What D&D Can Learn From Baldur's Gate 3

[@pointyhatstudios]

Hello fellow gamers 😎 anyone know tfw u game? (also pls come watch my stream i swear it'll be very cool and fun)

[@Dangerous_DM]

Hi

[@Drunken_cat]

Can you do Sorcerer with a twist?

[@thief05]

Relatable

[@CorbiniteVids]

Will you be recording the streams? I'd love to check out your worldbuilding style (worldbuilding is my passion) but I'm not usually able to watch things live

[@0_Body]

You going to be dealing with Twitch chat so there is bound to be some suffering

[@dark_fusion1288]

Can’t believe this guy mad an entire KZbin channel in reference to the Pointy Hat in Baldur’s Gate 3.

[@LanTenko]

Creativity is dead, so sad :(

[@godgod4226]

😭when will originality be revived@@LanTenko

[@BloodandlatexFX]

Y’all this is dripping in sarcasm how is it going over heads

[@rockfire1669]

Yo, baldur’s gate 3 is so popular they made a tabletop game based on it.

[@Alive_I_Guess]

Really catching that joke there, huh?

[@AceofHearth]

The Tadpole parasite was such a convenient tool; The parasites give them a common goal, a method for them to communicate and relay their message, and help them to get into enemy territories.

[@eldunae922]

And makes easier for them to get over their distrust towards each other. Like, they know that no one is lying about having a tadpole because they can mindlink trough them.

[@11nephilim]

And a cool secondary tree of powers that can be used by any class!

[@JD-xz1mx]

Oh I actually called absolute party foul on the tadpole as a framing device. Its a cheat. Nothing in the universe interacts with them. They're shielded by vague, unwritten magic that isn't actually magic at all but a writing contrivence. You couldn't do this in the tabletop because the tabletop doesn't cheat. The players would be able to get rid of the tadpoles for a couple thousand gold pieces at any major city.

[@TheWampam]

@@JD-xz1mx That doesn't make any sense...

[@gebdemedici]

​@@JD-xz1mxI mean, that entirely depends on the DM and the table lmfao. Not every D&D game is the same, and the DM is entirely free to create any mechanics or plot devices he wishes.

[@snonyabeeswax]

i like how the game gives so much freedom it feels like what rpgs could be if the devs had the time and passion to do what they want

[@Cethinn]

It's the same thing as Immersive Sims (is BG3 an ImSim?). They take a lot of money and time to make, but they're frequently amazing and require a lot of passion. Sadly they are targeting a niche, so publishers don't want them really. They'd rather have guaranteed money printers that suck.

[@coolgreenbug7551]

@@Cethinnwhy make a stupid game like that when you can make a casino disguised as the exact same open world with copy pasted combat encounters?

[@vincentellsworth7905]

they do; but they want to make money instead

[@sauromatae9728]

​@@vincentellsworth7905 seeing how BG3 is drowning in money, success and good game work perfectly

[@vincentellsworth7905]

@@sauromatae9728 most big studios (blizzard, Bethesda, CD projekt red etc) will ALWAYS prioritize profit over making a good game; hell even Bethesda's fanboys will admit they use free community made mods to fix Bethesda's laziness

[@ElenaTheMenace]

My players just avoided a brawl with a pair of angry minotaurs by fawning over their pet wolf and bonding over how this doggie is the goodest, prettiest girl. So proud.

[@catlover2223]

That is the best way of avoiding combat I’ve ever heard!

[@Lamps_Ahoy]

23:30 Fun little thing about Phalar Aluve. If you're playing a cleric of Elistrae, your character automatically recognizes what it is and the check to get it is basically non-existent.

[@aerieleah533]

I think I also saw if you're an Elistrae drow the same happens.

[@basketcase289]

The whole part about the normal awkward starting in the bar thing made me remember the first DnD group I had in college and how the group joined together because the monk and I (a fighter) got into a bar fight against some NPCs, the bard starting playing action movie music, and the other fighter got literally pulled into it when one of the NPCs used him as a weapon... good times

[@professionalpaperweight5547]

*Affixes Nerd Glasses.* So, the Phalar Aluve is straight up just a reference to the Singing Swords that Eilistraee gifted to some of her most important followers. (Or wielded them herself.) Even the magic effect is very similar on top of all of this. It was also found in game with an inscription hinting towards something like that ^^

[@one_for_one]

Thank you, I was scrolling looking for whoever was gunna comment the answer

[@twentyeightstabwounds7761]

On top of this, it's the only finese longsword in the game. Which only cements the fact it was made for bards, thematically.

[@crushcommando8637]

@@twentyeightstabwounds7761 Ah yes...bards.. *sweats nervously as i have it equipped on the party rogue for bigger sneak attack*

[@Thalassicus01]

A cleric of Eilistraee can even get the sword without a skill check!

[@Karak971]

@@twentyeightstabwounds7761 I'm pretty sure it's not the only finesse longsword in the game

[@joseromero-wm9uv]

Seeing Mol throughout was crazy and by act 3 I just wanted to see a story about her and Arabelle going on an adventure

[@What-ish]

That's honestly one of my favorite things about the game, that so many characters feel like they could have their own storylines, or even spin-off adventures. It really is a loveletter to dnd.

[@vp21ct]

If Larian does another game in the Forgotten Realms, I DEMAND that Mol and Arabelle be origins.

[@tutes0133]

Seeing Lakrissa and Alfira together was also just a delight. And I adored Isobel and the holy terror that is Aylin

[@cjpack]

mol ratted me to the guards AFTER i hellped out her friends all because i kept the fake ring. fuck that lil devil child. i was pissed.

[@quantumimmortality551]

Probably the story for BG4

[@galmenz6118]

a solution i came up with that i liked a lot was a "potion of short rest". it gives you the effects of the "catnip" spell but without the unconscious part, and with greater degrees of the potion you get more hit dice boom, the party now has a money sink, a way to use short rests no matter when they need and i get to make them be extremely attached to the potion vendor. boy will it be sweet when they get kidnapped

[@daesikil4596]

Dont mind me as I yoink this idea! My Players already have a potion dealer npc... so this should make them trust her more. A dangerous mistake when she ends up being evil.😂

[@galmenz6118]

@@daesikil4596 rookie mistake, making your dealer the BBEG! would be kinda funny making the boss fight them just chugging potion after potion after potion to an effective infinite resource and hp, which makes any not so high level character very dangerous. adding some good regen and just ignoring spell slots would do it, essentially forcing the party to stop them with the potions or one turn kill them

[@knightghaleon]

I’m loving this idea

[@galmenz6118]

@@knightghaleon you can also make a lot of other not so popular spells into potions, and that is also a workaround to let martials use "scrolls" and not let wizards learn the spell of the consumable you are handing them (which is a weird edge case but its there) the game already does this with some things but they never go over much on it (potion of haste for example) and they usually make those potions rare+, so i try to make some that can actually be handled on the levels we play 😅 ive been toying with a "potion of hop" (next time you jump its like the jump spell + feather fall) for when my players get to climb some treacherous terrain

[@dormrifle6174]

The estus flask for the dnd

[@athenabrown3117]

I think the problem with the tavern thing is that the tradition isn't "you all just randomly meet", it's "You start there and are together because you're _mercenaries_ and are _looking to get a job_". You're working together because dungeon delving or mercenary problem solving requires a variety of skills. It's just... DMs kind of get caught up in the "well everyone is just kinda There" part and forgetting that what makes it work is that base assumption of the common goal. You're not a frodo meeting aragorn, you're like a crew in a cyberpunk story getting a job from a fixer. That guy has a quest, he will give you gold, you will do quest. Is this narratively satisfying to everybody? Not necessarily. But it's the reason that start in a tavern works for the groups who like it, because they're all already on that page.

[@PaulRGauthier]

Correct. It assumes that the characters already have a reason to be together: mutual self-interest. Which is a perfectly fine excuse. Other motives and conflicts etc. from their backstories can come out in play.

[@sammy_slammy]

Past that, it makes taverns places people can meet someone new, so the party might not know each other at all but still work together because they realistically came together at the same place for, a common job.

[@mal2ksc]

If the players don't want a generic start, they can explain to me why they know each other and I'll run with it. It doesn't just have to be one event either, it could be "Alice and Bob are sister and brother, and Chuck is Alice's husband". Two different reasons, but both valid and both compatible.

[@neilstone927]

In one I'm playing it actually started kind of like that. The rich guy was hiring a bunch of stupid...I mean brave people to go exploring a definitely undead infested crypt, and our characters stepped up to volunteer all needing the money for various reasons.

[@neilstone927]

​@@sammy_slammy or you could make it set at a place or relaxation that gets attacked by bandits and have the party meet that way by teaming up to defend the town. Like you are all watching this play when bandits arrive and people start panicking. Left with no choice you and a bunch of other weirdos have to band together to fight them off.

[@isaacgraff8288]

It warms my heart watching enemies get yeeted from high places. Since playing Baldur's Gate, I have been using the Shove action so much more

[@mal2ksc]

Thunder Step is a lot of fun too. You get to yeet them off the cliff and teleport out at the same time. I might have a villain do this to an NPC where the party is able to witness it: NPC delivers bad news to villain, who is sitting on a throne that sits at the end of a 15 foot wide peninsula that juts out over a cliff. Villain Thunder Steps out, sending the NPC careening to his death, and then stares up and watches the NPC fall because the villain teleported to the BOTTOM of the cliff for a better view. Of course, if this becomes a common tactic, there is Feather Fall. Maybe the party can even arrange to be yeeted off the cliff and then Feather Fall down so they can fight the villain on more normal terrain.

[@crystalcorrigan8573]

I just want you to know I was so stressed out the other day and my wife suggested I go home and put on a video from "the hat person" so she knows I love your videos so much she suggested it as a form of therapy

[@milkenobi]

I relate strongly to the “reskin your encounter to save your prep” sentiment. I make pretty elaborate terrain that includes epoxy resin pours. One piece in particular, a huge winding river, has been bypassed by my characters twice now. Once it was going to be an encounter where they’re travelling on the river but they avoided it. Second time it was going to be the players helping a bunch of goblins summon a river monster only for the goblins to betray them because they actually worship the monster. And they avoided that encounter too. But, by golly, you can bet that my player will be coming across my lovingly crafted winding river that I made at some point. It’s inevitable.

[@daggern15]

I love that the river basically turns into a threat by the end of this.

[@n.henzler50]

The party is journeying through a dungeon when the rogue swears he sees the glimmer of running water in the corner of his eye, only for it to vanish into the shadows when he turns to look. The weary adventurers put their feet up at the local tavern, but they can't help but notice the stranger watching them from the corner, murmuring softly beneath a rippling cloak. If any of them approach the figure, it stands up and heads out the exit in a swift, fluid motion, leaving behind only a damp spot on the bench and a handful of small, flopping fish on the floor.

[@milkenobi]

@@n.henzler50 haha. Lovely. Thank you for sharing.

[@anonyme4881]

Yeah reskinning encounter is the best thing ever made

[@TheEnder515]

My most recent campaign began with a prison break; during character creation, I told everyone that somehow, some way, they had all been captured by a mad mage and been locked in the dengeons of his tower. Just like that,they had a common enemy and goal: break free.

[@Derot23]

I have an idea similar as that. Group somehow wakeups captured by orcs in their camp. This orcs makes them fight in gladiator battles so they have one first goal - survice. They can try to escape this prison or survice until day 7, when some slaves trader will come and buys them to use later as his own millitary

[@Zomesura]

Isn't that basically bg2's start? lol

[@TheBrazilRules]

Every Elder's Scrolls beginning EVER.

[@TheEnder515]

@@Zomesura Is it??? I was, like, two when that game came out.

[@AuthorityCat]

It's not just the tadpoles either, every origin character is ALSO going to Baldur's Gate. Don't be afraid to layer multiple goals for your group, you'd be surprised how much depth it adds to a story. There's this particularly well written anime that does this called Made in Abyss. On paper the description would be "Riko goes into a scary hole to find her mother" but then all of a sudden there's two more characters who also want to go down the hole for their own reasons, and Riko starts introspecting about what her actual goals are. By "season 3" she's stopped saying she's doing this for her mother and starts saying "it's complicated, there's literally hundreds of reasons I'm doing this." Obviously it's hard to do but there should be at least two goals for your party, both of which narrow back down to that original premise by the end of the journey. Plus each character should wrap their personal story into the main plot. Hard stuff but it pays off more than you'd ever imagine.

[@jakewaitart9507]

I did the whole common goal thing for my current campaign! Instead of "y'all meet in a tavern" we had individual scenes in different places for each character. Each one being what they were currently doing when the goddess Sune ripped them out of time to a floating island in the plane of air, that's slowly drifting towards the plane of fire and falling apart! The goddess told them that they were her best candidates to change the past and save the island and it's inhabitants. We even had a very early combat because one the players was fighting a displacer beast and it got pulled along with them. So far it's been very fun, and theres been little of the forced "we should stick together!" kind of awkwardness.

[@Honeycrispsosweet]

I really wanna retcon the campaign opening but we're like three sessions in?? Bad idea?

[@ingonyama70]

@@Honeycrispsosweet Talk to your group, they may be into it.

[@ingonyama70]

that's a fascinating plot hook! One thing I'm curious about: Sune, as I understand her, is a godess primarily concerned with love and beauty. Does that tie in somehow with her reason for wanting this island saved?

[@jakewaitart9507]

@@ingonyama70 It does! thats why I picked her! So the whole setting is a massive group of floating islands in the plane of air that over the millennia have been brought/sent/somehow made their way there from various other realms. And for this island specifically (its named Vasea) I wanted it to be a very beautiful landscape so it seemed fitting that the people that lived there would admire that beauty and praise Sune for it. And like the first part of her personality description is that she "abhors the destruction of beauty - and protected her followers". So the legend I wrote of how Vasea was taken to the plane of air, is that it was once under threat of an earlier destruction from a nearby volcano, her followers cried out for help and she diverted the rivers of lava to cut them out of the material plane and propelled them further and further into the sky. I wanted to really lean into her fire motif that's kinda subtle in the lore, just in that one of her names is Lady Firehair and that she's also a goddess of life and light, and fire is a great connecting point between both of those as well as love/passion. So all the descriptions I've been giving of her and her affects have been very fire centric.

[@jakewaitart9507]

@@Honeycrispsosweet you don't necessarily need to retcon, maybe it can be that these 3 sessions have been more of an extended introductory period, and you can introduce something that gives everyone a common goal, some kind of event that affects all of them. A short period of time is easy to get people to work together for just because of the circumstance of being in the same place at the same time. Its the keeping them together naturally for a longer time that really needs a common goal.

[@CharliMorganMusic]

Letting players assign their +2 and +1 to base stats was such good idea

[@mroiddzhem7311]

And yet a bunch of D&D players are vocally against it because of... racism I guess?

[@Cassapphic]

its the custom racial stats from tasha's but by completely removing that association to race entirely it shows how not needed it ever was.

[@knight_lautrec_of_carim]

Newer WotC metarial has been doing this for some time now.

[@sirdrork8616]

No, getting rid of racial stat bonuses just further dilutes the distinctiveness of race choice. It should not be possible for a starting Gnome to have the same deadlift as a Half-Orc ffs

[@mroiddzhem7311]

@@sirdrork8616 well, with 5e it is still possible, cause the little +1 means very little just by itself. You people are so weird, defending a couple of points when literally all it does is make a certain class choice a tiny bit more preferential.

[@Skyblade12]

One thing I think you overlooked is: Don’t be afraid to go beyond the basics on character design. Astarion is a Vampire Spawn. It gives him the pathetic 1d4 bite, and a little bit better of a buff if he uses it (but a corresponding debuff if he uses it on the party). Not a normal player character option. Karlach has her demonic engine for a heart. And improving it gives her permanent, minor buffs, in the form of Advantage on and eventually immunity to certain debuffs. Shadowheart has her fear of wolves, and must make a Wisdom save or be afraid of them (not sure if this one ever changes, I’m still in Act 1). Gale has to nom nom magic items or blow up a city. And the DM makes sure there are plenty of items for him to nom on. None of these are “standard” character creation options. But they all increase depth and work with the RP, and are only minor buffs to the characters that won’t break the game. These are GOOD ideas. Don’t be afraid to play with things as a player, especially working with your DM. With the whole “tie my backstory into the main story” thing, there’s also potential for a “tie my backstory into mechanics, and really reward me for exploring it”.

[@LoreviQ]

I didn't realise the game reused minor characters until my second playthrough since my first playthrough was the Dark Urge and like a good Dark Urge most of those minor characters ended up dead lol. It blew my mind when entire questlines I didn't know about opened up because the Tieflings survived.

[@The_Yukki]

That's my biggest petpeeve with the game, siding with goblins in act1 removes so much fucking content from the game. That with hindsight there is just no point in going evil. (Also pretty much every follower is a foodie two shoes so they hate you if you join goblins...)

[@derpidius6306]

​@syriusem I mean tbh, I doubt you are even 'meant' to do that, by the time you get to the camp, you establish that whatever the Absolute is its trying to subjugate you, even if you're a terrible dude who loves to eat babies you have zero reason to support such an entity ...That being said, it'd have still been nice to see Sazza or some goblin in the mountain pass if you chose to befriend goblins :(

[@VaporeonEnjoyer1]

Evil always gets less content, being good is it's own reward, but also, you actually get to see the game. So win win.

[@The_Yukki]

@@VaporeonEnjoyer1 It's hoest to god first game I've seen where evil side doesn't get equivalent ammount of content but tweaked to be lore aligned with the evil morality. Punishing players for playing evil side is sure way to make players not play evil side, thus making it pointless to even have evil option. Hell I'd say WoTR most interesting choices were siding with evil, through Lich or Demon. They were interesting as well as powerful enough to justify being evil.

[@The_Yukki]

The loss is not the fact i don't get to see their questlines, the loss is that none of the evil side characters except minthara (who herself has a pretty weaksauce story compared to the 2 followers you default lose by siding with goblins), have no story. The loss is that Alfira doesn't have the best robe in the game for a warlock on her when she dies, that this robe doesn't exist in the game unless alfira survives until act 2. There is barely any variation for evil playthrough that's the thing. Whether you go gortash and then orin or orin then gortash has no consequences because the other dies anyway (either mandatory by your hand in case of orin, or your hand/in a cutscene if it's Gortash). You also mention becoming a mindflayer as an 'evil' option meanwhile game very much so presents it as a heroic sacrifice (if you don't trust the emperor). Corrupting companions is really only limited to Astarion and Shart, maybe wyll if you count 'ye sacrifice your dad to break your contract' to be corruption, and even that choice would require you to not default lose him for siding with the goblins in act1...@@yoursonisold8743

[@mr.pancakes6973]

My favorite thing about BG3 is how much stuff is hidden around where you would never expect. For example (spoilers for act 1 and act 1 only): I went into the trifling camp/druid grove and had two opposite problems where the druids wanted everyone out and the tieflings needed one more week. Kagha wasn't cooperating and told me to just protect them on the way out. So I said to myself "screw that noise I'm just gonna kill all the goblins so they won't have to do the spell. So I'm out and about and I learn that there's important lore over here and start learning about the actual main conflict. I found a goblin town and I thought this was the main camp. They let me in because brain worm and I think "eh why not look around before the slaughter". I find a deepgnome, a free familiar and a necromancy tome and next thing I know I find a cave full of phase spiders and stumble into the underdark and start exploring for hours having completely forgotten what I was doing originally. I find some miconids, kill some duegar, save that gnome again, get ambushed by 4 hook horrors at level 3, get lost, find a temple to selune, go up its ladder to the surface and now I'm in the real goblin camp I guess. So yeah it captures the feeling of the DM improving when the players do something unexpected very well.

[@kvar_runeback]

For the "bypass encounters on purpose" thing: **praise** I've been doing that quite a bit. Granted, I'm not as good at getting my point across in a non-shoehorned way, but I almost always have a way to make the combat either not happen, happen with someone else (why kill the dragon twins when they'll give you what you're looking for if you deal with the hag coven) or be altered by environmental or social context (like your Frozen Lakes Aboleth example). I feel like I'm decent at the "game design" aspect of DMing, but I suck at communicating what's happening and why (which isn't exactly the best when you DM but hey strength and weaknesses)

[@1033515]

One of my favorite "Bypassed a combat encounter" I ever pulled on my DM is when something was sneaking into our camp to try and steal my Warlock's Genie Lantern (Because it was shiny and pretty) and when they woke up they complained (in Infernal since the thing was a Devil) about being woken up, asked the devil what it wanted and then told the devil *Who the lantern belonged to* (Warlock Patron was one of the big movers + shakers in the City of Brass) and the Devil just stared at the lantern for a moment, then looked up to my warlock, made an apologetic motion, and scampered off into the night. The DM was laughing the whole time, the rest of the party in-character just kind of stared at my warlock, who was already grumbling and going back to sleep.

[@Ukayeah]

I like Wyll, his lines about Karlach and shadowheart in the end game were epic, he was such a bro, all of them are great in my heart ❤.

[@TiltedSquare]

Wyll, Karlach, and Gale are the responsible kids who you can let play with others. Astarion, Lae'zel, and Shadowheart are the kids you need to keep on a tight leash.

[@SidheKnight]

@@TiltedSquare I'd argue Shadowheart is somewhere in the middle of those two groups.

[@TiltedSquare]

@@SidheKnight Shadowheart tried to kill Lae'zel in her sleep. She needs to kept on a tight leash. 😂

[@SidheKnight]

@@TiltedSquare oh yeah.. I forgot about that.

[@pirateninjaunicorn666]

I romanced Wyll. "If you were a song, I'd never stop singing. If you were a psalm, I'd never stop praying". That man has Rizz.

[@nom1489]

On the point of short rests I think one way to make them feel better for your players is to make them feel less like sitting down and eating a full ass meal or something, just make them the players bandaging their wounds, eating a quick snack, stuff like that, that way they actually feel like short rests.

[@mellifluouslyanonymous]

everyday I smile bc your editing exists. THE EDITING IS SO ON TOP AND THE SELECTION OF CLIPS EVEN BETTER.

[@KingMelancholia]

The fact this man referenced Preminger from Princess and the Pauper as Astarion… it not only unlocked an old and recessed memory of mine, but also ruined Astarion for me… or made him better. Not sure. Well done!

[@BrokensoulRider]

Both is good.

[@SeanTheMarshall]

"and then you see those tieflings again" with Alfira on screen. Dark Urge players took 1d6 emotional damage from that one

[@brandonmohle9282]

The tip about allowing your players to bypass encounters and just reskinning the prep is on point. I’m running a D&D campaign using Dragon Age: Origins as the literal plot… to anyone who has played that game (and if you haven’t you should omg it’s amazing), there is a part during the prologue where the King and his armies are heading off a horde of Darkspawn (think evil orc/zombie analogue) from entering the countryside, and you are tasked with lighting a beacon to signal reinforcements to smash the Darkspawn flank. At the top of this tower is a Darkspawn Ogre that’s guarding the beacon… well when my players saw they would have to fight their way through a tower filled with Darkspawn to get to the beacon the Druid was like “naw fam I’ll just wildshape into a giant spider and y’all can get on my back.” CLIMBED TO THE TOP SKIPPED THE WHOLE TOWER! AND THEY LIT THE SIGNAL FIRE BY USING HYPNOTIC PATTERN ON THE OGRE! … Needless to say I was sad that the Ogre and my prep got “wasted.” However, because of the way things went down, the PCs actually went and joined the king in the battle (which doesn’t happen in the game mind you). Because of this they fought the Darkspawn horde head on, experienced the crushing reality that the horde is too large to defeat, AND I had the Ogre they skipped on the tower jump down into the valley… a much more compelling, dynamic, and difficult scenario than they would have had if they went with what I planned. It was awesome!!!

[@meggydumplin]

just wanted to say I love this and I love Dragon Age and I would kill to have a dm who does this

[@PaulRGauthier]

Call of C'thulhu and horror / investigation rpgs know this trick well.

[@BradTheAmerican]

I've been wanting to do a D&D campaign of Dragon Age Origins for so long. The possibility of things happening that can't happen in the game is what excites me the most. Like what if you chose not to pick a king for Orzammar? What if you helped Jarvia take control instead and turned the city into a chaotic mess of thieves? Or maybe a party member tries to crown themselves (or even Oghren) and all of Orzammar's noble house became hostile? Maybe Branka or Caridin are convinced to rule instead and Orzammar prospers?

[@LosferWerds]

Loving the pointers. Over my long RPG history I've primarily been a player, rarely ever a GM A few years ago I started playing Hero Quest with my daughter. She of course told her friends about it, and they wanted to join too. Now I feel like they're old enough to really get the minutia of 5E.

[@Ezasur]

That's just parent of the year stuff right there! :)

[@ingakozuruba9145]

In my RPG friends group we already have a new generation players in (the daughter of my DM and some of her friends, for example) and I really hope that my daughter will join when she is old enough.

[@300SonsofOdin]

As a small indie def, I can relate to this. Creating a world with cultures, languages, cities and so on. Is quite bruutal.

[@nidel-dev]

The environment usage with the jumps & move mechanics + the perfect satisfaction when pushing some enemies off a cliff is soooo cool to and would be awesome to handle somehow in d&d. Combats are so much more thrilling. + I agree, the item are so cool and well designed.

[@TrufanNW]

Every single time someone compares Astarion to Preminger I feel so happy.

[@inquishoth]

I have always given people a clear goal from the get go and it always works well. Everyone says they want an open world, but giving people a clear plot hook early on helps point people in the right direction

[@fiorasvante]

Because open world, sandbox and etc. are loosely defined terms that are not super precise at making clear what is the desired experience Some people understand it to be "throw them in the world with loose concepts and see what the players do" (much more intensive decision work for players and lots of improv for the DM) Others, understand it as exactly what you have done: give some guidelines/plot hooks, present a few quest options, so players can pick which they prefer, and let the players improvise and change your plans, like "stealing from a merchant they disliked" or "try to craft an item" or whatever Not to say we should say "yes" to everything they want to attempt, but so long as there's a possibility it could work out it won't derail things too much, sure, go ahead

[@philsajor6724]

You are amazing Antonio thank you so much for your never ending premium content! I along with all the other DMs out there appreciate all your wonderful ideas!

[@MahBebe]

In my recent new Eberron campaign, I had the party all belong to a small guild, it's literally just the pcs and 3 npcs as "management." There are also some characters that are 'away' to allow some of my busier players to join in mid-campaign. It's a city crawl so the guild serves as a great logical solution to some players missing sessions and such, we all love it so far.

[@buboniccraig896]

The gritty realism rule also really helps with short resting more, a really underrated rule imo

[@Lonit-be]

can you elaborate?

[@valerius88]

I love, love, love the fact that you have armor and weapons that have so many small buffs. Like Medium armor that reduces Slashing Damage by 1, or a Longsword that does an additional 1d4 of Psychic damage if wielded by a Githyanki. It just gives me a lot of ideas for Homebrew items that have just very minor modifications, but that add a lot of flavor to the otherwise boring list of armor and weapons players can choose from.

[@Cyb3rHusky]

Phalar Aluve is also [I believe] the *only* finesse longsword, and only finesse weapon you can two-hand in the game. Great for rangers and rogues, even though it breaks the sneak attack animation.

[@justinhigginbottom8668]

My favorite campaign I've ever played. The DM started us in session one completely seperated bar characters with attached backstories. And had the first bad guy be a baron whos wronhed each of us. So session one we all made our way separately to the baron. Only to all wind up thrown in prison. And ended with us meeting eachother for the first time. Session two sgarted witj introductions and realizing we should work together for a common goal. Felt so much more natural

[@dosde8391]

*What Wizards of the Coast should learn from Larian*

[@eastbow6053]

and Bioware

[@dosde8391]

@@eastbow6053 Yep those guys only hope is Mass Effect 4, and im 90% sure they are gonna f it up

[@eastbow6053]

@@dosde8391 and dragon age 4, cant wait to see how many trans they will add into the game wait where did all the story go?

[@dosde8391]

@@eastbow6053 They aint gonna even hold a candle to BG3, people will look at it, toss it and then go back to BG3

[@jjkthebest]

The "you all meet in a tavern" Is useful because you can be anyone you want, really. Bg3 shows that you can still have a common goal even with that, of course, but that's the reason why the trope exists. I actually think one thing you just briefly mentioned at the end there is also a really cool idea that deserves more emphasis: Your banshee blade upgrades. That's an amazing idea. If your players really like a magic item, let them upgrade it!

[@deadmanwalking5748]

I still can't believe you do all this for free. People like you truly are the heart and soul of ttrpgs

[@TheGraviox]

I got that magic sword today! If you’re a cleric of Elisatraee you automatically recognize what it does/is and it is the perfect weapon for a Elisatraee cleric!

[@testogel85]

Note that the Phalar Aluve not only gives a Bard-themed ability, it's also a Finesse weapon (despite being a longsword).

[@shannon3315]

The thing I would like shouted from every rooftop is come to your DM and ask how can my character’s backstory fit into this campaign. As in 1. YOU THE PLAYER take responsibility for your own good time by initiating this, and 2. understand that this campaign HAS A STORY ALREADY and that story isn’t (solely) you. It’s real neat when a DM sees something in your character that nicely lines up with the story and then makes that happen, but it’s not always a good and easy fit, and requires a bit of negotiating (and also, negotiating means that you’ll be able to see to it that the DM doesn’t choose a direction you don’t like). I’ve played with so many people who think that writing 30 pages of backstory is doing the DM a big favor, when an even bigger favor would be saying “here are my ideas, how can that work here?”

[@brandond.7768]

I liked the idea of rations for a long rest as well. I think in my future games, some other ideas would be a short rest is like 5-10 min, but requires some rations. It's pretty simple to keep track of. I also do like the idea of using a potion as a bonus action, being able to throw it. Special weapon abilities that are usable on a short rest.

[@lacesecret6041]

One of the favorite starters I did, was the party arrived at an inn, got rooms, went to sleep . . . and then in the middle of the night the floors of their rooms and they were all dropped into the blackness below. They all woke up hung over/massive headaches in a cavern at the bottom of a smooth, unclimbable pit and a single exit into a cavern system. It worked really well to get this group of morally gray characters to work well together trying to get out of the place.

[@CanadianCrits]

Another mechanic I like is the ability to pick up and throw enemies. Its unbelievably primal and satisfying and I was flabbergasted that 5e doesn't seem to have any rules or mechanics for that (that I've found.)

[@sammy_slammy]

You might like to take a look at Bigby's Book of Giants. The Barbarian subclass in there let's you straight up yeet people.

[@CanadianCrits]

@@sammy_slammy it's pretty awesome, yeah 😁🍁

[@BanditLeader]

Could take a look at grapple in ad&d

[@jasonlarue5694]

I love the Short Rest Idea! It was always what I did before, I really never thought about it that way. But it always keeps the Party and Story moving for us. Keep up the amazing work!

[@EAKugler]

I've had players come up to me years into a campaign and ask why they only got a "very special episode" when another player's story was integrated deeply into the game. And my answer was, "They gave me all the information ahead of time, asked how they could change it to make it fit even better into the campaign, and begged me to tie it into the story."

[@TGPDrunknHick]

honestly at a certain point you may want to lead with that. give your players a brief overview of the setting and then let them know that you're open to players who want to be more integrated into the world.

[@Feralhyena]

Thank you for bringing up Short Rests. And the Item Economy, or lack thereof in regular DnD.

[@devonatwood4775]

I’m really looking forward to watching this video and trying to turn Buldur’s Gate from a storytelling obstacle into a resource. I haven’t played it yet but as a DM most of my players have. I wanted to plan some mind-flayed twists, starting with their first boss they killed, who had a brain hidden away in a chest from a past adventure. It was meant to be a plot hook and one my players literally said “meh, after Baldur’s Gate 3 brains don’t really shock me anymore.” It was rough. I want to love it though! Trying to subvert standard mind-flayed tropes now to capitalize on their normalization now instead of making their presence inherently a big deal. Thank you Pointy Hat!!!

[@The_Somewhere_Monarch]

I get how this feels a lot. A couple sessions ago I was describing an NPC and one of the players was like “so this person from Honkai”. Now I’ve never played Honkai nor do I know just about anything from it but as I kept roleplaying the NPC they were like “yep. Exactly like Honkai”.

[@Thurokiir1]

Homie. That's a bad friend. Who even says that to someone? Much less a friend. Much less a friend who is DMing LOL.

[@devonatwood4775]

@@Thurokiir1 he’s a tsundere 🤷‍♂️

[@RedDuke42]

wait 0:47 "Carglass repara" is an S+ Tier Spanish meme... reveal your true form Pointy Hat!

[@ElDelAutístico]

He pensado EXACTAMENTE lo mismo

[@Trekiros]

The "before you know the result" thing is a bit of a weird wording choice by WotC, but what it's meant to be isn't "before you know the total of the dice + bonuses", or even "before you know whether or not you beat the DC", but "before your DM has spent 45 seconds narrating the result of the check". It's meant to prevent having to constantly retcon because that would be annoying AF, but the intended use IS that you use it after you know the result of the d20 + all of its bonuses. They do leave it up to the DM whether or not they communicate what the DC is - I'm team let the players know, but I understand not everyone is

[@brickhammer04]

Listening to "Join us for a Bite" while doing dnd research? Truly the most relatable youtuber.

[@Harbin_ofTheLake]

Gamer moment

[@hyleriangaming22143]

I was not prepared for Preminger to be dragged to the surface of my memories like a damn blobfish

[@CJWproductions]

That pointy hat is definitely a reference. The eye gives it away. That's awesome dude, congrats.

[@Troopertroll]

True, giving a starting reason for players to stick together without being forced is super important. One I did for an Edge of the Empire campaign was having having a really short pre-session for each pair of players getting hired by the same client. The job would be something that their individual Obligations would compel them to see through for their own reasons.

[@Teraclon]

I'm all for it! Loving the content, as usual!

[@Tree.lancer]

I just wanted to say, I have only a few DnD sessions under my belt (mostly cuz of difficulties finding group/GM/Time) But I really love your videos and consume them ravenously on my personal channel, not only are you entertaining you have given me a quite a few good ideas of things I can improve with on my own videos, and my personal worldbuilding project. Thank you for all the hard work you do! as an artist and fellow youtuber you are a big inspiration!

[@martinjimenez2884]

The NPC one really take me by surprise because my experience as a GM is that players feel that "the world feel too small if we always meet with these same people, they don't have a live outside of ours?"

[@gsheetgsheet9491]

Because it’s a combination of both. Reusing characters and letting them appear again is also part of their life and how they live in the world the issue is created if you make like 5 guys who are apparently everywhere and you don’t meet any new characters as a player. Not reusing any characters kinda makes them stagnant but reusing too many makes you seem kinda reluctant to introducing new content. It’s all about balance.

[@Guy_With_A_Laser]

In Bg3, the trick is that the NPCs have a parallel goal to you--they're trying to get to Baldur's Gate as well, and get stuck by the same obstacles as you. Having it happen completely randomly in an open world is a little harder to sell, but in the scenario they've constructed, you would reasonably expect to encounter them again.

[@marchmelloow]

21:00 This 100%. I played as an Undead Warlock _specifically_ so I could find myself in situations where my limbs are cut off and then I can reattach them, not so that my *_only_* 14th level ability can never do anything.

[@danguillou713]

"I'm playing this game a completely normal amount." Made me chuckle out loud.

[@Wintersypher]

I ran a campaign with 10 minute short rests. My party was three warlocks and honestly i thought it was great. My players liked being able to get their stuff back between encounters and I loved how much it pressed them forward. Plus like you said they have hit dice as a limitation and a handful of long rest Warlock abilities that don't recharge. But 10min is juuust long enough that sometimes when there was a tense narrative moment they would have to forgo it. Next campaign I run I'm definitely doing 10min short rests again.

[@RenoKyrie]

For DMs Give more Magic items(Especially towards Martials) Make Martials in general more fun(Open Hand Monk, Four Element, and Berserker are great) For Players Some spells are allready good in 5E(Slow, Silence, Spirit Guardians, Pass Without Trace, Spike Growth, Entangle) Ranger has allways been good, people just play them wrong(Hunter Mark and Hex are trash spells) USE POISON

[@Dangerous_DM]

Reward that magic items thing Giving a bunch of good magic items will unbalanced the game. Instead give items that do magic damage but don’t deal extra effects

[@RenoKyrie]

​​@@Dangerous_DMThere should be like a chart for Magic items Level 1 to 5: From only dealing magical damage to +1 or minor effect items 5 to 8: +2 with no extra effect or +1 with useful effects and no + but medium effect 8 to 12: +3 with no effect or +2 with minor effect and +1 with INCREDIBLY potent effect

[@Dangerous_DM]

@@RenoKyrie exactly

[@nojusticenetwork9309]

​​@@RenoKyrie no. Magic Items should be given out at the discretion and comfort of the DM and what makes sense for their story and setting. No more, no less. Players can feel power via leveling, magic items are just icing on the cake. A good DM will already have solid items in mind for players and when they wish to grant them. Martial classes are already fun, if you don't already realize this then you either weren't paying attention or what they offer wasn't to your taste to begin with. And considering how prevalent poison immunity and resistance are in many stat blocks, I doubt telling players to use poison is particularly good advice.

[@RenoKyrie]

​@@nojusticenetwork9309So you want the Martial to feel more pathetic than say The Ranger and Druid who give +10 Stealth to the party and can shutdown enemies with Spike Growth or summon 8 Velociraptor for ruining action economy? Or the Wizard, Warlock, and Sorcerer litteraly casting anything? Even Cleric and Paladin does a lot Like yes, some Martials ARE good like Echo Knight, Rune Knight, Zealot Barbarian, Ancestral Barbarian But idk if its fair letting spellcasters able to do everything only for the Monk stay completely useless, even the RANGER is more skill monkey than Rogue with how big their Skill proficiency spread is and they get to use strong spells

[@naum2099]

i really appreciate the converting the sword to dnd, i've had an idea for giving magic weapons to my players who scale with their levels in my own campaign, but always struggled to find mechanical balance, so thank you very much!

[@vimmiv]

BY THE WAY DID YOU SEE THE POINTY HAT ....HAT!?!? It even has an eye on it 😭🖤

[@Alive_I_Guess]

Hi! First of all, love all the content from this channel, but for the lich series, I would love to see one about martials or half-casters! For example, for the barbarian, it could be that they gain immortality simply through their sheer anger at death. The driving force for them would be finding more things to be angry at, as if they ever stopped being angry, they would die. So instead of having many people which they can switch into, instead, the only way to kill them is to calm their anger or actually give them a reason to die. Like literally sitting down an giving them existential dread would kill them. Or for half caster, we can use paladins. Many paladin's goals are to purge that of which they see as wrong, or evil. What if a paladin saw all living creatures as abominations, all of them being evil and needing to be purged, ending with himself. Their immortality would come from their oath to kill every single living creature, as they all have the possibility of evil. For this one, you could go the route of having a massive following which they can inhabit the bodies of, or you could go the route of "show them that there is good in the world, and that the good and evil are just as balanced as there being no life at all". I have more ideas for all the classes, just message me if you want to here them!

[@bobsalami]

Bro why is your human familiar a fricking incubus 🥵🥵🥵

[@mroiddzhem7311]

My way to approach incorporating the backstories is something that I personally call "quantum railroading" When we sit down for a session zero, I ask all the details from the players about their characters to flesh out the motivations and personality. I ask them about what their character is afraid of, what is their deepest wish and secret, what are their short-term and long-term goals, who are their enemies and who are their friends. The goal is to create a character that is not just described by "tiefling-bard" combo, but actually has motivations, world view AND are placed into the world with all the connecting threads to NPCs After that comes the hard part. I take my corkboard, arrange all the points that I've written down during session zero and try to come up with what is their common problem will be. Sometimes it's the devil that makes pacts and arrangements here and there and tries to use PCs as his pawns, sometimes it's a magical epidemic that slowly destroys their personal worlds. When it comes down to an actual game, it is pretty easy to figure out what will players do and try to accomplish. After all, they've already told me almost everything to predict what they're going to do and with some neat tricks here and there (like recycling content and stuff) it allows me to create a story with all the prep work but with an illusion of complete freedom and sandboxiness. And obviously their characters are directly tied to the plot. Because their characters are the source of the plot itself.

[@demonheart13]

I have no problem with losing prep, I'm more concerned with losing time. My players have bypassed everything I prepped that night and and I sincerely cannot come up with anything on the fly. If they finished before they were supposed to sorry you can go home now cause I need a week to figure out the consequences of these actions and suddenly getting through problem by walking around it just ends with everyone going oh, well goodnight I guess. I don't like it, players don't like it. Hopefully scheduling doesn't push it to multiple weeks.

[@jgmepgjlrmxcf2188]

I had that concern too, until i figured that there isnt 2000x way to talk out of a fight (in a decisive way, wich i do think remain important, talking out of a combat have to stay rare) So u prep ur session with a backup prep where every combat got skipped and its all good.

[@MarkoSeldo]

I always have a surprise monster attack handy. Session going to run short because they just walked through the wall instead of solving the puzzle? Fine. On the way home, gnolls attack! Or bandits. Or kobolds. Whatever feels right for the place their in. The key is to give those monsters a really good reason to a) be there, and b) attack. If you've all in, you can either let the party find a clue to something on the bodies afterwards, or chase them back to their lair to free an NPC who works in the local town and offers discounts as reward for being saved. It's fairly easy to always have one of these up your sleeve, especially once you've got the hang of writing them.

[@MarkoSeldo]

*they're in

[@sr.maximus9136]

Talking about backstory Once i saw interesting way to "create" backstory by.. playing it, actually. GM called it Prologue. Prologue may start from character's day of birth and last to first game of company. It is like moving through key events of life and player makes decisions in them. And no dice rolling btw (I mean, it would be horrible to make character list for every age of your character) For me it is best way to: 1 get player into GM's lore 2 understand character better for both player and GM 3 make deep background for character

[@digitaljanus]

I've done this. It was encouraged by the World of Darkness RPGs. If you have the time and inclination to do it I highly recommend using Prologues, they're awesome.

[@DankSpoony]

This reminds me of that time Balduran said "It's gatin' time" and gatekept D&D from every BG3 fan

[@Sparking_Ram]

I do the tavern opening but mine is usually all pre set up as "You are all asked to or suggested to come here because of a job offer." Ill even do a little one shots with each player individually in advance to establish why. It gives a reason for them to stay together and someone they can comeback to for constant jobs and story progression.

[@zoruasnivy]

I just wanted to say I used some of your Aasimar ideas and my biblically accurate aasimar concept is now thriving

[@ferramos7135]

Mucha suerte y mucho animo en esta nueva aventura de los Streams! Ahi estaremos dando calooor y apoyandooo (si el Mago Loco es clemente, que este domingo toca partida.... jajajajaj ). Saludos desde Tenerifeeee ;)

[@Crushanator1]

I liked 4E and played a decent amount with friends, and so when 5th came out the first thing we homebrewed was that Short Rests were 5 minutes long and could happen off screen (like walking to a new location in town, or in a carriage) and we've literally never had any problems with it. The warlocks have been strong I guess, but it's unlikely that they're doing more than maybe 3-4 combat encounters per day anyway, so really it doesn't make them "more powerful" it just means the powerful party feels narratively sensical. It also means they're encouraged to take some of their non combat abilities, and they become themed around other things, instead of just being Eldritch Blast Machines with almost nothing else going for them. Same thing for Inspiration being able to spend for a reroll instead of Advantage, which I'm sort of surprised didn't get mentioned in the section about "before you know the result."

[@lexington.]

Two things that stood out to me while playing BG3 are the weapon specific attacks (sweeping blade, hamstring shot, mobile shot, etc.), and that teammates in the same initiative block can move in a different order within the block. I think both these mechanics are interesting, and I'll be trying them in some form in my games.

[@starryeyedinput]

big agree with all of these! another one to add is taking full advantage of the environment - before bg3, i never knew that shove attacks could feel so good 🤌🤌 also, i love the weapon in the video description! great job tweaking the Phalar Aluve to work in 5e, and to get stronger over time

[@NYRDO_Official]

I love the absolute solidarity amongst character creators concerning the “meh he’s there I guess” attitude towards Wyll. I would feel bad for him if I had any interest in his character, voice actor did a wonderful job, but the rest of the companions are just so much cooler.

[@Cassapphic]

I really enjoyed Wyll's storyline but mostly for the things that happen to him and the other characters who are mainly tied to him, mizora is so fun if I ever run for a warlock, their patron is gonna be an annoying girlbossfailure for sure

[@zombieoverlord5173]

It's to be expected of the only human companion tbh

[@brendo1143]

Gale is human companion

[@marrble4166]

I felt this way about Halsin, honestly. I loved Wyll from his first introduction, but, for me, Halsin was always just kind of there lol

[@zombieoverlord5173]

@brendo1143 half human half orb lol. But yea I get your point I forgot about Gale entirely

[@Unequaledking]

This is some of the best dnd advice I've seen in the years I've consumed this content. Thank you.

[@Monroke]

I see pointy hat, I click ❤

[@syluskipping2442]

Truly a person of culture.

[@joshuaharper1206]

You did my man Wyll dirty with that "whatever"

[@CJWproductions]

They really focus in on a select few gods. Shadowheart's god is the subject of like 3 separate areas in the early game, and you hear about it all the time, plus its mirror. Nobody else in the party really has a god. Then you have the evil gods which each get their time in the spotlight, and they don't really waste any time on any others! It's good!

[@abbeyBominable123]

What about Gale and Mystra?

[@CJWproductions]

@@abbeyBominable123 dunno, never met him

[@abbeyBominable123]

@@CJWproductions then how can you say "nobody else in the party really has a god"? 😆

[@CJWproductions]

@@abbeyBominable123 simple, you can say anything on the internet

[@MilkyNep]

@@CJWproductions you're so real for this

[@Scorpius1122]

I did dark urge for my second playthrough. The differences between the normal custom origin and it are extremely satisfying.

[@oldensad5541]

About "allowing players to avoid prepared fight". I never, ever, ever, ever do it. Coz I never prepare a fight. I usually prepare an encounter. For example, if I wish players to face a strong flying enemies, and I consider this a special encounter,I never start from combat stats of monsters. I start from surrounding, landscape, items in the location etc. And at the END of that, I look at the whole picture and try to imagine most obvious ways this monsters would fight in this scenario and make their stats adequate to WINNING strategy. At the end players can do whatever they think the most logical thing to do. They want to run, using structures like cover? Sure! Chase sequence. They want to hide? Horror story Hitchcock style. They want to play hunger games with the beast? I have some items, location and structures to use in this survival experience. People can get creative in environment like this and lots of times they comes up with solutions I never even think about. And if they try to face this creatures in direct (boring) combat, they probably would switch strategy after couple of turns coz they are in disadvantage. And they never would feel like I was to harsh, coz they have so many obvious (and obscure) options.

[@teundol894]

Making short rests shorter is such a simple but amazing idea. What I also do in my campaigns to make them narratively fit better, is not let the characters sit around and stare at the ceiling. But let them 'prepare' for a fight. Poison your blade, make a battle plan, eat a bit before the big boss fight, count your healing potions and store them in a place in your bag with easy access, have the leader make an inspiring speach. Just things that would be wise or cool before you take on the big baddy anyway, but also would fit in the context of catching your breath so you can use those unused hit dice.

[@BockwinkleB]

It's not like "DnD" hasn't had an insane amount of material to "learn" from. Gary, Dave, Ed, 2E, BG1,2..... they just chose to label it all as "problematic" and spoon feed you garbage.

[@zombieoverlord5173]

What?

[@dragonborn2718]

Honestly you make some good points about the tavern thing, but for my group we just are mercs and end up forming a group for a tactical advantage

[@Dangerous_DM]

First, can this comment blow up for no reason Never mind I was second

[@ErisCalamitasButFR]

Actually no, you're second

[@Dangerous_DM]

@@ErisCalamitasButFRthat’s why I said in mistaken

[@NamiStuff]

Carglass cambia, carglass repara!! I certainly was not expecting that reference.

[@coltonpolack5660]

In our current session i think out dm is trying the plot method where background tie into the main story, but its hard to tell. He also started our campaign in a "we all have different goals" but were conveniently all traveling to the same place for whatever reason. And then shipwreck, island survival, team building. It worked out well

[@last2nkow]

On the subject of short rests, My last campaign used the 1 hour short rest, but I also gave each player 2 "breathers" to spend every long rest. A breather takes 1 minute and allows the player to recharge 1 thing from the following list. 1) any number of spell points or ki points. 2) any 1 feature that recharges on a short rest to the maximum possible. 3) expend hit dice as though the character had a short rest. The breathers helped the warlock and bard in my campaign a lot. Spending the minute the other characters were using to loot the room to recharge all the warlocks spell slots or all the bards Bardic inspiration just let us keep up the pace under time pressure.

[@ArchonPook]

My current campaign: The party had met up a month prior further south. They formed a group because they all had one goal and had heard the same rumors. War fomenting to the North had given rise to opportunities for aspiring adventurers to make a name for themselves. And that is how they found themselves walking into a tavern in a small town intending to stay long enough to rest and resupply before heading North to the seat of the Barony.

[@teaball8927]

Installing Twitch app right now! Few months ago, I didn't know anything about dungeons and dragons besides the name. Been learning from the ground up ever since some discord friends asked if I'd DM for them. Been bingeing D&D content ever since and I'm super glad my D&D rabbit hole brought me to the Hat! Such a creative engine! Can't wait to tune in on Sunday! 🎉

[@yngvildrthevoracious]

Ok I didn't expect to hear a Spanish ad for Carglass in your video and it killed me a little. 😂

[@kennethsmith5383]

I agree 95% with the cater to the player builds. Every once in a while leaving some challenges that make the players think outside the box is fun BUT I personally love making challenges that the players are equipped to crush.

[@Cassapphic]

I wanna add 2 addendums to the final point on magic items. 1) You can set limits to which classes can attune to magic items, this is already a thing in the game (even if its maonly only used for spellcasters, you can expand it why not) 2) I love in my games including an area that may be a bit out of the way where the players can find a powerful magical blacksmith who can upgrade base enchantment numbers on magic items. That way I can include fun weapons and other treasure earlyish on, and when players might start eyeing up that +2 greatsword collecting dust on the noble's mantlepiece, they hear of the rare undergound oil this blacksmith needs to upgrade their magic item that I probably gave a minor neat effect tailored to that player.

[@TricksterModeEngaged]

The "give the party a common goal/enemy" thing is SO important for keeping your players invested and avoiding the "wait why would my PC give a shit?" problem. It doesn't even need to be an end-of-the world problem. I ran a few sessions last year where the setup was that all the players had been jailed for minor crimes but got selected for a work release program to earn their freedom and everyone had some fun coming up with how their PC had gotten thrown in jail in the first place and figuring out if they planned to just go along with the program or if they wanted to find a way to slip away (magical monitoring anklet, so that would require some time spent learning about how to fool them)