You can play a reluctant hero, you just can't do it the same way they do in movies and stories. Don't be the guy who says "I won't do that." Be the guy who says "Fine, but you're going to get me killed and I'm going to hate you for it." Make your character grumpy about things, but never refuse to do them.
You can be reluctant, BUT you are responsible for catching up. Sam might leave Frodo, but he have to find the stolen bread and hurry back to save his friend. The GM can‘t force you to be active, you are responsible for having fun.
With the caveat it depends on the situation and what the thing is. And that it goes the other way as well with not forcing the rest of the group to do something.
I have many characters that complain about being dragged into other people's messes or gripe about the fallout from their actions in game, but you're damned sure they're present and in game and out of character I let my GM and other players know I'm on board and I help with planning and do my role in the party.
I had a situation when it made much more sense for me to create a new character rather than come up with a reason for why my current one would take a particular quest (long story short, what he was asked to do was against the non-paladin oath that was very important to him; established much earlier and got "a-ok" from the DM), but I knew that my DM would be OK with it. Not sure what I would do if changing characters would be a problem for him. PS: I would probably return to the previous one after that mission, but we chose to fall into a very deep rabbit hole as a result of it, which eventually resulted in a functional TPK (some characters survived, but we decided to wrap it up and start something else anyway).
I’m confused. The person is obviously gagged so what body part is supposed to ‘open wide’? On second thoughts perhaps I don’t want to think about that too much.
@@anthonyhart2988 Rare, and not unique, as are other cursing or vulgarities, in some other videos over the years, which makes them much more felt and powerful when Seth does use them.
@@danacoleman4007 Good point! I didn't mean to imply his job was gaming, though that could work. I guess I assumed he was doing it as an unlicensed service for those who can't afford it. That's easier to do as a side gig if you have a main job you can launder the income through. Professional gamer is definitely nebulous enough to have some possible tax loopholes
I think it didn't really occur to me before but one things I like about your channel is that you use these 1950 stock photos for your demonstration purposes, its very cool.
Thought on being ready when it's your turn: Sometimes it good to have a primary and secondary plan in mind - just in case another player's actions interfere with or obsolete your first plan.
so much can change in a round, for a warrior it's easy, shoot the target that's now important, for a spellcaster? give them a little time, NO way you can decide in 6 seconds.
@@samuelbroad11sure you can! You might not make the optimal choice, but you can certainly decide in that time frame. It all depends on what the group/ individual finds satisfying. Is it okay for everyone else to sit around and wait while you figure out every option? Or, do you want it to be more realistic and have it be okay that mistakes are made? Both are valid choices as long as everyone's on the same page
@@samuelbroad11 It all comes down to strategy, have an overall game plan for the encounter. That way you don't need to know exactly what your action is before your turn comes up but you can immediately declare your actions in furtherance of that plan. Whether that plan is "control the strongest opponents", "deal as much damage as possible" , "get the team safely out of here", "protect the king" or whatever else doesn't matter, your character has strengths (and weaknesses) making certain goals easier for them to achieve and therefore should be the ones they focus on. And it's okay to make mistakes in your action economy, but the more time you spend thinking about your actions the less likely the NPCs or other players are to make mistakes in their actions. Remember the GM has to participate in the player characters turns in addition to having to think about what the NPCs are going to do when their turn comes up, so if you're fast with your turn (and the GM doesn't stop the game to think for minutes) the GM will have had less time to think about what's happening on the battlefield than you as a player have had. And if I'm your GM and it takes you too long to either ask questions to clarify the battlefield situation or start declaring your actions your character is going to stand there frozen due to the hectic nature of the battle, it has happened to a couple of NPCs in the past (since the thinking too long rule applies to NPCs as well as PCs).
Totally agree - I do a similar thing of knowing what my character’s “default” combat action is. So it’s just attacking with my long sword if I’m a fighter, or doing firebolt if I’m a wizard. Maybe I might want to do something more relevant or impressive, but if I can’t work it out, I go with my default.
About deciding on your turn quickly: I like the idea that you don't have to take the perfect action every time. It's okay to spend your turn doing something that ends up being not all that important or turns out to just be a waste of time. That naturally happens sometimes simply because you decided something quickly, and is naturally something that someone in a high pressure situation (like combat) does. If you're okay with making mistakes or having taken imperfect turns, you'll find that you get better at acting quickly over time as well. You will more quickly think of things to do that are close enough to the best way to spend your turn, without dragging an action scene to a screeching halt to dig up the measuring tape and running optimal damage calculations.
THIS. RIGHT. HERE! Combat is frantic and messy with split-second decisions. Once a player starts approaching it that way or a GM starts enforcing that over their table (with obvious exceptions, of course) it's amazing how quickly everyone adapts. And the rush of quickly deciding and trusting your gut that you made the best call is awesome.
All of the above, it is also very likely the GM will not have an optimal turn for the NPCs since the GM will have had even less time to think their actions than the player has had to think of the actions of a single character. I've had a PC hide under a park bench, another start running through an area only to realize midway that they couldn't make it to safety in a turn and I, back in the days when I got to play, have had my chaaracter run out of a room only to get shot at because I thought a grenade was thrown in to the same room I was in (it was an empty magazine). None of the characters died as a result of their suboptimal actions btw, it tends to be a series of bad decisions that gets us killed, not a single specific one (because I haven't got to play Cthulhu yet).
Being a distraction: "It's f_cking rude.". Awesomely blunt. That's really the only way to express the sentiment properly! It is really rude. It's also disrespectful of the effort the GM put into prepping and running the session, and the other players' time and enjoyment. I used to make players keep their devices in a room next door and used paper and pencils. Now that we're using vtt exclusively I just mock them mercilessly until they take the hint.
I'm so impressed at the quality and effort in these videos. Not just that the content is genuine and unique advice, but i really appreciate all of the 'hidden' effort that goes into backgrounds, graphics, thumbnails, just the whole feel of things. Even the timing of cards or audio mixing across scenes. Seeing where things have grown from is so interesting. I think I've genuinely seen every video on this channel now. There's clearly been so much learning behind the scenes. It's a genuine skill to be able to take and actually implement feedback. It demonstrates extreme care and skill for these videos to be where they are. It's kind of FRUSTRATING, because this has raised the bar of quality that I expect from other tabletop channels.
I concur, I also re-watch the origins of the beholder every few months to see Gygax sniff coke...get's me every time. never played Cthulu, played Traveller 2nd edition as a teen, but always watch every one of Seth's vids. So good.
I have a tip of my own to add. Seth, you mentioned in tip #1 about the previous game session ending with a choice about where you might want to go, etc. My tip is to decide that at the end of the previous session, not at the start of the next one...this way the GM has the downtime between sessions to prepare for said choice, thus making for a better adventure next session. It has the added bonus of giving the players agency to decide for themselves. And a fun story - I once gamed with a guy who was so late, he showed up the day after the game, then wondered where everyone was! And this wasn't a one time thing either. Later in life he got his act together and doesn't do that anymore.
The decide what to do at the end of the session was life changing for me as a DM. It's reduced a lot of wasteful prep for me and I found myself railroading a lot less as well.
@@combatbenyamin I'm trying to get the players to do just that in my current campaign, a fantasy + sci-fi mystery game (It's what they agreed they wanted to play, though the player who was most strongly pushing for the mystery angle has done NOTHING about figuring out mysteries!!!) Anyway. When a game session ends with a long FTL trip ahead of them, I ask the players to email me what they want to do with all of that free time, and I tell them that free time activity I have at least a couple of days to plan for will have a better outcome with a fully successful dice roll than one I have to make up on the spot. About half of the players will submit a request, more than 2/3 the time. The other half? Radio silence.
I use Discord for communicating between games, and there's always a "whats-next" channel for this exact reason! Works like a charm. I'd also say it's almost a necessity to discuss this well before the next session in sandbox campaigns where there's a lot more directions the players can shoot off into.
Did the player who was a day late arrive on a Sunday for a Saturday commitment? A few friends have done this to me (in various activities) and I have a theory that we should rename one of those days so it does _not_ start with an 's'... :)
I can recognize that I am the player that makes jokes too much sometimes but as GM I'll take an engaged and interested player who makes dumb jokes over a distracted or hostile player any day.
There's a hidden eleventh tip: you can study and think about your characters abilities / behavior in your free time. At 3:00 Dweebles is preparing for his tzimisce flesh-sculptor in an upcoming Vampire session.
I love how this is sort of a positive proactive spin on a lot of player problems I could show at the start of a campaign or new player joining since they that come off making a lot of players feel singled out when raised reactively
Time for another session of "Good idea Bad idea" Good idea: Making food for the group Bad Idea: Making the group into food Good idea: Pulling out chairs for others Bad Idea: Pulling out chairs for others...as they're about to sit down Good idea: Performing a human sacrifice to your warlock patron in game Bad Idea: Performing a human sacrifice to your warlock patron out of game This has been another session of "Good idea Bad idea".
On the Notes thing, we usually like to have a group reading of the rules, making sure we are all on the same page. it's usually while we are eating anyway. so it doesn't eat any real time and is still fun for us. OF course we are all old friends and have played together a lot and don't really push hard to get things done.
One person I games with took notes on one side of the pages (left side of the tablet). These notes include game play info, but also funny or good quotes from characters, and other RP elements. After the game she would write the notes narratively on the right side. The right side of the notes was a book of the game, complete with character development and plot lines.
I record my sessions because my players wanted to rewatch them every now and then but I was so positively surprised when I found out that all my players still knew what was going on after a 6 month break because they watched the videos of the last few sessions.
My DM also records the audio from our online sessions and it has been very helpful when we need to refer back to something that happened a while back! Plus it's always fun to go back and listen to funny scenes or jokes people had before as well!
we have one player who is a security guard at the airport and is often late because he has to take care of a threat to our nation/city. we usually forgive him
I just started off my new Call of Cthulhu by giving each of my players a portfolio style notebook as a gift. They've always taken notes, but having a place to keep their notes, character sheets and handouts together has really helped smooth out organization.
I'll never forget when another player in the group was playing his Nintendo Switch the whole session except during his turn. I thought that was really fucking rude. I made it a point to avoid him at any future tables.
Great stuff. Another habit I think highly of and have tried very hard to embody when I play is to know when to shine the spotlight on someone else. I'm a pretty assertive, idea-driven player who often ends up falling into the role of party lead, so I try very very hard to be conscious of not eating up screen time and actively back seating myself when I've been at the forefront too much. And for fuck's sake, definitely remember this when someone's plot arc or special skill or background comes up. I've seen people practically leap on to solving a problem or engaging with a situation that was clearly written up for a particular PC. If your friend is playing the uncrowned prince and the vizer that killed his father walks into the room, please, please let him center stage this scene, even if he's not the best or fastest or most clever player at the table.
Wow! This is such great advice! It would be nice if everyone was so self-aware, including me. I'm sure I've made those mistakes before as I am a similar player.
Your tip about being prepared! YES! I always have what I would like jotted down. ready to shop. BIG TIP! Write the page number down!!!! When I tabletop? I have the page number for all things on my character sheet for ease of reference. Every skill, weapon and spell. I jot number down. DM asks about a spell? On page 123 of book ABC. I have never met another player, and often GMs who write reference page numbers downs!
@@SSkorkowsky I'm always afraid of handing over my books to others, being habitually careful about how I treat their spines. I've seen people open a big 'ole book, flat on the table, and start pressing down on the open spine with their hand to try & flatten it. Can almost hear the glue cracking. The look of horror on my face. 😲
2:23 Forgetting all about something is my number one problem both playing and GMing. Being politely reminded of something is one of the ways another player or game master can endear themselves to me.
I'm always fascinated by the conversation about motivation that your bite the hook section alludes to. So many players (and I admit, to having been guilty of this before as a player) go too deep into role-playing their character and end up effectively fighting the call to adventure out of RP considerations. 100% I've come around to and heavily advocate at my table for the idea that you can come up with whatever reason you want to participate, but if you end up constantly fighting that call, then you really need to rethink the way you're approaching the game as justifying your motivation; how that fits into the world, how it works for your backstory, that's part of your job as the player of that character. It shouldn't be up to the judge or the other players to constantly try and come up with that for you. And ultimately, why should they be expected to spend all of that time and energy? Put in the work, make the game better, and find ways to make your character participate in the group; it's necessary for the whole RPG dynamic to work.
It is an extension of "You MUST have a reason your character is adventuring." If you write a character who refuses to sleep outdoors, will never associate with [common race/gender/class], and is a pacifist... What the [bleep] are you doing at the gaming table?
Yeah, characters should have inner motivations and be proactive, even if the GM says "nothing is happening" at the start of the session. Otherwise they feel like carts of coal, the GM is the only force pushing them forward, and if he stops for a moment, they will just roll back to the starting point. It's exhausting for the GM. Players can (and should) be locomotives too!
If nothing else, you can always default to the reasoning that your friends/colleagues are doing it and your character doesn't want them to think he's a coward despite reservations or doesn't want to let them down. Go with peer pressure. Throw in a "Doubting Thomas" viewpoint for a little extra comedy if you want.
Wouldn't it be possible in a team of say 5 players 2 are not taking the bait that you could roleplay the 3 characters try to use charm, intimidate, coerce, intelligence checks to persuade the unwilling 2? Imo there's no reason why unwilling characters cannot be kind of forced to continue with the others. Take the 80s Flash Gordon film, Flash has no interest and us basically forced by Zarkov to go to fight Ming. Reluctant heroes are a cliché
I feel whatever Dweebles is up to, Mike's the mastermind keeping his own hands clean so he can sit at the table. (Now envisioning a player/DM advice on interviewin/interrogating captives in game. (sorta adjacent to the Heist video, but this more explaining the structure of IRL and popular media interviews/interrogations when things go bad or the NPC is caught), and cutting to Dweebles stuck "in the box."
Biting the hook is so, so important, and it's vital to know that it's the player's responsibility. One time our DM gave us a hook, and my immediate thought was "There's no way my character would go for this." So I found a way to come up with a reason why they would, and went for it. The DM works a lot already, don't make things harder for them.
To your first point whenever we gain a level my DM has us all share the new things we gained from that level. It only takes a few minutes but it reinforces for us what our characters can do while simultaneously lets our party understand what everyone is capable of. We've definitely seen a huge drop in people not knowing or not remembering their abilities.
I've started having players miss their turns if they think for too long in combat, freezing when it's time to act is something people do. If you're not asking a question in order to clarify something or telling me what your character is attempting to do (or listening to me answer that question) that character is just going to stand there. Then again 1 "pass" is anywhere between 0.6 and 3 seconds of in-game time depending how fast your character is.
Great video Seth. The amount of time people take to decide on their actions these days is stunning to me. Over the last 15 years or so I've felt like my games have been moving in slow motion. I played with my old high school friends again after almost 30 years and it went so fast I'm sure most modern gamers would get whiplash. lol. We got about three usual sessions worth of action and story done in one session with my high school and/or college crew. IMHO, the combat of most games is really slow and really slow is made painful if you take more than a couple seconds to figure out what you want to do.
The Venn diagram of people who argue, "I need more time to decide my combat action" and the people who complain how combat scenes drag on forever is a circle.
Didn't that other d and d guy the Dungeon master have a rule that combat decisions must be quick and thought of within a countdown of say 30 seconds adding to the chaotic nature of battle where not the best option could be chosen out of sheer panic. Also iirc actions are chosen simultaneously but executed in turn order. Obviously it's not an option for every combat encounter but seems like it would reduce a lot of the time
@@keithparker1346Guy? From How to be a Great GM? He actually has said he sometimes counts down from 6 then says, you’re frozen in fear, or stammering. Some random consequence because you didn’t at least have a course of action ready, it’s okay to discuss the actions before taking them. But don’t have nothing ready at all or it’s 6..5..4..3..2..1, you’re just trembling. Okay, next player.
Basically plan as other people are making their decisions. It’s okay to discuss in the moment during every player turn in character. As people have said, talking is a free action. Is it a firefight? Then say things like, cover me, or get that guy on the roof or something relative in the moment. In the end, on your turn it’s your decision to make. But, if you have in the moment discussion lasting a few seconds and make it feel like real time action and not miniatures on a table. It’ll make it all the more immersive.
Wow, drawing back the curtain on Dweebles' home life was... illuminating. Is there a word for good-to-know information that you kinda wish you didn't know?
About playing promptly on your turn... I recall a game called "Swashbuckler." It was nothing but combat in a Three Musketeers environment. Moves were pre-plotted (similar to Star Fleet Battles). In the versions we played (some house rules apply), we always had to have a given amount of action time planned ahead (different actions took different amounts of time... fill in your timeline accordingly). If you weren't plotted when your turn came up, you were standing stupid... which was generally a quick way to die as every mug in the tavern was whipped at the stationary exposed target. In "real life," you would not have time to think... usually you'd barely have time to react. As always... you give good and logical advice. Sometimes things that should be obvious need to be put into words in order to light that little lightbulb over players' heads.
In my current group, for the longest time I was the only one who took notes. We got a new player who also takes notes, and it takes such a load off my shoulders. I can cross reference, so inexact notes aren't as punishing, not to mention having another perspective at the table.
Your videos always make me want to play in, or hell even run, a campaign. Then I remember that I don't have the time, energy, or social circle for either option. Great content, tho. I will continue to enjoy it and live vicariously.
Hey Seth, I hope you make another Campaign diary series like your Two Headed Serpent videos. They’re up there as some of my favorite tabletop content along with Prof Dungeon Master’s Caves of Carnage and Matt Colville’s campaign diaries.
Once we get a few more adventures deep into it, I'll be starting one for the Traveller campaign Secrets of the Ancients. But I expect that won't begin until April at the very earliest. So-far we've only completed 2 of the 10 adventures and have spent 20 play hours on Chapter 3 and barely scratched it. I want to have finished at least Chapter 6 before I start that Campaign Diary series.
Thanks for the video! Regarding the feedback part of the video, I think it's noteworthy that there are existing techniques (safety & consensus tools) that help you achieve that by kind of structuring this part. One of those techniques is called "Stars & Wishes" to get constructive feedback. During the "Stars" part, you compliment anything you particularly liked in a session, be it character play, descriptions, ideas etc. And during the "Wishes" part, instead of saying what you didn't like (because it was bad or lacking), you can explain what you wish to see next session. By structuring the feedback part this way, everybody (not only the GM) gains invaluable insight into what was good and what wasn't. Plus, it's always a great way to finish a session because people pick all kinds of different things they liked (and you may already have forgotten) so you usually end with a bit of laughter and a good feeling! :) And I feel the "distraction" part especially hard. I have a friend who has a superhard time focussing. So they're actually usually GMing to be occupied the whole time. But when they're playing, it's kind of uncomfortable for everybody else :D but we try to be forgiving because there's no bad intention and we've discussed this openly. (which brings us back to the whole meta-communication part of a gaming group, which isn't always easy tbh)
Sometimes the players won't take the bait even if you shove it at them. Still is can make for a fun unplanned side quest. Keeping a pulse on the group helps. Thanks for the video. It never hurts to remond everyone about what seems common sense.
It's not always about knowing the rules. There have been many times what I planned to do was completely derailed by the turn right before me. Sometimes you need more than 6 seconds. Not knowing the rules months in is a different thing all together.
I go over that in the How to Combat vids I mentioned, but yeah, sometimes your plan gets derailed because the person who went right before you did something that negates it, and now it's your turn and you have to come up with a new plan on the spot. That happens, but the great majority of the time it's not the case. Log that into those clear exception situations.
Show up on time and show up prepared. That alone is a huge deal for me as a DM. I stopped inviting people who don't show up on time, but some people are stuck with perpetually tardy players and don't know how to make new friends to game with. I used to be stuck in that position too. And it sucked.
Seth, THANK YOU for this video. I have been trying to teach my players etiquette and every time i started the conversation i felt their eyes glaze over Hopefully i will take some tips how to make it more concise from this video and explain it to them again. And send this video to them too
To help with the new player curve, it is nice if they choose (but not forced) to play straightforward characters....a second healer, fighter, rather than a controller or hybrid class with tons of choices.
The worst situation is when you know exactly what you want to do on your next turn... But right before it comes up something happens that makes it so what you wanted to do no longer applies so you're stuck thinking of what to do all over again during your own turn haha
Had one player join our online game who declared that his character would try to steal from the other players if they had something he wanted, and wouldn’t care if the players were hurt and needed help. He didn’t last long.
This video reminds me of some truly awful players I've had to deal with in the past. One in particular comes to mind that made a Netrunner in Cyberpunk RED, would complain if they didn't get to do any hacking in a session, but then also would go "my character is gonna refuse to do any hacking if there's any danger involved" when I did spent a chunk of session prep integrating a Net architecture into the mission.
The point about players taking initiative to interact with the world around them instead of waiting for it to interact with them, brought up a thought. I like it when my players do unexpected things that keep me on my toes and make me use my creative imagination in the moment. So them deciding to run of course momentarily could be an opportunity for me to introduce loose threads into their story. It can be a bit to keep track of but having a small pool of NPCs or events that will matter later in the characters stories, partly or fully fleshed out, can be used in those moments when the players go off track. When the player decides to go to the weapons shop I can take that spice dealer I was going to use later on to be the arms merchant. Or just have some partly thought out NPCs I'm not sure how to fit in yet, but I already have some personality traits written down for. I have an app, D&D Genesis, that creates random NPCs with quirks and personality traits, giving me great random personalities that can work in any system. Making it easier to add things to the story that are just as random as what the players do. 😅 Any way, that's what that part made me think of. Great video!
When I take notes I have it written as my characters take notes but in character. They will name monsters by either if they are edible or making their own research to publish their own Monster Manual/Grimoire. I then also handed it over to a player who missed a session. Sometimes they hate trying to decipher my notes. Most people enjoy the joke. But some get really upset.
It's wild to think of how much better our games could have been growing up if we'd been having these kinds of conversations. People like me were just oblivious to this kind of thing. Now I'm really trying to be a good player and enhance everyone's enjoyment (including the GM's and my own) even if I don't always get the balance right. Thanks for being a big part of that, Seth.
I agree with this wholeheartedly, but have two small caveats. The first is that while feedback is good, it is best to save negative feedback for when it is solicited. Obviously if there is an important issue then discuss it, but I've seen some players end each session with a litany of complaints and that helps no one. The second is distraction. Communicate what is and isn't distracted behaviour. I know I'm not alone in that I focus better when I'm doodling. I game with a lot of players who find they are most attentive if they can fidget, draw, knit, or do something creative with their hands. So aways talk about that from the start. Tell the dm that you're going to need to do that and it isn't a reflection on the game.
My experience: 1) Prepared what to do and sell - DM got upset my careful plan destroyed the boss and didn't allow what I wanted to buy. 2) Be on time - one of only two people on time - the DM was late themselves. Other player got upset when I asked why the DM was late. 3) Actively engage - changed the law in a city to decrease racism and raise the poor from poverty. Not one player or the DM gave one word of praise. Other player makes tea - greatly praised by everyone. Bite the hook - took the hook so the game could continue, DM blames my priest for being a bloodthristy fanatic - and kills my best friend that wanted to talk it out.
Adding to prep before the game: I encourage players to discuss possible alterations to the plan for next session im a group chat that includes your GM. You are going to have a lot more fun at the table if the GM has time to think about how to handle your change of plans than if they are blindsided.
Once again, you have out-done yourself. Excellent video and so on point. Thank you so much! I think listening to the other players and supporting them is also nice. But you have already mentioned this in your other videos and does perhaps not need to be among "The Nine". I wish you and yours a very merry Christmas! Sincerely, Alicia from Sweden
A TTRPG table of players is a bit like a casual sports team. We are there in part to socialise and have fun, but it is also goal oriented and requires prep and etiquette, from everyone. TTRPGs are not a drop-in/drop-out video game.
Kind of in the distraction bucket - I've been running my family through Lost Mines of Phandelver, and teaching them D&D. And a big problem that some of them have is only being so-so interested, and leaving the table constantly. The attitude is "I'm just doing this so my nephew can have fun with his uncle, so I really can half-ass this." So in the spirit of communication, I'm going to tell them that I've put a lot of work into preparing this adventure, and that gaming time is gaming time. If they want to keep leaving the table, then maybe they don't want to play.
Planning your turn matters a ton for basically all games. If you're shocked out of your torpor every time your turn comes around and, for the first time since your last turn, you start pondering what to do, you're being super disrespectful to other players. Most of us are like this when we start out, and it's just a skill you learn, like bowel control.
Man on man, getting players to have their turn ready was a HUGE issue for years with my group. Finally fixed it, now working on cutting the constant side jokes down!
Here's a tip for you purely online players: If your VTT has a chatbox: use it! Its really difficult to hold multiple conversations at once while in a voice-call ; but holding a text conversation whilst others are talking via voice is easy! While the DM & another player are roleplaying, you can use your VTT's chat box to roleplay with other players! This is a technique I love using as a player, and I love seeing people do it when I DM. A caveat to this tip, though: Keep chatbox RP for mundane stuff. For example: character development between player characters can be done beautifully through text chat. Big decisions and narrative based actions should ideally be done in a way that the DM will easily notice - using your voice, not text!
The flip side from the example in Tip 1 is that, if your group had a planned route the session before, the dm is most likely to prep said route... and getting the party to run off in another route in the first 3 minutes is quite likely to throw the dm off track. Getting a gang of NPCs is probably going to trivialize encounters balanced for the party, so make sure at least your DM is either aware of it beforehand or that your DM is great at adapting on the fly
By far the best part of online DnD is the meme chat blowing up while your character has a super serious conversation. Let's everyone have fun and tell their jokes without actually interrupting the story.
Ah, the motivation thing. In my last campaign I had a player who didn't deal well with emotional/dramatic things happening to their character, had no long-term goals and played an aloof asshole who didn't care about their teammates, leaving almost only monetary incentives. Very uninteresting/unrewarding to write for, especially since I was going for a campaign that integrated character backstory a lot.
And I appreciate YOU, Seth! Damn good video, as per usual. I really needed to hear that "Bite the Hook" tip. I'm usually the DM, so when I end up as a Player, I get really unsure and cagey, I guess? I realize it most of the time after the fact, it seems to be so difficult to recognize in the moment. Hope you have a great rest of the year, good sir.
A really neat solution to "take notes" is implemented in Vaesen. There's a talent that a player can take that rewards and additional experience if someone is "chronicling events."
My group has booted several people from the table, both temporarily and permanently, for constantly being distracted. The worst offender was a person who was surfing Facebook in the middle of "His favorite game" so often that he had missed several critical clues his specialty would have been able to solve the mystery we were working on. The worst part was, I had the answer, but needed his particular niche knowledge to place the final pieces I had, and his skill set to put the solution in motion. Killed a perfectly good Mage: the Ascension game that was part of a bigger Classic World of Darkness campaign we were doing.
I have been playing sense 1982. I began the world/universe my players play in in 1988... Your guides are ENRICHING! You bring new life and health to my mind to further create vibrant stories for my players. Something I strive for. Thank you from the top to bottom of my Fluffy Rainbow and Darkness, Bloody DM Heart
God the combat one is so real. Theres so many people that just start thinking when their turn starts and then look at their character sheet and go over their entire spell list and their turns take 5+ minutes...
As someone horribly in the midst of GM Burnout and trying to haul myself out of it again (Working on a one shot little by little when the energy presents itself), I find these videos super useful, so thank you for making them ^_^
A great video with an excellent number of useful tips. Maybe it sounds a bit too sugary, but I honestly enjoyed this one very much and everything was just top notch. Keep up the good work, Seth (& the crew)!
I've always done the whole "deciding your action before your turn, and look up any details necessary". No-one ever told me it would be a good idea. It just made sense. I've had other players (and once a GM) acuse me of not paying attention because of it. It's about 50/50 whether that's deserved, I think. I can tend to hyper focus when trying to make the best decision, and in those cases I'm really not paying attention. I've tried several times to look up(having finally decided) and finding that my target is already dead, and having no clue how it happened 😅
Love the advise^^ There is one special case for the distraction rule I gotta mention here, because it keeps amazing me: One of my all time favorite players is always doing art on the side while playing. Talked with them about it, and they figured out it helps them to not wander off mentally while they are not fully engaged, makes it easier to give spotlight to others and just generally enjoy the experience more. And it works wonders. If you don't know them, it may look they are devaluing the experience and being distracted, but they remember freaking everything, are on top of their role-play and combat stuff alike and often are the anchor character that other players bounce off from. It's such a nice exception of the rule in that one. But I've rarely seen anyone else who can do it. For most others the distraction rule is 100% justified.
I try to make people hurry combat. it is supposed to be chaotic. If they take too long I put them on "defence" (taking cover, shield up or whatever) and move on to the next person. I find that a little harder to do with online games with the whole dice rolling, lag times etc but the principle still holds.
One downside I've encountered with deciding my next move before my turn is I'll have a plan figured out but then the bad guy moves outta range or an ally moves into the line of fire, so I've got to rethink my turn.
Peanut Gallery is definitely my party's biggest player sin, it once took us 2 hours to leave an apartment and bribe the guards to let us in to the factory next door.
Oh my gosh, the "Actively engage" point gave me flashbacks. I used to run a LARP and we let the players know that if they sat in their doorsteps, they might get three things happening to them over a weekend. But if they actually went "out there" they could find plot hooks, monster lairs, and even free-standing treasure. - The LARP I was a player in had fully degraded to sitting on the doorstep. Combine that engagement laziness with both high character levels (and commensurate massive spells/skill) and the low count of volunteers willing to be NPCs, the people running the game just gave up and threw waves of "monster of the week" at the porch-sitters where one or two of the waves would drop clues to the weekend's big plot that was always an hour-plus battle in a nearby field. I had been playing that LARP for over 25 years, but that mentality led me to quitting.
You can play a reluctant hero, you just can't do it the same way they do in movies and stories. Don't be the guy who says "I won't do that." Be the guy who says "Fine, but you're going to get me killed and I'm going to hate you for it." Make your character grumpy about things, but never refuse to do them.
You can be reluctant, BUT you are responsible for catching up. Sam might leave Frodo, but he have to find the stolen bread and hurry back to save his friend. The GM can‘t force you to be active, you are responsible for having fun.
With the caveat it depends on the situation and what the thing is. And that it goes the other way as well with not forcing the rest of the group to do something.
I have many characters that complain about being dragged into other people's messes or gripe about the fallout from their actions in game, but you're damned sure they're present and in game and out of character I let my GM and other players know I'm on board and I help with planning and do my role in the party.
@@--enyo--Amen to this!
I had a situation when it made much more sense for me to create a new character rather than come up with a reason for why my current one would take a particular quest (long story short, what he was asked to do was against the non-paladin oath that was very important to him; established much earlier and got "a-ok" from the DM), but I knew that my DM would be OK with it. Not sure what I would do if changing characters would be a problem for him.
PS: I would probably return to the previous one after that mission, but we chose to fall into a very deep rabbit hole as a result of it, which eventually resulted in a functional TPK (some characters survived, but we decided to wrap it up and start something else anyway).
Ah, so that's how Dweebles got into a hostage situation before.
Not knowing his name si seruisly Messin him up.
I don't think he ever did say which side he was on. It just that it was a 'situation'.
@@dutch6857Commiting a war crime is no excuse to miss the game smh my head
@@xionkuriyama5697 I know, right? Typical
I’m confused. The person is obviously gagged so what body part is supposed to ‘open wide’?
On second thoughts perhaps I don’t want to think about that too much.
idk why, but hearing Seth say "it's fucking rude" hit me like a tone of bricks. True words, true words
fr I had to watch it back a few times
pain and experience behind those words
13:32
"It's fucking rude."- perfectly said!!!
I don't know if we have ever heard Seth drop an F-bomb? Perfect timing.
@@anthonyhart2988 Rare, and not unique, as are other cursing or vulgarities, in some other videos over the years, which makes them much more felt and powerful when Seth does use them.
Check out the Scott Brown story. You owe it to yourselves.
@@juddgoswick2024 I'm a longtime subscriber... I've seen it.
@@MarkLewis... Gotcha, for anyone else that is the Seth video where the F-bomb is used to the most delightful effect.
Good for Dweebles moonlighting as a discount surgeon!
Hey! He's a dentist! Respect the class choice!
@@lordsanityfree The preferred term is oral surgeon. Simple dentists don't use saws
So if he's moonlighting as an oral surgeon, does that mean role-playing at Seth's table is his full-time job?
@@danacoleman4007 Good point! I didn't mean to imply his job was gaming, though that could work. I guess I assumed he was doing it as an unlicensed service for those who can't afford it. That's easier to do as a side gig if you have a main job you can launder the income through. Professional gamer is definitely nebulous enough to have some possible tax loopholes
Hey - we've all got to earn a living, man.
Dweebles backstory is becoming a masterclass in slow burn reveals.
I think it didn't really occur to me before but one things I like about your channel is that you use these 1950 stock photos for your demonstration purposes, its very cool.
It's fun to imagine all these old squares getting into some gaming.
Glad you enjoy them. I don't know why, but using old-timey pictures I find endlessly hilarious. Especially when photoshopping gaming stuff into them.
@@originaluddite Heyyy! Who you callin' a square, Beatnik!? 😜
@@NefariousKoel okay, cool your heels, daddy-o, I ain't looking for no trouble. ;)
@@SSkorkowsky I think the smiling guy drinking Coke while reading Kult: Divinity Lost was inspired.
Thought on being ready when it's your turn: Sometimes it good to have a primary and secondary plan in mind - just in case another player's actions interfere with or obsolete your first plan.
so much can change in a round, for a warrior it's easy, shoot the target that's now important, for a spellcaster? give them a little time, NO way you can decide in 6 seconds.
@@samuelbroad11sure you can! You might not make the optimal choice, but you can certainly decide in that time frame. It all depends on what the group/ individual finds satisfying. Is it okay for everyone else to sit around and wait while you figure out every option? Or, do you want it to be more realistic and have it be okay that mistakes are made? Both are valid choices as long as everyone's on the same page
@@samuelbroad11 If I play a Wizard, I'm gonna take the Alert feat to help with that - at least a little
@@samuelbroad11 It all comes down to strategy, have an overall game plan for the encounter. That way you don't need to know exactly what your action is before your turn comes up but you can immediately declare your actions in furtherance of that plan. Whether that plan is "control the strongest opponents", "deal as much damage as possible" , "get the team safely out of here", "protect the king" or whatever else doesn't matter, your character has strengths (and weaknesses) making certain goals easier for them to achieve and therefore should be the ones they focus on.
And it's okay to make mistakes in your action economy, but the more time you spend thinking about your actions the less likely the NPCs or other players are to make mistakes in their actions. Remember the GM has to participate in the player characters turns in addition to having to think about what the NPCs are going to do when their turn comes up, so if you're fast with your turn (and the GM doesn't stop the game to think for minutes) the GM will have had less time to think about what's happening on the battlefield than you as a player have had.
And if I'm your GM and it takes you too long to either ask questions to clarify the battlefield situation or start declaring your actions your character is going to stand there frozen due to the hectic nature of the battle, it has happened to a couple of NPCs in the past (since the thinking too long rule applies to NPCs as well as PCs).
Totally agree - I do a similar thing of knowing what my character’s “default” combat action is. So it’s just attacking with my long sword if I’m a fighter, or doing firebolt if I’m a wizard. Maybe I might want to do something more relevant or impressive, but if I can’t work it out, I go with my default.
todd being a good guy always makes me happy
Todd is Seth's favorite for a reason.
About deciding on your turn quickly: I like the idea that you don't have to take the perfect action every time. It's okay to spend your turn doing something that ends up being not all that important or turns out to just be a waste of time. That naturally happens sometimes simply because you decided something quickly, and is naturally something that someone in a high pressure situation (like combat) does.
If you're okay with making mistakes or having taken imperfect turns, you'll find that you get better at acting quickly over time as well. You will more quickly think of things to do that are close enough to the best way to spend your turn, without dragging an action scene to a screeching halt to dig up the measuring tape and running optimal damage calculations.
THIS. RIGHT. HERE!
Combat is frantic and messy with split-second decisions. Once a player starts approaching it that way or a GM starts enforcing that over their table (with obvious exceptions, of course) it's amazing how quickly everyone adapts. And the rush of quickly deciding and trusting your gut that you made the best call is awesome.
All of the above, it is also very likely the GM will not have an optimal turn for the NPCs since the GM will have had even less time to think their actions than the player has had to think of the actions of a single character. I've had a PC hide under a park bench, another start running through an area only to realize midway that they couldn't make it to safety in a turn and I, back in the days when I got to play, have had my chaaracter run out of a room only to get shot at because I thought a grenade was thrown in to the same room I was in (it was an empty magazine).
None of the characters died as a result of their suboptimal actions btw, it tends to be a series of bad decisions that gets us killed, not a single specific one (because I haven't got to play Cthulhu yet).
The plan ALWAYS goes out the window once rounds start flying.
I honestly love the little sketches of the Gang in-between Seth's explanations. Also, Mike is my favorite.
Thank you! My favorite is Dweebles, my girl though, well she is a Mike-guy!
Sincerely,
Alicia
Being a distraction: "It's f_cking rude.". Awesomely blunt.
That's really the only way to express the sentiment properly! It is really rude. It's also disrespectful of the effort the GM put into prepping and running the session, and the other players' time and enjoyment. I used to make players keep their devices in a room next door and used paper and pencils. Now that we're using vtt exclusively I just mock them mercilessly until they take the hint.
I'm so impressed at the quality and effort in these videos. Not just that the content is genuine and unique advice, but i really appreciate all of the 'hidden' effort that goes into backgrounds, graphics, thumbnails, just the whole feel of things. Even the timing of cards or audio mixing across scenes.
Seeing where things have grown from is so interesting. I think I've genuinely seen every video on this channel now. There's clearly been so much learning behind the scenes. It's a genuine skill to be able to take and actually implement feedback. It demonstrates extreme care and skill for these videos to be where they are.
It's kind of FRUSTRATING, because this has raised the bar of quality that I expect from other tabletop channels.
I concur, I also re-watch the origins of the beholder every few months to see Gygax sniff coke...get's me every time. never played Cthulu, played Traveller 2nd edition as a teen, but always watch every one of Seth's vids. So good.
I have a tip of my own to add. Seth, you mentioned in tip #1 about the previous game session ending with a choice about where you might want to go, etc. My tip is to decide that at the end of the previous session, not at the start of the next one...this way the GM has the downtime between sessions to prepare for said choice, thus making for a better adventure next session. It has the added bonus of giving the players agency to decide for themselves.
And a fun story - I once gamed with a guy who was so late, he showed up the day after the game, then wondered where everyone was! And this wasn't a one time thing either. Later in life he got his act together and doesn't do that anymore.
The decide what to do at the end of the session was life changing for me as a DM. It's reduced a lot of wasteful prep for me and I found myself railroading a lot less as well.
@@combatbenyamin Exactly! If I had one tip I could give someone, it would be that.
@@combatbenyamin I'm trying to get the players to do just that in my current campaign, a fantasy + sci-fi mystery game (It's what they agreed they wanted to play, though the player who was most strongly pushing for the mystery angle has done NOTHING about figuring out mysteries!!!)
Anyway.
When a game session ends with a long FTL trip ahead of them, I ask the players to email me what they want to do with all of that free time, and I tell them that free time activity I have at least a couple of days to plan for will have a better outcome with a fully successful dice roll than one I have to make up on the spot.
About half of the players will submit a request, more than 2/3 the time. The other half? Radio silence.
I use Discord for communicating between games, and there's always a "whats-next" channel for this exact reason! Works like a charm. I'd also say it's almost a necessity to discuss this well before the next session in sandbox campaigns where there's a lot more directions the players can shoot off into.
Did the player who was a day late arrive on a Sunday for a Saturday commitment? A few friends have done this to me (in various activities) and I have a theory that we should rename one of those days so it does _not_ start with an 's'... :)
I can recognize that I am the player that makes jokes too much sometimes but as GM I'll take an engaged and interested player who makes dumb jokes over a distracted or hostile player any day.
Truth.
There's a hidden eleventh tip: you can study and think about your characters abilities / behavior in your free time. At 3:00 Dweebles is preparing for his tzimisce flesh-sculptor in an upcoming Vampire session.
omg yes
Just do not send questions to your GM at 3:00 AM :P
Basically those tips apply for job, school, love interests, etcetera.
An admirer wants you to cheat on your spouse? Great plot hook! Bite it.
I love how this is sort of a positive proactive spin on a lot of player problems I could show at the start of a campaign or new player joining since they that come off making a lot of players feel singled out when raised reactively
Time for another session of "Good idea Bad idea"
Good idea: Making food for the group
Bad Idea: Making the group into food
Good idea: Pulling out chairs for others
Bad Idea: Pulling out chairs for others...as they're about to sit down
Good idea: Performing a human sacrifice to your warlock patron in game
Bad Idea: Performing a human sacrifice to your warlock patron out of game
This has been another session of "Good idea Bad idea".
the second bad idea can be reworded into "pulling out chairs from others" -- for a more succinct delivery
@@iCarus_A an excellent point.
On the Notes thing, we usually like to have a group reading of the rules, making sure we are all on the same page. it's usually while we are eating anyway. so it doesn't eat any real time and is still fun for us. OF course we are all old friends and have played together a lot and don't really push hard to get things done.
Thank you Seth. I'm in over $250 in Traveler because of you and your videos. Well played Sir!
One person I games with took notes on one side of the pages (left side of the tablet). These notes include game play info, but also funny or good quotes from characters, and other RP elements. After the game she would write the notes narratively on the right side. The right side of the notes was a book of the game, complete with character development and plot lines.
I record my sessions because my players wanted to rewatch them every now and then but I was so positively surprised when I found out that all my players still knew what was going on after a 6 month break because they watched the videos of the last few sessions.
My DM also records the audio from our online sessions and it has been very helpful when we need to refer back to something that happened a while back! Plus it's always fun to go back and listen to funny scenes or jokes people had before as well!
we have one player who is a security guard at the airport and is often late because he has to take care of a threat to our nation/city. we usually forgive him
Can’t wait to be a player after being a forever DM. This is great timing!
Same here...!!
So you get to play after the end of time? At least the session length won't matter then.
I just started off my new Call of Cthulhu by giving each of my players a portfolio style notebook as a gift. They've always taken notes, but having a place to keep their notes, character sheets and handouts together has really helped smooth out organization.
I'll never forget when another player in the group was playing his Nintendo Switch the whole session except during his turn. I thought that was really fucking rude. I made it a point to avoid him at any future tables.
I've never been this early for a Seth Skorkowsky video before. I agree with all of these behaviours really turn a good player into a great player
Great stuff.
Another habit I think highly of and have tried very hard to embody when I play is to know when to shine the spotlight on someone else. I'm a pretty assertive, idea-driven player who often ends up falling into the role of party lead, so I try very very hard to be conscious of not eating up screen time and actively back seating myself when I've been at the forefront too much.
And for fuck's sake, definitely remember this when someone's plot arc or special skill or background comes up. I've seen people practically leap on to solving a problem or engaging with a situation that was clearly written up for a particular PC.
If your friend is playing the uncrowned prince and the vizer that killed his father walks into the room, please, please let him center stage this scene, even if he's not the best or fastest or most clever player at the table.
Wow! This is such great advice! It would be nice if everyone was so self-aware, including me. I'm sure I've made those mistakes before as I am a similar player.
Your tip about being prepared! YES! I always have what I would like jotted down. ready to shop. BIG TIP! Write the page number down!!!!
When I tabletop? I have the page number for all things on my character sheet for ease of reference. Every skill, weapon and spell. I jot number down.
DM asks about a spell? On page 123 of book ABC.
I have never met another player, and often GMs who write reference page numbers downs!
I built my own game and play online but I recently built in hyperlinks to rules for player sheets for that exact reason
Good call!!!
Todd has an untouched PHB and a blank character sheet: no wonder he took so long to decide what to do.
Untouched? That book is clearly coming apart.
@@SSkorkowsky I'm always afraid of handing over my books to others, being habitually careful about how I treat their spines. I've seen people open a big 'ole book, flat on the table, and start pressing down on the open spine with their hand to try & flatten it. Can almost hear the glue cracking. The look of horror on my face. 😲
2:23 Forgetting all about something is my number one problem both playing and GMing. Being politely reminded of something is one of the ways another player or game master can endear themselves to me.
My ex-wife used to play on her phone inbetween combat turns. When it came time for her turn she would sometimes attack enemies that were already dead.
Is... is Dweebles a serial killer or a justice based hitman?
Yes
Neither. He's an extreme dentist.
I was gonna say, personally I was singing Little Shop of Horror tunes...@@RavensbladeDX
Why do you want to know? What reason do you ask? WHO SENT YOU?!
@@girlbuu9403 you're right. I don't need to know.
I'm always fascinated by the conversation about motivation that your bite the hook section alludes to. So many players (and I admit, to having been guilty of this before as a player) go too deep into role-playing their character and end up effectively fighting the call to adventure out of RP considerations.
100% I've come around to and heavily advocate at my table for the idea that you can come up with whatever reason you want to participate, but if you end up constantly fighting that call, then you really need to rethink the way you're approaching the game as justifying your motivation; how that fits into the world, how it works for your backstory, that's part of your job as the player of that character. It shouldn't be up to the judge or the other players to constantly try and come up with that for you. And ultimately, why should they be expected to spend all of that time and energy? Put in the work, make the game better, and find ways to make your character participate in the group; it's necessary for the whole RPG dynamic to work.
It is an extension of "You MUST have a reason your character is adventuring."
If you write a character who refuses to sleep outdoors, will never associate with [common race/gender/class], and is a pacifist... What the [bleep] are you doing at the gaming table?
Call of Cthulhu can easily accommodate pacifist characters in fact it probably works better@@MonkeyJedi99
Yeah, characters should have inner motivations and be proactive, even if the GM says "nothing is happening" at the start of the session. Otherwise they feel like carts of coal, the GM is the only force pushing them forward, and if he stops for a moment, they will just roll back to the starting point. It's exhausting for the GM. Players can (and should) be locomotives too!
If nothing else, you can always default to the reasoning that your friends/colleagues are doing it and your character doesn't want them to think he's a coward despite reservations or doesn't want to let them down. Go with peer pressure. Throw in a "Doubting Thomas" viewpoint for a little extra comedy if you want.
Wouldn't it be possible in a team of say 5 players 2 are not taking the bait that you could roleplay the 3 characters try to use charm, intimidate, coerce, intelligence checks to persuade the unwilling 2? Imo there's no reason why unwilling characters cannot be kind of forced to continue with the others. Take the 80s Flash Gordon film, Flash has no interest and us basically forced by Zarkov to go to fight Ming. Reluctant heroes are a cliché
I feel whatever Dweebles is up to, Mike's the mastermind keeping his own hands clean so he can sit at the table. (Now envisioning a player/DM advice on interviewin/interrogating captives in game. (sorta adjacent to the Heist video, but this more explaining the structure of IRL and popular media interviews/interrogations when things go bad or the NPC is caught), and cutting to Dweebles stuck "in the box."
Biting the hook is so, so important, and it's vital to know that it's the player's responsibility. One time our DM gave us a hook, and my immediate thought was "There's no way my character would go for this." So I found a way to come up with a reason why they would, and went for it. The DM works a lot already, don't make things harder for them.
To your first point whenever we gain a level my DM has us all share the new things we gained from that level. It only takes a few minutes but it reinforces for us what our characters can do while simultaneously lets our party understand what everyone is capable of. We've definitely seen a huge drop in people not knowing or not remembering their abilities.
I've started having players miss their turns if they think for too long in combat, freezing when it's time to act is something people do. If you're not asking a question in order to clarify something or telling me what your character is attempting to do (or listening to me answer that question) that character is just going to stand there. Then again 1 "pass" is anywhere between 0.6 and 3 seconds of in-game time depending how fast your character is.
Great video Seth. The amount of time people take to decide on their actions these days is stunning to me. Over the last 15 years or so I've felt like my games have been moving in slow motion. I played with my old high school friends again after almost 30 years and it went so fast I'm sure most modern gamers would get whiplash. lol. We got about three usual sessions worth of action and story done in one session with my high school and/or college crew. IMHO, the combat of most games is really slow and really slow is made painful if you take more than a couple seconds to figure out what you want to do.
The Venn diagram of people who argue, "I need more time to decide my combat action" and the people who complain how combat scenes drag on forever is a circle.
Didn't that other d and d guy the Dungeon master have a rule that combat decisions must be quick and thought of within a countdown of say 30 seconds adding to the chaotic nature of battle where not the best option could be chosen out of sheer panic. Also iirc actions are chosen simultaneously but executed in turn order. Obviously it's not an option for every combat encounter but seems like it would reduce a lot of the time
@@keithparker1346Guy? From How to be a Great GM? He actually has said he sometimes counts down from 6 then says, you’re frozen in fear, or stammering. Some random consequence because you didn’t at least have a course of action ready, it’s okay to discuss the actions before taking them. But don’t have nothing ready at all or it’s 6..5..4..3..2..1, you’re just trembling. Okay, next player.
Basically plan as other people are making their decisions. It’s okay to discuss in the moment during every player turn in character. As people have said, talking is a free action. Is it a firefight? Then say things like, cover me, or get that guy on the roof or something relative in the moment. In the end, on your turn it’s your decision to make. But, if you have in the moment discussion lasting a few seconds and make it feel like real time action and not miniatures on a table. It’ll make it all the more immersive.
LOL! I love the quick images of corporate bros playing tabletop games. Freaking hilarious.
Those were some glorious old Ral Partha orcs
Many, many great memories are tied to 'killing' those orc minis countless times.
Wow, drawing back the curtain on Dweebles' home life was... illuminating. Is there a word for good-to-know information that you kinda wish you didn't know?
Evidence, I believe its called evidence
@@christophertranter3475😂👍
About playing promptly on your turn... I recall a game called "Swashbuckler." It was nothing but combat in a Three Musketeers environment. Moves were pre-plotted (similar to Star Fleet Battles). In the versions we played (some house rules apply), we always had to have a given amount of action time planned ahead (different actions took different amounts of time... fill in your timeline accordingly). If you weren't plotted when your turn came up, you were standing stupid... which was generally a quick way to die as every mug in the tavern was whipped at the stationary exposed target. In "real life," you would not have time to think... usually you'd barely have time to react.
As always... you give good and logical advice. Sometimes things that should be obvious need to be put into words in order to light that little lightbulb over players' heads.
Good tips
Being ready for your turn is a big one and showing up at least for me when I DM
In my current group, for the longest time I was the only one who took notes. We got a new player who also takes notes, and it takes such a load off my shoulders. I can cross reference, so inexact notes aren't as punishing, not to mention having another perspective at the table.
Good video, these fit with how I sum up being a good player. "Be invested, be considerate and have fun."
Thanks.
You're the best.
A true hidden gem of youtube, wish you at least fifty million subscribers in 2024.
Your videos always make me want to play in, or hell even run, a campaign. Then I remember that I don't have the time, energy, or social circle for either option.
Great content, tho. I will continue to enjoy it and live vicariously.
Same here. That's the best way, though.
Hey Seth, I hope you make another Campaign diary series like your Two Headed Serpent videos. They’re up there as some of my favorite tabletop content along with Prof Dungeon Master’s Caves of Carnage and Matt Colville’s campaign diaries.
Once we get a few more adventures deep into it, I'll be starting one for the Traveller campaign Secrets of the Ancients. But I expect that won't begin until April at the very earliest. So-far we've only completed 2 of the 10 adventures and have spent 20 play hours on Chapter 3 and barely scratched it. I want to have finished at least Chapter 6 before I start that Campaign Diary series.
@@SSkorkowskysounds awesome, looking forward to it!
I realy like how Seth's group appear as themselves in Seth's video. Maybe we'll get a live real play seasio. With the whole gang sometime.
Thanks for the video! Regarding the feedback part of the video, I think it's noteworthy that there are existing techniques (safety & consensus tools) that help you achieve that by kind of structuring this part. One of those techniques is called "Stars & Wishes" to get constructive feedback. During the "Stars" part, you compliment anything you particularly liked in a session, be it character play, descriptions, ideas etc. And during the "Wishes" part, instead of saying what you didn't like (because it was bad or lacking), you can explain what you wish to see next session.
By structuring the feedback part this way, everybody (not only the GM) gains invaluable insight into what was good and what wasn't. Plus, it's always a great way to finish a session because people pick all kinds of different things they liked (and you may already have forgotten) so you usually end with a bit of laughter and a good feeling! :)
And I feel the "distraction" part especially hard. I have a friend who has a superhard time focussing. So they're actually usually GMing to be occupied the whole time. But when they're playing, it's kind of uncomfortable for everybody else :D but we try to be forgiving because there's no bad intention and we've discussed this openly. (which brings us back to the whole meta-communication part of a gaming group, which isn't always easy tbh)
Sometimes the players won't take the bait even if you shove it at them. Still is can make for a fun unplanned side quest. Keeping a pulse on the group helps. Thanks for the video. It never hurts to remond everyone about what seems common sense.
It's not always about knowing the rules. There have been many times what I planned to do was completely derailed by the turn right before me. Sometimes you need more than 6 seconds.
Not knowing the rules months in is a different thing all together.
I go over that in the How to Combat vids I mentioned, but yeah, sometimes your plan gets derailed because the person who went right before you did something that negates it, and now it's your turn and you have to come up with a new plan on the spot. That happens, but the great majority of the time it's not the case. Log that into those clear exception situations.
Show up on time and show up prepared. That alone is a huge deal for me as a DM. I stopped inviting people who don't show up on time, but some people are stuck with perpetually tardy players and don't know how to make new friends to game with. I used to be stuck in that position too. And it sucked.
Seth, THANK YOU for this video. I have been trying to teach my players etiquette and every time i started the conversation i felt their eyes glaze over
Hopefully i will take some tips how to make it more concise from this video and explain it to them again. And send this video to them too
To help with the new player curve, it is nice if they choose (but not forced) to play straightforward characters....a second healer, fighter, rather than a controller or hybrid class with tons of choices.
The worst situation is when you know exactly what you want to do on your next turn...
But right before it comes up something happens that makes it so what you wanted to do no longer applies so you're stuck thinking of what to do all over again during your own turn haha
Had one player join our online game who declared that his character would try to steal from the other players if they had something he wanted, and wouldn’t care if the players were hurt and needed help. He didn’t last long.
This video reminds me of some truly awful players I've had to deal with in the past. One in particular comes to mind that made a Netrunner in Cyberpunk RED, would complain if they didn't get to do any hacking in a session, but then also would go "my character is gonna refuse to do any hacking if there's any danger involved" when I did spent a chunk of session prep integrating a Net architecture into the mission.
The point about players taking initiative to interact with the world around them instead of waiting for it to interact with them, brought up a thought.
I like it when my players do unexpected things that keep me on my toes and make me use my creative imagination in the moment. So them deciding to run of course momentarily could be an opportunity for me to introduce loose threads into their story.
It can be a bit to keep track of but having a small pool of NPCs or events that will matter later in the characters stories, partly or fully fleshed out, can be used in those moments when the players go off track.
When the player decides to go to the weapons shop I can take that spice dealer I was going to use later on to be the arms merchant. Or just have some partly thought out NPCs I'm not sure how to fit in yet, but I already have some personality traits written down for.
I have an app, D&D Genesis, that creates random NPCs with quirks and personality traits, giving me great random personalities that can work in any system. Making it easier to add things to the story that are just as random as what the players do. 😅
Any way, that's what that part made me think of. Great video!
Damn... Dweebles got DARK...
I no longer want a Dweebles at my table.
this is a dangerous choice
@@pedrokantor7972"open wide!"
Another great video! Always knocking it out of the park Seth!
"Its fucking rude" I feel so vindicated
SETH!!!! What a nice surprise!
When I take notes I have it written as my characters take notes but in character. They will name monsters by either if they are edible or making their own research to publish their own Monster Manual/Grimoire. I then also handed it over to a player who missed a session. Sometimes they hate trying to decipher my notes. Most people enjoy the joke. But some get really upset.
It's wild to think of how much better our games could have been growing up if we'd been having these kinds of conversations. People like me were just oblivious to this kind of thing. Now I'm really trying to be a good player and enhance everyone's enjoyment (including the GM's and my own) even if I don't always get the balance right. Thanks for being a big part of that, Seth.
I agree with this wholeheartedly, but have two small caveats. The first is that while feedback is good, it is best to save negative feedback for when it is solicited. Obviously if there is an important issue then discuss it, but I've seen some players end each session with a litany of complaints and that helps no one.
The second is distraction. Communicate what is and isn't distracted behaviour. I know I'm not alone in that I focus better when I'm doodling. I game with a lot of players who find they are most attentive if they can fidget, draw, knit, or do something creative with their hands. So aways talk about that from the start. Tell the dm that you're going to need to do that and it isn't a reflection on the game.
My experience:
1) Prepared what to do and sell - DM got upset my careful plan destroyed the boss and didn't allow what I wanted to buy.
2) Be on time - one of only two people on time - the DM was late themselves. Other player got upset when I asked why the DM was late.
3) Actively engage - changed the law in a city to decrease racism and raise the poor from poverty. Not one player or the DM gave one word of praise. Other player makes tea - greatly praised by everyone.
Bite the hook - took the hook so the game could continue, DM blames my priest for being a bloodthristy fanatic - and kills my best friend that wanted to talk it out.
Yikes. I hope you can find a better group of people to play with! They're out there!
@@trishmatson6496 Thank you, kind soul! I did, but am now a forever DM, but I love my new players. Happy gaming to you, too!
Adding to prep before the game: I encourage players to discuss possible alterations to the plan for next session im a group chat that includes your GM. You are going to have a lot more fun at the table if the GM has time to think about how to handle your change of plans than if they are blindsided.
Once again, you have out-done yourself. Excellent video and so on point. Thank you so much! I think listening to the other players and supporting them is also nice. But you have already mentioned this in your other videos and does perhaps not need to be among "The Nine".
I wish you and yours a very merry Christmas!
Sincerely,
Alicia from Sweden
A TTRPG table of players is a bit like a casual sports team.
We are there in part to socialise and have fun, but it is also goal oriented and requires prep and etiquette, from everyone.
TTRPGs are not a drop-in/drop-out video game.
Kind of in the distraction bucket - I've been running my family through Lost Mines of Phandelver, and teaching them D&D. And a big problem that some of them have is only being so-so interested, and leaving the table constantly. The attitude is "I'm just doing this so my nephew can have fun with his uncle, so I really can half-ass this."
So in the spirit of communication, I'm going to tell them that I've put a lot of work into preparing this adventure, and that gaming time is gaming time. If they want to keep leaving the table, then maybe they don't want to play.
Planning your turn matters a ton for basically all games. If you're shocked out of your torpor every time your turn comes around and, for the first time since your last turn, you start pondering what to do, you're being super disrespectful to other players. Most of us are like this when we start out, and it's just a skill you learn, like bowel control.
Good stuff.
I've certainly been guilty of various sins in my gaming life.
I always strive to be better.
Man on man, getting players to have their turn ready was a HUGE issue for years with my group. Finally fixed it, now working on cutting the constant side jokes down!
Here's a tip for you purely online players:
If your VTT has a chatbox: use it!
Its really difficult to hold multiple conversations at once while in a voice-call ; but holding a text conversation whilst others are talking via voice is easy!
While the DM & another player are roleplaying, you can use your VTT's chat box to roleplay with other players!
This is a technique I love using as a player, and I love seeing people do it when I DM.
A caveat to this tip, though: Keep chatbox RP for mundane stuff. For example: character development between player characters can be done beautifully through text chat. Big decisions and narrative based actions should ideally be done in a way that the DM will easily notice - using your voice, not text!
The flip side from the example in Tip 1 is that, if your group had a planned route the session before, the dm is most likely to prep said route... and getting the party to run off in another route in the first 3 minutes is quite likely to throw the dm off track. Getting a gang of NPCs is probably going to trivialize encounters balanced for the party, so make sure at least your DM is either aware of it beforehand or that your DM is great at adapting on the fly
By far the best part of online DnD is the meme chat blowing up while your character has a super serious conversation. Let's everyone have fun and tell their jokes without actually interrupting the story.
Ah, the motivation thing. In my last campaign I had a player who didn't deal well with emotional/dramatic things happening to their character, had no long-term goals and played an aloof asshole who didn't care about their teammates, leaving almost only monetary incentives. Very uninteresting/unrewarding to write for, especially since I was going for a campaign that integrated character backstory a lot.
And I appreciate YOU, Seth! Damn good video, as per usual. I really needed to hear that "Bite the Hook" tip. I'm usually the DM, so when I end up as a Player, I get really unsure and cagey, I guess? I realize it most of the time after the fact, it seems to be so difficult to recognize in the moment. Hope you have a great rest of the year, good sir.
A really neat solution to "take notes" is implemented in Vaesen. There's a talent that a player can take that rewards and additional experience if someone is "chronicling events."
My group has booted several people from the table, both temporarily and permanently, for constantly being distracted. The worst offender was a person who was surfing Facebook in the middle of "His favorite game" so often that he had missed several critical clues his specialty would have been able to solve the mystery we were working on. The worst part was, I had the answer, but needed his particular niche knowledge to place the final pieces I had, and his skill set to put the solution in motion. Killed a perfectly good Mage: the Ascension game that was part of a bigger Classic World of Darkness campaign we were doing.
I think giving thanks is an important one. I think it's overlooked
I have been playing sense 1982. I began the world/universe my players play in in 1988... Your guides are ENRICHING! You bring new life and health to my mind to further create vibrant stories for my players. Something I strive for. Thank you from the top to bottom of my Fluffy Rainbow and Darkness, Bloody DM Heart
God the combat one is so real. Theres so many people that just start thinking when their turn starts and then look at their character sheet and go over their entire spell list and their turns take 5+ minutes...
Hitting the nail on the head with so many of these... Now just have to work out how to direct some of my players to this in a polite way...
As someone horribly in the midst of GM Burnout and trying to haul myself out of it again (Working on a one shot little by little when the energy presents itself), I find these videos super useful, so thank you for making them ^_^
A great video with an excellent number of useful tips. Maybe it sounds a bit too sugary, but I honestly enjoyed this one very much and everything was just top notch. Keep up the good work, Seth (& the crew)!
I've always done the whole "deciding your action before your turn, and look up any details necessary". No-one ever told me it would be a good idea. It just made sense.
I've had other players (and once a GM) acuse me of not paying attention because of it.
It's about 50/50 whether that's deserved, I think.
I can tend to hyper focus when trying to make the best decision, and in those cases I'm really not paying attention.
I've tried several times to look up(having finally decided) and finding that my target is already dead, and having no clue how it happened 😅
Happy Holidays Seth. Happened on your participation in Glass Canon last week. Been enjoying it a lot.
Your videos on etiquette, play styles , an tips always have good info. Really appreciate it man.
Love the advise^^
There is one special case for the distraction rule I gotta mention here, because it keeps amazing me:
One of my all time favorite players is always doing art on the side while playing. Talked with them about it, and they figured out it helps them to not wander off mentally while they are not fully engaged, makes it easier to give spotlight to others and just generally enjoy the experience more.
And it works wonders. If you don't know them, it may look they are devaluing the experience and being distracted, but they remember freaking everything, are on top of their role-play and combat stuff alike and often are the anchor character that other players bounce off from. It's such a nice exception of the rule in that one. But I've rarely seen anyone else who can do it. For most others the distraction rule is 100% justified.
I try to make people hurry combat. it is supposed to be chaotic. If they take too long I put them on "defence" (taking cover, shield up or whatever) and move on to the next person. I find that a little harder to do with online games with the whole dice rolling, lag times etc but the principle still holds.
Awesome video!
One downside I've encountered with deciding my next move before my turn is I'll have a plan figured out but then the bad guy moves outta range or an ally moves into the line of fire, so I've got to rethink my turn.
17:00 "I had the worst DM! I was being as passive aggressive as possible and he still wasn't getting it!"
Peanut Gallery is definitely my party's biggest player sin, it once took us 2 hours to leave an apartment and bribe the guards to let us in to the factory next door.
Oh my gosh, the "Actively engage" point gave me flashbacks.
I used to run a LARP and we let the players know that if they sat in their doorsteps, they might get three things happening to them over a weekend.
But if they actually went "out there" they could find plot hooks, monster lairs, and even free-standing treasure.
-
The LARP I was a player in had fully degraded to sitting on the doorstep. Combine that engagement laziness with both high character levels (and commensurate massive spells/skill) and the low count of volunteers willing to be NPCs, the people running the game just gave up and threw waves of "monster of the week" at the porch-sitters where one or two of the waves would drop clues to the weekend's big plot that was always an hour-plus battle in a nearby field.
I had been playing that LARP for over 25 years, but that mentality led me to quitting.