The one weakness of clockwise initiative- the chairs aren't equally comfy! I'm not giving up the good seat just so the rogue can go first!

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Lol! I think the character with the highest STR or CON should sit in the hardest chair. They can take it!

@JorisVDC

4 жыл бұрын

Lol You know that chairs are movable, right? ;-)

@camillemerkt7134

3 жыл бұрын

@@JorisVDC Must be a heavy chair.

@jamestaylor3805

3 жыл бұрын

@@JorisVDC you want to unleash a squad of physically awkward gamers to heft chairs around each others noggins? Bring the bandages and liquid complacency(alcohol).

@johnchase7667

3 жыл бұрын

You have to get there early and steal the best chair!

You should have opened with the "I run a very big game with mostly older players who don't have a lot of free time, this informs my decisions" as suddenly everything you just said makes sense.

@michaelstronghold3550

3 жыл бұрын

You too will one day be an Adult with responsibilities and will look to make the time spent playing dnd more valuable haha.

@billedens4749

2 жыл бұрын

Yes. You should have lead with the ending caveats you stated. I was wondering for most of the video why you were so worried about rushing things.

@Amrylin1337

2 жыл бұрын

@@michaelstronghold3550 This is nonsense. Everyone is different. Some people sit after work watching 6 hours of the news. If they care about a hobby they could spend that 6 hours once a month playing a game..or whatever it is they care about. Busy people are busy. Not "Adults".

@michaelstronghold3550

2 жыл бұрын

@@Amrylin1337 its about having 5 or 6 adults trying to coordinate around different schedules. I play as much as I possibly can which is about once a month. I personally can make time probably once a week but thats how it goes. Takes more than one person to do this hobby. I usually spend time working on my setting or terrain a couple times a week because thats whats possible. Don't give me no guff about "if you care about the hobby blah blah blah" I've been running groups for 25 years man. You don't do anything that long without caring about it.

@sonicsupa99

Жыл бұрын

@@michaelstronghold3550 I think it’s when you say “you too will be an adult” it implies the recepient of your message isn’t lol

I disagree with many things on this channel, but I always want to hear what the professor has to say!

@anonymouslyknown6530

4 жыл бұрын

same. It is nice to hear how others run a game. Gives me the ideas.

@muker83

4 жыл бұрын

Same, still I don't understand why all those movies start with: "what I've changed in DnD", when clearly there's no longer a DnD to begin with.

@DaBezzzz

4 жыл бұрын

That really depends on how you define DnD though. The professor has stated previously that he defines it as playing a game in which you can do anything, as long as you roll high enough with a D20.

@muker83

4 жыл бұрын

@@DaBezzzz I've made another comment under the movie, where I've went more into details. The vast number of changes make it hard to follow and compare to the original DnD (5e at least). I'm fine with some of the ideas presented, but I believe it's totally a different game that we all are trying to "pump up" with professor's ideas.

@flammebeauregard8358

4 жыл бұрын

I think one of the main idea of this channel is : "what can be done to adapt your game in a way it fits your style of GMing". The professor thinks in his games, combats are too long, scaling spoils the fun, and focusing in the system makes it less realistics... so he does changes that works for his games. If you are a GM that loves long and complex combat, maxing the potential of your characters, and making every skills important part of dungeon crawling, you might think 5E to be too simple. So maybe you want to take a few aspect of 3.5 and 4 that you liked and add you own feats... and that's totally fine! DnD rules are a proposition not a religion.

I disagree with a lot of his rule choices.... but I love hearing different viewpoints because it helps give me ideas for how to better adapt the rules to my players! (New DM here)

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Exactly! you should adapt your rules to fit your players--while still making it easy for YOU. My players don't give a poop about initiative, multi-classing, or spell slots. So none of them feel as if I'm particularly authoritarian. Cheers!

@Malt454

Жыл бұрын

I can see the point about multiclassing in that it often seems more like tactical career planning instead of roleplaying. In AD&D, I once had a dual-classed NPC magic user/thief that I would send with the players to balance out the party and provide skills it might need, but that NPC was who he was from the outset and remained so. Fortunately, I never had players who worried too much about rule lawyering and trying to become tanks, although some rule options from Dragon magazine we used didn't always work so well, even though those options were often good food for thought. The thing most valuable I learned here - and I wished I'd considered it far earlier - is that keeping the game moving and the players engaged is a primary objective in itself, even compared to combat, roleplaying and storytelling - if only because it's movement and engagement which primarily ultimately serves combat, roleplaying and storytelling within the limited resource of playing time. It now seems/sounds stupid, but I can't count the number of times that we sat around trying to make various rules give us the game we wanted to play instead of just abandoning/changing the ones that didn't. I like a lot of other ideas too - multiple uses on prepared spells, with backfire possibilities, limiting the HP of even very tough opponents to make combat quicker/more exciting. I had an idea for critical hits that seemed to work - whenever max damage is rolled on the die, you get to roll another die and add it to the total until max damage isn't rolled (on a d6 weapon or spell, say, 6+6+3=15), so everyone gets a chance at critical hits, although warriors will still be best in combat because they will attack/hit more often.

@nemooh

Жыл бұрын

I disagreed with the Prof's rules too until I realized how many days of my life have been wasted to determining initiative order and adding and substracting 10 million modifiers, just to end up back at 16 to hit. And how many players quit because it all was too damn boring.

I like PDM's philosophy: We don't serve rules. Rules serve us.

Wow. What a boss. His closing monologue sealed it for me, even though his cavalier takes on the rules feels a little disconcerting at times, fun and time economy are the most important thing for me as I get older.

@spudsbuchlaw

2 жыл бұрын

Like them or not, he's got a point. He may not be offering the rules that are the most fun for your players but damn if he isnt giving you the most practical rules, thatll likely only increase in how practical they are

@nemooh

Жыл бұрын

Basic D&D and ODD had a very "let the DM decide" type feel. And hopefully they decided to keep the adventure moving. It's only foreign now because we have been corrupted by the Lawful Evil Corps from Seattle to believe that we MUST buy one more book full of charts to determine how far one can jump, etc. Then spend 115 minutes trying to find the rules when it comes up in the game.

@avengingblowfish9653

11 ай бұрын

@@spudsbuchlawI would argue that in a game, the most practical rule is also the rule that most players find fun.

In Starfinder, there are two Envoy abilities: "Sick 'Em" and "Not in the Face." Everyone will choose Sick 'em. Its more powerful. But my wife made me proud when she said "No, I can totally see my character saying "Not in the Face!". Lol

Regarding Skill checks, I'm pretty sure the rules of D&D 5e already state that you don't need to ask for a check for every single action the players are taking, only those that have consequences for a one time failure.

@MakinMoneyISeasy

4 жыл бұрын

Who knows, let's just make everything up as we go!

@jacobstaten2366

4 жыл бұрын

I think I remember seeing that somewhere, yet I see a lot of other channels acting as if everything needs to be checked.

@edwarddeguzman3258

3 жыл бұрын

any decent game system with skills would usually have you only skill check in a crucial moment

@chuckluggage

3 жыл бұрын

I generally have characters Dex check to see if my characters tie their shoes.

@spaceknight793

3 жыл бұрын

Another reason to have "small" checks is if the character is in a hurry such as being chased. Rolling to climb a regular wall when the guards are 10 seconds behind you adds drama.

I take feats for roleplay reasons! I took Linguist because I wanted to play a linguistics nerd who spoke every language we’d reasonably come across in the world as well as a few fun ones we wouldn’t because he’s a nerd. Also, I actually took Actor too! It allows him to mimic the voices of others, which not only lets him be an amazing face/disguise character, but is also is amazing for him managing to get down all these obscure foreign accents! Never say never my friend!

@jeremymullens7167

10 ай бұрын

He would have just let you know those languages for free to match your character concept.

Professor Dungeon Master, you should consider either making a PDF we can use, or consider making your own role-playing game! I'd love a guide on how you determine damage, potential spell catastrophe, and HP, it sounds like you've got the details right!

@dane3038

4 жыл бұрын

I wouldn't mind this but he has recommended the two books that he draws his ideas from. Index Card RPG and X Dungeon Master.

@ravingbean9766

4 жыл бұрын

Just buy ICRPG, its all in there

Unrelated, but I'd like to throw out there that I'm incredibly jealous of the goblin holding the D20 statue behind you.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

It's from Paizo. I love Pathfinder goblins!

The issue with the fighters not getting more attacks is that rogues and wizards are still dealing progressively more damage with each couple levels, right?

@Capt.Thunder

3 жыл бұрын

He has essentially reformatted the entire game, so your points are valid for normal 5e, but it not valid for his homebrew version. Listen to the last thing he says, he has made these changes to cater for a large group with time constraints, that is why he has made the changes that he has.

@malakarvonstroheim5372

3 жыл бұрын

The wizard can blow up an entire room full of people as easily as he can blow up his allies and himself, is risk reward at its finest

@spudsbuchlaw

2 жыл бұрын

Because the HP is capped at like 10-20, and an Adult red dragon has 36 HP and an Orc gas like 4, I dont think itll end up being a problem after all

@TheKapateze

Жыл бұрын

@@spudsbuchlaw so when a wizard deals 60 damage with 1 spell? Am I crazy here? This doesn't make any sense...

@nemooh

Жыл бұрын

In the end you are just admitting that WOTCs product is a steaming pile of S#$#

This is the greatest. from a creative perspective, this channel illuminates so many of the gems that RPG's provide to the story telling arts. world building, structure, pacing and most importantly tips and tricks for streamlining your efforts so that we can all get on with the story. Thanks for sharing your ample experience and your passion in such a thoughtfully concise manor, prof!

This games sounds a lot like Dungeon World

Played for years growing up on 2nd Ed and returning to the game in my 40's. Have to say, it's been a crazy learning curve, and I really appreciate the perspective you bring. Thanks for helping an old dm fresh out of long retirement / rpg torpor make things run smoother for his players.

Love the video, you had a lot of really good points, and it sounds like the games you run work like a well oiled machine! And, personally, I loved your rules for initiative. I use them for every game that I DM, and my players love them too!

I really want to see your run a game that shows how a dungeon works, I want to get a better idea on how you handle monsters and players in an actual session

@flammebeauregard8358

4 жыл бұрын

You mean he should do a little like Guy Scanders from "How to be a great GM" where he comments a little before and after the games his experience as a GM and his preaping ? But rather than focus in the RP, focus on the mechanics ?

@billybates678

4 жыл бұрын

I'd love to see this as well.

@meraduddcethin2812

4 жыл бұрын

I agree that a practicum from Prof. Dungeon Master would be helpful. Perhaps a live-stream?

@timandshannon03

4 жыл бұрын

I agree, I'd like to see Professor Dungeon Master run a game, to see how his games flow.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

It's coming to Patreon soon. Thanks for watching!

You seem to run the game opposite to my way of doing it. Your players have a good time, so does mine. That's the beauty of dnd.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

I concur.

@nemooh

Жыл бұрын

Let's see, armor class 32 and you have +14 to hit so......

A relatively unknown die is the D1 “Because the DM said so” is the D1

@chadsmith8966

4 жыл бұрын

Thought that was rule 0 😁

@roumonada

4 жыл бұрын

A ping pong ball with a one on it.

@raymondlugo9960

4 жыл бұрын

@@roumonada will it stop rolling?

@roumonada

4 жыл бұрын

Raymond Lugo All good things must come to an end.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Well said, Cal!

Thank you for doing these videos. I am eating up all your ideas and can’t wait to run our next campaign to show my group what D&D can be!

These videos have helped me out more than anything else I've watched.

@Runehammer1

4 жыл бұрын

he kills it

@billybates678

4 жыл бұрын

Agreed! As a DM for 2 years (5e only) I have realized how much I dislike the standard rules to D&D are. I am not a hard DM and have had multiple players tell me they love playing my games, however I feel the PCs run the game more often than I do, not because I lack directive, but the rules grant so much power to the players it's ridiculous sometimes. I absolutely love the idea of magic being terrifying, lower hp, no ac, and less page turning for maximum effects. I once had my players ask me continuously a monsters AC I finally said, "Are you asking the monster? While you ponder the weakest points for maximum damage on this beast he prepares to strike you again." I think the 'Room' DC level application is perfect for this situation. I am currently establishing my own set of rules which hopefully will not deter my players but I want to enjoy the game better for myself. Thank you Professor for making me realize magic spell descriptions should be for the DM and not the players. You've changed my outlook of the game for better!

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Cool!

@ArvelDreth

4 жыл бұрын

Have you checked out Matthew Colville's videos?

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

@@ArvelDreth Of course. He is the Elvis to my Ramones. The one on "Why is your country NOT at war?" is required DM viewing.

Fighter can swing his sword multiple times because the wizard can drop a fire bomb on 100+ goblins in a giant room. It's all fair

@Cpruett

3 жыл бұрын

Seriously, like just screw the melee classes while casters are altering the entire realm with one action.

@antoniorezik4072

3 жыл бұрын

@@HujraadJohaansen whenever I play a character with multiple attacks I roll them all together and then see what hits. The fighter can be just as boring or exciting as any other class. If a wizard takes 5 minutes to chose a spell that's boring too. It all bout being deceived and rolling right away

@coda821

3 жыл бұрын

I think Bare Bones Fantasy has a great system for multi-attacks. I would reduce the cost of defending though.

@coda821

3 жыл бұрын

@@HujraadJohaansen I'd just modify the cost of defending in d00lite from 20 to 10. Attacking should be riskier and more exert more than defending, which is reflexive. One thing I really like about the system is that it accounts for multi-attacks in a cinematic way. When confronting a highly skilled opponent you'll attack less, not to leave yourself open. It seems fairly gritty to me, but the higher starting BP would be a good argument against that.

@philpeters3689

3 жыл бұрын

Wizard: can cast wish Fighter: naa bro only 1 attack. Oh yeah and no feats. And definitely no multiclass so you suck. You have pointy sticks that won't scale cuz you're stuck at 20 strength/dex forever. While your magic user counterparts are having fun casting cool as shit spells

Great video. Thought provoking and loving every minute. Think I'll watch it again....Cheers!!

I see the title... this is going be a gloriously LONG video :p

@mykediemart

4 жыл бұрын

I see he gave you a well earned shout out.

@Styles2304

4 жыл бұрын

TIL your name isn't actually Hankerin Fernale lol

@terrybeal2252

4 жыл бұрын

@@Styles2304 or Ingrid Bernal 😎

@Kurufinwe_Fayanaro

4 жыл бұрын

What is Ingrid Bernal? Why does he have 3 names?

@JDStirlingGames

4 жыл бұрын

@The Wizard, have you ever seen the Netflix original What Happened to Monday? It explains everything. 👍

Great thoughts! I hope some day you find the inspiration to bring together your ideas in a Professor Dungeon Master's +1 Book of Insight - An RPG system for players and DM's who love the story in the game. I continually appreciate your commitment to not wasting time at the table. I am not sure that people are catching what a signficant achievement it is to run a game for 6 or more players that has them coming back for more. Keeping things moving along and keeping everyone involved is a huge achievement. I am glad to see your channel growing!

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Richard! You can see it growing by sharing this video and tell your friends I officially approve all your DM decisions.

@danieltschiedel9817

4 жыл бұрын

Richard, that game exists and it's name is Cypher System. You should check it out. It's rules kinda blew my mind.

Gandalf is not a man. He's an Istari, aka maiar/ angel who took human-like forms about 3,000 years ago.

"If you don't like what I'm saying, don't use it."

Absolutely love all the mechanic suggestions to speed up the game and give the players more creativity and success. Will be rewatching this and thinking your suggestions over. Thanks

After watching this video I can legitimately say, " have you tried not playing d&d? " I highly reccomend Numenera to you. It is my favorite system to play, but I love/play d&d for what it is. You have great points and they all line up with how Numenera is fundamentally designed.

@jarbasmenegonijr7466

4 жыл бұрын

I love Cypher System. Is my weapon of choice to one-shot games.

@regdar770

4 жыл бұрын

Sounds like he should just play 2nd Edition or some retro clone, if he doesn't want to be bogged down in turn time. But Numenera works too.

@MrBionicArm

4 жыл бұрын

The final stage beyond "have you tried not playing D&D?" is to realise all games are just published copies of someone else's house-ruled D&D, taking all the bits you like from all the games you've tried and codifying your own house-ruled D&D. Their group is at that stage.

@richmcgee434

4 жыл бұрын

@@MrBionicArm Really not true. There are plenty of rules systems out there (including Numenera, which is amusing considering Monte Cook's origins at TSR) that can't reasonably be called D&D variants in any way. Games like The Dying Earth RPG, FFG's Genesys, WW's Storyteller engine, to name just a few. It might be fair to say they're all responses to failings of D&D, but they're more like grouchy neighbors than the cousins that dominate the OSR sub-genre.

@ryedj707

3 жыл бұрын

Rich McGee I would argue they all came about as a result of DnD. Whether that be lightly influenced, complete rip offs, or purposely counter to DnD to make it its own unique thing. Even if not purposely with DnD design in mind, people were inspired by what they played in DnD, at least I would wager the vast majority of it is.

This is a pretty interesting idea. In my homebrew setting, there's no variant human, no taking feats when you get the attribute bonus from leveling up. Feats are available in the setting though... since it's meant to be a more RP-heavy setting, PCs train feats the same way that you learn a tool or language. I believe it was 250 days of downtime training (not necessarily consecutive as long as you get the total) at a cost of 1gp per day. That makes it have a monetary and time cost to get a feat. One of the things I've been trying to do is give players a chance to see a living world grow around them.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Cool ideas. Thanks for watching!

Slight counter to the no feats rule: humans get a feat.

I gotta say this is your best video just for the first rule

Tbh i love how multiclass and feats can enable a whole world of Character building, the thief who is a devote cleric of mask (thief rogue/ trickery cleric) or the proud herald of a old and forgotten entity (infernal or hex bladelock / conquest pally) maybe the cunning, bold and daring duelist (Swashbuckler rogue or valor bard / battlemaster fighter) or maybe a brute and unstoppable gladiator (champion fighter/ berserker barbarian)

@JorisVDC

4 жыл бұрын

I get what you mean, I am currently building a Ancestral Guardian Barbarian Champion Fighter but I really was thinking about a berserker first. I just decided to go with Ancestral Guardian because I could reskin it into metal bending because my Character has dragonmarks like that.

@wichhouse

3 жыл бұрын

I'm with you 100%. If I multiclass, it's entirely because that character concept is very interesting to me. I still reminisce about my Ranger / Cleric, who has almost no interclass synergies (and one glaring awkward overlap), but as a swashbuckler and devotee of the sea, he was gloriously fun to roleplay.

@krinkrin5982

3 жыл бұрын

Completely agreed. I used to play a sniper (Rogue/Ranger/Assassin). Didn't multiclass with any other character, with the exception of taking Fighter/Defender when playing a dwarf. Multiclassing is perfect when you have an idea for a character that you just can't make under normal class restrictions.

@Daniel.Ribeiro.5150

3 жыл бұрын

You can be a thief who is devote cleric of mask, you just don't need to take skills of another class for doing that, just roleplay what he is. D&D is a group roleplay game, you just dont need to be good in everything, because rpg is this, some are good em somethings and other are good in another things.

@zanforian

2 жыл бұрын

I almost never multiclass, but the people I know who do multiclass don’t tend to do it for any kind of optimization or power gaming reason, in fact sometimes quite the opposite. Most commonly I see someone with a clear idea of a character they want to play, and to fulfill that concept they want to have features from multiple classes together.

Group initiative is where it's at. How would a DM go about using spell malfunction and critical success and degenerative effects like Dungeon Crawl Classics does in ones D&D game?

@Goshin65

4 жыл бұрын

Just make a table. I've read 5e and DCC, and also watched the Prof's videos, and made one of my own. Most backfires are fairly minor, but high-level attack spells can ruin your day when they go wrong. DCC is a little *too* harsh imho, and too many tables, but it isn't hard to consolidate, simplify and moderate the idea.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

That's the next video. Stay tuned!

@jasonserrato1951

4 жыл бұрын

What i do for spell failure is create on the fly random effects and try to weave them into the narrative. Crits are easy to implement when a spell is damage based, less so when they aren't. I also use the schools of magic (printed on spell cards) so Necrotic or Blood spells fail and succeed very differently from say, Holy or Fire spells.

Another great video PDM! I love your take on running 5e which integrates a lot of that BECMI and B/X feel to illicit the sense of thrill, vulnerability, and potential perilousness with the players. I always am excited for your content!

Professor, I like all of your content, but the campaign and rules ones are by far my favorite! This one was really great! I love the way you not only say what rules you don't use, but why, and then what you in fact do. I am going to save more of my mechanics questions for the Facebook group, as I feel that is a better forum for the back and forth sharing of information. Thanks again!!!

I *love* the idea of taking a risk with spells instead of treating them like ammunition. It's a lot more story based and keeps wizards from being too nerfed at first and too powerful later.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

EXACTLY! You said that better than I could.

@_Lunaria

2 жыл бұрын

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 So you'd have a wizard first roll a d20 to see if he can cast that fireball, and if he can, then the enemy can make a save to see if he avoids (some) damage ? That is like non-magic fighting would always roll with double disadvantage (i.e roll to see if you can swing the sword at all, then roll again to see if you hit with the swing) Or do you mean that instead of the enemy save vs fireball, wizard has to roll a d20 to see if he can cast the spell, if he can, the spell just hits, there is no save ?

@peakay2396

Жыл бұрын

@@_Lunaria I think he means that if you swing your sword and there is a chance of it going wrong, why wouldn't it have a chance to go wrong when you try to manipulate the fabrics of reality? xD When casting fireball it just hits exactly like you want, no chance of exploding in your hands, for example He probably also only do two rolls for spells that deal damage in area, one for the casting process and one for damage, so if you pass a specific DC (as he said at the beginning of the video) it's total damage, normal fail deals half damage and fail by 5 or more/nat 1 it just fails or explode. This way I think it's balanced with martials only having one attack that don't explode themselves and hit only one target at a time :)

@_Lunaria

Жыл бұрын

@@peakay2396 Spells are strong, yes, but unlike martials who can swing their sword as many times as they want, casters can only use those hard hitting spells few time a day, which balances it out pretty well already. And if the GM only chooses to put 10 goblins vs the group in a day, that the wizard can delete with 1 spell. That is not the spells fault, that is the GMs fault for not putting multiple smaller groups against the players. Cause yea sure the 6 goblins could be burned with 1 fireball, but after the 3rd goblin pack, the wizard is out of spell slots while the fighter keeps on swinging his sword.

@peakay2396

Жыл бұрын

@@_Lunaria Well, what I said is just how I think he rules based on what is in the video, but I really think having this risk of using magic is cool. I recommend seeing the corruption rule from DCC if you haven't yet.

It’s interesting that so many comments ask why the prof uses 5e and not just a homebrew, when it’s obvious that he’s trying to free the DMs mind from becoming a slave to a system. It’s all D&D the rules are just a suggestion.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

3 жыл бұрын

THANK you. You get it.

Actor feat on a changeling was way more fun than getting another +1 to my dex

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Fair enough.

I love your ideas, quite frankly. I love how you make the game simpler, more direct, more exciting.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

You're welcome and thanks for watching and sharing!

I wonder how many of Professor's legitimate students approach him during office hours for D&D advice

@robertwarren4734

3 жыл бұрын

It can happen. I don't have a YT channel, but students generally figure out that I like FRP games. So an office visit can certainly transition to D&D "shop talk."

@spaceknight793

3 жыл бұрын

Her probably has after school office hours for DnD!

While I understand why he wants to speed things up by reducing the number of attacks, I don't agree with his conclusion that his solution doesn't nerf fighters. It does. A fighter dealing 50 dmg/turn, is not the same thing as a fighter dealing 10 dmg/turn vs an enemy that only has a fifth of their original HP. The reason why that's not the same thing is because the fighter's damage output was reduced, while all the other classes stayed the same. So while a fighter might have been able to deal 5 times as much damage as a cleric before the change, they now deal about the same amount of damage. Nerfing the fighter. You could also see it as buffing all the other classes, since their attacks now takes away a larger percentage of a monster's HP, compared to before the change.

@nickromanthefencer

3 жыл бұрын

Exactly. I’d like to see his reasoning in doing this, and why his players would ever pick a fighter now that it’s been reduced to a single attack, low damage melee class compared to the (presumably) unchanged spellcasters

@MalzraAirwynn

3 жыл бұрын

@@nickromanthefencer Yeah. I suppose you could compensate by giving some sort of sneak attack type bonus where the fighter deals a lot of damage with the one attack, but then you just make it feel less like a fighter and more like a rogue that can wear heavy armor and swing bigger weapons.

@kevingooley9628

3 жыл бұрын

@@nickromanthefencer recommend go watch his video on magic. (Also clerics). Everything in his game is altered to a more low fantasy style.

@mattyb.5628

3 жыл бұрын

It’s the same logic behind DMs nerfing the Rogue’s Sneak Attack damage. They don’t seem to understand that’s their primary damage source. It also encourages a style of gameplay intended for a Rogue: engaging from a hidden location or from safety while an ally engages them.

@modeled6878

3 жыл бұрын

All you guys just do not get it. Round everything to simpliest terms, no use having all these high numbers when they can be small. FIghter is nerfed to what? Is he going to die? You looking at RPG's games the wrong way. You play the character, what every character that may be, why does the character have to be superman. D&D 5e and pathfinder has unnecessary complexities. When I play as a player, I actually hate leveling, I hat getting artifacts, cause I have to be bothered adjusting my character sheet. I have fun with just my basic character trying to survive. In my campaigns the characters start off with absolutely nothing.

I like finding videos like this. Even though our approaches are different, it still gives me things to think about. It gives me ideas as to how I might modify things differently at my table.

I don't love many of these ideas for the game I play, but they definitely made me think. That's the wonderful thing about this game/hobby. His table and mine might be totally different, and, as long as we're having fun, we're both doing it the right way. I love being able to come to channels like this. Even when I disagree, it makes me confront how I do things and justify them. Sometimes I might change, sometimes not, but there's room enough in D&D for all kinds of games. Great video!

"20 is the most difficult a thing can ever be" Is it just me or can anybody else hear a rogue laughing?

@afriggs1982

3 жыл бұрын

Unless I misheard he doesn't use Proficiency bonus, which means Expertise doesn't matter. So you're rolling a d20+ability score only. So that Rogue isn't laughing very loudly, since it's main source of rolling 20+ is gone without Proficiency and Expertise.

@Aedi

3 жыл бұрын

@@afriggs1982 considering that expertise is a core utility feature of rogues, I'd imagine there's an adaptation for expertise. Maybe it's just a flat modifier or something

@afriggs1982

3 жыл бұрын

More than likely, but it would be a feature that scaled accordingly.

@mattyb.5628

3 жыл бұрын

@@afriggs1982, the interesting thing is it’s just a different way of making the same determination. Except now the DM has to do the work instead of relying on the PC’s stats. The whole point of the system behind abilities, modifiers and proficiencies is that as a DM you can set all the DCs in advance and let the character’s stats decide the outcome. You don’t need to sit there and think “hm, well the Rogue is pretty good at Stealth and they’ve been doing it a while... okay the DC is 8.” You also don’t have to consider all your PC’s skills and talents to determine the roll required, which when making checks regularly cuts down the effort you need to invest.

@XperimentorEES

3 жыл бұрын

Meanwhile 3rd edition had skill difficulty checks scaling up to 50 if you had a handful of negative circumstances lol.

Instead of extra attacks I just let my fighters roll damage for as many adjacent enemies that they would have hit with their first roll for as many extra attacks they would have gotten. Only roll once to hit, but can potentially damage several opponents.

@jeremymullens7167

10 ай бұрын

In older editions of DnD the fighter could kill as many monsters with 1 hit die as their level.

Interesting points, Professor. You got me thinking about how I do initiative and how I can streamline/improve it.

Another great video! Love your take on everything. Keep up the content!

... Halfway through the video I'm starting to wonder why you're using 5e when you leave out or change so many significant rules. It sounds more like a homebrew system that's just using elements from D&D.

@Daedalus_Dragon

3 жыл бұрын

I agree, the changes he discussed are not what I expected and it is very much “so why are you playing 5e even?”

@draakgast

3 жыл бұрын

@@Daedalus_Dragon riding the populair wave in order to get players is my gues, no hate and it's pretty smart since he just basicly "homebrews" some stuff and players probably either leave or deal with it. Kinda impressive in a way

@TheRukisama

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah I was wondering the exact same thing.

@kevingooley9628

3 жыл бұрын

Well, he's not using 5e, he's playing actual d&d, created by Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, and TSR. He's simply replaced THACO with the D20 roll high mechanic.

@Beardhomestead

3 жыл бұрын

To everyone saying he plays "actual" dnd, which version didn't even have fucking skills?

I always thought combat feats and social feats should be in different buckets so the combat black hole doesn't suck up character development opportunities. I have different feat lists for that reason in games.

@cloak5857

3 жыл бұрын

Pathfinder did this and it works pretty well.

@almitrahopkins1873

2 жыл бұрын

@@cloak5857 It would work better if it actually had a separate tally of combat vs social feats. There is no system that divides the two. Fighters gaining new combat feats as a class feature is the closest you get to that, like wizards picking up item creation or metamagic feats. But it seems to be only those two. There should be a non-combat and combat feat advancement.

Even though I don't play your style of game. I am glad you and your players like it. There is room for all kinds in the world. I wish you and your games all the best. It is good to hear your reasoning, regardless. Thank you for sharing your views.

Dude, you just reignited my want to dm with these

I really love the "room difficulty" idea or encounter. saves so much time and scales well.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Thank Runehammer.

Man i dunno it seems like playing your campaign would be more like watching a video then playing a game.

The more I watch your videos the more I fun I have. You just got a subscriber. Keep up the good work.

Heh, I like the idea of the 'marching order' being the same thing as the table order. That is super easy.

Great explanation. I like to think of the "Rules" more like Guidelines.

Again, your video reiterates the fact that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. I’ve been playing since 1981 (and still use the B/X rules) and you have inspired my tweaking of the game more than any other since those first days. Thank you for sharing your inventive imagination and talent with all of us, that look forward to each Thursday’s DungeonCraft video.

@raymondlugo9960

4 жыл бұрын

Go B/X!

@jasonserrato1951

4 жыл бұрын

well said

Subscribed! Excellent points made in this video. Looking forward to watching other videos on your channel.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Stuart. There's lots to watch.

Good stuff man. Really got a kick out of the "edge" in this video.

Hey, Prof, would you ever been interested in livestreaming a game? I feel like most of us would be interested in actually witnessing this in action but can't for obvious reasons. I don't mean it as a "SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT" kinda thing, I'm just really interested in learning how to keep a game flowing for such an enourmos number of players.

I like your play style, it's awesome, but it's kinda tricky for start. Where can I see a full session with you as dm? I want to know more about it.

I enjoy how you experiment with the rules.

Great video! Since returning to the hobby this year the slow down at the table is probably one of the biggest issues I have personally experienced with 5E. I really like the initiative idea and will have to try and implement that at the table.

I love the content and experience you bring to your channel. Well done! How to you handle romance and relationships in your campaigns?

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Coming up on Valentine's Day.

I'm very intrigued by your rules and definitely need to speed up my game - have you ever put all your rules down on paper? If you have I'd love to see that.

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

It's coming to Patreon--but not all at once. In dribs & drabs. Rules are incredibly time-consuming to write. Thanks, Jafar!

thankyou for giving me some ideas on things for my next game

In Gandalf's defense, he wasn't a man.

This video is why I don't need to make DM videos anymore. +1 vest is all you need. Brilly.

@dane3038

4 жыл бұрын

YES YOU DO! Naw, do your thing. Look forward to the next Dungeon DJ.

Amazing video, Professor. I've been a critic of some of the rules you mentioned in your previous videos but now I realize I've been a critic of the WAY YOU EXPLAINED said rules. This video clarified so much of your though processes and now I'm an even bigger fan. Thanks for the amazing ideas. Hope your channel grows bigger and bigger (and yeah, we're doing our part to help ;-) )

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks! If I don't explain something well enough, please tell me. I want to improve.

That really makes sense considering your game style with as many characters as you're running

group initiative is an amazing idea

10:20 That right there. I have thought the same thing.

If your players never consider taking the Actor feat, you're at the wrong table

Lots of great viewpoints in this video! And I appreciate you stating that these are just opinions and RPGs should be about having fun. And I’m a firm believer that you should “change” the rules to suit yourself/your players/and the type of game you want to run! I especially like your take on skill checks. Something I already kind of do, but will definitely do much more after watching this.

I'm enjoying your content so much! I'm using it to help me build my own game!

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Cool!

Was listening to this and was like "Ok no multiclassing or feats that's fine not everyone does character concepts that require those. OP and Nerf aren't that but ok?" The thing that you lost me was the argument of taking away a Fighters Multi-attack. Yeah a fighter hits once really hurting that dragon with 39 HP. Well if the Magic users don't just disintegrate the dragon first. It really makes the fighter seem inconsequential and yeah the Rogue also does hit once, but they do triple the damage easily. Also no Skill checks? Then why are we using dice? Assume competence yeah and not everything needs a roll but it shouldn't just be an easy solve. Honestly it just seems like you want to play a different system, which is fine, but I just don't know if all of this is as much of a problem as you are making it out to be. Oh should say that yeah me and my friends are also a group of adults with things to do and run a 5e game close to as written and it works just fine. Don't appreciate the attack on those that won't agree with your way of doing things by saying that you are "busy" people. It may not have been your intention but it seemed to insinuate that others that don't play like you are just wasting their time.

@malakarvonstroheim5372

3 жыл бұрын

Do bear in mind that Magic in his table is something that he establishes as a double edge sword that could kill the user at a moments notice

@kevingooley9628

3 жыл бұрын

@@malakarvonstroheim5372 I noticed the same thing. Seems like all the pro- fighters upset about losing multi attacks haven't watched his episode on magic.

@WhyYouMadBoi

3 жыл бұрын

@@kevingooley9628 Basically he's playing a different game from everyone else. Yet labeling it the same way. It's like saying "We're speaking in English" yet you place in random sentences of full on German. Or making English flow like Japanese. You're not playing the same game as your audience.

@JB-gj8pu

3 жыл бұрын

Sounds like he runs magic from Dungeon Crawl Classics. In DCC the Magic User might end up disintegrating themselves or half their party if they get too gung-ho with slinging spells.

@kevingooley9628

2 жыл бұрын

@@WhyYouMadBoi I've played d&d since 1986. He may be playing a different game than you, but the game he plays is the way d&d was for 30 years or so. There are other games than 5e.

Interesting point. I’m as a dm don’t use components for spells

@TheFrio937

4 жыл бұрын

then the Wizard or sorcerer should just choice a Focus at level 1. A focus is a item they can channel their magic through thus not needing components. It was always an option but it allows DM to mess with them by removing the focus.

@guille787

3 жыл бұрын

Also, finding components for powerful spells are always fun hooks for adventures

Once again, I love your approach on your videos. #respect

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for taking the time to write!

Ooh I like the room wide difficulty. That streamlines so much with a simple easy to grasp & see at a glance step

First of all, love the vest. Moving on, I'm digging the "enough of the shenanigans" perspective, but it begs the question: if you feel compelled to modify so much of what was published for 5e, why bother using it? Related to that: what do you like about 5e, and why?

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

4 жыл бұрын

Great question. The 5E STARTER Set is one of the best set of RPG rules ever written. It's scalability that's the issue for me. If D&D just capped HP at 3rd level, it would be a better game.

@coda821

3 жыл бұрын

@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 How do you feel about the wound penalty system, or the vitality point and body point system?

I'm curious about the characters in your game. Do you find that with the rules you use (and don't use), is there a tendency for players to play more "vanilla" characters? I get the impression that you favour traditional character roles in your campaign. Or do they still break with stereotypes and create weird and wonderful personas? Cheers and thanks for all your videos.

@jacobstaten2366

4 жыл бұрын

I'm not sure why that would change. 🤔

@draakgast

3 жыл бұрын

@@jacobstaten2366 maybe if your players play "vanilla characters" there is a higher chance of repeating concepts since you can go only as far as X/vanilla with said character, therefore in order to make that char feel "new" they wil do weird things/breack something here or there.

@jacobstaten2366

3 жыл бұрын

@@draakgast not every traditional character is vanilla. Some archetypes are scenery chewers and mustache twirlers. What I'm saying is that going out of their way to make unique characters won't make them unique by default. They have to actually know what that means in context or be out in scenarios that challenge them.

Thank you for this article. Many people forget that the round is supposed to be multiple back-and-forth swinging a sword. The damage is the net result of the action. Meaning you may have hit the person multiple times in that round. That doesn’t mean multiple attacks. Not in game mechanics. What you end up with is what’s called the average damage. Leader game designers for Dungeons & Dragons forgot this. I also do not allow feats. but I do allow feets… A.k.a. a centaur player … I also have a unique method of game initiative. I do round robin and ask him what each player is going to do. I then work out the initiative in the localized combat meaning of a player and a monster are the only ones engaged with each other the initiative is only between the two. If two are attacking one, again it’s only those three. Otherwise I go round robin with the results of each action. Taking notes as they go along quickly then I go round robin again explaining the outcome. Keeping it fast and furious. I do like some of your ideas on that as well

Gygax & Arneson ran a whole adventure in every session so the PCs got back to base at the end, because they never knew who would show up next time. You can bet their combats went _fast_

@nemooh

Жыл бұрын

Of course not. They didn't have 2000 pages of feats and skills.

Absolutely solid, as always! I remember in one video you mentioned doing a “how things can go really wrong” video eventually.....are you still planning on doing that? I’d be curious to see your take!

my group allows feats and multiclassing, but they have to be explained within the story. How will you in-character learn those skills or abilities?

@nickromanthefencer

3 жыл бұрын

It seems like he basically just... doesn’t. It kinda flabbergasts me how much he’s changed 5e.... why not play something else..?

@TheOriginalDogLP

3 жыл бұрын

@@nickromanthefencer they do, they developed a own game from DnD and other inspirations. What is your problem? You can do whatever you want with the rules. His group plays like a total conversion mod. what are you mad about?

@maxmccullough8548

2 жыл бұрын

@@TheOriginalDogLP it bugs me he still calls it 5e...if he was just calling it D&D and not specifing an edition number that would be fine.

@TheOriginalDogLP

2 жыл бұрын

@@maxmccullough8548 Why its a derivate from 5e, let him call it however he want. When I play a conversion mod of Skyrim, I still play Skyrim. And why do you care if they call it Skyrim or something else? Get something serious you can be mad about.

@maxmccullough8548

2 жыл бұрын

@@TheOriginalDogLP because. 5e implies that he's playing the fifth edition of the Dungeons & Dragons rules, which he most certainly is not. He's playing a homebrew Dungeons and Dragons ruleset with with his favorite bits and pieces with every release. To use your analogy if you were playing a copy of oblivion or morrowind, that had been modded to use elements from skyrims combat system, you would'nt say you were playing skyrim, however you'd be completely correct to say you were playing an elder scrolls game. It's simply about managing player expectations.

Another great class professor!

A man and a strategy after my own heart!

@DUNGEONCRAFT1

6 ай бұрын

Welcome! Check out The Lost City and the upcoming Demon Tailor! You'll dig them.

Spinal Tap's "this goes to 11", im stealing that.

Lets see how critical role handles fjords mulitclass. Id say his is a roleplay choice.

I'm still really new to D&D. A couple of friends and I have been winging it for months now. I have high ambitions for one day finding a way to make EVERY rule for A NUMBER of editions work but somehow not slow anything down. Your truncated playstyle is actually an inspiration to me and helped me wing a number of events in my games I simply wasn't prepared for. Please keep up the good work because clearly, it works! Would love to see the end result of this multi year experiment feel much like your games already do; I just feel bad for leaving all the little ideas/rules from the little supplements out xD

@nemooh

Жыл бұрын

There is no possible way to make every rule from the players handbook, DM guide, mnosters manual, Xanathar, Mordekainen, Tasha, and Sage.... and a few others, all 3000+ pages of the game, SIMPLIFIED game and make it "not slow anything down."

I started GMing an ICRPG game for my son and his friend, first time GMing anything in 20 years. Binging your channel. I'll be one of those commenters who agrees with pretty much everything you are advocating.

I'm enjoying the stripped-down, deconstructed rules - at first I was skeptical, but the longer I look at it, the more I end up agreeing that you gain more than you lose by cutting out all the crap. For example, my first reaction to cutting feats? "TERRIBLE - you're removing SO MANY of the player choices to build characters with!" Then I think a bout it, and the page upon page upon page of feats in the books I own, plus the countless others in books I don't own, and how few of them I've seen actually getting used, and how few of those even add anything role-playing-wise to the game other than spending more time trying to choose them and then unnecessarily adding and subtracting to the already overblown mathematics that take the scenic route to get to a simple target number anyway, and when I throw out all the chaff, I realize how little "wheat" is left at the end of the day, and then at last I get it: the feats are actually adding nothing to the game that more time spent role-playing rather than number-crunching wouldn't easily make up for, and then some. After I saw "Dungeon Crawl Classics", I began to appreciate it for its relative simplicity myself, and started thinking of the changes I'd make to a D20 game that took the best parts of D&D 3.0/3.5, Pathfinder, DCC, and the Dungeon! board game while cutting all the fat, with my perspective changing with more and more radical cuts making sense to me, and then I realized you were already a few steps ahead of me and that I was likely going to go in a similar direction anyway, so I really ought to pay attention here! I think that I've been considering only two extreme cuts that you've never mentioned: first, Alignment for sure, which has never added anything constructive to any game I've ever played that couldn't be infinitely better handled with old-fashioned Creative Writing 101-style characterization! Second is that I've been seriously considering cutting Character Level (the ultimate blasphemy to the Cult of D&D!) which, the more I think of it, has added little to the game beyond another illusion of choice that gets us ultimately to the same place as picking a target number and rolling a die, with a whole lot of unnecessary math added to the top that, when reduced, eventually just get us to that same target number anyway. I think these sorts of drastic changes are far more comfortable and make far more sense to role-players who've played games other than D&D, of course - there would probably be exceptions (especially among players who tried one or two other games and something didn't go well), but I'd be willing to bet most of the strongest objections come from gamers who've never tried another game. I know that you're making a lot of "hardcore D&D" folks mad with what has been working for you and your group - the staggering number of "You Can't Do That!" responses is, to me, a good sign you're on the right track (in my experience, GMs and Rules Lawyers only bring out the "You Can't Do That" responses when things are in danger of actually getting too fun! GM: "You meet an Orc in a 5'x5' room with a chest of gold - what do you do?" Me: "I want to talk to him, let me roll Diploma - " GM: "You Can't Do That! You attack the Orc, roll for initiative!") Keep up the good work! :)

@jeffstormer2547

4 жыл бұрын

Herr Professor mentions "alignment" in at least one of his vids...the one with his character sheets. Might be others tho. He harkens back to 0DnD when the assumption that all characters were good and fighting various forms of evil. Alignment wasn't a 3x3 grid, it was a single linear scale: chaos....neutral....law. Re character level. Epic 6 (E6). Look up the article about Gandalf being a 5th level wizard. You might not agree, but I'd bet you'll enjoy the different perspective. This plays well with the whole scaled down stats Herr Professor talks about. For those that really love their crunch however, may I suggest looking into Hârn? I'm not sure how many crunchier or more realistic a system is out there (not that I've looked). I do not like the HârnMaster system at all. It *totally* throttles role play. I totally love the Hârn world build though. But I digress...

@rodolforupp292

4 жыл бұрын

What bothers me most about feats is that now there's a specific skill that allow you to shield bash, to pin someone or attack recklessly (when really anyone should be able to try doing that), so when a player wants to improvise doing something like that, I as the DM need to consider how to do that in a way that doesn't make the feat useless. Bah! Most feats really are useless.

@angelloramirezg091

4 жыл бұрын

You guys should try ICRPG. It's gonna blow your mind

Actor + Mask of many faces + Pact of the chain (Invisible familiar, 1 mile observation) = great role playing

@Carabas72

3 жыл бұрын

That sounds suspiceously like a "build" and that's a big nono.

I hearing appreciate Prof DM emphasizing the importance of keeping the game moving. With a group of people who have careers, family and limited time set aside, the flow game is important during a limited time to enjoy a game. I find myself with family, & work schedules about as limited opportunities, to have a game session for D&D, about as often as a lunar eclipse occurs.

You run a very different type of game than I do but I always like listening to your videos to see what I can yoink into my games

Wow. Your game is nothing like the ones I run or play in. To each their own.

I have to wonder why you’re even using 5e. It seems to me you should just make it all up.

@Titan360

4 жыл бұрын

He seems to be using the classes and class abilities of 5e, but then again, he doesn't really seem to differentiate between Wizards, Sorcerers, and Warlocks in his magic video. Banning halflings (see his hobgoblin video) is a totally legit DM move, however. A setting's flavor is defined by what you don't allow. Sure, maybe a halfling could hop on his spelljammer and fly into PDM's world, but he'd have precious little reason to stay here unless his presence awoke the setting's grimdark gods and they stranded him by destroying his spaceship with Moonstone meteors.

@iantusa9207

4 жыл бұрын

@@Titan360 maybe in name only, after watching his video on what he does use compared to this one it's clear he just does what he wants under the guise that since rules can be changed he can do whatever. He is so far from any edition I don't know why he calls it D&D, this is just general role playing. He's a "good time over all" DM, which means he isn't really playing a game that's balanced but the game he wants.

@drevil0076

4 жыл бұрын

@@iantusa9207 In other words - he's the Dungeon Master, not the Rule Enforcer.

@iantusa9207

4 жыл бұрын

@@drevil0076 No, but nice try. I mean if you think you're so good at DM'ing that you toss everything out, why not make it all up and don't even relate it to D&D? What's the point? His game honestly sounds like harmon quest, just people making shit up and the DM making it work, sort of.

@JCPRuckus

4 жыл бұрын

@@iantusa9207 - First of all, D&D is the Kleenex of Fantasy RPGs. So unless there is a specific reason to point out the particular system you're running, then just saying "D&D", which everyone has heard of, just makes sense. Second, this is just a highly streamlined version of D&D. So, again, calling it D&D is perfectly legitimate. If you went through every edition of the game you would find just as much variation between them as between any of them and what he's doing. They add and delete entire gameplay concepts all of the time. This is no different, other than the fact that it's homebrew rather than official.

Your red d20 pot in the background needs its top rotated clockwise one segment to match an actual d20.

Thank you again for another insightful video! I currently have my players using group initiative and can only agree with how much quicker the game becomes. :)