Reading My Old Cringey DM Notes - D&D

there's a fine line between fan fiction and DM prep notes, today we blur that line...
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[@XPtoLevel3]

Give Humblewood the RPG Community Hug of Death and back Kickstarter Projects! www.kickstarter.com/projects/hitpointpress/humblewood-campaign-setting-for-5e-dnd?ref=a9owdj

[@andrewjohnson8075]

You gotta do more of this! its great for noobs like me to learn from your uncomfortable autopsies! maybe cut yourself a little slack even as far ask "what i learned from this was not to.. xyz"

[@asdasd-ty9se]

444 to 1 make tHE SEQUELS

[@melodydunning5453]

can you give us a link to the google drive?

[@TBDF12]

You should run this with a current group and either make it better or just make fun of it.

[@melodydunning5453]

@@TBDF12 thats what i was thinking

[@BaeCat872]

Oh my god, being a teenager and having a ton of unearned confidence that you could homebrew an entire campaign with no prior experience is so relatable it hurts.

[@chickensoundedmexicanyt9732]

ye

[@secondsun6963]

Currently doing that right now....it’s such a mess help

[@bananaducc7918]

@@secondsun6963 just remember, at least 2 places in the world need to be names Pu Biscuite if you want to succeed

[@tigert2092]

Help godammit, by boss is CR22 and the players aren't derailing the campaign enough so they're halfway through and all level 4

[@CharlesBalester]

@@tigert2092 You banked your entire campaign on the PCs not being completionists and derailing the campaign? If you are having that difficulty, just redo the boss so that it is REASONABLE for the level but also so that if there is a whole "Oh scaaaaaaary bad guy" lore (lore that says he is Uber powerful and capable of anything) just make him do things that fit the description without being inherently powerful The only thing I can say for sure NOT to do is to make a really, really powerful NPC because if you do that the party may think the whole campaign is about you and that they don't really matter.

[@Runesmith]

Wow, what a cringy video!... Wait I write notes like this

[@johnjustjohn5866]

Now you need to make a video like this Logan

[@takdudung]

As an avid inquirer of the deepest secrets, I second John.

[@Nonofyourbussiness15]

I third John

[@pewpewmegapew4169]

You somehow burned yourself😐

[@omnical6135]

i john

[@devonfree4781]

That sound is so much funnier because he says “the Link works.”

[@kapitan19969838]

I understood that joke!

[@liamsmerlnop7348]

P U N S

[@failtronic2646]

I love that he then makes a face like he just got Rick Rolled.

[@bergyberg318]

The best is link smiling in the background

[@Aldranor]

literally read this as it happened

[@StefanoTheBrazilian]

"Oh my god the link works" *plays the song* At this moment you can see the face of a hopeless man, living in a doomed world his younger self created, all the bad choices he ever made all coming back to haunt him.

[@cemereffstream7866]

The link works ... The ... LINK ... works ...

[@youngm8518]

"green taking 20" lmao

[@juliancook1788]

#greentaking20

[@joshfase9324]

You know it's a good content creator when you're 21 seconds in and he's already earned your like five times over.

[@nelsonhoyle3204]

My sides took a vacation somewhere near the asteroid belt

[@Robbie_Reed]

It's ya boy, McDonald's Shamrock Shake.

[@johnjustjohn5866]

Come here you little peppermint milkshake

[@zlambert23]

Why you gotta murder Jacob like that?

[@rickywilliams1586]

Why did you remind me? Now I'm depressed because they're not selling it in my state.

[@typhoooons6119]

Had to like for 666

[@dewae3254]

full of fuck

[@Pennies101]

As a beginner DM this video makes me feel incredibly confident in my campaign

[@biggiecheese7305]

Same, my dude

[@robin6469]

Same, currently running my first campaign

[@Necrocosmia]

me also lmao

[@dokchampa9324]

_Big mistake_

[@kinglunarchy9417]

@@biggiecheese7305 s ame

[@SlayerOfAll10]

Its okay, I'm prepping to DM my first game and I've made an organization called "Charlie's Aasimars"

[@gshark3511]

this a reference to "charlies angles" ?

[@aarroad574]

@@gshark3511 no shit

[@Kari-tu3fs]

So how did this go.

[@SlayerOfAll10]

@@Kari-tu3fs it was funny, however the campaign fell apart a bit later on when the different players had their schedules clashing

[@thatfierydragon]

This was hilarious. Maybe read some of your newer campaign notes as a comparison or insight into how you DM nowadays.

[@Swatman170]

I second this notion. Tips of how you write notes now would be awesome after this.

[@whoathatsalotofdamage3718]

Or better yet, revise the old campaigns with what you've learned through the years

[@lilybug5374]

Yes please!

[@XPtoLevel3]

Haha, we'll see...

[@clancyknox883]

Now we wait

[@formerctgovernordannelmall1452]

You were probably typing in 12 point font because high school conditioned you to use MLA formatting, if I had to guess Hey, it’s why _I_ use 12 point

[@BLIGHTROT666]

Personally I just find 12 a nice number to use for body text. 18 is a heading and 16 is a subheading for me. Also EB Gothic boyyyyyy

[@weelzneal4768]

Comic sans for life

[@pawthorne7089]

I always use 14 point.

[@Ars_Fabula_TTRPG]

OMG MLA. *Nightmarish flashbacks begin, a church organ hauntingly play off key*

[@calindboard5114]

12 point times,new roman, double spaced. my teachers have forced my to do so

[@bamer6000]

Thoril, thrower of men, bane of docks and ships.

[@ostravaofboletaria1027]

devastator of PCs with good save stats

[@janelantestaverde2018]

Often called Throwril in history books.

[@kyucumbear]

@@janelantestaverde2018 Ffffucking Throwil.

[@morior]

I am going to name all of my MMO characters Pu' Biscuite now.

[@donovanjohnson8581]

As a 17teen-year-old boy who writes his own campaign, this was a scary reflection on how bad it is.

[@jackbobb2014]

As a 17 year old boy who writes HIS own campaign, the easiest way to avoid this is to just prep on a session-by-session basis

[@saintpoli6800]

As a 17 year old teenager; I’m currently writing my own land and lore, but I’m crafting a one-shot. Hopefully it’s not terrible.

[@jminich887]

As a 13 year old boy who's writing his own campaign, I am taking notes do avoid making the same mistakes as Jacob...

[@isekai2443]

As a 13 year old I am currently committing mass genocide

[@nedflandersmustache]

@@isekai2443 hol up

[@EvanFarshadow]

Let's go to the Big Industrial Grade Domicile of Inventory, Capacity, and Knowledge!

[@greatswordofvictory1271]

B I G D I C K

[@EvanFarshadow]

@@greatswordofvictory1271 damn right xD

[@EvanFarshadow]

@@kyucumbear saaame 💞

[@Meladoop]

Not humanity or human nature... "humanness"

[@oz_jones]

I mean if Ragnarok is for example a lich, it most likely would be humanness corrupting it. But IDK, I am just a dumb fighter.

[@zenmixes3984]

"My old notes were cringy" - relatable "I started playing about six years ago" - relatable, but for me it's nine "Running my first game? I'm gonna homebrew it!" - Yup, same "The Long Journey" - cringy title/vague title. Yup. Still on that today. I think people from our generation start in the same way a good bit of the time. Always fun to see where we began though.

[@Darknight4434]

You also got a rape story one time?

[@mr.paperbag771]

I try my first dm game to be in a homebrew world and it's a some kind of a kingdom underground underworld investigation, but also battle and betrayal story I find it easy as I can pretty much just use humanoid enemies and I only need to make the city and some areas outside of it high quality Only hard part is making the story good, creative and believable

[@patrikg.6320]

I did kinda the oposite :D, I started in 3,5 as a player and was a DM for the first time in pathfinder, I run a adventure that our DM helped me put together and it went reasonably well. Now I maky only homebrew campains with a shitton of homebrew rules and run grim dark games where everything is bad and miserable.

[@mgb360]

I also started homebrew, and I don't regret that at all. Reading out of a book to DM doesn't sound fun to me at all.

[@canete571]

Not only your generation. Started 2 months ago, with 3 friends and just a bit of rping experience. First game was a 3 floor dungeon, which THEY TOOK 4 HOURS TO COMPLETE 2. Second session was the boss fight. 2 of them tried to convince a lich to take their party and let them live, and failed horribly. Level 4 Paladin proceeded to dunk on the lich with a series of lucky rolls.

[@ihaveterriblerolls9531]

You can’t have cringy DnD notes... ...If you never wrote any in the first place.

[@quirkyauthor5378]

This is me

[@IAmTheStig32]

The memory lives on. You cannot hide yourself, coward.

[@sylph8005]

My only campaign notes are initiative and some random facts about characters, items, or factions. Most of my notes are mental

[@ChildOfTheDivine]

Ah, yes, the time honored tradition of kinda having an idea and then winging it. Just make shit up as you go along! Hey, it works! Sometimes... And then I lose track and start actually making notes about NPC's and their plans.

[@mayathemayar4469]

Your name gives me pain

[@vesperschake6241]

I Played a one shot with a very young first time DM, He said suddenly so much it changed my thought process for the rest of the day.

[@ElGreco15]

Suddenly, your thought process changed

[@enoua5222]

Ah, yes, a dm's first campaign; mine wasn't quite so cringy, though I _did_ almost accidentally tpk the party session one.

[@dandyo.8233]

How did that happen?

[@enoua5222]

@@dandyo.8233 so, I like to put worldbuilding before story; as such, I had a detailed map and a relatively simple story. The session started with the players sailing north to get revenge on a character from one of their backstories. Part way there, they got caught in a huge storm. The players were smart enough to lower their sails and get below deck, so I began to give them the first main plot hook: a volcanic eruption off in the distance. The players went above deck to inspect, and they passed their dex saves to stay standing in the storm. But then they decided to put up their sails and try to sail to the volcano. They lost their sails. One of them *dove in after the sails*. Another dove in to rescue the other. As a cruel mercy, I made their ship capsize so they could get back on (albeit on the bottom). They say there, powerless, on their capsized ship as I rolled for wind/current direction. It pushed them straight into an 100-mile-diameter whirl pool. Took two or three DM ex machinas to get them out of that situation.

[@guypalperson928]

@@enoua5222 That sounds FACKIN' AWESOME.

[@morenorristhannorris]

Every good DM starts with getting dangerously close to a session one TPK

[@Ashes_to_Ashes200]

I tpked the party my first session too. As a player

[@Danger_OS]

“I watch too many prozd videos” Big mood

[@spaceyrogue]

12:46 the Link plush in the background really makes this even funnier

[@dynamicworlds1]

I didn't even notice that. Makes the funniest part of the video even better.

[@triggeredbirb3903]

I somehow knew that was going to be the sound

[@XPtoLevel3]

First you frickin losers

[@maxpowell9079]

U son of a bitch u took away the one thing the one thing that sustains me commenting 1st on KZbin videos

[@stefanklepic108]

No u

[@popular_panther]

rkt

[@chaselofundist8727]

Lol I read through my old notes literally cancer

[@merlinmeurer5339]

LAST!

[@SteamPunkChewie95]

"Oh my god the link works!" Plays sound from the Legend of Zelda The look on your face is priceless, Jacob. Absolutely priceless. Almost as good as a rickroll

[@renneves4683]

This actually helped me with writing a campaign/ session. Thanks Jacob for showing us your mistakes, it helped.

[@ari6345]

I personally love B.I.G.D.I.C.K.

[@jaromgregson8923]

I would like this comment, but as of this comment, it's at 69.

[@lozisimmortal]

@@jaromgregson8923 same. I liked and unliked lmao

[@SunSun-sk4si]

At least it isn't as bad as the door puz-oh wait, it is. Nevermind.

[@mgb360]

I kinda think the door puzzle is funny. I'm guessing it didn't play out well in the campaign though

[@JaveMcManus]

Haha I wrote the same thing, befire I started reading comments, lol

[@Stafarns]

i think it's the same one xD

[@blendfoot8984]

after this i went into my first campaign notes.. i homebrewed it without ANY EXPERIENCE. the campaign was the most consulted mess ever but I love it

[@shandaniel2999]

I am running a campaign with multiple plot holes that I hope the players don’t figure out.

[@bananaducc7918]

If there is ever a problem, wizard did it

[@shandaniel2999]

Is that a reference to hello future me?!?!!

[@lazerbeam134]

@@shandaniel2999 The Simpsons, actually lmao

[@chaonis24601]

This is all of my campaigns. I love improv so much I always make plotholes as a rule. They just happen somehow.

[@perilousloki4712]

They will

[@sarahdale9968]

I had a ship called "the Attempted Murder" which was manned by two kenku. So no worries for the ship's name

[@GeneralNickles]

Technically, kenku are ravens, and the collective term for ravens is "a treachery". So you could've called it the ken-coup d'etat.

[@tystill]

I think you should do more of this, your old bad notes and your great commentary were hilarious. Plus yay finding "The Door"

[@jonathanschipper4202]

I'd like to hear more about Pu' Biscuité and The Big Industrial Grade Domicile of Inventory, Capacity and Knowledge...

[@jonathanschipper4202]

How about the Mall Of Infinite Shopping and Taste M.O.I.S.T.

[@joelwriter9583]

This sounds like kingdom hearts first drafts.

[@diode_wow]

Sounds like KH's final works

[@janelantestaverde2018]

Pshhht, don't spoil the 4th part!

[@diode_wow]

People will for get this by the time they get KH4. They are going to get around 40 or so more spinoffs and side games before that.

[@lapaba1236]

PKMN Trainer Diode *Final Mix

[@sovashchetty4838]

I don't think we appreciated "the link works" unintentional joke enough.

[@felixrivera895]

The *Intense Look* is an ability. "Get on *my ship* now!" *"GET OFF MY SHIP"* I nearly puked because I was laughing so hard

[@AcornFox]

I love it. Make it a series. *schadenfreude intensifies*

[@charles9190212]

I guess I'm a terrible Dm. I thought the Here lies the skulls of a beggar/king/wise man puzzle was clever.

[@MetaMdad]

The issue wasn't that the puzzle was bad but that it was waaay higher quality than the surrounding dumpster fire.

[@infamous635]

"Big Industrial Grade Domicile of Inventory, Capacity, and Knowledge" is the greatest thing ever created in D&D and no one can convince me otherwise.

[@benthomason3307]

12:40 Okay, a man managing to troll _his own future self_ is really impressive.

[@aaronblount3999]

This was freaking hilarious... Do more, because it's great knowing that I'm not the only one that cringes at my old literature.

[@janelantestaverde2018]

"Oh, The Revealing... This is either going to be sex or some more Shyamalan shit." *several seconds later* "I had to make an offspring..." Guess he was right either way.

[@dietrich5119]

I doubt it can be worse than my edgy poetry I wrote in the beginning of highschool.

[@patrickk2533]

Now you gotta show at least some of them. Please, I want to know.

[@diegoacosta8550]

ya gotta give pics or it didn't happen

[@CurlyHairedRogue]

I still write edgy poetry in my twenties... this is why I can’t DM.

[@Dlnew3]

I'm stealing Big Industrial Grade Domicile of Inventory, Capacity, and Knowledge.

[@zyvan3179]

Make all the files public off of youtube. I need to see your entire being exposed before me

[@RandomPerson-xf9yn]

I hope you realise how that sounds

[@VertSecretStash]

"the just run up and just stare." So every single Bethesda rpg

[@duckberg32]

Ok, Big Dick IKEA got me

[@voultbioy5261]

this is gonna be fun, also i saw two humblewood ads in 5 minutes (zee bashaw then you)

[@hobowithabow9865]

What? Me too This is scary First zee's Then this

[@cosmoreverb3977]

Same

[@ScumlordStudio]

Same

[@PenguDengu523]

I come to this channel for quality content *watches video*

[@setlerking]

Not gonna lie, that Pythagoras dude made me crack up. That had mad “high school dnd” vibes. Sorta cool sounding Greek name I heard in math, yeah he’s an NPC now.

[@flaviapederzini]

I wasn't really cringing for the whole video but rather sneering for all the awfulness until it came to the end and it was like NOPE! THAT was *_Cringe_*

[@mr.depressed886]

12:53 Regretting every life choice he has ever made

[@dylanger1015]

17:35

[@punchingnun3]

"Reading My Old Cringey DM Notes - D&D" You mean from yesterday? Topkek

[@covert9528]

Your comedy works really well in this format

[@Lycan_the_deerdog]

Not gonna lie, if I wrote a campaign it probably would look like this.

[@noahegler9131]

That's why you run lots of campaigns. Eventually they stop looking like this

[@HypotheticalBees]

I’ve been running a while My games still kinda look like this I have no idea why my players let me keep GMing

[@vampirexion]

This is why I don't dm hahahah....ha...

[@JayskaTeag]

I legit laughed out loud *very* loudly when that 'link' played

[@bdup159]

I like seeing the progression of peoples writing over the years and how they see what they previous thought was good as bad and them seeing how they have grown in their creative writing skills

[@Nightmare_vZ]

"All of this is cringey" Me: Ha ha...* Nervous sweating and page tearing *

[@lazerbeam134]

The Teen version of you didn't write D&D adventures, he wrote anime scripts lmao

[@asiandude97]

Absolutely want more! This was hilarious, but also insightful. A friend and I just started D&D and are somewhat taking turns DMing and this will definitely give me the upperhand in story telling!

[@ThatOneGirlThatPlays]

Oh my God, the LINK works. Rotflol!

[@TheWonkster]

I legit almost vomited when I heard the Legend of Zelda puzzle thing play

[@sethbrogen7952]

Damn, that was acctualy genuinely educational yknow

[@slyfox3853]

the tilting his head to show his eyes above the glasses to immediately do it again with the second set fucking killed me

[@johnzambrano3722]

You only Adopted DND, I was born in it molded by it. Lol jk this joke is great

[@hjaltefrederikmelchiorssme4328]

IM going to be Dm'ing for my friends soon and its one of my first times besides a one-shot BR, i have a rly big problem about how i write the adventure. Not so much about the adventure ideas and that kind of stuff more like the layout and should i do notes or write details for scenes down and that kind of stuff... I have kind of a feeling that im over complicating my adventure a little bit...pls help i feel a little lost about Dm'ing :/

[@BigBoi237]

Dont overdo it. Describe the scene or location to them in as much detail as needed to deliver the basic idea, highlighting the most important details as necessary. For example, as they walk into a Tavern, describe what it looks like at a glance, and talk about interesting looking NPCs who will be important. As far as overarching notes, simply write down things that will be important in the future. Dont worry too much about knowing anything and everything, just what will play an important role in the character's journey. And one last piece of advice: this is the PC's adventure, use that to your advantage. Play off of their motivations, and make a show of it!

[@hjaltefrederikmelchiorssme4328]

@@BigBoi237 Thx :) Can i ask u a quistion again if thats ok?

[@geckgeck8616]

For NPCs it helps to simply have their stat block, their motivations, and just a few words about what they know/have seen as the campaign goes a long. As for layout there is a lot of wiggle room: personally I organize my notes location by location but others may do it in a more timeline/plotline oriented fashion, whatever you find works for you and your players. Over complication is fine as long as your not married to it most players simply wont keep track of how many torches are along the wall, simply knowing they are there and then expanding and giving more detail if attention falls on them is usually enough.

[@chickensoundedmexicanyt9732]

You should get the adventure module pdf

[@casino6498]

@@hjaltefrederikmelchiorssme4328 Another small peice of advice, bring a sheet of random character names so that you don't panic when you have to name an npc on the spot that the party approached

[@mateuszmatijot]

It was so Amazing. Thoril Came through the portal, and poofed in with a Demon Tied Around *His* Rope. It was such a Mind-blowing moment! But honestly. This gave me the best chuckle I have had during the last month. And the sudden GM tips were actually interesting and new compared to those I have seen being talked about by every living, breathing DM or GM there. Edit: Grammar.

[@johnv5827]

I think the first one was pretty good. He gave the BBEG a combat strategy and gave it an on-going personality.

[@APoleYouKnow]

I'm writing my first D&D campaign right now. It does make me feel better about my own skills seeing how Jacob wrote his stuff at this stage.

[@sable7687]

Twist at the end: Evil villain is indeed evil and does rape using SOMEONE ELSES BODY.

[@kalten1380]

Hey I'm convinced you could make something comically great out of Pu Biscuité

[@poisonedoak6563]

“Talking at a camera” videos are my favorite! Seriously though I like pretty much anything on your channel Uh also I’m in high school and I wrote my first campaign before ever playing and it sucks so I feel your pain Also since it was most of my players first campaign I have them OP spell like abilities and the bard continually wants to fireball in 25 foot radius caves that the whole party is standing in

[@alexwolfe]

I actually just started playing and watching your vids really help with everything!

[@oliviagutierrez1134]

my first dm notes on a boss fight: King Dude -real strong -big ole claws -sillie nose -make ‘em cry 😢

[@zeevorourke6876]

Omg thank you for the mc ninja ref

[@net_spider]

I think it would be interesting for him to create an adventure based on an improved version of these older adventures. Edit: In fact, I think I'll do that for my own old adventures.

[@ColourBlindSpy]

This is a fantastic video. I get self conscious about a lot of the stuff I write but this really shows that we all start somewhere and we all improve over time. Would love to see more like this

[@technowitchjune]

You should do a comparison video showing us a setup of current notes (or just more recent to avoid spoilers for your players). I haven't seen anyone do videos on their DM notes before and it'd be interesting to see how someone else does it.

[@jerichobalisticmissile5985]

What kind of content creator steals the option from his audience to comment first?!

[@maxpowell9079]

Brave Sir Memelord The First the bad type it is the only thing that keeps me going

[@rasmusmalmberg6468]

A creator of J u s t i c e

[@ianmccoy1536]

Please, PLEASE try and do these as a one shot now.

[@postomnis6134]

“Oh my god the link works” *link proceeds to complete a puzzle*

[@tylerdice9149]

Dude, thank you so much for all the videos. This shit is awesome and I just last week DM'd my first game and thanks to you guys at XP to Level 3, that shit went amazingly. You really helped get me into the game

[@RocRolDis]

Elix compliments the PC's hair. What if they're all dragonborn and/or shaven monks?

[@buboniccraig896]

You should do something like this but with newer campaigns, so new DMs can learn what to do and what not to do.

[@Rubick471]

Everybody running up, staring, then exclaiming things is literally all Oblivon NPC encounters.

[@GruulAnarch]

As a current teenage DM, I feel very good about myself right now

[@MaxHimbigger]

"Green Taking20" Nah, more like green runesmith

[@justintime3142]

I'm 30 an just started playing in 2017 maybe late 2016

[@Hogert]

Actually really liked the video. It's good to revisit your mistakes, and compare to how you've grown as a DM. Also, it is extremely humurous. Hope you make this a series, or at least continue it!

[@matisssmidss1979]

I used the door in my campaign, it was one of the best moments ever. My players spent more than half an hour in real time trying to figure it out, and were sooooo pissed off at me afterwards. Thanks jacob👍

[@endgame7568]

"These things are ancient, when I was a new DM." Some of these were written less than 4 months before the first video on this channel. 5:04

[@secretsociety1636]

I'm 15 and I DM, and play a homebrew game with my friends and I thought that my stuff was pretty cringey but yours is on a whole new level

[@empoleonmaster6709]

Please do more of this, it's fucking hilarious and I NEED MORE!

[@Inquizitris]

This was fantastic and glad this was my first video of yours to watch, would love to see more.

[@mayuzumiis]

"Oh my god, the link works." *plays Zelda "you did it" noise* =_=..... I'M CRYING

[@Kevin-lj5pq]

Represent

[@Tree_-wp5zn]

The Link did good...

[@markmegalazer3822]

This is written like BAD fan fiction

[@Nionivek]

A lot of these notes are a lot more okay than they seem. Notes are mostly cues and reminders for the DM.

[@cyrunal1167]

Great idea for a new series. We send you our campaign notes and you tear them apart and call us all shit DMs.

[@RobinNashVideos]

_I watch to many prozd videos_ You and me both

[@nekomancer47]

I can’t lie, I laughed like a fucking 6th grader at the first mention of Pu’ Biscuitè

[@brooke.pollock]

4:55 GAME! ...Game *stares condescendingly into camera* ...game :)

[@OniNoSweeney]

"There's no save, he just fucking yeets them on the ship." I had to finally pause then... I just couldn't hold it in anymore!