better describe my theatre of the mind style games. Enough information to prompt action from the players, but not so much they feel bogged down or confused.
Awesome videos! Your point and click approach to navigation has been a game changer for me. I’d love to hear your take on RP encounters like negotiations or interrogations. Keep making awesome stuff!
I've actually designed what I like to call a "City Crawl" and it actually runs on similar mechanics. To start, the GM decides if there is a timer that the players should know about, or even a risk factor, while the GM adds 3 Points of Interest that are obvious, with an overpriced General Store, an Inn for Long Resting (maybe even as a group), and one extra location that could be used for a simple quest. This is also the time to add Hidden Locations (based on video rules). To actually play, the Players all take a turn placing their tokens on an interesting place on the map. IF the space is empty, THEN they discover something, and end their turn. IF the space has something on it, THEN they interact with it, and end their turn. However, IF the space involves an encounter, THEN the Party can all choose to run in and help (to avoid accidental party splits), OR the PC can choose to escape (with a dice roll that may cost health, or maybe a narrative advantage). And Finally, IF the space is an enemy, the enemy takes and deals about 1 hit or so (might be different, just doing this from memory), unless they die first. The damage taken by Players may vary, but no actual combat is involved. It might also be an Attack Roll to determine the amount of damage done or taken. However, the Players can only do ONE thing on their turn, allowing others to contribute to the exploration. Even if that's buying ONE item, making ONE skill check, ONE attack roll, etc. Each turn shouldn't take more than 1 minute for the Player to know what they're doing. Finally, the GM's Turn. The GM first resolves any timer or risk that perpetuates, such as thieves sneaking around, those meteors getting closer to town, or an execution that the Party didn't stop. Then, they restock hidden information as needed, or move anything that isn't gonna stick around, such as those lackeys that just finished a bank heist. Then the round starts all over again, until there's a reason to jump into a specific scene, such as when the timer runs out, or the Party decides it's time for an encounter. There's also a version for Travel which just has a standard path, but Players have a limited amount of distance they can explore without expending extra resources, and they can't just explore everywhere. This way, the Players can really feel like they're exploring an open world, without risking the entire game grinding to a halt. I'm also pretty certain that with lots of practice, you could use this method in a small hut and find that your once empty room is bursting with so many details that you couldn't write it up from scratch if you spent a month on it. Now I haven't run the travel portion yet, but the City Crawl method has been a Hit with the Players I've tested it on, probably because it gives you plenty of freedom to explore (since you don't need a party vote to run around the map), and the city feels more lively since you have a visual prompt of how big the place is. Now pardon me, while I explode at the revelation I just had: "I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T THINK OF CITY CRAWLING IN A DUNGEON ROOM BEFORE THIS COMMENT!!!"
Having a map with points of interest that players can put their minis on to show where they are? Yeah, I'm going to have to steal that idea, I've been needing a better way to run city exploration.
Seems like an interesting concept, though I feel it's a bit too structured? I do like that it helps remove downtime. That's HUGE. I've had some folks go to the blacksmith and just take the entire session chatting and goofing off, while everyone else is doing nothing. I've tried to revisit the other players, "while they're doing that, anyone want to do anything?" and they say, "Not really, I think we just wanna rest at the Inn and proceed with the quest." *SIGH* I go back to the trolls and try to end the encounter without being an asshole, and that's our session! So I do REALLY LIKE that this idea helps reduce downtime by: 1. Giving points of interest even though the player isn't fully interested, just get some information or something, why not. Could result in a nice narrative buff like giving a helping hand to the local gardener. 2. Limiting the interactivity to only doing one thing does help reduce downtime significantly. Curious. I do like the idea though. Want to find a way to make the players feel like they're not being forced / limited / hand-held.
@@XoIoRouge Yeah, and if somebody does need to perform downtime activities, you can resolve that at a special time (like when all the Players agree), or even decide it beforehand. I also did kinda feel the need to make it very structured, because otherwise, you gotta have a proactive group of Players to keep the game from slowing down too much. So, sacrifices must be made sadly.
Mein gott, you’ve done it! THE UNIFIED FIELD SOLUTION!!! Consider your idea stolen, trademarked, and litigated by a private equity firm! NO TAKEBACKSIES!!
I've really been enjoying this series on dungeon room design. Figuring out the details in a room has always been an area I struggle with and your tips have definitely given me something to chew on in order to improve that area of my game. One thing that did stand out to me as someone who uses theatre of the mind and "yes, and..." at my table is that your methodology are somewhat counter intuitive to those ideals. This may just be systemic of modern D&D design, but the condemnation of open spaces in non-threatening situations seems damaging to the roleplay aspect of the game. An sparsely described tavern, to me, is just an invitation to add detail, invent new NPCs to rub elbows with, and overall stretch my roleplaying muscles to have a bit of characterization fun. Placing a map in front of players is pretty antithetical to theatre of the mind, but it also constrains "yes, and..." a considerable amount as now everything in the room is defined. I'm sure there are ways to reconcile this (and welcome suggestions on how to do just that) but this does seem to invite telling players to leave their creativity at the front door, while then whining and whinging as a community as to why players don't come up with imaginative and creative solutions. P.S. The edit gag with "time" and "effort" got a good laugh out of me; keep up the awesome work!
@BraveryBeyond While I agree with this, it heavily depends on a player group willing to ascribe its own imagination without catering to its own favor - in essence, becoming mini-GMs themselves. Whether that approach is agreed upon or not all depends on the magic of session zero.
The way you edit and describe everything in the video makes you one of the most easy and fun to watch D&D creators I've ever seen. Thank you for your videos!
Necrotic Gnome published adventures are formatted similarly to this. They are some of the easiest modules to run “out of the box” because of it. Thank you for the breakdown of your method, is going to help me out a lot.
Fantastic advice!!! I especially like the movement tip and the way you delineate between what you give, what they can discover, and what if hidden behind rolls is incredibly concise and makes sense in a way it didn’t before. Best place for practical advice!
10:03 there is checkmate in 2 moves if bishop took the knight (best possible outcome) : the queen takes the pawn if f5 and if black doesn't move the any of the pawns in line 7 or the queen and does anything else, the white queen takes the pawn in h5 or moves to g6 and that's checkmate.
Deficient, with the subtle (and less subtle) presentation, sound effects and editing tricks, you had me hooked once again! I really enjoy the way you present your content. And this video has excellent tips! Writing it aaalll down! Kudo's, kudo's, kudo's!
10:54 that layering system of information is great, it helps further explain your one-shot ravenloft you put out, that read some of. The way you try to gamify the exploration through giving the players some good concrete choices you mention, and then asking what they want to do, and having follow up stuff written about their choice is what I've been trying to do for per-prepared adventure (see my "previous" comment below) 1:03 I can tell you as some one who spent the better part of a year converting that adventure. You are in Dragon at Icespire Peak Essentials Kit (or something close to it), that specifically is the Shrine of Savros. That one has a bell up top that is actually where all the gold is hiding, from an ancient barbarian raid. There are orcs and Ogres on that map. At a god damn glance I could tell you a lot because I've read that book so many god damn times. You are near Conyberry which is also near Butterskull Ranch. My players tackled both in the same trip away from town.
Yea new vid! I appreciate how you give credit to where you found tips or strategies that worked for you. Good practice that more need to do online, and your channel is the better for it. Keep adding to that checklist!
I've added a previous step, speacially with less important rooms. My first description is what the pc would remeber if they just had taken a glance of the room. In your examply I would have only mention the desk and the curtains because they were moving. Then I wait for questions about the room or let them move to the next room if it didn't catch their attention.
I prefer this as well. Also, involve a singular sensory notion in case you don’t want every room to have movement. An acrid scent here, a slimy touch somewhere else, a scratching echo in yet another room. Perhaps tie them all together toward a person or thing later on (“You encounter the decaying, oozing presence of a zombie wererat! Roll for surprise!”).
Dope, testing this out as the base for a ChatGPT prompt to help flesh out environments and brainstorm. Me: Create an Environment Description for a plaza in Estrallamira city-center featuring at least 1 taco cart with a long line. ChatGPT DM Assistant: Estrallamira City-Center Plaza A bustling, mosaic-tiled plaza unfolds, pulsing with the vibrant heartbeats of Estrallamira. The mingled scents of sizzling meats and tangy salsas waft through the air, as a queue snakes from a famed taco cart adorned with bright, festive decor. The cart's grill sizzles rhythmically, an urban siren song for the hungry. Landmarks like the central fountain's intricate water dance, a statue of the city's founder with a knowing smile, and the cart itself invite further discovery. Landmark Information: 1. Taco Cart: Its vibrant umbrella casts a welcoming shade over patrons as the vendor deftly prepares each order with a flourish. 2. Central Fountain: Water arcs into the air, each droplet catching the sunlight in a prismatic celebration of the city's spirit. 3. Statue of the Founder: Standing tall at the plaza's edge, the statue watches over the daily hustle with a gleaming, bronzed gaze. Hidden Information: • Behind the cart, a menu of secret specials awaits those who know to ask for the "plaza's choice." • Under the fountain's base, a commemorative plaque contains a historical riddle, hinting at a hidden aspect of the city's heritage. • Inside the statue's pedestal, a time-worn inscription is said to reveal the founder's prophecy for the city's future prosperity. Secret Information: • Regulars to the taco cart might share whispers of a 'magic hour' when the vendor serves a legendary, once-a-day specialty taco. • Solving the fountain's riddle could grant access to a serene underground garden, a refuge known only to the city's most observant denizens. • Deciphering the statue's prophecy is rumored to bestow good fortune and insight, a gift from the founder's spirit to those who cherish the city's heart. This plaza in Estrallamira is a microcosm of the city's life, offering nourishment, history, and secrets to those who gather within its embrace.
The timing for this video was perfect. I am in the midst of prepping for a session tomorrow, and there's going to be a lot to explore!! This guide was just what I needed as a new DM. Thank you!
A GM really does have to think like a game designer, because they are one, in fact. To that, 7:11 is interesting for there being about 7 landmark objects described, which I've heard given as roughly the average number of distinct objects someone can easily keep in working memory. Hitting a sweet spot of number of location/action data parcelled out, I think, keeps things feeling varied, but not so overly complex that a player would start to get choice paralysis or lose track of one or more data. Nice video.
This has instantly become one of my favorite rpg videos on youtube. Next time I design a room to be explored, I'm definitely using the landmark-hidden-secret structure.
Thanks for explaining this, I will credit your findings in in TTRPG system i am working on (its a little small thing, just pathfinder + dnd + some extra stuff to fill in gaps that both systems have and also making it somewhat simple but not too simple, and its free :P, but for kinda for me and friends to play with...for now...still will be free i think...whatever im yapping) and use this in future DND games. I think that there is a huge gap in exploration in dnd and this pretty much beautifully simplifies it down to basically a three point structure, which everyone loves those. Thank you so much!
The explanation of how the information is organized and immediately demonstrated how that system is used is great stuff. Loving what you're bringing to the table! Satisfied supporter Edit: Congrats on the sponsorship!
yes, bullet poit -> detail -> interaction is a very nice way of displaying info. i got that from browsing throw a whole book of two-page adventures and reading mothership adventures. That last one, mothership is a masterclass in design and super fun to read trough
Thank you for this video, its incrediblywell done. This is how I DM, but never bothered to make it a guide. Having a video to explain it makes it easier to explain to my players.
I love all of your videos! I like the idea of shorthanding notes into three categories. I appreciate abbreviated notes, since it saves me prep time, and occasionally the players come up with a better idea than I did. I just run with it on improv. Thanks for all you do!
Awesome vid! Love the editing as well as the topic! I think the landmark thing comes naturally after a bunch of DMing ...but it would've been of so much help when i was just starting out. Rock on!
Indeed. If only such information could be imparted in a game manual… a Guide, if you will… for Masters of… Dungeons… neh, WotC should just shove a bunch of magic items in there instead. That’ll learn us! 🤬
You've been on a roll lately, Deficient! Loving every video, but oh man this is the best one yet! I always struggle with describing the environment without inadvertently pointing the party to something meaningless. Thank you!
My kin here. My man; stopping to discuss how the eye naturally takes in a picture.... I've just clipped this segment and sent it to three different novelist I am consulting for. Beautifully put.
Bro, your hand strangling your other hand screaming "ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING" hit me so hard in the lulz. Great vid as usual! Thanks for making me smile like a dummy.
Bro, I'm trying to set up my own homebrew world, and stumbling onto this video has given me SO MUCH NEEDED ADVICE. Thank you so much for making this video. This is gonna make my homebrew game better and makes my job a hell of a lot easier!
very cool video! I think we do some parts of this instinctively/by learning from experience, but it is really good to see it broken down like this to have a concise method of preparing instead of attempting by semi trial and error to see what flows!
3:55 And the best part is If you consistently do this You can always just... Not mention something moving Great for time stop spells Or Just unnerving your characters for fun
This is great! I’m such a visual learner so these videos help a lot. I really love the 3 tiers of information. Definitely going to use that going forward. I always ask for too many checks for information that is landmark or hidden, so this is going to really streamline when I ask for a checks (secret info only).
This is great information for GMs (such as me) who wish to enrich the exploration aspect of their TTRPG sessions. It's also one that I personally got to utilize with the adventure module, "The Count, the Castle, and the Curse," written by the illustrious Deficient Master himself. One of the things I really like about this method is that, when it comes to secret information, skill rolls are not the only way of learning secret information. For someone like me, who generally despises Perception checks and generally doesn't like rolling to see if a character knows something (I prefer inferring on their backgrounds and their known skills to provide narrative permission), that's great, as I want the players to have their characters interact with their environment through roleplay more so than roll-play. One thing I would like to either see or to do is to somehow successfully synthesize this method of exploration with the mapless dungeon design of Crown & Skull. Whether it can be done or not, I'm not 100% sure, as both have factors that may invalidate the methods of the other. But both are also really cool and are tailored towards specific design goals (one as a point crawl, one as exploring through a maze w/o need of a map).
I'm still reading through Crown & Skull, but I've thought of using ICRPG's index cards to draw up the Landmarks. Use PC tokens or character pawns to indicate who's exploring what Landmark. If they create a Landmark of their own, you could just draw up another one on the spot and throw it in the pile. Only thing though is you either got to be decent at drawing or have a massive library of persons/places/things to show your players at the table. The latter is probably easier to do in a VTT.
The first bit of advice reminds me a lot of the Lazy GM random tables! Also, this is really interesting advice that I haven’t heard anyone else say. I’m using this for my future games, especially since I love discovery. I bet it works well with Numenera, too :)
Something that I suggest for DMs is reading advice on how writers describe things. Most writers, the good ones anyway, have to keep their story tight or they lose the reader. Close your eyes and imagine the room in your head, as if you're just entering it for the first time. I describe important landmarks, as is described here (very well IMHO), but I might also throw out a red herring. Some items, like the elk head, draw the eye but they make perfect sense to be in the study of a man known for hunting, so in my game, it's a feature but not an important one. I do this because otherwise, my players might focus ONLY on the landmarks, knowing that anything important is in my initial description. A great video and great advice. Have a sub!
I enjoy using theater of the mind, and so when naming off objects in a dense room, things get lost along the way. Also I really enjoy your method of tracking notes, it's an elegant way to organize information!
This is... so great. It's kinda like if the exploration encounter is... well an actual exploration bit. I've been wondering about exploration as one of my players says she likes exploration the best and I'm definitely using this to push. Thanks!
I think the important thing is to focus on choices and make them interesting. If there’s only one door at the end of the room, that’s not exploring. That’s following a railroad. If there are two doors at the end of the room, but they look the exact same, that’s not exploring. That’s flipping a coin. But if one door is slightly ajar and the other one has spiderwebs and a long scratch in it, the players are intrigued by what this choice might entail, and they can truly explore to find out what their actions will lead to.
I really love this style of DMing. The Count, the Castle, and the Curse module you have up on Drivethru is a really good example of the "point and click" DMing style. Another good adventure in this vein is Nightmare over Ragged Hollow
I'll be completely honest, this is the first video of yours I've found and I almost clicked out of it from the TikTok-esque hyper-editing. But the advice you give is phenomenal, I can't believe I never thought to treat rooms like point & click games! I'm glad I stuck around, you've got another subscriber
Definitely going to try it more like point and click. It would probably do wonders as well to have either a list of descriptions to share to the party or like description cards if playing irl
Amazing!! That go exacly how I see exploration: point and click adventure games! The way you explained makes it so easy to visualize now. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Genuine question: How can tell who's turn it is in the middle of a chess game? Another great vid, deficient. You are by far my favorite DM guide on youtube.
This is my favourite DnD channel on TH-cam. Your advice feels so different to everyone else, yet when I implemented it last session, it was the best session I've ever ran, and my players have been talking about all week
@@DeficientMaster i took the law of narrative influence and applied to the entire oneshot. Entire buildings, NPCs, and areas were developed and created on the fly, producing their own narrative arcs. And I didn't have to worry about any of it. I had given them the premise and accepted that I would lose control over the story - but it didn't matter for the first time ever, and I'm very grateful for having been given your advice. There's been other advice about 'builds' and making the right choice which has helped me as a player too. Overall your advice is sound beyond words. If you ever decided to DM for fans, I would be honoured to sit at your table. Much love from Australia.
That CoS call out is so real. I'm a novice DM running my first real adventure, and I ignored all of the warnings telling me that CoS is a pain to run because I'm just too in love with the setting. Do you like concise, clear information that can be referenced on a dime? No? Well fantastic, because in Curse of Strahd, game-changing critical information will be hidden in a block of text describing useless furniture! Don't you dare skim over the 7 dozen empty rooms each dungeon has, because one of them actually has the main NPC or boss, just, chilling! Information that you need to reference on a whim is scattered wherever the hell it wants, so I hope you're good at flipping through pages every 5 seconds and keeping bookmarks just so you know the color of a grick's underbelly! It's just... eesh.
Notes For Descriptions Name locations 1-2 descriptive words followed by what it is. Ex. turn, “O1. Ground Floor” into, “O1. Filthy Makeshift Kitchen” Briefly describe the shape, size, movement and feel of the room. Ex. Round room, 20’ in diameter, and 8’ ceiling. See dishware piled everywhere and small human bones littering the floor. Movement draws your eyes to chickens strutting in a coop. Hear them clucking and toads croaking. Smell baking pastries mixed with a horrendous stench. Describe what is in the room that can be interacted with, use arrows to denote what happens when you do. Use Landmark, Hidden and Secret information. Landmark is information the players get immediately for free. Can be denoted with bold. Hidden is information that the players get for interacting with landmarks. Can be denoted with > arrows. Secret is information that the players get using by either skills/knowledge of the players/PCs, or with time. Can be denoted with italics. Ex. Brick Oven > Dozen Dream Pastries Baking > Morgantha checks if done at the end of turn. Center Barrel > foul smelling green-black ichor inside > knock 3 times, summons dretch, up to 9 > Obeys Morgantha. Heavy Trunk > Croaking sounds, tiny holes bored in the lid > 100 toads jump out, harmless. Pretty Flower-Painted Cabinet > bowls, herbs, baking ingredients, hollow gourds (powdered bone inside), 12 locks of hair inside doors, Labeled containers > “Youth,” “Laughter,” and “Mother’s Milk” > Youth > Golden Syrup > Appears younger/more attractive for 24 hrs. Laughter > Reddish Tea > Cackling Fever (DMG pg 257). Mother’s Milk > Greenish Milk > Pale Tincture Poison (DC 16 CON save, 1d6 poison & poisoned. Save every 24hrs) Chicken Coop > 3 chickens, 1 rooster, 2 eggs Follow this with any exits from the room. Ex. Stairway going up > Shrieks and cackles heard upstairs > leads to O2. Bone Mill.
I'm building my first ever dungeon and I was just getting to the details and descriptions part. This could not have come at a better time! My players will be exploreing an old pirate hideout. Except these pirates had some wizard connections and doubled their hideout as a magical brewery.
![งมหอย จับปลา มือเปล่า หาอยู่หากินแบบวีถีอีสานกับแก๊งเซียนหรั่ง ม่วนคัก! [ขอนแก่น] @Sianstudio](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JEJZg6N-AbU/mqdefault.jpg)
Use code DEFICIENTMASTER at checkout for a 30 day trial on any dScryb subscription! dscryb.com/deficientmaster
Wait, those Big Blue Pill tablets look kind of like...
Link doesn't seem to work. Just redirects and goes to normal 14 day trial.
REEEEEE (Thanks, I'll tinker around)
edit: fixed
GET YOUR BAG KING
Imagine being a ttrpg enthusiast but can't write your own descriptions
I've written two books and something I've always adhered to is that the scene is the first character. It is the thing doing everything to which the other characters merely act upon.
Movement or characters moving within it is paramount. Good on you.
{Vibe} {Vibe} {Room Type}, {detail of sound}, {detail of motion}, {Landmark per PC}. Landmarks are point-and-click adventure objects.
Can you give an example?
There's one in the video?? @@lorcanman
Just... Don't do it so fast. Lol
@@lorcanman a {gloomy}, {gothic} {study.} {smells of parchment, hint of pipe smoke} {south curtains sway from breeze from window}
Thanks! I spent more time in exploration descriptions and nice hints to the players use their proficiency etc etc.... It's simple
I like how he described the suit of armor as shiny despite being in a dusty abandoned mansion. Little details like those indicates thats there is somthing going with the armor
I will pretend I meant to do that.
I love adding information like that to make my players wonder if they have missed something. Sometimes it's a great tool to create tension. I use glass beads as tokens for monsters, labeling them by number with dry erase markers. It's funny to label 1-5 and put a triangle on the last one. They were going out of their mind wondering why that one was labeled differently. Was it a boss? Did it have something special? Nope, just a goblin. But the tension was real.
@@erictiso9315 No, the real fun labeling method is label 4 beads with 1, 2, 3, and 5. >:D
@@DeficientMaster#playeragency
Perhaps instead of it being a trap, it could instead simply be a set of Gleaming armour and have it be a freebie item the party can use.
My crazy hands man is back
Don't Google mr. Hands
Someone give him honorary Italian citizenship, quick!
Love this guy
@@jzh4805😢
Mom he's back again 👆
I also try to personalize an item here or there to give characters role playing cues during the explanation of the room. Like the the druid notices the mounted elk head (hidden- it's an older buck that saw many years), or the intelligent wizard notices the chess game, or the rogue looks at the armor and doesn't recognize the model from any time he was in the military (hidden- must be from older times or a custom armor).
That helps the players stay in character or feel like their backstory matters.
Right, instead of the fighter seeing the chess set and rolling poorly?
I feel like it's a bit more railroading if I directly point out the object that **I** want each PC to look at. Thoughts?
@@XoIoRougenah as long as it’s rule of cool or ups the tension the player will love it. Use what u know about ur players too to your advantage
@@lincolnmaahs18 Hmm... Fair, but I think that actually does support my earlier thought. Simply because I do know my players and I did do that for them in the past - which they called me out on. Not in a negative way but that's why I questioned the OP in the first place, because I recall a time where I did do that but I don't think it worked.
That being said, I appreciate the advice. Everyone's game will always be different!
You can personalize the item after the players engage with it sometimes.
@@GnarledStaff Ah, that's a great idea. Possibly have the personalization as hidden information that's revealed depending on who investigated it. 🤔I like that.
the chair edit was too real
“WRITE THAT DOWN! WRITE THAT DOWN!” - Me literally every second of the video
Yeah, I just wrote notes to go with the timestamps, because I felt the same way.
@@hweidigiv good idea, I wrote notes but I will add time stamps just if I need to hop back in the vid to look for something
💯 Van Wilder ACHIEVED
ME TOO ITS SO MUCH 😭😭😭🤣
Same
A small tipp: Placement of your information in the description.
A lot of advice says that players tend to ask about the *last* thing you mentioned, but in my games that tend to have more mystery that is not true at all - it is probably because my players expect me to hide the information somewhere in the middle of my description to make it less obvious. In your example, with the gothic study... well, you get the idea: Id place the suit of armor / elk head last in my description and the chess set somewhere in the middle. I am manipulative like that.
If it is a combat room, I like to be pretty sparse with the information and sentence length, but tell them about the enemies last. "You walk into a gloomy gothic study. Curtains flutter in the wind beside the open window. Three gentlemen with a mean grin approach you, cracking their knuckles."
This.
If you mention the men cracking knuckles before describing the room, your player will be like, "so anyways, I started blasting"
*Describes a room in vivid detail*
...
"There's also a dragon."
@Mortarah I mean isn't that just the reveal of movie smaug in the treasure room.
I don't use a battlemap - I use a whiteboard and draw circles and rectangles lol.
My players are deaf so while I describe the room in sign language, I also provide a transcription of the description of the room. This is because my sign language isn't fantastic.
However, I may incorporate this in future campaigns where there is no language barrier, as I've noticed players really enjoy the ability to see the words visually.
I've never had an issue with positioning my information because they have my description.
“You enter an unassuming hall of moderate scale. There is a blank tapestry hanging midway at the left wall. To the right wall is a box enscribed with the words “cat inside?”. A snarling, famished tarrasque leaps out at you for the locale’s center. Several unused sheets of parchment adorn a makeshift desk.”
You see a barren desktop... Over it, a set of disembodied hands, supple, but masculine, flailing wildly in the emptiness.
What do you do?
Oh great puppeteer of Deficent Master, I present you my sacrifice *dumps a whole dice set on the table*
Relieve me from this mortal coil of insignificance and suffering, transcend me into the worlds beyond!
Amen. (Also God bless RNGesus.)
I click play, then like..
Hit the subscribe button
Hold them
I seduce them .
As a DM, I watch a lot of "DM advices" videos, but more often than not I end up thinking "well, I already do that" or "I don't really agree with what is explained here" or "I don't think it really applies to my DMing style". This video, however, made me realise how shallow my descriptions of the players's environments are, and how improving them will increase immersion, help the party make decisions, and create puzzles that make sense in the context of the narrative. This is definitly something I need to work on.
Thanks for this insightfull video ! I'll sub and start checking your other videos !
You should definitely check out Solo Roleplaying then! It's a great way to prep, to practice scenes and encounters ahead of time, and especially to improve your general GM skills through practice (also, helps not to feel so down when the group has to cancel, since you can still play, at least!)
@Worthless-one I’m getting a vague picture of this “Solo Roleplaying” which you mentioned. Details, now! (passes tennis ball back to you)
just add more dinosaurs
@@commandercaptain4664theater kids do not belong in this hobby
This has to be one of the best ads I've ever seen. I'm glad I wasn't drinking my tea at that time, or I would have needed another keyboard.
That aside, great video. I'm currently preparing a HUGE ASS "Hexploration" for my players (205 hexes to fill), and it is really welcome.
MICHAEL FREAKING GHELFI!?!?
Ooh! That's sounds frikken fantastic! I have way too many random generation tools for that stuff 😅
@@DeficientMaster HIM FREAKING SELF!
@@paavohirn3728 I wish it would do the trick but since all is linked and features little combat, random gens don't help much^^
@@MichaelGhelfiStudios Sure. Still, random gens like those in Worlds Without Number can work two nice when you let the emerging context guide the interpret of each result. But certainly it's not for every situation. I wish you an enjoyable creation process and game!
The best D&D youtuber. Came out of nowhere and gonna be huge!
And with those supple hands I can’t wait until the face reveal.
@@axelz4316 I really dont want a face reveal one day. When that happens, some of the magic disappears.
@axelz4316 Costanza hands, he’s got! Those hands are gold, Jerry, GOLD!
Your room description template in your "d&d modules suck" video was such a game changer for me. Through the power of using Obsidian as my note taking app of choice, I now have neat room description templates to drop in that remind me to list the room specs, what players see, hear, smell and feel, the interactable room elements, and the exits if needed. Thanks for all your creative and entertaining insights!
Your unpaid editor is doing great! Cut his rations in half.
I always recommend giving the players something to help them move forward regardless of success or failure. When handing out information, I try to give them something, even if it's not what they asked for.
• Success: "You remember hearing about Dunbarrow Keep and the many twisty caverns underneath, especially the one that is said to..." (They get the information you wanted to give them.)
• Failure: "You remember hearing something about this, maybe from a history book? You remember that Zoe the Wizard loves history books, maybe they know more." (They get a path toward the information.)
• Crit Failure: "You remember overhearing something about this at the tavern, but as you try to recall, that one drinking song gets stuck in your head. 'Xardoth the mad, was a very stout lad, but he sampled his own potion and it turned out quite bad!'" (Not information relevant right now, but when they come across the animated remains of Xardoth the mad later on, they'll remember that drinking song.)
Success = present
Failure = past towards present
Fumble = far future
I LIKE IT.
Literally brought back my sanity. As a new DM, you make this so much more understandable.
Suggestion: I would like to see how you organize your story lore. Say like if your player requests to know more information about the towns history.
Keep up the great work!
This sounds like a job for a SPREADSHEET!
Oh my gods your presentation style only keeps improving. It's seriously unique and I love it.
And HUH. That way of making secret doors be hidden information, but not "secret" information, including the traps, but the ways of triggering them or opening them are "secret" is a nifty idea.
I think I may adopt this concept!
Notes:
@0:00 - Intro
@1:42 - Passing the Ball
The GM passes players information. The players pass questions or actions. This technique helps balance not enough & too much detail.
@2:51 - Describing the room
One or two adjectives describing the room itself, a sentence or two that involve senses other than sight, and an element of movement.
@4:23 - dScryb sponsorship
@5:38 - Landmark Details
Like a point-and-click adventure, landmark information highlights what elements of the scene your players should be interested in. There should be as many landmarks as characters in the party (sometimes more). Remember to allow players to interact with elements that you didn't specify (they may have an interesting idea).
@8:33 - Hidden Information
Hidden information is revealed by players asking for more information about a landmark detail. It is often "behind" or "inside" the landmark, but not necessarily. One of the examples of "Hidden Information" is the layout of a chessboard, since the landmark detail was only the location of the chess set, and that it was mid-game. Hidden information is obtained by spending time and taking a risk.
@9:29 - Secret Information
Details that players only have access to after beating something (like a skill check or puzzle). Traps and Treasure are "Hidden Information", but opening the Treasure or disarming the Trap is hidden behind Secret Information.
@10:38 - Outro
Hey Deficient Master,
Could you record and share one of your game sessions? I'd love to see your DM skills in action.
Hey! Definitely an idea I've been kicking around. Was playing in my brother's game a bit but I'm about to run a Star Wars game for my group.
I got some ideas to make the actual play helpful and not just be a crappier version of Critical Role or Dimension 20. We shall see!
I think "Campaign Diaries" are a bit more helpful for GM skill improvements than "Actual Play" raw footage, because it allows the creator/host to focus the story for the TH-cam audience, rather than juggling the table audience and the viewing audience.
@@DeficientMasterHonestly, a Solo series (even a mini-series) would even be helpful! Whether you do it with Mythic GameMaster Emulator, DM Yourself, or The Solo Adventurer's Toolbox 1&2, doesn't matter, so long as we get to see your creativity!
@hweidigiv The viewing audience could also be the table audience. Who’d a thunk it?
@DeficientMaster Ooo ooo, Mr. Kottah! Which Star Wars system?
I hadn't heard the description of movement advice before. I'm going to try that out next session.
Came here to say this. That is EXCELLENT advice that I’d never seen before.
Babe wake up, new deficient master vid dropped
this type of unoriginal comment that seemingly crops up on every video HAS to be by bots - right? Please restore a little of my faith in humanity by saying yes.
@@wbbartlett yes
This is exactly the kind of video I needed to learn how to better describe my theatre of the mind style games. Enough information to prompt action from the players, but not so much they feel bogged down or confused.
Awesome videos! Your point and click approach to navigation has been a game changer for me. I’d love to hear your take on RP encounters like negotiations or interrogations. Keep making awesome stuff!
I've actually designed what I like to call a "City Crawl" and it actually runs on similar mechanics.
To start, the GM decides if there is a timer that the players should know about, or even a risk factor, while the GM adds 3 Points of Interest that are obvious, with an overpriced General Store, an Inn for Long Resting (maybe even as a group), and one extra location that could be used for a simple quest.
This is also the time to add Hidden Locations (based on video rules).
To actually play, the Players all take a turn placing their tokens on an interesting place on the map.
IF the space is empty, THEN they discover something, and end their turn.
IF the space has something on it, THEN they interact with it, and end their turn.
However, IF the space involves an encounter, THEN the Party can all choose to run in and help (to avoid accidental party splits), OR the PC can choose to escape (with a dice roll that may cost health, or maybe a narrative advantage).
And Finally, IF the space is an enemy, the enemy takes and deals about 1 hit or so (might be different, just doing this from memory), unless they die first. The damage taken by Players may vary, but no actual combat is involved. It might also be an Attack Roll to determine the amount of damage done or taken.
However, the Players can only do ONE thing on their turn, allowing others to contribute to the exploration. Even if that's buying ONE item, making ONE skill check, ONE attack roll, etc. Each turn shouldn't take more than 1 minute for the Player to know what they're doing.
Finally, the GM's Turn.
The GM first resolves any timer or risk that perpetuates, such as thieves sneaking around, those meteors getting closer to town, or an execution that the Party didn't stop.
Then, they restock hidden information as needed, or move anything that isn't gonna stick around, such as those lackeys that just finished a bank heist.
Then the round starts all over again, until there's a reason to jump into a specific scene, such as when the timer runs out, or the Party decides it's time for an encounter.
There's also a version for Travel which just has a standard path, but Players have a limited amount of distance they can explore without expending extra resources, and they can't just explore everywhere. This way, the Players can really feel like they're exploring an open world, without risking the entire game grinding to a halt.
I'm also pretty certain that with lots of practice, you could use this method in a small hut and find that your once empty room is bursting with so many details that you couldn't write it up from scratch if you spent a month on it.
Now I haven't run the travel portion yet, but the City Crawl method has been a Hit with the Players I've tested it on, probably because it gives you plenty of freedom to explore (since you don't need a party vote to run around the map), and the city feels more lively since you have a visual prompt of how big the place is.
Now pardon me, while I explode at the revelation I just had: "I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T THINK OF CITY CRAWLING IN A DUNGEON ROOM BEFORE THIS COMMENT!!!"
Having a map with points of interest that players can put their minis on to show where they are? Yeah, I'm going to have to steal that idea, I've been needing a better way to run city exploration.
@@davidsalisbury59 My system isn't released yet, and somebody is already stealing ideas!!!
I hope that you enjoy that idea.
Seems like an interesting concept, though I feel it's a bit too structured? I do like that it helps remove downtime. That's HUGE. I've had some folks go to the blacksmith and just take the entire session chatting and goofing off, while everyone else is doing nothing. I've tried to revisit the other players, "while they're doing that, anyone want to do anything?" and they say, "Not really, I think we just wanna rest at the Inn and proceed with the quest." *SIGH* I go back to the trolls and try to end the encounter without being an asshole, and that's our session!
So I do REALLY LIKE that this idea helps reduce downtime by:
1. Giving points of interest even though the player isn't fully interested, just get some information or something, why not. Could result in a nice narrative buff like giving a helping hand to the local gardener.
2. Limiting the interactivity to only doing one thing does help reduce downtime significantly.
Curious. I do like the idea though. Want to find a way to make the players feel like they're not being forced / limited / hand-held.
@@XoIoRouge Yeah, and if somebody does need to perform downtime activities, you can resolve that at a special time (like when all the Players agree), or even decide it beforehand.
I also did kinda feel the need to make it very structured, because otherwise, you gotta have a proactive group of Players to keep the game from slowing down too much. So, sacrifices must be made sadly.
Mein gott, you’ve done it! THE UNIFIED FIELD SOLUTION!!! Consider your idea stolen, trademarked, and litigated by a private equity firm! NO TAKEBACKSIES!!
Thank you good sir! You just made my prep more practical. I usually tens to overthink descriptions and encounters prep
I've really been enjoying this series on dungeon room design. Figuring out the details in a room has always been an area I struggle with and your tips have definitely given me something to chew on in order to improve that area of my game.
One thing that did stand out to me as someone who uses theatre of the mind and "yes, and..." at my table is that your methodology are somewhat counter intuitive to those ideals. This may just be systemic of modern D&D design, but the condemnation of open spaces in non-threatening situations seems damaging to the roleplay aspect of the game. An sparsely described tavern, to me, is just an invitation to add detail, invent new NPCs to rub elbows with, and overall stretch my roleplaying muscles to have a bit of characterization fun. Placing a map in front of players is pretty antithetical to theatre of the mind, but it also constrains "yes, and..." a considerable amount as now everything in the room is defined.
I'm sure there are ways to reconcile this (and welcome suggestions on how to do just that) but this does seem to invite telling players to leave their creativity at the front door, while then whining and whinging as a community as to why players don't come up with imaginative and creative solutions.
P.S. The edit gag with "time" and "effort" got a good laugh out of me; keep up the awesome work!
@BraveryBeyond While I agree with this, it heavily depends on a player group willing to ascribe its own imagination without catering to its own favor - in essence, becoming mini-GMs themselves. Whether that approach is agreed upon or not all depends on the magic of session zero.
The way you edit and describe everything in the video makes you one of the most easy and fun to watch D&D creators I've ever seen. Thank you for your videos!
Necrotic Gnome published adventures are formatted similarly to this. They are some of the easiest modules to run “out of the box” because of it.
Thank you for the breakdown of your method, is going to help me out a lot.
Yes! I was going to say this method really clicked for me after running Winter's Daughter, Hole in the Oak, and Incandescent Grottoes.
Fantastic advice!!! I especially like the movement tip and the way you delineate between what you give, what they can discover, and what if hidden behind rolls is incredibly concise and makes sense in a way it didn’t before.
Best place for practical advice!
This might genuinely be one of the MOST practical advice videos on TH-cam - and it's short and easy to understand and implement! MASSIVE applause!
10:03 there is checkmate in 2 moves if bishop took the knight (best possible outcome) : the queen takes the pawn if f5 and if black doesn't move the any of the pawns in line 7 or the queen and does anything else, the white queen takes the pawn in h5 or moves to g6 and that's checkmate.
Deficient, with the subtle (and less subtle) presentation, sound effects and editing tricks, you had me hooked once again! I really enjoy the way you present your content. And this video has excellent tips! Writing it aaalll down! Kudo's, kudo's, kudo's!
10:54 that layering system of information is great, it helps further explain your one-shot ravenloft you put out, that read some of. The way you try to gamify the exploration through giving the players some good concrete choices you mention, and then asking what they want to do, and having follow up stuff written about their choice is what I've been trying to do for per-prepared adventure (see my "previous" comment below)
1:03 I can tell you as some one who spent the better part of a year converting that adventure. You are in Dragon at Icespire Peak Essentials Kit (or something close to it), that specifically is the Shrine of Savros. That one has a bell up top that is actually where all the gold is hiding, from an ancient barbarian raid. There are orcs and Ogres on that map. At a god damn glance I could tell you a lot because I've read that book so many god damn times. You are near Conyberry which is also near Butterskull Ranch. My players tackled both in the same trip away from town.
Yea new vid! I appreciate how you give credit to where you found tips or strategies that worked for you. Good practice that more need to do online, and your channel is the better for it. Keep adding to that checklist!
You have a Ring of Invisibility??? That’s a legendary item! 5:50
I've added a previous step, speacially with less important rooms. My first description is what the pc would remeber if they just had taken a glance of the room. In your examply I would have only mention the desk and the curtains because they were moving. Then I wait for questions about the room or let them move to the next room if it didn't catch their attention.
I prefer this as well. Also, involve a singular sensory notion in case you don’t want every room to have movement. An acrid scent here, a slimy touch somewhere else, a scratching echo in yet another room. Perhaps tie them all together toward a person or thing later on (“You encounter the decaying, oozing presence of a zombie wererat! Roll for surprise!”).
Dope, testing this out as the base for a ChatGPT prompt to help flesh out environments and brainstorm.
Me:
Create an Environment Description for a plaza in Estrallamira city-center featuring at least 1 taco cart with a long line.
ChatGPT DM Assistant:
Estrallamira City-Center Plaza
A bustling, mosaic-tiled plaza unfolds, pulsing with the vibrant heartbeats of Estrallamira. The mingled scents of sizzling meats and tangy salsas waft through the air, as a queue snakes from a famed taco cart adorned with bright, festive decor. The cart's grill sizzles rhythmically, an urban siren song for the hungry. Landmarks like the central fountain's intricate water dance, a statue of the city's founder with a knowing smile, and the cart itself invite further discovery.
Landmark Information:
1. Taco Cart: Its vibrant umbrella casts a welcoming shade over patrons as the vendor deftly prepares each order with a flourish.
2. Central Fountain: Water arcs into the air, each droplet catching the sunlight in a prismatic celebration of the city's spirit.
3. Statue of the Founder: Standing tall at the plaza's edge, the statue watches over the daily hustle with a gleaming, bronzed gaze.
Hidden Information:
• Behind the cart, a menu of secret specials awaits those who know to ask for the "plaza's choice."
• Under the fountain's base, a commemorative plaque contains a historical riddle, hinting at a hidden aspect of the city's heritage.
• Inside the statue's pedestal, a time-worn inscription is said to reveal the founder's prophecy for the city's future prosperity.
Secret Information:
• Regulars to the taco cart might share whispers of a 'magic hour' when the vendor serves a legendary, once-a-day specialty taco.
• Solving the fountain's riddle could grant access to a serene underground garden, a refuge known only to the city's most observant denizens.
• Deciphering the statue's prophecy is rumored to bestow good fortune and insight, a gift from the founder's spirit to those who cherish the city's heart.
This plaza in Estrallamira is a microcosm of the city's life, offering nourishment, history, and secrets to those who gather within its embrace.
The timing for this video was perfect. I am in the midst of prepping for a session tomorrow, and there's going to be a lot to explore!! This guide was just what I needed as a new DM. Thank you!
A GM really does have to think like a game designer, because they are one, in fact.
To that, 7:11 is interesting for there being about 7 landmark objects described, which I've heard given as roughly the average number of distinct objects someone can easily keep in working memory. Hitting a sweet spot of number of location/action data parcelled out, I think, keeps things feeling varied, but not so overly complex that a player would start to get choice paralysis or lose track of one or more data.
Nice video.
This has instantly become one of my favorite rpg videos on youtube. Next time I design a room to be explored, I'm definitely using the landmark-hidden-secret structure.
I see you mastered the magic floating finger enchantment at 0:17 :^)
Thanks for explaining this, I will credit your findings in in TTRPG system i am working on (its a little small thing, just pathfinder + dnd + some extra stuff to fill in gaps that both systems have and also making it somewhat simple but not too simple, and its free :P, but for kinda for me and friends to play with...for now...still will be free i think...whatever im yapping) and use this in future DND games.
I think that there is a huge gap in exploration in dnd and this pretty much beautifully simplifies it down to basically a three point structure, which everyone loves those.
Thank you so much!
Well. That's how you get me to click. And even comment. Maybe I'll watch.
The thumbnail was fucking rotated upside down.
The explanation of how the information is organized and immediately demonstrated how that system is used is great stuff. Loving what you're bringing to the table! Satisfied supporter
Edit: Congrats on the sponsorship!
I love that you cite the blogs and articles that led you to your method!
Yesssssssssssss!!!!! I see a video from Our Boy, I stop what I’m doing and watch it immediately!!! Love it bro!!
yes, bullet poit -> detail -> interaction is a very nice way of displaying info. i got that from browsing throw a whole book of two-page adventures and reading mothership adventures. That last one, mothership is a masterclass in design and super fun to read trough
I love that this video was really helpfull to experience and newbies DMs and not a toxic rant. Keep it going. 👍
Man, you knock it out of the park every time! You are at the same level as Matt Colville in my book.
You sir have brought a bit of wisdom, clarity and laughter into my otherwise terribly droll evening. Kudos.
Thank you for this video, its incrediblywell done. This is how I DM, but never bothered to make it a guide. Having a video to explain it makes it easier to explain to my players.
I've been DMing my first campaign for 2 months and this is exactly the kind of advice I needed, Thanks!
Seriously man, this information is critical to have! You're the only one giving this good insight and tips!
I love all of your videos! I like the idea of shorthanding notes into three categories. I appreciate abbreviated notes, since it saves me prep time, and occasionally the players come up with a better idea than I did. I just run with it on improv. Thanks for all you do!
Awesome vid! Love the editing as well as the topic!
I think the landmark thing comes naturally after a bunch of DMing ...but it would've been of so much help when i was just starting out.
Rock on!
Indeed. If only such information could be imparted in a game manual… a Guide, if you will… for Masters of… Dungeons… neh, WotC should just shove a bunch of magic items in there instead. That’ll learn us! 🤬
You've been on a roll lately, Deficient! Loving every video, but oh man this is the best one yet!
I always struggle with describing the environment without inadvertently pointing the party to something meaningless.
Thank you!
The bucket list just saying “Ginny Ginny Ginny Ginny” shows your commitment to dnd. 10/10
My kin here.
My man; stopping to discuss how the eye naturally takes in a picture....
I've just clipped this segment and sent it to three different novelist I am consulting for.
Beautifully put.
Bro, your hand strangling your other hand screaming "ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING" hit me so hard in the lulz. Great vid as usual! Thanks for making me smile like a dummy.
I want to design rooms now. So simple, yet so helpful tips. I'll be checking your creations.
The more Deficient, the “betterer”! Your videos are well worth the wait. 🙏
Bro, I'm trying to set up my own homebrew world, and stumbling onto this video has given me SO MUCH NEEDED ADVICE. Thank you so much for making this video. This is gonna make my homebrew game better and makes my job a hell of a lot easier!
I have never seen any of your videos. But this was really fun and educational. I will try your method. Thank you for sharing.
Yay, a new Deficient Master video!
very cool video! I think we do some parts of this instinctively/by learning from experience, but it is really good to see it broken down like this to have a concise method of preparing instead of attempting by semi trial and error to see what flows!
This has helped me improve my DM notes, organization, and confidence in running a sesh. Love the Deficient Master channel!
So you on Dex Save Dan's channel. You're videos are great. Nice crisp and clean. Keep up the great work!
3:55
And the best part is
If you consistently do this
You can always just... Not mention something moving
Great for time stop spells
Or
Just unnerving your characters for fun
This is going to be huge in helping my games more interesting to play and run. Amazing channel!
This is great! I’m such a visual learner so these videos help a lot. I really love the 3 tiers of information. Definitely going to use that going forward. I always ask for too many checks for information that is landmark or hidden, so this is going to really streamline when I ask for a checks (secret info only).
I actively searched for you yesterday, fearing the YT algorithm
I love all of your videos. I really enjoyed the face hidden when you were sitting on the office chair turning around.
This is great information for GMs (such as me) who wish to enrich the exploration aspect of their TTRPG sessions. It's also one that I personally got to utilize with the adventure module, "The Count, the Castle, and the Curse," written by the illustrious Deficient Master himself.
One of the things I really like about this method is that, when it comes to secret information, skill rolls are not the only way of learning secret information. For someone like me, who generally despises Perception checks and generally doesn't like rolling to see if a character knows something (I prefer inferring on their backgrounds and their known skills to provide narrative permission), that's great, as I want the players to have their characters interact with their environment through roleplay more so than roll-play.
One thing I would like to either see or to do is to somehow successfully synthesize this method of exploration with the mapless dungeon design of Crown & Skull. Whether it can be done or not, I'm not 100% sure, as both have factors that may invalidate the methods of the other. But both are also really cool and are tailored towards specific design goals (one as a point crawl, one as exploring through a maze w/o need of a map).
I'm still reading through Crown & Skull, but I've thought of using ICRPG's index cards to draw up the Landmarks. Use PC tokens or character pawns to indicate who's exploring what Landmark. If they create a Landmark of their own, you could just draw up another one on the spot and throw it in the pile.
Only thing though is you either got to be decent at drawing or have a massive library of persons/places/things to show your players at the table. The latter is probably easier to do in a VTT.
Oh snap you’re really good at this! 🔥
Presentation and video editing I mean.
Don’t burn out by overdoing it, but you earned my sub!
Great work
The first bit of advice reminds me a lot of the Lazy GM random tables!
Also, this is really interesting advice that I haven’t heard anyone else say. I’m using this for my future games, especially since I love discovery. I bet it works well with Numenera, too :)
So proud of our D. Master for achieving the dScryb sponsoship. Oh Ginny, we're coming for the collaboration, just you wait. 😆😆😆
Just discovered your channel. Watched a couple videos. You are a brilliant creator. Entertaining AF while still dolling out good advice. Subscribed.
Something that I suggest for DMs is reading advice on how writers describe things. Most writers, the good ones anyway, have to keep their story tight or they lose the reader. Close your eyes and imagine the room in your head, as if you're just entering it for the first time. I describe important landmarks, as is described here (very well IMHO), but I might also throw out a red herring. Some items, like the elk head, draw the eye but they make perfect sense to be in the study of a man known for hunting, so in my game, it's a feature but not an important one. I do this because otherwise, my players might focus ONLY on the landmarks, knowing that anything important is in my initial description.
A great video and great advice. Have a sub!
Your editor is doing an absolutely spectacular job! Pay them! 💰 💰
I enjoy using theater of the mind, and so when naming off objects in a dense room, things get lost along the way. Also I really enjoy your method of tracking notes, it's an elegant way to organize information!
This is... so great. It's kinda like if the exploration encounter is... well an actual exploration bit. I've been wondering about exploration as one of my players says she likes exploration the best and I'm definitely using this to push. Thanks!
I think the important thing is to focus on choices and make them interesting. If there’s only one door at the end of the room, that’s not exploring. That’s following a railroad. If there are two doors at the end of the room, but they look the exact same, that’s not exploring. That’s flipping a coin. But if one door is slightly ajar and the other one has spiderwebs and a long scratch in it, the players are intrigued by what this choice might entail, and they can truly explore to find out what their actions will lead to.
Cool. I'm going to try this at my table. (40 year DM here - never stop honing your craft)
I really love this style of DMing. The Count, the Castle, and the Curse module you have up on Drivethru is a really good example of the "point and click" DMing style. Another good adventure in this vein is Nightmare over Ragged Hollow
I'll be completely honest, this is the first video of yours I've found and I almost clicked out of it from the TikTok-esque hyper-editing. But the advice you give is phenomenal, I can't believe I never thought to treat rooms like point & click games! I'm glad I stuck around, you've got another subscriber
Thank you! The analytics tell me I'm doing a good job so I must play the hyper-editing game for now.
Bro this channel is gonna blow up fast I love it so much.
YES! THE TAINTED SWORD! That was AWESOME! More Knights on Gryphon back!
God the D&D-Tuber checklist is too real.
Great info. I will use these notes in making my first quest with this group easier to interact with.
You are one of the best Dungeontubers I’ve ever seen. I binged all of your content in a few days and long for more.
Definitely going to try it more like point and click. It would probably do wonders as well to have either a list of descriptions to share to the party or like description cards if playing irl
Amazing!! That go exacly how I see exploration: point and click adventure games! The way you explained makes it so easy to visualize now. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Man, this is such an useful, to-the-point, practical explaination!!! I can see it working clearly even with social exploration encounters!!!!
Awesome simple and usable tricks, I’m excited to see how it opens up the variety of my table’s play :)
Genuine question: How can tell who's turn it is in the middle of a chess game?
Another great vid, deficient. You are by far my favorite DM guide on youtube.
This is my favourite DnD channel on TH-cam. Your advice feels so different to everyone else, yet when I implemented it last session, it was the best session I've ever ran, and my players have been talking about all week
It's comments like these that make realize that maybe I'm not totally crazy. Thank you.
What advice did you consciously implement last session?
@@DeficientMaster i took the law of narrative influence and applied to the entire oneshot. Entire buildings, NPCs, and areas were developed and created on the fly, producing their own narrative arcs. And I didn't have to worry about any of it. I had given them the premise and accepted that I would lose control over the story - but it didn't matter for the first time ever, and I'm very grateful for having been given your advice.
There's been other advice about 'builds' and making the right choice which has helped me as a player too.
Overall your advice is sound beyond words. If you ever decided to DM for fans, I would be honoured to sit at your table.
Much love from Australia.
That CoS call out is so real. I'm a novice DM running my first real adventure, and I ignored all of the warnings telling me that CoS is a pain to run because I'm just too in love with the setting.
Do you like concise, clear information that can be referenced on a dime? No? Well fantastic, because in Curse of Strahd, game-changing critical information will be hidden in a block of text describing useless furniture! Don't you dare skim over the 7 dozen empty rooms each dungeon has, because one of them actually has the main NPC or boss, just, chilling! Information that you need to reference on a whim is scattered wherever the hell it wants, so I hope you're good at flipping through pages every 5 seconds and keeping bookmarks just so you know the color of a grick's underbelly! It's just... eesh.
Notes
For Descriptions
Name locations 1-2 descriptive words followed by what it is.
Ex. turn, “O1. Ground Floor” into, “O1. Filthy Makeshift Kitchen”
Briefly describe the shape, size, movement and feel of the room.
Ex.
Round room, 20’ in diameter, and 8’ ceiling.
See dishware piled everywhere and small human bones littering the floor.
Movement draws your eyes to chickens strutting in a coop.
Hear them clucking and toads croaking.
Smell baking pastries mixed with a horrendous stench.
Describe what is in the room that can be interacted with, use arrows to denote what happens when you do. Use Landmark, Hidden and Secret information.
Landmark is information the players get immediately for free. Can be denoted with bold.
Hidden is information that the players get for interacting with landmarks. Can be denoted with > arrows.
Secret is information that the players get using by either skills/knowledge of the players/PCs, or with time. Can be denoted with italics.
Ex.
Brick Oven > Dozen Dream Pastries Baking > Morgantha checks if done at the end of turn.
Center Barrel > foul smelling green-black ichor inside > knock 3 times, summons dretch, up to 9 > Obeys Morgantha.
Heavy Trunk > Croaking sounds, tiny holes bored in the lid > 100 toads jump out, harmless.
Pretty Flower-Painted Cabinet > bowls, herbs, baking ingredients, hollow gourds (powdered bone inside), 12 locks of hair inside doors, Labeled containers > “Youth,” “Laughter,” and “Mother’s Milk” > Youth > Golden Syrup > Appears younger/more attractive for 24 hrs. Laughter > Reddish Tea > Cackling Fever (DMG pg 257). Mother’s Milk > Greenish Milk > Pale Tincture Poison (DC 16 CON save, 1d6 poison & poisoned. Save every 24hrs)
Chicken Coop > 3 chickens, 1 rooster, 2 eggs
Follow this with any exits from the room.
Ex. Stairway going up > Shrieks and cackles heard upstairs > leads to O2. Bone Mill.
I'm building my first ever dungeon and I was just getting to the details and descriptions part. This could not have come at a better time!
My players will be exploreing an old pirate hideout. Except these pirates had some wizard connections and doubled their hideout as a magical brewery.
Gosh the comparison with Howl tuto rofl xD In any case I still love your video editing so much!