Thanks for soundtracks suggestions guys! Really appreciate the recommendations, best moment for me as a DM, Is when I explain to Brothers, friends & cousins about D&D, I start with the word "Freedom" is what makes D&D so special, that no generations of any ps3, ps4 etc can ever have.
Started DMing about a month ago, and your tips are fantastic! I have utilized alot of the advice and our group is having a blast! We all frequently look around and wonder why we have not played sooner! For the record, we are doing 5E, starting with the starter set, and then will move on to the other campaigns. I have been tinging my world to make it unique. Its like a Cormack McCarthy novel with goblins. I really want to say thanks, because your tips opened it up the way instruction manuals could not. Take care!
on the subject of players losing track of storylines and what not, one of our players, the monk i think, had profession of scribe/storyteller. his job was to notate our adventures and recap when we started our next session.
I agree. When I first started as a DM I would just say "you missed" or "you hit". Now I use things like "his armor absorbs your blow" or, as you said, "your blow glances off his armor". The stats things should only be for the DM. Like you were saying, use little clues that the monster is getting weak. I like to ask the player's before we begin, if any of them would like to sum up what has been going on and then I reward them with either an action point, extra xp, or whatever. Great Video!
I LOVE giving my players puzzles the most, but am sadly horrible at thinking of them. Even that little puzzle you gave at the end of this video about the scales in the deity's temple was awesome. I hope to get more puzzle ideas from you.
6:30 this is really fun with the Paladin Oath of Redemption. A Redeemer should offer the opportunity to surrender, and probably have advantage on the Charisma (Persuasion) skill check. Either the creature can take advantage on Wisdom (Insight) or an Attack action against the Redeemer, with the Redeemer allowed to immediately retaliatory strike as a Reaction.
Thanks for the answers Matt! I can't believe I found out about D&D pretty late, but better late than never huh? D&D really inspires me to become the Director, The Writer, The Referee & just simply witnessing my players being able to immerse themselves to this tabletop game really makes us feel like in a Movie/Series, me & my group started small with RPG's/MMORPG'S But we had no idea about D&D at the time.
I once made a huge labyrinth tunnel that took 9 hours without rest to get throught (honestly i made it to take 2 nights to complete). The place was filled with chests, each chest had a simple riddle and a key, and in order to avoid loot steal the key usually was something that only 1 type character could perform. For example: A chest wouldn't stop laughing when touched, so the monk went and punch it and stun it. Another chest was lost in a dark room and every time it moved it left a trail of fluorecent steps, the ranger was the only one capable of tracing it. The chest cotaining cleric/paladin stuff was locked with undead arms that won't stop respawning no matter how many times you burned, cut or destroy them.
I'm starting a campaign as DM with a few friends, and im using a few pieces ive composed for a board game i was designing. I might make them available for download if you guys want!
For 'metagame' stats, I tend to have them give me a roll of some kind (e.g a nature role for taking on a new monster) and let them know things like what their weakest stat is, what special moves they might be likely to have, etc - seems to work quite well, the rest is essentially the cinematic side :) Loving the vids :D
Maps, minis, books, PDFs, dice, other gaming paraphernalia. You can get by with a core book and some dice, but some people like to go further. It's very easy to sink money into this hobby -- the nice thing about it is it's not required.
A couple more music tips: * Nox Arcanas CDs, they have some themed CDs that are rather good. Some of them has some nice noices/voices/and sounds that are perfect to build scenes around) * Immediate Music - Abbey Road (Epic scenes, they have 2 tracks for every song, 1 with choir and 1 without) * Immediate Music - Themes For Orchestra And Choir (for epic scenes) * The soundtrack for Interview with the Vampire (its good for spooky scenes and the soundtrack are rather neutral)
Cheaper than warhammer :P Also was just coming by the channel to wish you well and to say I miss the videos you made :P I still link a lot of these videos to new players, so even if it is small... you are contributing to the growth and advancement of the hobby :P
I spent the better part of my weekend doing almost EXACTLY what you suggested with the music, from downloading Audacity to tracking down good videogame and movie soundtracks. I even labelled the playlists I made similarly (One for a haunted crypt type scenario, or an ancient dungeon, or a demon infested cathedral.) Even some really out-there avant-garde kind of stuff for if the players are out in the planes. And then I happened upon this video. Good to know there's someone on the same page.
i run a campaign on Roll20 which has a great playlist of music and sound effects...plus you can import sounds. but even if you do not play on Roll20 you could use the free version to layer many many sounds. I once had my group come upon an old temple that they needed to explore. throughout the days journey it was raining (1), when they got close to the temple i started some spooky music (2) i also increased the storm with thunder (3) and strong wind (4). once inside the storm sounds subsided but continued....then i layered on sounds of unknown things in the shadows....then finally the roars of the boss. good stuff, and they were scared to death.
Hi, I'm really interested in trying out D&D but... I got some questions for you, Matt, or other DMs in the audience here! 1- When to kill a Player Character and what do you do? Send him home and continue with survivors or how to prepare? 2- Do you prepare a variety of dungeons and place to explore and let them chose where to go, or railroad the game in one direction?
+Mathieu Poulin Here is what I usually do. 1. If a player character does die, try to see how the survivors are acting. If they seem to be planing on somehow reviving the player then have that person wait till then. Also to keep them involved till then you can have them act out minor characters like guards or barkeeps. If the survivors don't seem interested in bringing they back to life, I just let them make a new character. 2. I generally only have one or two dungeons prepared at a time, but I try and keep them generic enough to be placed into where ever the party decides to go. Say for instance you thought the party would go to a bandit fort nearby the town but instead decide to go explore a cave nearby instead. You can just take the map you have for the fort, place it inside the caves and describe it as old ruins the party has discovered. Just make sure you have a variety of encounters to go along with it, so you can just quickly replace the bandits with undead or something that fits the ruins location.
I am a new DM... My campaign is starting in August 2015 and I've had this idea since December 2014. My idea is a bit different than most campaigns but my players are all really excited about it. Basically I am making all of the PCs and giving the players limited knowledge about their characters. The PCs are all in a dungeon, without outside communication (so no NPCs), and they have little to no memory of who they were before being in the dungeon. So the premise is the characters have all done something wrong to have landed themselves in a prison where they are supposed to learn about themselves and eventually come to forgive themselves for their crimes in order to escape the prison. If they don't forgive themselves, they start the process all over again (which, though they don't realize it, they have been doing for years, and keep forgetting about it because they can't forgive themselves). The difference with this time, hopefully, is that the characters will forgive themselves because they have managed to form relationships with the other prisoners, who are all interconnected in some way. For instance, one woman killed her daughters but blamed her slave for the murder and now she and the slave (who is the only innocent in the party) are both in the dungeon. This campaign is really difficult to plan for and perhaps I am planning too much. But since the players only have access to the dungeon and no where else, I feel like it's a bit railroad-y, which I don't want... The campaign is horror/psycho thriller based, and I have taken a lot of inspiration from the Dragon Age games, with a bit of Doctor Who (if you've seen The Beast Below episode with the star whale). There will also be some aspect of survival (e.g. limited food and water supply). I am, as I said, a new DM so I might be in over my head with this one. Oh! Also, I have a rather large party... 6 players... My fiance is in the campaign as one of the characters but has said he'll help me with mechanics. What I really want to know is whether this is even feasible, and if so, how much should I plan out the dungeon? Any other tips are appreciated! Thank you!
Keri Bishop Hey Keri. Your idea sounds really cool, and I wanted to weigh in if that's alright. I really like the set-up of your campaign. It's really inventive and interesting, and I wish I could be there for it. I understand your concerns about the railroad-y ness of it all, but I wouldn't worry about the setting contributing to that. All games have to have some kind of boundary as to where the players can and cannot go, and the players won't feel limited as long as the interior of this prison is a rich and vibrant place to explore and they get to go to new areas within it a lot. That'll be fine. Honestly, the railroading element I'd be concerned about is this point you mention where the PC's have to forgive themselves for their crimes to escape the prison. This, to me, sounds like disaster waiting to happen, and it could potentially spoil what otherwise sounds like a fantastic game. On one level, it's a problem with one solution. These are never, ever good in a table-top game. Ever. Not even that one time when they were. Remember, your players are used to being able to approach problems from multiple different ways, and the chances of them approaching it from the perspective that you have for them are WAAAAAY small. It's like in those old point and click adventure games where you just end up trying everything on everything else because the developer had one specific solution in mind for you and you have no way of decoding whatever was going on in his head. Only in this case, it'll be even more frustrating. Because there's no finite list of "everything" to try on "everything else." Even ignoring that, your players probably want the option to try different things. It'd be fine to have forgiving themselves as one solution. But if your players really want to get out of this dungeon and they come up with some solution, honestly give them SOME kind of chance to succeed. Even if it's a slim one. Maybe come up with some kind of drawback for escaping in a different way to give them a sense that maybe they aren't really done yet. But let them try different things. The real problem I see, however, is a railroading of character. You've got them set up where you already know what their character arcs are going to be. Your players don't want that decided for them. They're here to role-play. Even if you craft the PC's and their backstories, the second the game begins those are their characters, not yours. Whatever you think their personality or their thought process should be is irrelevant. They act and think and feel how the players say they do. And you shouldn't decide ahead of time that these guys are going to have to learn to forgive themselves for whatever they did or decide ahead of time that they're going to do anything. If the player decides, for instance, that his half-orc barbarian Grognak is filled with far too much guilt for burning down that orphanage that he can't forgive himself and doesn't want to forgive himself, then you shouldn't punish him for that by withholding advancement or completion of the game. Maybe Grognak decides that he has to atone for what he's done by building the orphans a new home or adopting all of them as his own. Or maybe he decides he wants to wander off into some really dangerous area and fight monsters until one of them kills him. Or maybe he just doesn't feel bad about burning down the orphanage to begin with. He can't remember doing it after all. It was practically a different person thanks to the amnesia. And he can't forgive himself for something he doesn't hold himself accountable for. These are all perfectly valid choices on how to role-play Grognak. And even if you aren't trying to, you're punishing your players for creative role-playing by making literally any reaction other than the one you've pre-determined into a failure condition. If I were going to tweak it, I'd drop the idea that they've been doing this for lifetime after lifetime and just have them dropped into this prison. There's no guards and no immediately apparent way out. Keep the amnesia, because it adds that lovely element of mystery. Then let them take it from there. But it's your campaign, so you can do whatever you want. Just giving my two cents.
roflcopterprods Thanks so much for your help! First, I will try to find different means for escape. And my players can be really resourceful so they'll definitely think of something I won't have considered. That's perfectly fine and I actually hope they surprise me. I don't want to force my players to do anything one particular way I was, originally, going to give them 3 "options" for completing the campaign (forgive, forget, death) and was hoping they'd figure out something else creative. I think I will still have that be the "formal ending" but not the only possible one. Since posting this I had actually been reconsidering the years of forgetting because I recently began designing and filling the dungeon. I now plan to have them start in jail cells, which they'll have to escape before proceeding. By the way, it is set in a sort of modern medieval setting. By that I mean modern clothing, speech, food, and technology (though they won't have access to that) but weaponry and skills are still fantasy based. One of my players is going to be playing a wizard who doesn't know his spells so occasionally there may be some mishaps. Thank you again for your input. It really helped a lot and I took your suggestions to heart. If you have any more, don't hesitate to tell me!
Great tips for all players but for those just starting, its a must have. Also throwing in my 25 cents: Take a listen to the Myst soundtracks (Riven is epic).
Music for me is very important when I GM. But not only for the game session. I get much of my inspiration from music. Sometimes when I find a particularly good song, I can build an entirely campaign around it. And sometimes I use it as a the Theme song for just that campaign or adventure and start the session by plaing it. Then my players can go thru their characters and get into characters while it plays. And when it stops, the session begins. Kinda like the moviemakers "...aaaand Action!" =)
I'd recommend looking at the Heroes of Might and Magic III & IV soundtracks, both aren't well enough known to draw your players out, and both are very heavy fantasy & pretty neat.
syrinscape is a awesome audio software to use but a lot of the other sounds they have you have to buy but you get 2 full packs for downloading it and its free it have tons for sounds like magic battle music and extra stuff
Video game music is a good idea. I like Midnight Syndacate (they also do a lot of horror music) and Erdenstern( who are awesome.) I also use interesting music on youtube. There is a recording of water dripping in a cave that I would like to use for when they explore underground.
I use a good mix of zelda music, paper mario music, final fantasy music and secret of mana music. I highly recommend giving secret of mana a try it has a beautiful soundtrack.
when gaming at home I've actually used a HUGE mix of music from metal, to dubstep & chiptune, to straight clasical.I'n my prep time I would seperate shortcuts into small libaries with the labels of the libaries themed after what I though the tracks would be most usefull for. One of my favorite moments is right before a HUGE zombie horde decended upon the players in a D20 modern campaign I played "COLD" by Static X ';..;'
I guess instead of making the players happy, it is also happy for me when i am spending time creating interesting puzzles. Somehow i find preparing the most interesting period throughout the game.
Good tips for describing enemies! I have a hard time describing magic items. Do you have any suggestions on how to describe a +1 sword vs a +2 sword vs a +3 sword etc.. ? How would you describe other items without giving away what they do (until an appropriate spellcraft check)?
Do you have the dmg? It has many pictures of items If that's not available, make one up, you also dont need to give away anything too important about an item For instance theres a staff of curses or something, the picture is a stick with a dead frog tied to it... I can describe it as "you pick up a stick and theres a frog on the end of it..." I've also made up an item, a shield that showed emotions, couldn't talk and could change color, its change emotions or color whenever it was said aloud. I then didn't want the munchkin abusing it so I made it attainable, once attuned it's only respond to whoever was attuned to it, even made it a +1 shield to make it more useful. When the players opened the chest with it (my players are horribly scared of my traps and patient af mimics), it was also during a split party combat,so I gave them 6 seconds for their explorations since they were gone and I wanted to see when theyd head back, so I described it as something that would give them suspense. "You open the chest and inside there is a huge bright yellow face with a massively wide smile..." *k back to the actual combat* Next turn the finders were scared... and backed off... next turn after that I described it as... "you peer over the stairs and see the smile is plastered as part of a shield."
Also Baroque era music could do the same, game music can be very recognizable like movie and shows. :P Baroque music is pre classical music and alot of times has that fantasy feel. And alot of it is Lute oriented and other instruments that have been used in the fantasy relm
I'm considering the Pathfinder Beginners Box, but am also looking into other boxed board games of the dungeon crawler type, as well as other, themed RPG games, such as those by GW, Privateer Press, Wyrd, and also a Star Wars one but I'm not sure who makes that one. Have you tried any of these, or can you give input on RPGs other than D&D and Pathfinder? Thanks again for the videos....
go to pandora and put on conan the barbarian soundtrack radio. it will mix some awesome background music for you game that will be random and non-repetitive
How do you even spend $1200 on D&D? I've been DMing since Pathfinder came out and all I've ever bought are the Core Book and the Advanced Players Guide (I already had dice) and my players and I are perfectly content.
What can I help you with, Will? Always happen to answer questions when I have the time. I also have a few videos on my channel that might help. Take a look at my Dungeon Master Forge series.
When it comes to good music for a fantasy RPG that is not familiar to the players - I strongly recommend Erdenstern: w w w . erdenstern . de / music / It's probably 80% of my entire soundtrack, along with Midnight Syndicate, Jeremy Soule's work and a little bit of Immediate Music and movie soundtracks
![Matt Click [aFistfulofDice]](http://yt3.ggpht.com/81A6Yo3D5ANhEFTHdYN5F_VCcxIR7vzSCKtvL5qZzy5ceRO5h3AuUcf-S2HRSKErzvstOqDuEw=s48-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj)
the second that cat popped his head up and rubbed your face I knew this was going to be a quality video
Thanks for soundtracks suggestions guys! Really appreciate the recommendations, best moment for me as a DM, Is when I explain to Brothers, friends & cousins about D&D, I start with the word "Freedom" is what makes D&D so special, that no generations of any ps3, ps4 etc can ever have.
Started DMing about a month ago, and your tips are fantastic! I have utilized alot of the advice and our group is having a blast! We all frequently look around and wonder why we have not played sooner! For the record, we are doing 5E, starting with the starter set, and then will move on to the other campaigns. I have been tinging my world to make it unique. Its like a Cormack McCarthy novel with goblins. I really want to say thanks, because your tips opened it up the way instruction manuals could not. Take care!
on the subject of players losing track of storylines and what not, one of our players, the monk i think, had profession of scribe/storyteller. his job was to notate our adventures and recap when we started our next session.
Sean Davies Very nice!
I agree. When I first started as a DM I would just say "you missed" or "you hit". Now I use things like "his armor absorbs your blow" or, as you said, "your blow glances off his armor". The stats things should only be for the DM. Like you were saying, use little clues that the monster is getting weak. I like to ask the player's before we begin, if any of them would like to sum up what has been going on and then I reward them with either an action point, extra xp, or whatever. Great Video!
I LOVE giving my players puzzles the most, but am sadly horrible at thinking of them. Even that little puzzle you gave at the end of this video about the scales in the deity's temple was awesome. I hope to get more puzzle ideas from you.
I'm actually pretty horrible at coming up with puzzles or traps, so here's a tip: don't be afraid to look online for ideas, I do it all the time! :]
Adrian Von Ziegler has some great Celtic music if you are running a Nordic campaign.
6:30 this is really fun with the Paladin Oath of Redemption. A Redeemer should offer the opportunity to surrender, and probably have advantage on the Charisma (Persuasion) skill check. Either the creature can take advantage on Wisdom (Insight) or an Attack action against the Redeemer, with the Redeemer allowed to immediately retaliatory strike as a Reaction.
Thanks for the answers Matt! I can't believe I found out about D&D pretty late, but better late than never huh? D&D really inspires me to become the Director, The Writer, The Referee & just simply witnessing my players being able to immerse themselves to this tabletop game really makes us feel like in a Movie/Series, me & my group started small with RPG's/MMORPG'S But we had no idea about D&D at the time.
Neverwinter Nights! Great choice. :) You can also get background clips too... like townfolk and people talking
Came here for DM Tips.
Ended up replaying 0:10-0:12
+Dav Santos (kanashimi08) "A face-full of cat butt."
HAHA lol
I once made a huge labyrinth tunnel that took 9 hours without rest to get throught (honestly i made it to take 2 nights to complete). The place was filled with chests, each chest had a simple riddle and a key, and in order to avoid loot steal the key usually was something that only 1 type character could perform.
For example: A chest wouldn't stop laughing when touched, so the monk went and punch it and stun it. Another chest was lost in a dark room and every time it moved it left a trail of fluorecent steps, the ranger was the only one capable of tracing it. The chest cotaining cleric/paladin stuff was locked with undead arms that won't stop respawning no matter how many times you burned, cut or destroy them.
I'm starting a campaign as DM with a few friends, and im using a few pieces ive composed for a board game i was designing. I might make them available for download if you guys want!
For 'metagame' stats, I tend to have them give me a roll of some kind (e.g a nature role for taking on a new monster) and let them know things like what their weakest stat is, what special moves they might be likely to have, etc - seems to work quite well, the rest is essentially the cinematic side :)
Loving the vids :D
Maps, minis, books, PDFs, dice, other gaming paraphernalia. You can get by with a core book and some dice, but some people like to go further. It's very easy to sink money into this hobby -- the nice thing about it is it's not required.
A couple more music tips:
* Nox Arcanas CDs, they have some themed CDs that are rather good. Some of them has some nice noices/voices/and sounds that are perfect to build scenes around)
* Immediate Music - Abbey Road (Epic scenes, they have 2 tracks for every song, 1 with choir and 1 without)
* Immediate Music - Themes For Orchestra And Choir (for epic scenes)
* The soundtrack for Interview with the Vampire (its good for spooky scenes and the soundtrack are rather neutral)
Cheaper than warhammer :P
Also was just coming by the channel to wish you well and to say I miss the videos you made :P
I still link a lot of these videos to new players, so even if it is small... you are contributing to the growth and advancement of the hobby :P
I spent the better part of my weekend doing almost EXACTLY what you suggested with the music, from downloading Audacity to tracking down good videogame and movie soundtracks. I even labelled the playlists I made similarly (One for a haunted crypt type scenario, or an ancient dungeon, or a demon infested cathedral.) Even some really out-there avant-garde kind of stuff for if the players are out in the planes. And then I happened upon this video. Good to know there's someone on the same page.
i run a campaign on Roll20 which has a great playlist of music and sound effects...plus you can import sounds. but even if you do not play on Roll20 you could use the free version to layer many many sounds. I once had my group come upon an old temple that they needed to explore. throughout the days journey it was raining (1), when they got close to the temple i started some spooky music (2) i also increased the storm with thunder (3) and strong wind (4). once inside the storm sounds subsided but continued....then i layered on sounds of unknown things in the shadows....then finally the roars of the boss. good stuff, and they were scared to death.
Hi, I'm really interested in trying out D&D but... I got some questions for you, Matt, or other DMs in the audience here!
1- When to kill a Player Character and what do you do? Send him home and continue with survivors or how to prepare?
2- Do you prepare a variety of dungeons and place to explore and let them chose where to go, or railroad the game in one direction?
+Mathieu Poulin Here is what I usually do.
1. If a player character does die, try to see how the survivors are acting. If they seem to be planing on somehow reviving the player then have that person wait till then. Also to keep them involved till then you can have them act out minor characters like guards or barkeeps. If the survivors don't seem interested in bringing they back to life, I just let them make a new character.
2. I generally only have one or two dungeons prepared at a time, but I try and keep them generic enough to be placed into where ever the party decides to go. Say for instance you thought the party would go to a bandit fort nearby the town but instead decide to go explore a cave nearby instead. You can just take the map you have for the fort, place it inside the caves and describe it as old ruins the party has discovered. Just make sure you have a variety of encounters to go along with it, so you can just quickly replace the bandits with undead or something that fits the ruins location.
+1 for Bastion soundtrack. Awesome!
Ingenious tips here; I absolutely loved your advice on how to avoid metagaming when fighting.
Glad it was helpful!
I am a new DM... My campaign is starting in August 2015 and I've had this idea since December 2014. My idea is a bit different than most campaigns but my players are all really excited about it.
Basically I am making all of the PCs and giving the players limited knowledge about their characters. The PCs are all in a dungeon, without outside communication (so no NPCs), and they have little to no memory of who they were before being in the dungeon.
So the premise is the characters have all done something wrong to have landed themselves in a prison where they are supposed to learn about themselves and eventually come to forgive themselves for their crimes in order to escape the prison. If they don't forgive themselves, they start the process all over again (which, though they don't realize it, they have been doing for years, and keep forgetting about it because they can't forgive themselves). The difference with this time, hopefully, is that the characters will forgive themselves because they have managed to form relationships with the other prisoners, who are all interconnected in some way. For instance, one woman killed her daughters but blamed her slave for the murder and now she and the slave (who is the only innocent in the party) are both in the dungeon. This campaign is really difficult to plan for and perhaps I am planning too much. But since the players only have access to the dungeon and no where else, I feel like it's a bit railroad-y, which I don't want...
The campaign is horror/psycho thriller based, and I have taken a lot of inspiration from the Dragon Age games, with a bit of Doctor Who (if you've seen The Beast Below episode with the star whale). There will also be some aspect of survival (e.g. limited food and water supply).
I am, as I said, a new DM so I might be in over my head with this one. Oh! Also, I have a rather large party... 6 players... My fiance is in the campaign as one of the characters but has said he'll help me with mechanics. What I really want to know is whether this is even feasible, and if so, how much should I plan out the dungeon? Any other tips are appreciated! Thank you!
Keri Bishop Hey Keri. Your idea sounds really cool, and I wanted to weigh in if that's alright.
I really like the set-up of your campaign. It's really inventive and interesting, and I wish I could be there for it. I understand your concerns about the railroad-y ness of it all, but I wouldn't worry about the setting contributing to that. All games have to have some kind of boundary as to where the players can and cannot go, and the players won't feel limited as long as the interior of this prison is a rich and vibrant place to explore and they get to go to new areas within it a lot. That'll be fine.
Honestly, the railroading element I'd be concerned about is this point you mention where the PC's have to forgive themselves for their crimes to escape the prison. This, to me, sounds like disaster waiting to happen, and it could potentially spoil what otherwise sounds like a fantastic game.
On one level, it's a problem with one solution. These are never, ever good in a table-top game. Ever. Not even that one time when they were. Remember, your players are used to being able to approach problems from multiple different ways, and the chances of them approaching it from the perspective that you have for them are WAAAAAY small. It's like in those old point and click adventure games where you just end up trying everything on everything else because the developer had one specific solution in mind for you and you have no way of decoding whatever was going on in his head. Only in this case, it'll be even more frustrating. Because there's no finite list of "everything" to try on "everything else." Even ignoring that, your players probably want the option to try different things. It'd be fine to have forgiving themselves as one solution. But if your players really want to get out of this dungeon and they come up with some solution, honestly give them SOME kind of chance to succeed. Even if it's a slim one. Maybe come up with some kind of drawback for escaping in a different way to give them a sense that maybe they aren't really done yet. But let them try different things.
The real problem I see, however, is a railroading of character. You've got them set up where you already know what their character arcs are going to be. Your players don't want that decided for them. They're here to role-play. Even if you craft the PC's and their backstories, the second the game begins those are their characters, not yours. Whatever you think their personality or their thought process should be is irrelevant. They act and think and feel how the players say they do. And you shouldn't decide ahead of time that these guys are going to have to learn to forgive themselves for whatever they did or decide ahead of time that they're going to do anything. If the player decides, for instance, that his half-orc barbarian Grognak is filled with far too much guilt for burning down that orphanage that he can't forgive himself and doesn't want to forgive himself, then you shouldn't punish him for that by withholding advancement or completion of the game. Maybe Grognak decides that he has to atone for what he's done by building the orphans a new home or adopting all of them as his own. Or maybe he decides he wants to wander off into some really dangerous area and fight monsters until one of them kills him. Or maybe he just doesn't feel bad about burning down the orphanage to begin with. He can't remember doing it after all. It was practically a different person thanks to the amnesia. And he can't forgive himself for something he doesn't hold himself accountable for. These are all perfectly valid choices on how to role-play Grognak. And even if you aren't trying to, you're punishing your players for creative role-playing by making literally any reaction other than the one you've pre-determined into a failure condition.
If I were going to tweak it, I'd drop the idea that they've been doing this for lifetime after lifetime and just have them dropped into this prison. There's no guards and no immediately apparent way out. Keep the amnesia, because it adds that lovely element of mystery. Then let them take it from there.
But it's your campaign, so you can do whatever you want. Just giving my two cents.
roflcopterprods Thanks so much for your help!
First, I will try to find different means for escape. And my players can be really resourceful so they'll definitely think of something I won't have considered. That's perfectly fine and I actually hope they surprise me. I don't want to force my players to do anything one particular way
I was, originally, going to give them 3 "options" for completing the campaign (forgive, forget, death) and was hoping they'd figure out something else creative. I think I will still have that be the "formal ending" but not the only possible one.
Since posting this I had actually been reconsidering the years of forgetting because I recently began designing and filling the dungeon. I now plan to have them start in jail cells, which they'll have to escape before proceeding.
By the way, it is set in a sort of modern medieval setting. By that I mean modern clothing, speech, food, and technology (though they won't have access to that) but weaponry and skills are still fantasy based. One of my players is going to be playing a wizard who doesn't know his spells so occasionally there may be some mishaps.
Thank you again for your input. It really helped a lot and I took your suggestions to heart. If you have any more, don't hesitate to tell me!
Not a problem. What system are you running it on?
roflcopterprods D&D 5th edition. Its more simplified than other editions which I thought would be good since I'm a new DM. Normally I play 3.5 though
Scale encounters appropriately for two players. Don't include any puzzles or encounters that would require magic to overcome.
Great tips for all players but for those just starting, its a must have. Also throwing in my 25 cents: Take a listen to the Myst soundtracks (Riven is epic).
Nice job. Good advice.
Music for me is very important when I GM. But not only for the game session. I get much of my inspiration from music. Sometimes when I find a particularly good song, I can build an entirely campaign around it. And sometimes I use it as a the Theme song for just that campaign or adventure and start the session by plaing it. Then my players can go thru their characters and get into characters while it plays. And when it stops, the session begins. Kinda like the moviemakers "...aaaand Action!" =)
I'd recommend looking at the Heroes of Might and Magic III & IV soundtracks, both aren't well enough known to draw your players out, and both are very heavy fantasy & pretty neat.
good tip for puzzle it if u do a hard 1 have a note or something a pc can find to help him or her solve the puzzle
syrinscape is a awesome audio software to use but a lot of the other sounds they have you have to buy but you get 2 full packs for downloading it and its free it have tons for sounds like magic battle music and extra stuff
I find it lacking.
There is no clear way to create your own sets as they seem to want you to purchase their sets which will work against them.
Video game music is a good idea. I like Midnight Syndacate (they also do a lot of horror music) and Erdenstern( who are awesome.) I also use interesting music on youtube. There is a recording of water dripping in a cave that I would like to use for when they explore underground.
Thanks for turning me on to Midnight Syndicate.
I use a good mix of zelda music, paper mario music, final fantasy music and secret of mana music. I highly recommend giving secret of mana a try it has a beautiful soundtrack.
when gaming at home I've actually used a HUGE mix of music from metal, to dubstep & chiptune, to straight clasical.I'n my prep time I would seperate shortcuts into small libaries with the labels of the libaries themed after what I though the tracks would be most usefull for.
One of my favorite moments is right before a HUGE zombie horde decended upon the players in a D20 modern campaign I played "COLD" by Static X ';..;'
hi first of all i relly like ur videos
how would plot a campaien for only two players nether r spell casters?
I guess instead of making the players happy, it is also happy for me when i am spending time creating interesting puzzles. Somehow i find preparing the most interesting period throughout the game.
Good tips for describing enemies! I have a hard time describing magic items. Do you have any suggestions on how to describe a +1 sword vs a +2 sword vs a +3 sword etc.. ? How would you describe other items without giving away what they do (until an appropriate spellcraft check)?
I would suggest telling its a sharp sword ,light ,counterweighted, easy to handle ,etc .hope i was helpful
Do you have the dmg? It has many pictures of items
If that's not available, make one up, you also dont need to give away anything too important about an item
For instance theres a staff of curses or something, the picture is a stick with a dead frog tied to it... I can describe it as "you pick up a stick and theres a frog on the end of it..."
I've also made up an item, a shield that showed emotions, couldn't talk and could change color, its change emotions or color whenever it was said aloud. I then didn't want the munchkin abusing it so I made it attainable, once attuned it's only respond to whoever was attuned to it, even made it a +1 shield to make it more useful.
When the players opened the chest with it (my players are horribly scared of my traps and patient af mimics), it was also during a split party combat,so I gave them 6 seconds for their explorations since they were gone and I wanted to see when theyd head back, so I described it as something that would give them suspense. "You open the chest and inside there is a huge bright yellow face with a massively wide smile..." *k back to the actual combat*
Next turn the finders were scared... and backed off... next turn after that I described it as... "you peer over the stairs and see the smile is plastered as part of a shield."
$1200 ?!?! Holy cow! Great tip on sounds. Gotta love Jeremy Soule!
Also Baroque era music could do the same, game music can be very recognizable like movie and shows. :P Baroque music is pre classical music and alot of times has that fantasy feel. And alot of it is Lute oriented and other instruments that have been used in the fantasy relm
other music to use is 'Dante's Inferno' and 'Atrium Carceri' good dungeon crawl tunes. jmho
That's cheating, nobody can dislike a cat that cute
I'm considering the Pathfinder Beginners Box, but am also looking into other boxed board games of the dungeon crawler type, as well as other, themed RPG games, such as those by GW, Privateer Press, Wyrd, and also a Star Wars one but I'm not sure who makes that one. Have you tried any of these, or can you give input on RPGs other than D&D and Pathfinder? Thanks again for the videos....
Thanks. Great video. Great information. Keep up the good work. :-)
go to pandora and put on conan the barbarian soundtrack radio. it will mix some awesome background music for you game that will be random and non-repetitive
How do you even spend $1200 on D&D? I've been DMing since Pathfinder came out and all I've ever bought are the Core Book and the Advanced Players Guide (I already had dice) and my players and I are perfectly content.
keep the videos coming
Video begins and suddenly a Wild Tabaxi appears.
"On his last leg" lol nice pun
I'd check out bastion's soundtrack. it is epic
Great video, Matt! I think you might also like my new video from PlayForth (our new channel), where I talk about handling players NEW to the hobby!
Two Steps from Hell has plenty of awesome music that works nicely for gaming.
I really need help on how to be a DM. I just started too, and am really clueless on what to do.
What can I help you with, Will? Always happen to answer questions when I have the time. I also have a few videos on my channel that might help. Take a look at my Dungeon Master Forge series.
+Will Does Minecraft Feel free to ask away! Most of the people here tend to be really friendly and helpful.
then dont dm
@Blazing Deaf Kitty: Don't be an ass.
aye man its a joke, be chill
Can I role PURRsuasion for you to give me your cat?
I'm here for the cat
Same.
LOL "cat hair".
cat of cool
When it comes to good music for a fantasy RPG that is not familiar to the players - I strongly recommend Erdenstern: w w w . erdenstern . de / music /
It's probably 80% of my entire soundtrack, along with Midnight Syndicate, Jeremy Soule's work and a little bit of Immediate Music and movie soundtracks
google is my friend :)
for anyone watching this who doesn't know about it yet: tabletopaudio.com/
tehryanx thank u
most stuf can be fount on the internet
ELDERSCROLLS ONLINE AND SKYRIM !!!! go ebonhearth