I Hated One D&D, So I Made My Own on Tabletop Simulator (PT. 2.0)

Watch how I spent 10 months homebrewing Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) so hard on Tabletop Simulator (TTS) that it now doesn’t even resemble the original game! You’ll see my design process as I built systems around Dark Souls and Star Wars themed games for me and my friends to enjoy, and how that journey led me to create a Samurai Frog RPG of my own.
Subscribe for more content and make sure to join the Discord Herd to possibly participate in future play sessions!
**FYI - This video used to be called "I Spent 10 Months Designing a RPG on Tabletop Simulator (2.0)" but I changed it to try and beat the algorithm and steal likes from the launch of One D&D. Don't hate me**
#dndhomebrew #gamedesign #games #gameplay #gamedevelopment #game #gamer #gamers #indiedev #gamemake #gamedesigner #gamedev #gamedeveloper #funny #videoessay #design #designer #contentcreator #indiedeveloper #indiedevelopment #videogames #videogame #darksouls #tabletopgaming #tabletopsimulator #coding #scripting #modding #modder
LINK TO PART 1.0:
• I Hated One D&D, So I ...
LINK TO PART 1.5:
• I Hated One D&D, So I ...
CREDITS (In No Particular Order):
Character Models:
Pixel Sprites by HexCodex on Fiverr:
www.fiverr.com/hexcodex/
Hero Forge:
www.heroforge.com
Tabletop Simulator Steam Workshop Mods:
Saught's Asset Collections by Saught (Various Props)
Effects / Particles collection by Pope Gan Club (Fire, Waterfall, Smoke)
Star Wars RPG Assets by Marlow (Various Props/ Charcter Models)
Star Wars RPG Tools and Maps by Ockam (Table, Maps, Chits)
Star Wars Legion by SWLegion Team (Computer Terminal/ Table)
Star Wars Themed Dice Trays (Unofficial) by Thunder BlaZe (Dice Tray)
RPG Tokens by l o n g b o y (Loot and Gear Tokens)
Imperial Assault 3D by drod (Holographic map/ planets)
Video Games Referenced:
Tabletop Simulator
Dark Souls
Sekiro
Xcom2
Software Tools Used:
MidJourney (Artwork)
Notion (Note Taker)
Obsidian (Note Taker)
Atom (Text Editor)
Google Sheets (Spreadsheets)
Voicemod (Voice Changer & SFX)
Artlist.io (Music & SFX)
Audacity (Mixing & Mastering)
Adobe Illustrator (Graphic Designs)
Adobe Premiere Pro (Video Editor)

[@about15zebras]

Thanks for watching all the way until the end of the series! Tell me what your favorite parts were here in the comments, so I can know what to focus on in future videos. Thanks again Zeb-bro's 🦓❤

[@shocknawe]

Could call us Ze-brabes, regardless of sex/gender/sexuality/etc. Feels more unique/funny/cute. But it's just a minor, disregardable opinion hahahaha Oh, and an idea: you could record the discord games you invited people for in this video. Not sure if you would or should want to do so for the first try, but hey, sounds like fun stuff to watch.

[@kef6517]

​@@shocknawedefinitely sounds like worthwhile content

[@matthoz1337]

You know what made these videos as dope as possible? It's you, your voice and your presentation style. Impossible to improve.

[@about15zebras]

I genuinely appreciate that. It's really good to know folks are here for reasons outside TTS mods! 😁

[@MrPiti47]

I second this comment 1000%

[@nikolaszaragoza5972]

the way of storytelling and editing style just gave me a sense of wonder and nostalgia

[@RyanCrossOfficial]

Honestly, i think its just your passion for the topic coming through combined with good editing/production and clever writing/story. Condensing a lot into something little without losing the fun flavour. Keep it up, I’m still watching and ready for more

[@radykal6601]

I straight up cannot believe the algorithm has not boosted this as it’s an incredible, high quality piece of work. Smh my head

[@about15zebras]

Thanks homie! Throw up some prayers to the KZbin gods when you get a sec 🙏

[@shablam0]

I'd say that was a pretty satisfying ending!

[@LunarTanuki]

This was a pretty good ending I would love a tutorial series on how you made these systems tho

[@LitteralyNothing]

yes that'd be so awesome, I would like to really take a stab at this but dont know where to start, i also just as of today started getting in to table top simulator

[@plzletmebefrank]

... huh. Didn't expect to be right there. Oh well. More crazy whacky frog game thing.

[@about15zebras]

Glad to have you back 🤣

[@boredgameslab]

Really enjoyed the series! Fantastic video editing and narration. I think it's fascinating that you pointed out people went into "video game mode". I often hear people ask "why not just play a video game?" and I think you accidentally stumbled on a quirk of human psychology when it relates to gaming. People just react differently to the tabletop format when compared to video games, and it's hard to explain it precisely but that's why physical games have so much allure.

[@about15zebras]

Thanks so much for watching! It’s a strange phenomenon for sure. I would love to run an experiment to see how a person who always has played board games reacts to playing a video game for the first time! Just to see if the do the same thing in reverse 😂

[@shocknawe]

Your content is brilliant. Post what you have done or don't. What matters is that you did it. It is a part of you which you have now externalised. It's yours to do with as you may. You don't owe anyone anything. Great success to you, mate. I love the energy. Edit: I almost forgot I wanted to ask you to clarify HOW you got the second group working together. Was it by removing problem people? (sorry if you believe to have explained that in the video and I'm asking stuff you already answered but I really didn't quite understand). I'm interested because I'm in a similar situation as you were prior to this trilogy. I'm really afraid of "making" a poor game (though mistakes are unavoidable).

[@about15zebras]

You are so incredibly kind. Thank you!!! And yes, I asked some people to sit out and found a few new players to replace them. It's sad that it happened that way, but things didn't get better after several months of trying to communicate. I also removed some of the flashy stuff that wasn't really needed (TTS automations), and it helped everyone stay more involved. Sometimes keeping things more analogue is actually a good thing, because it forces people to stay active. I make poor games constantly, so don't worry about that lol! When I started viewing upcoming sessions as opportunities to "patch" or "update" my base game, it really helped a lot. Don't worry if your game's version 1.0 isn't perfect. Just keep improving it little by little (patch 1.1, patch 1.2, etc...) , and eventually it will be wonderful! Thanks again! 🦓

[@shocknawe]

@@about15zebras got it! Thanks a ton for the reply! My idea is gonna be using Talespire then """Homebrew D&D""" (super Homebrew, preferably, almost a husk of the game lol) and taking inspiration from Vaesen. I like combat, but from what I've seen from D&D proper...idk. Seems so clunky and slow. I wanna keep the feeling of a game so that people have decisions during combat and not that it is just me, the GM, controlling everything arbitrarily, you feel me? I feel, watching your content, that we both in a way want to simplify systems but it sometimes turns into "lemme just make MY own system instead." I sorta see in you some "overthinking" or ""overdesigning"" I used to do. Sometimes, some things are fun to create but not to use hahahahah learned that one a few too many times. Just take with you that part I said that "you don't owe anyone anything." Guess I wanted to reinforce that because of how you ended your vid apologising (which is lovely and something I would prolly do meself). Because of your advice in this reply, I'll be talking A LOT with my friends to see who's gonna be compatible with me and others game-wise! Cheers and see you in your next vid (if I don't miss it). You know what. I'm ringing your channel's bell hahaah Cheers.

[@shocknawe]

@@about15zebras( sorry for the huge text.)

[@Comoflipo]

I barely know English enough to understand the video (in case you were talking about it and I didn't know it) but is there some kind of link to try it? I want to try it with my friends!

[@GabeFrank]

Awesome videos. I'd love to see a video on the tools and processes you used to find, make, and prototype so many of the assets from your games. Great stuff!

[@about15zebras]

Sounds like a good video to me!

[@JustADanBoi]

This was a good video and everything to figuring it out made excited to finished my world building and campaigns

[@Dr.Hardblow]

“Fuck it mode” is the realest shit of dnd 😂

[@mikewice3608]

Playing in person is also a completely different experience. Online play is almost always more distracted and much harder to get into the groove of playing together and improv off one another. Playing in person with friends you trust is something magic.

[@about15zebras]

Exactly!

[@noidish]

i think you would be an awesome asset to the Foundry Vtt 3D Canvas Creator community :)

[@about15zebras]

Haven’t heard of that till now, but I’ll check it out!

[@CJ_froggo]

SIR!! I CANT FIND THE DISCORD SERVER!! WHERE DID YOU PUT IT!?

[@merkurionmiep137]

HEY MAN DON'T BE AN EGGPLANT, GAMES LIKE D&D ARE ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION!

[@about15zebras]

I legitimately laughed out loud at that 🤣

[@merkurionmiep137]

@@about15zebras you are welcome

[@kinghubris2536]

excellent video.

[@Ze_Techno]

Keep up the good work :) !

[@BlazeDeval]

Man, I remember this channel. How'd Weird West end up going? Progress? Scrapped? Was fun making characters for that and chatting in the discord.

[@adamdavis1497]

Excellent stuff. My only feedback on the editing is that sometimes the background music is mixed too high. Hides your voice. Only really noticed in this video during the outro, and I was still able to clearly hear you, but it can be distracting. Great visual editing all around though

[@user-jq1mg2mz7o]

some players really are Just Dicks: it's totally okay to stop playing with them. chances are, they'll find another group that they will prefer. but I will say, you bring up something unique to your experience. the medium itself and all the changes absolutely change the mindset. a more video-gamey mode of interface and graphics absolutely impact the way players think to react. codifying combat actions, explictly delineating the environment etc. I wouldn't be surprised it at least one of the problem players would absolutely be different in physical tabletop and not even know it

[@Selvunwindful]

Jesus christ you're so funny. I'm going with it!

[@Jacka1376]

All hail the algorithm!

[@AJMAESTROMUGEN]

I love how you went into it wanting to do something fun because YOU thought it was fun, just like life you grew you changed and adapted. But you never lost sight of what made you excited about wanting to do this in the beginning! Honestly super inspiring thank you for the great video and I hope to figure out discord to play with what seems to be a great community💯🔥💯🔥💯🔥

[@about15zebras]

I’m so glad! Modding and D&D don’t seem like super life changing things on the surface, but they really have led me to become a better person in a lot of ways! Discord is a lot like “Slack” if you have ever used that. Just a bunch of text channels and voice chats. It’s basically an organized blog lol! Would love to have you!

[@jonedvinz]

You know I can get that you just overperform whenever you start a new project, cause good god these videos feel professional

[@about15zebras]

That means a lot!

[@lichtmeister3524]

"I didn't build this mod to impress anyone" TO LATE !

[@evanwood1477]

the goat fr

[@JustAnotherNomad92]

Appreciate this for the mods. will mess with stuff too.

[@Bondanalloy]

just the fact that it's called 'croak & dagger'...

[@OMGSAMCOPSEY]

Impressive, feels like you should be learning more about game design in general. If im 100% honest though, TTS almost definitely slowed you down in a way where it mightve been faster to just craft irl maps. Its way faster to try out whatever game mechanics you want to try when you dont need to code them.

[@about15zebras]

Totally agree! I mentioned learning that lesson in my Q&A video for Croak & Dagger on my discord channel. Having a strong proof of concept/ outline would have definitely been better than laying the tracks down as I was driving onto them lol

[@FoxesInBoots]

Communication is important, but it's a two way street. You can talk all ya want, but if the person you're talking to ain't willing to meet you half way, then it usually isn't worth it to get to them all the dang time haha Good luck, and stay beautiful king!

[@about15zebras]

A beautiful summation! Back at you Zeb-bro ❤️

[@samdel465]

>trying to find out reasons which ruined previous session umm.. but it was just bad selection of players, am i wrong?

[@about15zebras]

That mismatch of personalities and preferences within the group was definitely a big part of it. It’s been about a year since all this took place, and I think the game, the players, and myself were all to blame for how poorly things went.

[@Bacchasnail]

I was so confused why there were so many zebras in the video until 4 minut3s in i look at your name. Wowz3rs im attentive

[@about15zebras]

Lol I realized after I uploaded that if this was the first video people saw it probably would be very strange to them. Glad to have you onboard 🦓

[@chuchuchuforever]

How do we join your Discord Server?

[@Alex-qf9js]

Wanna trade map assets in TTS? I have a number of maps I made for my ongoing game in blender ect.

[@about15zebras]

If you join the discord, I’m sure we could make some things happen 😃

[@GenuinelyUniqueGents]

How this video hasn't appeared until now is a crime. This series was amazing. I WILL SAY, if you disliked D&D 5e for how limiting it can feel sometimes. I Highly suggest Pathfinder 2e. There are so many unique mechanics that you can select and choose to have its insane and you can tailor it however you wish. Character creation is awesome, feats are so wide and varied no character feels the same.

[@Bing-Bong731]

Great video, Frog samurai sound incredible Edit: I watched the previous video, it is incredible

[@BelzerMan76]

Fr 10/10 vids 👍

[@Michael_MW]

Let me know if you ever need a paladin brother. o7

[@about15zebras]

Join the discord homie! We have games coming up!

[@dndforbeginners]

This is amazing I would like to use table top sim as a tool! I run a 20k fb group called DND For Beginners. I would love to reach out to you somehow and do some sorta colab!

[@guidopiaggio7793]

where can i play this game??

[@JewishHEAT101]

your videos are so epic!! I hope I can get the chance to play with you!!!

[@berniemcmaster718]

Eh, Bet 👌

[@issacthompson330]

A part of me wants you to make a tutorial to make our own mods as it seems like fun. (From someone who can navigate Unity and is into TTRPGS but can't play them due to the hell that is Scheduling)

[@about15zebras]

Absolutely! I have an idea for a video that would help get folks wanting to mod get on the right track. It’s kinda hard to teach certain things because they are so situational, but I definitely have a few things I could share to help anyone getting started!

[@redknight9031]

How does this have less than a thousand views, this is the first video of yours I've watched and If I'm honest, with the level of production and care that has gone into all of this, my brain saw that 870 as 870k, this is on par with a channle with hundreds of thousands of subs, can't wait to see what you do next.

[@about15zebras]

That really means a lot! I’m so glad to hear that the videos are starting to reach a wider audience. Sincerely happy to have you with us!!!

[@otodusobliquus3836]

Just found your channel, and I've gotta say, absolutely love the editing style! Can't wait to see more videos! Some things I'd like to compliment you on is the audio balancing, quality humor that wasnt overused, great music choice, clean visuals, clear script, and most importantly (to me) the solid pacing! When watching this, I felt like there was a lot going on, visually and auditorily, but I never felt overwhelmed. Instead it kept me stimulated, and the use of pauses helped break it up so it wasnt too consistent, again referring to the good pacing. I feel like if you keep going on videos like this, you're sure to blow up! I mean, since I'm here that means you're already in the wider algorithm AND peaking my interest, despite never having played DnD either. So again, good luck!

[@about15zebras]

This is so ridiculously awesome! You really know how to give a compliment 😂 I appreciate what you’re saying, because I’ve been trying really hard to make this content accessible. The algorithm works in strange and mysterious ways, but I’m so glad you’re here!!!

[@DoctorEviloply]

It always baffles me seeing people spending huge amounts of effort to try to twist and contort DnD into another game that is never going to be as good as an original game designed for purpose. Such as Star Wars D6. Hell Savage Worlds or Basic Roleplaying are both generic enough to fit whatever you throw at them without having to make excessive amounts of homebrew.

[@about15zebras]

Maybe it's because we aren't doing it for the reasons you think, and we are getting joy out of creating/remixing things into what we want them to be? It's like Legos... Sometimes you just wanna build something, even if it isn't as good/ pretty as what the original instructions said it should be.

[@lee-226]

Wow you learned about human nature of the majority of the world. About time

[@about15zebras]

Holy condescending Batman!

[@IFUCKINGLOVENOITA]

thank fucking god for the megamind refrence