It took me 10 years but I read FINALLY the DM's Guide (and Ginny Di was right)

[@spacerx]

The best advice I figured out is something I never saw in print anywhere: don't call for a roll of the dice if you're not willing to accept any possible outcome that you can roll.

[@Mastikator]

The DMG says something similar in chapter 8: " Only call for a roll if there is a meaningful consequence for failure. When deciding whether to use a roll, ask yourself two questions: * Is a task so easy and so free of conflict and stress that there should be no chance of failure? * Is a task so inappropriate or impossible - such as hitting the moon with an arrow - that it can’t work? If the answer to both of these questions is no, some kind of roll is appropriate"

[@holycowitsdave]

Y'know... that's a piece of advice that feels like it's so obvious it doesn't need to be said but like... I can also pinpoint the moment in a game early in my DMing where I learned that lesson so like, yeah, good advise!

[@simonfernandes6809]

The Call of Cthulhu RPG has been stating something so similar for years.

[@Newnodrogbob]

“This recently cleared out temple comes with a ten year abatement.” Had me dying

[@matthewmcguigan4293]

Thanks for sharing. I'm going to try to keep this in mind.

[@lindybeige]

The original DMG had a rule tucked away that said that monsters would often aim blows at a character's head, which, if unarmoured, was the worst armour class possible. I never knew anyone who played this rule.

[@ingjaldsleikestove]

I don’t think I know any players that would have accepted that. Most treat helmets as girl chain mail. It has the same stat, but it doesn’t cover much.

[@mikeb.1705]

I remember goofing around with that rule as a kid, playing with other kids. It was more of a "gotcha" rule for us though, and we didn't use it for long. DM: Are you wearing a helmet? Player: Umm... I don't know. DM: is it on your character sheet? Player: No, but wouldn't it be included with my armor? DM: if it's not on your character sheet then you don't have one. BAM! Head shot! You're dead! Ha ha... ha... ugg >.

[@LB_adventurer]

My groups always run with what i call "common sense" rules... if someone sneaks up in the dead of night while you are sleeping or catch you not on guard.. as long as they succeed in being stealthy they can knock you out no questions asked, no roll needed. If a player character does that and slits a throat then the enemy is dead unless they are magically protected.... and a shot at an exposed area of a body has a minus penalty but if successful can have catastrophic consequences for the person/creature being hit

[@arealhumanbean3058]

​@@LB_adventurer This is one these rules I would never enjoy, DnD has no common sense when dealing with things like AC and HP anyway so implementing a rule where any PC or NPC can just be victims of a one shot because this particular time common sense should apply is weird to me Though I can see how some groups may like this ruling, if you enjoy it don't take my opinions as condemnation of it

[@quench100]

It basically says wearing a 'normal' helmet gives your head an AC equal to your armour's AC, or wearing a 'Great Helm' gives your head an AC of 1, whilst an unarmoured head has an AC of 10. 1 in 6 monsters' blows hit the head of an unarmoured PC, or 1 in 2 if the monster is intelligent. So it implies that if a PC is wearing a Great Helm, or no helm at all, the DM needs to make an additional roll every attack to see if the head was targeted. If that's not done there's no benefit to wearing a Great Helm, or np penalty to wearing no helm.

[@thebladesman]

Best advice I ever got was “just run the game”. You’ll never be 100% ready, just jump in. The more games you run,the better you will get at it. Stop overthinking and make believe

[@tomhassomethoughts]

I never knew that I needed a "This recently cleared-out temple comes with a 10-year abatement" t-shirt but now I must

[@arcticbanana66]

I always recommend that everyone, regardless of whether you're a player or DM, read Chapter 9, particularly the "Adventure Options" and "Combat Options" sections. There's some really good stuff in there, some of which probably _should_ have been in the PHB.

[@trikepilot101]

I read the original DMG cover to cover. Yep, even the appendices and index. I was 12, growing up in a small town. There was no internet and we got 4 or 5 TV channels.

[@jemhoare2105]

Same exact situation.

[@jeremyherndon2974]

Yep we only had two and a half lol. NBC came in nice and clear. PBS was okay mostly clear, if you turned the antenna just right you could get CBS with just a bit of snow flurries. And since two of my moms soap operas were on CBS I had to go out twice a day to move it for her one to get it on CBS then to get it back on NBC! lol.

[@joakimbjorkgren3511]

2e was my first edition. That DMG I read thoroughly multiple times. 3e and 5e I have hardly read except ”the important bits” such as treasure and xp

[@purplemicrodot58]

Sheesh! I doubt I even read the old boxed paper Basic Rules cover to cover. I fear you guys! 😜 I also had 4 channels... but I also had a bike, a football, an Atari 2600 and a local library with a sci-fi/fantasy section.

[@emilyhua7223]

if ur a pretty cosplayer appealing to theater kids and simps theres prolly very little reason to properly read the books lol....tbh its a perfect indictment of the "modern audience" and those who cater to them that one of the most popular girls talking about d&d waited this long to read a foundational text on the game.....imagine if a christian evangelist was preaching for 10yrs and said, "hey guis..i actually started reading this bible thing and its p good!"

[@Skibbified]

So no one here just sat down and read the books just for entertainment? That blows my mind, I'd read through them so many times growing up. Reading all the tables, advice, art, it would give my imagination fuel.

[@emilyhua7223]

u have prolly heard about the study and while its not 100 true for all ppl the gist was that..given batman..boys pretend to become batman and behave like batman doing the things batman does..while girls make batman behave like them and do the things the girl likes......obvs there are always exceptions but it makes perfect sense that someone like ginny would really have very little impetuous to read the book given her audience and predilections lol

[@InhabitantOfOddworld]

Same here. I remember reading the DMG cover-to-cover when I bought it, first getting into the RPG hobby

[@streetsurgery]

Mothership's Warden manual has the best hold your hand walk-through for new dms to get started in any system

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Great game.

[@kumithebear]

I was scrolling down to mention this. Yea, the Warden's Operation Manual from Mothership is the best DMG I've read in ages.

[@hawkthetraveler6344]

@@kumithebear color me curious

[@2ripped]

@@hawkthetraveler6344 and its 60 pages only

[@happyninja42]

I think the FFG dice system for both their Star Wars franchise, and their independent Genesys system is probably my favorite dice/rules system that exists. It's way more narratively oriented, and has built into the actual dice results, the capacity for extra flavoring on any action. The rules are simple and straightforward, the progression is easy to track, and allows for a lot of variability in your character design, and it helps to encourage the players to be more engaged in the dice results, as they can have more fun with the flavoring of the result, beyond just a binary pass/fail result.

[@matthewroy8116]

The professor has mastered the skill of making a video about indie products and games and dressing it up as D&D drama to bring the crowds. I LOVE this. BRAVO! Great takes and great video😊

[@rynowatcher]

To be fair, I think it is Genny Di's click bait that he is recycling. I did like the video to... the first time he uploaded it, but this is the third "rules you never knew were in the dmg," video he did.

[@matthewroy8116]

@@rynowatcher He's been pretty explicit in lots of videos about how people complain that he only makes D&D content while they simultaneously ignore his mountain of non-D&D content. I think it's a brilliant strategy to bring in lots of viewers and share the great wealth of indie gaming with them in ways that seem fun and accessible. The professor is a great ambassador for the hobby:)

[@rynowatcher]

@@matthewroy8116 I get the whole KZbin algorithm thing: you have to get clicks or else no one ever sees your next video, but you drive away your audience if you do not give them what they want. There are less people interested in indie games and that is just the nature of a smaller demographic, but you drive away your the audience you actually want by not covering topics they want. If you want to cover indie games, then you want the lower number of people who watch the under performing video as your core audience. There are decent sized channels that only do 2d20, or cyberpunk, or call of cthulhu, or gurps.... they do not pander to the trends and still get by. Heck, Questing Beast only does osr games and that channel is comparable is size and only did one video on Hasbro during the ogl crisis to say "you can just not use the ogl, here are games that do that with open licenses." The pandering garentees his indie game videos will underperformed because he did not establish that the channel is, "come here for indie games." Muddies the message.

[@ttprophet]

I love when people on reddit homebrew rules to "fix" D&D but it's already listed RAW in the DMG.

[@SanJacintoArtGuild]

This video is jam-packed with gems! Also passing this along to my librarian daughter, who is the sponsor of her Muddle school D&D club. This is a great video to your awesome collection

[@JuanRodriguez-rb6zm]

Another great resource for 5e and just in general is “The Monsters Know What They’re Doing”. Great advice for tactical combat and monster roleplay.

[@brianlouchen]

1000%

[@TiberiusTheDM]

Indeed!

[@MaxWellenstein]

Co-signed. TMKWTD is a well-written, thought-provoking resource, and it's changed how I run a whole range of creatures. Great stuff.

[@whatareyoudoingyouidiot342]

One rule I like is "Monsters Have Basic Survival Instincts". If the party is going to roll over a group of critters, some of them are going to try to run away and live to fight another day.

[@oz_jones]

Goblins with Roman-like tactics? Sounds terrifying.

[@QuickSilverAdventuringLeague]

I am in the "haven't read the DMG cover to cover" club and have been playing since the mid 80s. Nor have I read any of the books cover to cover and I will go out on a limb and say most players probably haven't read the PHB cover to cover. I have not found this to be an issue since most of us are not going to recall everything anyway. I find relying on my players and sometimes ad libbing works just fine to keep the story flowing and my players happy. I also appreciate the insight from You Tubers and commenters alike, whether they have read the books or not. No matter how long you have played or what you have read, you can have a moment of insight that helps others enjoy the game!

[@dennismokry258]

I too am quite sure that I never read any of the AD&D manuals ( started AD&D with 2nd but acquired many 1st Ed) or 3rd Ed core books completely through; however I am quite sure that I did read the BECMI manuals up into the Companion set. They were well written (understandable, informative, and entertaining); well formatted; well illustrated; and not overwhelming in size or depth.

[@JayAHafner]

Yes, after all these decades, I'm still finding cool stuff in these DMGs. Heck, the Moldvay Red with Keep on the Borderlands advice is fantastic reading. Thanks again for the great video!

[@HarrisonTheGrey]

Cleaving Through is so metal. Love using it in my games.

[@PhilBoswell]

Combine that with the idea of minions with minimal hit-points (is that from Matt Collville? 🤔) and you could be carving a swathe through hordes of them‼

[@johnmartorana196]

It's such a simple addition and looks like it makes being a bad-ass barbarian feel even more bad-ass-y. I'm sad to say I haven't read the DMG all the way through either, and missed that one. This reminds me of one of the older editions (2nd maybe?) I remember playing wirh an optional rule for fighters that said that so long as they were attack 1HD or less creatures, they could keep attacking every time they killed one, up to a number of creatures equal to their level. It let high-level fighters feel awesome cutting their way though swaths of enemy cannon fodder. I've though of porting something like that to the newer edition.

[@frederickcoen7862]

Just remember, the Optional RAW requires the targets to be 100% healthy. So hit a 7hp healthy goblin for 28 with a total sneak attack, you could actually kill up to four adjacent goblins with your vicious attack. But if the second gobbo in the line had 6hp because of a stubbed toe, you just kill two; if Stubby McToe was the first goblin, you only kill him!

[@HarrisonTheGrey]

@@frederickcoen7862 On second thought... let's just ignore the "100% healthy caveat". 'Tis a silly rule.

[@frederickcoen7862]

@@HarrisonTheGrey I harp on balance a lot, but I like this rule for encouraging melee martials. *Not* allowing ranged Legolas-types to be even more sniper deadly at range - maybe, if you want, they get to use the "100% healthy caveat", while the melee warriors finish off foes with abandon. The simplest "interpretation", without making a house rule that doesn't get out of hand in odd circumstances [I have a mental picture of 5 critically injured dragons killed by a rogue's crit sneak or paladin's crit smite...], is that regardless of the *current* hp of the ADDITIONAL foes, reduce your damage by their max hp? So you hit Gobbo-1, who had only 2hp, with your mighty 25pt barbarian swing. The axe continues into gobbo-2, killing him (how many hp did he have? doesn't matter, you "spend" 7, for a total of 9), as well as gobbo-3 (total 16) and gobbo-4 (total 23)! Gobbo-5 heaves a sigh of relief as the axe only nicks him for 2 damage. The barbarian didn't get an advantage for any injuries gobbos 2, 3, and 4 might have had, nor did he suffer some arbitrary shutdown because one stubbed a toe. This nicely allows the awesome, while also keeping the barbarian's strike at the expected power level the DMG rule expects. (and note that my proposal still allows you to *finish off* gobbo-1, and even potentially kill gobbo-5 if *he* is injured!)

[@natbarmore]

I’m a similar age to Professor DM, and I absolutely _did_ read the AD&D DMG cover-to-cover when I started DMing in the ‘80s-though not in order or all at one sitting. 2:22 Funnily enough, I’m pretty sure the magic items was one of the last parts I read-I skipped over that chapter initially, and only came back when I wanted to hand out magic items, or in response to rolling up an item in a treasure hoard. The only part I didn’t really read was the random encounter lists at the back, because I almost never used wandering monsters or random encounters. So I just looked at what lists were there, and occasionally looked at the entries on a particular table if I needed inspiration.

[@gddion]

Background skills is how 13th Age handles it, I love it, it forces the players to bargain with me about why their background is relevant in any given situation, it keeps them thinking and engaged. It's where most of their backstories come from, they develop organically over time.

[@MorinehtarTheBlue]

Reminds me of 1st Edition AD&D professions. But is also why they removed the soft benefits of backgrounds for 2024. It takes a deft and practiced hand to handle softer rules like that. Not everyone seems to be able to handle them. Which is why aren't always allowed nice things.

[@wozar7461]

Background skills are also part of the OSR and it is one of the reasons I love it. I wanna piggyback off of this comment because there is another similar "rule" that may be relevant to people who enjoy background skills. The section "Role of the Dice" (specifically the subsection "Ignoring the Dice") talk about using rolls rarely. >With this approach, the DM decides whether an action or a plan succeeds or fails based on how well the players make their case, how thorough or creative they are, or other factors. Further it goes: >This approach rewards creativity by encouraging players to look to the situation you've described for an answer, rather than looking to their character sheet or their character's special abilities. Combining "rare rolls" and background skills, you can encourage a more fiction first approach to 5e which to me makes the game much more immersive. Both of these are default in the OSR and is a large reason why I moved from 5e to that.

[@yobgodababua1862]

The post-its in "So you want to be a game master" really tell us everything we need to know about what you think of it. This is not a book that sits on a shelf... you USE this thing relentlessly.

[@Clem68W]

I have probably read every page of the DM's guide for 1e/2e, but not in order. As you mentioned, it's a book of tables, organized loosely with an index.

[@screenmonkey]

Definitely the book I read on the throne of contemplation. That's the toilet.

[@rynowatcher]

@@Clem68W the high Gigaxian was the bigger problem for trying to read and make heads or tails out of it. The BECMI set was a lot more digestible. I think everything 3e onward was meant to be read straight through.

[@GarrettMoffitt]

If you believe that, then you haven't read the advanced dms guide aka '1e'. It's full of great advice and information. Almost every question in how to run a game, and why things are the way they are is answered there.

[@Clem68W]

@@GarrettMoffitt yeah, no it's awesome, I'm being facetious. I still laugh when I think of potion miscibility tables. But that was cool. I think early DnD material was far better at giving you the tools to diy.

[@janbiela8596]

Im genuinely surprised that so many people haven’t read the DMG 😄 My first DMG was for 3e, I read it cover to cover and took some notes. I have done the same for 4e and 5e and will definitely do the same for the new 2024 version.

[@emilyhua7223]

me too...mostly lol! am i surprised with how many ppl havent read it? yea.....am i surprised someone like ginny hadnt read it??? not in the least lol.....when ur a cosplayer whose primary appeal is to theater kids and simps..reading the dmg is prolly the least profitable use of her time lol!

[@SimonAshworthWood]

I read most of the 2nd edition AD&D DMG except for some of the magic item info (because I wanted some of it to be a mystery for when I am a player). I really enjoyed reading that DMG (the art made a big difference there). I still remember it as one of my favourite experiences as a teenager. I learnt a lot from reading it. I recommend it.

[@rynowatcher]

My favorite rule from the dmg is the gritty realism rules. Short rests are a night and long rests are a week. I kind of think that should be the default to make time meaningful in a game as most 5e encounter balance is based on the 6 encounter "adventuring day."

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Gritty realism IS good. Had I more time, I would have mentioned it.

[@VhaidraSaga]

What page?

[@rynowatcher]

@@VhaidraSaga I forget off hand, but it is around the "hero point" section, which I remember is listed in the index. Hero Points being a suggestion for more pulpy games and the realism rules being there as an example of how to dial in the fantasy.

[@jefR6875]

@@VhaidraSaga Rest Variants (pg 267)

[@zionich]

We moved to this rule in the campaign we just started.

[@MarkGarringer]

The 5e DMG is full of great stuff for an EXPERIENCED DM. It was not written for the influx of novice players and DMs.

[@samgruenberg4500]

Yes and when it was written it was impossible to predict the influx of new DMs who arrived. WotC was fortunate that so many content creators -- Dungeon Craft, Matt Colville, Sly Flourish, etc. -- filled that void.

[@CorrosiveCitrus]

It's true, it even points new DM's to play the starter kit adventure first in the very first paragraph of the DMG, as it assumes you've: - Been the DM for Lost Mine of Phandelver, taking in the DM advice from that - Read the players handbook and are familiar with the core rules

[@rynowatcher]

I always thought it was written for dms of all experiance level. Things like the chart of poisons, trap damage, magic items, suggested dc's, and the monster chart seems universally applicable. It runs into the same problem as most advice channels do: they do not know you or what you are good at, so the advice runs the gambit from problematically vague to really over written because someone might think Stuck Door is a game term instead of natural language. You run into the same thing here, as this is the third video pdm did on this same topic. If anyone could say it once and it be understood by all, it would be done.

[@YoJesusMorales]

Stuck door doesn't seem to be for experienced DMs, lol. I think it's more for people actually willing to read it.

[@thodan467]

Show me those please IMPOV it get s the basics but then it gets at best thinh

[@russellparker5043]

Pulled down the old 1e effreti cover DMG a few months back and had to get a magnifying glass to read it… 👴📖🔎

[@phillipbernhardt-house6907]

Ah, the unsung pleasures of the new Sears Christmas Catalog...something the younger generations will never know, sadly.

[@darthbrooks4933]

Where at one point, you can have a rifle delivered to your door step

[@phillipbernhardt-house6907]

@@darthbrooks4933 If you ever get the chance, look at a Sears catalog from the late 1800s...it's amazing what else you could get in those days! ;)

[@h.s.lafever3277]

second edition AD&D was the finest edition made. it is the one still used by us in the Alaska Gen-X wargaming club, sure we do mix in warhammer fantasy rules for the mass combat, but its really about the characters party

[@mattlowder]

I can't believe how many know it all content creators are admitting to never reading the core books cover to cover at least once. Lots of admissions of this over the past week. There's good stuff in there, and it's the best way to know what to change or if something already exists in the rules. I'm shocked. I read the DMG and PHB every summer cover to cover. I'm a better DM for it.

[@jeffhatch679]

I have read all three core books cover to cover for AD&D. It helped me to learn the rules better than even those in the know. The 1st Edition DMG was one of the greatest books I have ever read!

[@Arnkel]

Ive read every core rulebook from every edition of D&D from white box through 5e cover to cover. I go back and reread the 2e, 1e, and rules cyclopedia rulebooks around every other year. I gain new insights every time. I wasnt aware that it was unusual to do this.

[@WailingNinja]

Yea, I wasn't aware of this. I love reading the core rulebooks, it's the first thing I do when I get them and it's something I sometimes do if I'm bored and I just want to kick back with a cup of coffee and some music on.

[@broceollomon]

There's a small section, almost a footnote, in the 5e DMG about partial hits. It doesn't give advice on how to implement them, but I find 5e's combat to be overlong so implementing half damage if you miss AC by 1 and a quarter damage if you miss AC by 2 has done wonders for game speed and players love it.

[@littlegiantj8761]

@@broceollomon -shares idea of "partial hits" -no advice on how to use them ...sounds about right for 5e rules

[@The-0ni]

@@littlegiantj8761It might be a completely different section of the DMG, but if I’m right it actually outlines partial hits very well. If something is attacking you but misses you because of the cover bonus, then the attack hits the cover instead. Ex. Fighter attacking spellcaster/warlord in the back with a long bow, misses because the intervening grunt, the attack hits the grunt instead. The only other rule I can think of is excess damage to a target lets you carry/cleave that damage to an adjacent target. Stuff is outlined in surprising detail sometimes. People just don’t read…

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Exactly I only plan the next session. Cleaving through is an awesome rule

[@johnmartorana196]

It's such a simple addition and looks like it makes being a bad-ass barbarian feel even more bad-ass-y. I'm sad to say I haven't read the DMG all the way through either, and missed that one. This reminds me of one of the older editions (2nd maybe?) I remember playing wirh an optional rule for fighters that said that so long as they were attack 1HD or less creatures, they could keep attacking every time they killed one, up to a number of creatures equal to their level. It let high-level fighters feel awesome cutting their way though swaths of enemy cannon fodder. I've though of porting something like that to the newer edition.

[@johnmartorana196]

Glad you mentioned the chase rules. More people should use them, or something like them, rather than trying to kludge 5e's tactical combat rules into something that should feel more cinematic. 5e in particular, with it's Attacks of Opportunity amd Disengage rules, can effectively make it impossible for anyone to flee combat if one side wants to continue fighting. I don't know about your games, but there's just a huge tendency in ours for players to be willing to pretty much fight to the death in almost any scenario. I like remind players that combat rules are only this mini-game that we zoom into when both sides want to fight. And things like having a separate set of chase mechanics reinforce that everyone doesn't have to fight to the death.

[@ODDnanref]

I have no idea who you've been fighting but my group has had several enemies run away. Granted, the group was low level. We have used the chase rules a fair bit.

[@JenEssitBroughman]

Actually, I have read every DM's and PHB's book (and many, many others) cover to cover up to the 3.5 Edition (the last good edition). I figured that if I paid for it, I might as well get the most for my money. Also, as I was reading through each book, I would think of concepts I would like to include in my campaigns only to find that similar or equivalent concepts were included in the book; thus I saved time on more than a few occasions by simply utilizing what was already in the book. Cleaving Through? Yes, I've been using it for a decade or two. Try to keep up people. Background knowledge? Started implementing this back with AD&D. Just as Prof. DM said, if your character grew up or was apprenticed in a given trade, you would obviously know the in's and out's of that occupation. The GM/DM IS the rule book in his campaign, don't bother consulting another.

[@cadenceclearwater4340]

Your _No Initiative, Initiative_ video was my first. You've had me hooked ever since. Ta 😊

[@matthewesch8758]

7:31 - the "adding dice" as random modifiers was done in Alternity.

[@ggfrt96]

i found that i knew more than most people after i read through the dmg and phb completely -- it made me a much better DM

[@L3X3CUTION3R]

I might be weird, but I have read all of the hardcover books from 1E, 2E, and 3/3.5E. I read the core hardcovers for 4E plus some its supplemental books, and I read all of the 5E hardcover books. All cover to cover.

[@Shadraen1]

I LOVED the AD&D 1st Edition Dungeon Masters Guide, and while not necessarily in one sit through, I'm pretty sure have read it cover to cover :)

[@scrapperlock9437]

Professor DM - You have now met someone who read the entire old-school DMG cover to cover. Multiple times. I loved to read as a kid. There weren't many games out there with rulebooks to read. So my friends and I read and re-read the D&D books many times. I also read the entire DMG except for the individual magic item blurbs from cover to cover when I got 5e. I'm actually rather surprised that DMs don't do this, though maybe I shouldn't be, given how my students don't read their textbooks.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Cool!

[@brentr9161]

On building a full fledged campaign. Having done it twice and both only lasting 5ish sessions I agree that it's a bad idea. However I think there's value in at least sketching out a basic world with a handful of decent hooks for players to latch onto. You can then fill out details as your players travel around doing their adventuring stuff.

[@jamesverhoff1899]

I've found the value is in giving the DM flexibility. The party is in town, and they decide to go to a tavern. You can do a generic tavern and whatever, but if you know this is a town where the sailors from this other town tend to come into port, now you've got an organic bar room brawl that the party has to deal with--something that happens around them that they can respond to, and which makes the world feel richer. Of course, I world-build for fun, so I'm definitely on the "More is more" side of this debate!

[@joshabel6157]

Love this video! “This temple comes with a 10 year abatement.” 😂😂😂 I use proficiency dice at one of my tables and it’s great. I also use hero points because the group likes to roll a lot so I give them lots of opportunities to roll and try new things.

[@DUNGEONCRAFT1]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@awaytoanywhere699]

As always an informative video Professor. On top of my head, I got a new term for proficiency. Traffic-light profiency. Red: PC has no specific skills, roll a d20 Yellow: PC has somewhat knowledge of the thing, roll a d20 + d4 Green: PC has insight an is proficient with a task, roll with advantage (2d20 - pick the highest).

[@thesonofdormammu5475]

I'm going to pick up those books. I've been DM'ing for almost 40 years, a lot of that with the same group. I need some fresh ideas. Thanks for mentioning them today, I have been thinking the last couple of days that I needed some inspiration and you came through for me!

[@jmwytube]

Your videos are always great man. Outstanding!

[@neepers]

In terms of planning, there should be a difference between creating a living world and planning 1 session ahead. For example, I have a fully open world in Act 1. They could potentially go to 20+ different areas--but all scenarios are prepared for. As time passes, since its a living world, what they do and don't do will change things, but the core framework of the world is still there. That being said, I have enough content for about 40 sessions in front of them (that's 40 sessions + the consequences of whatever they do). This gives me a lot of fun stuff to tweak and create between sessions--but I plan way way way ahead. "I only want to design things that players are going to see" I'm the kind of person that plans a world. Their narrative story arc will bring them to virtually every place--might as well plan ahead. The only areas that I don't expect them to go to are random adventures, but those can always just be used down the road.

[@neilhenderson6602]

Another great slice of DM wisdom from the Prof. Have to say I'm looking forward to the new DM's guide which will hopefully be better written and organised than the 2014 version. In many ways Justin's book and the excellent Lazy DM's series are attempts to help DM's come to terms with the deficiencies of that edition of the DM's guide - and credit to them for writing them.

[@Keraejis]

I do flip through all my books just because you never know what new interesting things you can find to add to your game. On that note, the 5th ed DMG was extremely terrible as far as organization from the contents page to the last index page. The contents didn't give a good enough breakdown of what was within each chapter and the index didn't have half the subjects I was looking for, even if it was the exact name in the book. And then what you said is exactly correct. It really needed to be structured in a way to be a bit more intuitive and helpful for the reader to be able to find and understand things. But that aside, I was able to glean some much needed information out of it so it wasn't 'useless'.

[@jcraigwilliams70]

Maybe I am weird but I read my books cover to cover because 1) when I pay for a book, I'm gonna read it all, and 2) I generally enjoy reading RPG books, even those of games I know I will never play.

[@keithkannenberg7414]

I definitely read the whole AD&D DMG back in the day. It's an organizational mess -that was obvious to teenage me. But I loved Gary's writing style. It was fun to read, even the sections that weren't especially useful. I wouldn't recommend using that style for a new book but it worked.

[@v.h.rodriguez7997]

Seeing those post-it note tabs in your books takes me back. Thanks for the video.

[@adamvolk7905]

Side initiative is my favourite house rule. It also adds way more strategic depth. Now instead of just waiting for your turn, players can strategize and discuss who is going to go first and try to come up with combos and new tactics as the battle changes.

[@IndyMotoRider]

Are your players' characters telepathic or do they have time to strategize while monsters are trying to dismember them? Out of curiosity.

[@ntolman]

​@@IndyMotoRiderAthletes in team sports can do it just fine.

[@blanesherman5434]

@@ntolman Athletes do not discuss in-depth tactics in the middle of the action; they use brief signals or short words or phrases. There is no time to confer with your party members while an orc is punching you in the face.

[@arealhumanbean3058]

​@@blanesherman5434 irl elite teams have various hand signs and codes they use to communicate quickly, it isn't the end of the world to assume an adventuring party can use them

[@blanesherman5434]

@@arealhumanbean3058 "Communicate quickly" is exactly what I said. That is not the same thing as in depth strategy discussions.

[@billyinabox2278]

Great video. Reminds me of those old time life commercials "It's in the book."

[@jacobhope6164]

Yep, that's in line with my D&D experience as well. When new books and editions came out, we always approached them like additional options on a buffet. We chose what looked good to us, then tried it. We went back for what we liked and sometimes found new favorites.

[@OwlFish]

one of my favorite is how to handle traps. Often most 5e gm jest use passive perception or call for a perception check to detect a trap. however the 5e dmg says: "you shouldn’t allow die rolling to override clever play and good planning. Use your common sense, drawing on the trap’s description to determine what happens... You should allow a character to discover a trap without making an ability check if an action would clearly reveal the trap’s presence. For example, if a character lifts a rug that conceals a pressure plate, the character has found the trigger and no check is required." Allowing your player to succeed automatically if they think cleverly is better way to handle it thank jest rolling a check.

[@Jaybirderino]

"The most important session you are ever going to design is the next one." What an incredible line of advice!

[@heidijugovic6342]

One of my favorites is the additional actions that let players move through an enemy's space with a check and a bonus action. I like a battlefield that has more mobility for both players and monsters, and this helps eliminate bottlenecks when using a grid and highly tactical play.

[@rolandschreurs6980]

Cleaving through is the best. Thanksfor giving it the shout out it deserves

[@minutemansmonitor]

"No one reads it cover to cover" Me, who did just that with the 3.5 DMG: You underestimate my power! 😂

[@randydoffing3204]

When I started DM-ing about 7 years ago, I did read the DMG from cover to cover. I found a lot helpful tips -- not that I used all of them. I always wanted to try to create a random dungeon using the method that outlined in the book. It would interesting to try but I don't know how playable it would be. Still, I'm curious to try it sometime.

[@mattlockshin4744]

"Like a Sears Christmas catalog" 😂

[@JayAHafner]

it was such a retro thing to say. I wonder what the cut-off date of birth is for this one.

[@yourdagan]

​@@JayAHafner As a 1996 (and Chicagoan), I'm aware of what Sears was but never saw a catalogue.

[@Icosiol]

@@yourdagan1992 by my calculations.

[@satori2890]

Ye the newest player in the game I play in was looking through the DMG in front of me and I'm Oooooo you've NEVER Seen that

[@StarAllKungfu]

Love 4E minions. I think every game should have them. Every edition has a few gems. For those unaware, Minions, are 1 hp monsters, that the players can kill if they can deal damage. I usually have a few Skeleton minions aiding a Necromancer, and whenever his turn comes (*Or if you have Legendary actions.) Have them do an Animate to bring them back. Usually 4 per player. They deal minimal damage. Roughly half a die roll, like 4-5 hp on a hit. You can use this with Kobolds coming out of warrens, or for hordes of rats. I like rodents of unusual size vs Swarm mechanics myself.

[@lordofdorknessdm3085]

Fun video. Always interesting to see what nuggets of good gameplay are buried in the details when they should otherwise be highlighted.

[@paddysparlor]

I love reading my books, if I was able to save enough money for a book, I have to read it cover to cover. Otherwise, I feel like I’ve wasted my money. I don’t have much money as it is. Even games that I’ve bought that I decided I might not play more than once or ever (looking at GiantLands), I’ve read at least once cover to cover. I think what surprises me is when some people say, “Look at this cool rule I made up!” Or “This is my home-brew!” And I’m like “But that’s in the book?” Any way, I think WotC and Gary’s biggest mistake was investing so much effort into pushing “The rules don’t matter” mantra. The rules create a relatable experience between tables. And mutual understanding of the rules might stop a lot of online squabbles. Anyway, thanks for the video Professor! Here’s to more people reading and loving the rules as written

[@Arasaka]

I read them too. I don't understand those who don't. I started in the 80s and was frequently accused of being a "Rules Lawyer" because I knew the rules and people didn't like getting called out for making sh|t up that gave them the favourable outcome. Don;t like rules and want to make up stuff? Fine, just play a system like Amber then - oh wait, it wasn't that successful. I wonder why? No rules, no agency. Your choices/decisions now all come down to DM Fiat - which I've suffered under as a player, and despise. The rules do matter. A lot - and they should.

[@paddysparlor]

@@Arasakaexactly!

[@unforseenconsequense]

I read the 2e DMG and Players Handbook recently and it has a lot of good advice crammed in that would have been very helpful had I read the book earlier even though I played Pathfinder.

[@DavidCookeZ80]

I can't remember if this was an actual 1e rule (and I'm not reading the whole thing to find it) or something we homebrewed, but on a melee crit you could choose to do the damage to two adjacent targets instead of doubling up on one.

[@turtlecheese8]

Getting into OSR games, side based initiative always scared me in case one side is to strong. But after actually using it in The One Ring system, I truly enjoy it and it's much faster.

[@CountAdolfo]

OK, so, am I the exception to the rule, here, no pun intended? 1e I not only read the entire DMG, I could practically recite what page info was on. I'm going to have to cover this on my podcast. This is a good video, Professor! Thanks for posting it! Also... I have run a game recently for 12 players. There are tricks to make individual initiative work better

[@eliholman848]

Relics (greater magic items) and their effects are great ways to implant some volatile magic like Dungeon Crawl Classics, as well as some interesting boons for players and NPCs.

[@bradcraig6676]

When I first started serving as DM in our 5e group, I read it cover to cover, and was astounded at all the stuff in there that almost no one apparently knows about. To be fair, I did not use 98% of it, but it's good to know there's options available if you ever need them.

[@bluelionsage99]

Man, I read every DMG front to back. Usually at least twice. Didn't use everything I read but I did want to make sure I understood the construction of the rules as best I could.

[@williehalderman3351]

I've been saying that since I started playing for second edition and always been annoyed by people condescendingly talking about how much you don't need it like they were better DMs for not reading it or something. I'm glad to see people with influencers starting to agree, thank you.

[@Stefanos07520]

Spell points!!! The alternate rule to use spell points instead of spell slots has always made more sense to me. Especially in modern editions, where we're not preparing individual spells anymore.

[@thomasparker6124]

There are optional rules for Morale buried on p273. The most impactful section from when I read the 2E DMG as a young teenager was the long section on Morale and when and when not to roll.

[@MormonFoodie]

I remember reading (much) of the first edition DMG. I've even read about half of edition 3.5. Here's where the weird confession comes, though. When I was running AD&D back in the day, I didn't have a copy of the monster manual. I never bought it! Some of my players had it, but the monster stats were printed in a nice table in the back of the DMG. I just used that, and made stuff up if I didn't know exactly what it was supposed to do.

[@thedigitaldm75]

The abatement joke just made me do a literal spit take. Thank you for the laugh!

[@stevencrofts6705]

I start being a DM with 2nd edition. I still think the most helpful guide was the Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide it was a 2nd rule DM Rules Supplement.

[@robertatwork]

The Proficiency Die instead of the Proficiency Bonus is a mean trick to play on your players. The bonus is great from Levels 1-4, but increasingly gets worse each time they switch to a die with more sides. Almost like an illusion that their character is getting "beefier" as they level up, however the player's chance of success on anything with Proficiency Dice decreases as they level up. Unless they're up for the extra challenge, or want to Multi-Class, this could be a way to re-balance.

[@daviddalrymple2284]

When you don't have a regular D&D game on the go, but you are really excited to start playing/running one, it's easy to find the time to read the DMG from cover to cover.

[@ttprophet]

4:58 i joined a discord campaign where the DM had me read the tectonic plates, mineral deposits, weather patterns, and geographical biome diversity of the planet. It was NOT a short read, but i did it to be respectful of what he worked on because he advertised it as a playtest for a book he wanted to publish. I knew more about that planet than I did planet earth, and he turned out to be an awful DM who took every fun decision i made as charlatan as a personal attack, stopped the game session 1, and scolded me like a child out of character for my charlatan rogue telling lies to the gate guard the DM told us to go thru. After we debated the nature of my character, he finally let me roll deception. it was really high. So the guard gets his manager, and i had to roll again. it was really high. So that manager got his manager, and i roll again. It was really high, and so that manager got his manager. My roll was high but not 30 high. I got sent to maximum security prison by the front gate guards for... checks notes.... lying about my noble title. DM: "He was going to let you in anyways! Why would you have to go and lie?" Me: "because it's session 1 and i wanted to show the party my high deception as an introduction to my social abilites as a spy for the campaign." DM: "well now you are in prison." I politely dismissed myself and left the game.

[@samuraiBSD]

The only (official, D&D branded) DMG I've actually read through is the 1e AD&D one. The rest, I used as reference when I needed it. Pretty sure that's the way they're intended to be used.

[@Helldritch40]

I have always read DMG of all editions for rules, advice and snippets that might elude us. Especially the second edition one where many rules were changed but it was not readily apparent. I use a lot of the "optional" rules in the 5ed DMG and I wouldn't play without them. Especially the gritty realism rules (that I have adapted for a better narrative facilitator). Not reading the DMG is opening yourself for surprises. And I don't like surprises...

[@zelbarnap]

Mike Shea the lazy Dungeonmaster books are amazing. If I recall correctly, I think that Bob world builder said it was better than the DMG. I would say the DMG is more like an index reference but that the lazy Dungeonmaster works for the practical working DM. Just an Alexander’s book on how to be a good Dungeonmaster is amazing.

[@geoffreyperrin4347]

I like side initiative with one change. I set a DC, often the highest or most common passive initiative of the enemy side (so either the boss or minions if they are especially swift) and any PC that beats this DC goes first, then all enemies, then all PCs (even those that went earlier) and then you have side initiative. If you want to make it likely a boss goes early, give the Boss a DC of 20, use the most common initiative for the rest of the enemies, then have it go: those that beat DC 20, boss, those that beat minions, then all PCs and then all enemies and repeat PCs -> Enemies

[@geoffreyperrin4347]

That said, I use fantasy grounds so tracking initiative is automated enough I just use regular initiative since FG does so much for me all I have to do is ask player results and we are good to go as soon as players can roll

[@sterlinggecko3269]

I read every edition's PHB and DMG cover to cover the day I brought them home. even the 4th and 5th editions that I bought but never played. well, 1 game of 4th and BG3's 5th ed. I remember one time a rules argument broke out at the table, and I wasn't part of it, but suddenly, everyone turned to me, stopped arguing, and I read the pertinent rule from memory. then I eventually nudged us to take up Pathfinder, and I have all this useless previous edition knowledge mixing up my games.

[@eSkilliam]

My DM introduced me to Spell Points (vs. Slots) in the DM's Guide and that one is a lot of fun!

[@G-Funk42]

When I was about 11 years old, I did read the AD&D 2E DMG cover to cover. Let me assure you, you didn't miss all that much if you just skipped to the treasure tables and magic items.

[@oxylepy2]

Oh, I've been playing around with PF1E and god I always forget how much stuff there is in these rule sets. Like Darkvision and Low Light Vision, I should be able to read that and generally understand what it means, but these games have like entire dissertations on vision mechanics

[@dustincoopermusic]

I started to read the DMG, and had a hard time getting through the beginning stuff , and gave up. People laugh, because I tell them I run 5E using the PHB, and the DM's section of the free rules. Not because I don't like what's in the DMG (I have barely gotten through it all), but because I feel a rpg's rules should not be more than the size of the PHB. Seriously, I'm tired of this three book model (not Pathfinder is doing it). I guess that's why I love Tiny Dungeon, Shadowdark, OSE (basic), and Dragonbane so much. You pointed out some awesome stuff in the DMG, BTW, so thank you! The one thing I was very disappointed with 5E was that they kept saying that 5E would allow you to run your favorite D&D, but they had no rules on running magic like 4E (which was the version of D&D that got me back into playing D&D).

[@artzpops]

"You swing your battle axe and behead the hapless orc, but your momentum carries into the beast next to him! It's head to...flies into the fray!"

[@satori2890]

His spinning head hitts another orc in the loincloth 😮

[@mr.sluggo7525]

The Gamemaster’s Guide for Pathfinder was an excellent resource for first time gamemasters.

[@MogofWar]

I played Pool of Radiance on the NES and reverse engineered the D&D rules from that game. I skimmed a few charts from the 2nd Edition Players Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide to fill in the rest. When 3.5 came out, I skimmed the PHB and never even owned a DMG. For 5E, I've skimmed the feats and a few of the charts.

[@BanjoSick]

GM Law for Rolemaster has 70 pages of non rule rpg theory/philosophy . That book was my meat growing up. Read it every day except when I was hungover.

[@JudgeShadowfoot]

Similar to backgrounds, DCC has character occupations at zero level. They have callouts in many modules that specifically say, if there are characters with (Input specific occupations here), the character gets bonuses to checks or automatically know or understand something.

[@danielcrystal3943]

I love the minion rules from 4e (and carried on by Matt Colville). Makes fighting your way through a whole bunch of mooks a lot of fun.

[@satori2890]

And totally ignored by 5e. I use it and chop through, and Last Strike in my very metal SD game

[@kidren50]

both DMGs for 4e were AMAZING, specially DMG2. I know a lot of people hate 4e, but my God, those 2 books have A LOT of really usefool tips and tools for DMs orf any system. They ACTUALLY teach you how to be a DM,.

[@ArcNeoMasato]

I can't remember off hand if it was the first or second DMG for 4th edition (Yes, that edition had 2 DMGs, 3 MMs, and even 3 PHBs) that had an extensive list of map symbols for marking locations of treasures, doors, arrow slits in walls, just anything you could think of, and most of them were really intuitive once you saw them, so they'd quickly become second nature.

[@blackmage471]

7:20 at face value background skills seems great. But I think they might struggle with character growth in long-running campaigns, and there is greater potential for disagreements over what a character can or cannot do or know. If I am playing in a long-running campaign, my character is going to eventually pick up new skills over time. Background skills don't have a natural means to track newly acquired skills like a skill list. If my character's background is pirate, then he's always going to be a pirate. I suppose I could write down additional experiences as they're accumulated. But over time that list is going to develop into a collection of disorganized niche skills. At that point I might as well have the skill list anyways. Regarding the second point, not everyone is as equally knowledgeable about all the same things, potentially leading to arguments at the table. Suppose my character is a hunter of some kind and I am tracking some wolves. I might think I need to take down the alpha wolf, but the GM knows the whole concept of an alpha wolf is a common misconception based on observations of wolves in captivity, and in reality, wolf packs in their natural habitat are family units made of parents and their cubs.

[@Thorn99855]

I LOVE "cleave through" and "group initiative" and I may be implementing those immediately.

[@mohnkern]

THere's a genre book for Cypher System called "We are all mad here" which is about running in a fairy tale universe. There's a section of the book that talks about playing characters with emotional challenges, and also players that have emotional challenges. It should be a bible for any GM.

[@lauramumma2360]

They all have good ideas to mine for what ever edition you are playing