Game Masters of Exandria Roundtable

[@RJtheCoolGuy]

I am convinced Brennan is being co-piloted by a two people, one is very philosophical and analytical the other is a wizard that has been driven mad by the secrets of the universe

[@sarar4901]

"You have two wizards inside you..."

[@dark_neverland]

Welcome to the world to being extremely neurodivergent

[@AlasdairGR]

Is Arthur Aguefort just a self insert?

[@michaelallen3195]

He has probably always been the first one. The second is just the inevitable result of the first one going off the deep end.

[@thermolol]

This is my favorite comment ever

[@Scorned]

"There are real people that don't even have 40 pages of backstory" that fucking killed me

[@Scorned]

@ZebraManno1 with people like this in the world so feel like we are all mostly NPCs

[@Tropicoboy]

Lol i feel like 40 pages is like you built a village and explained everyone important, families, laws, myths. To deep 2 pages is Plenty IMO.

[@z0is0i]

The 1 page vibe backstory is the life you wanna live, not the life you wanna LIVE, yknow

[@taliarain-k4r]

Not too late to start writing it.

[@quinnsinclair7028]

@ZebraManno1 I'm a PC. I'm the type where the player went "how much trauma can I pack into one character".

[@charlesyung5049]

50% DMing masterclass 25% Besties lovefest 20% Stories from the actual play trenches 5% Brennan realllllly likes almonds

[@misguidance__]

What a great breakdown! 🤣

[@TheKirbyT]

100% BATHROOM VOICES TIME!!!

[@misguidance__]

@@TheKirbyT we need a ‘bathroom voices’ podcast 🔥

[@zackgeldhof1206]

@@misguidance__ I'm still up for a voice-off between all of them. Matt's worm trill vs Brennan's scream vs Aabria's sultry fekkin Spider Queen voice. DAMN.

[@Lngbrdninjamasta]

As a voice heavy DM myself, I am so glad I am not the only bathroom vocal time 💯😂😂😎👍

[@Khailward]

Matt: *Tries to be humble* Aabria and Brennan: "No the fuck you will not."

[@helenchen6308]

Where

[@jacker2110]

@@helenchen6308 around 1:01:10, its when matt was being like "ooh its not a big deal, i just created a whole lore and world and yada yada, its not even done yet" and brennan instantly goes "This mf really just said that huh?!" and abbria backs brennan up

[@theoverlandvibe]

@@helenchen6308 everywhere 😂

[@yew2oob954]

At about 4:00...when Matt says "better people" in reference to them and they say (equal) or (f*cking lies) Again at 1:03:40...when they call Matt incredible and ask him to "roll around in the compliment."

[@helenchen6308]

@@yew2oob954 tyyyyyy

[@QueenViolet6969]

brennan: "I don't know which dimension 20 main cast member to call out" also brennan: "Emily was sent from hell to kill me"

[@CareyGrace]

I feel like that I was earlier in the timeline and they have all reached new levels of chaos

[@kristenrose7596]

*Ally Beardsley has entered the chat*

[@Liide12]

@@kristenrose7596 SNAKE EYES!

[@TheJasonmanguy]

@@CareyGrace Murph and Lou betting their guns at the casino because THE BALL IS ROLLING UP!

[@blazerheata6479]

Siobhan about to use her body carcass as a bomb

[@Subforum]

Whatever problems I face in my life, I can take comfort in the fact that I live in a world where Brennan Lee Mulligan uses his powers for good. Somewhere in the multiverse, Evil Brennan’s subjects must sing the Oath of Obedience thrice daily.

[@chrism6315]

Only thrice?

[@gallavanting2041]

@@chrism6315 he's as nice guy about it.

[@Jaros]

Ah, you speak of Wennan Wee Wulligan

[@jaysabol1821]

@@Jaros "iiii hate dungeons and dwagons"

[@tzviizaksonas8572]

@@Jaros that is the funniest shit ive read today.

[@humbleguardsman5885]

Brennan lee mulligan is the defining character of "there are two wolves in all of us", but both of those wolves happen to be piloted by a team of racoons.

[@neodav00001]

...Had Burrow's End started being released when you wrote that, or is it just a wild coincidence?

[@arielb8304]

@@neodav00001 Hardcore Apollo's Gift

[@JamesTGresham]

NO MOON MOON!!! THE HELL MOON MOON!!

[@aldar8240]

@@neodav00001 Burrow's End dropped on October, 8 months ago from now is September. So yeah, Apollo's Gift.

[@Roe97]

Brennan’s running joke of “I said something amazing and now I’m being complimented on it… must shake coffee mug” made me laugh out loud every time

[@Charles-dg2gk]

Where’s the comment chad with all the time stamps?

[@1337AceOfSpades1337]

@@Charles-dg2gk be the change you want to see in the world

[@UniverseCity17]

@@Charles-dg2gk 23:10 is one

[@aratathekingx1401]

1:30:30 right here

[@ColieBear18]

And I love even more that I think part of it was because it alleviated pressure on Matt. Brennan just always seems like such a caring and aware friend. And redirects attention when he sees friends are uncomfortable

[@JBEsquire]

"There are real life humans who don't have 40 pages of backstory. " Real talk right there.

[@haileyweitzel3778]

I love that i found this comment exactly as he said that line

[@lucassmart1473]

I don't care for being called out like this.

[@empire23]

timestamp? thanks!

[@myrmidonmamori]

@@empire23 17:52

[@robertramage9331]

Then you got people like me who’ve seen/experienced/been through some real shit. Lots of close calls and near falls.

[@jaypinjp]

Marisha...for the love of everything, make this a monthly show with the three of them. This is GOLD.

[@yew2oob954]

I would travel all the way to Biggityburg and back for this to happen!!

[@Megameatloaf]

Where abouts do they each live? I wonder if its actually feasible to have them all in the same room on a weekly basis. Also I wonder if Brennan could commit to something like that contractually since I'm sure he contractual obligations with Dimension 20 of some kind. Though they've had Matt Mercer on their show before and now Brennan on CR, and both companies have clearly benefited heavily from the appearances so it certainly is looking good for a future where we see more of each company making guest appearances within the other. I mean I don't know for sure how much of this stuff comes down to 'companies and contracts' but I feel like that must play a part.

[@coorzbahk8859]

@@Megameatloaf I lb

[@moonscurse]

bi-monthly wozld be fine as well, I would also take online, but honestly, this is AMAZING

[@allnighter_boy8850]

Lets start a pole to start a Critical Role roundtable show, Name Ideas: Critical Roundtable, The Roll Roundtable.

[@AncientSkullKid]

I love how this starts. Matt & Aabria: sticking to the script, asking and answering the prepared questions. Brennan: but what if chaos? Perfect.

[@VinceMW]

A+ move from Brennan. Got them all to a more comfortable spot immediately.

[@weegleman6917]

Can't be dramatic without the drama. He is the drama Lol

[@mojojomoo]

That is just Brennan Brennaning. He is the best embodiment of chaos. He should've been Jesters Patron I think lmao

[@highlivin1917]

Brennan’s DMing style in a nutshell lmao.

[@gljames24]

@@mojojomoo I need this!

[@hotelmario510]

"You wackity-schmackity doo, 10 episodes. HELP me." Brennan's delivery is, as ever, impeccable

[@Ivoryace83]

Since I came to this vid looking for this clip and spent forever looking for it- 1:01:35 😂

[@optimistprime3192]

“Welcome to Biggityburg!”

[@ziwuri]

there are literally multiple compilations of brennan delivering lines perfectly, and most of those clips aren't even from actual play shows

[@StreetFighterFan777]

Brennan Lee Mulligan is a Patton Oswalt fan? As if I couldn’t love him any more.

[@Jiggerjaw]

He's never off.

[@ianpaulkenchington4311]

"Death is not a punchline, but is the perfect setup. Death renders everything around it absurd" Thank you so much Brennan

[@aurorasyreen863]

As someome who just had a person in my rather close circle die VERY unexpectedly this just made me bawl and laugh at the same time because it is sooo true...

[@ianpaulkenchington4311]

@@aurorasyreen863 I'm am very sorry for your loss, but I am happy that we all understand each other.

[@benthomson1132]

Brennan on death (as Citizen Doctor Abraham Mehermblur): "Existence is a riddle whose ultimate answer is a laugh in the face of all beings. We must conquer death, and only then will we be able to understand this riddle, this joke, this ultimate distraction." Also Brennan (as Evan Kelmp): "HELL IS A DARK FOREST WHERE YOUR DAD OPENS HIS RIBCAGE AND INVITES YOU TO DANCE." Love it.

[@ethane_236]

This philosophy feels very Fleabag and I really like it

[@smallghosts]

it sounds like a terry Pratchett quote

[@Superawesomevids549]

the part where Aabria says "I'm pretending to watch Moulan Rouge, but really I'm thinking about dnd", and both Matt and Brennan nod knowingly, absolutely sent me.

[@matthijsclaessen8152]

Or in the shower. Or in the car. Or at work…

[@tiringsarcasm]

I’ve heard the same happen to writers in general.

[@MostLikelyMortal]

It’s constant. I’ve caught myself no less than five times today. There’s no escape

[@gaminggambeson6553]

Timestamp? 1:19:44

[@Cruxispal]

I've never related so much. I often go on late night walks and talk to myself in NPC voices and monologues, but inevitably there will be that one other person out at 11pm who sees you and stares at you like you're some shady dude about to break into a house.

[@michaelturvey8658]

Matt: "OK, so your wizard is good with fire magic. But what's something they regret from their childhood?" Liam: "Well..."

[@MichaelJones-ld9cn]

“Well… We don’t have to find out what happened to my parents…”

[@xXSakuraTearsXx]

*Nott:* He killed his whole family. Uhh- that’s a figure of speech. *Yasha:* Don’t worry. I won’t throw you under the bridge. *Nott:* _What is wrong with you?!?!?_

[@wolfbanefist111]

It all started with a fireball.

[@wouldiwasshookspeared4087]

​@@wolfbanefist111 it's always a fireball with wizard...

[@mutantsandmemes]

What campaign did Liam play a wizard?

[@patricks2645]

We need a "GM Significant Other" podcast with marisha, izzy, and aabria's husband to expose the bathroom voices time LMAO

[@sylvan44]

s e c o n d e d

[@shiro4833]

T h i r d e d

[@bristol907]

F o u r t h d e d

[@tomesofawesome8041]

Fifthded

[@speghetatouie1218]

@@tomesofawesome8041sixihed

[@GoldenCrow]

Brennan exclaiming "It's not done!" about the setting/book and "Almonds!" just fucking killed me. The man has such energy, and I love him for it.

[@ackimdead]

@@TheRealCrimdor Why does matt wear that vest? what does it matter? why comment on that post with your broken pencil opinion?

[@TheRealCrimdor]

@@ackimdead - because I can? You okay?

[@blueshoals]

and "You can DO that?!?"

[@grey8288]

@@TheRealCrimdor Because she likes it

[@MammalianCreature]

@@TheRealCrimdor Where'd your comment go, and why do you like your own comments?

[@patrickmcisaac3142]

I love how Matt tries to set up an serious panel type vibe and Brennan immediately says "NOPE, THIS WILL BE CHAOS" and that is exactly what we get.

[@imOverWhere]

He gives back what he's given in adventuring party

[@romxxii]

To be fair, Brennan is quite capable in sticking to a standard panel format, as he's done so with his own Adventuring Academy series. He just chose chaos this time, and I absolutely love it.

[@josephmontoya5822]

It was a, “am I in the same moment as everyone else?”, moment and it was very necessary this is an amazing group sitting here and it needed to be freaked out about

[@patrickkail502]

Yo Aabria was like "pounce!" as soon as the concept of chaos started up

[@bright-vision8766]

And those are the best episodes

[@kristian9955]

I absolutely adore Brennans aggressive positivity "When did the world feel done?" "'It doesnt'" *picks up book* "With This, RIGHT here" "take it man!"

[@quattromat8404]

1:01:10 for those looking

[@thefriendlyknight]

HELP me

[@emcaco]

Knowing Matt is humble to a fault, he needs a shoulder Brennan.

[@Bentbrokentheory]

“Ya wackity smackity” 😂😂😂

[@thevoidlord1796]

"Take it man! What the fuck!"

[@MoriGreaves-cs3gy]

I love Brennan’s “profundity and absurdity are deeply in love, they go hand in hand” (at 44:38) because I heard that, and the first thought that entered my silly mind was “profoundness and absurdism are kissing with tongue” and I started giggling at my own joke before realizing that I had created absurdity from Brennans profoundness and it really intrigued me, and I thought about it for a bit before realizing I was being profound about my own absurd thought about a profound notion which made me laugh at the absurdity of the situation, and I realized how right he was about the relationship between profoundness and absurdness.

[@issaraptorsaysrawrr]

This comment needs more hype, this is fantastic

[@goolgepl2112]

Albert Camus is rattling his coffin right now

[@AshAtropos]

@@goolgepl2112cartwheeling in that bitch

[@agustinvenegas5238]

​@@goolgepl2112straight up sounding like a vibrating phone in a drawer

[@neruneri]

@@goolgepl2112 That's a beautifully absurd image in its own right.

[@fishbananas]

This feels like its oversimplified, but after Brennan's "every GM gets a betrayer god" comment, I can't help myself from seeing comparisons of why they respectively went for Lolth, Vecna, and Asmodeus. Like Aabria's proclivity for wanting to provoke and follow the impulse and the drama, Matt's whole thing about how he keeps all of this secret lore chronicled away until its needed, and Brennan's focus on optimising his PC's emotional ties, tight turnaround and scheduling numerous, smaller shows - like, am I overthinking or do their GM styles fit with the betrayer gods they've portrayed?

[@valasafantastic1055]

You are correct!

[@enzoarweq4525]

omg as an avid viewer of Brennan, i have to agree, esp after his performance as Adrian in LA by Night, i so totally see it

[@lejandario7779]

I'd say they subconsciously took on the Betrayers they were most similar to so they could play them well.

[@Animefan1803]

To be fair, what Betrayer God would fit Brennan "It´ll be a cold day in hell before i go out like a chump" Lee Mulligan better than Asmodeus? Dude is basically a walking Lord of Lies on a daily basis.

[@lautarosola386]

I'm not giving a like because I don't wanna be the one ruining the "nice" you got there, but yeah man totally!

[@romxxii]

Please make this a regular series. Just these three people shootin the shit, having voice time, Brennan ranting about how snacking isn't a weird thing, and just so much great DMing advice.

[@taosterlord157]

I would pay $$$ for this to be a thing!

[@chrisbrown6952]

Seriously, I would love a weekly series of just high level DMs/GMs having wide-ranging conversations about the game.

[@mokovec]

@WebDM was mostly like that, I suggest you check their channel out.

[@xicarus8141]

We can call it "Bathroom Buddies"

[@delightfulbanana]

I would seriously pay money to have this even like once every two months

[@MOOOTH]

I sincerely hope Brennan sticks around, even as a player. I wanna see him and Taliesin embody unstoppable force vs immovable object

[@Caiphex]

From a vibe standpoint I really want to see him play with Taliesin but from a cerebral character alongside character standpoint I want to see him with Laura bailey. She can simultaneously be fucking brilliant and also laugh at the absurdity of what brilliant ideas Brennan would come up with.

[@catwhowalksbyhimself]

I believe he already runs his own D&D show as the GM, so he wouldn't be available often.

[@MOOOTH]

@@catwhowalksbyhimself dimension 20, yeah, but as he put it, he has three months between seasons

[@pedroscoponi4905]

One thing I really need to see is Emily Axford and Laura Bailey in the same room. I feel like no GM can survive that.

[@stefanandrews5098]

Brennan and Sam on the same side of the table… I don’t know if Exandria can handle that, but the Nordverse though

[@juliawhitmore3991]

What Brennan and Matt say about Aabria as a GM player is so true. She understands the assignment. Never have I seen her as a player not understand the assignment. Her characters are so incredibly built/played that even their most selfish choices are completely in line with the necessary story beats. Aabria will never derail a session; she's _making_ the rails with the GM.

[@smolbluegoblin]

and somehow she never makes it feel as if she's building the rails. She always has characters with personalities and stories that have a great impact, while working sort of backstage to build the world with the GM. My favorite example is Karna from The Ravening War (spoilers ahead!) where her character brings a connexion to the Hungry One, and during the 5 years break, she goes to Ceresia and allows Matt to develop Deli's love interest (can't remember her name for the life of me) and the opposite side of the war. It allows for different perspectives to color the conflict and make her dynamic with the group so interesting! In a world where your sort of affiliation is determined by the food group your character falls into, Karna went to almost all of the countries and allowed Matt to develop them further

[@killerchansey4938]

To whoever made Matt feel bad to where he can't snack whilst dming anymore, I just wanna talk to you.

[@davidparkes7741]

I as well want to talk to them.

[@Mattchuu95]

Let's hope Brennen's amazing speech convinced him to start again.

[@TheBlueSuperDude]

As someone who has only followed Matt's campaigns loosely (being generous), has interacted mostly through his side cameo content, I too want to know who the fuck is policing this nice human being about his snacking habbits

[@francesteixeira9454]

Matt, you can snack!

[@13vatra]

Yes, "talk"

[@blkfoxninja]

“Death is not a punchline…but it is the perfect setup” - good god, there’s so much wisdom and absolutely hilarity in that statement. I’m gonna have to remember that

[@B1gLupu]

It is indeed very insightful

[@fredslipknot9]

So true.

[@TG-nd9rj]

"THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE IN MY GM'ING IS THAT THE SAME PLACE I TALK FROM IS WHERE THE FOOD NEEDS TO GO!" That got me, that put tears in my eyes. God I love these three so much.

[@LeighWesleyMusic]

I immediately sent that quote to my DM had me in stitches

[@RiskPig]

I regularly quote what Brennan said in Dimension 20. "They'll RP, and I'm like 'It’s snack time,' but then they'll ask me a question and then it's not time."

[@Trintron46]

Someone please timestamp this!

[@the_pleasant_potter]

@@Trintron46 1:42:57 is the time stamp for the “Biggest obstacle in my GMing” bit. Hope that’s helpful!

[@traxathon4464]

DnD community: railroad vs sandbox Brennan: waterslide

[@itwasidio1736]

have fun together while still following the story

[@essendossev362]

'waterslide' is such a good summary of his whole shpiel

[@spaceman9599]

Quicksandbox

[@jnevercast]

It made me think about light moves through spacetime near a blackhole. The light travels in a straight line, but gravity bends spacetime changing the course. The DM bends the world around the player's destined journey. Like mables on a sheet, the DM pushes down on it creating mountains and ravines for destiny to move through. idk - its 3am

[@MagicalSpoon]

Wheee! 🙌

[@LunaKing]

Brennan apologizing for going on about his answers is so endearing and unnecessary lol. I would listen to each of these GMs talk about their craft for HOURS, give me that director's cut extended edition!!

[@InLiquidColor]

This. I didnt want it to end!

[@GerardInandan]

Yeah. Hearing them talk shop is such a treat. I have maintained for the longest time that the best DnD conversation was Brennans adventuring academy podcast with Matt. Now this is the best, by leagues!

[@leauxgan]

@@GerardInandan the rest of Adventuring Academy is just as good! It’s such a great dive into different people in tabletop and the variety of skills they bring to the table (no pun intended)

[@nemovi5379]

Go from just shy of 2hrs to just under 3.5 days nonstop. Just replace all water with coffee 😌☕

[@Bannedd567]

What I'm getting from this is that Aimee could have singlehandedly stopped the Calamity by girlbossing Asmodeus

[@TheEmerald97]

We are Here for it! Opal teaches the Spider Queen how to Girlboss to get back at Asmodeus.

[@FigurativeCritter]

That sounds very much like unstoppable force (Aimee) vs immovable object (Brennan) and I would be very interested to see where that would go

[@Bannedd567]

@@TheEmerald97 Zerxus: wait, you redeemed a betrayer god? Opal: what, like it's hard?

[@haniyajamshed6334]

Realest comment

[@LetTheBodyFall]

@@Bannedd567 god now i want Opal and Zerxus to meet. idk how but i want it

[@Mediados]

Aabria: "Session 0 is very important." Matt: "It's good to make things clear." Brennan: "WHAT HAPPENED TO GREAT TIME?"

[@LuneWatcher]

1:37:22 Matt says "I have not had the opportunity yet to properly GM for you yet" to them, and now he gets to DM for both Aabria and Brennan in The Ravening War!

[@Frreak0zoid]

Starts with "fire". Laughter ensues

[@iainoftheizzetleague9850]

@@Frreak0zoid Water, actually.

[@romanterry7215]

​@@iainoftheizzetleague9850Earth now

[@jedinxf7]

the ravening war was just incredible. Matt's story, everyone's role play, and Brennan's absolutely next level improv of a character descending into madness

[@ThomasUfnalCrowlake]

​@@jedinxf7I was so sad it was so short, because I felt such a decade long story would have really benefited from more space. But it was still really good and the stuff Matt did to the setting were glorious.

[@Jessie_Helms]

“It’s delicious when the players realize they’re in a line.” Players were fighting a dragon with a _beam_ breath weapon and _twice_ during the combat 3 of them got in a straight line. I LOVED it.

[@JinbaHGS]

I dropped my entire party in one Lightning Bolt. It ranks in the top 3 best DMing moments I've had.

[@yuki97kira]

My fucking tank rogue did this. I forgot the caster goes slower than the opponent can can use petrifying breath and I went in front of it, hoping to AOO it before it got to caster... I didnt realised it until the player was like "really? " and im like OH SHIT

[@Reepicheep-1]

Playing _Chrono Trigger,_ they blatently pointed out 'some orientations allow group attacks'. Stayed in the back of my mind for nearly 30 years.

[@sweypheonix]

To be fair isn't it pretty hard to not be in a line if there's 3 of you? Like just by default a lot of 3 points on a graph will be in a line.. or am I missing something simple that shows that like 98%of 3 points won't make a line. I'm gonna get a piece of paper and see...

[@Jessie_Helms]

@@sweypheonix a triangle is 3 points that are not in a line. Same with a sine wave. It’s nearly impossible for _two_ people to not form a line, though.

[@kamcalste]

that "I'm a snacker" rant goes up there in the top five Brennan rage-monologues

[@EightThreeEight]

1:01:15 Is this one in there too?

[@draconiskittensweetie9765]

I had already seen it a couple times prior to sitting down to watch the whole thing cause I loved it so much and said half of it with him lmao

[@curtisholsinger6023]

The idea that "On the Day of Death, we still get hungry, and some of us have to poop" is absolute gold. It really drives home how fundamentally absurd life and death can be, and how we treat it. Just brilliant.

[@Miglow]

This has a somewhat Monty Python-esque approach to death that I appreciate

[@curtisholsinger6023]

@@Miglow Mitchell and Webb, but yeah

[@curtisholsinger6023]

@Miglow it took me way too many months to realize you were referring to "The Meaning of Life" Monty Python and not The Flying Circus, my bad

[@adammoffat6797]

I thought when Aabria called Matt on "rolling around the compliment" and he said he was "trying to get better at that" was a really simple yet beautiful moment.

[@thirtyfirst2731]

It's a fun thing from the Seven campaign on D20, it's wholesome to see how that stuck with them. roll around in the compliment!

[@VivaLaDnDLogs]

I love listening to them bond over where they practice their voices! Also Brennan came harder at Tolkien than I thought was ever possible. And he's freaking right, too.... "10,000 years ago, the best sword ever was made." *Every Blacksmith for Next 10,000 Years:* "Well, fuck my whole career, I guess."

[@VanNessy97]

I like to think of that as the best sword that could ever be made 10,000 years ago, truly a product of its time

[@VivaLaDnDLogs]

@@VanNessy97 that would work!

[@Lucifronz]

I like to think that tons of blacksmiths would see it as a challenge. "Yeah, yours was great... but we'll see how long they're talking about that stupid bread cutter once I make mine!" And they'll be wrong, but that's how people are.

[@Ventilator313]

LotR is post-apocalyptic

[@VivaLaDnDLogs]

@@Ventilator313 I think it's post, pre, and present apocalyptic. Never a dull age in Middle Earth.

[@Xjere]

"The world was fair, the mountains tall, In Elder Days before the fall ...The world is grey, the mountains old, The forge's fire is ashen-cold;" -Song of Durin; JRR Tolkein Translation: "Shit was dope back in the day, and then it stopped being dope"

[@biggrayalien4791]

I think that's why so many people like D&D, because you can have stuff like, "Shit was dope back in the day," but then follow it up with, "Now it's dope, just in a different way."

[@beardedemperor]

@@biggrayalien4791 "All shit was dope in bygone, faded days, And 'tis still so, but in new, diff'rent ways. Once forged the arcane races artefacts That sundered souls and lay to waste vast tracts. Such powers lost to time and cosmic war, Now thank thy gods we do that shit no more." - Hymn of the Luddite Sages, probably.

[@biggrayalien4791]

@@beardedemperor I like it

[@GreeneyedApe]

@@biggrayalien4791 In what way is that specific to D&D?

[@biggrayalien4791]

@@GreeneyedApe And here we go...

[@Frownlandia]

Brennan has so clearly developed the skill of teaching. He's so good at getting right to the theoretical core of what he's talking about in a way that never strays from application, as he fully incapacitates everyone laughing.

[@Hallucin0g3n]

UCB improv teacher background 😜

[@jimle1370]

Also a camp councilor for a improv larp camp!

[@bethanytruman6456]

I love how Matt at some point his life decided to put a vest over a tee shirt and has stuck to it, that is his thing. He has updated it beautifully and keeps it feeling modern but it is just nice to have that consistency in life. The sky is blue, grass is green and Matthew Mercer is wearing a vest

[@m0sifer]

Brennan's energy is pure lightning. I can't comprehend how he isn't everywhere. He is the Tom Cruise of DnD.

[@RickBomhof]

EXU : C was absolutely insane

[@klaytonrocks]

DON’T CURSE HIM LIKE THAT!

[@elijahpark5344]

He's more like the Ryan Reynolds, precious, actually funny, and beginning to be really appreciated

[@seanayres5]

I don't think Brennan's mortal form can handle more than short bursts of his full energy, that's why we don't see him as often.

[@HunterMayer]

@@seanayres5 there simply aren't enough almonds to go around. Luv this guy.

[@Saluno375]

Jesus Christ, I haven't laughed as hard at anything in months as I did at "Smackity whackity do, 10 episodes, HELP ME."

[@13mungoman13]

I'm just gonna post the timecode for posterity right here 1:01:09

[@driftnick7022]

I've had that part on loop for a solid minute because it's amazing and it broke me. I'm still cracking up just thinking about it.

[@boiboh2954]

@@13mungoman13thank you hero

[@fangwulf]

"Nature heals, but it sometimes it heals a lil stupid" AABRIA YOU MAD GENIUS

[@Hakasedess]

The "smile of exandria" -> "shattered teeth" connection that was made in the cataclysm game was actually incredible. It was so low-key and seemed like an offhand comment when it happened, but then at the end I was like "Holy... shit"

[@pagenein]

WAIT i didnt realise that until now holy shit!!!! thats awesome

[@Landis963]

I think I twigged to it immediately - I remember going on my friends' Discord server and going "Oh no, that poor continent" the moment I heard Asmodeus call Domunas "The Smile of Exandria." It was still rad as heck to hear Brennan make that connection explicit both through Asmodeus' gloating ("...let's shatter her teeth!") and through the omniscient narrator-voice guiding the epilogue ("The continent of Domunas will be unfamiliar...").

[@Ellimist000]

I've only watched EXU and calamity (about to watch CR2 I think) so had no idea what the shattered teeth were. But the whole setup was still *so* sick 😁

[@StevenJQuinlan]

I would honestly watch a regular DM's round table with Aabriya, Matt and Brennan talking about how to be a good DM. They're all bringing so much to the table, and there is so much to learn.

[@gamergeek322]

Brennan hosts a podcast called Adventuring Academy. A one on one chat with a ttrpg personality. Its on dropout, but some have been uploaded on YT

[@jonathonbartos3061]

Honestly, doesn't just need to be these three. Would love to see other major live-stream DM's/GM's come on to talk. Would love to see the opinions of people like Chris Perkins and Matt Colville on this type of show.

[@stefanandrews5098]

Colville to moderate

[@LunaKing]

"wizards are yuppies. Wizards wear their shoes to bed" -another gem from aabria

[@elijahpark5344]

As someone else mentioned, they should make a podcast together, call it “Bathroom Buddies”, and have other DMs come in every so often to talk about weird DMing stuff and giving advice. The community would love this, and it would help the community of newbie GMs who need help DMing for the first time.

[@audreygilmore7408]

Brennan has one called Adventuring academy both of them have been on it, it's really good!

[@elijahpark5344]

@@audreygilmore7408 Not exactly a podcast lmao, more like the show after the show, similar in format to CR's. I mean a real podcast, where it's just the three of them talking about life

[@audreygilmore7408]

@@elijahpark5344 adventuring party=the show after the show with the PC's Adventuring academy = the podcast that Brennan did on dropout with other dm's (some of whom are PC's in D20 but mostly others including Matt and Aabria)

[@elijahpark5344]

@@audreygilmore7408 OH I never made that distinction, huh. I just read “Adventuring” and though they were the same. Still, we need a podcast with all three gms hosting, not just brennan 🙃

[@audreygilmore7408]

@@elijahpark5344 agreed! That would be amazing, I could listen to them talk all day lol

[@InsertCleverNameHere0]

Brennan starts this video by quoting Voltaire and ends it by talking about stress eating a whole pizza and a half. Just the perfect man.

[@josiemcmillan]

"Find you a man who can do both?"

[@pointynoodle]

I think he’s trying to quote Mark Twain who said “I would have written you a shorter letter but I didn't have the time.”

[@DustyStarrs]

@@pointynoodle thank you for introducing me to this quote I think it just explained my whole fucking life

[@pointynoodle]

@@DustyStarrs Mark Twain has a lot of good quotes like that. As does Lenin

[@braydenchadwick9836]

@@pointynoodle my favourite is “if you’ve gotta eat two frogs in a day, eat the bigger one”

[@moondustace5310]

Let’s bask in this for a moment and try to forget that these are the same people who said: Aabria: “His hair goes stark white, and he snaps his own wand. He will never cast another spell again” Matt: “I broke the world for us!” Brennan: “Patia, is your arm weakest, do you feel, at the elbow or the shoulder?” But on the other side, they’re also the creators of: Aabria: Owls ringing like phones Matt: Tusk Love Brennan: Chungledown Bim

[@spacetearable]

Wait, you gave a serious and a silly for Aabria and Matt, but you only gave 2 seriouses for Brennen (cuz Chungledown Bim is nightmare fuel)!

[@PlayWatch_616]

The duality of humanity

[@Fityfo54]

Ohh I prefer “what do you want me to tell your family”. Misfits and magic is what got me back into TTRPGs

[@user-xb5bz4fu9o]

Implying chungledown bim isn't nightmare fuel

[@elbruces]

@@spacetearable Okay, let's swap out Chungledown Bim for Plug's Butt-Ugly Stuff Hut. There, it's fixed.

[@brightestlight9462]

this made me realize that brennan's bursts of insanity are NOT HIS CHOICE

[@agustinvenegas5238]

Can't remember where but I vividly remember him saying that he's actually that unhinged and reigns it in for interactions with other people

[@felixbostley5358]

@@agustinvenegas5238 game changer, the episode where he cannot win.

[@ldragon8480]

@@felixbostley5358 I don't think he says it in that episode but rather in a tweet in relation to that episode where someone asks him about his monologue.

[@felixbostley5358]

@@ldragon8480 Perhaps, I don't quite remember

[@djgreyjoy1495]

I can't agree more with Brennan. He nailed it: "what I am looking as a player is full immersion. As a player I don't want to be a storyteller, I want to be living in a story immersed into a character who does not know he is living in a story."

[@Drekromancer]

That line hit so hard. Because that's what separates realistic characters from shitty ones: the real ones take their circumstances seriously. There's no immersion in a 3rd person omniscient perspective. There's immersion in the narrow, limited, subjective scope of mortal life. And that's what makes it special. So if you want to capture that in a realistic character, then that character has to have a limited perspective and skin in the game. For them, it's not about confronting their inner demons so they can fulfill their arc - this shit is REAL! It's about fighting desperately to save themselves and the people they love from encroaching evil. If they had a chance to take the easy way out and solve all their problems instantly, they would - because they're attached to their _goals,_ not the plot. But just like Brennan said so elegantly: The best path for the plot to take is the winding, convoluted path, resulting from PCs who navigate obstacles while trying their best to move in a straight line. Ugh. Pure poetry. ❤️

[@robertstarnes6878]

I know this is over a year old now, but I keep coming back & rewatching it, because seeing 3 friends & colleagues get giddy with how talented they each think the others are, while simultaneously humbly downplaying their own talents, is such a rare & beautiful thing. I wish this roundtable was an annual event.

[@meaypie11]

Likewise. Any time I'm on YT looking for something nice to listen to, I can't say no to this. They're so fun to sit with. ❤

[@rebeccafindlay6176]

Truly unmatched energy, they have so much to admire and inspire in each other and I’m so happy for them and the world that they’re friends and can share their work with us like they do :)

[@z-beeblebrox]

47:50 on this topic, the way Brennan introduced Vespin in ExU through Cerrit's intro, as not this troubling villain but just yet another fool trying to ascend to godhood like the Mother of Ravens. It drove home very efficiently that this is a world where a person like Vespin was waiting to happen. If not him then someone else. That was very smart storytelling

[@13vatra]

Exactly. In a few lore nuggets he took "the impossible happened" to "hubris got the ball rolling on some horrible events" and made it seem not only entirely plausible, but even unavoidable.

[@Norezion]

This is halarious... Seeing Brennan unhinged and just being open, and being himself and just being open with his bit of a stutter and his mind going a million miles a second, and Matt and Aabria, throwing things around and bouncing off one another is so nice to see. This is hands down one of my favourite videos in a while. I hope to see more!

[@steegen101]

Brennan has a lot more funny and insightful and candid D&D chatting moments in the Adventuring Academy series on the Dimension 20 youtube channel :)

[@felixhamel1853]

He also did a 4h30 hour interview on a pod cast which is THIS but just Brennan and twice as long

[@c0niferal]

@@felixhamel1853 if you happen to remember a name for that it'd be much appreciated :)

[@felixhamel1853]

@@c0niferal it’s called 99 questions

[@c0niferal]

@@felixhamel1853 found it, awesome ty :)

[@kossowankenobi]

We need a podcast. No stress, just sit around and shoot the shit about this. Matt's point about the modern era of learning from others is so on point. I used to have to go to cons to meet great GMs and take home a tip or two. Now you can spend most of your free time learning from others' games. What an age.

[@Therealbearden]

Brennan has "advenduring academy" which the others have guested on, it's great

[@constantlycomic1290]

Shoutout to Brennan for helping Matt and Aabria relax and setting a really fun tone for the roundtable.

[@hodgiwabi]

The image of Dani Carr in a corner with a blow gun while Brennan DMs EXU Calamity is a spectacular one

[@sundaesorceress]

"I am lazy" Brennan says, having GM'ed 11 seasons of D20 in like 5 years.

[@YasaiTsume]

Laziest people are also the most effective and efficient people. Laziness =/= sloth

[@ldragon8480]

@@YasaiTsume work smarter not harder

[@g4mm47]

@@ldragon8480 yup yuup

[@KeyMasterX]

When you're smart and lazy, you can achieve big goals with minimal effort on your end. Also it's not really considered work if you're doing something you have a lot of fun in.

[@matthewhughes1950]

More likely that he is labor adverse, so he finds the most efficient use of his energy possible. E.g. he preps 30% and knows what to flesh out vs not

[@feliix88]

I kinda want a podcast / roundtable with Marisha, Izzy, and Aabria's Husband just talking about the many ways they've handled and dealt with their DM partners who suddenly find themselves starting out into the distance, mind literally filled with fantasy races and rolling dice XD

[@irdairda514]

my husband is a forever GM, I get asked the strangest questions sometimes. And as I am not playing in his games, I get to hear all the stuff.

[@imjang2430]

"How do you feel about land-dwelling sharks?"

[@shadowfired]

I wish 4-Sided Dive was like this. All those minigames and segments just take the focus away from more interesting conversations. Brennan kept apologizing for taking too long on the questions, but both his and Matt's more in-depth answers are exactly what has been missing from the campaign 3 discussions.

[@Drekromancer]

This. This, so much. I don't fucking care about watching the group play Mario Kart. If you like that, fine, but I don't think it should be part of the same video. The deepest, most insightful conversations are the best part of the CR behind-the-scenes catalog, and the current structure of 4-Sided Dive is just too scattered to allow for that much focus. If you're reading this, CR crew, please: give us more talks like this.

[@patrickmcisaac3142]

I could listen to these three talk for 10 hours and it wouldn't be enough.

[@davidschmidt5507]

YES!!!

[@delilahkreitz822]

That’s what I’ve been saying! In fact I loved it so much when Sam was a host and when they were playing video games he was like “look I’m not even interested and I don’t even think people care.” Or he said something like that. For me at least it’s true! I wanted a talk show that kept on talking about well the events going on. The thing that I didn’t mind was the tower of inquiry. That one makes sense and so do the tankard questions, everything else though- why do I want to watch them play Mario kart or Exploding kittens? Please talk about it. Also DOES DORIAN HAVE A CRUSH ON ORYM?! P.S. feel like they should learn from The Adventure Zone. They have a thing during the beginning, middle, and end show called The Adventure Zone Zone. All the do is answer questions and talk about events.

[@Kaiser8361N]

100%

[@Calmputer]

16:25 "Because if you start with someone who's like 'I have a class and spells and magical gear and literally no desires and no attachments.' and you're like 'Buddy, that's enlightenment. I don't know what to tell you. You're actually done. You win.'" Is such a powerful realization. and now I want to play an enlightened character who struggles with still living in the world without going full hermit.

[@MogoPrime]

Uhhhh... I'd... say maybe don't try that? The term "enlightened" means those worldly goals, struggles, aims are gone and you are at peace. You are wanting for nothing. There would be no "struggling to live", it would be a thoughtful and sedate existance and just, boring as hell to interact with a character that views the ambitions of others as a path he has already traveled and concluded. I've played with a character who was a monk, but the player took that to mean he had a pass to be as stoic, quiet, emotionally still, and _boring_ as possible, probably because it was easy on him to roleplay, but he never acted, only reacted, and even then it was reluctance to get involved in a conflict. 2/10 do not recommend, from my experience.

[@thecinemagician]

You wanna get fus ro dah'd off the peak? This is how you get fus ro dah'd off the peak...

[@kharonhaden5136]

Why would he want to still live in the world if he doesn’t want anything since he’s enlightened

[@chrisbennett9048]

@@kharonhaden5136 unless the party came to them seeking help and they decided to travel on as a guide and moral compass for the party otherwise yea not much to do with a character with no goals of there own.

[@Tw1st3dGrin]

@@MogoPrime that's OPM. You're basically talking about Saitama.

[@apjtv2540]

3:30 love how humble Matt is about all this that you see him implode when Brennan and Aabria start talking about how amazing Exandria is. I mean, it absolutely is amazing, but it's always nice to see it hasn't gone to his head.

[@EightThreeEight]

Matthew Mercer is exactly the kind of man I aspire to be.

[@Wryyyyyyyyyyyyu]

Matt is both the face of voice acting and DMing, so he has double the reasons to have a big ego, but the fact that he doesn’t just shows how humble he really is Edit: Well one of the faces of voice acting at least lmao

[@loganfields159]

I actually disagree. Respectfully, I think Matt should acknowledge his own achievement. No one is worried about Matt Mercer becoming an egomaniac. A certain degree of pride is earned and appropriate.

[@EightThreeEight]

@@loganfields159 I never got the impression that Matt isn't proud of his accomplishments.

[@loganfields159]

@@EightThreeEight he deflects praise like a Jedi in stormtrooper town. A better way to make my point would be to say Matt needs to learn to accept positive reactions to his work. Let the pride he does feel come through.

[@vikingshark2634]

Voice time in the bathroom is 100% accurate. But I live alone so when a squeaky Gnome voice trying three different versions of "I didn't mean for you to *literally* kill them. I was just.... being.... DRAMATIC!" echoes down the hall, it's only my dogs that hear it.

[@merlin9240]

I've never related so hard to a weird habit

[@Achridian]

Living in a College dorm makes it very hard, I am almost never in the room alone. So voices time becomes either in the shower or while walking around campus. I’m certain there are people who think I’m just insane because I’m muttering to myself in an evil wizard voice as I walk to my calculus class

[@williamross6477]

@@Achridian Book a practice room in the music building and go nuts!

[@imjang2430]

I live with friends, but when i do my Queasy Kobold voice, they call back as strangely as me

[@DeadDrunk2]

As a fellow GM, "Bathroom-voices-time" and "GM-spouses are the realest" really gave me one of those hearty, grunty chuckles. There should be more of this content!

[@pluck9488]

SAME! “Sometimes you need to dang it out as an NPC” pushed me over the edge

[@AmirGM]

If anything, right, I just love how Aabria and Matt were trying to be very serious, and then Brennan just totally changed the tone of the conversation. They both seemed to relax and really start to enjoy the round table at that point. The energy he brings is amazing, and this is coming from someone who before Calamity knew nothing about him. 10/10 round table all the way through, ive never lost almost 2 hours of my life quite like I did with this, and I hope you guys do something similar in the future.

[@Kiki-uu6pc]

First time I saw him was Calamity. Struggled to get into it for the first 20 min. After that I was hooked.

[@jeremybuckets]

I finished the episode, read this comment, restarted the video to see if I could see what you're talking about, and, immediately coming off of Brennan's rant about snacks, see Matt look over at him at 1:23 as he's slamming whatever is in that mug. holy fuck I lost it

[@jamescanjuggle]

matt describing how exandria happened sounds exactly like what a god would say who canonically created exandria

[@trinity6302]

"It was all an accident"

[@ravenna6543]

@@trinity6302 "Well it was a coworker's birthday and he really wanted to explore a new world...."

[@RPG_Angie]

Favorite quotes: 41:36 Aabria: "Nature heals. And sometimes it heals a little stupid, but it does heal." 44:37 Brennan: "Profundity and absurdity are deeply in love. They go hand in hand." But my favorite moment is the group-therapy segment starting at 1:19:39. They were so happy that their experience was shared by the others. And I straight up act out scenes at home, for both RPG games and fanfic.

[@cricket98741]

I see you, and raise you 16:38 ‘Buddy that’s enlightenment.’

[@DarlingMissDarling]

Watching Aabria pantomime "being deeply weird in the bathtub" made me cackle like a cartoon halloween witch. And that cackle is turning maniacal real fast if I actually imagine her creating and then _practicing_ the voices for the salt goblins of ACOFAF in exactly that way??? lol Yeah full scream-laugh, ya'll. I just heart Aabria »so« gd much.

[@VanNessy97]

1:04:56 "Why do you make villains hot?"

[@emthatyourefuse2494]

I absolutely want a kitschy little word art sign that says "sometimes it heals a little stupid, but it does heal." That's *legitimately* kind of inspiring.

[@The_Black_Rose_94]

I want "profundity and absurdity are deeply in Love; they go hand in hand."

[@LordZeebee]

I feel like this has an ENTIRELY different vibe from most interviews with famous DMs simply because they all just inherently know each other's struggles and can just let loose. I love that someone finally talked about going about your life and suddenly just starting to try out voices and mannerisms. I don't feel fully as batshit insane anymore! It was absolutely lovely to listen to, i was captivated from start to finish c:

[@Myst031]

This could have been four hours long. Hopefully we get a part 2. This is the kind of "Director's Commentary" we'd been dying to get.

[@Matisyahuwu]

Honestly a watch through with commentary over clips of big moments from allll CR media would be awesome.

[@jencooksthings]

You know they sat there for another hour or more just chatting. Release the footage, cowards!

[@ikeekieeki]

this!

[@greeninferno1339]

Hmmm... that requires another three way collab to justify... I’m sold :)

[@ankurchawla1154]

@@Matisyahuwu I hope someone does this. Great idea.

[@TheTrekkie12]

I love Matt’s insistence that we take Exandria and do with it what we will and I need him to know that I have given Wildemount alone like 40 dragons bc I love dragons and there should be more of them

[@bodenking]

That sounds awesome and I would love to see that

[@fintanross]

Dungeons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons and dragons .

[@Dragonwing16]

lmfao holy shit!

[@MrBochunks]

I'm all for an Exandria: Oops All Dragons edition

[@noramorgan2328]

As someone who has added a slew of minor gods and mysteriously godly beings being seperate from the pantheon I also appreciated this.

[@mcscotch6178]

"Welcome to Biggityburg. It's the new town. It's the new season. Here we go - Wackity-Schmackity-DO! Ten episodes... HELP ME!" - This had me almost out of my chair laughing. As a DM, I am in awe of what Brennan brings to the table, but when witnessing the height and breadth of Matt Mercer's creativity, I am very nearly without words. Brennan's words come the closest to describing it.

[@anastacianikitina5080]

I can't get over Matt being like "sorry for shameless plug of my creation in a video where we discuss our collaborative creation on a channel that's literally built around our creations"

[@tomsparrow1823]

Aabria and Brennan's "turn the cameras off" I'm just dead now

[@caedodice]

GM Roundtable Time Stamps Spoilers for C1, C2, C3, EXU & EXU: Calamity 1:11 - True Start of Episode 1:30 - Building the Game (Tips for Session Zeros) 2:55 - Safety Tools 3:30 - Thank you Matt for opening this world to Brennan and Aabria 4:15 - Brennan learns he can curse on CR 5:20 - Brennan’s Session 0 Tips 7:42 - Brennan’s Character Deck 8:45 - Story from Brennan 9:50 - CR Beginning 10:20 - MN Session Zeros 10:50 - Calamity Relationships 11:20 - Brennan breaks it down 12:06 - Character Creation like with Matt for Long Campaigns 13:07 - Changing Class in Session 0 13:28 - What do you do if you don’t have a Session Zero? 13:49 - Aabria’s Opening Moments 14:22 - Emailing Character Questions 15:10 - Suck your players into caring about their characters 15:20 - Nothing you can do if Players don’t care 16:20 - Character Momentum 17:00 - Random Wandering Martial Artist 17:40 - Don’t need 40 Pages of Backstory 18:10 - What motives a characters unusual behavior and what makes them Click 18:41 - Backstory can be used by GM or not (communication) 19:33 - Before the session, ask players what their backstory is 20:40 - Plock Hooks and Building the world 21:03 - Don’t create Divinity if no character is religious 21:20 - Plot hooks 21:37 - Bolo 22:00 - Why people Homebrew 22:50 - Making stuff canon on the fly 23:00 - The GMs being Nervous Beans 24:20 - Take a break to look something up. 25:00 - Establish this is your version of the setting 25:48 - GMs can’t read 26:06 - Aabria, what was it like creating Niirdal-Poc? 28:03 - Throw an Apostrophe in there 28:18 - Map mock up 28:45 - A world has multiple authors 29:38 - What was it like building out the Age of Arcanum? 30:28 - Natural 20s 31:21 - Brennan loves the Aeor Arc in C2 32:07 - Middle Earth doesn’t make sense 34:28 - Avalir being a Yes and, 35:30 - Avalir discussions with Matt 36:48 - Shattered Teeth Lore 37:02 - Purvan Sul 37:34 - You want something the Players can Break 38:28 - Aabria broke things 39:37 - Stop the Calamity 40:23 - Wizards wear their shoes to bed 40:30 - What element of the lore they created is Aabria and Brennan’s favorite? 41:00 - Nature heals a lil stupid 41:43 - Taste of Taldorei 42:36 - Humor in Tragedy 42:56 - No humor in Calamity 43:40 - Humor always Happens 44:13 - Everything rendered funny by death 45:18 - Brennan’s favorite lore he added 46:17 - Brennan creating fake wizards 47:12 - Vespin Chloras 48:40 - Shattered Teeth Reveal 48:53 - Byroden 50:20 - Aimee Carrero Shout out 51:00 - Logic Thread 52:43 - Matt, what were some of your inspirations for Exandria? 53:40 - How Exandria Started 54:30 - Slowly expanding the world 55:08 - Exandria is Named 55:30 - Logic & Building the entire world 56:00 - Middle Earth is bad again 56:25 - Kryn Dynasty Inbreeding 57:16 - Amnesis 57:48 - Creating the reason behind ancient relics 58:10 - Creating why the Gods were removed from Exandria 59:05 - Westruun being the start 59:23 - Old files of Westruun 59:44 - Stilben 1:00:07 - Matt, do you remember the moment where Exandria felt not complete, but whole to you? 1:00:38 - Stress of Actual Play 1:01:17 - Taldorei isn’t done, but there’s a book 1:01:49 - Biggityburg 1:02:40 - Worlds being inspiring 1:03:18 - Players being impressed 1:04:18 - Matt enjoys critters breaking his world 1:04:57 - Why do Matt & Brennan make their villains so hot? 1:05:30 - Opal girlbossed a betrayer God 1:05:49 - Player Cycle 1:06:41 - Aimee was chaos 1:07:20 - GM is a position of service 1:08:01 - The internet makes villains hot 1:08:12 - Why Lucien is hot 1:09:02 - Physical maps 1:10:00 - Adult Legos 1:10:27 - Rick Perry creates D20 Minis 1:11:30 - Homegame Map Hacks 1:12:00 - Make sure group is okay with Theatre of Mind 1:12:29 - Emily Axford being awesome 1:13:12 - Rekha in Bloodkeep 1:14:00 - Use any type of objects to show distance 1:15:00 - Shademother Fight 1:16:00 - Orym’s creative magic rope usage 1:16:37 - Theatre of the Mind limits creativity and expedites combat. 1:17:30 - Remind players they can ask about environment 1:18:00 - Allow creativity by explaining environment 1:18:44 - Communication is key 1:18:53 - How much prepping goes into a session? 1:19:13 - Aabria’s prep time is = to run time 1:19:40 - Thinking about DnD randomly 1:20:10 - Brennan staring in the kitchen 1:20:45 - Matt improvises conversations 1:21:14 - Don’t do voices time in the bathroom of your apartment 1:21:40 - Aabria has voices time in the bathtub 1:22:00 - Matt does voices while driving 1:22:30 - Flossing and doing voices 1:22:40 - Matt records NPC voices 1:22:54 - GM spouses are the best 1:23:10 - Matt hides his stuff from Marisha 1:23:40 - Embarassment of voices time 1:24:00 - Voices with your dog 1:24:30 - Voices in bed 1:25:00 - GMs break 1:25:33 - Brennan and Aabria, how do you make sure that a self-contained story doesn’t go too far off the rails 1:26:00 - Bathroom Buddies 1:27:40 - Dimension 20 Session Zeros 1:28:10 - What are rails? 1:28:50 - Full immersion when Brennan is a player 1:29:25 - Character Arcs 1:29:55 - Water Analogy 1:31:06 - Improvising in Reaction to the Players 1:31:50 - Matt’s Preparation & rails 1:32:37 - Moving NPC locations 1:32:59 - Don’t lock necessary information behind die rolls 1:33:40 - Aabria’s cinematic rails 1:34:11 - Three Act Structure 1:35:05 - Brennan compliments Aabria 1:35:26 - Laerryn helped Brennan 1:36:05 - Brennan didn’t even know the bow was important for the Leyline 1:36:38 - Rhythm instead of Rails 1:37:45 - Matt looks forward to DMing Aabria 1:38:02 - Understanding how to move the story as a player 1:38:33 - Forever DMs Untethered 1:39:28 - “And here’s what you don’t see” 1:40:00 - Why Actual Play is Cool Right Now 1:41:12 - Continuing to Learn 1:41:38 - Favorite GM Snacks 1:42:00 - Brennan’s Snacking Monologue 1:42:20 - Brennan constantly Requires Almonds 1:42:35 - Dark Crystal reference 1:43:00 - Brennan’s biggest GMing problem 1:43:27 - Calamity had the least snacks 1:44:00 - Caffeine Need 1:44:30 - Drinking Coca-Cola 1:45:00 - “We’re off Keto” 1:45:26 - Funyuns 1:46:00 - Why Matt doesn’t snack 1:46:46 - Aabria didn’t know where the bathroom was 1:47:16 - Anxiety causes Brennan to snack 1:47:32 - Tony Pepperoni Story 1:49:10 - Elves and Hobbits 1:49:28 - Voices Time After 1:49:50 - Taldorei Reborn 1:50:03 - Good night! *Let me know if I missed any moments!*

[@Tamus_29]

Thank you so much

[@finn9707]

Thanks for the very useful quality of life help Caedodice

[@maristotero3352]

Oh wow, the dedication! Thank you! (Add a comment for the timestamps to stay high, passerbies)

[@SergeantStiff24]

Holy fuck thank you

[@audoldends6799]

Who are you? Flando?💜

[@doxull]

I love the way Brennan actually kind of breaks the ice in the room? or like it felt so serious and a little idk tight when Matt introduced it and the whole mood SHIFTED when Brennan talked about Matt and just gassing him up. love these people so much.

[@Julia-kk7ph]

Right? I noticed that too.

[@doxull]

@@Julia-kk7ph His ability to make people comfortable, at ease and engaged is one of the things I admire most about him. His social navigation skills are great he's such a delight to be around.

[@Julia-kk7ph]

@@doxulltoally! He immediately got aabria and matt out of „work“-mode into „hanging with friends“-mode.

[@doxull]

@@Julia-kk7ph Exactly! I strive to be like this man everyday for real. Just such a positive force in the world

[@ZombieInvader]

Brennan came SO close to just straight up saying that GMs are service tops.

[@brad7504]

Is that a euphemism?

[@ZombieInvader]

@@brad7504 it’s a BDSM term 🤣

[@garagebandarchive]

when??

[@Pablo360able]

does that mean powergamers are power bottoms

[@ZombieInvader]

@@Pablo360able 🤣

[@Lefti4life]

This is the greatest GM to GM conversation that exists on the internet, hands down.

[@TheRookCrows]

It has been less than 5 mins, bruh

[@wavetech_]

@@TheRookCrows it streamed yesterday. I watched some of it and this guy could have as well.

[@1410PSB]

@@wavetech_ I watched all of it and just came here for the comments

[@TheRookCrows]

I see

[@adlerofrowe9224]

GM to GM to GM

[@FlorescentInk]

This DM roundtable was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. I learned so much! The metaphor that DMing is like cooking for a handful of players in a small kitchen was AMAZING and a great visual to help keep things humble. It's too easy to think of the DMing as driving a car or trying to orchestrate a story. But if you think like that, you become focused on the story, and not what the players want, so remembering that you're in a place of servitude is really important. Wow, really good stuff. I also write more than i DM, but I now feel so much better about doing weird little gestures around the house or muttering to myself, or staring off into nothing for a good minute or so. PLEASE THIS DM ROUND TABLE WAS AMAZING! Please consider starting a podcast of some sort! We would support the heck out of it!

[@nickdude54]

This is exactly why I love it

[@manyanemones5597]

Brennan actually did host a podcast all about DM-ing called adventuring academy. Think most of it is on youtube and Matt was definitely a guest once or twice!

[@saskiascott8181]

Yeah I really loved that way of thinking about it too

[@azuraben5128]

If you want to go with the car anology, think of it as having all your buddies in your car and you have to drop them off at their home, instead of all going to the same destination. Yes you're the driver, but the player determines the location that you would go to.

[@guydude6919]

Brennan's 13 year old campaign that "just started up a game with some friends" happened for me 4 weeks ago and it's going great. I will now add Biggityburg as a neighboring town to my starting town of Larken in The Shattered Nation of Auranor. Wackity-schmackity doo will now be a song an NPC sings when they walk around Biggityburg.

[@EdySok17]

Imagine a party with Ashley, Aimee, Sam and Emily Axford, that would be the real Chaos Crew, I pitty the poor GM that had a party like this

[@anne-mariejean3638]

And Laura. Oh, and add Matt's poor dice rolls and Brennan's insanity to the table. Aabria as the GM, because I think she embraces chaos with open arms.

[@kevinomalley1090]

Also Ally Beardsley, the lord our god of Chaotic Player Energy.

[@RJtheCoolGuy]

I know you haven't listened to naddpod because Caldwell absolutely needs to be on the chaos crew

[@duckdudette]

If that's not the all bard party I'm rioting!

[@Bobdd0]

They may need to have a dm team!

[@TimdeVisser86]

These people are so cute I'm trying not to be parasocial and weird here. What's really jumping out at me is how Matt somehow seems more shy than Aabria and Brennan. I didn't expect it but it's very reaffirming to see someone you look up to have such relatable insecurities. They seem such good friends too, what a blast!

[@Scorned]

They really are just a group of highly relatable nerds. Aabria not knowing what to do with her hands, Matt not knowing how to handle a compliment and Brennan just being eager nerd chaos.

[@jus4000kicks]

That is probably true for their personalities. They are all experienced but they have different personalities. Storytellers and writing types definitely but they developed in different ways growing up + natural personality. I love them all. They are all similar but different.

[@stephensommers4628]

"There are real life humans who don't have 40 pages of backstory" - Brennan. I feel seen.

[@DurandalsFate]

I just want to say to everyone who thinks you don't have 40 pages of backstory: *you do.* You haven't lived years on this world without things happening and shaping you. Your chronicler just needs to ask more questions.

[@Drekromancer]

@@DurandalsFate Well said, king. 👑 I'm sure this comment was something many people were waiting to hear.

[@PrettyGuardian]

@@DurandalsFate As a writer, I always tell people that everyone has at least one book in them. Whether it's a memoir, fiction, some kind of expertise, or something else, we all have something in our inner wells that is both abundant and worth sharing.

[@ashleycook6025]

@@DurandalsFate I was thinking about this the other day. I'm 34 and my 'backstory" is mostly investigating things that I'm hyper fixated on in that moment and absorption of other people's lives and experiences just to share those with others also sharing their lives and experiences, like trading stories for stories and hardly any of them my own. I felt so unaccomplished. Then I realized: I'm just a bard in the college of lore. Despite the fact I can summarize my life on less than a page, it's been so much more than that, everyone who's space I've sat in long enough to get out an important chapter in their life onto my own "scrolls" has been(hopefully positively) effected by me listening and absorbing and everyone before that person who allowed me to listen and experience their story better because of an experience that had been shared with me. But, yes. Perspective is everything when looking at our "back stories" aether irl or in game. Just because your character (or you ftm) don't have much to talk about as far as life and experience, doesn't mean you're not writing it right now. Blank pages in your book? LOOK AT HOW MUCH POTENTIAL IS AWAITING YOU! Are you sure you're not just summarizing to much? The details and context are important! And keep writing! Keep experiencing! Do the same for your character! You are collecting stories to share and to pass on and it's ok if major character development happens because of someone else's story. And sometimes, the most compelling adventurer back stories are the ones that have little to no detail or interest... maybe that's why they/you are leaving home? They/you looked about and said," We'll, that's enough of that, let's start a new chapter" Some people/characters don't get much,they will only 20 sheets...they get 40p. My dears, what if you get 42?.

[@johnblack8872]

Depends on how its written. If you write things in sentences and do not go into full detail very very very few people could fill 40 pages. Why people are taking this as if you dont have 40 pages your a pathetic pos is beyond me. At best i could fill maybe 5 pages. If i wrote out expierences with detail and my thoughts etc etc i could fill 300 pages.

[@dimwarlock]

I remember watching Aabria doing that cinematic thing of "in a far place, this character is reacting to what you did" And I was like: no... yes...? no...? yeah... YEAH!!! I CAN DO THAT!

[@bright-vision8766]

I feel like Aabria plays to the Audience the most out of these three Gm's and I absolutely love it. Especially with her like after-credit outros that are just for our eyes. Makes me feel like I am watching a greek tragedy play going like: I know something you doont, and you will never find out!

[@focornali4349]

Personal favorite moments during this roundtable: 16:15 purpose of a backstory 16:29 Enlightenment 20:56 30% worldbuilding 21:38 Bolo 25:41 Squints of the struggle to read a prompter 31:40 Fantasy is bad with time 33:00 Tolkien quote: sh*t was dope back then. And it stopped being dope, anyway… 36:31 Don’t cut off BLM 37:25 Child-proofed the house 40:05, the hubris of slightly disliking hippies 41:12, nature heals and sometimes it heals a little stupid 43:00, oh do you do funny stuff? and Bolo 43:45 Death is not a punchline, but it is the perfect setup 47:14 Vespin Chloras and hubris 51:57 Story Dad 52:05 more squinting 55:50 And now there are dwarves 1:00:41 The what did I just say panic 1:01:10 classic BLM rant 1:01:48 Welcome to Biggityburg 1:04:56 The MOST important question 1:07:58 Most important question answered 1:11:21 Other uses for Othello 1:12:29 in combat and Emily Axford 1:19:40 Realities of living with a GM 1:20:53 Finding your ‘voice space/time’ 1:22:50 Shout out to GM spouses 1:24:34 Doing voices in bed, anyone? 1:26:01 Bathroom buddies 1:26:21 Hi concierge? 1:28:58 Full immersion- player vs character 1:35:07 Aabria the great player-GM/Laeryn blighting the tree 1:39:28 “I’m stealing that and using it forever” 1:41:39 What are your favorite GM snacks 1:42:08 Some of our bodies are betraying us constantly 1:44:14 My body went “Hey, check it out…” 1:47:32 BLM’s Car crash story/Processing shock differently

[@slywolfe]

👌

[@kagemarunl]

Thank you very much! ♥

[@thecomedyclownfish1731]

You are a saint!

[@xEvilRaptorx]

does the F. stand for Flando?

[@courtneychu2698]

Bump

[@LordDarque]

"The Illusion of Control" That about sums up all of being a GM right there. Having a beginning, middle and end to a story is paramount. Things I need to happen in order for the players to get there will be inserted at points. Everything else is written by the players and their actions. Also, I love the "BOOM!!..... The fireworks display in the plaza is going on." I think that's one of my favorite GM tricks. A favorite from my games is having the players unknowingly work for the bad guys the entire time. The players missed every single clue I dropped for them. Every. Single. One.

[@romxxii]

Did they ever get their "are we the baddies" moment, or did they complete the campaign as agents of the evil empire without ever realizing?

[@LordDarque]

@@romxxii yeah they finally did... after wiping out the forces of good. I got the coveted "You bastard" when it all dawned on them. I had an evilgasm.

[@studynot757]

Suns up life. Also yeah, the fireworks are the best

[@danilooliveira6580]

in game design terms, the illusion of choice and feeling of agency. I think what Brennan was trying to say is that saying a story feels "on rails" just means that the players felt like their immersion was broken, they felt like they are participating into a story, not a world. two games can have the same amount of possible paths they can take, but one will feel like the player is the driving force of the story, and the other will feel like they are being guided into specific paths. there is a reason why its still something discussed in game design for decades, its EXTREMELY HARD to do, and can make or break any game.

[@LightsabreSMGN]

I know their lives are way too freaking busy, but I cannot express how much I as a player and DM would love this to be a reoccurring podcast

[@brotherjorge3]

Yes!!!

[@TheSolitaryGrape]

1:24:34 The way Aabria says "Oh, you don't try to do the voices while you're in bed? Come on now, *come on now*. You *gotta* bang it out as an NPC every now and then, what?" Fucking sends me to Ruidis 💀

[@rebeccafindlay6176]

If I was good at voices I totally would too tbh sounds like good old fashion rp without the tt and g.

[@saterade]

Well… maybe keep the tt sometimes

[@auradmg]

Two words: Chungledown Bim

[@Drekromancer]

PLEASE do more of these. This conversation was so satisfying and interesting from start to finish, and I can't get enough.

[@aidanduerr8535]

When Brennan said “Weirdly Spiritually affirming to me” after Matt said Exandria was an accident I really felt that

[@oliviahaglund8978]

The SECOND Brennan said he uses session zero as in-depth character creation and these are his 'rails', I just about swooned. This man is a god. This is what I try to do every time (especially the check-ins mid-campaign about character development) and the fact that he said that's his modus operandi is so encouraging.

[@kaycee1076]

1:36:03 THAT WASN'T PLANNED?! Brennan, dude!!! Take some of the credit for that because you rolled with that so fucking well I thought you and Aabria had planned that in the fucking character creation!!

[@elmatilda]

1:23:48 this makes me feel so much better knowing THESE guys (including literal voice actor Matt Mercer) get self-conscious about doing voices…I always thought I didn’t have what it takes to do voice acting because I feel embarrassed when others overhear me practicing, but perhaps there’s still hope!

[@TRyan152010]

It's so comforting to know that other gm's do the Toreador trance thing of "forget that task what if this was true about mimics?"

[@skylark7921]

Dude I do this all the time as a writer. Just standing halfway through a doorway completely unaware of my surroundings, lost in the realm of characters and plot

[@Th3Ruhl]

16:15 purpose of a backstory 16:29 Enlightenment 20:56 30% worldbuilding 21:38 Bolo 25:41 Squints of the struggle to read a prompter 31:40 Fantasy is bad with time 33:00 Tolkien quote: sh*t was dope back then. And it stopped being dope, anyway… 36:31 Don’t cut off BLM 37:25 Child-proofed the house 40:05, the hubris of slightly disliking hippies 41:12, nature heals and sometimes it heals a little stupid 43:00, oh do you do funny stuff? and Bolo 43:45 Death is not a punchline, but it is the perfect setup 47:14 Vespin Chloras and hubris 51:57 Story Dad 52:05 more squinting 55:50 And now there are dwarves 1:00:41 The what did I just say panic 1:01:10 classic BLM rant 1:01:48 Welcome to Biggityburg 1:04:56 The MOST important question 1:07:58 Most important question answered 1:11:21 Other uses for Othello 1:12:29 in combat and Emily Axford 1:19:40 Realities of living with a GM 1:20:53 Finding your ‘voice space/time’ 1:22:50 Shout out to GM spouses 1:24:34 Doing voices in bed, anyone? 1:26:01 Bathroom buddies 1:26:21 Hi concierge? 1:28:58 Full immersion- player vs character 1:35:07 Aabria the great player-GM/Laeryn blighting the tree 1:39:28 “I’m stealing that and using it forever” 1:41:39 What are your favorite GM snacks 1:42:08 Some of our bodies are betraying us constantly 1:44:14 My body went “Hey, check it out…” 1:47:32 BLM’s Car crash story/Processing shock differently

[@kevinomalley1090]

...Flando?

[@evertime123]

Hero!

[@forensicdead8793]

I appreciate this comment

[@subiugetur]

Thank you 🙏 Do you when BLM is talking about railroading and how players are like water?

[@Th3Ruhl]

@@subiugetur That's the immersion player vs character tag. It's a whole analogy thing Brennan goes into

[@TitanicTortise]

Between Abria's creativity, Matt's experience, and Brennan's theatrical background this is a triumvirate of my favorite GMs on the internet right now. Love hearing their thoughts on running the game.

[@raehjg]

I love how this GM’s roundtable turned into GM’s support group with them bonding over bathroom voices time

[@jessy5241]

“Sometimes nature heals stupid, but it heals.” Damn that’s a good line.

[@Liatriss]

9:45 Emily and Lou as cousins in A Court of Fey and Flowers is another great example of how inter-character can change dynamics

[@elaniarkady7351]

My best friend love of my life died 5 years ago. At his funeral i couldn't stand, couldn't stop sobbing. A living friend picked me up and carried me outside. Then said "well it wouldn't be a funeral without a wailing italian." it was so absurd i immediately started laughing. I will remember that forever. It helped. It reminded me to breathe.

[@bodenking]

I wore a red clown nose to my father’s funeral. He used to wear one whenever we really needed a laugh

[@elaniarkady7351]

@@bodenking oh that's so sweet! 🥲

[@saras.4618]

Matt: talking about the creation of the divine gate Brennan: flashbacks to trapping gorthalax in a gem four billion times in a row so he can’t single-handedly solve all the bad kids’ problems