10 things DMs wish players did

Want to help your dungeon master out? Here are ten things the DMs of Twitter said their players could do to make running a Dungeons & Dragons game easier.
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► INDEX
0:00 - Intro
1:30 - #1: Keep track
2:25 - #2: Take notes
3:40 - #3: Roleplay with each other
4:35 - Sponsored by Kobold Press!
6:05 - #4: Create the right character
7:02 - #5: Be part of scheduling
8:01 - #6: Plan ahead
8:48 - #7: Pay attention
10:01 - #8: Give feedback
10:54 - #9: Understand your character
11:39 - #10: Take initiative
12:24 - Outro
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[@GinnyDi]

Thanks to Kobold Press for sponsoring this video! Get your own copy of "The Kobold Guide to Monsters": koboldpress.com/kpstore/product/kobold-guide-to-monsters/?KZbin&VideoSponsorship&GinnyDi

[@battlemapbrawl]

Kobold Press is good. 👍

[@Rabijeel]

In my experience - as ADHD-Dude -it is rareley the ones with that Problem that do not pay attention. Worse, common People go salty about that more often when they had missed something and thus do something "stupid". And, not little Things, I talk like "I go further down the Street." - "What?" - I go straight ahead." "Ok, you fall down the Crevasse the Quake you obviously missed had created and that I described and your Party was planning to get over for the last 5 Minutes."-Stupid.

[@joeleek9976]

That was a good plug you did for them. I didn't fast forward through it. Well placed as I imagine there are many DMs that would click on this video.

[@TheEternalGoth]

YT recommended this video and now I'm glad it did! For another video, if you haven't already done something like this, maybe tips on how to get a non-RPG player to try D&D and how to make it interesting for them?

[@mre4u422]

i've always wanted to join a D&D game but nobody near me plays it and beyond that i have no idea how to even begin looking for groups to join

[@Obstreperous_Octopus]

Player 1: "Maybe we should have gone by ship. It's so much faster than walking." Player 2: "I've been playing D&D since 2nd Edition. Trust me, never get on the boat. That's how DMs get you. We're safer on land." DM, barely keeping from laughing, looking down at her notes at the stats for "Land Kraken"

[@RhantheSlayer]

Player 3: No way, airship all the way DM: *Turns to plan W, labelled ‘Flying Kraken of doom’*

[@andytaylor5282]

Wait I thought the Land Kraken was baking cookies in the kitchen? D&D is so hard!

[@featherflame1962]

@@RhantheSlayer bring them both in if the characters are a high enough level

[@WildBluntHickok]

If you're on a boat that's a chance of falling into the sea. The big thing to watch out for is wearing plate mail (takes 60 seconds to remove) and being near water. Mind you if you have a good DM that could be how your party meets the mer-people.

[@commandercaptain4664]

DM: (Benedict Cumberbatch voice) You think you're safe on land...

[@michaelthompson5967]

I've been offering a 200 xp "On time bonus." No one has been late for weeks.

[@patsonical]

Our games tend to be fine if not everyone is on time because we always start with like half an hour of banter anyway xD

[@AITries]

Genius...

[@gozzilla177]

Pssssh 250 or I show up 10 minutes late! Lol

[@staceyme1480]

We give (depending on lvl) x hp damage per 5 minutes late in 1 campaign...it can be necessary for frequent offenders. One person got struck by a freak bolt of lightning and had to roll death saves after arriving 30 mins late with no valid reason or call. He wasn't late again since.

[@GrimViridian]

I never understood not wanting to be on time, I get so excited to play every week that I'm ready like 20 minutes early XD

[@madisonchapman2369]

"Don't make your DM hold your hand." Me: But he's my spouse...

[@shelbylee5062]

Same!

[@kuroyuki6254]

Dude same

[@irispurcell4257]

Same here. lol

[@justapuffin7303]

He’s my friends dad. I’m not holding his hand.

[@Olliebunny]

Same lolz

[@Hedwig_the_potter]

Our DM starts every session with “so, who remembers what happened last time?” and we (players) collectively do a quick verbal recap with DM reminding us of anything significant that we missed. It’s super fun, helps us all keep track of the plot line, and gets us focused on starting the session. It also helps that we often end sessions on a cliffhanger.

[@MelyoraMel]

As a DM, I actually announced at the end of one session: so, you guys, hope you guys are paying attention from now on, because I am going to randomly ask one of you guys to recap at the beginning of next session. Worked out perfectly ;)

[@jakeand9020]

I do this also. I started to get an idea on what the players found interesting and what they might have missed. I have found the players tend to be more invested in the overall story, which is a nice bonus.

[@puglyredpanda4842]

Our GM(-s) are asking for, what do your characteres remember, so we start in character recapping the last 1-2 sessions and directly start roleplaying ;-)

[@JefAlanLong]

Every DM worth a copper piece does this.

[@BenedictMHolland]

I dont ask anymore. I just start with a quick recap and ask if I missed anything.

[@youngsponge92]

"Your character is your responsibility, so keep track of their shit." I haven't "THIS"-ed so hard like that.

[@galehunter2519]

I mean, it IS your character, that you created...

[@adamkaris]

@@galehunter2519 SO YOUD THINK IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO DO RIGHT???? (sorry for yelling)

[@galehunter2519]

@@adamkaris Well, yeah, your charecter, your responsiblity.

[@GunnyStilgar]

Sure. I never run out of ammo, food or gold because of this.

[@sluttyMapleSyrup]

@@GunnyStilgar Same. I also wildly adjust the starting equipment and sometimes purposefully ignore like, half the list for character reasons.

[@kateiannacone2698]

"Role play amongst yourselves." Yo. I once ran a campaign where there were entire sessions of the players just role playing amongst themselves and I hardly needed to do anything. It was amazing! (Though I also needed a flow chart to keep track of everyone's love interests. Lol)

[@Vinemaple]

Love interest flow chart. Hilarious and awesome. So jelly.

[@SentientTent]

@@Vinemaple I don't think I've ever encountered any love interests in D&D before, with the exception of a player who had a divorced spouse as the BBEG.

[@ingridplata2411]

I sometimes find that I need to build the right environment for them to roleplay amongst themselves. If after a battle an NPC invites them to drink something together to celebrate, tells them a bit about themselves and then asks of them, they will talk for a while only sporadically asking questions to the NPC and it works very nicely

[@kateiannacone2698]

I think part of what did it was that, at the beginning, I gave them some info about the town they were starting in, and had them all write their backstories with the understanding that I was going to make a small tweak or two to what they wrote. That tweak was that I basically connected each of them to the noble family that ruled their starting town. One was the blacksmith who made the lord's sword. One was the midwife for the lady of the keep. One was a squire to the lord's chief knight, etc. It gave them all common ground to start out with.

[@AlbertaGnome]

So helpful that you brought this up, Ginny! One of the best examples I’ve seen of a team role playing amongst each other are the excellent Drakkenheim campaigns at the Dungeon Dudes channel/podcast.

[@sarahconard5894]

Late to the party here, but to the point of taking the time to role play: Recently our DM wasn't up for our usualy session (because, ya know, life) and since our party had just come to an inn for the evening, we had a Full Roleplay session without the DM present. The characters all gathered in one room and played things like Never Have I Ever and asked each other questions, both silly and deep. It was AWESOME and we all walked away going "oh, I have some backstory stuff to figure out now!" Highly recommend that kind of session to give your DM time to chill!

[@VanNessy97]

I should have done that when my DM cancelled on my entire party!

[@genevalawrence801]

When I was playing back in the 80's in college, we used to occasionally give the DM a break and hold an in-character "tavern night." We drink beer, ate pizza, and played tavern games with cards or dice, all while roleplaying in character. The DM joined us as an NPC when he wanted to party, too, which gave him the chance to participate without needing to plan the session..

[@ooooneeee]

This is such a great idea 😍.

[@berijeux]

LOVE it! Will keep this in mind for the future.

[@Wertercat]

I would definitely keep cliff notes or something and forward them to the DM for this though, so they can stay in the loop about any newly revealed character hooks

[@naturalone6529]

Coming from a forever DM, I can wholeheartedly agree, more than anything, with the inter-party roleplay. It makes your life as a Dungeon Master *SO* much easier when your party is talking among each other and you aren't narrating everything they do. Recently, I wrote out a very heartfelt message to my players telling them of the struggles I was having when they weren't participating, and the very next session, they were already vastly improving. They even said it was more fun than usual, which was a bonus, because they were remaining active and engaged.

[@orphancloud1132]

Hey, DM? With a character's backstory, how much is too much? I've never played D&D but I have a character in mind and what I hope is a good portion of the backstory. This includes location the character grew up in (not named yet), the deity they answer to (not named yet (character is paladin/cleric)), and a portion of history and religion of the area. I just don't want to overstep my bounds as a player.

[@naturalone6529]

@@orphancloud1132 Keep a simplified version for sharing with others, so they don’t get bored, but feel free to quite as much as you want for your own purposes. Just make sure it doesn’t clash with world lore or other similar factors.

[@daned0199]

same here as the forever dm, whenever my party is having just a 30 minute roleplaying session with each other i cant help but just have a huge smile on my face the whole time watching them talk.

[@naturalone6529]

Isn't it just the best feeling in the world? You feel like a proud parent.

[@Revelwoodie]

@@naturalone6529 My group just started an in character chat group on what's app. It allows players to get to know each other's characters much better. And if you end the session at a camp or inn or whatever, the players can discuss plans for the next "day," in character, without metagaming.

[@Ollebolle112]

My player: I wanna read ALL the books in the library🙂 Me: It's all erotic goblin poetry in celestial

[@notequalto5179]

I would actually love doing a library crawl with players. That'd be really fun :)

[@fxtgwal]

When you are playing a sexy goblin with a thirst for books, that can read celestial(which I am in one of my campaigns atm). This is a good result.

[@bryangibbs7191]

My player: I can read all written languages, tell me exactly what it says

[@silvergreylion]

@@bryangibbs7191 "You start to read the books, but it's all a trap to derail your sexuality." DM gives you a note: "You are now a masochist, and will actively try to end up in torture sessions with enemies, as the prisoner being tortured".

[@13vatra]

@@notequalto5179 right? I can think of some fun things. Like make a "bookworm" encounter

[@yoko3182]

"Oh wait, we're on the internet, there's ALWAYS someone ready to dispute." Facts.

[@Dave-nm9yx]

Opinion. ;)

[@emho3282]

@@Dave-nm9yx Lmao

[@inventivitygames4229]

@@Dave-nm9yx Neither.

[@Thundermikeee]

That is just not true whatsoever

[@crazycatswell4684]

Not everyone on the internet wants to dispute everything!!!!! Ahhhhgg why would you even assume that!!!!

[@michaelctraylor]

"You know that stock photo of the guy comically attempting to hold a bunch of limes in his arms?" What? No, this is the first time I've ever seen that photo.

[@Ghost-ql6tn]

It has drastically improved my life

[@imsgoalie1]

You notice how she included it in the video for you? Almost like it already occurred to her there might be a viewer in exactly your shoes?

[@elisibethjames7488]

I took notes during one of my first session and the look the DM gave me as he asked “are you taking notes?” gave me the encouragement to keep doing it

[@sovashchetty4838]

I feel like sending this to my party would be extremely passive aggressive.

[@TerryAVanguard]

Communication is the key to any relationship. You have to be willing to say what you want if you hope to get it. People are not mind readers. So tell them " hey. I say this and want this from you all. What are your thoughts on it. Lets talk so everyone can have more fun." Your being assertive, upfront and your doing it because you care not out of anger. Just make sure they can come to you with feedback and things they want too.

[@blazenyah4876]

Send the whole playlist and go "hey, this person does some intereting discussions on roleplay"

[@codyrupe712]

Think it depends on your group :D I sent it with the gif of Jack Nicholson nodding yes!

[@PalleRasmussen]

I have. Better than me being aggressive-aggressive.

[@BrotherCaptainGaius]

Just post the video and then respond to it, alarmed, "oh god oh jesus how did this get here you guise help i am not good with computers" Totally understandable error, happens to the best of us.

[@ThunderGust12JD]

I role play so much with my fellows players that the DM actually felt a bit upset that we weren't moving forward with the story. Once he mentioned this, everyone at the table were hit with that realisation that the characters have been around for months without touching the main story. Most hilarious realisation yet

[@comradecordell4856]

Are you my party member? We spend 90% of our time doing downtime "quests" and haven't been in a dungeon in several months. It's refreshing.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

I've had regular weekly sessions for a year where the characters never progressed past 6th level. By then, they made so many connections in town and in the dungeon and were used to each other's personalities, so would spend entire sessions just chatting with each other and NPCs. I'd have to shake them up a little sometimes: "You know that thing from months ago you found? Yeah, it's cursed. Maybe clues in the dungeon..." - "Nah, I know a guy in town who can tale care of this."

[@mechanussunrise]

I'm more OK with players doing this if they enjoy it and things progress in one way or another. But dont expect to XP or level without taking risks in my game

[@corvus6971]

Same here, but I was on the opposite side! I was running a pretty homebrewed game with some different rules, so I wanted to include a sort of 'tutorial town' for them to figure stuff out, have some basic combat and roleplay, etc. and then they ended up staying for almost a year in the real world because of how much they were roleplaying with each other lol I don't mind, but it was nice to get back to the story

[@markhemme5551]

I have a player that journals the sessions like he is writing his characters story. Keeps track of days, names, places and events. It’s amazing! Give each player their own journal, maybe they will get the hint?!?

[@piggylady225]

That’s what my current DM did! This is a campaign with both experienced and first time players, and he showed up to session 1 with journals for every player. As an aspiring writer and DM, My “notes” read more like a novel based on the campaign. Apparently it’s used to write the recaps. But a few other players also use them, while a couple (most notably the little eighth graders) hardly touch it. But it was a great touch to the campaign!

[@polerin]

I totally understand why DM's would want this, but as an ADHD person trust me, my notes would be useless and I'd lose track what of what you were saying by trying to take notes. :/

[@abonynge]

Had a DM that required this, I got so busy writing and organizing notes I went from being a party leader to the guy who only responded when called on. Some players may do much better under a system like this, but some of us can't keep up with taking in depth notes and staying involved. Really depends on the players in your session.

[@ziwuri]

It's been a long time since I've played d&d but I remember I got some kind of ability that had to do with journaling enemy stats (but you had to manually write them down). I used it like twice, realized it would be boring to bring back the same monsters again, and never touched my notebook since.

[@fvbbaby2792]

I keep an in-character diary that I write (in a Google Doc stylized to look like handwriting on parchment) between sessions based on quick bulleted notes scrawled during the session (with pencil on notepad because my weak baby chromebook can't handle word processing at the same time as running the video chat of the game 🙄) It's fun and gives me a good way to sit down and reflect on how my character feels about the things that happened more deeply than I can in the moment when it's actually happening. The rest of the group has the link to my diary but I don't think any of them read it... if they do, they'll find juicy backstory hints 👀

[@ptowzapotato4157]

When I started bringing fidget toys or handy-crafts to dnd it made a huge difference, instead of checking my phone every three minutes, they helped me be stimulated without getting distracted

[@trontheblackranger]

My brain automatically: "Why can't I hold all these limes?!?"

[@kerbangol.8386]

Why does no one automatically think to make a pouch out of their shirt? What does he think he is? a Court jester?

[@commandercaptain4664]

@@kerbangol.8386 But muh navel!

[@PunkJr]

Returning with a margarita was perfect.

[@DannyboyO1]

I had to pause there and just take a minute. XD

[@carnahanlovewell3418]

I lost it at the end, when I heard the sheepish admission that "There's no tequila in this; it's just sparkling water." As if Ginny's conscience wouldn't allow her to maintain the implicit lie.

[@Peachrocks5]

I subscribed when this happened

[@the_Karma_Jockey]

@@carnahanlovewell3418 Yeah, I "Awww" 'd out loud when she admitted that....

[@Snailienz]

okay can we just appreciate that she makes the lime joke, then the tequila joke, and follows it up with the visual humor of her actually having a tequila? that was adorable.

[@VanNessy97]

Margarita go brrr

[@5618Fishbone]

I am disappointed to find out at the end there was no consumation of tequila.

[@VanNessy97]

@@5618Fishbone eh, it's her personal choice

[@jtrax4044]

"Take Initiative" - Agree in general, but its not quite so simple. As a player I often feel sub conscious that I am taking too much spotlight, so often I'll force myself to stay quiet to give others a chance. I think players should keep a balance in mind when taking the initiative and don't over do it to the point that you're the one doing everything.

[@jaysondavis9693]

I feel this way in school, teachers say to take initiative, and I don’t know what to do

[@PopeBruce]

Agree, but party dynamics matter, a few of our players dont want to be the party lead ever even though they rolled charisma classes so i always give them the option to do it but if they wallflower ill make a decision or pick a direction. I frequently worry that im controlling the party so i do my best to atleast make sure the option is there before i pick our direction.

[@ratkid4560]

Unfortunately, as uni has ended we play online, and every time I make a suggestion I'm straight up ignored whilst the louder players always get listened to. I think this was less of a problem in person. At this point I've p much given up trying to take initiative bc I have very thin skin, and it hurts too much to feel like ppl don't care about what I say 😅 I think if you're worried about taking the spotlight, then you're not the one taking the spotlight. I think the issues come about when ppl stop seeing it as a team game of adventure, and start seeing it as a challenge to hit the most enemies + steal the most stuff

[@SatrnOne]

If you're that character in your group, you can involve the characters by interacting with them. "Hey, Drazzen the Edgelord, you don't suppose there might be traps in this hallway, do you?"

[@AstralFlame]

I've had similar issues since I started playing D&D, I have no problem taking charge as a player. Suggesting courses of actions, talking to NPC's, etc, meanwhile a lot of people at our table are less inclined to do the same. The way I've found is to drag them into it one way or another. It can be very gentle, say asking the parties bard about how to sweet talk the ominous tavern guy. Sometimes i'll just pick someone who hasn't talked recently and ask them what they think about whats going on even if they arent an expert in the field, say a magical effect, which typically sets up a situation where two people who comedically dont know what their talking about get told by another player what is likely going on. Or you can pull what my low int, low charisma character does and ignore all social queues and drag unsuspecting NPC's into a group who hates outsiders which will get a rise out of them and get things moving. It does take some knowing of how your fellow players operate and a bit of creativity to bring them out but its more than possible. Most people just need a jumpstart. TLDR: If youre gonna be in the spotlight, drag someone in with you

[@cyansparkle]

"That's not a coping mechanism, that's just rude." PREACH. This needs to be said constantly on twitter, and not only related to D&D!

[@markuhler2664]

"What the hell are you doing?" "Coping, & keeping my hands busy." "Pull up your pant dammit!"

[@pencilbender]

@@paulogaspar8295 granted, but in this case its also rude in real life.

[@MegaAgamon]

DM:"So how about next saturday at 6 pm?" Party: *It is a trick, send no reply.*

[@0storietales091]

So, kinda do this, but not quite. I tell my DM ALL THE TIME that I will only ever respond if I’m NOT coming. He doesn’t buy it.

[@MegaAgamon]

@@0storietales091 Man just respond with "k" or something. Your method has the critical flaw of the DM not being able to tell the difference between you reading that message and deciding to come or you not getting the notification and thus not becoming aware of it in the first place

[@0storietales091]

@@MegaAgamon You know, this is actually a great idea! Thanks for telling me this. I’m usually to busy to give a formal reply, so this is perfect

[@crunchevo8974]

@@0storietales091 das shitty. Just reply wether you're coming or not.

[@odinofasgard]

#6: Plan Ahead - This is the one that absolutely kills me as the DM. My players have a tendency to do completely unexpected things and fail to do unbelievably obvious things that any reasonable person would expect them to do. Example: On a journey to the capital city to speak to the king. They reach the city and end the session. The next session, they decide to enter the arena and battle as gladiators. Then, they take an escort mission to a nearby village. Then they go back to the city and spend 2 hours in the bar. And never go anywhere near the king. UGH!!!

[@harley4683]

That sounded like a failed quest to me ;)

[@cristianday7372]

That's great though... They're making their own story, your not the guiding force, you're the window into the world. All you do as a DM is offer possibilities, tbh you are so goddam lucky that they bother doing their own stuff instead of riding into the King's throne room and talking to the guy with an exclamation mark above his head, without any consideration of how it was intended to go, and then bee-lining the questline and burning out your story in a matter of 1-2 sessions. You've just been handed a huge amount of time by your players to work out plot holes and plan even further ahead without them being hot on the heels of your story, embrace it and flourish instead of wallowing and becoming annoyed. There is always a good part to what a character does, it is only perception that makes it terrible. They could murder your king and your mind might jump to hating their actions, but why? They just gave you a political intrigue story of them murdering a king and attempting to get away with it, role with that and it will be memorable.

[@Nyx_2142]

So you are upset they are doing things freely and not being railroaded along your story?

[@incognitoburrito6020]

@@Nyx_2142 Where did you get railroading from this?

[@ironfae]

I think it kinda ruins the role playing angle for the DM’s. People often make plans only to discover life itself has other plans. Gaming should be no different for their characters. I’ll respect a player’s expectations and interests, but a campaign should be full of surprises.

[@twistergreen604]

the "make the right character" thing always hits close to home, cause when I told my players I had a crusading campaign in mind where they would be sent to a new country in the name of the king and the church I assure you, the paladin had a lot of roleplay to have fun with, going to the churches, investigating the scripts, facing corrupt inquisitors in the name of the true light, because, thanks to the setting I made, I had a lot to give him, but the monk whose main character quirk was "I dislike the church" had to wait until the inquisitor fights to have roleplaying opportunities about why the church is bad in his eyes (the rogue had fun all the way stealing from everything that breathed, he made his own fun)

[@hoid9407]

The unfortunate thing is that the monk could have had a lot of great opportunities, if they hated the church but were willing to invest time inside it doing a lot of the same type of research and relationship development as the paladin, if they were willing to work inside the framework you built. They just would have done those same things for opposite reasons

[@darrenfleming7901]

I've noticed rogues generally do not give a single shit about the setting or the mood you put in the story, and they will just do "rogue things" no matter what, which is great. The whole party can be intensely rolepaying in a complex political intrigue and the rogue is prolly gotta get his ass kicked and end up in jail trying to steal something that wasn't even worth it.

[@sarahburton7556]

Petition for your mad scientist character to be a recurring character in the Ginny Di-verse

[@professorbugbear]

Ginny Di-vious?

[@davidparkes7741]

Get out. Jk, lol.

[@foxyseven609]

We need our cupcake making land krakens!

[@joannagill9459]

Alongside "Information Cadaver"

[@allisonhomiak2336]

You can tell she's specifically a mad scientist because of how many lab safety protocols her outfit is breaking. For God's sake, Dr. Di-vious, at least put your hair up!

[@Baalek1]

Just so you know, a cupcake-obsesssed land kraken will now be a key NPC in my next campaign.

[@gidkath]

Yes. *nods in complete agreement*

[@diveforknowledge]

A campaign where half of the major monsters are actually transformed tradespeople: baker kraken, blacksmith archlich, mindflayer therapist/psychiatrist(setting dependent), a drider surgeon. Imagine the RP possibilities of trying to convince a town full of people traumatized after a demon invasion that the best thing for their mental health is to sit down in a room with a mindflayer and tell it all of their deepest secrets and fears. Edit: corrected a tense

[@Baalek1]

@@diveforknowledge I seriously want this to be a thing now

[@iivostroamichevolegmdiquar6859]

@@diveforknowledge in my modern world, comical campaign, the main city (parody of NYC) has something like that: - Most belovef neurosurgeons are mindlayers. they know their way around a brain. Same goes with vampires and cardiosurgeons. - Succubuses are models and e-girls

[@yourlocaldemon2195]

@@diveforknowledge You my good friend are a GENIUS

[@WeissM89]

Something that can help players RP amongst themselves is giving each of them a list of things about the world only their PC should know: religion, political factions, geography, economy... Let them be the ones doing the exposition. The cleric and the paladin should know the deities and religions of your world. Maybe the warrior is a veteran from the last war and knows who was fighting and why. The rogue should have a list of places and NPCs you have to go to if you want to know what's going on in the city. The ranger could be the only one who knows the region and the only one who's allowed to see your map. And so on.

[@StarryEyed0590]

That would be awesome! So many times I feel like I'm stymied in my roleplaying because I don't know what my character should know, don't want to be constantly asking, and am not sure I can make up random stuff without stepping on the dm's toes

[@sapientshow1294]

To that last point, I’ve noticed in the D&D groups I’ve played that we tend to ask questions about the environment and/or situation (and make checks as necessary) when we don’t know what to do. Doesn’t matter who’s DMing, we’ve all adopted that standard. Sometimes a little info helps a lot more with making decisions than you’d expect

[@starmada105]

When the players ask you about the history of your world and you didn’t prepare anything because you knew they don’t care. I don’t know, I didn’t think I’d get this far.

[@Atamosk-bu7zt]

This is why my world building is based on previous games. I started with vanilla 2e toril, and over a decade later, it's grown into an insanely large and comprehensive world of its own.

[@Ghilannugs]

Steal from every game and book you've ever consumed. It's free real estate

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

I once had a Character who was seriously into lying... as in I'd even picked it from the "Mental Disadvantages" list (GURPS 3e/revised)... AND I spent almost a half-hour literally making up a bunch of crap to explain something to one of the other Players, only to notice the GM furiously scratching out notes behind his screen... Now, the WHOLE time I'd been prattling on about (If I recall) an abandoned Temple Ruin, I'd been expecting the GM to step up and correct me or find some NPC to inject into the scene to call me out on the utter load of BS... but no... NO he did not. I decided against going too much further with it, and rather than confront the GM about the matter right then, I waited until later... whereupon he just shrugged and laughed at me. "It sounded better than anything I was thinking at the time." SO the "Compulsive Liar" trait got splintered into a Compulsion for Pontification (Which I can do reasonably well) and a mild obsession with History and Lore... still technically (By GURPS standards) Mental Disadvantages with relevant consequences... It's not the only time I've taken up a hobby at world-building as a Player Character... so... yeah, taking initiative (depending on the GM at hand) can definitely create its own perks in the Game. ;o)

[@GeneralNickles]

One of players asked me the origin of the name of the kingdom they were in (in character. They were asking a NPC.) And I just kinda froze for a minute. I have no idea. I most certainly did not think that far ahead. I literally got this name from an online world map generator. I ended up having the NPC tell them it was some old elvish dialect and they didn't know anything about it. Can't help thinking that one is gonna come back to bite me if I don't figure it out.

[@davidwatches]

@@GeneralNickles At least you didn't misplace a mountain.

[@Beedrill15]

All I can think of after the first suggestion is the DM epically shouting, “Hold the lime!”

[@lutacos]

Or bringing some to the session and rolling it on the table towards said player

[@harrykeogh2466]

I can no longer think of anything else and I'm the DM.

[@YewbPlays]

Love isn't always on time?

[@superspiffychef1923]

"You are the man with the lime?"

[@jonathanhenderson9422]

@@YewbPlays I had the same thought! :D

[@beauharmon3254]

I would like to add to this that just like an author knows more about the world they create than they ever put on the page, you should know more about your character than what actually comes up in the game. It doesn't have to happen all at once, but you should always be thinking about your character's background and motivations, as well as taking an active role in their development and growth as a part of the narrative your party is playing through. This is good for the other players as well as the DM, I think.

[@JenniVander]

Our DM is giving us XP for writing up session notes from the POV of our characters. I'm enjoying it, and it's helping me understand my characters better.

[@GarretGravink]

“It’s an open world, you can do whatever you want; so do something!” Brb, putting this up on my walls for my players to see

[@anon2447]

-I try to go murder hobo doing my best impersonation of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille-

[@GunnyStilgar]

Be advised: Character driven games are the antithesis of a prepared scenario.

[@DKarkarov]

@@GunnyStilgar Well said. Meanwhile it is not an open world. The DM has to have something prepared on some level even if it is just surface level data, if they want to do something the DM has no prep for whatsoever it is not going to be a fun time for the DM or the players. Meanwhile character driven stories have a giant risk, one or two characters hogging all the spotlight and all the other players just checking out.

[@GunnyStilgar]

@@DKarkarov I've stolen a mechanic from a FATE game called Spirit of The Century that forces the PCs to have mutual backstories so they already have a basis for cooperation and a history of being friends. I'm fine with character driven games, but not with random characters.

[@DKarkarov]

@@paulogaspar8295 I agree, even in "random table, roll to see what is there based games" the open world is an illusion. Even in a pure hack and slash dungeon crawl style game the combat focused no story content was "prepared" by the DM. But what do you mean by doing something unexpected and forcing them back on track? Parties will generally do something unexpected every session, so what is the DM doing to "force" them? A lot of players these days seem to be taking "the DM makes a change so things continue mostly as planned, just differently than original intent" to be "DM railroaded me" for some reason.

[@Meadowlxrk]

Got one of my players to start taking notes and she keeps telling me how happy she is that she can now remember things and engage in more rp because of that - best feeling ever 😊

[@nightflame69]

I have a character take notes. And do a summary of the previous session at the start of each session

[@SpiderDilly]

I'm gonna test a "mechanic" on my next group: if SOMEONE doesn't have the info written down, it's a History check to see if your character remembers it (the DM reminds you of it). I hope it urges my players to write stuff down without me being an asshole and going, "ha! You have no idea who gave you that quest because you should've wrote it down! Sucks to be you!"

[@emilyredbird7497]

@@SpiderDilly Or an intelligence check, to see how well they retain information? :)

[@bgreaud]

I'm not trying to make excuses, I have ADHD...I'm truly afraid that me taking notes is me missing half the plot and the other half misspelling every word... Advice?

[@aaron2187]

@@bgreaud try writing in point form and fill in later. for example; Quest giver: No'la Silverhoof Centaur paladin, Quest: kill skeletons in Vampire fang mountain. Reward: 500 goldpieces. oh and do yourself a little bit of prep on your notebook, Write out little tags like its a chart so you can fill it in, Things like Npc name, Role, location, whatever you think is important and will spark your memory later. add more details later if you need them.

[@lautimartinez6341]

Whenever 2 or more players are late or straight up MIA, our DM to make use of the time without progressing the story with only half the party, he allows us to battle in an arena in an AU session so by the end of it, it doesn't matter if we die or lose resources since we get them back, but we do get to keep all the gold that we earn

[@mrcritical6751]

In mine we have a running gag where The Spirit Of Chaos possesses those characters and another player takes over for a session

[@saphironkindris]

God do i definitely feel the 'take intiative' thing sometimes. It's great when you're playing at a table of extreme introverts, you describe a room, and everyone just kinda goes quiet and gets this 'deer in headlights'/'please don't call on me to present first teacher' look and waits for the one guy who does everything to step up and decide a course of action

[@kierstinekstrom7285]

I’m in a HUGE party (seven players) and no one wants to do a lot of RP in session cause we don’t want to take up time for one on one conversations. The DM made everyone their own channels on our discord server. So we can explore our characters through role play, ask questions to NPCs and give the DM more information they can weave into the story. 10/10 would recommend

[@gizmo7396]

I've done this for the campaign I'm running atm. It's useful for including bits of info a specific character knows as well as allowing players to send me a message indicating what they want to do if I'm busy doing something with another player. Especially helpful given you can't have more than one person speak on discord

[@theramendutchman]

Like, even out of session? 6/7 of the players in this just don't care about the entire existence of the game outside of a session tbh

[@wolf-vh4ze]

Wild suggestion, IF you have recaps in your game you can make great use of them to get into character, just have a rotation of people, who write the recap and then tell what happen last session IN character, as if they were telling the story to somebody else!

[@frenchbassguy]

My character is a soldier, so I got a weathered-looking journal and write After Action Reports in character, then read it in character at the start of each session.

[@RKHageman]

@@frenchbassguy That’s seriously cool!

[@Maldark404]

#8 is so important, we end every session with everyone thanking the gm for preping, and putting in all that hard work. I play a couple games with many different DMs taking the helm, it's just become part of our end game ritual and it really does help. It's bolsters and encourages the DM to go the extra mile and that their efforts are appreciated. This is INFINITELY MORE IMPORTANT FOR NEW DMS. I cannot stress that enough, everyone needs more DMs, encourage them, help them grow! It's very rewarding.

[@Sescheraun]

The land kraken that just wants to be a baker... I have got to incorporate that into my game

[@jingbot1071]

His trademark baked good? Spiced Cheese Krackers

[@cappadocius9379]

As a DM I keep a calendar and journal with me at all times. As the group would travel and go places I would make notes for time passage and travel. At the end of our sessions I would jot down a brief paragraph of events. After about 6 months to a year of playing I typed up a travel journal for my players of all their travels and brief journal like entries. I was shocked how much my players loved it. They had no idea I was doing this. We ended up making a NPC Bard that was the one chronicling their adventure. It did take some time doing it but going back and reading it was so much fun.

[@dweebicusmaximus]

ooooh i love this

[@giualonso]

Oh what a cool idea! Don't mind if I steal it! ;) I'm sure your players were super grateful

[@vortex5234]

For a while I (DM) did a journal on Obsidian Portal, and the beginning of each session would be reading last session's entry. It was super fun! Eventually the campaign died off due to the pandemic, but if I DM another campaign I might bring this idea back.

[@cappadocius9379]

@@vortex5234 That's a great idea. I didn't even think of having them read the past entry before each game. So simple and I am ashamed I didn't think of it lol.

[@thehoneypoet]

On the notes point, always make sure to send your DM a copy of your notes! If your DM is anything like me, it's a goddamn lifesaver

[@GeneralNickles]

I just wish my players took notes...

[@ferrous719]

Well I guess I need to start doing that bc my dm is like "I'm working on world building I just haven't written it all down yet"

[@Nilandia]

I try. I have notes, but I haven't had time lately to make them in a form that anyone else would understand. I should in a week or so, fortunately. I try to send my notes to my DM and to any players who missed so that they're not in the dark of what happened.

[@laartje24]

I have tried this, but I had to constantly edit out large parts because of things I wanted to keep a surprise. Became a bit hard to keep up. But I will help my DM out during session if needed.

[@elayann]

I LOVE that you included the phone part/pay attention. I can't tell you how frustrating it is even just being a player.

[@ziabatsu4422]

What I wish my players did - "Not see the rules as an obstacle to overcome with some ridiculous roundabout". Think Tiberius Stormwind trying to cast two spells at once, and losing 500g because Mercer got sick of his shit.

[@davidmorgan6896]

That type of player also sees the GM as an opponent in the game. I wouldn't play with such players any more.

[@silvergreylion]

@@davidmorgan6896 To be fair, -Tiberius- Orion was doing drugs at the time, which most likely messed up his decision-making somewhat. Worth taking into consideration, if a player starts to go off the rails, even though he/she's been a good player for a long time before then, and maybe have a chat in private, ending with "come back when you're clean".

[@arrowb.8438]

@@silvergreylion oh... well damn that kinda sucks that he was on that, im only on episode 15 of the first campaign so i hope and pray he got clean

[@Nyx_2142]

@@arrowb.8438 He supposedly did but burned way too many bridges before doing so. If you look into it, he did some pretty shitty things and CR have zero desire to bring him on ever again.

[@pencilbender]

@@Nyx_2142 whas that the shaky dude?

[@DannyboyO1]

Cupcake-making land-kraken? :o That's awesome!

[@FedoraDog13]

Well, now I know who baked that pastry golem that almost killed my cleric.

[@DannyboyO1]

@@FedoraDog13 The case of the ginger-dead man!

[@joaosevero9052]

As a GM myself, I'm sad to say that I sympathize more than I wanted to with the scheduling part EDIT: the "looking at their phones" part as well

[@kimifur]

Hey! Fellow ADHDNDer here! I find that I'm easily distracted during games even though I'm really enjoying them. That's why I take notes constantly during the session as it keeps me engaged with the game, with the added bonus of having detailed notes for after. I really enjoyed this video, and it has so many useful tips for making the game more enjoyable for your DM (which, in the end, makes it better for everyone!).

[@greencaller14]

Topic suggestion: DMing with ADHD. I could really use the advice/encouragement. Like, how do you keep consistently good notes thru a long campaign? How do you keep the flow going when your brain moves faster than your mouth? How do you stay focused and hold still at the table for longer than an hour at a time? How do you manage your players (many of whome are ADHD as well and tend to have excited side conversations while you're focused on one other player)? How do you minimalize distractions and keep players on the current plot? I probably have a dozen more questions, but I'll stop there as those are the big ones. I don't see much advice for ADHD DMs on KZbin. P.S. LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!!

[@ryn3872]

I would try to make some kind of visual reminder to make a note that falls in your line of sight constantly. Flow, try to pace yourself with sips of your drink maybe. Gather your next bit while you sip. Take frequent breaks if you need to. Call it a stretch break, let everyone go refill their drinks, take a pee, stretch out, stim. Then it should be easier to refocus. Remind players to be respectful of other players having spotlight time. Do you really need to minimize sidequests and player-directed distractions? If you do, try to minimize giving hooks for distractions.

[@rusty9705]

As a DM with adhd as well, I can’t help with a lot of this but as to staying focused, listening to music helps me, gives my brain something to distract it while I work.

[@aurorameyer159]

I personally write down pretty much everything as it occurs to me. It means that things are in a few places, some of it is digital and some of it is in my everything-notebook (full of random notes and shopping lists and ideas), but it at least condenses everything, so I know where my notes are when I need to check something before or during a session.

[@comradecordell4856]

I know I'm late, but I can answer a few of these; You don't need good notes, you need consistent notes. Hopefully most people are taking notes at the table, especially for their character events, so as long as you have something down you can fill in the blanks. Managing players is just about giving people things to focus on and not being afraid to step in as a GM and say "No." At the same time, you'll never fully get rid of distractions. My party never does the main plot, we are constantly off doing our own thing. It's DnD, just make sure you have something on hand in case things go off the rails. Keeping focused is just about doing interesting things that people want to be involved with, but this is also something you'll never be able to fully avoid. Sometimes people are tired, sometimes people are stressed, and sometimes you just don't have the creative juices. Not every session is going to be memorable, and you won't be able to cover it all, so don't be afraid to let the players go off on their own. Just be ready to improv.

[@Gigasius]

Have player who knows you well sit near you and when thing are going haywire, have them put a hand on your shoulder and say "take a breath". Works for me😅

[@noamtepper456]

When I DM it’s very important to me that the players let me know that they care about the game and they are having fun.

[@nicoleminassian5975]

I built in “wrap up” time specifically to have players say both positive and negative feedback and it’s been super helpful in increasing communication among the whole group because it’s a constructive space for people to emphasize their feelings about how the game is happening without them having to find a moment to bring something up

[@enhydralutra]

I cannot emphasize enough how important #4 is. This is why I always do a rough outline of a character's background, then present that to the DM and talk it over with them. Sometimes they'll see a hook that is perfect to latch on to, or sometimes they'll make a suggestion that will help them out. It's especially important to do this if you're being brought into the middle of a game. That way the introduction isn't just "oh, uh, you found this person hiding behind a rock in a cave, I guess and they'll join your party."

[@waterflame9373]

Ohh yeah, I can relate a LOT on the "taking notes" point, couse I was the only one that took notes of EVRYTHING that happened lol. Even the DM sometimes asked me things like names or locations becouse he forget it (and that made me feel needed ahah)

[@zestyeel7654]

Yes. As the only note taker I am essentially the DM’s assistant.

[@andythedestro12]

Can I add "don't show up every week like it's your DM putting on a stage play for you. Work with your DM"

[@GeneralNickles]

That's kinda what she meant by roleplaying with each other without the DM being involved. Something I have desperately been trying to get my players to do, and they are having none of it.

[@cameronmoore4061]

@@GeneralNickles careful what you wish for, some parties will larp two levels deep and end up establishing things which they can then use to acquire massive wealth with no need for battles

[@giualonso]

besides her point of "rp with each other", what else can I as a player do to help the dm? I love taking notes (one of the few upsides of moving the campaing online during covid was I started note-taking much more because I type much faster than I write) but I always feel like my poor dm friend has SO MUCH WORK! what else can I do to help ease his job?

[@greencaller14]

I don't know how many times I've told a player, "If you want your character to do something super cool and it's not in the books, dude, ASK ME and we'll work it in!" Me: I give you the power of limitless creativity for your character! Player: Chooses four cross-classes and still isn't happy. Just TALK to your DMs, guys. Please!

[@lamardavis688]

@@giualonso as a dm I can rightfully say that when you feel the pace of the game start to slow, say you’ve been rping in a restful state; Push the plot forward or pursue an action that is character motivated( hopefully involving other party members, but anything at all is good) that can spur the rest of the party along. It goes along with her last rule of the video. The worst thing about dming from my small sample size is having to ask a party what they would like to do more than once in the span of 5-10 minutes.

[@LucumLuftra]

one of the few channels where I watch the sponsor segment

[@annafantasia]

Same!

[@rarazalproductions519]

I actually fast-forwarded to the sponsor segment this time.

[@joestacey6185]

This is my first video watched on this channel, but I had the same sort of thought. Didn't skip the sponsor.

[@angelofpride9558]

I used to skip ALL sponsors and ads, until one day some youtuber said "and thank you to everyone who actually watched the sponsor section". It wasn't until then that I realized skipping the sponsor screws them out of some of their well deserved revenue. I don't skip them anymore, although most of the time I will mute it cause I really don't care to be advertised at.

[@taost_2235]

I puckered up the courage and straight up sent this to my group.. they fully embraced the idea of note taking, and the one who is on their phone wants to try something else to keep them engaged! thankyou so much for putting this more eloquently than I could Ginny :)

[@andrewlustfield6079]

I would add "know the spells in your spell book, cold" so there's no stopping the game to leaf thought a book to answer, "what does this actually do?"

[@AmiableDingo]

Also if you are a druid know the DC's of your animals abilities

[@Sunsetdreamer52]

As a level 11 druid, there is no way for me to memorize each one of my spells. Instead, I have a list of all my spells with a brief summary of their effects to reference.

[@andrewlustfield6079]

@@Sunsetdreamer52 I get that---high level gaming makes knowing all of your spells a real feat. So were I running a game at that high level, I'd want you to know your go-to spells down cold. The less leafing through books during combat the better. And brief summaries is an excellent reference. So consider the box "know your spells cold," as being checked. And to quote professor Dungeon Master, may all your rolls be 20s.

[@Malpheron]

If a player does not know what the spell does, then I get to decide.

[@cityfey]

i keep a simple sheet with basic descriptions. easy to look through and if we really need more detail it’s easily googled

[@tatersalad76]

The scheduling part is so damn true. I had to put our entire campaign on hold until the group responds more so I'm not talking to an empty room and I can have a life outside of "Well, DnD got canceled today. Now what do I do?"

[@Alino-]

I had this issue for years trying to DM online. Not sure if you've DMed online by recruiting from places like Discord and D&DBeyond Forums, but dear lord those people are so flakey.(late / no-show / rescheduling constantly.) Could never keep a campaign going for more than a few sessions, so i decided to do IRL game running with my bro, his gf, my sister, and a friend of ours. Bro and his GF were the typical people who constantly were late (usually an hour+ late, and refused to offer justification on why that is.), and were the reason for CONSTANT reschedules. And they never saw a problem with it. After 8 months of this I confronted them just last week, and they acted like I was some awful dick for being upset with them. I tend to spend the night and morning before a D&D session of mine going through notes, writing down stuff, and preparing, so when someone cancels on me it means that I have to refresh my memory on all that stuff before the next session (that is most likely gonna be rescheduled.) Used to provide drinks and snacks in the form of juice and snack trays but stopped since half the time they just sat in my fridge since I wasn't able to take them to the game night. Anyways, just needed to vent about that. Recent thing that really annoyed and upset me. With an online group i'd just cut off contact with those people but because it's my bro and his gf it's awkward as heck. But the experience did teach me that it's a bad idea to play D&D with family, unless it's a responsible family member that makes it to sessions on time and will understand the time you put into it. --- Joined a group as a player a few days ago. Pay-To-Play online game, hoping it goes better than prior experiences. First time being a Player in many years, so I'm super pumped. The fact it's Pay-To-Play ($10 per 4 hour session) gives me hope that the other players will also take the game seriously and show up on time.

[@oakbridge4268]

Number 8 is so damn important! The simple act of thanking your GM and your fellow players for the session you've just played means so much. This is a precious hobby for most of us and it needs to be appreciated.

[@WallySketch]

Ginny Di : "for 3, 4, 5 hours sessions !" Me DMing 9h sessions every week : =__=

[@goint]

Meanwhile I struggle to get people for 2

[@WallySketch]

@@goint Online or in person ?

[@davidmorgan6896]

When I was her age I was running two 10+ hour sessions every week for the same DnD campaign and playing in or running a couple of other '3, 4, 5 hour seesions' too. That was a long time ago and I wouldn't/couldn't do that now; even if I could find the players.

[@WallySketch]

@@davidmorgan6896 That's a lot. Basically, you spent every day either preparing or playing a session ?

[@davidmorgan6896]

@@WallySketchyes. Now, two of my team at work, both not not long out of university, are pretty much the same.

[@adrianjas284]

I'd love players to try roleplaying from a 3rd person point of view. Instead of saying "I search the room" they say "Grognak searches the room". I find that over time, players start giving increased detail in the way their characters interact with the world. I find that players that use 3rd person can distance themselves from their characters better and tend to metagame less.

[@sta._rina]

Really? As a player I started off by narrating my actions in 3rd person but the other players did in in 1st so i went along, it actually helps some in terms of immersion. BEING the character instead of just spectating them. Though i can understand the metagaming trouble lol

[@annawang7095]

Grognak attorney at law?

[@grungiegremlin2434]

I'm a new player and I do this, but I keep feeling like I shouldn't because everyone else doesn't. :,)

[@LucumLuftra]

I now need a dnd campaign about a kraken baker and a flesh golem gardener who higher the party to find the scientist who made them to help with their life (pay child support)

[@Ceiber93]

Thanks, I'm stealing that :-)

[@Uther1313]

The best thing that I ever did as DM was to start Co-DMing and split the load between myself and another player. We usually took turns running campaigns with our friends for the last 25 years, then we just decided to start running them together. He does the NPC's monsters, I do the plots, adjudicating and environment descriptions. We've found it it to be quite awesome to have another person to talk in depth about the campaign with and it has made our games way more fun. It helps that he's one of my best friends and we work well together!

[@lunaredelvour2972]

I remember trying to do that with a good friend of mine. Perfect on paper. I'm good at handling NPCs and slipping lore/world-building into conversations or surroundings and coming up with stories/plots, but I'm *shit* at running combat and incorporating ideas when there's mechanic-changing shenanigans happening (and don't even ask me to touch the economy. I can never do it right). But all those things are exactly what my friend is good at (it helps that he's amazing at balancing things. If there's any magical items I want to add, homebrewed especially, I know I throw him the idea and related story/lore and he's happy to sort out a fun and balanced version). Ended up in a "too many cooks in the kitchen" situation unfortunately, so it kinda fell apart after two sessions

[@Uther1313]

@@lunaredelvour2972 It is a delicate balance and in some ways we are both compromised, but overall it has led to better campaigns as my rough ideas get fleshed out a bot more and his crazier ideas get toned down just a bit. It's certainly not for everyone and 1 DM has to defer to the other regularly to make it work.

[@breadmoment7018]

God do I wish my players RPed more. They play to their advantage and have fun, but I’m trying to make a story.

[@Allosaurus05]

I personally like to rp and make conversation with the other players, but none of them wanna talk, they all just wanna get to the big stuff lol

[@hoid9407]

@@Allosaurus05 a lot of people treat it as a choose your own adventure book, rather than rp characters who are part of a world

[@Allosaurus05]

@@hoid9407 Yeah, the party I'm with is still learning, and we're all getting better

[@mothermoon2382]

As a new player, I appreciate these kinds of videos! I want to be able to explore the world my DM has set up, and show it love but I never really know what to do! So thank you

[@wargrizzero5158]

“Players expect their DMs to be on top of everything...” A few weeks ago they spent several minutes sneaking through rooms and taking out stormtroopers in rooms we had already established IN THAT SESSION had working cameras in them. I forgot for an unfortunate amount of time...

[@RottenBen]

Session 1 in my group's Star Wars campaign: our actions defending ourselves and our Jedi ally (Order 66 just happened) were caught on camera in a Republic ship. We were then wanted criminals for the next session. Every instance we entered Empire facilities from that point on, my rogue specifically looked for cameras and destroyed them, or where the recordings would be kept, or both because we were caught off guard that first time and it was used against us to help an NPC. Hell, just a few weeks back my Rogue stole a Star Destroyer and crashed it into a mostly uninhabited planet partially to destroy any recorded evidence of him being on the ship.

[@wargrizzero5158]

@@RottenBen Crashing an ISD in order to destroy evidence was the right solution.

[@RottenBen]

@@wargrizzero5158 may have also been to crash it on top of a recently resurrected Darth Bane, but really I don't need just one reason to crash a ship!

[@PoochieCollins]

I read this as, "players expect their Dommes to be on top of everything" Well...

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

@@RottenBen Who needs a reason??? An opportunity is generally enough... ;o)

[@daviuhh]

i’ve tried dming and it was so much harder than playing. it really helped me out with knowing what dms would like from players though, and i think it’s made me a better player!

[@bibliophilecb]

Ironically I actually took to DMing better than I did to playing. I think it was a combo of just my personality type, and the fact that my first DM (who was awful) instilled some bad player habits in me that I’m still working to overcome.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

I encourage any Table I'm at (for sufficient time) to rotate the GM'ing duties around the Players... No need to start all new Campaigns, just everyone finds or builds an adventure to go on, and we pass the screen and appropriate material around... It's created FAR MORE benefits than trouble... GM's (the few regulars that prefer it to Playing) don't tend to suffer burnout, so Campaigns tend to last longer... just in general. Since EVERYONE has a term behind the screen (as it were) AND we all get time as Players, we learn to cut a little slack for the others... We'll tend to take it a little easier on the GM because we'd prefer a little easier time when we're back there trying to functionally "operate the Game World"... AND vice-versa for letting Players just a bit of slack for their antics, RP, and the best chance to understand the situation for puzzles, riddles, and the like... With a fairly diverse set of styles (both Player and GM) we pick up tips from each other about how better to handle certain situations in the future and as we go along. When someone creates a clever and efficient mechanic, we tend to just adopt it as if it's Canon... Short-cuts to the math issues get filtered through the group quickly and new tricks of the trade get refined just as quickly as they get "invented" or "discovered"... Everyone gets engaged in some of the World Building... They own this or that part, so they feel more connected to the growing World/Setting and engage just a little more effectively in the Game itself. As for difficulties?? Well, it might at first seem like we'd suffer from Continuity issues, and... well... I'd admit our Games and Story-lines look a lot more like some weird technicolor spaghetti slung at a wall than a "normal story line" or Plot structure, BUT it's actually not as big a problem as you'd expect. A World is a BIG place, so there's space on the Map to find some mysterious little corner country or strange land to put just about anything, especially in a World full of magic... A tiny bit of effort shared among us for creative continuity corrections (reskinning Dark Sun Adventure Modules to fit in any of several desert territories, rather than separating them into a different Canonical World/Setting... for instance) is a LOT less effort than it sounds... AND with the WHOLE of the Group adding to the World and Map as much as the history or legend/lore, we help each other frequently as GM-to-GM, and shore up where plot-holes or misunderstandings and miscalculations might arise. ;o)

[@jeremyfrost2636]

@@gnarthdarkanen7464 My group in high school had a similar setup, and I loved it.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

@@jeremyfrost2636 Glad to know it's not "lost" to the D&D community. Keep spreading the ideal! ;o)

[@jeremyfrost2636]

@@gnarthdarkanen7464I need to find people in this cornfield of a town who won't try to burn me at the stake when they find out I like D&D. High school was 25 years ago and several states east.

[@TikeLeSpike]

The way I like to see it is that you are all collectively writing a story together, as a team of players AND the DM. Of course, the responsibilities of players and the DM are a bit different, but at the end of the day, everyone should feel responsible to create the best story they can together with their group members.

[@jblask2]

The scheduling one really hit home. I try to plan every session day and time around people's schedules. I put a reminder the day of the session and an hour before the session to remind and check in with players and STILL have people who ditch or no show 30 minutes before the session and it is extremely aggravating and anger inducing.

[@amaeve1950]

I love the implication that you chronically can't build monsters with any bloodlust, and that they are aware that this makes them failures. Also, these are all excellent points. Gonna post it to my D&D discord and make all my newbie players watch it 😀 along with all the character building interaction videos you've made so far. Welcome to the Ginny Di-verse little ones. MwahahahHa

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

I once plopped a Necromancer into a Game... only as a villain he was TERRIBLE... He certainly indulged in raising the dead... BUT all they'd do for him was sing and dance... not that it wasn't plenty disturbing and resulted in more than a little dissent through the kingdom(s)... BUT for a low-level party it was a pretty good little adventure (misadventure?) primarily low risk for Character Growth... AND the Players got a kick out of it. ;o)

[@yourlocaldemon2195]

@@gnarthdarkanen7464 That’s absolutely hilarious-

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

@@yourlocaldemon2195 Well, when you start out with PC's that a stiff breeze could threaten, it can be a "bit of a stretch" to find a good villain... SO I make do... Kobolds stealing undergarments to remove elastic for powering slingshots and siege weapons (that generally sucked at what they did)... Necromancer turned "rock-star" plot with an army of undead song-and-dance legions... Some dragon or other in a swamp has a tooth ache... Farming village struggling with crops because a band of tinker gnomes lost control of their "irrigation invention"... They don't necessarily have to be at huge risk of instantaneous pink mist to be an adventure worth the going... ;o)

[@yourlocaldemon2195]

@@gnarthdarkanen7464 Ah you're right! That's some good thoughts there... I should really make more silly characters some time.

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

@@yourlocaldemon2195 Thanks... AND if you see something that might serve as inspiration for a "low level misadventure" for you or your group, take it. I don't share stuff online unless I'm happy to give it away... What's great about starting at first level is the chance later in the Campaign to look back and realize how far you've come... how much your PC's have grown... On the first adventure, everyone struggled to deal with a basically harmless (though disturbing) undead army... ...but some months later, they're six branded heroes marching gallantly off to face a horde of demons... blah-blah-blah... ...they've seen milestones with the first zombie someone one-shotted in two rounds... the first troll turned pink-mist by a clever pairing in the party... the first dragon that actually backed down (and wasn't a hatchling)... Not to mention 9 out of 10 times, when a PC has levelled up in Campaign XP and gets measured against another of "equal" level and XP by the book, the Campaigner will outgun, out class, out shine, and by every measure trounce the "by the book" PC... We (as GM's) just have to figure out how to play "with kid gloves" and make it interesting... to give them a chance to grow... and then when (exactly) it's time to take the kid gloves and training wheels off, to let them fly. ;o)

[@estherd.b.16]

Also: BE ON TIME! Both for the DM's as well as other players' sake.

[@biancunt2784]

I think my group has #3 down to a tee, feels like half a session is our characters getting into ridiculous arguments or having absurd conversations. It's all in good fun and we're almost always laughing about it, plus it gives the DM plenty of time to prepare.

[@traceyrice4978]

The scheduling one was *chefs kiss* "The bar is literally on the floor."

[@etho9752]

This video makes me appreciate the way that we help our DM and play our games. It’s his first time running a campaign and he’s never even played 5e before DMing and yet the game goes really well because we all help keep track of all of our strange homebrew stuff

[@emilyredbird7497]

I'm the notetaker in my group, and I feel so validated! There are NPCs in the campaign that I'm sure would not have been recurring if I hadn't taken notes on them; GM seemed to be making him up on the spot xD I also take charge of scheduling. I'm really happy to know that I'm being helpful ^^

[@Nilandia]

Notetaker, here. I take notes because the DM has made a game with a lot of intricacies and NPCs to keep track of. Can't tell you how many times I've consulted my notes, like I did just today. I'd been sending them to my DM so he has an idea of what happened and what we picked up on, but I don't know if he actually reads them. I still do it for myself, though.

[@kairon156]

shamefully I've always been bad at giving feedback cause I always like what my DM's are doing and say "it was fun". I think it's cause in the past I've been more of a go with the flow sort of player. I do like the tip of brain storming with the DM at the end of sessions what your character wants to do later on. On the helpful side I've always tried to plan my move while other players were doing their turns and learning the rules for my class as well as reminding the DM about my bard's song buff during combat.

[@laartje24]

I have the same "it was fun" issue. I have started to try and think about what I found fun though, and put that in my compliments, because positive feedback is also feedback. E.g. That npc was really well made, or I really liked that quest or it was nice to have a bit of a chill session today so we could do some roleplay. This will also help your DM.

[@acomet2509]

“I’m just describing Caleb Widogast” I cackled omg as a Widogast-Stan that was amazing

[@MrAlphaWolf1]

Thank you for presenting these points in a positive and affirming way. Gaming is a shared narrative, a collaboration. I've changed the direction and story line of many games when the PC's came up with an inventive, creative new path. Love D&D! Your videos are joyful AND brilliant!

[@chrishandsome7012]

“Don’t think of it like a video game” would be my absolute #1 thing I wish players didn’t do

[@KILO76ZULU]

So you want to think it’s a video game? Just curious new dm here

[@chrishandsome7012]

@@KILO76ZULU Nono the opposite, players should stop thinking of dnd as if it were a video game

[@KILO76ZULU]

Eh ya they’re players lol

[@mentalrebllion1270]

6:06 and this is why I ask other players during character creation if they want to weave backstories together. I usually want to crest a dynamic ahead of time as it helps the entire party start investing in engaging. It’s kinda like being the first person on the dance floor. Everyone just hovers til the first ones kick things off. This also give the dm something to invest in too because then they have two woven stories already which helps them slowly find the other threads of everyone else and the story and start putting them together. It doesn’t have to be much. Just something to kick things off and leave some inspiration on the table.

[@melonman6522]

Honestly showing up to a game is a great way to respect the DM and your fellow players. People took time out of their day to do something with you and the least you can do is contact them ahead of time when you KNOW they can't make it or even better, actually show up.

[@Chelsey.A.L]

I love your sponsor segments, they are so well done!

[@bronzieblue63]

As a long time DnD player, I have SUCKED when it comes to consistently taking notes and paying full attention (I will literally get on my phone just to look at memes, but it hasn't been particularly demoralizing for our DM specifically because we play over Discord and don't use webcams). But it is comforting to know that a lot of the good habits I never really thought about DID show up on the list Understanding my character, keeping track of the effects and conditions I impose, roleplaying with the rest of the party, creating a character that IS an adventurer and has motivations that can be worked with, being part of scheduling (we always play during Sunday Evenings at a specific time so that's not even a problem honestly), communicating what your character will want to try to do next time, giving feedback (we usually give it whenever it's asked for, but we don't really do it consistently), and taking initiative. Out of all of those, I feel like I need to definitely work on paying full attention and taking good notes.

[@camillestephens1378]

as a very very new DM, even just telling your DM that you liked something about the session at the end is a huge help i had my players find a massive creature at the bottom of a pit in a dungeon and they were asking questions and investigating to figure out what it was, and one of the players seemed like he knew, but I had planned for it to be an illusory distraction so that when they got down there the minotaur skeletons would catch them by surprise, which they figured out and dealt with accordingly. At the end of the session that player told me that while he thought he knew which monster I had chosen, he loved that as a party they discovered the illusion and the unexpectedness of the pit encounter, which was a huge morale boost for me, since I had worried at the time that he was disappointed I hadn't pulled out a massive deadly creature to have them fight in this pit

[@brianturner5995]

"Plagued by insecurities..." truer words have never been spoken...even after 40 years of DMing I still suffer with this!

[@johnstovall7503]

I started GMing around 1980 myself and still suffer also so yeah definitely

[@thesonofdormammu5475]

I've only got 36 years in but same here. Pretty sure my players hate our current campaign so I'm thinking about scrapping it and just asking them what they want to do. I'll just have the king bring his armies in to take care of the bad guys that the players were supposed to stop and then we'll just do what they want to do.

[@seileurt]

The 'stars and wishes' for feedback is a really good system. It keeps down the negative criticism and allows for DMs to plan for the future. That should be a session wrapup tool that more people use.

[@werewolfbat7817]

I like to write an in-character journal entry for each session, when I have a spare moment. I know not everyone would be interested in doing that every week, but I honestly can't help but do it when I write summaries for the session and I find it really helps understand my character's head space

[@TheFezzik]

As a GM who has been running games for decades, this is an excellent list. Good job.

[@sonjadepiro3143]

Put every point in this video together and you have my party. It's a problem, and this video finally pushed me to address it.

[@peterneimann9803]

Try a late session zero. Its never to late for one and comunication makes everyone understand better each other.

[@dylanstacey6782]

Players who make some form of backstory and work with the DM are invaluable. It's super frustrating when I try to work with players to make a backstory with them for their character and they just... don't. Its even worse when you have one or two who do this while the rest of the group do work with you to make backstories and you make cool character arcs for them then the players who have basically blank slate characters complain that you haven't done anything for their characters

[@Alino-]

Yeah. It's difficult finding DMs who are worth it though. I've been stuck as a forever DM for YEARS and it has only ever been something I've tolerated, it's never been something I've loved. I did it because it was the only way I could get people to play the game. Otherwise i'd be stuck alone. Most DMs i've found for online games have been really bad at actually planning stuff, and also tend to just recruit the first people to message, even if said people are, er..... yeah..... But you say you DM. Do you do online games?

[@dylanstacey6782]

@@Alino- I do, yes. Mostly on Discord but I've made an investment in Foundry and it's amazing

[@Alino-]

@@dylanstacey6782 Interesting. I play online, Discord. And then for the other thing (so we can have battle maps and the like) I use whatever the party does. Usually Tabletop Simulator or Roll20. Are you looking for any players?

[@Nilandia]

As a player, I never thought there was a way to make a character except by talking to my DM. How else can I make something that fits into the world they created?

[@ClockworkAvatar]

why make a back story when the DM's just going to use it against you? there's a reason the orphan adventurer is a cliche.

[@TheCynicalPhilosopher]

Number 9 for sure. Nothing peeves me more than the players having to read their character sheets and look at their spells as if they had never seen it before on every one of their turns.

[@DawnChatman]

I always find it interesting how different players record different things in their notes, they really are important, especially if you're in an RP heavy game. My DM hubs has asked to review my notes from time to time as well. We all have different perspectives.

[@ethanmcclain7570]

One of my favorite moments as a DM was when my players got so involved and invested in the session that we played for 9 hours straight. Great, great night.

[@fightingfalcon777]

Oh man, it is like you LITERALLY went into my brain and spoke everything that has been in my head as a DM. Thank you for sharing this 👍🏻

[@joeflowers5442]

Best magic item ever was a helmet that that me read anything, DM always forgot and then had to come up with something for every ancient dwarves dialect that no one speaks anymore, lol

[@mak31589]

Eighteen months into my current campaign and one of my players started keeping their own notes three weeks ago. To say I was over the moon was an understatement

[@bennettcard571]

I always love it when you say, “Hey friends!” It never fails to make me smile😁

[@sarahcb3142]

Oh man, the whole make the right character thing. I just started a new campaign and asked them about their backstories. Barbarian "I'm searching for my brother who left the tribe a year ago and no one knows what happened to them." Paladin "I'm trying to find the mysterious creatures that killed my entire village, sparing only me." Bard "I like songs." Me "Okay, but why are you on this adventure." Bard "I can sing songs to the other characters." Me "... okay, maybe we'll work on this."

[@LastKatanaGirl]

Maybe the bard just wants to seduce a dragon.

[@noblesseoblige319]

I have the opposite problem. As a dm I tend to make up reasons for the characters to be there myself if they don't tell me anything. It's really annoying for them, and I need to stop, but sometimes I can't help myself to see someone just say "I like songs" and try to NOT make a little mermaid refence by having a song stealing warlock trying to make the entire country full of mutes, starting with their village, only to find out that the warlock is the ex husband of said bard who they totally had the entire time and I didn't just make it up for them.... Yeah, please include some sort of story thing so psychos like me don't have too much to muck with.

[@sarahcb3142]

@@noblesseoblige319 Oh I've already done a bit of that with those that have given me at least a little backstory but left it very vague. Since we've only just started I'm going to give the bard a bit more time to flush out her backstory or she's gonna get something for sure. For context, I'm running a pirate campaign. Your brother mysteriously left your tribe for the high seas and you don't know where he is? Turns out he's about to be executed for piracy. But even if you do manage to save him you'll learn he's a member of the crew of the evil pirate captain you've been rivals with since the start of the game. Your family died mysteriously from some strange water monsters but left you alive? Turns out they made a pact with a Deep One but were trying to go back on the deal. That deal? Sacrifice you in order to help the Deep One ascend to godhood and take over the world. You were spared so their followers could manipulate you into being in the right place in the ocean to complete the sacrifice. You have heard stories of a legendary dragon stone and want some of its powers? The stone is currently in the hilt of a sword left in a legendary captain's hidden treasure, but you must pass many trials and traps that he laid down to guard it first. And once you get the stone in the sword, those dragon powers may be far more dangerous than you realized. The bard? Well if she doesn't give me something I'll figure it out once we get a few more games in and I see what she's interested in.

[@noblesseoblige319]

@@sarahcb3142 that is a thing of beauty right there

[@GeneralNickles]

My barbarian told me his entire backstory is that some asshole burned his house down, and he just wants to go kick his ass.

[@peterbillings3276]

Your ads are some of the most entertaining, “unskippable” ads on KZbin. Funny as always, but I especially love the little details like putting soot-black makeup below your goggles to sell the flare up scene

[@lightning_11]

Don't forget that any DMs who use inspiration can give it out for doing these things!