How to Make Your Players Feel Smart

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In this video, I teach you how to make your players feel smart by unraveling how people think and learn. This was oddly more motivational than I intended it to be.
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[@prettypancakes2359]

Hopefully we're getting a "How to make your DM feel smart" guide for players next

[@tigerbomb909]

“How to mend your DM’s ever-crumbling ego” guide

[@catgodkain2293]

We do its called smash that like button

[@theganondorf96]

When players say a genuine thank you after a session is all that I need

[@catintime3917]

Yes please I can't handle having anymore innocent kobolds being obliterated...

[@luansagara]

just fall for all the obvious traps and ambushes

[@drakevegas7073]

"Getting to point B has nothing to do with point B." Damn. That's the most poetic piece of advice I've ever heard.

[@Dominik356]

Not really. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5yzi6tsnc96bac

[@glumbortango7182]

@@Dominik356 Thanks for the video, but this was still fairly insightful

[@lumosleviosa192]

@@Dominik356 it actually makes sense though, you shouldn't focus on the endpoint so much to the point that all of the effort goes towards it and the middle portion becomes stale.

[@MystFox1314]

It's the climb

[@micahquiton7731]

Journey before destination my friend. It's not where you're going, it's how you get there.

[@tuxxle8830]

1:45 "Assume that the player can't even count higher than 1. So let's start things off simple with the rule of 3" Player: "Excuse me, what's that?"

[@quasimofo6811]

No no, the rule of 3 is for the DM's eyes only, DM is big brain smart boy who can count to at least 4.

[@TheRABIDdude]

@@quasimofo6811 What is "4"? You mean "the number that comes after 3"?

[@SuperParkourio]

Inspector Lestrade: 'Ave you 'eard us East Enders can only count to two?

[@millermorrison7734]

People can only learn three things at once School: DID YOU SAY 8

[@randomness3086]

ButterDust 8, I think you mean 42

[@mister_dadstersays_hi7372]

42 I think you mean «EXTRA THICK INFINITE NUMBER»

[@overloader7900]

I have 17 subjects in school, count 14

[@taber9669]

Professional teacher here, can we bring that down to 1 at a time?

[@PineappleLiar]

*pulls out 12x12 multiplication chart* “Did you say something?”

[@alexknj1]

In researching DnD puzzels, many had the solution of "whatever clever thing the players try."

[@puddel9079]

Aspiring DM: "I'ma watch this video to improve my DMing skills!" Aspiring DM after video: [Dial-up noises.]

[@luarn9176]

I'm not sure I get the joke- Stop making me feel stupid! Bad DM! Validate me!

[@luarn9176]

Really though, I don't think I get it

[@jon9828]

Video was, ironically, kinda dense and hard to get into my stupid brain. I think original commenter might have a similar problem. If I had to try and summarize though. Fail forward Don't give out free answers Don't contradict rules you've set up. I learned three things at once.

[@puddel9079]

@@jon9828 Dial-up was the way you connected to the internet in the 90's. It was notorious for being slow. You also would be disconnected from internet games if you were receiving a call.

[@luarn9176]

@@jon9828 You also learned you can learn three things at once, meaning you actually learnt four things at once. But that contradicts the rule that you can learn a maximum of three things at once, so it is false, which means you only learned three things at once. But that means you actually *did* learn three things at once, so you've learned one more thing thanks to this realisation, making it four things you learned at once. This, however, contradicts the rule you just learned, so it must be false. So it's only three. Which actually means it's four. Except if it's four, it can't be four, meaning it's three. But if it's three, it means it's actually four because it's three. But if it's four it can't be three so it has to be four.

[@ZeroToNowhere]

Hi! Education Professional here! We know there's a capacity to what you can learn in a certain amount of time at the elementary level because we're taught shit like pedagogy (studies into how learning words). What you're complaining about is learning in Secondary school. Many secondary level teachers go through Alternate Certification in the US. Basically, they big smart chemist, but big dumb teachers. We hire them to teach chemistry, but what they're trained to do is chemistry, not teaching; so you get the lecture-based model because that's what teaching looks like to them. Why is that what teaching looks like to them? Because that's how college professors who do chemistry, but not teaching, teach.

[@vault342]

Hence the mostly poor teachers, I definitely had a few great ones but Many were lecture lecture lecture and nothing more.

[@2MeterLP]

Yep, my chemisty professors lectures were 90 minutes of "I write this on the board, you write it in your notes". The 50$ book he recommended at the start of the semester has taught me better and faster than him.

[@retosius7962]

yeah that's the problem with the entire education system. it's all based around how colleges teach and the way colleges teach honestly kinda suck usually.

[@O4C209]

Or you wind up with a foreign language teacher that has a math degree but happens to know said foreign language.

[@quasimofo6811]

@@retosius7962 And the whole reason the way colleges teach only kinda sucks is because students typically only take 3 to 5 classes at a time.

[@CL30]

I absolutely use the "two fails and one partial success" suggestion in my games. It's boring to not make progress and I hate it when players miss out on cool secret rooms because the dice suddenly roll poorly!

[@RogueMelody003]

Same, I sometimes lessen the rewards, nor make it suddenly be guarded to offset that.

[@raistlarn]

Or you could give players a bonus to rolls if they try to solve the problem in an inventive way.

[@DizzyDisco93]

@@raistlarn like applying prone bonus' to attacks against the floor :^)

[@adenowirus]

Apparently one of the more interesting elements of Tales from the Loop system (although I'm not sure how unique it is) is that the players are supposed to participate in the worldbuilding to almost the same extent as the DM. PCs can bring up some facts and the DM can decide if they are true and to what extent. Likewise the DM can encourage the players to invent some things by asking them questions about them. If I understood this correctly if this principle was applied to the "PCs can't beat a monster" problem it could look like this: One of the PCs says "You know, I once heard that those creatures are quite intelligent. Some people even claim they can talk" and the DM can incorporate that. OR DM asks one of the players "What about that bestiary your character once read? Wasn't there something about monsters like that?" and the PC can suggest an alternative solution.

[@vonfaustien3957]

I rember alot of old crpgs had it spawn enemies if you failed the riddle or puzzle challenge a couple times and opened the door anyway when you beat them.

[@reddir]

This feels extremely applicable for understanding why people stop trying things in real life.

[@petrusspinelli6661]

the GM for reality doesn't give a fuck about the "two fails, one parcial success" rule :v

[@phylippezimmermannpaquin2062]

@@petrusspinelli6661 or does he OwO

[@darienb1127]

So, this is actually kind of how Megaman does it's stage gimmicks. it first puts you in an area where you can experiment and learn what the gimmick is and how it works, with no penalty for messing up. the second go at it however, has the training wheels taken off, and there's a risk of failure. sometimes there can be a third gauntlet with even harder challenges, but usually no more than that. and this can totally work for D&D! when you make a Dungeon, or a new enemy, give the players time to learn what they should do before doing something like a time sensitive puzzle. severe punishment for mistakes that you never even got a chance to see coming isn't a good way to learn, as proven by the American school system.

[@Adam-cq2yo]

It reminds me of Kishotenketsu, which a Japanese structure. It's like the three-act story structure a lot of us are taught in English high school classes, but not necessarily restricted to *just* stories, and doesn't require conflict at all. Ki - Beginning, introduction (your goal is to get to the other side of the door) Sho - Development (monster has key and water, fire has key, door requires 2 keys) Ten - Twist, change (the monster can talk and converse) Ketsu - Conclusion, resolution (players kill the monster or negotiate with it or whatever they do, they get the keys, they open the door, or maybe none of that, sky's the limit, they're players) I'd bet you Megaman follows Kishotenketsu in its level design, by the sounds of it. Never really played Megaman myself tho. A lot of people use Mario's level design as prime examples of Kishotenketsu.

[@anonymousdonkey9121]

BUUUUUUURN!

[@bukler3934]

Yeah, I recommend the video by Game Maker's Toolkit about it! Or in general any of his videos because there are so many cool game design practices you can steal for your dnd game

[@Adam-cq2yo]

@@bukler3934 Yup, Game Maker's Toolkit is awesome, and his one video on Kishotenketsu and its role in game design was a _massive_ help for me.

[@celestialtree8602]

That's also something Mario stages with unique gimmicks do, at least the first part. A safe area to play around in where if you do it right you get rewarded, but if you do it wrong you don't get that reward, and then the rest of the stage with its actual difficulty.

[@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668]

If Jacob can't be smart, might as well make him _feel_ smart, right Logan?

[@harmless6813]

Well, it's a game and the goal is to have fun. Making someone feel dumb - no matter how smart (or not) they really are - is not fun for them.

[@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668]

@@harmless6813 Do you not know how to enjoy jokes?

[@harmless6813]

@@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668 Aren't jokes supposed to be funny? ;)

[@DeEwouterKabouter]

Your short term memory can only hold 3 chunks of information at a time, at which it either gets thrown out or gets sent to your long term memory. So Logan you are completely right.

[@Fattts]

5 to 9 actually.

[@spikeybiscuit9251]

@@Fattts yeah as far as I know the different amount of things varies but we can only truly focus on 1 thing at a time, but switch back and forth between ideas

[@goolabbolshevish1t651]

@@spikeybiscuit9251 general intelligence studies have been studying this for decades. Most modern IQ (the credited ones anyway) tests are actually just your measured ability to take in new information, process it and use it to solve a problem.

[@TlalocTemporal]

@@Fattts -- I'd think that complex ideas often count as two things.

[@celeste575]

@@FatttsEh, some people CAN hold large sequences of related information in chunks, but most people have problems doing that. Most often it's about three 'groups' or individual sets of unrelated information. What you're thinking in the 5-9 case is similar to hypnotic inductions like 7 plus or minus 2, where the *intent* is to strain and then overload the conscious mind with too much information, so that as it's timeslicing between input sources, it fails to notice interactions with the subconscious.

[@Limrasson]

Maybe the monster eats the players and the monster actually has a demiplane in it's belly and the demiplane is a dungeon and in the end there is an ultra-key that opens a gate back to the real plane and then compels the monster to give up the actual key.

[@lordpotatochips3973]

right so im stealing this idea

[@goolabbolshevish1t651]

So the key is really just exlax?

[@fizzledimglow3523]

Wasn't this in an episode of Samurai Jack.

[@jebchrisman9541]

AH YES LET US ENTER THE MOUTH OF THIS ASTRAL DREADNOUGHT

[@evannibbe9375]

No, just have the player roll a new character if it dies. You need to make sure that the players understand that dying and getting a new character is part of the game that can be interesting in itself.

[@mikeockhurts904]

How to make your players feel smart: instead of getting mad at your players when they cleverly dismantle your encounters, congratulate them for outsmarting you. Dont get mad when your player uses a spell to avoid your trap, or roleplays there way out of a fight. Instead recognize that they took advantage of a loophole you didnt see.

[@Hazel-xl8in]

Mike Ockhurts that’s not making your players feel smart, that’s called being a good DM...

[@TlalocTemporal]

@@Hazel-xl8in -- Sounds like both to me!

[@st.zahren5683]

aschstually the villain has a second form he turns into a dragon

[@JenomKolemjdouci]

The best thing is to be mock angry giving just enough of that "huzzah, we beat the DM" in my experience. However, never punish.

[@Kitsune-dono]

*their 😭

[@geminiarch3972]

My mum is a government educator, and I sent her this video. It felt really informative, not just about dnd but about learning, and structure in general

[@c.g.278]

I'm interested to see how she'll respond. Keep us updated? :D

[@leifrsubtil]

Thanks. It may change the future of a whole generation.

[@geminiarch3972]

​@@c.g.278 She found it genuinely interesting, and agrees with a lot of the points put forward

[@geminiarch3972]

@@leifrsubtil She found it genuinely interesting, and agrees with a lot of the points put forward

[@nemonomen3340]

We need more people like your mum to educate the government.

[@Galdrazier]

Ugh. My DM fails on so many fronts of these. He makes puzzles overly descriptive, and expects the same from us. Once we we failed a puzzle because we didn't specify that we took out a master key out of a door after using it on a door. He also constantly tells us the answer behind things, saying stuff like "Actually I lowered the health of these guys since combat took to long", "If you destroy this item you can't get the reward" or "You found an item based on one of the 7 deadly sins, the next guy you meet has one of them as well and it does some neat things" Really feels like it takes away anything we accomplish, since he will just end up telling us anyway how it happened. However, rather than just seeing this as all negative, he's been a good way on how to know what not to do and improve myself as a DM for my fellow players.

[@DRida64]

Have you tried bringing up your gripes with the dm outside of the game? Maybe you're part of the problem by not voicing your opinion. It's hard to know what the players want if they don't communicate.

[@backinmyday5227]

@@DRida64 THIS. (Is a good point.)

[@Galdrazier]

@@DRida64 yeah, we talk about it with him at times, even in the middle when he is doing one of the gripes. He start explaining how something works behind the scenes, we tell him we don't want the reason revealed to us, but he keeps on talking over us and keep explaining. I guess we can try being more heavy handed to him? Though once we spend a quite long time how one of his puzzles had weird jumps in logic, which just didn't get through to him. He also asks us to give him our character sheets when our characters die. So I kinda think he got a bit of a DM vs Players mentality as well.

[@hugofontes5708]

@@Galdrazier doesn't sound like he should be DMing, IMHO. How long has he been playing TTRPGs?

[@CrazyLikeUhFox]

gamemasterSteve It sounds like he just really wants you guys to be impressed by how clever his ideas are. When you put a lot of work into something, sometimes you can feel unappreciated if the players walk right passed it. This isn’t excusing what he’s doing, just saying the cause of this doesn’t sound like the problems of an adversarial DM to me, just one who really wants to be recognized for his “genius.”

[@AkiAmeko]

My education classes have literally gone over several versions of what you just taught here. The principles are being taught, but applying it is a whole other challenge. One of my teachers even went so far as to have every student play a new video game (mobile, console, PC, or otherwise) and do an analysis assignment on how the game taught us new concepts, made us feel capable, and rewarded our achievements.

[@hugofontes5708]

that's what I started saying halfway through my degree teachers need to be better game designers then someone would say learning was up to the students because we were not kids

[@Bluecho4]

@@hugofontes5708 Yes, because colleges should be paid obscene amounts of tuition money to teach students badly. Students are expected to teach themselves because the education system is so poor at doing its job. You might as well skip the college entirely and just buy the textbooks yourself, if you're doing all the work in this relationship anyway.

[@man_of_mischief]

"...being DM is the same thing as being video game developer" YAS thank you finally someone said it out loud seriously

[@inappropriateperson6947]

A lot about DMing can be learned from Video Games. Ever notice that the Skyrim puzzles use the rule of 3's in many way. Or if you need to find ANY lever, switch or chain in a dungeon that is right next to or under a torch or bonfire as if it were highlighted. Nobody noticed the highlights, but everyone feels smart when they find the "hidden" obvious switches.

[@thatgirlamelia8246]

Rewards are extremely motivating for my players based on what I’ve learned. I reward my players for doing unorthodox things. An old decrepit crippled monster of the same species they’ve been fighting was asleep guarding a pathway. Most of my players wanted to kill it but one decided against it due to the morals of “if it doesn’t attack me first, I don’t wanna stab it” they were rewarded with making an ally with something potentially as strong as a dragon, they were able to escape their current situation, and got some pleasant lore on its race. Because of the curiosity of some of my players they’ve been able to get things that could’ve easily been blown off, such as the ability to teleport across the continent to points of interest via gate like monuments.

[@Bluecho4]

In the old days of DnD, killing monsters barely netted any XP. The real source of XP was securing treasure (1 XP per gold piece value) and getting it out of the dungeon. This created a different incentive structure for players than the modern one, where the lion's share of XP comes from defeating monsters. Wherein the players had a vested interest in avoiding fights wherever possible, because fights taxed their resources, and instead wanted to sneak by and grab as much treasure as possible.

[@jazzyaz8634]

Logan: uploads a video Everyone: clicks Video: starts Everyone: scrolls down to comments

[@jazzyaz8634]

Everyone: wheeee

[@jazzyaz8634]

Me: wheeeee

[@jazzyaz8634]

The video: wheeeee

[@moustacheman9176]

YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE REEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@shortbanjos8522]

Wheeee are the crystal gems

[@thepbrit]

1:10 Sees Logan use Xenoblade Chronicles 2 footage, must like the vid

[@nickenquist3788]

Definitely need this for my games. Thanks for posting!

[@IndorilNerevar-MoonandStar]

Thank you, my players needed this.

[@berena.5028]

That was actually some of the best DMing advice I've ever heard and it was in a video less than 10 minutes long Matthew Colville take notes

[@Teag_Brohman15]

my Dungeon Master actually said to me on my first campaign "I like your thinking"

[@anburrito9644]

This is honestly one of the most helpful videos I've seen about DMing, I'm always stuck between either too simple and too complex, but this helps a lot

[@F0X_H0UND]

I've got a game to DM in about 5 hours from now. Thanks a lot!

[@fireguardianx]

I legit started using this video as a guideline for making dungeons and BOY OH BOY did it make them more engaging and the making of the whole thing simpler, seriously, thanks so much.

[@dizzydial8081]

The weirdest part about this video is this is exactly what I'm going through in a current game with a DM. We are met with practically impossible tasks constantly because our DM says it's impossible and we get no clear solution for the level we are in no matter what we try. I find myself bored because of this and actually stop trying. It's sad because I like the characters the party has but the world is hyped up and we make zero progress for multiple sessions.

[@CrazyLikeUhFox]

Is your DM one of those “look at how much smarter I am than my players” DMs?

[@dizzydial8081]

@@CrazyLikeUhFox Yes. He is. It's a campaign based around dragons and he talks about having to read sooooo many lore entries for different kinds of dragons, yet has not used any of it in any interesting way.

[@jigokusagent]

I love this channel for the practical and useful knowledge imparted by Runesmith, and the concepts presented here are not what I always find in discussions about DMing. A lot of the dialogue I find has the format of "How can I screw my players over the most?" And while I'm certain there are some players who enjoy that sort of thing, I can't say I've ever been one of them. So when I DM, I try to create the most enjoyable experience for my players - which does sometimes include beating them into the ground, but only to watch them claw their way out of the pit to well-earned glory. And the concept of making them feel smart is something I try to use when the gameplay fits it. However, I feel like this video is more of a description of an esoteric philosophy and simple ways to get started, rather than a crash course on implementing it. It's a good starting point to get into the proper lane of thought, but for a more in-depth breakdown of this concept I have another source: There's this professional DM/game designer that I really enjoy named Dan Felder. He has a podcast series called GM's Guide, and it touches on this exact thing. He mentions how incredibly important it is to make your players feel smart. It's not all about the DM working against the players and making sure it's as hard as possible to finish every task put before them. There has to be a give and take of sorts - some puzzles that are simple to understand and some that are more complicated. He goes into depth about the psychology of players and how to ellicit exactly the style of gameplay and emotion that would create the most fun gameplay for them.

[@CanadianTeaMaker]

"Humans can only learn 3 things at once." IS THAT A J-

[@Badass_Torchic]

Yare yare dawa

[@Occult_Baking]

I’ve been waiting for a new upload thank you for still posting during the lockdown

[@steve-ru9sy]

I always revisit these videos whenever it's time for me to start planning my next campaign. Thanks for the excellent content man

[@voidatmosphere7654]

This helped a lot. Along with your other videos, they are so helpful. And straight to the point. Thank you

[@sukihornplayer4]

I loved this so much I kept watching more of your videos and I went and pre-ordered the Stibbles PDF. I wish I had seen the Kickstarter earlier this year. I like your stuff, dude. Thank you.

[@Eddiember]

I was in a campaign that literally just failed today. I really feel like sending him this video. He was failing at rewarding us. 3 levels in, we didn't even have and gold, no magic items, we had literally nothing. We went to an inn, but forgot we needed gold to actually stay. DM gave us no money.

[@hugofontes5708]

did you do it?

[@Eddiember]

@@DabroodThompson My character was trying to do odd jobs on the side, and get treasure from a temple and all that. "I am going to investigate this encampment that the BBeG has been in for the past month. What does a 27 get me?" "You find nothing. You failed to stop the BBeG from escaping, so you get nothing." When we tried to convince a Lord to pay us for services, the DM wouldn't budge, even with an 15-20 persuasion. We were just expected to follow the plot because that was the way forward.

[@gendor5199]

3 years later and I am still trying to find a list of basics like "water deals with fire. Sword deals with monster. Key deals with door." I was really hoping for more ideas.

[@try2bchilledout417]

I was just playing Enter the Gungeon, and decided to take a break to work on my campaign. I pulled up this video while working, and was really surprised to see the game used as an example. It makes perfect sense!

[@RexySexy42]

A lot of times, I make puzzles with loads of seemingly important details but no solution, then I see how the players interpret the seemingly important details, and so long as their idea on how to solve it is creative and not outright stupid, BOOM that was the solution, congratulations, you figured it out, it was exactly what you thought it was the whole time.

[@EmuFH]

runesmith you are my favorite dnd youtuber but you upload so rarely btw this vid was awesome and i love your "basicly" dnd vids thanks so mutch for creating such wonderful content in such a dark time

[@justins340]

Just started running VtM for the first time, and am definitely using some of this.

[@rmt3589]

This is impressive, on multiple aspects! Good job!

[@ArtificialDM]

Have had this video in my "to watch eventually" list ever since it uploaded, and JUST found out today that a thumbnail for one of my videos in this video. Seriously made my day!

[@thisrandomdude2880]

Honestly, this is something I can relate to because I've recently started cooking a lot, and to solve my issues with the food I make, I sometimes need to forgo the classic recipe and find creative answers. A while back, I had to be pretty focused on breaking eggs because it was difficult, now, I can do it in conjunction with something else. I can focus on chopping vegetables while simultaneously cooking meat which is neat. When my dad used to cook, for example, chicken escalopes, the exterior was always hard and crunchy, making it frustrating to eat. I've concocted a mixture of butter, salt and lemon to drench the escalopes in, and the exterior is not only more tender, but much more flavorful, and I feel pretty smart for finding this solution. Life isn't so different from games after all, it's just that the tools and "mechanics" are not the same.

[@ghost7685]

art hard yo Be happy with any small achieves. Like remembering the hip bones when making something. It's stupid and a tiny detail many people might miss but feel good about your improvements

[@summermermaidstar756]

Then there is my character, who I've named Emma. Gonna take a smart DM to reward her. Many times rewards are shiny treasure, maybe a new weapon. Emma being the circle of the shepherd druid she is looks at the piles of gold, takes only enough to feed her pets, and ignores any shiny weapons. She's happy and content with letting the rest of the party loot the dragon's hoard while she is off in the corner playing with her pets in the corner. Her motivation comes from her pets wants and needs. Examples of smart DM vs dumb DM when it comes to handling Emma Dumb DM DM: Emma finds a jewel encrusted sword, she could use it to fight Emma: "Anyone want this?" Smart DM: She finds a juicy looking bone Emma: "Ooh I could give this to one of my pets"

[@frknspacewizardbrett6044]

What if one of the pets starts to take a shine to shiny things? Also, a magic brush that auto-casts prestidigitation to clean hair/fur when brushing could be nice. Or just some rare spices. If nothing else the pets will probably have a fun time with all the new smells, I imagine.

[@hugofontes5708]

how did emma get into adventuring?

[@summermermaidstar756]

@@hugofontes5708 As a druid she has a job to protect the wild (Even if she can be a bit air headed) which involves protecting animals. Adventuring lets her do her job as a druid, and she gets to wander the world to see new animals.

[@summermermaidstar756]

@@frknspacewizardbrett6044 Well if one of her pet happens to find something it likes, she will be sure to pick the item up. Encountering new animals are also very fun times for her. (I will note, Emma's design was inspired by Stibble's Codex of companions.)

[@CrazyLikeUhFox]

Seems to me like it would take considerably _less_ thought from a DM to reward Emma.

[@user-xq6ii6qk5s]

Wow. I'm truly amazed by this video because the things you are trying to tell not only for GM-ing but can also be used at workplace and learning environment as welll. Thank you for the enlightment!!

[@FreelancerLA]

This was very insightful Thank you!

[@sparks1693]

I absolutely love your style. Thanks for doing what you do and listen to your own advice🤗🤗

[@mikewebster1743]

Thank you so much for this video. I've been struggling with figuring out how to write my campaigns and this is an immense help.

[@itsonlyafleshwound9024]

Seriously, thank you so much for this video! Im currently preparing a short detective dnd campaign based almost entirely around a red herring, but i was already running into problems because this would inevitably feel like i was trapping my players, which would not have been enjoyable. BUT, because of this video i just realised that if i made every step of this proccess feel like a victory for the players, this might work after all.

[@badhazen]

Some additional info based on game design: Easy > intermediate > left-field > mastery Let's assume you want your players to be able to solve the puzzle/challenge in front of them (because, why else put it in front of them). This puzzle/challenge is then based on a certain idea, the mechanic if you will, which the players need to understand to be able to solve the puzzle/overcome the challenge (and definitely reward them). Set up the mechanic at the following 4 levels: - Easy: this introduces the mechanic in it's most simple form. The goal is to allow players to learn the base mechanic, without any complications. For example, the player has a high place and a movable box. - Intermediate: now actually make it a little bit challenge while introducing an additional way to use the mechanic, giving the player a sense of control and confirming they understand how it works. For example, the high place is higher, but the player has 3 boxes (omg, you can stack them). - Left-field: now flip things on their head. Make players use the mechanic in a different way they aren't used to. For example, you enter a room with the same higher platform to reach but now without boxes present. Smart players may realise they can actually bring all boxes from the previous puzzles into this one and still reach the platform. - Mastery: at this points players have shown they understand the mechanic and you can pull out all the stops. Go wild, just don't contradict anything the players have learned. Setting your puzzles up to increase in difficulty this way allows players to understand them, and feel powerful/smart along the way, without overwhelming them to much. You can do this for multiple mechanics at the same time, as long as you keep the above in mind and use the easy step to show the mechanic in isolation. Disclaimer: the examples are based on a simple video game, in D&D there are a ton of different ways to solve this specific challenge. Design your challenges with that in mind, and if they manage to circumvent your puzzle, allow them to feel smart about it.

[@nekrosis4431]

This is my main goal in my current and first game as DM. I want to make them feel good, and I focus a lot on making them feel good by showing them how their awesome plan totally worked. If you succeed in the first few times you do this in a safe way (easy puzzles/challenges) they will continue to try to come up with "awesome plans". Even if not everything works. Trying to explain why something didn't work, without spoilers is hard, but i think it's important. You can even do this with roleplay: reward roleplay with beneficial game mechanics (you wanna hunt that spider, here take this herb against poison) or information, and make it clear that they only got that, because the wizard tried to talk to that guy in character.

[@benrinehart7776]

This is an extraordinarily helpful piece. Giving partial success after a few failures is a key concept that I've felt but never articulated. And this does a great job of explaining it. I'm prepping for a homebrew game all about taking risks. The setting is a casino city floating over a volcano the slogan of the city is "tempt fate," and while I use narrative level up, I've devised a risk XP system to reward taking risks. So now I have this challenge where I want my players to take moderate stakes bets with not great odds, which necessarily means they lose stuff, but I want them to feel success often so they don't have a bad time. This rule of 3s approach is a great way for me to approach it. Every 3rd failure, or maybe every failure, has to open another way to solve the problem.

[@FatedGamer]

I think an important rule is also let your players concede defeate and do something else if that's what they want. Recently a dm put us in a dungeon that ages you every floor. Our first reaction was to just leave because it was not worth dealing with the possibility of death from old age. Surprise though the door closed behind us with no trap or sound or anything. We were forced to do a dungeon none of us really wanted to. Of course the dm calculated it out and knew no matter what none of us would age out but our characters wouldn't know that and we just wanted to leave. And even with a character having practically 20 strength the door was simply to heavy. Feeling much like a "screw you I'm making you do the dungeon"

[@_-KR-_]

I really like this. You helped make me aware of a tool in my headshed, the one about adapting to adversity and interacting with players who may not have the entirety of the game in scope. I apply many of the principals you go over in this video in my coaching attempts in dota2. I think the best thing about this is about trying. The dragon has your party on the ropes, defeat is imminent so instead of assuming the fetal position, why not appeal to a solution or a different outcome? I cannot tell you how many dota games are ruined because a player uses their bubblegum strategy, but its not working. I will make some appeal to the team to try to solve the problem. Instead of deriving solutions the social environment worsens and some moods worsen too. If one of those four players shows to me they have the will to win the game and address the issues, my mood increases, and I am much more likely to attempt to contribute my best for a win as opposed to my baseline water tread. Then again the veil of the internet really helps to empower some people into making antisocial decisions.

[@majinzim6887]

This is a really profound vid even out of context to D&D. good stuff

[@quincykunz3481]

"If the players feel like trying things doesn't work, they'll stop trying things." I've seen so many DMs who need to keep this in mind. Often times DMs have a specific solution in mind to an encounter, and so no kind of diplomacy, circumvention, or creativity is allowed to work, even when it makes more sense than the "correct" solution. After a few hours of this, I'll check out of the game entirely, only politely contributing in combat until I can go home and make some real choices again.

[@alwinwinter1645]

What's great about most of your videos is that they'd interesting to watch even to people who aren't into DnD at all

[@glass7923]

Thanks for making this video, this is insanely informative.

[@stargateproductions]

Our party was stuck in a house and there was no apparent way to get to the basement to fight the big baddie, after failing a bunch of perception checks to find the hidden door, our cleric decided to start bashing holes in the walls. On his first attempt he found the hidden passageway that led to the basement. Sometimes you need to think outside the box for problems.

[@DragonaxFilms]

I love how this video contradicts everything in the video about making a terrible dungeon. The duality of man.

[@gaidencastro9706]

First? This video is unlisted. Also, I needed this literally just now.

[@ahmedakmal9244]

FAST

[@lasttarrasque6223]

Same I ran a DND game just 10 minutes ago and I needed this video then

[@ella9825]

You're mostly (possibly entirely) right about humans only being able to learn 3 things at a time. I don't remember what the actual number is, but we talked about this idea in one of my psychology classes last semester.

[@andrewdavis200]

Great video. I liken these lessons to when DMs will ask why their players aren't engaging with their game and then go on to describe an overly complicated narrative with a lot happening in the background. If the players can't see the results of what their actions and/or things are too complicated for them to understand what is happening then they will stop engaging with things as much. It is not worth the effort to try and uncover information on something if the information won't make sense. An alternate way of saying this is "bash your players over the head with your plot hooks and if you can't explain the hook in 1 to 2 sentences then it is too complicated.

[@lsedge7280]

Also opens a fun opportunity. long down the line, and a perceptive player picks up "hey, things aren't quite right", the subversion being a signal of things not being quite right (i.e. an illusion)

[@dungeonmastercrafter8835]

I really liked the ending. That was a real way with words.

[@beaniejuices3288]

1:24 the reason is to inform the player that this games theme is different from the 1st games, variables and constants.

[@Tsum1923]

I'm right there with you on the Witcher 3. With Gwent I screwed around for so long by the time I got around to it I didn't remember a word of the basic rundown the game gives. So I had to just pay close attention while I lost my first couple games, and figure it out from scratch.

[@ZZ10000]

This works with some players but not all. Some players want a challenge, if there are no stakes why even play? If a death can be redconned, if a strong monster just gives up on fighting, if a mystery starts to unravel there is no point. The players have to make the difference in any scenario and if they lose they have to get a bad end of that scenario. A town burns down, players die, demon gets summoned etc. This is more an oldschool of play but it also works. My players want a fight, if they lose and come back later the reward is that much sweeter.

[@jazzyaz8634]

I love your style Logan!

[@THINKMACHINE]

To add another tool to this end, you can put in a puzzle or trap where the correct answer can be a whole bunch of things, or even anything that makes logical sense. By that same token, if your players come up with an interesting plan or tactic to deal with an encounter, give serious thought to tweaking the situation just slightly in the background to give it a chance to work.

[@officialsteezie7521]

This may be the single most important DM video I’ve ever watched. Wow, thank you!

[@forsakedsorrow]

I have a bad habit of layout possible road map at the end of a session, I kind of give them options to get to point B, I fear one day they would stop trying, guess I gonna do something different from now on

[@jfg09]

One of the best video on the subject, thanks!

[@weavelcow9596]

Even if I've been DMing for awhile I still really appreciate these videos for being a good reminder of what to do :)

[@geoaltman9344]

Hi Mr LogAN. I am a new person who leaves a comment and just want to say that I love love love your BASICALLY series. I don't even play d and or d nor ever have. I have played magic this gathering and always is playing toos much League and Hear This Tone. I don't understand why the game is called Hear This Tone. Have you ever heard this tone?>??? The Important part is I binge watch your basically series and I would love to see more. they are truly genius. plz plz plz keep up the good work. also more hear this tone and league of the legends content.

[@A.Filthy.Casual]

This is actually super fckin useful, a lot of videos I've seen on here as a new subscriber are some good info interspersed within a foundation of comedy but this was just straight enlightenment

[@vault342]

This was...so simple but made so much sense

[@freddykingofturtles]

I do this by letting any idea they believe might work have the chance to be the solution they imagine. I also reward them in ways that fit what they did. So when they decided to hug their way through the shadowfell and rolled well enough... They did, all while acquiring an entourage of sorrowsworn companions and hugging the avatar of a negative energy God until it was banished. I had personally been expecting the sorrowsworn to be only enemies, but I allowed them to be won over and diffused, ultimately giving each of the characters who helped a sorrowsworn that spirit to haunt something for a unique bonus.

[@FreelancerStudios100]

this is something i wish i had a long time ago cause i now have a problem where my players have really stopped experimenting. when i started dming i was just trying to get things to happen and have the party explore but i wanted it on my terms cause i didnt have the improve down. its hard to reward players who no longer try.

[@davidkarisny908]

often as a dm i find that information i think is obvious and important is not so to the players, and has in my earlier days felt them feeling cheated. a couple important things i’ve learned: 1. let your players help determine the rules of the scenario! if they’re planning a heist and come up with contingencies and plans for a scenario that doesn’t exist in your design, make it exist! they’ll feel smart for planning, and more confident next time they do so. and 2. if they’re over analyzing a simple problem, don’t let the solution be simple anymore! ill use these scenarios as opportunities to reward players with high intelligence since that doesn’t get rewarded enough, and i’ll describe them making some esoteric connection which helps to solve the (now more complex) problem, to keep the story moving with just telling them “the solution is obvious and you realize that now”, which can make players feel cheated and looked down on. these shouldn’t be used too much though, but they’re good to cover your ass when you need them.

[@davidkarisny908]

oh and uh yeah make them roll int obviously

[@theradams97]

theres a lot of psychology theory relating to how much humans can learn at once, and your theory of three is not far off the general consensus. well worth looking into

[@ToddReynolds45]

This is probably your best video yet

[@ethanbentley7057]

Ok so I had a dm that didn’t stick to that first rule of 3. He came up with a monster that spawned twig blights and continued to do so until it was NOT attacked for 2 rounds. It started spawning them without telling us and after literally 3 hours of killing twig blights where we tried not attacking it for 1 round at one point the DM let one of us roll an insight check (which the player fudged to a nat 19 as 2 of us were on our phones and one player was about to walk out) he’s relatively new and it was his first time home brewing a session.

[@SamuraiMujuru]

They've got settings for Exalted. I really need to play around with World Anvil more

[@shellknight1323]

What are the odds that this video comes around the same time I'm learning how to be a DM *now I know to fill my dungeon with even more goblins*

[@ostravaofboletaria1027]

This video could use more examples I think. I have no idea how to "not keep them back and make them go forward".

[@blockofwood3925]

Awesome video, thank you for your hard work 👏.

[@randomdude-4353]

Players: Perfectly plan and execute an elaborate heist involving real-world physics Also Players: Struggle solving a riddle meant for 5 year olds

[@kaliah1494]

This has some good ideas for management buried in here too.

[@erthixv.d.9054]

This was very useful. Ty

[@claude-alexandretrudeau1830]

I understood it all thanks to the analogies. Analogies confuse most people, but for me it's clarity. And the way most people understand things is confusion to me. So I always appear smart when dealing with problems considered difficult by most, but really, for the simple things most people get right away (which are more common), I'm an idiot.

[@ImmortalLemon]

I run a survival game, so my players have to think of outside the box solutions to things and I won’t even know what they do and it’s amazing how they can go through things

[@killingkat7198]

Dude I love your shit, it's always funny and informative. 👍 Keep it up

[@shaynecarter-murray3127]

Great advice that every dm I know could benefit from

[@Noir915]

Hey man, im a new player dming his first game. I really like storytelling and your videos are helping me a lot in trying to make a fun experience to me and my friends. Thanks for everything and keep up the good work :D!

[@squeethemog213]

This was an awesomely helpful video mna. Thank you :D

[@vincentmiguelg.bastiero2598]

I still remember runesmith when had around 80k subs and finding him in my recommendations

[@tyrantofcans465]

Can confirm, rule of three is best rule for puzzles and solutions. Asked at least 2 other DMs, and they agree.