"Yeah I have a few handy little tools behind my GM screen. Not too many though, merely the necessities. Books, notes, miniatures, templates, the holy grail, lunch for up to twelve people, a camping kit in case we're snowed in out of nowhere and about twelve thousand dice."
"Oh, can't forget: Batman's's utility belt (very useful) and a TARDIS for extra storage. Plus, I've packed an extra pair of shoes and your angry eyes, just in case. Here's an extra thing of Play-Doh, and some Cheetos, AND A MONKEY! There's a grilled turkey sandwich, and a key. I'm not sure what it's for, but it looks important."
Ha. When Matt opens his notebook you can see a whole typed up page (maybe more) dedicated to that tree-hut encounter from the Feywild, which the party totally avoided. GM life... I know that feel =(
Eshajori Ah but maybe they encounter 'another' tree hut later on down the road, or even in another game! nothing is ever wasted, just reused somewere else.
I feel like I am doing something forbidden, it's like I'm a kid staying awake at christmas night, peeking through the living room door trying to see santa.
What’s behind my GM screen: - jk I don’t have a screen - it’s just an iPad with like twelve different D&D Beyond tabs - and a sheet of notebook paper with a “battle map” a first grader could draw - and also panic, lots of panic
I can do you one better, -a laptop with a dungeon map in excel, stat blocks and story outline -ipad with handwritten notes -A python script to roll dice since.
if you're a noob DM/player (like i am), and dont have the money for all this, lego is an absolutely awesome way to make characters and environments. Lord of the Rings and Hobbit lego work the best as they pr much have every race; hobbits for halflings and gnomes, dwarves for dwarves, elves for elves/half-elves, orcs for orcs/half-orcs, humans for humans. unfortunately there isnt really anything for tieflings and dragonborn. also they've got armour and robes for pretty much any class in the roster.
Look up Black Magic Craft on youtube. I'm new also, and on a budget, and this guy is a total guru at making your own accessories that look AWESOME. Mind you, I don't consider myself to be very crafty, but i've made some badass stuff following his video's and It's actually fun. But making my campaigns super epic all around is what makes it fun for me in general, so maybe not everyone thinks its fun to make the stuff lol.
tonight is my first time ever running a campaign as a GM. this video was super helpful, easy to understand and had lots of practical tips. thanks for posting these tips, not only are they a useful guide, they are also wicked inspiration! I'm excited to do my best and be a kickass GM for my friends.
Andrew Owenby it was a great first time, my group has met 3 times total now, it's amazingly fun! The hardest part for me is running the battles, as I have more fun creating traps, mysterious maps and clues, and NPCs, but so far it's been going really well. Best of luck to you! I'm sure you will be great! :D
That's great to hear! You must have had a good impression for there to already be 3 sessions run. The battles do seem to take some time getting used to, it's crazy how Mercer is so flawless with his, makes it look so easy. And thank you very much, my first group will only be my brother and my best friend. My brother is very combat oriented while my friend enjoys a more strategic game. We shall see!
Yep. As a noob dm, it helps to have someone as good as Matt putting his skills (and world eventually i can't wait) out to the public. He's an ambassador of the game and an inspiration.
He is pretty awesome but i feel that Chris Perkins is the most baller GM of all time. Matt has a bunch going for him because he is a voice actor which is the one thing i would say he is better at than master Perkins
As a DM of 40ish years dating back to basic, I can confidently say the most important part is the snack plate. It's obnoxious to have to leave your DM pocket to hit up the party snacks. P.S. There is NEVER enough room behind the screen. A TV tray next to you for books and resources you MAY need but dont right now is handy.
As a DM for 12 years I don't get up for anything, my player's give me food and drink and I give them bonus XP because it's more fun watching them fight for who gets me a beer first because they really need that extra 100 XP or however much I give them depending on how drunk I am lol.
@@TheMemo659 Though, to be honest, a washed out old TV dinner tray (the kinds that are like a segmented plate) could honestly be a halfway decent and cheap way to organize stuff like pens, dice, etc. Then you could put that on your TV tray so it's ready and organized when you need it 😉
So true. I was the DM for the first time yesterday, and I only had a notebook, printed notes and maps! I didn't even have a screen or dice (We had to use an app)
Can we see this in action during one of your thursday night shows? It'd be cool to have a camera behind you recording what happens, and maybe turn that into a behind the scenes thing maybe?
yes! i havent started playing dnd yet and neither have the friends im gonna play with, so i wanted to be the dm and i have no clue wut im getting in to!
@@abbytrudell4083 Don't worry. DM-ing is practice and experience, as well as knowing your players. Some of your games will be meh, but as long as everyone has fun, who cares ? Don't overwork yourself, don't panic, be ready for everything to break and embrace the chaos.
Have met, can confirm. Get yourself to a Con! He tries to talk to everybody for like 5 minutes and they have to hurry him along, lol He's so darn friendly!
No wonder Matt seems so on top of everything while GMing, he's got so much stuff besides the default DM screen and a set of notes. So glad this series is back!
I like the way matt will use small toys as minitures, my old group used to stick their noses up at minitures that were toys. Even though they didn't give me any money to buy 'proper minitures' they expected me to spend hundreds of pounds on them!
Me and my group set up a fumble account each time one of the players fumbled they would have to pay a small predefined amount. To make this a bit more fair when I as the DM roled a natural 20 I would also have to pay the same amount. Then I used some of that money to buy stuff for the group such as miniatures. Sure I payed the most money but they helped out :)
My miniature collection cost $2,000 and it's still not done, only one player pitched in and he gave $20. Even with all that money lost I think they are really worth it if you have players that are more into visuals. Using the minis gets less involved players interested sometimes, and it beats me pre-drawing all the baddies before the session. Jimmie that's a cool idea, I'll have to ask my players if they are down for that.
You can buy the Pathfinder Pawns Bestiary Boxes PDF editions on paizo.com for $24.99, then print the quantity and variety you need and glue them on cardboard, like Amazon boxes. Works very well and is a great cheap enhancement to your campaign! You just need to buy or build some bases tho, you can get 17 bases on amazon.ca for ~$12 CAD.
Anyone that is wondering, this is probably the most helpful video on the internet for a starting GM! Seriously. I haven't been a GM for long, but I have always loved being a storyteller, so it was inevitable that I would become said GM. My players said I was alright when I started, but I felt I was lacking. After this, I am going to sound like a commercial, but my very dynamic changed. My players and I both started having much more fun in our sessions. It's worth watching once or twice. Thank you Matt for the invaluable tips. You stay being awesome!
Andrew Lewis if you look really closely at the names he's scratched off there, you can see Balgus, the badass dwarf from the first episode. Never would've thought he was made up on the fly. Matt's crazy.
@@qm230 I'd suggest the noble demon and rpg audio, bit unwieldy to combine the two but they're both great youtube channels , my current campaign is desert themed so i listen to ND's spirit temple remix and desert ambiance.
This was recorded awhile ago; however, I do love these tips. Most I already kept behind my DM screen but things like keeping the list of 'in case of emergency npc' names is a brilliant idea that I will immediately incorporate into my game. Thank you, Matt Mercer, just seeing how incredibly prepared you are as a DM makes me want to improve my own DMing game.
4:30 Holy shit, I thought I was the only one who used the tabs from Gatorade bottles! Other drinks as well, to get different colors. I started using them in Heroclix, because they fit perfectly over the base of the characters, then said why not use them in DnD? Condition: Color: ------------------ --------------------- Blinded Black - because you can't see anything Charmed Pink - Deafened White - because it's the opposite of blinded Frightened Yellow - because scardy cats got a yella streak Grappled Purple Incapacitated Blue - because in Heroclix, blue attack power is Incapacitate Invisible Clear - obvious Paralyzed two Blues - because it's more powerful than Incap. Petrified Dark Green - because Petrified Forest is a word ( I know it's supposed to be grey, but I don't have grey tabs) Poisoned Light Green - because in comics, poison is green Prone - just tip the mini over, dude Restrained two Purples Stunned Orange - because in the Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising, the monk character used stunning fist, and he dressed in orange robes Unconscious Blue, and tipped over
Robert, try this (just off the top of my head with soda/pop): green = Canada Dry ginger ale red = Coke (DUH!) black = Coke Zero blue = Pepsi orange = Orange Crush or Fanta lt. green = Mountain Dew maroon - Dr. Pepper purple - Grape Crush (Again, just off the top of my head. And I tend to use the individual bottles from six-packs.)
@@cthefish Well, I hope you don't lose your high opinion of me, but about six months ago, I broke down and bought the clear acrylic rings with the conditions printed on them, from Amazon. It came in it's own box, everything was so fresh and clean, I fell in love with my purchase. I still use the old rings for Heroclix, because of the size difference, but man, these new ones are cool!
Awesome, been playing D&D since '79, dming for about 15 yrs on and off, now using the Fantasy AGE system, love that system. Thanks for the tips, Matt, roll 'em bones.
Im here to genuinely learn.... And marry him! i mean come on, look at him he is nerdy, great people skills, pretty, and is Levi god damn Ackerman that is a win right there.
I really like that there's an official looking GM tips logo. Hopefully it means there are a lot more of these videos to come! Thank you so much for sharing, it really helps!
It mentions what would have happened if they visited the hag in the Shademirk, Woldena (Sp.?) She has the face of a beautiful woman, but her limbs all end looking like a traditional hag, impossibly long fingers, swollen black veins that rise from her flesh, etc. She was probably a night hag. She would have given them knowledge about sondur, but in exchange for information from the players. Quotes like: "You brutish blood of giant tongue, tell me the kill you regret most" "You half breed with a brother bear, tell me a secret that no living soul knows of you" every answer the player gives her would grow a prune like fruit on the platter on her table, and she would eat of them. If they gave her knowledge about every player, the hag would reveal that sondur is vulnerable to psychic damage.
You can also see some stuff about Vex becoming a Fey, gaining +2 Constitution, getting Fenthras and some other possible physical changes for accepting Sondurs creepy love.
I love that he had a little list of some of the important deities and what they correspond to tapes to the screen as well, for some reason that made me very happy 😊
There was actually some interesting information on Tiberius- his dad was apparently touched by Tiamat somehow or other, and that's why Tiberius is a chromatic Dragonborn in a family of metallic Dragoborns. His dad was embarrassed by the whole thing and never told Tiberius about it.
Excellent, I've been a DM since 79 and it's great to see so much great advice and info given by such a renown GM like Matt and especially someone with his mind blowingly good skill set as a DM. Thank you for taking the time to make this fantastic video and I enjoy being able to continue to learn and grow as a DM myself even after 35+ years from someone as such as you Matt. Bravo! You've earned a like and a sub for this.
My DMing skills skyrocketed after I knew Matthew. So much experience shared in an incredibly didatic way. Not counting what I learn by watching him DM. Big thanks!
This actually helped me a lot, even though I run my campaigns through roll 20 cause my friends are out of state. It let me know what kinds of tabs and notes to keep out at all times. Thank you Matt Mercer
I have been the dungeon master for my group of friends for the last 2 and a half years. these videos have really helped me with improving my performance as a DM. Thank god for Matt Mercer
One other thing for upcoming GMs make sure you don't have a player trying to dominate the other players i.e. saying what the other player does for them. It is very annoying and can lead to strife outside of the campaign
I had a player who often made racist choices. He claimed his character wasn't racist, so I had him roll for it and he failed. I told him he could behave in any way he wished, however he is now racist. Metagame, he made fun of my race and rage quit.
I feel you cap talon. If that happens I always humble them and make sure they don't feel like the alpha. Everyone brings something to the table no matter the class or build.
I had a DM like this once, drove me insane. My friend was playing a Lizardfolk (pathfinder) and other races hold a common misconception about them, in that they think Lizardfolk are savages that will just eat basically any meat. However, the DM seemed to ignore the "misconception" part and kept trying to push my friend into eating raw rats, orc meat, and basically anything else we killed. It really grated on me.
That is legit maybe the most useful GM video I've seen, not too D&D specific and puts you in the head of someone who has a lot of experience planning and executing games as far as what tools they use and why.
Another tip i use during my games: For initiative, i use index cards, 1 for each player and / or creature, with their name and initiative for this encounter. This way i just order them by initiative, the player takes his turn, i flip over to the next card and the game goes on. Really easy to order initiatives this way. And if a player wants to hold their turn, they just get the card and give it back to me when they wanna act.
My granddaughter was inspired. She created a DM screen similar, but used neodymium magnets for hinges, one panel has a magnetic dry-erase face for players. Uses protector sheets for campaign relevant info. She did it in shop class, but too late for entry in high school competition. She got state recognition for previous design projects.
My brother and I just started into D&D and as the oldest, I try my best to be a good GM, this whole channel helps me to know more about this world, thank you
He's right. As a DM/GM, I would spend forever crafting campaigns, detailing encounters and locations. Getting a small handful of key NPCs prepared for interaction. Only to wind up having to improvise when the players decided to go in the most inefficient, random routes possible to reach their destination and skip at least half of what I'd prepared. Players are THE most chaotic force in the Planar Realms.
Indeed. In the group I run the party was leading a godzilla sized monster to the edge of the world and came across a group of "bards." And rather than warn them about this monstrosity or enlist their aid, one character decided to try and steal their hover-motorcycle and the result was two PC deaths.
"I jump from the upside down lifeboat onto the sahuagin's head while holding him with a grappling hook and stab him with my gladius" "Ok, roll acrobatics, then attack" rolls high for acrobatics, then nat20 everyone loses it my phone on shuffle with the soundtrack cues in *on his fucking own* Attack on Titans soundtrack I scratch the sahuagin off the battlefield.
The meaning of life is our relationship with God. These four steps are the key to getting a Divine Revaluation directly from him. They are something you'd eventually do if you took God seriously enough to read the Bible, while implementing its teachings. They are, forgive your parents, break down before Jesus, ask for forgiveness, and read three books of the Bible. Step four requires the first book of each testament, and one you chose yourself. The order is actually important. The steps build on each other. Each one primes your soul for the next. To be forgiven we must forgive. Mathew 6: 14-15. That's why forgiving others has to come before asking for forgiveness. Jesus will not forgive you until you've at least done the bare minimum, our parents. They're supposed to be easiest to forgive, because they've fed, housed, loved us to some degree. Our problems with them are supposed to represent our problems with God. This is why the bare minimum to receive the revelation is our parents. You'll still have to forgive everyone though, but that comes much easier after meeting God. I'm extremely serious and very literal. I'm not talking about signs, nor feelings, nor prayer. It's an actual literal pulled out of your body direct one on one conversation, nothing you can miss. nor misinterpretae. The vast majority of christans never bother to do what God wants seriously, so most never get this revelation. To most outside church their Bible is a paper weight, or at best a virtue signal. Their religion is in what other people think about them, not their relationship with God. Please do those steps I mentioned, there really is a Divine Revaluation waiting for all of us. There's extraordinarlly important information we all desperately need in this revelation, but those who get it are forbidden to share it. The Truth that Jesus Christ is Lord is written on every human heart. We all have that knowledge inside us, but we bury it under mountains of pain and anger. Those steps clear away that garbage inside you, letting God heal you, so that his words boom clearly inside your soul. The entire point of our existence here is to Trust God enough that we pay him this mustard seed of Faith, so his Grace can remove the stain sin has left on our souls. Everyone that does not get this Grace is not forgiven of any of their sins, even if they turned around and we're the best person from 25 to death. Without Grace those first sins are still counted against you, tying you to the devil's punishment. It's not about being a good person, It's about being forgiven for when you weren't. The Bible is Truth. Please do those steps and see for yourself. Please take your salvation seriously:
Really cool! Just getting into the DMing and D&D in general. Most of what is presented here was already in my consideration: cheat sheets everywhere, background music is a must, a folder of useful info (custom characters etc...). The soda ring tip was really neat, and it would be nice to at least have some sort of enemy/item tokens ready. I'm planning to draw them myself if needed. This is really to the point and handy!
This is the analog equivalent of a frggin' spaceship interface. This elaborate set up should give everyone greater respect for GMs and how much they do. And also Matt's beautifully organized anti-chaos station here. Thanks for showing us behind your curtain!
Side note for any GMs looking to add sound to your game as he recommended I personally have had a lot of success using something called syrinscape. You can individually buy sound sets or pay a small monthly to access they're whole library as well as acquire any new soundsets they release during your monthly payments for free.
There's also Tabletop Audio. It's free but not remotely as extensive or customizable Syrinscape. It offers a little over 100 music tracks, each for a different environment, and is a great option if you're on a budget.
Also, on some of the subreddits this series of Spotify playlists was posted by u/bezoing today and you can follow some links in the comments to even more playlists. www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/5963qe/inprogress_curated_spotify_playlists_i_use_in_my/
If you're a video game player, you can also capture audio directly from in-game using any number of tools. Find an out-of-the-way spot in, say, Witcher 3 or Skyrim (or any other game) and record about five minutes of the ambient sound. after a couple of years of this, I have a couple hundred sound clips from every genre. I used Foobar 2000 to organize all of my sounds, and just set them to loop. Very versatile, very quick, and free. Plus it works with any genre, and you can also add in sounds you've downloaded from places like Tabletop Audio.
I wish I had time to go back to watching Critical Role. Matt's campaign is sooo entertaining, but I know if I start again I'll never get assignments done on time.
I hated my job till I realised I could treat critical role as a podcast. Now I'm just listening to critical role the whole day (it's gonna suck when I'm all caught up tho)
My setup: -Laptop for music (the screen's turned off most of the time) (I usually select another set of tracks in advance, so I half the time I only need to press enter to change music). -dice -a few blank pages for noting down things on the run Then again, I'm a huge fan of keeping the rules as simple as possible (for example, I never use any rules that aren't in the core rulebook (by which I mean- the ones that come in sourcebooks)- In my experience they encourage munchkinism and they don't really make the game any better. If a player wants to do something that's impossible by the base rules I just houserule it) so I rarely need to refererence the rulebook more than once a session.
I have a home board DM screen made of cardboard. Craft paper taped on my side where I can write notes. Two notebooks. One with the planned encounters and other things and the other for taking session notes. 3 sets of dice. Dice tray. My phone for music. 2-3 books.
I never realized a GM screen had sooooo much behind it. I've been RPing on online games like WoW and FFXIV, but i've been watching these DM tips to help with ideas. If I decide to try actual tabletop D&D i'll certainly keep these in mind.
How would you handle two of your players deciding to attack an animated suit of armour by slapping it around the helmet with fish? yes this happened to me in my Wednesday night session this week
Peter Calcutt Great question. First question: What are the players hoping to accomplish? What is the goal behind the action? Are they trying to defeat the armor? Are they trying to make the armor less attractive? Make it easily identified? Or are they just spending a turn doing comedic nonsense? Once you have the desired effect, you can tailor the resolution to that. One situation might be an improvised weapon attack. Another might be an Aid action to another's Charisma check, or a Perception check. Or you might just have then roll dice to inspire a silly result.
The armour was standing on a narrow bridge over a fast flowing river that the party needed to cross. as they approached the armour declared, "None shall pass!" the desired end result was defeating the armour. Why did they use fish instead of their own (More effective) weapons. The two players who opted to use fish were honest about having recognized i was borrowing from a well know scene in a Monty Python film and so opted to respond with an attack inspired by a sketch from Monty Python. oh and as the party moved off post fight one of the party did say, "And now for something completely diffrent."
Peter Calcutt 'None shall pass' pretty much explained it. Improvised weapons rules with silly descriptions seems to be the way to adjudicate this in my opinion.
I think in this rare scenario it was your fault for unleashing classic humor and not expecting a silly result. I mean the armor should at least lose a few joints and decide on a draw.
That is just the perfect video I needed to see. I'm going to DM for the first time soon, and videos from Matt Mercer and many other youtubers like this are going to help a lot. Thank you thank you.
Jesus Christ... I'm just getting into D&D and never realized how much went into it. I just seen the screen at first and thought "that's not to bad" then he brought out a fucking binder... "Nevermind"
Before you get discouraged, Matt is at the professional, broadcastable level of being a DM. My first game was hand drawn maps, chess pieces, and a phone for dice rolling.
No shit - after years and years and years of playing D&D, I finally managed to get a DM screen and this was the first video I looked up a second time for a reminder. Thanks, Matt!
"DM life-hack: Use empty dice boxes with d20’s in each for each member of the party to quickly roll Perception or Insight rolls for the whole party at once (grab all from both sides and "shake gently" back on the table)." Not my idea, but I use it and makes life easier.
Oh god I wish they went to the hut in the Feywilds to meet Wodena now! Also holy shiz Vex would have become Fey if she accepted Sondurs offer! God I love this story :D
I've just noticed that as the video is closing, there's a slow zoom out going on-doubled back to the start to check that yes, the opening also includes a slow zooming in. Pretty neat.
I know this isn't the point. I know I'm supposed to. But I totally paused the video and tried to glean every last bit of information I could from Mercer's notes XD
"and finally over here, I have a little cameo of Marisha (with a lovespell penciled in around it of course), to remind me that with great power.. comes great responsibility" :)
This video was very daunting for me as a first time DM trying to get informed of what I should be doing. The most important thing of all, is to level expectations with your group. I am relatively new to D&D, but we had a few very knowlegable players, who would help me with the rule bits, while I could go wild on spinning a tale and a world for them. It ended up a very enjoyable (three-part) oneshot. The few things that were super helpful: - lists of names to be thrown in (some even were two-line character ideas that I had ready to become NPC whenever they were useful) - a well-cemented mental image of the surrounding's aesthetic and style, rather than a fleshed out map. That way I could always improvise new areas on the spot, while giving the players the feeling of being in a contiguous, complete world. - that little list of character's passive perception, with added columns for who's who and reusable initiative. - dice
How to DM like a BAMF: GM Tips with Matt Mercer. P.S. What's up with Kraghammer??? (Spoilers for new Critters watching from the very beginning.) Vox Machina never went to or checked in with Kraghammer post-Underdark, after the destruction of Emon upon the conclave's arrival. Why? It's always baffled me that they'd forget about a massive, heavily fortified Dwarven fortress-city under a mountain range.
They have mentioned it in some planning sessions, other places seemed more vital to reach at the time. I would say Kraghammer is fairly safe since it would be very hard to assault without a burrowing speed(iirc only the blue dragon has that).
Actually, they kind of did. Someone went back to collect the party's bounty, remember? Scanlan tried to sneak himself some extra gold and it didn't go so well. They weren't well-liked, so it was a short trip.
Seems a bit overwhelming, but as of now I'm playing as a player at my gamestore for DND league. Played one game and its pretty fun! When I actually get to play with my friends I'm going to have to be the dungeon master. I like how DND is a very social game so I think it will be worth it to get good at dming. Thanks for the tips!
I responded to another guy, and I know this is 2 months old, but don't think you need to be anywhere near that level to run a campaign. The series is called GM Tips, not GM Rules. As long as you and your players have fun, it doesn't matter how you run your campaign.
Spoilers from the Feywild: How i wish they had gone into Wodana's hut now! I would have dearly loved to hear the answers to those questions and hear Sondur's history. Ah, all those times when the brilliance of Matt is kept from our eyes. Thanks for the tiny sneak peek though! I'm hoping some of this is what will be revealed in his campaign book.
Yeah... As a fellow DM, I can relate to that. I have amassed quite a bit of stuff my players probably won't ever get to see. That's the beauty and the flaw of tabletop RPGs. The player's imagination is the limit, and sometimes it goes in other directions.
Our current group had a great little idea that's worked well for us. During encounters it was at times hard to get an overview of when it was your turn, so to counter this, we cut some cardboard into rectangular tiles and bend them in half. On one side we wrote a character name, on the other their base stats like AC, Max HP, passive perception and what not that the DM might like to have. Then when combat starts the DM takes note of the initiative like always and then mount the little tile of the individual whom turn it is, on the DM screen, more tiles gets up as we get on with the round. Then we made a few tiles named Enemy, where the DM could write what he wanted on the back, like "enemy 1" or what, so he could follow the progression. This made an intuitive system, where the players always know when it's their turn and the DM gets what info he wants from the encounter. If more enemies or allies entered combat, they'd just add in more tiles.
OOOOOHHHHH nice and professionnal this time around ! Very helping even to older DMs ike myself. But you are the lucky one... you have a whole table for your need... i have like only 1/3rd that space and thus i have no GM screen except my Tablet. I also hate hidden rolls. which by watching critical role you also hate to fudge dices. 8) next episodes... initiatives perhaps ? how do you manage big encounters like the kevdak fight ?
Tried being a GM once and the experience scarred me for life, I will be up for gaming anytime but hell will freeze over the day I accept to run a campaign again.
Would it be a bad idea to suggest that whatever character does all the shape shifting (i.e. druid changing their own form) to obtain minis of their own rather than expecting the DM to go out and get them? This would not only take the burden off the DM for having them on hand (and spending more for that matter) but also allow the player to get a hold of a custom or otherwise really cool variant to represent their character in a new form? My fiancee for example is considering using a metal mini she spotted once that was originally designed for use in another game to take the place of her fire elemental form. Not only could this allow her to better express how she would like her character to look in that form, but it would also help to differentiate it from any potential enemy NPCs of that nature where we would be sure to run into them. This of course would be the case for other elements as well. What do you think? How would YOU like to do this?
I was wanting to learn to be a gm, but after watching this video i am effectively intimidated. I don't think i could ever keep track of all of the stuff he just showed us.Where would i find the time to compile a binder full of notes on the campaign i am running? I guess i was naive in thinking that GM'ing was going to be accessible and that the screen and a copy of the player's manual and gm manual would be enough.
bluestripetiger hey everyone has their own GM-ing style, obviously Matt is incredible at it but you can get by with a lot less resources. If you need help with the campaign notes maybe try running one of the pre made adventures like LMoP or you can even find home brew campaigns online
I know this is 3 months old, but dude do not think you have to be anywhere near that level to run a campaign. Matt has been playing this game for over a decade now, and is a professional voice actor. I have run a few games myself with nothing to go off of besides, "Uh, you're fighting an orc raiding party on a mountain top. You explore the mountains? Ok, you encounter a small village at the base of the valley. Oh, you wanna check out the village... uh... uh... Random NPC with a silly voice! He tells you all about the village, as well as its issues with raiding parties, and some strange circumstances that now tie in with my plot line!" It's all about having fun. It doesn't matter if you don't have miniatures, or notes, or even a screen to keep things behind. Get some friends, tell a story, and roll some dice. Screw up the rules, because it makes for some hilarious moments. Let that one player of yours make his wild and crazy decision to stuff a suit of armor with herbs, only to light it on fire during combat and get everyone high. Hope this helped you, and good luck random internet person.
When I tried a stint as GM for my group I had a notebook full of prepared stuff, a scratchpad, a couple of photocopied visual aids from premade adventure modules I was borrowing material from and the core 3 books. Most encounters were done with maps I had laid out on graph paper before hand then drew straight onto the battle map in real time and most of the minis I used were the same 20-odd bloodbowl players with numbers written on the bases that just made useful markers "number one is a troll, number 2 is in plate armour, the rest are orcs in studded leather". Matt may be what DMs aspire to but you can get by with a lot less and everyone will still have a great time.
"Yeah I have a few handy little tools behind my GM screen. Not too many though, merely the necessities. Books, notes, miniatures, templates, the holy grail, lunch for up to twelve people, a camping kit in case we're snowed in out of nowhere and about twelve thousand dice."
Sounds like your typical bard kit
"Oh, can't forget: Batman's's utility belt (very useful) and a TARDIS for extra storage. Plus, I've packed an extra pair of shoes and your angry eyes, just in case. Here's an extra thing of Play-Doh, and some Cheetos, AND A MONKEY! There's a grilled turkey sandwich, and a key. I'm not sure what it's for, but it looks important."
the hoy grail, I love that.
Don't forget to pack a towel. ALWAYS bring a towel when traveling.
fair
Ha. When Matt opens his notebook you can see a whole typed up page (maybe more) dedicated to that tree-hut encounter from the Feywild, which the party totally avoided. GM life... I know that feel =(
Eshajori Ah but maybe they encounter 'another' tree hut later on down the road, or even in another game! nothing is ever wasted, just reused somewere else.
Not to mention, if you look closely he has at least a paragraph on what would've happened to Vex if she had accepted Saundor's offer.
Yeah, and then there's planning things out because the party might actually be that stupid.
I wonder what the plan was for if Grog had used that blatantly evil skull's wish?
BigKlingy i subbed to you for Fire Emblem. Fancy seeing you here
Man, I feel so special for looking behind Matt's GM screen.
I feel like I am doing something forbidden, it's like I'm a kid staying awake at christmas night, peeking through the living room door trying to see santa.
@@JustNatax3 santa doesn't exists
@@CatwaiiYT Aw no way dude. He's just as real as god.
@@JustNatax3 oof
And don’t forget to be tall af if you’re sitting behind a screen
What’s behind my GM screen:
- jk I don’t have a screen
- it’s just an iPad with like twelve different D&D Beyond tabs
- and a sheet of notebook paper with a “battle map” a first grader could draw
- and also panic, lots of panic
I can do you one better,
-a laptop with a dungeon map in excel, stat blocks and story outline
-ipad with handwritten notes
-A python script to roll dice since.
a phone with a powerpoint of the whole campaign... and yes I have the panic aswell!
You guys make notes?
I improv the whole campaign because by Session Two the whole party is going in the wrong direction :P
@@jeremiahfitzherbert7971 That happens, but then you make notes for session 3 and hope they stick to your plan this time.
Bruh i just ran a campaign in a car with low preparation or books. Only my cellphone and it turned out dope lol
if you're a noob DM/player (like i am), and dont have the money for all this, lego is an absolutely awesome way to make characters and environments. Lord of the Rings and Hobbit lego work the best as they pr much have every race; hobbits for halflings and gnomes, dwarves for dwarves, elves for elves/half-elves, orcs for orcs/half-orcs, humans for humans. unfortunately there isnt really anything for tieflings and dragonborn. also they've got armour and robes for pretty much any class in the roster.
Look up Black Magic Craft on youtube. I'm new also, and on a budget, and this guy is a total guru at making your own accessories that look AWESOME. Mind you, I don't consider myself to be very crafty, but i've made some badass stuff following his video's and It's actually fun. But making my campaigns super epic all around is what makes it fun for me in general, so maybe not everyone thinks its fun to make the stuff lol.
That... is actually an amazing idea holy shit.
you are a life saver my dude thank you!
you do know that lego bricks are worth theyr own weight in gold right?.... hella expensive these days
th-cam.com/video/C7YFZuG5Sb8/w-d-xo.html me when I read this comment and I realise I sold my LEGO
tonight is my first time ever running a campaign as a GM. this video was super helpful, easy to understand and had lots of practical tips. thanks for posting these tips, not only are they a useful guide, they are also wicked inspiration! I'm excited to do my best and be a kickass GM for my friends.
cake face I really hope your first session went well!
I will be starting my first session in a couple of weeks.
Andrew Owenby it was a great first time, my group has met 3 times total now, it's amazingly fun! The hardest part for me is running the battles, as I have more fun creating traps, mysterious maps and clues, and NPCs, but so far it's been going really well. Best of luck to you! I'm sure you will be great! :D
That's great to hear! You must have had a good impression for there to already be 3 sessions run. The battles do seem to take some time getting used to, it's crazy how Mercer is so flawless with his, makes it look so easy.
And thank you very much, my first group will only be my brother and my best friend. My brother is very combat oriented while my friend enjoys a more strategic game. We shall see!
2 years late but how'd it go
I also wanna know!
Matt is just the best DM in the world. It is that simple. Even after seeing behind the screen I'm still totally in awe of his abilities.
He's pretty awesome, also having all that vocal range for NPC's helps a lot
Yep. As a noob dm, it helps to have someone as good as Matt putting his skills (and world eventually i can't wait) out to the public. He's an ambassador of the game and an inspiration.
He is pretty awesome but i feel that Chris Perkins is the most baller GM of all time. Matt has a bunch going for him because he is a voice actor which is the one thing i would say he is better at than master Perkins
Totally agree. Whenever he pulls out the "trick" for Acquisitions Inc. I always start drooling.
Help me, here. I've never really watched Perkins DM. What 'trick' are you talking about?
As a DM of 40ish years dating back to basic, I can confidently say the most important part is the snack plate. It's obnoxious to have to leave your DM pocket to hit up the party snacks.
P.S. There is NEVER enough room behind the screen. A TV tray next to you for books and resources you MAY need but dont right now is handy.
As a DM for 12 years I don't get up for anything, my player's give me food and drink and I give them bonus XP because it's more fun watching them fight for who gets me a beer first because they really need that extra 100 XP or however much I give them depending on how drunk I am lol.
@@lucasmacdonald213that’s hilarious and definitely how i would go about it if i can find an in person group
TV tray sounds gross who eats that
@@TheRealPaiMei Well, considering I'm talking about a folding wooden mini table... probably only termites.
@@TheMemo659 Though, to be honest, a washed out old TV dinner tray (the kinds that are like a segmented plate) could honestly be a halfway decent and cheap way to organize stuff like pens, dice, etc. Then you could put that on your TV tray so it's ready and organized when you need it 😉
This makes me realize how unprepared I am.
So true. I was the DM for the first time yesterday, and I only had a notebook, printed notes and maps! I didn't even have a screen or dice (We had to use an app)
Ya it’s kinda scares me how much I have to prepare for the next campaign
@@klownbandit Hey, if you wouldn't mind could you tell me what apps you use to replace dice and the rest.
It would be a great help. Thanks.
@@tahaabbas6616 It's called Mighty Dice i believe
@@klownbandit Thanks man.
Can we see this in action during one of your thursday night shows? It'd be cool to have a camera behind you recording what happens, and maybe turn that into a behind the scenes thing maybe?
TCCflow Behind The Screens with Matt Mercer
As someone that mostly learns by example, this would be a god-send to me.
@Disappointment Department true...
yes! i havent started playing dnd yet and neither have the friends im gonna play with, so i wanted to be the dm and i have no clue wut im getting in to!
@@abbytrudell4083 Don't worry. DM-ing is practice and experience, as well as knowing your players. Some of your games will be meh, but as long as everyone has fun, who cares ? Don't overwork yourself, don't panic, be ready for everything to break and embrace the chaos.
For me, Matthew Mercer is the perfect person to befriend.
I know! I've had dreams of meeting him before and trying to just hang out with him w/o flipping out. :P
Have met, can confirm. Get yourself to a Con! He tries to talk to everybody for like 5 minutes and they have to hurry him along, lol He's so darn friendly!
I'm so jelly of you! lol I just want to be like "bro you want a cup of coffie, my treat." lol
I met him at GenCon in Indianapolis. He was super nice in person.
mick4state same!
It's shows how much Matt has growen as a GM in 5 years looking back to this and now. Go Matt :)
No wonder Matt seems so on top of everything while GMing, he's got so much stuff besides the default DM screen and a set of notes. So glad this series is back!
I like the way matt will use small toys as minitures, my old group used to stick their noses up at minitures that were toys. Even though they didn't give me any money to buy 'proper minitures' they expected me to spend hundreds of pounds on them!
Me and my group set up a fumble account each time one of the players fumbled they would have to pay a small predefined amount. To make this a bit more fair when I as the DM roled a natural 20 I would also have to pay the same amount.
Then I used some of that money to buy stuff for the group such as miniatures. Sure I payed the most money but they helped out :)
Jimmie I did a similar thing for fumbles, but since I was GM for a group of soldiers, I also kept a swear jar. Again, I payed the most into it.
My miniature collection cost $2,000 and it's still not done, only one player pitched in and he gave $20. Even with all that money lost I think they are really worth it if you have players that are more into visuals. Using the minis gets less involved players interested sometimes, and it beats me pre-drawing all the baddies before the session.
Jimmie that's a cool idea, I'll have to ask my players if they are down for that.
You can buy the Pathfinder Pawns Bestiary Boxes PDF editions on paizo.com for $24.99, then print the quantity and variety you need and glue them on cardboard, like Amazon boxes. Works very well and is a great cheap enhancement to your campaign! You just need to buy or build some bases tho, you can get 17 bases on amazon.ca for ~$12 CAD.
Simo oo
always impressed with how well you speak, Matt. almost no fillers like "um, you know" etc.
Doubly impressive when you learn that Matt had a really bad stammer when he was growing up.
Anyone that is wondering, this is probably the most helpful video on the internet for a starting GM!
Seriously. I haven't been a GM for long, but I have always loved being a storyteller, so it was inevitable that I would become said GM. My players said I was alright when I started, but I felt I was lacking. After this, I am going to sound like a commercial, but my very dynamic changed. My players and I both started having much more fun in our sessions. It's worth watching once or twice.
Thank you Matt for the invaluable tips. You stay being awesome!
that name sheet im stealing. thanks Matt
Andrew Lewis if you look really closely at the names he's scratched off there, you can see Balgus, the badass dwarf from the first episode. Never would've thought he was made up on the fly. Matt's crazy.
Andrew Lewis yah that is a good one! going to type one up for each of the planets in my game
Yeah, Ballsack!
He seems like such a cool guy! I'm jealous of people who get to play in his games. :)
Envious.
Not jealous ;)
shush homer
Matt is such a God. I wouldn't be able to keep tabs on half of those things. The amount of work he puts into this game is truly phenomenal.
6 years later, still super relevant tips. Thanks matt
Plenty of Pro-Tips here.
Has Matt put his game music play lists anywhere? If not that would be awesome to get a hold of.
Nerdarchist Dave
@@missmuffet4436 it's since been deleted. Then again 4 year old comment that makes sense
@@qm230 I'd suggest the noble demon and rpg audio, bit unwieldy to combine the two but they're both great youtube channels , my current campaign is desert themed so i listen to ND's spirit temple remix and desert ambiance.
Skyrim has an amazing soundtrack. Just saying.
What Android app do folk use to play music for games?
@@briane.johnson4235 Spotify
Matthew Mercer is my inspiration as a DM and this confirms it even more.
This was recorded awhile ago; however, I do love these tips. Most I already kept behind my DM screen but things like keeping the list of 'in case of emergency npc' names is a brilliant idea that I will immediately incorporate into my game. Thank you, Matt Mercer, just seeing how incredibly prepared you are as a DM makes me want to improve my own DMing game.
4:30 Holy shit, I thought I was the only one who used the tabs from Gatorade bottles! Other drinks as well, to get different colors. I started using them in Heroclix, because they fit perfectly over the base of the characters, then said why not use them in DnD?
Condition: Color:
------------------ ---------------------
Blinded Black - because you can't see anything
Charmed Pink -
Deafened White - because it's the opposite of blinded
Frightened Yellow - because scardy cats got a yella streak
Grappled Purple
Incapacitated Blue - because in Heroclix, blue attack power is Incapacitate
Invisible Clear - obvious
Paralyzed two Blues - because it's more powerful than Incap.
Petrified Dark Green - because Petrified Forest is a word ( I know it's
supposed to be grey, but I don't have grey tabs)
Poisoned Light Green - because in comics, poison is green
Prone - just tip the mini over, dude
Restrained two Purples
Stunned Orange - because in the Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising, the monk
character used stunning fist, and he dressed in orange robes
Unconscious Blue, and tipped over
that's a detailed comment you got there. Have a like.
Robert, try this (just off the top of my head with soda/pop):
green = Canada Dry ginger ale
red = Coke (DUH!)
black = Coke Zero
blue = Pepsi
orange = Orange Crush or Fanta
lt. green = Mountain Dew
maroon - Dr. Pepper
purple - Grape Crush
(Again, just off the top of my head. And I tend to use the individual bottles from six-packs.)
you are a godsend
@@cthefish Well, I hope you don't lose your high opinion of me, but about six months ago, I broke down and bought the clear acrylic rings with the conditions printed on them, from Amazon. It came in it's own box, everything was so fresh and clean, I fell in love with my purchase. I still use the old rings for Heroclix, because of the size difference, but man, these new ones are cool!
Awesome, been playing D&D since '79, dming for about 15 yrs on and off, now using the Fantasy AGE system, love that system. Thanks for the tips, Matt, roll 'em bones.
Even with preparation it's seriously impressive how well you manage to make the story flow.
Stay awesome Matt, and thanks for the tips!
Any tips on how to get that hair? XD
Joseph Collins pretty sure you have to be born on the elemental plane of hair
But.. but that isn't fair!
drink the blood of babies ... duhh
Joseph Collins Players tears and blood
Shampoo spliced with Beholder Blood
10% people trying to learn
90% people trying to marry him
I swear I'm here to learn... I just got caught up in his general perfection.
Interesting I think we should test
Im here to genuinely learn.... And marry him! i mean come on, look at him he is nerdy, great people skills, pretty, and is Levi god damn Ackerman that is a win right there.
You cannot blame either group.
I’m straight but I’d not hesitate to devils three way with Matt and Marissa
Yes! So glad that more GM Tips are coming out
I really like that there's an official looking GM tips logo. Hopefully it means there are a lot more of these videos to come! Thank you so much for sharing, it really helps!
God bless Matthew Mercer.
In his light we thrive,
in his mercy we are sheltered,
in his wisdom we are humbled.
Our lives are his.
Matthew Mercer confirmed for live-action Richard Rahl
I just want to thank Matt for these tips. As a first time DM they have been so helpful. THANK YOU MATT.
QUICK. SOMEONE ENHANCE THE BIT OF HIS CAMPAIGN NOTES.
ghostman263 😂😂😂👍
ghostman263 I like how The Draconian Knights were in there.....:)
It mentions what would have happened if they visited the hag in the Shademirk, Woldena (Sp.?) She has the face of a beautiful woman, but her limbs all end looking like a traditional hag, impossibly long fingers, swollen black veins that rise from her flesh, etc. She was probably a night hag.
She would have given them knowledge about sondur, but in exchange for information from the players. Quotes like:
"You brutish blood of giant tongue, tell me the kill you regret most"
"You half breed with a brother bear, tell me a secret that no living soul knows of you"
every answer the player gives her would grow a prune like fruit on the platter on her table, and she would eat of them. If they gave her knowledge about every player, the hag would reveal that sondur is vulnerable to psychic damage.
You can also see some stuff about Vex becoming a Fey, gaining +2 Constitution, getting Fenthras and some other possible physical changes for accepting Sondurs creepy love.
Check out the Criticalrole Reddit. Someone posted all of the info. Very Interesting stuff about Vex.
Matt is just the greatest DM who ever lived there is no doubt....the care and thought that wents in every aspect of his world and persons..its amazing
Gah, whenever they show that front view I keep thinking that Matt's just a torso in the ground while giving these tips xD Great video btw!
Now that youhave said that I cannot unsee it. It really looks like he's just the Torso sticking out of the floor. ^^
I love that he had a little list of some of the important deities and what they correspond to tapes to the screen as well, for some reason that made me very happy 😊
Good name for a series. Behind the screen.
My wife and daughter are brand new players and your videos are helping me prepare to be our DM. THANK YOU FOR THESE VIDEOS
Anyone else pause and try to read the campaign notes
I took lots of screenshots this episode...
From what I've seen:
- Encounter with Wodena.
- Saundor's stat block.
- Info on Greyskull Keep and the Stormwind Family.
So those are pretty dated.
2:02 Wodena and her hut :)
There was actually some interesting information on Tiberius- his dad was apparently touched by Tiamat somehow or other, and that's why Tiberius is a chromatic Dragonborn in a family of metallic Dragoborns. His dad was embarrassed by the whole thing and never told Tiberius about it.
Excellent, I've been a DM since 79 and it's great to see so much great advice and info given by such a renown GM like Matt and especially someone with his mind blowingly good skill set as a DM. Thank you for taking the time to make this fantastic video and I enjoy being able to continue to learn and grow as a DM myself even after 35+ years from someone as such as you Matt. Bravo! You've earned a like and a sub for this.
This had a very 90s feel to it haha :)
always impressed with the amount of work you put into your sessions
My DMing skills skyrocketed after I knew Matthew. So much experience shared in an incredibly didatic way. Not counting what I learn by watching him DM.
Big thanks!
This actually helped me a lot, even though I run my campaigns through roll 20 cause my friends are out of state. It let me know what kinds of tabs and notes to keep out at all times. Thank you Matt Mercer
I have been the dungeon master for my group of friends for the last 2 and a half years. these videos have really helped me with improving my performance as a DM. Thank god for Matt Mercer
I wish I could give this video 2 likes because I appreciate these type of videos from Matt twice as much as anything else!
This man is my spirit animal, I just absolutely adore Mercer
Yes ! GM Tips are back :) That's sweet.
I'm an organized DM. A very organized DM...but this man? He takes it to a whole new level. He's over 9000!
Ikr!? Mine is a piece of cardboard covered with printer paper 😂
One other thing for upcoming GMs make sure you don't have a player trying to dominate the other players i.e. saying what the other player does for them. It is very annoying and can lead to strife outside of the campaign
This is important - but more of a general table rule for everyone. The whole group should be keeping stuff like that in check.
No No Try It at my table I got a +2 Stick of STFU :P
I had a player who often made racist choices. He claimed his character wasn't racist, so I had him roll for it and he failed. I told him he could behave in any way he wished, however he is now racist. Metagame, he made fun of my race and rage quit.
I feel you cap talon. If that happens I always humble them and make sure they don't feel like the alpha. Everyone brings something to the table no matter the class or build.
I had a DM like this once, drove me insane. My friend was playing a Lizardfolk (pathfinder) and other races hold a common misconception about them, in that they think Lizardfolk are savages that will just eat basically any meat.
However, the DM seemed to ignore the "misconception" part and kept trying to push my friend into eating raw rats, orc meat, and basically anything else we killed. It really grated on me.
That is legit maybe the most useful GM video I've seen, not too D&D specific and puts you in the head of someone who has a lot of experience planning and executing games as far as what tools they use and why.
Another tip i use during my games: For initiative, i use index cards, 1 for each player and / or creature, with their name and initiative for this encounter. This way i just order them by initiative, the player takes his turn, i flip over to the next card and the game goes on. Really easy to order initiatives this way. And if a player wants to hold their turn, they just get the card and give it back to me when they wanna act.
My granddaughter was inspired. She created a DM screen similar, but used neodymium magnets for hinges, one panel has a magnetic dry-erase face for players. Uses protector sheets for campaign relevant info. She did it in shop class, but too late for entry in high school competition. She got state recognition for previous design projects.
My brother and I just started into D&D and as the oldest, I try my best to be a good GM, this whole channel helps me to know more about this world, thank you
Going to be running my first campaign on Sunday. Thanks Matt❤ for the advice
How did it go? I'm planning on running my first campaign as a DM soon.
".. which will inevitably be flying directly out of your ass." ROTFL
He's right. As a DM/GM, I would spend forever crafting campaigns, detailing encounters and locations. Getting a small handful of key NPCs prepared for interaction.
Only to wind up having to improvise when the players decided to go in the most inefficient, random routes possible to reach their destination and skip at least half of what I'd prepared. Players are THE most chaotic force in the Planar Realms.
Indeed. In the group I run the party was leading a godzilla sized monster to the edge of the world and came across a group of "bards." And rather than warn them about this monstrosity or enlist their aid, one character decided to try and steal their hover-motorcycle and the result was two PC deaths.
***** Yup. My "Essential NPC" shirt has never had more meaning than it did with some of my old gaming groups.
"I jump from the upside down lifeboat onto the sahuagin's head while holding him with a grappling hook and stab him with my gladius"
"Ok, roll acrobatics, then attack"
rolls high for acrobatics, then nat20
everyone loses it
my phone on shuffle with the soundtrack cues in *on his fucking own* Attack on Titans soundtrack
I scratch the sahuagin off the battlefield.
The meaning of life is our relationship with God. These four steps are the key to getting a Divine Revaluation directly from him. They are something you'd eventually do if you took God seriously enough to read the Bible, while implementing its teachings. They are, forgive your parents, break down before Jesus, ask for forgiveness, and read three books of the Bible. Step four requires the first book of each testament, and one you chose yourself. The order is actually important. The steps build on each other. Each one primes your soul for the next. To be forgiven we must forgive. Mathew 6: 14-15. That's why forgiving others has to come before asking for forgiveness. Jesus will not forgive you until you've at least done the bare minimum, our parents. They're supposed to be easiest to forgive, because they've fed, housed, loved us to some degree. Our problems with them are supposed to represent our problems with God. This is why the bare minimum to receive the revelation is our parents. You'll still have to forgive everyone though, but that comes much easier after meeting God. I'm extremely serious and very literal. I'm not talking about signs, nor feelings, nor prayer. It's an actual literal pulled out of your body direct one on one conversation, nothing you can miss. nor misinterpretae. The vast majority of christans never bother to do what God wants seriously, so most never get this revelation. To most outside church their Bible is a paper weight, or at best a virtue signal. Their religion is in what other people think about them, not their relationship with God. Please do those steps I mentioned, there really is a Divine Revaluation waiting for all of us. There's extraordinarlly important information we all desperately need in this revelation, but those who get it are forbidden to share it. The Truth that Jesus Christ is Lord is written on every human heart. We all have that knowledge inside us, but we bury it under mountains of pain and anger. Those steps clear away that garbage inside you, letting God heal you, so that his words boom clearly inside your soul. The entire point of our existence here is to Trust God enough that we pay him this mustard seed of Faith, so his Grace can remove the stain sin has left on our souls. Everyone that does not get this Grace is not forgiven of any of their sins, even if they turned around and we're the best person from 25 to death. Without Grace those first sins are still counted against you, tying you to the devil's punishment. It's not about being a good person, It's about being forgiven for when you weren't. The Bible is Truth. Please do those steps and see for yourself. Please take your salvation seriously:
I have watched this way too many times, but something about it makes me keep coming back
Really cool! Just getting into the DMing and D&D in general.
Most of what is presented here was already in my consideration: cheat sheets everywhere, background music is a must, a folder of useful info (custom characters etc...). The soda ring tip was really neat, and it would be nice to at least have some sort of enemy/item tokens ready. I'm planning to draw them myself if needed. This is really to the point and handy!
This is the analog equivalent of a frggin' spaceship interface. This elaborate set up should give everyone greater respect for GMs and how much they do. And also Matt's beautifully organized anti-chaos station here. Thanks for showing us behind your curtain!
Side note for any GMs looking to add sound to your game as he recommended I personally have had a lot of success using something called syrinscape. You can individually buy sound sets or pay a small monthly to access they're whole library as well as acquire any new soundsets they release during your monthly payments for free.
Yea, it was also used in a promotion during the goblin one-shot he did
There's also Tabletop Audio. It's free but not remotely as extensive or customizable Syrinscape. It offers a little over 100 music tracks, each for a different environment, and is a great option if you're on a budget.
Also, on some of the subreddits this series of Spotify playlists was posted by u/bezoing today and you can follow some links in the comments to even more playlists.
www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/5963qe/inprogress_curated_spotify_playlists_i_use_in_my/
If you're a video game player, you can also capture audio directly from in-game using any number of tools. Find an out-of-the-way spot in, say, Witcher 3 or Skyrim (or any other game) and record about five minutes of the ambient sound. after a couple of years of this, I have a couple hundred sound clips from every genre. I used Foobar 2000 to organize all of my sounds, and just set them to loop.
Very versatile, very quick, and free. Plus it works with any genre, and you can also add in sounds you've downloaded from places like Tabletop Audio.
I have learned so much from listening to Matthew. What a man.
I wish I had time to go back to watching Critical Role. Matt's campaign is sooo entertaining, but I know if I start again I'll never get assignments done on time.
Tharanak I use it as background while I work, because it's the story, not the faces, so maybe try that?
I hated my job till I realised I could treat critical role as a podcast. Now I'm just listening to critical role the whole day (it's gonna suck when I'm all caught up tho)
best takeaways personally: party specific cheat sheets, hourglass, soda bottle status indicators. fantastic.
My setup:
-Laptop for music (the screen's turned off most of the time) (I usually select another set of tracks in advance, so I half the time I only need to press enter to change music).
-dice
-a few blank pages for noting down things on the run
Then again, I'm a huge fan of keeping the rules as simple as possible (for example, I never use any rules that aren't in the core rulebook (by which I mean- the ones that come in sourcebooks)- In my experience they encourage munchkinism and they don't really make the game any better. If a player wants to do something that's impossible by the base rules I just houserule it) so I rarely need to refererence the rulebook more than once a session.
I have a home board DM screen made of cardboard.
Craft paper taped on my side where I can write notes.
Two notebooks. One with the planned encounters and other things and the other for taking session notes.
3 sets of dice.
Dice tray.
My phone for music.
2-3 books.
I never realized a GM screen had sooooo much behind it. I've been RPing on online games like WoW and FFXIV, but i've been watching these DM tips to help with ideas. If I decide to try actual tabletop D&D i'll certainly keep these in mind.
As a long time DM, I find this to be a great source for both beginners and veteran GM's alike.
How would you handle two of your players deciding to attack an animated suit of armour by slapping it around the helmet with fish? yes this happened to me in my Wednesday night session this week
Peter Calcutt Great question.
First question: What are the players hoping to accomplish? What is the goal behind the action?
Are they trying to defeat the armor? Are they trying to make the armor less attractive? Make it easily identified? Or are they just spending a turn doing comedic nonsense?
Once you have the desired effect, you can tailor the resolution to that.
One situation might be an improvised weapon attack. Another might be an Aid action to another's Charisma check, or a Perception check. Or you might just have then roll dice to inspire a silly result.
The armour was standing on a narrow bridge over a fast flowing river that the party needed to cross. as they approached the armour declared, "None shall pass!" the desired end result was defeating the armour. Why did they use fish instead of their own (More effective) weapons.
The two players who opted to use fish were honest about having recognized i was borrowing from a well know scene in a Monty Python film and so opted to respond with an attack inspired by a sketch from Monty Python. oh and as the party moved off post fight one of the party did say, "And now for something completely diffrent."
Peter Calcutt 'None shall pass' pretty much explained it. Improvised weapons rules with silly descriptions seems to be the way to adjudicate this in my opinion.
I think in this rare scenario it was your fault for unleashing classic humor and not expecting a silly result. I mean the armor should at least lose a few joints and decide on a draw.
interesting
That is just the perfect video I needed to see. I'm going to DM for the first time soon, and videos from Matt Mercer and many other youtubers like this are going to help a lot.
Thank you thank you.
Jesus Christ... I'm just getting into D&D and never realized how much went into it. I just seen the screen at first and thought "that's not to bad" then he brought out a fucking binder... "Nevermind"
Before you get discouraged, Matt is at the professional, broadcastable level of being a DM. My first game was hand drawn maps, chess pieces, and a phone for dice rolling.
No shit - after years and years and years of playing D&D, I finally managed to get a DM screen and this was the first video I looked up a second time for a reminder.
Thanks, Matt!
Justice ain't gonna dispense itself
Woah there
Now hold on...
binary1123 your my huckleberry
It’s high tide
Tessfishy kinda already said this for the summer skin but I can't resist...ITS HIIIIIIGH NOOON
This might be the single most usefull video i have seen you do for GMs Matt.
"DM life-hack: Use empty dice boxes with d20’s in each for each member of the party to quickly roll Perception or Insight rolls for the whole party at once (grab all from both sides and "shake gently" back on the table)." Not my idea, but I use it and makes life easier.
I'm a new Dm finally after 3 years of playing D&D. Yet, I'm still learning from young Mercer.
This is a BIG help. Thanks for posting this! Please post more!!! ^_^
The idea that someone so busy would spend this much time preparing for a game is so awesome. There is hope for society yet.
Oh god I wish they went to the hut in the Feywilds to meet Wodena now! Also holy shiz Vex would have become Fey if she accepted Sondurs offer! God I love this story :D
I've just noticed that as the video is closing, there's a slow zoom out going on-doubled back to the start to check that yes, the opening also includes a slow zooming in. Pretty neat.
I want Matthew Mercer to narrate my life in a Dungeon Master-esque way
Ooohhh Behind the magic screen! Man what I would not give to have him as my DM.
I know this isn't the point. I know I'm supposed to. But I totally paused the video and tried to glean every last bit of information I could from Mercer's notes XD
I’m just glad he acknowledges how often we DMs are flying by the seat of our pants
"and finally over here, I have a little cameo of Marisha (with a lovespell penciled in around it of course), to remind me that with great power.. comes great responsibility" :)
This video was very daunting for me as a first time DM trying to get informed of what I should be doing. The most important thing of all, is to level expectations with your group. I am relatively new to D&D, but we had a few very knowlegable players, who would help me with the rule bits, while I could go wild on spinning a tale and a world for them. It ended up a very enjoyable (three-part) oneshot. The few things that were super helpful:
- lists of names to be thrown in (some even were two-line character ideas that I had ready to become NPC whenever they were useful)
- a well-cemented mental image of the surrounding's aesthetic and style, rather than a fleshed out map. That way I could always improvise new areas on the spot, while giving the players the feeling of being in a contiguous, complete world.
- that little list of character's passive perception, with added columns for who's who and reusable initiative.
- dice
How to DM like a BAMF: GM Tips with Matt Mercer.
P.S. What's up with Kraghammer???
(Spoilers for new Critters watching from the very beginning.)
Vox Machina never went to or checked in with Kraghammer post-Underdark, after the destruction of Emon upon the conclave's arrival. Why?
It's always baffled me that they'd forget about a massive, heavily fortified Dwarven fortress-city under a mountain range.
They have mentioned it in some planning sessions, other places seemed more vital to reach at the time. I would say Kraghammer is fairly safe since it would be very hard to assault without a burrowing speed(iirc only the blue dragon has that).
White dragons can burrow as well. :)
...
+ClockworkThistle Spoilers?
Actually, they kind of did. Someone went back to collect the party's bounty, remember? Scanlan tried to sneak himself some extra gold and it didn't go so well. They weren't well-liked, so it was a short trip.
Wonderful advice. What I need know is being able to get my players to make it to the sessions.
Seems a bit overwhelming, but as of now I'm playing as a player at my gamestore for DND league. Played one game and its pretty fun! When I actually get to play with my friends I'm going to have to be the dungeon master. I like how DND is a very social game so I think it will be worth it to get good at dming. Thanks for the tips!
I responded to another guy, and I know this is 2 months old, but don't think you need to be anywhere near that level to run a campaign. The series is called GM Tips, not GM Rules. As long as you and your players have fun, it doesn't matter how you run your campaign.
I’m new to dnd, but the way this is all set up is incredible! From someone who always assumed it was some nerdy stuff, this looks like so much fun
Spoilers from the Feywild:
How i wish they had gone into Wodana's hut now! I would have dearly loved to hear the answers to those questions and hear Sondur's history. Ah, all those times when the brilliance of Matt is kept from our eyes. Thanks for the tiny sneak peek though! I'm hoping some of this is what will be revealed in his campaign book.
Yeah... As a fellow DM, I can relate to that. I have amassed quite a bit of stuff my players probably won't ever get to see. That's the beauty and the flaw of tabletop RPGs. The player's imagination is the limit, and sometimes it goes in other directions.
what does it say on the sheet? I can't really read it :(
Our current group had a great little idea that's worked well for us.
During encounters it was at times hard to get an overview of when it was your turn, so to counter this, we cut some cardboard into rectangular tiles and bend them in half. On one side we wrote a character name, on the other their base stats like AC, Max HP, passive perception and what not that the DM might like to have. Then when combat starts the DM takes note of the initiative like always and then mount the little tile of the individual whom turn it is, on the DM screen, more tiles gets up as we get on with the round. Then we made a few tiles named Enemy, where the DM could write what he wanted on the back, like "enemy 1" or what, so he could follow the progression.
This made an intuitive system, where the players always know when it's their turn and the DM gets what info he wants from the encounter. If more enemies or allies entered combat, they'd just add in more tiles.
"GIMM TIPS!" - Travis
Watching Matt GM makes me so happy, he is king!
OOOOOHHHHH nice and professionnal this time around !
Very helping even to older DMs ike myself.
But you are the lucky one... you have a whole table for your need... i have like only 1/3rd that space and thus i have no GM screen except my Tablet. I also hate hidden rolls. which by watching critical role you also hate to fudge dices. 8)
next episodes... initiatives perhaps ? how do you manage big encounters like the kevdak fight ?
Tried being a GM once and the experience scarred me for life, I will be up for gaming anytime but hell will freeze over the day I accept to run a campaign again.
Would it be a bad idea to suggest that whatever character does all the shape shifting (i.e. druid changing their own form) to obtain minis of their own rather than expecting the DM to go out and get them? This would not only take the burden off the DM for having them on hand (and spending more for that matter) but also allow the player to get a hold of a custom or otherwise really cool variant to represent their character in a new form?
My fiancee for example is considering using a metal mini she spotted once that was originally designed for use in another game to take the place of her fire elemental form. Not only could this allow her to better express how she would like her character to look in that form, but it would also help to differentiate it from any potential enemy NPCs of that nature where we would be sure to run into them. This of course would be the case for other elements as well.
What do you think? How would YOU like to do this?
geoffrey lewis Thats actually the most common solution. Matt just worries more about aesthetics than most.
Anthony Ruggieri Much appreciated for the clarification.
Not to mention in the case of Marisha and Matt at least, they are together so they probably sort of co-own the minis, like parents with children!😂
Late, but I would totally do this for my own druid but ONLY if I felt confident that a *random* death was not going to happen lol
God... This guy is good at holding his viewers attention. I would love for him to DM my very first D&D experience and teach me the ways.
I was wanting to learn to be a gm, but after watching this video i am effectively intimidated. I don't think i could ever keep track of all of the stuff he just showed us.Where would i find the time to compile a binder full of notes on the campaign i am running? I guess i was naive in thinking that GM'ing was going to be accessible and that the screen and a copy of the player's manual and gm manual would be enough.
bluestripetiger hey everyone has their own GM-ing style, obviously Matt is incredible at it but you can get by with a lot less resources. If you need help with the campaign notes maybe try running one of the pre made adventures like LMoP or you can even find home brew campaigns online
I know this is 3 months old, but dude do not think you have to be anywhere near that level to run a campaign. Matt has been playing this game for over a decade now, and is a professional voice actor.
I have run a few games myself with nothing to go off of besides, "Uh, you're fighting an orc raiding party on a mountain top. You explore the mountains? Ok, you encounter a small village at the base of the valley. Oh, you wanna check out the village... uh... uh... Random NPC with a silly voice! He tells you all about the village, as well as its issues with raiding parties, and some strange circumstances that now tie in with my plot line!"
It's all about having fun. It doesn't matter if you don't have miniatures, or notes, or even a screen to keep things behind. Get some friends, tell a story, and roll some dice. Screw up the rules, because it makes for some hilarious moments. Let that one player of yours make his wild and crazy decision to stuff a suit of armor with herbs, only to light it on fire during combat and get everyone high.
Hope this helped you, and good luck random internet person.
Lol. I love those crazy scenes. Like a Dragon Disciple unable to contain his belching while getting tanked at the bar.
Most people only prepare the content for their next session, and the rest of the notes aren't needed.
When I tried a stint as GM for my group I had a notebook full of prepared stuff, a scratchpad, a couple of photocopied visual aids from premade adventure modules I was borrowing material from and the core 3 books. Most encounters were done with maps I had laid out on graph paper before hand then drew straight onto the battle map in real time and most of the minis I used were the same 20-odd bloodbowl players with numbers written on the bases that just made useful markers "number one is a troll, number 2 is in plate armour, the rest are orcs in studded leather". Matt may be what DMs aspire to but you can get by with a lot less and everyone will still have a great time.
Been staring at this screen from the front for so long it's fun to see what Matt sees every week.
I wish I could be a player in one of Mercers campaigns. :(
Always wanted to see what Matt had back there. Very neat & organized!