so I just went on the Titansgrave website and found this in the news section: GEEK & SUNDRY PARTNERS WITH GREEN RONIN TO CREATE RPG BOOKS BASED ON ITS GROUNDBREAKING SHOW - CRITICAL ROLE New Line of Sourcebooks To Be Written By The Show’s Creator and Star Matthew Mercer
"I would love to make a sourcebook if time let's me." Glad time allowed it. I genuinely cannot wait to explore this world, thank you for your work you have done to advance and enrich this community. Thank you Matt Mercer
He mentioned players throwing off the DM's plans. My first campaign had lycanthropes as one of the bigger plot points. The DM had planned for us to pick one of two sides to join during a war: for the lycans or against, basically. The healer on our team decided we were gonna cure lycanthropy... And we did.. And there was no war.. That poor DM, lol. He did very well with the switch up, so props to him 👍
My DM hates thinking of names so he uses a lot from Critical Role. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who knows so it's really funny when he pulls a name I recognize. He also loves Gilmore and has made him an awesome NPC
I want to thank you geek & sundry. From the bottom of my heart, I always thought of ttrpg as some kind of nerdy super boring thing, but then one day I stood upon your Channel. What were these guys doing?! Were they telling a story? No, they were living a story! That was the most awesome and creative thing I could have thought of. Now, almost every week I am the DM for my friends. So thank you G&S, for showing me what I was missing and starting what has become a wonderful part of my life and that of my friends.- Thanks from COLOMBIA (South America) and keep inspiring people ;)
I would actually like to see a video for running an urban game/adventure. It's criminally underused and often only serves as the place where the party can buy/sell their stuff.
I'm trying to write a campaign set entirely in a city at the moment. I'm running into some issues because the way the storyline seems to be playing out in my head, there's not a lot of room for battles beyond minor skirmishes, and much more investigation and talking to people than the usual fighting, looking for loot, and leveling up. I'd love to see a video about how to avoid/address that.
You know, I find that urban adventures run really well depending on the group. If the players are the type to take initiative and joy in exploration, then there's a good chance you'll have an interesting game on your hand, provided that you provide interesting things for your players. The biggest thing I can suggest is to talk to your group beforehand to see if it is something that they would like to do. It seems weird to many people, but I find that the best campaigns are those that players and DM's create together beforehand.
Maybe run it in an AC type fights (on top of rooftops, back ally/warehouses) and a lot more sneaky/covert kind of running around, maybe a crime ring or drug lord-type they have to deal with :P
I want to see this too. I'm planning out a homebrew world and the first good chunk of the game is going to be limited mostly to a major city. It revolves around stealth type characters and more passive role playing gameplay. Strategy and thought focused more than combat. Hard to find advice for that.
Imo, the best couple you can make with urban campaigns is the criminal/mafia kind of game. It fits both the roleplay-heavy character and the blood-driven maniac murder hobo. You could even throw some other things in between! I for example once implemented freaking Stand Powers in my game. My players never had so much fun playing as they did in my tables.
This man is the god all DMs look up to. He's had years to cultivate his skills, and the man's campaigns age like fine wine. As time goes by, his stories just keep getting better and better.
If anyone is interested, Jeremy Crawford, one of the lead designers for D&D, runs a blog called Sage Advice where he addresses the difficult and nebulous areas between the rules.
It's so beautiful seeing this and hearing him say multiple times how he would love to make a book like that and now the Exandria campaign setting book is out 😭❤
I've used Gilmore to great effect! my players loved him, even when they were debt to him well over 500,000 gold. thank you so much for how much you put into your world
Interesting, that's the exact way I build my playlists for when I'm running a game at a person's at home. I try to use the music to help tell the story, not to replace it, to try and build on it. Shame you can't go back further Matt, Jeremy Soule did some great work for Black Isle once upon a time.
I've taken to making maps in RTS level editors (currently using Age of Empires 2) and then screen capping it and piecing it back together on Roll20. You can make some great consistent open worlds that way and then add all you want on top of it to make it really shine. Then all you need to do is make some smaller maps for building interiors, and you're set. It's a big time sink, but it makes some strong looking towns and countryside.
I'm a senior in high school who dms for my friend group. Instead of letting my second semester be a billion study Halls, I took a bunch of electives, one of which was improv. It really, really made my dming better, to an extent I couldn't expect. So I 100% agree on that.
Another thing you can do for maps if you don't want to use so much paper is you can get a wet erase battle map from gaming stores and some various colored visa vis and have the creativity that won't rub off until you want it to
Why did you switch from Pathfinder to D&D 5? Is it easier, better, more fun? I bought the Pathfinder beginners box but still haven't been able to get a group to play. Do you think switching to D&D might help?
+Cesar “Isaac” Perez The CR crew have previously said they changed to D&D5 because it works better on screen. D&D5 is a much "looser" system than Pathfinder, where you make fewer character generation choices but those choices have more impact. For example, a 5th level rogue in Pathfinder would have chosen: stat selection, race, two background traits, 8+Int modifier skill points per level (chosen from 30 or so skills, ~20 of which are class skills for the rogue), three feats (four if human), two rogue talents, one stat increase, alignment, plus buying gear worth 10,500 gp (which makes up a significant portion of the character's power level) - and that's not counting optional things like archetypes (a thing used in many sourcebooks where you swap out some class features for others). A 5th level D&D5 rogue would have chosen: stat selection, race, maybe sub-race, 4 out of 11 skills, 2 skills out of those (or from other sources) for Expertise, background, archetype, either one +2 stat bump or a feat, about 600 gp worth of mundane gear + normal starting stuff. I'm not saying one is better than the other - they do different things. Pathfinder is pretty good at letting you play *exactly* the character you envision in your head (within power level limits) and at showing subtle differences between characters, but D&D5 is great at just getting down and getting to the action.
dnd 5 is much more streamlined than pathfinder. pathfinder works really well as a combat heavy game but there are so many rules to keep track of. i prefer pathfinder myself as i like the complexity of the system and i really really like the setting.
To summarize: if you're an experienced tabletop player and you want something very detailed, Pathfinder is your game. If you're a newbie or just want something that's fairly straightforward, DnD5e is your game. DnD5e is easier to understand for the general audience, because of that relative simplicity, so it's better for video/stream/podcast series like Critical Role.
rashkavar I'm a beginner DM who hasn't yet got the chance to play, but after researching I have comed to the conclusion that I like DnD rules and mechanics more than Pathfinder, but that I like the Pathfinder world and setting more than DnD, even though they are fairly similar. What are your thoughts on playing Pathfinder but with DnD rules?
I come from an acting and improv background; I’ve been doing it for my entire childhood, so GMing seems like a fun way to kind of keep my skills sharp. These videos are fantastic by the way.
Matthew Mercer, first thank you for the amazing videos. I am a amateur GM, and was the one that presented to my group of friends the universe of RPG. Which means I taught myself everything of it, and your videos has been enlightening for me. I'm speaking too much, sorry for that. what I want to say is thank you and please, if possible, continue this videos. I only hope to be half as good as a dungeon master as you are, thank you very much.
Speaking of music, I started watching campaign 2 and I like it when familiar music from WoW randomly starts playing. My interest in the game has diminished over the years, but I still love the music. 😊
To add (after a long time) about music options, I’ve used Midnight Syndicate for years as Halloween music, but Nox Arcana is also great and very similar in style.
I'm gonna be running my first campaign using the new (upcoming) Robert E. Howard's Conan: Adventures in an age undreamed of RPG system. Your tips are really nice, I'm really scared about letting my group down, so stressed! Thanks for the nice vids
+editorism You should check out Matthew Colville's new video series called 'Running the Game'. It's a guide for beginner GMs, starting from creating dungeons, getting a game together, creating your setting. It's reeeally good for a new GM. I believe Liam O'Brien linked to the first video on twitter.
+editorism Don't worry, you're going to have a blast! :) Preparation is like, 80% of the battle. The other 20% is just relaxing, allowing yourself to have fun, and accepting the fact that your plans will never go perfectly. Remember: so long as everyone at the table has a good time, then the game is a success!
I remember a year long campaign we had back in Toronto during my college days, where each battle we'd use the usual Final Fantasy fight music, but at the grand "final battle", it was the bosa music from FFII (versus Zeromus)... made it that much more memorable!
Your video look really cool! I really regret that I did not know much English, and almost do not understand what you are saying. But I can see the quality of the video, the power of acting in the role of the characters and looking at you, I know what I should aspire. As the author youtube channel also as Gamemaster. Thank you!
I use a lot of music done by Adrian von Ziegler, David Arkenstone, Antti Martikainen, and some traditional Celtic, Nordic, or Medieval songs. Some of the movies I pull songs from include Willow, Legend, The Dark Crystal, Ladyhawke, and a few others.
Thanks for this amazing series, i'm looking ahead to starting my own campaign with some friends in the near future, and the things i learned here will help me a lot for sure. To be honest, they already inspired me for some of the best parts of my story being wrote right now. It would be a dream playing a RPG with a GM like you (i admit already being quite an addictive for Pen and Paper), but that seems pretty difficult considering the fact that i live in germany. So ill keep watching your videos, enjoy that and learn hopefully a lot more.
xXDerPuppenspielerXx You should check out Roll20. It's a great online tabletop thing. If you're lucky there are some INCREDIBLE DMs that you could come across. The main reason I'm DMing now is a guy named Moose. He's an American guy who ran a campaign that I managed to get into by pure chance, considering my Britishness I feel like I was rather lucky. Oh, and I'm running a campaign involving a German at the moment, so I'm just saying, international tabletop possibilities are out there! (Just be careful when picking campaigns/players... I recommend aiming for a group with an articulate DM [look at grammar and spelling for an indicator] and trying to be as articulate as you can yourself.)
I play a Paladin that dabbles in a bit of instrument making and bard-style work. I currently have made an archtop semi-hollow body guitar in the game, but instead of being electric, it's magic based while also using magnetic pickups.
@matt mercer... i love the gilmore character may i use him in my homebrew?? btw my homebrew is skyrim based with the monster from D&D and skyrim and classes and races of D&D
Another great place to find music, if copyrights aren't an issue, is movies, some have fantastic soundtrack, and tend to sound very grand, so find your favs or even movies with the same genre and use some track from those
Hey! Recent fan of your D&D videos! My friends and I are beginning to get into D&D and I am going to be the DM. I watched the video where explained the music you used, and I was just curious to if there was a specific playlist on Spotify that you use or if there is something that can get me started. Thanks!
I just want to say thank you. If not for these videos I would not be trying to dm [gm] again for my second time I think doing a homebrew will work better for me.
So strange to watch now after the campaign guide is released and last year he thought it would never happen or didn't see the opportunity. Love you Matt!
Three people I, a faceless nobody on here, recommend for music and ambiance. 1. Vindsvept. The man's basically a bard, and his music has a certain feel that will enrapture your players and really pull them into the story. 2. Guild of Ambience. These guys have some respectable soundtracks, and they helped me begin building my own world all because of a simple tavern. 3. Michael Ghelfi. An incredibly underrated and talented man with dozens upon dozens of different and unique pieces of work. I use him quite often, and my players have been impressed by my use of him.
I ran an episode of my group's campaign set inside the PC's very nightmares (based on backstory and psychological profiles I had extracted from them prior to play) as a result of the party being possessed by an astral spirit that intended to lay its eggs in their egos. It was very difficult to award material loot for a series of encounters that took place entirely within their own heads. In the end I had the power of the defeated spirit crystallise into stones of solid magic representing a magical weapon or item property inspired by the individual psychological challenges each character overcame in their personalised encounters. They could use these stones to bypass most of the usual crafting requirements to make the corresponding items.
Our groups pretty much never have soundtracks for the sessions, except for the Star Wars cantina music, which plays about half the time we play anything Star Wars related.
For the "Be a Better DM" video. I recommend on reading all of the DMing Advice you can get. Ignore the Dungeon Master's Book, and just read what people advise on working on to make a fun game. But, the biggest word that you want in your game, is "fun". That is something you have to decide for yourself. Often, what is fun for you, will be fun for your players.
Please more tips, possibly some stuff about Taldorei. I'm sure i'm not only speaking for myself when i say your tips have completely changed the way i create and run my groups campaign.
Hey Matt, try looking up a band/group of guys called Khallanar. They have currently two albums, one themed after the Drow, and one for their groups characters. But it's good ambient music designed after and for D&D.
Also curious how many improv classes Matt has taken? being someone in improv at the moment and going to write a (short) paper about D&D as improv. Also how does he take care of his hair? What kind of shampoo. Can he grow a beard?
Have you ever had a player thru Skype join a group for playing? I would love to be involved in gaming again (20years ago) with experienced players to get my feet wet again, but I'm a bit...shy..when I want to be.. kinda weird in game.
I think I've ended up putting Grogg (under different names) into my campaign a number of times. It was such a memorable character that I end up playing every Barbarian NPC like him, terrifying and adorable
For those reading the comments, here's some suggestions for music to peruse for playlists: Two Steps From Hell, Audiomachine, and Future World Music. Those three will likely lead you to similar stuff, particularly on RUclips.
I am going to be starting a D&D campaign soon. The thing is I have little to no experience in DMing. Even if I am playing a character in D&D I don't know a lot. I don't have any improv skills (I'm 14) and my social skill isn't that high. I was wondering if maybe there is an improv online class you know of or something that might help me prepare for this endeavor. Thanks.
Always awesome to see new DMs. :) Don't ever think your age has anything to do with it. I've been a DM/GM off and on for over 35 years and started when I was 9 playing with my mom, who had no interest in fantasy or role playing. My advice to learn the game and be effective is to talk to your players - a lot! Some of them may have more experience playing, and that's OK. Some may be completely new, and that's OK. It may be slow at first while you learn (or invent) your rule system, but above all HAVE FUN!!! Laugh when it's funny, cry when it's sad, tell a GREAT story and no one will care your age or how well you know "the rules."
Watch more of this guys video's he seems to understand what he is talking about. Also look up videos by counter monkey. He has a good video on how to run a good game. But I would recommend you aim for a short and simple game being so very new. Don't try do have some epic plot that last 20+ sessions. Just do something easy to get your feet wet. Think of your game as a movie. Try to wrap up you first game in 4 or 5 sessions. Don't worry about reaching high levels. Then take a step back and look at how it turned out. But just have fun and don't worry about getting all the rules correct. I've been playing since the 90's and I'm still learning rules here and there. You will find your self adding house rules anyways.
Maybe do it the "Old Fashioned Way." We used to string together short adventures that would last maybe 1 or 2 sessions. We would use the same characters every time, and take turns as the GM. Use those to get the hang of things then work towards that epic final arc for your story.
Playlists (movies and games are soundtracks): Nox Arcana, Midnight Syndicate, Predator, Predator 2, Apocalyptica, Conan the Barbarian, Age of Conan, Unreal Tournament, Doom, Quake (all), Sleepy Hollow, Dragon Age Origins, Stargate, Gladiator, Prince of Persia, Chronicles of Riddick, Lord of the Rings (all), Hobbit (all), Guild Wars 2, Assassins Creed (all), Indiana Jones (all), Gears of War (all), Pirates of the Caribbean (all), Braveheart, Diablo (all), World of Warcraft (all), 300
Can I make a map as I go along because that’s what I have been doing, kinda like how Minecraft randomly generates random terrain with different seeds, but more like dwarf fortress where it’s more like a rouge like.
Such great advice, thanks for the great and informative videos. I love what you do, I am a huge fan of your talent and hope to see more of your Dungeon Mastering in the near future, Aloha
So, this is the most likable guy on this planet, no?
Yeah, I met him and he's a great person. Very friendly and sociable.
Charisma of 30
@@johnharrison2086 charisma is 45
It's a tossup between Keanu and Matt. The only thing that can make a difference is the hairlength. So both decided to keep it thr same length.
@@mennograafmans1595 Dont forget Terry Crews!
Do you think he'll lose his DM powers if you cut off his hair?
He does, but then he starts using wigs, and then the schizophrenia becomes REAL.
He'd be like a fallen paladin.
Yes. He is the D&D Samson.
I think you need Scissors +5
It would be extremely painful... For you.
"If time allows me in the future, maybe I'll put something out..."
Well... Well... WELL... :D
Aaron Lew 4:04 :)
This man is amazing
+irvin hope there really is a sourcebook in the works! *crosses fingers*
so I just went on the Titansgrave website and found this in the news section:
GEEK & SUNDRY PARTNERS WITH GREEN RONIN TO CREATE RPG BOOKS BASED ON ITS GROUNDBREAKING SHOW - CRITICAL ROLE
New Line of Sourcebooks To Be Written By The Show’s Creator and Star Matthew Mercer
Think first book is coming out late spring.
Like #666
"I would love to make a sourcebook if time let's me." Glad time allowed it. I genuinely cannot wait to explore this world, thank you for your work you have done to advance and enrich this community. Thank you Matt Mercer
Chad Ellis 4:04
He mentioned players throwing off the DM's plans.
My first campaign had lycanthropes as one of the bigger plot points. The DM had planned for us to pick one of two sides to join during a war: for the lycans or against, basically.
The healer on our team decided we were gonna cure lycanthropy...
And we did..
And there was no war..
That poor DM, lol. He did very well with the switch up, so props to him 👍
My DM hates thinking of names so he uses a lot from Critical Role. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who knows so it's really funny when he pulls a name I recognize. He also loves Gilmore and has made him an awesome NPC
Has he used Purvan yet?
DrHokeyPokey Who are these Gilmore guys?
I want to thank you geek & sundry. From the bottom of my heart, I always thought of ttrpg as some kind of nerdy super boring thing, but then one day I stood upon your Channel. What were these guys doing?! Were they telling a story? No, they were living a story! That was the most awesome and creative thing I could have thought of. Now, almost every week I am the DM for my friends. So thank you G&S, for showing me what I was missing and starting what has become a wonderful part of my life and that of my friends.- Thanks from COLOMBIA (South America) and keep inspiring people ;)
I would actually like to see a video for running an urban game/adventure. It's criminally underused and often only serves as the place where the party can buy/sell their stuff.
I'm trying to write a campaign set entirely in a city at the moment. I'm running into some issues because the way the storyline seems to be playing out in my head, there's not a lot of room for battles beyond minor skirmishes, and much more investigation and talking to people than the usual fighting, looking for loot, and leveling up. I'd love to see a video about how to avoid/address that.
You know, I find that urban adventures run really well depending on the group. If the players are the type to take initiative and joy in exploration, then there's a good chance you'll have an interesting game on your hand, provided that you provide interesting things for your players.
The biggest thing I can suggest is to talk to your group beforehand to see if it is something that they would like to do. It seems weird to many people, but I find that the best campaigns are those that players and DM's create together beforehand.
Maybe run it in an AC type fights (on top of rooftops, back ally/warehouses) and a lot more sneaky/covert kind of running around, maybe a crime ring or drug lord-type they have to deal with :P
I want to see this too. I'm planning out a homebrew world and the first good chunk of the game is going to be limited mostly to a major city. It revolves around stealth type characters and more passive role playing gameplay. Strategy and thought focused more than combat. Hard to find advice for that.
Imo, the best couple you can make with urban campaigns is the criminal/mafia kind of game. It fits both the roleplay-heavy character and the blood-driven maniac murder hobo. You could even throw some other things in between! I for example once implemented freaking Stand Powers in my game. My players never had so much fun playing as they did in my tables.
I'm stealing Gilmour for my own game. He's franchising. it's what he would want.
remember to shop at Gilmore's Glorious Goods for all of your magic item needs!
my DM borrowed Gilmore and he ended up being my characters worst enemy. I'd try to make a smartass remark and wind up outside knee deep in horse shit.
What about that powder vendor?
starcrafter13terran I did steal victor too. He was thrown into a pit of souls by our warlock and died horribly.
@@IHateHandleNames WAT?!
What kind of murder hobo is your Warlock player?!
oh nvm they're a Warlock player
In terms of music my group is a big fan of God of War music for our boss fights. Works really well when something BIG shows up.
"I'd love to make a source book" Matt says.
This man is the god all DMs look up to. He's had years to cultivate his skills, and the man's campaigns age like fine wine. As time goes by, his stories just keep getting better and better.
Coming back to this over a year later after he's released a campaign guide ended a level 20 campaign and become incredibly famous how far they've come
Fantastic series. It's helped me a lot and I haven't even started dm-Ing yet
Dm'd my first session today and it was a blast. Thanks for being an inspiration for us all. Good stuff Matt 👍
Heh heh, looking back at this video while I'm starting my first DMing run with the Explorer's Guide to Wildemount is a funny thing.
If anyone is interested, Jeremy Crawford, one of the lead designers for D&D, runs a blog called Sage Advice where he addresses the difficult and nebulous areas between the rules.
I nominate Matt to play Aragorn in any new, edited, animated, or remade LotR media.
It's so beautiful seeing this and hearing him say multiple times how he would love to make a book like that and now the Exandria campaign setting book is out 😭❤
Matt mercer and chris perkins are probably my 2 favorite professional DM's. Theyre so good at what they do
I've used Gilmore to great effect! my players loved him, even when they were debt to him well over 500,000 gold. thank you so much for how much you put into your world
Interesting, that's the exact way I build my playlists for when I'm running a game at a person's at home. I try to use the music to help tell the story, not to replace it, to try and build on it.
Shame you can't go back further Matt, Jeremy Soule did some great work for Black Isle once upon a time.
I've taken to making maps in RTS level editors (currently using Age of Empires 2) and then screen capping it and piecing it back together on Roll20. You can make some great consistent open worlds that way and then add all you want on top of it to make it really shine. Then all you need to do is make some smaller maps for building interiors, and you're set. It's a big time sink, but it makes some strong looking towns and countryside.
It's cool that he did this.
"Hell, I would love to make a source book."
And so it has been done.
I'm a senior in high school who dms for my friend group. Instead of letting my second semester be a billion study Halls, I took a bunch of electives, one of which was improv. It really, really made my dming better, to an extent I couldn't expect. So I 100% agree on that.
forgive me Mercer for I have sinned. it's been six months since I've seen a critical role episode.
Wanderingsage7 That just means there's more awesome story for you to watch!
we need to cleanse you for you have broken your oath. Luckily, I'm a cleric.
Say 60 hail Scanlan’s and you are cleansed.
@@penguinpaladin5617 Hail Scanlan!
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SOOOOOO Helpful! This is great, especially because I just started DMing, just watching this series has made my DMing so much better!
Another thing you can do for maps if you don't want to use so much paper is you can get a wet erase battle map from gaming stores and some various colored visa vis and have the creativity that won't rub off until you want it to
God bless Matthew Mercer. I hope he continues making more awesome videos like these.
Why did you switch from Pathfinder to D&D 5?
Is it easier, better, more fun?
I bought the Pathfinder beginners box but still haven't been able to get a group to play.
Do you think switching to D&D might help?
+Cesar “Isaac” Perez The CR crew have previously said they changed to D&D5 because it works better on screen. D&D5 is a much "looser" system than Pathfinder, where you make fewer character generation choices but those choices have more impact.
For example, a 5th level rogue in Pathfinder would have chosen: stat selection, race, two background traits, 8+Int modifier skill points per level (chosen from 30 or so skills, ~20 of which are class skills for the rogue), three feats (four if human), two rogue talents, one stat increase, alignment, plus buying gear worth 10,500 gp (which makes up a significant portion of the character's power level) - and that's not counting optional things like archetypes (a thing used in many sourcebooks where you swap out some class features for others).
A 5th level D&D5 rogue would have chosen: stat selection, race, maybe sub-race, 4 out of 11 skills, 2 skills out of those (or from other sources) for Expertise, background, archetype, either one +2 stat bump or a feat, about 600 gp worth of mundane gear + normal starting stuff.
I'm not saying one is better than the other - they do different things. Pathfinder is pretty good at letting you play *exactly* the character you envision in your head (within power level limits) and at showing subtle differences between characters, but D&D5 is great at just getting down and getting to the action.
+Staffan Johansson also probably because Wizards wants that exposure.
dnd 5 is much more streamlined than pathfinder. pathfinder works really well as a combat heavy game but there are so many rules to keep track of. i prefer pathfinder myself as i like the complexity of the system and i really really like the setting.
To summarize: if you're an experienced tabletop player and you want something very detailed, Pathfinder is your game. If you're a newbie or just want something that's fairly straightforward, DnD5e is your game.
DnD5e is easier to understand for the general audience, because of that relative simplicity, so it's better for video/stream/podcast series like Critical Role.
rashkavar I'm a beginner DM who hasn't yet got the chance to play, but after researching I have comed to the conclusion that I like DnD rules and mechanics more than Pathfinder, but that I like the Pathfinder world and setting more than DnD, even though they are fairly similar.
What are your thoughts on playing Pathfinder but with DnD rules?
4:04 "hell, I'd love to make a source book" fast forward a year...
I come from an acting and improv background; I’ve been doing it for my entire childhood, so GMing seems like a fun way to kind of keep my skills sharp. These videos are fantastic by the way.
Matt, thank you for making these videos. They've been extremely helpful to me as I'm running my games. Please keep it up.
A sourcebook or a "Living Exandria" website would be sweet.
Honestly, I've always thought of attempting to be a game master *as being* an improv class. :P
Hes amazing at being a dm
Matthew Mercer, first thank you for the amazing videos. I am a amateur GM, and was the one that presented to my group of friends the universe of RPG. Which means I taught myself everything of it, and your videos has been enlightening for me. I'm speaking too much, sorry for that. what I want to say is thank you and please, if possible, continue this videos. I only hope to be half as good as a dungeon master as you are, thank you very much.
sorry for the grammar errors... my auto correct is the worst
Speaking of music, I started watching campaign 2 and I like it when familiar music from WoW randomly starts playing. My interest in the game has diminished over the years, but I still love the music. 😊
To add (after a long time) about music options, I’ve used Midnight Syndicate for years as Halloween music, but Nox Arcana is also great and very similar in style.
Good tip on the Improv. It helps a lot both for GMing and playing a PC. Saying "Yes, and..." avoids railroading the characters as well!
I'm gonna be running my first campaign using the new (upcoming) Robert E. Howard's Conan: Adventures in an age undreamed of RPG system. Your tips are really nice, I'm really scared about letting my group down, so stressed! Thanks for the nice vids
+editorism You should check out Matthew Colville's new video series called 'Running the Game'. It's a guide for beginner GMs, starting from creating dungeons, getting a game together, creating your setting. It's reeeally good for a new GM. I believe Liam O'Brien linked to the first video on twitter.
+editorism Don't worry, you're going to have a blast! :) Preparation is like, 80% of the battle. The other 20% is just relaxing, allowing yourself to have fun, and accepting the fact that your plans will never go perfectly. Remember: so long as everyone at the table has a good time, then the game is a success!
+editorism I would say just try your best, have fun and be open about things you find difficult. Good luck and have fun with your campaign!
If you really find nothing on google you can tweet at wizards of the coast too. I've seen them answer rule questions in the past. :)
Thank you so much Mathew! Just watching you doin your shit helps me so much!
You did it bubs, you made a reference book ❤️
You should have a prize on twitch for someone to win the chance to sit in on a session with you guys and play their character!
“I would love to make a sourcebook” well matt. Let me tell ya something lol
I remember a year long campaign we had back in Toronto during my college days, where each battle we'd use the usual Final Fantasy fight music, but at the grand "final battle", it was the bosa music from FFII (versus Zeromus)... made it that much more memorable!
Omg I can listen to his talk 4 ever 😍
"Google is your friend". Same thing I tell my wife every time she looks up *from her laptop* and asks me how to spell something.
3:09
I was hoping for 'ruddy mysterious'
Your video look really cool! I really regret that I did not know much English, and almost do not understand what you are saying. But I can see the quality of the video, the power of acting in the role of the characters and looking at you, I know what I should aspire. As the author youtube channel also as Gamemaster. Thank you!
I use a lot of music done by Adrian von Ziegler, David Arkenstone, Antti Martikainen, and some traditional Celtic, Nordic, or Medieval songs. Some of the movies I pull songs from include Willow, Legend, The Dark Crystal, Ladyhawke, and a few others.
Thanks for this amazing series, i'm looking ahead to starting my own campaign with some friends in the near future, and the things i learned here will help me a lot for sure. To be honest, they already inspired me for some of the best parts of my story being wrote right now.
It would be a dream playing a RPG with a GM like you (i admit already being quite an addictive for Pen and Paper), but that seems pretty difficult considering the fact that i live in germany. So ill keep watching your videos, enjoy that and learn hopefully a lot more.
xXDerPuppenspielerXx You should check out Roll20. It's a great online tabletop thing. If you're lucky there are some INCREDIBLE DMs that you could come across. The main reason I'm DMing now is a guy named Moose. He's an American guy who ran a campaign that I managed to get into by pure chance, considering my Britishness I feel like I was rather lucky. Oh, and I'm running a campaign involving a German at the moment, so I'm just saying, international tabletop possibilities are out there! (Just be careful when picking campaigns/players... I recommend aiming for a group with an articulate DM [look at grammar and spelling for an indicator] and trying to be as articulate as you can yourself.)
Thanks for teaching me how to pronounce McLeod
the Dungeon Masters Block podcast and forum is amazing as well for resources
Love ya, Matt! :D Thanks for all the great tips!
I play a Paladin that dabbles in a bit of instrument making and bard-style work. I currently have made an archtop semi-hollow body guitar in the game, but instead of being electric, it's magic based while also using magnetic pickups.
Thanks for all the great tips. Hope you do more of these in future!
@matt mercer... i love the gilmore character may i use him in my homebrew?? btw my homebrew is skyrim based with the monster from D&D and skyrim and classes and races of D&D
Another great place to find music, if copyrights aren't an issue, is movies, some have fantastic soundtrack, and tend to sound very grand, so find your favs or even movies with the same genre and use some track from those
Hey! Recent fan of your D&D videos! My friends and I are beginning to get into D&D and I am going to be the DM. I watched the video where explained the music you used, and I was just curious to if there was a specific playlist on Spotify that you use or if there is something that can get me started. Thanks!
Alright, just finished watching the whole playlist - time to watch them all again.
I just want to say thank you. If not for these videos I would not be trying to dm [gm] again for my second time I think doing a homebrew will work better for me.
"I would love to make a sourcebook." - Matt
"This aged WELL!" - Me
love it. Mr. Mercer please continue to do what you do.
So strange to watch now after the campaign guide is released and last year he thought it would never happen or didn't see the opportunity. Love you Matt!
3:37 Good cause im borrowing Ballsac..... i mean Balgus...
The awesome part is he actually did make a book.
Three people I, a faceless nobody on here, recommend for music and ambiance.
1. Vindsvept. The man's basically a bard, and his music has a certain feel that will enrapture your players and really pull them into the story.
2. Guild of Ambience. These guys have some respectable soundtracks, and they helped me begin building my own world all because of a simple tavern.
3. Michael Ghelfi. An incredibly underrated and talented man with dozens upon dozens of different and unique pieces of work. I use him quite often, and my players have been impressed by my use of him.
Minute 4 aged really well
I ran an episode of my group's campaign set inside the PC's very nightmares (based on backstory and psychological profiles I had extracted from them prior to play) as a result of the party being possessed by an astral spirit that intended to lay its eggs in their egos. It was very difficult to award material loot for a series of encounters that took place entirely within their own heads. In the end I had the power of the defeated spirit crystallise into stones of solid magic representing a magical weapon or item property inspired by the individual psychological challenges each character overcame in their personalised encounters. They could use these stones to bypass most of the usual crafting requirements to make the corresponding items.
I fucking love Matt Mercer.
Our groups pretty much never have soundtracks for the sessions, except for the Star Wars cantina music, which plays about half the time we play anything Star Wars related.
ages like wine, love the source book, just got to read over a friends copy
1:35 This is slip of the tongue is why we were so fortunate as to get the D&Diesel special later on.
And you made it mr Mercer, you made it! Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting YO!
For the "Be a Better DM" video. I recommend on reading all of the DMing Advice you can get. Ignore the Dungeon Master's Book, and just read what people advise on working on to make a fun game. But, the biggest word that you want in your game, is "fun". That is something you have to decide for yourself. Often, what is fun for you, will be fun for your players.
Please more tips, possibly some stuff about Taldorei.
I'm sure i'm not only speaking for myself when i say your tips have completely changed the way i create and run my groups campaign.
Hey Matt, try looking up a band/group of guys called Khallanar. They have currently two albums, one themed after the Drow, and one for their groups characters. But it's good ambient music designed after and for D&D.
Also curious how many improv classes Matt has taken? being someone in improv at the moment and going to write a (short) paper about D&D as improv. Also how does he take care of his hair? What kind of shampoo. Can he grow a beard?
Have you ever had a player thru Skype join a group for playing? I would love to be involved in gaming again (20years ago) with experienced players to get my feet wet again, but I'm a bit...shy..when I want to be.. kinda weird in game.
I think I've ended up putting Grogg (under different names) into my campaign a number of times. It was such a memorable character that I end up playing every Barbarian NPC like him, terrifying and adorable
For those reading the comments, here's some suggestions for music to peruse for playlists: Two Steps From Hell, Audiomachine, and Future World Music. Those three will likely lead you to similar stuff, particularly on RUclips.
I am going to be starting a D&D campaign soon. The thing is I have little to no experience in DMing. Even if I am playing a character in D&D I don't know a lot. I don't have any improv skills (I'm 14) and my social skill isn't that high. I was wondering if maybe there is an improv online class you know of or something that might help me prepare for this endeavor. Thanks.
same here and I'm 24.
Good luck. Seeing these guys the number one thing to do is have fun. Check out Matthews DM suggestions on the geek and sundry channel.
Always awesome to see new DMs. :)
Don't ever think your age has anything to do with it. I've been a DM/GM off and on for over 35 years and started when I was 9 playing with my mom, who had no interest in fantasy or role playing. My advice to learn the game and be effective is to talk to your players - a lot! Some of them may have more experience playing, and that's OK. Some may be completely new, and that's OK. It may be slow at first while you learn (or invent) your rule system, but above all HAVE FUN!!! Laugh when it's funny, cry when it's sad, tell a GREAT story and no one will care your age or how well you know "the rules."
Watch more of this guys video's he seems to understand what he is talking about. Also look up videos by counter monkey. He has a good video on how to run a good game. But I would recommend you aim for a short and simple game being so very new. Don't try do have some epic plot that last 20+ sessions. Just do something easy to get your feet wet. Think of your game as a movie. Try to wrap up you first game in 4 or 5 sessions. Don't worry about reaching high levels. Then take a step back and look at how it turned out. But just have fun and don't worry about getting all the rules correct. I've been playing since the 90's and I'm still learning rules here and there. You will find your self adding house rules anyways.
Maybe do it the "Old Fashioned Way." We used to string together short adventures that would last maybe 1 or 2 sessions. We would use the same characters every time, and take turns as the GM. Use those to get the hang of things then work towards that epic final arc for your story.
Bro... Midnight Syndicate... Thank you so much for giving them a shout out.
DMDJ is an app on android and IOS that have a lot of great music/sound! I use it often in my games
Great series, I hope it continues!
Matt, you should also check out the band Nox Arcana! They are very similar to Midnight Syndicate.
Playlists (movies and games are soundtracks):
Nox Arcana, Midnight Syndicate, Predator, Predator 2, Apocalyptica, Conan the Barbarian, Age of Conan, Unreal Tournament, Doom, Quake (all), Sleepy Hollow, Dragon Age Origins, Stargate, Gladiator, Prince of Persia, Chronicles of Riddick, Lord of the Rings (all), Hobbit (all), Guild Wars 2, Assassins Creed (all), Indiana Jones (all), Gears of War (all), Pirates of the Caribbean (all), Braveheart, Diablo (all), World of Warcraft (all), 300
Love this series. Thank you.
Can I make a map as I go along because that’s what I have been doing, kinda like how Minecraft randomly generates random terrain with different seeds, but more like dwarf fortress where it’s more like a rouge like.
Such great advice, thanks for the great and informative videos. I love what you do, I am a huge fan of your talent and hope to see more of your Dungeon Mastering in the near future, Aloha
Man, I haven't DM'd yet, but I'm so glad I've taken improv.
"Just know the players in my game have a chance to change the world" Matt: And Thordak appears
Have you ever thought of putting your music playlists on Geek and Sundry's Spotify? I would love to use them in a campaign!
RPG fantasy on iOS is pretty cool for tunes too
I love Matt so much
Thanks for the music tips! =)
WE NEED MORE!!!