Two Easy Steps to Creating Epic RPG Adventures

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  • Опубликовано: 25 дек 2024

Комментарии • 70

  • @HowtobeaGreatGM
    @HowtobeaGreatGM  2 года назад +8

    *Thanks for watching!* Let us know in the comments below what else you think makes a great RPG adventure.
    Dungeon Fog are not only our friends but also the best & ultimate mapmaking platform out there! Use the code GREAT GM for a discount when you sign up for a subscription. Find them here: dgnfogaffiliateprogramme.sjv.io/jdQeZ
    Find each chapter of the video easily by clicking on the timestamps in the description.

  • @HowtobeaGreatGM
    @HowtobeaGreatGM  2 года назад +56

    So.. for those who love technology... the audio was recorded cleanly. In the export either Premier Pro or Windows decided to randomly insert that second audio track. Now, here's the kicker... that audio was a phone call between me and my sisters partner... that took place on my mobile phone. In other words... Windows passively recorded audio from the room (and my phone conversation) kept the audio file somewhere in a cache, and then inserted it into the export. How that works only the goblins know. Just thought I'd share!

    • @SquatBenchDeadlift455
      @SquatBenchDeadlift455 2 года назад +1

      Oh that's what that was. I kept expecting that it was some sort comedic tie in. I was only part-way through the previous upload so I'll finish on this one. Thanks for leaving it unlisted so I know where I left off!

    • @cypherix93
      @cypherix93 2 года назад +4

      I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Like that's funny how it made its way there, but also scary that it did.

    • @standingwavestudio
      @standingwavestudio 2 года назад +4

      Wondering why this video came up in my feed again and then I realized it must be because of the audio. Very unsettling that it would retain audio it recorded somehow. Guess I'll keep my Mac. Still a great video though even with the background 2nd track.

    • @AvenueStudios
      @AvenueStudios 2 года назад +1

      Ugh that's both scary and sadly not surprising! It's a strange world we walk through nowadays lol! Glad you were able to correct it!
      -Dan

    • @Bibspagush
      @Bibspagush 2 года назад +1

      Windows 10 is a spying machine, that simple...🙃

  • @GordiniStudios
    @GordiniStudios 2 года назад +47

    this channel helped me get out of a serious dming rut. now im in the middle of the greatest games ive ever run. never forget the mustache dm

  • @NatashaZooks
    @NatashaZooks 2 года назад +2

    "Do not Open. Danger: Vacuum" and they all run in and get attacked by a hoover anyway lmaooooo so casually delivered

  • @theauthor13-sta
    @theauthor13-sta 2 года назад +2

    My greatest leap forward as a GM, was the idea that i do not need to make the plot. I don't make the plot. I create a situation and a problem for the players to overcome, then i put them in front of the plot and say "its your issue now. Have at it."
    It takes soooooo much stress and prep away from myself. It also curbs the GM vs Player mentality, at least in my end. Because i made a puzzle, a problem, an issue for them to solve. And it was made to be solved from the beginning. Therefore, i get great pride when they do manage to solve the problem.

  • @pondrthis1
    @pondrthis1 2 года назад +2

    Something worth making explicit that Guy didn't is that "players make choices" doesn't just imply that the players *have* choices, but that they must *make* those choices. Every GM has hit that beat where the players debate for literal hours about what to do next. Force a choice with something time-sensitive!

  • @sitnamkrad
    @sitnamkrad 2 года назад +9

    I do think player choice and consequences are important. But above all I think a good adventure needs to be fun. And sometimes you have to limit choices for the game to be fun. Computer games are to some degree wrongfully blamed for limiting choices, because most of the time when a game tells you to do something, you have the simple choice of just not doing that, and the game is perfectly fine with that. Even in something as simple as Mario, you have the choice to just not walk to the right and not jump, however the game is not capable of making those choices fun. And I think this is something that we do need to recognize. Most RPG modules are written with the assumption that the players will make the choice to actually play the module, to go on the adventure, and fight the BBEG. The players can make the choice to not do any of that, but then the module is no longer being played. The question that you need to ask yourself then is : Are you willing to come up with a completely different game for a bunch of players that basically just flushed a bunch of your prep work down the toilet? And why did they agree to play this module in the first place? Is the thing that they actually do want to do, more fun?
    I guess the point I'm trying to make is that, there are different reasons for limiting choices. And while it's important for players to be able to make them, we do need to recognize that the choices they want to make don't always benefit the game.

    • @anastasiia1683
      @anastasiia1683 2 года назад

      Yep, I also wonder if players just make what they want, there is no sense in the story than.🤔 Meens that DM needs to guide them through NPC to return to the main plot.

  • @MugsOfMilk
    @MugsOfMilk 2 года назад +10

    So cool to see how you've evolved your style over the years, love ya Guy!

  • @johannesluttmann1867
    @johannesluttmann1867 2 года назад +7

    Im following this guide, and your guide for making great campaigns through, because - may it be coincidental or call it fate - in december i will start my first round of gm-ing a table-round of d&d.
    a big thank you for putting up those "nearning" opportunities, keep up the good work!

  • @Kiwi9552
    @Kiwi9552 2 года назад +5

    What I find interesting is that while you say that the players should face the consequences your examples softened the consequences somehow. The example with the king had the pc randomly saved an in the one with the fight you said, as long as one survives. I undestand this is to keep the story going, but in my opinion tpks should be an option too and just cause the story of this party ends here doesn't mean there can't be other stories after.

    • @DuckieMcduck
      @DuckieMcduck 2 года назад +2

      The point is that a TPK is an easy, boring result that technically railroads the game for the players. Huge consequences need not be death. In Guys' example, being labelled as an outlaw and posted for execution is a *_huge_* consequence: The players now need to accept any ally to break out (which may lead to treason or even worse favor exchange later), will have to lay low or acquire disguises across the kingdom to be in cities, and most likely will have sharp bounty hunters coming after their heads out in the grasslands.
      If you TPK them for attempting regicide on the throne room you're done, everyone needs to start over including you because the new characters will need new leads. And this will repeat again if you keep allowing for TPKs on weird choices, or the world building will close the throne room for good because "of the last incident".
      To treat players with a TPK it needs to either be an extremely not serious group (like a mech TTRPG where the player pilot leaves their robot mid combat to jump at and "key scratch" their opponent) or an extremely combat oriented group (concerned about mechanics and survival) because that's what those groups are trying to tease and/or work around of.

  • @HollowedEyeHounds
    @HollowedEyeHounds 2 года назад

    Love how you styled your facial hair, it works great!
    The best session I ever had was a throwaway session where I prepped a city's job board 10 minutes before the session. Made 2 proper jobs and 3 joke jobs (i never intended to follow through).
    I had 5 players... they split the party 5 ways. I spent the entire first session putting down 5 seperate tracks as we went along down each player's path, connecting them all vaguely to each other and letting the players put two and two together.
    They LOVED it, lead it all to them joining back together at the end of the first session for a finale in the second session that I properly prepped for 😅

  • @jeffreybomba
    @jeffreybomba 2 года назад +2

    I agree with 99% of what you have been saying, the problem I run into is how to be flexible enough and still prepared enough.

    • @PoisonxAlchemist
      @PoisonxAlchemist 2 года назад +2

      Being prepared is an illusion you craft, not a state of being. It's something you learn by practice since every person is a different GM, every campaign a different adventure, and every group a different dynamic. Sly Flourish's Lazy Dungeon Master method might work for you as an improv master, but it might not if you're a nervous type. Hours of prep might work while you're a college student, or you might burn out as your life changes. No one can find that balance for you and it will change over time. Just practice, end the session on a cliffhanger if you need to, and remember when you find yourself thinking "I wish I had xyz prepared" for next time.

  • @DolphinTillTheEnd
    @DolphinTillTheEnd 2 года назад +2

    I can't wait to be an amazing gm with no friends with time to play

  • @Frederic_S
    @Frederic_S 2 года назад +1

    Thank you for the re-upload 💜

  • @AvenueStudios
    @AvenueStudios 2 года назад +2

    Thanks for these thoughts Guy! I definitely struggle with adapting to player choices especially when they miss/ignore warnings of impending doom. The balance of appropriate consequences while crafting new potential ways out does not come naturally for me so look forward to practicing that more!
    -Dan

  • @CmderSwords
    @CmderSwords 2 года назад

    A re-upload of a great video? I will take it!!!!! Thank you for the videos and your work on this, it has ignited a passion for me to GM!!!

  • @jonathanowen9917
    @jonathanowen9917 2 года назад +1

    Consequences, good or bad, are the natural result of player choices. Giving players the freedom to do what they want results in interesting, and often unexpected, events. I had a NPC noble and his wife whose OGAS had them constantly seeking to better their rank in the empire by amassing wealth by any means. After the party leader paid for items with gold in the baron’s town and egged on by the baroness the baron offered the party to join him for dinner in the hope of capturing them and holding them for ransom. The party quickly acquiesced to the baron’s hospitality and enjoyed several courses of food and entertainment provided by a Halfling jester. Then when the baron sprang the trap the party handily fought off the captain of the guard and the guardsmen, killing several and forcing the remainder to surrender, and they even captured the baron. The party then forced the baron to supply them each with a horse and a few pieces of gold. The party could have easily refused the baron’s invitation and would have headed off on their journey on foot. Now the party has horses which enabled them to recently outpace and fight off a herd of giant wolf spiders.

  • @davidvieira8828
    @davidvieira8828 2 года назад +1

    I love how Guy rolls an 8 in the logo. So close to that 20.

    • @TheSmart-CasualGamer
      @TheSmart-CasualGamer 2 года назад +1

      I've never noticed that! I wonder if this means a GM can never reach true perfection?

  • @kmoustakas
    @kmoustakas 2 года назад

    Very well said, great video

  • @TheSwamper
    @TheSwamper 2 года назад +1

    I really liked this part: "If the PCs attack the king, then you have to have the guards come in and arrest them, and then they stand trial".
    This is an excellent example of how PCs can railroad DMs (not saying it's a bad thing). But the DM MUST respond to the bold actions of the PCs.
    Often, railroading is seen as something that only DMs do to players, but in reality it's usually the other way around.

    • @Mico-Xiyeas
      @Mico-Xiyeas Год назад

      its not railroading, the motivation for the guards is to tie down and stand trial, but the players can resist or take any actions they want. maybe the escape, maybe they kill people, maybe they enter a new dimension or turn into a bug and fly away, never returning. maybe they only enter the kingdom disguised whether by makeup and accessories or magic.
      railroading is about preventing any and all player options to the point that something must happen. but something happening itself should be thought of more as an "attempt" so long as the players have choices to change the course, however their failure to make good choices would probably lead to the outcome theyre avoiding.
      but as a dm, think of some solutions to their problems. give them options. even tell them out right they can disguise themselves or hide or something.

    • @TheSwamper
      @TheSwamper Год назад

      What I'm saying is by the PCs taking the action of attacking the king, the DM is forced to respond by at least arresting the PCs. If would be wrong for a DM to not react. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just that if your world has logic, then doing A can force B to occur.

    • @Mico-Xiyeas
      @Mico-Xiyeas Год назад

      @@TheSwamper yep, consequences

  • @aliceofspades
    @aliceofspades 2 года назад +3

    I would love a campaign with a malevolent vacuum. Someone please stat one up!

  • @Zr0din
    @Zr0din 2 года назад

    Looking forward to the audio book too. April? May?

  • @Brian-zj1xj
    @Brian-zj1xj 2 года назад

    Me at 12:22 in the vid. Player Choice, Player Consequence, Papa John's

  • @benmwalls
    @benmwalls 2 года назад +9

    Do we get 2x XP for watching both?

  • @bigsarge2085
    @bigsarge2085 2 года назад +1

    Awesome

  • @TravelingSAfrican
    @TravelingSAfrican 2 года назад

    Are there any videos anywhere of you running a 1-shot of any game? It'd be fun to see what these skills actually look like in a real GM scenario.

  • @whalemanification
    @whalemanification 2 года назад +1

    Along the lines of allowing players to make choices, this is something I struggle with somewhat as a consequence of describing the world, or areas. Does anyone have advice on how to avoid being too explicit in my descriptive language and make it feel like I didn’t just plop something there specifically for the players to explore?

    • @The0Stroy
      @The0Stroy 2 года назад +1

      But isn't "Just ploping something there specifically for the players to explore" isn't what is what DM does? Make stuff interesting so players will like to explore them. Give them a reason to explore that place - be it part of their characters, part of the task they have to do in that particular moment, or a perspective of some gain. Add to game rumors about places, add small odd jobs or other pieces of info. And sometimes - even if you plop some location to be there - use good old "Chekov's gun" and wave it into adventure later.

  • @plasma-
    @plasma- 2 года назад

    Hope you are all doing well!

  • @torgfriednilzram1248
    @torgfriednilzram1248 2 года назад

    How can I implement more Choice-making in my Adventure?

  • @TheMetalHeadbangger
    @TheMetalHeadbangger 2 года назад

    now thats is a epic moustache!

  • @pez5767
    @pez5767 2 года назад +3

    I'm really enjoying this series. However, with this particular point, I feel like there is a glaring omission on the first point regarding the Paradox of Choice (Fun Ted Talk here: ruclips.net/video/VO6XEQIsCoM/видео.html ). Unlimited choice is an ultimately unsatisfying experience. So, where's the balance?

    • @PoisonxAlchemist
      @PoisonxAlchemist 2 года назад +1

      It doesn't really apply to adventurers any more than you in your everyday life. Yes you could screw off from your job and murder homeless people on the street, but you don't (I assume) because those are choices with terrible outcomes such that they are not really worth considering. PCs don't attack the king in his throne room for the same reason. In addition to the stick you and PCs are pulled forward by the carrot of desire. Why would you choose to not play tennis when you enjoy it and your rival offers you a match? Yes there are infinite possibilities like summoning demons against your rival, starting a smear campaign etc. But why think about those when you could just accept or decline the invitation?

    • @pez5767
      @pez5767 2 года назад

      @@PoisonxAlchemist sorry, I don't see what you mean. Unlimited choice is unsatisfying in real life and as a player in an RPG. Doubly so in an RPG where I don't have a lifetime of context to draw from. There needs to be some amount of limiting factors.

  • @Wraithing
    @Wraithing 2 года назад +1

    Really like the simplicity of this one.
    Seems to sums up, for me, many of the design troubles we run into with RPG design too.
    Sometimes even the character sheet can kill player's creative choices rather than helping to enhance them.
    And doing good deeds in fiction will usually involve a sacrifice to the physical/mental health or the advancement wishlist of a heroes character sheet - limiting levelling-up options, but not in the D&D thing. Might that be a way to…
    …nah. People need complete freedom of choice for that spell of greater whatd'yermacallit to enhance their kicking-it'sbutt feat.

  • @Glitch_Online
    @Glitch_Online 2 года назад +2

    I never have combat within my combat.. gets in the way of combat.

  • @VengerSatanis
    @VengerSatanis 2 года назад

    Cha'alt!

  • @pxblade
    @pxblade 2 года назад +2

    re-upload, the back ground audio is gone haha

    • @HowtobeaGreatGM
      @HowtobeaGreatGM  2 года назад +2

      Yeah, apologies for that! Technical glitch resulted in a strange outcome! But all fixed :)

    • @Wraithing
      @Wraithing 2 года назад

      @@HowtobeaGreatGM
      Glad you managed to fix it!
      Great content as usual - I'm guessing, by all this watching, I'll probably have "read" the book when it arrives! 😁

    • @pxblade
      @pxblade 2 года назад

      @@HowtobeaGreatGM No apologies necessary, glad you exercised those tech demons 😆

  • @triceratops2653
    @triceratops2653 2 года назад

    I know you like to do your videos in one take, but I think a power outage might be the time to make an exception. 😂

  • @allenyates3469
    @allenyates3469 2 года назад +2

    I was so on board with this video right up until he said the word "wrong". I made a whole home brew system just so the whole game can be combat lol

  • @40kLou
    @40kLou 2 года назад

    Not first. 😏

  • @GenIsysGames
    @GenIsysGames 2 года назад

    OMG a hoover?

  • @edwarduribe2910
    @edwarduribe2910 2 года назад +1

    I feel like this is a ground hog day event....

  • @The0Stroy
    @The0Stroy 2 года назад

    But what if players make a choice that you were not ready for? Like - they do stuff you really didn't anticipate? Welp - that means you need to improvise quick answers - and that can get messy. So as railroading is bad, total freedom is bad as well. You want to run adventure and have some control - not players messing too much with key elements of the story.

    • @johnathanrhoades7751
      @johnathanrhoades7751 2 года назад

      If they make a choice you're not ready for, you say "wow! That was really cool. I need a few minutes to figure out how this would go." Take a break, spend some time thinking. If it's radical enough you can even say "wow. That was really cool! I did not prepare at all for this, so we're going to call it here and see how this plays out next time. Very cool!"
      Mentioning "key elements of the story" makes me think that you may be coming from a very different way of thinking. More authorial than I would be comfortable with.

  • @abettermind
    @abettermind 10 месяцев назад +1

    The idea that you shouldn't kill the PCs for attacking a brutal king like that is nonsense. Showing the players that there is always a way out is why you end up with players stupid enough to jump in front of insurmountable odds with abandon, along with all kinds of other silly choices they will make because they don't take anything seriously.
    If they're fully aware of the fact that they'll be put down, then PUT THEM DOWN. When a player does such a thing, they're looking you in the eye and saying "you won't kill me, because this is a game." It is the worst form of metagaming possible, and it's 100% the fault of the DM.
    I hate it when a DM shows me his soft underbelly. It absolutely discredits any hope they have of creating any real suspense, and turns my decision making into "what would be entertaining" rather than "what would my character, a person that values his life and has goals, do?"
    Avoiding a TPK when the dice are cursed, or when the PCs lacked information is one thing. When a PC does something knowing full well that it will result in their death, death should follow.
    Any other consequence is self-sabotage by the DM and a long term neutering of suspense.
    You just said that "they attack the king, suffer nothing other than a description of jail, and become heroes."
    That's the exact opposite of consequences.

    • @abettermind
      @abettermind 10 месяцев назад

      I know this is an old video, and my comment will likely not be seen.
      But I'm making this comment and reply to my comment on the off chance that Guy will make a video addressing suspense, consequences, and the value of being willing to TPK when necessary. At the very least, tell me why you disagree, my man. Even if I don't buy it, I'm sure I would learn something.

  • @Chlupac010
    @Chlupac010 2 года назад

    Am I the only one annoyed by constant camera re-focusing? 8-)

  • @TBKOTOROB
    @TBKOTOROB 2 года назад

    First