Best Reward System to Engage & Motivate Players | D&D Goals

Reward Your D&D Players with better Rewards! Inspire and Engage them with these PC Reward Systems. Matt Colville has a Goal Oriented Rewards System that I discuss and breakdown alongside my own method. DM Tips to help you find your own Best Method! ⏬ More Content ⏬
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0:00 Intro
2:10 Reward Issues
8:12 Reward Solutions
9:25 Matt Method Rewards
12:43 DC Method Rewards
18:27 Restricted Rewards?
#DnD #DungeonsandDragons #DMTips

[@TheDungeonCoach]

What are ways YOU motivate and reward YOUR players? 📑 Download the Bonus Level Up Perks PDF ON SALE! 🏆 Bonus Perks Vol 1&2 Bundle: thedungeoncoach.com/products/bonus-level-up-perks-vol-1-2-bundle

[@morgandaniels1112]

Hey! Great video, I've been using an "achievement" system where my parties get achievements for interacting with things, though they don't really do much other than be collectable. I've pitched giving them level up perks if they collect a certain amount of them today though! Two things on it though: the link for the volume 1 in the video description links to a 404 page. Also, looking at the bundle, it doesn't seem to be on sale though, or is the $25 the sale price? Thanks for the great content!

[@john-lenin]

Hot dog bites and clicker training.

[@fanboykc9140]

I try my best to have an interesting backstory for the DM to work with, so I get super pumped when my DM pulls threads or leaves clues that interact with my backstory. Or my fellow players backstories. In turn I interact with the world they've created, as we usually run homebrew campaigns. I love RP and creating a unique story with others based on all of our interactions and input.

[@OneNationRestorations]

This reward system is one of the best motivators you can implement at the table. Rewards players want that require actions DMs want. What a brilliant way to push players in a positive direction to enhance the experience for everyone. Bravo!

[@MJ-jd7rs]

Mystery box rewards run into an expectation vs reality issue. If someone is tackling a mystery box reward that they put a ton of effort into and the reward is +2 to diplomacy… well, it’ll lead to disappointment and a lack of any future engagement (it won’t be worth the effort). Sure, put the reward on the card puts “you” in a box, but it clearly establishes expectations for the player. They know what the reward is and can make an informed risk/reward determination.

[@snowtsukasa6662]

In my game now, I have a main story, and a lot of side quests aviable at any time. The story has 5 branches that are required to progress to the next part of the campaign. Each milestone they complete will award them with a character level, and open up new areas. I don't scale encounters based on player level, but had it pre planned. If they find things they can't pass, or too challenging, they're encouraged to come back later. Side quests and interactions award loot. Gold, items, shortcuts, ect. Some have multiple parts that provide constant or multiple boosts. One of these for example is an Artificer who will sell them infusions (one per character) and he will level up as players do things for him, unlocking more infusions. They can also "sacrifice" magic weapons to him, to teach him the infusion. Side quests will also unlock better shop prices, better inventory, and even unlock more random encounters. Saving a trade route from bandits for example will give them the ability to find wandering traders. Then I have bounties which can have 2 types of rewards. Gold, or rare crafting materials. Simple, they fight something and return and the reward is right there. I try to reward crafting by giving them bonuses on whatever is made. Wearing armor made from a green dragon gives poison resistance, or troll blood can be added to normal potions of healing to make them greater potions. (Or they can always sell it) and they can plan their route accordingly to avoid, or investigate. Has been a lot of work, but im trying to provide a world that is living. Fluctuating markets, skilled craftsmen, and options to prep for combat. If they know they're going after a ghost theres options to learn weaknesses. Maybe they can get blessed, so no one can be possessed for x amount of time. I found giving players downtime routinely also helps a lot. If they have no urgent buisness, give them an option for a few days, or weeks of doing nothing. I give my players a "flashback" token they can use in emergency situations. Maybe they're in the middle of the dungeon and realize they have no rope. They can use this to say something like "during our week off I purchased 100ft of rope" I charge them x2 value, but they get the item as simple as that. They get one use, and requires downtime, and it's limited to mundane items. This cuts back on shopping sessions. Some quests have time limits though, which they're made aware of. Easy way to keep things populated is finding random encounter tables around the net and roll on a couple of them, combining the results, and adjusting to fit the environment. Now attach that to a job board or npc and see if the players want anything to do with it. A random series of things could turn into an interesting narrative, or be a bust. Not everything needs to be a grand adventure, as long as there's loot. Lastly, I try to have some rewards tailored to the character themselves. Its not a perfect system but if I have 4 players, I roll a d12. Each player is assigned 2 numbers, and there's 4 not assigned. If it lands on a players number the loot is ment to benifit their class or playstyle, and that number is then changed to random, until all 4 players get something specifically ment for them, and it resets. I want my players to feel powerful, and be able to boast about their gear they worked for. They're living in the world, not just playing a game.

[@noxiousbones]

I think it is important to keep in mind that different players have different goals from the game, and thus, require different rewards. Some players will react to the exact same reward in very different ways. Curate your game specifically to your players. How do you know what they want? Ask them in a Session 0, and or hand out surveys. For myself as a player I love to collect random mundane items. A bag of holding to hold combs, sponges, buttons, nails, cups and shoes would be the ultimate motivator. 😂 To me keeping inventory is my favorite part of the game besides rolling dice. So if a DM only gives Loot, (Magic sword, gold, potions) and no mundane items, I’d actually be kinda bored, unless I could go shopping and buy specific mundane items. I’m not the only person that has weird specific parts of the game that they enjoy. Ask your players what they like, and emphasize it.

[@TheDungeonCoach]

YES! I love that and if I had you as a player I would take that collector desire and RUN WITH IT!!! :)

[@whitemansucks]

Guys like Matt and I have solved almost every post 2000 D&D "problem" in the 8s or 90s.

[@giannettomichael]

I implemented the colville reward system and it’s been great. My players are originally my RL WOW friends, so giving them actual quests to complete (based on the people they themselves decided to interact with) had made them so much more engaged and motivated.

[@saboogly]

Lol did the exact same thing even have a armor system similar to WOW too lol

[@shawncarnes9471]

I've been playing since I started with AD&D in the late Seventies. I still learn amazing new stuff from you, Coach ( and Matt too ). Keep rolling those 20s!

[@TheDungeonCoach]

Thanks for that! I love to still that I can still help out the vets of the community! 💜👍🏼

[@JarlHavi]

Another idea that I came up with is the thought of side quest inspired by video games. My TTRPG's system uses Guilds and Factions to hand out missions for players to complete in hopes of leveling up, unlocking interesting lore bits of the main campaign or other parts of the world, gifted magical items or better non-magical equipment, etc. The list explains so many quests/goals, obstacles, and rewards. Glad that i'm not the only one trying to come up with little improvements to reward systems.

[@abethecop1]

Love the enthusiasm dude; great ideas too! Looking forward to checking out more of your videos!

[@pdubb9754]

Your system of not giving everyone all their claases abilities when they level is something I've thought about, but in an opposite way. You can think of it as glass half full or glass half empty. Midway through a level, a player can begin using some small portion of their next level-up abilities. Maybe it means gaining one of the spell slots, or sometimes rolling with the new proficiency bonus on a specific skill or while using a particular weapon, or learning a cantrip early. The original idea was to make a characters progress seem more like continuous improvement then a massive step increase. But you can give the characters some control. During long rests, a character could suggest what they are working on. "I'm going to take 30 minutes to practice archery "- and the next combat you can let them try out the sharpshooter feat (maybe don't lock them into it, though). "While studying my Burning Hands spell, I got this crazy idea - could I cast it from other body parts?" -- and then they stumble on a way to cast Hellish Rebuke, a spell the character hoped to learn next level.

[@TheDungeonCoach]

YOU SEE IT! I love where you head is at in that comment, I can see those gears turning! 100% you get it!

[@FlutesLoot]

Wow, we are on the same wavelength with this topic! I love giving players tailored goals with rewards, whether impactful or frivolous.

[@boldnotbald3705]

Great vid Coach! Thank you so much for posting about this!

[@MrAntony2c]

I'm still testing out Matt's system with my homebrew game. Seen players get really excited. Thanks for sharing these tips.

[@tonynom7]

Thanks for the video coach,always great content !

[@Juanpa_SC]

I love your take on Matt´s video. His content is awesome too. It´s nice to see this kind of content in which you dialogue with other people´s ideas!

[@Reno41194]

Video streak: 3 actually quite relevant to an issue I was having this week. Thanks for the advice on this one, no update this week, doing some DM reflection.

[@francoscevola4920]

That economy system you mentioned sounds pretty interesting. I've been looking for something like that for a while now and I'm probably not the only one 🤔

[@statics128]

Definitely one of the videos Im going to watch again and again! Really gives me great ideas!

[@TheDungeonCoach]

Glad you like them! I try and pack em all full with nuggets!

[@greenweave3882]

Another amazing video! And ur Martial Gear and Combat Overhaul book has been a game changer for us! U bet I'm getting the one with mass combat rules!!! So excited!!!

[@chriscundiff9011]

Damn, great inspirational pep talk for us DMs! Thanks Coach!!

[@ProAntagonistYT]

Love the ideas behind this video! You are the man!

[@TheDungeonCoach]

I appreciate that! thanks JG!

[@valasafantastic1055]

Great stuff! I’ve been adding custom rules for these issues. One system I’ve been working on is teaching/learning special training rules I have one for 5e, one for 3.5/pathfinder. I’m also working on A separate TTRPG that has this baked into the core of the rules. (Levelling up; weapons, combat maneuvers, spells, skills, etc. and the teaching/learning mechanics.) Bonus level up perks logically should be based on what they actually did! We also have been holding off on the ‘auto’ wizard level up spells to make it more logical.

[@eepopgames2741]

An alternative of cards with clear rewards would be using cards inside of envelopes. On the outside it would say the goal, and they only get to open when it is achieved. You could prepare these beforehand. You could also have a stack of open blank envelopes that players are free to grab and write out their own goal on, then you take the envelope and put in cards of what you think the appropriate rewards would be and seal the envelope and give it back to them.

[@MisterWebb]

Excellent idea!

[@gseccles1]

Maybe for the more "vague" rewards, you should just put a number between 1 and 10 that indicates how good they can hope for it to be. Probably accompany it with some hypothetical examples, just because otherwise your players will expect a legendary magic item from a 7-rated quest or something, and that will lead to problems.

[@LordOz3]

I use xp advancement - but I also give xp for "doing things" in addition to killing monsters. I also use a slower advancement chart, as it feels like characters can blow through low and mid-levels. Some players are more motivated by story rewards than others - the more motivated/engaged the player, the more detailed their reward is. I tend to seed both rewards and useful info on sidequests, so my players usually follow-up on those (and if they decide to skip a sidequest, I'll save it and reskin it for future use). I don't award full xp to characters of players who miss a session. If their character was used in a fight, they get sidekick xp (usually a half share), and I run their basic attack routine. This typically happens if they miss and it makes no sense for their character to vanish. If it makes sense for their character not to be around, they aren't and get no xp. Absent players don't get "do things" xp.

[@TheDungeonCoach]

I have an XP video that talks about EXACTLY that! lol, (coming soon haha)

[@mattdahm4289]

Thank you Matthew!

[@DrAndrewJBlack]

Awesome perspective

[@PeakDnD]

Love the video, Coach Incentivize the behaviors you want to see more of. It's a two way street. The players will tell you, by how they engage and what pulls their emotions, what they like. Putting thing in the game that allow them to do these is a non-mechanical reward they enjoy. And it also adds engagement and buy in from the players, which is the greatest reward any DM can hope for.

[@lwnasidh]

This was a great video, dude! I don't necessarily agree with everything with the types of rewards, necessarily, but it seriously inspired me to look for other ways to reward the PCs.

[@TheDungeonCoach]

Fair enough! I never expect to be 100% synced up with people, that will probably note happen, BUT its the inspiration that is my goal, so I am happy to have sparked something for ya :)

[@OnigoroshiZero]

I love making custom rewards for my players. In one group I was running with three of my middle/high school friends, all three of them loved combat, so I made a few custom abilities for each of their characters depending on their class, race, and way they wanted to play their character. All of them had requirements (secret from the players) that I was tracking during each session in a table that I made. For example, one of them was a Goliath Barbarian, and I made an ability called War Cry that he would unlock after having the highest initiative in a number of combat encounters. This ability allowed him to start the combat with this war cry right after initiatives were rolled, which gave him and his allies within a certain range that could hear him free movement up to half their speed at the start of the battle (no opportunity attack triggered), and they had advantage on their first attack roll in the first round of combat. Most of these abilities had upgrades that would be acquired after certain conditions (times used, training with high level trainers, other new condition, etc.)

[@fal_pal_]

Tying these ideas to items is a fun approach as well, we have a "prophetic weapon" in one of campaigns that levels up as prophecies are fulfilled

[@gstaff1234]

Yes!! @19:00 perfect to “make” character develop rather than instantaneous. Even during that next level up session the use of what that class gets should build and grow. Also out in the wild how do your Mages learn their spells? Find scrolls? Talk to Mages in towers? Research in libraries? But if not near these at level up what then?

[@wilfredofigueroa7970]

Need a video on best 3rd party wildshapes. Especially from tome of beasts 1 &2.

[@PapaSmerf008]

I recently implemented this (after matt's video) and it has been soooo great! I simple have a set of folded notecards on the table with the goal on one side and the reward on the other. I don't even mind if the players see the reward since it is usually a level-up (milestone), coin, or one of their vestiges upgrading. It is an easy way to keep the players reminded of what their character know. If a new goal is added, we can write one up immediately. The best part is you can put low priority/long-term goals out there so they aren't forgotten. I have major distinguished with a border around the goal and minor goals without one.

[@PapaSmerf008]

And since you mostly discussed the individual goals on the video. I am with you, the cards work much better for campaign/party goals. the individual thing is best handled separately.

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Respect and design for and around player interests is my primary reward.

[@lukamtc9188]

Fun story: During my first time DMing, the first quest I sent my players on was a small village in a jungle where they were supposed to deal with a huge jungle troll that occasionally ravaged the village. They chose to go hunt it and got lost in the jungle, so I threw in 2 random druids that live in the jungle that would know their way around and had one of them train the barbarian to "mess with flowers n shit", as a lvl1 druid subclass. He loved it and I loved it, it was much fun. I recommend that DMs avoid having characters pick second classes on their own, a second class is a good way to see how the world impacted the character, and it's really fun to mess around with. BTW Your channel is a literal goldmine.

[@tylern3696]

The funniest comment I’ve seen on a Dungeon Coach videos was “take a shot whenever DC says ‘I could do a video on…” I hope no one tries this. It would end poorly🤣 Thanks for the video. I benefited both this video and Colville’s original video

[@airdragon11studios]

Yesssss!! Been looking forward to this! Edit: those bonus perks are rad and can't wait to use them with the card system!

[@TheDungeonCoach]

You knew it was coming!! Haha!

[@airdragon11studios]

@@TheDungeonCoach this is a great system and appreciate the tips, pros, and cons of the different ways to use it. Can't wait to start giving out story, quest, bounty, and personal cards to my players!

[@nemeasium6346]

Great idea for goals, Grimm transformations. your party is going to be stronger but just balence acordingly, but it gives them something other then leveling and money to work towards

[@craiggehlert]

i cant like ALL of this enough! hell yeah!

[@koalabro6118]

I feel very fortunate as a player, because I'm very motivated by the mere concept of gathering wealth, so I love getting gold for the sake of getting gold.

[@helixxharpell]

I love all of Alan's DC20 videos! 😉

[@iPuzzlePirate]

I said this on the Matt's video, this is how 7th Sea 2nd Edition handles advancement, entirely. Also, Pathfinder Society has factions, and every Pathfinder Society quest has tasks for players to accomplish for their faction, which gives them standing with their faction, which they can use as another currancy.

[@josephdellavecchia7828]

Anlther solid video coach. A whole video game inspired solutions would be awesome. Another video on an economy would be neat

[@CitanulsPumpkin]

The reward system I use is basically the XP system from Cypher System games. In Cypher XP functions as both Milestone XP and as Inspiration tokens. XP is handed out when nat ones are rolled, along with complications, and when the players make discoveries or find things out that moves the plot forward. I've basically tailored the list of XP hand out triggers to favor saving NPC lives, succeeding Wis and Int skills checks and challenges for exploration and investigation scenarios, and for rolling high on Knowledge based ability checks. High Int characters get a reward for their high Int, other characters have incentive to not make Int their dump stat, and because the base rules of Cypher heavily imply XP gets traded around the table I can call for them to do random bonding exercises or have a character heart to heart when they want to trade XP during a long rest.

[@nickiekalla6766]

I have a theater arts background and also do a lot of cooperative creative writing so that background informs my DM style. I like rewards to be holistic. I try and get my players engaged creativly. Maybe they get a deed to a piece of land with an estate and let the players create it. Or perhaps they want to invest in a shop and let them create the shop and shopkeeper. Maybe they want to write a famous play or song. I had one player who wanted to create strains of magical marijuana. That was fun. Love this video.

[@Argumedies]

I had a campaign where I rewarded the party with a basic loggers axe (but it was very sharp.) And the party went nuts over it. Soon it had a whole hidden back story and mystery that had to be solved and quest to find a source of power.

[@syvajarvi2289]

I like to use different perks like magic tattoos, specialized feats that are character specific, and rarely magic items. The world that I am fleshing out for my players includes NPCs that can provide training, access the perks, or even improvements in attributes, but my thing for mile stones is that it has to be character specific so the perks can lead up to the mile stone including multi-classing. An example of this comes from a character that I played in a campaign was a Totem Barbarian who multi-classed into a moon Druid. Before I made the jump to start down the Druid sub class, my DM rewarded my Character with the Druid initiate Feat after engaging with not only the party Druid but the other PCs sacred grove during off time as a reward for protecting the sacred grove. I like the concept so much that the character became the prototype for a Druid sub class that falls into a semi martial class like the blade singer but has a barbarian flavor and depending what the character does I have things that can give periodic free actions as a subclass perk. It also got the creative juices flowing for a Path of wild magic barbarian based sub class, which I love, and turn it into the path of the fallen Druid sub class that uses an expanded surge table that has more shape changes in it. The shape changes are random wild shapes instead of polymorphs and at higher levels the Barb can control the wild shapes to a degree but not the other random effects. Both sub classes use the Fey Wanderer Ranger sub class table for a fey touched visual effect. I’ve had one player roll a character for the Barb class as a back up character and in a session zero play test… he loved it and his “mentor” was an NPC based on the prototype character I played that is a sacred Grove Druid/fighter multi class. He said that his first choice character, which is a eldritch knight, might become his back up as the rest of the group finishes just because of the raging butterfly incident.

[@whitemansucks]

Again, if you did not play D&D before the year 2000, it is important to respect the 30 years worth of other players and our advise. What Matt says works.

[@Shaso-xv3tw]

One reason I love point based systems is that I can award bonus character points for doing specific things.

[@Zac_Frost]

I find that sometimes fleshing out base game mechanics that are left kinda vague in the PHB can also engage your players. I added a crafting/enchanting system, complete with a chart and ingredient list along with a Rarity list out of 10 that I totally stole from Monster Hunter to help any characters that want to be party armorers/enchanters. An ingredient list to make potions and poisons of widely varying types, even adding in new types for those proficient with the Herbalism Kit, Alchemist Kit, and Poisoner's Kit, complete with what potions/poisons you can make with each. And to top it off, I even made 3 different dice based games used in my world for a playing card set. All of them have a DC to make, as well as stipulations put in place. For the Crafters, Enchanters, and Potioneers, none of the items made can exceed the high end of Rare/lower end of Very Rare, as high powered Very Rare and Legendary items have to be found in the world. This has made my Wizard, Druid, Warlock, and Rogue all very invested in the systems themselves, and how they can obtain each item/material in the world, in turn making them more interested in exploring the world itself. This also makes them able to make the items they want, including a few custom items, rather than just finding them as loot, buying them, or having them handed to them after a quest. So far, the Wizard and Warlock have made a +1 Katana (Long Sword) that deals an extra 2d6 Acid Damage per hit for the Warlock's Pact Weapon, a Dragon Bone Wand that adds double your proficiency bonus to damage rolls as extra damage for Spells that use an Attack Roll for the Wizard, a Jeweled Ring that adds your Character Level and double your proficiency bonus as extra healing points for the Life Domain Cleric, Boots of Spiderclimb for the Rogue, and a +1 Hide Breastplate for the Druid. The Druid can now make potions far beyond just healing potions and poison cures, and in combination with Sleight of Hand, the Rogue actually took down a gambling house and walked off with waaaaayyy too much gold. This system had them so invested for a while, they weren't even progressing the plot for 3 or 4 sessions. Gave me tons of time to plan.

[@anathema1828]

Nice work on the video! Props to you The Dungeon Coach for the shoutout to Matthew Colville! If you guys like Matt’s style be sure to check out Jim Murphy’s content as well, so much tabletop wisdom out here in KZbin land.

[@thorinhannahs4614]

That is funny about the specific growth into feats or spells. I am planning out my feats but I want to have RP downtime activities explain how I am getting mobile, charger or crusher. Even my martial specialization should play off my background as a soldier and what I encounter adventuring.

[@relint12]

As far as bonus perks we've had success adding attendance points that players can spend at reasonable times to get non-game breaking perks (feats, expertise, magic items, role with advantage, etc...). It works well combined with milestone leveling as with that there's less motivation to even show up.

[@ollep0lle]

Nice ideas

[@PresidentMystry]

Oh! Speaking about homebrewing unique spell stuff for how it’s played is something I enjoy rewarding players with. My players were in a fight in a tropical rainstorm. It was heavy rain that obscured their visibility and all that. Like, it was a crazy storm. So my player who’s a wild magic sorcerer casted Shape Water in a 5-foot cube above the enemy and turned the raindrops into ice shards. I thought that that was really cool, so I had the creature make a Dex save and my player did 1d12 cold damage. I know that might seem pretty powerful, but I made that on the fly because he came up with that just seeing the rain and I thought it was cool, so I just allowed it. The justification for the damage I made was it was a 5-foot cube, and that each frozen raindrop that hit did 1 cold damage. So if he did 10 damage, 10 frozen raindrops pierced the creature

[@voxlknight2155]

GURPS sort of has this by default. The GM rewards player points, which they can use to do pretty much anything, for good roleplaying, for winning a challenging fight etc etc. So basically you have this system that you could use to encourage any type of behavior you want. Playing a campaign set in the roman empire with your players as generals? Reward them for conquering provinces, clever military strategies or whatever else you could think of. Then, you can say "alright, we're having a downtime session or two, time to spend your points!" And let them go wild with ideas about whatever. The player that wanted to start a leather working business is a prime example.

[@gamergirl209]

I had an adventurer horde protected by an awakened owlbear. After a sparring match the players thought was a combat thing, the owlbear gives them the components they needed to help an NPC perform a spell that would give them another ally. The owlbear told them they could look around and if there was something they wanted, she would trade for it something she found of equal value. My player wanted a specific magic weapon and this was my way to reward her for searching and roleplaying with the owlbear

[@benjin3993]

My favorite reward system I created revolves around star shards, magical ore from meteorites. It's rare and magical ore, prized by kings and dragons for it's rarity. Can be used to make magical items by replacing any material component, same with using it as a focus makes it a +3 for magic users. Or they can learn that if they collect 3 they gain a level. Or if they collect 7 they gain a rule free wish. But that knowledge is hidden away and they need to find ways to learn it

[@kelmirosue3251]

One of the ways I do rewards for explorations is by having each town having it's own "thing" for instance there is a forest called the copperwood forest or also known as thunderwood forest. The thing about this forest is that it's plants are VERY conductive here, especially the trees. To the point where when people cut the trees down they will find strands of natural growing copper growing in veins on the bark. And even the leaves might have tiny veins of it. These trees also have a fruit called a thunderfruit, which when eaten gives lightning resistance, however if made into a potion it's a lightning in a bottle which works like a lightning focused spell scroll, but has to be thrown as an action. However anyone can use them unlike spell scrolls so that means martial classes can use them. However I ain't gonna make a whole town and forest and call it "thunderwood" for no reason, this forest often has A LOT of thunder/lightning storms. And anyone caught inside the forest without proper protection has a high chance of getting shocked and possibly killed by it. It not only makes the world feel more alive, but it gives players the knowledge of "any lightning themed item they need might be able to be found there. Or any lightning themed lore"

[@draggo69]

Nice!

[@PresidentMystry]

My players are pretty into that kind of thing. I would love to see your economic system for D&D. They’ve actually been talking about becoming business owners so I would love to see how you would approach it

[@TheDungeonCoach]

Next big resource I am working on is 100% THAT! So stay tuned :)

[@PresidentMystry]

@@TheDungeonCoach Awesome. Can’t wait

[@devildragon4562]

i would love to see a video about your homebrew leather working business. I am a player in my campain too who wants to build up his own store between quests and earn with it and spread his name. Sooo getting inspiration from your system would be awesome.

[@Ambers128]

Just like in school, some students are motivated by different things. Some want to progress as a character goals, some want to use a cool magic item or class feature. Learning what motivates the players will give you insight on character rewards. Some may need the path laid out (do x, receive y) and others may enjoy paving their own way.

[@MrHolyPickle]

I have your bonus perks already which are great. But would love to see a guide to this. I almost see ranking these for difficulty or alignment with major plot lines and character arcs, and the rewards would be associated with it. Does it seem video gamey though? I love the idea but afraid it’ll feel like video game quest chores

[@krystalfruehling7522]

Unless opting out, my players usually can get items spells feats if they roleplay well. Usually it is a step between levels that they can gain a few skill points or a feat.

[@Gokkee]

Do have any tips or thoughts about multi-classing as lvl up/reward for roleplaying/evolving through the game? I think about giving my players a muliti-class but restrict it within the path they are on thematically. Like a tempest cleric is getting a path into storm herald barbarian and I take away some mainstream cleric stuff and rework some barbarian stuff. Would be great to hear if you have any thoughts about this ;) Else keep up the great work👌

[@ryanburbridge5148]

I need that Economy System!!!

[@screamingblue7]

Is there a video that goes into the Dungeon Coach mass combat system? It's one of those things that everyone seems to have their own homebrew to handle those big battles and I'm always interested in having more options to improve upon what I've been doing.

[@Sagethe7th]

DMing my first campaign right now, just me and my Fiance, since she wanted to learn the game before joining another group. Early on, she said she wanted to be a tiny halfling but wanted to wield a massive war hammer so she could surprise enemies. I helped her set up a character and she picked warlock so she could do pact of the blade and make a massive war-hammer her pact weapon. Time went on and she wasn't having much fun in melee combat because she hated that she was so slow to move, so she started using more eldritch blasts and started playing really passively. I asked her what she wanted to change, she wanted to have more melee options, but hated how restrictive the limited spell slots of warlock was. She also didn't want to engage with her patron much, since she was new to RP. We re-did her character as a level 3 fighter Eldritch knight for the weapon bond ability to make melee combat a bit more fun. She decided to cross-class wizard and just started pelting EVERYTHING with spells. She loved being able to up-cast magic missile (The campaign we were playing was a pre-built adventure and I tossed her a wand of magic missiles so she could do that more often.) We eventually re-did her character again to drop the melee weapon thing entirely and she just went full wizard so she could get 3rd level spells. The first time she cleared a room with a fireball, she actually Cackled. She also wanted a pet, but was worried it would die. her character was a woodcarver, and kept whittling little statues in her spare time, so I originally had her patron give her a pet dog that was summoned from a statue. She was worried that she'd lose him if she re-did her character, but I just had her take the outcast background that gives her a discovery and re-worked the patron gift into the mystery of why this little statue summons a blink-dog that looks just like a corgi. She was trying to pick out her familiar and settled on an owl. She really liked it but wanted something more unique so I told her to look around. She found a Faerie Dragon and asked to take it. I had her take Linguist as her level 4 perk and pick draconic and Sylvan as her two languages and then gave her the ability to summon a Faerie Dragon as her familiar. She named it Indigo and fell in love with it. I re-worked Indigo as an arcane trickster rogue and she's actually a full member of the party now. I have a small cast of characters that drop in and out with her, and I'm using that to show her what other classes can do (first was a wood elf fighter / war cleric that I built to cover gaps in her character, second is a barbarian to play tank.) She also really likes harvesting monsters and using their parts to make magical objects, so I looked around and found Hammund's Harvesting Guide and built that into our game. The Barbarian is a dragon born who travels the world to hunt monsters and I'm using him to teach her the rules of harvesting a bit. She is currently settling into Leilon (Dragon of Icespire Peak was the adventure we played, we're doing the follow up trilogy now) and building it up as a school for monster harvesting / arcane crafting. At the end of the day I've basically let her run wild in this world and built things out from what she wanted, so this video really resonates with me, and I think we actually have similar DM styles, since I never actually sat down and said "do this and I'll give you a wand of magic missiles" or anything like that, I just let her play around and we find out where it goes. Great video, and it gives me ideas for later on once we step out of the pre-built module in case we get lost or don't know what to do at that point.

[@priestesslucy3299]

Thank you for mentioning the harvesting guide. That is 100% my jam of how I want my world to work with natural treasures growing in the wild and utilizing components of monsters and mystical plants and minerals and such. Have to look into this now, thankyuu 💞

[@FireallyXTheories]

So I've learned if I play with Dungeon Coach to always have my next level and feat planned out to RP progression to those perks.

[@nicholasromero238]

In my pathfinder 2e games, I still use milestone leveling, but my milestones are largely based on real world time. Where I get fancy with exploring and engagement is non level based stuff. If you want magic items, allies, cool, unique powers, etc, they have to engage. I have a player who really wanted to be a pirate captain, so she put in her steps, recruited crewmates, built up her ships, and now her and I are working on a navel combat system. Another player wants to become a god like her demigod forebearer, so she's working on assembling a cult and performing acts in line of a god. As she draws closer, I talk with her about the nature of doctrine, and if she succeeds, I'll straight up add her to the the pantheon of lesser gods in my next campaign Another is looking to basically make fantasy doctors without borders, and her skill and influence is becoming recognized by leaders, and she's now being asked to help on research, people seek her out for training, and in combat, her reputation of mercy results in people who are more willing to surrender or change sides. She defeated a demigod by spending a big boon from her goddess to do a huge level atone spell on the demigod after she expressed interest in being cured of the corruption that seized her heart, and she used the laast bit of her power to buy the party some time against the bbeg Another is had a more personal scope of seeking love, and courted a magical scholar, and between quests, the scholar offers comfort and gifts. During a seige, this love allowed his character to aid her lover in making a magical barrier around the town with psychic energy; what was just supposed to be a passive defense that would break after enough force was applied becames an active one, where the pc could use her bardic magic to basically drop her effects anywhere within the confines of the barrier, becoming magical artillery and tactical support. Since the scholar specializes in dream magic, she's also more capable of navigating.the dream world and use it for limited communication and information gathering

[@andershusmo5235]

Those are really cool stories! Is that all from the same group/campaign?

[@nicholasromero238]

@@andershusmo5235 it is! It's been a pretty wild ride :) I kinda started on rails, but went more and more sandbox as I got more comfortable as a DM and now we get a lot of stuff like this

[@gamefreak88]

I love listening to your videos. Interestingly before listening to this one, I came up with the idea to let my players start off with an occupation. They decided to go with leader and minstrel. They haven't decided if they are family, friends, or what they are to each other yet. After talking with them, they decided they want to build a city from the ground up and they will be starting off with nearly nothing. A single weapon and light armor or none at all. So they will be going out into the world to find people to help them build the city, make them armor, people willing to train animals and so on. What will they get out of this? They will obviously get a city but they will also get horses to ride to make travel faster, chefs to make them food, guards to watch the city when they are out and so on. We are super excited to start this campaign but we are waiting for Alkander's Almanac of all things to release which we are also super excited for.

[@bluegophergaming9785]

I have my players get style points. They get one if they progressed the story, one for staying in character, and one if their characters learned something. Then the players vote on the best role player for the session. These style points can be used the same as inspiration.

[@FrostSpike]

Take a look at the Hero System. You might find some inspiration for some mechanics to build out the changes to the game you want to make in a consistent manner with a way of scoring the benefits of the rewards.

[@jeremywhittenstaff1601]

You tend to give yourself credit for ideas others are making videos about. You always make sure to mention it’s something you “already do” in your games. It happens quite a bit in your videos.

[@momqabt]

I gave out items that have unlocks and/or hidden abilities. Players need to find out about them. I also restrict certain information based on the slot level they use for identify spell. XP is a mix. It's milestone and achievement based. If they'dve killed a creature they weren't supposed to meet yet they'dve dinged even if they'dve gotten lv19 just previous session. Also, interacting with the world can get them differing rewards with a wide variety of consequences.

[@lukasdutko8672]

Love your work, please keep it up and go beyond. Bye

[@scatterbug]

I implemented a Player reward system instead of a Character reward system. And I added punishments. "You RPed that really well! You may have the last slice of pizza" or "You weren't paying attention that whole time? Go clean my bathroom!" Kidding. Or am I?!?

[@DrkNinja_]

The irony of this is I had the opposite struggle, they got so caught up in my world that they would forget they were on a clock to prevent the rebirth of Tiamat in the material plane, so... I introduced doomsday events that would indicate things weren't good in the world. For instance I had a player who was on watch find a Caelum (Flying Whale creature), and he rolled a high history check and he remembered hearing that Caelum migrating is usually indicative of cataclysmic events on the rise, or I had a special animal that was basically an elk that had antlers made of Mythril and they also had a similar thing. These would remind them that they were on a quest to stop a truly huge event from happening.

[@chuckhammond4495]

Hey do you run a dnd campaign podcast or something and if so where could I find it?

[@batwafflz970]

A video about video game inspiration implemented in D&D would be great

[@TheDungeonCoach]

OMG I have this exact video in my drafts folder for scripts! YES!

[@batwafflz970]

I’m excited, my group is about to start a campaign inspired by Souls Series however they wanted a new world so after a session 0 we decided to do a Western Fantasy

[@relint12]

After playing D&D with the same core group since '93, we were struck by the current 5e core setting being essentially a low magic item setting. We got into a pretty heated debate that basically boiled down to 'the book says you can't buy magic items vs then what the heck are we supposed to do with all this gold?' What was the point of even adventuring for gold? If magic items are super rare wouldn't the surplus of wizards be making bank producing them until supply/demand was more in balance? We ultimately decided to bring the magic item shops back with reasonable stock for a given population size and local magic aptitude. The game feels way more rewarding again with just that simple change.

[@anymeaddict]

Yes for the video game video. But please economy system video!!!! I love math!!!

[@fred_derf]

Give your players blank goal / reward cards and let them fill out the goal on it (make sure they have to register their goals with the DM).

[@lelemammetti6906]

Hi coach, rookie DM here, I need a hand. This is the first long term campaign I run, I got most of my players to be really engaged in the game and they are doing the same thing your warlock player was doing, but with mines. Could you tell me what kind of mechanic you used for economy? Or did you say it in a video? I'm still watching them. I would have built my own mechanic for economy, but watching your videos made me start so many homebrew projects i will never make it in time ahahah. Can you help me? P.S.: even if its a lot, math is totally fine by me.

[@PRGidaro]

Not everyone has the ability to stay on task, as a DM or player. It’s great that you have the skill and time to do it but the card is a physical reminder to help role play. I do agree with the vague reward idea.

[@fanboykc9140]

I've got a ton of your homebrew in my cart on your site, but is it all included in Alkander's? I love your Point Buy Character creation and Bonus Level Up Perks. Anything that makes character builds more modular and unique. I feel so restricted by 5e character creation.

[@TheDungeonCoach]

NONE of it is in Alkander’s, Alkander’s Almanac will be entirely unique 👌🏼 The only 2 things that are in AAA are the rest system and combat overhaul, those are on the website, but that’s all 👍🏼

[@fanboykc9140]

@@TheDungeonCoach Great to know, because I want to support AAA also. Thanks for getting back to me.

[@fanboykc9140]

@@TheDungeonCoach I am a new DM, but have been frustrated about certain mechanics as a player. I love your homebrew, it addresses pretty much all of my complaints and I look for to using it in my games.

[@joshuashaw5524]

I would be interested in the business video. My character is about to start a business, so my DM and I have been making a system to determine the income for the business. It'd be nice to see how others have done it.

[@aotnz4055]

I actually do this. I use obelisks rather than stone faces though.

[@iPuzzlePirate]

With attunement, you can really only take advantage of three magic items, right? Unlike old-school D&D, 3.5 and earlier, where you wanted and needed that bag of holding for all your loot because you'd be carrying around a ton of magic items to have ready for any given situation.

[@chrisc4316]

Is Alkanders Almanac going to have these bonus level up perks included? Does anyone know?

[@TheDungeonCoach]

I have 2 different volumes of these with over 200 perks between them that is already done and on my website. So those will not be in Alkander Almanac, those dont really fit for what the book is truly about (game mechanics) Custom player abilities is what these perks are about, and I already have them finished :)

[@Ambers128]

I was in a group that did marathon all day sessions. DM only gave xp for killing monsters. So session 1, we were zero level characters. Level up. I had to miss the next session. They did massive killing monsters. Everyone leveled. I come back I'm level 1, they're levels 2 or 3. But wait, we did some diplomacy. Since we didnt kill anything, no XP. So I had a family thing and missed another session. Now everyone is levels 4 and 5 and I'm almost a level 2.

[@TheDungeonCoach]

Ouch... I have a video coming out soon for your DM :)

[@Ambers128]

@@TheDungeonCoach this was probably about at least 15, almost 20 years ago. I think that campaign lasted another session or two. The group was large, like 10 guys, and I remember rotating up to the table for my turn. Had another dm who didn't give up for role play unless you legit acted as your character. Maybe it's always been there, but I include social encounters as valid as combat. And I prefer milestone. Characters gain levels at certain plot points but I love to find other days of rewarding them. Sometimes it's even leaving with an awesome story. I ran a one shot last weekend. They're in the frost giant's throne room. The warlock/fighter yielding a vorpal great sword, attack attack kills the jarl, (PC was enlarged) bonus strike on adjacent enemy, nat 20. Cleaves the frost giant champion's head off. I've been working on connecting to PC backstories, especially as we're solidly in tier 2 now. (Started level 1, going to level 20!)

[@zionich]

My biggest problem with Milestone has been it takes away from exploring and side missions. Main reason I have stuck with exp. I use a dungeon dudes reward of an ASI/feat for personal quest completion.

[@priestesslucy3299]

My solution is that in my games it's not 'plot' milestones. You could adventure in my campaign for months in a row and complete a dozen plots and never level up. It's _Character Development_ milestones. When a character changes and grows in a meaningful way, when they evolve as a person, that's when they level up. Typically it starts out fairly easy but by level 5-6ish, it slows down a lot, because the characters are growing deeper and more realized and it takes more to generate that milestone moment.

[@garyvincent7397]

ok but your entire point at 14:00 is that your players don't need motivation..... wich defeats the point of what matt was saying about motivating players who don't have any goals/motivation

[@TheDungeonCoach]

I see what you are saying and I tried to show both sides of the coin, so I could have done a better job there. Im saying that IDEALLY they should be intrinsically motivated, BUT if that doesnt happen then YES you have to intervene with other tactics :) So both sides of the coin are needed to be understood

[@garyvincent7397]

@@TheDungeonCoach ah ok that makes sense, thanks for clarifying :)

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

Wow Perks are a great idea for level ups! Which for my Universal TT Wargame/RPG I have varous why of getting Level Up Tokens the things you need to Level up and act as insperation/Fate or just things that help the player if they choose to spend them on things not Level ups. Which has the risk of holding your character back but alowing you to easly buy a Life(Yes my game has video game Lives it's that lethal) or a thing you really want or need to have a happen within reason. And you can buy these Tokens with EXP the main currency of the game or get them as rewards for milestones, roleplay, combat or wwhat ever the GM dicides....I did this to give players and GMs more choice in how levelups work and gamify it. Which when you level up you can spend EXP on atrabuties and get access to new ablities like magic and speicliztions things that give you stuff at discounts and are great for Roleplay. As well as more enchantmenst and asseries for weapons and armor. I'ma think about adding something like Perks as that is a great idea thanks!

[@kelpiekit4002]

Backgrounds should be levelable. They should be like a non-combat class. A sailor should gain skills in controlling boats/ships and navigating the sea. A guild artisan should gain artisan skills and economic abilities. Etc. Some may be difficult but it is an interesting area to explore. The experience should also be separate from combat exp. I want to work on designing this.

[@priestesslucy3299]

I am intrigued. Made any headway?

[@laithnightchild437]

im to old school .5.e is so done wrong but if tryin to converting online games it may work.

[@deathless_actual4936]

I always like the idea of reputation gains within factions or even just reputation with the general populace. Higher ranks get benefits within the factions, but I’ve been debating the idea of what if reputation could be a form of intangible super currency. Not sure what it would be spent on. I don’t like the idea of buying physical things, but instead more like buying favors from NPCs and factions with the reputation. I haven’t tested anything as of yet, though.