When LoTR hit; I had a terrible dream about Orcs. This made me think of that. As an aside, FANTASTIC SHIRT! It's weird/humbling to see something you've made out in the wild. Hits right in the impostor syndrome. Thanks man.
Just like "Send in the ninja!" this is another way to explain Chandler's Law: "When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand." This is widely considered to be the single best piece of writing advice to get every writers block unstuck, and part of why Raymond Chandler is considered to be the greatest of all pulp crime writers. I recently read another interesting variant of this, for situations where an attack wouldn't work: Tell one player "you just heard some footsteps in the darkness behind you, but now it's gone."
"you just heard some footsteps in the darkness behind you, but now it's gone." is disfunctional in a Chandler's perspective as you finally have no gun. It's a false promise to what you've just seed in the player's mind (footsteps=gun). Better to show what you promise in a Chandler way of doing things. In other worlds, the gun needs to be used.
Or just start rolling heap of dice. Someone will yell, "He's rolling! We gotta move!" I accidentally made this happen last week when my dice were being uncooperative. 😂
"While you're discussing this, everyone give me a perception check" is the phrase my players have learned to recognize in these situations. It's not always an attack, but it always gets them moving.
I believe you need to keep it below 20 words for that. So, if you go over 20 in a round it would at the very least be a movement action. And even if not, can you actually repeat the same free action more than once? In my group we don't, but I'm not sure if it's a book rule or a homebrew rule. So that it's not posible to do bulshittery like creating cover by quickdrawing 40 javelins and letting go of them.
@@SelvenXXUP I think it's a group to group thing. My group isn't always what you would call... strategic. We've had players plainly ignore(not overlook) strategically advantageous things due to character flaws/opinions ei "I don't like his face." So we naturally don't chat for too long in combat or other time constrained situations. We have used it as an excuse once or twice though to talk longer than our characters would have been able to. It's not that regular of a problem though. I could see for groups like The Chain where strategy is a much larger thing, limiting free action talking could come up a lot more often, as it would also speed the pace of the game if needed.
Another use of "Orcs Attack" that is worth mentioning (been using this dirty trick for ages myself) is to provide direction. The players are in the tavern messing about instead of doing something productive, or they're lost after having missed every single plot cue you threw at them, and you want to get them going again... Orcs Attack! Woah! Combat! the PCs deal with it, all messing around tabled as they do. And then they ask "Why did they attack?" That right there is a great opportunity to provide some more plot. Want to direct the players at the rising cult of Gru'umsh? Give the leader of the Orcs a letter from the cultmaster or a pendant with the symbol of the Orc God that appears faintly magical (perhaps a tool from the cult leader to keep tabs on his men? Bonus point is that since they're obviously going to take the magic item now you can keep doing this until they figure it out). All in all, Orcs Attack is a great narrative tool to get the party back on track when they're directionless and flailing about.
This works also in dungeons. Say the party has failed every check to notice the secret passage, and are currently stumped as to what to do. Just have an enemy emerge from the secret door and bump into the PCs. Even if they don't notice the emergence, they can extrapolate as to the presence of a secret passage, if the enemy couldn't have come from that direction any other way.
Wow, this was just the inspiration I needed. My players were spying on a construct manufacturer but then got obsessed with side-plots and have wound up in a rut unwilling to touch the main plot. So since one of them pretended to be a noble family that didn't exist and the manufacturer has had time to look them up... I will have orc lawyers charge an imposition upon the players involved in the subterfuge!
@@skyblazeeterno Sorry, I worded my original poorly. It's not that they were unwilling to touch the main plot... it's that the way we had been playing had gotten into a routine. Everyone was thinking of "what downtime thing will I do next". It was fine in a short burst, but it basically wound up being everyone doing their own story with little relation to one another, and 5 people playing separate games is unfun for four people at a time, at least in the long term. Of course if there was a subplot the heroes were more interested in that would become the main plot-- that's a given!
Best advice I got from a GM when we were running a lot of investigation games... once you got into circular thinking and can't progress a problem anymore... go do something which will generate more information... Found it worked a treat, partly because it changed the way we were thinking... but also any action we took, was a potential vector for the GM to feed us new data
Naturally, aside from using random encounters to press home the danger of the space (and tax player resources), you can also use them to reinforce greater campaign/setting themes or introduce long-term threats. If you've got a greater villain planned for later adventures, have a few of their minions running around, where they can encounter the party. If you've got a Central Tension, make random encounters that line up with that tension. Dryads or wild folk that attack in an Order v Chaos story, for instance. If one of the PCs has a nemesis in their backstory, or are a wanted criminal, have an assassin or bounty hunter show up. Hell, if all else fails, adventurers tend to leave trails of bodies behind. Have the ghost (or specter, or wraith, or shadow) of one of their fallen foes show up for revenge. Ghost Orcs Attack!
This is why all wizards level 5 and above need Leomund's Tiny Hut. If you have 10 min of peace, you can get 8 hours of uninterrupted rest that really only gets broken by dispel magic or breath weapons.
@@SquatBenchDeadlift455 well, yes, burrowing enemy's can get around it too, but that leaves the player is a very tactically advantageous position compared to the other two methods.
My favorite “random encounter” was when I my players were sitting discussing while knowing there were monsters in rooms adjacent to them so one of them cast fireball in the middle of the players. The players ended up just running because they were low on health and resources.
I've done that a lot as GM, too. Also, sometimes a session is mostly the inevitable wrapup of one sub-plot, and setup for the next. Maybe the landscape/travel tables just aren't rolling up anything interesting. Throwing in a bit of a blitz along the way, maybe with some side-clues or cool freebie treasure helps keep people energized and on point. It doesn't have to be a combat, even. It could be a bit of cosmic weirdness or a chance meeting with interesting folks. I keep a bunch of options loose in the pile, just in case I need some spice. Orc attack, skeletons from a cellar, nomadic elf wanderers, traveling herbalist or researcher with trouble on their tail, reality warp with rain of frogs or interdimensional vagabond, other adventuring band coming back from where the players are going, small settlement with medical or predator problem, a little cave complex, wild stampede/migration. Modular stuff to pop in as needed.
I know this video is now 5 years old, but I just have to say that this may be some of the most evergreen advice to give to a DM. Its amazing how well it breaks players out of a cycle of indecision.
Three things. First, I love that some of your videos are things I know but haven't thought about or have buried so that I only remember them when videos like this one remind me. They make me feel like perhaps the lies my groups tell me about how I am a good DM might actually be true. Second, you and Jim have managed to raise my confidence enough that I am writing original content after five years (I had a really problematic player), and you are likely one of the main reasons I have been able to read for enjoyment again. Finally, I think I was like number 666, so blood and souls for my lord Arioch, dude.
My group got “Orcs Attacked” last night and it left us with an amazing cliffhanger. The funny part is that it didn’t hit me that’s what happened until this morning. I don’t know if our DM has seen this video, but it sure feels like it.
I've heard a variation of this advice. "Blow something up." When things are going nowhere, blow something up to get the players moving again. This is also great starting advice.
I started DMing last weekend at a birthday with friends who’ve never played before. Your videos have been truly effective and helpful! You are my DM guru.
I have been playing for 36 years, in all editions except 4th. I think you have made one of your best videos. The politic videos are still a favorite. The only thing I would have given emphasis is that Random Encounters don't have to be the result of a die roll, they like the story can be plotted out for effect and instead just be an unrelated encounter to the main arc of play. One Random encounter I like is a the party coming across the scene of a bandit attack, and a half dozen halflings lay strewn about the ground. When the party investigates, it is actually the halflings who are the bandits, roll initiative.
Matt,,I just wanted to say thank you. I have DMd since 1982 but have only played play by post since 1992. Thanks to your videos I have been inspired and taken the plunge and introduced my 8 year old daughter to the hobby and she loves it (highly recommend Hero Kids for other parents wanting to do the same thing)
This is incredible good advice and I never thought of this consciously, but I have noticed (looking back) that I do this. Players in an inn, can't decide... Bar fight! Players in the streets of the city... Your bag of holding has just been stolen! Players can't solve my riddles/ puzzles ... "Orcs Attack" (yea I do that as they are my main enemy or Drow) I dreamt that I was a God but how could you know I am really me
This works for sci-fi. I've used it in Star Wars a lot. If they dink around too much, well guess what a patrol stumbles upon them. Or even if they're just searching a room like in an apartment or something in a non fantasy setting: A nosey neighbor stops by and asks them what they're up to. Or someone reported a break in. There's a lot of tricks that you can use if you follow "Orcs Attack" to break their endless debates.
TV Tropes calls this *Chandler's Law*: "When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand." They also provide the NaNoWriMo version: "If all else fails, have Ninjas burst through the wall and attack someone."
I have made almost little waypoints for my group in the form of festivals that pop up every once awhile in a town. They need time to talk and get stuff together. Maybe they visit a favored NPC. But the festival will leave and the town goes back to normal, thus ending the small short lived safe zone.
I've been trying to get into D&D, but haven't been able to so far. I'm going to be playing my first game sometime in April, but I'm going to try to DM for my family in the near future. I really appreciate advice like this, especially simple advice, and hope that it goes well! In. Through. Beyond!
Matt I love that you are wearing an Ave shirt. I love your vids and your videos are what have made me finally get some friends together and play DND with me as the DM. Anyways just thought it was cool that you have one of his shirts because Ave has taught me a lot on mechanics/fixing tools. Thanks again for all you do and loved both of your books.
I think the best thing I learned from the live stream so far is: if I’m doing it right, the players will be the ones solving the problem. I was fascinated to see the Chain talking to each other & figuring out different problems, & Matt could interject as an npc just for fun or offer info in character. I’m currently focusing hard on getting my game away from this rut where I illustrate a problem through the story, but then have the players constantly asking me questions & it ends up being a player-dm discussion instead of a player discussion. My tactic is mostly to give them info in character as an npc as much as possible, so when the answer doesn’t solve it for them, it doesn’t feel like the dm is sitting there near-explicitly telling them “you’re wrong” or “you’re on the right track.”
WotC should have stapled an explanation of Adventuring Day and Action Economy to the front cover of the DMG. 99.9% of balance/pacing problems I see online are because the DM doesn't understand the resource attrition that is integral to DnD, or how Action Economy effects combat.
@@Yora21 Yep, and people try Legendary Actions and Saves, but it still isn't enough. As long as PCs can focus one HP pool and not worry about other threats, it will be a cakewalk. DMs: It's not your fault, DnD just doesn't do single monsters.
@@bagamer13 Legendary actions arent enough, generally. They still have one health pool and one movement. They still get locked down and focus-fired like any solo monster.
@@TheMightyFraser Yeah I just don't agree. As a DM, I have, along with several other DMs I have played with, seen great success with single monster boss fights; Many of which were quite challenging. Your experience may be different, but statements like "single boss monsters don't work" and "DnD just doesn't do single monsters" do not apply universally to all tables.
I gave my players mixed drinks (in real life) that had in-game effects. That got them all into role playing, and broke them through their planning ruts. It was pretty effective and fun! Cheers to dice of rolling for giving us the idea (we used their effects, but different drinks).
Great video as always Matt! Another thing you can do with Orcs Attack is give the players more information about the thing they are stuck on. Maybe the orcs have a letter about the thing, the key for a door, one of them says something that’s a hint. You get the idea.
I'm actually about to start running a campaign in my homebrew setting. ...That I might've been working on for years and could probably publish a campaign setting guide book... ...So yeah. Maybe a bit overprepared for a game that might be impossible to prepare for with players that'll break your preparations. But I am about to run a campaign, so you're almost successful with me, Matt.
The best preparation is when the players do something unexpected and you need to improvise, but you already have just the right thing for the job in the back of your folder. Preparing big finished things is hard, takes time, and they might not end up being used. Having lots of prefab pieces like NPCs, encounters, caves, and towers that you can get into play in 5 minutes is the really useful stuff.
I'd add one small observation on this point. Sometimes the game will stall when players have a decision to make, and the party divides into two camps. Both can have equally valid reasons for why they support one idea over another, which can boil down to a low key battle of egos. "Orcs Attack!" helps to remind the players that the real enemy of their characters are the monsters and not each other. This will often break the ego stalemate with one group saying to the affect: "Okay, we'll try it your way."
Hey Matt, thank you so much for all of your videos! I am just getting back into DMing after a decade away and your videos are making my life so much easier. Keep up the good work!
Signed up for my alert. I often use subtle environmental effects or noises or a random NPC who can help break up the cycle of overthinking. But it is easy to fall into and as a GM or DM, I would advise people to be cautious in trying to help the players directly or even indirectly by adding or taking away choices and ideas as I have seen this muddy the waters even further. Even telling players "You are overthinking" just makes them second guess everything. Orcs Attack! is really a very clever way to break that tension.
Fantastic, I've been thinking lately about random encounters. Recently in my game my players had a Random Encounter with 2 Displacer Beasts, they were grossly outmatched, thankfully they were travelling with a noble that had a driver, who was just a straight fighter, a Grizzled dwarf with a Blunderbuss who was riding shotgun, and a Wizard that served as his aide. The noble himself was a high level war priest who actually decided to step in when one of the players went down. So my point I had been thinking about RE's lately because I had been worrying that they were just boring my players, but that encounter was great because of how Savage it made the world seem. IT ALSO, got the Ranger going because her favored enemies are Monstrosities. It was very cool.
I've wanted to run a game for 4 months now. I presented 3 campaign ideas to my prospective players and we chose a cartel/espionage modern day game and while we wait for schedules to line up I can write my GM notes and prepare
Hello, thanks for all your advice. As a DM, I have a pb with the short rest. Some character (Warlock for exemple) need a short rest to restore their abilities, it's in the character (only 2 or 3 slots / short rest, use D of life to restore health). Moreover, I consider that a warrior/clerc/barbarian/Etc can't run and fight all the day without short rest (for exemple lunch, take a tea, etc). This kind of pause can be use to allow all character to be play with their abilities.
I’m running mines of phandeveler and one of my players said they are traveling with the group in search of Mortal Kombat. From that gift the player gave me he’s faced off against reptile at the start. Smoke is coming with a horde of ash Zombies! And I’m looking forward to putting characters like Baraka and Subzero down the line!
Random encounters can be a great way to push the players forward in the right circumstances and hopefully this video gave people an idea for what those might be. In practice though, most random encounters I have had felt tacked on, often didn't match the circumstance, and in the worst cases were not even balanced around the party. (meaning that we steamrolled the encounter without even expending resources) In the best cases random encounters can be great and do all the things Matt was talking about but it is not a one size fits all tool and I'm also not sure I would recommend it as a tool for new GMs personally. For instance, when I was starting off as a GM I don't think I would have been able to handle creating an impromptu encounter. Once again, random encounters can be good when used in the right way and at the right time but they can also be used very poorly if not handled properly or if they are used as a crutch.
When my players deadlock on what to do, I took to shouting "Roll initiative!" the idea being very similar, that they'd have a thing happen and now they had no time to discuss. Unfortunately, I devalued the idea with my players, because they started just shouting "roll initiative" as a catchphrase outside of game.
So just starting a campaign, a few weeks ago I was stuck for a way to start the charcters off. Three were playing brothers, so I'd decided they were on their way to their ancestral home. I'd run several scenarios through my head of where to start: On the road approaching town; talking to their parents, getting the family quest they'd said they wanted. Nothing popped. Then I remembered this. Orcs attack! Though, since it was the Outlands, it was "Kaasta attack!" And I addressed one of the three with: "You've only been awake 15 minutes and it's already a terrible day. First your brother Zephon put cinnamon in the coffee, which he knows you don't care for, and now you have about half a second to figure out whether to attack the kaasta with the spear, to your left, or the one with the sword and shield, to your right; they're both open. Roll for initiative." This led to a brief combat and a half hour of inter-character family squabbling about whether or not to kill the one they'd disabled and hunt down the escaped survivor. One of the best in medias res intros I've ever done. Thanks, Matt!
Hey Matt, Have you considered calling the new book just "Organizations and Warfare?" I mean, that falls in line with the naming convention of the previous book. And what is a kingdom but a specific kind of organization? Not trying to be nasty here, just wanted to throw a comment in the Doobly-doo. Love The Chain so far!
i once played in a game with one person telling everyone how and why to play their class, everything they should or shouldn't do. we were stood right outside a cave, we knew there were goblins inside. we figured there were traps, but after about 10 minutes of this one person telling the rogue everything they HAVE to do and HOW to do it instead of just letting the rogue tell us what she wanted to do, i (in character) said 'I TIRE OF THIS BICKERING!' and informed them that i was walking forward. i paused. i paused for such a loooong time, but no one at any point wanted to say anything, they just followed me in. of course traps were tripped and goblins were alerted. i now know that if i'm the DM in this situation in the future, i'll have ORCS ATTACK! to stop all the bickering and backseat playing
If my players start trying to rest all the time, the more “random” encounters seem to happen, the more they press on without breaks the less they get beat down.
Recently, after attacking a group of worshiping goblins, 2 hobgoblins, and a bugbear lead by a cultist of Mammon, and allowing the cultist and 2 hobgoblins to escape deeper into the dungeon, the PCs killed the bugbear and goblins, and decided it would be a good idea to take a long rest in a low-point in a tunnel, that had a tunnel both in front and behind them that connected up to both the deeper dungeon and the exit. When the PCs didn't follow the cultist and hobgoblins further into the dungeon, the cultist figured out what the PCs were doing, and sent for reinforcements. The reinforcements showed up with a couple of casks of oil, which they then rolled in, and started pouring into either end of the tunnel, though I timed it out to be reaching the players just as they finished up their rest, as I didn't want to be a complete jerk. Surprisingly, not a single player complained at all, and even brought up the point that they had watched the cultist and two hobgoblins getting away, so why would they be surprised that the cultist figured out what the players we're doing. Since this encounters, my players are half paranoid, and are now very cautious when taking any kind of rest, and the Wizard has taken to keeping Rope Trick handy for short rests. It's amazing what a change in attitude my players now have!
I've done this, sort of. Instead of an attack a child heard the PCs bickering and when they came to investigate, found one of the PCs in their "true form"
Have you covered how to deal with spells like rope trick or tiny hut? Spells like those allow players to rest in situations they normally wouldn't be able to.
In my last campaign during random encounter I accidentally wizard... I mean, I rolled weather and it became foggy, I rolled random encounter and party went into battlefield, where dozens of zombies, ghouls and ghasts are wandering around, eating freshly dead soldiers. Wizard uses extremely unreliable magic staff and opens portal somewhere... And from that portal emerge annoyed Mind Flayer and two Intellect Devourers. During combat... In thick fog... Party was almost dead and Mind Flayer ate wizard's brain. That was supposed to be easy random encounter...
Skookum as frig Also I used the sameish idea with trying to learn something burnout on it or get stumped and then play some neverwinter and then all of the sudden everything made sense.
Hey, I'm also a New DM, had 5 Sessions So far, 6th will be Saturday. Did you create your own Setting and Adventure, or did you use a Premade and a Campaign setting?
I spent a month making my own campaign and now my players are going to have to play a game I call demon’s gambit some of the players are betting their soul will see what happens
When LoTR hit; I had a terrible dream about Orcs. This made me think of that. As an aside, FANTASTIC SHIRT! It's weird/humbling to see something you've made out in the wild. Hits right in the impostor syndrome. Thanks man.
Oh my GOD it's AvE!!! You're a huge inspiration, sir!!
A wild AvE appears in the dooblydoo!
Matt and AvE D&D game when
Random encounter.
All I can think of now is a Bridgeport Mimic.
Great way to move forward in a business meeting when nothing seems to advance. Just call security to throw them out. Works every time.
Looks like Matt's BACK on the menu boys!
we aint had nothing but streams for 6 stinkin weeks
These are the best comments on this video.
LMAO
@@daniellubitsky800 when the reply is on point
I'll take a piece of his doodly doo
Just like "Send in the ninja!" this is another way to explain Chandler's Law: "When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand."
This is widely considered to be the single best piece of writing advice to get every writers block unstuck, and part of why Raymond Chandler is considered to be the greatest of all pulp crime writers.
I recently read another interesting variant of this, for situations where an attack wouldn't work: Tell one player "you just heard some footsteps in the darkness behind you, but now it's gone."
"you just heard some footsteps in the darkness behind you, but now it's gone."
is disfunctional in a Chandler's perspective as you finally have no gun. It's a false promise to what you've just seed in the player's mind (footsteps=gun).
Better to show what you promise in a Chandler way of doing things. In other worlds, the gun needs to be used.
Or just start rolling heap of dice. Someone will yell, "He's rolling! We gotta move!"
I accidentally made this happen last week when my dice were being uncooperative.
😂
"While you're discussing this, everyone give me a perception check" is the phrase my players have learned to recognize in these situations. It's not always an attack, but it always gets them moving.
Matt: "The DM has lots of downtime in the combat."
Me: .......
"In writing a novel, when in doubt, have two guys come through the door with guns." - Raymond Chandler.
Thank you for giving us the D&D equivalent
Two orcs in zoot suits and fedoras kick the door in and whip out tommy guns. I love it.
DM: "You can't just stop here and have a half hour long debate without there being some sort of danger:
Player: "But speaking is a free action!"
I believe you need to keep it below 20 words for that. So, if you go over 20 in a round it would at the very least be a movement action. And even if not, can you actually repeat the same free action more than once? In my group we don't, but I'm not sure if it's a book rule or a homebrew rule. So that it's not posible to do bulshittery like creating cover by quickdrawing 40 javelins and letting go of them.
@@SelvenXXUP I think it's a group to group thing. My group isn't always what you would call... strategic. We've had players plainly ignore(not overlook) strategically advantageous things due to character flaws/opinions ei "I don't like his face." So we naturally don't chat for too long in combat or other time constrained situations. We have used it as an excuse once or twice though to talk longer than our characters would have been able to. It's not that regular of a problem though. I could see for groups like The Chain where strategy is a much larger thing, limiting free action talking could come up a lot more often, as it would also speed the pace of the game if needed.
He said that exact line as i saw this
Another use of "Orcs Attack" that is worth mentioning (been using this dirty trick for ages myself) is to provide direction. The players are in the tavern messing about instead of doing something productive, or they're lost after having missed every single plot cue you threw at them, and you want to get them going again... Orcs Attack! Woah! Combat! the PCs deal with it, all messing around tabled as they do. And then they ask "Why did they attack?"
That right there is a great opportunity to provide some more plot. Want to direct the players at the rising cult of Gru'umsh? Give the leader of the Orcs a letter from the cultmaster or a pendant with the symbol of the Orc God that appears faintly magical (perhaps a tool from the cult leader to keep tabs on his men? Bonus point is that since they're obviously going to take the magic item now you can keep doing this until they figure it out).
All in all, Orcs Attack is a great narrative tool to get the party back on track when they're directionless and flailing about.
Great comment
This works also in dungeons. Say the party has failed every check to notice the secret passage, and are currently stumped as to what to do. Just have an enemy emerge from the secret door and bump into the PCs. Even if they don't notice the emergence, they can extrapolate as to the presence of a secret passage, if the enemy couldn't have come from that direction any other way.
Wow, this was just the inspiration I needed. My players were spying on a construct manufacturer but then got obsessed with side-plots and have wound up in a rut unwilling to touch the main plot.
So since one of them pretended to be a noble family that didn't exist and the manufacturer has had time to look them up... I will have orc lawyers charge an imposition upon the players involved in the subterfuge!
ORC LAWYERS YES
BRILLIANT
Matt would argue quite rightly that your main plot is lacking if they are more interested in the subplots
@@skyblazeeterno Sorry, I worded my original poorly. It's not that they were unwilling to touch the main plot... it's that the way we had been playing had gotten into a routine. Everyone was thinking of "what downtime thing will I do next". It was fine in a short burst, but it basically wound up being everyone doing their own story with little relation to one another, and 5 people playing separate games is unfun for four people at a time, at least in the long term.
Of course if there was a subplot the heroes were more interested in that would become the main plot-- that's a given!
Matt's bouncy energy always brightens my day
I’ve heard the same advice with just one word: “Ninjas!!!”
To any of the chosen who got Matt's signature "Orcs Attack" you are 1 of the few who will have to defend us from them. Gather your weapons!
"If you have DM'ed... and if you haven't, I have obviously... I have failed you..." THAT made me LOL, buddy. :D
Hey, it turns out Matt is smart! I'm happy to finally have it confirmed by a card up wherever those things go. :)
The next shirt from MCDM? Orcs Attack!
I would pay top Dollar for that shirt.
Wish I could upvote this twice
Dude yes. I'm imagining a Death Saves rad as hell style design.
ORCS
ATTACK!
You've succeeded, Matt. Finally got around to DMing my first campaign recently, a megacity based one too! Owe you my life man
Best advice I got from a GM when we were running a lot of investigation games... once you got into circular thinking and can't progress a problem anymore... go do something which will generate more information...
Found it worked a treat, partly because it changed the way we were thinking... but also any action we took, was a potential vector for the GM to feed us new data
Naturally, aside from using random encounters to press home the danger of the space (and tax player resources), you can also use them to reinforce greater campaign/setting themes or introduce long-term threats.
If you've got a greater villain planned for later adventures, have a few of their minions running around, where they can encounter the party.
If you've got a Central Tension, make random encounters that line up with that tension. Dryads or wild folk that attack in an Order v Chaos story, for instance.
If one of the PCs has a nemesis in their backstory, or are a wanted criminal, have an assassin or bounty hunter show up.
Hell, if all else fails, adventurers tend to leave trails of bodies behind. Have the ghost (or specter, or wraith, or shadow) of one of their fallen foes show up for revenge. Ghost Orcs Attack!
This is why all wizards level 5 and above need Leomund's Tiny Hut. If you have 10 min of peace, you can get 8 hours of uninterrupted rest that really only gets broken by dispel magic or breath weapons.
@@SquatBenchDeadlift455 well, yes, burrowing enemy's can get around it too, but that leaves the player is a very tactically advantageous position compared to the other two methods.
Fucking hate that damned spell
My favorite “random encounter” was when I my players were sitting discussing while knowing there were monsters in rooms adjacent to them so one of them cast fireball in the middle of the players. The players ended up just running because they were low on health and resources.
Does your campaign chooch. Keep your sword in a scabbard. Nice shirt dude.
Keep your Richard in a vise!
I've done that a lot as GM, too. Also, sometimes a session is mostly the inevitable wrapup of one sub-plot, and setup for the next. Maybe the landscape/travel tables just aren't rolling up anything interesting. Throwing in a bit of a blitz along the way, maybe with some side-clues or cool freebie treasure helps keep people energized and on point. It doesn't have to be a combat, even. It could be a bit of cosmic weirdness or a chance meeting with interesting folks.
I keep a bunch of options loose in the pile, just in case I need some spice. Orc attack, skeletons from a cellar, nomadic elf wanderers, traveling herbalist or researcher with trouble on their tail, reality warp with rain of frogs or interdimensional vagabond, other adventuring band coming back from where the players are going, small settlement with medical or predator problem, a little cave complex, wild stampede/migration. Modular stuff to pop in as needed.
Only had to wait until 1:07 to hear the traditional invocation of 'verisimilitude'. Bless this day.
I know this video is now 5 years old, but I just have to say that this may be some of the most evergreen advice to give to a DM. Its amazing how well it breaks players out of a cycle of indecision.
Orcs attack, everyone (almost) dies... love this! I need to keep this in mind for an upcoming session.
"How easy it is to over prepare, even when you thought you under prepared." Well that sure as hell hits home.
Three things. First, I love that some of your videos are things I know but haven't thought about or have buried so that I only remember them when videos like this one remind me. They make me feel like perhaps the lies my groups tell me about how I am a good DM might actually be true. Second, you and Jim have managed to raise my confidence enough that I am writing original content after five years (I had a really problematic player), and you are likely one of the main reasons I have been able to read for enjoyment again. Finally, I think I was like number 666, so blood and souls for my lord Arioch, dude.
Watching these I understand so much more what my DM has done in the game that I missed before 😂
You are, hands down, THE world's worst vacationer, EVER!!!
My group got “Orcs Attacked” last night and it left us with an amazing cliffhanger. The funny part is that it didn’t hit me that’s what happened until this morning. I don’t know if our DM has seen this video, but it sure feels like it.
I've heard a variation of this advice. "Blow something up." When things are going nowhere, blow something up to get the players moving again. This is also great starting advice.
I started DMing last weekend at a birthday with friends who’ve never played before. Your videos have been truly effective and helpful!
You are my DM guru.
I have been playing for 36 years, in all editions except 4th. I think you have made one of your best videos. The politic videos are still a favorite. The only thing I would have given emphasis is that Random Encounters don't have to be the result of a die roll, they like the story can be plotted out for effect and instead just be an unrelated encounter to the main arc of play. One Random encounter I like is a the party coming across the scene of a bandit attack, and a half dozen halflings lay strewn about the ground. When the party investigates, it is actually the halflings who are the bandits, roll initiative.
Matt,,I just wanted to say thank you. I have DMd since 1982 but have only played play by post since 1992. Thanks to your videos I have been inspired and taken the plunge and introduced my 8 year old daughter to the hobby and she loves it (highly recommend Hero Kids for other parents wanting to do the same thing)
This is incredible good advice and I never thought of this consciously, but I have noticed (looking back) that I do this.
Players in an inn, can't decide... Bar fight!
Players in the streets of the city... Your bag of holding has just been stolen!
Players can't solve my riddles/ puzzles ... "Orcs Attack" (yea I do that as they are my main enemy or Drow)
I dreamt that I was a God but how could you know I am really me
Nice mashup reference xD
This works for sci-fi. I've used it in Star Wars a lot. If they dink around too much, well guess what a patrol stumbles upon them.
Or even if they're just searching a room like in an apartment or something in a non fantasy setting: A nosey neighbor stops by and asks them what they're up to. Or someone reported a break in.
There's a lot of tricks that you can use if you follow "Orcs Attack" to break their endless debates.
The AvE shirt...excellent. Truly a man of culture.
A reliable random encounter is a great device to both break loggerheads and engage disengaged players.
Great advice.
Man.
I'm never gonna get tired of watching that hair jump around with every syllable
TV Tropes calls this *Chandler's Law*: "When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand." They also provide the NaNoWriMo version: "If all else fails, have Ninjas burst through the wall and attack someone."
I have made almost little waypoints for my group in the form of festivals that pop up every once awhile in a town. They need time to talk and get stuff together. Maybe they visit a favored NPC. But the festival will leave and the town goes back to normal, thus ending the small short lived safe zone.
I've been trying to get into D&D, but haven't been able to so far. I'm going to be playing my first game sometime in April, but I'm going to try to DM for my family in the near future. I really appreciate advice like this, especially simple advice, and hope that it goes well!
In. Through. Beyond!
Always thought your vids had great audio quality, but I feel this episode specifically is the best yet.
Matt I love that you are wearing an Ave shirt. I love your vids and your videos are what have made me finally get some friends together and play DND with me as the DM. Anyways just thought it was cool that you have one of his shirts because Ave has taught me a lot on mechanics/fixing tools. Thanks again for all you do and loved both of your books.
I think the best thing I learned from the live stream so far is: if I’m doing it right, the players will be the ones solving the problem. I was fascinated to see the Chain talking to each other & figuring out different problems, & Matt could interject as an npc just for fun or offer info in character.
I’m currently focusing hard on getting my game away from this rut where I illustrate a problem through the story, but then have the players constantly asking me questions & it ends up being a player-dm discussion instead of a player discussion. My tactic is mostly to give them info in character as an npc as much as possible, so when the answer doesn’t solve it for them, it doesn’t feel like the dm is sitting there near-explicitly telling them “you’re wrong” or “you’re on the right track.”
WotC should have stapled an explanation of Adventuring Day and Action Economy to the front cover of the DMG.
99.9% of balance/pacing problems I see online are because the DM doesn't understand the resource attrition that is integral to DnD, or how Action Economy effects combat.
Single boss monsters don't work.
Yora Simply not true. They just need Legendary Actions to help balance the action economy on both sides.
@@Yora21 Yep, and people try Legendary Actions and Saves, but it still isn't enough. As long as PCs can focus one HP pool and not worry about other threats, it will be a cakewalk. DMs: It's not your fault, DnD just doesn't do single monsters.
@@bagamer13 Legendary actions arent enough, generally. They still have one health pool and one movement. They still get locked down and focus-fired like any solo monster.
@@TheMightyFraser Yeah I just don't agree. As a DM, I have, along with several other DMs I have played with, seen great success with single monster boss fights; Many of which were quite challenging. Your experience may be different, but statements like "single boss monsters don't work" and "DnD just doesn't do single monsters" do not apply universally to all tables.
I gave my players mixed drinks (in real life) that had in-game effects. That got them all into role playing, and broke them through their planning ruts. It was pretty effective and fun! Cheers to dice of rolling for giving us the idea (we used their effects, but different drinks).
Great video as always Matt! Another thing you can do with Orcs Attack is give the players more information about the thing they are stuck on. Maybe the orcs have a letter about the thing, the key for a door, one of them says something that’s a hint. You get the idea.
I'm actually about to start running a campaign in my homebrew setting.
...That I might've been working on for years and could probably publish a campaign setting guide book...
...So yeah. Maybe a bit overprepared for a game that might be impossible to prepare for with players that'll break your preparations.
But I am about to run a campaign, so you're almost successful with me, Matt.
The best preparation is when the players do something unexpected and you need to improvise, but you already have just the right thing for the job in the back of your folder.
Preparing big finished things is hard, takes time, and they might not end up being used. Having lots of prefab pieces like NPCs, encounters, caves, and towers that you can get into play in 5 minutes is the really useful stuff.
"There's never a perfectly safe option." Ah, but you forget Leomund's Tiny Hut!
The giant dome the bad guys will have plenty of time to surround to unleash hell once it drops, yeah.
@@jhinpotion9230 True. Though you're fully rested at that point, and can see them outside staging their attack so you can plan accordingly.
I'd add one small observation on this point. Sometimes the game will stall when players have a decision to make, and the party divides into two camps. Both can have equally valid reasons for why they support one idea over another, which can boil down to a low key battle of egos. "Orcs Attack!" helps to remind the players that the real enemy of their characters are the monsters and not each other. This will often break the ego stalemate with one group saying to the affect: "Okay, we'll try it your way."
Hey Matt, thank you so much for all of your videos! I am just getting back into DMing after a decade away and your videos are making my life so much easier. Keep up the good work!
Signed up for my alert. I often use subtle environmental effects or noises or a random NPC who can help break up the cycle of overthinking. But it is easy to fall into and as a GM or DM, I would advise people to be cautious in trying to help the players directly or even indirectly by adding or taking away choices and ideas as I have seen this muddy the waters even further. Even telling players "You are overthinking" just makes them second guess everything. Orcs Attack! is really a very clever way to break that tension.
Fantastic, I've been thinking lately about random encounters.
Recently in my game my players had a Random Encounter with 2 Displacer Beasts, they were grossly outmatched, thankfully they were travelling with a noble that had a driver, who was just a straight fighter, a Grizzled dwarf with a Blunderbuss who was riding shotgun, and a Wizard that served as his aide. The noble himself was a high level war priest who actually decided to step in when one of the players went down. So my point
I had been thinking about RE's lately because I had been worrying that they were just boring my players, but that encounter was great because of how Savage it made the world seem. IT ALSO, got the Ranger going because her favored enemies are Monstrosities. It was very cool.
Is this an official Running the Game video? Title confusing, I feel attacked
They have not been titled Running the Game for months.
By orcs, specifically.
@@Yora21 I was surprised to see that! I've been watching for ages but I didn't realise when Matt stopped titling the series haha.
Sir, you have NOT failed me and I am eternally grateful.
I just want to say your advice made me want to be a DM. I have ran 2 8hour sessions and 1 4hour. Thank you for your great videos.
Came back just to enjoy the way Matt says it.
lok'wot we got'er, anotha mat vid fur tha boiz!
I've wanted to run a game for 4 months now. I presented 3 campaign ideas to my prospective players and we chose a cartel/espionage modern day game and while we wait for schedules to line up I can write my GM notes and prepare
Hello, thanks for all your advice.
As a DM, I have a pb with the short rest. Some character (Warlock for exemple) need a short rest to restore their abilities, it's in the character (only 2 or 3 slots / short rest, use D of life to restore health). Moreover, I consider that a warrior/clerc/barbarian/Etc can't run and fight all the day without short rest (for exemple lunch, take a tea, etc).
This kind of pause can be use to allow all character to be play with their abilities.
after watching this video, I suddenly wish I could go back to highschool and sign all my yearbooks differently
Doesn't need to be orcs, obviously. It could be...horizontally jet propelled piercers!
pbs.twimg.com/media/D1jylG7UcAAhDfK.jpg
"Orcs Attack!"... the saving throw against analysis paralysis.
Love your videos, Matt. Thanks.
I’m running mines of phandeveler and one of my players said they are traveling with the group in search of Mortal Kombat. From that gift the player gave me he’s faced off against reptile at the start. Smoke is coming with a horde of ash Zombies! And I’m looking forward to putting characters like Baraka and Subzero down the line!
Random encounters can be a great way to push the players forward in the right circumstances and hopefully this video gave people an idea for what those might be. In practice though, most random encounters I have had felt tacked on, often didn't match the circumstance, and in the worst cases were not even balanced around the party. (meaning that we steamrolled the encounter without even expending resources) In the best cases random encounters can be great and do all the things Matt was talking about but it is not a one size fits all tool and I'm also not sure I would recommend it as a tool for new GMs personally. For instance, when I was starting off as a GM I don't think I would have been able to handle creating an impromptu encounter. Once again, random encounters can be good when used in the right way and at the right time but they can also be used very poorly if not handled properly or if they are used as a crutch.
Matt I used this and my players loved it ! Thank you!
"I need a break" still posting video
Chandler's Law: When in doubt, have a man come through a door with a gun in his hand.
Haha! Fools think ali-- I mean, great minds run in the same channel!
When my players deadlock on what to do, I took to shouting "Roll initiative!" the idea being very similar, that they'd have a thing happen and now they had no time to discuss. Unfortunately, I devalued the idea with my players, because they started just shouting "roll initiative" as a catchphrase outside of game.
Diggin the Skookum, Matt!
So just starting a campaign, a few weeks ago I was stuck for a way to start the charcters off. Three were playing brothers, so I'd decided they were on their way to their ancestral home. I'd run several scenarios through my head of where to start: On the road approaching town; talking to their parents, getting the family quest they'd said they wanted. Nothing popped.
Then I remembered this. Orcs attack! Though, since it was the Outlands, it was "Kaasta attack!" And I addressed one of the three with: "You've only been awake 15 minutes and it's already a terrible day. First your brother Zephon put cinnamon in the coffee, which he knows you don't care for, and now you have about half a second to figure out whether to attack the kaasta with the spear, to your left, or the one with the sword and shield, to your right; they're both open. Roll for initiative."
This led to a brief combat and a half hour of inter-character family squabbling about whether or not to kill the one they'd disabled and hunt down the escaped survivor. One of the best in medias res intros I've ever done. Thanks, Matt!
This will help me with my players. Thanks!
Hey Matt,
Have you considered calling the new book just "Organizations and Warfare?"
I mean, that falls in line with the naming convention of the previous book. And what is a kingdom but a specific kind of organization?
Not trying to be nasty here, just wanted to throw a comment in the Doobly-doo. Love The Chain so far!
Break the self reinforcing feedback loops ... yeah, "orcs attack" is far more concise.
Loving the AvE shirt!
Now I am going to end up down the rabbit hole watching my favorite Canadian rip into cheap and expensive tools.
can you put running the game in the title again, or if you dont like that put it in the discription.
i once played in a game with one person telling everyone how and why to play their class, everything they should or shouldn't do. we were stood right outside a cave, we knew there were goblins inside. we figured there were traps, but after about 10 minutes of this one person telling the rogue everything they HAVE to do and HOW to do it instead of just letting the rogue tell us what she wanted to do, i (in character) said 'I TIRE OF THIS BICKERING!' and informed them that i was walking forward. i paused. i paused for such a loooong time, but no one at any point wanted to say anything, they just followed me in. of course traps were tripped and goblins were alerted.
i now know that if i'm the DM in this situation in the future, i'll have ORCS ATTACK! to stop all the bickering and backseat playing
You say your working on Castles and Warfare. Interesting... Very interesting. *Evil but Joyous Laughter*
This video has a lot of bang for its buck. The signal to noise ratio is perfect. :)
I like the AvE shirt!
The chooch factor is high!
This video is why my DM is so anxious about Leomund's Tiny Hut.
I can't wait for my physical copy of Strongholds & Followers to arrive! :D
If my players start trying to rest all the time, the more “random” encounters seem to happen, the more they press on without breaks the less they get beat down.
Recently, after attacking a group of worshiping goblins, 2 hobgoblins, and a bugbear lead by a cultist of Mammon, and allowing the cultist and 2 hobgoblins to escape deeper into the dungeon, the PCs killed the bugbear and goblins, and decided it would be a good idea to take a long rest in a low-point in a tunnel, that had a tunnel both in front and behind them that connected up to both the deeper dungeon and the exit. When the PCs didn't follow the cultist and hobgoblins further into the dungeon, the cultist figured out what the PCs were doing, and sent for reinforcements. The reinforcements showed up with a couple of casks of oil, which they then rolled in, and started pouring into either end of the tunnel, though I timed it out to be reaching the players just as they finished up their rest, as I didn't want to be a complete jerk. Surprisingly, not a single player complained at all, and even brought up the point that they had watched the cultist and two hobgoblins getting away, so why would they be surprised that the cultist figured out what the players we're doing.
Since this encounters, my players are half paranoid, and are now very cautious when taking any kind of rest, and the Wizard has taken to keeping Rope Trick handy for short rests. It's amazing what a change in attitude my players now have!
Love it
Got a real skookum choocher in your noggin there
Wow, this is what my Patreon backing goes to?
Awesome can never have enough Colville Content (TM?) for improving my games. :)
Love the AvE shirt. I almost pissed myself when he tore apart the Juicero juice machine.
I've done this, sort of. Instead of an attack a child heard the PCs bickering and when they came to investigate, found one of the PCs in their "true form"
Haha nice slogan
Have you covered how to deal with spells like rope trick or tiny hut? Spells like those allow players to rest in situations they normally wouldn't be able to.
Your hair scared me. Love ya man I am not getting notifications when I have the bell on.
In my last campaign during random encounter I accidentally wizard... I mean, I rolled weather and it became foggy, I rolled random encounter and party went into battlefield, where dozens of zombies, ghouls and ghasts are wandering around, eating freshly dead soldiers. Wizard uses extremely unreliable magic staff and opens portal somewhere... And from that portal emerge annoyed Mind Flayer and two Intellect Devourers. During combat... In thick fog... Party was almost dead and Mind Flayer ate wizard's brain. That was supposed to be easy random encounter...
Matt has done videos about fudging stuff to aid the "story" rather than blindly following the "rules"
This video was an e-treate e-speciale; no chinesium found in this one.
Skookum as frig
Also I used the sameish idea with trying to learn something burnout on it or get stumped and then play some neverwinter and then all of the sudden everything made sense.
Skookum shirt, tyee!
I’m a dm of 3 sessions now and will have my 4th session Tommarrow and I am over prepared because my players have came up with some good d and d ideas
Hey, I'm also a New DM, had 5 Sessions So far, 6th will be Saturday. Did you create your own Setting and Adventure, or did you use a Premade and a Campaign setting?
I spent a month making my own campaign and now my players are going to have to play a game I call demon’s gambit some of the players are betting their soul will see what happens