Winter's Daughter With DM Commentary: OSR DnD Liveplay

[@QuestingBeast]

Buy Old School Essentials in Print: bit.ly/OSERules Buy Old School Essentials in PDF: bit.ly/OSEPDF Buy Winter's Daughter in Print: bit.ly/WDPrint Buy the OSR version in PDF: bit.ly/WDOSRPDF Buy the DnD 5e version in PDF: bit.ly/WD5EPDF

[@emirefli]

I loved this video! In the span of 2 hours we got: - A showcase of OSR play - A showcase of Old School Essentials (though the system didn't came into play that much) - A playthrough of Winter's Daughter - A load of GM advice in practice (it's one thing to see the advice in a blog/video, another thing to see it in action) I don't know how hard it was to make this video, but I hope we get more videos like this with other systems and/or adventures!

[@AaronArnoldaquapod]

You're very right, we don't get to see the DMs use their own advice often.

[@dbretton]

The fact that OSE didn't come into play much is a great showcase of the system: it's only there to adjudicate certain situations, which I love.

[@noffpoppin]

@@dbretton I agree. I remember playing a Pathfinder game and it got a little too rolls heavy. Roll to find the shore, roll to paddle, roll to sneeze effectively!

[@18ps3anos]

@@dbretton It depends on who runs it. It's your game after all. A lot of old grognards give a lot more use to search and open door rolls. Others not so much, heavily embracing the narrative aspect of the game. But the OSR is a revival after all, not specifically the authentic experience. As such, it came to be as a response to the rolls heavy experience that we've picked up starting mostly on 3e. Unlike Basic, AD&D was also crunchier, so there would be chances to have more rolls than showcased here! Overall, this was still a great example to illustrate how to deal with certain fundamental principles in OSR games and how different it tends to be compared to your usual 5e game.

[@TheBreadPirate]

I agree! It's great to see a session with Ben in action.

[@grumpygrognard7292]

I quite appreciated this example of table top adventure gaming much more than most others found on youtube today. The players were not trying to be too pretentious and they were focused on solving the challenges in front of them instead of using every moment to draw attention to their own character's backstory or quirky personality. Another thing that definitely helps is that everyone is sitting around a table together. I'm so glad you didn't do this on Roll20.

[@18ps3anos]

There is certainly room for more RP heavy games, so I don't think dissing it like that to be fair. But the thing with this type of OSR game is that the focus is on player's skill and not character's skill. So you quickly find yourself trying to solve the puzzles presented to you and using the fantasy theme as toys and tools. This combined with creativity, greatly rewards players for their ingenuity in a way that modern D&D simply isn't able to.

[@matthewnunyabusiness5085]

@@18ps3anos I think its more to the online videos of D&D. Lots of the big shows I've seen are primarily focused on entertaining an audience over playing a game, which is fine because it makes the viewing experience better and it's obvious that is what most people want to see, but as a DM I want to see players who play like players, something closer to what I can expect from my own players.

[@sonic-bb]

​@18ps3anos meh. Too many youtube players are obnoxious and focus too heavily on the rp. Combat is almost non existent

[@sonic-bb]

​@18ps3anos it causes modern players to complain when I ask them for any kind of skill check roll lol.

[@cesarvillalobos1692]

I like ggnore for actual play for this precise reason. Out of all actual play I have seen/heard I think I'd have the most fun at their table

[@OrdinaryTrevor]

Love this kind of stuff. "A few days travel and you arrive in a clearing..." "We assume you all know each other." It saves time and gets to the action! The chapter markers are also great aid in the video.

[@geoffreynelson6413]

This format is really great. The player on the left who immediately takes notes about names and other relevant data is my favorite player.

[@pedrobernardo5887]

This is the best OSR "tutorial" on the webs.

[@NegatveSpace]

I've been hoping for quite a while that someone would get the idea to somehow include DM commentary to their content. I'm glad someone I follow does it and I hope it keeps going! :)

[@m.samusch5822]

Yeah, this is a great idea!

[@DaveThaumavore]

I applaud you for trying new things with your channel and experimenting, Ben.

[@Madkingstoe]

I say this in the friendliest possible way; I never realized how much snacking and drinking we do at the gaming table until I watched this video. Haha! Sounds like a fun session!

[@johnsikking4891]

Now this is DnD that I recognize from my childhood. Thank you for sharing this with the public. I had thought the game had passed me by.

[@bookbagfox]

I don’t tend to enjoy watching other people play D&D that much, but this was really fun. I think the breezy pace of it and the focus on the game itself helped a lot.

[@adamjchafe]

7 Minutes in and this is the best actual play I have ever seen. Just people talking, sitting at the table. Played in real time. Fantastic stuff. Oh and the commentary is great! I would love to see more of this kind of thing, perhaps exploring different systems? Would love to see Maze Rats/Knave presented in this way.

[@TheBreadPirate]

This was a great resource for seeing how you run your games! And the players did a wonderful job navigating the dangers of the world.

[@anthonybernardo2214]

You have no idea how helpful this video was to me as a DM. I have been DM-ing a while now but always struggle with how technical to make my games without bogging them down. Your game hit that sweet spot.Watching how you kept things so simple and cut out the unimportant things, keeping the pace brisk, was awesome. You and your players had great chemistry as well. The banter was often really funny.I ran my weekly game of OSE the day after I saw this and tried some of the strategies you used and my players loved it. Thank you! Hoping for more OSE actual plays in the future!

[@jalbor]

Nice! Would love more liveplays.

[@morpheusthree]

Im sure this was time consuming and less fun to mash out than flip throughs and showcases, but god i really really like this video from you, Ben. Would love to see more like this! So fun and useful for insight, that isnt just an abstracted “10 things every GM should do” style video. Thanks for making this!

[@dichloro_arsine542]

it's crazy how much more enjoyable it is watching people around an actual table than it is watching people play on roll20 or some other vtt

[@Dohlenblick]

What a nice adventure! Usually I can't watch long-form Dnd-content, but having both player and Gm perspective, as well as the intriguing dungeon design kept me invested throughout. You really sparked my interest in running Odnd myself with this.

[@StephenDobson]

I really enjoyed that, Ben. It's the first time I've watched an 'actual play' of D&D all the way through. Good players, engaging GMing, useful CC additions, and an intriguing module. Unlike some other commenters (perhaps because I was watching on my phone without headphones?), I found the eating and drinking noises negligible and more like naturalistic ambience as if I was observing at the table in person. I hope you do more of these!

[@CrazyCrethon]

I love the old basic playstyle of D&D. My present group plays 5e and it has become so mechanical and "by the book". We now "interact with the door" instead of "opening the door". It really sounds weird when you use game terms in the rules as part of your parlance when playing...

[@Loki-]

Sounds like -1 RPing to me! Maybe make it a conversation that you feel adventuring has become dry(out of character) and explain your grievances? I wish you the best.

[@sketchyscribe7813]

I've been having the exact same problem, the rules lawering is one thing, but the lack of critical thinking that's been abstracted away with skill checks and what not is getting a little sad. I tried introducing my group to some Knave, and Into the Odd, but I think they might have the 5e way too heavily ingrained in them now that they just didn't enjoy it cause there wasn't enough rules lol

[@sonic-bb]

Really? Ive found 5e to be the least mechanically heavy and most rp of all the versions

[@pewprofessional3181]

"Least mechanically heavy and most rp out of all editions." Out of all WOTCs editions, yes. This is TSR era D&D (OSR). It was RP heavy and mechanically lite. Wotc completely changed the way D&D was played when they took over, making it rules heavy and crunchy. 3e is a perfect example, 4e even worse.

[@Eric-rr3zd]

As a DM always wanting to learn and improve, this is absolute GOLD! GOLD I SAY!

[@JamesFirth-v]

Love the Subtitles-as-commentary, especially as someone who's read a lot about OSR but doesn't have much experience, that really helped put it all together! I also particularly enjoy how focused your group is and that it cut right to the game. It was much easier to start/watch a 2hr focused playthrough rather than a many-many-many part (sometimes multi-hour each) playthrough of something. At my PC (instead of on the TV) the sections are useful for visualizing pacing and skipping back to a part. Thanks Ben!

[@infyranna9004]

I ran this module in late October 2021 for my 8 year-long group- --they really enjoyed Winter's Daughter. It is fun to see what problems and questions other groups focus on, and it cool to see what your players think is funny, Vs. my group. Nice video, thank you for recording it Ben~

[@gommechops]

I like the camera angle, you can see the dice and things, which is always good and you aren't distracted from the events of the adventure. Great stuff, really looking forward to watching through this. Love the annotations too. Fascinating how those first savings throws upped the energy afterwards. You could feel that catharsis. Really like the detect magic thing you do... Nicking that, sorry, borrowing that.... :) It did feel very Narnia in the forest. Not a bad thing, very fairy tale too. I think actually it is perfect for Christmas time... I have this adventure and will run it over the next few weeks sometime. Finished now, after watching it through the day on and off. Really good adventure, love watching you guys and hope yo udo some more of this. The ad libbing really worked out well.

[@thechaotimagnet]

This is very interesting format. I will need to watch this. I have not seen a DM commentary of a game since chris perkins ran for Robot Chicken WAY back near the start of 4e. I can imagine how much work went into making this video.

[@MarkKaterberg]

This commentary as comments is an incredible idea. Thank you so much for this since I’m DMing it tomorrow!

[@joel3921]

Loving the commentary in subtitles. Useful for us GMs 😊

[@frogfrogu]

I loved this! Thank you. The DM commentary is a major enhancement. A future concept for a video: do the same thing with new players.

[@mezerandius]

I'm hoping to start an OSR game (Swords & Sorcery or OSE, I haven't decided yet) and I have no experience running OSR games as I've only ran 5e. The referee commentary is invaluable and I appreciate the effort so much.

[@terrybeal2252]

I love the actual table top play. Most videos are online play. This is old school cool. 😎

[@MatthewKruse-ri8ep]

Agreed. This feels so much more like being at a real private game than all the new cam view ensembles of players and dms. It feels like being at the table. I love that.

[@Chilrona]

Wow the level of quality of this content is unmatched. Unfortunately I don't think this is something that is very mass-consumable and therefore I fear it can't get the attention it deserves. You may have just found yourself another Patreon supporter.

[@UncleRiotous]

I ran this as a one-shot and the group loved it so much we're now doing a Dolmenwood campaign.

[@CrusaderCool]

Very nice video. Thank you for creating it for your viewers. I hope there are more liveplay videos from you, but I do have a few minor suggestions if there is more to come. I would have liked if the players introduced their characters briefly before play started. Just the PC's name and race/class would help with following the gameplay at home. And the DM commentary subtitles were a brilliant idea, but some of them were on the screen too briefly. For people who are slow readers, leaving the commentary up on the screen for a few more seconds would definitely help! But these are both minor nitpicks for an otherwise fantastic vid!

[@jacobgrimm9475]

Who opened those potato chips like a savage?

[@KingestofKongs]

Hey this is great, there is very little liveplay content I find watchable, mainly because of the tedious pace. You did a great job moving things along.

[@mattwilliams9480]

Any chance you would do a live play of Willowby Hall? Would love to see your take on your own work.

[@williamdavis7274]

love this idea with DM commentary! I'm gonna give it a go

[@erichtolbert2094]

Awesome! I've ran this several times (By Far one of my favorite intro adventures ever, dangerous but also whimsical) it's sweet to see how the players and you as the DM ran it differently but also similar. None of the three groups I ran ever went and explored the entire burial chamber. They hastily entered the Worm Tongue hole and had a rough time and became scared of doing anything else or had a chaotic PC in that first room and while no pcs actually died in my runs several were at 1 hp. They all seemed to like the goblins offer, without spoilers, I'd say they over indulged to the point of absurd and they all made it to snowfall before meeting big Sir C and returning once more! Don't feel too bad, I also forgot a few details that I'm happy to notice you remember or vice versa and either way all of my players enjoyed which I think achieved ultimate victory!

[@faucetrememberly2399]

this video is freaking invaluable. i hope we see more like it in the future

[@Blaze-san]

This is one of the best DM resources on youtube. I keep coming back to this video and I hope for a new one like this each time I see new video uploaded to your channel. Great work :)

[@FluffyTheGryphon]

This is incredibly useful. I'd love to see more of this kind of gameplay demonstration in the future!

[@noffpoppin]

Thank you so much for this video! Extremely helpful and a great idea. I appreciated the blurbs on the screen showing what you were thinking.

[@Sensorium19]

I very much appreciate you doing this table top recording. Seeing how you work with the game and the players is a lot of fun and very insightful about how you run your games.

[@acolyteoforcus7353]

Good session QB. I really don't care for most of the overly-produced actual play sessions that are out there as they don't feel genuine to me. This takes me back to the good ol' days. Plus, for the uninitiated, you get a real feel for how these games are played and enjoyed. A bunch of friends sitting around, rolling dice, eating snacks, and trying to keep their characters alive, haha.

[@WindowsApples]

Just bought this adventure and it literally arrived a few hours ago so this is a nice surprise!!

[@keithgaspard9950]

Great stuff! It's great to see OSR content getting played. Most live plays are 5e and I love the feel of this session.

[@lucasmarquesdecamargos4298]

It is so good to see gameplay of oldschool modules and systems. It helps us see if the product is good for us, but it also helps us with ideals of how to use the system as a tool box. Your captioned comments are a great addition, very useful for DMs experienced or not, to breakdown the elements and dynamics of play.

[@mendercap]

Thanks for publishing this liveplay, it was a pleasure to watch!

[@witchesbruise8792]

I normally can't sit through liveplays, but this one was great! I liked how the players and Ben got to the action right away and completed the whole adventure in 2 hours. I got great tips for running this specific adventure, which was valuable. And I loved to see how Ben handled traps, potential combats (negotiations), and secret doors.

[@iDenkou]

This was fantastic, Ben. I would love to see more! I'm curious though, how would you go about introducing a new character if a character were to die? I'm trying to move over to OSE from 5e still getting used to certain things, like death for example.

[@QuestingBeast]

I'd bring them in immediately. The players are there to play the game. Have them be another adventurers who happens to wander into the tomb.

[@davwalp1234]

This was an excellent play demonstration. I’m super excited to run this adventure. Thank you!

[@benjaminloyd6056]

Commentary notes were a really cool touch that I haven't seen before. Very helpful. I actually watched the whole thing, very rare for me.

[@gonwyte8534]

If that's tile paper you are drawing on, that's super nifty.

[@larrydigger461]

Would absolutely love more of these! A live-play using Knave with subtitle commentary would be so sick, keep up the great work

[@mattwilliams9480]

This was a terrific session and I agree with folks here that I found the commentary very thought provoking and useful for my own DMing. Please do more!! Would love to see more OSE modules run. Also appreciate you just getting to the meat of the story. Actual plays are often tedious with overall long character intros, etc. Great stuff!! Thanks!!

[@mr.bluesky4130]

A modern classic, thanks for running a live play of it!

[@Maniacbob]

I like having the commentary in the CC. Other shows Ive seen either have the DMs notes in a separate video or not at all so its nice to see the commentary and the gameplay tied together and read how you're thinking about things. It's always nice to see how other people DM their games and what their style is. Also I do like that this is a one shot or at least a self contained story. It means that I dont necessarily have to have seen everything if you keep posting these which I hope you do. I have started watching or listening to a few different games but I fall behind so quickly because I just dont have the time to keep up. This is both short and self contained meaning that I dont have to worry about catching up before watching the latest one. I hope that you post more of these because I would watch them.

[@Mankcam]

Quite enjoyable (and the caption commentary was cool as well). Breaking the video into scene chapters was alos a good idea, very useful. I think your channel could do with a few more of these Ben, thanks for posting

[@gabe9925]

I was eager to see you dming to take some notes for myself. Thanks for the video

[@WFlack-wt9fq]

As someone making their first forays into running OSE, seeing liveplays like this is extremely useful! I'd appreciate more videos like this in the future, especially with the running commentary/annotations you've provided

[@WombatProphecy]

I really like this video - it feels very real, very unstaged. I would show someone this if they were anxious about GMing, it shows a much more "normal" standard than a show made for entertainment by professional actors

[@taylorjensen3000]

Seeing the DM commentary in this form is extremely insightful, hope to see more like it.

[@RegularBeico]

Great content, and the GM's notes were an amazing addition.

[@ultravanta]

Awesome video! I'd love to see more Liveplays ran by you.

[@zionich]

Thank you for this. Shadowdark has got me excited for OSR so I have been taking a deep dive.

[@MultiProGGer]

This is a really great idea. I love the integrated DM advice/commentary. It would be really cool to see more of this.

[@flyaturtle]

Your old playthrough of motbm and one page dungeons got me into the osr and to start playing again. Love these!

[@dehydrogenaza0]

That was cool, I'd watch more of this type of content. The commentary was a great idea. BTW, it turns out that my group was playing an OSR game all along, except with (arguably) more complex combat. :-P

[@jollyrogerquill]

This was an awesome learning video, an excellent actual play introduction to OSR. I'm sure a lot of us would more content like this :)

[@emarsk77]

This is great! A must-watch for anyone looking for an example of how OSR can work at the table. Just a side note: the proper name of "blood grooves" is "fullers". Their purpose is to remove weight from the thickest part of the blade. (Nothing to do with blood at all.)

[@Kevlar-78]

Love love love the commentary ! Was looking into running OSE and this helps a lot. Great times / fun group !

[@jyannepalaruan17]

A masterclass on GM'ing!

[@flyaturtle]

Reading through the book while listening to a live play is a fun way to prep

[@Aeroxima]

I liked the commentary and seeing the thought process behind things. I think different people have different strengths and do things differently, so some of the commenter critique is a little weird. It's like art, everyone doesn't have to do everything exactly the same way. Mix and match and create with what you like.

[@jellybryce7742]

great video to sit down and watch.

[@duieb]

Great Liveplay Ben! I`ve been wanting to run this as a one-shot for a long time. You surely gave me an encouragement.

[@collectivesartori]

“Wizard dude….do you just want to leave?” Ooh burn 🔥

[@ike555je]

Excellent video. Thanks! Please do more.

[@FrostSpike]

Have you ever read Rob Holdstock's Mythago Wood and Lavondyss? Great for getting the mindset for an adventure in a massive mythic forest.

[@Nashigogogo]

The GM commentary was really helpful!

[@robertmahiques6218]

Planning on running this for my friends as my first time gming so this video has been very helpful.

[@ChipAltmanxD]

"It's not Christianity... it's definitely Christianity." 😂

[@Mauraaal]

I gotta say, the commentary was great, I didn't notice it was in the subs for about an hour in, but they were useful once on.

[@adamkilgore2687]

It was really great seeing the players warm up to the setting. Their personalities really came out and glowed. New to the DnD and OSR scene. Does anyone have any real play recommendations like this video?

[@matthewkirkhart2401]

Nice video! Enjoyed the actual play and the commentary.

[@dylaninthemovies]

Hear me out guys: This goo is worth it's weight in gold. Start bottling it up till we have enough to make a flying ship!

[@stephena1196]

I really enjoyed this, thank you.

[@TheMuffindoVideos]

Very cool! What playmat are you using?

[@delmonte4426]

I would also love to know please!

[@ChipAltmanxD]

Ben, my man. I really enjoyed watching you guys play this module. A group of clever fellows playing around an actual table is a rare thing. I've got this book but I haven't run it yet, and watching you do it is a big help. (The crack going into area 15 instead of area 14 is something I surely would have messed up.) The original scene with the Drunes was cool, and it seemed like a shame that it was taken out. But you make a good point about how it doesn't fit well with the adventure. Besides that, it presents an opportunity for the party to go somewhere besides the mound or to die horribly outside the mound. There is sure to be grim Drune content in the forthcoming books 😎

[@konatelassina5301]

“Tempt them in with new information”, you forgot “Hah, hah, hah, aaaaah!!”

[@jakethesnake7322]

My man munching those chips directly into the mic is killing me

[@samuelbiondolillo2535]

Great video, Ben- definitely makes me reconsider some of how I run OSE. I tend to use the movement rules which have the plate armored characters- and by extension, the whole party- move at 60' per turn. This seemed like it flowed well because everyone moved at magic user speed. I also tend to have the players draw their own map, and I only describe significant elements of the environment as they enter the area of the light source. Revealing the whole room and everything in it as soon as the first person entered definitely seems like it sped things up significantly. Also, I didn't catch you calling out the passage of time. Are the players aware of time passing? Do you just tell them when their torches burn out? Do they suffer penalties from not spending turns resting? I guess, in the end, I would say this ran a lot like how I used to run 5e. At least in terms of mechanics and keeping the majority of the rules interactions behind the screen. Even after 2 years of running a modified B2 in OSE, I'm still finding my footing in terms of how to keep things moving well, while making the players' choices about equipment, encumbrance, etc. matter. Again, great video, I thought you and your players did a great job.

[@elspethdykstra3431]

Oh please do more of this sort of thing

[@tomfastic4]

Will we ever get more of these? Kind of an invaluable resource!

[@Motavian]

I love these down to earth rpg liveplays. Also a big fan of the Dungeonmusings AD&D 2e games.

[@KhaosTy]

Like your players, I also came in from 5e. This is super helpful as I'm running OSE really soon.

[@konatelassina5301]

Man, I can’t wait for Kickstarter!

[@Brian-rt5bb]

oh wow lol, I got turned onto WD by your review and then I was looking for some tips how to run it and I'm back here full circle

[@FabioBittar]

I loved this. Do more, please.

[@willburton6622]

Love the almost complete lack of dice rolling!