"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.
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.
*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
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.
@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.
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 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
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.
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!
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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!!!
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.
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 👍
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.
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!!
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
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.
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! 🥰🥰🥰
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 ^^
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!!!
At 44:00, i love the loading wheel idea. I just tell my players "That is really clever, and I didn't think of it." They clap each other on the back while waiting for me to come up with a reply.
The last gelatinous cube in my campaign was a corporate faction murdered a rival settlement and used a gelatinous cube to clean up all the evidence of their crime - which my players witnessed
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
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.
About the talking about death part: I once was like let the dice decide, I've had another character prepared several times but I kept rolling high to save my character. I once persuaded cleric that spoke to me from beyond the grave (it was a lore bard, so I had like a +10 on persuasion or something) another time I actually had to fail a save to come back, since he had an insane job in the afterlife that he was too afraid to do, so coming back to life was kinda running away from his duties. You can do really cool stuff with death characters in worlds where the afterlife is very real, but you can also make it super easy if you want too.
My prep consists of 1. Flooding our chat group with gifs and memes. 2. Making somebody else do the previously on and if they miss stuff, their characters had a bout of short term memory loss cause I also forgot what I improvised last session. 3. Being a bird and winging it. My Gelatinous Cube (high level) challenge - A mad wizard captured a gellatinous cube, cloned them, then shrunk them into fist size cubes that barely move which he uses a sling to fling at people while cackling, "It's Jelly time!". When you finally defeat the wizard, all of them grow back to normal size, those that grow into one another conjoin into one another to make an even bigger cube.
26:51 - I once read that someone wanted to play an Awakened Gelatinous Cube Wizard; and I REALLY REALLY want to make an NPC out of that idea. Just this slow moving, slurping sound, and then the players see it; a wobbling cube of gelatine with a wizard's staff in it's center, and a pointed wizard's hat on it's head. It stops, and from inside, eye balls and a set of teeth squiggle up to the facing side. The eyeballs stare unblinkingly, and the teeth, not unlike the chattering teeth gag, begin to open and close, and soon, a voice emanates from the direction of the cube, "Ahhh! The adventurers have arrived," DM makes slurping noises as the cube moves slowly towards them at a whopping 5 ft per turn, "We have been expecting you. We have an urgent task for you." That's as far as I've gotten with the idea, though. Perkin's ceiling trap idea reminded me that I made a one-shot that was a series of temples with some combat, some role play encounters, some traps, but it was mostly puzzles. One of my players noticed false walls; they insisted on opening these false walls, and I was certainly not going to say no, though I did hint that these do not appear to be of the same function or complexity as the rest of the traps and puzzles they have encountered. Proceeded to find a way to open the false walls, and released four gelatinous cubes into the narrow hall. Each cube had a bright and shiny tag embedded in their form, they read, "Janitor 1. Janitor 2. Janitor 3. And Fred." The player character was engulfed and dissolved, the cubes began their routes, cleaning any rubble and remnants in this section of the temple, and a new adventurer began the path anew back at the beginning.
"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 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
*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
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.
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.
Crediting the artists at the end of the live stream was extremely classy. Thank you for doing this!
This is easily the most helpful advice given directly by WotC. It’s about dang time
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
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!!
Long form, practical discussion with Chris and Jeremy is the best content. Hands down.
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.
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 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!
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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!
This was surprisingly fun and helpful. Thank you Todd and Chris and the D&D Team.
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.
happy to see more longform content and not just clips
A video with master Perkins is always a must watch. Missing the Lore you should know segments! Long live Perkins! :)
Great reminders. Thanks so much for talking it out!
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.
Pre-game checklist has been helpful. Used it for 2 sessions so far, thanks.
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
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.
This was a really cool clinic. I’d love to see more videos for DM’s
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!
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.
The content that you guys have been putting out lately has been great, interactive and informative
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!!!
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.
Chris Perkins dropping dungeon master wisdom like a gelatinous cube drops unsuspecting adventurers!
This was outstanding. Of course, it was. It should be bookmarked and become regular viewing. Thank you, Chris! Thank you @DNDWizards!
DCA literally changed the entire trajectory of my life. Thank you Chris you're incredible.
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 👍
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.
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!!
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
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.
The Grand Master and sculptor of many great scenarios.
Loved the AI stuff, very scared by Tome of Annihilation (!)
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". ;)
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!
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! 🥰🥰🥰
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.
This sounds super fun! Please more of these!
Great info. I learned something new and felt validated. I'm been DMing for over 40 years and absolutely love 5th edition.
Thank you for this video, as a 20+ years DM, I learned a few tips I'll be using.
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.
I'm back in the mindset mindscape headspace hearth immersion of D&D with this wonderful fireside chat with the excellent esteemed Chris Perkins!
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!
Absolutely Loved this Great informational video!
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.
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.
Godbless Chris Perkins and Godbless Dungeon and Dragons, the ULTIMATE escape. Awesome tips and tricks, appreciated, from the legend himself 🤗
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 liked this interview. I hope Todd gets the job in the design team 😉.
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
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.
Bill the Gelatinous Cube is one of my players favorite shop keeps he runs a pawn shop essentially
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 ^^
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.
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.
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.
Nice one. Chris Perkins is great. Love listening to him talk
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.
This video should be stickied in every DM/GM resource area.
WOW. Those are some really good tips! I will sure be applying them to my table
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!!!
Thank you for this video. It sparked an idea for a big bad for me that has evolved into an epic session.
At 44:00, i love the loading wheel idea.
I just tell my players "That is really clever, and I didn't think of it."
They clap each other on the back while waiting for me to come up with a reply.
The last gelatinous cube in my campaign was a corporate faction murdered a rival settlement and used a gelatinous cube to clean up all the evidence of their crime - which my players witnessed
We really need more stuff like this
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.
That is so great! Pls stay in touch!
Awesome! useful tips are always welcome! 23:50 'Dump that player of they are spoiling everyone' elses fun'... Yes!
I loved the gelatinous cube in Wild Beyond the Witchlight stuck in the Well and preventing water from flowing.
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
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.
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!
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.
If only all WOTC content was as complete and well thought out as Chris perkins presentations
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 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.
About the talking about death part: I once was like let the dice decide, I've had another character prepared several times but I kept rolling high to save my character. I once persuaded cleric that spoke to me from beyond the grave (it was a lore bard, so I had like a +10 on persuasion or something) another time I actually had to fail a save to come back, since he had an insane job in the afterlife that he was too afraid to do, so coming back to life was kinda running away from his duties. You can do really cool stuff with death characters in worlds where the afterlife is very real, but you can also make it super easy if you want too.
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!
Nice work on the video!
My prep consists of
1. Flooding our chat group with gifs and memes.
2. Making somebody else do the previously on and if they miss stuff, their characters had a bout of short term memory loss cause I also forgot what I improvised last session.
3. Being a bird and winging it.
My Gelatinous Cube (high level) challenge - A mad wizard captured a gellatinous cube, cloned them, then shrunk them into fist size cubes that barely move which he uses a sling to fling at people while cackling, "It's Jelly time!". When you finally defeat the wizard, all of them grow back to normal size, those that grow into one another conjoin into one another to make an even bigger cube.
Good video. Wayne Reynolds was the artist for the beholder combat scene at 36m15s but wasn't credited in the slide at the end.
26:51 - I once read that someone wanted to play an Awakened Gelatinous Cube Wizard; and I REALLY REALLY want to make an NPC out of that idea. Just this slow moving, slurping sound, and then the players see it; a wobbling cube of gelatine with a wizard's staff in it's center, and a pointed wizard's hat on it's head. It stops, and from inside, eye balls and a set of teeth squiggle up to the facing side. The eyeballs stare unblinkingly, and the teeth, not unlike the chattering teeth gag, begin to open and close, and soon, a voice emanates from the direction of the cube, "Ahhh! The adventurers have arrived," DM makes slurping noises as the cube moves slowly towards them at a whopping 5 ft per turn, "We have been expecting you. We have an urgent task for you."
That's as far as I've gotten with the idea, though.
Perkin's ceiling trap idea reminded me that I made a one-shot that was a series of temples with some combat, some role play encounters, some traps, but it was mostly puzzles.
One of my players noticed false walls; they insisted on opening these false walls, and I was certainly not going to say no, though I did hint that these do not appear to be of the same function or complexity as the rest of the traps and puzzles they have encountered.
Proceeded to find a way to open the false walls, and released four gelatinous cubes into the narrow hall. Each cube had a bright and shiny tag embedded in their form, they read, "Janitor 1. Janitor 2. Janitor 3. And Fred." The player character was engulfed and dissolved, the cubes began their routes, cleaning any rubble and remnants in this section of the temple, and a new adventurer began the path anew back at the beginning.