Using Monsters & NPCs - How to Dungeon Master Series (D&D5e)

[@KaiserAfini]

The clear and concise format of these videos and the animations, along with the well thought out explanations make this a lot less overwhelming to learn. Thank you for all your hard work, I can only imagine how much time and effort it takes to create these.

[@connorschultz380]

Ya, too bad he stopped covering game mechanics, he could have covered 3.5 dnd at least it looks like he will cover call like he did dnd

[@c.e.oofcrabgang2887]

Same here, my friend who was the DM in our group had a mental breakdown and quit all social media, now I have to lead. This is all so sudden but these videos are helpful

[@johnthompson5335]

Having the animations makes the presentation so much more effective than text or a person just lecturing. These videos are a delight to watch, no matter the topic.

[@naadirbuffy7892]

Thank you CJ you're like the big brother too all us beginner dms

[@genroynoisis6980]

big brother is always watching.

[@foxfire1345]

I liked the video before watching it , thats how I trust you CJ

[@liamwatson-barber9400]

same XD

[@markblaze4909]

why wouldn't you like it immediately? of course you would! It's CJ!

[@PapaSwall]

I’m learning how to DM so I can have my friends play DnD since they’re really new to the game. The first guide for absolute beginners was really helpful. Thank you CJ

[@christianmartens9697]

Can I just tell you that you make some of the best informational videos on D&D in the world?

[@Clever_viper]

I think "Don't Stop Thinking" has slowly become my favorite D&D channel, and hey I follow Matthew Colville and Geek & Sundry. The simplicity and amount of content in these videos is great! The animations great! (Come on, who doesn't want to be Serios' friend or make Leraline smile for once?) On top of all that CJ is a great youtuber, that's funn and, feels earnest. To me, Matt Mercer is an inspiration, Matt Colville is like a guru of infinite knowledge, but CJ is that cool guy you want to be friends with. There is only one thing I regret when I watch these videos and that is that I cannot be a patreon, given that I make 12 $/month.

[@DanFloresII]

Fantastic video as always, CJ! I'm still very new to D&D and I don't know anyone who plays where I live so your videos have been a huge help. I'm particularly excited about this series because I live and work in Thailand as an English teacher and I want to use D&D as a tool to get students to practice English in a fun way. I'm also a dad but my kids are still way to young to play so this helps me learn the ropes and prepare for when they are ready. ;) I can hardly wait for your next video. Take care and thanks again!

[@lifeontheledgerlines8394]

Ahhh this makes me so happy lol

[@qurantino3624]

Im gonna play DND in an hour!

[@sped3644]

AlternateMovies Huh, tell me how it goes.

[@DB-cn6rw]

So how'd it go?

[@CharmanteEstPris]

He rolled a neutral 1 and died

[@crake9510]

Lolol

[@Nico-uy2so]

H o w ‘ d I t G o

[@ramgladore]

I'm about as new to D&D as anyone can possibly be and I'm about to DM my first campaign. But the more I watch these videos, the more confident I feel about my ability going into this.

[@little_chipmunklee5899]

Hey I’m just started d&d and my friends want to learn but I will need to be the dungeon master I’m inexperienced but your videos help alot thank you

[@Grothmir]

little_chipmunk lee I am in the same boat as you

[@thaboi8324]

Same here

[@PL9050]

Super helpful! You choose both quality and quantity! Your videos have amazing graphics and visuals and only one ad! Yet you upload often, also, keep the one ad because you deserve money! (:

[@alekopictures]

I started playing d&d. And i try to play with my friends. You help me a lot

[@NoirLouisStream]

good explanation on legendary actions there, i kinda struggled on understanding it.

[@thestudyhallproductions4089]

Your channel is the best

[@robinnn777]

You are awesome thank you!! This is so helpful.

[@brandonbarnyard398]

Ive been watching these and there really helpfull

[@Jouniac]

Yes. Keep up the good work, dude! :-)

[@james3727]

I’m finding your videos really helpful and your accent actually helps to stop it from becoming boring for some reason! I think because it’s not just an English accent droning on and you have some energy and excitement in your voice it’s a lot more engaging. I liked and subscribed.

[@colinz226]

I remember now how I'd originally planned to use average damage. No wonder last session was all combat... Thanks for the reminder

[@MrMomobot]

Omg... I've been trying to find out what that number is. "14 (2d6+7)" for the attacks. I thought the book was telling me to do 14 + 2d6+7 total damage.... I knew something was off.. Thank you so damn much for the clarification.

[@AlexanderArts]

Legendary actions are kind of annoying when your DM is kicking your butt, but I am glad I can understand them more now.

[@mohamedelbashir1529]

I thought you could grapple dragons until I watched this. LOL

[@Multi-tk9oq]

I'm a beginner DM and this really helped me understand how to use Monsters and NPCs in my sessions. Thank you for the video!

[@hobbyknight9962]

Great video. Thank you for bringing back the animations. I know that adds to the work load in producing these.

[@DaiKam84]

Oh my gosh, yes!! Thank you!!

[@bluehyper2692]

When I was in school, I remember I had a DM that didn’t really use any roleplay or npc interaction in his storyline. He would never build his storyline to complement the characters’ backstories. To start with, we were on a mountain, and well... this is how the entire campaign went: combat, combat, combat, combat, combat, combat. He literally went ‘you defeat the group of cultists, but you then see a large dragon, and some zombies in the distance.’ And then, ‘You finally hit the dragon with your spell and he falls to the ground, dead, however, a bunch of skeletons then rises from the ground etc etc. It was fair to say that he only used combat. As an addition to that, he didn’t make a very interesting campaign. It actually felt like he wanted to annoy us... and that’s it. Instead of making a backstory to the town, which makes a special aura that makes spells impossible to cast, it was a ‘NO MAGIC ZONE.’ Boring. And finally, to top it all off, HE DIDN’T KNOW A SINGLE RULE! He just made the spells up. Our wizard’s magic missile did (instead of 1d6) 2d12! This ruined my experience, I quit the group, and convinced I could do better, ran my own and as soon as word got around, I had an entire list of people wanting to join. Half of his group quit with me, and wanted to join mine! I had to run two parties at different times of the week, and we had a lot of fun. Let’s just say that I ‘put him out of business.’ If you have read this whole thing, have a great day.

[@XandWacky]

Honestly, I love combat, but I wouldn't want it to be the ONLY feature of a campaign.

[@empoweredchoice1893]

Thank you for this content. I appreciate the pace and clarity of your explanations. I will be DMing for the first time in 30 years - I want the experience to be great.

[@legendarydigitize2523]

Question on grappling Is it possible for multiple creatures to grapple a single target?

[@martinchua9104]

Thanks bro, keep it up! I need this coz I am a starter dm!

[@matzbeatz267]

I love you DJ and your beautiful accent of justice honor and dm knowledge.

[@propsko2689]

Can anyone explain what armor class does exactly? He skipped it... It's not obvious to me

[@ur.left.buttcheek]

I have only now realised how much more complicated dnd is, My dad said he would dm a game with some of my friends and siblings but its been 3 years since he promised that so i will take matters into my own hands and take up the dm badge! Wish me luck

[@jacobadams905]

I always have trouble describing settings with many points of interest, for example thundertree ruins.

[@franciscobautista9379]

5:09 - THANK YOU! It is so hard to find guides that go into even a little detail on how this is supposed to work at times.

[@AD_Gray]

Amazing advice! Your videos are so helpful! :)

[@atomicnectar]

Honestly I give my monsters extra skills or actions. And usually just roll for HP sometimes I’ll new spells but I usually leave the stats alone

[@atomicnectar]

7:58 thanx so much this was so confusing to me. I thought I had to wait 5 rounds to recharge it fml 🤦‍♂️

[@antonioalaniz6967]

Best videos ever. Im a new dm. So i wat hed all of your videos, and i sent to my entire party to use as learning material. You're awesome, ty.

[@thelemon1999]

Best channel to teach newbies like myself to DMing! Subscribed!

[@liamnitschke2336]

Not sure if others have made this clear enough, but these D&D vid are FANTABULOUS, I now feel prepared for my first campaign ^_^

[@dracyan3552]

When You said to like I realized I forgot to like the other videos so I went back Liked them all and came back

[@lincolnsnewaccount41]

Dont Stop Thinking: *Modified* Goblin Me: *Elite* Goblin

[@IndustryOfMagic]

This guy makes the impossible happen. Seriously this is compressed knowledge in the best possible interface for someone to learn the absolute essentials to be no different than a pro within 13 minutes!

[@HarmonizedHero]

if a battle menu thing for dnd is made like the animations for this guys dnd guide videos then I would want to use it

[@gogogomes7025]

Oh man, dragons can burrow i never thought about that that's so cool!

[@louiegent3709]

Thank you for this video i use to just spam manticors

[@MistressDragonFlame]

I disagree with the movements being independent of each other; burrowing, for example, simply takes more time than flying does, so if the dragon burrows it's full movement speed, it doesn't have any time left for any more movement within the 6 second turn. It's more like percentages, if it burrows 15ft in one round, 1/2 of it's movement, than it can fly up to 40 ft, the other 1/2 of it's movement.

[@falconforgefantasy9496]

LN1 Casey page 190 of the players handbook disagrees with you. But as a dm you can play it how ever you want!

[@MistressDragonFlame]

Ah, I can see how it'd be most commonly interpreted that way then, my mistake. I guess I confused my DM rule with the official one.

[@quarionilphukiir3583]

I must say that your rule makes way more sense than the phb. I still think you're able to make different move actions in one turn, but the amount you can move would dissapate proportionally. e.g. Fly 40 ft. then burrow 15 ft.

[@greensleeves001]

Pure awesome :)

[@loucypatucy5974]

I'm so confused, I can't understand anything... I feel like I'm doing something wrong very wrong! I feel my story is incomplete, I have made bosses, but I haven't gave them actions, reactions, legendary actions and lair actions and a few enemies but I don't understand... Do I have to make more enemies?! I have created a world... I feel my first D&D session will be a failure...

[@DontStopThinking]

I suggest using an premade adventure module before crrating your own.

[@scott_ennis]

This is a great video. Thank you for doing these

[@mindartis4081]

Thanks helpful information!

[@lilysthapit2222]

Man, the being the DM role is really hard. Thanks for helping me by a lot.

[@oo4352]

Very very helpful, thanks a lot!

[@bevanpattison610]

Aye this helped me learn so much cheers my guy.

[@AdventuresHobbies]

Very nice video thanks.

[@toxicmarriage]

I wanna play but is a bit difficult rigth

[@linguisticallyoversight8685]

Have you done a video on the Mystics class yet?

[@s0m3n3rd3]

How many spaces does a character move?

[@fuzzyeyesnomore8404]

I'm a little confused about lair actions, if anyone is still on here 2 years latter. Can you only use it if someone rolls a 20 for initiative, after their turn? Other than that, great video!

[@rimyneko5299]

A lair action can be used once per round. The lair action rolls a 20 on initiative automatically. If any creature rolls a 20 or higher for initiative, then they move before the lair. Often a monster has multiple lair actions to choose from but can only use one per round and also can choose if they wanna use it or not. Also it usually can't use the same twice in a row, to prevent the best option to be spammed.

[@drakerash6542]

9:05 I have a question, what you did in the video vs what the errata days is different. The errata says they can't use legendary actions before their first turn. But you had the lich use them before his first turn in combat.

[@DontStopThinking]

Follow the errata. I may have missed the errata or the erratta was published after the writing of the script for this video.

[@franklillfranke]

Thanks for the easy explanation

[@vulkinhotland3421]

Too bad i live in a country where Almost no one knows about this game so i cant play it becuse no one even understands the rules

[@DontStopThinking]

Can you tell me which country you're from, Vulkin?

[@Victor_Gargano]

Please, what do "+12 to hit" means??? minute: 6:20

[@Victor_Gargano]

I found out on a forum. It means we have to add +12 on the attack roll the monster does. Not for damage, only attack

[@roykoplowich3590]

God I love the intro music

[@benbenben1008]

I am DMing with my family which will make a party of three and 1 DM. From what ive seen, we are down a player. How can i modify monsters in a way that makes it better for a party of 3 without it being too easy/hard? This is our first time ever playing DnD.

[@ryantrafton2085]

Just found this series. My friends all want to play but need a DM. Im stepping up to the plate as the father (literally a dad) of my friend group. I appreciate you posting these!

[@TheRamblingSoul]

Really great for clarifying CR, Legendary Actions, and Lair Actions. Thanks!

[@avovanorden8612]

how do you make good maps?

[@markblaze4909]

i like using dice roll for damage in front of everyone and watch them wet themselves when i pull out 5 d8 dice and cold blast them and kill the cleric MUAHHAAHAH sorry kat.

[@rawe1313]

YESSSSSS

[@bread-fish]

It's very useful.

[@karatebat5156]

Hey can remember me I told you what happened the very first time I played dnd? Yeah what did you think of it?

[@Varatho]

Oh man. I didn't even realize about the Multi-attack not working with grapple thing, that makes Grapple-build PCs so much more viable.

[@ggtt784]

Thank you thank you for this video, I'm actually taking notes while I'm watching all of these lol

[@ChairyCrasher]

Thanks for your videos. I got the D&D5e starter set and learned so much and with your help also. The only problem i have is the current hit points and temporary hit points. That is the only thing i have a problem with. (i think?)

[@darkblackrecords983]

Just started playing. My DM is amazing but I love watching such detailed videos. Thank you!

[@markblaze4909]

new dm here. i totally screwed up my npcs man. forgot to dodge with rats they got blown up before even reaching. then the goblins forgot to disengage and hide. then the bugbear didn't sneak up at all. man my monsters suck. and a 2nd level one shot my fire snake in one turn! sunless citadel :)

[@Big3Taxi]

I very much need and enjoy these videos. Just started my own little D&D club and I'm having a bit of trouble being the Dungeon Master.

[@chewywarden5423]

can you write more campaigns that follow on from this one? Really liked the nice intro it gives to the game.

[@Gimo03]

How's armor class "self-explanatory"? If character classes are not numbers, what sense does it make to armor class being a number? I know what AC is, but by no means it is self-explanatory for first-timers.

[@emaxus46]

Wow, thank you

[@bryanamos1511]

You're the best

[@meidozwz5911]

Weird question, why is your elf mage grumpy?

[@markblaze4909]

my baby blue dragon recharged three turns in a row and somehow the fighter survived at 2nd level. i'm glad i went with the real rules and didn't cheat for the players because it was pretty exciting.

[@ΑντώνηςΝικολακάκης-ω2γ]

It will be my first time ever dming after being a player for 2,5 years and thanks to you I think I will be able to have a good time keep up the good work there 👍

[@gh8078]

I like the idea of having monster "classes". For example, a greatsword wielding goblin and a shortbow wielding goblin.

[@WannaComment2]

Once had to deal with a "veteran" DM who was absolutely certain that legendary actions can be used whenever he pleases. He constantly used them to interupt the players turn to pull BS like attacking casters and having them make concentration checks to CAST a spell that weren't even a concentration spell. But his worst stunt was when he took all 3 of his legendary actions at the end of his own turn to curbstomp our fighter from full HP to unconciousness, without any chance for us to do anything about it. He didn't even do it out of malice, he was just that incompetent.

[@alyssaarnold3809]

Thank you!!!

[@llamapi3]

Thanks so much for these. I am in the process of doing my first go as DM and so much of this will be incredibly helpful. Thank you!

[@antoniusmaximus3174]

These videos are great, I wish someone would do this for Call of Cthulhu as well. Been trying to learn that game as well.

[@jasperdeboer3257]

Thank you.

[@personofwisdom3294]

Thanks mate

[@ignatiusgrande2223]

Thanks, CJ, for making the best D&D videos on KZbin!

[@vansa14]

I’m trying to get into DnD but I have a group of family/friends and none of us have ever played before. One of us has to be the DM and the role has fallen on me. I have no idea what I’m doing but these videos are helping a lot! Thank you.

[@madmandan4216]

Really love these.I'm Going to show your other videos to the players before we start our first adventure.

[@markblaze4909]

oh cool i'll try a lich next game take everyone out nice and fast. will be fun.

[@troyado5173]

Sorry but short question it be very nice if somebody could help me out... What do I do with the first number that stands after the attack type?

[@nivjinx]

i am having my first dm-session tomorrow^^ this one helps a lot^^ i am going to use the "Death Pit of the Moloch" in my first encounter^^

[@meganchristensen1068]

we have decided for our group to have each of us to create a section of world and then we agreed that each of us would dm the part we made. I became a lich! its our first campaign/game, but we're working through it!