A great way to handle player conflict in D&D

Being civil can be tough when you're in a group of drastically different characters, but the powers of a good DM and respectful players extend far and wide. This video is just me taking notes for myself lol.
Here's a link to the campaign: • Heart of Elynthi - a L...
JoCat's Twitch: / jocat
The episode this happened in: • Before We Leave - Hear...

[@OverlySarcasticProductions]

always seek consent before entangling -R

[@Just_som_Ottur]

Ayo it’s Red Why didn’t you invite blue or cyan to play?? /jk ^^

[@hvymtal8566]

Because no means no whether it's in the bedroom or when your party is entangling you to prevent you from stabbing a potential ally

[@SirToastyToes]

The safe word is "Strength check"

[@atomicbuttocks]

​@@SirToastyToesmines blight

[@monstermoo4191]

Saw the Thumbnail and actually yelled, "Is that THE Red!?!

[@JoCat]

it's you who were the mvp player dude, being willing to go "nah it's okay if my character doesn't get what he wants" is such a mature and roll-with-the-punches way of going about things, and makes it a breeze to dm for (and I'd guess, play with from the players)

[@taylorwatling1421]

jocat i'm a super fan i love your vids your so cool!!!!!

[@renatoafonsomaiacarneiro950]

I wish my D&D experience was like that...my first moment like this ended with my player being the murder hobo and attacking the quest NPC 😅

[@pipp972]

Yeah this was his merit mostly, though huge props to the DM and the party. He just said "I'm gonna do a thing my character would do, but don't stress, it's not me, just the character. It's ok if he fails."

[@croll1269]

I wish there were a way to convey this kind of energy to the players as the DM. I want the home group to be able to open up more, but it's hard to do (somehow) with a small, close-knit group of 3 men-children and 2 of them have a history of butting heads from a character standpoint. That said, I'm still going to try to put this idea into practice because our Forever DM needs to take a break every now and then. I'll need to check out your campaign at some point. I started to and then got sidetracked. 😅

[@0MidnighttheDragon0]

I love the type of player he is, it's what I try to be. "it's what my character would do. but that doesn't mean his actions won't have consequences. Did he stab the npc we were trying to get on our side? you guys have every right to entangle/knock out/whatever you feel you need to do." hell I wouldn't have even been salty if they flat out attacked. I'm a rare player that feel like, within reason, pvp amoungst party members CAN be okay if it REALLY makes sense in the moment. (I've also seen the opposite end of the spectrum where the DM said that me playfully smacking a party member upside the head for a dumb comment was pvp and wouldnt let me do it which like...I dont get? it's a playful smack upside the head amoungst allies, it's not like I was even damaging him)

[@perrisavallon5170]

...I had no idea you, Red, and Jocat were in a campaign together?? Definitely watching that.

[@orlando71434]

You can find it every Wednesday on jocats twitch

[@gogeta667]

JoCat's the guy who thinks J.K Rowling is a transphobe and supports child sex change surgeries. Why would anyone want to interact with that scumbag?

[@TarninTheGreat]

This was me learning this as well. If it was on youtube I think I'd've already clicked the first episode, but now that it's on my radar, I'll make a point to go start it.

[@mattwardproductions7399]

Well Jocat is the DM, but yeah

[@teyannihlux8261]

​@@orlando71434only on twitch. I don't have it 😢

[@danielbabb1676]

This can be called the writer's room rule. If anyone has a problem with a group decision or knows their character will have a problem they can call a writer's room to explain as the player what the conflict is. Then the group can discuss the best path forward to ensure everyone will still have fun.

[@Insertein]

I like it!

[@spacemonkeyentertainment6413]

A lot of players, especially if they've never DMed, treat story writing as something to consume. "That is the DMs job". Like for example, if the DM doesn't introduce an NPC, that NPC doesn't exist, you don't hear throwaway lines like "Well, but my cousin Vinny knows everybody in town X". I like to nudge players like that to give me a few sentences on their character background (i.e. why is your character here in the first place ?) or something like that, so i can incorporate it into the story and they have something to latch on to. That is usually enough to make them participate more actively in the storytelling, at least when it comes to "their" part of it. The thing is, that won't work with newer players who are busy remembering what spells they have access to and what these spells do or how hit and damage calculation works.

[@Wulfram]

The issue is boarderline meta gaming. Wurd makes valid points, but talking about “No, stay out of her circle, so you aren’t in her magical effect.” Is meta gaming. If DM allows it, go for it, but not all will allow things like that.

[@tuomasronnberg5244]

​@@WulframNothing borderline about it. They had stepped out of character and were discussing the game in a meta sense. That is, not what characters want but what they, as participants in play, want to happen. Not all metagaming is bad. It's a tool that needs to be used wisely.

[@legitplayin6977]

Man, this is why I don’t bother with dnd, too much fiddling around the game and not actually playing the game.

[@Alam_Gutz]

you deserve a bunch of credit too man, you dind't only allowed your fellow players to stop you, you encouraged them to do so, that's the way to go with the "it's what my character would do" your character may do something but as a player one should let others stop your character from doing something that the other players may disagree with

[@chukyuniqul]

I still feel bad for my two protector characters because both of them failed in the brief skirmishes I've got them through in their campaigns. Karl was focused on killing enemies and didn't use his ancestral guardian powers on enemies that were locked in melee with his squishier party members which resulted in the satyr sorceress getting severely maimed and Shield allowed his stealth-oriented party member take point and when combat started he was alone against two enemies which got him killed. Shield himself obliterated the necromancer animating the skeletons which killed his party member, but the poor guy will never be the same again :( (also in case you're wondering, shield's called shield because he used to be a wildman, found this kid he took care of for a bit until his parents found him and he was introduced by the kid to his parents as "this is my shield")

[@isaacgraff8288]

Behold the CORRECT way to say "its what my character would do"

[@LukeCuddy]

Yup. I have an unfortunately proactive good hearted character within a rather bleak campaign. After several real life years of playing together, it goes something like: Me "Oh, no. GM? We gotta stop Kiyoshi from doing ." GM "Oh, for sure. He'd absolutely think to try that. Other players? I feel YOUR character would notice first and has the best chance to stop him" Me "WHEW! Thank you GM! Sorry everybody!" Other PC(s) "Oh, is Kiyoshi about to do a Kiyoshi?" Me "Yesssss." GM "Yup." Other PC(s) "Okay. Well! We'll obviously stop him from doing that, and redirect him back on mission. all good?" GM "You're all very well familiar with the process by now. Kiyoshi?" Me "All good! Let's go."

[@undeniablySomeGuy]

This is an idea that people really need to grasp. Understanding that you can do "what your character would do" but you're not entitled to success. In fact, usually narratives are much more interesting when characters fail. Consequences drive plot.

[@Alam_Gutz]

@@undeniablySomeGuy abosolutely agree, a critical fail on a charisma check got our bard in a separate cell atached to the wall and it was hilarious

[@BillHallProductions]

How dare you propose being reasonable and communicating your intentions? I thought this was a game for Nerds.

[@bastionsea2829]

Only the Wizards of the Coast version, because they wanted money

[@svellice]

BuT tHiS iS MeTaGaMiNg

[@BillHallProductions]

@@svellice sorry I don't use Facebook

[@Wulfram]

@@svelliceI mean… it is though.

[@DinoboySeth]

@@Wulframgood metagaming ☺️

[@BigAutisticDaddy]

I appreciate a player willing to auto fail to comply with the party's wishes while retaining his characters personality, I would personally be all for lone pcs stirring chaos but I know thats not everyone's cup of tea, and I think no one should be having a bad time in a game of all things.

[@worthasandwich]

This is a really important lesson and not just for conflict resolution. Sometimes the players get tunnel vision and it can be good to step back and think about motivations and why you are pursuing a corse of action.

[@gonaldginkus6228]

I’m going to miss Jocat. He wasn’t a mere content creator, he was an artist.

[@adriannelson4214]

This definitely underlines the "collaborative storytelling" part of D&D in exchange for the "improv theatre" part, and it just saved them all from an otherwise difficult situation. Being able to communicate like adults is a good skill, ain't it?

[@bigego8096]

This is genuinely an awesome example of players still considering the role-play of the game but not getting too caught up in it to ignore the fact they’re playing with actual people.

[@kaykay7248]

Don't you love when adults act like adult lol I feel like most actual drama that happens is largely because of childish miscommunication or lack of communication all together. Love to see jocat being awesome ❤

[@gogeta667]

Too bad JoCat's not capable of that shit. Showed his true colors during the Hogwart's Legacy nonsense.

[@charmingoracle129]

Damn, I remember my last actual campaign I was in. My DM didn’t respond to any of my questions, suggestions or feedback. In fact, he discouraged me from giving him any feedback at all. He was even complicit in the verbal abuse another player was perpetrating towards me and some other party members all because the problematic player and DM were best friends. Good thing we basically nuked that campaign after the rest of us decided to leave the session after 2 of the other players decided to change their characters and when we found a new campaign to join as well.

[@kaykay7248]

@gogeta667 idk just because you think he had one bad take. I don't think that makes him a bad person or a bad dungeon master, I've heard him call for trans rights it's not like he's some total chud.

[@gogeta667]

@@kaykay7248 "Trans Rights" is just a euphemism for delusion affirmation. You don't have a right to brainwash and confuse kids to make you feel better about your own insanity. Transes have rights. Canada made it illegal to misgender and now California is going that route. I would definitely say he's a bad person for following the cult. Can't even point to anything Rowling said that was transphobic but the activists bully and call for death threats against people playing a game. Nah. Just nah.

[@jarroddt]

@@kaykay7248 wait what happened with jocat?

[@E1_DE3]

I really love Jocat's dungeon master style. I also really love the group skill checks, that is a really fun mechanic imo. Also really enjoying Heart of Elynthi. PS: BOSS BOSS BOSS!!!!

[@selensewar]

Never forget: Pumpkins are bigger!

[@E1_DE3]

@@selensewar Pumpkins are bigger!!!!

[@joshuamangnall]

Pumpkin are bigger

[@maximoftheinternet-zt2me]

Jocat as a DM: Let’s be reasonable and resolve this in a friendly manner My DM: *pulls out blank character sheets* Just kills each other, see if I care

[@rabblerabble814]

Also don't forget it's okay to be a little out of character, maybe your thief rogue decides keeping the paladin around as muscle is worth not stealing right in front of them despite normally having an "eff the police" attitude, and maybe the paladin checks the other room real quick "just to be safe" leaving the rogue alone for a bit. Lots of things you can do to stay mostly in character and keep the game moving.

[@Vanity0666]

Conflict drives stories and conflict between players invites opportunities for deeply immersive gameplay and story writing options once the players recognize that they will be unable to overcome obstacles while at each others throats

[@teathesilkwing7616]

Yeah, being in character all the time is kinda stupid. People irl aren’t “in character” all the time. Sometimes, people do things that they don’t normally do

[@Suninrags]

​@teathesilkwing7616 I've dealt with players who actualy claim its bad rp to not be in char

[@ShadeKirby500]

I think one of the more important things is simply having an out for the conflict, it would be in character for both to react as they would, but that is when the Paladin leaves to check on something, or when the Rogue decides that Fancy Candalabra is not worth stealing. It can even be something like the player deciding to fail a roll because it would have hurt the party, but the characters feelings remain intact. You can always have a more satisfying way of resolving that conflict or tension without dicking around.

[@WouldUKindly47]

You know this is actually pretty inspired to just ditch the game for a moment and meta talk about how the players want things to go. Maybe my table shouldn’t be so iron clad on meta gaming or keeping my story a secret.

[@TheSidetrackYT]

i feel like that last part is really hard for certain players to get over in the beginning - myself included. I was definitely the person to make a really long and intricate backstory, sewing seeds of detail here and there because i wanted my friends to ask questions about me and have my story come out organically, and hoo boy is it a hard thing to pull off WELL. It's a much better idea across the board to just state your intentions plainly, for what your character wants but also what you as a player want, so that everyone is on the same page. Maybe if you've got a really tight group of players that all know each other really well, you can then have those kind of stories where everyone will be excited to dig into each other's details to learn about each other, but for new groups it's always a good rule of thumb to keep things surface level and encourage open communication

[@josephschubert6561]

Yeah, I had a character in a very short lived campaign that was very cautious around other people, because of multiple betrayals and trauma at a young age. (Note that all of our characters were somewhere between 11-20 years old because this was a Pokemon campaign). Since he was still young, the effects of that weren't set in stone. He went with the other characters, and accepted their gifts of food and new clothes, but he was wary of them. He didn't trust them yet, even if didn't think they were going to hurt him. We had my character and another alone talking for a little bit, and they shared some of their pasts, but not everything. The two of us would talk about our characters outside of the sessions, and we both were on board with slowly learning about the other. I think the rest of the group would have done some backstory uncovering if the campaign stayed alive, and I know I would try to learn more about their characters. I think having a backstory that's revealed in character, and at a naturally slow and guarded rate can go well, as long as all the players know "this character will tell you things if you ask, but they won't volunteer it. And over time, more and more will be revealed."

[@Just_som_Ottur]

You willingly failing that save earns you +100 good boy bucks Cause that kindof player mentality is stellar, and I really wish more people would do stuff like that

[@nathanbrent4295]

One of my favorite shows is the modern day equivalent of a LG paladin and a CN rogue working together, the paladin learns to prioritize the "Good" part over the "Lawful" part, and the rogue learns that it feels good to help people.

[@HaughtyToast]

If somewhere out there exists a dungeon master that has Matt Mercer's presentation with Jocat's game management then we will have hit peek DM.

[@cptclonks7279]

Brennan Lee mulligan

[@AtaeruCDX]

While you were able to resolve that one scene. I imagine that it now throws conflict into the group with Wurd being restrained and actively prevented from getting revenge on the witch. What happens next? It just seems like it would be a breaking point for Wurd as a character.

[@Caminator42]

I sorta had this thought as well, curious what happened next!

[@AFndjdj7373]

You gotta don’t argue. Thank you, you handsome imp x

[@Morbidt123]

*Mind blown hearing Red's voice in a video I didn't expect her voice to be in.*

[@underwarboy5065]

A tip to avoid real rift on the players, chill on the roleplay sometimes. When you’re roleplaying a heated discussion, even if you’re not actually angry, the person on the other side may be. This happened to me once. We were screaming our lungs out, I thought it was just roleplay and was having fun, in narrative sense. However, days later the group kicked me out because the guy playing the character got genuinely hurt and offended. This really sucks, especially when you love your characters and don’t want them gone. I miss you Bash.

[@Omega-mr1jg]

Not connected to DnD or anything but this story i have of a dude whos toxic, not really compliant and unwilling to try and learn new things in a world spanning geopoliticsrp we have ruins storiea just by being a pseudo roman empire at every turn and not extracting stories out of it, as well as being so argumentative that you might think its hoi4, and honestlu, he sees it as hoi4. Really shitty situation, but i think arguements that get loud shouldnt always be discouraged, and i feel like you got disrespected and i feel bad for you, considering i can also get harsh if im trying to prove a point for 10 minutes straight

[@marmar3530]

I need context for this because this sounds really fishy.

[@underwarboy5065]

They weren’t bad people, I think I overstepped to much and that caused the whole thing to escalate.

[@TheDapperDragon]

Source: Trust me bro.

[@Katwind]

​@@underwarboy5065 Well, all of that seems very unfortunate. But at the end it may have been for the best cause it seems like you weren't really understanding each other at all, and it is a good advice to not assume you understand the other person's intentions/feelings so thank you for sharing. On the other hand, it looks like there were two important red flags with the party. One, that it was necessary for a moment to all be unconscious and the DM forced that scene. Granted, that is a small complaint but player's agency is a touchy subject that should be considered with caution. Second, even if the misunderstanding was big enough to take you out, it's not okay that they decided before talking to you about it. You may have looked as a problem player even more by starting the secondary discussion (understandably), which would have been a bigger misunderstanding, but they just told you after they had already voted.

[@FelbyIkendy]

this like legit makes me want to watch the entire series of that now, that's such an amazing way to have handled it

[@worryjspverybadatd2125]

I’m excited to discover that you’re playing D&D with two of my other favorite creatives from KZbin. Love you guys!

[@hawkeyesblue9254]

Loved this video and shared it with all my dnd groups. Awesome video!

[@RingAroundMeReal]

Honestly this was one of my frist liveplays i have ever seen, and as somone whos new to the game as a player and dm, i often look at it as an example of what to do when i dont know how to handle a situation

[@avryantoinette]

Ahhh, this is my favorite method of handling conflict! I have been struggling to get a group of players that plays asynchronously to employ this quite as successfully as I would like. I am going to steal your video and add it to my reference sheet I am making hahaha. Thank you!!

[@hunterrye6895]

I remember watching this and just taking notes. this was resolved so well and it was a great learning experience for DMs in the chat such as myself

[@gmkgoat]

I think it's always a good idea for players to play into their characters, but everyone's gotta remember that their characters are acting as part of a team towards a greater goal. The most virtuous paladin and the most klepto rogue have to realize, on some level, that their own personal bs is less important than the reason they're both there in the first place.

[@KaminoZan]

I was actually re-watching this campaign earlier today. And, while I'd like to say yours is my favorite character... all of the cast is incredible! (Wurd is the prettiest, though.)

[@silverymist3952]

If there is one thing I have learned from lots and lots and lots of roleplay. Though I learned it fast, and then later roleplaying validated my realisation. And seeing stuff like this is reiterating it for me and making me glad I picked up on it. Sometimes it's okay to bend a character a bit, or the circumstances around the character or their actions. Especially if it keeps things flowing smoothly, rather than jeopardise things. I mean there is the obvious "If you're not getting what you want out of a campaign and making unfulfilling compromises, then maybe the game isn't for you" and I mean I could go into a big 'ol flowchart of "what to do if and when whatever"... ...But the fact remains that it's a logical fallacy to assume malice from people who don't want you to do something that may be rooted in malice or spite or impulsive reactions or selfish action, and then become rigid and inflexible claiming they don't want to make things work while cussing and/or quietly grudging out at them either in the open or in your head, when you haven't even talked to them. Or your definition of talking to them is the cussing them out and grudging at them. A bad group will demand you break your character. A good group will be reluctant to even ask if you could bend your character, knowing it's not fair to make somebody "take one for the team", but will at least not treat you poorly. A great group will be willing to try and set things up in a way the bending is minimised and both makes sense for the situation and allows your character to still effectively remain themselves. But it shouldn't be understated that if you want a certain kind of positive attitude out of a group, you should at least strive to bring that attitude to the table. Scenario illustrated in the video outlines the boons of staying civil, and how even if it means making yourself a little vulnerable, being willing to make that initial compromise and making that clear while reiterating what you want to do, is a good way to push things in a hopefully mutually beneficial direction. If other people see this and go with along with you to make the thing work, great! ...And if you get made fun of for a perfectly reasonable request, or sharply turned down in a dismissive way like you weren't even listened to, or treated like you're an expendable accessory rather than a person, then your group just ousted themselves as maybe not caring as much about your fun as their own without it needing to be a nasty surprise. :3 Better you find out sooner, rather than after lots of unfulfilling compromises and sunk cost fallacy arguments later. Not everyone gets a warning before disaster.

[@sailorenthusiast]

Having watched this scene in full, it was honestly really cool to have such an amazing example of player conflict being handled well by the DM and players. It’s incredibly common to find bad examples, but not so much good ones like this.

[@snowts]

I think Blades in the Dark suggests something like this in their guidance for player vs player - players decide the desired outcome then work backwards to get there

[@CrowePerch]

This is honestly an incredible example of how to handle in character conflict. Far too often I see tables unwilling to break RP to just say “Hey so this is what my character is going to try and do, I personally don’t want to overshadow your characters, so how do you guys want to handle this?” Excellent job, and I’d love to watch this episode to see how it all happened.

[@Fastwalker22]

My last campaign was themed after Survivor (the TV show), and one thing we started doing was allowing players to autofail their characters' ability checks for roleplay purposes/letting players target themselves in AoE spells, and this led to a lot of super fun stuff throughout. Bending the rules a bit/letting your character get screwed in order to bring about a better experience for players can be really cool!

[@TheUglyGoblin]

Ah yes! This is a Reaally healthy way to deal with things! Loved this video! (Also love your work Mr Runesmith Sir uwu, you have inspired me to start making my own!)

[@perfectiondreamusa]

we had a similar moment in my campaign. basically a macguffin was imprisoned by a powerful faction that my character was also a part of, and while we discussed breaking them out i stepped back and said i didn’t really want to antagonize the faction that im personally connected to and we had a writers room moment including the DM and ended up changing the direction of the campaign and i really appreciate my DM being willing to accommodate my rp in that scenario

[@KamiThulak]

Loved this moment when I first saw it. Looking forward to the next session.

[@travusfaulkner1461]

I feel like that. It was a really great way to deal with that situation. It's like a "Time Stop" on everything and explain your reasons and what you would like to see happen from both sides then act out possible Dialog that happens in that moment. As a DM, being able to offer up something shiny to influence a decision.

[@jdsam93]

Good Timing for that video for me personally. I had a similar situation as a DM 2 days ago and i couldnt handle it nearly as well. Also my players didnt communicate it that well. I hope we can learn from it. Thanks for the video!

[@josephradley3160]

That was a great session, very early in the campaign. You play Wurd so well.

[@yimtheduck]

Absolutely love listening to the heart of elynthi campaign while I'm in the gym. Wurd is an absolute goober

[@KuroOokami167]

Oh hey! Finding this because of JoCat! Awesome!

[@Catatonica]

Me, browsing through Runesmith’s channel: “I wonder what video I’m gonna watch- WTF RED OSP”

[@flooferderp2918]

This is good to learn. Thanks. I'll definitely think of this while I dm and I play.

[@guidomista3570]

Holy shit I didn't know that you were in a campaign with two of my other favorite KZbinrs, gotta go watch that right now

[@chrfrber7387]

Give that DM an award!!! Thats fing genius! Thanks for sharing Logan, even using yourself as an example ;)

[@cookiescream8004]

Sometimes, I really gotta remind myself that most tables do not, in fact, consist of players constantly vying for maximum chaos both within and outside of the party, and as such, PC conflict can be pretty abnormal and tends to be contentious between actual players. Although I can't say I'm all that upset about being the odd man out lol. Speaking of the PC paladin-rogue dynamic, that reminds me of an extremely fun campaign in which my PC was a paladin who was trying so hard to do the virtuous paladin thing, but was so bad at it because she grew up as a pirate, whereas the rogue was never overly concerned with morals, but was very levelheaded and preferred to find ways to cooperate with others because that's typically the most effective way to get things done. They were besties. It was great. (A handy trick for anyone who is still reading this comment: intentionally creating your PC to have some central internal conflict that allows you, as the player, to pick and choose how good/evil/lawful/chaotic they act at any given moment is so, so, so convenient, as well as a fantastic tool to better navigate PC conflict "in-game" and makes for much more interesting roleplay all around!)

[@Uberphish]

Had something very similar to this happen in my own game, recently! One player (who is a tree) decided they didn't like these upstart woodcutters who encountered the party on the road into town. A few instances of poor wording on a woodsman's part and the tree decided they needed to die. The rest of the party would rather _not_ be on the hook for murder, so after checking to make sure everyone was okay with where we currently stood vis a vis character motivations and actual player knowledge, it turned into a mini combat where the tree attempted to throttle the random NPC, the NPCs tried to get the heck out of dodge, and the rest of the party frantically tried to slow the tree down so they could escape. It was a fun little encounter that has had some interesting ripples on the party dynamic ever since. As to your own example, Jocat's awesome, all of you players are awesome, and Heart of Elynthi has been a blast. Excellent idea to give this moment in particular the spotlight!

[@kevinescalante320]

It is a wonderful thing when players care and find the story. Players are running their characters but are not their characters. I love this video.

[@caydencuva6449]

I’m so lucky, both as a player and DM in two active groups, that we haven’t had a serious, game-stopping argument. It’s moments like the one you showed that help players understand one another, and they’re so important!!

[@dtgamerk9670]

I shared this with my group. We have some conflicting personalities (as people and characters) so hopefully this will start the proper dialog and make things more peaceful.

[@diamondragion93]

Wow three of my favorite KZbinrs doing my favorite thing You bet I am going to watch

[@underwarboy5065]

I had quite a number of bad experiences with party discussions. Both from me and from other players. My tip, always remember that at the end of the day, nothing is real. I had some issues doing that at the start, diving way too much into my characters. Because of that, it ends up feeling like a personal attack to you.

[@bastionsea2829]

I really like that everyone saw the situation and knew what was going on and used their characters to solve the issue

[@comatoasttomacoast4897]

All my favorite creators, heck yeah!

[@PortalSpartan888]

Wow, this is a really mature way to handle conflict - I won't lie, the last character I played was a massive source of conflict at the table because I made a total coward in a party of badasses, who was also a whiny self-absorbed teenager. His arc (planned from the beginning) was to grow to understand his role and abilities, but I went a little too hard on the self-centredness, and it drove a wedge between myself and the other players. Looking back, this mediation would've solved so many problems by just allowing the party a bit more insight into my reasoning without the presumption of in-character reactions, and maybe could've been a more patient and understanding lens for everyone, including myself. Taking this note into my DMing, because I never want what happened with my character to happen again with my new party of good friends :)

[@DerUnglaublicheFrank]

Your problem is not communication, your problem is that you write arcs as a player for your character.

[@zylowolfzan3345]

Reminder: Problems can be solved via effective and honest communication. I... don't know why this should come as a surprise, really, but hey, sometimes we all forget. Ever forget? Happens all the time.

[@danielsanders7538]

Great GREAT way to handle things, loved it also I KNEW I RECOGNISED THE VOICE OF RED

[@galdeveer]

Allowing a player to choose to fail gives them the opportunity to have their character attempt to do what they would do without any consequences which is great.

[@tshelle8580]

This is very helpful. Amazing video as always.

[@draggonic]

That is SUCH a good method of doing things, and I ADORE the resolution of "Yeah I'll fail for narrative purposes" thats an amazing mindset to have for a player. One thing a lot of people tend to forget is that tabletop roleplaying games at their core are collaborative storytelling, even if the characters themselves are opposed, and taking things out of character for a moment is really smart to re-establish that without getting caught up with the emotions of the character.

[@skywolfbat]

@Runesmith So my group just had a big blowout over our Poppet (me) who seemed happy go lucky all the time suddenly get really pissed an elf lady woh tried to use magic she didn't understand and ended up killing an NPC we kinda didn't care about who just walked in front of her. This video is kinda a nicer way to handle it and I love that you guys can be so chill about it. I've asked my party to watch this so we can be better going forward. Thank you for sharing this with us, Mr. Smith. TLDR: I let my character shoot a dummy and shared this video because we got angry. Thank you for being awesome and making this video.

[@dizzykrogan]

I always feel bad in situations like this, when I would be stuck between hurting party dynamic or do something out of character for the sake of party cohesion. Its a tough rock and hard place to be wedged between

[@renatoafonsomaiacarneiro950]

JoCat just being awesome, you love to see it 😊

[@GigaSiphon03]

WAIT WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S THIS INCREDIBLE CAMPAIGN I GOTTA GO WATCH IT

[@davidthibault4294]

You gotta don't argue

[@mitchellhasto3003]

One of my parties has an undead monk and my barbarian has a very long traumatic history with the undead so tension has just been building and building. Out of character me and my friend acknowledge the in character reason for the building hostility and we’re both clear on the fact that I adore him as a friend and person, if I say mean things it’s just the characters talking not me going after him. It’s great having cooperative players who really enjoy good drama and conflict that can lead to character development. Still gotta talk to him to sort out exactly how we wanna make this play out soon

[@Caterpie56]

I love this, thank you for sharing

[@KarnodAldhorn]

Bro, this is some of the best advice in months

[@glebmiroshnik]

That's a neat masterclass, ty!

[@glacierfox5237]

thanks for the awesome video It's an amazing topic as I know often in my pathfinder group I but heads with the dm cause of stuff mainly cause I am used to being the rules lawyer in my games (cause I can look up spells fast mainly like that type of thing and one of my old dms were lazy) so it's nice to see this approach. and thanks for giving me something to i now have to binge listen to.... Oh how am i kidding I am glad you advertise Heart of Elynthi as I adore our resident catboy and think he is cool and been curious on how he plays/dm dnd ever since he did the crap guide to dm

[@thajocoth]

I've had player characters with conflict a few times, and talking to the players afterwards I've almost always gotten very positive responses from the players themselves when I asked them about it afterwards. Like, they enjoyed roleplaying the conflict without having realworld conflict. I have a rule in my games that all PvP requires the consent of everyone involved, and it really seemed like your party was doing that. Like, one of them said they'd entangle Wurd, but then asked you, Wurd's player, if you were okay with that first. I think that's wonderful. I also like that y'all declined the free Divination of what the decision would eventually effect. I feel like that keeps more in line with the spirit of the game and is ultimately more fun than knowing the outcomes in advance. (For the purposes of my rule in my games, PvP is any time one player character attacks another player character, attempts to steal from another player character, or wants to hide quest or loot information from another player character, like how much gold was in a chest or where a bounty says the target of said bounty is, etc... Withholding other information, like backstory details, is not considered PvP.)

[@Nutellla]

If i only knew this 2 weeks sooner

[@LeafseasonMagbag]

I never watched Heart of Elynthi despite being a JoCat fan *100% would have ages ago if I knew Runesmith was in it, gods damn it!*

[@GriffinMuffin]

I recently lost a friend and a player in my campaign over something similar. The player for a couple of sessions hadn't communicated that recent actions from other PCs was overly antagonistic. They eventually blew up at the table and accused everyone of being against them (even telling of a player who wasn't at the table). We both tried to communicate me as GM and them as player and it didn't work out. Since then I've been looking for tools that can be used to prevent this happening again and this looks really good. Thank you.

[@The_Musical_Cartograph]

"how dare you steal this acorn you found on the ground!"

[@legendunfound1137]

How did I not know about my favorite youtubers having a dnd game?!

[@MonkeyBeans10]

I LOVE to finally get the references on one of these videos. I think wurd is awesome btw, "pumpkins are bigger"

[@FeralVentas]

I've linked that video and time-stamped this incident as a Fantastic example of handling conflict resolution. I'm so glad you highlighted it.

[@josephschubert6561]

Yo, Red's in another campaign?! And JoCat's running it?! Sign me up!

[@noelnotcole7940]

While it's certainly not the takeaway from the video, man I love Jocat's D&D streams

[@gelbadayah.sneach579]

These are the sort of groups I love to play with! (I have 2 currently and they're super cool like this!)

[@pawsplay3102]

What interface are you guys using? It's amazing. I love that the map looks hand drawn.

[@1000Tomatoes]

Really liked that moment in the game

[@glenndallas7171]

Nicely handled by all parties!

[@Muchez14]

You gotta don’t argue.

[@tulsatrash]

Dude. This is a lesson I needed.

[@MalloonTarka]

DUDE! You should have shared that you're playing in _Heart of Elynthi._ I've seen JoCat promote it, but I didn't have much interest watching a liveplay with randos I didn't know. But knowing you an Red are players means I'll definitely check it out!

[@Arkylie]

One of the most memorable moments at our table was at the tail end of a heist during an "Evil Campaign." We had gotten the treasure and teleported across the street to an apartment block, and while the guards were rushing into the bank (which was on fire), we were all set to relax and count our victory... when one of the party members threw Glitterdust on the rest of the party (both blinding us and lighting us up like Christmas trees) and ran out the front door screaming "The robbers! They're in there!!!" So suddenly the whole party is like "what the actual hell just happened?" while stumbling around an apartment block *while blind* and trying to figure out how to hide before the guards can get there. Led to basically a TPK (anyone not dead was jailed) and the whole party waking up the previous morning going "Man, what a horrible nightmare. Guys, I've had a bad omen about this heist, let's not do it" so we could continue the campaign 😂 Basically, that player had found that the party's antics clashed with his character's stance so much that he couldn't keep working with us without some change, so he'd discussed it ahead of time with the GM. The betrayal caught us completely off-guard, all the more because he's one of two players at the table who can be counted on to be the *least* deliberately self-centered/evil characters (even though my character winds up *doing* evil due to the player's obliviousness about certain details that somehow seem obvious to everyone else, sigh). It was just a beautiful cap to our incredibly messed-up heist, and the most memorable moment of that entire campaign -- well, after the final battle wherein one character drank the potion meant to give him ultimate power and the other character who'd been racing for it asked if she could drink it out of his stomach if she killed him (which she proceeded to do -- GM let it work). We have *artwork* for that moment 😂

[@theofficerfactory2625]

Between JoCat and Zoranthebear; they inspired me to delve into TTRPG's and I am now a DM of my first campaign.

[@Deailon]

Just did that in a game I ran yesterday :D My question was "What kind of a story do you want to have here, let's talk options". And we decided on a dramatic story of ambitions that led to fall and destruction. Everyone is on board and we will see it through :) I can't wait for the finale of the campaign.

[@Frozenkoldfury]

JoCat and OSP Red in a campaign? I look forward to obsessing over this and eventually learning all about the other three players and obsessing over them as well.

[@orinanime]

Woah! Runesmith is in a play group with OSP Red?!?!? AWESOME!!!

[@mentalrebllion1270]

I remember us, one of my dnd tables, recently sitting down and had ours writer’s room moment. This is because my character figured out that a party of npcs he was getting along with gave information to a stranger he didn’t trust. This was in character for him to distrust a figure of authority that he he has no rapport with. And the party hand only just arrived into town. Heck, the town he grew up in, even though he had a very good family himself, has a reputation that anything can be bought, including other people’s morals. And he left town because he got caught up in someone’s scheme and nearly got sold so they could cover up what he learned. He was rescued but decided to stay gone because of the incident. Either way, he did not trust this authority figure with the knowledge of a strange magic object he found in a hidden shrine that gave him a horrible vision that caused him fear and made him feel like he was drowning (something he can’t actually do, because water genasi). And the dm felt I didnt understand and the party was confused by my character’s reaction too. So we stepped into our writer’s room talk and discussed and I revealed some aspects of my character’s story that led to his thoughts like this. And how he felt a little betrayed even because he was genuinely having fun with these npcs and liked them until they did this and now he feels he can’t trust them. Also was a little offended by them because they called him a coward and thought he was being shifty. He is a straightforward person to be honest and lives to vibe and have a good time, takes things seriously when needed and protective as heck of those he trusts, but yeah so this created conflict. We sorted out in the end though. The dm became more clear that me as a player was not at all offended and I was only leaning into my character’s reaction to these things. I also told the party that if they need to push for a certain result from my character then they merely needed to tell him. He isn’t the smartest guy but he is loyal and his party has his unwavering loyalty. Regardless of why, he will play the part they communicate they want from him because he has faith in them, even if it means giving in and “trusting” an authority figure, even a smarmy one or holier-than-thoe type. Still, gotta be careful. I genuinely do not mind these writer’s room talks. I do them often enough at other tables but this was one of the most…tense?…ones and it was because everyone couldn’t tell that I as the player and I as the character had different emotions going on about the circumstances and I didn’t communicate clearly my intent as a player on what I was doing with my character and why. Once that was cleared up it was a lot of lightbulbs and I was given permission to continue as is though now I’m going to be more careful to check in with this group, especially if I do anything remotely similar again. Want to have fun and tell my character’s story and the group’s story, but also don’t want to step on toes and ruin the fun of others because of my own carelessness and misunderstanding.

[@kannakamui2334]

This is a smart way to handle player conflict that could arise from in character issues. I've been in groups where players butted heads at times but it was never violatile or rpg horror story level but this will be good to keep in mind. Also who did the art for your guys characters? Do they do commissions?

[@SpaceKingofSpace]

Pretty good, so long as the players can actually resolve it. Good strats from Jocat as DM though.

[@rustyshackle8000]

Very recently had this! I'm in a viking campaign (mainly Neutrally aligner party.) One character is a raider cursed to be unable to die until he atones for the dishonor he had in his previous life, very traditionally Viking, Lawful Neutral. Meanwhile, I'm playing a True Neutral Cleric of the Odin analogue. Extremely jaded, cynical, and pragmatic. They immediately clashed, because they have vastly different life experiences. The raider is extremely dedicated to the raider way of life, he even saw enemies burning our ships and leaving us stranded on an island as "honorable." Meanwhile, my character one, thought it was bullshit because now they're probably all gonna die, and two, he saw it all as a complete waste. Raiding, fighting, he understands it if it's done for survival, but he detests the idea of doing it for it's own sake The other player and I recognized this, and had a chat about it. We love the idea of them butting heads, so we have a compromise: when it comes to battle tactics, my character will defer to his. I'm playing a scholar, he'll defer to the experienced raider, but we're free to disagree on ethics and ideals. Already extremely fun to roleplay

[@weezact7]

I'd also like to add that, while sticking to your character is great, it's always important to remember YOU control THEM, not the other way around. It is your responsibility as a player to find justifications why your character will continue to play along with the plot and the party. That's not to say you can't disagree with the other players and hash things out, but if you're consistently struggling to reconcile your character's personality and goals with the campaign and the rest of the group, it might be time to rework or retire your character. Or, in extreme cases, find a new group that's playing a type of game you like better