D&D Messages that Made My Year 🥲

[@xslashsdas]

NGL, if my name was in the acknowledgements in some kids science fair project, I would actually cry.

[@SpookyGhostIsHere]

This is giving “Santa replying to his letters from kids” energy and I love this so much. Bob you’re just the best!

[@SortKaffe]

Haha, yeah, perfect Christmas video 🎅

[@johnmagowan6393]

You're a cited source in a peer-reviewed study!

[@CP-yo6dd]

Happy holidays, Bob and all reading this ❤

[@RollForTuraco]

Thank you 🎉

[@CP-yo6dd]

@@RollForTuraco I hope it’s a merry and bright day for you, bud 💚❤️

[@RollForTuraco]

@CP-yo6dd Likewise! Have the best day ever!

[@Spark_Chaser]

Happy Holidays to you, random internet person.

[@amoghnarkar8860]

Lol I feel for that 14 year old, I'm 18, but I'm basically in the same exact situation of "never played the game but have to gm", and you and a bunch of other dnd youtubers have really have helped a lot.

[@FelicityUwU]

I've done it too

[@Babyvalkyie]

I love this. The first group I joined everyone was kind of mean and would make me feel dumb for not knowing things, even though I expressed I was new to the game. Your channel has been a huge help and comfort. Happy holidays everyone ✨️

[@tunin6844]

On the spell creation topic... As someone that runs games when I can, I love having an arsenal of "forgotten spells" that players can discover. Most of them are utility spells, but I also sometimes borrow silly ideas from literature. You never know what might be found in some recently unearthed scroll or spell book. Same thing for unusual items. It is good to spice up treasure now and then with things that are just totally unknown and new (to the players).

[@johnhansen4794]

Bees. caster is surrounded by bees bees are friendly to caster but no one else. lol.

[@tunin6844]

@@johnhansen4794 Well, that would be a possibility. I know I once gave someone "Ridcully's Hat Trick". It keeps your hat from getting blown off, because "A wizard without a hat was just a sad man with a suspicious taste in clothes".

[@Doomsword0]

I love this and I love that you have cultivated a community like this that you'll get these kinds of messages. Also that that first kid was so interested in that question that they wanted to do a whole project about it rules! Maybe that'll get them more interested in math and statistics, the way this hobby spreads is great

[@JudithOpdebeeck]

sorry, a twelve year old wrote and playtested an entire ttrpg, in a matter of days?! thats genuinly impressive! kid, if you see this, keep being awesome!

[@smaspa8627]

Aw Bob you're going to be a great dad.

[@allynickle025]

Those emails were very wholesome and made me feel all warm and fuzzy on this cold Christmas morning

[@vicsminiatures7949]

Helping the kid with his science fair project is just Perfect. Shows there are wonderful people out in the world.

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

A spell that has its effects related to the casters HP is a really fun idea, so much you can do with it that will still fit well in the D&D world, might even end up being more balanced than most 'official' spells of high level... Adding in some new elements of risk/reward or resource management to a spell in this case based on how beaten up you are is just a fun mechanic. Most of the best spells and magic items are the ones with at least a small twist on the simple universal stuff, it just makes the world more real when crazy old Garry tinkers and creates something novel. Just makes the world feel unique, gives the sense that magic is no so codifed and solved you can never be thrown a curveball. For instance an immoveable rod that when you click it petrifies you, so both you and the rod are now "immoveable" sounds like a terrible item, but some players will find a great fun way to use it depending on the exact mechanics. And even if they never actually find fun ways to make use of it the story of that time the wizard so certain this was a regular immoveable rod turned into a statue till the party figured it out is something that will live on.

[@AdornThyHeadset]

The HP spell idea reminds me of Pokémon moves that scale their power to your HP-could be pretty fun and sort of a "last resort" move when things are dire!

[@UkeToru-o5f]

Must be a warlock. It should be a warlock's.

[@PieCompanyGuitars]

Thanks Bob. Merry Christmas buddy

[@ShadowDreamer100]

You're a real one, Bob.

[@NembyPeabody]

One quick thing; make sure you take time for yourself in this content creating adventure that you’re on. Something tells me it can be quite mentally taxing. I bet you have to have high constitution to play the gameyou’re playing 😅Thanks for taking the time to come say hi to me up at pax. Somehow I was fortunate enough to talk just about every major content creator there and chatting with you was the nicest. Real talk: Bobs a genuine dude that genuinely loves TTRPG’s.

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Yes. Don’t forget to be human too

[@xordep2]

Oh God, I'm tearing up, this is so cool

[@BrianElmore-e3o]

Bob, i loved the choose ur own video, but my favs that u used to do were the ones of showing the reality. The walking, jumping strength, drinking a potion, etc. absolutely love those videos. Anymore coming??

[@zebesttfd]

Happy Holidays!

[@mysterymansecretsam380]

This was a great video to discover this channel with, definitely a subscriber from here on.

[@mysterymansecretsam380]

Wait, evidently was already one but tried to subscribe again...lol

[@joemoney877]

Hi Bob, Happy holidays! I love the Champions of Norrath book 😊

[@DMTalesTTRPG]

The science fair one is amazing.

[@LordJazzly]

4:40 Oooh! Effects that scale off player HP are present in some other systems; D&D just tends to avoid it because an effect that scales off HP will be at its most powerful at the beginning of combat, and D&D combat tends to prefer spells and powers that become more powerful _later,_ if anything. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with an effect like that, though, and it does line up with characters (especially martial characters) being _overall_ more powerful at the start of combat, before any damage has been taken or resources have been expended.

[@bryanmccrary139]

What an excellently wholesome way to open up Christmas morning. Happy holidays, Bob!

[@brokenmeats5928]

I love ALL Bob World Builder videos!

[@ninthmetaphor2760]

Happy Hoglidays!

[@WhatIfBrigade]

The world needs more videos about favorite comments.

[@Meduhwhoelse]

I love how genuine you are!

[@AlvoriaGPM]

Merry Christmas Bob! Thank you for this video. The wholesomeness started my Christmas day off right. Thank you for always being an upbeat guy. You're one of the channels that absolutely save me during the difficult times in my life. May you always keep building!

[@krakknish4722]

Happy holidays!! Thanks for this. Keep up the great work!!

[@shay212]

This is pure wholesomeness!!!! You’ve built something so special here and spread so much positivity and joy. You are so kind and creative and explain things in a way that’s easy to follow and breakdown complex rules to what they’re really saying. Thank you!

[@nrais76]

Merry Christmas! And like dang near every game dev, and OG D&D player, DM, and author, and Jack Sparrow: "the rules are just guidelines." Happy gaming.

[@Enn-]

Merry Christmas Bob! I hope you get a nice alpaca blanket or something practical for Christmas! Stay amazing!

[@aencya]

Loved the video, I wanted to say, even as an experienced GM (though still a young adult) your videos helped me a lot. With all the things you see online abut D&D, it's difficult to get the confidence that, no, you aren't doing it wrong and your videos helped with that, encouraging creativity while giving information ! On an unrelated note, my own ttrpg in the making is a rewriting of a ttrpg rulesbook I wrote at 15, you'd be suprised at how good teens are at making games ! Love from France

[@PangoriaFallstar]

Solid video. Good job! Keep it up!

[@SirMethos]

For the spell creation, it depends on whether you are creating homebrew just for your own group(s), or if you are creating stuff that you want to put out for the world to use. For your own group(s), the only thing that matters is if it's fun or not. If you want to put it out for the world, balance starts to matter some more.

[@michaeljpastor]

This needs to be a regular feature, please!

[@manicpixiedreambuoy]

So wholesome! Love this-keep building, friends ❤

[@Quon_the_Destroyer]

Very wholesome

[@paulhaak5678]

Merry Christmas Bob, great video, I love hearing these stories.

[@peaceofcrap]

Happy holidays, Bob!

[@penguinlove9428]

Thank you for such a wholesome video for Christmas morning!

[@the-0-endless376]

fantastic! You get fanmail! I wonder what kinds of design decisions go into making Maze Rats without ever hearing about maze rats?

[@New2DM2]

Happy Holidays, Bob. You just gave me an idea for my kid's science fair as well.

[@RollForTuraco]

Merry Christmas Bob!

[@SpeedCB28]

You’re the man Bob!! Merry Christmas!

[@virrcraft]

Happy holidays, Bob. Nice to see good old videos about... anything. I mean - these type of videos are the best. It's not about hype, but more about... real people! Real people, who play Ttrpg... from kids till adult ages! Thank you for keep your channel in that direction!

[@paladinsorcerer67]

Keep inspiring the youth as they will be the ones to carry the hobby forward, even when companies like Hasbro make missteps.

[@timothymason7008]

Great Video! You’re like Santa dropping D&D and RPG knowledge Around the World!

[@thegraphitedragon1434]

Thank you for sharing. I love your videos and your infectious enthusiasm for role playing games.

[@Stephen-Fox]

For spells, since you brought up homebrew ones, I think one of my favourites I've seen in any game, D&D or not, is from Gozr - My Body Is Bread. I forget the exact mechanics for it - I've not played Gozr, just watched an AP of it, but it pretty much does what it says on the tin. Turns the caster's body into bread so that they can feed the party, I think with the downside being that rations taken from the caster's body does damage to the caster.

[@mikecarson7769]

best holiday video ever

[@steved1135]

Thanks for this Bob. Amidst all the craziness that goes on these days in the D&D community, it's really this kind of positivity and recognition of the spirit of the game that you exhibit here that's important. Everything else is extra. Cheers.

[@morgan3793]

This was SO cute!

[@jiml9856]

I hope you do this every year!

[@AdornThyHeadset]

The HP spell idea reminds me of Pokémon moves that scale their power to your HP-could be pretty fun and sort of a "last resort" move when things are dire!

[@L337P1R4735]

Merry Christmas Bob this was the perfect video for the day. I loved seeing this fan mail from our community's younger members. Good to see some active minds trying to make their own stuff.

[@HLR4th]

A heartwarming video- perfect for Christmas!

[@macdd7257]

You literally are the Bob Ross of DnD and ttrpgs

[@Elighght]

I love that the first kid bolded your name

[@peterw2880]

This is truly beautiful dude

[@markmontag162]

Well done, Bob. Add to the 12 year old making your own game keep on doing what you're doing

[@kdavidsmith1]

What a wonderfully wholesome video.

[@swordsnstones]

Merry Christmas Bob All the best for 2025

[@edgarseis]

This is so wholesome! Love it!

[@TakaD20]

As an expert in both diconomy and dicology, I can confirm that dice enact their free will by fudging themselves sometimes.

[@OneWhoWalksAlone]

Happy Ho Ho day. Keep on gaming!

[@Zr0din]

CYOA was cleverl and I probably ran through each outcome. Happy Holidays!

[@matthewbarker4109]

All your emails are gonna start with im 12 and love your videos. Lmao😂

[@zarekodynski9077]

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas Bob, it’s awesome to see this wholesome content! Your content is always so positive, keep it up!

[@house.of.tremere]

Dude I smiled through that whole first email story. That’s so awesome. Keep up the good work!

[@TheDrewjameson]

This is the most wholesome thing I've ever imagined. Good for you, Bob. Keep on doing fun, wholesome stuff. You are awesome!

[@Slit518]

That's awesome, the reach and effect you have around the world. You just give off a wholesome and approachable vibe. Are your videos marked as for kids? If not, I don't see why not so far. Thought, what if every so often you do a review of some of those "indie" RPGs you get sent? Perhaps take the most well developed/complete ones and dedicate a video or a small portion of a video toward it? Once a month? Once a quarter? Only on special occasions like holidays?!? JK Anyway, Bob, keep being awesome! Keep building!

[@ryansullivan5854]

That first one was boss.

[@nicks4802]

Hi bob

[@Veggie13]

Unfortunately, now all the adults will start their emails with "I'm 12 please read my game".

[@nrais76]

"I was 12 (36 years ago) and I wrote this game..."

[@davidjennings2179]

Such wholesome emails. You're doing so much good! I really think TTRPGs help kids with so many skills.

[@pdubb9754]

Congrats on reaching this audience. It must feel pretty rewarding, although, given your former experiences working with this age-group, maybe not surprising for you? Your videos tend to convey sincerity and optimism, which makes you approachable despite generation gaps, whether it's kids, 15 years younger than you, or grognards, 30 years older. Thanks for another solid year of content, Mr. World Builder.

[@YoJesusMorales]

This was fun, lol. Happy holidays to everyone that celebrates one.

[@PaladinProse]

HELL yeah brother! This is what it's all about. Keep being such a swell guy.

[@JoshEastburn]

Love the vibes here, Bob. A very merry Christmas to you and yours!

[@Spark_Chaser]

Getting Love from India! Bob's gone Global. Now he just need one from the ISS, and he'll be out of this world.

[@ZabaKrastaca-u8m]

I am 9 and I play dnd it is so fun but most of the time kids are too scared of monsters to play but I love monsters it is so cool

[@GuffeyYT]

💛💛💛

[@Ramperdos]

2024 was a great year for this channel!

[@CoolEtCetera]

You inspired kids & they inspired you back, cool cycle !

[@gerbie42]

Love this, this is just great man!

[@delroland]

love the video

[@janak132]

And to top everything off on dice.. there's bell curves. Results will clump, and people with good luck or bad luck will also clump. This is not magic, but large scale statistics. Statistically speaking, due to the huge number of people rolling dice around the world, they also must exist on a Bell curve; Bad luck and Good Luck is unfortunately.. absolutely real... simply based on probability statistics.

[@grutarg2938]

I do like your videos explaining how to play. I would like one that goes through an example of a basic skill check and how you would narrate various rolls. What does a 13 on a DC 15 climb check mean? What does a 28 mean? Would a 7 cause them to fall and possibly take damage?

[@jamesmartin8005]

So, technically failing a skill check by a single digit would cause it to fail. so in your example they would fall. However..I personally prefer to use the method i learned from Matthew Colville (another D&D youtuber) Called "Failing forward". I would look at his examples in his videos for inspiration to turn a failed check into a narratively exciting thing. As an example for failing the climb check, they would fall, but narrowly catch themselves with the tips of their fingers on a small outcrop..or..if using a rope, it snaps and now their hanging by their fingers..they need a strength check to pulls themselves up. something like that.

[@stephencrabtree3338]

Hey Bob, do you have a video on doing reskinning? I'm working on a modern era campaign with a large bit of the fantasy content still existing and need to find a good way to reskin and possibly tweak things

[@snospmoht3252]

😊

[@justarabbit1982]

I love your channel Bob, thanks for all the videos from a 42 y/o, 3 y/o DM.

[@Enforcer_Hound1]

Recently fell down a rabbit hole looking into other ttrpg’s. I ended up finding rifts and shadow run both seem really fun. however I’m not finding that many videos on them. Any plans on those or other systems? I could have also missed it in a playlist

[@gonzalobarragan8076]

I can already see messages from 30 somethings saying they are 12 yo just to get Bob to read it

[@RealJahzir]

🫡🙏💖

[@grnarsch5287]

Only 200 pages for a whole ttrpg? The real deal is having mental breakdown just about the 15 pages ship array

[@dantherpghero2885]

Infidel! Dost Thou deny the power of the Dice Gods? Your 'Science' will not save you. Woe betide those who anger them. I LOVE ALL thy videos Bob World Builder. But I will not share in thy fate.

[@TimeLapsePrints]

Cited in science fair project? That's it. Wrap it up. No where else to go from here. You've peaked.

[@mkklassicmk3895]

So it turns out that those minor imperfections aren't enough to cause a shift in probability. I went around for over 40 years think it made a difference but it turns out it takes a deliberate weighting of a dice to effect the probability by a statistically significant amount. Things like air pockets, bubbles or glitter are just not enough to effect the final result.