Brennen “there’s no corner of my soul that I wouldn’t turn over for 5 points” Lee Mulligan feels like he’s having flashbacks to the yes/no episode of Game Changer

@lksdoe2559

20 күн бұрын

The answer, to this particular question… was yes

@merchkerns

19 күн бұрын

And Second Place

@TylerMcHenry

19 күн бұрын

And Bingo

@willdwiggins7722

19 күн бұрын

100% the first thing I thought of

@Rutoks

19 күн бұрын

@@merchkernsBrennan did well on the Second Place

I love that Brennan can't look past what Sam has done to him

@jodi106

20 күн бұрын

Trauma runs deep XD

@StraveTube

20 күн бұрын

Can you blame him?

@Rhyder77

20 күн бұрын

Show me someone who could

@AngeliqueVoices

19 күн бұрын

Has done AND continues to do 😂

@DEG99Y

19 күн бұрын

True friendship is giving your friend grief forever

Just in case anyone was wondering if Brennan has forgiven Sam for the "Name that biird" challenge. He has not.

@0Clewi0

20 күн бұрын

Besides the part that the real point was to test his heart rate it was a really dick move to accept any kind of penguin when he had to be specific.

@nickbrown638

19 күн бұрын

Sam has engineered Brennan’s brain to forget every other bird species besides Roseate Spoonbills.

@Bluesabara

19 күн бұрын

There was also a whole episode where the game is that brennan cannot win. You get points if you answer opposite of brennan.

@dawnofdanielle7066

19 күн бұрын

Not just "name that bird", dude is still thinking about "yes or no"

@kevind3974

19 күн бұрын

was it worth it? yes will Brennon ever forgive him? fuck no Brennons bringing that hate to the grave

This is such a sam reich take. And such a brennan lee mulligan reaction

@FFmaxxx

20 күн бұрын

Explains the non winnable game changer

@adielmartinez400

20 күн бұрын

Yesss thisss 100%

@therockbottom5256

19 күн бұрын

I’m gonna use this format to comment on *every single bit* of dropout media

@therockbottom5256

19 күн бұрын

This is such a Sam and Brennan video and such a dropout fan reaction

@JosephWithaG

19 күн бұрын

You're talking about Sam Reich, who has built a monument to devilry and chaos, and Brennan Lee "I don't particularly like winning... I just don't wanna lose" Mulligan.

Sam: I think failure is more interesting than success Brennan Lee "I've solved your labyrinth puzzle master" Mulligan: You would think that

@Benusr

19 күн бұрын

I got that reference!

@AdamFunk

14 күн бұрын

The minotaur's escaped! And you're gonna get the horns. 👿

What an eloquent take Sam has. It makes you wonder where he came from.

@lunaleon7756

20 күн бұрын

Africa

@canadianboi326

20 күн бұрын

He seems very knowledgeable. I wonder if there was an Ivy League university in his home town.

@Kibannn

20 күн бұрын

I heard there's some sort of crumbly theater near his childhood home? Could try finding where that is

@Meg_Davis

20 күн бұрын

@@KibannnHe actually made the theatre name up because he couldn't remember it 😅

@Meg_Davis

20 күн бұрын

Hey Sam, where you from? 😂

Sams genuinely good point about storytelling arcs just truly cannot bear the weight of Brennan's overwhelming Vengeance Energy the whole time he's talking 😂😂😂 never forgive never forget 💀

@PreeminentLexa

19 күн бұрын

I love his hot take

@merchkerns

19 күн бұрын

It’s not a genuinely good point, it’s a Lit 101 student’s faulty take that’s gonna get him humbled once he turns in his essay.

@danmakes2497

19 күн бұрын

​@@merchkerns I think it just depends on the moment and how it's handled; I've seen where nat 1s make pretty interesting story points both for plot and fun shenanigans. Not to mention, some people purposefully choosing to throw (as in not rolling the dice and actively choosing to fall) in certain events too. They can definitely be more interesting.

@soriso717

19 күн бұрын

@@merchkerns Honestly, most stories are just a bunch of failures compounding on each other until the characters either improve, or don’t. Like, I can’t think of a story where the most interesting moments are when the main characters’ plans have gone exactly as planned. Usually a failure of sorts is what drives the story and makes it more interesting.

@sourwitch2340

19 күн бұрын

​@@merchkerns "get him humbled once he turns in his essay" sounds like you're forgetting that the evaluation of an essay is not about whether you're arguing TRUTH, but whether you're arguing it EFFECTIVELY, using logic and sources that back up your point.

“Brennan what is the rule of the game?” “I CAN NOT WIN!!!!”

@EEEEEEEE

18 күн бұрын

E‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎

@TheXenoEnder

18 күн бұрын

​@@EEEEEEEEusername checks out. Are you my FBI Guy? I feel like you're everywhere I look 🤣

"Okay Brennan - Nat 1s are more interesting than 20s, yes or no?"

@JosephWithaG

19 күн бұрын

I know what's going on here.

@cameronjadewallace

19 күн бұрын

.... I'm gonna make popcorn, you guys want some for the meltdown?

@Saxdude26

19 күн бұрын

Sam says "Roll For Initiative"

@jamariirobinson725

8 күн бұрын

What a lose lose situation. Brennan agress and he has to admit Sam is right. Brennan disagrees and the correct answer was yes.

Brennan looks like he is having Vietnam flashbacks

@superphantom100

20 күн бұрын

Yes and No is all I have to say.

@quadling3521

11 күн бұрын

That’s not even vaguely close to what a Vietnam flashback looks like.

@DissociatedWomenIncorporated

8 күн бұрын

@@quadling3521 yeah there was no wavy fade-out, no harp music, what is this!? I thought Dropout had some production value!

My favorite way to run nat 1's is to make it no longer about the player's lack of success, but instead give the enemy an incredibly badass play. It just doesn't make sense for me that the player would suddenly suck at what they're doing, and feels better when you did everything well but still didn't succeed.

@miriamrosemary9110

20 күн бұрын

Ooh, I like that

@livialynnlynn

20 күн бұрын

That's a really cool take

@dawnthegoblin

20 күн бұрын

It's not that they suddenly suck, it's more like when you randomly stub your toe on the table you see every day. You know it's there. It never moves. But suddenly the conditions were just so that you slammed your toe into that wooden leg, expecting clear air. You don't suck, you just aren't perfect. I like the way you run it also though, I wrote a similar comment lol. Nat 1's mean that the universe as a *whole* interferes with rather than allows for an action while nat 20s the universe as a whole *ensures* the action

@Valca.Design

20 күн бұрын

I just immediately screenshotted and shared this with my DMing community, this is brilliant. Thank you.

@hauz287

20 күн бұрын

This is one way to interpret the rule but everyone fails. Even the specialists, the trained, the learned. It's called living a life. There's always unexpected circumstances and I think as a DM they really do add reality to the game.

Brennan like halfway through Sam elaborating: “Wait I’m a victim of this mantra”

I think Sam should commission a special set of dice for Brennan, where all the 1s are replaced with a roseate spoonbill

That freaking "Brennan Can't Win" episode absolutely MARKED him for LIFE 💀😭😂

@jamespryor5967

19 күн бұрын

More than one. And, this season, the one where he won despite not doing the best also upset him alot.

I have no doubt in my mind that Brennan would've agreed 100%, no reservations, with literally ANYONE else in the world giving him this exact same take. This reaction is so specific to Sam Reich, so wonderfully spiteful, I can't help but love it

@sy-py

19 күн бұрын

No, Brennan is a really good DM so he knows why this take is, as my favourite TTRPG blog writer would put it, "a load of $!%^"

Brennan: **Immediate PTSD flashbacks to Game Changer Yes/No**

I feel like if anyone other than Sam had said that Brennan would have been more open to it. 😂

@KaelWrit

19 күн бұрын

tbf it's also part of the bit that he has to argue the opposite

@gymnasticsgirlie0647

19 күн бұрын

@@KaelWrit Yes but like he was READY to disagree

@Xeonort

9 сағат бұрын

@@KaelWritAnd Sam was the perfect -monster- person for Brennen to disagree with for this bit.

When Sam started giving his explanation, I had the same thought as Brennen. “Of course Sam would think that.”

Let’s not forget the role of Nat 1s in the Gorgug “Are You My Dad” bit, Fabian’s Chungledown Bim story, Penny Luckstone’s interactions with the rogue academy… 1s can be super interesting. But also, some of the BEST moments come from 20s. Theobald Gumbar in the dairy ocean, climbing around a ship and avoiding a yogurt-y grave in full plate armor. Skip “I got my proldier’s license right here” Takamori. Ally as Pete punching the big bad of the campaign arc and needing to crit the Wisdom save just to survive… and he freaking nails it. We love to see characters Do Cool Shit. But it’s still always funny to have the stuff they’re really bad at thrown in. Sure, Liam Wilhelmina is the peppermint Batman… but he also says the most out-of-pocket shit to Annabelle Cheddar, repeatedly, and it never stops being funny.

@TryinaD

19 күн бұрын

Yup, I fuckin love Nat 1 rolls in Fantasy High cuz they’re either rly sad or rly funny

@sourwitch2340

19 күн бұрын

​@@TryinaDmhm There is a lot of potential that comes from nat 1s, and Brennan's own campaigns prove this. But of course a nat 1 is worth nothing if there's not still the chance to roll absolutely any other number. And the same is true for nat 20s. A story where everyone always rolled nat 20s would be boring, because the characters would cease to be relatable. They are flawless, never mess up or prove unable to accomplish something, unless by their own bad choices or the DM's refusal to let them roll. A story where everyone always rolled nat 1s, however, would be frustrating, because the characters would never continue forwards, never really improve or manage to reach any of their goals.

@nealterrell1120

17 күн бұрын

Blimey.

@lillieampurra

14 күн бұрын

"if i roll a nat 20 can i come back to life"

@zawarudo497

14 күн бұрын

fabians terrible no good very bad day

"What is this look?" Sir, you know **exactly** what that look is for

You hear that mom? IM NOT A FAILURE IM JUST INTERESTING

@Xeonort

9 сағат бұрын

“ *GET A JOB YOU BUM!* “ - Mom, probably

“Did you..” “Did you just hold a grudge?”

“I think that failure is more interesting than success” is such a raw line

Brennan is still up in arms about the Roseate Spoonbill

Outside of combat, yes. Fumbling a jump or a stealth roll can add to a characters story and personality. In combat...it's awful...

@aerchys4779

20 күн бұрын

Counterpoint: In a show on this channel, Escape from the Bloodkeep, Matt Mercer plays a character who consistently fucks up in combat by luck and luck alone, and when taking that into account, the insecurity and feelings of inadequacy he gave Leiland was fucking phenomenal

@tortture3519

20 күн бұрын

I think combat failures suck so much partially because of these two things: 1. Failure means nothing happens. That's boring, especially when you waited for your turn for 30 minutes. 2. GMs emphasize player incompetence instead of opponents' competence. "You missed", which is especially absurd in melee, instead of "your opponent deftly parried/barely dodged/blocked your sword"

@gaybf

20 күн бұрын

@@tortture3519sounds like you had a subpar DM then

@Terralventhe

19 күн бұрын

​@@tortture3519I mean, I get around that by having enemy Nat 1s be equally comedic and/or humiliating for the NPC.

I love watching a conversation between a chaos-god and the blorbo of his torment.

Thing is, they're both right. Failure *is* a deeply interesting thing to explore in RP, which people treat as something to avoid. But also, there has to be a level of trust or enjoyment of the little goblin energy Sam brings to the table - too many DMs have Sam's attitude as a veil for their malice.

It's so much more enriching to the story when the player trips and accidentally falls into the lava and dies with no saving throws.

Brennan sounds like he’s scheming a murder while talking to Sam

truly proof that sam loves brennan so much and also they are so creatively compatible-he thinks that failure is the most interesting and revealing thing someone can do and has elaborately constructed jigsaw traps with the sole purpose of making brennan fail so bad he has to craft the world’s funniest, most enraged, most eloquent tirades about it

Sam: “I think failure is more interesting…” Brennan: *kill bill screech*

TeamFourStar moment "I'd be proud if not for my UNYEILDING RAGE!!" That's what Brennan felt 😂

the flashbacks are getting to him… he cannot win

"I'm not a failure, I'm interesting."

This conversation is so beautifully meta

Brennan has been yearning to put this feeling into words and Sam handed him an opportunity

Sam would make a great Paranoia GM

@jamespryor5967

20 күн бұрын

I would love a D20 season where Sam is the GM and they do some kind of take on Paranoia. You know they just can't play it straight.

@horticulturalist7818

20 күн бұрын

@@jamespryor5967 paranoia XP is surprisingly easy to run once you get your brain around it. They could do notes using text/discord and have them come up on screen while they play.

@raaabr2513

19 күн бұрын

AND YOUR HOST, FRIEND COMPUTER! I’VE BEEN HERE THE WHOOOOOOLE TIME

@jamespryor5967

19 күн бұрын

@@raaabr2513 SAY HI, TREASONOUS CLONES

I can’t handle them having a normal conversation. I NEED POINTS! I NEED BUZZERS! I NEED SAM AND BRENNAN BEHIND OPPOSING PODIUMS I CANNOT HANDLE THIS

Can we please have a mini-series of the Dropout cast Playing mafia!?!?!

I'm also with Brennan, I disagree and I can explain why in one word: Blimey.

@mursuka80

19 күн бұрын

Farts.

Speaking like a true CEO!

“Are you my dad?”

I like when games have adversity tokens so that failure strengthens you like it can irl

Wasn't making situations where it's impossible to not fail one of the torture methods used in Red vs Blue to cause an AI to shatter itself just to cope?

@eliburry-schnepp6012

19 күн бұрын

Oh my god, Sam is the Director

I think that in general, failure definitely makes for a more compelling story than success. I remember my failures, both in life and at the table, much more significantly than my successes because they’ve changed me more, taught me more, and shown me how I can grow.

I thought he was gonna go "ill tell you what sam, yes or no?"

This reminds me of the “disaster, conflict, triumph” d6 method that some games like Wildsea use. You roll a number of d6 based on how equipped you are to deal with a situation, then cut the highest dice depending on how challenging the situation is, or voluntarily if you want to have a higher impact for your results. Success only happens if you get a 6, otherwise it’s conflict (mixed success and failure) or disaster. There’s no simple failure because that’s not as interesting as disaster, and the cut mechanic means you get to see a success snatched from you, which makes it more impactful. I think it’s an interesting alternative to the standard d20 against dc that works well in narrative focused games.

That explanation activate Brennan's Fight or Flight

Failure is only interesting in a leisure activity to people who enjoy success in life as often as Sam 'Boot Strap' Reich. Where is this guy even from?

@axeldornelles5292

20 күн бұрын

Cambridge, Massachusetts.

@roty3190

20 күн бұрын

​@@axeldornelles5292any good movie theatres there?

@TSNam

19 күн бұрын

​@@axeldornelles5292I hear they have a lovely theatre there

@LadyJuse

19 күн бұрын

@TSNam With a Chilli's nearby, IIRC

I feel like like this COMPLETELY call backs to the second place episode and I am all for it. You can just immediately see Brennan going from loving through traumatic flashbacks to seething with anger in seconds

I’m having flashbacks to “Brennan Cannot Win”

Failure can be a really important part of storytelling! It helps round characters out, and showing how characters deal with failure is far more interesting than showing a character that always wins. I mean, mary sues CAN work, but its hard.

Now you know what 😂 I actually love this take and I will say I do kind of agree. Definitely not all the time but a lot of times to see the way a character tries to work around or reacts to the Nat 1. I also in a way appreciate Sam for saying this bc as a recovering perfectionist it’s really really hard for my to apply that mindset to myself. That my failures are interesting. And not just… failures. So even though Sam won’t see this. Thank you Sam. Thank you for thinking like this bc now we have Dropout and so many funny shows. And you saying this can help so many perfectionists struggling to become successful bc their own perfectionism prevents them from even trying.

but a nat 20 is so much more fun when the thing you're trying to do is a long shot anyway, with such a slim chance of working that failure would be the Expected

and Brennen took that personally

I keep telling my players that failing in accomplishing something they really need is as interesting as managing to do it. Changes the story, sets them up for a different challenge than the one they were expecting. Nat 1s mean no matter how hard you try, that failed, and that's beautiful too.

Such a large percentage of the clips of Sam I see are him laughing uncontrollably that I choose to believe he's just giggling all the time

I feel like he doesn't fail that often lol 😂

You know what they say if you wish to succeed you must brave the risk of failure

This is the video I would explain theses two’s relationship with each other

I don't think failure is more interesting than success, but I do think it is underappreciated. It gives contrast and depth to the world, and when the two are combined well you get the best story possible.

Izzy having so much fun is a blessing for all of us 😭❤️ I love this

I like how Sam says "more interesting" and Brennan is immediately like "Oh?? You think failures are better??" 😂

Telling a DM to his face "instead of letting the players narrate the effect of their own wild successes, I prefer it when the GM has to tell them how all of their begging to use an Arcane check instead of taking the multiple hints to pay 150 gold to a roguish NPC caused their fireball to incinerate not only the chest's lock, but the chest itself and all of the plot-sensitive evidence inside it. And I especially love when you, DM, have to retcon on the fly why ripping 9 pages out of your notes is actually a good thing."

Brennan took that personally

Torturer: Hot take, I like torture. Torturer's Victim: Really!?

I love that they moved on after this and like 10-15 minutes later Sam said something along the lines of "and we got really lucky" and Brennan was like "OHH IS THAT RIGHT I BET IT WOULD'VE BEEN SOOOO MUCH MORE INTERESTING IF WE WERE UNLUCKY🖕" and I cackled 😂

well damn if I'm not the most interesting person there is

Bao is just incredibly amazing for this. She knows how to go make some new stuff.

I was just waiting for this to turn into a game changer episode

I read that in order to know the character of a person is to see how to respond to a rejection, a rainy day and losing the luggage in a flight/getting locked out from your home (keys forgotten, etc), so I agree with w Sam!

Brennan said exactly what I was thinking "Of course you'd enjoy failure more than success"

This captures both their essence so well

Both can make for stellar game moments that you remember for years.

I dont think brennan will ever stop bringing up yes or no in seemingly unrelated conversations.

I agree with Sam. It gives people a better chance to express themselves

It's not just failing, it's failing at an unimaginable level, and I love that.

"I'm sorry? Just penguin?!"

I made a homebrew system without set skills and with only four very basic ability scores once. Lvling only happened by doing things and accumulating crit points, awarded at a 1 or a 20. Because you learn from your mistakes. It was great for extremely long sessions with creative people that just chose their own specialties based on what they wanted to do specifically in the adventure. It sucks for shorter campaigns.

city of mist, you gain experience by failing

Brennan, having an internal montage of unwinnable game changer moments as his eye twitches.

I loved Brennan's responce when he say that Dropout rolled a nat 20 on creation

To steelman Sam's point. I thinking it's worth mentioning that success is more interesting, giving risks of failure. To some extent, failure is more interesting with stakes. Consistent individual failure feels bad and not just for the player but the whole group. It's nice when you can make failure part of the fun. And if you aren't doing that you are mitigating the quality of your successes as well. I've had some surly dice in my time, and I've been in a game that only reward good dice rolls. Interesting isn't how I would have described that experience. When you run a game, it is important to make failure interesting. Failure tends to change your trajectory, as well as raise the stakes. Personally I think that degrees of success and failure are also more interesting than a flat success/failure. Competent storytelling, especially collaborative storytelling, benefits from from a pool of actions to direct the story. A nat20 or nat1 could be highlights but really shouldn't be majorly focused on. There contributions tonthe over all narrative. I've listened to many I rolled well stories from dnd and I rolled poorly stories. Honestly I'm not particularly fond of a story that talks about die rolls, but I understand the excitement.

Hearing sam say this made me feel better abt all the ways my life has gone wrong LMAO 💀💀 it adds sm beauty to it and rlly makes me appreciate having made it this far :3 also brennan's response is hilarious!

Totally with Sam on this one. Critical failures give so much more life to situations and create genuinely funny and memorable scenes. Like most of my favourite moments in my Pen and Paper sessions are related to critical failures.

That cut is perfect

this explains every single show on Dropout

I actually agree with him. Failure makes it more interesting and fun. It shouldnt happen too often, but when it happens, its great.

"i feel like you're telling me something i already..." *Intense flashback montage trauma begins*

My counterpoint is that the stories and textures from nat 1s also do come from natural 20s, but they often work the best when they come infrequent or in some form of irony. The natural 1 that started a mess concluding in a nat 20 is just as beautiful of a lead and struggle as is the harrowing plight of the opposite direction. What im saying is that Sam and Brennan are the best together :D

The haunted look in Brennan’s eyes at the thought of failure

Brennan will never forgive Sam for the "Brennan can't win" Game Changer lol

i do think sometimes the nat 1s do tell such a great story though. fabians misadventures in leviathan wouldnt have happened without them and they led to such a good arc for the character

"Failure builds character" -- Thanks dad.

Brennan's "yeah, you would think that" loaded with the accumulated feelings remembering the times Sam shat on him by giving him unwinnable scenarios in Game Changer 😂😂

I don't really watch this show, I want to see it now just because Sam and Brennan are Iconic 😂

i dont have dnd friends but i have to agree with sam here. even in games, best example here is baldurs gate, when they allow you to continue after a failed check during conversation the outcome in most cases is something you didnt anticipate or wanted and that leads to suprises and those are always fun.

This moment is absolutely perfect

As much as I understand why Brennan is reacting the way he is, Sam has a great point. Critical Failures can not only make the DM think on their toes on how Quick, Epic and/or Funny the fail it. Give the player a chance to roleplay their character going through a bad outcome on an action or attack, and leads to a more immersible and fun world for the entire party.

In theory I agree with Sam about failures being interesting when you're trying to tell a story? The difficulty, though, is that so often in d&d specifically (as compared to other TTRPG systems) failure is the "null hypothesis" - the option where you lose a turn and not much else happens. Natural 1s, then, are "interesting" less for introducing the possibility of failure, and more because we are more likely to interpret them as _fumbles_, as failures that create additional complications beyond just not being successes.