Exploration Guide for Dungeons and Dragons 5e

MONSTERS OF DRAKKENHEIM is 300+ pages of eldritch horror inspired monsters for 5e by the Dungeon Dudes! Coming to Kickstarter March 26th, 2024: www.kickstarter.com/projects/... Not all who wander are lost! We share our tips and tricks for interacting with the environment in this guide to creative exploration strategies in Dungeons and Dragons 5e.
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[@TivoDelNato]

“If you haven’t found a second entrance, and you’re nervous about going in the front entrance, if you don’t have any other options and you’re running out of ideas it’s okay to be that risk taker and say ‘We’ve tried. Let’s just run in the front door’.” Best relationship advice on KZbin. 10/10 saved my marriage.

[@scottanderson8167]

Nate that’s funny, I’ve never considered entering through the back door

[@PaulGuy]

@@scottanderson8167 Just make sure it's safe, especially if entering through the skylight.

[@ryanmaguire8940]

I'll admit when I watched my first dungeon dudes video, I cringed at "and we are the dungeon dudes". Now that I've watched nearly all your videos, I find myself saying it along with you guys! Genuinely one of the most engaging and in depth dnd channels out there, keep em coming my dudes!

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Ryan Maguire i need that weekly duo call out.

[@AlexanderArts]

Yeah, I was also skeptical at first, but found the videos informative and generally pretty concise even at 30 mins. A lot of other D&D youtubers seem to repeat themselves a lot.

[@TheSuperQuail]

That's effective branding

[@johnathansanford8206]

Honestly....i still cring at it, it just reminds me too much of the ghost facers frim supernatural 😣

[@matthewparker9276]

I've found its much more natural at 1.25 speed.

[@alecolson8360]

You should make another video on this from the DM's perspective!

[@CamJacobson]

Agreed!

[@lordkosta926]

aye!

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Alec Olson oh yeah!

[@matthewparker9276]

Yes, indeed.

[@elvimorestudios]

I really need this

[@browerkyle]

My favorite underrated item is a tent. You've got sturdy, water-proof material, several long poles, stakes and a small bit of line. Had a gnome use his tent to make a hang glider escaping a falling castle once.

[@AllThingsFascinate]

Oh my I love this

[@privateperson5054]

Evil is better. Gnomes trap dectors are way liter than orcs.

[@mortasidhe1992]

All walls are doors if you try hard enough.

[@UltimosGabriel]

All door are bridges if you nail it enough.

[@ashenwuss1651]

Mason's tools proficiency makes improvised doors easier to make

[@dracawyn]

Spoken like a true barbarian XD

[@cdgonepotatoes4219]

all walls are a weapon if you're strong enough, thrown and melee

[@ashenwuss1651]

@@cdgonepotatoes4219 I once used Wall of Stone to divert a heavily flowing stream of water into enemies. All taking place high up on a mountain. I'll never see a Fire Giants made easy work of, like that, again, with only 5th level spells

[@madmadame1508]

"Or if need be, send in your heartiest and stupidest player." "Yea an expendable player character like the fighter or barbarian can probably take the damage and if they die....well that's what a resurrection spell is for." I'm usually a Ranger or Cleric but damn does that sting.

[@christopherthompson6216]

Our first death in my current campaign came from sending our NPC into a room full of archers. He walked in, turned around, and said, "It's all clear, guys," right before being RIDDLED with arrows. None of us felt safe trying to walk into a dark room at Level 1

[@Kaiyuni]

You guys should make a video about pieces of mundane equipment. I'll list a few examples just to get the ball rolling: Dagger: Not just a weapon. I keep at least 1 or 2 daggers on pretty much all of my characters. They make wonderful makeshift tools for a massive variety of uses and are pretty cheap at only 2 gold a pop. Flour: A whole 1 POUND bag can be purchased for 2 copper. Aside from baking, flour is actually extremely explosive (most fine dust stuff is, flour especially so). So you can spray an open bag of flour into a room, get a bit of distance, and then have one of your teammates throw any source of fire basically anywhere in the room. A chain reaction happens and then the big explosion happens. That's a room-wide bomb effect. While it takes 2 actions and teamwork, you turned a 150 gp consumable item into 2 copper. Crowbar: When you're in an applicable situation, the crowbar gives advantage on strength checks. Literally no one in my group except the DM knew about this when I brought it up a while back. Chalk: You can mark basically anything, and you can even homebrew in colored chalk that's bought at double the price (still pretty cheap). You can have a color coding system. A room filled with traps? Mark the doorway with a red symbol of your choice. Treasure hoard to come back to? Yellow symbol, maybe like a coin (circle). You can also follow your marks on the way out of a dungeon if things went wrong and you're in a hurry. Making avoiding things way easier. Mirror: Using it to look around corners instead of poking your head and getting shot by a guard who is waiting for you. Or to see if there are guards at all! You can also use it to send signals to your friends with light.

[@Verbose_Mode]

As both a DM and a bit of a pyro... flour is actually quite difficult to ignite intentionally. You would need some kind of precursor explosive to scatter the flour finely into the air, just throwing it won't work. I would rule that any source of _thunder_ damage would scatter the flour into a 10ft cube, or the area of the damage if it's an AoE. _Then_ a source of fire damage would give it a 50/50 chance of igniting and dealing 2 or 3 d6 of fire damage. Several actions and maybe a spell slot to make that 2cp work for you... kinda like real life: awesome, but impractical.

[@grzegorzadamczyk5567]

Flour is also useful to detect invisible creatures. Before you make it burn ;)

[@diamend85]

nice tips

[@mikepowers8607]

Got to be careful about the chalk though. Gary Gygax wrote in the 1E DMG or PHB that monsters in a dungeon will be inclined to smudge chalk marks on the walls.

[@WinterPains]

Actually the main reason my pirate carries daggers. He prefers to get in close and dual wield a rapier and shorts word, and the daggers are more for tools, or throwing as a last resort.

[@alandcapelari]

There was this saying "If you don't have a rogue, go with a 10-foot pole". Great video!

[@fhuber7507]

No... get a necromancer with a bag of holding filled with skeletons He lets one out and sends it 30 ft ahead of the party so it can trigger the traps. BOOM! "Time for another skelly"

[@alandcapelari]

@@fhuber7507 Too slow and expensive, and there is not a saying about it. Nothing beats the beat of a 10-foot pole.

[@BeaglzRok1]

We did have a rogue, then they got petrified and my ranger had to bumble through trap defusal. Died in a true rogue fashion of not noticing a trap, getting locked in a room with mimics, and the party not showing up until it's too late.

[@ashenwuss1651]

Mage Hand or a pissed off Barbarian. However, 10ft pole is fantastic, especially if you have carpenter's tools; you can make it a folding 10ft pole for easy storage

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

I remember that phrase!

[@Draeckon]

One point of order about the Scope it Out section: If the setting is one where magic is in any way common, whether it's mid or high magic, there's actually plenty of reason for guards or sentries to be suspicious of even small, seemingly harmless animals like squirrels or rats (although really, they should be wary of rats anyway, the disease-ridden blighters). It's important when considering how your NPCs might react to certain stimuli to think about how the existence of certain spells or abilities may influence their thinking. A goblin might be too stupid to realize a squirrel might be a shapeshifted spy, but that's not necessarily going to be the case for the guards of a fortress or noble's manor. In the former case, the goblin might attack the squirrel because he's hungry or he's just feeling sadistic and wants to kill something smaller than it (which is a very goblin thing to do). In the latter case, with how useful magic is for infiltration and spying, you'd think all nobles and wealthy merchants of worth would take the time to learn about them, even if they can't use them themselves, and train their people to be able to spot them. The noble's estate is likely completely devoid of any kind of critters smaller than the sentry dogs and any birds or flying animals passing over would be viewed with suspicion (in wartime, they might even shoot them down on sight, just to be safe). Magic doesn't exist in a void. Take the time to think about some of the spells and abilities that exist in D&D and ask yourself how they might impact that world and the way people behave. While we may use the medieval trappings of Europe a lot of the time, the truth is that the world of D&D is going to be very, _very_ different because of magic, horrifying monsters, and magical horrifying monsters. The existence of magic, especially wizardry, power theoretically anyone can attain, might do away with the royalty/noble/peasant societal structure entirely or the mages are the ones in charge. The fact that there's no disputing the existence of deities or god-like beings is also going to change things dramatically - the churches/temples of major deities are going to have a lot of influence on the areas they operate in, and unless something catastrophic happens like the whole order getting wiped out or said deity dying, they're unlikely to ever lose that influence.

[@Person01234]

Whilst true, real squirrels arre going to be infinitely more common if you're in an area where squirrels live. If the kingdom has embarked on a squirrel genocide, this would have unintended consequences (like the great sparrow war in china did).

[@Draeckon]

@@Person01234 Our world hasn't had people disguising themselves as small mammals and infiltrating fortresses. And I didn't say anything about genociding all squirrels everywhere - just the ones poking in sensitive areas where they don't belong. After a while, the number of squirrels they'd have to kill will drop off since even animals like squirrels can _eventually_ learn that some places are not conducive to living. Some nobles might even take on a small-time ranger or hedge-druid that can talk to animals whose only job is to keep small animals and pests out, in addition to having some dogs or birds of prey to help him.

[@minnion2871]

@@Draeckon Again though as you said the world has MAGIC.... I could see gaurds just ignoring the squirrels because 1.They don't get paid enough to fight powerful spell-casters, and 2.Any noble worth their salt would have at least hired a wizard to put up magical defenses/wards to keep out unwanted guests.... Like an invisible energy field that reverts anything that isn't a squirrel or a bird back to its true form.... In the case of spies trying to spy on a high tower... well they probably have guys to clean up failed spies that went splat when their bird shape got dispelled.

[@resultantdoor6630]

Player: what type of poison is on this drow arrowhead? Gm: you feel like you can't tell from looking at it. Player: I put it in my mouth to see what it does. Gm: *face palm*

[@Giganfan2k1]

Ah see you have taken the alchemist root.

[@minnion2871]

@@Giganfan2k1 if it were me investigating the type of poison I'd probably start by sniffing it before going with taste.... (That and perhaps break out the alchemist/herbalists tools to run some tests... Perhaps a medicine check on anyone injured by said arrow to see if I recognize the symptoms...)

[@NobleKorhedron]

@@minnion2871 EXACTLY!! Don't just put the damn thing in your mouth!!

[@minnion2871]

@@NobleKorhedron Well unless you're playing as someone with both an intelligence and wisdom of 8 or less... Then doing something so Darwin Award worthy would be perfectly in character.

[@CappuccinoSquid]

I'd give it to them if they can beat the Investigation/Survival DC, which would be significantly lower if they did _literally anything else_ preventative/moderating in the discovery process, and the Constitution Save. If not, hey, they're unconscious, the rest of the group can figure it out from that. And if they succeed one but fail the other, that can create a funny little narrative tidbit: "Seconds before you fall unconscious you deduce that the poison on the drow arrowhead must be drow poison, which causes people to suddenly fall unconscious."

[@Balcamion79]

You guys are becoming required content above pretty much every other related channel when preparing my players and myself for D&D. I sincerely appreciate your clear, concise, and CLEAN delivery of pertinent information. Keep it up!

[@chainer8686]

The string and the bell that comes in the burglar pack is the quintessential medieval alarm system and so many new players I find don't know this!

[@MrRourk]

Or the ranger could just spread some crunchy gravel around.

[@MrRourk]

Maybe you have a rat catcher in the group. They all have small but vicious dogs.

[@abiggs4828]

I set my own version of this by buying cheap twine and collecting every bottle or can my character finished in town. It took me FAR longer than I care to admit before I realized that the Burglar pack had it pre-made...

[@criticalsuccess9926]

This topic isn’t covered enough by most channels. Can’t wait to watch!

[@ashenwuss1651]

Couldn't have been said with more truth.

[@FlashTheMystic]

I 3rd this!😎🎉🎆

[@Rodrigo_Vega]

I think D&D specially 5e is not really well built for exploration. Not only "You can use your imagination when there are no rules written about it!" is as good as not using the game at all, but many of the options the games offer actively undermine creative solutions. Low level spells for example are designed speciffically to not throw combats out of balace but are utterly unconcerned with giving easy solutions to the avarage exploration challenge. Seeing how increasingly common spell casting is among all classes and with unlimited cantrips I hardly see any mundane problems ever being an inconvenience. Why look around the cliff for a way down or use a rope around myself when I can cast featherfall? Don't even bother. Look for wood and tools to start a fire? theres a cantrip to create bonfires. Find or dig a ditch for shelter? Mold Earth is also a cantrip, it takes around 6 seconds. Find or get directions, theres cantrips for that or use a Speak-with-X spell. Hunt and explore for food or water? nah! spells can do that too. Light? There's like 4 cantrips for that as if any race didn't have dark vision...

[@davidriggs538]

A grappling hook is a useful to have with your rope. Great video, Dudes!

[@fhuber7507]

I talked the DM into letting me get 2 custom double blocks made (Block and tackle) to fit my silk rope. 2 pulleys in each block, 8X force multiplier available for moving the immovable object.

[@michaelhinte7498]

11:58 “Don’t forget to Bring a towel!”

[@yamato9753]

Michael Hinte *triggered*

[@AgentGreen13]

Block And Tackle. Super handy. If the players don't secure their food properly (like you would when camping IRL) I increase the encounter rate for bears etc.

[@DrakeRichter]

My artificer made a bag of holding at level 2, and loaded it up with everything she thought might be useful (even including a portable battering ram). The party took a very long time to catch on despite her preparedness being mentioned (and utilized) repeatedly IC and OOC, much to her chagrin. The apparent turning point was several sessions ago when a few party members (out of 7 PCs) wanted to dig a hole, and as usual jumped right into planning how to rig together a shovel (out of the paladin's shield and monk's staff tied together) without bothering to consult anyone else for ideas or assistance. The artificer watched them struggle with it for a good ten minutes (bad rolls) until they started poking at the ground with the staff trying to use it to dig, then politely asked if they would like to borrow her shovel. It's part of an ongoing effort to get the new players to pay attention to the rest of the party and act sensibly and as a team. This was the same session that the rogue hung upside down from a second story window so he could melee attack a zombie below instead of just shooting it with his bow. Jury's still out on if we'll manage to shape up before a TPK, even with the DM pulling punches.

[@wildside316]

The MacManus brothers in D&D: Connor: "Rope? Why would we need rope?" Murphy: "You never know." ☺

[@PartridgeQuill]

I find that exploration is often very neglected. Great video! There are so many things you bring up that I've never thought of before!

[@McSmacks]

"Explorin' the Unknowen." Lol. That accent always slips in. Love your vids guys. And this is no exception. Keep being awesome.

[@cattrucker8257]

Exploren the Unknowen with ranger Owen and druid Rowan.

[@daveford5683]

McSmacks what accent?

[@cooperb4449]

Great video guys....So many players play D&D like a MMO and have no Interest in the background ect.

[@michaelstinson1061]

8:00 Fishermen know many knots with 99% knot strength. Many knots are not the "weakest link" in a rope. A blood knot is great for turning three 50' ropes into one 148' rope.

[@CamJacobson]

Loved this video… I’m a new DM so I’m wondering if you have a similar one from the DM’s perspective… e.g. “How to create environments that are worth exploring”?

[@AllThingsFascinate]

This is such a good question

[@noe9250]

players are usually looking for value - if they’re having trouble exploring, maybe give them something to search for. Unusual animals, strange light sources, useful plants...maybe they could serve as clues or useful objects for later encounters

[@coeruleo]

magic items

[@edwardrichard2561]

As a Dm I like to keep people on their toes. Mentally aswell as in combat. Giving clues that doesn't make sense at the time but as the plot thickens it reveals it self to be apart of the larger picture. The "ah ha" and my favorite " oh shit!!" moments as some would say. Your a storyteller. Get into the role.

[@CitanulsPumpkin]

Speaking of getting crushed by tying a rope around your waist, if you ever join the boy scouts the first knot they have new kids learn is the bowline. It's a knot that lets you tie a hoop on the end of a rope that won't tighten or sinch up no matter how much weight is put on the rope. It started out as the knot tied on the ends of bow strings for bows and arrows, but now is primarily used in situations where someone has to be lifted out of a dangerous situation.

[@ashenwuss1651]

Make too many mistakes, and someone may need to use their mundane Mold Earth tool to dig some graves

[@baltsosser]

Tying a rope at the waist is safe, BUT it has to be done in a very particular way. The Swiss seat is a technique taught in mountain climbing school whereby you take a 14" piece of rope and fashion it into a very safe seat. I've used that before in Korea at Mountain Warfare School. It will reduce the length of the overall rope you are carrying, but it give the chance to tie tools off of it so you have your hands free.

[@GranRey-0]

14' * perhaps? ( " - inches ' - feet) But I read on a quick search you can use 6-10' and it'll be a safe(r) seat like you mention.

[@Steveoinlb]

Just started playing D&D with my friends. I was volunteered as the DM because of my background with Warhammer. I have learned more from you two than any other source. TY for the info. Keep up the good work.

[@joshuakraft7835]

Thanks so much for these vids! As a new player to D&D (3 sessions into my first campaign) you guys are really helping me feel like I'm not a total noob at the table!

[@nephilimninjaofnibiru2907]

What a noob. Just kidding buddy welcome to the game.

[@jeffreycrowder2866]

I concur. I am 1 week on, really a session zero.

[@dfuebermann1]

One suggestion - on a video like this, I think it would have been cool to have a small whiteboard environment markup and use a few quick examples of how a group might interact when exploring and results of outcomes. But great vid!

[@SinerAthin]

Based on my army experience; I would recommend bringing a large backpack that you can drop on the spot if needed. In my time with the infantry, we often carried a large backpack that we could drop on a moment's notice if we came under fire, or right before entering a combat situation. This allows us to carry heavy and bring lots of equipment and supplies, but to be light on our feet when required. In DND terms, this would be a way to deal with encumbrance using the oft forgotten items such as the Satchel, Bag or Backpack. Say a character; let's name him Bob; has to bring more items than Bob could easily carry, thus tipping him into Light Encumbrance or even Heavy Encumbrance. The solution would be for Bob to throw all his extra items into his heavy backpack, so that once Bob got to the dungeon entrance, or Bob's party got into a fight, he could easily drop the backpack and become lightly encumbered. Once the situation was under control; Bob could easily recover his backpack; all his items neatly sorted and contained within. Note: Just remember that the items can be lost or stolen if you need to retreat.

[@mal2ksc]

Your Army doesn't have Handy Haversacks and Bags of Holding. Generally those take care of the encumbrance problem, which in 5e is a threshold. Either you have less gear than your max, or you have more and it slows you down. Shedding weight doesn't help in the current mechanics, even though logically it should.

[@SinerAthin]

@@mal2ksc It's generally the mark of a good DM to apply a little bit of logic when it makes sense :P Also, experience has taught me you can never rely on getting magical items like a Bag of Holding. DMs can be fickle creatures!

[@mal2ksc]

True, you can't count on it. But if it's the sort of game where tracking encumbrance really is breaking immersion and scaring players off, then may as well toss a BoH the party's way and figure everything that they can't comfortably carry goes in the Bag. It's an easy out for everyone. Just a matter of months ago, our characters had hot running water in their house. Now they don't even have a house. Laundry day is a problem. I think it's only fair to let the hedge knights of the world carry a couple changes of outfit with them, so some sort of extradimensional space becomes helpful for the sake of advancing the plot and not micro-managing.

[@jonispatented]

Mal-2 KSC what are you on about. The rules very clearly state that the weight and encumbrance, etc. Rules apply to how much you are CARRYING so shedding weight does remove it. Obviously.

[@mal2ksc]

I know. If you're encumbered, you drop something. But as long as you're a tiny bit under the limit, that's mechanically the same as dropping everything. I get why it needs to be that way for pencil and paper, but it's not very realistic.

[@8umber]

A fun idea popped into my head. The best method of entering/ exiting a building involves the window so in my next session I'm going to make sure I enter and exit through a different window or chuck a goblin through a window.

[@benl4198]

Exploration is the weakest of my group's three pillars, for sure, so this is pretty helpful to bring in new ideas for me to challenge them with

[@polvotierno]

I am DMing Tomb of Annihilation. Every 6 hours the players do a series of basic rolls in this order. Medicine checks to help the sick, Saves against illnesses, damages and effects of illnesses, Luck rolls for diseases, damage or inspiration points, foraging for food. At night while they sleep, they roll to save from corruption as evil undead are near. I have a random table to roll on every 6 hours to determine levels of encounters, weather, odds for contacting poison or disease, and terrain features. For foraging and fishing, I have pictures of various tropical river fish and jungle animals. i also have pictures of tropical rivers and waterfalls, frogs and exotic snakes. The consistency of the rolls build consistency into the narrative.

[@ccain96]

I think one of the major reasons players have trouble with exploration is actually "seeing" the environment. Its hard to fully explore something when you dont fully understand the parameters, limitations, and what you're actually exploring.

[@CGrahamWorks]

Just a weirdo little thing, I DM for mostly a group of foresters, exploring is an amazing treat with them it's all about that experience and expectation. We often or in "difficult terrain" Canadian north, they also get the fear of the wilderness. Make the long road better

[@michaelriggs9139]

Really enjoy your videos guys. I have made a couple of them "highly suggested" viewing for my player group. You are appreciated! Thanks.

[@sakisaotome6753]

Thank you for doing this, exploration had long left me confused as to what it might entail. One thing, regarding the so I think I could jump over that. I think should be considered a valid question. If I were looking at a gap I would certainly have an idea of is it is something I could jump out not. It might not be right or accurate, but I'd certainly have an impression on it's jumpabiliy

[@christophermcclure9392]

I once played a kobold with experience as a miner and trap-maker. He always carried a pick, rope, and other tools. Any time the party stayed in a location for long, he'd take time to dig a burrow to sleep in and set a crossbow trap in the entrance. As a DM, when characters make perception/spot/search checks, I ask if they are looking for anything in particular. If so, I lower the DC for that a little and raise it for everything else a little. It sometimes causes the characters to focus more, picture their surroundings, and make potentially impactful decisions instead of passively doing a broad check.

[@Phentari]

Couple of other useful little items, if you can get them: 1. A lodestone. Amazingly handy. Cast light on it, stick it to your helmet or on the end of your polearm. 2. A hammer and a bag of nails. Sometimes, you just need to cobble together a crude ladder, or a barricade. 3. A pulley. Rope is all well and good, but a pulley can make it far easier to haul treasure (or incapacitated allies) up a cliff. 4. Waterproof containers. HUGELY important. 5. A ball of twine. One of the simplest and most overlooked and most useful items you can have. Use it with bells to rig a simple alarm; use it to lash things together; use it to find your way through a maze. 6. A fishing pole. (This one's a little bit cumbersome, but can be used to snag things you can't reach.) 7. A Decanter of Endless Water. One of the most useful "exploring" magic items. Not only does it ensure a steady water supply, it allows you to bypass many obstacles. Got a pit too wide to jump across? Fill it with water and swim across.

[@ReineCerise]

Another great video guys!!! Your videos are awesome and informative, I recommend your videos to my group all the time. It's easier since most of my players are new and don't have great attention spans so I can't count on them to read a book, but they'll watch some KZbin videos.

[@Choomy8542]

Currently running an insect-based druid, I think my DM is getting tired of me saying "I don't care what I see, I said what do I SMELL"

[@coeruleo]

animal dung, unwashed humanoids, and fear.

[@CappuccinoSquid]

That's the most terrifying sentiment I've ever heard.

[@johnprentice277]

You smell RAID. A shit ton of RAID!

[@violethyena6895]

Thank you for being a couple of chill dudes that give great suggestions for my DM-mind to generate interesting environments.

[@ryanford1811]

An additional issue with tying ropes together, with hempen rope, as soon as the rope is weighted by your 200+ pound adventurer untying those knots is going to take some serious time.

[@SelwynClydeAlojipan]

Hmmm, I would think that the Mending cantrip or even Prestidigitation might be able to untie such knots.

[@jamestanzer9188]

Try using a knife or dagger to 'untie' the knot. Then use Mending to repair the rope

[@matthewbarker4109]

If you were to tie a double fishermans knot they are very strong to hold two ropes together and can be untied quite easily after weight has been put on it

[@paravastha]

In the school of lead climbing they stress test dynamic ropes for extreme conditions, e g. a huge fall. Any knots on the rope dampens the ropes ability to cushion the fall and handle the strain of the fall without tearing. A static rope is straight up deadly even from a 1-1,5 m fall if your connected to a harness as the impact shatters your pelvis.

[@sack1501]

Thanks, didn't realize how much this video was needed until you made it

[@stephenclements6158]

This was a great video, and greatly needed. So many challenges PCs face can be solved by using their environment to their advantage.

[@Brannen666]

I love when Kelly's deadpan delivery breaks Monty.

[@jeremyschneidt4258]

The rope section reminds me of Boodock saints. Love this show guys thanks for your content.

[@cameronwielenga7765]

The campaign I'm playing in is a completely exploration campaign. Going off into the unknown new wildlife of the new continent is great!

[@ashenwuss1651]

Probably the thing I need to work on most. I need to learn becoming more open-minded and innovative when it comes to exploring places *and* possibilities.

[@Fishcrab]

I've only gotten into dnd recently, (were playing lost mines of phandelver and are only a few sessions in please dont spoil) We reached a point, where due to misunderstanding the layout, we believed, that the only way to go was to get up a steep shaft. (We thought the other route was hidden or far away but it was actually just outside) we sent up our strongest character 5o climb up, and drop down a rope. As he reached the top the dm took a while to get his bearings. We had accidentally skipped to the boss of the place, and took the boss buy surprise, by climbing up the shaft. That sequence break was what convinced me that dnd was the game for me. ( aside from the greatest distraction technique ever but that's a story for another time)

[@talongreenlee7704]

An a note related to bringing a light source, casting continual flame on a torch, making it never go out is a very good way to carry LIGHT with you, but it DOES NOT light things on fire.

[@adamkaris]

Put it on a glove or armband, when light isn’t needed, simply turn it inside out and put it in your pocket/bag.

[@horizonkage]

I have always stocked up on, flasks of oli, empty flasks, and caltrops among other things. I've literally poured oli down where the enemies are and set it alight with a cantrip. It burned the enemies and right through the rope they were climbing with.

[@Peoples_Republic_of_Cotati]

1st time (sorta) DM: my party used Pitons to block the stone doors of Wave Echo Cave; a doubleset of doors was locked using silk rope securing the handles....experienced players are fun.

[@Mary_Studios]

I'm going to be doing a campain where there is a lot of travel involved so this has really helped me in that regard.

[@douglasphillips5870]

Its nice to see you guys take on more open ended topics. Good job.

[@genobreaker1054]

50' rope, grappling hook, chalk, metal or rubber balls, bed roll, spare cloak, iron spikes, torches, bells, caltrops, backpack, steel mirror, flint & tinder. Basics I grab every time.

[@leagueofpain-t2958]

20:08 i got the same reaction 😂 you guys are the best really thank you for what u do

[@calebvandenburg1400]

The strength of the rope that is lost from tying knots depends entirely on the knot that is used. A square knot or a grapevine knot maintains roughly 95 percent of the ropes original strength, where as a more simple overhand knot can cut the strength in half. If you have a person in your party who is a sailor or a climber, they should be aware of this. Otherwise, it's a good point.

[@IkaikaArnado]

There are plenty of bends that will bind two pieces of rope and will be stronger than the actual rope. A zeppelin bend is a good example of this. It can handle a ton force.

[@menarg1549]

This kind of video makes me fall in love with the idea of the game! Love it

[@tofastninj9747]

Resilient sphere is amazing. Weighs nothing and makes you both invincible and very throwable. Leomunds tiny hut solves many problems. Good berry can solve food and Sleep can help you get in and out of a castle with a dozen of guards slacking off.

[@Bartdebasman]

nice work guys, I need to do some more vertical exploration for my adventurers in my campaign :)

[@erikmattson8629]

What a GREAT video. Thanks, guys. Dudes! 👍

[@aidandunne5978]

I am playing a half-orc fighter currently in our campaign, but I have proficiency in tinker tools from my background. So i decided to get a bit creative with equipment, and instead of trying to get a magic sword or something, i wanted a rope of climbing. I then used my tools to make a mechanism for the rope to coil around, added a grappling hook to the end, and created an auto-success (outside of combat and dangerous trap scenarios) grappling gun that I can use to just zip around.

[@WillXtro]

This is perfect timing! My players are about to be exploring an open region in the next session.

[@StupidButCunning]

I've had a bandit flee the encounter and clearly jumped over a section of a hallway. One player cast Sleep on him so he was out cold while they took care of the remaining enemy. Then another player just casually strolls up to go tie up the sleeping bandit, triggering the trap that he very clearly jumped over.

[@parapotato]

Favorite items for exploration; portable ram gives you a flat +4 bonus to batter open doors or smash a chest and a second person can help you to give you advantage, and a pick axe because it allows you to CHANGE the dungeon permanently.

[@jydy5683]

Awesome !!! I wish i could play with you guys!

[@MrBinskij]

Booois, your content is just amazing. Keep it up!

[@Maninawig]

This reminded me of my first character of my first campaign. The DM mentionned that a Deck of Many Things has a card that can obliderate armour, and I thought it would be fun to test my luck. Surprising everyone, I removed all my armour and weapons and put it in the bag of holding before drawing my card. I pulled the Avatar of Death, and started to run from the Grim Reaper screaming to my party to throw me a dagger or something... They just sat and watched fearing that giving me the dagger would have summoned the dealer's wrath on them.

[@reinafox7639]

11:35 When I'm writing down my equipment on my character sheet, I always write down what in my pack instead of 'explorers pack' or whatever. It does take up more time and space, but it does make it easier to see what I actually have, instead of checking the PHB ever time I want to see if I have a specific item that might be in the pack.

[@Floormat-ux4rw]

There was a dragon I faced in my campaign when I was level 1. After a few rounds something was supposed to happen, we clearly weren’t expected to kill the dragon at level1. I used my rope to tie around my javelin, tied the other end to myself, and then I managed to stick the dragon with the javelin causing it to pull me into the air with it, where I rolled well enough on athletics to climb up and mount it, killing a red dragon at level 1

[@Ramperdos]

The more I play the more exploration feels important. Great tips!

[@Reqex]

22:35 Beware of that guard cat

[@jgr7487]

if your players don't care about the environment, kill them using it! "you hear no birds" "of course not, it's night time!" little they knew they were inside the aoe of a Silent spell! there's always noises in nature.

[@aisir3725]

I think first thing anyone under this spell would notice is that they can't hear their own footsteps and themselves in general, like sound of breath, heavy armor produces a lot of noise

[@jgr7487]

@@aisir3725 oh, that's too much immersion for some players, &, sometimes, we ignore those sounds when walking in the wild.

[@CappuccinoSquid]

"The owls suddenly stop calling, and you can hear tree branches rustling as what could be dozens of birds take off at once." "Huh, that's weird." _That means something big's coming, Ranger, please alert the group._ ;w;

[@EvelynNdenial]

@@aisir3725 the loudest thing to the human mind is total silence. those ultra quiet rooms give people that stay in them too long panic attacks, the silence spell would be even worse than that.

[@TheVexinator]

Great topic guys!

[@stevekirkby6570]

Some nice inspiration here... more please :)

[@peterthaysen5316]

It would be great with more videos on exploration and social interaction, including your take on the rules that come into play when undertaking these activities.

[@MagicalMaster]

Featherfall. Not much use going up, but going down Featherfall is a beast. Also having a ranger in the party or a druid or Barbarian. Yea some people might poopoo them for one reason or another, but if you're outside a city any of these three half wild champs can and will make all the difference. The Barbarian can get you up a cliff like a boss, the Ranger is your guide in the wild places and the druid can turn a survival campaign into a relaxing one.

[@calebjohnson5058]

You guys do a great job telling so much yet, stay vague enough where someone like me is forced to use my imagination. Keep up the magic my dudes.

[@michaelhess3783]

Try using mage hand or unseen servant to trigger traps then navigate past them. Love the livestock idea, lol!

[@Kuaqe]

Depending on the knot, the point where two ropes are tied together might even be stronger than the rope itself.

[@godsamongmen8003]

I wonder if shape water could be used to help open doors -- you pour water into the cracks of the door, then freeze the water, causing it to expand and damage the door, making it easier to open. And since Eldritch Blast does force damage, maybe the warlock could use that cantrip to explain how he's using a charisma check to open the door. Or a thorn whip spell could grab part of the door and rip it right off.

[@keithulhu]

17:40 Amen to that Monte. There's a player in my group that does that and it bugs the bejeezus out of me.

[@scottanderson8167]

We play without a rogue or thief 100% of the time so exploration and trapwork is always parlor game style. Much more fun in our opinion than having one guy roll dice while the rest of us wait around.

[@Elizabeth-rp8kz]

If your DM, like mine tend to, uses the fact that knotted rope is weaker than solid rope then you can use Mending to fuse the ends of the rope together, its functionally the same as a cut rope if they are the same type.

[@wyattwaggener6380]

about the sledgehammer thing, a level 1 character could blown down a house, the destroy half of create/destroy water, a 1st level spell, is a small building level feat

[@twohorsesinamancostume7606]

There's actually plenty of tried and true knots that climbers use to join ropes together. The Alpine Butterfly Bend, the Zeppelin Bend or the Double Fisherman's are a few. Hell, the Double Fisherman has a reputation of locking up so tightly that you'll never unjoin the ropes.

[@VeteranDecanus86]

“You don’t want to go into a dungeon without a light source.” *laughs in Drow*

[@robertplautz9722]

the passion, the intelligence, the teamwork-this really gives me insight i needed! lessons for life, too! so, considering an environment as a closed narrow dark space is not enough. one must seek to understand, and interact safely with, that environment, to meet and overcome its challenges. there is no other choice-you got in, so now you have to get out. the true exploration, it seems, is within one's self: one's preparation, one's resources at hand, physical and mental. as inspiration and motivator, too, along with enjoying the journey, one can also surely think of the goal that awaits at the end: a treasure chest of gold and gems, a tankard of well-earned ale, a night of satisfying love, a return home to warmth and family. thank you two so very very much!

[@kevinm3428]

Hex Crawl exploration campaigns are very fun with a committed DM and party.

[@mattopmasterX]

That FFX-2 intro always remembers me of my past years

[@patrick2231]

So on the climbing kit stuff. It is always nice to have a real world idea of how things would work, but it is important to remember it is fantasy. if i have a climber's kit at start of game, i want my DM to assume my character knows how to use it. if i don't, and it causes my character to die, that kind of takes away from the immersions.

[@mal2ksc]

So declare mountaineering one of your background-related proficiencies. That's why you get them, that's why we bother tracking them. Otherwise every character would be proficient with everything.

[@IRMOKE]

The weight issue with tiring the ropes together, would only apply when they try to lift there horde of treasure out of the area. If the characters can tie knots adequately, the knots would be more than adequate to hold there weight even with many ropes tied together. It would be massive weight bearing loads that would be affected.

[@twistedturns65]

I'm getting distinct Stewy saying Cool Whip vibes from Kelly when he says 'Unknown'.

[@achimsinn7782]

My recommendation is to interact with the stuff the DM gives you. DMs put stuff into the game because they think it will enhance the game. So everytime you're like - "nah, I rather don't take a closer look at that cave" or "no, that old hut is likely a trap. I stay away from it" you're actually taking away from your DMs possiblity to create an interesting game for you. If you think something is a trap, you can always check for traps or send a familiar or something to check out the situation before entering.

[@GiblixStudio]

Was hoping this would be more dealing with Overland travel in general. From village to dungeon and talking about the exploration/survival in between those moments. I have issues playing that out properly. Or perhaps talking about skill challenges. Such as going through a foggy mangrove where the Green Hag is manipulating the slippery roots underwater to drag PC's down or slow them down on a timed quest. Leeches/poisous snakes in the water that can inflict status effects that give PC's disadvantage if they don't have a cure with them. Weakening the PC's before even setting foot in the actual dungeon. "a wall is just one explosion away from being a door" So true. As a bounty hunter I was baby sitting an evil cleric. that player decided to go into the magic store and rob it blind. with the guards and everyone that showed up we were stuck. thankfully i had a dagger that could function as a grenade to create ourselves an exit out of that building. Using a door and some wood found from a goblin junk pile the ranger woodcrafter made a simple cart to transport 2 corpses with us back to town. Or making simple wooden doorstops to secure a resting area. Or wooden blocks to shove into arrow slits/traps. Instead of familiar a wildshaped druid can turn into a mosquito or bee to scout a mausoleum. Learned there were two large groups of greater zombies. Hallway that might have a trap in it? Such as 8 Invisible Duergar with their spears held up to impale rushing PC's? While the PC's chase 1 or 2 duergar? :D

[@davidriggs538]

Dungeon Dudes, speaking of exploration and discoveries. Have you heard about the Numenera fantasy setting for D&D 5e being released early next year by Monte Cook Games? I think it's based on Expedition to Barrier Peaks where standard fantasy adventurers discover technology from ruined spaceships or powerful ancient civilizations. Would love to hear you guys do a video about this, even if it's before the book is released. Your videos are always enlightening and entertaining.

[@Wineblood]

My tactic for exploring and handling the environment is as follows: - max out constitution - pick hill dwarf because they're tanky as hell - roleplay as a brash character - exclaim that "sneaking around is for cowards" and just run in - (optional) scream your character's first name followed by jenkins

[@WMBGW]

9:35 jokes on you my party has 3 clerics and a ranger

[@bubbles9829]

What if three of your clerics down and your ranger is out of spells? What would the Ranger do?

[@isaackarr6576]

Remember long hallways are also narrows luring an enemy into a hallway is beautiful for an ambush.