I'm very excited for more of these! ADHD affects my game by: -Me forgetting important details about a situation or monster, making them less interesting or frustrating bc the players don't have all the info -Perfectionism anxiety. I often find it hard to bring myself to start a session instead of postponing it so I can prepare more because I'm worried about delivering a low quality session. -I find I procrastinate prep a lot, which makes me stressed about running the game. Those are all I can remember right now! Thank you for the lovely video and I can't wait for more!
- Forgetting important details is so real. I ran a session a few months ago where I forgot that sand sharks can disappear back into the sand after their turn. Needless to say the party took care of them in very short order :). A video about how to ID what slips your brain and make sure you retain it is a really good idea. - Imposter syndrome is the bane of my existence and a subject unto itself. I try to keep two things in mind. First, it's okay to lean on your players to drive the sessions you don't feel well prepared for; you are not solely responsible for creating the story. Two, no one knows what they're doing. No one. Everyone is faking it and it's okay if you do too :) - I've had to accept that I will never prep anything until at best the day before a session; my creative mind just won't wake up until there's pressure. Knowing what to prep lets me get away with it, and I fully intend on doing a few videos on the topic. The most critical thing is to figure out what you're already good at and focus your prep only on the things you can't invent at the table. That's different for everyone and I'm excited to talk about how to know what YOU need for YOUR game. Thanks for watching and telling me what you need. Feel free to reach out here or on Twitter or the ADHD&D discord server - I'm always happy to help.
YOOOOOOO i need you, i have ADHD and have been dming for a few years but even being experienced i still find it very hard to keep myself interested in a game that i once was intensly fired up about. its terrible because my players love the campaign but once my interest disappearse they get the short end of the stick and its not fair for me to do that to them. I feel helpless like i have no way to control it. which then makes me despair.
That's real my friend. If I had half an hour (or whatever, time is not my strong suit) I'd want to know things like - When did you start losing interest? - Was there a trigger? Was it in game or irl? - What form is your frustration taking? (ie, prep is harder, fewer creative ideas, more irritated with your players, etc) And other things. You know yourself best (probably), so understanding WHY you've lost interest is something you'll ultimately have to sort through on your own. But even without that, I'd say its impact on you is enough information for you to work with. You framed the issue around your players: their love of the campaign, that they deserve more than you're bringing, and that this is somehow unfair to them. It's like you don't think you have a right to feel the way you do. But you DO feel shitty. That's not a thing you can fight, deny or hide. Feelings just... are. So start with accepting that you feel shitty and aren't enjoying yourself and even if it doesn't feel good *that's okay*. Your heart's trying to tell you something is wrong. Don't set your brain against that; you'll never win that fight. Because it's true. Something IS wrong for you. Accepting that will ease a lot of the guilt and self-flagellation. It's a feeling! That means you're human probably! Don't beat yourself up when the world will do it plenty for you. If one of your players was miserable playing in your campaign but showed up every week because they felt like they were letting everyone else down, would you tell them to keep playing? Or would you find a way to address their needs? And if you couldn't, would you tell them to suck it up because the table depends on them? Or would you tell them to do what makes them happy? Treat yourself with the same respect. I guarantee if I asked anyone at your table they'd tell me they prioritize your happiness over the game. Not to go too deep but... you know that right? I don't know you and I don't know them, but chances are if they love your game, they love you more. And if they don't, kick em cuz you don't need that negativity in your life. You don't owe anyone a game, and if they're you're friends, you don't need the game to make them happy. You are enough as you are. Hope that helps. I'm working on the next video but all of this is a complete learning experience for me so it's slower going than I'd like. Hopefully that can change as I get better. Thanks for reaching out. Here however I can be.
@@AstralMarmot sorry i completely forgot about my comment XD My interest dissapears when i feel the story is boring and then if i cant easily find a way to make it interesting then i start to spiral and my mind begins to drastically avoid trying to prep. when in this slump i lack creative ideas and unless i can find something to make it interesting again cant get my self to focus on it. I dont take anything out on them but i begin to put alot of preasure on myself i end up feeling like im carying the world on my shoulders to provide them with a fun game. another trigger for my lack of interest is if the campaign has no end in my sight. if i feel like there is no end i get overwhelmed Right now im just coming out of my slump and will be playing our first game in months tomorrow. but ive decided to just not be a perfectionist and not focus on making every detail consistant across my world and story. because that would also make me overwhelmed. also i realize i wont get better sitting around thinking about how i can over come this so im just going to play more games and slowly try to gin that experience that will help me figure out what i need to do for my self. if you would like to chat more about it im happy to! I think better when conversating with others. Also thank you for your kind words and you are very right about my players and my need o give myself permission and freedom to feel how ever i feel.
I have ADHD and I DM. And one of the biggest challenges is that I end up in situations that i improvise a lot and can't remember what's the npc name that I improvised.
Spooky, but I too had a history teacher named Mr. B who was a balding German man with 4 fingers. The highlights of the stories he told us about it were: lost a bet with the shop teachers and they took it as payment, infection after top secret art heist went sour, and my personal favorite: Shark Attack. The man was also obsessed with cats and all his art history presentations were absolutely riddled with them. I miss that crazy man.
Reading these comments, I'm laughing maniacally and thinking "my people, I have found you". Oh yeah... My DM struggles include: Executive disfunction so I'm unorganized. I forget monster's abilities.
I am so excited for this series! I have tried DM-ing in the past (pre ADHD diagnosis and medication) and while I know my people had fun, I struggled so much with keeping things organized. I am really hoping for some tips on working through modules (one shots or campaigns) and how to break them up in a way that will make them less overwhelming so I don't end up jumping around and leaving out important details and confusing the heck out of my players! Thank you so much for making this and sharing your experience and tips with us!
Oh boy. Modules. That's a topic I have lots of strong thoughts about. Taking something as inherently non-linear as a campaign and putting it into a linear format is... well, to be kind, it's very hard to do it well. FWIW, even the best modules are structured in a way that's not friendly to our minds - and most modules are not exactly the best. I'm really looking forward to talking about how published material works against our minds, and how to overcome it. We have a tendency to blame ourselves first when things go awry, so let me offer you this: when you're working with modules, chances are you're not the problem :). Please get at me on the socials if you want help between videos. I love helping new DMs grow. And I love helping my people. Cheers!
I'm 99% sure I subbed to you because of the channel name (and a positive exchange in the comments,) but I happen to be a former DM with ADHA (and dyslexia and dyscalculia) so this is pretty amaze-ballz.
@@AstralMarmot I apologize for not recalling the conversation other that a positive energy. I can comment up to 100 times a day, and don't even remember comment threads where I bicker with the same person for weeks! Can't wait to see where this is going!
@@Psychol-Snooper No need to apologize - I just happen to remember because it was an amazingly hilarious interaction. Doubly so now that I know the video speaks to you. I'm excited for this too. Been a long time coming.
@@AstralMarmot I do recall your channel icon displayed a brown photo of a marmot, but the new one displayed on your channel. But yeah... Def a subject I'll have a lot to comment on! cheers!
Laziness sure is a lot of work... I can't count the hours spent hand crafting game mechanics and story details as a player and DM only to maybe use broad concepts from some of them. ADHD = never bored, except always bored? Rabbit-holes of esoteric knowledge and characters we'll never get to play. Great video, can't wait for more!
Loving it, loving it, loving it. Everybody will have something to learn here, about ourselves or about the folks we share our hobby with! (Or both, that is.) Can't wait for the upcoming content as well!
I have ADHD and been DMing for 8 years now - and I've never finished a campaign. I usually start them, have a lot of fun for 5-6 sessions then get bored and the campaign dies, for the next months. I've been in a 9-10 months break from DMing now, and am starting to look on ADHDming.
Definitely needs more dnd videos. My issue as a first time dm is world building I’m thinking I need a skeleton of the world to make sure I know the world for when the players ask questions about it tho I’m not planning too much only the kingdom the players will start in. I’ve asked other dnd friends for advice all of them say I’m either over planning or over thinking
Thanks for reminding me of drinking water! I was already lost revisiting all possible paths, books and videos I watched and bought white prepping to start dming. Where was I? Oh yes, water. Thanks!
I feel like my biggest problem is remembering stuff that I need to remember at some specific moment and if that moment passes it's too late already (or I'll have to retcon to do it... and I retcon way too much already). Stuff like resistances/side effects to attacks/monster abilities etc (hm those were all combat-related examples but it's a problem outside of combat, too).
Dropping details is so real, and combat is definitely the place I'm most likely to do so. A couple months ago I forgot that sand sharks can disappear into the sand after they attack and the party absolutely wrecked them. This is absolutely a topic that will span a couple videos because it ties into prep and that's a big one for all of us. The quick tip I can offer is to sit down and make a list of all the stuff you're good at improvising at the table and all the stuff you're not. When you sit down to prep, focus all your energy on finding or making tools that reinforce the second category. Despite what the thousands of videos on RUclips would have you believe, there's no one-size-fits-all prep formula. Good prep is always uniquely tailored to your style and needs. I'm really looking forward to discussing that process. If you have questions in the meantime, get at me on Twitter @AstralMarmot. Love helping people with their stuff directly. Thank you so much for watching!
Firstly, thank you for reminding me to unclench my jaw. I know this video was originally posted a while ago but I still really hope you continue this series. I would love to see a breakdown on what dungeon prep looks like. Also, what do I need to do to convince an incredible DM to move across the country so they can be closer and we can collab more?
I think my two biggest issues as a ADHD DM and to a large extent also player, is my rubbish working memory (may actually be the worst one, and I have no idea how to build a helpful scaffolding for that, so any tips on that are appreciated!) and just overwhem which leads to procrastination and general avoidance. The last past has been alleviated to a large extent by me giving in and following The Lazy DM Guide. The relief when I started doing that was palpable! I so wanted to find my own way and tweak and tinker and all that, but I simply do not have the mental stamina reliably enough to go that route - at least without a soft, safe place to land. The Lazy DM Guide has provided me with that. It's the best money I've ever spent on a ttrpg supplement.
Okay first I love that you're talking about scaffolding. It's the number one thing I want to talk about: how to build unique frameworks, tailored to your specific style and needs, that work with your brain instead of against it. Lazy DM is a great soft, safe space as you put it. Way on the other side stylistically is The Alexandrian's Gamemastery 101 articles. If you want to get into the theory behind building those mental constructs, his analysis is the best out there. It's heady stuff, but I fully credit it with giving me the conceptual understanding I needed in order to approach that level of DMing. And I'll do my best to share my analysis in an approachable way. Thanks so much for watching. Feel free to reach out here or on socials if you have questions or thoughts between videos. I can talk about this stuff all day.
I hope so too! Let me know if there's anything specific you want to hear about. It helps me to talk about what people need instead of trying to talk about everything and ending up talking about nothing :)
This is an amazing video! I have absolutely struggled with ADHD and RPGs (because it is so hard to keep track of notes while having fun) and it's really nice to see someone acknowledging it! I am looking forward to this series as I write out my first campaign (based on my current hyperfixation of course)! Thank you for the tip about unclenching the jaw! (I was thinking it after you said to drink water and it made me laugh harder than I care to admit when you reminded said it too)
Thank you for your kind words! I'd love to hear about your campaign if you want to share it. I'm really into the heady game theory of campaign structures specifically; the lovely people helping me make this channel a reality keep making me cut stuff out that's way too theoretical to start with :). You can get at me here or on the socials; I'm @AstralMarmot across the whole internet.
@@AstralMarmot I’d be happy to (over)share! I recently got fixated on polar exploration and the race to the poles and the northwest passage and I want to run a campaign where the players are all officers on a vessel looking to find the Northwest passage. They will have to make decisions about kitting out the ship and the size of the ship and the crew and all of those will have consequences once they start the voyage! The game will take one of two major directions based off of the players’ profession sailing and navigation rolls: either the ship ends up stuck in the ice when they take a wrong turn and they have to travel to find rescue or they successfully navigate but it takes a long time and they have to work to keep their crew from mutinying and rationing supplies and such. I’m working on fleshing it out before I propose it to the group but I hope that they find the concept interesting! N.b I’d be running a pathfinder campaign as I’m decently familiar with it (not as much as 5e but I like a lot of the mechanics that they implement that 5e just doesn’t have)
Finally, a DM guide series I could possibly get behind. BTW, I see what you did at 2:30: Dark Dungeons from that one Christian fanatic cartoonist. and 3:08, I see you too enjoy planeswalking wizard activity, not salty about Magic crossing over with D&D often these days and wholeheartedly excited to upcoming Adventures in Forgotten Realms expansion. Let me guess, you enjoy D&D or MtG because having whole picture of worldbuilding with solid atmosphere is better and you don't like having bleak world like those Raid Shadow Legends bastards. Because I do, and as a DM, I'm struggling to add details to cities or insignificant NPCs.
I can't tell you how happy it makes me that someone recognized Dark Dungeons. One day I want to open a game store called Blackleaf's Bane. When you say "adding details" to cities or NPCs, do you mean making them feel real and three-dimensional? Or improving those details at the table?
@@AstralMarmot Both. I excel at overview of worlds but it fails to describe actual place or emotions. It happens outside of DMing too: I don't get how people invested to characters' emotions and relationships, I can only replicate it by hyper-immersing myself and acting it out, or putting facts together.
@@mslabo102s2 We're very similar in regards to understanding the world overview; I realized at some point that my real strength is worldbuilding. Immersion is probably my #2 though. Big topic I will absolutely cover in the future, but here are my quick tips: For locations, always prep three sensory details. We tend to describe what the players see, but immersion is about feeling, and we have more senses than sight. I tend toward sight, smell, and sound. Jot down two or three words for each when you prep a location, and make them as unique as you can, because they'll also help you get your head in that specific space during the game. The blacksmith's forge gives off a dim red light, and when you walk in you're hit by a blast of heat that carries the sharp scent of metal on it. Works on the micro level of a shop and the macro level of a city or neighborhood. It makes it distinct in the players' minds and your own. To make three dimensional NPCs I have a template that's definitely a video on its own. Briefly, I give every NPC: - WANTS. What do they consciously, actively seek in life or in this moment? (example: they're greedy and want more money) - NEEDS. What do they subconsciously need to be fulfilled as a person? This is usually rooted in their insecurities (example: They don't really respect themselves and try to buy the respect of others to make them feel better) - QUOTE: I put this at the top of every NPC sheet; something in their words and voice that puts me in their head quickly during the game. There's more but this is too long already. Hope there's something useful here. Feel free to get at me on Twitter @AstralMarmot if you want to dig in more. Thank you so much for watching.
I seriously struggle with prepwork, if you ask me what the beginning and end of a story I'm prepping are, or what the atmosphere of the city the players start in is like, I'll have them for you in less than a second, often down to the little minutiae that maybe only I care about, but if you ask me "That sounds cool, how are we getting from point A to point B?" My brain will shut down, how do you deal with prepping things you find more challenging to think through without getting distracted and either focusing on something else or losing focus on prep entirely?
This is a great question. My brain works very similarly. If I'm understanding you right, you're saying you struggle to prep the actual plot of a session. The trick to that is to not prep plots at all. My philosophy is that the DM owns the "what" - what the world is like, what's happening in and around the party, what events are playing out both seen and unseen. The world is your character. The players/PCs own the "how" - how to respond to the world, how to interact with it, and how to get themselves from Point A to Point B. Justin Alexander of The Alexandrian put this really well: "A game is not a story. It is a happening, about which a story may someday be told." You don't know what will happen until it occurs; all you need to do is prep the scenario in which things will happen and let it play out. Smart prep is high on my list of things to talk about. Hope I understood your question correctly; if not, let me know here or on Twitter @AstralMarmot. And thank you so much for watching - it means a lot.
Hey, just out of curiosity, were your videos influenced by OverlySarcasticProductions? As for the things I find hard as a DM with ADHD are: -Actually getting around to prepping for the campaign -Keeping track of enemy stats, I usually just revert to the "the enemy dies when the players have made enough attacks that it feels like it should be dead" rather than the actual system. -Keeping track of what the party has and distributing loot accordingly -introducing plothooks organically, usually I can do some but then for others I'm just like "oh, that's supposed to happen somehow" towards the end of a session -never striking the balance between over-prepping and under-prepping -dividing my attention between the party and my notes A lot of these are mitigated by my relatively good improvisational abilities and my party's tendency to halt whatever they're doing if something sufficiently funny happens, allowing me more time to prep. Also I'm not sure if this is the same for others, but I find prewritten modules to be incredibly hard to use. Like I don't feel like I have the freedom to improvise, lest the party stray too far away from what's written. While at the same time I find it takes way more work to change it from what's written in the books to my personal shorthand notes than it does to make them from scratch.
I am definitely an OSP fan, but to be super honest, my primary criterion was ensuring the information was presented in a way that works with rather than against ADHD brains. Sensory information processing deficiency is a key symptom of ADHD and I read a lot of studies about different ways to present information visually to make it easier to intake. Of course the other criterion was ease of creation because I had never touched editing software in my life before I decided to do this. I hope my style will evolve and grow the more I get the hang of this. You and I have very similar strengths and struggles at the table. I have the exact same relationship with modules and that's a topic I'm really looking forward to covering. There's a structural challenge inherent to taking something non-linear like a campaign and putting it into a book, and that's before taking our brains into consideration. Based on what I've heard from the community, the next few videos will focus on building a prep system from the ground up. I wasted a lot of energy trying to do what other people were doing before I figured out that knowing what to prep and how was based on my unique needs. It's a big topic and I'm looking forward to digging in. If you have other questions or just want to bullshit, get at me on Twitter @AstralMarmot. I can talk about this stuff all day. Thanks so much for watching!
@@AstralMarmot I think you did a great job with the formatting of the video, it was somehow the right level of visually interesting and simple to minimize distractions. Also have you considered opening up a discord server? It might be a good alternative place for discussion and feedback to twitter. It's also a good place to send out notifications about upcoming videos as well as a good place for others to share tips and homebrew rules that may have helped them reduce the workload/stress of GMing.
@@theta682pl I would very much like to do that - especially because I have avoided Twitter most of my life and am not in love with being active on it. The main reason I haven't yet is because administering and moderating a public Discord is a real investment of time and energy, and I need those to ensure I put videos out at a good pace. I have a small private Discord for the people helping me with these videos, and I completely agree that Discord is a much better space for community building. Hopefully I can find people soon who will help me take that on. There is an ADHD&D Discord that someone started recently that's pretty active. It's a very busy space with a lot of channels so I tend to only engage in the Beginner DMs space. You can absolutely find me and PM me there though if you'd like. Honestly I prefer it over Twitter a lot.
This is the start of something wonderful. Now as I said in another comment: I don't have ADHD, so I don't expect my issues to totally line up. That said, I'm desperate, and will ask anyways lol. I have an issue about rambling on and not shutting up with info that is only just barely relevant to the situation at hand. I'll drop a multi-paragraph hyperfixation right then and there and it won't always make total sense. Usually happens with favorite monsters of mine, or lore I am excited to share. Just recently I hyperfixed on lore of Forgotten Realms Hobgoblins, giving probably 10 more sentences than were necessary about "Pointy-eared Goblin Conquerers." Have you faced such an issue before? Any tips for overcoming it?
I feel that in my bones. Question: how do you present the information? Are you speaking as the DM narrating something, or in-world through the voice of an NPC?
@@AstralMarmot Both. It hinders my ability to RP effectively because my local Hag will go on a tangent about how the Yugoloths created a standardized currency among the lower planes.
@@Tinkatube That's hilariously relatable. I'm very much a worldbuilder first and foremost. It's taken years to figure out how to share lore in a way the players actually care about. My suggestion is probably worth its own video, but to (try to) summarize, I use an NPC cheat sheet to stay in the NPC's head instead of my own. The goal is to use as few words possible to evoke a 3D character. The categories are: - Quote. Right at the top, something in their voice I can look at to get in their head immediately at a glance - Relevant background: Bullet points about either them or things the know - ONLY if it's relevant to the players - Wants: What is it they consciously want, in life or in this moment? - Needs: What do they actually need to be fulfilled, consciously or (usually) unconsciously? - Secret: Everyone has something. What's theirs? Best if relevant to the campaign, but not necessary. I also have physical and roleplay bullet points, but this is the stuff that helps me stop thinking as myself and start thinking as someone else. Even my generic shopkeepers have this basic skeleton. Keep it to 2-3 words for each if you can - but for relevant background, 2-3 bullet points is fine. When I'm in character I make a point to glance back at the sheet just to make sure I'm staying in that framework. If they're talking about something not on that sheet, I'm probably talking too much. Lots more to say on this but this comment is already too long. I'm also on the ADHD&D Discord server, and even if you don't have ADHD there's lots of good advice to be had. Hit me up there, or on Twitter, or here if you prefer. Hope this helps. Will definitely make a video on this topic soon.
I'm right in the middle of one as I write this! Hopefully now that the world has calmed down a little bit I can push them out more regularly. Thanks for saying something... it really means more than I can express
As someone with (very bad & currently unmedicated) ADHD, I cannot participate in d&d currently. While i love the game immensely, my working memory and auditory processing is equivalent to a constantly running paper shredder. Sometimes I get half the sentence someone says to me if I pick up the right pieces of shredded paper. Unfortunately, even if I did get enough information to continue forward with whatever DM is saying, I may have been processing just one page alone in maybe a whole metaphorical 60 page essay just got dropped by DM which I didn't even get the chance to "hear". I have tried taking notes, but even with notes they just start to pile up and it's hard to remember what I did take in my notes and even what may be important for missions later, just like my actual memories. This is just the tip of the iceberg 😵
I've recently been diagnosed with adhd. I went to watch your other videos and realised this is the only one. Honestly, I relate so much to that haha.
I have good news for you! ruclips.net/video/KAvDv2aHQ1M/видео.html
I'm very excited for more of these!
ADHD affects my game by:
-Me forgetting important details about a situation or monster, making them less interesting or frustrating bc the players don't have all the info
-Perfectionism anxiety. I often find it hard to bring myself to start a session instead of postponing it so I can prepare more because I'm worried about delivering a low quality session.
-I find I procrastinate prep a lot, which makes me stressed about running the game.
Those are all I can remember right now! Thank you for the lovely video and I can't wait for more!
- Forgetting important details is so real. I ran a session a few months ago where I forgot that sand sharks can disappear back into the sand after their turn. Needless to say the party took care of them in very short order :). A video about how to ID what slips your brain and make sure you retain it is a really good idea.
- Imposter syndrome is the bane of my existence and a subject unto itself. I try to keep two things in mind. First, it's okay to lean on your players to drive the sessions you don't feel well prepared for; you are not solely responsible for creating the story. Two, no one knows what they're doing. No one. Everyone is faking it and it's okay if you do too :)
- I've had to accept that I will never prep anything until at best the day before a session; my creative mind just won't wake up until there's pressure. Knowing what to prep lets me get away with it, and I fully intend on doing a few videos on the topic. The most critical thing is to figure out what you're already good at and focus your prep only on the things you can't invent at the table. That's different for everyone and I'm excited to talk about how to know what YOU need for YOUR game.
Thanks for watching and telling me what you need. Feel free to reach out here or on Twitter or the ADHD&D discord server - I'm always happy to help.
YOOOOOOO i need you, i have ADHD and have been dming for a few years but even being experienced i still find it very hard to keep myself interested in a game that i once was intensly fired up about. its terrible because my players love the campaign but once my interest disappearse they get the short end of the stick and its not fair for me to do that to them. I feel helpless like i have no way to control it. which then makes me despair.
That's real my friend. If I had half an hour (or whatever, time is not my strong suit) I'd want to know things like
- When did you start losing interest?
- Was there a trigger? Was it in game or irl?
- What form is your frustration taking? (ie, prep is harder, fewer creative ideas, more irritated with your players, etc)
And other things. You know yourself best (probably), so understanding WHY you've lost interest is something you'll ultimately have to sort through on your own. But even without that, I'd say its impact on you is enough information for you to work with.
You framed the issue around your players: their love of the campaign, that they deserve more than you're bringing, and that this is somehow unfair to them. It's like you don't think you have a right to feel the way you do.
But you DO feel shitty. That's not a thing you can fight, deny or hide. Feelings just... are. So start with accepting that you feel shitty and aren't enjoying yourself and even if it doesn't feel good *that's okay*. Your heart's trying to tell you something is wrong. Don't set your brain against that; you'll never win that fight. Because it's true. Something IS wrong for you. Accepting that will ease a lot of the guilt and self-flagellation. It's a feeling! That means you're human probably! Don't beat yourself up when the world will do it plenty for you.
If one of your players was miserable playing in your campaign but showed up every week because they felt like they were letting everyone else down, would you tell them to keep playing? Or would you find a way to address their needs? And if you couldn't, would you tell them to suck it up because the table depends on them? Or would you tell them to do what makes them happy?
Treat yourself with the same respect. I guarantee if I asked anyone at your table they'd tell me they prioritize your happiness over the game. Not to go too deep but... you know that right? I don't know you and I don't know them, but chances are if they love your game, they love you more. And if they don't, kick em cuz you don't need that negativity in your life. You don't owe anyone a game, and if they're you're friends, you don't need the game to make them happy. You are enough as you are.
Hope that helps. I'm working on the next video but all of this is a complete learning experience for me so it's slower going than I'd like. Hopefully that can change as I get better.
Thanks for reaching out. Here however I can be.
@@AstralMarmot
sorry i completely forgot about my comment XD
My interest dissapears when i feel the story is boring and then if i cant easily find a way to make it interesting then i start to spiral and my mind begins to drastically avoid trying to prep.
when in this slump i lack creative ideas and unless i can find something to make it interesting again cant get my self to focus on it.
I dont take anything out on them but i begin to put alot of preasure on myself i end up feeling like im carying the world on my shoulders to provide them with a fun game.
another trigger for my lack of interest is if the campaign has no end in my sight. if i feel like there is no end i get overwhelmed
Right now im just coming out of my slump and will be playing our first game in months tomorrow. but ive decided to just not be a perfectionist and not focus on making every detail consistant across my world and story. because that would also make me overwhelmed.
also i realize i wont get better sitting around thinking about how i can over come this so im just going to play more games and slowly try to gin that experience that will help me figure out what i need to do for my self.
if you would like to chat more about it im happy to! I think better when conversating with others.
Also thank you for your kind words and you are very right about my players and my need o give myself permission and freedom to feel how ever i feel.
I have ADHD and I DM. And one of the biggest challenges is that I end up in situations that i improvise a lot and can't remember what's the npc name that I improvised.
Spooky, but I too had a history teacher named Mr. B who was a balding German man with 4 fingers. The highlights of the stories he told us about it were: lost a bet with the shop teachers and they took it as payment, infection after top secret art heist went sour, and my personal favorite: Shark Attack. The man was also obsessed with cats and all his art history presentations were absolutely riddled with them. I miss that crazy man.
Reading these comments, I'm laughing maniacally and thinking "my people, I have found you".
Oh yeah...
My DM struggles include:
Executive disfunction so I'm unorganized.
I forget monster's abilities.
didn't have to call my jaw out like that
I am so excited for this series! I have tried DM-ing in the past (pre ADHD diagnosis and medication) and while I know my people had fun, I struggled so much with keeping things organized. I am really hoping for some tips on working through modules (one shots or campaigns) and how to break them up in a way that will make them less overwhelming so I don't end up jumping around and leaving out important details and confusing the heck out of my players! Thank you so much for making this and sharing your experience and tips with us!
Oh boy. Modules. That's a topic I have lots of strong thoughts about. Taking something as inherently non-linear as a campaign and putting it into a linear format is... well, to be kind, it's very hard to do it well. FWIW, even the best modules are structured in a way that's not friendly to our minds - and most modules are not exactly the best. I'm really looking forward to talking about how published material works against our minds, and how to overcome it. We have a tendency to blame ourselves first when things go awry, so let me offer you this: when you're working with modules, chances are you're not the problem :).
Please get at me on the socials if you want help between videos. I love helping new DMs grow. And I love helping my people. Cheers!
I'm so proud of everything you guys have done! - TuesdayTastic
I'm 99% sure I subbed to you because of the channel name (and a positive exchange in the comments,) but I happen to be a former DM with ADHA (and dyslexia and dyscalculia) so this is pretty amaze-ballz.
We met in the comments of an Escapist video! I was wondering if you're still subbed. Glad you're here man.
@@AstralMarmot I apologize for not recalling the conversation other that a positive energy. I can comment up to 100 times a day, and don't even remember comment threads where I bicker with the same person for weeks!
Can't wait to see where this is going!
@@Psychol-Snooper No need to apologize - I just happen to remember because it was an amazingly hilarious interaction. Doubly so now that I know the video speaks to you. I'm excited for this too. Been a long time coming.
@@AstralMarmot I do recall your channel icon displayed a brown photo of a marmot, but the new one displayed on your channel.
But yeah... Def a subject I'll have a lot to comment on! cheers!
Laziness sure is a lot of work... I can't count the hours spent hand crafting game mechanics and story details as a player and DM only to maybe use broad concepts from some of them. ADHD = never bored, except always bored? Rabbit-holes of esoteric knowledge and characters we'll never get to play. Great video, can't wait for more!
Loving it, loving it, loving it. Everybody will have something to learn here, about ourselves or about the folks we share our hobby with! (Or both, that is.) Can't wait for the upcoming content as well!
okay I was gonna sub anyway but holy shit the "also unclench your jaw" guaranteed it thank you
I have ADHD and been DMing for 8 years now - and I've never finished a campaign. I usually start them, have a lot of fun for 5-6 sessions then get bored and the campaign dies, for the next months. I've been in a 9-10 months break from DMing now, and am starting to look on ADHDming.
Definitely needs more dnd videos. My issue as a first time dm is world building I’m thinking I need a skeleton of the world to make sure I know the world for when the players ask questions about it tho I’m not planning too much only the kingdom the players will start in. I’ve asked other dnd friends for advice all of them say I’m either over planning or over thinking
Great Video. Are there any more Videos about being a ADH-DM ?
Thank you so much! As for more videos, there are now ruclips.net/video/KAvDv2aHQ1M/видео.html
Thanks for reminding me of drinking water! I was already lost revisiting all possible paths, books and videos I watched and bought white prepping to start dming. Where was I? Oh yes, water. Thanks!
I've been looking forward to this for the better part of a year! Congrats!
I feel like my biggest problem is remembering stuff that I need to remember at some specific moment and if that moment passes it's too late already (or I'll have to retcon to do it... and I retcon way too much already). Stuff like resistances/side effects to attacks/monster abilities etc (hm those were all combat-related examples but it's a problem outside of combat, too).
Dropping details is so real, and combat is definitely the place I'm most likely to do so. A couple months ago I forgot that sand sharks can disappear into the sand after they attack and the party absolutely wrecked them. This is absolutely a topic that will span a couple videos because it ties into prep and that's a big one for all of us.
The quick tip I can offer is to sit down and make a list of all the stuff you're good at improvising at the table and all the stuff you're not. When you sit down to prep, focus all your energy on finding or making tools that reinforce the second category. Despite what the thousands of videos on RUclips would have you believe, there's no one-size-fits-all prep formula. Good prep is always uniquely tailored to your style and needs. I'm really looking forward to discussing that process.
If you have questions in the meantime, get at me on Twitter @AstralMarmot. Love helping people with their stuff directly. Thank you so much for watching!
Firstly, thank you for reminding me to unclench my jaw.
I know this video was originally posted a while ago but I still really hope you continue this series. I would love to see a breakdown on what dungeon prep looks like.
Also, what do I need to do to convince an incredible DM to move across the country so they can be closer and we can collab more?
I think my two biggest issues as a ADHD DM and to a large extent also player, is my rubbish working memory (may actually be the worst one, and I have no idea how to build a helpful scaffolding for that, so any tips on that are appreciated!) and just overwhem which leads to procrastination and general avoidance. The last past has been alleviated to a large extent by me giving in and following The Lazy DM Guide. The relief when I started doing that was palpable! I so wanted to find my own way and tweak and tinker and all that, but I simply do not have the mental stamina reliably enough to go that route - at least without a soft, safe place to land. The Lazy DM Guide has provided me with that. It's the best money I've ever spent on a ttrpg supplement.
Okay first I love that you're talking about scaffolding. It's the number one thing I want to talk about: how to build unique frameworks, tailored to your specific style and needs, that work with your brain instead of against it. Lazy DM is a great soft, safe space as you put it. Way on the other side stylistically is The Alexandrian's Gamemastery 101 articles. If you want to get into the theory behind building those mental constructs, his analysis is the best out there. It's heady stuff, but I fully credit it with giving me the conceptual understanding I needed in order to approach that level of DMing. And I'll do my best to share my analysis in an approachable way.
Thanks so much for watching. Feel free to reach out here or on socials if you have questions or thoughts between videos. I can talk about this stuff all day.
loved the video! really helped me actually get started on a campaign with this
Oooh please tell me about it!
I don't have ADHD, but I have a form of autism that is very similar. I also have a friend with ADHD. This resource will hopefully help both of us.
I hope so too! Let me know if there's anything specific you want to hear about. It helps me to talk about what people need instead of trying to talk about everything and ending up talking about nothing :)
@@AstralMarmot I'll certainly keep that in mind. Thank you!
This is an amazing video! I have absolutely struggled with ADHD and RPGs (because it is so hard to keep track of notes while having fun) and it's really nice to see someone acknowledging it! I am looking forward to this series as I write out my first campaign (based on my current hyperfixation of course)!
Thank you for the tip about unclenching the jaw! (I was thinking it after you said to drink water and it made me laugh harder than I care to admit when you reminded said it too)
Thank you for your kind words! I'd love to hear about your campaign if you want to share it. I'm really into the heady game theory of campaign structures specifically; the lovely people helping me make this channel a reality keep making me cut stuff out that's way too theoretical to start with :). You can get at me here or on the socials; I'm @AstralMarmot across the whole internet.
@@AstralMarmot I’d be happy to (over)share! I recently got fixated on polar exploration and the race to the poles and the northwest passage and I want to run a campaign where the players are all officers on a vessel looking to find the Northwest passage. They will have to make decisions about kitting out the ship and the size of the ship and the crew and all of those will have consequences once they start the voyage! The game will take one of two major directions based off of the players’ profession sailing and navigation rolls: either the ship ends up stuck in the ice when they take a wrong turn and they have to travel to find rescue or they successfully navigate but it takes a long time and they have to work to keep their crew from mutinying and rationing supplies and such.
I’m working on fleshing it out before I propose it to the group but I hope that they find the concept interesting!
N.b I’d be running a pathfinder campaign as I’m decently familiar with it (not as much as 5e but I like a lot of the mechanics that they implement that 5e just doesn’t have)
Wonderful! So excited for you. You've done so much amazing work, I'm looking forward to watching!
Wait...what's up with the mischievous green smiley face?!
@@Kahlo77 No spoilers :)
HYPE, love ya Marmot!
I am really looking forward to other videos :)
Thank you so much. I'm really excited to make this real.
Finally, a DM guide series I could possibly get behind.
BTW, I see what you did at 2:30: Dark Dungeons from that one Christian fanatic cartoonist.
and 3:08, I see you too enjoy planeswalking wizard activity, not salty about Magic crossing over with D&D often these days and wholeheartedly excited to upcoming Adventures in Forgotten Realms expansion.
Let me guess, you enjoy D&D or MtG because having whole picture of worldbuilding with solid atmosphere is better and you don't like having bleak world like those Raid Shadow Legends bastards. Because I do, and as a DM, I'm struggling to add details to cities or insignificant NPCs.
I can't tell you how happy it makes me that someone recognized Dark Dungeons. One day I want to open a game store called Blackleaf's Bane.
When you say "adding details" to cities or NPCs, do you mean making them feel real and three-dimensional? Or improving those details at the table?
@@AstralMarmot Both. I excel at overview of worlds but it fails to describe actual place or emotions. It happens outside of DMing too: I don't get how people invested to characters' emotions and relationships, I can only replicate it by hyper-immersing myself and acting it out, or putting facts together.
@@mslabo102s2 We're very similar in regards to understanding the world overview; I realized at some point that my real strength is worldbuilding. Immersion is probably my #2 though. Big topic I will absolutely cover in the future, but here are my quick tips:
For locations, always prep three sensory details. We tend to describe what the players see, but immersion is about feeling, and we have more senses than sight. I tend toward sight, smell, and sound. Jot down two or three words for each when you prep a location, and make them as unique as you can, because they'll also help you get your head in that specific space during the game. The blacksmith's forge gives off a dim red light, and when you walk in you're hit by a blast of heat that carries the sharp scent of metal on it. Works on the micro level of a shop and the macro level of a city or neighborhood. It makes it distinct in the players' minds and your own.
To make three dimensional NPCs I have a template that's definitely a video on its own. Briefly, I give every NPC:
- WANTS. What do they consciously, actively seek in life or in this moment? (example: they're greedy and want more money)
- NEEDS. What do they subconsciously need to be fulfilled as a person? This is usually rooted in their insecurities (example: They don't really respect themselves and try to buy the respect of others to make them feel better)
- QUOTE: I put this at the top of every NPC sheet; something in their words and voice that puts me in their head quickly during the game.
There's more but this is too long already. Hope there's something useful here. Feel free to get at me on Twitter @AstralMarmot if you want to dig in more.
Thank you so much for watching.
I seriously struggle with prepwork, if you ask me what the beginning and end of a story I'm prepping are, or what the atmosphere of the city the players start in is like, I'll have them for you in less than a second, often down to the little minutiae that maybe only I care about, but if you ask me "That sounds cool, how are we getting from point A to point B?" My brain will shut down, how do you deal with prepping things you find more challenging to think through without getting distracted and either focusing on something else or losing focus on prep entirely?
This is a great question. My brain works very similarly. If I'm understanding you right, you're saying you struggle to prep the actual plot of a session. The trick to that is to not prep plots at all.
My philosophy is that the DM owns the "what" - what the world is like, what's happening in and around the party, what events are playing out both seen and unseen. The world is your character. The players/PCs own the "how" - how to respond to the world, how to interact with it, and how to get themselves from Point A to Point B. Justin Alexander of The Alexandrian put this really well: "A game is not a story. It is a happening, about which a story may someday be told." You don't know what will happen until it occurs; all you need to do is prep the scenario in which things will happen and let it play out.
Smart prep is high on my list of things to talk about. Hope I understood your question correctly; if not, let me know here or on Twitter @AstralMarmot. And thank you so much for watching - it means a lot.
Ayo? This sounds super useful!
I make alterations to probability rolls
Hey, just out of curiosity, were your videos influenced by OverlySarcasticProductions?
As for the things I find hard as a DM with ADHD are:
-Actually getting around to prepping for the campaign
-Keeping track of enemy stats, I usually just revert to the "the enemy dies when the players have made enough attacks that it feels like it should be dead" rather than the actual system.
-Keeping track of what the party has and distributing loot accordingly
-introducing plothooks organically, usually I can do some but then for others I'm just like "oh, that's supposed to happen somehow" towards the end of a session
-never striking the balance between over-prepping and under-prepping
-dividing my attention between the party and my notes
A lot of these are mitigated by my relatively good improvisational abilities and my party's tendency to halt whatever they're doing if something sufficiently funny happens, allowing me more time to prep.
Also I'm not sure if this is the same for others, but I find prewritten modules to be incredibly hard to use. Like I don't feel like I have the freedom to improvise, lest the party stray too far away from what's written. While at the same time I find it takes way more work to change it from what's written in the books to my personal shorthand notes than it does to make them from scratch.
I am definitely an OSP fan, but to be super honest, my primary criterion was ensuring the information was presented in a way that works with rather than against ADHD brains. Sensory information processing deficiency is a key symptom of ADHD and I read a lot of studies about different ways to present information visually to make it easier to intake. Of course the other criterion was ease of creation because I had never touched editing software in my life before I decided to do this. I hope my style will evolve and grow the more I get the hang of this.
You and I have very similar strengths and struggles at the table. I have the exact same relationship with modules and that's a topic I'm really looking forward to covering. There's a structural challenge inherent to taking something non-linear like a campaign and putting it into a book, and that's before taking our brains into consideration.
Based on what I've heard from the community, the next few videos will focus on building a prep system from the ground up. I wasted a lot of energy trying to do what other people were doing before I figured out that knowing what to prep and how was based on my unique needs. It's a big topic and I'm looking forward to digging in.
If you have other questions or just want to bullshit, get at me on Twitter @AstralMarmot. I can talk about this stuff all day.
Thanks so much for watching!
@@AstralMarmot I think you did a great job with the formatting of the video, it was somehow the right level of visually interesting and simple to minimize distractions.
Also have you considered opening up a discord server? It might be a good alternative place for discussion and feedback to twitter. It's also a good place to send out notifications about upcoming videos as well as a good place for others to share tips and homebrew rules that may have helped them reduce the workload/stress of GMing.
@@theta682pl I would very much like to do that - especially because I have avoided Twitter most of my life and am not in love with being active on it. The main reason I haven't yet is because administering and moderating a public Discord is a real investment of time and energy, and I need those to ensure I put videos out at a good pace. I have a small private Discord for the people helping me with these videos, and I completely agree that Discord is a much better space for community building. Hopefully I can find people soon who will help me take that on.
There is an ADHD&D Discord that someone started recently that's pretty active. It's a very busy space with a lot of channels so I tend to only engage in the Beginner DMs space. You can absolutely find me and PM me there though if you'd like. Honestly I prefer it over Twitter a lot.
Lol unclench your jaw. Noted 😂
Thank you.
Also WuTang for life!
This is the start of something wonderful.
Now as I said in another comment: I don't have ADHD, so I don't expect my issues to totally line up. That said, I'm desperate, and will ask anyways lol.
I have an issue about rambling on and not shutting up with info that is only just barely relevant to the situation at hand. I'll drop a multi-paragraph hyperfixation right then and there and it won't always make total sense. Usually happens with favorite monsters of mine, or lore I am excited to share. Just recently I hyperfixed on lore of Forgotten Realms Hobgoblins, giving probably 10 more sentences than were necessary about "Pointy-eared Goblin Conquerers."
Have you faced such an issue before? Any tips for overcoming it?
I feel that in my bones. Question: how do you present the information? Are you speaking as the DM narrating something, or in-world through the voice of an NPC?
@@AstralMarmot Both. It hinders my ability to RP effectively because my local Hag will go on a tangent about how the Yugoloths created a standardized currency among the lower planes.
@@Tinkatube That's hilariously relatable. I'm very much a worldbuilder first and foremost. It's taken years to figure out how to share lore in a way the players actually care about.
My suggestion is probably worth its own video, but to (try to) summarize, I use an NPC cheat sheet to stay in the NPC's head instead of my own. The goal is to use as few words possible to evoke a 3D character. The categories are:
- Quote. Right at the top, something in their voice I can look at to get in their head immediately at a glance
- Relevant background: Bullet points about either them or things the know - ONLY if it's relevant to the players
- Wants: What is it they consciously want, in life or in this moment?
- Needs: What do they actually need to be fulfilled, consciously or (usually) unconsciously?
- Secret: Everyone has something. What's theirs? Best if relevant to the campaign, but not necessary.
I also have physical and roleplay bullet points, but this is the stuff that helps me stop thinking as myself and start thinking as someone else. Even my generic shopkeepers have this basic skeleton.
Keep it to 2-3 words for each if you can - but for relevant background, 2-3 bullet points is fine. When I'm in character I make a point to glance back at the sheet just to make sure I'm staying in that framework. If they're talking about something not on that sheet, I'm probably talking too much.
Lots more to say on this but this comment is already too long. I'm also on the ADHD&D Discord server, and even if you don't have ADHD there's lots of good advice to be had. Hit me up there, or on Twitter, or here if you prefer.
Hope this helps. Will definitely make a video on this topic soon.
You should make more videos
I'm right in the middle of one as I write this! Hopefully now that the world has calmed down a little bit I can push them out more regularly. Thanks for saying something... it really means more than I can express
Excited, looks inside channel
Empty
💀💀💀
I gotchu ruclips.net/video/KAvDv2aHQ1M/видео.html
@@AstralMarmot
LETS GOOOOO @AstralMarmot
Hi
RUclips seems to be showing me all the dead channels now. This one video was good though.
I'm still out here, and still very much filled with a desire to move this forward. Seeing this is very encouraging. Thank you, for real.
@@AstralMarmot I was just about to comment too, until I sorted by newest first. I 2nd them. Was hoping to see more videos as well!
new video just dropped
new Video just dropped homie@@emmigosa
NOOOOO PLEAAAAAS im stupid and neurodivergent and want to be a dm pls tell me what to do, pls make more stuff i need you 😭
You have amazing timing my friend. There's a new video coming out next week
@@AstralMarmot bruh 💀
As someone with (very bad & currently unmedicated) ADHD, I cannot participate in d&d currently. While i love the game immensely, my working memory and auditory processing is equivalent to a constantly running paper shredder. Sometimes I get half the sentence someone says to me if I pick up the right pieces of shredded paper. Unfortunately, even if I did get enough information to continue forward with whatever DM is saying, I may have been processing just one page alone in maybe a whole metaphorical 60 page essay just got dropped by DM which I didn't even get the chance to "hear". I have tried taking notes, but even with notes they just start to pile up and it's hard to remember what I did take in my notes and even what may be important for missions later, just like my actual memories.
This is just the tip of the iceberg 😵