Enhance D&D 5e Exploration with 1 House Rule

[@BobWorldBuilder]

💥 Battlezoo Bestiary: www.kickstarter.com/projects/rollforcombat/battlezoo-bestiary-elemental-storm-for-5e-and-pathfinder?ref=7880qi

[@NoNo-u4t]

@5:59 NWP of 2e are skills. Everything from foraging to fire building to survival. Backgrounds also existed in there for specific skill loadouts.

[@kl1thedominion]

Mini Bob seems like the kind of guy to hide under a rock and say "Ya ha ha! You found me!" when you discover him.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Now I'm wondering how many mini Bobs are out there...

[@NotReallyChefGregggo]

I…I don’t think I want a lil’ Bob seed…

[@drillerdev4624]

​@@BobWorldBuilder MiniBob needs a floppy hat Just saying

[@Funball18]

@@BobWorldBuilder900 in your local forest, perhaps? *Slides dice aside* Better go searching, and describe exactly where to look! Thanks for giving a new DM a thought! I’m about to play my first D&D session, and this video has changed how I plan to approach it! Keep up the awesome work!

[@jeffbangle4710]

@@BobWorldBuilder Gotta catch'em all!

[@LootandRoll]

For all the 5e players who wants a better exploration, you can get a lot of inspiration from games like The One Ring and Forbidden Lands

[@BobWorldBuilder]

True!

[@dziooooo]

I'll add Ironsworn! Especially Starforged/Sundered Isles has a great approach to exploring (and randomly generating) unique locations, and for managing journeys along a known route.

[@dnd-and-philosophy]

I know about the One Run, but Forbidden Lands is new to me! (starts typing "Forbidden Lands" in a search box).

[@user-jt1js5mr3f]

TOR

[@chadlamotte8190]

Or earlier editions of D&D

[@gamelairtim]

One of the things that is often forgotten in these situations is that your character is supposed to describe what they do, and the DM then describes whether you get a roll, and what skill is used. It’s not, “I do a perception check. Do I see anything?” It’s “I hush the party for a moment, and turn in a slow circle, peering in every direction, including up into the trees and down at the forest floor.” “Now that you’re paying particular attention, you catch a glimpse of suspicious shadowy humanoid silhouettes crouching deep in the forest in the direction you came from.”

[@riganmarston761]

So many players don't know this unfortunately. I've had to explain this to my group many many times.

[@sirhamalot8651]

Yes! This!

[@dnd-and-philosophy]

Yes @gamelairtim! This is one of the way that makes RPGs so fun to play!

[@sleepinggiant4062]

So true. I really dislike it when players throw skill check numbers at me when I don't ask for a roll. They yell "Nat 20! 25 persuasion! muhuhaha!" and expect miracles.

[@evanhoffman7995]

I respond to that with, "I don't remember asking you to roll a goddamn thing," which breaks that habit real quick 😂

[@TheADHDM]

I've got 280 more mini Bobs to find before I get the secret armor set, wish me luck

[@HorizonOfHope]

As a DM, here is a free exploration encounter I have used with lots of parties and it always works: rescue a wolf. A wolf is being attacked by some scary brute. Rescuing the wolf makes it follow the party at a distance. A few long rests later, if they leave it food as it will follow them in an obvious but nervous manner, it will let you scratch it. It will act with self-preservation. A few long rests later and it will respond to the name they give it. Based on my experience they will prioritise that wolf more than any other world-ending crisis.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Works every time

[@Treebohr]

Everyone loves a dog!

[@LyleAshbaugh]

Great post!

[@hyzmarie]

Oh yes why does this always happen?! I’ve had a party decide to adopt a kenku criminal, and another party adopted a thief who tried to raid their camels and attack them with hyenas…

[@stochasticagency]

I love how you are "Exploring" your creativity in the medium. Keep it up, Bob, and by all means, learn to have more fun when creating these videos.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

I really appreciate that :)

[@kev_whatev]

Prior to 3e, there was an insanely long list of nonweapon proficiencies, some general, some class group specific

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Interesting!

[@jamestobin3806]

2nd edition, which came out in ‘89, had those non weapon proficiencies as well as the “hide in shadows”, “pick pockets”, etc…

[@matty_dee]

Started in AD&D 1e, in fact. In the Dungeoneer's survival guide if I'm not mistaken, but also in Oriental Adventures.

[@baoghal]

I mean... there weren't THAT many... (goes back to reading a GURPS book)

[@MrJerks93]

​@matty_dee The Dungeoneer's guide is awesome for those that want to focus on spelunking. The Wilderness book took up the rest. One book that I've merged in is Lamentations of the Flame Princess. Great resource. One thing I'd encourage anyone playing DnD is to get rid of every race having Darkvision. The dark should be scary, and an obstacle the players have to deal with.

[@AvonofTalamh]

My infernal pact keeps me up at night, the voices whispering, "Remove Perception...! Remove Stealth...!" With trembling hands I type another edit to the house rules document.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

It's worth a try :) Can always go back to using them, or figure out when they work/don't work for your group

[@Shiyaku93]

I never thought I'd see Bobert and Lil Bob in one video. What a time to be alive.

[@BlaueEnte_]

Mothership! The point about the lack of a stealth skill is exactly why I recommend it to everyone. Great video.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Nice!

[@dziooooo]

In my experiende the Mothership way of exploring (players ask questions and figure out creative ways to interact with the environment around them) is MUCH better than relying on checks. The standard D&D 5e way can easily lead to players having no idea what's around them other than the few highlighted details the check indicated are important.

[@nutherefurlong]

Glad people are still pointing this out. I try to figure out where skills should be in games like these. Even the thief's skills, it's argued, should be about doing something extra-ordinary, but otherwise anybody can attempt the things the thief skills wound up supplanting. Back in 2e, it felt like the few nonweapon proficiencies you could get were enhancements for your character, rather than requirements

[@iiiiiiiiiicecream]

I up voted for Bobby World Buildy alone. Chef's kiss.

[@jasonp9508]

One of your best videos yet, Bob. I’m an old school gamer who lost sight of these points. (no pun intended) Good, actionable advice!

[@ElderGoblinGames]

Man, we are on the same wave length. I was literally writing new exploration rules yesterday because none that I've found satisfied me. Good stuff Bob!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Turns out that none satisfy me either! For now anyway, fewer rules seems to work best for my group.

[@Cuthbo]

Absolutely brilliant video as always, Bob! Not important but 2nd Edition did have a list of skills available called Non-Weapon Proficiencies. But with a name like that I'm not surprised folks have forgotten it 🤣

[@vinimagus]

They were great. Very underrated.

[@Cuthbo]

@vinimagus I'm a huge fan of 2nd edition so I agree!

[@vinimagus]

I had bowyer/fletcher.😊

[@benjaminmckay6983]

So glad you mentioned Stealth (or the lack of) in Mothership. I was going to mention Sean McCoy’s comments on why he intentionally excluded stealth as a great explanation of the game design, and why I’ve always STRONGLY disliked perception as a skill. But you beat me to it Bob!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

It's such a bold move! And even though I haven't played Mothership yet, that concept is part of what inspired this video

[@jamespreston7823]

Has it's uses, but as soon as you have a hammer 🔨, everything starts to look like a nail 😁

[@calebwidogussy452]

Bobby World Buildy!! Mine eyes are opened to explore the world of tiny Bob

[@khazadjake]

The anxiety driving musical beats were well done! Made me smile while cleverly drawing focus to the point/opinion you were sharing.

[@Thomas-np3gi]

It can be hard to avoid developing a shorthand. E.G. when an NPC says something and you(the player) are suspicious of their motives, you may say: "I look for signs of dishonesty or nervousness like fidgeting hands, sweat, darting eyes, feet pointing away, or shifting weight" -Roll for insight the next time, you look at your GM and say "hands, sweat, eyes, feet, weight?" -Roll for insight and the NEXT time you look at your DM "Insight roll?"

[@Aemery17]

Bob strikes again!!! I love this advice. Less rolling more story telling. I am very thankful for you, The timing of this video and Bobby World Buildy! Bobby World Buildy for King of town!

[@tahm22]

Bobby Worldbuildy is my new favorite character.

[@davidjennings2179]

Mini bob, for your even more condensed D&D tips

[@DavidAndrews-eb7gm]

Party exploration conversation. Druid: “I’m going to cast Wind Walk/Good-berry/Create or Destroy Water/Water Walk/Water Breathing/Pass Without Trace/Plant Growth (campsite protection)” Everyone else: “OK”

[@streetsurgery]

I'm obsessed with Mothership and so glad you talked about this

[@philippemarcil2004]

Just to notes that we also had skills for 25 years in D&D as well. It really depend on what kind of games you are designing but considering the success of 3rd and 5th edition, skills are a fairly popular design which suggest the cost outweigh the benefits for most players and DMs.

[@zvenlin]

Enhance your d&d with that one simple trick

[@Knopey]

I totally expected Little Bob to give Big Bob a korok seed.

[@davidcarnan1270]

Um, I think we all know how those "seeds" are made...

[@Knopey]

That would be for Bob to cope with 😬

[@Dresden-fr9cj]

Love this video format Bob. Nothing like a scout-esque walk in the woods. ❤

[@Alive_I_Guess]

This ... and ugly goblin's video ... both on exploration. Coincidence? I THINK NOT!!! Also, love the purple haired little Bob

[@BobWorldBuilder]

I'll have to check that out! And yeah he ended up kinda colorful :P

[@ericjome7284]

I have often used checks to determine if the heroes understand the significance of things they discover or perceive.

[@kaskando]

This is wild! So many KZbinrs seem to be covering this to some extent at the moment :D Also- love Lil’ Bob

[@Dyundu]

Not only do I like this idea, I’ve been using something similar for about two years now 👍

[@Flint138]

This was SUPER well done and IMPORTANT! Thank you Bob!

[@IanBoyte]

It's simple, I see Mothership, I up vote.

[@ericjome7284]

2nd edition did have "secondary skills", things you picked up from life before adventuring. In later versions, this became backgrounds.

[@GrndAdmiralThrawn]

0:16 Journey before Destination

[@dittrich04]

Life before death.

[@LilBoyTasmanKim]

Strength before weakness

[@nestedfloat]

These words are accepted.

[@danielcarrasco5251]

Mike Shea recently fundamentally changed how I look at 5th Edition D&D when he put out his video about preparing to run Level Up A5E from EN World. The major epiphany came when he said that in 5th Edition, the game was designed for DMs to call for attribute checks based on how a character was described as approaching a character and that the reason the skill list exists on the CS is just to make it easy to show which skills are supposed to have your proficiency bonus added. So what that means in practice, is that if you're proficient with stealth then you could add your proficiency bonus to your roll whether you choose to use a charisma approach like in the game Hitman or a Dexterity approach like in Sly Cooper. It really goes a long way towards bringing the system back in line with OSR games rather than requiring you filter every occurrence through the lens of which of the eighteen options are available to you.

[@samusamu5342]

huh?

[@kyleweir689]

How on EARTH are you meant to utilize charisma for a stealth check?

[@samusamu5342]

@@kyleweir689 That's what im saying

[@cosmonaut999]

​@@kyleweir689blending in and acting like you belong, aka social stealth

[@kyleweir689]

@@cosmonaut999 that is deception, my friend. Or just a charisma ability check.

[@brokenmeats5928]

I love ALL Bob World Builder videos!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thank you!

[@se5246]

100% great takes, as always. Really appreciate ya, Mr. Builder!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thanks for the comment :)

[@anthonyanglim7147]

Man, Thanks for the video! To me it seems that Since the Advent Of PC RPG and the evolution of each successive edition of D&D, the Table top game had inadvertently turned into a Mish/Mash of Chance Rolls of the Dice instead of Creative Player Input. Thanks for helping remind us how to Bring the Theater of the Mind Adventuring Back to D&D.

[@BWiltfong1]

I think there's a middleground to be found, as you touch on at the end. What it boils down to, surprising few when it comes to 5e, is a lack of DM guidance. The skills are fine, if a little too centralized and "necessary." The issue is allowing a dice roll to stand in for roleplay as opposed to guiding success of said roleplay. I would never allow a player to rock up to a room and say "I investigate the room" dice in hand. However, I am guilty of allowing the perception "eyeball zoom" from time to time. With both perception and investigation, there should be that necessary "How?" question that provides the narrative positioning for the roll. This should be listed in both of the skills descriptions as well as a sidebar in the PHB/DMG for guiding players on how to ask the right questions. Excellent video once again, I appreciate the thought exercise.

[@rolandschreurs6980]

I want to like this video twice. Thanks Bob! Epic insight into exploration, and you didn't just roll for it! (Also... what's this I see??? A dnd video that's full of rich advice for gameplay, and not talking further about the WoTC rules updates? Yes please! 🎉 Great stuff Bob!)

[@mistergoats4380]

*casts banishment on the demon that keeps trying to possess bob*

[@seikojin]

I have game-mastered many games and systems over the decades. And I have found that description and agency, both on the GM part and the players part, helped enhance the game, remove complexity, and reduced boring roll play and increased role play.

[@haolik1297]

Currently reading The Elusive Shift (book on the history of TTRPGs) and it's interesting thinking about this question in light of the early debate about whether the rules should be known to the players or only to the DM. I'm currently running a game with no player facing rulebook and I do think it facilitates them interacting with the world diegetically rather than trying to use dice. However, this comes with drawbacks: 1. You simply cannot have very complex PCs. If an ability is complex it requires player knowledge of the rules; you can't just have the DM running all of the abilities behind the screen. A crunchy game like 5e is not possible without a multi-hundred page player rulebook. 2. It is pretty time consuming to prep for narrative exploration. To use traps as an example, it takes 2 seconds for me to go "there's a pressure plate in this square, DC17 perception to detect, 2d6 piercing". And it takes just as long to resolve it at the table, no arguments, we're all on the same page because we all have the same rules. It's much harder to think, "I want to use a pressure plate... how can it be detected mechanically? Which types of interaction will cause the trap to activate? How can it be defeated?" You have to really understand not just how the trap would work but what your group will think to do so it is a fair challenge for them. AND then there's a learning curve because 5e players are not familiar with the procedures for narrative trap removal. AND if one of your players is better at engineering than you, you might end up in an argument at the table... The point is the game will BECOME about anything you require players to spend time doing narratively even if you don't want it to, and that has consequences both for your prep and your table time. 3. You have to be nice to your players and understand that sometimes their "mistakes" are actually you failing to describe the world clearly. When something bad happens, the reasons need to be obvious and obviously fair. I wouldn't consider this a drawback, but it's too hard for some people to manage. Given these points, I understand why 5e has ended up on the pro-player-facing-rules side... Back to the video topic, skills are just a small part of the complex of player-facing rules. Players will always choose to resolve challenges using the rules that are given to them unless there is no way to do so or there's a compelling reason not to; it's pretty hard to get around this problem without taking away their copy of the rules entirely (in which case see above). As a middle ground, consider: "you can do this with a skill check, but it takes enough time that you'll need to make a check for wandering monsters. If you can tell me a specific plan, you can do it instantly with no roll." (Of course, 5e hates wandering monsters too... but you get the picture.)

[@ArturPendragonS]

The Aventures on Middle Earth has my favorite exploration rules. I love the Journey phase of thst gamr

[@southron_d1349]

No skills before 3e? Yes, there were. But they were called "Non-weapon Proficiencies". The 1e Wilderness Survival Guide and Dungeoneer's Survival Guide added a lot from Mining to Fungus Identification. AD&D 2e tried to streamline matters.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Cool!

[@jakynth]

To clarify he doesn't say there were no skills before 3e. He specifically speaks to the lack of a "long list of skills" that every character made has the same access to. Such as the list on 5e that encompasses all of the skills in the game. Older editions had skills or proficiencies but to my knowledge and experience there wasn't a list of all available skills in any of the books.

[@jamespreston7823]

@@jakynth we should probably trust Bob to defend himself if need be from the big-meanie OP 😆 But DSG had 29 Proficiencies (14 Craftsman, 15 Adventuring), and WSG had 24 Wilderness Proficiencies🤓 No, I haven't cross-referenced to eliminate overlap, but I also haven't opened Oriental Adventures. Which had *_lists_* for Artisan, Barbarian, Common and Court Proficiencies. Long ? ✅ 😉

[@jakynth]

@jamespreston7823 yeah it's long but it's not complete in the way that it was being referred to. As a matter of fact it seems as though it was rather incomplete from the adding of skills from book to book. Wasn't defending Bob, no need, he's grown.

[@steved1135]

Yup. Still running 2E campaign here for over 20 years. NWP's are a critical aspect of the game. Especially in a sandbox style game, as it should be, ( as opposed to the 5E style ) exploration is the only way to 'find' encounters...

[@tomassaber8602]

Amazing video. Thanks for the insight. I will for sure implement that in my games.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thanks for commenting!

[@manicpixiedreambuoy]

I love all Bob World Builder videos!

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thanks for commenting!

[@timothymason7008]

Two Bobs are better one! Haha Great Video

[@AgranakStudios]

Soo good Bob!!!

[@knaz7468]

I love the idea of getting rid of some skills in trade for more player/character role playing. For example skills in some games like acting, leadership, intimidation, etc really can all be done through role playing and character development. Stealth and Perception (vs stealth) can be tricky though. Having a player just describe how they plan to hide or ambush can only go so far ... at some point there is an opponent check to see if it worked, and that usually involves a character skill level (i.e. the thief through years of training and experience knows how to avoid making sounds or moving, never mind they wouldn't be wearing noisy armor, etc). So at some point ... a skill check should be made right?

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Yeah it's a case by case thing that depends on the GM taking on the original role of the GM: the referee. It's possible that the back and forth description of the scene makes a roll unnecessary. "I wait until the patrolman rounds the corner" "Okay" I still tend to use them for stealth in fantasy games, but in DCC, thieves have much lower stealth DCs by default.

[@davidelambardi]

From now on, I'll ask my players 'how' they want to [explore-related action] before letting them roll a skill test, maybe considering to award them with advantage if they come up with something inspiring. Thank you very much for pointing so precisely to the issue I constantly have when dming 🙏

[@PieCompanyGuitars]

Mothership looks sweet. Did I miss the airplane fly by, or did you find a new park to shoot your videos??? lol Thanks Bob, love the show...

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haha fewer planes that day, and they all seemed to come between takes or on takes I cut anyway.

[@masonparizo705]

Great video! So my players really like rolling... so the way I have ruled it is that the more they describe or ask questions, the lower the DC goes.

[@461weavile]

Yeah, sometimes a player will come up with "I look under the bed" or "I look behind the dresser" or "I move the area rug out of the way," but sometimes they're a bit vague. If they say something like "I check the room," assuming their character doesn't have a history of checking for specific hiding places, it's probably going to warrant a standard investigation roll. If it's not quite that generic, but more like "I check in the nooks and crannies of this room," that's enough for the DC to be lowered by a bunch, because they and their character are clearly intending to check in unusual places but weren't sure what to name. If the thing's taped to the back of the dresser, saying "behind the dresser" is going to get them there without a roll, but saying that they're looking in the tight spaces and hard to reach areas, they'll probably find it if they look for more than 10 seconds, which is what the investigation roll is for.

[@macfoster866]

The in video add clearly establishes that "Little bob" can fly. IT can not be undone!

[@pondaofica8058]

hope bob wolrd buldy comes back on the regular

[@Abelhawk]

I agree that it's annoying when players say "Can I roll for Perception?" but this type of rule leads to situations where a shy player has a high Charisma score character and can't think of a real way to speak persuasively in real life and gets penalized for it. Characters should have skills and should do things the players don't need to do. Just like the player doesn't need to shoot a real bow and arrow to hit a target in order for their character to hit a creature with an arrow, they should be able to rely on their character's high Perception or Insight to discover secrets without having to justify how. It's the same reason I don't put actual riddles in my game that players can just guess regardless of their character's Intelligence. Letting the dice and the skills speak for themselves _and then_ narrating it is what makes all three pillars of D&D fun for the players I DM for.

[@JKevinCarrier]

The idea that Bob has this little homunculus of himself following him around is simultaneously both charming, and a little disturbing.

[@keithulhu]

Does Little Bob mean there's a little Bob on the way? If so, congratulations!

[@blackrider2323]

Another great thought inspiring video Bob!

[@DorsonKieffer]

Sounds like you've been reading old-school essentials. What you described is how exploration was done in early editions. Just ask Ben. He'll tell you.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Haven't got around to OSE yet, but got the same principles from DCC and Shadowdark!

[@malfarian]

I’m getting a tiny bob world buildy later today.

[@alvhinator]

The problem with doing away with perception checks is how to account for some characters being better at noticing things than others. Good and bad eyesight/hearing is a real measurable thing. So is the ability to detect hidden creatures. Just look at real world game rangers pointing out hidden animals to civilians.

[@_fedmar_]

Here we see a wild Bob, engaging in its favourite pastime: pummeling 5e DMs who lament their player's lack of engagement with a copy of Principia Apocrypha.

[@macoppy6571]

Transcendent handling of Exploration. Equally transcendent music in the background.

[@davidholman6709]

This is gold, Jerry! Gold!

[@MrCrixmadine2]

So I recently joined the GM club running the power rangers RPG for my brother niece and nephew and one thing I learned from this channel is to have them describe what they're doing, and since they're still young, I'll help them pick a skill to use. It worked so well. I had an 8 year old and 6 enthusiastically playing for over 2hrs. Thanks for all the help Bob. I've really liked this channel to help me get started.

[@jonathanrose5490]

If you want exploration that still rewards mechanical decisions either play a game with, or bring the concept into 5e, tiered success, mixed success, and fail forward mechanics. Have a basic thing they will find to spark discovery regardless of the check. Make a complication for if they roll under a certain DC and create one or more higher DCs that have more fun things to find that reward those mechanics your players invested.

[@obiwankenobi9439]

Bob about to wander into the Twin Peaks Lodge

[@byronkooper]

Amazing video! I was literally working on incorporating more of this roleplaying rather than rollplaying into my games. It's what sets an RPG apart from a board game

[@Treebohr]

I think I'll try this! The last time I was a player in a game, I described checking the room for secret doors by running my hand along the wall as I walked a circuit of the room, feeling for inconsistencies in the texture of the stone. The DM still had me roll, and I rolled badly, so we had to explain why I couldn't find it while another character just rolled high and so magically noticed it.

[@superoboe300]

I want more bobby world buildy

[@spiritandsteel]

One of my favorite things about the narrative (non-mech-combat) system from Lancer is that all of the skills in it are thematic phrases rather than static words. “Move unseen or unheard”, “pull rank”, “seize control “, “apply fists to faces”, etc. The meaning of these phrases is intentionally left up to interpretation. So seize control could be taking charge of a situation socially, or it could be wrestling a gun out of someone’s hand. It makes the handful of skills you take more like mechanical rewards for character personality. Rather than going “I don’t have anything I can do here” it makes you think “how is my character most likely to try to solve this issue based on what they’re good at”.

[@Innocent_Bystander13]

These points about skills and coming up with player solutions vs what’s on the character sheet is exactly why I enjoy games like Shadowdark. It ends up feeling so much more immersive when I’m met with a problem that I have to actually think about solving instead of using one of my shiny abilities that bypasses it completely.

[@FoxTrick101]

I've never had a player optimize the fun out of exploration.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

That's great to hear!

[@aaronvanhemert9809]

I've been reading through the Shadowdark rules recently and the book specifically mentions almost everything you brought up! It says that any action can simply be done without a dice roll. You WOULD, however, roll a die when time is limited or if there is a meaningful consequence to failure (a.k.a. you need to use SKILL to complete the action). I LOVE this rule so much and I feel like player characters are much more active this way.

[@ivanrichmond3524]

Great advice! About skills in pre-Wizards D&D: they actually had the poorly named "non-weapon proficiencies" that were introduced in AD&D 1e supplements like... 2 people ought to read if they're doing exploration: "The Wilderness Survival Guide" and "Dungineer's Survival Guide". They weren't class skills, like thief abilities. They were add-ons to your character. These were redone in the 2e PHB, and were great because they allowed you to make a character who was more than just a race and class. It gave characters color and possibly made them useful in exploration situations. I mean, point well taken that relying too much on skills is a bad for making exploration exciting, but the ideas in those two supplements were actually really good (things like rules for spelunking or foraging for food and actually making nature itself as dangerous as it really is).

[@dnd-and-philosophy]

Wow! I've been watching your awesome RPG videos for a few years now and I've never met "Little Bob" before. I wonder if he'll make future appearances? Also, I may try a "Little Joe" in one of my future videos for my own channel. I'll give proper credit to you, of course! Thanks for keeping things real and fun, Big Bob!

[@jonathansmith2791]

"Bobby World Buildy" had me rolling!

[@dantherpghero2885]

Search your feelings. You know I LOVE ALL Bob World Builder videos! No skill roll needed.

[@mtksnd]

I just got my copy of mothership, I'd love a bwb video just on the GM advice given in the warden manual, it's great.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Nice! I haven't actually picked it up myself, but it seems to be getting great reviews

[@logangreen2432]

There is this one really cool "O5R" hack of 5e called "Into the Unknown", I think you'd like it a lot, and one thing I find very neat about the system is how it handles the dilemma you spoke about in the video. ItU has a system called "Proficiency Areas", how it works is that your class and background grant proficiency in certain "areas" such as being a Fighter gives you "Proficiency in every aspect of combat, from strategy, mounted combat, intimidation, and weapon lore to improvised stunts. You are also in skilled Etc..."

[@JRDATX]

Thank you for this video, Bob. Meaningful exploration within the context of an adventure and describing character actions versus relying entirely on dice rolls take game sessions from typical to terrific. After 40+ years of playing RPGs, I’ve come to believe that the best games rely heavily on players’ creativity. The rules and character sheet options just provide useful guidelines for that creativity.

[@DalePoole]

I watched, thinking that, "Bob has a new mechanic I can try out." Instead I got, "Stay the course - you're doing it right!" Very gratifying!!! Reading a lot of the comments, it's also nice to see there are lots of us.

[@jeromyschulz-arnold2632]

Thank you so much for this video! I do this with combat, giving narrative control to players to describe their combat round. I'm going to start doing this with exploration too. Thank you for being Awesome Bob! 😊

[@andrewburgess9578]

Does the existence of MiniBob imply there is a MicroBob out there?

[@GMandJudge]

For ideas, you can check out OSR games like Old School Essentials. They have some rules structuring exploration but most of what the players do is done narratively with no or few checks. I mostly do this in my 5e game as well. Everything a regular person would notice I tell my players right away, hidden stuff they can find without rolling by telling me what their character is doing. For other non essential stuff I will use skill checks (rolling dice is fun) but they will only miss optional things or have a harder time achieving their goals, not get stuck. Sometimes they will fail what they are trying to see or do through a roll but you have to give them the chance to creatively open up new ways of tackling the task.

[@bennorman1093]

Great video. I love this reminder to go beyond a skill reliance during explorations and searches. Thanks!

[@kgeo2686]

I gotta stop listening to you while I eat. You drop too many good ideas and I constantly need to stop and take notes 😂❤

[@jakeruss331]

Wow I love this so much! Definitely hate when PCs walk in a room and just don't see things because of a low perception check. Will definitely be asking more descriptive questions from now on!

[@witchesbruise8792]

I had to switch to this method for traps, secret doors, intimidation, bluffing, etc when I switched to Old School D&D games (I play Old School Essentials right now). This method makes me feel like I'm actually playing my character. When I play 5e now, it feels like the dice are the thing actually playing my character and I'm just there to ad-lib some lines.

[@00AfterBurner]

It is interesting. That last example you gave about Perception "zooming in your eyeballs," is definitely one interpretation of what the perception check represents. But I feel like there's another way to narratively describe such a roll. After a good roll, the DM could say "because you have years of experience honing your senses, you can find the optimal spot to view this distant creature, and with a little bit of luck, it also steps into a slightly less obscured area while you are trying to look at it." You should make a part two of this video lol. I love exploration in TTRPGs

[@tobes26]

Tip: I used to lower or raise the hidden of DC's of skill checks for my party based on their description, I now instead tell them to add +- some number based on the description, mechanically the same thing but WAY more encouraging to players to be creative and clever.

[@ryanbeaucage1068]

Very well done. Thank you. Ive always had a hard time making it fun for players. Roll on a table and try to incorporate the results in what they're doing 😢. I like this alot. Plus gives players autonomy in deciding whats important. They may just want to camp and get to destination.

[@foxyreads]

This has given me a lot to think about. Also, I didnt know Poag had art in battlezoo. That's awesome!

[@ZekariusZetorian]

This. This right here is exactly why one of the first things I listed in the rules for the TTRPG that I'm working on is "Players only roll when the MoM (Master of the Maelstrom) calls for one. Players instead describe their actions and the MoM calls for a roll when they decide there is a chance for failure." 5e has made so many people at tables of mine expect rolls to solve problems, and not just 5e, but earlier editions as well. I started in the 3.5e days as a kid, and this mentality was already there too. This simple shift in mentality makes games of ANY kind ANY genre so much more fun. And it doesn't have to replace die rolls. It doesn't have to make Rangers useless, or all the things that people will argue against this type of houserule. On the contrary, it enhances the Ranger's position. Gives the Ranger the ability to (within reason) make claims about the world around them (as why else would someone play a Ranger if they don't want to dive into this fantasy of being a knowledgeable outdoorsy type), then back it up when it matters with a roll with double proficiency/advantage (depending on favored terrain vs favored enemy.)

[@akb8323]

Your videos are so well thought out and so descriptive thank you.

[@fmbray_]

I can't believe we got to see Bobby World Buildy today!