DnD Tricks DMs Use To Engage Their Players
460,408
Published 2023-05-30
If you'd like to support the channel, consider becoming a patron: patreon.com/BonusAction157
Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/BonusActionDnD
I have had a few people asking about the battle mat book I use in this video, well here it is (Affiliate): amzn.to/3MYOt1n
We take a look at Murph from Not Another D&D Podcast, Matthew Mercer, Brennan Lee Mulligan and Aabria Iyengar to see how they DM their Dungeons and Dragons games.
Apologies about the fact that some shots are not in focus.
0:00 - Dungeons And Dragons Tips
0:17 - Murph's Strategy from Naddpod
1:49 - Aabria's Narration Tip
2:57 - Brennan's Secret On Dimension 20
3:53 - Mercer's Critical Role Engagement Hack
5:30 - The trick they all use as Dungeon Masters.
6:50 - And one more thing...
All Comments (21)
-
Thanks for watching! If you'd like to support the channel, consider becoming a patron: patreon.com/BonusAction157 Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/BonusActionDnD Join my Discord: discord.gg/BS6YxxfMP6
-
Protip - remember these are actors in these online videos, not everyday friends and family. Don't expect performances or instant brilliant creativity - even from you, the GM. Your home game is for fun, not for show.
-
Ah yes, my personal tricks: - Talk less - Smile more - Don't let them know what you're against or what you're for
-
For me, Brennan's biggest quality ("trick") is his "Yes, and..." attitude towards whatever the players ask of him. Whatever they come up with, he'll interact with it.
-
Yo I legit got my players to just start chatting in character. The veteran at the table looked up at me after 30 minutes and gave me a look of sudden realisation that was just amazing to behold. That session was one of the most fun he’d ever had in game and I barely lifted a finger lol
-
Abria: Roll a perception check. Player: 3 Abria: What you don't see... I stole this immediately.
-
i notice this how brennan won’t interrupt the playera to move along the story. if they’re laughing and having a good time he’ll let them run out of steam before continuing. so amazing
-
Another thing Murph does so well in Naddpod as a theatre of the mind podcast to have incredibly dymanic battles is that there's frequently lots of movement involved, like encounters that take place while falling down a mountain, or jumping between cablecars. For boss battles, he also makes great use of mid-battle flashabcks. It makes for some incredibly cinematic encounters and is definitely a different experience.
-
The DM silence bit is definitely real. I have many times when I fall silent after exposition or setting up a scene, and players look at me waiting for me to essentially tell them what to do. What I have learned to circumvent that is to either outright ask "what do you do?" or simply end with an expression on my face that beckons them to provide a response. It's a simple physical trick, but it does wonders.
-
That final tip about "draw attention to the game, not yourself. your players are there to play, not to be entertained by you" hit actually
-
I love Aabrias "... and here is what you don't see"
-
Out of the millions of ‘Tips’ and ‘you’re not DMing right’ videos infecting YouTube, this was actually, genuinely helpful to me. Thanks!
-
I do a lot of Mercer's strategy. I'll let my players talk and sometimes they indirectly give me ideas to throw their way (not always bad).
-
Talk less... smile more? Don't let them know what you're against or what you're for?
-
Hey man I appreciate how you don't beat around the bush and go straight into the tips. Its awesome! Great video
-
Interesting video. I like Murph's way of just leaving things in the room for players to interact with. You're right, it's something to keep you engaged and trying to figure out if/how that might turn the tide of an otherwise potentially drawn-out combat. Just noticed your wee countdown timer in the upper left corner - that's such a great idea!
-
I think you skipped the actual tip in the Aabria section. What does it mean to "describe like a movie instead of like a novel"? The rest are good tips though, sitting back and letting the players take the scene sometimes is definitely a good way to go.
-
Another that I love about Matt is that he creates spicy NPCs that keep things exciting for everyone. For instance, Travis hates shopping, so Matt creates a kooky shopkeeper or a hidden nugget that brings energy to it that would make everyone surprised and excited for what strange thing comes next.
-
Honorable mention: Monty from Dungeon Dudes is good with storytelling and flawless with the voices of multiple NPCs in a single conversation.
-
I really tried silence, lIke I'm Matt's method at heart, but with my online group it just doesn't work. They just don't give me much to work with, and when I try the silence, the silence just goes on for too long... Even when I generally just ask what are you doing? Or would like to do something now? I only get results when I ask a specific player concerning a specific task.
