Top quote: "...The executioners have an evil bard that sings the songs of Maroon 5 or Insane Clown Posse - take your pick." Thanks, PDM, another great tutorial.
This is the best D&D channel bar none. There are many great channels, but this one has, in my opinion, the most down to earth honest perspective on the game. The Professor gets D&D. Sure, not everything is perfect, you’ll never agree with everything, but he makes you think, and every single bit of fat has been trimmed. Excellent presentation, good sense of humour, no bullshit. This channel is a deadly weapon. Sharp as hell. The Professor is also an eternal student, you can tell. If you think he’s a know it all, you might be one yourself.
Dungeon Craft videos are timeless. There are gems scattered throughout this channel going all the way back to the beginning. I frequently re-watch years-old videos for their insights. This channel could be made into a course.
Here's something for added sanity loss: While the PCs wander around the caves they hear the strains of a beautiful song. They eventually discover, to their horror, that the cannibals have been keeping one of their "livestock" alive for as long as possible because of his angelic singing voice. They've already devoured the poor victim's arms and legs and have left the limbless torso and head hanging in the dining hall where the captors force him to entertain them during mealtimes. Since his only function is to sing, his eyes and nose have already gone missing...
#Goya: Well, that poor guy would have died within minutes because of massive blood loss after losing his arms and legs (or infected wounds within a day at most). During the napoleonic wars, many soldiers that were "only" hit by musket balls or got cut by sabres or stabbed by bayonettes died because of infected wounds within a day or two...
There is this famous story about a civil war battle that during the aftermath many soldiers found their would glowed a pale blue light. The men who glowed lived the others died from infection. They believed it was angels healing them. It turned out to actually be a bacteria that was eating away the necrosis. Keep in mind this reference is out of my own memory so I might have a few details wrong. However that might also be living in the fungus caves lol keeping the poor victims alive. Found a link. www.kidsdiscover.com/quick-reads/angels-glow-the-bacterium-that-saved-civil-war-soldiers/
Party: "Don't worry, we are here to save you!" Hostages: "Go away, we don't need you anymore...we have the EXECUTIONERS! They have their own music!" Executioners: "Yeah, babe!"
I like the dice countdown system suggested in the WOIN system since it has a variable and unknown end time. Start with a pool of d6s, the more used the longer average time. Roll that die pool every turn and remove the dice which come up as 5 or 6, or just on sixes if looking to make it tick down slower. Once the last die is removed, BOOM! Should increase the tension quite a bit once the dice pool gets down to one or two dice, and add more push-your-luck calculations to the players' thought processes.
Great to see the Professor's long-standing tips wound in with the new content. Like any good academic, he repeats himself until us students get it through our thick skulls!
100% spot on! I have done this and it works wonders for the game. Last session I had players foaming at the mouth to take their turns as the time was running out on them. With poor visibility, looming danger of traps, things crawling around on cave walls and mutant rats wanting to have dinner....the players had their hands full. Now to put them through the wringer (again!)this weekend muahahaha
I ran this encounter, and rolled a 2 on the d4 to explode. And that was when the first guy died so 2 rounds in. The fight lasted 4 rounds only, Max Manheim and his crew died, my PCs managed to break a couple of prisoners free and dash out of the room. They absolutely loved it. One of my players told me after the game how he loved that it was the first D&D combat where he was not thinking about strategy. He was thinking about how to get the hostages out before the explosion, how to go around the bandits and preven them from cutting the woman in the cage. They were paying attention to everything except how much damage they did or how to best kill the enemy, and that made it into a narrative moment, even if they were rollling dice and in combat. Thanks for the amazing inspiration, this was a blast to run.
1) your notes are so pretty! 2) there is another way to bild tension: switch the focus when the party is split after doing something (dicerole, opening a door etc.) befor you resolve whatever was just happening. The players will bite their nails.
You're just the absolute best. I feel like a skulking shadowy apprentice leeching your knowledge from the vents of your crypt. A super appreciative, skulking shadowy apprentice!
I want to thank you personally, an for all the gamer's that forgot to because of all the cool ideas you gave them to think about. This is a contentious high quality series that is in a class its self Prof DM! I am a senior GM, who in his older years found my creative juices had all but dried up from my youth. with this channel an all its wisdom an common sense about great table top gaming no matter the genera, me an my imagination are on the road to a full recovery! Thanks again Pro DM!!!!!! Keep up the awesome work your doing for all in the world who love RPG's Graduate of DMU, TaUrUs.
nice, can't wait! just an idea but what about a video on building the perfect betrayal plot? i love the idea that the quest giver or king is actually the bad guy all along but things can get confusing along the way...
Prof. DM, you are my favorite RUclipsr! Your content is incredible -- primarily because you provide practical advice and you give us poor, insecure DMs food for thought. And that's why I'm a patron on Patreon. Keep up the awesome work and hope all is well with you and yours.
I had many issues with D&D4 days where everyone was afraid of getting opportunity attacks, so once the combatants were engaged the fight became statick and boring. In one session I made a temple of fire, and the floor was constantly spiting fire, so neither the players nor monsters could stay im one place for too long. It was a very fun adventure :)
As every time you deliver great ideas and thoughts.... really love the X hit idea.... great for little bit heavier minions.... simple Minions only 1 hit... And also great terrain and pictures fitting to the told story... well done
I forget a stat "BAM" Made up right there. X hits just like you. Usually I don't forget them as like you I have them right there, but I like to make combat fast and I if I have to glance down more than once at the beginning I just go with it. I also never do random monsters. Regardless if It's my world or another I know what's in the area and always do my best to make sure they belong there.
Professor...it's videos like this is why I watch. Great ideas and I totally agree when the tension is broken. Very tough to get it back. Awesome as usual. Thanks for your efforts. Cheers!!
Oh wow! Definitely gonna try to incorporate this somehow and even more so try to use this inspiration! I think just moving from rules to rulings is a major step in the right direction.
Always great tips. I don't agree with every suggestion, but your points of view present interesting workarounds with your mechanics revisions. I love some of the miniatures you use in your scenarios and would love it if there were mentions whenever possible. Like the previous poster I liked the prisoners you used and would love something like that.
I think I understand why my sessions often lack tension. For one Im often afraid to ramp up the danger or risk for fear of the players being upset at me. Also theres a lot of tension deaths, between combat turns taking ages and people leaving in and out of the room. I think the precedent is set that this is how it is so I cant just change everything tomorrow. Probably will do a series of short adventures to slowly introduce risk and tension.
Liked and shared! Another great bit of advice. I DM a Dungeon World campaign and your videos are very helpful. I tend to over prep and have gradually realized I work best off the cuff, I agree wholeheartedly about losing tension of you pause to look up a rule.
Gorgeous miniatures!! Great terrain!! I love watching Dungeoncraft videos! Im currently prepping The Keep on the Borderland. I'll definitely use this plot hook.
One really good example of a novel with time-sensitive plot points: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. As they uncover the clues left behind, they have a time limit to rescue the various Cardinals...
Love the advice to not look things up. It’s exactly how I do it. Noticed it took way too much time much better to just do what you think makes sense. Looking up afterwards is what I do to. I think it’s important players know you’re trying to be fair and the rule could be good and worth following correctly.
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 Personal preference probably but main reasons this one is a charm for me : lots of visual support with the minis and terrain, campaign recap (I do love those) all the while covering practical tips.
Awesome video Prof. I wish you had time and energy to produce more than once a week. Of course I realize you put a lot of work into your vids. Thanks for the hard work and great content. As Always, I’m looking forward to the next week already.
I stumbled into your channel by accident, and really enjoy it! Like one of the other fans below, I want to see a video about "the traitor" - You as DM can only pull it off once in a Blue Moon or the PCs can get too jaded with story and NPCs. Too much planning (too long of an arc), and it seems railroaded or contrived. Too little planning, and the PCs might not bite into the hook, or have no emotional connection to the NPC that betrayed them. Your thoughts?
Your giant orange d20 changes from a d20 to a cookie jar (or is it a coffee cup) d20, back to a d20. o.O ... this is not the first time I"ve seen it behave this way.
The fungus licking cannibal cult reminds me a lot of the movie "Bone Tomahawk". Which I will say in the movie marks a possibly jarring genre shift, but in D&D can be entirely on-brand if you're not running a "Disney villains" style game.
Ok, I'm inspired. Character gets infected by a werewolf. The nearest priest who can remove the curse is 7 days a way. The moon will be full in five days. They can make it, but they will have to force a march and give up two nights of rest. A pressing side quest is also sure to present its self along the way, or maybe they will get arrested if they've been naughty adventurers. And of course wandering monsters. Maybe even chased by the werewolf pack who wish to eliminate the " unworthy".
The only time I stop the game is to change the music that is playing to a more immersive one. I think this can increase immersion and when I turn to the laptop to change the songs they always say "Oh man, here it comes..." As for the tension, once I created a magical dungeon which was a testing ground for the Ex-director of the magic school of one of the players. It was entirely based on the Research Hall area from Bloodborne, with grotesque creatures that were basically psychic unstable tortured humans, forever scarred by the experiments of the Archmage in trying to contact the gods. They knew that behind a mysterious gate in the dungeon lied a terrible secret that could mean the end of the kingdom, so they felt compelled to investigate further. The boss of that area was a homebrewed homunculus ripped off of Fullmetal Alchemist, very powerful and well equipped. All the tension from the screams from the dungeon and the urging of the secret made some of the players get up from their chairs in anticipation. That was by far our best dungeon, I loved every second of it, and they deserved the noble titles they got after it.
I do the same exact thing (a la dark souls) however I use a soundboard app so that I can switch the music dynamically without a break I would look into one for sure depending on how you have your music being played.
@@slickrickard What app do you use? I'd love to know because I switch manually and have to interrupt my game. Normally it's brief and on unimportant moments (switching from Forst to City) but sometimes they start chit chatting during combat.
@@augustoluis6888 Oh well... I don't know why I didn't just say so to begin with... If you're using an mobile device (phone or tab) I use either Pi Music Player or Cartwell. Pi is just playlists, however they crossfade so no hard cuts and they let you drop the playlist on the phone desktop. So I'll name the playlist the section on my writeup, switch my display to "never sleep" and just click away as I progress my write up for the session. Cartwell is a soundboard and takes a bit more finagling, just do a bit of googling if you want to go that route though I will say it's more prep. The last option is if you're running sound on a laptop... Sound Byte. It's a free, open source sound board with tons of features and options. I don't really have enough laptops for my game or I'd use Sound Byte, lol. But tbh most of the time I use Pi and my playlists have been changing to mood instead of instance so I can reuse. Just get a good grip of tracks going and always set to shuffle and you don't have to worry about too much repition. Good luck!
I'm curious, for play by post games do you have any recommendations for creating tension? Beyond what's mentioned here? I see some ways that could be used here, but I'd like to hear more. Very good vid! 👍
Like a play by mail game? Those still exist? I remember them in the 80s but didn't know they survived. Or are you talking about playing in an online chat room?
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 no, play by post on a message board. Mythweavers is one of the bigger game communities that I play some games on. DnD is the sites bread & butter. I usually play FATE personally, but lots of concepts and Ideas can be interchangeable. I prefer in person.... but not to many games around me now and hard to get those I did game with to gather online or on discord. Thinking about I think it's similar to play by mail in some ways. My uncle used to tell me about people who played by snail mail. 🐌
I´ve just seen this for the first time. Great job, i will use this in my ongoing campaign right away. One Question: Did the PCs in your campaign kill the Executioners (and ending their recurring evil) and what would/did you do if/when it happens/ed? Greetings from Germany.
Thanks for writing, Nerf. I have three groups. One rescued Max Manheim when he and the Executioners ran into trouble with some skeletons, and they became friends. One group killed Max Mannheim & the Executioners, to great applause. The final group, made up of mostly women, had the strangest reaction: two of the characters had a menage a trois with Max Manheim. This proves a) players are weird b) I observe and narrate the game--I don't make judgements
Was that the Fungis of Yoggoth or FunGuys of Yoggoth? 😂😂😂😂 Plus the return of the Executioners. Boo Max Mannheim! Plus, the evil bard obviously HAS to play Insane Clown Posse based on that mini! 👍👍👍👍😎😎😎😎 Love the concept of the cannibals! 👍👍👍👍😎😎😎😎
Great video Professor! So much tension, I might need a Xanax. Quick question: What miniature line are those prisoner minis you utilize in this video? I would love to procure some.
"as a reader, I love to read that stuff. As a Dungeon Master..." I wholeheartedly agree! I break down any module/game/campaign I procure into the smallest amount possible... You nail it on various points, but the slowing of a session to look up stats, spells, blah blah blah... Takes so much away from a Quality Gaming Session
"Fun guys from Yuggoth" - I think I took actual psychic damage from that.
Lose 8 SAN sir!
Glad someone got the joke.
That joke was insane. 😜😂
@@terrybeal2252 Pass this video on to your well-read friends.
It's originally from MWWG. ;)
4 Ways to Build Tension: Ok
Also a Fungus Licking Cannibal Cult: OK!
I thought that might seal the deal!
Top quote: "...The executioners have an evil bard that sings the songs of Maroon 5 or Insane Clown Posse - take your pick." Thanks, PDM, another great tutorial.
You also gotta roll for an INSANITY CHECK against WillPower or Wisdom if the Bard starts singing Maroon 5
This is the best D&D channel bar none. There are many great channels, but this one has, in my opinion, the most down to earth honest perspective on the game. The Professor gets D&D. Sure, not everything is perfect, you’ll never agree with everything, but he makes you think, and every single bit of fat has been trimmed. Excellent presentation, good sense of humour, no bullshit. This channel is a deadly weapon. Sharp as hell. The Professor is also an eternal student, you can tell. If you think he’s a know it all, you might be one yourself.
Dungeon Craft videos are timeless. There are gems scattered throughout this channel going all the way back to the beginning. I frequently re-watch years-old videos for their insights. This channel could be made into a course.
Thanks. This particular video content will be in the Deathbringer RPG GM's guide. Stay tuned.
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1Oooh! That's exciting!!
Here's something for added sanity loss:
While the PCs wander around the caves they hear the strains of a beautiful song. They eventually discover, to their horror, that the cannibals have been keeping one of their "livestock" alive for as long as possible because of his angelic singing voice. They've already devoured the poor victim's arms and legs and have left the limbless torso and head hanging in the dining hall where the captors force him to entertain them during mealtimes. Since his only function is to sing, his eyes and nose have already gone missing...
Oh that's gruesome. Well done, sir.
#Goya:
Well, that poor guy would have died within minutes because of massive blood loss after losing his arms and legs (or infected wounds within a day at most). During the napoleonic wars, many soldiers that were "only" hit by musket balls or got cut by sabres or stabbed by bayonettes died because of infected wounds within a day or two...
@@xornxenophon3652 One word: clerics.
@@xornxenophon3652 Unless his limbs were dissolved in a pit of green slime! Watch the next episode!
There is this famous story about a civil war battle that during the aftermath many soldiers found their would glowed a pale blue light. The men who glowed lived the others died from infection. They believed it was angels healing them.
It turned out to actually be a bacteria that was eating away the necrosis. Keep in mind this reference is out of my own memory so I might have a few details wrong.
However that might also be living in the fungus caves lol keeping the poor victims alive.
Found a link. www.kidsdiscover.com/quick-reads/angels-glow-the-bacterium-that-saved-civil-war-soldiers/
Thanks for the nuance between a Ticking Clock and a Timer.
You are welcome!
The minis on display in this video are exceptionally grimdark and badass!
Thanks. Most are Reaper.
I remember seeing a merchant wagon or a carriage in one of your videos. I know that's pretty vague but where is that from?
Party: "Don't worry, we are here to save you!"
Hostages: "Go away, we don't need you anymore...we have the EXECUTIONERS! They have their own music!"
Executioners: "Yeah, babe!"
But it's Maroon 5 :(
My bard would countersong with Manowar.
"Sings the songs of Maroon 5 or Insane Clown Posse" 👏 👏 👏
*slain* 🤣🤣🤣
That's evil!! 😬😂
As soon as he said this I literally LOL'd and immediately looked in the comments
I like the dice countdown system suggested in the WOIN system since it has a variable and unknown end time.
Start with a pool of d6s, the more used the longer average time. Roll that die pool every turn and remove the dice which come up as 5 or 6, or just on sixes if looking to make it tick down slower.
Once the last die is removed, BOOM! Should increase the tension quite a bit once the dice pool gets down to one or two dice, and add more push-your-luck calculations to the players' thought processes.
Very cool!
Wow the shot at 2:34 - production value is goin' up!
Thanks!
Great to see the Professor's long-standing tips wound in with the new content. Like any good academic, he repeats himself until us students get it through our thick skulls!
Love your tweaks to d&d standard modules.
Thanks!
Max Manheim is amazing 🤣🤣🤣 love your videos
100% spot on! I have done this and it works wonders for the game. Last session I had players foaming at the mouth to take their turns as the time was running out on them. With poor visibility, looming danger of traps, things crawling around on cave walls and mutant rats wanting to have dinner....the players had their hands full. Now to put them through the wringer (again!)this weekend muahahaha
I also have back-to-back weekend sessions. Let me know how yours works out!
I ran this encounter, and rolled a 2 on the d4 to explode. And that was when the first guy died so 2 rounds in. The fight lasted 4 rounds only, Max Manheim and his crew died, my PCs managed to break a couple of prisoners free and dash out of the room. They absolutely loved it. One of my players told me after the game how he loved that it was the first D&D combat where he was not thinking about strategy. He was thinking about how to get the hostages out before the explosion, how to go around the bandits and preven them from cutting the woman in the cage. They were paying attention to everything except how much damage they did or how to best kill the enemy, and that made it into a narrative moment, even if they were rollling dice and in combat.
Thanks for the amazing inspiration, this was a blast to run.
And by not thinking about strategy, they did exactly that.
Wow there is alot of stuff going on in this scene love it!
Thanks. It takes a LOOOOOONG time to film the B roll. I'm glad people appreciate it.
1) your notes are so pretty! 2) there is another way to bild tension: switch the focus when the party is split after doing something (dicerole, opening a door etc.) befor you resolve whatever was just happening. The players will bite their nails.
And a fungus licking cannibal cult (did I hear that right? So excited!)
It's one of my best ideas, ever.
I just noticed my prediction of 30K subscribers before year's end came true. Congrats, Prof!
I am impressed by your prognostications. Any predictions for 2020?
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 50K! Go big or go home!
@@goyasolidar Looks like you were right again. 58k as of today, January 25, 2021. Try it again for this year?
Perfect Timing on this. I was looking up "How to Escalate Plot in Narratives" And was not finding anything like this.
This scene is so insane (clown posse), I love it! Fits right into my hills have eyes rip-off.
You're just the absolute best. I feel like a skulking shadowy apprentice leeching your knowledge from the vents of your crypt. A super appreciative, skulking shadowy apprentice!
I love the Max Manheim bit. It's so devilishly clever. My players won't be thankful to you for this idea, but I certainly am.
the ticking bomb method for SURE adds urgency to the game. I love when this method is used in my games
Thanks for taking he time to reply!
My God! Maroon 5!?! I didn’t know this was a horror campaign?
It's getting harder and harder to breathe.....
Now I can never not imagine a bunch of D&D Juggalos, running around, hitting stuff with axes, rapping all over stuff...
Licking the walls...
I want to thank you personally, an for all the gamer's that forgot to because of all the cool ideas you gave them to think about. This is a contentious high quality series that is in a class its self Prof DM!
I am a senior GM, who in his older years found my creative juices had all but dried up from my youth.
with this channel an all its wisdom an common sense about great table top gaming no matter the genera, me an my imagination are on the road to a full recovery! Thanks again Pro DM!!!!!! Keep up the awesome work your doing for all in the world who love RPG's
Graduate of DMU, TaUrUs.
the timer is brilliant. Going to implement it immediately
Excellent use of timers and NPC's. 😎😁
nice, can't wait!
just an idea but
what about a video on
building the perfect betrayal plot?
i love the idea that the quest giver or king is actually the bad guy all along
but things can get confusing along the way...
Let me think about that. It's one of those things either very few people want to see or EVERYONE wants to see.
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 I'm interested in seeing that too! Beside, it would fit the current direction of the channel.
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 Count me in the Wants to see!
Sounds like a great future video.
Just read Berserk.
This stands the test of time. Great advice glad I revisited.
Professor DM knows his stuff. Thanks for bringing a lot of this to our attention. Now I can be a better player for my DM
Great video. New to DM and I feel like I just fell into the rabbit hole and loving it. Thank you for the tips.
Prof. DM, you are my favorite RUclipsr! Your content is incredible -- primarily because you provide practical advice and you give us poor, insecure DMs food for thought. And that's why I'm a patron on Patreon. Keep up the awesome work and hope all is well with you and yours.
Thanks, Kenneth! All is very well after a very rough year for my family. Looking forward to 2022 a return to cons!
I had many issues with D&D4 days where everyone was afraid of getting opportunity attacks, so once the combatants were engaged the fight became statick and boring. In one session I made a temple of fire, and the floor was constantly spiting fire, so neither the players nor monsters could stay im one place for too long. It was a very fun adventure :)
hands down best D&D channel on youtube, love u professor ❤
Thanks for you kind words! Keep sharing so we grow!
Thank you for these tips! I'm running a haunted house in my pathfinder group today, and building tension is a must!!!
Let me know how it went!
As every time you deliver great ideas and thoughts.... really love the X hit idea.... great for little bit heavier minions.... simple Minions only 1 hit...
And also great terrain and pictures fitting to the told story... well done
I forget a stat "BAM" Made up right there. X hits just like you. Usually I don't forget them as like you I have them right there, but I like to make combat fast and I if I have to glance down more than once at the beginning I just go with it. I also never do random monsters. Regardless if It's my world or another I know what's in the area and always do my best to make sure they belong there.
Thanks for replying. People have asked me about wandering monsters and I will do an episode on them eventually.
Allways worth a rewatch. Great video!
Professor...it's videos like this is why I watch. Great ideas and I totally agree when the tension is broken. Very tough to get it back. Awesome as usual. Thanks for your efforts. Cheers!!
Thank you very much for taking the time to comment!
Oh wow! Definitely gonna try to incorporate this somehow and even more so try to use this inspiration! I think just moving from rules to rulings is a major step in the right direction.
Love the video, most certainly worth the wait and I would love to see a pacing video, 1 awesome point if you do 👍
Very possible. What specifically would you like me to talk about?
specifically pacing adventures and how to use/make good pacing PS thank you for listening to you fans love ❤️ all you content 😀🤓
Ok i’ll get on it right away
Freaking amazing! Absolutely nailed it.
Just replace fungus with bath salts and Grimdark with Florida and you've got a modern setting adventure!
Always great tips. I don't agree with every suggestion, but your points of view present interesting workarounds with your mechanics revisions. I love some of the miniatures you use in your scenarios and would love it if there were mentions whenever possible. Like the previous poster I liked the prisoners you used and would love something like that.
I have to do a better job at remembering where my minis come from. I honestly don't remember.
I think I understand why my sessions often lack tension. For one Im often afraid to ramp up the danger or risk for fear of the players being upset at me. Also theres a lot of tension deaths, between combat turns taking ages and people leaving in and out of the room. I think the precedent is set that this is how it is so I cant just change everything tomorrow. Probably will do a series of short adventures to slowly introduce risk and tension.
The Tension is Palpable!
Liked and shared! Another great bit of advice. I DM a Dungeon World campaign and your videos are very helpful.
I tend to over prep and have gradually realized I work best off the cuff, I agree wholeheartedly about losing tension of you pause to look up a rule.
Fantastic video professor!
Thanks. Keep sharing. Not getting as many views as I might have hoped.
Gorgeous miniatures!! Great terrain!! I love watching Dungeoncraft videos! Im currently prepping The Keep on the Borderland. I'll definitely use this plot hook.
I chuckled when the executioners busted in again with their edgy theme song. Great work Professor!
Thanks! That's one of my favorite videos.
One really good example of a novel with time-sensitive plot points: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. As they uncover the clues left behind, they have a time limit to rescue the various Cardinals...
Love the advice to not look things up. It’s exactly how I do it. Noticed it took way too much time much better to just do what you think makes sense.
Looking up afterwards is what I do to. I think it’s important players know you’re trying to be fair and the rule could be good and worth following correctly.
That was great!! So much to mentally unpack and implement!!
Watch it again!
New subscriber to the channel here, nice to see that the next video will be release on my birthday :)
Happy birthday, Daniel!
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1, thanks :)
You are a wealth of information man. Thanks for all the content !
I think this is one of your best vid prof! Nailed it!
Thanks! Please share. I never know if they're going to be popular.
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 Personal preference probably but main reasons this one is a charm for me : lots of visual support with the minis and terrain, campaign recap (I do love those) all the while covering practical tips.
Awesome video Prof. I wish you had time and energy to produce more than once a week. Of course I realize you put a lot of work into your vids. Thanks for the hard work and great content. As Always, I’m looking forward to the next week already.
I wish I did too. One minute of Dungeoncraft takes 1-2 hours to produce. Thanks for tuning in Thursdays though!
Now, that was intense...
Thanks for taking time to comment!
Great video, I really enjoyed it and will keep that in mind in the future.
Thanks for taking the time to reply!
I feel you buried the lead with the fungus licking canable cult.
LOL. I'm not sure people would be searching for that particular phrase.
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 boring people, maybe...
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 SEO, man, it's a thing XD
Dude, you're the best! Lol, great stuff.
Glad you enjoyed this. It's one of my favorite videos.
Great info prob best advice fast and furious description
Thank you for your kind words and taking the time to comment.
I stumbled into your channel by accident, and really enjoy it! Like one of the other fans below, I want to see a video about "the traitor" - You as DM can only pull it off once in a Blue Moon or the PCs can get too jaded with story and NPCs. Too much planning (too long of an arc), and it seems railroaded or contrived. Too little planning, and the PCs might not bite into the hook, or have no emotional connection to the NPC that betrayed them. Your thoughts?
exactly what i was looking for sick video
This was a helpful one and really drove home the value of preparedness and not pausing to, 'check the book.' Something I'm guilty of...
We all have been there.
Always enjoy your videos, really helps me in my sessions. Keep up the great work!!!!!
Tension is great
Your giant orange d20 changes from a d20 to a cookie jar (or is it a coffee cup) d20, back to a d20. o.O
... this is not the first time I"ve seen it behave this way.
Deploying these tactics on my Rifts session this Sunday. Stay tuned for feedback.
Looking forward to it.
You had me at fungus licking cannibal cult.
The fungus licking cannibal cult reminds me a lot of the movie "Bone Tomahawk".
Which I will say in the movie marks a possibly jarring genre shift, but in D&D can be entirely on-brand if you're not running a "Disney villains" style game.
Ok, I'm inspired. Character gets infected by a werewolf. The nearest priest who can remove the curse is 7 days a way. The moon will be full in five days. They can make it, but they will have to force a march and give up two nights of rest. A pressing side quest is also sure to present its self along the way, or maybe they will get arrested if they've been naughty adventurers. And of course wandering monsters. Maybe even chased by the werewolf pack who wish to eliminate the " unworthy".
Very cool!
i can feel the tension already. :D
Wow
Good ideas
Yes stopping can kill the mood
Thanks for watching and taking the time to reply!
great video, as always
Thanks!
Great Work!
Many thanks!
OMG Insane Clown Posse is even WORSE than I ever imagined ! OH SNAAAAAAAAP !! Thank you PDM, now I'll have musical nightmares.
Oh no. Multiple days of tension. What will we do?
Great video!
6:46 if there's anything the comic homestuck has taught me, its that bard means trouble.
One can not watch this video too often.
The only time I stop the game is to change the music that is playing to a more immersive one. I think this can increase immersion and when I turn to the laptop to change the songs they always say "Oh man, here it comes..."
As for the tension, once I created a magical dungeon which was a testing ground for the Ex-director of the magic school of one of the players. It was entirely based on the Research Hall area from Bloodborne, with grotesque creatures that were basically psychic unstable tortured humans, forever scarred by the experiments of the Archmage in trying to contact the gods. They knew that behind a mysterious gate in the dungeon lied a terrible secret that could mean the end of the kingdom, so they felt compelled to investigate further. The boss of that area was a homebrewed homunculus ripped off of Fullmetal Alchemist, very powerful and well equipped. All the tension from the screams from the dungeon and the urging of the secret made some of the players get up from their chairs in anticipation. That was by far our best dungeon, I loved every second of it, and they deserved the noble titles they got after it.
I do the same exact thing (a la dark souls) however I use a soundboard app so that I can switch the music dynamically without a break I would look into one for sure depending on how you have your music being played.
@@slickrickard What app do you use? I'd love to know because I switch manually and have to interrupt my game. Normally it's brief and on unimportant moments (switching from Forst to City) but sometimes they start chit chatting during combat.
@@augustoluis6888 Oh well... I don't know why I didn't just say so to begin with... If you're using an mobile device (phone or tab) I use either Pi Music Player or Cartwell. Pi is just playlists, however they crossfade so no hard cuts and they let you drop the playlist on the phone desktop. So I'll name the playlist the section on my writeup, switch my display to "never sleep" and just click away as I progress my write up for the session. Cartwell is a soundboard and takes a bit more finagling, just do a bit of googling if you want to go that route though I will say it's more prep.
The last option is if you're running sound on a laptop... Sound Byte. It's a free, open source sound board with tons of features and options. I don't really have enough laptops for my game or I'd use Sound Byte, lol. But tbh most of the time I use Pi and my playlists have been changing to mood instead of instance so I can reuse. Just get a good grip of tracks going and always set to shuffle and you don't have to worry about too much repition. Good luck!
Bonus: Most of the Dante's Inferno OST (the 2010 vg) is great big bad music if you're going dark.
THAT is a cool idea for a dungeon.
I'm curious, for play by post games do you have any recommendations for creating tension? Beyond what's mentioned here? I see some ways that could be used here, but I'd like to hear more. Very good vid! 👍
Like a play by mail game? Those still exist? I remember them in the 80s but didn't know they survived. Or are you talking about playing in an online chat room?
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 no, play by post on a message board. Mythweavers is one of the bigger game communities that I play some games on. DnD is the sites bread & butter. I usually play FATE personally, but lots of concepts and Ideas can be interchangeable.
I prefer in person.... but not to many games around me now and hard to get those I did game with to gather online or on discord.
Thinking about I think it's similar to play by mail in some ways. My uncle used to tell me about people who played by snail mail. 🐌
I´ve just seen this for the first time. Great job, i will use this in my ongoing campaign right away. One Question: Did the PCs in your campaign kill the Executioners (and ending their recurring evil) and what would/did you do if/when it happens/ed? Greetings from Germany.
Thanks for writing, Nerf. I have three groups. One rescued Max Manheim when he and the Executioners ran into trouble with some skeletons, and they became friends. One group killed Max Mannheim & the Executioners, to great applause. The final group, made up of mostly women, had the strangest reaction: two of the characters had a menage a trois with Max Manheim. This proves a) players are weird b) I observe and narrate the game--I don't make judgements
Was that the Fungis of Yoggoth or FunGuys of Yoggoth?
😂😂😂😂
Plus the return of the Executioners. Boo Max Mannheim! Plus, the evil bard obviously HAS to play Insane Clown Posse based on that mini!
👍👍👍👍😎😎😎😎
Love the concept of the cannibals!
👍👍👍👍😎😎😎😎
Thanks so much for watching.
Excellent video, thank u
very nice tip . following !
Tense is how the background changes through the video!
Great video Professor! So much tension, I might need a Xanax.
Quick question: What miniature line are those prisoner minis you utilize in this video? I would love to procure some.
Kingdom Death?
I do not remember. It was a European company.
No. European. Might be Brother Vini.
Thank you
Maroon 5, the most evil songs possible.
True that.
Is one way to premiere the video 2/3 days beforehand?
They're available in advance on Patreon.
Next NPC is an ICP bard. Faygo bomb: Area effect, Dex save or Restrained due to the stickiness. WHOOP WHOOP!
"as a reader, I love to read that stuff. As a Dungeon Master..."
I wholeheartedly agree! I break down any module/game/campaign I procure into the smallest amount possible... You nail it on various points, but the slowing of a session to look up stats, spells, blah blah blah... Takes so much away from a Quality Gaming Session
The Humongous: Just walk away!
Think I need timers, gotta get the tension back!
Nice video. May I ask where you get these prisoner themed miniatures? They’d be great for a game I’m thinking of drafting. Thanks.
Ral Partha.