Owlbear Rodeo for Lazy DMs - Lazy RPG Tips

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025

ความคิดเห็น • 97

  • @bobkile5311
    @bobkile5311 ปีที่แล้ว +96

    I use one token for "the party" until we need it for combat. Simplifies navigation and exploration even more (this is for in person play btw)

    • @Tgauchsin
      @Tgauchsin 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      You can attach them together.

  • @trajektoria
    @trajektoria ปีที่แล้ว +44

    I love the trick with the fog of war and the torch, I definitely want to use it at some point. I'd love to see more Owlbear videos with more advanced lazy tricks.

  • @dbf1dware
    @dbf1dware ปีที่แล้ว +13

    I started supporting (as a Bestling, the higher tier since I can afford it) the OwlBear "team" (I think it really is just those two people) more than a year ago simply because I wanted to help ensure they kept developing it. I have sent them a few emails with questions, suggestions, etc. They have been shockingly responsive and implemented some things I hoped for (but I doubt it was simply because I suggested it; I'm sure I was but one of many making the suggestion). I am using it for my current campaign and absolutely LOVE IT. I would recommend adding the Initiative Tracker and Dice Roller add-ons (which is SUPER simple), and that is about all you need (other than uploading your specific maps and such as described here). Great VTT, and great "lazy DM" intro.

  • @shiromakoto
    @shiromakoto ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Owlbear Rodeo is my favorite VTT! I just love how it's so improv friendly and it's so easy to do things on the spot. My DM style is way more leaned towards being lazy AND improv so it works really well for me. I'm definitely the targeted audience for this video.

  • @Webhead123
    @Webhead123 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    "Don't worry about the grid." Yes! Some of the best advice ever! I understand why some people can get so hung up on keeping their grids and making them perfect...but it's SO much easier and more flexible and makes your maps look SO much better if you don't force yourself to stick to the grid systems.

  • @JunMiyazaki
    @JunMiyazaki ปีที่แล้ว +11

    I love OBR2. Simple, easy to use. My DM used Roll20 before, but last session he asked me to help set up a quick map in OBR, because it much faster and easier.

  • @Dyundu
    @Dyundu ปีที่แล้ว +10

    I’m still wrapping my head around OBR 2. This is well timed, and much appreciated. Thank you!

  • @BoardGameClub
    @BoardGameClub หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    This saved me on my first time DMing in 20 years. Thanks!

  • @laioren
    @laioren ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I love your "lazy GM" approach. I use Owlbear a lot, so I knew all of these things already. And I think you did a great job homing in on the important stuff. Having a resource like your video here that I can beam to other people who want to GM is SUPER useful. Thanks so much for all the work that went into this, and for sharing it.

  • @beavcoug7132
    @beavcoug7132 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I would love to watch some of your live play showing how you actually use owlbear rodeo in a live example.

  • @sumdude4281
    @sumdude4281 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    OB is a superior product b/c its easy, perfect for lazy DMs. I want the OB people to know that their strength is its simplicity. 2.0 is a bit more complex, and its fine, I'm adapting but it has required a learning curve. I was a bit hot about it. If you continue to make it more complex what's the point? Stay with your strength, simplicity. TY for the video. Great stuff. excellent bit on attachments and fog of war. I learned something new!

  • @JohnPowell6
    @JohnPowell6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I use OBR for all my online play since v1 came out. I have also started using it for face to face play. I use my laptop for the GM view and control of the map, and put a 12" iPad on the table for the players to see the map and move their tokens around. I also use circular fog cut-out shapes and attach those to the players with the torches. My players thought this was really cool.

  • @ikitkrallenhand5131
    @ikitkrallenhand5131 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I have never seen or used such a programm and I am simply amazed how easy it was. Really glad I did not skip this video.

  • @edwardromero3580
    @edwardromero3580 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Thank you so much for this. I just started using Owlbear Rodeo for my Shadowdark campaign and this tutorial is exactly what I needed to make sense of it. Much appreciated.

  • @bjornprompeler9424
    @bjornprompeler9424 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Bless you (or magic weapon if you prefer) for explaining the torch solution 🥰⚔️🔥

  • @richarddufault
    @richarddufault ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Awesome! I created my OBR account last week - this is perfect timing.

  • @EdS-du2wu
    @EdS-du2wu 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    One way to use scenes and maps separately which helps extremely well. Is you use the field as a scene and then add a separate baker and butchers shop as map stamps that get overlayed on top of your scene.

  • @mirokss17
    @mirokss17 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    as a first time player, this video helped me a lot, im "dming" with friends that never played also, so we were having fun already using Miro as our board, Owlbear will be an awesome experience!

  • @sinmaan7568
    @sinmaan7568 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great video! Would love a video about your full setting...from your audio/video and how it is set up, as well as how you show OBR through it with the player's camera on. Many thanks for all this work!

  • @SalsaDoom1840
    @SalsaDoom1840 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I must admit I went through a bit of change shock when OBR 2 came out. I rage quit a few times trying to align the grids in game and sometimes lost maps entirely for some reason when I was mucking around with lines of vision. I have grown to love it now with just a few adjustments. I love the idea of the dynamic fog circle and objects, thanks again for all the good ideas Mike.

  • @DavidAlastairHayden
    @DavidAlastairHayden 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Thank you! I’m starting a Shadowdark campaign next week, and I had already chosen Owlbear Rodeo. These tips were great.

  • @Deadshot15
    @Deadshot15 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thanks Mike, I am tinkering with the idea of DMing professionally down the road and am looking at all the VTTs. Simplicity and the feel of the table are important. Struggling with a lot of nitpicky stuff is a barrier so I like what I am seeing with OB2. Thanks for the video. :)

  • @jojozxc1234
    @jojozxc1234 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    What a timely video. I just used Owlbear rodeo to try out Cairn RPG weeks ago, and I’m thinking of using it for DnD. Then you posted this video. ❤

  • @ZombieDireWolf
    @ZombieDireWolf ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I Love 2.0 now but the initial switch was a pain but i did love the idea of being able to add extensions to the system. I would love love to see you cover the extension Smoke & Spectre! where you can set up dynamic fog of war per person.

  • @sheepmans
    @sheepmans ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Great vid. About to start using this VTT for my Dolmenwood campaign. The biggest USP for me is how mobile-friendly it is (so we can easily use it for playing in-person instead of needing to carry around a battlemat or laptops).
    Btw, the reason why doubling the grid size seems to make more sense is cus Dyson Logos’ maps assume 10-foot squares (instead of the standard 5-foot).

  • @hasturnz1445
    @hasturnz1445 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    brilliant!, I liked your 1.0 video but was confounded by the 2.0 update, now I feel like I've got a chance of navigating this one too. As many have noted - it's key strength is / was in following the KISS principle!

  • @BittyVids
    @BittyVids ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I’m a huge foundry user but I’m glad OBR exists.

  • @maecenusx345
    @maecenusx345 ปีที่แล้ว

    I spent many many hours configuring maps, tokens, fog of war, monsters, furniture, etc with Owlbear 1. I did have the Owlbear file saved but apparently it was so huge when uploading to Owlbear 2 that I would need like 3 subscriptions to upload that file. So now I am going through the process of configuring all the maps and tokens and what not all over again from scratch.

  • @SteveVanderArk
    @SteveVanderArk ปีที่แล้ว +1

    In my in-person games, I use a lot of visual aids like NPC cards, images of monsters, and so on. I also have maps and images showing on the video screens in my game room for reference. I can do that same thing with my online groups by dropping images, not just maps, onto the OBR tabletop. Off t one side, I add a general map of the territory to the scene for the players to reference. When a monster turns up, I drop an image right onto the tabletop (and not the image from the MM since most of my players know the WotC artwork and would recognize it immediately). Most of the sets of NPC or noticeboard cards I've purchased included a pdf version so I can drop in pictures of the people the players are talking to or the town noticeboard, along with a nice image of the town itself. I realize that none of this would be considered part of the "Lazy" style of set-up. But it's cool to discover just how easily OBR allows you to translate your in-person game into the virtual realm if you want to take that next step. Owlbear Rodeo is literally a shared virtual tabletop where you can place any image you like. It's not confined to maps.

  • @JlsvH
    @JlsvH ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Owlbear is such a great program. I use it to run EZD6 and HeroKids for my sons.

  • @71rwtd
    @71rwtd ปีที่แล้ว

    I have been waiting for something like this for years, thanks for getting it out there and with great explanation!

  • @calif94577
    @calif94577 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    So not lazy but there is an extension that makes fog of war so much better without alerting the players that there’s “a secret” behind a black box. But it does require some work upfront to draw all the walls. Honestly I love how powerful the app is and still free.

  • @MisterMr2.775
    @MisterMr2.775 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    thanks for the video, it looks great and im exciting to start using it

  • @parttimelibrarian
    @parttimelibrarian ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This was an awesome tutorial! Thank you.

  • @BrunoGallant
    @BrunoGallant 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Awesome. Going to use this for my first Pathfinder 2e game.

  • @JPToto
    @JPToto ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Awesome getting started guide. Thanks so much!

  • @cdfreester
    @cdfreester ปีที่แล้ว

    This was great, Mike. Thanks for the quick instruction. I am one of those reluctant switchers, but I think with some use I will come to like 2.0 as much as 1.0.

  • @Gashren
    @Gashren ปีที่แล้ว

    Very nice overview of the Owlbear Rodeo! I'll definitely will check it out.

  • @kquixotic
    @kquixotic ปีที่แล้ว

    OBR 2.0 took some getting used to as a long-time 1.0 user, but now I love it. The extensions are great on top of how fluid the site is overall. I've been able to realize I need an image to show my players, or a need a sheep token when one of them has Polymorph cast on them, and can get it in super quick.

  • @EliotLash
    @EliotLash ปีที่แล้ว

    I love OBR! I get so frustrated by game sessions derailed by technical issues with fancy VTTs. For my D&D mini-campaign I ditched the fancy VTT and replaced it with three much simpler tools: OBR, D&D Beyond for player sheets and rolls, and Improved Initiative for DM rolls and initiative tracking. I had to have a few more windows open but it was a small price to pay for zero downtime due to technical troubleshooting.

  • @dustincoopermusic
    @dustincoopermusic ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I have been using Owlbear for the past 8 months, and was thinking about upping my VTT game to Roll20... but you know, I really am convinced I need to stick with Owlbear since it's been so good for us (and is super easy). Thanks for the advice!

  • @missmeaghanj2482
    @missmeaghanj2482 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    This is cool. I want to try it.

  • @joeblooda
    @joeblooda 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thanks so much! It's so simple and useful!

  • @menakles
    @menakles 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Thank you!! I've just started using Owlbear Rodeo and this video has answered so many questions for me.
    One tip I discovered that you didn't mention is that RMB activates the laser pointer without having to use the toolbar.

  • @gigamancer1
    @gigamancer1 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Thank you for giving Owlbear some attention! It is an amazing tool, and just complex enough for what I want without all the bloat of other VTT's. I use OBR for my games, along with DDB and my trusty google doc. Recently they had another update which changed the atlas (button was moved back to lower toolbar, much better imo), but I did not have a problem adapting. I found it much easier on my workflow. I like that the tools allow for complex things, with trial and experimentation, but are simple to use from the get-go. I pay for the fledgling for storage space, am running the Dungeon in a Box campaign 3 currently, and having a blast!

    • @MarvinFaktes
      @MarvinFaktes 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      May I ask what you have in your google doc? Im using Google sheets. Im new.

    • @gigamancer1
      @gigamancer1 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@MarvinFaktes lots of bullet points and summaries, mostly. I'm running the Dungeon in a Box adventure, so I have a module booklet to work out of but I'll type out things I want to keep straight in my head. Like scrips or bits of narration, I'm not super great at improv, yet. I also keep track important points as far as what NPC's know/want, things like that. Very similar to how I'd type/re-type my notes from college days.

  • @gegegebebebe5087
    @gegegebebebe5087 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love Owlbear Rodeo. Since I've seen it the first time you mentioned it in your videos I mostly use O.R for my online games.
    Thx for showing it and big thanks for your videos. Late merry XMAS and a happy new year, to you, your family and your community. (=

  • @noshow
    @noshow 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    This video was so incredibly helpful! Thank you so much!

  • @johannab253
    @johannab253 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Just finished, what do you think about some of the extensions for OBR? I love the whole suite from battle-systems

  • @greegan6373
    @greegan6373 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Hey Mike I know this is old but on topic for my request. OBR has had some upgrades, real improvements over the last few months and I'm hoping to see a new vid from you on OBR soon.

  • @keithulhu
    @keithulhu ปีที่แล้ว +1

    With the pay model, are we seeing the enshittification of Owlbear Rodeo?

    • @SlyFlourish
      @SlyFlourish  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Nope. Charging customers for a service isn’t enshittification. That’s called commerce.

  • @Scottishstorm
    @Scottishstorm ปีที่แล้ว

    Very pleased with the video. I'm recommending it to a friend. I also subscribed. :)

  • @AukeSlotegraaf
    @AukeSlotegraaf ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Excellent intro!

  • @jasonz7788
    @jasonz7788 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Great job! thank you

  • @RedDiceDiaries
    @RedDiceDiaries ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Great video - thanks; comes at a good time since I'm hoping to start a WFRP 4E campaign soon and--although I use Foundry at the moment--I'm looking for something a bit simpler and quicker for the next campaign and I think this might be a contender :)

  • @adammcclendon431
    @adammcclendon431 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This was awesome!

  • @paralysekid
    @paralysekid 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Good, helpful video

  • @misterclinical
    @misterclinical ปีที่แล้ว

    Fantastic video! Can you explain the "You don't need the grid" more in depth? In my experience people tend to measure every square, so I do not understand how playing without a grid would work.

    • @SlyFlourish
      @SlyFlourish  ปีที่แล้ว +1

      slyflourish.com/the_abstract_battlemap.html

    • @misterclinical
      @misterclinical ปีที่แล้ว

      @@SlyFlourish Thanks so much. I've read all related articles on that topic and will definitely give it a shot now!

  • @DustinDustin00
    @DustinDustin00 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    This is great for getting setup lazy style -- a dice demo with multiple players would be my next interest. And character sheets? I realize it's system agnostic, but nearly every system does have a character sheet.

    • @SlyFlourish
      @SlyFlourish  9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Some with plugins.

  • @danrimo826
    @danrimo826 ปีที่แล้ว

    This is super helpful - thanks! What do you do for music? I have not yet found a solution for having synchronized sound for everyone.

  • @christianlangdon3766
    @christianlangdon3766 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    The fact this works on phones means that i can set up all the complex things on my laptop but than run the game as i do after work away from home with my phone along with others n3eding only their phone since i run a game over the whole east and west coast of players.

  • @Ykesha
    @Ykesha 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Appreciate you.

  • @charlescarpenter9098
    @charlescarpenter9098 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I actually don't find the fog polygon tool all that bad to use. It makes it easy to hide the secret rooms. (Still have the meta game issue of "that area there seems suspiciously empty", but that's just people)

  • @austinsmith1421
    @austinsmith1421 ปีที่แล้ว

    I like the features of 2.0 but when I switched I had a very hard time transferring the hundreds of maps and tokens I had for the campaign I was running. After finally getting everything transferred over after about 10 attempts. and deleting tons of duplicate tokens and maps. I saw that everything was completely unorganized and half the tokens places on maps were linked not to the tokens I had but to the duplicates I had deleted. I paid for the bigest subscription up to a year and I'd love to return to it at some point but it killed my campaign and probably 100 hrs of work.

  • @arnavgautam319
    @arnavgautam319 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Are these notes on Obsidian?😂
    It is uncanny how many notes I have taken on the platform to recognise it like this😂😂

  • @alfredsilver8566
    @alfredsilver8566 ปีที่แล้ว

    Dungeon alchemist map (foundry export) into Owlbear with the smoke and specter extension is really really cool. Import the foundry jpeg into the atlas. Open the smoke and spectre extension. Choose the corresponding dungeon alchemist foundry export JSON file import. Pick a token and I think it’s right click then grant vision and you have pretty much effortless line of sight map in owlbear which is the best in my opinion. My players like their own paper characters and physical dice.

  • @cricketerfrench7501
    @cricketerfrench7501 ปีที่แล้ว

    I guess I am not that lazy after all as I put in custom tokens. Also you can track initiative and HP of monsters very easily. Lastly, the Clash add on allows monster stats to be quickly imported into the game and makes them easy to run. This means in most cases I am not running anything else except the campaign book, oh and my lazy DM prep of course

  • @stevelyons1962
    @stevelyons1962 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +11

    I've spent the last month trying to decipher from poor videos how to use another VTT (I won't name it because I'm not up for trashing products). I've looked at Owlbear Rodeo for 10mins, probably less and the "how to" section alone has me switching over.

  • @schecter006
    @schecter006 ปีที่แล้ว

    Do people measure how far they can move and then move if not using grids?

  • @morsuljyn-dm
    @morsuljyn-dm หลายเดือนก่อน

    At 11:47, how did you get from Create a room to that screen showing the word Atlas? I've created my two free rooms and I can't find Atlas anywhere. Nothing that says Scenes or Maps (as per the tabs shown in the video), just a big screen full of the Room picture I chose when creating the room. Help!

  • @PapBek
    @PapBek ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Owlbear Rodeo 2.0 seems nice, but I am wondering what it's unique selling point is now.... 1.0 had the USP that it was extremely fast and easy to use, without complex account related stuff... 2.0 does not seem to be easier to use than, for example, roll20 or aboveVTT. If you spend a little time with those systems, you can also use most of the same lazy tips. And then they are fairly similar to use, and OB 2.0 does not seem to bring any real unique benefits anymore?! Please enlighten me!

    • @cdunlaply
      @cdunlaply 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I'm not sure about uniqueness, but the main selling point for me personally is that players don't need an account to play

    • @PapBek
      @PapBek 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@cdunlaply But with Owlbear Rodeo 2.0 they do, right?

    • @malakshah9769
      @malakshah9769 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      They don't ​@@PapBek

    • @HereComeMrCee-Jay
      @HereComeMrCee-Jay 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@PapBekYou can join the room as a guest I believe.

  • @jonwooldridge3766
    @jonwooldridge3766 ปีที่แล้ว

    I have been using Owlbear Rodeo (1.0) for several years, and my group and I have loved it. I would like to see a video covering more lazy tricks if you are up to it. The only frustration we have is that when using the dice roller, there does not seem to be an option to show individual die rolls for the sake of Advantage/Disadvantage. Did I miss something, is there a function that allows this in 2.0?

    • @GreenThingonTV
      @GreenThingonTV ปีที่แล้ว

      Yes. Below the list of dice in the extension is a "+/-" button. Clicking on this opens a menu to add modifiers and/or select Advantage/Disadvantage.

  • @Ccagesniper
    @Ccagesniper 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    you can be even lazier and use grid snapping by using those preset map tiles and just using the Fog of war tool to create the map layout itself. Worries about your players looking ahead? don't worry! It doesn't exist yet till you say they see it.

  • @jefftothealbright
    @jefftothealbright ปีที่แล้ว

    Didn't Mike recommend a free set of VTT tokens from the DMs Guild recently? I can't find that part of the video or it's in another video that's hidden now. Anyone know where I can get the entire Monster Manual's VTTs for free?

    • @SlyFlourish
      @SlyFlourish  ปีที่แล้ว

      The menagerie tokens by EN World on DrivethruRPG

  • @chancewilson1161
    @chancewilson1161 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Getting a TON of input lag, any clues?

    • @HereComeMrCee-Jay
      @HereComeMrCee-Jay 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I had occasionally problems w this on my old laptop, but never on my new one. I assume it was RAM resources but can't say for sure.

  • @johannab253
    @johannab253 ปีที่แล้ว

    Yuuuuuuuuussss

  • @dbaymiller
    @dbaymiller 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    👏👏👏👏🙏🙏🙏

  • @ДенисМалышок
    @ДенисМалышок 25 วันที่ผ่านมา

    Look like the figma can do absolutely the same things