[D&D] Making travel a tough adventure
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- čas přidán 10. 03. 2024
- Travel is often best done as a montage, or as a series of rolls. But sometimes it should BE THE ADVENTURE, or a large part of it. This is how I make travel arduous, challenging, and rewarding. Whether it is travel in D&D, Star Trek, Call of Cthulu, or Pathfinder - keeping the pace of your game is paramount - so use this skill wisely!
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I like all How to be a Great GM videos.
😂 Did you just watch DungeonCraft's video?
I see what you did.
I also like ALL How to be a Great GM videos!
LOTR 5e has solid traveling rules adapted from TOR game. They would combine well with this advice
@MarkCherkowski I think many of us saw Dan's video yesterday. 😂😂😂😂 but... ya gotta post within the first 48 hrs. 😉
Good story-making advice.
I suggest that the party also consider their animals' needs for food, water, and security. The horses, mules, dogs, and occasional familiars are important too. Beans and bacon were carried for the people. How about forage for the horses? When the wolves are lurking at the camp's perimeter, are the horses safe... and do they feel safe? Having your rides panic into the distance can be most inconvenient. You hobbled them? They won't run fast, much to the delight of the wolves. Your horses' need for your protection just got greater.
I've seen a lot of "open" grasslands. It's amazing how much can hide from view in a place with such little apparent privacy. I've seen 100+ cattle be completely out of sight until certain positions are reached by the potential viewer. Hunters might never see that herd of antelope. They might miss the pending ambush as well.
In Winston Churchill's book, "The River War," there is a description of an attempted cross-desert raid that failed. The hardships endured and the loss of mounts provides a "true history" lesson in under-prepared travel through a hostile ecology.
For further reading on food and water, look up "The Tyranny of the Wagon Equation". It's been known since Sun Tzu that fuel (whether trail mix, animal fodder, coal, or hydrazine) has mass, and as such moving it consumes more fuel. Unlike space, it's possible to gather more as you go, but that means it's time to start rolling skill checks.
You don't necessarily need to manifest an unexpected environmental hazard or "water-stealing mosquito". Unless water is sterilized and kept in a sterile (or magical) container, water will go bad and become undrinkable all on its own from stuff growing in it. It was a major problem on long sea voyages.
I love all How to Be a Great GM videos. These videos have been a terrific resource as a brand new GM only 7 months ago I feel like a Veteran GM now.
Yes! I always appreciate ways to make travel interesting.
Ginny Di has some great tips on this as well... Not to say Guy isn't doing an A+ job.
Another great video. Thank you. I love all How to be a great GM videos.
That's why my mage got himself a flying wagon with endless running water. It even has a modern bathtub. Best investment of a dragon hoard ever.
Water skins are outside of PCs' armor, and vulnerable to arrows, spears, and all kinds of slashing weapons.
Love your videos
Oh boy do I love All of How to be a Great GM's videos. The things he teaches are right up there with Professor DM at Dungeon craft and DM Lair. Thanks for always putting out great content my man. I'm going to take these tips for my upcoming session in a few days. Cheers mate :D
Czepeku makes some really beautiful stuff. Been a patron for a while now. Definitely worth the sub.
Great video like all these videos!
How to Be a Great GM's videos have all helped me learn... well.. how to be a (hopefully) great GM! Thanks for the myriad advice
There are times I question my methods of planning, but you always make me feel better about my decisions. This video came out just in time to assure my Sunday Adventure was the right choice!
Interesting video, love the content, thanks Guy!
I like all How to be a Great DM videos
This Guy never misses
I also love all Dungeon Craft characters ;)
Always brilliant stuff
I love all how to be a great GM videos
I'm going to have to share this with my game club.
I love ALL How to be a Great GM videos!!!!
I love all your videos! Thanks Guy!
Great advice!
I've been following you for years for rp advice and inspiration. Now that my party has finally gotten me to run a game, i find myself going through the catalog of DM advice🤣. All that to say thank you for all the content!💪🏾✊🏾
Congrats on the game! You never forget your first time GMing 😊
@@theactorsdungeon3898 thanks! Honestly pretty fun so far, I get to implement all the things I like without telling someone else how I think their game should be run. So a lot of ideas I had put away, I can test out and see if they really worked the way I expected.
Good stuff as always!
In my campaign I added a food/water mechanic that the group liked and was worth keeping track of. This went well for about 3 sessions and then one of the players learned the Create Food and Water spell. Need I say more?
Also consider: If there are no roads or even worn paths, it's likely you're not going to be able to bring along a wagon, or even necessarily a cart. The best you might manage are horses, or if you really want to narrow it down, terrain or geographically suitable mounts/riding creatures. Needing to acquire exotic, need-specific mounts to cross a portion of the landscape can be a hassle itself. Could you just rent them with a guide, or would you be responsible for buying them outright and caring for them, an expense your group likely wasn't prepared for or didn't leave room in the budget to cover. Especially early in a campaign or adventure where your player party hasn't built up the wealth to afford the high-expense magic items, gear, vehicles or mounts they might find themselves wanting to avoid certain difficulties in travel.
Another great video, Guy. I love all your content.
This is fantastic! Running Curse of Strahd, and my players wiil be traveling from Village of Barovia to Vallaki. This will fill the time nicely in between.
This is really great
I recall there was a video on what to do if players follow a red dragon flying in the sky that was just there for descriptive immersion. I can't find the video, however.
I LOVE all the videos that "How to Be a Great DM" produces! 😉
*With Thanks to Dan Defazio..*
Simplified survivals as well.
Backpack, 1 day supplies/person
Mount with saddlebags, 3 days/person
Cart 1 week/party dedicated
Wagon, 1 month/party dedicated
I cannot even remember where I came up with it. Keep simple, theatre of the mind. Are adventurers. Theatre of the mind. On a well travelled road? Following a lush river? An adventuring party should never have food or water issues. Period. It is just tedium. There are much more engaging travel encounters than slipping on a rock. Let party just say what they want to do and do it.
I hope ya realize this gave me an idea for an encounter where the party encounters another party full of rookies. Rookies who thought adventuring would just be fighting, fun, tits, sunshine, giggles and gold so they didn't prepare at all and for weeks have been lost, hungry, and thirsty. If feel thatd be memorable
My first big campaign I had an anti-party, made up of powerful people the players had crossed throughout the game. Made for a really climatic showdown.
I like all How to be a Great GM videos
I simplified water a fair bit. I dont ask how many units of water. I ask the players how they plan to travel. They get time. Know how many days they can travel. Just generalized.
No longer is it an issue. It is just a cost to plan adventure if relevant at all.
Then only time it factors in is if some sort of event. Raiders kill a horse. A wagon breaks a wheel. Storms. Something whose purpose is part of the adventure. I dont spend time mucking with 'Uh oh, you took a day longer than expected' It is... Something happened to impede your goal as an event to be engaging.
Theatre of the mind.
You want to travel for weeks in full plate? Well not on a horse for that long and you will be fatigued from wearing for so long.
Treating travel and geography essentially as an adversary to add to the story. *spits on the ground* Understanding the gift of water is more compelling if your players have been tested by the desert.
The food and water survival part is my second to last favorite part of RPG. I view it as maintenance, like going to the bathroom or showering. I don't care about that for my character.
Good ideas!
I like then all as well...
Professor will be proud!😂
When I heard that point about time pressure something in my mind clicked. Halting progress without anything at stake is pointless, spending a day more or less in the dungeon doesn't mean anything except they might lose some cash for the additional rations they consume.
The journey in Lord of the Rings would be way less of an adventure if the fellowship was not chased by the Ring Wraiths, taking the clear roads would be a no-brainer and even if they cut through the forest roads for some reason it would not make a difference in the end without a ticking clock.
So now I am inspired to think of some kind of Ring Wraith like threat I can send after my PCs. One of them owns a stolen magic sword - maybe the previous owner wants it back. Another one is a defected general of a fascist empire currently at war, maybe they want to make an example out of him or maybe he has some secret knowledge of national importance that they want to keep unknown.
Maybe the previous owner of the sword and soldiers of the empire meet and unite their forces (or maybe that makes the world seem too small, I'm not decided on that yet).
It's hard to think of something to hunt the 3rd PC - he's just an elf who has to go out and see the wonders of the world as part of his tribe's coming-of-age rituals - but one or two hunters stalking the group and wishing to harm his friends should be enough to motivate him..
And after I have implemented this mechanism to generate urgency I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of mileage out of these techniques for halting the parties progress in the face of urgency and therefore generating tension.
Man, I just love ALL this channel's videos.
I DO NOT love the BS we, as fans, have to engage in to keep Guy from getting screwed over as discussed in the recent Dungeoncraft video. If more of us supported a creator-controlled platform like....N E B U L A....we could reduce the reliance on the exploitative platform we're watching this video on now.
Having hiked in modern body armour I can tell you, 1L is not enough for a 2.5hr, 13Km ruck march with only 60 lbs of gear. For a day of being on my feet, I wouldn't leave with less than 4L just on my person (more if resupply wasn't relatively close).
No travel is hell if you have Guy to listen to on the way 👍
What if the party investigates something you've not prepped yet?
Travel & Bandit Attack 👍
Most important thing I learned this video was how to pronounce Czepeku and that I've done it wrong for years.
cleric -- I have create food and water ..
RIP the voice changer at 2:52
I dont know how i can implement the aspect of food and water into my game. It would most likely only work for the first time. After that my players would just buy immense amounts of water and food in the next town or village they come by.
Plus they will simply cast leomunds tiny hut to prevent thieves stealing sth from them
Just ride the giant eagles ffs
Great maps but that is not a dungeons & dragons adventure. That is a modern-day adventure. I Keep my quasim medieval setting medieval. No such things as coffee shops. Most villages wouldn't even have an inn.
The rest of you is pure gold as always. Don't know why more people are not aware of you when I watch all these guns and dragons and creator channels you almost never get mentioned and that's a shame because you have such a wealth of information.
Somebody could come to your channel and just go to your playlist never having known a TTRPG game end within a few months be an expert.
or you could not make travel it's own adventure and timeskip it. If you have to have travel throw in a few random encounters to keep the players on their toes, but there's a reason one does not simply walk into mordor...because that would be boring...and it was, which is why the lotr movies dragged on for so long. Just fly the eagles there already! That whole adventure felt like one big B plot to the wars and battles which were the real story. Spent way more time on it than they should have.
Lost me at "bacteria alive therefore not disease".
"I'll carry my water". Really? 7 lbs (3 kilos) per gallon. I have backpacked and filled my canteen from a natural spring (once). Even running water can be problematic (the dreaded Giardia). Who has not seen what happens when "food" goes to the watering hole to drink. Best take a Ranger or Druid with you.
I really like your videos, and I have two of your books, but....this video is kind of .... meh.
The waffle king returns. Spent near 10 mins talking about water. 🗑️