POV: gigachad DM creates the greatest game you've ever played
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- Опубликовано: 20 авг 2024
- historians looking back will simply be unable to comprehend
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“Can’t wait to see where this campaign goes”
He hasn’t planned the next session yet has he?
The GM that plans constantly and dumps detail down your throat is a red flag. Its not an inherently bad trait, but they tend to care *way too much* about their precocious little settings or narratives over anything the majority of the table has to offer. The best Gm Ive ever had literally plants one hour before the game AT WORK.
@@punishedwhispers1218 I kind of agree with that. But I like going into details, maybe not minuet details but some things I can ping off of at a moment for improv. I won’t build an entire trade system or something but I’ll have a map, some details of some important buildings, and plenty of blank spots for improv
Why plan when the players will just ruin it. You can't plan for every eventuality unless you're railroading your players into doing what you want them to do. This is an improv game that requires world and character building, not planning sessions.
It's kinda like quantum story telling. You can have a few ideas of how something might go down and what the consequences of that would mean; but until your players actually make those choices, even you as the creator don't know what will actually happen. You can be prepared and surprised at the same time!
Best solution I have found so far to planning vs improv is to figure out the situation, what is where what the bad guy wants etc, and have a rough sketch of one path the session could take. If and when the players go off the rails, you know what they run into, how the villain will react, etc.
"I trust you completely, you can do whatever you want with your character sheets" is only a gigachad move at the right table lol
Honestly, it's like he's saying "go ahead and make your stats 99, I'm not going to make them matter anyways"
@@elf-lordsfriarofthemeadowl2039 TFW a DM trusts his players
lmao true!
Honestly, if someone needs to cheat at D&D to feel good about themselves, I'm gonna let 'em. Clearly they've got some stuff going on and they need a win more than they need a challenge.
@@Chocomint_Queen honestly pretty wholesome of ya
Not gonna lie, this made me smile more than it should have. my first DM was like this. This was back in D&D 2e days, and he would do stuff like he legit had a side sheet where if you took just a little too long to do your turn, he'd write down what attack you were on so that we could go back to you, He didn't introduce much homebrew stuff himself, but if we wanted home-brew stuff he'd find a way to make it into an adventure where we learned how to make something at least like it, find it, or get the abilities we wanted. He threw the idea of -Player- balance out the window but somehow found a way to keep us on our toes, keep us feeling challenged, we could be insanely tough and he'd throw basic monsters at us using smart tactics and it'd be an intense fight. That DM got me into D&D, and I didn't realize just how special those campaigns were until it was over.
Thanks Terry. Hope you're runnin one heck of a campaign up in heaven now.
Big ups Terry
Wow what an experience! and he was and is a giga chad!
Shoutout to Terry!
Got god rolling D20s on the edge of his seat
Damnit! Why did it end that way! Always they good ones that leaves far too soon.
Great story though, made me smile.
my DM is like this, her campaign has sooo much flavor, its insane. She created a magical bakery where the pastries have magical effects like potions do, and the shopowner will pay you gold if you try an untested pastry like a lab rat. One time I became 100% convinced that i was a dragon.
This is cool, and I might steal the idea.
@@jordangroblewsky2087 done the same :X Thanks Commander Cake10
based whimsical DM
What did the cake do that made you convinced you were a dragon
@@acssination8541 magic
I love his gigachad voice so much he does not show any hint of embarrassment or shyness for doing a voice and it really makes the character.
He reminds me of Ron Swanson when he uses this voice lol
He did the Wizard before
Well, you haven't seen the outtakes :P
I always hear it as Kronk
“…fireballll!”
How to be a gigachad dm: play with your players, not against them. You’re their agent into their world, just don’t hold their hands.
People love leniency and flexibility
bingo. Its basically being an improv waiter.
We're here to serve the game the players ordered.
It's a collective experience! Everyone is there to have fun, the best way to play the game is as a collective, everyone has a hand in the creation, story, and all, it's a great way to play.
unless your name is Brennan Lee Mulligan
@@Dank_San that's why I dislike Brennan's play style. While the Mercer effect has players expectations too high, the Mulligan Effect has players trying to outwit the dm, and causing fights between players during the session. Currently having to weed out a player like that in my current game, and it's causing the other players to go from
" This is the best DND gave I've played in"
To
"Is it time to go yet? I'm bored" and pulling out ipads and phones
“Yeah, i read your backstory.” With a little self-satisfied smirk. Love him
I had a DM that was a teacher in highschool and he made a Google slideshow that had pictures,names, and a 1 sentence description of all the npcs that we met over the campaign. As well as other pictures that correlate to the setting. We always looked forward to the weekly drop of "The Slideshow"
how was the dlc?
that's actually a cool idea, my players seldom remember stuff like that.
Dude! That's an amazing idea; thank you for sharing!
When I tried DMing for the first time I created a whole power point presentation with descriptions and even music cues. Butchered it a lot but it was fun in the end. Fun to have a laptop
I'm a DM and a teacher, some of my friends are DMs and teachers. I've noticed that alot of the skills that help you be a better DM are skills you just naturally learn to do when you teach (and care about being a good teacher lol). Stuff like knowing how to do organised planning, building coherence between sessions, structuring your prep in a way that allows for detours and interruptions while still maintaining a decent pace through the content, sharing the spotlight and giving everyone a chance to add something, respectful but clear and stern denial of bigger distractions/interruptions/rule breaks.
We need more gigachad episodes, provides a great example of how D&D players should act.
true
@SkyCR: hard agree on that one
Same! The gigachad player video helped me realise I actually bring value to the table as a player.
SOOOO true!
Yes pls
Gigachad DND is my new favorite skit. Its just so entertaining, inspiring and educational. The holy trinity of DND Content.
Me too, I love GigaChad skits from this guy...
This is great I hope you continue this skit.
Me too. I love the positivity.
Wait how is it a trinity there’s only two of them
@@thecyberrabbit1440 I think the trinity was "Entertainment (with D&D content)", "Inspiration (for your own D&D games)", and "Education (in communicating better at the D&D table)".
"Ha! Yeah--I read your backstory." This scratched an emotional itch I've had for ages.
Do a POV video where everyone in the session is a gigachad! The most gigachad DnD session! Would be such humorous positivity and would definitely like to see
so basically critical role
@@capek416😂
@@capek416they said “chad” not “cringe”
Not to repeat what everyone else is saying, but I love these gigachad skits because they're like the opposite of horror stories. It's this almost catharsis of hearing what could be an annoying DM moment but how a good DM would handle it. You don't often hear stories about what no one complains about because, well, no one complains about them. So seeing skits like these help encourage how some DMs should handle things, helps reassure DMs who do that they're being good DMs, all on top of being entertaining to watch.
Great D&D content, love to see it.
Absolutely, great observations.
You put it into words perfectly
Word
That "Oh, you can hold onto my player handbook. I don't need it." Is such a mood
yea forever DMs for the win
That's the point where I went... nope, I don't do that. Never gonna lend out a physical book. I make a campaign on Beyond and add them to it so they can share all my content for free.
@@undine120 that's cause you're not a gigachad
@@undine120 "never gonna lend out a physical book" someone wasn't raised right lmao
@@ckay8145 I mean to be fair just sharing the book over D&D beyond is the more pragmatic and efficient option, only one person can hold onto a book at a time, while everyone at the table can look up what they need on D&D Beyond via book sharing at the same time.
I also appreciate the players for not abusing the kindness. A lot of these things only work with the right group.
i am a baby DM who is just starting off, and seeing how many of these things I am already doing is very comforting to me. it's really nice to see a "what good DM's do" video instead of a "what NOT to do" video
How is it going fellow DM 😁
Tell us something awesome that happened in your game, and how the players did it/responded to it!
As a new DM, seeing some of the things I do portrayed here gives me a huge confidence boost.
I’m loving the Gigachad series.
Same mate, same.
I hope you don't mean the part about no health.
@@MopedOfJustice Eh, I think not keeping track of hitpoints on some fights can be fine when done right.
@@MopedOfJustice if everyone is having fun its ok.
I bet, your players love your games. Keep it up, you're rocking it!
Now I so badly want the gigachad skit episode where Jacob and all his friends put on their gigachad personas and play the best one-shot ever.
this.
Definitely!
The GigaGroup
The timing of the ending music while hes explaining the HP thing was so great, amazing video
whats the song
@@tomthetitan101 I belive xenogenisis by the fat rat... I think.
@@bub6215 you sir are a god damn hero
@@bub6215 Based
If anyone has an Android phone, you can say "Hey Google, what song is this?" while it's playing and your phone will tell you. I use it all the time. Apple may have something similar
Just wanted to share. Today I realised that the GM that's been hosting for us for the past month is literally this character, Gigachad GM. To the smallest of details. He doesn't speak English, so I took time to make a full transcript of the video, translate it and send to him. And I let him know how much I appreciate everything he does for us.
+.
That’s awesome! Way to show appreciation!
Gigachad player!
Thats cute as shite, props to you and special props to the GM
I bet that made his month.
"Amidst the buzz of post-game discussion from the players all beaming with delight, he strode off gallantly into the night, with the group eagerly awaiting the next session-and the return of the gigachad."
God what I would give for the 'Class Gigachad Player' series where you go over the absolute best behaviour and tropes for each class.
THIS, while also giving ideas to not fall into the worst clichés of each class (Gigachad Bard not being a sexual predator, Gigachad Paladin not being Lawful stupid no-fun allowed, Gigachad Rogue not being a chaotic stupid edgelord, etc ....), would be a PERFECT series.
@@arykaas Hey... you look weird for a techpriest...damn cogboys
Yes!
I would like this as well. +1
I'd love to see that. I just imagine the gigachad rogue video focusing on just how great the class is at being a team player with their versatile skill sets.
that method of not sticking to hp for bosses is pretty cool actually, if done right can really make fights feel amazing, but I can imagine its really easy to do badly
It's definitely something you want to wait with until you've had enough experience to get a feel for how long combat usually lasts legitimately, and more importantly, how long players want it to last.
Of course, at the end of the day, every rule of D&D is only there to help guide the game. When it comes to manually overriding the rules, it's really just a matter of how much extra work and responsibility you, as a DM, can take while still providing a fun game and having a good time hosting it.
It's best to start with keeping track of HP but not sticking to it stringently and using it more as a guide. If the boss is well below 25 hp and a player does some massive damage in a really cool way but wouldn't drop the monster to 0, feel free to call the monster dead with that strike.
Does a player do massive damage that would kill the monster but you want the give the beast one final hurrah so each player gets in a final strike? Describe it being on its last legs as its determination to end the party seems to be the only reason it's on its feet. Then have the rest of the players get their hits in and have the monster die dramatically on their turn.
I don't think throwing hp tracking away completely is feasible for most DMs; if you can pull it off, great! If not, track the hp but remember what Captain Barbosa said: "They're more like guidelines." It's a narrative game, so you can twist hp to mean what makes narrative sense.
Honestly i think what it more indecates is you’re starting to rub up against the mechanical supports of dnd. It might be best to try and start playing systems based more around that kind of narrative arc to scenes instead of stats-and-squares combat.
@@KamranMSHoule Can be, yeah.
I like tile-based a lot, though. Spacing is by far one of the most fun mechanical elements of TTRPGs for me, so I'd rather not forego that.
That said, if anyone has any recommendations for tile-based systems that are rules-light I'd be very interested in trying them.
I start keeping track after I feel like the monster is bloodied. After that point I stick to the hit points, but the first half is for gauging how many hot points the monster has
When he said "Yeah, I read your backstory" that hit me.
And I haven't played a single game of DnD my entire life. Yet. But I know enough of the game to know that having read your backstory AND also building it into the game even in the tiniest detail is very rare of a dm to do.
it is rare? I always kinda thought every DM did this or at least attempts to. Unless you're just a horror DM. But to me it never struck me as rare. I hope you find a DM who takes it into account tho! Makes the game so much fun!
I think most decent DMs do try to do this, but it's definitely difficult to do perfectly and seamlessly. I couldn't imagine not trying to tie in player backstories to the world and story - it's one of the main ways to get them invested in the campaign as players, and the quests as characters. However, really paying attention to the finer details of a player's backstory, the bits that aren't already affixed to the plot in some vital way, and still finding ways to reference those elements even though they don't have a material impact on the story, only on the player experience of the story - that's really special.
I love designing the adventures or at least tweaking important elements around character backstories. I think it gives a much more cinematic feel to the campaign. If the players don’t create a backstory I’ll do it for them 😅
@@JaraArts I think it's toxic from a player's side to have their character's backstory being integrated in the campaign be such an absolute expectation. When you hand your backstory to your DM, it should be an offer, not a demand. I do agree that DMs running games with RP should make an effort to write those stories into their campaigns but it's up to them to decide how much of it they want/can use. And ultimately, and this is aimed towards anyone reading this comment, if it's something you really want then communicate that to your DM and be open to modifying your backstory so that they can better fit it into their plans.
How would you know if it's rare if you've never played? 🤨🤡 maybe it's just a common theme around a group of people who haven't played, yet know so much about it
The thing I like the most O GigaChad DM is that he seems so happy to be DMing and is enjoying every part of it.
Rare indeed
"I run this game? Splendid."
Ok I liked it.gigachad Dm is now one of my favorite skits and you should Def make.more.
The most underrated moment is one player doing over 300 damage and him not even batting an eye. Dude is a UNIT.
Well, the enemy didn't have an HP total, so it could have been 30 or 3000, same effect.
That's because he's not tracking hit points, so the players actions and clever builds have no meaning away. So of course he doesn't care what damage they do.
@@NTLBagpuss I don't agree that player actions have no meaning when the enemy has no HP.
With this style, the GM literally keeps track of the players actions and fun more than game mechanics like HP.
A cool and clever build still feels that way, if you use this GM style well, because of the cool and clever things you do with it.
I think it takes a lot of experience and skill to pull it off well. But I personally like the narrative focus of this approach very much.
@@totalkhonest8997 I don't know. What kind of acomplishment can a player feel if it's all narrative anyway? What fun is there in making a cool combo with another player if the extra damage doesn't matter?
The game is already narrative and the HP, just like other mechanics, add to that narrative. Not using it means there is no reason why you should care what kind of damage or how much damage you do. Why make a character sheet at all?
I'm saying that as a DM who is not at all a rule lawyer and often uses the rule of cool. But the idea that HP is just worthless means to me would ruin the game for me and my players.
I think the bigger theme, is rule of cool. The players aren’t usually aware there’s no HP, so it doesn’t affect their experience. It’s a group game and if everyone is having fun, you’re playing it right. If your crew likes to focus on mechanics I can’t imagine removing hp, but some people just want to do something cool. It’s like the far end of fudging a roll to get a nice result. It’s annoying if overdone, but maybe it’s more satisfying for the rogues 80 dmg attack to be a finishing blow than for the clerics sacred flame to do two damage and finish it off
"jacob has to go at 10:30 and im giving him a ride" damn that got me so good lmao
The whole "Chad" part at the ending; not tracking HP,
Isn't that the DM wasn't tracking the HP. He wasn't telling the players (unless pressed) that he's not tracking HP.
Nothing feels worse than a DM just spouting about how he is the arbiter of life and death and that your damage doesn't matter at all.
I personally see DMing as a bit of a magic act sometimes. If you reveal certain things, it will spoil the magic. And even if you do fudge some dice and change some HP every once in a while, it's not a big deal if your players are havig fun with the game.
Had a session like this where the DM outright said at the end at he had nothing else planned. It was 3 hours of us just attacking this guy and nothing happening. We were all getting a tad annoyed by the end with just how long it was taking despite going tons of damage.
I do the same lol, I just add 50 hp to the boss anytime the table still has a plan to act or someone has already decided what to cast next turn (if it's like a combo or something, no just to waste slots)
The thing with not tracking HP for the sake of fun is that it can go either way. It can be a chad move, but it can also be toxic under the right (or wrong, depending on your perspective) circumstances. I had a session in my current campaign where the DM just changed the boss' AC after the Monk threw a fit about never hitting. They hit with a 21 where literally 2 turns before, I rolled a 24 and missed. So yeah, rule of cool is great and all, just not at the expense of another player :x
Yeah no - the monsters should have HP lol. You guys are nuts
When you're a Giga DM, you have prep done a week early
A week? I’ve got shit ready a month early
@@jacobwillis7596 you guys have players?
I've got prep done a week early because my players spent all last session doing stuff in town that really only required stuff in the books and some improv
You say this jokingly, but one of the BEST tips I ever got for prepping as a GM, is to do like 30 minutes of prep a day. Handle the basic number crunching stuff, building stat blocks for NPC's to insert as needed for unexpected scenes. Build pre-genned encounter locations. Lots of modular stuff that you can reskin as needed, depending on the situation. But just do like 30 mins a day. And what will happen is you will find you have a lot of easily recycled, pre-built stuff, that makes all your subsequent prep sessions WAY less time consuming and stressful
@@happyninja42 oh I’m not joking lol I’m running curse of Strahd and we had a week break in early October so I started prepping future chapters and we’re now getting to the stuff I had made
I just got 999% inspired to go back to DMing right now just so I can offer my friends a fraction of the fun, wholesomeness and love for storytelling presented in that skit, thanks Gigachad DM
Thats what it is all about!
ok, but 10 hours of prep per game for the first year.
Make sure to raise your fist in the air at the end, Judd Nelson style.
Whether you agree with the specifics or not (like ignoring enemy HP), the lesson here is the attitude. Communicate with your players and make sure you understand what they want out of your game and they understand what you are trying to create.
Huzzah! A man of quality!
That thumbnail made me go through 10 different emotions.
The fact I actually do some of these things really helped deal with some of my imposter syndrome. Thanks Jacob
That makes 2 of us, king. Keep Chadin' 😎
Same here
Same, within my second DM session. My players were fighting an ogre, and 2 of them had done a lot of damage, but the final player had missed all their attacks. I kept ''rolling'' attacks that would miss the players AC or do very little damage, until he landed a hit, on which I asked him to describe how he killed the orge
Couldn’t agree more.
@@themaninthechair4338 I keep a kill count for my characters, and I try to give the lower players a freebie every now and then.
As a DM this is honestly a good way to get advice and makes me super happy seeing things I try and do for my players here
"Yeah, you can use strength for intimidation."
MASSIVE. 👏 LEGEND!👏
My team for a long time was a team of murder hobos who killed everyone on their path. After some time our dm started giving us inspirations for renembering names and details as well as resolving encounters without fighting. My team changed so much and now it's so much more fun to play even when there is no combat. The amount of role playing has increased so much thanks to that little think.
I wonder if the Wizard character can interact with gigachad DM and learn the folley of his ways, or just turn into a normal player after
Careful what you wish for, the wizard would totally corrupt gigachad.
There’s no way that spell can be broken, but I would like to see the attempt anyways
@@schapel if he can be corrupted, then he was never a gigachad to begin with
I feel like it would end with the wizard toning it down without realizing it while still having fun. All according to Gigcahd's plan.
@@THEPELADOMASTER I see your point but the wizard is just to powerful, I would bet on him even against the truest of gigachads!
I do know these are made for comedy but I genuienly love these skits in particular with giga chad, they have a very uplifting vibe and works great as a pick me up to make me want to improve as a player and as a DM.
The giga series actually gives a lot of information on what type of mindset you need to have
My DM is exactly like this. We’re doing a home brew and I brought my character to him asking about backstory things to integrate into the story and he was totally great with all of it. He lets us do whatever and it really just makes the game a lot better all around
You always get horror stories and problematic player videos and whatnot, but I'm not sure if I've ever seen a skit of what a good player looks like, so I'm really glad you're making these. Funny, quick, and kind of inspiring, honestly.
Most actual plays have decent examples of that but I get your point.
Check out his video about the Giga Chad player
Maybe we need to submit stories of where we, as DMs, or we as players with good DMs, have had awesome moments.
good stories dont sell.. people will read them.. and go ahh ok cool.. but a BAD player story.. now everyone is invested and wants to know more.. its human nature
@@finnbakker i believe those are referred to as glory stories
I just want to say, this is my new favourite character of yours. Sure your other characters are hilarious, but the incredibly funny beacon of positivity just can’t be beat.
I started DMing a few days ago. I'm a young DM, and my party is full of my family, teens too. It's their first time playing for most them, and it's my first time DMing, so we all learn at the same time! We had our session 0, and everyone liked it, even invited two more friends for session 1. I felt so happy when I saw their faces and heard their cheering when I told one of my players to describe how he kills the first boss in the campaign. This is such a great experience, and I wanted to share it with all of you, as I want to become a good DM myself :D
One thing to keep in mind about DMing is that you'll learn how you like to run gamss as you get more experience. If everyone is having fun (including yourself), then you're doing just fine
I love these so much. It’s nice to hear about good players instead of toxic ones sometimes, DnD horror stories can be tiring sometimes.
This moved me. As a DM I strive to achieve this level of Giga
Same m8
You can, just remember this one key rule of DMing: Never stop learning.
Same. I mean, I don't think I'd ever do the "redo your turn" thing unless a really critical piece of information was misunderstood/miscommunicated, but the rest of these are DM goals.
don't try to achieve *this* level of Giga
achieve a level of Giga that will best suit your specific group and style of play
thats the most important and the most chad
No but that’s the thing. You are this giga. You just have to let yourself become the DM you truly are,
beneath all thos rules.
More of these, these are pure gold. I don't doubt for a second that Jacob actually runs his games like that.
Jacob definitely forces encumbrance on his players
Jacobs voice absolutely breaks from anxiety when a player takes a homebrew spell
@@20storiesunder imagine not wanting to run the legendary destroy universe spell in your game
@@maxorcg Hey, Chad dm wouldn't allow it either but he's already checked it out. Jacob would do the same, from what I can see he's a good dm, but he'd get anxious about it xD
This gave me chills! This video is exactly how we all should be when we dm, just got so inspired to play again. // forever dm
I really like the soft touch and yet a firm hand. "you're not ready to go yet? that's cool. I'm going to go to the next person and get back to you..." is a chad move.
Literally my first DM experience, he was excited to try it for the first time and god damn he did a great job!
I mean. Both Gigachad video's are just such a positive reminder what we all should strive for. Both as players and as DM's
Yeah this definitely requires players to be on the same page about this being a narrative game. Players can't be rules lawyers and constantly question the DM if he is putting faith in them.
Gigachad character is what the world needs, so wholesome, so helpful.
Can't forget the best roleplay monologues or dialogs being done by the DM as well 💀
i wish i could have this level of trust in my players
Considering that he just ignores rules at whim, he doesn't have to trust his players. Their decisions are meaningless.
I like how it's an actual POV video, and the title describes exactly what the video is. I love this channel.
What, don't you love the "POV: You don't know what POV means" format?
The real reason why Gigachad Jacob doesn’t run Hit Points with Bosses is to ensure that Spencer doesn’t one-shot them again
To be fair on the part "I completely trust all of you" he basically said "You guys are gigachads too"
"Yeah you can use strength for intimidation"
Fuck yeah
I sent this to my DM because he's so much like this. This made me so happy.
Does he even do the walk in the end when leaving?
Watching this is genuinely inspirational to just be a better, more compassionate DM
Why did I never befriend a DM like my man here growing up, gigachad mode or not it would be a blast to play with this guy. Keep up the entertaining content.
I created a small dungeon once where the secret trick to all the puzzles was that the Yuan Ti cultists running the place were all magical exempt from the traps, and they would only trigger for outsiders. I expected them to chop off a hand or maybe reanimate a corpse to escort them, but no. The artificer uses an elixir to shrink the corpse and put it in a bottle and wore it on a string as a necklace. The wizard then polymorphs the artificer into a Yuan Ti, creating a near flawless disguise.
After this POV experience, now I want an entire DM Gigachad Visual Novel, and maybe, if we are lucky, some romance routes 😳
Cant wait to romance the wizzard
@@linkholder
"Can I tell you something?" say's The Wizard as he winks seductively at you and leans in real close. "I could cast fireball" he whispers in a sultry rasp, "but only if you want me to"...
@@AveSicarius The Wizzard wouldnt need consent. He just DOES
@@linkholder
We all know the wizard's gonna cast it anyway, he was just being a gentleman!
Made it weird.
My dm made minor actions a thing for potions. It's so nice. He told us he's planning on making it so using an action does maximum healing since you are taking your time to drink it all instead of throwing it down and continuing the fight
ive heard acouple people mention this style of using potions... i dont fully agree with it? mostly cause it makes it seem like you can dose potions. i think if you wanted to go this route, then it would make more sense to add a system similar to charges on magic items, in the form of doses. then, when you take the Action you would to use the potion, you can determine how many charges to expend at once. and gives room to buff potions slightly. like say, a standard healing potion has 3 charges/doses. youre going to do the same motion regardless to take the potion, which is tilting it back and drinking some/all of it. i think having it be the same action but determining howmuch of the potion youre gonna down makes more sense logically, to me at the least
then again, theres no wrong way to have fun, as long as the entire table is also having fun.
@@SergeantRD Having potions have doses seems like unnecesary complexity to me. Just make potions a third of the cost and effect, and get 3 instead. Or leave them as is, and think of each of them as a charge. Keeping track of charges for potions, of all things, sounds a bit cumbersome to me.
About the full action for a full heal rule, I think I like it, but I can't think of a way to explain how that works in-world. But, if the table is cool with it, I say why not.
@@fernando47180 as I said, my dm just said it's because you are using your action and taking the time to drink all of the potion properly instead of the minor of popping it open and drinking it quickly, possibly even spilling, so you can get back to fighting.
@@redhansen8328 yeah this seems quick and efficient.
In the group I play it's almost assumed now that an action = max HP, bonus action you roll. It's the best way to use healing potions
"You wanna redo your turn, thats totally fine"
"all right and our paladin" I was half expecting "you aren't a paladin anymore, be something else for everyone else's sake"
I'm so glad Gigachad has returned. He truly is an inspiration!
your welcome
@@elsiepierce5509 lol
drinking a potion should be a bonus action honestly. Everyone i know uses this as a rule.
The best part about these gigachad videos is that they're actually functional guides on how to behave, in some ways. Before starting up my next campaign either as a player or DM I'll go back to the gigachad videos to get a reminder on things that would be nice to keep in mind, like how the "don't keep track of hitpoints" could be changed into "be fluid about the hitpoints"(if a cool attack is a few points short of killing the monster, then that monster was a few points weaker than it's species average).
Perfect! I tend to add flavor criticals. If the player does something cool and it's close to lethal I'll allow bonus damage to be rolled. Serves the same purpose, but as wotc learned. Players love rolling dice.
I feel like as a player I would be more fine with this solution than the idea that the totality of our actions and mechanics of our character builds didn't matter anyway.
I enjoy D&D for it's ability to weave a narrative but I also enjoy it for its mechanics and the achievement of 'beating' it.
@@tomiixstarslasher776 I love optimizing character builds and I love it even more when my players do it, so I'd never take that away from them.
The dice will decide your fate, but I'm not going to needlessly drag on an encounter when the enemy has been bordering death for 3 turns.
I feel that if I'm happy with what my monster accomplished or the one landing the blow is a very important narrative for them I will let it slide into a killing blow. Additionally if you feel a fight dragging don't be afraid to let the next person just kill it 🤣
When I first started DMing, I aspired to be like gigachad DM. I put way too much pressure on myself, and I got into a sort of “toxic positivity” mindset where anytime I noticed problematic behavior from my players, I assumed it was an issue with how I was running the game.
Having been one for 5 years or so, I no longer think that DMs should twist themselves into a pretzel to accommodate the players’ every wish. Rather I think that a good DM will be upfront with what type of game they want to run, and the type of story they want to tell - and expect the players to meet them halfway.
It can be hard to achieve that level of confidence as a DM, but once you do, players respond well to it.
I completely agree. Letting someone redo their entire turn constantly isn't giga, it's actually really harmful to everyone. It takes a ton of time and ruins the experience for everyone. Being a good dm is knowing where to be flexible and when to let players know there consequences. If nothing bad ever happens then nothing every really feels earned. I definitley get what hes going for, but just trying this kind of stuff all the time will burn you out
@@Stumpy044 oh yeah, I think the key to this gigachad DM is that it is assumed his players are while maybe not perfect, in it for the fun and not trying to minimax. There's nothing wrong with redoing a turn when you facepalm and realize you missed something big and this isn't something you ask for every session. Homebrew is fine as long as it doesn't interfere with power levels or otherwise is not intended to make you overpowered.
In the wrong group, allowing all of these things would be terrible
Tbh setting up the right expectations and communication is the key.
I always ask my friends, before even planing a Campaign, what the base Tone is supposed to be and what their wishes/expectations are.
And tbh this has worked amazing for me, I always told them if the base setting/tone/Genre is something unfamiliar for me and if they wanna still give it a shot.
And yup it's goes fine.
(Ofcourse I'm not hardstuck into a Single setting and Throw in different other things to Change up the Taste but ya)
I read in a comment once (think was r/rpghorrorstory) that "players often want their DM to be like Matt Mercer but don't play like Travis Willingham". Like being forgiving and letting people redo their turn, or skip them and come back and other things like that are mighty fine as long as they are rare occurrences and the players aren't using your good-will to abuse the game.
I can confirm that a bit of tough love is always good for the party. Don't be like overtly malicious (unless you're playing to a bit like our DM does at my table, guy loves to ham it up) but a tough and fair fight is a lot of fun for everyone. The big question is if you can work the characters around it as a player. Best fight I was there for at the table...I wasn't even in the room for the fight! My dude was off setting up an explosive in the armory to prevent reinforcements from coming in. My dude screwed up a roll and died setting it off, but the end result was this cool as shit duel in a church where the floor suddenly blew up in the center of the room, fire flying everywhere, sparks flying in the duel, just some Star Wars level stuff.
The unexpected shoutout to a character’s backstory as an important plot point had me like like damn this is just a Matt Mercer video
Loved the video and this character!! The Gigachad episodes always make me smile!! This reminds me of both of my current DM's. The DM running a Witch Light campaign set up physical carnival games for us to play during that portion, complete with carnival and game tickets, prizes, and even little costume butterfly wings for us to choose from to wear! The DM running a twist on the IcewindDale campaign gives inspiration for taking notes, keeps a lot of things bookmarked in case we have questions (which is really helpful for me because I still feel relatively new to playing), and is great about giving each character unique storylines to follow. They're also both really great about checking to make sure players are okay with certain things in game before the session.
1:28 had something similar happen recently. Halloween one shot, our DM made a My Chemical Romance reference with the big bad and I giggled saying how we were going to “join his black parade” and our DM just looks at me smiling cause nobody else got the reference and I got one advantage roll whenever I decided to use it
#bandties
i literaly made like 3 or 4 references to a bunch of bands and no one got it... i need to get friends that listen to real music 💀
@@elsiepierce5509 that's a giga oof right there, hope you can recover from that.
@@rafaelgabrielgarlinidal-bo9496 yea...
this makes me smile so much, it's really nice to be appreciated :')
(Also I always make intimidation strength dependent on size and appearance, really gives the characters some OOMF to the description of their intimidation tactics)
Well at least I’m following in the footsteps of this guy. I’m definitely taking the “eyeballing the boss’s health” tip for my campaign. That sounds like an awesome idea.
This made me feel a lot better about my DMing because I thought I was doing a pretty crap job, but mostly everything demonstrated in here I do, just without the high levels of politeness that the giga-chad has, it warms my heart to find an unbiased point of view on what good DMing is and see that it portrays my DMing pretty much the same, thanks Jacob 👍
Same!🙌🏻
The only thing about this that bothers me is the “not keeping track of hp part.” If a dm were to do that and I was a player it would make me feel like my decisions don’t actually matter because the dm is choosing when the enemy does and doesn’t die, not the dice rolls which is a huge part of dnd
@@mrdrprofsteve4455 That depends entirely on where the party sets DM-Player trust and what the group exactly wants from the campaign.
Basically if you don't like it, it's perfectly fine. Others will like the idea and put it in their campaigns.
I'd also point out that sometimes, it's the dice roll that make an action "look cool" enough for the DM to decide it's enough, that doesn't take that out of the game. It just changes the way it interacts with it. (It has happened that I decided the enemy was dead when a player did a really cool thing with a nice roll, even though the damage wasn't enough to kill originally)
But yeah, needs a lot of trust in this one, and I totally understand how knowing that it happens can bother people.
@@mrdrprofsteve4455 Yeah, it's definitely one of those things where ignorance is bliss, because if you don't know, it will probably make the session actually better because it lets everybody get their moment and opportunity to do cool stuff in encounters, but if you do know, then everything feels kind of predetermined and pointless.
@@mrdrprofsteve4455 Honestly same, but it absolutely depends on the table. I keep track of HP when DMing, though I do leave it a little floating for most creatures, trying to optimize for a certain turn count based on the party's average DPS and adjusting it up or down as needed. Like if they one-turn it I'll increase its HP a bit so it's still a challenge, if they take too long I'll decrease it so it's not a 6-hour fight.
And I always post the HP after the creature dies, including negatives, since I feel it adds a great bit of impact. Something like "Gold Dragon: -45/600 HP".
The lich has exactly as many hit points as the monster manual says it has. The lich also has as many iuon stones, magic barriers, and simulacra that absorb as many hit points in damage as I need them to for the fight to last long enough for everyone to have a good time.
I'm always so impressed with your videos, man. Funny, heartfelt, and just good content all around.
“Son, What The Book Say’s Is Suggestion.”
“You Gotta Vibe with It.”
I've heard the "bosses don't have set HP" idea before. It definitely sounds like it works great for some groups, but it would kill the game for me. I'd feel like my contributions and choices didn't actually matter. To others out there, just make sure you know what kind of game your players are interested in before pulling that maneuver.
thats why we dont tell the players, so that they feel like their contributions matter
Same, really don’t dig that, it honestly feels like railroady DMing to me. The barrier of combat pacing being partly controlled by the mechanics and numbers keeps the flow of the game from being something completely dictated by the DM to the players
Then have them not tell that to you. It works better if you don't know.
I mean if the barb does 54 damage while the boss has 12 hp they also completely wasted their time and their choices didn't matter much. At least with vibe-hp you don't get stuck with bad scaling, or poor matchups that aren't fun.
@@houndoomdude2 I kinda play down the middle of the line, all creatures, especially bosses, have a set HP, and I do keep track of damage dealt, but I will sometimes expand are reduce their hp depending on the situation. Like if the fight is going on for a long time and it feels like my players aren't enjoying the fight, maybe cut down the hp by 30 or so, or if it feels like I underestimated my players damage and they are about to kill an important, built up boss really fast, I might add on an aditional 50 hitpoints especially if only a few people have gotten to do anything. However I would never ever tell my players this, because that would ruin the illusion for them.
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To create a Matt Mercer one must simply add water to the pre made solution in this package
Adding too much will result in a rules lawyer, beware!
Man I feel so happy I have a DM like this. Every Thursday we play and it's so amazing that I get to have such a friendly and amazing DM that ensures that fun is number one. Being a DM is rough so to all the DMs and GMs thank you for all the amazing games and sessions you all run!
3:10 if my dm did some shit like this, I would quit immediately
Man that brought me back to my highschool years when my brother was still with us... This was basically every weekend for us. We had an absolutely awesome rpg group and some of the best DMs... Miss those people, miss those times... 25 years later, I can't even remember when I last played any rpg aside from on my computer :( sad times...
Maybe you can play again my friend. It might be time for you to be the big brother. All the best to you.
Wish it were possible, and/or convenient to form a ragtag gaming group of people who miss their own long lost groups. Though I simultaneously understand there’s no replacement for the people we were as close to as a sibling. It would be nice to recapture some of those feelings though.
Greetings fellow based power-stancer
@@josecarbia8181 I'd love to play again.. unfortunately, in the town where I live right now,the only people playing classic pen & paper rpgs are school kids. And while I don't really have a problem with playing with younger people, life gets in the way (scheduling conflicts, family stuff etc.)... Perhaps one day... in a retirement home ;)
@@gido9467 It is possible... convenient... that's an issue. I have friends in the US (I'm from Poland) who still play D&D on a regular basis, and we could technically get on discord or whatever and play, but the 8 hour time difference makes it not an option :/
I just gotta say that Jacob's commitment to make videos about stuff he enjoys and express his sense of humor and personality unbounded, is truly inspiring. :)
I completely agree with this type of DMing the storyteller is so much more fun to play with than a stickler in my opinion. You aren't there to win against your party. You're there to tell an awesome story and make sure everyone has fun. Which is also something I ask my players after every session.
As someone whos had a DM tell them they don't keep track of hitpoints.
NEVER TELL YOUR PLAYERS YOU DON'T KEEP TRACK OF HITPOINTS. You're essentially telling your players nothing they did mattered. It's a campaign ruining thing to admit.
This video was so good for my self-esteem... thank you very much for this. I always see a bunch of videos criticizing this kind of DMing because it is "too easy" or "too patronizing" and I always get insecure because I DM basically like that. I have a table tomorrow where I'll be DMing and I really needed this to go into it fully recharged.
Thank you for the feedback, congratulations you have beén selected as the winner for the ongoing PS5 giveaway, Telegram only to Claim your prize 👆👆..
If your table likes that, your table likes it
I know I don't like it, and if anyone tells you they feel patronized by fudging HP for narrative reasons, listen to them, have a discussion about it, and see what you can do to accomodate everyone's enjoyment
If your actual party all things it's patronizing or handholdy, then yeah, maybe adhere to whatever rule you're leaving out just abit more strictly, come to some sort of compromise
And if they're fine with it but still say it feels too easy, maybe you need to increase the difficulty of the campaign in response, give them a challenge more appropriate to what the party can do
Personally, I don't like the HP thing, I'm fine with it under conditions, but if I had a DM who just ignored HP entirely in favor of a purely narrative combat system, I would feel patronzied. Everything would feel fake and it would change everything in my eyes. But some groups may not like combat, and may prefer it being more roleplay focused instead of mechanical. And thats cool, it all depends on you and what your group likes
@@kaylaa2204 I prefer a more objective, rules based approach too, but the thing is I've seen that fall on its face quite often too. Big bad boss monsters who get 2 or 3-rounded because of lucky rolls is the primary example.
@@CrizzyEyes I mean if I balanced an encounter to be a difficult boss monster and the party 2 or 3 rounded them, they must've done something really cool. I'd allow it, that could be epic.
@@kaylaa2204 It is usually cool, or clever, and as a group we usually don't have a problem with it. I guess some groups really focus on the drama of the fight and don't consider a well-executed plan satisfying.
Dude, this might be the best series of skits you’ve put together. Overwhelming positive vibes.
This is in from my experience one of the most helpful ways to show how to best solve all the problematic scenarios that may or occur during the game.
The clarification on the Lich HP kinda choked me up, fucking gigachad indeed.
Gigachad DM is so good at his job he actually remembers to use the Inspiration rule!
I actually have a strong distaste for when a DM does that with hit points, or even fudges rolls. I want that stuff to feel like it matters. Especially when 5e hands victory to you on a silver platter. The fun for me comes from adversity, and the rp we have as we go into battle, knowing the rolls might not end up in our favor.
I would MUCH rather lose my character than have the dm give us wins like that. Hard pass
@@jeepersmcgee3466 i think the best middle ground is to adjust hp throughout the fight, you dont want an important fight to be washed in one turn, but you dont want your party to drown in a 3 hour long slog fest. Balance is really hard to achieve in dnd so the dm needs to be flexible to respond to the players.
@@jeepersmcgee3466 It's a balancing act for my games. If the PCs are performing quite poorly and the boss is performing exceptionally, they may need to flee. One of them may even die. But if they're doing well enough that the result is they're going to win, then I focus on the narrative. I find it best to set a HP range for a boss, and once in that range, the boss is free to die from any attack that feels satisfactory.
@@Aeivious Thats fine, if you misbalanced slightly or you rolled extremely lucky and you dont think it will be a fun encounter- sure, adjust a little bit. But if you are just making the numbers up on the fly all the time it devalues any danger you may find.
Yeah I'd literally quit on the spot if I was told that the DM wasn't keeping track and killed the boss after everyone did something cool lol
Your channel is literally my favorite channel on youtube. You are the most creative person I've ever seen. You are hilarious and I love the different personalities you bring to the table. Great work! love it!
“And, well, could you tell the difference?”
That was smooth af
"Our monk seems really excited about getting deflect missile, I think I'll throw a couple extra archers into the next encounter to shoot some arrows at him"
Never, ever, ever EVER tell your players you don't keep track of hitpoints.
AMEN
Yeah, they might think they want the details, but they don't. Completely changes how they view the game and takes away a bit of pride they might have from dealing a ton of damage
i was shocked when i heard that since i actually have done that.
@@TheElectrikCow what do you mean, it's the last epic hit :)
or Nullified!!! :) hhahahaha Depends on perspective and what's going on and players themselves.
Honestly tho that feels like straying to much from the game aspect of dnd.
Love this. My favorite thing about being a DM is creating situations where the player characters get to do badass stuff, and giving my players opportunities to be creative or clever. It's so much more fun when the DM roots for the party, rather than against them.
Love this comment, so very true.
If you believe that, I don't know what to say. Sarcasm does not translate on the internet. For clarification, this was a parody of awful game play and worse DM'ing.
@@vincesnetterton2515 Say sike right now
@@vincesnetterton2515 Ah yes, making the game more enjoyable for everyone involved is bottom of the barrel, terrible DMing. /s
I am very sure what Nathan Levine said was not sarcastic.
@@xerveeon You really have no clue, do you. Gatekeeping is good., If you think this was not parody, you have no business playing D&D.
“Why yes I incorporate my PCs backstories heavily into the narrative, how could you tell?”
It's funny how context is everything, My brother is that exact DM doing 90% of those behaviours his whole life as a DM...and even then for a long time he lacked confidence because we had two players who constantly put him down and caused him trouble and complained about his game, even when he was dming at his best. That undermined him but nowadays he has acquired newfound confidence on his games. I showed this skit to him because I appreciate how much he dedicates to all of it.
I learned those behaviours from him as well, so it's good DM culture
As someone who gets squeamish when gore is described in a lot of detail, I gotta say that asking players if they're uncomfortable with stuff like that and not describing it if they are is a gigachad move
@@falsnamae3511 If that situation ever came up, it would probably be something that the DM would discuss with me and the person with aphantasia
Get over it man
wanting people to squirm under the discription is the point. it is meant to invoke emotions and feelings. I can understand not wanting grapes or horrible acts to be described, but no gore at a game table...? I guess I am lucky i have never been at one of those tables.
@@robertling2221 some people have severe trauma from past car accidents, surgeries, or violent crimes. You can evoke a sense of gloom and horror without describing explicit detail that could trigger PTSD or a panic disorder.
@@jodamnboi fair enough. I just think perhaps these types of games might be the wrong genre for those people.
There are plenty of non fantasy tabletops which will not have the same creature types for them.
You are right though. The game is allowed to be played by everyone. I am still glad I have not been at one of those tables.
1:37
THIS!!
My friend came up with a nice rule where if you use a bonus action to take some of a healing potion you roll the dice for the healing. If you use a full action then you heal for max of what you would roll. Pretty neat idea.
I'm curious about this one, for the bonus action one, is the potion still drinkable/reusable? The wording implies that it is.
@@dreadmachinima1649 You could certianly run it like that, though it's more like that you're in a hurry so you won't get all the potion or whatever.
That's not a bad one. I let my players use healing potions with a BA as well (Normally its full action) but to use it on another player its an action. Adds flexability without giving up 1 of your 2-4 turns that entire fight.
My former GM had the idea that consuming a potion cost half your movement: gives you a malus that is noticeable enough to strategize but still leaves room for an action, a couple of steps and even a bonus action. His campaign was my favourite, it was creative and my bard had room to grow, he was always understanding, has all these little homebrew rules that made the game more spectacular and enjoyable and had great storytelling abilities.
Unfortunately he stopped GMing after a terrible loss in his family and is only GMing a separate smaller campaign I cannot take part in. Both his players are also GMs but one is decently creative to have adapted an entire AD&D 2e campaign to 5e and adding homebrew modules in a coherent way... the other is RAW no deviations from the rules allowed and following campaigns the book and never knowing how to deal with homebrews. Also the one who doesn't want to try other d20 systems because of sunken cost fallacy
that way of doing boss battles, just letting peeps have fun instead of dealing with hitpoints, thats actually a pretty good idea and i might start doing that the next time im hosting a campaign