4 Ways To Make DND Combat LESS BORING

I dunno why it took me three weeks and fully reshooting the footage to get this out, but it did.
Disclaimer: The art, music, and other intellectual property featured in this video are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended and I do not claim ownership over any that I do not own the rights to.
---
Sources
Parchment Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay pixabay.com/il...
Town Square Image by Willgard Krause from Pixabay pixabay.com/ph...
Magic Crystal Image by Dieter from Pixabay pixabay.com/il...
Empty Room Doorway Image by Susann Mielke from Pixabay pixabay.com/il...
Medieval Town Black-White Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay pixabay.com/ve...
---
Here's a quick channel synopsis so I can fill out my KZbin keywords.
While I primarily discuss D&D 5E, a lot of these topics are translatable to other TTRPGs: Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, Pathfinder 2E, Vampire: the Masquerade, Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Hunter: the Reckoning, the World of Darkness, Lancer, Call of Cthulhu, Paranoia, City of Mist, Shadowrun, Daggerheart, Candela Obscura, Draw Steel.
If YOU want to learn how to roleplay in dnd, how to make a dnd character, how to make a dnd campaign, or even how to play dnd, you've come to the right English-speaking Vtuber.
#dnd #d&d #dungeonsanddragons #ttrpg #vtuber #vtuberenglish

[@JoaoVictor-ms4zp]

Really good advice. And i think rolling for enemy actions while players are planning could be a great combination

[@traductus3337]

The environmental mechanics sound really fun to play with, I will definitely add them to my sessions as well. A great way to add flavor to simpler fights against bandits and combats alike.

[@AroWrites]

An ambush by bandits who fight until they die is one thing. A group of bandits who fire volleys from across a river and who scatter as soon as their leader is incapacitated is suddenly an incredibly engaging encounter

[@emilstvring7577]

no no, they got a point Vtuber wisdom, you love to see it

[@AroWrites]

@@emilstvring7577 It’s so rare, I know

[@lordzaboem]

Strangely, I like the Dedicated Huddle. That was my favorite GM strat of the four in this video. I can see where some tables might hate it enough to mutany. I dont have a specific strat for speeding up combat, because this varies a lot from one system to another. I run a variety of games. In D&D, one thing I will often do is simply not take initiative rolls. I will use initiatives of a situation narratively requires it, like an Old West shootout where the quickest draw is usually the only person to get an action. 9/10ths of the time, we just don't need it. Neither if my two favorite systems use initiative rolls every time. The adventurers can go first in any order they like, and then the NPCs take their turns in any order that makes sense to me. It's an artificial advantage for the players, but it's so minor that it does not unbalance the game anywhere near as much as my garbage dice rolls. The elimination of init nakes for one less roll for the players to make and a lot less bookkeeping for me.

[@AroWrites]

The only issue I'd have with that is that it removes any initiative-boosting features from being useful, unless you incorporate that into the narrative weighting of who goes first. But at the end of the day that's such a minor issue that I kinda agree to just skip initiative all-together!

[@neerGdyahS]

EDIT: Nice vid, well made. Good advice and well put. That's not bounded accuracy, you described the power of action economy. Bounded accuracy refers to the reduction in the range of possible attack bonuses and AC compared to previous editions (and pathfinder). In other words bounded accuracy means weak players and monsters still have a reasonable chance to hit stronger/better armored ones, and stronger can still miss weaker/lower AC ones. Little-to-no +20s to hit or 32 AC.

[@AroWrites]

You're absolutely right! Bounded accuracy led to the issues I described with the action economy, but they're two separate things. Totally forgot, thanks for the reminder!

[@georgebegley1065]

Damn this actually helped me as a new dm, most videos are about this are really overly complex and don't offer very concrete solutions

[@AroWrites]

The hope is that even someone who's never DM'd before can watch this and go "oh, that makes sense"

[@vulpesignis2201]

Omg thank you so much for going more in depth of "make the combats matter" tip because EVRYONE just throws that ou there like it is the holy grail but never actually tells how to do do it, like do I make only lore heavy fights? Sounds impossible, make every combat a "you win or the whole world ends"? That will work for like, 3 times max But you actually went there and gave great a great example on what you should do, props to you pal

[@AroWrites]

Why thank you very much! There's more than one way to make an encounter matter, and sometimes that literally just means spending less time on it

[@Cassapphic]

Only issue I could see happening with "DM rolls during the player's turns" is it does add mental load to the GM to process what rolls will be needed based on what the creature is likely to do while also helping resolve a player's turn, any questions they have and whatever game mechanics or abilities are involved

[@AroWrites]

Agreed! That's why it works best with a straightforward monster like a dragon, which you know is either gonna bite-claw-claw or maybe use its fire breath if it's recharged. And if you end up not using specific rolls this turn, just save the numbers and use them next turn. The issue is when you get monsters with spells or multiple actions and it becomes a nested decision tree

[@TheSidetrackYT]

I really liked this! And I'm going to steal that "shadows bargaining for their lives with the goblin gold" encounter 😂 that's so simple and great!

[@AroWrites]

Listen, they stole that treasure fair and square, they can spend it how they wish!

[@neerGdyahS]

One thing you touch on is that making combat fun isn't about having MORE it's about having DIFFERENT, having OPTIONS, and having CHALLENGES/PROMPTS (that encourage people to come up with creative solutions) The players (generally) aren't going to appreciate nor experience all the effort you put into deciding which traits and stats to give a monster, that's not what's memorable. It's important for a DM to keep in mind if what they are focusing on during prep, is actually something that is going to impact the player experience. (and HOW it will do so, how that contributes to overall tone etc.)

[@AroWrites]

Exactly! Variety is the spice of life, and a diverse range of encounters is what takes combat from being "alright" to the highlight of a game. Particularly when you start incorporating non-mechanical solutions to the combat, like a puzzle or mid-fight negotiation

[@richardrdotson]

We’re working on a ttrpg where every player gets two actions and group initiative.

[@AroWrites]

Well do go on

[@richardrdotson]

@@AroWrites 2d10 fantast system where the attributes used to cast are picked by the player and determine how spells are cast, the class determines what spells.

[@mikko272]

Have you heard about Nimble 5e or dc20 by dungeons coach?

[@oliverpedersen6818]

When going into dungeons, I like to just let everyone use 10 + their initiative modifier. It saves us a lot of crucial time from all the small combats that will inevitably happen. But that's only for dungeons, during other combat I tend to roll, and that can take a significant amount of time, especially because i keep forgetting to roll initiative for my monsters... Maybe I should just roll initiative for them and write it down in the beginning

[@AroWrites]

Anything you front-load before the session is something you don't gotta worry about during it!

[@lisandrovarela8599]

super great advise! i will try these

[@adastial2104]

The way I do it as a dm I completely removed initiative and when my players attack the hits they get are based on main stat with d 20 mixed with enemy ac as well as making sure that damage is based on rp like hitting a specific part of a creature to make it more interesting

[@AroWrites]

That sounds cool, though at that point I'm curious as to why you've stuck with D&D? There are other systems that support that style of combat better

[@adastial2104]

@@AroWrites i just like the system for races and the options plus its easier to just get all my players to use dnd beyond for a lot of rolls since most are beginners

[@azzaelulbrinter]

I am not a fan of DM rolling the dice as it distracts it from what is going on during the players turn. I prefer asking the players to roll their AC vs the attack of the monsters, that way I simply state: "wizard, two goblins jump out of the corner and try to stab you twice, fighter, three goblins go for you, make your armor saves!" That way the rolling and math goes into the players, who also know their AC unlike me who i need to constantly ask "does a X hit?" How it works is that they record their AC modifier in their sheet, which is the AC-12. Then the "DC" to avoid attacks is the monster's to hit bonus +10. So if a goblin has a +2 to hit, and a player has 14 AC, this transaltes to the player rolling a d20+2 vs DC 12, on a success it blocks the attack

[@AroWrites]

Huh... That sounds like it's just having the players roll the attack rolls for the monsters, unless I'm misunderstanding. Which, yeah, that absolutely would speed things up and gives a weird sense of agency to the players!

[@AngelicBeatdown]

this is AHero isn’t it Also I just use avg damage for everything :3

[@AroWrites]

I'm actually unfamiliar with AHero, so sorry to disappoint! Average damage is another way to speed things up! Personally I don't like how static it is, but it sure gets the job done

[@AngelicBeatdown]

@@AroWritesJust me hoping they make a return to KZbin one day…but I like that you remind me of them! Great videos.