Hey all - the question around the book is: It will be released on Drivethrurpg as soon as it's finished with layout. I'm on page 70 of 150 so I'm hoping by the end of September or October at the latest. We'll do a big announcement video on the channel so keep your eyes open for that :) I am totally blown away by all your support however, and I am so thankful for your support!
Step 1: BENBG. Who is it and what does he/she want? Step 2: Assorted level underling leaders Step 3: start placing the important bad guys and assigning their underlings around the world map. Step 4: design the encounter locations (start with the first the players should run into) Start running the campaign. Flesh it out based on PC actions.
If spoilers become a problem you could upload these videos after the relevant streams. I know that this could potentially lead to videos not being uploaded until several sessions after the initial recording if you want to be really spoiler free, but I think it is a better compromise than not uploading them at all. Hopefully everything will be fine and we can just enjoy whatever schedule works for you though.
I wish someone would make a notebook that was a Campaign notebook. Full of pages for notes, cities, NPCs, monsters, quest ideas, storyline, plot points...
With types of pages sorted by tabs you can quickly flip between types of pages and several different built-in colored ribbon bookmarks to mark the next fresh page in each division. And the cover should be like the composition notebooks that have a blank on the front so you can write the campaign name/title/etc on it if you have more than one campaign running.
@@mightyflamberge713 You can by notebooks a bit like this they don't have everything though. I have a NPC specfic note book called the NPC Folio which i found on Amazon for around, 6 pounds. And i Have two RPG Journals that i brought also that are split into one section Lined paper, One Square/Graph paper and the last Hexed paper. I use them for my campaign, adventure and encounter writing and just use post its for tabs. It's not an ideal solution but it works.
Thank you for the video, it's a great help. The issue of writing a plot versus writing a story is one that I struggle with. At times, I find myself writing lore that will never be read in order to give flavor to the story, and while that can be fantastic, it can also lead to railroading. I have a specific component that I've been struggling with because of this. I have a lot of lore written behind an element of the campaign, but I've been resisting writing a resolution, as I don't want to force the players to have to resolve in the way that I envision. Looking forward to watching the Save or Die game!
I think you preparation work is good enough! You just have to apply it in a slightly different way, when playing. Example: Your group decide to go for a walk in the forest. You may go for: Block them from getting there to force them back on the track. (Railroading) But... Instead see it as an opportunity to establish the lore you have made. Remember: The players do not know what their characters know!!! (Yes, something that GMs often forget!) So use the walk in the forest to tell something about what the characters know: Let them find an old ruin in the forest. Then tell the character with the architecture skill, that this was build during the late era of the, now fallen, ancient empire. Tell the doctor character that the empire fell due to the devastating plague that killed two third of the world population. Tell the hunter that this ruin was an arena where gladiator play was staged against a certain predatory animal, which today is an endangered specie being illegal to hunt, but still poachers go for them as fur cloaks are in high demand. Do this for each character, give them each a little hint to their knowledge. Simply tie a little corner of your lore to some expertise of each character. This way you give the players hints to what their characters know. (You throw some hooks the lore!) They may catch some of them and they ask for more knowledge. (Allowing you to put your preparation work to good use!) Thereby you show there are a lot to know about the world, but you let your players decide what they wish to go into depth with. --- This way your lore first 'give flavour' to the characters, then the characters themselves apply that flavour to the story. As you later can give descriptions, with lore elements in them, which you characters now can recognize, as they know parts of the lore. You do not need elaborate the fur cloak the antagonist is wearing, is made of illegal skin from an endangered specie, because your characters already know! --- Enjoy when your characters build their story, add on to it from the lore you have made. It is a shift in thinking: From applying the characters to the lore (forced at them through the plot), you now apply the lore to the characters (Which will flavour their story)! An added benefit is a shift from plot driven (railroading) to story driven (role play)!
I was thinking of creating a similar campaign idea but, instead of a heart the players needed to find the pieces of the benevolent God's soul that has been trapped in the Material Plane, Shadowfell, and Fey Wild. Once they freed the God from his imprisonment by the malevolent God he would be able to stop the rampage that the malevolent God has brought upon the world.
I was thinking... What about doing a campaign where the PCs in the end realize that they were the big evil all the time, and the villain was actually a very brave hero, with their characters being of good alignments? Someone already did something similar?
Those are more common than most think. Most D&D campaigns are that way. Except, of course, it is rare that "the PCs in the end realize that they were the big evil all the time". (As they don't care.) Most common story is the one of a group of serial killers. (Sometimes called "murder hobos".)
Yeah, I am fairly new in the GM role, and as a player, I always care a lot about being in the character and being more than just a "murder hobo", so if my GM did that to me, I would stay in shock for a good minute, hehe. Maybe is because my focus is on the narrative, rather than the combat. In a group of truly good alignment PCs, I think that this premise would be difficult to put off, but if done right, very cool.
I would say that making the PCs help the villains is (far too) easy, as many players are quick to "bite" when the GM throw a "hook". From what I have seen, then it is widespread to accept a given mission without question! I have had some conversations with other players about this "Quick to accept what the GM throws at the group" mentality, and the argument is often: Let us explore what the GM have prepared for us! In computer games there are often only that one option. th-cam.com/video/OU3-XyGX2WU/w-d-xo.html But I say: In role play game we have the option to question the offered mission, to determine if it fit with what we want to do. I am one of the few who do that (Which annoys the other players), sometimes I wait until we have completed the mission: Why should he die? - I have had a situation where some of the other players realised we had committed a murder without any reason for it, other than we did someone else's dirty job! I think I somewhat understand why murder hobos are so common: They just do what the quest giver tell them to do, and as the "alignment section" of their character sheet say "good", then everything is fine!
Lars Dahl what a coincidence, I’m that type of player too. My characters also question “why should we do this? Is this person trustworthy? Let’s analyze the situation before making any decision, yes? Just one time, just one damn time”. And I question the GM a lot, making theories about the story he is making with us, always trying to understand the situation before deciding what my characters should do. Some people don’t have the patience to do that, but I have more fun and feel more comfortable in that way.
How do you deal with the random spell that can ruin plot? I planned that a kraken destroy the ship my players are in, they should had find floating wood and build a raft,made stuff with floating thing like flag,rope etc. The guy in heavy armor should had take it of before jumping in the ocean.instead he turned in a giant igle wit polymorph and fly away carring the other player.
First, know what your players are capable of. Nothing that the players have is random. They have access to a set number of spells and class resources that the game gives them. They only have the items that produce magical effects which you grant them. It should't be too hard to find out what they can do and setting up a situation that is not solved trivially. Secondly, get them to expend those pesky spell slots, class features and items by presenting a situation where every time they rest for an hour or eight more people die. Allow those non-player character deaths to have weight and consequence. "Well, we would like to sell you some healing potions, but the potion brewer was pierced by five arrows while fleeing the town in the attack last night." Thirdly, it is OK to give the players the occasional encounter that is solved with one perfectly executed action from one player. Everyone needs a moment to shine. It is fun when we get a big win. Besides, with how often the players foil your high skill challenge encounters, it is nice to watch them almost kill themselves trying to get through a locked, untrapped door that they are rolling poorly on.
Like Thomas said, you have to know what your players are capable of, and if this is truly something you want to railroad them into, be prepared to outdo their capabilities. This one seems pretty easy, he can't polymorph, pick up his friend, and fly away in a single turn. Why is the kraken not attacking them? A single tentacle attack would prevent the eagle from escaping, and two tentacle attacks would knock him out of form if he didn't already lose concentration. I know that telling you after the fact doesn't help, but it's important to be able to both anticipate PC solutions and to react to unexpected solutions if you are trying to guide them down a particular path.
@@dwil0311 they were low level poor little goblin (more intelligent than normal) hunted and killed as soon as someone see them. The kraken was there only to show that the world is dangerous place and because they feel too op. I let them try to save the ship. They cutted some tentacles that were crushing skeletons ( only 2 players so they both take the spell to summon skeleton) and used all they got. Polymorph was the last spell they had. They keep stealing thing and loot from the dead corpse all that they can carry. One time the guy ordered to the skeletons to form group and carry 25kg of groviera. I asked whyyyy?? I will use it in some way. So the encounter was planned to punish that behavior. Hope this is understandable
So, this was useful....to a limited degree unfortunately. The description of the first part was useful (establishing and introducing the pc's to the world). But ...skipping over the other sections just because the sample campaign was short - not as useful. Also, instead of saying "the horse" - which is only useful to the specific campaign - something like "introduce other significant NPC who will play a major part of the campaign". The video is well done, and of high quality - like the vast majority in the channel - but it was not quite as useful, due to the limited scope.
Hey all - the question around the book is: It will be released on Drivethrurpg as soon as it's finished with layout. I'm on page 70 of 150 so I'm hoping by the end of September or October at the latest. We'll do a big announcement video on the channel so keep your eyes open for that :) I am totally blown away by all your support however, and I am so thankful for your support!
Will you please take my money and give me a book? :D Thanks for making it!
You seem to have tabletop groups going. Where can I join in on this community? PS mostly been gming DND but prefer to join and play.
you should or you can! Yours is one of the four or five channels I have notifications on for.
Step 1: BENBG. Who is it and what does he/she want?
Step 2: Assorted level underling leaders
Step 3: start placing the important bad guys and assigning their underlings around the world map.
Step 4: design the encounter locations (start with the first the players should run into)
Start running the campaign.
Flesh it out based on PC actions.
If spoilers become a problem you could upload these videos after the relevant streams. I know that this could potentially lead to videos not being uploaded until several sessions after the initial recording if you want to be really spoiler free, but I think it is a better compromise than not uploading them at all. Hopefully everything will be fine and we can just enjoy whatever schedule works for you though.
Thank you so much, Guy!! I’ve played D&D for most of my short life, and finally I’m planning my first home brew. You have been SO MUCH HELP!
This is actually funny - We are so aligned Illithids are involved and we don't know it!
I wish someone would make a notebook that was a Campaign notebook. Full of pages for notes, cities, NPCs, monsters, quest ideas, storyline, plot points...
With types of pages sorted by tabs you can quickly flip between types of pages and several different built-in colored ribbon bookmarks to mark the next fresh page in each division. And the cover should be like the composition notebooks that have a blank on the front so you can write the campaign name/title/etc on it if you have more than one campaign running.
@@mightyflamberge713 You can by notebooks a bit like this they don't have everything though. I have a NPC specfic note book called the NPC Folio which i found on Amazon for around, 6 pounds. And i Have two RPG Journals that i brought also that are split into one section Lined paper, One Square/Graph paper and the last Hexed paper. I use them for my campaign, adventure and encounter writing and just use post its for tabs.
It's not an ideal solution but it works.
Thank you for the video, it's a great help. The issue of writing a plot versus writing a story is one that I struggle with. At times, I find myself writing lore that will never be read in order to give flavor to the story, and while that can be fantastic, it can also lead to railroading. I have a specific component that I've been struggling with because of this. I have a lot of lore written behind an element of the campaign, but I've been resisting writing a resolution, as I don't want to force the players to have to resolve in the way that I envision.
Looking forward to watching the Save or Die game!
I think you preparation work is good enough!
You just have to apply it in a slightly different way, when playing.
Example: Your group decide to go for a walk in the forest.
You may go for: Block them from getting there to force them back on the track. (Railroading)
But... Instead see it as an opportunity to establish the lore you have made.
Remember: The players do not know what their characters know!!! (Yes, something that GMs often forget!)
So use the walk in the forest to tell something about what the characters know:
Let them find an old ruin in the forest.
Then tell the character with the architecture skill, that this was build during the late era of the, now fallen, ancient empire.
Tell the doctor character that the empire fell due to the devastating plague that killed two third of the world population.
Tell the hunter that this ruin was an arena where gladiator play was staged against a certain predatory animal, which today is an endangered specie being illegal to hunt, but still poachers go for them as fur cloaks are in high demand.
Do this for each character, give them each a little hint to their knowledge. Simply tie a little corner of your lore to some expertise of each character.
This way you give the players hints to what their characters know. (You throw some hooks the lore!)
They may catch some of them and they ask for more knowledge. (Allowing you to put your preparation work to good use!)
Thereby you show there are a lot to know about the world, but you let your players decide what they wish to go into depth with.
---
This way your lore first 'give flavour' to the characters, then the characters themselves apply that flavour to the story.
As you later can give descriptions, with lore elements in them, which you characters now can recognize, as they know parts of the lore.
You do not need elaborate the fur cloak the antagonist is wearing, is made of illegal skin from an endangered specie, because your characters already know!
---
Enjoy when your characters build their story, add on to it from the lore you have made.
It is a shift in thinking: From applying the characters to the lore (forced at them through the plot), you now apply the lore to the characters (Which will flavour their story)!
An added benefit is a shift from plot driven (railroading) to story driven (role play)!
I'm running a campaign for four as well, lol. I like your ideas, my players are currently tied up in some vampire pirate drama. DND best game ever.
Liking this format wonna watch save or dice so much!!
You have acquired classy mustache.
Book..... OR videos? Why not both?
is the book out ? can't find it >
@@Mandraw2012 not yet ;)
Bideos.
Vooks.
I like it. You explained this well. I'm looking forward to the next video on how to expand this outline.
I’m actually writing my first campaign and this video helped so much! Hello from the states!!!
I was thinking of creating a similar campaign idea but, instead of a heart the players needed to find the pieces of the benevolent God's soul that has been trapped in the Material Plane, Shadowfell, and Fey Wild. Once they freed the God from his imprisonment by the malevolent God he would be able to stop the rampage that the malevolent God has brought upon the world.
I love how you came up with Neverwinter Nights 2 plot without ever playing the game
OMG! Can't wait to see you on Save or Dice!
Renato Lopes
Lol. I thought he was saying Sable Dice...
+Robert Lombardo> It is an advice on beards:
Shave or get lice!
great timing, i am starting a new campaign at the end of september.
If I was a part of this campaign, I would take the heart for myself. :V
Thanks for all the knowledge share and making the task less daunting
I was wondering if you could do a breakdown of each of the session from a DM's point of view. Like what you planed v what happened.
I would love to see more videos on the other stuff, I will try to buy the book when I economically can
Your most helpful thing for me yet, I think! Can’t wait for the next vid!
Also, please do go over the other steps in a vid, at least briefly.
This story feels like a modified Inyuasha.
TTTTTHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAANNNNKKKKKK YYYYYYYYYOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUU
Holy hell - first! Great video, Guy! Keep up the good work.
Do you have the link to the livestream in question? Thanks
YES
Nice mustache dude
The plot is exactly the same as the litrpg book "he who fights with monsters" I see you dm
Another interesting video. :)
Do you know when you will have the first stream of your game?
I'd love to buy a book. I've been wanting to make a campaign for my friends for a while now, but I can't find a good place to start.
Perhaps start in a bookshop?
Super interested in this book, where can I find details on it?
What book exactly are you referring to? I'd love to buy the book.
What do you do if your someone is actually a group?
I was thinking... What about doing a campaign where the PCs in the end realize that they were the big evil all the time, and the villain was actually a very brave hero, with their characters being of good alignments? Someone already did something similar?
Those are more common than most think.
Most D&D campaigns are that way.
Except, of course, it is rare that "the PCs in the end realize that they were the big evil all the time". (As they don't care.)
Most common story is the one of a group of serial killers. (Sometimes called "murder hobos".)
Yeah, I am fairly new in the GM role, and as a player, I always care a lot about being in the character and being more than just a "murder hobo", so if my GM did that to me, I would stay in shock for a good minute, hehe. Maybe is because my focus is on the narrative, rather than the combat. In a group of truly good alignment PCs, I think that this premise would be difficult to put off, but if done right, very cool.
I would say that making the PCs help the villains is (far too) easy, as many players are quick to "bite" when the GM throw a "hook".
From what I have seen, then it is widespread to accept a given mission without question!
I have had some conversations with other players about this "Quick to accept what the GM throws at the group" mentality, and the argument is often: Let us explore what the GM have prepared for us!
In computer games there are often only that one option. th-cam.com/video/OU3-XyGX2WU/w-d-xo.html
But I say: In role play game we have the option to question the offered mission, to determine if it fit with what we want to do.
I am one of the few who do that (Which annoys the other players), sometimes I wait until we have completed the mission: Why should he die? - I have had a situation where some of the other players realised we had committed a murder without any reason for it, other than we did someone else's dirty job!
I think I somewhat understand why murder hobos are so common: They just do what the quest giver tell them to do, and as the "alignment section" of their character sheet say "good", then everything is fine!
Lars Dahl what a coincidence, I’m that type of player too. My characters also question “why should we do this? Is this person trustworthy? Let’s analyze the situation before making any decision, yes? Just one time, just one damn time”. And I question the GM a lot, making theories about the story he is making with us, always trying to understand the situation before deciding what my characters should do. Some people don’t have the patience to do that, but I have more fun and feel more comfortable in that way.
th-cam.com/video/t8VwE92HqME/w-d-xo.html
Enjoy!
How do you deal with the random spell that can ruin plot? I planned that a kraken destroy the ship my players are in, they should had find floating wood and build a raft,made stuff with floating thing like flag,rope etc. The guy in heavy armor should had take it of before jumping in the ocean.instead he turned in a giant igle wit polymorph and fly away carring the other player.
First, know what your players are capable of. Nothing that the players have is random. They have access to a set number of spells and class resources that the game gives them. They only have the items that produce magical effects which you grant them. It should't be too hard to find out what they can do and setting up a situation that is not solved trivially.
Secondly, get them to expend those pesky spell slots, class features and items by presenting a situation where every time they rest for an hour or eight more people die. Allow those non-player character deaths to have weight and consequence. "Well, we would like to sell you some healing potions, but the potion brewer was pierced by five arrows while fleeing the town in the attack last night."
Thirdly, it is OK to give the players the occasional encounter that is solved with one perfectly executed action from one player. Everyone needs a moment to shine. It is fun when we get a big win. Besides, with how often the players foil your high skill challenge encounters, it is nice to watch them almost kill themselves trying to get through a locked, untrapped door that they are rolling poorly on.
@@GuardianTactician tnx
Like Thomas said, you have to know what your players are capable of, and if this is truly something you want to railroad them into, be prepared to outdo their capabilities. This one seems pretty easy, he can't polymorph, pick up his friend, and fly away in a single turn. Why is the kraken not attacking them? A single tentacle attack would prevent the eagle from escaping, and two tentacle attacks would knock him out of form if he didn't already lose concentration. I know that telling you after the fact doesn't help, but it's important to be able to both anticipate PC solutions and to react to unexpected solutions if you are trying to guide them down a particular path.
Remember to award your player(s) with a huge amount of extra XP / opportunity tokens / IP / whatever your system uses!
@@dwil0311 they were low level poor little goblin (more intelligent than normal) hunted and killed as soon as someone see them. The kraken was there only to show that the world is dangerous place and because they feel too op. I let them try to save the ship. They cutted some tentacles that were crushing skeletons ( only 2 players so they both take the spell to summon skeleton) and used all they got. Polymorph was the last spell they had. They keep stealing thing and loot from the dead corpse all that they can carry. One time the guy ordered to the skeletons to form group and carry 25kg of groviera. I asked whyyyy?? I will use it in some way. So the encounter was planned to punish that behavior. Hope this is understandable
Previous episode? Sentence? Did I miss something?
Yeah were is it? I can't find it either
He discusses the big sentence in several videos, but I think this one will explain it the best. th-cam.com/video/Dbbm5dLXGyI/w-d-xo.html
Or this one th-cam.com/video/pgoW1at9bBg/w-d-xo.html
This is the first video in this series: th-cam.com/video/UxyGu1gSjxI/w-d-xo.html For some reason it's dated later, so it's hard to find
A book? Where do I buy the book?
A book by you? Can I preorder?
What's the title of the book an where to get it?
Where can I buy your book?
It will be available on DrivethruRPG as soon as I can finish it up :)
So, this was useful....to a limited degree unfortunately.
The description of the first part was useful (establishing and introducing the pc's to the world).
But ...skipping over the other sections just because the sample campaign was short - not as useful.
Also, instead of saying "the horse" - which is only useful to the specific campaign - something like "introduce other significant NPC who will play a major part of the campaign".
The video is well done, and of high quality - like the vast majority in the channel - but it was not quite as useful, due to the limited scope.
Deploy more videos faster! I had Session 0 today.
well seeing as i am watching this series i am going to skip this video
Where can I buy your book?