Why Did I Give Up On D&D?

[@shedoulindao]

youre series on icewind dale helped me soooo freaking much back then

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha happy to help!

[@VioletDeliriums]

* your is the possessive third person pronoun; you're is a contraction for "you are"

[@SweetLuups]

I agree, this was huge for me

[@shedoulindao]

@@VioletDeliriums thanks for the heads up, although i know proper english, just didn't care to write properly at the moment

[@zachhanks4399]

@@VioletDeliriums”Pedant” is a noun, meaning “a person who is excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning.”

[@pixel_javi]

I'm a forever DM, I ran Curse of Strahd and now we are on floor 5 of Tomb of Annihilation and I woulnd't be able to run all of that without your videos. Thanks!

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you and good luck with the finale haha!

[@VioletDeliriums]

So, you can't DM independently of how-to guides on KZbin? It sounds like these adventures you run are flawed? Perhaps not well-written or well-designed? What makes it so hard to pick up a book, read it, and use it to run a game? What can we do as a community to make that problem go away? (I have played since 1981, and never remember feeling unable to read the module and run it, not even when I was a very young teenager.)

[@pixel_javi]

​@@VioletDeliriums I work, I study and I have a wife with health issues and a toddler to take care of... In my case, I wouldn't be able to run the adventures without the videos because I don't have time to prepare them by just reading the books like I used to. I also rely on buying the campaigns on roll20 to save prepping time.

[@VioletDeliriums]

@@pixel_javi ok that's fair. :)

[@majexs]

I’ve listened to your ToA playlist thru at least 3 times I am ultimately adding my own stuff as well but it’s on top of the great content as written Thanks again for all your help - great insights, summaries, & suggestions!

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you and awesome stuff!

[@jeremyschneidt4258]

Your guide videos are great. Its been some of the best. I'm going to watch the CoS stuff. Thanks for all your time and what you do.

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you thank you!

[@jeremyschneidt4258]

@@NoFunAllowed anytime thanks to your videos its given me a good insight on making it fun to run Waterdeep

[@weedisgui]

I'm currently running CoS and let me tell you that your videos are lifesaving. First time playing D&D and you've been a great help. I'm eager to see what you do next.

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you so much!

[@kencollins2002]

Enjoyed your vids. I started listening with your RotFM vids and they were great for getting an extra read through of each act. Will always appreciate it.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you so much!

[@volcangames]

Loved your Tomb of Annihilation guide, super concise and helpful. Funny enough my party is so obsessed with causing the Eternal Winter that I might just follow up our campaign with Icewind Dale, your other guide! Haha

[@NoFunAllowed]

Haha awesome stuff!

[@hoseinedraki7778]

I have watched your CoS videos multiple times. They have helped me a lot and are also fun to have in the background. GL to you in the future.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you thank you!

[@jongodek2472]

I watch your rhyme of the frost maiden videos so often and it really helped me find my footing as a DM. I appreciate the way you explain everything as close to the book as possible. It's shockingly uncommon and extremely helpful.

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha thank you thank you!

[@Wuerfelschubserin_Alex]

I loved your Witchlight guide and currently binge watch Rime of the frostmaiden. You helped me out a lot! Thank you for your hard work. ❤ I‘m also looking into Pathfinder and Tales of the Valiant because I‘m kinda fed up with Dnd after 3 long campaigns. Can‘t wait for your adventure!

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you thank you! Way Down in Little Hope, Slay the Beast, and all the fairy tale stuff coming soon!

[@handleofvecna2443]

I've been following your channel for a while and find your videos and style extremely helpful when prepping as a DM! I'm about to start running Dolmenwood for my players, starting in Dregg, and your Dolmenwood videos have been extremely helpful. With the Kickstarter shipping soon I imagine hype will start building and I hope we can see more Dolmenwood guides and videos from you!

[@NoFunAllowed]

heck yeah! looking forward to it too!

[@lancecampbell8332]

I loved your adventure guide series. They were awesome. Thanks for taking the time to record them.

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you so much!

[@cybersuitM]

You have saved me hundred of hours as a dm. I love your witchlight guides and reference them weekly still.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Awesome to hear thank you!

[@thegrumpyfugu9732]

Currently running CoS and preping for ToA and your video sereis on those adventures are the definitive guides on the internet. Thanks for helping so many new DMs take the plunge.

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha thanks for watching!

[@BrandonWilliams-qs7lw]

Just finished wild beyond witchlight as the Dm. Thank you for all the help. It was the first campaign that all my players officially finished

[@NoFunAllowed]

Awesome stuff!

[@Magnushamann]

If you want to create content for DM's for these linear stories... create all those things that are not there... create options for those stories... create 3 small villages of feylike critters in the area around Bovlorna Blightstraw's cottage... and give a few pointers about important NPC there and what is going on there.

[@YawdroGaming]

I feel the same way with story vs adventure. Usually very linear and lacking in player creativity. I like a bit more free form and adapting the module to the choices of my players. I think Curse of Strahd and the random locations of the items of interest is awesome for that!

[@NoFunAllowed]

its absolutely great for that randomness!

[@andybaxter4442]

You CoS content helped me DM that adventure a bunch. I am continuing that adventure with the Chains of Asmodeus book, and I am trying to figure out how to make it a little less "on rails."

[@NoFunAllowed]

Haha it can be tough to do, but well worth it!

[@kylegreene7507]

Going on year 2 of Curse of Strahd with a group of 7. Finding the time to sit and read the material to prepare can be challenging, but thankfully I could throw in my headphones at work and listen to your guides. Thank you so much!

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha thank you!

[@SlavicMoose]

Do what you feel drawn to! Our local group has loved playing through Candlekeep, I always prep with your videos

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you so much!

[@ahrenjasper3911]

100%! I got into 5e with Rime and loved the setting and scope of it. After that we went with ToA, another great setting and scope. In both cases as the DM I could keep track of all this big stuff going on in the background, and the PCs had to go find it. Of course I tried to get the PCs to the big moments, but if they chose not to be there then they missed it! Those Ten Towns got wrecked, and years later my players still say stuff like "Let's hope this long rest doesn't wipe out half the Ten Towns." It felt really amazing as a DM. The newer books are just not the same...

[@NoFunAllowed]

Haha I feel ya

[@imakuniaw]

This. If it wasn't for Strahd being such an iconic villain, Rime would have been pretty much the perfect adventure: sandbox 1, followed by a big piece of plot with 2 very distinct paths, followed by a sandbox 2, followed by a plot ride to the end, but with each location being its own mini-sandbox.

[@CriticalWalkman]

Thanks again for the phenomenal module series man, especially COS in my case

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you thank you!

[@misterdad490]

I've been running CoS for over a year now. I watch your CoS videos about once a month

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha thank you!

[@deadwoodlake4718]

Your adventure guide videos really helped me with CoS, ToA and now Candlekeep Mysteries. In fact when I go to start a new adventure, I check to see if you’ve done a guide on it first. I loved the way you did it as you just read through it as it is written. I’m a busy person and I don’t have all the free time in the world to read the modules from page to page and learn the information myself. So I was able to put your videos on and listen to them whilst I was working and/or doing chores…which was perfect for me as I tend to learn better from someone else explaining it to me compared to me reading it for myself. Thank you for all your hard work.

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you so much!

[@Zr0din]

IceWind Dale was your best work and I found it very useful. That was a long book. Your series helped me. Thanks! No matter where people went there were clues to other places. It was the Spider Web Conspiracy map by the end of 4th level, that they finally went to the right location sending us into the next chapter. It was Great! On the Story books - I think the DM is supposed to have a WORLD and that's the Sandbox. Then the Story Book has the plot- aside from the sandbox. This year we get a Monster Manual, a Starter Kit (Story), and a World Book on Fearun (This will be the sandbox). At least that's what I'm expecting. I fear they are going to put all the WORST stuff we left behind in pre 2024 in this book. Flying Races, Silvery Barbs, Twilight and Peace Clerics, Echo Knight Fighters... at least for the Gloomstalkers and Moon Druids they "over-wrote" them so the old ones can't come back.

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha they are gonna repackage and sell everything again!

[@Zr0din]

@NoFunAllowed Genuis!!

[@tannerbrummel9412]

Your guides for WbtW and CoS have been such a help for me as a DM. Thank you from me and my group

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you so much!

[@shrapnelsponge]

Honestly your module series really helped me with Rime and Tomb so I’m eternally grateful for them.!

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you thank you!

[@penabler]

Your guides helped me so much over the years.

[@NoFunAllowed]

awesome to hear!

[@skidmoda]

Loved your guides, it was straight up. I watched others too, but liked yours for RAW. Love if you could cover Call of the Kracken

[@NoFunAllowed]

i know i need to haha!

[@Magnushamann]

This resonates so much with my experience. I had not played premade campaigns before, but then DM'ed Rime of the Frostmaiden. I was very happy with that experience. Then I DM'ed Witchligh... and it was a completely different experience. I keep telling my players how I hate how the book is organised compared to Rime of the Frostmaiden... exactly because it is organised as a story for ME the reader... and I don't want that. I want to know the tools I have to play with... and in the story, I don't have tools to tell stories with... I just have the linear story adventure...

[@NoFunAllowed]

adventuer > story haha!

[@ahorseofcourse7283]

It's laid out for you to read so you can run it as you wish. You don't have to like a particular module, but if a story feels too linear, then what is stopping you from changing it?

[@Magnushamann]

​@@ahorseofcourse7283 I disagree. Rime of the Frostmaiden was well laid out. I could easily look up information and find out what a chapter was about by reading the introduction and then looking up needed sections before a session. Witchlight's way of organising this is to have a "how to run this chapter" section that literally tells me "read through the whole chapter"

[@robodad1]

You made me start making guides as yours helped me run my first ones. So thank you

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha thank you for watching!

[@RogueEnterprise]

Fighting the good fight with the channel. Sandbox adventures are absolutely cool and I wish there were more of them. You helped my CoS DMing quite a bit, I ran it for two groups based on your videos. The effects of your videos ripple out!

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha thank you!

[@martinstorgard2651]

Sincerely appreciate your Curse of Strahd coverage. It’s been a great prep tool and saved me a lot of time focusing on what from the book I want to flesh out.

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you thank you!

[@tomgartin]

You’re so good at covering the RAW content of modules. Even though I didn’t run COS perfect to the book your coverage gave me a solid foundation to understand what I was working with. Couldn’t have done it without your help and I’d definitely be more inclined to run my next campaign if it’s content you’ve covered.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Haha thank you so much!

[@minimoose7890]

There's non-WotC sandbox adventures that we could go to -new and old. And pre-5e ones. Like the new edition of Keep on the Borderlands. Arcane Library makes great short little sandbox adventure content. Interestingly, I feel like the rpg Mothership has many one-sheet sandbox scenarios... WotC, I think, has for a while realized they only need to keep up the appearance of providing adventure books, which is most efficiently and cheaply done with stories and anthologies. These provide easy to run short and long content to keep people playing, while more active and dedicated players can be serviced with adventure content produced out-of-house. Making adventures takes more time and makes less money than the other types of books. That's why they make so few modules comparatively to older editions of the game. But there's still many great ones being written by others.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Absolutely!

[@pierrehurley]

Wise way of putting it actually story vs adventure. Never thought of it that way lol

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha i think its the simplist way to diferentiate the adventure modules

[@knaz7468]

Your CoS videos are terrific. I watch and rewatch them to refresh on areas I need to prep. Yeah I still change a bunch of stuff, but the as written material is critical.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you so much!

[@todd9761]

I have really appreciated your style of DM guides. My group is currently running Tomb of Annihilation and your series has been a huge help. I appreciate that you don't add a lot to it. I want my players' experience to be that they could meet someone else who has ran Tomb of Annihilation and actually have their experiences sound like a similar experience. Many of the other DM guides change stuff up so much you would wonder what adventure they were talking about. Thank you!

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you thank you!

[@Anton-xw8ig]

you helped me and my 6 players. thank you for your videos, my players might not know how much you helped improve our games, but i do, and for that i wish to thank you sincerely for your effort and work.

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha thank you so much!

[@VioletDeliriums]

What's wrong with questions in sandboxes? All you need is to supply the players information such as rumors, wanted posters, advertisements for adventuring jobs and then deploy them in the setting. Then the players start asking the NPCs questions until they figure out what the choices are and then determine which lead to follow. You can learn the basics in the TSR BX sets from 1981 (books plus Keep on the Borderlands & Isle of Dread), and all the clones that have come out since...The best sandbox I have ever seen is the new Dolmenwood. A DM could learn a lot from running that game/setting. But it is best done (in my opinion) by DMs who actually read and watch the Inspirational Media list given in the Dolmenwood Player Book.

[@NoFunAllowed]

The more effort people have to put in, the more drop off there is in desire to achieve it haha

[@johnschwartz1641]

I've been in a Dolmenwood campaign for a year. Every hex has something to do, and the tools for the GM (everything from rumors to restaurant menus) are amazing.

[@VioletDeliriums]

@@NoFunAllowed Depends on your players. In the 80s when I was a teenager, we did not have nearly as much structure, guidance and supervision. We just made stuff up.

[@VioletDeliriums]

@@johnschwartz1641 I got my feet wet in it running a seven session Dolmenwood Prigwort campaign, but my group (husband and wife) moved far away. But I plan to restart with another group, and now I have read and watched all the Inspirational Media at least once except the last two books of the Gormenghast Trilogy. :)

[@Ice.exe777]

I found you throught your ToA videos and it has helped me so much. No matter the content you create, i know it will be great!

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you so much!

[@LeakysTV]

we played toa and you have no idea how much you helped, we did an interlude with personal arc and now we are going into Lost city of Mezro before finishing with few chapter of Adventure League for a 1-20 Campain

[@NoFunAllowed]

awesome stuff!

[@Mark-t1z]

I'm running CoS with Pyram King's Legends of Barovia tacked on, running in parallel with the AL's Absent Hearts & Misty Fortunes, along with a healthy injection of 2e and 3e lore from Mistipedia. I digested all of your videos on CoS, thank you. I'm glad I didn't pick a linear story, and I'm sure my players would agree.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Haha awesome stuff and thank you so much!

[@damianmcilroy]

Awe man you saw I'm just going back to your witchlight videos! They're great!

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you thank you!

[@politenonparticipant4859]

Thanks for making the module videos you did, they were very helpful. Also, you put the problem into words I could not for so long- I want adventures, not a fixed linear narrative.

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha thank you so much!

[@erikruthruff2402]

I am running Strahd and I find your guides very useful. I am also getting a lot of ideas from LBH that are adding missing story links. I look forward to your homebrew world adventures.

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you so much and looking forward to pumping out the content!

[@VaGuS343]

I was really glad for your series on strahd's campaign. Thanks.

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you thank you!

[@neftalimontanez3944]

Your WaterDeep: Dragon Heist series .... Godsend! Thank you...Wouldn't have run it successfully without you!

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you so much!

[@adrianslodki914]

Your guide for Curse of strhad helped me so much. Now i started ToA i will be checking all your guide. I hope Wotc will create more sandbox adventures.

[@NoFunAllowed]

absolutely!

[@Ali_forward]

I am so grateful for your series, it has been a huge boon for me as a dm, and a critical resource for weaving a rich campaign together.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you thank you!

[@PK-starstorm1995]

I'm excited to see what you come up with. Hey maybe you should look into broken Compass or Savage worlds. They're both pretty small games, and I'd love some good resources on how to run them.

[@NoFunAllowed]

heck yeah! I am also making my own TTRPG, so we'll see!

[@PK-starstorm1995]

@NoFunAllowed one last thing. Thanks for your help on running tomb of annihilation. We're only on Session 5, but you've been a big help.

[@cohort29]

Your, “Curse of Strahd,” guide was so so so helpful.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you so much!

[@Retrofun69]

I think its worth noting that adventures and stories are perfectly fine. I have had AMAZING sessions with very linear and rail roady modules and Ive had boring AF sessions where all we do is endlessly wander in this nothing hexes. Both can be awesome.

[@pebbles2626]

I don't believe Wizards has given up on 'adventures.' As you mentioned, creating 'adventures' is more challenging and time-consuming than 'stories.' Over the past couple of years, they've been focused on retooling 5e and developing new rulebooks, which naturally limits their capacity to work on other projects like 'adventures.' Chris Perkins, who is heavily involved in crafting the 'adventures' you enjoy, has been dedicating his time to revising the new DMG. With that now complete, I expect they'll return to producing 'adventures,' possibly even the Red Wizards of Thay adventure hinted at a few years ago. I don't think the sky is falling.

[@NoFunAllowed]

heres hoping!

[@huntcw]

Thank you so much for your guides. I’ve run them all, after I read the module, I put you on and listen to your whole series. After that I always feel ready for any curveballs my players throw at me, they are always amazed at how I just can roll with it, and that’s mainly thanks to you. Have you looked at Doomed the Forgotten Realms, I basically remixed that to turn Vecna into an adventure, would love to hear your thoughts on it. Can’t wait to see what original adventures you’re working on.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Haha always proud of being background/second monitor content! Haven't touched the Doomed supplement sadly. And super looking forward to showing off my adventures!

[@Icosiol]

“Bouncing here and there and everywhere.” They are the Gummi Bears!

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha

[@benjaminkessler5418]

Dude, your guide for Tomb of Annihilation was critical to my success running 7 players for over a year in that game! That was my first attempt running a pre-written module. The players gave me major kudos and I owe it all to your great help! I am now running those same characters in Eve of Ruin. It's a huge difference in tone, pacing, and player agency. I'm very displeased by how lazy Eve of Ruin feels in all aspects. Not the culmination I was hoping for for my players. Thanks again for the great experience you gave me and my players! I hope you WotC hears your plea and our echoes to make more 'adventures'!

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you and here's hoping haha!

[@taylorschlobohm5246]

I really wish you would’ve ran a guide on descent into Avernus, especially over chapter 3!

[@NoFunAllowed]

Descent into Avernus feels like such a wasted opporunity to me. I feel like they should have made a Bauldurs Gate adventure, and then a seperate Descent into Avernus adventure. As it stands we are given a low level cult trotting bauldurs gate adventure, and then a Choose A or B Avernus adventure.

[@ReeseKracus]

I enjoy the old school style "modules" because they were just that, modular. I run a campaign where I use bits and pieces of these modules throughout my entire world and let my players decide where they want to go, etc. literally don't know the individual modules to them it's all part of the world.

[@NoFunAllowed]

absolutely, i love picking and choosing!

[@broke_af_games9661]

I don't do this, but if you're going to make a plea to wizards... Here is the language they know: You = industry standard Adventure = campaign Story = adventure module ----------- You want open world campaigns not adventures. An adventure is a self contained story that you can move on from and a campaign is a series of self contained adventures. Adventure Module refers to a specific adventure. Think reading modules from school. You have a series of modules before you complete your grade. You don't usually level up within an adventure module (but that's also dependant on how the DM awards XP) The idea of adventure modules is so you can fit them into your preexisting campaign. Open world campaigns do not give room for that option without force fitting it into the game. ---------+--+++; Lastly don't let this be the reason you give up on DND. You have an imagination and can develop your own open world campaign. I know you said you are doing that, but I assume you are making it like the other published campaign books. You don't need to do that much effort.

[@NoFunAllowed]

i'll never give up on "DnD" as in the generic term for all TTRPGs haha

[@broke_af_games9661]

@NoFunAllowed I figured as much... But based on my final statement, other ttrpgs don't make campaign setting books in the same vein. Campaign sitting books are not a good product. At most they only sell one of those books for every table, but other books sell multiple copies. It's just not worth the effort for a larger company to make these campaign books.

[@JScottGaribay]

Your advice to WOTC is "Put out more of that"? Really? I feel like you don't even hear your own words.

[@thereal4579]

Stories with flexibility. As a DM I have a plot in mind, a set of plot points for the players to hit, but they can take and change that by the freedom of their decisions. But ultimately, we get together to play together and have fun. If a player or a DM is preventing what is fun to oneself then either that group or DM is not a good fit.

[@NoFunAllowed]

for sure, you need that goo mesh!

[@jeffhole4131]

From a Self-Proclaimed Grognard with preferences towards "Old School" D&D games, let me just say that in your video you seem to have uncovered a Holy Grail for viewers: it's fun for DMs to participate in the crazy schemes and stories created by the PLAYERS in game than mindlessly running "dot-to-dot" linear scenarios. Our group's DMs have told me that the Player stories are usually far better than prescribed events and stories set in stone. In one,the game group collectively creates the story and in the latter, PCs just wade through a script and make no real impact. Just my 2 cents. Keep making DM centric videos, because they are needed and valued

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha thank you!

[@OpenWorldAddict0]

I think a great adventure to cover is the Dungeon Dudes 'Dungeons of Drakkenheim', which in my opinion is the best way to run a sandbox.

[@NoFunAllowed]

For sure, Mordheim... I mean Drakenheim is a great example of letting players drive the adventure!

[@erikruthruff2402]

my DM could have used a guide for running Drakkenheim. He found it tedious to keep going.

[@thomasedin764]

Your question if story (or should i say movie) driven adventurer is great both for inexperienced players and DM's and people which don't have time to play long adventures or campaigns. I gave played a lot of rpg systems around 40 years now, so when you have played a lot and you have a idea for a adventure or campaign, you start to do sandbox. I have started a sandbox campaign which spans a couple of years and also jumps from in time between these adventures. Each adventure has one or more goals and actions, which also will affect the future adventures. What I have done is that i have created the NPC's, places where these NPC's can be, where objects and informations can be, and so on. I have also collected a lot of maps and pictures for month, which I can use if I need them. Because the problem most DM's have is that the players will always break your game, unless you are creative and flexible in your world. For me it was hard this time so I used tolls to help me to brainstorm the timeline for the NPC's to take actions, why, where, and when. When you are prepared, you can improvise. Improvisation is the most important skill and mindset a DM or GM can have, so the person can solve most of the problem a group of players can create. So when you can improvise with ease, even sandbox adventures will be easy as cake.

[@NoFunAllowed]

players break everything, truer words have never been spoken haha

[@Bain6969]

I share his view. I have only played 2 awesome campaigns from the many games i've completed and those two are Curse of Strahd and Tomb of Annihilation....that feeling of freedom is awsome. The sidequests, the one big plot, the arching paths, the missable area"s

[@NoFunAllowed]

Haha the complete package for an awesome game!

[@UncleRiotous]

Questing Beast's recent TUNIC video fits into your story vs adventure discussion. Worth a watch.

[@NoFunAllowed]

I watch all his vids haha!

[@cosmiccowboy9358]

Why not dig into the old ones and how to switch them into 5e

[@michaelriggs9232]

My idea as well. Old school and third party. I like shorter adventures. Just can't get behind campaign books. Regardless of creator.

[@NoFunAllowed]

there are times where the theme, tone, feel, and setting, in my mind, doesnt mesh well with 5e's mechaniics. there are certainly great ones that work though, and i certainly will consider it!

[@Scutifer_Mike]

The modules from WotC are definitely a problem and I’m not sure if they are even aware of the issue. Do they want to change it?

[@NoFunAllowed]

If it stops selling they will haha

[@Scutifer_Mike]

@ I stopped buying, so I’m doing my part

[@dsan05]

Fully agree. Pretty sure a well written sandbox of a suitable size is manageable to write and run though. Probably not in a 200 page adventure though. The 32 page modules seem to do it pretty well: Caves of Chaos, Isle of Dread, Castle Amber, etc. The OSR has a lot of great imaginative examples of how it can be done. A lot of other systems do it well: Forbidden Lands, etc. WotC just kind of live in a vacuum busy doing their own thing which is fine if that's what they want, but man oh man... you're right: they should be writing awesome adventures. As for Strixhaven... I honestly don't know what that was meant to be! EDIT: the ToA series you did was great. Much appreciated.

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha thank you so much!

[@denisplante]

Thanks for all the great work!

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thanks for watching!

[@mrbrianparker]

Adventures absolutely, but since I run OSE and have a background in AD&D 1e/2e I use the huge backlog of classic adventures published for AD&D plus later material such as Barrowmaze and Necrotic Gnome's shorter adventures. Gods of the Forbidden North is also on the radar but perhaps at the end of 2025 since we currently have a lot to do overland in the Barrowmaze area. My players and I bounced off 3e back in the day and the arrival of 3.5e so soon after sealed the deal, we stayed on 2e and continued to have great adventures. When we restarted a couple of years ago in a VTT only game we chose OSE advanced as an excellent lighter alternative. Your OSE content drew my attention and I have been subscribed since and I enjoy the content regardless of whether I am directly playing the exact same system or not. Best wishes in 2025.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Thank you and awesome stuff! Currently running a OSE west marches out of the discord!

[@irogers40]

You and sly flourish, steely sam helped me run wild beyond the witchlight you helped me alot

[@NoFunAllowed]

great cast of people and awesome to hear thank you!

[@SgtReuster]

Totally valid… and Thank You for doing what you do

[@NoFunAllowed]

and thank you for tuning in haha!

[@santiagocampillo-lundbeck1338]

Greetings from Germany! I find your distinction between adventures und stories very helpful. But a good sandbox should also have an inherent story that the players activate at their own pace - that's what CoS is doing and what makes it so successful. And when you are designing the sandbox you are laying the foundation for the story by simply by deciding where a lot can happen and where there are only minor elements. It's no accident that castle Ravenloft is such a gigantic place and Krezk is barely developed as a location. The main action is supposed to happen in the castle and the sandbox steers you that way.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Absolutely!

[@dundermoose]

Exactly! The story is what your players tell their friends after the session. It's written by them as they play. Not beforehand.

[@NoFunAllowed]

absolutely!

[@Doodle1776]

I run nothing but open-world sandbox games. My weekly group tonight just ended session #78 in their campaign and it's entirely open to being whichever route they decide to take and building the world around their actions. I use the Castles and Crusades ruleset, which is better for longer running games than 5e is. But it's amazing how many people have said that the only way to run a game in a set linear storyline because that's the only type of content WOTC makes anymore or most KZbin channels promote.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Haha sad but true!

[@silviodanielatencio2263]

thanks your help was great, greetings from argentina

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you thank you!

[@cantandwont6636]

I peronally quit after ogl and then having burnout due to lakc of balance in the game. I swapped to pathfinder 2e been amazing so far, im about to run a series of free one shots called "we be goblins" and then outlaws of aleksanter. I would recommend looking into some of their adventure paths and one shots. Also my first time finishing a game was using a mix of lunch break heroes and your guide to curse of strahd

[@NoFunAllowed]

awesome to hear and thank you!

[@ChesterCheetos1997]

Hi! I watched all your CoS videos many times! hahah thank you for your work! But from this video, did you give up D&D or only the modules-adventures? Most of the adventures i run are homebrew, drawing inspiration from written modules or D&D lore.

[@NoFunAllowed]

I'll never give up on d&d, but i play other ttrpgs to get the best feel, theme, tone, and setting out of the adventures I play, which 5e can't always bring to life!

[@UncleRiotous]

When I run D&D I tend to stitch my campaign together from short individual adventures. I think trying to write a campaign/adventure path in one go without railroading players is really difficult.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Haha true

[@Apheleion]

Come over to Pathfinder chief, I switched over after playing DnD for 12 years and I got to say it's been a breath of fresh air. DMing is made so easy with systems for almost everything.

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha its not the system making me give up on the adventures (though that being said, 5e only really does well when running certain types of themes, tones, settings, and adventures). I end up finding that OSR adventures fit the free form adventures that i want to run!

[@coolman4202]

Why dod you??? I can’t wait to learn :)

[@NoFunAllowed]

You know what i dodnt learn? How to type haha

[@coolman4202]

Keep up the amazing content NoFunAllowed. ❤ I rewatched the relevant CoS episodes before every session sometimes more than once! We didn’t finish past Argynvostholt but I cherish your content.

[@alanBP90]

Me too, we are going to Argynvolstholt in the next session. (Players from Brazil🤘🏻)

[@Magnushamann]

I loved the "adventures", as they allowed me to tell stories with tools they provided. I don't like the "stories" as I have to come up with the crunch when they go off track... I was using the adventure modules so I knew what was going on "off track"... not because I needed help tell stories...

[@NoFunAllowed]

the adventures are great!

[@TSRCardMasterFan]

GROURMETH APROVES!!!! still waiting on that weekend game to happen

[@NoFunAllowed]

I know i got a weekend game free soon! either the 17th or 19th!

[@JamesStewart-f5s]

I thought one of the big rules for dungeon masters wonder why any dungeon masters I’ve seen running these adventures has not caught them out on this, though I do think the ones that I have seen running good adventures have been adding in their own little tidbits to the adventure making it not so much a railroad is do not railroad your players and sounds like DND ventures lately. That is exactly what they’re doing.

[@NoFunAllowed]

making the adventure your own is the best!

[@Serinde_73]

I also prefer adventures and I did truly enjoyed your adventure series so still looking forward to your future videos, whatever they are about

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you so much!

[@ahorseofcourse7283]

As someone who's been a fan of your Curse of Strahd content, I have to say this is disappointing and confusing, to say the least. Sandboxes can be fun, but it's too easy to waste time messing around, resulting in getting burnt out before you've finished. "But what about Curse of Strahd?" Curse of Strahd, if ran properly, is _linear._ The course is defined at the beginning with the Tarokka reading. Sure, you can investigate other areas, skip some of the objectives, or change them around by getting a new reading, you still have a beginning, a middle, and an (unsatisfying, to be frank) end. I love CoS, but it's a shaggy dog story where most of the "openness" comes from feeling unfinished and meandering, or options just for the sake of having the option. Sure, let's take the alcoholic mongrelman or the literal 7-year-old to fight Strahd, that sure is a quality addition. Linear adventures give you a more well-defined path without useless padding, and if your players want options and alternative paths and extra sidequests and a pony, then the DM has the godlike power to grant it to them without having to beg Daddy WotC to hold their hand and put it in for them. I took Lost Mines of Phandelver and turned it into a sprawling 1-20 adventure, complete with mechanics to build and reinforce Phandelin and recruiting defeated enemies to join the cause. WotC can be hit-or-miss, but as Matt Coleville says, we need _shorter_ adventures that people can run comfortably. Adventures that we can lengthen and deepen at our leisure, but don't need the DM to fix a Tarokka deck to more easily plan the adventure outline.

[@NoFunAllowed]

sometimes less is more haha

[@laughingpanda4395]

Icewind Dale, curse of strahd and Tomb of Annihilation are the best of 5e. Dragonlance and vecna are railroads and that just sucks. I hate railroad narratives. As for what I'd like to see you do, create your own world or adventure and do a video diary about your sandbox world and how you go about creating it. That would be fantastic. Maybe even use the old Oaerth setting thats in the DMG

[@NoFunAllowed]

that will certainly be coming!

[@JScottGaribay]

Why would anyone stay tuned? What will stop you from just giving up on the TTRPG that you create a year or two after you get frustrated by one or two small foibles of the system?

[@dm_gendry9070]

It feels like WOTC hires writers to create a story, then the writers turn their work over to game designers who have to process that into a scene-by-scene adventure book. Most of the stories are interesting, but I dont know if the people involved in the process spend a whole lot of their time running their own games (performing as DMs). The big sand boxy adventures (CoS, ToA, RotF) are the ones I like the most, as they built these big worlds and let the local DMs push their players out into them to do as they please. Optional locations, side treks, unforeseen consequences... It is a lot to plan for when pages are limited, but those imperfect products result in unique experiences for more players. The story format seems to be a symptom of 'creating effective products' for people aspiring to run the game but might not have developed the right creative mindsets yet. Given they are a company that depends on 20% of their customer base to make their products work, its probably in their interest to make it as easy as possible to run the game. Perhaps WOTC will feel the new DMG (and the future campaign guide) provides enough extra guidance that they can go and work on some more sandboxes and get away from the rollercoasters. Otherwise, the community is probably going to continue to see this trend of creators leaving for greener pastures. Community resources, like your channel, have helped fill in the cracks of these adventures so they can be run smoothly. If WOTC cant keep their community together, the game is going to get overtaken by other RPGs.

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha only time will tell!

[@ЕвгенГурсов]

Your guides are great. Maybe it is time to create own adventures....

[@NoFunAllowed]

Don't worry, I'm working on it as wee speak!

[@agustinlagarini3895]

Thank you! So much.

[@NoFunAllowed]

thank you thank you!

[@Taylor-tk4ev]

Forever DM here and Your Strahd guides were infinitely helpful, especially coming from someone who’s only ran lengthy home brews. Preach my man!!!! WOTC is only pumping out trash now, it’s very sad

[@NoFunAllowed]

haha thank you!

[@Miranda17137]

100% hate the design of Vecna Eve of Ruin. I like to think of them as sandbox/railroad/roller-coaster. A railhead adventure you can get off the train and wander around a little; if you get off the roller-coaster the entire thing falls apart.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Haha indeed

[@jayteepodcast]

Sometimes aimlessly gameplay sucks worse. If a DM just focus on setting with a set goal the game does become better.

[@NoFunAllowed]

for sure, aimless gaming sucks haha

[@Evendur6748]

Here when it was Dod and not Did

[@NoFunAllowed]

The real ogs know haha

[@Dule810]

PF2e has, in most cases, well written adventures. But THE BEST written adventures I've read as a GM were from Vaesen I cannot recommend that system enough.

[@NoFunAllowed]

Haha I know i need to look more into it!

[@kelvinl2214]

Correction, Curse of Strahd is successful because it is a Contained Sandbox, not a Sandbox. Storm King's Thunder is a sandbox and that module is considered a disaster. Everything that goes on in Curse of Strahd ties back to Strahd, the main villain, soft forcing the players in a final confrontation with him (Not to mention the Fog that literally contains the players to a specific area).

[@NoFunAllowed]

A sandbox vs a desert haha

[@JWPanimation]

Thank for your COS work. Most of the YT augmentation makes COS either worse or bends the campaign towards their own politics. You can incorporate story into your sandbox adventure by giving the villains and NPC's agency and motivation. They should be active players in world. Also provide story arcs and scenarios specific to each one of your players. Tempt them with powerful magic items that cut against their morality. Provide a fork in the road for which there ia no turning back. Not even vanilla Strahd really does this though.

[@NoFunAllowed]

always make the game your own!