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My number 1 rule for speeding up any roleplaying game: Don't tell me you're rolling for perception, I'll tell you when to roll. I can't tell you how many games have dragged on because overly-cautious players were constantly rolling perception checks unbidden, for nothing. Finally I said "no more perception checks unless I call for them." I basically do that for all skill checks now.
My solution is a touch mean but it usually gets the point across. I have had some very jumpy players who will announce they're rolling for something and roll their die straight away. They tell me the number and I say, "Sweet roll! But you didn't explain what you were doing, nor did we call for a roll. Tell me what you want to do and we'll see if it needs a roll."
@Golden Griffon See I hate this because as a player I want to make my own rolls (that's half the reason I'm playing D&D is to roll shiny dice let's be honest), and as a DM I don't want to have to keep track of all the players' bonuses all the time. I'd rather they make the roll and know the failed, and unless you have a serious party of meta-gamers it doesn't really matter anyway. All it does is take agency away form the players, and often lead to arguments over "well I have this bonus to detect this thing, did you factor that in?" or the classic "I would have been actively looking for something like that." I understand the idea behind making secret rolls for your characters, but in practice I think its bad design, and bad play. Also this kind of "passive" secret checking is what lead the people I played with to constantly demand perception checks. They wanted to make sure they weren't being cheated (we had a real scumbag DM in high school). If you take this idea of secret rolls to its logical conclusion really the only thing a player should ever roll for is their attacks. They shouldn't know if they failed a skill check, or flubbed a knowledge roll so bad they're getting bogus information. They shouldn't roll for their hitpoints, its gamey so lets take that out of the equation, I'll roll for them and keep track of them for everyone (extra DM work). You really shouldn't even know your stats or bonuses, you know what in fact just give me your character sheets. I'll play this game my damn self. Okay, I'm being hyperbolic, but it really just goes against my core ethos of DMing. If that's how you and your group enjoy D&D I'm not suggesting you're "playing it wrong," but that's a fundamentally different game to me, and one I would not enjoy, so I do not impose it on my players. The thing with me is, and I tell this to my players, I'm not trying to trick them or get them in a GACHA moment. I will warm them ahead of times to expect traps, I'll tell them when they have to make checks, and often I won't ask for checks if I don't think they require it. I try to be a very transparent DM because I had my share of really shady DMs that didn't tell you things, sprung traps on problem characters in places someone else had already been, and really seemed to enjoy nothing more than making you write up a new character every week. I hated it, and I don't want it for my players, and I don't want to foster the mentality that I am opposed to them.
I do passive perception scores from 4e - and just tell players if they notice something then for harder things, the player has to actively describe "running their hands along the wall" or "picking up the chest and looking under it" etc like in OSR games to make things more immersive and interactive rather than the feeling of just pressing buttons with skill checks
I dont think my players would like that, they really enjoy rolling the dice and are already pissed at me for just taking away the insight checks from them lol
Another way is to roll it for the players - cause you know they get excited at times when they FAIL a perception roll and you tell them "oh, that was nothing"... and the movement comes to a complete stop untill the players pry at leas some info out of GM )))
I had a DM for 2E Forgotten Realms back in the 90s and he NEVER sat down. We had multiple parties that traversed levels 1 through 15ish. It was "the good old days". We were teenagers. From 1996 to 2000 he never sat down. Love you Jimmy D!
Cool. EDIT: I just sent my girlfriend through my own piece of crap homemade dnd knock off with her running four characters. She talked to herself through the characters. Was kinda retarded, but cute. Cause like she never played before. I myself only have played one campaign of pathfinder. But yeah my first time "DM" ing went well. Even if it was mostly me making stuff up because I hadn't finished the game yet.
I do a similar thing to speed up initiative. All players roll and the DM rolls once for the monsters. Everyone that beats the monsters go, then the monsters go, then we go PC side, then back to monsters. Let's the "quick" players still feel quick.
attar81 Scrolled through to see if anyone else brought this up before I brought it up myself. My favorite way of handling initiative in any D&D variant where a player could have a bonus or advantage on initiative.
I use a simultaneous system based on weapon reach that goes, missiles, magic melee. Combat is so fast, even faster than a simple D6, and it makes a lot more sense. Replacing initiative experiment: New Combat Order of attacks. 1. Initial missile attacks: bows and crossbows, then thrown weapons such as spears, hand axes, daggers, etc. 2. Magic: Wands, staves, rods, rings and other items with stored spells go first, then cast spells, and finally spells read off scrolls or straight out of spell books 3. Melee & middle missile attacks: Weapons with the longest reach will go first-This order will repeat for character with multiple attacks unless circumstances dictate otherwise-for instance the party is in a very tight press and long weapons are too unwieldy. • Pole weapons that are 8+ ft. (pikes excluded for obvious reasons) • Long weapons: Two handed swords, great axes (Dane axes), pole axes, 6’ spears, quarter staff, etc. • Medium weapons: Bastard swords, long swords, maces, any one-handed weapon between two and a half feet and four feet long. • Short weapons: Short swords, clubs, daggers, iron spikes, etc. • No weapons and small hand weapons, fists, claws, bites, improvised weapons such as held rocks, crockery and broken bottles in bar fights, etc. 4. End of round missile fire: bows and crossbows, then thrown weapons such as spears, hand axes, daggers, etc.
8:32 Im running a modern firearm campaign Gungeons and dragons. And the firearms are doing double or triple dice. It’s been fun having both players and enemies in fear of getting one shot so they are more aware of cover or use more planning because one crit is death. The monsters HP is unchanged witg exceptions of dragons, and things intended to be boss battles. It’s really fun to walk up to the 27 HP bugbear with a double barrel shotgun (the greatsword of the game) and point blank him for 8d6+4 and watch it blast him across the room. Or walk into a room of kobolds and empty your whole mag in one action to sweep death across them! Spellcasters are simply encouraged to use their slots for utility, hold persons, hypnotic patterns, hastes, jamming enemy weapons, healing providing cover etc.
5:36 YES (when doing in-person, non-virtual DnD)!!!! When I first DM'd it was so immensely natural to stand, if not impossible to not stand when I was DMing, because during combats or certain social encounters the energy would require that physical presence or movement or flexibility. In less intense moments of RP or otherwise sitting worked fine but man standing up just made so much more sense both instinctively and in terms of how it allows you to interact with the table at literally every level.
Regarding standing while DMing: I'm currently running a 5e campaign where the PCs are 17th level. (It has been going on for years.) I always used to stand up and walk around when the characters were low-level, but now I sit down most of the time. I hadn't noticed until watching this video. When I think about it, it probably has to do with needing to frequently reference monster special abilities, lair actions, legendary actions, spells, etc.
One of the things I saw a while back in regards to morale was something like a morale check done by the opposing side when certain conditions are met such as... -when the force leader is killed -when the group has taken about 50% casualties and the pcs haven't taken any -when the enemy is the last remaining one of the group. If they fail, they flee the battle effectively defeated... if they pass, they stand firm or determine if a tactical withdrawal is necessary
When doing side based initiative you only need to roll one dice; odds monsters/NPC's and even players. I have a 6 sided dice that has two Green plus (+) signs, two Red minus (-) signs and two blank faces. Green + players win, Red - monsters win, Blanks = simultaneous. I let one of the players roll at the beginning of each turn.
Here's a couple of house rules that you can use instead of rolling for initiative: 1. Let initiative act as an extra ability score that players can improve. You might wanna award a few extra ability score improvements if you choose this tho. OR 2. Let every class have its own initiative. For example the barbarian could always go first followed by the fighter etc. Treat the 8 monster types as classes and assign each one a value or a turn order along with the player classes at the start of the campaign.
One of my favorite things about OSR genre is the use of auxiliares/Henchmen without slowing down the combat. You can homebrew some dudes but in most of cases they are not useful for risky/creative things. I had a party with 8 henchmen + 4 players + 1 torch boy , most of them just make basic attacks * 15 seconds ,roll 8d20 , 5,6 miss ,2 hits* but they help us in many ways. The longest combat was like 15-20 minutes but very fun and tense (especially because our homebrew that no mercenaries is free at first except if you roll 12+ they cost money even if they die) When I played 5th for the first time we had a 3 HOURS BATTLE against a bunch of goblins and one wolf!!!!
All my players murder surrending enemies. Last time I weakened a good aligned magic item and removed victory conditions for the war they are in for the barbarian throwing an incapacitated enemy off the gate house. We will see how that plays out.
I don’t think it makes sense for the monsters/villains to surrender because the players always end up murdering them rather than taking them prisoner unless their patron specifically says capture but don’t kill the bad guys. But it does make sense for the bad guys to run away if they can
@@AlternityGM This is a matter of play style and it depends on you as well as your players! If you're dealing with Murder Hobos then they probably will kill the surrendering enemy - and they should gain a reputation in the area for that. "Don't show them any mercy because they won't do it for you." On the other hand, I've had plenty of games where the PCs took prisoners to question them, ransom them, and even befriend them. If you don't want to play a Murder Hobo game, I'd suggest having an NPC talk to your players about the BENEFITS of taking prisoners OR having an out of game discussion about the fact that there are other options.
I do a slight variation of how you do initiative. Each side rolls 1d6, but before going to back and forth turns, a number of characters equal to the amount they won initiative by can go. Not a huge difference, but adds an extra dimension that doesn’t slow anything down.
One thing I've learned from The Angry GM is to combine narrative and mechanics in combat. I used to do things like: "Okay, your turn. What do you do? Okay, make an attack roll. That hits. Roll damage. Okay, your axe bites deep into the foul creature's hide. It utters a shrill, gutteral cry as it's black blood drops hissing to the ground. Okay, who's next? What do you do?" But now it's more like, "The beast advances, what do you do? Roll attack and damage. Your axe bites deep into the foul creature's hide. It utters a shrill, gutteral cry as it's black blood drops hissing to the ground," *point to next player* "What do you do?" I also like giving out the DC ahead of time. That way, the moment of highest tension at the table (the rolling of the die) isn't spoiled by "...does that hit?" It's an contained in that one moment. And rolling your damage at the same time as an attack. That's a great way to keep things flowing. And the biggest one of all: get your players to pay attention and have their actions ready *before* it's their turn.
I also don't like sitting at the table. It makes me tired. Feels much better to stand and pace. A thing in regards to moral that I really liked from the Conan RPG are a set of moral based attack called displays - which include cutting of the head of an enemy and waving it at the others, or holding your blade against a foe's throat. These things have specific kind of moral damage, and are only available in certain situations. It's pretty cool.
This is how I originally found your channel and have become such a huge fan since then. I've bought quite a few books you've reviewed and your conversation series is some of the best tabletop discussion I've seen!
Still love this! When running in person, I stand for combat. I do think about morale with NPC'S (either enemies or allies) and monsters. Timers are also great for putting fear into players. I often do a countdown die (thanks Runehammer!). I need to think through other initiative formats...
Appreciate the Standing suggestion - I've been thinking this could benefit several aspect of table play. Oh, and Dungeon Craft sent me and I'm currently reading my new copy of Knave.
Dungeon Craft also sent me - good teamup as I hadn’t yet come across your channel and more “support to break free” of rules-when-they-prevent-fun is always welcome.
And ugh stay blocks @ end of adventure is killing me running my first 5e campaign! Yes i Could& should prepare around it but will look for “better module UX” in the future.
My biggest tip, especially as someone who plays mostly online, but it also works well at a table: Play "minds-eye" combat, and avoid grid maps and "tactical combat." First of all it makes even easy encounters more fun, because it just happens, much like a locked door. Equally it creates a bit of a "tunnel vision" for each player, they don't see everything, so they have to react to what was being said to them. Usually the GM will say something like: Lynx sees Orm being attacked by the ogre, what do you do? I might leave out that there are goblins there too, because the ogre is what Lynx saw. So Lynx will either say: Wait wasn't there goblin archers too? Can I hit them all with a fire ball? Or Lynx might just say "I charge the Ogre" I have found the combats go faster, but are also more engaging. Instead of counting squares you can move we just ask: am I within movement range? Or How far away is it? And the GM will say, you can get into combat if you move, or that the monster is too far away to engage with unless you run. The overly focus on "tactical combat" really don't bring anything to the game imo, but is a massive time sink.
Dungeon Craft sent me. Especially the Professor Dungeon Master part of Dungeon Craft. I agree with your points about speeding up combat most of the time, but the players at one of my favorite groups like to take their time, joking around and interacting during each turn. It slows combat but they all have a blast taking forever and works for them.
I ripped the warhammer 40k 5th edition initiative system. Your Dex mod = Initiative outright. Whoever initiated combat moves first and then who gets to attack who runs from highest initiative down. Ends up with pretty dynamic combats where i can describe the individual creatures superior or inferior initiative to the players. Players and monsters of equal initiative roll to hit and damage for their attacks at the same time so trades may occur. Love the channel keep it up man!
The problem with side based combat is that it is super swingy, it is very common for the PC'S to just demolish the enemy or the other way around. Which ever side wins the roll has an almost insurmountable advantage
Ben. You have truly heightened the roleplaying experience for me. Me and my older brother bonded a lot when we discovered that we had both been inspired by your videos. Currently planning a west marches-style campaign using your systems and one page dungeons. Keep up the good work!
Professor Dungeon Master of Dungeon Craft sent me here, and I'm so glad he did! - 100% agree with the need for unbalanced encounters, though I find it to be a good idea to remind the players of this regularly. Films, books, and video games tend to reinforce the idea of the auto-win hero, but the world seems so much more realistic when the threats are disproportionate. - I've been standing while I DM for years,and never seem anyone else do it. I've even had players get upset at me for moving around so much, but I agree that it helps me stay engaged. Recently I started sitting during conversations/roleplay, and I find this to be a good compromise.
Not only standing, but explicitly gesturing WITH the players. Litterally showing to each other whats happening. How do you strike him? "Like this"? (roll) Ork deflect your strike with the shield "like that". And players often immideatly start to be "Like that?! Did his armpit open? Yes?! Stab him there. stab him there!!!" Sometimes all this gesturing and physical descriptions suggest something beyond pure system (like being stabbed right in unarmored armpit probably end this fight with one blow even if your opponent still alive) and we go with it coz it extremely satisfying :) It's not exactly something speeding up game by design, but often do, due this shortcuts we make with "smart" combat description. P.S. Sorry for my english.
To mix up the difficulty of combats, I give numbers to each combat. Those numbers need to add up to say 100 for the day. So you could have combats from 10 to 40 difficulty. But by the end of the day, they should have enough hit points left.
Morale: monsters should have some kind of survival instinct like animals. Almost every animal flees or rolls over once it feels it has lost the advantage.
Great insights Ben. One thing I really like doing: when I transition to a new player's turn, I'll give a brief synopsis of the most relevant details. Something like "Okay Jerry, an orc is pummeling Robin and the archers are readying another volley. What do you do?" Just to give players some directional thought.
AH I LIKE this! (LOL a tip I probably forgot long ago!) Let the party know who's likely to get attacked makes a big difference in tactics, rather than having them feel the enemy is just choosing their PC at random.
In one of my campaigns a town was being attacked by goblins, and the party was tearing through them with brutal force, so one of the goblins ran and hid, surrendering when the fight was over.
Dungeon Craft, the Professor himself sent me over here. Great insight and I really dig the content. I think i'll try that initiative house rule, sounds fun and fluid!
I was sitting here listening to the hp/damage discussion thinking "what, no morale?" Now, 1/3 and 1/2 are my typical break points, but that's the old war gamer pacing about the table talking. Fine presentation here, thanks!
Another suggestion re: initiative: have initiative rolls be a one off DC check, to figure out which players get to go before the monsters. Subsequent rounds alternate between all players / all monsters. The DC can be predetermined (eyeball it or maybe 10+ the average of their bonuses?) or have the monsters roll too and take the average. If one side have surprise, no roll necessary.
The genius behind what you and PDM have shared is that these approaches/mods will also allow for more focused game prep and a greater attention to the story. I’m taking a break from one of my groups to retool and streamline my DMing aesthetic. PDM’s content and your content has helped a TON! Well done! Keep making the great videos!
#7 - YES!!!! ALL the YES!! 4 over confident goblins attacking the party during a rest vs the ancient red dragon that just drops in and demands all their gems. Also forest fires, I love forest fires in DnD. PCs 'we summon a water element!' It screams 'Run You Idiots!' and attempts to flee.
If you play with initiative rules and would prefer not to change them, but still recognize how initiative makes things slower, my favorite way to speed it up is to roll the initiative for the players ahead of time. At the beginning of the game as the DM, ask for everyone's initiative bonuses/etc, write them down, and roll a set of initiative rolls for them (don't show to the players). The first time combat starts, immediately jump in and use that order. (If you have more than one combat in the session, pre-roll another initiative later when you have a spare moment after they're done with that first encounter.) This saves the tedious "everyone tell me what initiative you rolled" phase at the beginning of combat and the pacing effect is good. Instead of "The enemy attacks!!" followed by 1 minute of people rolling dice and listing off numbers to get initiative order sorted before anything happens in-game, you jump directly into the exciting/dramatic moment of combat. also... sacriligous as it may seem to some who love the tactile experience of dice... just in general you can save A LOT of cumulative time spent in the process of (select correct dice, shake dice, roll, count numbers) by using a dice-rolling app instead of physical dice. It can take slightly more prep on the front end to set up but combat runs much smoother, I don't think I would go back.
I play online using foundry which automates a lot of things including initiative. My biggest issue: Players with analysis paralysis. You put a choice in front of them and they just freeze. Told them to work something out while it's not their turn but they just can't do it. Brains can't handle the possibility that the situation might change by the time their turn comes.
Never had a problem with individual initiative. I really like GURPs, and at the beginning of combat just write down the order in which everyone's turn is. My combats involve quickly pointing at one person then the next: "What do you do? [roll dice and describe outcome] What do you do? [rinse and repeat...]" Keep it quick and tense, and it cuts down on the unrelated chatter.
Professor Dungeon Master from Dungeon Craft sent me. I think you bring up some interesting points, the "Rules I Use" is also one of my favorite videos, and I also try to speed up combat during play. I really found your "morale system" to be an interesting idea, and will often consider when the monsters might flee during combat.
This very much helped. The morale system is great because I can unbalance my intelligent combat encounters when I wanna. "If the players are losing" the villain might insist that the heroes leave immediately.
Dungeoncraft Sent me. I love the idea of creature/enemy morale! I actually use the Hackmaster 5th (2nd) Edition Hacklopedia of Beasts as the basis for my creatures as they have a Tenacity/Morale rating and guidelines for every creature. Very useful! Great video, looking forward to watching more...
!!! I made a similar video a month ago and it's been a scheduled upload, sitting there gathering dust. It has almost the exact same title. I like your tips - especially standing up. I can't sit down, I get too into the whole thing and end up walking around.
Dungeon Craft sent me here! I failed my Save vs Spells roll, but honestly...... i kinda wanted to come here anyways. Ive been thoroughly enjoying you efforts on RUclips. Keep at it my friend !
For the bit you had on upping combat damage. For the monsters ( and obviously the GM can up or lower this, and make it monster dependent even) starting at round 4 (or later,) of combat, 1d4 additional type less damage per hit. This increases every round by a d4. For the players, the same, but, it's 1d8 every 2 rounds instead. So at round ten, Boblin the hungry Goblin can deal x damage + 6d4 on a hit, while Billy Barbarian does x +3d8. This obviously helps with hp bloat, as the monsters extra dice can never be numerically smaller on an all minimum roll vs a players minimum roll
I actually did the cower and beg for your life thing in a DCC funnel. Ended how a lot of characters end in funnels: my head got bitten off by a demon. But it was worth a try since that character had no chance to survive anyway.
Lots of good ideas but I very much agree about Morale and if I could add one thing to modern D&D it would be to put it back into the core of the combat rules. I think the removal of Morale rules in the core rules and monster stats (and the focus on Encounter builders) is one of the biggest change of direction in feel of the game from 3E that carried into 4E and 5E.* More than streamlined/refocusing of specific mechanics. One of the first RPG books I read was the 2nd Edition AD&D DMG and whilst I now consider most of it to be both bad at being streamlined and bad at being interestingly crunch, the section on Morale in the Combat rules was excellent, firstly because it spent a long time explaining why it was important and why simply roleplaying the monsters and their motivation was a good idea, then added a system for you to roll on it. *And yes I know there is a morale optional rule tucked into page 273 of 5E's DMG but DC10 Wisdom saves don't serve the right function.
I'm not usually into a lot of homebrew stuff as my players tend to be change / risk adverse -but- I will 100% be trying that side based initiative change, if I added up all the time my player spent asking me for initiative, realizing it was their turn, not planning their actions in advance so have to look up rules on the fly etc, I would expect it to be absolutely massive. I also really enjoyed your trap video as well. This is really good stuff. Keep it up!
Funny you meanson Moral since I tried to talk down some Yuan-ti from attacking us - sadly didn't listen. Then a little later in Combat I conclude that I may go down so I instead tried to persuade the Yuan Ti to surrounded - Worked. Sadly one of the other party memeber killed when I let it go after it sworn an oath... Oh well just mean I can subtract points from their loyalty score.
Christopher from California here. I just discovered your channel via Pro DMs Dungeon Craft video. I really like your video content and will be looking forward to seeing more of your videos. Thanks
Is there a set of rules to allow for separate duels? Basically a one on one battle each character needs to finish, or decide to run and find a buddy for help? It would help break up the perfect party formation, which players tend to rely on to min/max everything, and add a sense of danger if the wizard, for instance is stuck alone with a melee baddie. Other players will feel more pressed to finish their foes in fewer turns, so they can assist. Being able to run each duel all at once would certainly engage everyone to be more interested in how that person reacts in a dangerous fight alone.
Although I'm used to group initiative in older editions of D&D (this works best with a "Caller" player who finalize all the player's actions with the GM), my first encounter with simultaneous action (were everyone takes turns rolling for attacks and damage, but damage is applied at the end of the round) was with first edition Gamma World. This is due to 1e GW being based on OD&D rules and play-style. Its was a strange to get used to, with how two enemies could sometimes kill each other in a single round of combat. Although not all damage is dealt simultaneously: Rendering a charging enemy to 0 hp with a firearm would negate the charging opponent's attack due to how a gun would have priority over a mutant running at you with a pointy stick. Had they both been in melee range, the gunslinger would take damage due to them both being within attack range of each others weapons. It leaves much of the decision-making for attack priority to the GM and common sense -- quite an essential thing to do back then.
I ran a dracolich encounter once, the way I kept my group from feeling the game was lagging on was simply not saying how many hit points were left, just hinting instead and those 4 hours were some of the best moments I encountered so far, even if the party got there waaay too early.
I use a lot of similar rule sets. When you talk about the pace of the game, versus speed of mechanics, encounters themselves should be interesting to help speed up the pace of the story. Running 5e, I did a buffalo stamped, while they were in the planes in the wagon. People enjoyed it as it was something different, and sped the pace of the story. Mechanics were pretty simple to run with single-digit hit points. But I find people remember those quirky encounters more than others because it speeds that boring wagon ride up, and it is something different then bandits.
Professor DM sent me here! I used a lot of these tips in the session tonight! The table rescued Lizardfolk allies, discovered an Aboleth lair. 2 players died 3 escaped and they learned some big secrets. Love your videos and would love to see one with hankerin on runehammer. -Josh, AZ
I was just showing someone the Labyrinth Adventure Game RPG thanks to your channel! I keep almost ordering that game! But I must say Questingbeast! Dungeoncraft sent me HERE!! Helllloooo Questingbeast! Dungeoncraft Sent me Here!!
Hey Ben! I really enjoyed this analysis! I would be inclined to agree that some people think better while they are on their feet, moving around and engaged, describing the actions around the characters and the responses of the NPCs. Enjoyable as usual. I might try "Side-based" Initiative, I like this "Collective Action" style. I will see if I can implement this at my table.
Professor Dungeon-Master and Dungeon Craft sent me. I like all these ideas. Been running a campaign for almost a year now. Would love to implement these rules but only feels like I would be nerfing the party if I do so.
Dungeon craft sent me. While I don’t do it the whole session, particularly intense scenes are amplified if I’m walking around the table and acting it out. I’ll have to do that more often to see if it helps speed things up!
I Use post it notes in module pages for anything i need to know. Don't flip through pages at all. Also i don't use a DMs screen and roll all rolls on the table so all the players can see. If you kill a character everyone knows it's legit and also you can't save a character. I will just use my judgment on morale. If enemy's are getting there asses kicked I just have them run. I always award group exp points for any enemy that runs because they still defeated it. And if they heal the wounds of a enemy they will also gain exp. I award exp for many things not just killing. I play AD&D by the way. Good video bro
Hey! Dungeon Craft sent me; and I really enjoyed your content, especially the advice about Wisdom-based morale checks. I’ll checking out more of your videos.
Forcing players (especially spell casters) to have all their abilities and spells on note cards really helps with speed as well. Zee Bashew had a great idea about unbalanced encounters with vamping up all monsters, but giving an Achilles heel. Mimics Witcher style encounters to make them more interesting.
I have enjoyed your videos for awhile. Great topics and presentation every time! Wonderful recommendations! The good Professor of Dungeon Craft brought me back this evening!
I've never tried fighting "one side/other side," and I'm curious how to run that. One of the things I LIKE about initiative is it makes the gung-ho players wait their turn and forces the shy/laid back/lazy players to make a decision. If you find that it encourages actual teamwork, I'm definitely interested! So do you just say, "What does your side do?" The one thing I DON'T like about that is it IMO may lead to "party leader" type situations and quiet players hanging back. By Party Leader (and this is definitely an old school thing -- been through so many versions and don't have access to my books atm that I don't recall if it's addressed in 5e) in older versions it was suggested that one person be "the voice of the party" and make all the decisions. I've always hated that concept. In general the position goes to the loudest or the most charismatic player, with others either ignored, overruled or just lazy enough to let others decide. Excellent video, as are the others I've just watched by you (old school dungeon rules and joy of random encounters). I'm not sure what happened with morale in 5e, but I was sad to see it go. Why on earth would intelligent monsters keep fighting when they are clearly outgunned? Also the monster reaction - if it's uninterested, why even fight? I still include these in my games. It feels like in 5e everything is set up to be a battle, and forgets that other kinds of encounters might exist.
The "party leader" thing may have been for immersion as groups of aventurers (both the "heroes" and the henchmen) would usually rely on the more veterans to make the final decisions when in expeditions. Usually this happens in frequent gaming groups, the members that are really good in a specific area (roleplay, combat, resource management, etc) are the ones the group relay on when needed, and there's also people that don't really care if they are not engaging as much as the others, they just want to have fun with friends. Obviously if someone is always ignoring what others say and trying to force their "leader status" the DM has to adress the situation and work with everyone for a solution. People forcing themselves in groups can happen not matter your rules so I don't think the side initiative would make it more probable that this happens in your group, but if it happens then the group has to work to solve this.
Dungeon Craft sent me! Just subscribed to your channel! I heard about you by watching the Professor's latest video and I'm binge watching your videos now. Keep up the great work! Jesse from Wisconsin.
I don't think I would do side-based initiative because I'd have to hold my monsters back to prevent myself from focusing down a player and wiping them out. Instead, what I am doing is daily (in-game) initiative, and allowing players to use their inspiration to reroll their initiative outside of combat. But I like the other suggestions.
The good professor from Dungeon Craft sent me over but I' already a subscriber. I like seeing the two of you collaborating. Speed of play seems to be one of the biggest issues. I have yet to try side based but I have used an around the table method. This has gone over very well. While the current player doing their actions I will remind the next player that they are up and this also has helped with players being more prepared for their turns.
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@c30f$p@d3z I agree.
My number 1 rule for speeding up any roleplaying game: Don't tell me you're rolling for perception, I'll tell you when to roll. I can't tell you how many games have dragged on because overly-cautious players were constantly rolling perception checks unbidden, for nothing. Finally I said "no more perception checks unless I call for them." I basically do that for all skill checks now.
My solution is a touch mean but it usually gets the point across. I have had some very jumpy players who will announce they're rolling for something and roll their die straight away. They tell me the number and I say, "Sweet roll! But you didn't explain what you were doing, nor did we call for a roll. Tell me what you want to do and we'll see if it needs a roll."
@Golden Griffon See I hate this because as a player I want to make my own rolls (that's half the reason I'm playing D&D is to roll shiny dice let's be honest), and as a DM I don't want to have to keep track of all the players' bonuses all the time. I'd rather they make the roll and know the failed, and unless you have a serious party of meta-gamers it doesn't really matter anyway. All it does is take agency away form the players, and often lead to arguments over "well I have this bonus to detect this thing, did you factor that in?" or the classic "I would have been actively looking for something like that." I understand the idea behind making secret rolls for your characters, but in practice I think its bad design, and bad play. Also this kind of "passive" secret checking is what lead the people I played with to constantly demand perception checks. They wanted to make sure they weren't being cheated (we had a real scumbag DM in high school).
If you take this idea of secret rolls to its logical conclusion really the only thing a player should ever roll for is their attacks. They shouldn't know if they failed a skill check, or flubbed a knowledge roll so bad they're getting bogus information. They shouldn't roll for their hitpoints, its gamey so lets take that out of the equation, I'll roll for them and keep track of them for everyone (extra DM work). You really shouldn't even know your stats or bonuses, you know what in fact just give me your character sheets. I'll play this game my damn self.
Okay, I'm being hyperbolic, but it really just goes against my core ethos of DMing. If that's how you and your group enjoy D&D I'm not suggesting you're "playing it wrong," but that's a fundamentally different game to me, and one I would not enjoy, so I do not impose it on my players. The thing with me is, and I tell this to my players, I'm not trying to trick them or get them in a GACHA moment. I will warm them ahead of times to expect traps, I'll tell them when they have to make checks, and often I won't ask for checks if I don't think they require it. I try to be a very transparent DM because I had my share of really shady DMs that didn't tell you things, sprung traps on problem characters in places someone else had already been, and really seemed to enjoy nothing more than making you write up a new character every week. I hated it, and I don't want it for my players, and I don't want to foster the mentality that I am opposed to them.
I do passive perception scores from 4e - and just tell players if they notice something
then for harder things, the player has to actively describe "running their hands along the wall" or "picking up the chest and looking under it" etc like in OSR games to make things more immersive and interactive
rather than the feeling of just pressing buttons with skill checks
I dont think my players would like that, they really enjoy rolling the dice and are already pissed at me for just taking away the insight checks from them lol
Another way is to roll it for the players - cause you know they get excited at times when they FAIL a perception roll and you tell them "oh, that was nothing"... and the movement comes to a complete stop untill the players pry at leas some info out of GM )))
I had a DM for 2E Forgotten Realms back in the 90s and he NEVER sat down.
We had multiple parties that traversed levels 1 through 15ish.
It was "the good old days".
We were teenagers.
From 1996 to 2000 he never sat down.
Love you Jimmy D!
Cool.
EDIT: I just sent my girlfriend through my own piece of crap homemade dnd knock off with her running four characters. She talked to herself through the characters. Was kinda retarded, but cute. Cause like she never played before. I myself only have played one campaign of pathfinder.
But yeah my first time "DM" ing went well. Even if it was mostly me making stuff up because I hadn't finished the game yet.
Legends speak of a man named Jimmy D who's still standing up to this day. His followers promised they'd bury him upright when the times comes.
I do a similar thing to speed up initiative. All players roll and the DM rolls once for the monsters. Everyone that beats the monsters go, then the monsters go, then we go PC side, then back to monsters. Let's the "quick" players still feel quick.
attar81 Scrolled through to see if anyone else brought this up before I brought it up myself. My favorite way of handling initiative in any D&D variant where a player could have a bonus or advantage on initiative.
@@JohnCarr yeah. I can't remember where I got this from. I call it lazy initiative.
This is actually brilliant
@@attar81 I'm stealing this. And the name.
I use a simultaneous system based on weapon reach that goes, missiles, magic melee. Combat is so fast, even faster than a simple D6, and it makes a lot more sense.
Replacing initiative experiment:
New Combat Order of attacks.
1. Initial missile attacks: bows and crossbows, then thrown weapons such as spears, hand axes, daggers, etc.
2. Magic: Wands, staves, rods, rings and other items with stored spells go first, then cast spells, and finally spells read off scrolls or straight out of spell books
3. Melee & middle missile attacks: Weapons with the longest reach will go first-This order will repeat for character with multiple attacks unless circumstances dictate otherwise-for instance the party is in a very tight press and long weapons are too unwieldy.
• Pole weapons that are 8+ ft. (pikes excluded for obvious reasons)
• Long weapons: Two handed swords, great axes (Dane axes), pole axes, 6’ spears, quarter staff, etc.
• Medium weapons: Bastard swords, long swords, maces, any one-handed weapon between two and a half feet and four feet long.
• Short weapons: Short swords, clubs, daggers, iron spikes, etc.
• No weapons and small hand weapons, fists, claws, bites, improvised weapons such as held rocks, crockery and broken bottles in bar fights, etc.
4. End of round missile fire: bows and crossbows, then thrown weapons such as spears, hand axes, daggers, etc.
8:32 Im running a modern firearm campaign Gungeons and dragons. And the firearms are doing double or triple dice. It’s been fun having both players and enemies in fear of getting one shot so they are more aware of cover or use more planning because one crit is death.
The monsters HP is unchanged witg exceptions of dragons, and things intended to be boss battles.
It’s really fun to walk up to the 27 HP bugbear with a double barrel shotgun (the greatsword of the game) and point blank him for 8d6+4 and watch it blast him across the room. Or walk into a room of kobolds and empty your whole mag in one action to sweep death across them! Spellcasters are simply encouraged to use their slots for utility, hold persons, hypnotic patterns, hastes, jamming enemy weapons, healing providing cover etc.
Dungeon Craft, the myth, the legend, the teacher himself, sent me.
I'm glad that the professor sent me to a gem of a channel like this.
5:36 YES (when doing in-person, non-virtual DnD)!!!! When I first DM'd it was so immensely natural to stand, if not impossible to not stand when I was DMing, because during combats or certain social encounters the energy would require that physical presence or movement or flexibility. In less intense moments of RP or otherwise sitting worked fine but man standing up just made so much more sense both instinctively and in terms of how it allows you to interact with the table at literally every level.
Regarding standing while DMing: I'm currently running a 5e campaign where the PCs are 17th level. (It has been going on for years.) I always used to stand up and walk around when the characters were low-level, but now I sit down most of the time. I hadn't noticed until watching this video. When I think about it, it probably has to do with needing to frequently reference monster special abilities, lair actions, legendary actions, spells, etc.
Dude level 17 is to high after level 8 it just gets boring for me. You should just bring them into the tomb of horrors.
Legendary Actions are a tough one because they can take place on any turn so you have to constantly be aware of them.
One of the things I saw a while back in regards to morale was something like a morale check done by the opposing side when certain conditions are met such as...
-when the force leader is killed
-when the group has taken about 50% casualties and the pcs haven't taken any
-when the enemy is the last remaining one of the group.
If they fail, they flee the battle effectively defeated... if they pass, they stand firm or determine if a tactical withdrawal is necessary
I pace while playing and thinking as well. You're not alone.
When doing side based initiative you only need to roll one dice; odds monsters/NPC's and even players. I have a 6 sided dice that has two Green plus (+) signs, two Red minus (-) signs and two blank faces. Green + players win, Red - monsters win, Blanks = simultaneous. I let one of the players roll at the beginning of each turn.
I learned about standing at the table while DMing quite some time ago. You never get complacent or bored. It also keeps the players engaged.
Here's a couple of house rules that you can use instead of rolling for initiative:
1. Let initiative act as an extra ability score that players can improve. You might wanna award a few extra ability score improvements if you choose this tho.
OR
2. Let every class have its own initiative. For example the barbarian could always go first followed by the fighter etc. Treat the 8 monster types as classes and assign each one a value or a turn order along with the player classes at the start of the campaign.
Isn't initiative based on dexterity? Therefore why treat it as a separate ability?
One of my favorite things about OSR genre is the use of auxiliares/Henchmen without slowing down the combat. You can homebrew some dudes but in most of cases they are not useful for risky/creative things. I had a party with 8 henchmen + 4 players + 1 torch boy , most of them just make basic attacks * 15 seconds ,roll 8d20 , 5,6 miss ,2 hits* but they help us in many ways. The longest combat was like 15-20 minutes but very fun and tense (especially because our homebrew that no mercenaries is free at first except if you roll 12+ they cost money even if they die)
When I played 5th for the first time we had a 3 HOURS BATTLE against a bunch of goblins and one wolf!!!!
DUDE! An enemy surrendering would be such a novel and awesome roleplaying moment. Thanks for the great idea!
All my players murder surrending enemies. Last time I weakened a good aligned magic item and removed victory conditions for the war they are in for the barbarian throwing an incapacitated enemy off the gate house. We will see how that plays out.
I don’t think it makes sense for the monsters/villains to surrender because the players always end up murdering them rather than taking them prisoner unless their patron specifically says capture but don’t kill the bad guys. But it does make sense for the bad guys to run away if they can
I wonder if they got rid of morale checks and alignment in 5e? The last time I played was 2e.
@@iamtimorama ya, specific mechanics are pretty much gone.
@@AlternityGM This is a matter of play style and it depends on you as well as your players! If you're dealing with Murder Hobos then they probably will kill the surrendering enemy - and they should gain a reputation in the area for that. "Don't show them any mercy because they won't do it for you." On the other hand, I've had plenty of games where the PCs took prisoners to question them, ransom them, and even befriend them.
If you don't want to play a Murder Hobo game, I'd suggest having an NPC talk to your players about the BENEFITS of taking prisoners OR having an out of game discussion about the fact that there are other options.
I love the standing DM idea. Get that blood circulating.
I do a slight variation of how you do initiative. Each side rolls 1d6, but before going to back and forth turns, a number of characters equal to the amount they won initiative by can go. Not a huge difference, but adds an extra dimension that doesn’t slow anything down.
One thing I've learned from The Angry GM is to combine narrative and mechanics in combat. I used to do things like:
"Okay, your turn. What do you do? Okay, make an attack roll. That hits. Roll damage. Okay, your axe bites deep into the foul creature's hide. It utters a shrill, gutteral cry as it's black blood drops hissing to the ground.
Okay, who's next? What do you do?"
But now it's more like,
"The beast advances, what do you do? Roll attack and damage. Your axe bites deep into the foul creature's hide. It utters a shrill, gutteral cry as it's black blood drops hissing to the ground," *point to next player* "What do you do?"
I also like giving out the DC ahead of time. That way, the moment of highest tension at the table (the rolling of the die) isn't spoiled by "...does that hit?" It's an contained in that one moment.
And rolling your damage at the same time as an attack. That's a great way to keep things flowing.
And the biggest one of all: get your players to pay attention and have their actions ready *before* it's their turn.
I also don't like sitting at the table. It makes me tired. Feels much better to stand and pace.
A thing in regards to moral that I really liked from the Conan RPG are a set of moral based attack called displays - which include cutting of the head of an enemy and waving it at the others, or holding your blade against a foe's throat. These things have specific kind of moral damage, and are only available in certain situations. It's pretty cool.
This is how I originally found your channel and have become such a huge fan since then. I've bought quite a few books you've reviewed and your conversation series is some of the best tabletop discussion I've seen!
Still love this! When running in person, I stand for combat. I do think about morale with NPC'S (either enemies or allies) and monsters. Timers are also great for putting fear into players. I often do a countdown die (thanks Runehammer!). I need to think through other initiative formats...
Appreciate the Standing suggestion - I've been thinking this could benefit several aspect of table play. Oh, and Dungeon Craft sent me and I'm currently reading my new copy of Knave.
Yours and Dungeon Craft are my two favorite D&D channels. I used to watch a ton of other ones and now I mostly watch the two of you and Runehammer.
Dungeon Craft also sent me - good teamup as I hadn’t yet come across your channel and more “support to break free” of rules-when-they-prevent-fun is always welcome.
And ugh stay blocks @ end of adventure is killing me running my first 5e campaign! Yes i Could& should prepare around it but will look for “better module UX” in the future.
My biggest tip, especially as someone who plays mostly online, but it also works well at a table:
Play "minds-eye" combat, and avoid grid maps and "tactical combat." First of all it makes even easy encounters more fun, because it just happens, much like a locked door.
Equally it creates a bit of a "tunnel vision" for each player, they don't see everything, so they have to react to what was being said to them. Usually the GM will say something like: Lynx sees Orm being attacked by the ogre, what do you do? I might leave out that there are goblins there too, because the ogre is what Lynx saw. So Lynx will either say: Wait wasn't there goblin archers too? Can I hit them all with a fire ball? Or Lynx might just say "I charge the Ogre"
I have found the combats go faster, but are also more engaging. Instead of counting squares you can move we just ask: am I within movement range? Or How far away is it? And the GM will say, you can get into combat if you move, or that the monster is too far away to engage with unless you run.
The overly focus on "tactical combat" really don't bring anything to the game imo, but is a massive time sink.
Dungeon Craft sent me. Especially the Professor Dungeon Master part of Dungeon Craft. I agree with your points about speeding up combat most of the time, but the players at one of my favorite groups like to take their time, joking around and interacting during each turn. It slows combat but they all have a blast taking forever and works for them.
I ripped the warhammer 40k 5th edition initiative system. Your Dex mod = Initiative outright. Whoever initiated combat moves first and then who gets to attack who runs from highest initiative down. Ends up with pretty dynamic combats where i can describe the individual creatures superior or inferior initiative to the players. Players and monsters of equal initiative roll to hit and damage for their attacks at the same time so trades may occur. Love the channel keep it up man!
The problem with side based combat is that it is super swingy, it is very common for the PC'S to just demolish the enemy or the other way around. Which ever side wins the roll has an almost insurmountable advantage
Ben. You have truly heightened the roleplaying experience for me. Me and my older brother bonded a lot when we discovered that we had both been inspired by your videos. Currently planning a west marches-style campaign using your systems and one page dungeons. Keep up the good work!
I'm creating a similar campaign. I find that West Marches meshes well with OSR type play.
I love that you guys are collaborating like this and helping other content creators on RUclips Dungeon Craft sent me.
Professor Dungeon Master of Dungeon Craft sent me here, and I'm so glad he did!
- 100% agree with the need for unbalanced encounters, though I find it to be a good idea to remind the players of this regularly. Films, books, and video games tend to reinforce the idea of the auto-win hero, but the world seems so much more realistic when the threats are disproportionate.
- I've been standing while I DM for years,and never seem anyone else do it. I've even had players get upset at me for moving around so much, but I agree that it helps me stay engaged. Recently I started sitting during conversations/roleplay, and I find this to be a good compromise.
This is fantastic. Also: so much of what you talked about is core to the OSR and games like Old School Essentials.
Not only standing, but explicitly gesturing WITH the players. Litterally showing to each other whats happening. How do you strike him? "Like this"? (roll) Ork deflect your strike with the shield "like that". And players often immideatly start to be "Like that?! Did his armpit open? Yes?! Stab him there. stab him there!!!" Sometimes all this gesturing and physical descriptions suggest something beyond pure system (like being stabbed right in unarmored armpit probably end this fight with one blow even if your opponent still alive) and we go with it coz it extremely satisfying :)
It's not exactly something speeding up game by design, but often do, due this shortcuts we make with "smart" combat description.
P.S. Sorry for my english.
To mix up the difficulty of combats, I give numbers to each combat. Those numbers need to add up to say 100 for the day. So you could have combats from 10 to 40 difficulty. But by the end of the day, they should have enough hit points left.
In DreadLore, the world goes first, then bad guys, then players - there's a Player resource they can spend to go with the baddies.
Morale: monsters should have some kind of survival instinct like animals. Almost every animal flees or rolls over once it feels it has lost the advantage.
Moral : excellent point ! Also makes the world more immersive and adds a certain value to life.
Great insights Ben. One thing I really like doing: when I transition to a new player's turn, I'll give a brief synopsis of the most relevant details. Something like "Okay Jerry, an orc is pummeling Robin and the archers are readying another volley. What do you do?" Just to give players some directional thought.
AH I LIKE this! (LOL a tip I probably forgot long ago!) Let the party know who's likely to get attacked makes a big difference in tactics, rather than having them feel the enemy is just choosing their PC at random.
In one of my campaigns a town was being attacked by goblins, and the party was tearing through them with brutal force, so one of the goblins ran and hid, surrendering when the fight was over.
Dungeon Craft, the Professor himself sent me over here.
Great insight and I really dig the content. I think i'll try that initiative house rule, sounds fun and fluid!
I was sitting here listening to the hp/damage discussion thinking "what, no morale?" Now, 1/3 and 1/2 are my typical break points, but that's the old war gamer pacing about the table talking. Fine presentation here, thanks!
Another suggestion re: initiative: have initiative rolls be a one off DC check, to figure out which players get to go before the monsters. Subsequent rounds alternate between all players / all monsters. The DC can be predetermined (eyeball it or maybe 10+ the average of their bonuses?) or have the monsters roll too and take the average. If one side have surprise, no roll necessary.
The genius behind what you and PDM have shared is that these approaches/mods will also allow for more focused game prep and a greater attention to the story. I’m taking a break from one of my groups to retool and streamline my DMing aesthetic. PDM’s content and your content has helped a TON! Well done! Keep making the great videos!
#7 - YES!!!! ALL the YES!!
4 over confident goblins attacking the party during a rest vs the ancient red dragon that just drops in and demands all their gems.
Also forest fires, I love forest fires in DnD.
PCs 'we summon a water element!'
It screams 'Run You Idiots!' and attempts to flee.
If you play with initiative rules and would prefer not to change them, but still recognize how initiative makes things slower, my favorite way to speed it up is to roll the initiative for the players ahead of time. At the beginning of the game as the DM, ask for everyone's initiative bonuses/etc, write them down, and roll a set of initiative rolls for them (don't show to the players). The first time combat starts, immediately jump in and use that order. (If you have more than one combat in the session, pre-roll another initiative later when you have a spare moment after they're done with that first encounter.) This saves the tedious "everyone tell me what initiative you rolled" phase at the beginning of combat and the pacing effect is good. Instead of "The enemy attacks!!" followed by 1 minute of people rolling dice and listing off numbers to get initiative order sorted before anything happens in-game, you jump directly into the exciting/dramatic moment of combat.
also... sacriligous as it may seem to some who love the tactile experience of dice... just in general you can save A LOT of cumulative time spent in the process of (select correct dice, shake dice, roll, count numbers) by using a dice-rolling app instead of physical dice. It can take slightly more prep on the front end to set up but combat runs much smoother, I don't think I would go back.
I play online using foundry which automates a lot of things including initiative.
My biggest issue: Players with analysis paralysis. You put a choice in front of them and they just freeze. Told them to work something out while it's not their turn but they just can't do it. Brains can't handle the possibility that the situation might change by the time their turn comes.
like to see someone expanding on the good Prof's teachings... and adding their own! Dungeon Craft sent me!
Never had a problem with individual initiative. I really like GURPs, and at the beginning of combat just write down the order in which everyone's turn is. My combats involve quickly pointing at one person then the next: "What do you do? [roll dice and describe outcome] What do you do? [rinse and repeat...]" Keep it quick and tense, and it cuts down on the unrelated chatter.
Professor Dungeon Master from Dungeon Craft sent me. I think you bring up some interesting points, the "Rules I Use" is also one of my favorite videos, and I also try to speed up combat during play. I really found your "morale system" to be an interesting idea, and will often consider when the monsters might flee during combat.
Dungeon Craft sent me. I love the partnership between the two channels that you are doing. A rising tide lifts all ships.
I stand for most of our sessions but never thought about it before. Probably a habit from my background running workshops. Great point!
This very much helped. The morale system is great because I can unbalance my intelligent combat encounters when I wanna.
"If the players are losing" the villain might insist that the heroes leave immediately.
Dungeoncraft Sent me. I love the idea of creature/enemy morale! I actually use the Hackmaster 5th (2nd) Edition Hacklopedia of Beasts as the basis for my creatures as they have a Tenacity/Morale rating and guidelines for every creature. Very useful! Great video, looking forward to watching more...
!!! I made a similar video a month ago and it's been a scheduled upload, sitting there gathering dust. It has almost the exact same title. I like your tips - especially standing up. I can't sit down, I get too into the whole thing and end up walking around.
Dungeon Craft sent me here!
I failed my Save vs Spells roll, but honestly...... i kinda wanted to come here anyways.
Ive been thoroughly enjoying you efforts on RUclips. Keep at it my friend !
For the bit you had on upping combat damage.
For the monsters ( and obviously the GM can up or lower this, and make it monster dependent even) starting at round 4 (or later,) of combat, 1d4 additional type less damage per hit. This increases every round by a d4.
For the players, the same, but, it's 1d8 every 2 rounds instead.
So at round ten, Boblin the hungry Goblin can deal x damage + 6d4 on a hit, while Billy Barbarian does x +3d8.
This obviously helps with hp bloat, as the monsters extra dice can never be numerically smaller on an all minimum roll vs a players minimum roll
I stand when I DM as well. Hugely important for me.
Glad to see all of you from Dungeon Craft here! Stay a while and check out some of the reviews.
I actually did the cower and beg for your life thing in a DCC funnel. Ended how a lot of characters end in funnels: my head got bitten off by a demon. But it was worth a try since that character had no chance to survive anyway.
Lots of good ideas but I very much agree about Morale and if I could add one thing to modern D&D it would be to put it back into the core of the combat rules.
I think the removal of Morale rules in the core rules and monster stats (and the focus on Encounter builders) is one of the biggest change of direction in feel of the game from 3E that carried into 4E and 5E.*
More than streamlined/refocusing of specific mechanics.
One of the first RPG books I read was the 2nd Edition AD&D DMG and whilst I now consider most of it to be both bad at being streamlined and bad at being interestingly crunch, the section on Morale in the Combat rules was excellent, firstly because it spent a long time explaining why it was important and why simply roleplaying the monsters and their motivation was a good idea, then added a system for you to roll on it.
*And yes I know there is a morale optional rule tucked into page 273 of 5E's DMG but DC10 Wisdom saves don't serve the right function.
I'm not usually into a lot of homebrew stuff as my players tend to be change / risk adverse -but- I will 100% be trying that side based initiative change, if I added up all the time my player spent asking me for initiative, realizing it was their turn, not planning their actions in advance so have to look up rules on the fly etc, I would expect it to be absolutely massive. I also really enjoyed your trap video as well. This is really good stuff. Keep it up!
Funny you meanson Moral since I tried to talk down some Yuan-ti from attacking us - sadly didn't listen.
Then a little later in Combat I conclude that I may go down so I instead tried to persuade the Yuan Ti to surrounded - Worked.
Sadly one of the other party memeber killed when I let it go after it sworn an oath... Oh well just mean I can subtract points from their loyalty score.
Christopher from California here. I just discovered your channel via Pro DMs Dungeon Craft video. I really like your video content and will be looking forward to seeing more of your videos. Thanks
Is there a set of rules to allow for separate duels? Basically a one on one battle each character needs to finish, or decide to run and find a buddy for help? It would help break up the perfect party formation, which players tend to rely on to min/max everything, and add a sense of danger if the wizard, for instance is stuck alone with a melee baddie. Other players will feel more pressed to finish their foes in fewer turns, so they can assist. Being able to run each duel all at once would certainly engage everyone to be more interested in how that person reacts in a dangerous fight alone.
Dungeon Craft Sent me! Nice to see you two collabing!
Although I'm used to group initiative in older editions of D&D (this works best with a "Caller" player who finalize all the player's actions with the GM), my first encounter with simultaneous action (were everyone takes turns rolling for attacks and damage, but damage is applied at the end of the round) was with first edition Gamma World. This is due to 1e GW being based on OD&D rules and play-style. Its was a strange to get used to, with how two enemies could sometimes kill each other in a single round of combat. Although not all damage is dealt simultaneously: Rendering a charging enemy to 0 hp with a firearm would negate the charging opponent's attack due to how a gun would have priority over a mutant running at you with a pointy stick. Had they both been in melee range, the gunslinger would take damage due to them both being within attack range of each others weapons. It leaves much of the decision-making for attack priority to the GM and common sense -- quite an essential thing to do back then.
I ran a dracolich encounter once, the way I kept my group from feeling the game was lagging on was simply not saying how many hit points were left, just hinting instead and those 4 hours were some of the best moments I encountered so far, even if the party got there waaay too early.
Great video and all the right ideas to speed up the game.
I use a lot of similar rule sets. When you talk about the pace of the game, versus speed of mechanics, encounters themselves should be interesting to help speed up the pace of the story. Running 5e, I did a buffalo stamped, while they were in the planes in the wagon. People enjoyed it as it was something different, and sped the pace of the story. Mechanics were pretty simple to run with single-digit hit points. But I find people remember those quirky encounters more than others because it speeds that boring wagon ride up, and it is something different then bandits.
Dungeon Craft sent me over. Old school BEMCI player playing 5E again. Looking forward to checking out your channel.
Great idea on side initiative. I’ll be sure to give it a try in my next game.
Professor DM sent me here! I used a lot of these tips in the session tonight! The table rescued Lizardfolk allies, discovered an Aboleth lair. 2 players died 3 escaped and they learned some big secrets. Love your videos and would love to see one with hankerin on runehammer.
-Josh, AZ
I was just showing someone the Labyrinth Adventure Game RPG thanks to your channel! I keep almost ordering that game! But I must say Questingbeast! Dungeoncraft sent me HERE!! Helllloooo Questingbeast! Dungeoncraft Sent me Here!!
Dude, thank you so much for these ideas, since the hourglass goes in a blink of an eye.
Solid advice. Thank you!
Hey Ben! I really enjoyed this analysis! I would be inclined to agree that some people think better while they are on their feet, moving around and engaged, describing the actions around the characters and the responses of the NPCs. Enjoyable as usual.
I might try "Side-based" Initiative, I like this "Collective Action" style. I will see if I can implement this at my table.
Professor Dungeon-Master and Dungeon Craft sent me. I like all these ideas. Been running a campaign for almost a year now. Would love to implement these rules but only feels like I would be nerfing the party if I do so.
Dungeon craft sent me. While I don’t do it the whole session, particularly intense scenes are amplified if I’m walking around the table and acting it out. I’ll have to do that more often to see if it helps speed things up!
I Use post it notes in module pages for anything i need to know. Don't flip through pages at all. Also i don't use a DMs screen and roll all rolls on the table so all the players can see. If you kill a character everyone knows it's legit and also you can't save a character. I will just use my judgment on morale. If enemy's are getting there asses kicked I just have them run. I always award group exp points for any enemy that runs because they still defeated it. And if they heal the wounds of a enemy they will also gain exp. I award exp for many things not just killing. I play AD&D by the way. Good video bro
Great collaboration!
Hey! Dungeon Craft sent me; and I really enjoyed your content, especially the advice about Wisdom-based morale checks. I’ll checking out more of your videos.
Forcing players (especially spell casters) to have all their abilities and spells on note cards really helps with speed as well. Zee Bashew had a great idea about unbalanced encounters with vamping up all monsters, but giving an Achilles heel. Mimics Witcher style encounters to make them more interesting.
You gave some really good ideas and this video is a worthy supplement to Professor Dungeon Master's lecture.
I have enjoyed your videos for awhile. Great topics and presentation every time! Wonderful recommendations! The good Professor of Dungeon Craft brought me back this evening!
It's great to see you guys reviewing each other. I love both of your channels.
Dungeon Craft sent me, but honestly I've been a fan for about a month! Love your reviews! Very informative, and objective. Love the channel!
Dungeoncraft sent me! I really want to implement some of these ideas into my games, especially side-based initiative. Thanks, Ben!
I've never tried fighting "one side/other side," and I'm curious how to run that. One of the things I LIKE about initiative is it makes the gung-ho players wait their turn and forces the shy/laid back/lazy players to make a decision. If you find that it encourages actual teamwork, I'm definitely interested! So do you just say, "What does your side do?" The one thing I DON'T like about that is it IMO may lead to "party leader" type situations and quiet players hanging back.
By Party Leader (and this is definitely an old school thing -- been through so many versions and don't have access to my books atm that I don't recall if it's addressed in 5e) in older versions it was suggested that one person be "the voice of the party" and make all the decisions. I've always hated that concept. In general the position goes to the loudest or the most charismatic player, with others either ignored, overruled or just lazy enough to let others decide.
Excellent video, as are the others I've just watched by you (old school dungeon rules and joy of random encounters). I'm not sure what happened with morale in 5e, but I was sad to see it go. Why on earth would intelligent monsters keep fighting when they are clearly outgunned? Also the monster reaction - if it's uninterested, why even fight? I still include these in my games. It feels like in 5e everything is set up to be a battle, and forgets that other kinds of encounters might exist.
The "party leader" thing may have been for immersion as groups of aventurers (both the "heroes" and the henchmen) would usually rely on the more veterans to make the final decisions when in expeditions. Usually this happens in frequent gaming groups, the members that are really good in a specific area (roleplay, combat, resource management, etc) are the ones the group relay on when needed, and there's also people that don't really care if they are not engaging as much as the others, they just want to have fun with friends.
Obviously if someone is always ignoring what others say and trying to force their "leader status" the DM has to adress the situation and work with everyone for a solution. People forcing themselves in groups can happen not matter your rules so I don't think the side initiative would make it more probable that this happens in your group, but if it happens then the group has to work to solve this.
Dungeon Craft sent me! Just subscribed to your channel! I heard about you by watching the Professor's latest video and I'm binge watching your videos now. Keep up the great work! Jesse from Wisconsin.
I don't think I would do side-based initiative because I'd have to hold my monsters back to prevent myself from focusing down a player and wiping them out. Instead, what I am doing is daily (in-game) initiative, and allowing players to use their inspiration to reroll their initiative outside of combat. But I like the other suggestions.
Rolling the D20 and the damage dice at the same time.
The good professor from Dungeon Craft sent me over but I' already a subscriber. I like seeing the two of you collaborating. Speed of play seems to be one of the biggest issues. I have yet to try side based but I have used an around the table method. This has gone over very well. While the current player doing their actions I will remind the next player that they are up and this also has helped with players being more prepared for their turns.
Professor Dungeon Master, from Dungeon Craft sent me. I love your channel and have subscribed!! So much fun catching up on your videos. Thanks!
Professor dungeon master sends his regards
Superb! Thank you.
Love this channel. The two biggest problem with current D&D is speeding up the game and the 2000 pages of rules. It doesn't have to be this difficult.
Dungeon Craft sent me.... Subscribed and excited for your awesome content!
Dungeon Craft sent me.
Real glad you guys did a collab!
Dungeon Craft sent me, and glad he did. Never saw your videos before but I like what you're doing.
Dungeon Craft sent me here .... but I've been a fan for a while. Love this guys reviews