“Preparing to improvise, don’t prepare a plot.” This is why the works of Kevin Crawford like “Stars without Number” and “Worlds without number” are idea world and adventure generation tools. They provide useful “prompts” instead of pre-written flavor text and adventure directions(plots) like most published adventures.
@davinci451
2 жыл бұрын
In D&D, not having darkvision is the equivalent of being legally blind.
@hollismccray3297
2 жыл бұрын
I have been running games like this for years. I highly recommend 'Return of the Lazy DM' as a guide for this.
@AnvilHammer-br1xp
2 ай бұрын
I Dungeon Mastered for 3 decades. THIS is EXACTLY how a good game is designed. I found that the TEMPO of the game is EXTREMELY important. Tossing encounters at the players can be done EASILY.... Just make sure that: 1/ The encounter "makes sense"... is logical... 2/ Create the illusion that this is a "pre-planned" encounter. Don't "hum and ahhh". Display control. 3/ Do mini encounters often. Have something "unique" happen to someone. Have someone... just randomly... roll a 20 sided dice. Don't tell them WHY and no matter what is rolled... say "you don't notice anything"... it drives players CRAZY. 4/ If you're M.S.U.O.T.F. "making shit up on the fly" don't worry about EXACT details. Make it up. Don't know a monsters' HP ?... make it up. Don't know what treasure ?... make it up. Dreaming up encounters, on the fly, will improve the Tempo of your game. The players will end up, at the end of a session, feeling like they have been on a NON STOP ROLLERCOASTER. Good stuff.
@emilyhelms-tippit4053
Жыл бұрын
something that has helped me immeasurably is running one-page RPGs like "Lasers and Feelings" or "Oh Dang! Bigfoot Stole my Car (With My Friend's Birthday Present Inside)". This kind of fly by the seat of your pants, what happens next is always the silliest option type of running is a great muscle to stretch for learning improv. Also it's a really good option if your GM is feeling burned out, especially if your GM is also you.
@PVS3
2 жыл бұрын
Commenting to feed the algorithm, and also to say thanks for putting together an awesome 10 minute summary of how to plan and manage a campaign while retaining your sanity.
@devinplombier6918
2 жыл бұрын
This is insanely helpful! Lately I could not manage to prep properly, and felt very under-prepared, to the point that I last-minutes-cancelled two sessions. Thank you Klaus, I hope to do better with your advice!
@NefariousKoel
2 жыл бұрын
I call that "modular" adventure creation. Create a few things in a few essential categories. Opposition, Locations, NPCs. Give the interactive ones a purpose, goal, or plan such as your Raider examples. Leave them vague enough to place wherever you may need them due to the PCs choices. At it's most basic, you can drop one of your NPCs in to point toward a combination of a location and opposition/group. If the characters are set on going to a Location you pointed out, just plug in an opposition/group and maybe an NPC for any more exposition along the way. Like combining a few small pre-built Lego amalgamations into a larger whole.
@delongjohnsilver7235
2 жыл бұрын
A tip I got once was to take a moment before session to think of experiences you’ve had related to the adventure to call on in play. Are you going to run a cave dungeon? Think of a time you went to a place you weren’t familiar with and how it made you feel, or a night where you couldn’t sleep as a a kid and what you thought about that night.
@alchemyyetti
2 жыл бұрын
I love fruit slices candy, thanks for asking. Still finding an efficient way to store them though. Oh, and fantastic video as always, some really solid stuff here. I've been challenging myself with more improv recently and this'll definitely help!
@darienb1127
Жыл бұрын
Damn, you managed to explain several points in 10 minutes in what I've seen people take an hour to do!
@MightyMothra
9 ай бұрын
Continue to love your videos, man, very useful and very succinct.
@Nixitur
7 ай бұрын
I think another tool from actual improv that might be useful is both very simple and very powerful: Allow some collaboration! Maybe a player says "wouldn't it be funny if [X] happened?" Maybe they remember an NPC that would make sense in this scene that you hadn't considered. Maybe they're suspicious about an NPC that you just imagined as a helpful bystander. Make it happen! They enter a tavern? Instead of racking your brain to describe it, ask one or more players to describe it. You want to make this group of enemies stand out, but don't know how? Say "Hey, [character], you notice something weird about their armor. What is it?" Say "Yes, and"! Say "No, but"! Does this kinda break the illusion of the players experiencing a grand, cohesive plot where the GM holds the entire world in their head? Yeah, kinda. But you were improvising, anyway. Be honest with your players, and you can have a really fun collaborative storytelling experience. And isn't that what TTRPGs are about? Sidenote: This works less well with powergamers and minmaxers. Be mindful of players who might abuse this. And it is sometimes okay to just say "no" without the "but".
@cassimothwin
2 жыл бұрын
Klaus, this is so helpful and full of insight! Your voice reminds me of the Jackbox quiplash guy. 😁
@4thDeadlySin
Жыл бұрын
I usually keep a folder of at-the-ready "universal fluff", like in my "Bag of Bad Guys" folder I have 8-Easy, 3-Hard, etc. Just some pre-done bad guys that I can throw any aesthetics on, just so that they are balanced to an encounter difficulty. Then if I need to throw something at random, I narrate an aesthetic over it. Then I work out if I am able to circle back to the guided path, and if not, after the session, I look how I can repurpose the previous material so it does not go to waste.
@garenne0169
2 жыл бұрын
As always, you make me laugh and you teach me something, for that Thanks a lot.
@imreadydoctor
2 жыл бұрын
This is really good advice. I have never played it, but after reading Monster of the Week I have totally changed my way of prepping and running my games.
@Blerdy_Disposition
2 жыл бұрын
Yet again providing awesome insight on improv. To be fair, improv is one of my favorite things as a GM so this well be super helpful for my next game!
@AuraSight
2 жыл бұрын
This was a great primer on how to adopt a more open and improv-focused game style! I'm gunna start GMing my own game soon and I've seriously resolved to learn how to improv and put my players' desires and actions first I had a DM so married to his plans and unprepared to improvise that he'd blatantly stonewall players who wanted to do anything he didn't expect Left that group after he mind-controlled my PC out of nowhere because I wasn't following his script
@TheDungeonNewbsGuide
2 жыл бұрын
Oofda, yeah, I've had a DM like that in the past, and it can really just outright ruin the whole experience. Glad you left, and I'm excited that you're starting up your own game! I hope it is an absolute blast. Just the fact that you are putting your player's at the forefront of your mind tells me it is going to be a good time!
@lorddraekan
2 жыл бұрын
I do indeed like fruit slices candy! I prefer the spice drop variant of the gum drops though. Wonderful advice!
@SlamBaron
2 жыл бұрын
THE DM IS THE BRINGER OF SWEET PAIN.
@inbarmeyerson3995
2 жыл бұрын
Great video! I really like those advices and you present them in a very friendly manner.
@redemption9148
2 жыл бұрын
Absolutely fantastic video, my man! I can't tell you how many times I've just given up on prep bc my players just go wherever LOL
@Churchtastic
2 жыл бұрын
Another video full of awesome advice. Thanks Klaus!! (PS I also like fruit slices candy!)
@Silkspar
2 жыл бұрын
all the basic tenants for running a sand box, sneaky. Also: random tables, bullet lists, books of NPCs, books of short adventures, dysonlogos maps and geomorphs etc. etc. ALSO also: azgars and watabou(fantasy) oh and raginqswan etc etc In short there's probably more support for running these kinds of games than there is for some of those "hard back adventures"
@harjutapa
2 жыл бұрын
With clues: Always plan at least 3 ways that are completely separated from each other in terms of place and rp to give any important clue to the players. Be flexible. Give it to them in whatever way works best for their actions. YOU know you had a bunch of different ways to give them that clue. They don't.
@Hina-ro3ft
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the awesome video! ♥
@bAtACt1X
Жыл бұрын
I always find my clues in the woods. They hide beneath this cute little mushrooms that cant stop talking: "EAT US! EAT US! You are the LIZARD KING!" Despite they are right...never eat them. NEVER! Instead harvest them, wearing GLOVES..... and teach your group a lesson when serving the next meal, in case the dont warship the liizardking! Or just for fun. Your choice...
@AlteredArt
2 жыл бұрын
Just love this channel
@NathanielJordan85
Жыл бұрын
I LOVE fruit slices! However, I think your advice actually necessitates a LOT more prep, because when encounters could take places in like 5 different places instead of one, now we suddenly need 5 different maps prepped! Instead, I suggest taking a page from Mass Effect and using a narrative 'bead' structure, where players can navigate many ways around the 'bead', but those possibilities converge again at the strand. You have some loosely constrained beats that can help your story stay coherent and your prep-work manageable, and use the improve to follow/guide the players through whatever they want to do towards important narrative beats. Maybe you still end up altering or moving some of those beats, but you're a lot less likely to have to do that, and still able to support whatever path the players are taking to get there. You can also loosely plan multiple approaches to solving problems, that make the jump from whatever you had planned to whatever the player's came up with a lot easier; whether that's guiding them down one of the existing paths adjacent to that idea or being able to improvise something else from an idea that at least got you to think about some similar legwork beforehand.
@beartempleman5286
Жыл бұрын
New to GMing, and I defintely over prep 😅 I have a whole folder of random tables from various books - but I almost never use them. Threw me into a spiral last week when half my party cpuldnt make game day last minute. Had to make an adventure on the fly so that noone missed the main story line. This video has been super helpful, and I love the idea of planning the world, not the encounter. Thanks!
@EricMeyer9
2 жыл бұрын
Lmao patron song. Very nice sir
@MRDaved
2 жыл бұрын
Could you do a video on everywhen? I found it as an interesting solution, that seems to play more tactically than cortex prime, and even has mass combat rules Edit: Forgot to say, you're back at it again with a quality video. You are severely underrated
@TheDungeonNewbsGuide
2 жыл бұрын
I'll be certain to look into it! I love checking out new stuff, though that also means I have a huge chalkboard full of things I'm working on, so the *when* of me getting to it might be tough to say :D
@MRDaved
2 жыл бұрын
@@TheDungeonNewbsGuide Looking forward to the new content then
@trainer1kali
Ай бұрын
Damn this is good 👍
@mrpowers3649
2 жыл бұрын
Does anyone have a random prompt generator?
@TheDungeonNewbsGuide
2 жыл бұрын
One that I would recommend... fari.app/story-builder
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