D&D Exploration SUCKS. This is why.
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- čas přidán 25. 03. 2024
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People kept telling me exploration in TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder SUCKS. I've been using this method to describe & navigate my game world so long I forgot most games tell you jack squat on how to note & relay your information to make Exploration one of the best strengths of our hobby.
Credit where credit is due:
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Campbell's blog post: hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2...
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Wait, those Big Blue Pill tablets look kind of like...
Link doesn't seem to work. Just redirects and goes to normal 14 day trial.
REEEEEE (Thanks, I'll tinker around)
edit: fixed
GET YOUR BAG KING
Imagine being a ttrpg enthusiast but can't write your own descriptions
I've written two books and something I've always adhered to is that the scene is the first character. It is the thing doing everything to which the other characters merely act upon.
Movement or characters moving within it is paramount. Good on you.
I like how he described the suit of armor as shiny despite being in a dusty abandoned mansion. Little details like those indicates thats there is somthing going with the armor
I will pretend I meant to do that.
I love adding information like that to make my players wonder if they have missed something. Sometimes it's a great tool to create tension. I use glass beads as tokens for monsters, labeling them by number with dry erase markers. It's funny to label 1-5 and put a triangle on the last one. They were going out of their mind wondering why that one was labeled differently. Was it a boss? Did it have something special? Nope, just a goblin. But the tension was real.
@@erictiso9315 No, the real fun labeling method is label 4 beads with 1, 2, 3, and 5. >:D
@@DeficientMaster#playeragency
Perhaps instead of it being a trap, it could instead simply be a set of Gleaming armour and have it be a freebie item the party can use.
{Vibe} {Vibe} {Room Type}, {detail of sound}, {detail of motion}, {Landmark per PC}. Landmarks are point-and-click adventure objects.
Can you give an example?
There's one in the video?? @@lorcanman
Just... Don't do it so fast. Lol
@@lorcanman a {gloomy}, {gothic} {study.} {smells of parchment, hint of pipe smoke} {south curtains sway from breeze from window}
Thanks! I spent more time in exploration descriptions and nice hints to the players use their proficiency etc etc.... It's simple
My crazy hands man is back
Don't Google mr. Hands
Someone give him honorary Italian citizenship, quick!
Love this guy
@@jzh4805😢
Mom he's back again 👆
Your unpaid editor is doing great! Cut his rations in half.
You see a barren desktop... Over it, a set of disembodied hands, supple, but masculine, flailing wildly in the emptiness.
What do you do?
Oh great puppeteer of Deficent Master, I present you my sacrifice *dumps a whole dice set on the table*
Relieve me from this mortal coil of insignificance and suffering, transcend me into the worlds beyond!
Amen. (Also God bless RNGesus.)
I click play, then like..
Hit the subscribe button
Hold them
I seduce them .
I also try to personalize an item here or there to give characters role playing cues during the explanation of the room. Like the the druid notices the mounted elk head (hidden- it's an older buck that saw many years), or the intelligent wizard notices the chess game, or the rogue looks at the armor and doesn't recognize the model from any time he was in the military (hidden- must be from older times or a custom armor).
That helps the players stay in character or feel like their backstory matters.
Right, instead of the fighter seeing the chess set and rolling poorly?
I feel like it's a bit more railroading if I directly point out the object that **I** want each PC to look at. Thoughts?
@@XoIoRougenah as long as it’s rule of cool or ups the tension the player will love it. Use what u know about ur players too to your advantage
@@lincolnmaahs18 Hmm... Fair, but I think that actually does support my earlier thought. Simply because I do know my players and I did do that for them in the past - which they called me out on. Not in a negative way but that's why I questioned the OP in the first place, because I recall a time where I did do that but I don't think it worked.
That being said, I appreciate the advice. Everyone's game will always be different!
You can personalize the item after the players engage with it sometimes.
@@GnarledStaff Ah, that's a great idea. Possibly have the personalization as hidden information that's revealed depending on who investigated it. 🤔I like that.
the chair edit was too real
“WRITE THAT DOWN! WRITE THAT DOWN!” - Me literally every second of the video
Yeah, I just wrote notes to go with the timestamps, because I felt the same way.
@@hweidigiv good idea, I wrote notes but I will add time stamps just if I need to hop back in the vid to look for something
💯 Van Wilder ACHIEVED
ME TOO ITS SO MUCH 😭😭😭🤣
The best D&D youtuber. Came out of nowhere and gonna be huge!
And with those supple hands I can’t wait until the face reveal.
@@axelz4316 I really dont want a face reveal one day. When that happens, some of the magic disappears.
@axelz4316 Costanza hands, he’s got! Those hands are gold, Jerry, GOLD!
A small tipp: Placement of your information in the description.
A lot of advice says that players tend to ask about the *last* thing you mentioned, but in my games that tend to have more mystery that is not true at all - it is probably because my players expect me to hide the information somewhere in the middle of my description to make it less obvious. In your example, with the gothic study... well, you get the idea: Id place the suit of armor / elk head last in my description and the chess set somewhere in the middle. I am manipulative like that.
If it is a combat room, I like to be pretty sparse with the information and sentence length, but tell them about the enemies last. "You walk into a gloomy gothic study. Curtains flutter in the wind beside the open window. Three gentlemen with a mean grin approach you, cracking their knuckles."
This.
If you mention the men cracking knuckles before describing the room, your player will be like, "so anyways, I started blasting"
*Describes a room in vivid detail*
...
"There's also a dragon."
@Mortarah I mean isn't that just the reveal of movie smaug in the treasure room.
I don't use a battlemap - I use a whiteboard and draw circles and rectangles lol.
My players are deaf so while I describe the room in sign language, I also provide a transcription of the description of the room. This is because my sign language isn't fantastic.
However, I may incorporate this in future campaigns where there is no language barrier, as I've noticed players really enjoy the ability to see the words visually.
I've never had an issue with positioning my information because they have my description.
“You enter an unassuming hall of moderate scale. There is a blank tapestry hanging midway at the left wall. To the right wall is a box enscribed with the words “cat inside?”. A snarling, famished tarrasque leaps out at you for the locale’s center. Several unused sheets of parchment adorn a makeshift desk.”
I always recommend giving the players something to help them move forward regardless of success or failure. When handing out information, I try to give them something, even if it's not what they asked for.
• Success: "You remember hearing about Dunbarrow Keep and the many twisty caverns underneath, especially the one that is said to..." (They get the information you wanted to give them.)
• Failure: "You remember hearing something about this, maybe from a history book? You remember that Zoe the Wizard loves history books, maybe they know more." (They get a path toward the information.)
• Crit Failure: "You remember overhearing something about this at the tavern, but as you try to recall, that one drinking song gets stuck in your head. 'Xardoth the mad, was a very stout lad, but he sampled his own potion and it turned out quite bad!'" (Not information relevant right now, but when they come across the animated remains of Xardoth the mad later on, they'll remember that drinking song.)
Success = present
Failure = past towards present
Fumble = far future
I LIKE IT.
As a DM, I watch a lot of "DM advices" videos, but more often than not I end up thinking "well, I already do that" or "I don't really agree with what is explained here" or "I don't think it really applies to my DMing style". This video, however, made me realise how shallow my descriptions of the players's environments are, and how improving them will increase immersion, help the party make decisions, and create puzzles that make sense in the context of the narrative. This is definitly something I need to work on.
Thanks for this insightfull video ! I'll sub and start checking your other videos !
You should definitely check out Solo Roleplaying then! It's a great way to prep, to practice scenes and encounters ahead of time, and especially to improve your general GM skills through practice (also, helps not to feel so down when the group has to cancel, since you can still play, at least!)
@Worthless-one I’m getting a vague picture of this “Solo Roleplaying” which you mentioned. Details, now! (passes tennis ball back to you)
just add more dinosaurs
@@commandercaptain4664theater kids do not belong in this hobby
This has to be one of the best ads I've ever seen. I'm glad I wasn't drinking my tea at that time, or I would have needed another keyboard.
That aside, great video. I'm currently preparing a HUGE ASS "Hexploration" for my players (205 hexes to fill), and it is really welcome.
MICHAEL FREAKING GHELFI!?!?
Ooh! That's sounds frikken fantastic! I have way too many random generation tools for that stuff 😅
@@DeficientMaster HIM FREAKING SELF!
@@paavohirn3728 I wish it would do the trick but since all is linked and features little combat, random gens don't help much^^
@@MichaelGhelfiStudios Sure. Still, random gens like those in Worlds Without Number can work two nice when you let the emerging context guide the interpret of each result. But certainly it's not for every situation. I wish you an enjoyable creation process and game!
Your room description template in your "d&d modules suck" video was such a game changer for me. Through the power of using Obsidian as my note taking app of choice, I now have neat room description templates to drop in that remind me to list the room specs, what players see, hear, smell and feel, the interactable room elements, and the exits if needed. Thanks for all your creative and entertaining insights!
Hey Deficient Master,
Could you record and share one of your game sessions? I'd love to see your DM skills in action.
Hey! Definitely an idea I've been kicking around. Was playing in my brother's game a bit but I'm about to run a Star Wars game for my group.
I got some ideas to make the actual play helpful and not just be a crappier version of Critical Role or Dimension 20. We shall see!
I think "Campaign Diaries" are a bit more helpful for GM skill improvements than "Actual Play" raw footage, because it allows the creator/host to focus the story for the CZcams audience, rather than juggling the table audience and the viewing audience.
@@DeficientMasterHonestly, a Solo series (even a mini-series) would even be helpful! Whether you do it with Mythic GameMaster Emulator, DM Yourself, or The Solo Adventurer's Toolbox 1&2, doesn't matter, so long as we get to see your creativity!
@hweidigiv The viewing audience could also be the table audience. Who’d a thunk it?
@DeficientMaster Ooo ooo, Mr. Kottah! Which Star Wars system?
Literally brought back my sanity. As a new DM, you make this so much more understandable.
Suggestion: I would like to see how you organize your story lore. Say like if your player requests to know more information about the towns history.
Keep up the great work!
This sounds like a job for a SPREADSHEET!
I hadn't heard the description of movement advice before. I'm going to try that out next session.
Came here to say this. That is EXCELLENT advice that I’d never seen before.
Notes:
@0:00 - Intro
@1:42 - Passing the Ball
The GM passes players information. The players pass questions or actions. This technique helps balance not enough & too much detail.
@2:51 - Describing the room
One or two adjectives describing the room itself, a sentence or two that involve senses other than sight, and an element of movement.
@4:23 - dScryb sponsorship
@5:38 - Landmark Details
Like a point-and-click adventure, landmark information highlights what elements of the scene your players should be interested in. There should be as many landmarks as characters in the party (sometimes more). Remember to allow players to interact with elements that you didn't specify (they may have an interesting idea).
@8:33 - Hidden Information
Hidden information is revealed by players asking for more information about a landmark detail. It is often "behind" or "inside" the landmark, but not necessarily. One of the examples of "Hidden Information" is the layout of a chessboard, since the landmark detail was only the location of the chess set, and that it was mid-game. Hidden information is obtained by spending time and taking a risk.
@9:29 - Secret Information
Details that players only have access to after beating something (like a skill check or puzzle). Traps and Treasure are "Hidden Information", but opening the Treasure or disarming the Trap is hidden behind Secret Information.
@10:38 - Outro
Babe wake up, new deficient master vid dropped
this type of unoriginal comment that seemingly crops up on every video HAS to be by bots - right? Please restore a little of my faith in humanity by saying yes.
@@wbbartlett yes
I've added a previous step, speacially with less important rooms. My first description is what the pc would remeber if they just had taken a glance of the room. In your examply I would have only mention the desk and the curtains because they were moving. Then I wait for questions about the room or let them move to the next room if it didn't catch their attention.
I prefer this as well. Also, involve a singular sensory notion in case you don’t want every room to have movement. An acrid scent here, a slimy touch somewhere else, a scratching echo in yet another room. Perhaps tie them all together toward a person or thing later on (“You encounter the decaying, oozing presence of a zombie wererat! Roll for surprise!”).
Oh my gods your presentation style only keeps improving. It's seriously unique and I love it.
And HUH. That way of making secret doors be hidden information, but not "secret" information, including the traps, but the ways of triggering them or opening them are "secret" is a nifty idea.
I think I may adopt this concept!
I've actually designed what I like to call a "City Crawl" and it actually runs on similar mechanics.
To start, the GM decides if there is a timer that the players should know about, or even a risk factor, while the GM adds 3 Points of Interest that are obvious, with an overpriced General Store, an Inn for Long Resting (maybe even as a group), and one extra location that could be used for a simple quest.
This is also the time to add Hidden Locations (based on video rules).
To actually play, the Players all take a turn placing their tokens on an interesting place on the map.
IF the space is empty, THEN they discover something, and end their turn.
IF the space has something on it, THEN they interact with it, and end their turn.
However, IF the space involves an encounter, THEN the Party can all choose to run in and help (to avoid accidental party splits), OR the PC can choose to escape (with a dice roll that may cost health, or maybe a narrative advantage).
And Finally, IF the space is an enemy, the enemy takes and deals about 1 hit or so (might be different, just doing this from memory), unless they die first. The damage taken by Players may vary, but no actual combat is involved. It might also be an Attack Roll to determine the amount of damage done or taken.
However, the Players can only do ONE thing on their turn, allowing others to contribute to the exploration. Even if that's buying ONE item, making ONE skill check, ONE attack roll, etc. Each turn shouldn't take more than 1 minute for the Player to know what they're doing.
Finally, the GM's Turn.
The GM first resolves any timer or risk that perpetuates, such as thieves sneaking around, those meteors getting closer to town, or an execution that the Party didn't stop.
Then, they restock hidden information as needed, or move anything that isn't gonna stick around, such as those lackeys that just finished a bank heist.
Then the round starts all over again, until there's a reason to jump into a specific scene, such as when the timer runs out, or the Party decides it's time for an encounter.
There's also a version for Travel which just has a standard path, but Players have a limited amount of distance they can explore without expending extra resources, and they can't just explore everywhere. This way, the Players can really feel like they're exploring an open world, without risking the entire game grinding to a halt.
I'm also pretty certain that with lots of practice, you could use this method in a small hut and find that your once empty room is bursting with so many details that you couldn't write it up from scratch if you spent a month on it.
Now I haven't run the travel portion yet, but the City Crawl method has been a Hit with the Players I've tested it on, probably because it gives you plenty of freedom to explore (since you don't need a party vote to run around the map), and the city feels more lively since you have a visual prompt of how big the place is.
Now pardon me, while I explode at the revelation I just had: "I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T THINK OF CITY CRAWLING IN A DUNGEON ROOM BEFORE THIS COMMENT!!!"
Having a map with points of interest that players can put their minis on to show where they are? Yeah, I'm going to have to steal that idea, I've been needing a better way to run city exploration.
@@davidsalisbury59 My system isn't released yet, and somebody is already stealing ideas!!!
I hope that you enjoy that idea.
Seems like an interesting concept, though I feel it's a bit too structured? I do like that it helps remove downtime. That's HUGE. I've had some folks go to the blacksmith and just take the entire session chatting and goofing off, while everyone else is doing nothing. I've tried to revisit the other players, "while they're doing that, anyone want to do anything?" and they say, "Not really, I think we just wanna rest at the Inn and proceed with the quest." *SIGH* I go back to the trolls and try to end the encounter without being an asshole, and that's our session!
So I do REALLY LIKE that this idea helps reduce downtime by:
1. Giving points of interest even though the player isn't fully interested, just get some information or something, why not. Could result in a nice narrative buff like giving a helping hand to the local gardener.
2. Limiting the interactivity to only doing one thing does help reduce downtime significantly.
Curious. I do like the idea though. Want to find a way to make the players feel like they're not being forced / limited / hand-held.
@@XoIoRouge Yeah, and if somebody does need to perform downtime activities, you can resolve that at a special time (like when all the Players agree), or even decide it beforehand.
I also did kinda feel the need to make it very structured, because otherwise, you gotta have a proactive group of Players to keep the game from slowing down too much. So, sacrifices must be made sadly.
Mein gott, you’ve done it! THE UNIFIED FIELD SOLUTION!!! Consider your idea stolen, trademarked, and litigated by a private equity firm! NO TAKEBACKSIES!!
Necrotic Gnome published adventures are formatted similarly to this. They are some of the easiest modules to run “out of the box” because of it.
Thank you for the breakdown of your method, is going to help me out a lot.
Yes! I was going to say this method really clicked for me after running Winter's Daughter, Hole in the Oak, and Incandescent Grottoes.
I've really been enjoying this series on dungeon room design. Figuring out the details in a room has always been an area I struggle with and your tips have definitely given me something to chew on in order to improve that area of my game.
One thing that did stand out to me as someone who uses theatre of the mind and "yes, and..." at my table is that your methodology are somewhat counter intuitive to those ideals. This may just be systemic of modern D&D design, but the condemnation of open spaces in non-threatening situations seems damaging to the roleplay aspect of the game. An sparsely described tavern, to me, is just an invitation to add detail, invent new NPCs to rub elbows with, and overall stretch my roleplaying muscles to have a bit of characterization fun. Placing a map in front of players is pretty antithetical to theatre of the mind, but it also constrains "yes, and..." a considerable amount as now everything in the room is defined.
I'm sure there are ways to reconcile this (and welcome suggestions on how to do just that) but this does seem to invite telling players to leave their creativity at the front door, while then whining and whinging as a community as to why players don't come up with imaginative and creative solutions.
P.S. The edit gag with "time" and "effort" got a good laugh out of me; keep up the awesome work!
@BraveryBeyond While I agree with this, it heavily depends on a player group willing to ascribe its own imagination without catering to its own favor - in essence, becoming mini-GMs themselves. Whether that approach is agreed upon or not all depends on the magic of session zero.
This is exactly the kind of video I needed to learn how to better describe my theatre of the mind style games. Enough information to prompt action from the players, but not so much they feel bogged down or confused.
Awesome videos! Your point and click approach to navigation has been a game changer for me. I’d love to hear your take on RP encounters like negotiations or interrogations. Keep making awesome stuff!
You have a Ring of Invisibility??? That’s a legendary item! 5:50
Well. That's how you get me to click. And even comment. Maybe I'll watch.
The thumbnail was fucking rotated upside down.
The way you edit and describe everything in the video makes you one of the most easy and fun to watch D&D creators I've ever seen. Thank you for your videos!
Fantastic advice!!! I especially like the movement tip and the way you delineate between what you give, what they can discover, and what if hidden behind rolls is incredibly concise and makes sense in a way it didn’t before.
Best place for practical advice!
Deficient, with the subtle (and less subtle) presentation, sound effects and editing tricks, you had me hooked once again! I really enjoy the way you present your content. And this video has excellent tips! Writing it aaalll down! Kudo's, kudo's, kudo's!
This might genuinely be one of the MOST practical advice videos on CZcams - and it's short and easy to understand and implement! MASSIVE applause!
Thanks for explaining this, I will credit your findings in in TTRPG system i am working on (its a little small thing, just pathfinder + dnd + some extra stuff to fill in gaps that both systems have and also making it somewhat simple but not too simple, and its free :P, but for kinda for me and friends to play with...for now...still will be free i think...whatever im yapping) and use this in future DND games.
I think that there is a huge gap in exploration in dnd and this pretty much beautifully simplifies it down to basically a three point structure, which everyone loves those.
Thank you so much!
Yea new vid! I appreciate how you give credit to where you found tips or strategies that worked for you. Good practice that more need to do online, and your channel is the better for it. Keep adding to that checklist!
10:54 that layering system of information is great, it helps further explain your one-shot ravenloft you put out, that read some of. The way you try to gamify the exploration through giving the players some good concrete choices you mention, and then asking what they want to do, and having follow up stuff written about their choice is what I've been trying to do for per-prepared adventure (see my "previous" comment below)
1:03 I can tell you as some one who spent the better part of a year converting that adventure. You are in Dragon at Icespire Peak Essentials Kit (or something close to it), that specifically is the Shrine of Savros. That one has a bell up top that is actually where all the gold is hiding, from an ancient barbarian raid. There are orcs and Ogres on that map. At a god damn glance I could tell you a lot because I've read that book so many god damn times. You are near Conyberry which is also near Butterskull Ranch. My players tackled both in the same trip away from town.
Thank you good sir! You just made my prep more practical. I usually tens to overthink descriptions and encounters prep
I love that this video was really helpfull to experience and newbies DMs and not a toxic rant. Keep it going. 👍
Thank you for this video, its incrediblywell done. This is how I DM, but never bothered to make it a guide. Having a video to explain it makes it easier to explain to my players.
yes, bullet poit -> detail -> interaction is a very nice way of displaying info. i got that from browsing throw a whole book of two-page adventures and reading mothership adventures. That last one, mothership is a masterclass in design and super fun to read trough
very cool video! I think we do some parts of this instinctively/by learning from experience, but it is really good to see it broken down like this to have a concise method of preparing instead of attempting by semi trial and error to see what flows!
The timing for this video was perfect. I am in the midst of prepping for a session tomorrow, and there's going to be a lot to explore!! This guide was just what I needed as a new DM. Thank you!
I love that you cite the blogs and articles that led you to your method!
I love all of your videos! I like the idea of shorthanding notes into three categories. I appreciate abbreviated notes, since it saves me prep time, and occasionally the players come up with a better idea than I did. I just run with it on improv. Thanks for all you do!
I've been DMing my first campaign for 2 months and this is exactly the kind of advice I needed, Thanks!
A GM really does have to think like a game designer, because they are one, in fact.
To that, 7:11 is interesting for there being about 7 landmark objects described, which I've heard given as roughly the average number of distinct objects someone can easily keep in working memory. Hitting a sweet spot of number of location/action data parcelled out, I think, keeps things feeling varied, but not so overly complex that a player would start to get choice paralysis or lose track of one or more data.
Nice video.
The explanation of how the information is organized and immediately demonstrated how that system is used is great stuff. Loving what you're bringing to the table! Satisfied supporter
Edit: Congrats on the sponsorship!
Dope, testing this out as the base for a ChatGPT prompt to help flesh out environments and brainstorm.
Me:
Create an Environment Description for a plaza in Estrallamira city-center featuring at least 1 taco cart with a long line.
ChatGPT DM Assistant:
Estrallamira City-Center Plaza
A bustling, mosaic-tiled plaza unfolds, pulsing with the vibrant heartbeats of Estrallamira. The mingled scents of sizzling meats and tangy salsas waft through the air, as a queue snakes from a famed taco cart adorned with bright, festive decor. The cart's grill sizzles rhythmically, an urban siren song for the hungry. Landmarks like the central fountain's intricate water dance, a statue of the city's founder with a knowing smile, and the cart itself invite further discovery.
Landmark Information:
1. Taco Cart: Its vibrant umbrella casts a welcoming shade over patrons as the vendor deftly prepares each order with a flourish.
2. Central Fountain: Water arcs into the air, each droplet catching the sunlight in a prismatic celebration of the city's spirit.
3. Statue of the Founder: Standing tall at the plaza's edge, the statue watches over the daily hustle with a gleaming, bronzed gaze.
Hidden Information:
• Behind the cart, a menu of secret specials awaits those who know to ask for the "plaza's choice."
• Under the fountain's base, a commemorative plaque contains a historical riddle, hinting at a hidden aspect of the city's heritage.
• Inside the statue's pedestal, a time-worn inscription is said to reveal the founder's prophecy for the city's future prosperity.
Secret Information:
• Regulars to the taco cart might share whispers of a 'magic hour' when the vendor serves a legendary, once-a-day specialty taco.
• Solving the fountain's riddle could grant access to a serene underground garden, a refuge known only to the city's most observant denizens.
• Deciphering the statue's prophecy is rumored to bestow good fortune and insight, a gift from the founder's spirit to those who cherish the city's heart.
This plaza in Estrallamira is a microcosm of the city's life, offering nourishment, history, and secrets to those who gather within its embrace.
I see you mastered the magic floating finger enchantment at 0:17 :^)
Awesome simple and usable tricks, I’m excited to see how it opens up the variety of my table’s play :)
Awesome vid! Love the editing as well as the topic!
I think the landmark thing comes naturally after a bunch of DMing ...but it would've been of so much help when i was just starting out.
Rock on!
Indeed. If only such information could be imparted in a game manual… a Guide, if you will… for Masters of… Dungeons… neh, WotC should just shove a bunch of magic items in there instead. That’ll learn us! 🤬
Oh snap you’re really good at this! 🔥
Presentation and video editing I mean.
Don’t burn out by overdoing it, but you earned my sub!
Great work
I think the important thing is to focus on choices and make them interesting. If there’s only one door at the end of the room, that’s not exploring. That’s following a railroad. If there are two doors at the end of the room, but they look the exact same, that’s not exploring. That’s flipping a coin. But if one door is slightly ajar and the other one has spiderwebs and a long scratch in it, the players are intrigued by what this choice might entail, and they can truly explore to find out what their actions will lead to.
Definitely going to try it more like point and click. It would probably do wonders as well to have either a list of descriptions to share to the party or like description cards if playing irl
I enjoy using theater of the mind, and so when naming off objects in a dense room, things get lost along the way. Also I really enjoy your method of tracking notes, it's an elegant way to organize information!
Amazing!! That go exacly how I see exploration: point and click adventure games! The way you explained makes it so easy to visualize now. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Seriously man, this information is critical to have! You're the only one giving this good insight and tips!
You've been on a roll lately, Deficient! Loving every video, but oh man this is the best one yet!
I always struggle with describing the environment without inadvertently pointing the party to something meaningless.
Thank you!
Yesssssssssssss!!!!! I see a video from Our Boy, I stop what I’m doing and watch it immediately!!! Love it bro!!
This has helped me improve my DM notes, organization, and confidence in running a sesh. Love the Deficient Master channel!
Man, you knock it out of the park every time! You are at the same level as Matt Colville in my book.
Yay, a new Deficient Master video!
This is great! I’m such a visual learner so these videos help a lot. I really love the 3 tiers of information. Definitely going to use that going forward. I always ask for too many checks for information that is landmark or hidden, so this is going to really streamline when I ask for a checks (secret info only).
Hey a huge fan of your channel and videos so far. One thing I’d like to ask about - you’ve demonstrated/held up OSE as your example of your ‘go-to’ game, but I’m not exactly sure I’d consider OSE as rules light. It’s not 5E, but it’s pretty crunchy, considering it has roll-under, roll-over, percentile, and #-in-6 skills.
Can you speak on how you streamline all these desperate rules, if you do? My players never really seemed to ‘get’ these rules.
I use it as a base & homebrew a lot of things to make it simpler on the player's side.
I made changes to thief skills so it's a bonus to roll over their saving throw.
I replaced the fighter with the Warrior class from Dungeon Crawl Classics.
All the roll under stuff I just flipped the scores from high to low (a +2 is a 5 instead of 16). Kills a sacred cow at character creation but now nobody's asking me if they need to roll over or under.
I ditched the multiple saving throws and give each class a single saving throw "DC" like in Swords & Wizardry. Roll a d20 and add either your Fortitude (STR + CON mod), Reflex (DEX + WIS), or Will (INT + CHA) Save and meet or beat your Save DC.
My rules are a hacked up mess. He's kind of ugly looking, but he's mine and I love him. 💋
Great video. I always wondered if you could make a video about dm tools could/should use.
Great info. I will use these notes in making my first quest with this group easier to interact with.
I have never seen any of your videos. But this was really fun and educational. I will try your method. Thank you for sharing.
This is so incredibly well done and I am in awe of your editing skills. Thank you so much for your videos!!!
Man, this is such an useful, to-the-point, practical explaination!!! I can see it working clearly even with social exploration encounters!!!!
Bro, I'm trying to set up my own homebrew world, and stumbling onto this video has given me SO MUCH NEEDED ADVICE. Thank you so much for making this video. This is gonna make my homebrew game better and makes my job a hell of a lot easier!
Daaang that movement description tip is really good, I can definitely see how that helps to make a scene seem more visceral in player's imaginations
The bucket list just saying “Ginny Ginny Ginny Ginny” shows your commitment to dnd. 10/10
Love your detailed videos. Thank you for providing so much information! It's been super helpful.
So you on Dex Save Dan's channel. You're videos are great. Nice crisp and clean. Keep up the great work!
This is going to be huge in helping my games more interesting to play and run. Amazing channel!
I love all of your videos. I really enjoyed the face hidden when you were sitting on the office chair turning around.
I want to design rooms now. So simple, yet so helpful tips. I'll be checking your creations.
3:55
And the best part is
If you consistently do this
You can always just... Not mention something moving
Great for time stop spells
Or
Just unnerving your characters for fun
God the D&D-Tuber checklist is too real.
The more Deficient, the “betterer”! Your videos are well worth the wait. 🙏
Gosh the comparison with Howl tuto rofl xD In any case I still love your video editing so much!
Excellent video. Think I’ll get a lot of mileage out of incorporating movement into descriptions
As a DM, I never assume I’ve covered all the bases. If the characters enter a room, and after I describe it, they ask if there’s something in the room I hadn’t thought about that actually seems plausible or likely, I just agree that it’s there. If it doesn’t break the story, collaborative world building gives everyone more interest in the game. I’ve played this way since Basic.
My kin here.
My man; stopping to discuss how the eye naturally takes in a picture....
I've just clipped this segment and sent it to three different novelist I am consulting for.
Beautifully put.
Best use of ChatGPT: For each location in this DND adventure, summarize the location as:
- Ambiance description (less than 30 words)
- Landmarks (elements to interact with)
- Hidden information (what can be found by players asking about the landmarks)
- Secret information (what can be found by skill checks about landmarks. Specify the skill)
I actively searched for you yesterday, fearing the YT algorithm
I really love this style of DMing. The Count, the Castle, and the Curse module you have up on Drivethru is a really good example of the "point and click" DMing style. Another good adventure in this vein is Nightmare over Ragged Hollow
LOVED the items on the bucket list at 4:49! You have an awesome attention to detail.
Thank you so much, I have been wondering how to do this
You sir have brought a bit of wisdom, clarity and laughter into my otherwise terribly droll evening. Kudos.
i have a similar method, as im fleshing out my rooms, i have a home made description sheet which lists, smell, air quality, asstd items laying about, sounds in the room, like the water drip, brief room descriptors like cobwebs or cracks in the walls or floor, maybe a a water puddle or piles of scrap clothing, or pieces of rotted wood laying about.....gear to be found, weapons to maybe be found, treasure that might be found, a possible monster encounter, and a possible trap... all on rolling 1 in 6 of course for the might or maybe to be found items. I use this as quick reference to help me give a description on a form that i made so i dont have to read paragraphs of notes etc. works for me, similar to what the magic hands are talking about here :)
Amazing method! Thank you very much! And it is just easy to incorporate immediately into my games!
Great advice as always! Thanks for the amazing content!
This was awesome. Exactly what i have been looking for to aid my prep (make it exciting for me again) THANKS
This one is one of your best videos: puns are fun and on point, video information is priceless for new DMs.
One quick question: when playing DnD 5e, do you ever consider your player's Passive Perception/Investigation so that some players could acquire "hidden" or "secret" information easier or do you always require some kind of interaction? E.g.: if a player ask what's up with the piano, you let them know the "hidden" or "secret" information without a skill check because they have an higher PP or PI compared to the CD required... Or do you tell them straight up what's up with the piano?
I let anyone who interacts with the Landmarks learn the Hidden information freely. Perception isn't as strong at my table compared to vanilla 5e. It's boring for me to ask for a perception roll, they fail, and then that stops the discovery of information dead in its tracks. Good & interesting decisions happen when you get good information. I want my players to poke around with my Landmarks.
For those more perceptive characters, or for those who fit under a specific class/background, I'll relay secret information more freely if the information relates to the character. A Bard doesn't need to use the Perform skill to play the sheet music on the piano which opens the secret door. A fighter with zero musical background would have to roll, but I would tell the Fighter player that the knight armor is looking awfully shiny in this dusty room if examined.
Got so many ideas off the armor set and chess board- thanks! K I’ll definitely be using a lot of this method!
Great advice! I’m adding this to my session notes from now on.
Thanks for the video! This was a new take for me on how to structure the exploration of a room for my party.
After playing a Jazz Bass forever, I switched to a short scale passive StingRay a few years ago. And I love it - surprisingly versatile and without a doubt the nicest bass I have ever owned or played!
This is actually a very interesting idea how to handle stuff. I think I will try that out soon.