How D&D DM's Create Incredible Moments

Learn different DnD strategies DM's like Matthew Mercer from Critical Role use to create magical moments their players will never forget.
Ginny Di's Inspiration video: • Stop ignoring Inspirat...
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0:00 - Dungeons And Dragons Moments
0:26 - Be Cool.
2:11 - Be Inspirational.
3:09 - Be Thoughtful.
3:39 - This One Is Controversial.
4:48 - Minions!
5:10 - Be Challenging.
6:13 - Give Up Control.
7:10 - And One More Thing.
Key: This was inspired by XP to level 3, Davvychappy and potentially a bit of Critical Role with dungeoneering, tabletop community next to tabletop RPG, dungeons and dragons, Imogen, Orym, Fearne, Yasha, FCG, Chetney, 5th edition dragons, dungeon dudes, DM GM, dungeon master, game master tips sprinkle a bit of Ashton, in the Bells Hells

[@BonusAction]

Thanks for watching! If you'd like to support the channel, consider becoming a patron: patreon.com/BonusAction157 Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/BonusActionDnD Join my Discord: discord.gg/BS6YxxfMP6Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/BonusActionDnD Join my Discord: discord.gg/BS6YxxfMP6

[@94ccf]

A good example on the "controversial" advice. Last session my players fought a succubus and the barbarian got charmed. He spent the entire fight attacking his friends until the last turn of combat he finally passed the saving throw. The succubus was right next too him and was close to dead and she lost control of him so she decided to flee. The barbarian managed to hit her on his opportunity attack but just barely didn't do enough to bring her hp to 0. I decided to ignore her remaining 3 hp and let the barbarian get the finishing blow. That way he felt like he did more then just attack his friends this combat as well as getting some sweet revenge. The entire party was ecstatic at the fact that he got the finishing blow, so it was well worth fudging the hp a bit.

[@praeothmint2273]

That is something I tend to do as well, because it feels so cathartic for the player, and it feels deserved as well...

[@paralasalud]

idk if you're a scientist or anything but i think these segment countdowns need to be studied for engagement. it really helps me stay engaged knowing how long each segment is. brilliant, on top of the ace DM advice as well

[@alexanderkruszewski7306]

Legit I’m a high school teacher and I honestly want to try incorporating them into my lesson plans. If students know how much time is left in a specific class segment, and the segments are well spaced, I wonder if it would help them stay engaged more often even when things are confusing or unfamiliar… time to experiment!

[@matthewlewis8106]

I second this! The timer + plus the pacing makes my ASD/ADD brain so happy. Great content as well!

[@bellona0544]

I made it about two minutes through a video before subscribing cuz the content was great and the countdown is insanely awesome

[@TheFrozenFlame05]

FR! i can usually never focus on videos like this cuz im like "ok whats the next one" but the countdown makes it so much easier to listen

[@balijosu]

Do something similar for sideshow presentations. Label the page numbers backward, counting down to 1.

[@graysonperdue9402]

Here’s my favorite example of rule of cool versus rules as written. A player wants to jump off a cliff, land on an enemy’s horse, and take the reins themself. Rule of cool, maybe an acrobatics checks and if that succeeds, an attack roll with advantage for surprise value. Rules as written? Make an acrobatics check to land on the horse, take 2d6 bludgeoning damage from falling, the horse takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage from a big fat adventurer landing on it, roll animal handling so the horse doesn’t buck you off, then a contested grapple contest to grab the enemy. Then if you even have any movement left, you have to turn to throw the enemy off, then another animal handling check because a guy getting yeeted is more than likely to startle a horse. The rule of cool simplifies and enhances the scene by tiers.

[@joesgotmore]

Coolest moment I ran was a TPK that turned into 1 player rolling a 20 on death saves. Ran to as many others that he could to stabilize. 2 party members died. So the remaining players carried the bodies to find a cleric that could resurrect them later. The 2 players that died rolled temp characters that betrayed the group as the cleric was attempting to resurrect them. No way I could have planned any of that.

[@danielhughes3758]

Sounds like a cool moment for sure, but did your players enjoy it? The two players that came back with temp characters, did they feel upset perhaps and that's why they betrayed the others? Did the other players enjoy the plot twist of a betrayal or did it worsen the mood? If they all enjoyed it then that's fantastic, but it sounds like a situation where many types of people would get upset.

[@joesgotmore]

@@danielhughes3758 Yeah I could see that. Fortunately for my players this was all their idea and they all loved it. The 2 doing the betrayal were out numbered for one and two it was more about them getting away with something rather than killing another party member. But can see how it could turn the players sour. Especially if 1 or more wasn't on board with the idea. Thanks for your feed back though.

[@danielhughes3758]

@@joesgotmore Glad to hear it! I had one situation in my campaign where the players started getting upset at each other and it almost derailed the whole campaign. Then we talked it through, came to some agreements and it's been great since

[@Xacris]

So on the topic of "make things more challenging" I think it's really important to do that sparingly. Don't entirely eliminate the "easy" encounters, because that's where the players get to show off and do crazy stuff. If every single battle is a nail-biter until the end where everyone might die, that will also burn out your players. Give them some easy encounters to get their confidence up, then drop the hammer and make them use what they've learned. I'd say every 3rd fight should be especially challenging, give or take

[@Tenderleaf]

THIS! we're currently dragging ourselves through a "campaign" where every session is 3 concecutive combats of a CR twice what an average combat for our level should be, while we're woefully underequipped for our level. Noone is enjoying themselves except for the dm

[@mathmusicandlooks]

Sound like great words of advice. In my campaign, my players went through two of the easiest battles they’ve had in a row, then followed up with the most challenging social encounter they’ve had yet. (Two people in charge of a temple are also part of a spell component cartel with a monopoly on the materials the party desperately needs and tries majorly gouging the prices….) It’s been interesting seeing how the players react to do challenges of different type and difficulties.

[@gerrion25]

There's this barbarian on my table who deals quite the heavy blows but on several occasions it wasn't enough to kill. This happened twice against treant-like creatures in two consecutive combats, and both were felled by the warlock... who used a +1 dagger instead of Eldritch Blast. Imagine, a rough Barb cutting down the trees up to but a single nick, only for the Warlock to swoop in to do the final clipping. And yes, he yelled "Timber!!!" on the second kill.

[@TheFleahost]

Only a Like button? Where's the I Love It button?

[@angie.castle]

Be Challenging is fun if done right, haha. I distinctly remember when it happened, basically their first boss fight that had a two phase feature and summoned a huge earth elemental to stand upon. It was their first time, as they said, of feeling "mortal" and they look back on that victory fondly because they had to work really smart due to them having not been prepared for a two phase fight

[@jasonreed7522]

The group I'm in is currently level 2 and had a minor terror in a field of flowers. The flowers had a con save to put you to sleep, 2 players got out of the cart, 1 picked a flower and failed his save, one of the horses failed, and the other player got surprised by a mound of vines (DM never gave us its official name). The paladin rapidly fell to 1 HP and used his halforc resilience feature and us spell casters kept wiffing (bad rolls) so we decided to run, unfortunately we were 1 turn too slow and the mound climbed into the back of the cart so we were all bunched up and trying to figure out how to get it off the cart so we could escape. (Eventually the paladin was healed enough and we realized he could just get out of the cart and walk around to hit it, and then it died.) Tldr: running from something you could kill if you tried always makes things worse. (You only feel the need to run when you its dire, the problem is running takes actions and movements, and if you fail to escape that hit to your action economy is brutal. Especially if it also cost you good positioning.)

[@codingwithculp]

One of the best things 4e introduced was the concept of "minions". Monsters that take either 1 or 2 hits to kill. HP doesn't matter and the amount of damage you do to them doesn't matter they take either 1 or 2 hits to kill. Note that 2 hit minions are a "homebrew" at many tables. They allow those low DPS characters to take out monsters while at the same time giving a feeling of hordes of creatures attacking the party.

[@budennz]

Keep up the great work making these videos man, I've been testing your tips on my players and its already doing wonders for the game. The talk less aspect of your engaging your players video actually got my party roleplaying repeatedly where they would usually just look at me to move the story along. Your doing a great job so far mate

[@portlandbluewizard2520]

"They keep everything balanced" hahaha yes the sublime balance of WotC's D&D

[@stargana7585]

On Inspiration, we have been testing out a fun way of using it. If we see a comrade miss a roll, I let my players give their inspiration to another player (but not usable on themselves). This way players become encouraged to help each other, and the DM can reward that teamwork.

[@Lordgrayson]

One of my favorite rule of cool type things I've done in a game was really small. I was playing lost mines of Phandelver as a Monk. And we were in the goblin cave. There was a goblin up on a bridge but I didn't wanna use a 1d4 dart(I had the unarmed fighting style so my punches were a 1d8 at this point). So Instead I asked to jump in the air and wall jump up to punch the goblin mid air. Didn't even need to roll for it because the DM thought it would look bad ass

[@asyuoli696]

Counter suggestion: Let martials excel at the one pillar of the game they do. The casters are free to dominate all three as they already will.

[@gene8638]

Definitely Subscribing! Videos are great and are really helpful for a newer DM like myself! I'm looking forward to the "How to make the game more challenging" video you are working on as that is what I am struggling with the most at the moment. Most of my players don't mind feeling very strong because we have all been playing together for a few years but some players really want to feel like they are in danger of losing. Thanks!

[@michaeldlonzo]

Wizards, famous for being underpowered and doing 3 damage.

[@geckoram6286]

The rule of cool is the only thing that can save my table. People that I dm for are not serious at all, but it you let them bend the rules a bit you can achieve the best moments. They were once trying to defeat a group of zombies and one of them shapeshift into an ikea table and the other wizard used a spell that would make them want to make the table, so they gained two turns while the zombies were trying to assemble the table. Also we have a hause rule that is if you make a good joke that fits the situation, vicious mockery does 1d4 more damage, which makes it worth it to be invested in the game.

[@mentalrebllion1270]

One moment that happened recently for one of my games was pretty cool. I control a sidekick sled dog (wolf stat block) as my character’s companion. The dog got the third highest initiative of the encounter (we were facing ghouls). The ones before it we the enemy. The funny part is that these first three hits MISS as they all go for the dog (dog was closest). We all imagined the dog sidekick doing some amazing doggy parkour moves. It’s good enough that dm says I can roll a wis save before my turn starts (I’m next). I had gotten frozen by fear at the beginning of the encounter and was going to miss that round. I roll well and so I am actually take my turn! I hit and that is good but the best part was when the fighter got up there. He did a counterattack move (some battle master thing) and ended up with a nat 20. The damage was so high that dm just says “it’s obliterated” and so we don’t even have to deal with that particular enemy. I’m probably not telling this all that well but it was a seriously amazing encounter with lots of hilarious and cool nat 20 and nat 1 moments that just made the entire thing a rollercoaster but also not one where ANY OF US lost HP!!! That was the amazing part. Successful encounter. Heck, sorcerer actually ended up rolling a nat 20 so high that the dm just said “you incinerate not only the one you were trying to hit but also this particular one next to it.” Again, amazing. It’s a fun dnd session for sure.

[@MemphiStig]

I hear some old schoolers saying don't use inspiration, and if you're playing old school, I'd agree. In early D&D, "inspiration" was "experience points." But now that xp's have fallen out of favor, it makes sense. And it's fun. Ok, so, maybe don't overdo it. Or maybe *way* overdo it. Somewhere between Aabria and Oxventure. Probably. It does tend to encourage active, creative play, and lead to great, or at least memorable, moments. And those add up to great games, and great campaigns. And if nothing else, great stories and memories.

[@JorisVDC]

Sadly, the second tip isn't most handy: as 'inspiration' is one of the most forgotten mechanics of the game. But rewarding good and cool roleplay is indeed something I want to get back into my game.

[@Lazulishark]

Loved this 😊great video and tips!

[@liliavacyncosplay]

Your point about giving the kill to a different player....cosigned x1000. In one of my games, I have a min-maxer with a magic assault rifle that can't misfire (Magic: The Gathering inspired multiverse-type situation where characters got pulled from different planes into the current homebrew one). What's worse is the man sometimes fudges his rolls (I've suspected it for a while, but didn't actually witness it until recently...his dice are black on gray and he's across the table most of the time). He's only missed twice *ever* in 16 sessions, and this is while ***always*** using Sharpshooter with the -5. He's consistently pumping in 50-60 damage a round (lvl 9) and can Action Surge if he feels like it (Fighter/Artificer multiclass), so I started beefing up enemy HP a while ago. So when I tell you I *never* give this man kills if I can possibly avoid it!!!!! I don't even CARE that the build is min-maxed, and I'm the one who gave him the OP rifle in the first place...it's just the fudging *on top of that* that I can't stand. I am constantly trying to elevate my other players so they feel powerful, too, but they're still regularly missing against enemies with ACs balanced for their levels...and of course the power gamer can't even allow a miss every once in a while when it should be happening, which would still be less than it is for the other players anyway. I want to address the fudging, but it's difficult, because I DM this game at a card shop and he essentially works there, so I don't want to create an Issue. Thus, for now, I just deny him killing blows and ensure the other characters are the ones getting magical items & buffs to help even them out some more.

[@erysecret]

Awesome video! Extremely useful and a great piece for your catalogue. I noticed that the MCDM minion rules werent in the description - interested in that!

[@BonusAction]

Oh yes! My bad, adding now!

[@sharayahsherry2333]

I love your stuff, please keep making more!

[@BonusAction]

Thankyou!

[@Dr_Delirium]

Taking about the tpk, one of my players decided to aggravate a mafia boss by essentially blowing up his casino so he went at them personally, it was a mix of adult and ancient dragon and they made it out barely. I always roll to retool the breathe weapon at the end of the turn in front of everyone so I can plan. It recharged, they whittled him down to 10hp before the last man (Druid) standing has his go just before “MR. Belino” he rolled 21 damage on a success, literally killing him by the skin of their 6, level 8 teeth. Don’t get me wrong, they had a lot of good stuff but it felt awesome around the table overcoming the 1% chance.

[@sabinamcdaniel7412]

The one point that resounded with truth was that you can't force cool moments. I've played for two GMs, very close to both of them (heck, I'm married to one of them). And one of them was always trying to do epic moments by planning them out with your character in advance and then narrating them to the group. It honestly rarely felt epic at all. Meanwhile, my husband's campaign was frequently full of moments that we retell over and over again, and what he does is just toss the players a situation, allow them to do what they're going to do, and then hand them consequences without holding back (too much).

[@RogueWraith909]

Something a friend did to the group I used to be in was find a way to nueter the high damage dealers, use the type of damage that they deal to reduce how effective they are and it changes the entire dynamic of a fight. Use enemies that half damage from conventional weapons but take increased damage from fire or something and you automatically give anyone that has access to flame based spells like wizards and warlocks a boost in fighting ability relative to the others (but creative players can get some crazy cool moments if they use their carried equipment instead of weapons as well).

[@feral_orc]

That sounds awful ngl.

[@RogueWraith909]

@@feral_orc It was actually kinda fun! The GM balanced it carefully for the group (we'd steam rollered our way through almost everything he'd put us against upto that point). We ALMOST had a couple of us go down but quick thinking, creative equipment use and a couple of lucky rolls got us a win with non of us going down. It ended up being a really fun challenge and a had a couple of really cool moments.

[@feral_orc]

@@RogueWraith909 I mean the second part is good, makes sense. I'm just not sure about the logic behind the first part. Dealing fire damage to a flame elemental changes how it fights? It's a bit confusing on first read

[@RogueWraith909]

@@feral_orc That's not at all what I said... I never mentioned flame elementals, I said chose an enemy that resists conventional weapons (i.e. axes, swords, etc) but that takes more damage from elemental damage like fire or ice. For example animated scarecrows which resist piercing etc but are weak against fire based attacks like firebolt... or a burning torch. 😏

[@feral_orc]

@@RogueWraith909 ah okay, you have no idea how the rules work, I see

[@JacobL228]

Great advice, but I will add one addendum: before you give the spotlight to a player that hasn't gotten a lot of attention lately, make sure they actually want and/or deserve it. Some players, especially new players, just want to quietly play the game and support other, more experienced players until they fully learn how the game is played. If you try to give the spotlight to someone like that, they'll just fumble around and get stressed out, creating a bad experience for them and leading them to seek out cool moments for themselves less often. Also, some people can't handle the spotlight for other reasons. They'll just ham it up, be super creepy/gross, or do something else that upsets one or more people at the table. Obviously, most of these people will end up getting kicked out of the group, but there are a few instances where you either can't just kick them out, or they're great players as long as they aren't the main focus.

[@BonusAction]

Thanks for watching! If you would like to support more content like this, consider joining the Patreon: www.patreon.com/BonusAction157

[@xSling0x]

I know when me and my group of friends started last weekend, it spurred from us playing magic and someone rolling a random d20. Friend 1 said: oh a nat 20. So I said; you hobble into a dimly lit cave.. fast forward a few weeks, we are playing our first ever campaign, and we are all excited and having a blast. Combine that, the story we screwed around with involved them getting… ‘toyed’ with but a giant troll in said cave.. we’re doing the Lost Mine of Phandelver campaign right now, at the first cave scene, and I’m adding that very troll as a legit boss in our story. They don’t know yet but i know it will get some hearty laughs

[@shiskeba1130]

Nice video! and weird comment on my mind: I just noticed how ginger your beard is, in contrast to your brown hair. Is it natural? I think its quite cool.

[@BonusAction]

Haha its natural thanks!

[@Moe_Posting_Chad]

/thread thumbnail is the video what a chad

[@devourlordasmodeus]

As wizard, I don't really care if I kill things, I'm there for support and utility not damage.

[@lemmor6791civ]

I've just dm an end-of-campaing session that my players kept coming with these grand and cool solutions, like trying to get a second wizard/werewolf that escaped from them 4-5 sessions ago into the final confrontation, they kept him from getting into the lair of the bbeg and they kill him making me to re-draw the final fight... As a DM, you cannot cheat your players away from great solutions to the problems you put in front of them... my final fight was not epic as I wanted to give them, bad initiative rolls from my baddies made the main evil wizard fell before his first turn, and the giants and spiders were picked apart easly... my 2 previous big boss fight were better, in one, a player was on a single roll, topped out death saves, with no means of revivifing her berely making alive, in another the dragon put down 3 PC out of 5 with 50hp remaining, a wizard and a rogue were able to taking him down... those are the moments you live for...

[@catthemau4013]

CAT SIGHTING 😻

[@GoGoRoboto]

0:40 "It's not about ignoring the rules, but massaging and bending them." Proceeds to show precise industrial metal bending equipment

[@BonusAction]

*metal massaging equipment

[@anotherelvis]

I personally don't like the DM to hands out inspiration. I like to role-play, but I don't need the DM to referee which player is role-playing the best. But to each their own, I guess.

[@Currin4]

at 5ish minutes, the make things challenging thing, my current dm has every single encounter a potential tpk with one failed roll. Even the holiday fun events. We dont have a single original remaining party member alive from i think, two parties so far?

[@BonusAction]

Okay don't make things "that" challenging.

[@FelipeVellosoHollanda]

Man, in what reality the wizard need a melee character to kill the enemies??? Like, i would say is the other way around, the spellcasters always have so much more to do in combat...

[@fuzzborne]

You had me until the hp fudging. Ah well here's your engagement.

[@BonusAction]

I knew it would be controversial! 😏

[@Drudenfusz]

For my games I do not go with the rule of cool, but with a caveat there. Instead I have the moment in the sun, which is similar, but it the caveat is that is has to be personal for the character. It cannot just be done because it looks cool, no there has to be a personal stake involved. This usually makes it more memorable, since flashy action that is not personal is never as memorable as the stuff that is. That is how all storytelling since the dawn of humanity works. No, I am not going to cheat at combat for some artificial happiness. Instead again, I go with stakes, by having more than just the hit points at stake, I can create a more meaningful fight which in turn is then more memorable. Also, this is easily done personal, and thus giving the moment in the sun there like explained above. Overall, I find all the suggestions in the video rather superficial. They might create a neat moment, but I would not say that any of this is memorable, since there is no impact nothing deeper that touches the players. But I agree with the point that is cannot be forced. Still, I would say one can provide a thematic springboard that allows for personal investment and interesting stakes for the players to jump off into the memorable moment in the sun.

[@BonusAction]

I do like the idea of a moment in the sun! And I appreciate your honesty!

[@plumbum9688]

Tbh controversial one really is controversial... In your example, is finishing off a thing at 1hp with a cantrip really that big of a deal? You just mentioned playing in your players strengths, I'm sure this wizard is also doing something else good that warrior isn't doing, reward that! A bunch of things with pack tactics but lower HP can obliterate the warrior with action economy, but wizard will wipe them out with fireballs, wizards can do quite tactical plays on battlefield controls, having a lot of tools in their utility belt, etc. So when wizard has an opportunity to do these wizardly things, I'm sure they'll feel good about it, all while fighter keeps doing their numbers, you can bring attention to how enabling teammates/controling enemies led to their win. It's harder to do tho when everyone on the team wants to do the same thing...

[@BonusAction]

These are good points!

[@SpanielDayLewis]

bro please take the music loops out of these videos, I'm trying to take in the info but that repetitive hot jazz riff is making me go insane

[@feral_orc]

Here's another one. Dont try to be Matt Mercer or Ginny Di. You wont be as good at being them as they are. This is also 5e advice, not generic DM advice.

[@feral_orc]

Rule of cool is way overstated in 5e. It's a thing, sure, but it's not like a core rule of the game, and 100% cheapens actions if used too much. The way you describe it is way too heavy handed for me. It should just be "yeah sure", or "sorry no", there shouldn't be any arguing or rolling for it

[@feral_orc]

Also I disagree that "moments" are what get recounted the most. Yeah it's full on ten minutes stories for us.

[@feral_orc]

Also again with the inspiration thing, yes if you want those to stop being special go ahead and give them out for everything like Ginny Di. We can't have enough tables around the world being ruined, we must ruin more!

[@feral_orc]

Yeah I don't agree with basically anything you've said here. Most of this only applies 5e, so the video title is misleading, and the more generic would not work in some other systems. Lying about stat blocks is simply impossible in some games. And only fudge numbers behind the screen if you don't want anything to matter anyway. Your players will notice eventually.

[@feral_orc]

Hahahahaha okay make it challenging. Righhhhht. After all those other tips to make the game incredibly easy for the players, now the tip is to make the game more challenging? This is the most contradictive thing in the video

[@jayteepodcast]

Lie, to make your game better

[@BonusAction]

I did warn that that was a controversial one!

[@OtherDAS]

Lie to the players? Gank a kill from a player who worked for it? What TERRIBLE advice. Dishonest and ruin the trust between GM and Players.

[@BonusAction]

Yep! That one is definitely a controversial one!

[@nikkibloom1100]

I am literally begging you to stop putting a countdown timer in the corner. I can't imagine anyone who "needs" this, and as someone with ADHD it is INCREDIBLY distracting.

[@budennz]

I like it, tick tick tick tock

[@BonusAction]

Im playing around with using it less, or making it less visible, but I am finding I am getting way more comments from people who like it than the people who don't.

[@jtramelli5464]

rule of cool 👎👎

[@bohansenboh]

Hey dude when you put a time clock in the corner of your videos, your signaling to your audience that what you have to say is unimportant, and not worth listening to. It's like saying hears how long you have to listen to me before I stop talking. Do you see how that devalues what it is you're actually saying? And it's weird because this video is 7 min. long. Why would you put a time clock in the corner for only 30 seconds? When you do that if you're still talking after 30 seconds, personally I'm annoyed. You have something to say and we all know how long the video is, because it's timed, already. Do yourself a favor and drop the countdown clock in the corner from your videos.

[@cptred1414]

well that was way less cool then expected and a bit Feminine mold billy mitchell soyface vibe. i want to play Dnd but i dont want to spend my day with people like that.

[@cptred1414]

in Warhammer we dont have that probleme. for what i saw in 30 years of gameplay. Male are adult even when they play with miniature. But the whole imagination trope just kill it for me in dnd. Its not about you dont take it personal. its just . people that i look online sound week and .. well weak

[@BonusAction]

I honestly can not understand these comments at all. I need a translator!

[@jayreese8522]

Nah, I'd like to also be able to enjoy my campaign and not just be a Fun Slot Machine where anything i make in the world has to be completely divorced from me.