"Saying 'no, you can't' is just as valid as saying 'yes, you can'" "Dumping a player is always an option. You can have friends who're not fun to play D&D with." Simple but powerful advice from the DM himself.
I’ve had family members who were awful to play with but I didn’t dump them because I didn’t want to cause problems. It caused me to almost quit the hobby.
Chris is one of the three people that ultimately inspired me to get into DMing, because when he was running DCA he would occasionally pick up the rule book itself and look for clarification. Proving everybody makes mistakes or forgets some rules.
One of the things I learned from Chris was that it's okay to just read out the rules to the players verbatim when you use a spell or monster ability. It creates a sort of clarity for the players: "I am putting these rules in front of you to ensure that you know I'm running this encounter in a way that is fair and according to the rules."
My favorite moment was when he was running a live show for Aqc Inc when Tomb of Annihilation came out, and he said, "Let me check my notes..." and then picked up the book. Like, what a nerd flex!
My favorite idea for a Gelatinous Cube that I haven't used is to have a few Mimics inside. A group of Mimics, each disguised as a different object, using the cube to travel to other areas of the dungeon. Since they are immune to acid, they won't be harmed and if the players "notice" that the items seem unharmed, they may even assume they are magical objects.
A lot of what I learned about pacing in Roleplaying Games I learned from watching Chris run Dice, Camera, Action, especially since those were 2 hour sessions, so they had to be tight. The players would usually start off with some freedom to make their own plans, then somewhere in the 30-60 minute mark, something would happen and inject chaos, whether it was an ambush, or a new NPC showing up, or some other unexpected element that changed the course of the game and injected a little chaos. I call that the "Tilt", and I actively plan for it in my games. I don't know when it will happen, but I'll use it if the game is dragging or I just need to switch things up. I also noticed that if the players spent too long discussing plans or waffling on a decision, Chris would interject with something like, "Paultin, you see....." or "Evelyn, make a perception check...." It's such a simple trick, but it immediately snaps the players' attention back to "in character", as they realize that things are still happening around them while they've been plotting.
That first season of DCA taught me so much. Little things like murderbot, big things like helping a player who is struggling. No one I knew played, I at least knew the rules, so I was the defacto DM. The people I dragged to the game love it now - and Chris is completely responsible for that, none of it would have happened without his contribution to that series.
*50* minutes of Chris Perkins? Christmas came early!! I can honestly listen to him talk about anything D&D without end, so thanks a lot for doing this video
@TheCoulsonlax My favorite is still his extremely short appearance as Spurts the kobold in the Mighty Nein campaign. He came in, threw a caged nest of wasps at a fire giant and was crushed like a over ripe watermelon. We barely knew him.
I normally can't stand watching other people play D&D, but Chris Perkins is the only exception. Loved his Descent into Avernus One-Shot, teached me how to be malevolent in a cool way.
God I’ve missed Chris. The robot chicken game where he added dm commentary was one of the first pieces of D&D content that got me hooked. I hope he does another dice camera action type series soon.
I wish Chris's old DM's Experience articles from 4e were more easily accessible, because so many of the tips in this video are right there, complete with examples in play from his own campaigns--how he preps sessions, what to do when a player hogs the spotlight, making characters (especially villains) cool and memorable, etc. They're awesome stuff!
Definitely a great move getting Chris back on to talk hobby. It's really key to keep key ambassadors in the public eye to stop the faceless corporate element overshadowing the hobby space
So exciting! I first encountered D&D from the Acquisitions Incorporated live shows with Chris Perkins the DM. Now, I've been DM-ing for a few years with my group of friends. So excited to hear advice from my favorite DM!
Chris is why I've become a DM for the last 3 years. I'll never forget DCA and how it inspired me to tell my own stories. Your the best Chris! We love you man!
Chris is the DM I’ve learned the most from over the years. His games are so much more an accurate representation of being a Dungeon Master. You’re not usually going to have actors or Improv comedians at your table like other shows. No disrespect to other streams. Those shows are fun to watch, but Chris keeps it real and is more relatable. Awesome guy and awesome DM.
1st time going to SDCC in 15-20 years and got to see Chris do this live. It was a highlight of the con. Happy others can watch this great presentation.
I started playing back about the same time as Chris. We had the 3 original booklets as far as "rules". His point about the rules are to help guide playing is spot on. We had to fill in the blanks ourselves. Mr. " rule guy" , hadnt been invented yet.
How do you do that? Well, you start by DMing when you are 10 and never stop. Jokes aside I really appreciate that someone I admire as much as Chris Perkins shares their wisdom. If this helps me to be a tiny little fraction closer to being a DM like him is a huge help already.
DM of 40+ years here. All good stuff. Side note, for my "loading wheel" I will stare at the computer screen or "at papers" behind my DM screen like I'm reading, but I'm really just thinking. lol
Love this video. My one critique: please when doing long-form interviews like this, include a chapter breakdown of the video with timestamps. I'm sure I'm not the only person who comes back to videos like these later looking for a specific part of it. Not needing to scrub through it would be nice for referencing.
Thank you Chris it was your audio only episode with Penny Arcade that got me into DND. I followed their progress all throughout and eventually started to DM myself. You are a gem and longform content with you is always a pleasure to watch.
Re: how long to prep - especially for new DMs, prep only as much as you are okay prepping if the game bombs after 1 session. Your new players probably aren’t as initially enthusiastic as you are about this new venture. I have read a lot of horror story testimonies about an excited new DM that spent 200 hours on worldbuilding, for a table that was distracted by phones and didn’t continue after session 1. If you would be resentful toward players for not engaging with certain content, don’t prep it yet. If you love worldbuilding for its own sake and it’s relaxing / a great creative outlet, then by all means go for it.
THIS IS WHAT A NEEDED!! I've been struggling to understand what i should be doing / preparing as a DM and finally someone just lays it out! i took so many notes while watching this and feel so confident now to DM for my friends!
To Chris - thank you for the gift of D&D you gave to so many people by helping start the actual play movement with Acq Inc. That’s how I got into it. To those of you wishing you have more Chris to watch- He has a multiple year long campaign he ran on TH-cam called Dice Camera Action.
In reference to the quetion, "What if PCs don't want to engage with my prepared content", I will often ask them: "Well, what would you rather do?" Then I will just stall for bit, maybe with a random encounter or two, just to get through the current session, that way I have time between sessions to prep something they said they would enjoy.
THANK YOU FOR THIS!!! I am a new DM because my kids all pushed to start playing. We are playing the Lost Mines of Phandelver and these tips are all gold for me!!!
Yes, thank you! The DM is absolutely a storyteller. They create all the content and tell the players what happens when they try to do stuff. Character death should be touched on in session zero. I would not ask my players for suggestions on a ruling. I feel that this is the DM's job to handle and could cause issues in other situations. Sharing the spotlight is the DM's responsibility. Take the focus off the spotlight hog, make them wait until it's their turn. Don't dump the player until after you have talked to them and given them a chance to correct their disruptive behavior. The dungeon roomba! A slope where the cube slides down and hits the whole party. Korg has a high squeeky voice and he's a rock. Sometimes subverting expectations works. Dodging plot hooks makes for a bad player. Make an adventurer, not someone that needs motivation to go adventuring. Even a paladin can use treasure to donate to further their cause. Always have something else prepared, namely a couple 'random' encounters. If nothing else, improv some roleplaying. Do not play fast music to try and motivate your players into action. Look directly at a player and ask "What do you do?" Slow player - warn them that they will be forced to take the dodge action if they can't decide in a reasonable amount of time. Players enjoy a challenge much more than feeling powerful. When the boss is way too easy, it's not fun. There should be risk vs. reward, not an easy win. Get better at designing encounters! How do you become a better DM? Practice! as both a player and DM. Do not try to emulate other DM's style. You are not a professional voice actor, so watching one won't make you a better DM unless you are trying to learn to do funny voices. Learn the rules, be familiar with your players character's abilities. Read the forums, watch youtube videos on DM advice and horror stories. Listen to your player's feedback and be open to critisism. Thanks Todd and Chris! This was fun.
a couple of things I would add as a 20 Year GM: 1. the GM can have many Roles but he is also a Player and it is no shame in asking for help or letting your Players have some of your normal Responsibilities. Recapping or locking up rules are common ones. Also hosting the Game itself can take off a burden of the GM. 2. Prepare as much as you need to feel comfortable. It may take some experimentation to find out how much this is for you. For example I usually prep very much before the Campaign and almost nothing during the Campaign. 3. While listening is very valuable and useful: don't listen too much. Try to keep at least some Pace or your some Players will only talk and the Story won't progress at all which can be frustrating in the long run. 4. Be clear how common Death will be in your Game before it starts. If you don't know communicate this clearly and ask how they would like to handle Deaths before they happen this softens the Blow should it actually happen. 5. to link your Campaign to your PCs try to ask leading Questions in Session 0 or ask with the Players beforehand. Try to ask Questions that help you fill in the Blanks in your Campaign or link their Backgrounds to specific points in the Story. "What is your greatest Enemy?" "Who Cursed you and why?" "What is your family heirloom?" are all great Questions. 6. You don't have to only play DnD. If you house rule too much maybe try a different System. 7. Remember the rule of cool. Sometimes just let things succeed just because they are wicked awesome. 8. the Cube Challenge: Creating a giant Chessboard that consists of hardened and colored gelatinous Cubes. Maybe they have a spell on them and using a special Item from the Dungeon turns them back? Maybe some NPCs have this Item and can try to trap the Pcs and the PCs could try to get those items to use against the Enemy? 9. if you create an NPC on the fly try some shortcut: Use an Animal as a template. Maybe a Thief is like an arrogant Cat? Or the Guard is a friendly dog? try to think of 3 interesting Things for each NPC. 10. I personally don't like to skip without warning. It can really hurt some Players who waited for their turn or really wanted to roleplay more. Ask instead. "Could we skip or do you want to do something else?" But try to be strikt: "Okay you can play another short szene but then we move on"
The best Gelatinous Cube I have ever DM'ed was the intelligent one in Out of the Abyss. The party adopted it and it traveled with them for a significant portion of the campaign.
I would add what I think is the most important tip for becoming a better DM: do it more and experiment. Watching other GMs is a good source of inspiration but it won't be much help if you don't get the practice in. Run more games with more people, with other systems, play with other genres, fiddle with new mechanics. And sometimes that even means watching other GMs less because you're too busy preping your next session.
Can vouch for watching other DMs. I've learned so much watching Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford. Watching the guy who wrote the rules allow his players to circumvent them (Galdur's Tower in Acq Inc anybody?) is a liberating experience lol
I just found this video. I have to chime in on DM’s being the actor for all the NPC’s. Finding their motivations is a wonderful method on how to play them. As well as giving them a vice and virtue. I’ve found this so helpful that in my campaigns I have eliminated alignments. I will ask my players to think up a character design including a vice, virtue and motivation along with their backstory. That is enough to govern your player. I always encourage my players to have their PC’s grow and evolve and I love seeing scoundrel ranger whom is a loner and cautious of people become so fused with the group they can’t fathom being without them. The pendulum swings with characters and it creates incredible story moments. NOW there are characters that are inherently evil suck as a vampire or mind flayer but that is derived from their motivations and cosmic corruption that only truly evil NPC s can possess from influences from Gods, Demons and inter-dimensional beings. I’ve found by doing this understanding what makes the vampire lord or the illithid or even the orc commander is far more influential and connects with players more readily than simply “I’m lawful good and you’re chaotic evil we must fight!” When a player sees or feels the motivation it almost humanizes the villain creating a moral struggle. Most times I find drama is what people want to see in games and it’s so easy to create it using this method.
I bought the starter set way back in 2014 with no clue what I'd picked up. Sat confused and unable to comprehend how to play. I watched aq Inc. when Chris was DM. Learned what on earth d&d was and I still DM for a group to this day. So sorry Chris. But watching Chris perkins is good advice. At least 1 new DM was born because of it 👍
Gelatinous Cube Challenge: Several tiny cubes inside various tubes and pipes. The tubes and pipes are part of a bagpipe-like instrument. The cubes are telepathically connected to the musician playing the instrument and can move at high speeds to produce different notes. They also eliminate stray spittle. One or several pipes can be emergency evacuated, effectively firing the cubes as projectiles, after which the cubes may merge to form a larger cube.
My gelatinaus cube challenge transforms the cube into terrain. This cube has had allot of food and has eaten the dungeon. There are gulps of air and fluids which give the adventures safe spaces to explore. Various things can calm, enrange, vacate, make playful the cube so there might be passages that open up with the impending doom that at any moment the cube might reclaim the room they are in and make navigating the maze more complicated.
our Barbarian Fighter 2h Axe first attack against our first boss became a crit (3.5e) which then became a full oneshot on the demon-possesed minotaur we fought. This "one shot" is still one of the all time great memories we have left from from that campaign ^^
Interesting use of a Gelatinous Cube. An inn that caters to adventurers and wealthy clientele has a captive Gelatinous Cube which they use as a garbage disposal and dishwasher. The Cube only dissolves organic matter, so they can safely toss all the earthenware plates and mugs and crockery, along with the metal utensils, into the Cube to have food and drink residue dissolved from them. Food prep waste could be thrown in by the kitchen staff, things like melon rinds, root vegetable peeling and animal bones and such! They may have a few pairs of alchemically treated gloves that resist the acid damage to reach in and safely retrieve the table and cook ware when the Cube is done! AAAHHH! I have to put this in my games now! Thank you, Chris Perkins, for issuing this wonderful challenge!!
Great, Great masterclass. Not obvious even for a lot of so called "expert" DMs. Key takeaway is: There is no dogma, all solution are different, viable tools, depending on the context. Good DMs knows when to use the hammer, when the clamps.
I would like to point out that altough 12:14 is funny, Descent into Avernus literally tells you that if the players don't do what Captain Zodge asks them to do, then kill them, while stating "maybe the next group of adventurers will be better at this". ;)
This was over the top fantastic and I absolutely adore it! 🥰🥰🥰 I have missed getting to see Chris run games and provide advice like this! --- Hope to see more videos like this going forward! 🥰🥰🥰
Chris can you please let me know why you made the changes in phandalin that you did? Why no half elves,? Why Bartholomew a woman when was a man? Why the spider instead of the black spider? Can you please answered these?
I think the general advice to always say "yes" to players is a good starting point and a fundamental. However, like all rules in DND you aren't bound to it. I had a player ask if they could shoot a firebolt at another player to have them act like a cartoon character and run across the water holding their butt and yelling. While hilarious, and I told them that, I said "No" that use of the spell doesn't work like that in this kind of campaign. I then recognized their desire to help their party members, gave them other ideas I thought of that might work, and they made their own idea from that. "Yes and" is a good reminder and usually the way to go, but the DM is a curator and also a player. "No but" is a completely valid way of sticking to boundaries while still offering ways to enable players. Edit - I wrote this earlier in the video when they were talking about the owlbear question but then saw he did actually bring it up at the end haha
Gelatinous³: The players enter a long hallway and a portcullis drops behind them with a hefty metal locking sound. There's a hallway to the right and a hallway ahead. The players eventually reach a single turn either way they choose because this hallway is a closed rectangle. At one corner of the rectangular hallway-loop is a door, at the diagonal - a small fist sized hole in the wall. Halfway down the long edges, a floor mechanism operates the two POI; but for the side that cannot be seen from the activation hallway. In other words, the switch is half the long side length plus the whole short side length away from what it activates. One switch opens the door while held down, the other fires a dart from the hole. The players may walk in a loop hearing the activation elsewhere more than once, but eventually the Gelatinous Cube enters through the portcullis. The Gel³ begins traveling around the loop, also activating the floor mechanisms (inconveniently timed in a way that doesn't just skip the encounter). The players may be shot by the darts suddenly or hear the door open despite not activating anything themselves. Played right, the players evade major combat losses and use the cube to free them and move onward. Played aggressively, they have to contend with an arrow-and-dart -filled porcupine of a cube; scraping down the hallways. If the cube is destroyed, there's nothing heavy enough now to hold the door open. Someone is getting left behind.
I usually have some heavy metal going in the background, not loud to be a distraction, but it does seem to set a bit of a pace, and without it there's a noticeable difference in the whole mood.
As a DM, something I do when I need time to think is to have the players randomly roll a perception check, history check, or insight check, and then ramble for a minute about nothing until I eventually have enough creative resources to circle back to what was actually relevant. So far I haven’t been called out for stalling, so I think it’s good advice.
Honestly if you are making your players roll checks to discover nothing of importance, because you need to delay them while you think of the next steps for the campaign, that sounds like a bad habit that wastes everybody's time. In scenarios where you don't know what the next step is for the campaign I would highly recommend being honest about this and saying you need to take 5 to get the next steps straightened out, rather than stalling your players. I think most players will appreciate "Wow guys, you found some creative solutions I didn't anticipate and took this in a direction I didn't expect. I'm going to need to take some time here to get the next steps of this campaign straightened out." more than hearing things like this a couple times in a row "the cliff is jagged and is littered with loose rocks twisting and grinding upon themselves. Erosion from rain has made dark spots within the cliff face, as mold grows and dies. You don't see or hear anyone here, just a lot of rocks and earth." Not trying to roast you. I've had the same habit in the past, but realized players appreciate an honest GM more than one who tries to put up a false act of having everything figured out at the expense of everyone's time.
@@kingjames3192 You’re welcome to dismiss my advice if you don’t think it would be appropriate at your table. I’m a DM at two tables: one bimonthly campaign that has been ongoing for two years, and one weekly that has run for four months or so. By my estimations, I have about 200 hours of DMing experience, more if you count one shots I’ve done. Believe me when I say I truly love this game. The improv does get easier the more you practice, so I find myself rarely relying on this tool these days, but this tool can be used constructively. I’ll give you an example in the form of a story that’s probably far too long for a TH-cam comment: I was DMing for a pickup game of DND for some friends of mine who had never played before and wanted to try it out. While they made some free characters on DNDBeyond, I had about 10-20 minutes of prep time, interrupted by them asking me questions about character creation. Therefore, I decided to rely heavily on tropes: they would be raiding a trapped ancient temple in the middle of a desert a la Egyptian tombs in movies. My players asked me difficult questions: Why was the temple built? Why did they decide to travel to the middle of the desert for it? What was so precious that the temple protected? I improvised the answers to all of these questions and the layout of the whole temple, drawing maps in real time on sheets of graph paper that I happened to have for one of my classes. A genie had convinced the now lost inhabitants of the region that he was a god and demanded a temple be built to his worship. A mage academy hired the party to recover an important magical artifact at the heart of the temple. The artifact was a stone said to contain the power of the sun. What was initially supposed to be a quick pickup game ended up being a compelling setting for my players. As I mentioned, I was creating and drawing the maps in real time. I drew the first room of the temple: a large room with an altar in the middle, a frayed rug leading up to the altar, and some carvings on the wall. In my head, I had already put the trigger of the first trap on a tile hidden under the rug leading up to the altar. I wanted to draw attention there by mentioning the rug specifically. I initially planned on having the carvings just be indecipherable hieroglyphics, but I had a player ask to examine the walls for secret doors. She failed her investigation check (I may have put a secret compartment had they passed). Then another player asked to inspect the altar and moved the quarter we were using for her character directly over where I had drawn the rug. Realizing I had not determined what kind of trap it would be, I paused and drew attention back to the player who had asked to inspect the walls. I used my tool. I had her roll a perception check. I then described the scenes they saw depicted on the walls: the Genie fighting a dragon, saving the ancient people from a giant worm, blessing a harvest, and I also foreshadowed an idea I had had for later in the dungeon: I described how carved in the wall were people surrounding a man in a sarcophagus, all of whom were themselves surrounded with deliberately carved points. On a successful religion check, a player learned that the scene was depicting a curse for those who interfered with the dungeon (they would later learn that the points were representing flies). I think your objection to my tool comes from your philosophy that a roll should only be made if there’s a point to it, something to succeed at- that a perception check should only be made if there’s something to be spotted, that a history check should only be made if there’s lore to be unearthed. Unnecessary rolls waste time, and if there’s nothing that would be left to chance, just narrate the result. This philosophy is probably a healthy one, but you can apply different philosophies at different times depending on what the situation calls for. My first counter to that is that players love to roll dice. They make dopamine-inducing clicking sounds. My second counter to this is that you can still immerse the players in the setting while being a bit ramble-y. My third counter to this is you can use this tool and give players value for their rolls. If they already suspect something , confirm it. If you’re running a pre-written module, you know a trove of information that your players probably don’t. Eke out some of that information. In the example I gave, the players learned how the genie convinced the builders of this temple that he was a god. I also foreshadowed a curse that I had laid ahead of them in the dungeon. If you’re wondering how I eventually resolved the trap, the tile triggered a giant spiked ball attached to a wooden beam which swung toward the player who stepped on it like a pendulum, before crashing into the altar, destroying it (the player succeed a Dex save and took no damage). The destruction of the altar released their first combat encounter, dust mephits, but also revealed stairs leading deeper down in the temple. We used candy to represent the mephits. And my players weren’t aware that I was stalling for time until I told them after the session had ended. If the players are all having fun, you’re doing DND right.
As an old-schooler I must say I was surprised to agree with almost all of this advice. The only bone of contention might be on the matter of TPK's. Option 1 - Let the dice fall where they may. This may wipe out the *current* party - but that doesn't mean a campaign has to end. There can always be *another* party of heroes enlisted to find the first party or continue their quest. I feel this was alluded to, but without the real consequence of character death - where's the threat? Where's the meaning to any action the characters take? That said, good video, great advice!
44:00 Our lvl 3 fighter delivered a sweet 20TP hit and 1shot my carefully designed Goblin Bully without him delivering his speech - at the beginning of the first combat round of course. My plan B of instantly doubling his HP was in vain as the fighter saw the impact of his big axe and action surged for an additional 25TP. He hast cleft him in twain... Plan C it was from then on.
Cube that is controlled by sentient object it absorbed and now Uber powerful entity wants freedom. This was actually super neat and I've always admired Chris's DMing. As an experienced DM I feel very validated! Also I love how his prep style is so similar to the Lazy DMG by Sly Flourish. Absolutely changed ,y DMing for the better. All these tips are soooooo goooood!!!
38:20 beloved pulp mystery writer Raymond Chandler was asked for advice on writer's block, and his response was "when you've written yourself into a corner, that's when two goons bust in guns blazing." Raiders, goblins, kobolds, fungal servants, mindflayer servant drow, the possibilities are endless.
I love Chris Perkins DM style, and it heavily influences the way I dm, and works for my table and we have a lot of fun. Sorry watch him DM the pax games with that group, we're now when did the group have to play d&d but also be entertaining for 3 hours of stage performance, and then later with dice camera action and that wonderful cast of crew. Chris wants his characters through adventures he's intimately aware of, Strahd, Chult, water deep, and his players involvement is rewarded with meaningful impact in the campaign worlds. The intrigue that Chris created and ran with one of his character is who had a vested interest in the spires of morning, (Lathander) which I have co-opted and canonize that character as a living saint in my worlds. He does so much, and you can see exactly the overlap with his DM styling and that he wrote most of these adventure books for 5E so the Free Flow of twisting and creation for story telling with his characters. Absolutely one of my favorite DMs, and would love to see more of his tables.
40:27 Another option is to let a player know when they're on deck (the next player to act, though not necessarily having the next turn, as when NP creatures follow the current player). You can tailor the prompt to the player, adding (e.g.) "so think about what your character will do" for players that tend to lag. The active verbal reminder goes well with the passive initiative display. It's rather like navigating for someone, where you keep them abreast of not only what's coming up, but what's after that.
I made a cube encounter where a dwarf mountain stronghold used it in essentially a giant septic system. The sewer/septic tank area was large, with multiple grate walls meant to filter debris from the water and the cube would dissolve everything it could like a biofilter. The multiple grate walls inhibited my players' movement though the sewer, but the cube could pass through them easily T-1000 style, though I would cut its speed in half as it passed through.
With regards to the social contract, if a player says, "my character wouldn't want to go on this quest." I'd respond with, "Make a character who does want to go on the quest." I'm glad Chris pointed this out. While TTRPGs are a social game, if the players have agreed to play this campaign, and the GM has put like 6-10 hours this week preparing the adventure, then it is very disrespectful to not participate in that adventure.
For the "let them die" option. In the first of the Monster Hunter Memoirs books (MHM: Grunge) by Larry Correia and John Ringo, the narrator character is a United States Marine in Beirut in the eighties. He goes to sleep in his bunk in the barracks and wakes up on the shores of a lake talking to an old guy named Pete who is fishing. He's told that he can go on ahead, or he can go back. If he goes back, there's a mission. He chooses to go back and is given a sign. The sign is 57.
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![DRAGONLANCE: SHADOW OF THE DRAGON QUEEN | Episode #1 | Dungeons & Dragons [DnD 5e]](/img/tr.png)
"Saying 'no, you can't' is just as valid as saying 'yes, you can'"
"Dumping a player is always an option. You can have friends who're not fun to play D&D with."
Simple but powerful advice from the DM himself.
That dumping a player thing, is great advice. I have always said that D&D is for everyone, however everyone isn't right for every table.
03:04 This is such a deja vu, I refuse to believe it's a new video.
I’ve had family members who were awful to play with but I didn’t dump them because I didn’t want to cause problems. It caused me to almost quit the hobby.
I've been DM-ing for twenty years and I still get that one guy who thinks I don't know what I'm doing. Never fails.
Longform content with Chris Perkins is the best present I could ever ask for. Thank you for this!
💯 agreed! His interview with Brian W Foster on Between the Sheets was so good before it got taken down 😢
Chris is one of the three people that ultimately inspired me to get into DMing, because when he was running DCA he would occasionally pick up the rule book itself and look for clarification. Proving everybody makes mistakes or forgets some rules.
One of the things I learned from Chris was that it's okay to just read out the rules to the players verbatim when you use a spell or monster ability. It creates a sort of clarity for the players: "I am putting these rules in front of you to ensure that you know I'm running this encounter in a way that is fair and according to the rules."
My favorite moment was when he was running a live show for Aqc Inc when Tomb of Annihilation came out, and he said, "Let me check my notes..." and then picked up the book. Like, what a nerd flex!
My favorite idea for a Gelatinous Cube that I haven't used is to have a few Mimics inside. A group of Mimics, each disguised as a different object, using the cube to travel to other areas of the dungeon. Since they are immune to acid, they won't be harmed and if the players "notice" that the items seem unharmed, they may even assume they are magical objects.
Your EVIIIIILLLLL EVVVVIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLL
Daaaaaammmnn. That’s a fantastic idea. I need to use that.
@@mikecrompton8518 your evil to xD
you win 26:40 ish epic idea
Oh I'm stealing this
A lot of what I learned about pacing in Roleplaying Games I learned from watching Chris run Dice, Camera, Action, especially since those were 2 hour sessions, so they had to be tight.
The players would usually start off with some freedom to make their own plans, then somewhere in the 30-60 minute mark, something would happen and inject chaos, whether it was an ambush, or a new NPC showing up, or some other unexpected element that changed the course of the game and injected a little chaos. I call that the "Tilt", and I actively plan for it in my games. I don't know when it will happen, but I'll use it if the game is dragging or I just need to switch things up.
I also noticed that if the players spent too long discussing plans or waffling on a decision, Chris would interject with something like, "Paultin, you see....." or "Evelyn, make a perception check...." It's such a simple trick, but it immediately snaps the players' attention back to "in character", as they realize that things are still happening around them while they've been plotting.
That first season of DCA taught me so much. Little things like murderbot, big things like helping a player who is struggling. No one I knew played, I at least knew the rules, so I was the defacto DM. The people I dragged to the game love it now - and Chris is completely responsible for that, none of it would have happened without his contribution to that series.
*50* minutes of Chris Perkins? Christmas came early!!
I can honestly listen to him talk about anything D&D without end, so thanks a lot for doing this video
90% of this video was “act as if you have social skills”
My favourite Dungeon Master to watch.
Wish there were more Chris Perkins videos
@TheCoulsonlax My favorite is still his extremely short appearance as Spurts the kobold in the Mighty Nein campaign. He came in, threw a caged nest of wasps at a fire giant and was crushed like a over ripe watermelon. We barely knew him.
I like BDS better.
My top 2 are Chris and Brennan for sure. Brennan number 1 honestly
Hell yes! I need him back at pax or have his own show
This is easily the most helpful advice given directly by WotC. It’s about dang time
Crediting the artists at the end of the live stream was extremely classy. Thank you for doing this!
I normally can't stand watching other people play D&D, but Chris Perkins is the only exception. Loved his Descent into Avernus One-Shot, teached me how to be malevolent in a cool way.
He made me laugh hysterically when Deborah went to look in her pocket for her squirrel but it was gone and her jaw dropped! Hilarious!!
Man I miss Chris. I miss the DCA days and Ravenloft nights.
It has been confirmed that the waffle crew still plays at home with Chris. We might never see another episode again, but their story goes on.
If tru - very happy for them!!! @@lorddreemurr
God I’ve missed Chris. The robot chicken game where he added dm commentary was one of the first pieces of D&D content that got me hooked. I hope he does another dice camera action type series soon.
Long form, practical discussion with Chris and Jeremy is the best content. Hands down.
I wish Chris's old DM's Experience articles from 4e were more easily accessible, because so many of the tips in this video are right there, complete with examples in play from his own campaigns--how he preps sessions, what to do when a player hogs the spotlight, making characters (especially villains) cool and memorable, etc. They're awesome stuff!
I am going to be a DM for the first time... can't wait to learn some tips from the master Perkins ❤❤❤
I wish you the best of luck!
Do it! Behind the screen is it's own game, and it's a blast!
D&D this is brilliant this is where Perkins shines above all. I love this. Definitely sending this to ppl who are interested in ttrpg.
Getting better at DMing by watching other DMs seems like such a rich way to continue DnD as a tradition, passing lessons down from one DM to another.
Definitely a great move getting Chris back on to talk hobby. It's really key to keep key ambassadors in the public eye to stop the faceless corporate element overshadowing the hobby space
So exciting! I first encountered D&D from the Acquisitions Incorporated live shows with Chris Perkins the DM.
Now, I've been DM-ing for a few years with my group of friends. So excited to hear advice from my favorite DM!
My table voted on the timer, and it's helped A LOT to keep combat moving. Different strokes, and all that.
As for the TPK, I say ALL of them are great answers. Personally, I lean toward A
Chris is why I've become a DM for the last 3 years. I'll never forget DCA and how it inspired me to tell my own stories. Your the best Chris! We love you man!
I would love the chance to play a campaign at Chris Perkins' table. Of all the "celebrity" DMs out there, he is by far my favorite.
Precious video for both new and experienced DMs to get quality game time! Chris is a legendary DM, of course, at the same time very humble and wise.
Chris is the DM I’ve learned the most from over the years. His games are so much more an accurate representation of being a Dungeon Master.
You’re not usually going to have actors or Improv comedians at your table like other shows.
No disrespect to other streams.
Those shows are fun to watch, but Chris keeps it real and is more relatable.
Awesome guy and awesome DM.
happy to see more longform content and not just clips
1st time going to SDCC in 15-20 years and got to see Chris do this live. It was a highlight of the con. Happy others can watch this great presentation.
Pre-game checklist has been helpful. Used it for 2 sessions so far, thanks.
Great reminders. Thanks so much for talking it out!
I started playing back about the same time as Chris. We had the 3 original booklets as far as "rules". His point about the rules are to help guide playing is spot on. We had to fill in the blanks ourselves. Mr. " rule guy" , hadnt been invented yet.
This was a really cool clinic. I’d love to see more videos for DM’s
How do you do that? Well, you start by DMing when you are 10 and never stop.
Jokes aside I really appreciate that someone I admire as much as Chris Perkins shares their wisdom. If this helps me to be a tiny little fraction closer to being a DM like him is a huge help already.
DM of 40+ years here. All good stuff. Side note, for my "loading wheel" I will stare at the computer screen or "at papers" behind my DM screen like I'm reading, but I'm really just thinking. lol
This was surprisingly fun and helpful. Thank you Todd and Chris and the D&D Team.
Love this video. My one critique: please when doing long-form interviews like this, include a chapter breakdown of the video with timestamps. I'm sure I'm not the only person who comes back to videos like these later looking for a specific part of it. Not needing to scrub through it would be nice for referencing.
Gotta say, as much as i dont care for what WotC is doing to the IP, Perkis and Crawford are jems that need to be preserved.
A video with master Perkins is always a must watch. Missing the Lore you should know segments! Long live Perkins! :)
Thank you Chris it was your audio only episode with Penny Arcade that got me into DND. I followed their progress all throughout and eventually started to DM myself. You are a gem and longform content with you is always a pleasure to watch.
Re: how long to prep - especially for new DMs, prep only as much as you are okay prepping if the game bombs after 1 session. Your new players probably aren’t as initially enthusiastic as you are about this new venture. I have read a lot of horror story testimonies about an excited new DM that spent 200 hours on worldbuilding, for a table that was distracted by phones and didn’t continue after session 1. If you would be resentful toward players for not engaging with certain content, don’t prep it yet. If you love worldbuilding for its own sake and it’s relaxing / a great creative outlet, then by all means go for it.
I don't know why people plan for years. It doesn't make sense to me. It didn't in 1984 and it still doesn't. lol. Improv is king.
THIS IS WHAT A NEEDED!! I've been struggling to understand what i should be doing / preparing as a DM and finally someone just lays it out! i took so many notes while watching this and feel so confident now to DM for my friends!
To Chris - thank you for the gift of D&D you gave to so many people by helping start the actual play movement with Acq Inc. That’s how I got into it.
To those of you wishing you have more Chris to watch- He has a multiple year long campaign he ran on TH-cam called Dice Camera Action.
The content that you guys have been putting out lately has been great, interactive and informative
In reference to the quetion, "What if PCs don't want to engage with my prepared content", I will often ask them: "Well, what would you rather do?" Then I will just stall for bit, maybe with a random encounter or two, just to get through the current session, that way I have time between sessions to prep something they said they would enjoy.
I love Chris Perkins. He is the best DM out there. He is an example of a person who turned their passion into success.
THANK YOU FOR THIS!!! I am a new DM because my kids all pushed to start playing. We are playing the Lost Mines of Phandelver and these tips are all gold for me!!!
Yes, thank you! The DM is absolutely a storyteller. They create all the content and tell the players what happens when they try to do stuff.
Character death should be touched on in session zero.
I would not ask my players for suggestions on a ruling. I feel that this is the DM's job to handle and could cause issues in other situations.
Sharing the spotlight is the DM's responsibility. Take the focus off the spotlight hog, make them wait until it's their turn. Don't dump the player until after you have talked to them and given them a chance to correct their disruptive behavior.
The dungeon roomba! A slope where the cube slides down and hits the whole party.
Korg has a high squeeky voice and he's a rock. Sometimes subverting expectations works.
Dodging plot hooks makes for a bad player. Make an adventurer, not someone that needs motivation to go adventuring. Even a paladin can use treasure to donate to further their cause.
Always have something else prepared, namely a couple 'random' encounters. If nothing else, improv some roleplaying.
Do not play fast music to try and motivate your players into action. Look directly at a player and ask "What do you do?"
Slow player - warn them that they will be forced to take the dodge action if they can't decide in a reasonable amount of time.
Players enjoy a challenge much more than feeling powerful. When the boss is way too easy, it's not fun. There should be risk vs. reward, not an easy win. Get better at designing encounters!
How do you become a better DM? Practice! as both a player and DM. Do not try to emulate other DM's style. You are not a professional voice actor, so watching one won't make you a better DM unless you are trying to learn to do funny voices. Learn the rules, be familiar with your players character's abilities. Read the forums, watch youtube videos on DM advice and horror stories. Listen to your player's feedback and be open to critisism.
Thanks Todd and Chris! This was fun.
DCA literally changed the entire trajectory of my life. Thank you Chris you're incredible.
This sounds super fun! Please more of these!
a couple of things I would add as a 20 Year GM:
1. the GM can have many Roles but he is also a Player and it is no shame in asking for help or letting your Players have some of your normal Responsibilities. Recapping or locking up rules are common ones. Also hosting the Game itself can take off a burden of the GM.
2. Prepare as much as you need to feel comfortable. It may take some experimentation to find out how much this is for you. For example I usually prep very much before the Campaign and almost nothing during the Campaign.
3. While listening is very valuable and useful: don't listen too much. Try to keep at least some Pace or your some Players will only talk and the Story won't progress at all which can be frustrating in the long run.
4. Be clear how common Death will be in your Game before it starts. If you don't know communicate this clearly and ask how they would like to handle Deaths before they happen this softens the Blow should it actually happen.
5. to link your Campaign to your PCs try to ask leading Questions in Session 0 or ask with the Players beforehand. Try to ask Questions that help you fill in the Blanks in your Campaign or link their Backgrounds to specific points in the Story. "What is your greatest Enemy?" "Who Cursed you and why?" "What is your family heirloom?" are all great Questions.
6. You don't have to only play DnD. If you house rule too much maybe try a different System.
7. Remember the rule of cool. Sometimes just let things succeed just because they are wicked awesome.
8. the Cube Challenge: Creating a giant Chessboard that consists of hardened and colored gelatinous Cubes. Maybe they have a spell on them and using a special Item from the Dungeon turns them back? Maybe some NPCs have this Item and can try to trap the Pcs and the PCs could try to get those items to use against the Enemy?
9. if you create an NPC on the fly try some shortcut: Use an Animal as a template. Maybe a Thief is like an arrogant Cat? Or the Guard is a friendly dog?
try to think of 3 interesting Things for each NPC.
10. I personally don't like to skip without warning. It can really hurt some Players who waited for their turn or really wanted to roleplay more. Ask instead. "Could we skip or do you want to do something else?" But try to be strikt: "Okay you can play another short szene but then we move on"
The best Gelatinous Cube I have ever DM'ed was the intelligent one in Out of the Abyss. The party adopted it and it traveled with them for a significant portion of the campaign.
I would add what I think is the most important tip for becoming a better DM: do it more and experiment. Watching other GMs is a good source of inspiration but it won't be much help if you don't get the practice in. Run more games with more people, with other systems, play with other genres, fiddle with new mechanics.
And sometimes that even means watching other GMs less because you're too busy preping your next session.
This was outstanding. Of course, it was. It should be bookmarked and become regular viewing. Thank you, Chris! Thank you @DNDWizards!
Can vouch for watching other DMs. I've learned so much watching Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford. Watching the guy who wrote the rules allow his players to circumvent them (Galdur's Tower in Acq Inc anybody?) is a liberating experience lol
Absolutely Loved this Great informational video!
Bill the Gelatinous Cube is one of my players favorite shop keeps he runs a pawn shop essentially
The Grand Master and sculptor of many great scenarios.
Loved the AI stuff, very scared by Tome of Annihilation (!)
I just found this video. I have to chime in on DM’s being the actor for all the NPC’s. Finding their motivations is a wonderful method on how to play them. As well as giving them a vice and virtue. I’ve found this so helpful that in my campaigns I have eliminated alignments. I will ask my players to think up a character design including a vice, virtue and motivation along with their backstory. That is enough to govern your player. I always encourage my players to have their PC’s grow and evolve and I love seeing scoundrel ranger whom is a loner and cautious of people become so fused with the group they can’t fathom being without them. The pendulum swings with characters and it creates incredible story moments. NOW there are characters that are inherently evil suck as a vampire or mind flayer but that is derived from their motivations and cosmic corruption that only truly evil NPC s can possess from influences from Gods, Demons and inter-dimensional beings. I’ve found by doing this understanding what makes the vampire lord or the illithid or even the orc commander is far more influential and connects with players more readily than simply “I’m lawful good and you’re chaotic evil we must fight!” When a player sees or feels the motivation it almost humanizes the villain creating a moral struggle. Most times I find drama is what people want to see in games and it’s so easy to create it using this method.
Thank you for this video, as a 20+ years DM, I learned a few tips I'll be using.
As someone who has never played dnd but wants to DM, this video is very helpful. Thanks, Chris!
As a new DM, this video was very empowering. Thank you!
Love Chris.
More Chris! I was so disappointed when he stopped DM-ing the penny arcade campaign. I'll take any Chris Perkins I can get!
Great info. I learned something new and felt validated. I'm been DMing for over 40 years and absolutely love 5th edition.
Chris Perkins dropping dungeon master wisdom like a gelatinous cube drops unsuspecting adventurers!
I liked this interview. I hope Todd gets the job in the design team 😉.
I bought the starter set way back in 2014 with no clue what I'd picked up. Sat confused and unable to comprehend how to play. I watched aq Inc. when Chris was DM. Learned what on earth d&d was and I still DM for a group to this day. So sorry Chris. But watching Chris perkins is good advice. At least 1 new DM was born because of it 👍
Gelatinous Cube Challenge:
Several tiny cubes inside various tubes and pipes. The tubes and pipes are part of a bagpipe-like instrument. The cubes are telepathically connected to the musician playing the instrument and can move at high speeds to produce different notes. They also eliminate stray spittle. One or several pipes can be emergency evacuated, effectively firing the cubes as projectiles, after which the cubes may merge to form a larger cube.
My gelatinaus cube challenge transforms the cube into terrain. This cube has had allot of food and has eaten the dungeon. There are gulps of air and fluids which give the adventures safe spaces to explore. Various things can calm, enrange, vacate, make playful the cube so there might be passages that open up with the impending doom that at any moment the cube might reclaim the room they are in and make navigating the maze more complicated.
I'm back in the mindset mindscape headspace hearth immersion of D&D with this wonderful fireside chat with the excellent esteemed Chris Perkins!
our Barbarian Fighter 2h Axe first attack against our first boss became a crit (3.5e) which then became a full oneshot on the demon-possesed minotaur we fought. This "one shot" is still one of the all time great memories we have left from from that campaign ^^
Interesting use of a Gelatinous Cube.
An inn that caters to adventurers and wealthy clientele has a captive Gelatinous Cube which they use as a garbage disposal and dishwasher. The Cube only dissolves organic matter, so they can safely toss all the earthenware plates and mugs and crockery, along with the metal utensils, into the Cube to have food and drink residue dissolved from them. Food prep waste could be thrown in by the kitchen staff, things like melon rinds, root vegetable peeling and animal bones and such!
They may have a few pairs of alchemically treated gloves that resist the acid damage to reach in and safely retrieve the table and cook ware when the Cube is done!
AAAHHH! I have to put this in my games now! Thank you, Chris Perkins, for issuing this wonderful challenge!!
Great, Great masterclass. Not obvious even for a lot of so called "expert" DMs.
Key takeaway is:
There is no dogma, all solution are different, viable tools, depending on the context. Good DMs knows when to use the hammer, when the clamps.
Nice one. Chris Perkins is great. Love listening to him talk
I would like to point out that altough 12:14 is funny, Descent into Avernus literally tells you that if the players don't do what Captain Zodge asks them to do, then kill them, while stating "maybe the next group of adventurers will be better at this". ;)
This was over the top fantastic and I absolutely adore it! 🥰🥰🥰 I have missed getting to see Chris run games and provide advice like this! --- Hope to see more videos like this going forward! 🥰🥰🥰
Godbless Chris Perkins and Godbless Dungeon and Dragons, the ULTIMATE escape. Awesome tips and tricks, appreciated, from the legend himself 🤗
Chris can you please let me know why you made the changes in phandalin that you did? Why no half elves,? Why Bartholomew a woman when was a man? Why the spider instead of the black spider? Can you please answered these?
Acquisitions Inc with Chris being dm always one I look forward to and enjoy - Green flame! , my fav dm to be inspired by, great video choice
I think the general advice to always say "yes" to players is a good starting point and a fundamental. However, like all rules in DND you aren't bound to it.
I had a player ask if they could shoot a firebolt at another player to have them act like a cartoon character and run across the water holding their butt and yelling. While hilarious, and I told them that, I said "No" that use of the spell doesn't work like that in this kind of campaign. I then recognized their desire to help their party members, gave them other ideas I thought of that might work, and they made their own idea from that.
"Yes and" is a good reminder and usually the way to go, but the DM is a curator and also a player. "No but" is a completely valid way of sticking to boundaries while still offering ways to enable players.
Edit - I wrote this earlier in the video when they were talking about the owlbear question but then saw he did actually bring it up at the end haha
Gelatinous³:
The players enter a long hallway and a portcullis drops behind them with a hefty metal locking sound.
There's a hallway to the right and a hallway ahead. The players eventually reach a single turn either way they choose because this hallway is a closed rectangle.
At one corner of the rectangular hallway-loop is a door, at the diagonal - a small fist sized hole in the wall.
Halfway down the long edges, a floor mechanism operates the two POI; but for the side that cannot be seen from the activation hallway. In other words, the switch is half the long side length plus the whole short side length away from what it activates.
One switch opens the door while held down, the other fires a dart from the hole.
The players may walk in a loop hearing the activation elsewhere more than once, but eventually the Gelatinous Cube enters through the portcullis.
The Gel³ begins traveling around the loop, also activating the floor mechanisms (inconveniently timed in a way that doesn't just skip the encounter). The players may be shot by the darts suddenly or hear the door open despite not activating anything themselves.
Played right, the players evade major combat losses and use the cube to free them and move onward.
Played aggressively, they have to contend with an arrow-and-dart -filled porcupine of a cube; scraping down the hallways.
If the cube is destroyed, there's nothing heavy enough now to hold the door open. Someone is getting left behind.
We really need more stuff like this
I usually have some heavy metal going in the background, not loud to be a distraction, but it does seem to set a bit of a pace, and without it there's a noticeable difference in the whole mood.
As a DM, something I do when I need time to think is to have the players randomly roll a perception check, history check, or insight check, and then ramble for a minute about nothing until I eventually have enough creative resources to circle back to what was actually relevant. So far I haven’t been called out for stalling, so I think it’s good advice.
Honestly if you are making your players roll checks to discover nothing of importance, because you need to delay them while you think of the next steps for the campaign, that sounds like a bad habit that wastes everybody's time. In scenarios where you don't know what the next step is for the campaign I would highly recommend being honest about this and saying you need to take 5 to get the next steps straightened out, rather than stalling your players. I think most players will appreciate "Wow guys, you found some creative solutions I didn't anticipate and took this in a direction I didn't expect. I'm going to need to take some time here to get the next steps of this campaign straightened out." more than hearing things like this a couple times in a row "the cliff is jagged and is littered with loose rocks twisting and grinding upon themselves. Erosion from rain has made dark spots within the cliff face, as mold grows and dies. You don't see or hear anyone here, just a lot of rocks and earth." Not trying to roast you. I've had the same habit in the past, but realized players appreciate an honest GM more than one who tries to put up a false act of having everything figured out at the expense of everyone's time.
@@kingjames3192 You’re welcome to dismiss my advice if you don’t think it would be appropriate at your table. I’m a DM at two tables: one bimonthly campaign that has been ongoing for two years, and one weekly that has run for four months or so. By my estimations, I have about 200 hours of DMing experience, more if you count one shots I’ve done. Believe me when I say I truly love this game. The improv does get easier the more you practice, so I find myself rarely relying on this tool these days, but this tool can be used constructively.
I’ll give you an example in the form of a story that’s probably far too long for a TH-cam comment: I was DMing for a pickup game of DND for some friends of mine who had never played before and wanted to try it out. While they made some free characters on DNDBeyond, I had about 10-20 minutes of prep time, interrupted by them asking me questions about character creation. Therefore, I decided to rely heavily on tropes: they would be raiding a trapped ancient temple in the middle of a desert a la Egyptian tombs in movies.
My players asked me difficult questions: Why was the temple built? Why did they decide to travel to the middle of the desert for it? What was so precious that the temple protected?
I improvised the answers to all of these questions and the layout of the whole temple, drawing maps in real time on sheets of graph paper that I happened to have for one of my classes. A genie had convinced the now lost inhabitants of the region that he was a god and demanded a temple be built to his worship. A mage academy hired the party to recover an important magical artifact at the heart of the temple. The artifact was a stone said to contain the power of the sun. What was initially supposed to be a quick pickup game ended up being a compelling setting for my players.
As I mentioned, I was creating and drawing the maps in real time. I drew the first room of the temple: a large room with an altar in the middle, a frayed rug leading up to the altar, and some carvings on the wall. In my head, I had already put the trigger of the first trap on a tile hidden under the rug leading up to the altar. I wanted to draw attention there by mentioning the rug specifically. I initially planned on having the carvings just be indecipherable hieroglyphics, but I had a player ask to examine the walls for secret doors. She failed her investigation check (I may have put a secret compartment had they passed). Then another player asked to inspect the altar and moved the quarter we were using for her character directly over where I had drawn the rug. Realizing I had not determined what kind of trap it would be, I paused and drew attention back to the player who had asked to inspect the walls. I used my tool.
I had her roll a perception check. I then described the scenes they saw depicted on the walls: the Genie fighting a dragon, saving the ancient people from a giant worm, blessing a harvest, and I also foreshadowed an idea I had had for later in the dungeon: I described how carved in the wall were people surrounding a man in a sarcophagus, all of whom were themselves surrounded with deliberately carved points. On a successful religion check, a player learned that the scene was depicting a curse for those who interfered with the dungeon (they would later learn that the points were representing flies).
I think your objection to my tool comes from your philosophy that a roll should only be made if there’s a point to it, something to succeed at- that a perception check should only be made if there’s something to be spotted, that a history check should only be made if there’s lore to be unearthed. Unnecessary rolls waste time, and if there’s nothing that would be left to chance, just narrate the result. This philosophy is probably a healthy one, but you can apply different philosophies at different times depending on what the situation calls for.
My first counter to that is that players love to roll dice. They make dopamine-inducing clicking sounds.
My second counter to this is that you can still immerse the players in the setting while being a bit ramble-y.
My third counter to this is you can use this tool and give players value for their rolls. If they already suspect something , confirm it. If you’re running a pre-written module, you know a trove of information that your players probably don’t. Eke out some of that information. In the example I gave, the players learned how the genie convinced the builders of this temple that he was a god. I also foreshadowed a curse that I had laid ahead of them in the dungeon.
If you’re wondering how I eventually resolved the trap, the tile triggered a giant spiked ball attached to a wooden beam which swung toward the player who stepped on it like a pendulum, before crashing into the altar, destroying it (the player succeed a Dex save and took no damage). The destruction of the altar released their first combat encounter, dust mephits, but also revealed stairs leading deeper down in the temple. We used candy to represent the mephits. And my players weren’t aware that I was stalling for time until I told them after the session had ended. If the players are all having fun, you’re doing DND right.
As an old-schooler I must say I was surprised to agree with almost all of this advice. The only bone of contention might be on the matter of TPK's. Option 1 - Let the dice fall where they may. This may wipe out the *current* party - but that doesn't mean a campaign has to end. There can always be *another* party of heroes enlisted to find the first party or continue their quest. I feel this was alluded to, but without the real consequence of character death - where's the threat? Where's the meaning to any action the characters take? That said, good video, great advice!
Along with the egg timer, I visibily count down with fingers when I want to increase tensions.
I wonder how much of this wisdom will be in the upcoming iteration of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Here's hoping it's a lot!
Read Sly Flourish’s “Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master.” It’s the only book DMs need (besides the DMG).
This video should be stickied in every DM/GM resource area.
44:00 Our lvl 3 fighter delivered a sweet 20TP hit and 1shot my carefully designed Goblin Bully without him delivering his speech - at the beginning of the first combat round of course. My plan B of instantly doubling his HP was in vain as the fighter saw the impact of his big axe and action surged for an additional 25TP. He hast cleft him in twain... Plan C it was from then on.
Cube that is controlled by sentient object it absorbed and now Uber powerful entity wants freedom.
This was actually super neat and I've always admired Chris's DMing. As an experienced DM I feel very validated! Also I love how his prep style is so similar to the Lazy DMG by Sly Flourish. Absolutely changed ,y DMing for the better. All these tips are soooooo goooood!!!
38:20 beloved pulp mystery writer Raymond Chandler was asked for advice on writer's block, and his response was "when you've written yourself into a corner, that's when two goons bust in guns blazing." Raiders, goblins, kobolds, fungal servants, mindflayer servant drow, the possibilities are endless.
I love Chris Perkins DM style, and it heavily influences the way I dm, and works for my table and we have a lot of fun. Sorry watch him DM the pax games with that group, we're now when did the group have to play d&d but also be entertaining for 3 hours of stage performance, and then later with dice camera action and that wonderful cast of crew. Chris wants his characters through adventures he's intimately aware of, Strahd, Chult, water deep, and his players involvement is rewarded with meaningful impact in the campaign worlds. The intrigue that Chris created and ran with one of his character is who had a vested interest in the spires of morning, (Lathander) which I have co-opted and canonize that character as a living saint in my worlds. He does so much, and you can see exactly the overlap with his DM styling and that he wrote most of these adventure books for 5E so the Free Flow of twisting and creation for story telling with his characters. Absolutely one of my favorite DMs, and would love to see more of his tables.
40:27 Another option is to let a player know when they're on deck (the next player to act, though not necessarily having the next turn, as when NP creatures follow the current player). You can tailor the prompt to the player, adding (e.g.) "so think about what your character will do" for players that tend to lag. The active verbal reminder goes well with the passive initiative display.
It's rather like navigating for someone, where you keep them abreast of not only what's coming up, but what's after that.
I loved the gelatinous cube in Wild Beyond the Witchlight stuck in the Well and preventing water from flowing.
I have definitely liked taking the "I could see myself ruling this two ways: a or b. Which way do you think I should rule?" approach to DMing.
If only all WOTC content was as complete and well thought out as Chris perkins presentations
I made a cube encounter where a dwarf mountain stronghold used it in essentially a giant septic system. The sewer/septic tank area was large, with multiple grate walls meant to filter debris from the water and the cube would dissolve everything it could like a biofilter. The multiple grate walls inhibited my players' movement though the sewer, but the cube could pass through them easily T-1000 style, though I would cut its speed in half as it passed through.
Thank you for this video. It sparked an idea for a big bad for me that has evolved into an epic session.
With regards to the social contract, if a player says, "my character wouldn't want to go on this quest." I'd respond with, "Make a character who does want to go on the quest." I'm glad Chris pointed this out. While TTRPGs are a social game, if the players have agreed to play this campaign, and the GM has put like 6-10 hours this week preparing the adventure, then it is very disrespectful to not participate in that adventure.
Good video. Wayne Reynolds was the artist for the beholder combat scene at 36m15s but wasn't credited in the slide at the end.
For the "let them die" option. In the first of the Monster Hunter Memoirs books (MHM: Grunge) by Larry Correia and John Ringo, the narrator character is a United States Marine in Beirut in the eighties. He goes to sleep in his bunk in the barracks and wakes up on the shores of a lake talking to an old guy named Pete who is fishing. He's told that he can go on ahead, or he can go back. If he goes back, there's a mission. He chooses to go back and is given a sign. The sign is 57.