TTRPG TIps from Baldur's Gate 3 - Lazy RPG Talk Show

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of slyflourish.com
Video Contents
00:00 Show Start
01:05 Kickstarter Spotlight: Vault 5e Crafting and Alchemy by Cubicle 7
03:50 DM Tip: Making Your Lore Optional by PHD20
10:49 D&D & RPG News: Bob World Builder on 15 Different RPGs
12:55 D&D & RPG News: Kelsey Dionne and Baron de Ropp on RPG Design
14:02 D&D & RPG News: Tegan J Gaming on a Defense of Dungeons & Dragons
18:01 Patreon Spotlight: Dwarven Forge VTT Backdrops
21:34 DM Tip: TTRPG Tips from Baldur's Gate 3
44:29 Patreon Question: Are Casters Better than Martial Characters in 5e?
47:38 Patreon Question: Running Single-Session One-Shot Games On Time
50:54 Patreon Question: Running Too Many NPCs
54:01 Patreon Question: Writing Adventures as Good as Published Ones
58:47 Patreon Question: Wolfgang Baur on Worldbuilding
Links
Vault 5e Crafting and Alchemy Kickstarter by Cubicle 7
www.kickstarter.com/projects/...
Making Your Lore Optional by PHD20
phd20.com/blog/make-lore-opti...
Bob World Builder on 15 Different RPGs
• I tried 15 RPGs to sav...
Kelsey Dionne and Baron de Ropp on RPG Design
• Deconstructing and Reb...
Tegan J Gaming on a Defense of Dungeons & Dragons
• A Defense of Dungeons ...
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Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
/ slyflourish
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#dnd #lazydm #dndtips #dmtips

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thanks for talking about my video, Mike!

[@panwall1327]

Its Bob! He's here!

[@frombeyondthetable]

I learned about Sly Flourish from Bob. The circle is now complete...@@panwall1327

[@alanleckert1]

I gave a wand of detect magic, 3 uses a day. Really opened up my ability to share secrets and clues and hasn’t broken the game so far

[@TeganJGaming]

Thanks man, I'm really glad you liked the video! & truly appreciate the shout out!

[@SlyFlourish]

Thanks again!

[@petermaldonado7379]

I love the bromance between Mike and Bob.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Same

[@michaelpackard6953]

Two of my favorite DnD content creators!

[@PhD20]

Thanks for the shout, Mike! Another fantastic video, too. I'm only partway thru Act 2 of BG3 but already seeing many of the opportunities for our TTRPG that you mention.

[@robingomez2628]

I love your positivity and your willingness to cover other talents in the TTRPG community. I can tell you are very passionate about our hobby. Thank you for your positivity!

[@zionich]

On the topic of Lore, I encourage Matt Collville's Engaging your Players video.

[@BSRJR]

I recently adopted a potion house rule that I love. You can choose to drink potion as a bonus action and roll for healing. Or spend your action to heal the max. I’ve both played and run with this house rule and it’s worked very well. I find most players spend their action, regardless. But players like having the option. Re: supplies, I ran out of camp supplies once in BG3. It was during act 2, and finding edible food is rarer at that point. So I was stuck and unable to long rest. Until I remembered there was a place with a large kitchen nearby so I had to go on a shopping run. That little moment of puzzling out where to logically find supplies was very immersive.

[@Shu_BLN]

Support comment! My absolute favorite KZbinr out there. We love you! Greetings from Berlin, Germany.

[@davec1]

I'm pretty sure people don't complain about Guidance because it's overpowered (though it is, compared to other cantrips if you ignore the spell's rules), but because spamming it like some people try to do is really immersion-breaking and creates a silly mental image (as opposed to bothering to read how the spell is supposed to work and following the spells rules that, incidentally, create a much more coherent, thematically appropriate and less ridiculous mental image). That kind of immersion isn't much of a thing to begin with in videogames like BG3, and it's just a quiet button that you activate for your skill check, so it's much less intrusive. We're also talking about a game where half of the map is covered in random buried treasure chests that clearly were placed more to keep up a reward schedule than to maintain narrative coherence in all aspects of the game. (I love BG3, just saying what works in a videogame may not work in a TTRPG and vice versa).

[@sqoody7invegas625]

The bob video was really good, I posted it on my server for my players

[@sqoody7invegas625]

Sly and Bob's videos are the best in my opinion. They're always looking out for players and providing you information and reviews that are useful.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Thanks!

[@zionich]

On the topic of potions, my homebrew rule is as an action, the potion heals max. As a bonus action, roll as usual.

[@alanleckert1]

Had this exact conversation at session 0, but also added that giving a health potion to someone else was a full action with the standard rolls (no max)

[@zionich]

@@alanleckert1 Same. I should have added that.

[@reddanger95]

My Baldur’s gate tip - in Grymforge there is a duregar by some broken walls, he says he’s a smith. You have different option for dialogue tied to different checks (Perception, History, etc). Each check revealed different perspective/different information even though all the dialogue options are referring to the same topic.

[@knoxvillebuckeye5155]

I like the idea of if you use your bonus action to drink a potion (i.e. healing) you have to roll for the healing you get. If you take the full action to drink the potion, you get the full effect....

[@pdubb9754]

After following this channel for a few years, I decided to patreonize. The arches sourcebook looks great! Starsong tower vtt support! Looks cool!

[@jasonlasica7651]

Great to hear about A Life Well Lived. I picked up Unchartered Journeys a few months ago at your insistence, and we're 4 sessions into my new campaign and will get to use it for the first time properly this week. Very excited.

[@pzalterias5154]

About secrets and clues, I remember someone criticizing it to be quantum ogres in a previous podcast. But information, unlike people, can travel and be in numerous places at the same time. If you go out in the street, you can go right or left and learn the same information about current world events. So it's more natural to distill lore this way. Ps : I love how Bob and Mike both respect and highlight each others.

[@GregMcNeish]

Mention of the Pool of Radiance game reminded me that my first encounter with D&D (or D&D-inspired) was on my grandparents' Texas Instruments TI-99/4A home computer, and one of its signature games, "Tunnels of Doom". It released on Dec 31, 1982, when I was 10 weeks old.

[@Nanenroe]

I can't wait to get a hardcover copy of The City of Arches

[@SlyFlourish]

Me too!

[@fortunatus1]

I strongly disagree with Mike on the blanket rule of drinking potions as a Bonus Action. In the first 5E campaign that I ran, I decided to experiment and change drinking potions into a Bonus Action. I ran into the problem that the players immediately went and started making their own potions or buying potions that would bypass the Bonus Action spell casting rule. Potion of Heroism, potion of giant size, potion of fire breath, etc. They were effectively casting 2 spells on each of their turns. That made the players too powerful and it was difficult to create encounters. I changed the rule to: the time it takes to quaff a potion and receive its benefits is the same as the casting time of the spell on which it is based. So, you can bonus action drink a potion of healing but nearly all other potions require an action.

[@jacktough]

Re: Longstrider - My favorite go-to cheat code in BG 1&2 was Boots of Speed for the same reason. Sped up travel, allowed for more surprise/getting to back line before enemies could buff, etc. So good! 🥾💨

[@SlyFlourish]

They were bananas. I put them on Karlach and ran like 180 feet a round. I got through the whole last half of the House of Hope with them.

[@sqoody7invegas625]

Already have new cub7 Kickstarter on my watchlist

[@WalkOnNick]

The more competent players are the more apparent the martial caster divide becomes. It hasn’t been an issue in my games but that says more about my players than the game. Casters are strongest in all aspects of the game: defense, offense, control, exploration, social. Martials also have limited resources in the form of hit dice.

[@lonic123]

Thanks

[@Ironfranko]

What I do in my game about potions is: - Bonus action is only for healing potions, greater healing, etc.. - If PC takes a full action drinking the potion instead of a bonus action, they gain the maximum HP possible, e.g.: 2d4+2 are 10hp if a full action is used

[@alanleckert1]

57:42 I’m taking Wyrmhart Mine from Tomb of Annihilation and putting a Deep Dragon in there instead. It still tests out kobold traps that were left in there after the original red dragon was slain

[@lachrymalquietus]

38:47 more Bonus Actions in general (Shove, Pommel Strike, etc) are a fun addition to BG3

[@emirefli]

I loved that DC 99, great storytelling through game mechanics. For 100+ hours the game trained me that if I see a dice roll option it's technically possible; with advantage and expertise I even could go through DC 35. Then I got to that scene, making checks thinking that it is maaaybe possible... all the way until I got hit with the DC 99 check. With that said, I would never do that while running a tabletop game. Rolling dice usually means that there is a chance of success no matter how slim after all

[@Benz74M]

BG3 supplies: I did run out of supplies during my 1st playthrough in Act 2, bc I didn't pick up enough in Act 1. Had to hunt for them by going back to Act 1 areas. So it is possible 😄. Bonus action potions: I allow for healing potions (self-use) but many potions are bottled spells so I'm still weary about allowing bonus action for all potions. It works in BG3, but the game is balanced around this rule.

[@anteyehero]

Relevant to both the martial v caster conversation and the what can we learn from bg3, I think there is something in the way bg3 does away with attunement. The martials in bg3 are jumping all over the place, can have permanent advantage, add fire or extra damage to their attacks. All before you leave act one/ hit level 5. And I love it. Its balanced for fun rather than numbers. I get why attunement exists and don’t think it should be completely done away with, but if I were a better designer I feel there’s a nugget there that could be extracted to close that gap for martial players that have their fun impacted by that gap.

[@richardhealy]

In our RPG group, we've started calling one shots that take 2-3 sessions "long-shots".

[@markdavidpeterson]

In regards to the DC 99 check, you can actually succeed on the save roll with a Nat 20. Then if you make all the saves, the game recognizes how unlikely it was and the final boss starts the fight with reduced health.

[@troyschnierer2940]

Game of the year - Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. In person DnD game starting up due to BG3... Yes.

[@kafka0622]

My first question is.... did they guy who was cheating at dice games have a larger than normal amount of coin on him?

[@chadwickerman]

Dark Souls series and Elden Ring are video games that do a very good job of making the lore optional. They are very evocative and mysterious but have hardly any lore dump. It's presented in small snippets, item descriptions, brief conversations, mysteries, etc. You can completely go through the games and ignore all the lore but still enjoy your experience. But for those of us who love the lore, setting and personalities we try to piece it together or waste tons of time watching lore theory videos. Lol

[@SlyFlourish]

Yes!

[@CJWproductions]

The downside is that it's difficult to really understand the basics of what you're doing in these games. In Elden Ring for example you know you're after the titular Elden Ring, and it's the destiny of the Tarnished people to seek it. But what IS it? What does it do? Where will you find it? How will you know when you've found it? It does a good enough job just pointing and saying, "head that way and you'll eventually get some answers." But really you don't get answers, you just get more questions 😅. I never finished it, but from what I understand, the Elden Ring is a piece of knowledge? It's a secret symbol that was all but erased from history? And if you know it, then you can do some kind of world-altering magic?

[@HyperEwok1]

the best BG3 tip is to let the PCs be exceptional and have connections to the major players of the setting so that they will be more invested in it and intersted in impacting it further if you want to play a game about hapless dirt farmers, go play WHFRP

[@ungainlytitan1460]

I disagree on char-op it really depends on the table, as long as the other players are ok with it I am ok with it as the DM but they have to accept that I can optimise right back at them as i deem appropriate. The only thing I really shut down is specific spell or magic item cheese.

[@jackdubois1512]

Elden ring taught me that lore and history should be heavily relied on for world building but almost entirely removed from actual play. Maybe its not a perfect parralel but its admirable the extent of history in that game we will never fully understand.

[@ernesto906]

about potions as bonus actions, my house rule is that in combat and only in combat, you can use the bonus action for it, but if you use an action you recover the potion max value. when someone ask why only works like that in combat? my answer is because of the adrenaline

[@Shu_BLN]

SPOILERS for "The Stand" by Stephen King!!!

[@missmeaghanj2482]

I have been reading Ruins of the Grendleroot and really enjoying it. I was thinking about running it using Shadowdark! Any thoughts? Love your work!

[@SlyFlourish]

I think it could work!

[@garion046]

I'd stay away from making generalisations for every table about optimisation, Mike. It feels a little like dictating to people how to play their game. I think instead stick to: 'don't bring optimised or gimmicky builds to tables where others arent doing the same'. It is actually fine to optimise if the whole table is on board. This is true of literally every playstyle. If a player is spending 3 times as much time as everyone else roleplaying because they are so into it... that might not be good either. I love making interesting semi-optimised builds but my table doesnt go that hard, so I tone it back. Sometimes that still means an optimised build, but with a somehwat crippling restriction put on myself (eg. No evocation or illusion spells as a wizard). But at a different table I might go harder if it suited them.

[@jackb.8648]

Hit Dice don't make for interesting resource management. They're fiddly, annoying to track, and often insubstantial. Anecdotal, maybe, but I think most groups either skip parts of it or handwave it entirely. I've never tracked how many HD I got back on a Long Rest, I doubt most people do. Short Rests in BG3 seem more substantial; you have a fixed amount of healing across an extremely limited resource. Because of that, I feel like the game achieves a better pacing, and, especially in the early game, I'm more involved in the decision of when to rest and when to keep pushing through an adventure. In addition to that, Long Rests often felt really impactful, triggering some new cutscene and new interaction within the party. Something was always happening, there was always something to react to, and it often set the stage for the next part in a character arc. I think, in general, through streamlining Short Rests to be a quick bit of downtime with minimum math, and then Long Rests offering some narrative roleplay, the game set up a better tone and pace, that kept me more invested and engaged than resource management and determining a night watch order ever did.

[@BSRJR]

While I think DC 99 in a tabletop session is kind of obnoxious, in a video game where you can actually see the number, it has a purpose. It has a psychological effect on the player. The number 99 gives it a certain status to the player. It’s, in effect, a kind of world building. This is the “Fort Knox” of DCs. This is the “Pentagon of DCs” This is something that is the pinnacle of difficultly. And it feels that much better if you manage to get a Nat 20 and succeed anyway. (Nat 20s are auto-successes on skill checks in BG3) Also, I feel like stacking on incremental damage to your unarmed strikes is the core fantasy of a monk! That’s why they punch rocks and trees for training! To harden their knuckles and add another +2 to damage!

[@chadwickerman]

29:32 nope. Those who like character optimization can use something like BG3 as a testing ground for their OP "builds" and will transfer them into a table top game.

[@garion046]

They might be disappointed. Between the rule changes, lack of subclasses and optional rules, and gear, most optimised BG3 builds won't compete with optimised 5e builds at a tabletop. And the ones that work well in both are so well known anyone who is optimising would already have a build for them.

[@optimus2200]

Wait mike merls made a petrone ? Does he poat aome where else i would love to follow him . Vant use petrone these days but i really want to hear from him again

[@kahlinwhatley8640]

I am frankly shocked that I haven't seen anyone take the 5.1 SRD, added the things that work from Baldur's Gate, and then put it up for on DTRPG as a BG5E book.😂😂😂

[@tuomasronnberg5244]

That the WotC isn't putting out a BG3 source book for 5e is absolutely baffling. It's like they hate making money.

[@deProfundisAdAstra]

Does Guidance feel like it slows down play more than Silvery Barbs does? I feel like Barbs is even less offensive than Guidance is; I'm eagerly awaiting the revision to, hopefully, speed things up a bit.

[@MannonMartin]

I can't quite get on board with Mike on optimization. Certainly it can be disruptive to have one optimizer in party of roleplayers, but the reverse is true. The problem isn't optimization, it's making sure all the players and the DM are on the same page about what type of game they want to play. Having said that if D&D were meant to be a game all about RP and not about tactics and optimization then there wouldn't be tactical and optimal options in the rules. Why do the weapons have different mechanical stats instead of just flavor if not to offer players mechanical choices to optimize? The combat systems of D&D are very much built around having fun with mechanics themselves and not just for the cinematic RP scenes they can create. Not every player will engage with that part of the game, but many will. The whole thing evolved out of wargaming after all. Mike's not a very tactically minded guy. He's in it really for the story and hanging out with friends, and I feel like his advice on this is colored by the direction he and his groups take the game. Having said that, there's optimizing and there's exploiting. D&D's rules are a bit loose, and in many ways not well balanced or spelled out. A good optimizer would communicate with their DM to make sure the two of them on the same page both in terms of rules interpretation, and what type of game is being played at the table. As long as everybody is cooperating to ensure that everyone is having fun making awesome stuff happen at the table I don't any individual player's style of play really matters.

[@Otaconsps]

I was looking for this comment and had to scroll all the way down to find it. I couldn't agree with you more. Absolutely nothing wrong with optimizing your character, and for some of us that is actually part of what we find fun. Optimizing doesn't make it impossible to RP your character. It's not one or the other. Many videos have been made about this.

[@garion046]

100% Every group is different. The most important thing is to play with like minded players. If Mike brought his philosophy to one of the one shots with Treantmonk, Pack Tactics, and D4 Deep Dive, he'd have no fun and they'd feel he was ruining their game by not helping the team against their insanely tough encounters. None of those people are bad people or players, they just need a like minded group.

[@ichifish]

Love the "tips and tricks from BG3," but... I feel like you went a little overboard. I know you're not promoting them as the be-all-end-all, just throwing some ideas out, but, here's my experience as a 5e player (written as my thoughts at the table): 1. More magic items: My GM hands out magic items like candy out of a van. This nullifies our character builds, like the "wand of trap detection and removal" that means nobody rolls and nothing interesting happens. For god sakes, just take them out! I mean, what's better: 15 seconds of creepy tomb description or "I take out my wand and search for traps." "you find one." I spend 3 charges to remove it." Characters have a bazillion hp and bonuses out the @#%$^$ for a reason: so we can take chances. Need to climb? Not with all of the spider-climbing-fly gear! The characters are just walking inventories. 2. Adjusting HP on the fly Yeah sure, if the battle is over we (WE) can come to that decision. But my GM (who secret rolls) constantly nudges the numbers around to make the fights end where he wants them to. Conclusion (to the tune of Bohemian Rhapsody): nothing really matters, anyone can see, nothing really matters, to me... 3. Movement Yeah, more movement is fun (more anything is fun) until it's normalized, which is the second time it happens. Then everyone can move anywhere, and the players who built that into their characters or who decided, "no, I really want 30' instead of 25' so I won't play a dwarf" feel like that was useless. The action economy is an economy, as in balanced. If the already marvelized characters have more power that just means you gotta give the bad guys more hp, and then you're just going in circles. 4. Rests The solution of "you can rest any time but you consume a nearly limitless supply" = rest any time. I mean, it's not like 5e REALLY cares about rations anyway. Our game is already a running goodberry meme. I's just fucking kabuki.

[@toddpickens]

Based on its success, I'm sure this is an unpopular pinon, but here's a tip we can take away from BG3 on what not to do. Keep sex out of DnD.

[@ImpossibleAsymptote]

"I get accused of bashing DND" what level of brainmelt do you have to be on to think that this channel represents anti-DND sentiment? Personally I wish you'd go further with non-5e systems!