Xanathar's Guide to Everything: Dungeon Master's Tools

[@BlackShadow1991]

I'd say that the encounter building is one of the more tricky parts of DMing, from a mechanical standpoint, so it's good they added more guidance ;) Solid stuff, Dudes!

[@gabedaloisio2437]

Really love this channel guys! Definately my go to for anything from watching gameplay to info to awesome game ideas for my players. Keep up the great work!

[@kristendeering2624]

Just found your channel and I'm so glad! I started playing at school last year and I'm still trying to learn a lot of stuff. Just ordered XGE and I'm really excited for the new material. :)

[@DungeonDudes]

Kristen Deering welcome to our channel Kristen! Hope you enjoy the show! XGE is amazing and I’m still loving playing around with all the new info in it!

[@MegaVergan]

I love the common magic items section in particular. I use them as items merchants can sell.

[@RegalRegex]

Dang I really need to read through Xanathar's more carefully. Hard to focus on anything other than the huge list of magic trinkets--I love giving them (and similarly-styled original items) to my players.

[@paulcoy9060]

Curse of Strahd book also has a list of trinkets. Like a wineskin that magically refills if it spends the night next to a dead person. Or a small spool of black thread that never runs out. And a ring of keys for forgotten locks.

[@HundredYearsBoar]

Sounds like the tools section will make DMs rethink loot, which I find cool

[@joshuareddig5405]

Hey guys, I was wondering if you could do a video explaining the crafting downtime sections (PHB187, DMG 128-9, and XGtE128-30)? They don’t seem to work together and was wanting a more experienced take on it. Thanks for your hard work on explaining things in a way that helps.

[@TacDyne]

In the early '80s we followed the rule that if you didn't have cartographer as a background, you could not accurately map where you have been, so at least one player had to have that, which was always me lol. Continue on with the cartographer's tools for 5e today. :D

[@kdefensemartialarts8097]

Thank you for your videos.

[@taleg1]

If you like traps take a look at grimtooths traps... its a compendium series with lots and lots of traps ideas. But the best traps are the unexpected expected traps. My favorite trick is to create the following feeling. You just know that there is a trap there and you can't find it, it is a really good way to drive you players into paranoia. Or a trap you find is a fake and just a diversion that actually sets you up for the real trap. A m|a with rooms that rotate after the player leave the room... an illusion exit past an opening in a spinning room... I could go on forever, you just need to be creative.

[@elmtre3]

Ahh the dungeon dudes in their “we wear hats” phase. Adorable

[@foxunix101]

Wow amazing video

[@detofox]

So hears my question. I'm on a budget monster manual or xanathars guide (I'm a DM) I have thr phb and the dmg

[@robinupham1975]

The Monster Manual will serve you better if you are going to be the DM and you can only afford 1 book.

[@VijoPlays]

I just watched a bunch of your videos and I really wanna grab all the books, but if I were to grab the 5 main books, I'd end up with spending 200 bucks on minor tools. I convinced my players to get at least one PHB together, so each of us would only need to spend 10 bucks on it (we have the PDF versions of the 3 core books, but they are rather clunky and have slow loading times - I prefer for this case to have the book at the table and quickly look at something from there). I only use the Monster Manual for preparing the session (i.e. I look at goblinist.com to get an insight of what I could throw at my players, then I think of the creature they might encounter and then transfer the power level from the website onto my own creature, with a few tweaks here and there (i.e. a crocodile might now have the eye beam that a Beholder has). I don't really use the DMs Guide at all, I have the various tables copied onto a page, so I can always access it, in case I need to, but I don't really feel like it's very useful. Which books would you recommend I should get? My initial plan was to get 2 PHBs and 1 XGtE, but you seem to really like Volo's. Is Volo's useful, even if I don't use the MM during play that much? Is the DMG worth it, even if I don't like the PDF version of it?

[@DungeonDudes]

The PHB and XGTE are the only books that I regularly refer to "at the table", so your plan is pretty on point. We love what's in Volo's, but it's something you'll use during your session prep, and then only if you need to pull out a stat block on the fly (Unless your players want to use a race from Volo's, of course) We've got enough questions lately about the DMG that we think we might talk about "is it worth it" in a whole video! Short answer: there's some important information in the Dungeon Master's Guide -- rules for encounter building, magic items, and special environments. Most important for you, there's a great toolbox which helps you gauge the CR of your custom monsters. I think the biggest thing you miss out by not having it are the magic item and alternative rewards rules, which aren't really found anywhere else. I only really need the DMG at the table if I have to look up a magic item's rules or roll up treasure randomly. It has some great ideas in it, and I love reading mine, but if the budget is tight you can save it for now and get some gameplay accessories. Hope that helps! -- Monty

[@VijoPlays]

Thanks for the quick answer! I'm gonna look forward to your DMG video then, hehe. Also, you can thank Reddit for the sub you've earned from me. Your videos are done pretty professionally, with the only nit-pick being the one that someone else has already pointed out (the holding up the book part, instead of using some form of screen capture). In any case, keep making these, I like 'em!

[@chba1267]

They remind me of Jay and Silent Bob

[@lucianmcfarlane4770]

Hi

[@Wineblood]

"1 magic item of each type throughout the campaign", I really don't like this scarcity, especially if each item has to be super relevant to at least one party member. I'm used to loot based RPG games (Diablo, Borderlands) where you get a lot more random crap. I think that in D&D you really can throw a bunch of magic items at your party and they will either find creative ways to use them or sell them for gold, depending on their bartering skills.

[@DungeonDudes]

A lot of people are used to way more loot than this thanks to video games. But 5e D&D is really calibrated around this scarcity. You can hand out more treasure than this but will likely have to adjust encounter difficulty upwards to keep things challenging.

[@jonathantrink3364]

DM tools, on tools.