I had a party go against a werewolf, and the bard and rogue, realizing they had no silver weapons, starting throwing silver coins at it while singing this song.
Looks like he wakes up with a freshly brewed cup of iced coffee, the beans of which he ground himself, and hits up the bar with his friends in the evening to grab a nice craft ale.
Here are some cool "folkloric" vulnerabilities. A virgin blade (Blade that has not been used to kill before). Or the opposite a cursed blade, a blade that has felled a 100 innocent lives. A metal weapon forged under the full moon. Or when harmed under a full moon. A spear made from the bones a human being. Or the antlers of an elk To the "resistances" I would like to add maybe as an alternative some "conditional regeneration" by making the creature regain a 10th of its total hitpoints if: Not exposed at least dim light for a round. Not fully submerged in water 1 minute after killed. Not being looked upon during a round. Not in the presence of an infant in the past minute. In other words make 1 of the suggested resistances or the vulnerability something that the players might have to work to get first, something so specific that becomes mystical but mundane enough so that a barbarian can get its hands on.
One quick thing about the video subject: that type of specialization seems to me like it would fit well as a way to seperate different area's monsters, like maybe the direbears in the warm, lush forests aren't cold resistant, but instead poison resistant, so using tranquilizer darts may have worked in the tundra you first saw dire bears in, but not so down south.
Oooo, I think I'm going to use this idea in a campaign I'm roughing out right now! Each of the "mini bosses" has minions, but I haven't been able to really figure out how to make each fight unique though the "bosses" are of the same coven, so biomes and differences in resistance works amazingly for similar minions. Thank you!
@@herecomemacOnTT You're welcome! Maybe try matching the resistances up _very_ slightly with the mini-boss's character? Like if the group's brains was in the swamp, he'd give the minions poison immunity injections, or if the most brutal of the mini bosses is in a cold or hot climate, he just made different minions stand out in the elements for days at a time until some of the minions came back; little clues like a frozen zombie at a cliffside watch, or a hidden pile of twisted, mutated corpses under some vines or something might be fun little clues for observant players, too. Just some ideas.
Tbh, the one thing I dont like about the core minsrer manual, is that the monsters arent separated by type &/or environment, its straight alphabetical. I think they show alternative listings in supplementary books like Volvo & xanathar, but the mm isnt the best for planning based on any particular axis
One trick I learned from some Pathfinder players was to track HP in health chunks. Like let's say you have an enemy with 150 health, you split it up into three bars of 50 HP, and damage doesn't carry over from one bar to the next on a single attack. If the first bar is at 10, and they do 20 damage, it would deplete the first bar but the monster will have 100 hp instead of 90.
I did a Witcher style encounter in my game I'm running. I took a Manticore and gave the players some lore about what it could do, and things that it was attracted to. They were able to use this and make bait for it. They also knew that it was dangerous when flying, so they figured out a way to ground it. Bolas and fire damage would work, as would doing enough damage at range. I like the idea of using simpler items to overcome resistances, rather than just "magic weapon."
Well, the idea that fey are vulnerable to iron and especially to cold iron is already there. Were beasts to silver. Wasn't it Ash wood that was supposed to be particularly effective agaimst vampires? Maybe not remembering last one right. Anyway the lore is there if your willing to dig that deep and find a way to work it into the game.
@@jacobfreeman5444 That's already known, it's right there in the statblock, but it's blatant and obvious to anyone who already has the monster manual. Othertimes, it also depends on how you play the monster too. Some monsters if played more intelligently can get far more annoying, and that's what I did with the Manticore, while also giving players a hint on how it'd act and operate. Use of lures as well means the players can actually prepare for a fight, which helps them overcome tougher CR. 5e doesn't have expansive materials either so usually any metallic weakness is just shorthanded to 'silver'. Additionally, a lot of monsters don't have all the features or variants they did in prior editions. (E.g., the manticore in the 5e Monster Manual is a plain one, but venomous ones also exist.)
@@Zedrinbot Ah, I was not clear. By knowing these vulnerabilities you can concoct uniquely potent poisons...which is the witcher way. The oils they use are more or less just poisoned oils brewed to that monsters specific weaknesses. Silver of course being the main ingredient for oils used on were beasts. But you can use that logic for them all. They could use magic weapons to bypass the usual defenses...or they can use some alchemy to make something a bit less permanent but more readily available. Also not all things a beast is weak to would be good to make a weapon with.
@@jacobfreeman5444 The only problem with limiting it to base vulnerabilities, it'll mean the vulnerabilities are kinda few and far between, and the players don't have to do much of the research process, if any (they could just look up the stat block.) Tweaking the resistances a bit gives you more opportunities to play with lore and more researched approaches.
4:03 this stage is a great one to make your PCs use Int base skills like Nature, Arcana or Religion depending on the type of monster they will be fighting.
What did you expect? Zee is a gold dragon that takes human form (alongside his mate) to help us mere lesser beings with the game of D&D. Of course he and his mate (who is also a gold dragon) are going to be hot.
I've tried it! It was for a two-session one shot where my players went basilisk-hunting in a marsh full of water snakes. It was quite a lot of fun building the final encounter, though in the end the players plan was so effective the combat was over after two rounds. Also, this reminds me a lot of Vaesen, a RPG set in Victorian-era Scandinavia. It is all about investigating mysteries involving folklore creatures, and often ends up with the players performing some sort of ritual to appease them. It feels a lot like a crossover between The Witcher and Call of Cthulhu.
Recommended channels: Seattle by night: czcams.com/video/f2smsDmVfco/video.html A cool vid from Adam: czcams.com/video/Ljpn5p6c73k/video.html Matts newest video: czcams.com/video/canhaxHlFg8/video.html
"You know what to do." My brain: "...you know what you doing". Man, that 'all your base' meme is still funny! Anyway. If you're doing interviews with worldbuilders, please try interviewing Brandon Sanderson (or someone from his writing team). His Cosmere is enormous and well written, with intricate magic systems (at least relatively speaking).
Yay! A Zee Bashew Video! AAAAAA! A face reveal! (Okay, Face Cam Bashew is nice, too.) Now we know what the human form of the gold dragon that does all of those videos looks like.
This is all well and good, though R. Talsorian Games has an official Witcher RPG. If you want to do a Witcher game, why not just use the Witcher core book and go from there?
Oh HELL yes. My man. I want to craft an entire glossary of worthy opponents using both of these rulesets. Then, I could just build a campaign between them!
@@user-gv5dl6zi8z Maybe it's just the games I've been in or witnessed, but as characters gain levels I've noticed a kind of detachment that develops: players become less interested in the game's setting and more intent on immediate goals and reactions; or the DM throws all the exotic stuff at them because it's a higher CR to the point where nothing seems real or grounded anymore. It might be as simple as high-level games have characters grow to be enormously powerful but still lack any real responsibility so the DM keeps throwing calamities at them to justify their continued careers because they no longer need to adventure just to keep a roof over their heads.
I love this video. I've just started giving lingering injuries to my players when they are knocked to 0 HP. One player lost a finger to a crocodile and are now owning that characteristic during role play.
This is why I watch every video you put out. Because you not only give an idea/nugget of wisdom, you take the time and help people understand the reasons/mechanics of doing it that way. All in a very well thought out and eloquently articulated manner. It's a nice personal touch that is all too rarely found these days.
@@noskalborg723 if the patches are from damage rather than natural symmetric growth pattern then you can always try dermarolling and it'll fill up more even if not completely.
I absolutely love all your videos. I got started on the animated spellbook series and I’ve watched quite a bit now. This is definitely something I’m going to do with my homebrew world.
For what it is worth, I really dig the post-notes section and interviews discussing the topics in a bit more detail, I encountered my first post notes recently and it drew me back in to watch more videos. Keep up the good work and make 2020 an even greater year for yourself!
Thank you so much for the awesome videos! So entertaining and genuinely funny and just EXACTLY the kinda content I love. And thanks for the great advice!
Hey Zee, thanks for another great video. been watching for the past year now and i'm never disappointed, from your spell book videos to your advice on game mechanics I find each and every video helpful and entertaining. Thanks for the content.
For those not aware, there's an official Witcher TTRPG system out there. I've played it and it's super mechanics heavy but in a good way, at least in my opinion. It also has stats on a handful of the monsters from the games and books so if you want some inspiration for some D&D homebrew I suggest picking up the book.
The second I stumbled upon your channel I fell in love as someone who has been playing about a year I’m looking into (have started) writing my own campaign and I love the input all of your videos have given me much much love my man
So my first ever DnD character was based on the witcher. We had his as a cleric of Kord in 3.5 so he could be a caster that fights in armor. He died within about an hour due to drowning. Good old Jurras was replaced by his brother Surras(and later on Durras). It was definitely not the best intro to DnD and I still have a crippling fear of water in this game 10 years later.
Love the videos! And wouldn't mind seeing these post-animation notes again once in a while! Easily one of my favorite CZcams animators and D&D animators.
This was a very interesting video with great ideas to give a dnd campaign a different feel, you sir have just widened my horizon and I thank you for that.
Love this idea, I'm seeing a party traveling through a town and hearing about a monster terrorizing the townspeople. Maybe take a monster and give it a different ability, "it sounds like an umber hulk, but I've never heard of them breathing fire before."
Question: What happened to all of the content on your channel? Looks like most are gone. I couldn't find the materials components video to reference in a post on casting spells. Was it COPPA?
Great video man, awesome content with some solid ideas on making encouters more strategic AND interesting. There will be a lot of great group stories to come from running a game like that.
I already watch all of those other creators you mentioned and I get a huge amount of enjoyment from your animations. Even if alot of creators have similar content I would like to commend you as you've really found a great "value add" to your videos entertainment. The sending spell one was personally my favorite. Keep up the great work.
I do Monster Hunter type enemies in my game, where creatures have different damage resistances on different body parts and the like. Each body part has its own AC and HP, and breaking body parts can cripple a monster, eliminate some of a creature's attacks, or reduce its overall AC.
I've been getting some people I know into rollplaying and while I'm not the biggest D&D fan it was the easiest system to talk them into trying and since they were also fans of Stranger Things I picked up the said themed starter kit. Now I haven't played D&D in over a decade so I needed to brush up on how 5th ed works ASAP and then I found this channel. Not only has it been a great help teaching me how 5th ed works it's done so in such a unique and witty style that I'd find these episodes entertaining even if I didn't know a dungeon from a dragon heh. Good job man, keep it up. Now my RPG system of choice is GURPS and so I'm kinda bummed that there's not a whole lot of content on the ol CZcamss breaking GURPS down like this, definitely would help get they system the attention I think it deserves. Maybe after I start my new job next month I'll finally have the time and energy (to give you an idea, I go through such a long time between days off at my current job that the last time I had a day off my roommate freaked out and thought I lost my job since they are so used to me not being home lol) to take a crack at doing something to help spread the good word of GURPS.
A really helpful video Zee. Among other things you've clarified for me why I miss the 3.5 damage reduction system. Having a monster completely no-sell an attack just worked so well. It makes such an effective piece of immersion and it genuinely makes the monsters work as a monster when the vampire ignores the fact that you stuck an arrow in its eye or the axe blow to the chest doesn't phase the werewolf in the slightest (plus damage reduction can be overwhelmed by a lucky hit or weapon skill so its not as harsh as a flat out immunity). On the other hand 3.5 system rewards players who are versatile, prepared and/or do their homework just as you describe in your video (as opposed to the 3.0 system where everything was on a linear scale so it just encouraged players to get hold of the most powerful magic weapon they could, which they were going to do anyway). With 5th edition half-damage system on the other hand in my (admittedly fairly limited) experience players just tend to shrug their shoulders, say "well at least I'm doing some damage" and continue battering away. In fact I'm thinking of testing 3.5 style damage reduction as a houserule the next time I run 5th edition. Zee, if you have the time and any suggestions on how to balance things out they wold be most welcome.
"I have to talk about it as a human being instead of as my avatar" I can't tell the difference. Aren't avatars supposed to be exaggerated? It's just your face.
Avatars are meant to be a simplified or partial representation of a more complex person. Look at my avatar. Do I neccesarily look as it looks? Not really. Is it an exageration of who I am? It's more like a partial representation bc music is not my only interest, and even in music I enjoy some Prokofiev or Stravinski and also darsynth and other kinds of music, not only metal.
Avatar's aren't supposed to be exaggerated, they're just representations. Whether or not they are exaggerated is up to the represented. It's no different than the actual definition of the word "Avatar".
They are Masters of all Four Elements Reincarnated in a cycle between the Four Nations to maintain peace and harmony in the World between the Four Nations, and between the Spirit World and Living World, and preserve Nature...
I'm freaked out by how smooth Zee's animation is this time.
haha I had to match the capture rate 30fps it does look a little wild in a few shots
@@zeebashew it's nice, tickled my 'impressed bone'.
I'm freaked out how smooth he is XD
Can't tell if this is a compliment to the animated section or a joke about the live-action section. Both would be appropriate.
@@timothymclean both
Toss a coin to your DM.
Oh campaign of plenty.
Oh campaign of plenty.
You, my good sir, deserve a coin.
A coin for you ⚪
Coins for you! 🟡
I had a party go against a werewolf, and the bard and rogue, realizing they had no silver weapons, starting throwing silver coins at it while singing this song.
.... damn it. Now I want to make an entire remix of the song. I may be back with a full version for ya... ;)
@@BotJockey what song is it?
*Zee:* give them blade oils
*Jocat:* _heavy breathing_
Mind explaining
That's as close to legitimately laughing out loud at a comment as I've gotten in a very long time.
Hahahaha yesss!
@@LanthusV thank god I know jocat but I thought you meant something else if you know what I mean
Saved himself from a fireball. This time
Real life Zee looks like he's gonna teach us math while chopping wood
He has that hipster lumberjack look doesnt he
I mean, he kinda did hint at some DM's math during this, so half of that expectation has been met
Yes math but also magic
Does exactly that.
Oh man did those hopes for 2020 not age well at all.
Huh, you actually look like your drawn character. I mean, less orange but still. This isn’t a puffin forest-esque reveal
Right! How dare puffin not look like a short, overweight child!
You thought he would have an oval head?
@@noahholderman5725 yes i did
He always looked like a friend of mine in my head.
He'll always be the vaguely human-shaped watermelon to me
Loving the content shift here, can't wait to see more! Also you are a beautiful man
Couldn't agree more!
Nice
Every. Time. I Click. A D&D video. You're there. HOW?
I love you @Runesmith
The man himself is here lol
I LOVE this video. Great job my man.
Dub
is your mans:
A beefy lumberjack
Wears glasses
Is usually a cartoon wizard?
that’s actually not your mans, that’s Zee Bashew.
What if Zee is my mans 👀
Andy Bisexual then more power to you 😎
@@himboghost629 Than you need to wake up
he's not beefy just because he has a beard and isnt a lumberjack just because he's wearing flannel, dumbfuck
BREAD FOR THE BREAD GOD
You are now legally banned from bread
That's a blast from the past
CRUST FOR THE CRUST THRONE!
BREAD
SCONES FOR THE SCONE THRONE!
Zee: face reveal
Audience:
Me: OH NO HE'S HOT!!!!
Right? lol was not expecting the hotness.
Looks like he wakes up with a freshly brewed cup of iced coffee, the beans of which he ground himself, and hits up the bar with his friends in the evening to grab a nice craft ale.
Rocking that lumberjack Viking look!
totally dilf
Fuck yeah he is
The only animator that looks exactly like their avatar
Don't many animators on CZcams look like their avatar?
@@Kino_Cartoon Exhibit A: Jocat
@@jammedyam3389 exhibit a-z, JoCat
What about the odd1sout?
Ever heard of Gingerpale?
Here are some cool "folkloric" vulnerabilities.
A virgin blade (Blade that has not been used to kill before). Or the opposite a cursed blade, a blade that has felled a 100 innocent lives.
A metal weapon forged under the full moon.
Or when harmed under a full moon.
A spear made from the bones a human being.
Or the antlers of an elk
To the "resistances" I would like to add maybe as an alternative some "conditional regeneration" by making the creature regain a 10th of its total hitpoints if:
Not exposed at least dim light for a round.
Not fully submerged in water 1 minute after killed.
Not being looked upon during a round.
Not in the presence of an infant in the past minute.
In other words make 1 of the suggested resistances or the vulnerability something that the players might have to work to get first, something so specific that becomes mystical but mundane enough so that a barbarian can get its hands on.
One quick thing about the video subject: that type of specialization seems to me like it would fit well as a way to seperate different area's monsters, like maybe the direbears in the warm, lush forests aren't cold resistant, but instead poison resistant, so using tranquilizer darts may have worked in the tundra you first saw dire bears in, but not so down south.
Oooo, I think I'm going to use this idea in a campaign I'm roughing out right now! Each of the "mini bosses" has minions, but I haven't been able to really figure out how to make each fight unique though the "bosses" are of the same coven, so biomes and differences in resistance works amazingly for similar minions. Thank you!
@@herecomemacOnTT You're welcome! Maybe try matching the resistances up _very_ slightly with the mini-boss's character? Like if the group's brains was in the swamp, he'd give the minions poison immunity injections, or if the most brutal of the mini bosses is in a cold or hot climate, he just made different minions stand out in the elements for days at a time until some of the minions came back; little clues like a frozen zombie at a cliffside watch, or a hidden pile of twisted, mutated corpses under some vines or something might be fun little clues for observant players, too.
Just some ideas.
Oh that's a great idea for regional subspecies. Definitely gonna keep that in mind
Tbh, the one thing I dont like about the core minsrer manual, is that the monsters arent separated by type &/or environment, its straight alphabetical. I think they show alternative listings in supplementary books like Volvo & xanathar, but the mm isnt the best for planning based on any particular axis
First time I've seen your face. Definitely as magnificent of a beard as in the animated version. 9/10 not enough wizard hat
PhoenixMark yes needs more hat
Protest 4 hat
@@ziril3972
1
When i saw the face reveal I said out loud, "Zee has a killer beard!"
That tip at the end about the 5hp “life bars” for monsters was so smart and makes managing several monsters a breeze. Thanks for that.
One trick I learned from some Pathfinder players was to track HP in health chunks. Like let's say you have an enemy with 150 health, you split it up into three bars of 50 HP, and damage doesn't carry over from one bar to the next on a single attack. If the first bar is at 10, and they do 20 damage, it would deplete the first bar but the monster will have 100 hp instead of 90.
Using traps to kill monsters huh neat,
Me playing as a kobold: FELLOW KOBOLDS MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS OUR TIME HAS COME!
Look up Tucker's Kobolds
there's no way that's you, He doesn't even have a Wizard's hat!
He must get one before he does any more face showing.
The second avatar is very high detail 🤔
"You know what to do"
Me: "I cant believe I almost forgot"
*hits like button*
This is also a convenient circumstance to introduce new skills like "Monster Anatomy" and "Occultism"
I did a Witcher style encounter in my game I'm running. I took a Manticore and gave the players some lore about what it could do, and things that it was attracted to. They were able to use this and make bait for it. They also knew that it was dangerous when flying, so they figured out a way to ground it. Bolas and fire damage would work, as would doing enough damage at range.
I like the idea of using simpler items to overcome resistances, rather than just "magic weapon."
Well, the idea that fey are vulnerable to iron and especially to cold iron is already there. Were beasts to silver. Wasn't it Ash wood that was supposed to be particularly effective agaimst vampires? Maybe not remembering last one right. Anyway the lore is there if your willing to dig that deep and find a way to work it into the game.
@@jacobfreeman5444 That's already known, it's right there in the statblock, but it's blatant and obvious to anyone who already has the monster manual.
Othertimes, it also depends on how you play the monster too. Some monsters if played more intelligently can get far more annoying, and that's what I did with the Manticore, while also giving players a hint on how it'd act and operate. Use of lures as well means the players can actually prepare for a fight, which helps them overcome tougher CR.
5e doesn't have expansive materials either so usually any metallic weakness is just shorthanded to 'silver'. Additionally, a lot of monsters don't have all the features or variants they did in prior editions. (E.g., the manticore in the 5e Monster Manual is a plain one, but venomous ones also exist.)
@@Zedrinbot Ah, I was not clear. By knowing these vulnerabilities you can concoct uniquely potent poisons...which is the witcher way. The oils they use are more or less just poisoned oils brewed to that monsters specific weaknesses. Silver of course being the main ingredient for oils used on were beasts. But you can use that logic for them all. They could use magic weapons to bypass the usual defenses...or they can use some alchemy to make something a bit less permanent but more readily available. Also not all things a beast is weak to would be good to make a weapon with.
@@jacobfreeman5444 The only problem with limiting it to base vulnerabilities, it'll mean the vulnerabilities are kinda few and far between, and the players don't have to do much of the research process, if any (they could just look up the stat block.)
Tweaking the resistances a bit gives you more opportunities to play with lore and more researched approaches.
*Sees Zee's human self.
*Confused, scared screaming.
Focus on his ear on the right side, it helps
He's kinda hot though
ZwoJack oh god this makes it worse somehow
@@decliche1286 He is!
"2019 was the best year I've ever had"
Man, what comes up really must come down, eh?
4:03
this stage is a great one to make your PCs use Int base skills like Nature, Arcana or Religion depending on the type of monster they will be fighting.
I am fascinated by the number of 'zee's hot' comments. Like, come on, a person with that voice? It was practically guaranteed he's good-looking.
Clearly you don't understand the concept of "a face for radio."
Am I the only one seeing how well kept and soft looking this mans beard is.
Fr first thing I thought, he puts more effort into his beard than I put into my hair.
@@siegwardinspirit He probably does.....
Definitely not. I wish my beard were half as luxurious. Best I can manage is a goatee.
I'm a woman and *I'm* jealous of how magnificent that beard looks.
The last part was lovely. "2019 was the best year I've had yet, professionally and personally." cheers!
Re:"Happy 2020, guys, 2019 was the best year!"
Found him. Found the hexer! On a how to Witch video.
I love how he kinda glosses over the fact that it’s kinda a face reveal
The face reveal hypes are kind of really annoying, so I am grateful.
He looks exactly like his avatar lmao
So fast even the video hasn't finished uploading.
Thats what she said!!!
@@54032Zepol
I should not have laughed as hard at this as I did. 😅
"What's the name of that one sauce that no one can pronounce? The one with the bottle that comes wrapped in paper?"
"Oh you mean 0:13 "
Gods damn, had me laffing
Just imagine Zee Bashew as a non animated person....
OH NO HES HOT!
Loving that library, also, impressive beard
This is the first time I've seen Zee's face, and holy cow he's hot!
LOL! IKR? I always imagined him fatter, older, and with strange facial hair (like his avatar).
@@ATFPredator Same, but this was an awesome surprise.
What did you expect? Zee is a gold dragon that takes human form (alongside his mate) to help us mere lesser beings with the game of D&D. Of course he and his mate (who is also a gold dragon) are going to be hot.
@@jackielinde7568 I can't believe I didn't realize it before.
No kidding
I've tried it! It was for a two-session one shot where my players went basilisk-hunting in a marsh full of water snakes. It was quite a lot of fun building the final encounter, though in the end the players plan was so effective the combat was over after two rounds.
Also, this reminds me a lot of Vaesen, a RPG set in Victorian-era Scandinavia. It is all about investigating mysteries involving folklore creatures, and often ends up with the players performing some sort of ritual to appease them. It feels a lot like a crossover between The Witcher and Call of Cthulhu.
0:00 You had me at 'The Witcher'
Huh, Zee looks to be 90% more my age than I expected.
Recommended channels:
Seattle by night:
czcams.com/video/f2smsDmVfco/video.html
A cool vid from Adam:
czcams.com/video/Ljpn5p6c73k/video.html
Matts newest video:
czcams.com/video/canhaxHlFg8/video.html
"You know what to do."
My brain: "...you know what you doing". Man, that 'all your base' meme is still funny!
Anyway. If you're doing interviews with worldbuilders, please try interviewing Brandon Sanderson (or someone from his writing team). His Cosmere is enormous and well written, with intricate magic systems (at least relatively speaking).
Yay! A Zee Bashew Video! AAAAAA! A face reveal! (Okay, Face Cam Bashew is nice, too.) Now we know what the human form of the gold dragon that does all of those videos looks like.
You look pretty thou nice face
This is all well and good, though R. Talsorian Games has an official Witcher RPG. If you want to do a Witcher game, why not just use the Witcher core book and go from there?
Excuse me but i did think you were much older due to your avatar. Now I know otherwise. Please keep up your kick-ass animation and lore!
I feel like combining this with Matt Colville's action oriented monsters would be pretty sweet.
That's exactly what I was thinking! It can really bring out the boss fight that we all want to have in d&d
Ah yeah
Oh HELL yes. My man. I want to craft an entire glossary of worthy opponents using both of these rulesets. Then, I could just build a campaign between them!
Holy crap there is so much good advice packed into this
Zee gets a beautiful beard win. He already had one, it's just now confirmed.
Keep on keeping on! Love this, and every vid!
Looks like he slept off all those exhaustion levels!
That's good. I don't like it when people overwork themselves.
"Happy 2020! 2019 was the best year I've ever had"
*Laughs in 2021*
"Happy 2020"
*Nervous Chuckling*
Never before has someone so perfectly matched their voice!
It's content like this that confirms my bias that low-level D&D is best-level D&D.
Low to mid level DnD is always superior to high level.
Why is that?
More things are scary, also smaller scale stories can typically feel more personal, and you constantly improve is a couple things
@@user-gv5dl6zi8z Maybe it's just the games I've been in or witnessed, but as characters gain levels I've noticed a kind of detachment that develops: players become less interested in the game's setting and more intent on immediate goals and reactions; or the DM throws all the exotic stuff at them because it's a higher CR to the point where nothing seems real or grounded anymore.
It might be as simple as high-level games have characters grow to be enormously powerful but still lack any real responsibility so the DM keeps throwing calamities at them to justify their continued careers because they no longer need to adventure just to keep a roof over their heads.
@@user-gv5dl6zi8z you have so much ahead of you when you're level 3. Not so much when you hit level 20 and are secretly funding the church
"You know what to do."
*gets the ax*
Always great to put a face to the voice. Glad to hear you had such a great 2019. Hope 2020 tops it! Thanks again for all the wonderful content!
Quietwulf1978 Hello, I am from the future. This was fun to read.
The animation quality is so good now, especially after 2:30
I know! It's so life like
I love this video. I've just started giving lingering injuries to my players when they are knocked to 0 HP. One player lost a finger to a crocodile and are now owning that characteristic during role play.
This is why I watch every video you put out. Because you not only give an idea/nugget of wisdom, you take the time and help people understand the reasons/mechanics of doing it that way. All in a very well thought out and eloquently articulated manner. It's a nice personal touch that is all too rarely found these days.
Your ideas are consistently awesome and so well explained. Thanks so much for these videos!
Zee’s hot!?
You didn't think he'd be hot?!
I didn’t want to get my hopes up just in case
@@durnsidh6483 I thought he was an old 3 foot tall wizardly man.
My beard envy is acting up again. Having 4 bald patches on your jawline is no fun
@@noskalborg723 if the patches are from damage rather than natural symmetric growth pattern then you can always try dermarolling and it'll fill up more even if not completely.
"i will read them, i will!"
me too
They're very good. Really easy to get into.
You can find the audio books on youtube, if you look for them.
"I dont have time to proceed into the oil system I came up with" *proceeds to do 6 minutes of explanations that*
I absolutely love all your videos. I got started on the animated spellbook series and I’ve watched quite a bit now. This is definitely something I’m going to do with my homebrew world.
Rogues be like: welp that monster is immune to piercing damage ... guess i´m fued now
That's why you carry a whip and a sling, for slashing and bludgeoning damage with finesse.
@@Candlemancer could be frustrating if you have magical "normal" rogue weapons
When the character actually looks like his real self...
For what it is worth, I really dig the post-notes section and interviews discussing the topics in a bit more detail, I encountered my first post notes recently and it drew me back in to watch more videos. Keep up the good work and make 2020 an even greater year for yourself!
Thank you so much for the awesome videos! So entertaining and genuinely funny and just EXACTLY the kinda content I love. And thanks for the great advice!
I've been so hyped from the witcher show, this video was perfect
Not the flumphs!
This was a great video! I love that you are unafraid to mix up your style of videos. Can't wait to see the content you bring over the next year!
Hey Zee, thanks for another great video. been watching for the past year now and i'm never disappointed, from your spell book videos to your advice on game mechanics I find each and every video helpful and entertaining. Thanks for the content.
For those not aware, there's an official Witcher TTRPG system out there. I've played it and it's super mechanics heavy but in a good way, at least in my opinion.
It also has stats on a handful of the monsters from the games and books so if you want some inspiration for some D&D homebrew I suggest picking up the book.
7:33 You fool You brought this year down upon us !!! lol
The second I stumbled upon your channel I fell in love as someone who has been playing about a year I’m looking into (have started) writing my own campaign and I love the input all of your videos have given me much much love my man
One of the absolute best ideas for D&D yet ! Thanks bro ,great videos, keep up the great work.
"2020 has been the best year for me"
DUDE WHAT ELDRITCH GOD DID YOU PACK WITH. THE REST OF US ARE SUFFERING HELP
He said 2019, not 2020
That's a BIG beard win!! also interesting video, really liked the creature scaling concept, might try it
Really liked the longer form content, with an animated opening and a face on explanation, deeper dives into DM tips are always fascinating to me!
Liked the video, loved the concept, loved the post-script. Thank you for the content you share with us!!! Happy New Year! :D
This sounds like a really fun setup actually, if only my group still played consistently...
(on a side note, damn you're handsome...) x3
Can you please revisit this. This is pure gold content.
I liked the end talk and the animations. This is one of my most favorite channels to watch and really helps me think outside the box with dnd.
This video alone has improved my DM scope twofold.
(Zee Bashes face reveal) Me: "Holy dang I bet that guy is DROWNING in hot nerd babes. Geeze."
He looks nothing like I imagined and yet so much better
Great video! Loved the post script, it was so wonderful to hear your extensive thoughts.
Love your videos man they’re so fun. It’s a party for me whenever one comes out!
I love how this came out well I'm making a homebrew witcher class for my friend group
So my first ever DnD character was based on the witcher. We had his as a cleric of Kord in 3.5 so he could be a caster that fights in armor. He died within about an hour due to drowning. Good old Jurras was replaced by his brother Surras(and later on Durras). It was definitely not the best intro to DnD and I still have a crippling fear of water in this game 10 years later.
I have yet to see a DM personally that does water right. Mark Hulmes of the Highrollers on youtube does water well though.
Love the videos! And wouldn't mind seeing these post-animation notes again once in a while! Easily one of my favorite CZcams animators and D&D animators.
This was a very interesting video with great ideas to give a dnd campaign a different feel, you sir have just widened my horizon and I thank you for that.
Love this idea, I'm seeing a party traveling through a town and hearing about a monster terrorizing the townspeople. Maybe take a monster and give it a different ability, "it sounds like an umber hulk, but I've never heard of them breathing fire before."
Question: What happened to all of the content on your channel? Looks like most are gone. I couldn't find the materials components video to reference in a post on casting spells. Was it COPPA?
I just found his channel, sad to hear he had more that's gone.
Zee Bashew. Thanks for explaining a lot, the animation was great but the way you take time to clear things up means a lot. Thanks for being awesome!
Great video man, awesome content with some solid ideas on making encouters more strategic AND interesting. There will be a lot of great group stories to come from running a game like that.
"How to make fights feel a little more deadly and a little more folkloreish"
OSR, my friends.
Top tier beard movement
I already watch all of those other creators you mentioned and I get a huge amount of enjoyment from your animations. Even if alot of creators have similar content I would like to commend you as you've really found a great "value add" to your videos entertainment. The sending spell one was personally my favorite. Keep up the great work.
I wish I could like this more. Thank you for well over a lifetime of great videos and story ideas that have come from watching your videos!
Wow Zee looks exactly how he draws himself
i would love to see you do 5E monsters from monster hunter.
I do Monster Hunter type enemies in my game, where creatures have different damage resistances on different body parts and the like. Each body part has its own AC and HP, and breaking body parts can cripple a monster, eliminate some of a creature's attacks, or reduce its overall AC.
@@henrywood3110 thats amazing!
I've been getting some people I know into rollplaying and while I'm not the biggest D&D fan it was the easiest system to talk them into trying and since they were also fans of Stranger Things I picked up the said themed starter kit. Now I haven't played D&D in over a decade so I needed to brush up on how 5th ed works ASAP and then I found this channel. Not only has it been a great help teaching me how 5th ed works it's done so in such a unique and witty style that I'd find these episodes entertaining even if I didn't know a dungeon from a dragon heh. Good job man, keep it up.
Now my RPG system of choice is GURPS and so I'm kinda bummed that there's not a whole lot of content on the ol CZcamss breaking GURPS down like this, definitely would help get they system the attention I think it deserves. Maybe after I start my new job next month I'll finally have the time and energy (to give you an idea, I go through such a long time between days off at my current job that the last time I had a day off my roommate freaked out and thought I lost my job since they are so used to me not being home lol) to take a crack at doing something to help spread the good word of GURPS.
A really helpful video Zee. Among other things you've clarified for me why I miss the 3.5 damage reduction system. Having a monster completely no-sell an attack just worked so well. It makes such an effective piece of immersion and it genuinely makes the monsters work as a monster when the vampire ignores the fact that you stuck an arrow in its eye or the axe blow to the chest doesn't phase the werewolf in the slightest (plus damage reduction can be overwhelmed by a lucky hit or weapon skill so its not as harsh as a flat out immunity). On the other hand 3.5 system rewards players who are versatile, prepared and/or do their homework just as you describe in your video (as opposed to the 3.0 system where everything was on a linear scale so it just encouraged players to get hold of the most powerful magic weapon they could, which they were going to do anyway).
With 5th edition half-damage system on the other hand in my (admittedly fairly limited) experience players just tend to shrug their shoulders, say "well at least I'm doing some damage" and continue battering away. In fact I'm thinking of testing 3.5 style damage reduction as a houserule the next time I run 5th edition. Zee, if you have the time and any suggestions on how to balance things out they wold be most welcome.
"I have to talk about it as a human being instead of as my avatar"
I can't tell the difference. Aren't avatars supposed to be exaggerated? It's just your face.
Lordm09 drawing is hard
Avatars are meant to be a simplified or partial representation of a more complex person. Look at my avatar. Do I neccesarily look as it looks? Not really. Is it an exageration of who I am? It's more like a partial representation bc music is not my only interest, and even in music I enjoy some Prokofiev or Stravinski and also darsynth and other kinds of music, not only metal.
Avatar's aren't supposed to be exaggerated, they're just representations. Whether or not they are exaggerated is up to the represented. It's no different than the actual definition of the word "Avatar".
They are Masters of all Four Elements Reincarnated in a cycle between the Four Nations to maintain peace and harmony in the World between the Four Nations, and between the Spirit World and Living World, and preserve Nature...
@@mitchellslate1249 They are synthetic alien bodies used to interract with the sentient aliens of Pandora
My dm doesn’t do this, But!
He does make every encounter tough which makes fighting so much fun. I love the lingering sense of death..
I really want to try this man, you make it sound so good. Thanks for all your videos Zee.
Love this style of video! Tips and short but indepth of your personal rules are inspiring!