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I am soooooooooooooooo happy for you both, but I need the opposite 😅 how to end a year long campaign. I love my group but... the story is growing too big and they want more. I feel like a Marvel screenwriter after Endgame.
Love the new series and direction you’re taking the channel. Such good things that need to be discussed snd just really aren’t in much of the WOTC content. Thank you so much for giving us y’all’s particular take, thoughts, and opinions on it!!
There is an article by Angry DM about player types. The article breaks down the player types into easier to understand terms. For example, I'm an individual/co-operative player. Basically, I try to make unique characters, and I enjoy the spotlight as an individual player. However, I'm also a co-operative player; I like to work co-operatively, but I'm usually very quiet. As long as I can feel unique, and work co-operatively with the players and the DM to help tell a most importantly fun experience and secondly tell a story, I'm usually pretty happy as a player.
My players were always most engaged when tossed something to murder every few minutes. Introducing any sort of npc dialogue or puzzles beyond pushing a big red button to open an obvious door were sure fire ways to see the eyes glaze over or the phones to come out. Most of the campaigns that I ran had to be adjusted into a ceaseless gauntlet of death.
You guys are great, and I've really grown to love this channel. Never played D&D until 5e, and I've taken a ton of great tips from this channel. Thank you both!
I just listened to this over on the Patreon podcast twice! Such a good conversation. Thanks for being the most thoughtful RPG talking heads on the internets (again)!
I really appreciate the "recap moment" at the start of a game to help players jump right back into the game engaged. Where the players all recount what happened during the last session, one by one. And if needed at the end, the DM can remind them of some big moments or decisions in character that the players maybe forgot about. Or maybe clear up some confusion when they out of character got their in character information mixed up. It's surprising how often players will just forget the middle of a session where their character was doing a whole lot of stuff.
Man, you need to get a new party. Cus like. That is literally unacceptable. If you haven't discussed it with them before like, bring it up with them that you put a lot of work into it, but. If they're gonna be playing video games while you're trying to run D&D, you're probably just gonna need a new group.
Really interesting timing on this video, the last session I dm'd we entirely scrapped the campaign we were doing and turned it into planescape because the players HATED Descent into Avernus
Would be cool to have less big episode, just cut in many pieces, and this you will be able to put in the names thes differents aspects. Sometime it's long for just a little info in the middle of it. But still good work and thanks for everything.
I feel the same way about player actions having meaningful consequences in the world. "Actions have consequences" is my #1 core GM principle. That said, I've run into some weirdness where some players really *dislike* that they're actions have consequences. It's like they're used to playing video-games with limited AI and pre-made plots. They seem to be looking to "feel powerful", but to them, "powerful" means that you can do whatever you want without actual consequences. You know, when low-status adventurers start yelling rudely at a Duke, or if they intimidate or kill a bunch of people as if they expected no impact on their reputation. This isn't Skyrim and you can't just say that you're the Jarl's Thane so everybody is okay with you openly murdering random people. I don't want to run a power-fantasy for someone; that's boring to me as it has no depth. I agree that we should take into account what players want, but we also need to take into account what we want as GMs. Sometimes it's okay to say to a player, "Yeah, you might not like this campaign. You might want to sit this one out." or "Hey, I've noticed that y'all have very different expectations than what I'm trying to deliver as a GM, so maybe we need to play a different style of game. I might not be the right GM for this group."
Really good video Team. It took me a long time to realise that its best if you have 0 expectations for the players and let them roam and provide them with different hooks to get them in the story. As a Gm who creates a lot of their own campaign setting, I always let the player create a part of the world, Whether that is their home town, or a whole country or even a culture. This way I find that it engages them in the world a whole lot more.
As always, the timing of topics is perfect for my needs. I’ve been having some trouble recently keeping a particular player engaged. Keep releasing based on what I need, and we won’t have any problems. 😄😄 (oh and good discussion and tips guys)
So weird. I recognized the old man from the thumbnail. You got that from the dude that draws ppl on the NY subway right? ...lol I think he's a tiktoker too.. Devon Rodriguez Art I believe .
For player engagement, I will just end a session when one player pulls out their phone or just is not paying attention. These players won't show up again do to the social pressure brought on by the fact that they prematurely ended the sesh for everyone OR the problem player will clean up their act. After 2 sessions everyone's on the same page and we're able to enjoy the game. I don't do this for "beer&pretzels" games, though. But that expectation is on the DM to make known.
I think there's also another "layer" of agency at the player-character level. It goes without saying that players should have agency over their characters but sometimes the mechanics or scenario restrict their character and how they behave/change. I think despite Pendragon's traits/madness rules, it offers a lot of dials on how to play the character due to the classless nature.
If as a player I start to feel like the DM is patronizing us - ignoring dice rolls and just giving things to us, no risk in combat, really blatant railroading... I tend to check out. And its really hard to get me to re-engage, at least over the course of the rest of that session. It no longer becomes capable for me to treat it as "real" at that point.
Always great watching and listening to your thoughts, guys! Getting a sense of players' expectations and also, as a DM, checking your own expectations, is a great starting place to get a solid campaign going whereby everyone buys in!
Do you guys think D&D 5e is hitting that point of bloat where new subclasses just feel like "oh this is just a better version of this" or that the new subclasses step on old classes toes (why would anyone play a beast master Ranger at this point with all the other summoning spells out there)
How do you keep a player somewhat engaged between sessions? I have a player that has a great time at the table but when I text him about backstory or character direction between sessions, I get ghosted.
How do you deal with a player that won't bite on any of the hooks you throw at them? I throw obvious clues are obvious but they avoid them like the plague.
What if there's disconnects between different players at your table? At our table we've started to see more and more conflict between 3/4 players, who are starting to get more into the world, role-playing, and how our characters fit into the world (and their interactions/relationships with one another), while the fourth just wants us to hurry up and finish doing boring RP stuff and get to the combat mission. So, in our case, the things that are driving player engagement are more and more two totally separate things and it's been hard to do what the majority wants without that one player getting frustrated that we aren't kicking in doors and murdering constantly.
I dont get why players do voices out of character. It is really unimmersive when the orc says "I use flurry of blows" or the dwarf asks if his racial bonus against poison applies to what he just drunk.
I just have to say that these intros get cheesier and cheesier and I hope that you guys do not hold back for as long as this channel lives. I am currently listening to this as I'm driving home and I cringed so hard that I nearly drove into the left lane. Love these intros guys they make my day, no they make my week!
Pruitt: Okay so we're gonna try to make it seem that Jim is giving me a ring. DM: Alright, that's gonna be a Sleight of Hand check. Jim, dumped dexterity: Um, really? Not Performance, huh. DM: You two are in different different rooms, doing this over webcam. So yeah that's gonna be a Sleight of Hand. Pruitt: Come on man, we got this. *Rolls Nat 20* Jim: ...Alright. *Rolls Nat 1*
One thing I like to do is allow players to control multiple aspects of their story, similar to the id, ego, and super-ego. The players have a champion, but they can also play the role of the Sage, who is their "coach/elder/teacher/lover/etc." This scrying character is sort of the putty that fills the cracks of metagaming. They can discuss their champion as someone else, but still have to maintain the idea that this person talking about the champion exists in the same world. Similarly, they can command a servant (played by me the DM) to deal with the minutia of tracking shopping, downtime, camping, etc. But the player has a very liberal say in how the servant and champion interact. Additionally, Whenever we arrive to a new location or meet a contact, I usually try to set up the most relatable background to have the most knowledge. "you've heard rumors of this person/location in your travels. What is the name it/they go by? And what rumors have you heard about it/them?" Naming a ship, shop, cave, or a local contact... describing a trinket, outfit, etc. These always seem to wake players up.
This was a nice vid! Something I was hoping might get addressed but didn't was players latching on to very different kinds of engagement, but some of them just not having any patience for what engages others. You sort of know the type - people who insist the party be together even for all social encounters because they can't stand not being involved for even a second? They pull out their phone and start talking amongst themselves the moment another player tries to do their own thing for even a second? It kind of strips character identity for those who want it or the ability for other people to engage in the way they wanted to. Hell this even avoids my own feelings (because DM culture somehow combines toxic masculinity and motherhood) where I just get bored running nothing but murder-hoboing and boring-ass combat encounters with no prior prep or strategizing. Stealth and survival and exploration are apparently too boring for me to include - for the more vocal half of my group it's like pulling teeth. Hell even social encounters turn into "did they kiss the ground I walk on? If not they gon' die" followed by "Ah man it sucks why did you make it so that there's no civilized places we're welcome anymore?"
Great stuff! Thanks for the notes on engaging the player, versus the character, and which is more important. This will immediately help me with one of my own dilemmas tonight. It doesn't matter if I put his centaur directly in the spotlight if the interaction doesn't interest him as a bro. Perhaps the Wild Hunt will joke with his character using locker room talk, toilet humor, and put-downs rather than immediately taking up arms in a skirmish. As long as the rest of the room "gets what I'm doing" I bet it will draw him in. Then when the insults get too personal, they might brawl (as was the original plan) but the player will be in his element, and not just hanging with the rest of us nerds. And to quote Sir Pat Stew: "Engage!"
more people should see that, dont you think? Heres a D&D version thanks to the Spiffing Brit: "Table top RPG" "Boardgames" "Minecraft" "ASMR" "Web DM" "Dungons and Dragons" "music" "Fortnite" "Matthew Colville" "Dingo Doodles" “TH-cam is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits.” "Runescape" "World of Warcraft" "Shadowlands" "Puffin Forest" "JoCat" "Warzone" "Critical Role" "100 Thieves" "Call of Duty" "Nerdarchy" "Pokemon" "Pokemon cards" "card unboxing" "Charizard" "they don't want you to know" "Flat earth" "round earth" "triangle earth" "the earth is not earth" "what even is earth if not earth omg government is lying to you" "Minecraft" "ASMR" "Dungons and Dragons"" "music" "Fortnite" Dingo Doodles" "Nerdarchy" "Perfect" "Drink" “TH-cam is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits.” "Runescape" "World of Warcraft" "Alignment" "TARRASQUE" "Shadowlands" "DnD Beyond" "JoCat" "Warzone" "Critical Role" "100 Thieves" "Call of Duty" "Pokemon" "Halo" "Devil may cry" “TH-cam is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits.” “Cocomelon” “t series” “Minecraft" "ASMR" "Dungons and Dragons"" "music" "Fortnite" Dingo Doodles" "Matthew Colville" "Web DM" “TH-cam is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits.” "Runescape" "World of Warcraft" "Shadowlands" "Puffin Forest" "JoCat" "Warzone" "Critical Role" "100 Thieves" "Call of Duty" "Pokemon" "Pokemon cards" "Nerdarchy" "card unboxing" "Charizard" "they don't want you to know" "Flat earth" "round earth" "triangle earth" "the earth is not earth" "what even is earth if not earth omg government is lying to you" "Minecraft" "Food" "ASMR" "Dungons and Dragons"" "music" "Fortnite" Dingo Doodles" “TH-cam is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits.” "Runescape" "World of Warcraft" "Shadowlands" "Puffin Forest" "JoCat" "Warzone" "Critical Role" "100 Thieves" "Call of Duty" "Pokemon" "Halo" "Devil may cry" “TH-cam is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits.” “Cocomelon” "Web DM" "feats" “t series” "Matthew Colville"
As who plays with a few 40k players, while we love a good combat The social intrigue and puzzles are actually a good break for us. That being said sometimes we just want to kick ass and take names
This is a great talk. It hits home for us small town players/DMs because we only have a few people to play with but need to accommodate everyone or we dont play. Keeping track of everything as the DM is hard and leads to lots of note taking but is rewarding at the end.
The DM is not their mother. He/she's not take their order for snacks and cater to their every whims. The game works when it goes both directions, when both the DM and the players are getting what they need out of the game. If the DM is putting energy into the game and a player isn't giving anything back, time to have a talk and it the behavior persists, time to show them the door. Don't be a codependent DM.
I'm always trying to engage my players especially new ones. I just gave a group of new/fairly new players each a baby griffon or griffon egg and established this year long training process based on another video on griffons and how to train them. The druid loves hunting with her baby griffon everyday and teaching it while it grows and she knows that like a baby if she ignores it it might leave or get depressed.
The FATE system has a core mechanic that allows players to add details to the story and the environment, and I personally think that's a great way to help keep players engaged and also take the heat off the DM.
![[Full Episode] The Restaurant War Thailand ศึกพ่อค้าซ่าแม่ค้าแซ่บ Episode 2 | 29 ก.ย. 67](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/r3lfLNH6Ke4/mqdefault.jpg)
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Dnd is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits
I am soooooooooooooooo happy for you both, but I need the opposite 😅 how to end a year long campaign. I love my group but... the story is growing too big and they want more. I feel like a Marvel screenwriter after Endgame.
Come for the Title, stay for the Proficiency in Sleight of Hand during the opening skit
Misread this as "How to Make Your Players More Enraged"
Most DMs don't really need our help with that.
I thought that too and thought the thumbnail was a joke about how Bernie was enraged about how Biden stole his presidency.
"How to Make Your Players More Engorged."
When Web DM responded to this comment, I really felt that.
@@alexanderchippel Trump is the one who had the Presidency stolen.
Love the new series and direction you’re taking the channel. Such good things that need to be discussed snd just really aren’t in much of the WOTC content. Thank you so much for giving us y’all’s particular take, thoughts, and opinions on it!!
Thank you Alexander!
That opening was beautiful. Congrats and hope you have a long and happy marriage!
I'm pro game-marriage
I always feel engaged by the comedic skit intros. Some damn fine work boys.
There is an article by Angry DM about player types. The article breaks down the player types into easier to understand terms. For example, I'm an individual/co-operative player. Basically, I try to make unique characters, and I enjoy the spotlight as an individual player. However, I'm also a co-operative player; I like to work co-operatively, but I'm usually very quiet. As long as I can feel unique, and work co-operatively with the players and the DM to help tell a most importantly fun experience and secondly tell a story, I'm usually pretty happy as a player.
that intro... well done, boys. /salute
The illusion was FLAWLESS!
Them ring graphix! so good
My players were always most engaged when tossed something to murder every few minutes. Introducing any sort of npc dialogue or puzzles beyond pushing a big red button to open an obvious door were sure fire ways to see the eyes glaze over or the phones to come out. Most of the campaigns that I ran had to be adjusted into a ceaseless gauntlet of death.
Ceep up the good work! And keep up the fantastic intros!
That intro thou. And all the shippers rejoiced. ;P
I actually cheered. Quarantine is getting to me.
real groovy guys
That thumb nail 💀
Divert all power to the cringe shields! The intro is incoming!
Jk 🤠
“Great Expectations” 😂 “engagement”
Best opening in awhile! I was dying 🤣
Love you guys. Keep on.
That ring pass though, A+ distance filming
I completely forgot it was distanced watching it lol
I can't believe they actually got legally married to eachother for that intro skit
I was just thinking - what do other filmmakers pay Industrial Light & Magic for, if such realism can be achieved here?
That intro made me pause and like the video just straight off the bat
I liked this immediately when I saw Pruitt "take" the "ring" from Jim. F***ing bravo. That is my favorite intro yet 🤣
This opening did not go in the direction I thought it would, haha. Props on the ring handoff over Zoom.
Could you do a video on creature types and why are they way they are or thoughts on it
Thanks for the request!
You guys are great, and I've really grown to love this channel. Never played D&D until 5e, and I've taken a ton of great tips from this channel. Thank you both!
The handoff at 0:44 made me laugh so hard I literally got a leg cramp. Thanks Web DM.
Both their wives: "ugh finally!"
I always love your guy's and Nerdarchy's openings.
TIDBITS
(whispers) tidbits
I just listened to this over on the Patreon podcast twice! Such a good conversation. Thanks for being the most thoughtful RPG talking heads on the internets (again)!
I saw this title on FB and thought “man there’s a joke there” and guess what, you guys nailed it
I’ve been with my group for 30 years, since high school and AD&D 2nd edition. I still don’t have them figured out! LOL 😢 😆
Same here, but 25 years... I don't have them figured out either LOL!
"Come on dude you're not an elf" had me laughing out loud 😆
Love the thumbnail!
I really appreciate the "recap moment" at the start of a game to help players jump right back into the game engaged. Where the players all recount what happened during the last session, one by one. And if needed at the end, the DM can remind them of some big moments or decisions in character that the players maybe forgot about. Or maybe clear up some confusion when they out of character got their in character information mixed up. It's surprising how often players will just forget the middle of a session where their character was doing a whole lot of stuff.
At this point, I would be happy with any engagement or my PCs turning on their cams and not playing video games on other screens during a session.
Man, you need to get a new party. Cus like. That is literally unacceptable. If you haven't discussed it with them before like, bring it up with them that you put a lot of work into it, but. If they're gonna be playing video games while you're trying to run D&D, you're probably just gonna need a new group.
Can you guys get mike Shea from sly flourish on the show?
Really interesting timing on this video, the last session I dm'd we entirely scrapped the campaign we were doing and turned it into planescape because the players HATED Descent into Avernus
not surprising
Really Bernie lol stupid but funny.
We love Bernie!
Would be cool to have less big episode, just cut in many pieces, and this you will be able to put in the names thes differents aspects. Sometime it's long for just a little info in the middle of it. But still good work and thanks for everything.
That ring switch intro was so awful it made me hit like immediately.
I feel the same way about player actions having meaningful consequences in the world. "Actions have consequences" is my #1 core GM principle.
That said, I've run into some weirdness where some players really *dislike* that they're actions have consequences. It's like they're used to playing video-games with limited AI and pre-made plots. They seem to be looking to "feel powerful", but to them, "powerful" means that you can do whatever you want without actual consequences. You know, when low-status adventurers start yelling rudely at a Duke, or if they intimidate or kill a bunch of people as if they expected no impact on their reputation. This isn't Skyrim and you can't just say that you're the Jarl's Thane so everybody is okay with you openly murdering random people. I don't want to run a power-fantasy for someone; that's boring to me as it has no depth.
I agree that we should take into account what players want, but we also need to take into account what we want as GMs. Sometimes it's okay to say to a player, "Yeah, you might not like this campaign. You might want to sit this one out." or "Hey, I've noticed that y'all have very different expectations than what I'm trying to deliver as a GM, so maybe we need to play a different style of game. I might not be the right GM for this group."
I don't even know my player's names in real life. Makes it easier to kill their PCs.
good thing I'm not lactose intolerant, cos that intro was CHEEEEESE lol
Thoughts as the intro unfolded: "Well, yeah....we all saw this coming!"
With that preview image and that opening, the next video might have to be “how to be dank af”
Ugh. I need this to work for me. My players have a bad habit of being on they're phone or being distracted a lot
We've been there! Let us know what you think of the video!
Have a zero tolerance no-electronics rule. If someone is not going to play the game, then he _doesn't_ play the game.
Player type can change with adventure context.
The Cliff Notes of the Cliff Notes of 'Great Expectations'
He said yes! He said yes!
But, what does this have to do with Bernie's mittens!??
We needed Pruitt looking uninterested and we love Bernie so there's ya go
This series is fantastic! An episode on describing in game combat would be amazing to see also
Really good video Team. It took me a long time to realise that its best if you have 0 expectations for the players and let them roam and provide them with different hooks to get them in the story. As a Gm who creates a lot of their own campaign setting, I always let the player create a part of the world, Whether that is their home town, or a whole country or even a culture. This way I find that it engages them in the world a whole lot more.
As always, the timing of topics is perfect for my needs. I’ve been having some trouble recently keeping a particular player engaged. Keep releasing based on what I need, and we won’t have any problems. 😄😄 (oh and good discussion and tips guys)
So weird. I recognized the old man from the thumbnail. You got that from the dude that draws ppl on the NY subway right? ...lol I think he's a tiktoker too..
Devon Rodriguez Art I believe .
For player engagement, I will just end a session when one player pulls out their phone or just is not paying attention. These players won't show up again do to the social pressure brought on by the fact that they prematurely ended the sesh for everyone OR the problem player will clean up their act. After 2 sessions everyone's on the same page and we're able to enjoy the game.
I don't do this for "beer&pretzels" games, though. But that expectation is on the DM to make known.
Ugh, I never knew I needed Jim & Pruitt so much! Thanks for the laugh, you made my day, I missed watching your wacky skits
Okay, that handoff was adorable
My partner and I have been together almost 20 years and I still haven't popped the question with a ring. You guys may have inspired me to do it. :-)
Pruitt's reading Grate Expectations by Edmund Wells, the well-known Dutch author.
I think there's also another "layer" of agency at the player-character level.
It goes without saying that players should have agency over their characters but sometimes the mechanics or scenario restrict their character and how they behave/change. I think despite Pendragon's traits/madness rules, it offers a lot of dials on how to play the character due to the classless nature.
If as a player I start to feel like the DM is patronizing us - ignoring dice rolls and just giving things to us, no risk in combat, really blatant railroading... I tend to check out. And its really hard to get me to re-engage, at least over the course of the rest of that session. It no longer becomes capable for me to treat it as "real" at that point.
Always great watching and listening to your thoughts, guys! Getting a sense of players' expectations and also, as a DM, checking your own expectations, is a great starting place to get a solid campaign going whereby everyone buys in!
You got a like from the intro alone my guys! Keep up the awesome work!
Do you guys think D&D 5e is hitting that point of bloat where new subclasses just feel like "oh this is just a better version of this" or that the new subclasses step on old classes toes (why would anyone play a beast master Ranger at this point with all the other summoning spells out there)
How do you keep a player somewhat engaged between sessions? I have a player that has a great time at the table but when I text him about backstory or character direction between sessions, I get ghosted.
excellent opening. not sure if i'm impressed or disappointed in the horrible pun...either way, got my like.
How do you deal with a player that won't bite on any of the hooks you throw at them? I throw obvious clues are obvious but they avoid them like the plague.
God dammit, only came for the thumbnail, and the thumbnail isn't even in the video again. I feel betrayed.
I really miss the stingers at the end.
pruit's face has a highlighter green 6 on hid face. I can also see a reflection of a blue screenin his glasses, is he working a old old dos machine...
I clicked on this video just because of thr Bernie meme/thumbnail lol
I had to watch that again. Do they normally do split screen or was that for the pandemic?
Getting flashback for Violet death in the glasses reflection....
What if there's disconnects between different players at your table? At our table we've started to see more and more conflict between 3/4 players, who are starting to get more into the world, role-playing, and how our characters fit into the world (and their interactions/relationships with one another), while the fourth just wants us to hurry up and finish doing boring RP stuff and get to the combat mission. So, in our case, the things that are driving player engagement are more and more two totally separate things and it's been hard to do what the majority wants without that one player getting frustrated that we aren't kicking in doors and murdering constantly.
When you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody.
And the oscar goes to... wait what's WebDM?
*gives a ring*
Well that's one way to become more engaged 😂😂😂
this intro is too much LMFAO XD love you guys
sorry excuse me but I heard that dungeon fog now features light passing through doors and windows and I screamed "WHAT?" outloud
It's super cool!!
I dont get why players do voices out of character. It is really unimmersive when the orc says "I use flurry of blows" or the dwarf asks if his racial bonus against poison applies to what he just drunk.
That's just how some players are more comfortable! We do that sometimes too. Comfort is more engaging than discomfort to us.
I’m realizing now that you’ve got subscribers who have never seen you two together in person and it makes me sad
Next month it'll be a year since we were in person together
I just have to say that these intros get cheesier and cheesier and I hope that you guys do not hold back for as long as this channel lives. I am currently listening to this as I'm driving home and I cringed so hard that I nearly drove into the left lane. Love these intros guys they make my day, no they make my week!
Drive safe, friend!
I can't believe the thumbnail
We love Bernie and we saw an opportunity
@@WebDM make hay while the sun is shining
The beginning is so cringy! Lol but good video
Pruitt: Okay so we're gonna try to make it seem that Jim is giving me a ring.
DM: Alright, that's gonna be a Sleight of Hand check.
Jim, dumped dexterity: Um, really? Not Performance, huh.
DM: You two are in different different rooms, doing this over webcam. So yeah that's gonna be a Sleight of Hand.
Pruitt: Come on man, we got this. *Rolls Nat 20*
Jim: ...Alright. *Rolls Nat 1*
Dude on the left comes off as uptight as hell
One thing I like to do is allow players to control multiple aspects of their story, similar to the id, ego, and super-ego.
The players have a champion, but they can also play the role of the Sage, who is their "coach/elder/teacher/lover/etc." This scrying character is sort of the putty that fills the cracks of metagaming. They can discuss their champion as someone else, but still have to maintain the idea that this person talking about the champion exists in the same world.
Similarly, they can command a servant (played by me the DM) to deal with the minutia of tracking shopping, downtime, camping, etc. But the player has a very liberal say in how the servant and champion interact.
Additionally, Whenever we arrive to a new location or meet a contact, I usually try to set up the most relatable background to have the most knowledge. "you've heard rumors of this person/location in your travels. What is the name it/they go by? And what rumors have you heard about it/them?" Naming a ship, shop, cave, or a local contact... describing a trinket, outfit, etc. These always seem to wake players up.
This was a nice vid! Something I was hoping might get addressed but didn't was players latching on to very different kinds of engagement, but some of them just not having any patience for what engages others. You sort of know the type - people who insist the party be together even for all social encounters because they can't stand not being involved for even a second? They pull out their phone and start talking amongst themselves the moment another player tries to do their own thing for even a second? It kind of strips character identity for those who want it or the ability for other people to engage in the way they wanted to.
Hell this even avoids my own feelings (because DM culture somehow combines toxic masculinity and motherhood) where I just get bored running nothing but murder-hoboing and boring-ass combat encounters with no prior prep or strategizing. Stealth and survival and exploration are apparently too boring for me to include - for the more vocal half of my group it's like pulling teeth. Hell even social encounters turn into "did they kiss the ground I walk on? If not they gon' die" followed by "Ah man it sucks why did you make it so that there's no civilized places we're welcome anymore?"
I guess Bernie's runner up prize for the presidency was a cameo on a Web DM thumbnail.
Great stuff! Thanks for the notes on engaging the player, versus the character, and which is more important. This will immediately help me with one of my own dilemmas tonight. It doesn't matter if I put his centaur directly in the spotlight if the interaction doesn't interest him as a bro. Perhaps the Wild Hunt will joke with his character using locker room talk, toilet humor, and put-downs rather than immediately taking up arms in a skirmish. As long as the rest of the room "gets what I'm doing" I bet it will draw him in. Then when the insults get too personal, they might brawl (as was the original plan) but the player will be in his element, and not just hanging with the rest of us nerds. And to quote Sir Pat Stew: "Engage!"
more people should see that, dont you think?
Heres a D&D version thanks to the Spiffing Brit: "Table top RPG" "Boardgames" "Minecraft" "ASMR" "Web DM" "Dungons and Dragons" "music" "Fortnite" "Matthew Colville" "Dingo Doodles" “TH-cam is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits.” "Runescape" "World of Warcraft" "Shadowlands" "Puffin Forest" "JoCat" "Warzone" "Critical Role" "100 Thieves" "Call of Duty" "Nerdarchy" "Pokemon" "Pokemon cards" "card unboxing" "Charizard" "they don't want you to know" "Flat earth" "round earth" "triangle earth" "the earth is not earth" "what even is earth if not earth omg government is lying to you" "Minecraft" "ASMR" "Dungons and Dragons"" "music" "Fortnite" Dingo Doodles" "Nerdarchy" "Perfect" "Drink" “TH-cam is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits.” "Runescape" "World of Warcraft" "Alignment" "TARRASQUE" "Shadowlands" "DnD Beyond" "JoCat" "Warzone" "Critical Role" "100 Thieves" "Call of Duty" "Pokemon" "Halo" "Devil may cry" “TH-cam is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits.” “Cocomelon” “t series” “Minecraft" "ASMR" "Dungons and Dragons"" "music" "Fortnite" Dingo Doodles" "Matthew Colville" "Web DM" “TH-cam is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits.” "Runescape" "World of Warcraft" "Shadowlands" "Puffin Forest" "JoCat" "Warzone" "Critical Role" "100 Thieves" "Call of Duty" "Pokemon" "Pokemon cards" "Nerdarchy" "card unboxing" "Charizard" "they don't want you to know" "Flat earth" "round earth" "triangle earth" "the earth is not earth" "what even is earth if not earth omg government is lying to you" "Minecraft" "Food" "ASMR" "Dungons and Dragons"" "music" "Fortnite" Dingo Doodles" “TH-cam is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits.” "Runescape" "World of Warcraft" "Shadowlands" "Puffin Forest" "JoCat" "Warzone" "Critical Role" "100 Thieves" "Call of Duty" "Pokemon" "Halo" "Devil may cry" “TH-cam is a perfectly balanced game with no exploits.” “Cocomelon” "Web DM" "feats" “t series” "Matthew Colville"
Mazel tov. (Yeesh.)
As who plays with a few 40k players, while we love a good combat The social intrigue and puzzles are actually a good break for us. That being said sometimes we just want to kick ass and take names
I was blessed by that intro.
Bernie memes are always a winner😂😂😂
This is a great talk. It hits home for us small town players/DMs because we only have a few people to play with but need to accommodate everyone or we dont play. Keeping track of everything as the DM is hard and leads to lots of note taking but is rewarding at the end.
Alright!!! Double Bachelor parties!!! Since I'm in Wisconsin, of course I'll bring the beer...
Truly lol! Love it!
The DM is not their mother. He/she's not take their order for snacks and cater to their every whims. The game works when it goes both directions, when both the DM and the players are getting what they need out of the game. If the DM is putting energy into the game and a player isn't giving anything back, time to have a talk and it the behavior persists, time to show them the door. Don't be a codependent DM.
I'm always trying to engage my players especially new ones. I just gave a group of new/fairly new players each a baby griffon or griffon egg and established this year long training process based on another video on griffons and how to train them. The druid loves hunting with her baby griffon everyday and teaching it while it grows and she knows that like a baby if she ignores it it might leave or get depressed.
Haha great opening so funny
I can't quite articulate how timely this video is for me, so I'll just ask: were you watching my game session last week??
The FATE system has a core mechanic that allows players to add details to the story and the environment, and I personally think that's a great way to help keep players engaged and also take the heat off the DM.
Jim's half deadpan, half cheshire cat acting in that intro was too spot on. Really smart. Pruitt wasn't bad either.