Top 5 Things Dungeon Masters Forget

[@ShawnHCorey]

Good video. Try this: before you start playing, get the players to talk about the last session. Give them some time to brag. This helps you as GM (in case you didn't take notes during the last session) and it tells you what the players are interested in.

[@WASD20]

For sure! Point of inspiration for anyone who can give a shot at the session recap. :)

[@nikoraito]

Good point. Started doing that at my games as well after watching The Provokers campaign :D

[@andydamato5357]

That's a really good idea. I normally start off my session with my recap summary of last session but I think I will just ask the players what they thought to get them talking more.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

It's been my tradition to start with, "When we last left our heroes . . ." then let the players talk. I compare their recollections with my notes to know what things resonated and which fell flat.

[@Chris-ci3lu]

A group I had awhile ago that was 8 players, I'd play some nice calm music (almost like meditative) and say, "Heroes... latest leg of your journey, though yet not complete... has come and gone... what experiences did you learn from?" and pointed to a player to comment. One each. worked pretty well.

[@cattrucker8257]

The "quiet players" bit is actually incredibly important for broader social activity purposes too. I've seen the same exact thing happen in school and university classes, in workshops and seminars, in a couple kinds of workplaces. After the first couple of interactions, there emerge a few clearly louder and more initiative-taking members - and the person in charge almost always defaults to focusing on them and tuning out everyone else. Many of those left uninvolved then quietly tune out themselves, and that's a serious problem that creates people lagging behind in studies and work performance; at work, their often valuable input is later often dismissed simply because they aren't the usual sources of noise and participation.

[@BrandonFuscoGames]

The problem with classes and workplaces, in particular, is that frequently, the person *never* wanted that engagement. If the DM did their job and RP is required, even the quiet players *opted in*. Just because someone wanted to learn something, that doesn't mean they wanted to learn it the way others did or that that style of learning is good for them. What one might consider uninvolved and tuned out might be an autistic person coping with the fact that they are required to be in class. In a lot of cases, what you think is "helping" that person is actually making them feel more uncomfortable, more isolated, and less accepted, because you didn't respect how they wanted to handle this environment. Unless you know someone on a really personal level or they have explicitly opted-in to that kind of "help", it's nobody's place to police other's motivations or methods.

[@seanrea550]

That is a small group management thing and it is a skill that needs to be learned, the other question being are you the one that overpowers the rest of the group as a group/table leader or gm. A good lead will set things up for conversation or play and let things flow only stepping in to steer, draw out point or person or add something in.

[@boondogglet132]

also it helps to pick up on psychology ques. Some people are quiet because they are uncomfortable or nervous or even neurodivergent and unsure of the [very] grey area of social interactions. They will eventually open up and as long as the some whatever weird shit comes out of their unfiltered mouth is accepted and understood, they will continue to be open and ready for whatever challenge ahead. Its best to be supporting, allow some inside jokes to form (with the group) and once you are into the "people i trust category", prepare for a wild ride. Shits gonna get weird and well, good luck to everyone else. Some people are quiet because they feel that thats how they should be, this is the hardest to deal with because of formative year negativity that they were introduced into.They want to have fun and be included, but dont know how to accept inclusion. They want to open up, but they are almost afraid to, in fear that their positivity will be met with any form of hostility. let them stay quiet, let them have the fewer interactions, but bring them into the game, support them and maybe even cater a few sparse interactions specifically to them. like maybe make a random encounter rely on specifically up to them at the very last minute so they move from a support role into "the tie breaker" but !! dont overdo it !! Its best to bring them in, and let them out for a while so they have time to decompress from the stress and adrenaline and start preparing for the next interaction and dont make it routine, they will notice this very quickly because 40% of their cognition is going strait into the "social" part of their brain. Also these types of quiet are not openly expressive to having fun, so pay some close attention when meeting for the campaign or even during break time to assess your future decisions. (also maybe even neutralize their character for a period of time and force them to play a follower/familiar or over-arching npc. A little out of comfort zone but silly and they will laugh about it and the silliness without concern of their main character and making mistakes. Dont forget to reward them for their efforts though) (sorry for the 2am rambling.) i hope this makes sense, its a difficult topic but i kinda feel like a proper intermediate between the outgoing and the socially inept being an introvert myself forced into a decade or so of an extroverted world/workforce. I'm one of the, "too weird for the in crowd and too in for the out crowd" if you know what i am saying.

[@enkryp]

Here's the things: 1:49 1. Taking good notes 4:19 2. Taking breaks 5:23 3. Involving quiet players 7:31 4. Asking for feedback 9:22 5. Consider the PCs

[@dnlring]

Thank you. Every list-style video needs one of these. Preferably in the description.

[@inkh-su]

Thank you so much, I just scrolled down and was like " I hope someone just wrote the bullet points " Also, you play Pixel Dungeon !??

[@enkryp]

@@inkh-su yep, it's a sewer crab from PD

[@shanehall9684]

Thanks

[@Turbodog702]

My contribution: DMs often forget to think about dungeon/monster interaction. A simple example of this is having a dark, subterranean structure and adding monsters with no special senses. Light in general is a real issue. People stick out from quite a distance holding a light source in a dark area, but the group still attempts stealth. Would the monsters need light as well? Are they intelligent and make camps? Paying attention to light and fitting appropriate monsters to your location can be big inspirations as well.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

That reminds me of how many times I've heard players say they are being stealthy, and 2 characters are carrying lanterns . . . So, you put out your lights? Who has dark vision? Right.. party of humans and halflings..

[@jbaidley]

Point 1 hits home. When I was younger, it didn't matter so much, I could rely on my memory to recall most of what happened across a campaign and certainly the name of the bartender from last session. Now, in my 40s, I can barely remember what happened at the start of the session.

[@swaghauler8334]

Wait till you pass the half-century mark!

[@Nintendoggy]

I know what you mean. When we were younger we used to play every Friday, for a year, and we all were so passionate. There was not much need to keep notes. But I have gotten used to take notes, and it really helps.

[@kouron]

iktf

[@sendhelp7795]

at least your memory was good, i'm 16 and i often forget where the campaign started and some little details

[@jcurls7163]

The joys of my girlfriend being the note taker of the group. When I DM I don't even worry about taking notes anymore because she has it all!

[@WASD20]

Livin the dream.

[@anonymousgoat6136]

Bro I’m the dm in my group and my friend is the one takeing the notes while my other two players just play and I copy of him sometimes to make sure we both got it right because be honest guys we all need help sometimes lol

[@Glicer14]

I started to keep journal of my character, co if DM needs, he can always look into it and he knows what happend in main campain and what I think about it.

[@NothingIsLittle]

I'm the party note taker and have a google doc of extensive session notes that is shared with the DM and all the players. Saved our butts when we had to stop playing for a while! Plus I get a lot of enjoyment out of maintaining it.

[@Cerulean_Waters]

Yep, same with my partner

[@ChurchAtNight]

I really think of the game like a tv show. Something crazy happens, take a commercial break. End with cliffhangers...the players will want to know what happens next as bad as I do. I’m now on the last few sessions of my fourth year long campaign. Good mentality.

[@WASD20]

I love a good cliffhanger, but I try not to do it every session.

[@ChurchAtNight]

WASD20 same, it’s more art than science.

[@h4xx0rren3]

I agree

[@herman1francis]

@@ChurchAtNight like everything in dming. That's why it's difficult to give exact advice like : always do this. Because the same things don't always work.

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

I like cliffhangers because I don't always have the big battle planned out yet. Ending the session right before rolling initiative for combat gives me another week to plan what the combat encounter is supposed to be in the first place.

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

I DM for 11 players and they each have a job at the table to help and it helps keep them involved too. One player takes notes and another will add flavor to them and email them to everyone before the next session, we only game once a month. Feedback is good too. Sometimes it's hard to get the quite ones involved but definetly worth it

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

@@MisterDiceGuy yes! We wrapped up a 5-6 years campaign in December, we stared with 3 players and grew steadily to 11.

[@desireearnold1987]

Dang man hats off! I couldn't even attempt 11 players

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

@@desireearnold1987 thank you, I started with 3 PCs and it just grew from there.

[@Arxhangxl]

Sometimes I do get tunnel vision and I needed someone to tell me. I’m a new dm with a half new, half experience party and I love love love building dungeons, quests, and even stores/towns, but sometimes I get so caught up in wanting to show my players all the cool stuff that I forget to slow down and ask how they’re reacting, or what they’re thinking. Thanks for the wake up call lol

[@munchcat]

This makes me more and more appreciative of our DM. I've been trying to pick up tricks from him when we play, but videos like this bring it to the forefront for me, especially since he's great at all 5 of these. BTW, it helps when you build in breaks in the session. Even in the middle of a dungeon, having a secret room to rest in reminds us to take a break in turn.

[@KorocDM]

Since I started to take short brakes the rest of the session tends to be way more concentrated and focused. It is baffling how much the game quality improves when you take these short brakes :D

[@camdenandfriends174]

I’m DMing tommorow, and this video was just the thing I needed!

[@FrostTurnip]

How did it go

[@brokenfin4259]

Me too

[@jimmycunningham8484]

Besides taking notes, I really get into the combat when we are having a great battle that I forget my bbeg's special abilities.

[@WASD20]

Oh man. That’s a big one for me too!

[@mrmaster9801]

Same for me. The first time I DMed a dragon (white, adult) in 5e, I almost completely forgot to use legendary actions, only resorting to them after 2 rounds. I was still set on 3.5 and, partially thanks to this (as well as to a master deception and astounding damage rolls), the PCs defeated that dragon in 3 rounds, even if the bard risked his life. From that moment, I started the good habit of reviewing the monsters just before the sessions, to take notes about their powers, strengths and weaknesses.

[@salomeheynemann5692]

I like organizing my notes by in game days, it makes more sense to me somehow, and I like seeing how long they've actually been adventuring

[@SoulSojourner]

I'm a new DM, and I do all of these things consistently since I started. With a single exception, taking breaks. Since we usually get started a bit later due to eating and distractions, I cringe at the idea of taking a mid session break, but I definitely see the reasoning in doing so and am going to start doing that.

[@tim_rizzo]

Nice! A list with random names would have helped me in my first game as a DM last week when I had to invent a minor NPC - he ended up being the evil acolyte Elmo.

[@davidwatches]

Consider combining tips 1 and 2. Take regular breaks with the players, but make some notes at the beginning of each one to remember what the players just did.

[@WASD20]

Totally possible, but for me I usually find that time catching up with real life with my friends so valuable.

[@vjaceslavsavsjaniks6431]

I tend to end session when group is in town or village. That way they gather information which is given between sessions. Interest isn`t fading away and I copy this information as notes.

[@sloth0jr]

I publish a campaign summary update a day after each session (public notes on dndbeyond campaign). Must do this as soon as the session ends, though: a week and, as you mentioned, you'll lose the thread. I also use this summary to emphasize some areas the players may have glossed over. Not really giving anything away, just reiterating in more details the things that they did and saw. It's up to the characters to refer to this information (I use the summary all the time as well, particularly for old unused hooks that happened three or four sessions ago that might become triggered).

[@ChrisVickeryinajar]

I make my players take turns doing the recaps from the previous session. It both reminds me things I may have missed and also tells me directly which things were meaningful to them. This is really helpful because sometimes they cling to offhand remarks and other times they don't even notice huge storyline hooks. Knowing what stood out and didn't stand out both can inform interesting stories and help you subvert expectations / surprise the players. This also helps with the "quiet player" problem, because when it's their turn for recap you finally get a glimpse into what they're thinking and what they're enjoying.

[@andreegonzalez8862]

I think, one thing i tend to forget and not really notice is how my players feel about their characters, on one campaign, my players did 180° turns that could've derailed the campaign when they felt that their characters werent as fun once they started playing them, this retiring them early.

[@jefferyestes]

I ask a player to recap the previous session at the beginning of a new session and "gift" them a free inspiration for the recap. This helps remind everyone what transpired last session, and it also gives the GM different perspective on what and how the players viewed what transpired. There is normally always something that they recall or focused on that I barely remember or discounted as local color/detail. I also use their recap to enhance or update my notes. Each party also has a an "official" historian who records session notes for the group and posts them to a shared google doc. Then I copy those notes along with mine into a trello board card for the session history.

[@Lofwyr2012UK]

Taking notes is a great tip, when taking notes I have found it really helps to scribble down not just what happened but also your imediate ideas for the next session, what are the NPCs going to do, what might happen in a round or two how where you planning to motive the PCs? Especially useful if you are in the middle of combat when you can note down some combat tactics.

[@franciscomuro8427]

I agree with everything in this video as I have committed these same mistakes starting out. I make them fewer now but they still boomerang back at times. Remembering the players is so important and what they tell you from the background helps out so much. I had a player who was a fighter but after her nephew came to visit her in-game and go on an adventure with her he got severely hurt and almost lost his arm. She was able to rush him to a temple to Torag the Pathfinder Dwarf god and was able to get the high priest to heal him. This started her on the path to becoming a Paladin but none of that would have happened or effected her so deeply if I did not use her already established backstory to help drive the plot. I was also making this up on the go and improving the threat but I would never have come up with it if it wasn't for her own work and our talks about her character. Still one of the best moments of my DM career.

[@carlpeach8748]

Easy way's to solve the first item. Record the session on your phone. It's great to go back and listen to the session. It keeps it fresh. You can also video record it. We upload ours to KZbin. Not for fame, but as a great way for myself (the DM) and my players to recall what happened in the last few sessions. Plus it will be fun to go back and watch the videos several years from now.

[@joelcampbell7237]

1. Take good notes - check - pencil of infinite scribbling. 2. Take a break when necessary - not everyone has a bladder of max capacity. 3. Check on the quiet players - you never know what they might be up to (especially rogues) 4. Honest feedback - taking a dagger in the heart is essential every now and then to deflate the ego and improve the game - check. 5. Consider the PCs - check - they change my world more than I do! Honestly, great advice, great vid. Preparation and expanding on modules pre session can help with point 1, especially if you already have some of that sometimes heart rending feedback from point 4. Thanks.

[@killfear]

5:20 - As a lifer DM, I prefer to block off 4 hours.. 15 minutes front and back end to get caught up and settled in then break every 60 - 90 minutes. = 1 or 2 breaks, and the back end can cut short if the team is about to step into something deep, so you have a bit of padding with going a bit long or short. We call iit, "buffering the campaign world" I take notes, set up or make up whatever happens when we are back from break, and like you say, we're caught up on IRL and basically "short resting" the players real fast. It adds a lot of energy at the back end to have that opportunity to take a breath.

[@elnic_kai]

After running a couple of one shots and beginning to prep a small party campaign this was helpful for instant improvement and more comfort.

[@nikoraito]

Good video. I agree with you... basically on all points you've made. Just want to add a little bit of my own experience. Instead of taking notes what really helped me is recording my games. If you are playing live, even the basic phone got sound recorder, and if you are playing online there are free software like UV Sound Recorder. There are a lot of other easy ways to do it if you set your mind on doing it. Having everything that happened during the game is the most detailed notes you can take. Also your players may be happy to listen again to your games and revisit some of the badass moments that they had. With "quiet players" I try to keep track on my players by building a mental image of what is going on. And I am not moving to the next step of the game until I put every PC in that image. For example, my players got to the new location and "loud" players already went searching for hidden stuff. I will not accept any checks until I know what every person is doing so I ask the rest of the players what are they doing at the same time. Some may just assist their louder teammates, which is okay. I may even give them different information based on their background if that is appropriate. But in my experience in those moments when loud players are silent (since they already declared their actions) some quiet players may really shine and surprise you with real ingenuity. Now that I'm thinking about it, this "mental image" is basically an out of combat unofficial initiative. Some players may be low on initiative list, but you are not moving to the next round until everyone had their turn.

[@henriquecamboim]

Great content! You really have driven home when it comes to introvert players. In my current game I had a situation a little more messy: on top of the introvert player I had also a control freak, the relationship in game between them wasnt good. In the end the other players decided on behalf of the introvert and the power hungry guy had to go.

[@danielgemas2117]

Something I started doing is to use an audio recorder for my sessions, so I can listen to them again later. I charge up an older phone before we start and set it out in front of my DM screen. Helps me remember voices I used, too. Also, I find it funny, the cleric image you used in this video is the same one I've been using for a character in our game! Anyone else using?

[@Blackraven6]

3:30 Never tried it yet, but an audio recorder with silence skips may work great. And just shove it into speech to text.

[@Rangersly]

All simple yet important tips! As a DM I admit to have learned the hard way about most of them. Even as an experienced DM, it is always to remind ourselves of the basics. Thanks for doing this Nate!

[@sirhamalot8651]

When starting a session, while I'm arranging my things, I ask one of the players to summarize what happened at the last session. This gives me a bit of time to ready myself AND more importantly, allows me to see what the players thought was important and memorable and what what wasn't. This can confirm I emphasized the right points or that I need to revisit certain plot points to make their importance more obvious.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

This made me feel good about my note-taking! 😁 But yeah, I definitely get caught up in the actions of talkative players and forget to pull quieter ones into the scene. Glad you threw you rules at the end too-- no one can (or even should) try to remember all the rules! Also, maybe because I'm not watching on my phone as usual, but I feel like the lighting was great in this video!

[@WASD20]

Thanks, Bob!

[@elchick8328]

My group occasionally goes months before we play a session again. Especially after a year like this last one has been. My solution to number one: I have my phone recording an MP3 of the whole session that I can refer to again when prepping for the next go-round. Our typical 5+ hour game usually only runs about 500-600 MB on my phone (which I later download to my computer), so it's an easy way to not worry too much about detailing everything that is going on while I'm playing and lets me get lost in the moment like everyone else. During the game I will usually only note down my thoughts of different things I could toss at the party. I can then listen to the entire previous session at my leisure days or months later and take notes on the key highlights when prepping. It's also useful for my players as they can listen in on their own to prep themselves for the next game from their perspective. We've also had some great laughs during our games and I like having a record of the fun we've had. Just something I thought I would toss out there that has worked for me.

[@sondresjastad5540]

Hello, my name is Crow and I'm a DM that always forget to write down notes post-session, however I do have a lore geek in one of the players who always share their notes with me, and they write down EVERYTHING, so I'm really thankful for that

[@TaberIV]

It feels really good to give a more quiet player a fun rp moment :) Just subscribed I like your videos!

[@seanrea550]

Ran my first true session the other day and I did most of these. Where I had problems was in managing the group in their various task, preparation (battle math), where I had posted stuff (online session), and rules and where things are in the book. First campaign so I will see how it goes.

[@IlaMedlin]

Recording my sessions was *the most helpful* thing I ever did for myself and future sessions. I make my session notes from the recording in the space between games.

[@gerardsandee1520]

Notes: guilty as charged! Making a post-session report (however short) really saves a lot of anguish, as does ending a session on a cliffhanger. A dramatic cliffhanger focuses attention, which makes remembering 'the other things' that have happened easier to recall.

[@joshualichkay7047]

If it's okay with the players you probably could record the session on your phone through an audio file. I think that would be the best way to record it so you can write down the notes at a later time.

[@erinkeller8419]

Thank you Mike I would not be able to start playing D&D with out you.❤

[@polyliker8065]

I've noticed that I and tend to be one of the more talkative players. I've also noticed that our dm tends to let that go unchecked. So since I've noticed this I've started to explicitly ask in-game questions to the quieter player in our group and pushing for things that explicitly are for them. Like 'oh you're trying to get this done' lets do it together and then staying in the background a little. (While still being there) As an example, the quieter players character doesn't haggle, my character doesn't either but has taken up the task of 'teaching' their character. So even when we're shopping there is that underlying relationship where I only say things some times but largely allow them to do the rping there. And it's great fun, they really seem to appreciate and enjoy it. Which is also rewarding for me.

[@ragingtempestus6566]

I have a quiet player in my group, but he commands the respect of EVERYONE at the table, myself included, and when he doesn't show, people notice. So, if he's not speaking or RPing, then I know he's just got something brewing. Silent players also tend to command a different kind of respect than the more active ones.

[@achimsinn7782]

One solution we kind of accidentially found to not forget breaks is to order Pizza or other snacks before the game starts. In my town the delivery service usually takes about 1 hour which is usually a good time for taking the first break from our session. Also about point 1: I have a kind of weird system of keeping notes: I have a sheet for each location like city of twighlight or dungeon or beautifull butterflies. And I always have some sheets with pregenerated characters at hand that contain the name and a short description of the character I generated (depending on how detail I generated the character) When I decide to use one of those pregenerated characters I just use a paperclip and attach the sheet for the character to the sheet of the location and maybe take a short note saying what I used the character for. That is usually enough for helping my memory untill I am able to take proper notes which is the next day most of the times.

[@orvillekidder9901]

Wasd20: #1. Take notes. Me: Also, record with a smartphone. Audio and/or video.

[@DragonsAndFlagons]

This is a fantastic list. I know I personally struggle with many of these things, in particular taking notes and engaging quite players, especially since I primarily play online. And my players are always ‘reminding’ me of the rules :)

[@sanablue]

As someone who never takes notes and struggled to summarize things in short, clear points, I feel like I will utterly fail as a DM... I am only just writing the basics of my first campaign right now and it will take quite some time until we will find the time to play this, but I am worried that I will just forget everything that happens and really struggle to write things down later... Whenever I want to write something "real quick", it always ends up being more like a ten page essay or a novel rather than just simple notes...

[@gabrielhaydar2373]

I would recommend that, instead of writing a summary, after the session you only list the things that you didn't expect to happen. Such as "- the players tried to bribe the guard; - they pissed off a noble; -they let the monster run away;"

[@CL30]

This is a good list. For #2: I tell my players to ask for breaks as often as they need one. We usually take 2-4 breaks for every four hour session.

[@erikmartin4996]

I remember when I first saw this channel, 186k subscribers? Way to go!

[@DungeonBricks]

Ah #3 got to learn the hard way, but I had to make a full storyline for her. And she loved it

[@kevinerose]

Hey, quick question. I remember years ago, there was a dungeon adventure that used all or near all of the monsters available. I believe it was designed to level characters from level 1 all the way to level 15 or 20 by the end. It may have been something prior to 5e but not sure. Edit: I think I found it. It's called World's Largest Dungeon. It came out in 2004 time frame. It is supposed to take 1 to 2 years to complete.

[@nextlevel8822]

I strongly recommend recording your games if at all possible. Even using an old cell phone or cheap camera. You certainly don't have to share it with anyone, but having a recording of the session can help with several of these. I take notes from the video of the prior session. Within a few days of the session, it's still fresh enough in my mind that I can scrub through it quickly and pull the info I need. It also reminds me to take breaks, because having segments of the session makes it much easier to scrub through. As far as feedback goes, getting it from your players is paramount, but you may find yourself to be your best critic. Reliving moments from the session is a great way to give yourself a chance to see things you wish you'd have done better, and recognize them so you do them better in the future. You may even find it easier to spot a quiet player. Sometimes when your brain is in "rapid improv" mode, it's hard to recognize when someone isn't participating because your main concern is replying to the players that are. Looking at the session after can help, and you can look for it in future sessions. Recording your sessions isn't for everyone, but oftentimes you just forget the camera is there and it gets normal, and if you can do it, it may just help.

[@Olav_Hansen]

If I don't remember a rule and it's not at-the-moment crucial I say that I rule it in a certain way and have the real answer next session. Many a time though, it tends to be something like the functioning of a certain spell/subclass feature that someone didn't mark down correctly. I'm trying to get across that if I put attention into running a session, it'd be nice if people had their stuff together, but at least it's getting better.

[@bean3550]

My group doesn't get to do in-person sessions since we're a friend group between two different countries, so what we do is kinda text-based roleplaying where we write things out in a dedicated Discord server. The games aren't as snappy as an in person session might be but boy does it make it easy to keep track of what happened last week!

[@AnotherDuck]

Player backgrounds are great fodder for plots and setting details, especially if you're drawing a blank on what to add.

[@ajgunter8932]

I always forget the really small things, for example when running a ToA, my players were in the jungle and for almost an entire trip i forgot to have them keep track Insect Repellent. I remembered water and rations..lol

[@MrLordmikel]

I'm glad you mention about changing magic items when necessary. I will always remember one campaign. I took over another character as the player was no longer in the group. Kurt the Unknown. He was a mysterious fighter, blah blah, no back story. I immediately decided, he was Kurt the Great, Swashbuckler. My character had a +3 sword, but we found three plus 1 swords. I said to the DM, "does one of those swords happen to be a rapier?" He looked at me, rolled a die, and then said, "no." This should have been a red flag for me and knowing how bad the campaign would eventually get. But I will always remember that simple denial.

[@cozzy6547]

OneNote is my best friend as a DM. I have all my NPC's and a description and stat block (Even for the peasants... you know what players are like... if it breaths they'll kill it) and I have a separate tab that has random names and if I use one, I cut and paste it as a new NPC tab

[@Zanderros]

Hey, thanks Nate! This helps a lot! I have problems with notes and sometimes forget PCs backstories while playing. However, I very rarely receive feedback. I ask my players "so, how was it this time?" and... silence up until next session :v This is sometimes demotivating. Anyway, thanks for the video, helps a lot!

[@WASD20]

Hmm. Try asking them right after you finish playing. Like verbally. Or even right before you play.

[@Zanderros]

@@WASD20 I thought about that after watching this vid, thanks! :)

[@j.f.1639]

Thanks Nate

[@Blackraven6]

I'd be glad to add something to the list, but I was mastering only like 3 oneshots, I think. Oh, wait, but I can think of what I usually was not happy about. Enemies exterior. Mainly it's gameplay part. I don't really care much if a Shaman lizardman with a feathery hat has a broken tooth, but I definitely want to know what it's equipped with. Even if it's some vague description from catching just a glimpse. Cause 90% of battles you barely know what hits you in the head. like "An arrow hit you!" From what? Bow? Crossbow? Some weird contraption? I'm fairly certain I can destinguish that while standing 10 feet from an enemy without staring at it for the whole round! And I'm not even speaking of armor or smth else. It's like that one book, I forgot the name where people basically simulated the world of a particular story as is. Literally by the book. And it came out with basically lots of naked characters. Why? Cause they were described as "an old man in wide brimmed hat" or "young girl with beautiful blond braids" etc. You're not suppose to describe all, but "A heavy armored knight" is better than "a knight" or "the guardsman". Some people say that description ruins their imagination. It's fine to have that opinion, I guess, but I can't stand playing with people like that. Especially if it's not only players.

[@alberthayat26]

So regarding the first item (what on earth happened during the last session?), I use world anvil to document my game. I write up session reports on there and document all my characters and locations that my PCs encounter. it makes recalling them SO much easier 10 sessions later when they go back to the same town for reason XYZ.

[@yanhunt]

As a bit of world building and game notes, I'd send an email around in the form of a scandalous newspaper article put out by the players enemies. This allows the players to catch up and get hints about the directions they should be going in.

[@mikesands4681]

Thanks. All good points. Add a point: remember to bring favorite snacks.

[@1003JustinLaw]

Being able to take criticism is also a great social skill, and so is giving constructive criticism. I've had players who flat out tell me "yeah that sucked" and couldn't tell me why they didn't like it or what part they didn't like, on the other hand I've played with DMs who, when I point out their short-comings, they go into hedgehog mode and pull the "no one's forcing you to come, you can leave if you want" excuse to try and justify their mistakes as "the other players didn't mind it".

[@knightofsvea604]

I suck at taking notes. This is My biggest flaw. The other points i do and i have a Good handle on the game rulewise (Iv DMd dnd 5e for a year) and i even make some of My own rules.. But taking notes is like my Bane. And I think about it every game "oh shit i should have written that down" 😅 Nice Video Nate. As Always! 🙂

[@dhairyashah6889]

Sir, I am an amateur at D&D. I am just fascinated by it but have no one to play with. Can you please post videos where you actually record Live Sessions with your group so that we can know how fun it actually is to play D&D.

[@myzwer]

I hate city building, but i love just about everything else in prepping. I usually have 15-20 pages of notes per session.

[@ElenaMarieSteinbach]

I used to think if you got hit by an opportunity attack, you couldn't move on your turn! essentially giving every enemy the sentinel feat. That led to some really confusing and just depressing encounters. Thankfully I realized my mistake!!!

[@VAHelix]

OMG! Last game #2 huge! I had gotten busy prepping for the game and then ran to the store. I got home and of course people started arriving early. I was ready to go. Game started and if dawned on me I had forgotten to eat that day. I tend to do this anyway, on game day. Oh no. Games start mid afternoon. We got so caught up in the game 5hrs later the big battle was on and I was getting dizzy. Yeah, big no no. We broke up and I ate and passed out.

[@EvilVillainInc]

Tip one: have friends to play with

[@MrNoob_11]

Alright, bud. Let's have some reasonable expectations

[@NoActuallyGo-KCUF-Yourself]

That game expectation wasn't covered during session zero.

[@daphatmidnight]

During my first and (so far) only session as a DM, I forgot the rules for traps triggering. Oh boy was that embarrassing. At the time I got it wrong, but I will talk with my player and offer them a redo, damage reduction or whatever makes them comfortable. Reading the “Click” homebrew rule for traps made me understand the mechanics better.

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

Practice makes perfect :) I'm just wrapping up my first campaign as a DM and I have made SOOO many mistakes and have so much room for improvement, but my players have enjoyed it and that's what matters most.

[@petermuller926]

About the quiet players from player perspective: it's also possible that players don't realise a plot hook so sometimes my character just asks a quiet character: "Hey couldn't this have something to do with this thing you told me about [backstory hook]?"

[@sjsblacksmith1693]

As a player I take notes all the time. Can't always figure out if I took those XP or marked down my downtime days??? With any notes, you need a timestamp. What session, what went on? Did you add XP to your total? Did you add the gold and silver to the totals on your sheet. Bad enough when you're playing, much worse when you're DMing. What was that NPC's name again? What was the riddle that they got 2/3 of the way through?

[@WeizDLC]

Remember to let you players make mistakes. It is difficult sometimes to not add too much advice to help the party. Let them mess up, use spells too early, etc. This will add tension to the game, but if you do not...it'll just add tension to the table.

[@TabletopWitchCRAFT]

Great video... all excellent points!

[@mattb4072]

I give my PCs notebooks, and keep them in between sessions. I've added some codex entries, and took a peek to remember NPCs names..

[@xerosolar307]

I always forget advantage and disadvantage if it has been applied in an earlier turn, I guess I'll use markers on the player with advantage or disadvantage just to be safe

[@aconfrariarpg]

Great Video and tips Nate. P.S. theres 2 videos available on public in the channel. this one and a "oops" just like this one.

[@WASD20]

Hmm. Thanks for the heads up. I never made the “oops” one public, so KZbin is just being weird. I deleted it, so hopefully no one else will see it. :)

[@aconfrariarpg]

@@WASD20 np, sometime its just weird xD

[@Jason-96]

1:12 Why is that Half Orc Monk Miniature not on the shelf on the background? Hello product placement...

[@BonaparteBardithion]

Maybe the sponsor segment was recorded after the main body.

[@kaiseremotion854]

Most youtubers get a sponser after a video if they know sponsers who dont care about the content of th3 video itself

[@lisaao5329]

I'm pretty good at remembering session details, but I did have to learn to take good notes for all the times my players asked questions about some random npc three sessions ago. I am terrible at awarding inspiration points. I love the idea, and so do my friends. I just can never remember to do it during the game. I might start awarding after the session.

[@WallyDM]

Enjoyed this list... some great things to be reminded of for sure... of course, I am most guilty of my lack of note taking... definitely a struggle!

[@Geninacra]

[Edit. Pressed the send botton by accident] I'd like to talk about the 5 things. Not becouse I disagry. But becouse I find this informative and want to express my opinion, challenges and shortcuts. Please, enjoy and coment. - Take notes: I have an... interesting memory. A piky one, more acurately descrived. I can remember a lot of my games far better than most of my co-players/DMs/players. Yet I rarely take notes on game. I usually write them down weeks before hand, if any. Most of my rol knoledge is storage with sinestesic memory. Images and songs will make me remember. BUT, and this is the importan part, in my rpg circle, we actually make a player based: "In previous episodes". We take turns, decided by dice or by more forgetfull to less, to speak about last time we played and the emportant events and mishaps that ocured on that cronicle. We reward with extra xp 3 things. Completion: the one that spoke most of the story. Relevance: the one that told the most crucial points. And Foreshight: the one that place enfasis in deatales relevant to this sesion. - Taking brakes: Well... I think that I take this one almoust allwais. But there is a catch. Our sesions aren't very long. We usually stop for diner and then continue until is time either for the ones who live outside the citi to drive off or wen the metro closes. We've had some marathons with a full 10 hours of rol. But thats rare and we stop from time to time. - Involving those quiet players: And this one is a HARD for me. I am easely taken by the energy of those more... exuberant in their playstiles. I try to make them the center of some story or something. But... it never last long. I like to think that, sometime in the niar future, I'll use a mecanic of asking the players for their pc's thoughts. Maeby that helps. On the note that players can help. I actually have a very good note here. I had 2 teamplayers that 1 was a scollar. Lonly, sorceress, geomantic arquitec,... but that actually renegade of her social status on mostly any basis. With a catch. The Heptagram, the sorceres university, takes te payment in coin and in "quest debt" [The Scarlet Empress can call this debt on any sorcerer] And the caracter 2 was a hightly trained inquisition like warior monk with a giant black wolf that was sent to demand the debt in name of the Princes Mnemon. Player 1, in situations of debate and social interactions, usually pusshed her chair back sloooooly. And the moment that player 2 noticed, he pulled her back in and asked her opinion. Trully wonderful exchange. - Askinf for feedback: As someone with actually dificult times with social understanding [sothiopath] this one is easy and natural for me. I've beeing prased, criticided, and mock. But I've allways tried to learn from their feedback. If I have to recomend something: be sincere. To your DM's and your players. If you don't you only ruin your own experience. And, in being sincere, be cunstructive. Try not to simply say that something was bad or that something sould be done in a especific way. Point the moment as faithfully as you can, express what felt wrong and ask why that choice. It may be hard for some people [Me first] so be patient. - Consider the PCs: I... actually needed to listen to your explanation to understand this. And thats becouse I start cunstructing the story by pulling from the PCs background. So much so that my players started to prase the Goddess of Five. The lesser god of destiny that intertwins 5 souls at a time. All backgrounds are related in my games. And exceptions are only temporary. [Except once. The asked for months who that person was. They even almoust killed him when there was a spy.]

[@Geninacra]

Honorable mention: I ALLWAYS forget Soak. XD And I am the one that remembers ALL THE RULES. And I forget 1/3 of of the combat rules.

[@b_olson542]

In a 4 player game, I usually roll a d4 a designate a number per player. The number I roll indicate which player tells the recap.

[@liamcullen3035]

Excellent excellent excellent advice! Great work!

[@synthetic240]

Speaking of forgetting rules... the first time I DM'd 5e I misread the rule on difficult terrain. I read it as something like "Every square of difficult terrain costs 1 extra foot of movement". This obviously meant that most players would lose, at most, one square of movement as you need a full 5 ft of movement to enter the next square. I just though this new edition wanted to simplify combat and make it more fluid. But after a few sessions I went back to check. What it actually says is something like "Every 1 ft of difficult terrain costs 1 extra foot of movement" or, basically, it costs double. Exactly as I and the rest of the party were used to. I felt pretty silly explaining that 5e movement works as normal, my mistake. I have no idea how I misread that section to incorretly lol

[@andrewjohnson6716]

The school of Good Intentions. I always intent to do post-game things rather than playing a video game or going to bed, but the “me” that exists right after a game never does.

[@niakain9194]

We have a habit of not reading the whole effect or spell in the campaign I run cuz we get super into it. So I imposed a read it aloud to everyone rule

[@GanoGaming]

Point 5 isn't much of an issue for me since I am a DM just for that. Having the players backstory and see how it can play out in the world. Thats what I and most of my players enjoyed the most.

[@jackassjuniors7273]

I’m new to dnd and I’m 12 and I forgot to take notes and I didn’t even think about it and it took 2 months for my party to come over and when they got here I remembered every thing

[@trashpanda5869]

DMS also always ALWAYS forget about NPCs helping the party.

[@nickjackson4900]

#1 thing I forget as a new DM is making sure players make Concentration Checks if they forget lol.

[@joacasbar]

I'm watching this video because I'll be Dming my first session in a couple weeks. I quickly realized I am the player that takes really good notes 😂 hope I am the same kind of DM

[@Chefrabbitfoot]

How did it go? Is the campaign still active?

[@joacasbar]

@@Chefrabbitfoot It didn't actually happen yet because college came in the way :,), but I hope I can do it this summer!

[@LuanMower55]

I am planning on starting a campaign in about a month or 2, we are all new to dnd, however, i have spent the last 6-7 months planning it out, reading and remembering rules, and so on. Now one thing noone in my group knows, is wheter to make the first session phisical or online, and if we were to make it one or the other; Which would be best for kinda coordinating the game. Like, my friend who i am working with, says it dosen't matter, but he's never played D&D before, so i don't know.

[@CoolColton947]

If it's safe and possible, do it in person. It's a lot more fun and easier to keep people engaged, plus you can practice some sleight of hand by sneaking notes to players to mess with the party. If you do it online, though, then you just have to take extra care. If you can, use a face cam so your players can see you and maybe you see them. If a camera isn't enough, really work on your vocal descriptions. Tell them what the NPC or enemy is doing down to the hand gestures or facial expressions to help them pick up cues for conversation. I'd also say use Discord and get a music bot, Rhythm is a good one that I use for my sessions to play music in the background, and really understand how it works. I've got other tips and such regarding surprisingly easy things you can do online, but those are much longer and I fear this comment is cluttered enough.

[@ragingtempestus6566]

@Colton Powell Agreed, there's something unique about playing in person and it can help break the ice if you're all new to DnD. That said, figuring out how to play online is a good skill to have.

[@plainspirate]

Notes are made much easier if you can take with permission audio recordings of your game, interview, class and so on.

[@goundymayer5885]

New DM, found this video very helpful!

[@kalleendo7577]

Awesome guide!

[@Klomster88]

Thinking of the thing you mentioned about considering the loot, changing the battle axe to arrows for the ranger. I myself don't care much about giving specific loot to players based on class, then again i don't play games with classes so it's less important. Sure, if a player LOVES greatswords (that is me) i'd make sure a cool greatsword pops up from time to time. But on the loot thing. I'm mostly thinking what those who got it there needed it for. Perhaps it's a fortress for berzerkers. Stereotypical ones. They'll have a bunch of greataxes around. Let's say this fortress was lost to time and partly sunk into a swamp and became overgrown, boom, dungeon. Bunch of orks or something took over the place, now it's a populated dungeon. Why would there be a staff for the wizard here? It makes zero sense. What would make sense would be a +2 axe of fire. Since the ancient berzerkers loved axes but the ones that endured are the magical ones. The orks losing a bunch of the stuff over the years, but there can certainly be some stuff left. A cool shield perhaps, said greataxe, perhaps a scroll if one wants to do specific mage stuff as in this example. Stuff the orks could have looted. This is based on a video i saw where the videomaker said that one should give the players "Essences" instead of loot. For example a "nature essence" that they got from a plant-monster could be its central stalk, which can be magically infused with a sword to make it into a +1 poison sword or whatever. I thought that this is a cool idea, that way the players can keep their original weapons, usually stuff that carries a bunch of background to them. Since the reason i hate computer rpg's, is that later swords are somehow just better. It has bigger numbers. It's still a steel sword but this one does 25-40dmg whereas the starter sword did 2-8 damage. Makes zero sense. Which results in one selling off all the starting gear eventually since it's useless. That's why i like the essence idea, one can work on and improve the things the characters already have, to build upon them. And have legendary weapons the group created together. But. It shouldn't be all this. In my example, the party comes to the berzerker dungeon, they are all wizards. They blast the orks to cinders and sorcerous goo because that's what happens after a PC party goes through a place and lo and behold! Here's your +2 burning battleaxe! What are they gonna do with a battleaxe? Well, it's burning, it's great for keeping warm. One can make traps with it, use it as an infinite torch. Or perhaps give away to someone they want to reward or get on a good footing with. Perhaps a descendant of the ancient berzerkers is around? They would get mad creds for giving it to him/her. Or they could just sell it, which is boring but hey, cash is cash. So loot should make sense for the place. All sorts of random stuff makes sense in a dragon hoard, but not in an old guard outpost from the ancient empire.

[@azreon25]

Luckily I take notes often enough, I struggle to turn off dm mode I spend a lot of time working on my campaign and story elements.