New Dungeon Masters: Campaigns, House Rules, Modules vs Homebrew Web DM Dungeons & Dragons

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New DM’s! Welcome to D&D World! However you got here, we’re about to answer the important questions. (0:55) How do you get players for your table? You could ask friends, go to meetup.com, or try local gaming store. (2:30) What kind of game do you want to play? World threatening event, or natural disaster. Be sure to “own” your setting. Figure out if there are certain rules you’d like to amend. (6:10) Basic but true advice...Read the Dungeon Masters Guide. Don’t be like Pruitt during his first few failed campaigns. (7:16) Don’t get too attached to your setting, and keep the focus on your players not world. (12:00) Work with your PC’s build the world. (12:45) Determine where you want to start the adventure. (14:00) What tier of play should you start? (15:00) Pick your type of adventure and then your monsters. (15:30) Be wary of the CR system. (16:40) Instead, consider the number of actions your monsters have vs the number your PC’s have...Action Economics 101. (19:36) How will you level up your PC’s? (XP, Milestones, attendance) Using XP can breeds murder hobos. Milestones could be finishing a particular quest or discovering an area. (23:17) You may be considering a homebrew campaign. Regardless, don’t worry about how long the campaign lasts. (26:25) Don’t create the end at the beginning, just go with the flow. (27:30) Trap words! Roll a Dex Save. Be careful around the words sandbox or Railroad. (29:20) It’s like jazz. Balance structure with improv. (31:43) Final thoughts are on modules. Jim recommends Curse of Strahd. We then run through the remaining offerings from Wizards of the Coast. (37:26) Jim issues mating call.
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5e Dungeons & Dragons is here to stay, and Web DM is here to help!!! Jim Davis & Jonathan Pruitt have been playing Dungeons & Dragons for a combined 30+ years, and on Web DM they demystify, dethrone, and defrock this Dungeon we call Dragons! Subscribe to our channel for weekly videos on 5e Classes, Monsters, DM Tips, and more! Join Pruitt & Jim as we kick down the door and talk some serious Dungeons & Dragons!

[@WebDM]

Thanks for watching! Want more Web DM in your life? Get our podcast here: www.patreon.com/webdm

[@danielcox7629]

What was that website again

[@danielcox7629]

For finding d&d groups

[@chrishouston909]

you prolly dont care at all but does someone know a trick to log back into an instagram account?? I was dumb forgot my password. I love any help you can give me.

[@estebanlucas2483]

@Chris Houston instablaster ;)

[@chrishouston909]

@Esteban Lucas i really appreciate your reply. I found the site through google and Im trying it out now. Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will reply here later with my results.

[@tha_demilich1312]

Jim; "Don't write a 20 page bible for your setting." *Looks over and sees my still open Google Doc of my 48 page bible for my setting* Yeah... DEFINITELY won't do that... *nervously laughs*...

[@jondeoliveira8248]

Scumbag_Stormtrooper Waver not in thine Faith, for seeking thou shall find a group to DM according to thine Holy setting.

[@MD-pg1fh]

Write a 200 word abstract that starts with what makes your setting unique. Then write a 1500 word more detailed explanation. The 48 pages are supplementary material. Writing campaigns in "letter to nature" style.

[@JPruinc]

I've done it a few times now.

[@elizabethlestrad5282]

Scumbag_Stormtrooper Don't write a setting guide? ~glances at the Forgotten Realms Setting Guide~ Uh huh -_-...

[@thedarkgenious7967]

I mean, if you intend to make that setting the main staying place for several campaigns....

[@pvrhye]

I think new DMs sometimes think of themselves as writers. The danger of that kind of thinking is that you tend to value novelty and avoid cliche. But since your game is in the shared imagination of the players at the table, cliche is solid friggin gold.

[@miylacrystal9938]

My excuse is that the CoS book gave me nothing on arabelle as the ally, AT ALL I had to make up my own stuff I hope it works, I am literally just watching this so that I can learn because I want my session to go well next Saturday

[@tnttv5360]

got a friend that thinks of himself as a writer even after 15 year of gming, jeez the scripting XD

[@Logan_Baron]

It's more like you are writing the story WITH the players. I write the world, the players write the story.

[@chaddixon9764]

My players decided that "The Empire's largest hay bale," was located in a specific town and it became cannon.

[@JPruinc]

Chad-Solomon Dixon you gotta bring in the tourists somehow.

[@hazezero689]

The happy medium between Rail-road and Sandbox, I have heard called Amusement Park; basically it allows you to hop on and off various rides (rail-roads) as much or as little or in whatever order you like (the sandbox).

[@JPruinc]

Brad Guzzardo I love it!

[@oblivion_blades_gaming2987]

I personally would call that a "woodland trail:" with a set end goal, and a few set events, but also being very loose and leaving a comfortable amount of freedom.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

I call that "mission-based." The players are free to take on whatever mission they want, and can do any free-form roleplaying or wandering around between missions. I let the players know - through NPC rumors, requests, setting details - what missions are available, and while working on or completing missions what new quests open up. If the PCs completely ignore all that and wander off in a random direction - fine, there are missions available over there too (even if they have to be randomly determined).

[@arthurcainii]

Genius

[@janrudzki5651]

Pruitt's Beard is crossing over into the second tier I see...

[@mariuszmichalski5468]

I never knew how to spell his name thank you

[@mattcoyle5316]

lovin' the Salt & Pepper look it has.

[@gwynevans3328]

Getting close to morally ambiguous Archmage level beard.

[@franzluggin398]

I was just about to comment that. Have a like!

[@JPruinc]

mwhaha

[@davidrahn9903]

I was that naive new DM who had barely played before, 2 years later and a whole lot of web DM I'm finally an ok DM. So thanks for helping guys.

[@JPruinc]

David Rahn I'm glad we could help.

[@Jah_Coby]

So now you're an incredible dm certainly

[@filippocataldo3275]

"You gain experience by failing" - JP No words are more true.

[@GhoztFluffy]

filcat Except when you're trying to level up

[@willmendoza8498]

filcat Amen to that

[@kapittsalt]

Literally true in Dungeon World. :)

[@JPruinc]

The muse descends from time to time.

[@calvinbarboza]

Rolls nat 1 Party is awarded 1000 exp.

[@AeronAscension]

as far as letting your players do the work in building your world. When I first started running a campaign in my custom world, I started running regular one shots (with both people in my campaign and other friends) that took place in my world prior to the big campaign I was running. I made all the results of the one shots part of the lore of the different areas. Needless to say my player's face when he ventured to a hill dwarf village and saw a statue of his character from a one shot in the middle of town was well worth it.

[@JPruinc]

Sauce Bauce that's a fun idea.

[@ryansnodgrass1128]

Genius!

[@robgates456]

You may have intended this episode for new DMs, but it's a great watch even for old hands. Question is, where were you guys when I ran my first game back in '82? Keep up the great work guys!

[@JPruinc]

Rob Gates Well....I was 3 years old.

[@thechikage1091]

Absolutely, I've been playing for years and I still come back to these videos because they're just a treasure trove of great philosophy

[@ltran96]

Pruitt's beard has reached Evil Wizard levels. Give it a month or two, he might reach sinister baron BBEG.

[@Alefiend]

You guys should be especially proud of this episode. Not only was it excellent advice for people new to the hobby, it also reminds us venerable grognards of some things we tend to forget. Inspiring.

[@Andrewc87563]

Rule 1: Start with a joke, use one of Pruitt's. Rule 2: Every group doesn't quite play by the book so don't worry about what others do - have fun, Rule 3: Watch more episodes of Web DM!

[@Entaris]

What do I do when I run out of episodes? Please halp, quickly approaching the finish line.

[@Andrewc87563]

Brandon Graves Rinse and repeat (as there are many hidden gems) and wait till next Wednesday.

[@JPruinc]

I approve of this advice.

[@Casanuda]

Rule 0: The dungeon master is always right.

[@Mrsquiggley]

My chaotic Neutral Half Orc Bard in CoS side railed the story so much after pissing off a Orcish Barmaid that so far 3 sessions in we're still hiding from her as we travel across Barovia, its played really into the story and atm is a much bigger focus and threat then Strahd. To the point Tsar Camp is completely wrecked after she came running in in the middle of my Prophecy reading. we broke a table arm wrestling and she made me do dishes to pay for it, i just minor illusioned the entire stack of dishes shiney clean and we legged it.

[@PPPPACKIE540]

My DM uses more realistic HP damage, it's not like at 1hp your guts are spilling out, but more like worn out and bleeding bad. Nat20 are vital disabilities like losing an eye,breaking an arm/leg, losing an appendage. Not all healing can mend a broken bone or grow back an eye. This goes both ways NPCs and PCs, it makes us think of using tactics and not going full orc barbarian on 10 enemies. I think he uses it to prevent murder hobo tendencies we all have. It's new to us but extremely fun and immersive.

[@nuclearchezburgr3857]

I read a story of a dwarf missing an arm and a leg and was still fighting with vigor. That's where that HP system might be useful because if it's about being winded instead of adventurers literally falling to pieces then it makes sense why experienced adventurers don't get tired so easily :)

[@obsolete18]

The issue with this sort of system is it only fucks over the players because the enemies aren’t likely to survive long enough to be affected by long term injuries

[@OldMrGary]

I've been DM/GMing for a bit and I find myself way more comfortable in other systems. This video is very appreciated. Thanks guys! I love your content as well and look forward to each new release.

[@Jiminatorful]

i am playing with my first character ever since last december. your show is just super amazing and helpful for our group! thx!

[@lestatsev]

This is some of the the best advice I have found for being a DM. and I highly recommend the starter kit with mines of phandelver if you feel overwhelmed as a new dm. I have had a blast with it and can comfortable weave in my own content that I come up with.

[@toxiccrocattackgaming6145]

This is quite possibly the most helpful Dungeons & Dragons related content I've ever found. I've run several roleplaying games that I have homebrewed entire systems for. Pokemon, DC Comics, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure... But I'm about to run my very first true D&D campaign. Your videos are so enlightening and grant people like me the perspective of years worth of experience, and I have to say thank you for that!

[@buboniccraig896]

This was actually how I started DMing. My very first campaign was homebrew, it's still going, and it's actually pretty good. I dont know how I did it. It was some kind of miracle or something.

[@tjbradbury]

This video was great. As a new DM playing with a group of friends who are all also new this is the content I need!

[@Recardoguy007]

Wicked awesome video guys, really helpful and thank you to the whole web DM team for this content.

[@t.g.4621]

Hah. "Welcome to the D&D world." My logcal gaming store has an old AD&D arcade game, that says this whenever you push the coin button.

[@JPruinc]

T. G. TOWER OF DOOM FTW!!!

[@Phlowerchyld]

You said this was for new DM's, but as a 10 year dungeon master this was still incredibly useful.

[@calvinballaka8905]

Even as a DM wit a campaign under my belt, this is some great advice! I can't wait to see part 2, and thanks for your thoughts on the various spectrums of play (linear and free-form, etc). Also, nice trilling, Jim Davis.

[@JPruinc]

CalvinballAKA First off, great name! Also, Jim's mating call can be heard from from 50 miles away over open waters.

[@grosstoastie1216]

Great for new DMs, a great refresher for old ones. The old adage about basics and fundamentals being important or something.

[@athatcher9367]

I recently started DMing for my own group and this channel's videos have been fairly helpful regarding ideas for how to go about things, I find it somewhat unlikely that this comment will be read by the creators but if it is I would like to say thanks for the content. As a bit of a side note the group is only 4 sessions in the first one was mostly character creation, the second getting the party mostly met up and on a quest together, the third was... Walking camping and hunting mostly and a PC who is a child getting dragged off into the forest by the sleeve of their shirt by a dire wolf, said wolf was nearly killed, tied up, healed and is now a potential member of the party in the making as the fighter decided he wanted to try and take it. Then the fourth one was them getting to their location after a big fight with a bunch of bandits. This does take place in a VERY homebrew setting as it it a thing I tried making before I knew what D&D was, I found out what it was when I explained what I was making to a friend and he said 'oh like dungeons and dragons?' Which led to me finding out what dungeons and dragons is and using it to fill in some of the blanks I had and researching it a bit and finding this channel. I tried to make my world fairly sand box-ish when I made it as I felt that would allow for more opportunities and exploration if people wanted to basically I tried to make it like a super open world video game. Like for example there is just this giant floating chunk of earth that presumably has a city on it but nobody knows if anybody in it is still alive or anything as nobody has been up there and back or come down in 600+ years and the party may never go there but if they want they can try to and maybe succeed, etcetera. and sorry for going off on a little rant there

[@Just_Call_Me_Tim]

You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the video/work y'all share with us! I've recently been reading back into D&D (started in '99 with AD&D, stayed through 3e and walked at 4e, mostly bc of school and work), but 5e has me really excited to try it again.

[@DarksealStudios]

Lots of help. I'm making a campaign and it will be my first time dm-ing... your videos are great!

[@tradoseo]

Actually, my english teacher asked me if I could run a game with him and his wife! It's funny you experienced a simmular thing. Haha.

[@joesmith-zj7ec]

Game or train???

[@arthurzangarov6621]

Amazing video guys! Been DMing for a little over a year and this video still helped me.

[@splatter1389]

You guys couldn't have picked a better time to upload this video perfect timing for me

[@kevincasmer6153]

I actually did this, I just bought almost all the books the only books I don't have is storm king's thunder and the starter set. your videos have taught so much thank you!

[@marti5420]

yes! quest level ups are great. I write up a long sheet in the style of a journal, include the quests that have been given to the party, in character (whichever NPC would be most appropriate) and include any goals the pcs would consider quests, i also encourage secret quests and quests vs other players. Once that hardwork is out of the way, it begins to become obvious when people or the entire party deserves a level up. It also encourage new players to open up, they realise that basically anything goes and that they have control over not only their decisions but also the overall story arc too. Im so glad you guys mentioned it, I've been looked down on before for doing it this way, but i reckon its a much smoother way of playing that takes you out of the story much less that bumbling around with experience points does.

[@lukehill2000]

I LOVE THE LENGTH OF THIS EPISODE!! It's more like a podcast

[@andrewvanderaa2790]

This bit me hard, we got supplies in a garage sale, and I have had the most success of us. Thank you for this

[@dropkick79]

After picking up the game with friends for about 6 months I decided to try running a game at my house weekly. I pieced together a crew of rookies to the game and we set forth on the Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign. I can say it has been very good for us beginners all around. Not too stressful over all on myself or the players. A few challenging combats but you always have options. Going into the Wave Echo Cave next week to so should be finished by then or the following week. Overall though a very satisfying adventure. Seems we are all happy with it.

[@jeffreylucier5266]

It's too easy clearing out abandoned towers! Love the channel boys! Thanks for what you do!

[@bluemagician9724]

My first campaign I ran (which was with my brother, his wife, and my sister, and we started it a long time ago and never finished it) was a one where I made up my own story and monsters, and I had a pretty good time of it.

[@CrazyConnor2]

Wow just the kind of video I need! :D Keep up the good work guys!

[@Streetjazzlistener]

Can you guys do an episode in designing cities, the environment and building emersion?

[@cassandragidney7682]

This is the hardest thing for me. I've built my world, have a pretty good idea for what I want each area to look like but getting a visual representation for my players is preventing me from actually starting my game.

[@memetaco7732]

I stole Jim’s razel sinn campaign as my first campaign! Thank you for the insight the both of you are a blessing

[@user-un3us8hp8n]

I like the new editing style! dunno if I just now noticed it or if it's actually new, but it's nearly smooth as butter :)

[@ashenwalls3558]

Man, I wish I had found this last year before I started running games! I had to figure a few things out the hard way, but luckily ai had played a few times as a character, so I at least had an inkling of how the game goes. Thanks for the guide!

[@danielpun2658]

00:05 that zoom in was a nice touch

[@jimmyshousevideos]

uh oh, I'm starting my first go as DM and i pretty much did exactly what you warned against. I started with the end boss and shaped a campaign around that. I guess we will see how it went in a few months

[@bisonhappenstance]

I have Tales of the Yawning Portal and it looks pretty cool to me. The adventures could be played one after the other to form a perhaps disjointed campaign, or as one-offs, or as gap fillers in a larger campaign. I'm looking forward to seeing you and your subscribers' opinions on it.

[@MusicFromAnotherTime]

I'm about to DM my very first game soon and this was super helpful!

[@chaddixon9764]

This came out 3 years too late for me lol. My second session of D&D ever was as a DM, have not stopped since.

[@aruizsilva]

Hey guys, love your show. Keep it up! Greetings from Spain!!

[@greggjax6990]

Love the Screech Owl at the end Jim!

[@kolbycampbell3957]

10/10 would learn and get cool ideas again

[@JPruinc]

kolby Campbell Glad you enjoyed.

[@brodeeo]

Thanks you guys, new to DMing and found this super useful

[@shilohelgin2408]

I totally agree my favorite is really high or low level play. I either want to be challenged by even what is normally easy helping people on an individual level or having the ability to challenge the authority of even the gods

[@EvansEasyJapanese]

Fantastic idea for a video, and great info. A million thumbs up.

[@CufflinksAndChuckles]

Sweet Owlbear call. Now I'd like to see a Zuggtmoy, Demon Queen of Fungi call. Give the people what they want!

[@JPruinc]

Kim Huliganga I guess we'll add calls to the show.

[@jaysw9585]

I find the most important DM resource is the Monster Manual. I have created entire campaigns based on just something I found in the Monster Manual. I would say its more important than the PHB and DMG. Knowing what's in the Monster Manual and whats available to challenge your players and how, is super important. Its more than just the encounter. Look at a given monster, give it a name and then develop a story and a scenario around it that makes this particular monster unique and interesting. I think every DM starts out rocky and is never ready. My first game was showing up at gaming guild that met in an abandoned elementary school. When they found out that I had just read the Shadow Run manual, they forced me to run the game. I barely knew what I was doing. Super scary. I think I was 17 at the time. I did horribly, and we still had a lot of fun. After that I could run most anything. I figured out that I didn't need a strong understanding of the mechanics, and the players are usually just happy to be there and spend time with friends. This takes a lot of stress of the game. When in doubt, just paint the scene and let the players drive the story. When the players interact with the environment, change the scene and watch them react. For instance, they are exploring an abandoned house. The players do their thing. You drop the floor out into a pit of ghouls. The players react. They find the half eaten body of a dead noble that rises up and asks the players to help him seek revenge on his betrayers. Let the players come up with the ideas, you just have to provide the hook, they will always bite. What really honed my skills was how much I hated 2nd Edition DnD Combat. I just hated calculating THAC0. I started running very heavy Role Play games to avoid combat. I eventually got very good at controlling the story, and offering significant decisions with big rewards. Anyone looking for a good DM resource, get the Lazy Dungeon Master book. Great book on how to build adventures that are dynamic and fun.

[@evelynstallbaum8214]

Running my first game on Saturday, this was very helpful. Thanks for the good content

[@jimdavis141]

Tyler Stallbaum glad to help out!

[@paul-hugoarcand5197]

Tyler Stallbaum how did it go

[@johnrasnick6147]

Aw man! I wish y'all had been able to do this two weeks ago! I am two sessions into my first campaign as a DM haha

[@jimdavis141]

John Rasnick hopefully the advice still helps! We've got the second part next week where we discuss what happens after your first adventure.

[@Arius_Astronomy]

In terms of the happy middle a good example would be Crit Role from the dm Matt Mercer. Seems like each section of the campaign has a stricter beginning and end, but the middle is very open.

[@Captain_Mike82]

A house rule I'm thinking of using is AC damage mitigation. I seem to hit my players AC number on the nose a few times per session. So if i roll a 16 and that's their AC I'm going to halve the damage. I want to make the AC number seem more important than just if the roll is this or higher you're hit. I plan on adding flavor to the AC mitigation by saying something like, "even though the orc should have cleanly struck you, you managed to deflect some of it's powerful hit. You take X damage instead of X. It popped in my head after hitting AC evenly three times in one session. I'm going to try it out I think.

[@Ekigane]

A lot of what was talked about, primarily building a setting bottom up, sounds a lot like my current campaign. To keep things short, I basically just prepare potential plot threads, and names of places and occasionally themes of these places (recently had to flesh out continents), and then I try to let my players decide everything else and cater to these decisions. When it works it makes the story dramatic, when it doesn't work it creates occasional delay trying to get things back on track. But for an example, when we started session 1, I wasn't sure what my players had chosen for classes, and it had turned out they were all spell casters, so I informed them that they were in this country with a strong focus on spell casters. I even gave them plot points.

[@TerminallyNerdy]

Fun Fact: I care more about my Level 3 "Path" then I do about my first ASI. The paths are what really make a class in 5E

[@kiwi3085]

This is why I like when campaigns start at lvl 3. Having your subclass from the start is a lot more gratifying IMO as it gives you enough options to truly feel unique and skips kicking rats for XP.

[@kage8553]

love watchin these guys...

[@ReverendRover]

As someone who has played through Lost Mine of Phandelver as a newbie to 5e and later run the same campaign for other newbies, I cannot recommend it enough for new DMs. It's a good little story with a couple of nice twists, some good combat encounters and the booklet itself has some paragraphs in there that will really ease a new DM into building the world and roleplaying all of the NPCs and monsters. Plus, the starter box is cheap compared to the published campaign books.

[@ijimedia]

this is exactly what I needed thanks lads

[@ppp9922]

I am currently on the 22nd session of my first campaign as a DM. I did a top down approach and even though my players aren't super into the world building and back story its still fun none the less for me. i have no problem with alot of it being useless now because i can always use it down the road for a different campaign or replay the same campaign with a different party. plus it just helps me as a DM to have alot of things fleshed out so i can know how certain people will act. like how a village will react when you come in with a symbol of the god of magic on your chest but they have a strict forbiddence on magic due to past wars and disputes. plus it just let my imagination run wild and is fun even if its not important. at least for me that's the case.

[@chesusjrist9733]

I love that this was in my suggested videos.

[@Kyburo]

Very much enjoyed the player's "Meh" buildup and delivery :P

[@ChThuter]

Ik bothers me that on Davis' shirt the two d20s are just flipped versions of the same die, with the 20 changed into a 1, instead of properly showing the other side of the die.

[@TheeCapN]

Thuter what if they are just two different die?

[@fhuber7507]

The number patterns on D20s are not standardized. I have 4 D20 with none having the same number patterns. That includes one with the 20 and one with the 1 surrounded by the numbers as on his shirt.

[@danielsurgan8490]

Your best video yet. Very helpful!

[@JPruinc]

Daniel Surgan Thanks!

[@kirkish001]

I thought I had done all the research and was totally prepared in this awesome world. Got attached and total heart break when the players decided to just up and leave the starting city that I had so many interesting things and different hooks to various potential plots.. lvl 11 and theyve never been back haha

[@Draeckon]

That's when you take all those interesting things and move them to a different city they are going to, re-skinning or tweaking as necessary. Or whatever happens in that other city is an extension of what happens in the other city.

[@butttoucher6731]

You could also have that stuff happen without player intervention and now, months later, rumors of the city in turmoil bring them back. Consequences for their inaction that they have to go back and deal with.

[@WookieMan22]

I had a group of characters do a pretty poor job of checking a dungeon and missed a ton of hidden treasure as they went along. So the next game session, I had them run into a different NPC adventuring group at the pub. The other group was bragging about all the loot they found in an unsecured dungeon that had just been cleared of all enemies. My group of players did a much better job searching for clues after that...

[@kubaziel7204]

Thanks for this uplifting video.

[@marcoghiotti7153]

Great video as usual

[@FrumpybutSuperSmart]

I'm running Hoard of the Dragon Queen right now as my very first foray into DMing and it is indeed quite linear and requires quite a bit of work. I'm really enjoying it, but I'm worried that my players may start to feel trapped in the narrative as all of the circumstances around them are constantly sweeping them into the current of the cults plans with very little time to even think about why.

[@joanlopez9464]

Great advices guys

[@azmendozafamily]

15:30 my BECMI campaign is run with gp for xp. They play treasure hunters more than"heroes". They do heroic things, but we focus on the adventuring treasure hunters theme.

[@HowlingGale]

Man, this has been super helpful. My older brother and I actually have this cool gimmick for one our setting(s) where the game world is based loosely on Earth's continents. The catch is that he handles the Old World (Eurasia, Africa, Australia?) while I handle the New World (the Americas, Antarctica?). On the one hand there's a very gritty low magic setting with lots of intrigue and moral quandries with "classical" fantasy creatures and very dark overtones, and on the other nature has lost its damn mind and players must survive this magical primeval landscape that borrows from paleontology, cosmic horror, and Native American (North & South) myth with some urban legends thrown in.

[@chonwarren9941]

One of my favorite ways to do experience is to do it by session the players get a flat amount of experience for the session based on the encounters planned then that is augmented by bonus experience for players being exceptional in some way from coming up with a way to end an encounter in an unconventional way to exceptional roleplaying (i highly believe in rewarding good roleplaying) and i let my players know when they earn bonus experience and why they earned it i believe that makes the game more fun

[@evangregory14]

this is very fortunate timing, I'm starting storm Kings thunder tonight having only played for about 5 sessions myself

[@evangregory14]

also thanks for such a long and full of info vid, was great, would watch again lol

[@evangregory14]

so I had a player missing for session 1 last night, therefore I didn't want to jump straight into the campaign, so it was literally all improved, and it went amazingly well. I 100%know that's due to you guys and the other KZbin dms I watch passing on their knowledge. ty so much

[@user-ck3cp6uc1e]

Please do a video about starting village as DM and players. How do you bring multiple player made backgrounds into a DM created starter village and how do you brew up a beginning goal to motivate the group?

[@proforeveryone]

Been refreshing your channel waiting for this

[@proforeveryone]

This series will hopefully help me with the one on one campaign I'm running with my gf!

[@jamesc.7988]

The "precious campaign" syndrome reminded me of an old DM for our group. He had a homebrew campaign that he designed for his old college group that focused heavily on religion and politics; two subjects that his old group loved apparently but our group did not care about. He loved that campaign and there is no way of knowing how much time he spent on designing it but his gods had been fully detailed. Their followers had been fully detailed. The places and manners in which they worshipped and the gear and weapons they were allowed to us had been fully detailed. Relgious insignias and even coins named and stamped with images of the gods were detailed. All we really wanted was some monsters to fight and some loot to take but the DM had also designed an NPC organization that had all but eradicated all of the monsters in his setting leaving us with nothing but human Wizards and Sorcerers to deal with as we were railroaded through the adventures. Nothing we done seemed to affect the story and after months of begging for something new to fight, we were given a dragon - something of incredible rarity in his world. We killed it and the campaign ended. It wasn't originally meant to be the ending of the campaign but the death of the dragon threw some kind of monkey wrench in the DM's future plans that he could not overcome.

[@aidanburke8316]

love watching y'all talk about jazz

[@gohan9080]

O boy, now this is a long episode!

[@elizabethmadagan8824]

Mines of Phandelver: Its quite linear, I would reccomend reading through and maybe trying to add some extra quests into it, having had the chance to play through before running it, it was very fun to play in. There are a bunch of ruined towns/cities mentioned, I personally am creating extra lore and some side quests that could pan out into a full campaign based off of the Sister Garaele side quest, which will involve some history and catacombs based around the ruined areas of Leilon and Conyberry which are featured on the map.

[@MrSteveyboywonder]

whoo more webDm you guys are the best

[@curtisdonovan1]

That thumbnail is amazing!

[@nuclearchezburgr3857]

I don't think you guys have covered this yet but could you guys add to your massive list the topic of running massive games? Like 7+ players of varying experience, or just like public games in general? Love the show and always eager to watch your stuff XD

[@WebDM]

+Nuclearchezburgr 385 we have a video coming up that addresses this...

[@recatwc]

You guys are super cool thank you, you gave me more than enough help for me and my first campaign with my buddies. Almost all of the topics/suggestions you talked about answered my questions and helped clear up if anything I have done are good or not. Now I have one question that I don't know what to do about, I have had to pause the game we were playing because of "Reasons". So my question is how do you suggest I or anyone in the same situation as me should do to like pop back into the game and making it not feel awkward or just prevent any problem that could happen in such a situation. I am asking because I am very worried I might mess up or do something wrong, especially because me and my group did have some issues nothing at least too terrible (mostly frustrating). Thank you guys for doing what you do, and just you guys in general thank if you can answer my question that would be great ty :D

[@PenDragonx]

You guys still make videos together to do commute from Vermont every week to Texas.... if so that's nuts and commitment to something you apparently care about you guys do good work appreciate it

[@PapaPhreshh]

Be prepared for players to recognize all of your hard work and preplanned story hooks and ignore them to purposely waste your time as revenge for that clay golem and giant slime cube fight. Watching people suffer is a two-way street.

[@chaddixon9764]

Papa Phresh You're playing with some very petty people.

[@PapaPhreshh]

Chad-Solomon Dixon No, it's just a passive way to fuck with a friend. The more overt way always ends in dragons.

[@TheMrVengeance]

Yeah.. no. In the end, the only ones you're fucking with is yourself. The DM is there to create a cool story for YOU. If you're being petty over a tough fight they created for you by now purposefully ignoring all their story hooks.... guess who's missing out on experiencing said cool story. On top of that, (good) DM's are pretty rare. If you "fuck" with them enough, you're not going to be experiencing any story at all anymore.

[@dvh1678]

Thanks for the info!

[@Painteagle]

I'm not a new DM here but I'm running a quest based homebrew story that uses dungeons from Tales from the Yawning Portal. I wouldn't suggest it for new DMs but it's nice to not have to build the dungeons myself, although everything gets a reflavor.

[@Nougatbars]

I’m planning on running a Pathfinder game in ‘The Future’ so I am watching this for help.

[@Cthorlhu]

The best games are both sandbox and railroads. Think of it like being a pedestrian in a large city like new york. You're trying to get from A to B. You can walk the whole way and not get on a metro but that doesn't feel focused. Or you can jump on a metro, get closer to your goals. Most times you have to jump on multiple lines to get to your final destination. The best part is you can choose which lines to get onto to experience. In this analogy walking is being in the sandbox, no definite goal and literally go in any direction. Riding the metro is being on a specific adventure within the overall sandbox. It gets you to a specific place in the story. It's kind of clunky but it works for me.

[@kapittsalt]

Very Dungeon World take. Like it.

[@Arkanoid1212]

I'd go so far as to "have an endpoint in a sandbox because it could be useful". Its there if the players just get lost in this ruin-scattered, insect infested swampland you send them on a ship to map the whole thing for payment from some academy. Personally i like a more open approach, i like Dwellers of the Forbidden City (looked at it, never played, wasn't into 1st) for its openess. At the same time i think its really depending on the group and you should be prepared for that and also have something on offer other than "okay, you are in the swamplands now". Sometimes, when people look at this kind of module they go "where is the rest of it?" Well... if we are totally honest it WAS probably a bit to convinient. Hooks and setting. And... yeah, also endpoints. Just in case. Multiples maybe but be prepared to adapt on the fly :)

[@steveparker9161]

so helpful thank you

[@MiningwithPudding]

Mine of Phandelver is how we started, it's how the party got together, and then they bought the run-down inn that the gang used to use, and then they got misted away by Strahd.

[@benphillips7333]

THANK YOU!!!