Most Copied Sayings DM's Use To Hook Players

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It's highly specific, but Brennan Lee Mulligan got alot of mileage out of the phrase "I need you, right now, Emily Axford, to verbally describe a sexy rat for me."

“You can certainly try” also serves to remind the player that failure is a possibility in the situation.

The main phrase every new DM should know but not every game remembers to teach you: "What will you do?" It gives a signal that description has stopped and now is turn of the players to chose

"It doesn't appear to be trapped." or "They don't appear to be lying" are two of my favourites...But then I gaslight my players like an abusive parent.

I feel like Brennan's "innncredible" whenever his players derail his plans also helps to reassure them that he's still having fun.

I feel like the most effective times Aabriya uses "What you don't see" is when she's describing something they missed but is instantly going to become relevant, giving context the party would otherwise not understand. Like an enemy starting to cast a spell, but nobody picked up on it.

"By all means, do your worst" is my usual go to if I want my players to really go all out on whatever they're pursuing in that moment, and every time it has been incredibly exciting.

So, my husband has been a forever-DM for about 7 or 8 years. I don't really recall ever hearing him use the phrase "how do you want to do this?" in all those years. However, just a couple months ago, we started a new campaign for some people who had never played D&D before. And lo and behold, for the first time, when our monk got her first kill, my husband asked her: "how do you want to do this?" And I swear to god it was one of those lightbulb moments. I'd always played it as like, 'ok, cool, killed it, move on to the next one.' never really adding too much creativity to it. But this monk had never been desensitized by years of combat. it wasn't old to her. So she verbally illustrated one of the most brutal mortal kombat style finishers she could describe, and it added so much visceral detail to what her character was capable of. I realized in that moment that the new person who had never experienced combat before was getting more out of D&D than I was, and it rekindled my own passion.

1. You can certainly try. 2. What you don't see. 3. How does your character feel in this situation? 4. How do you do want to do this? 5. What does it look like when...?

This is a great summary. One very minor but awesome word I keep hearing from Brennan is simply "amazing". His players do something? Brennan: "Amazing!". They say something: "Amazing!". They do something that is not that amazing: "Amazing!". Might look minor, but it's such a subtle but impactful way to give the players some assurance and encourage them to keep roleplaying

Aabria also has the phrase "Paint me a word picture..." which I love, and have stolen.

I used "what you don't see" for the first time in my last session to GREAT success. Just as you said, it was so fun for the players to get to see a consequence of their actions that the characters might not ever know— and, as a writer, it is kind of selfishly fun to monologue about something behind the scenes for a minute or two haha

I love Aabria's "What you don't see is" because for years I've started sessions with "vignette's" of what characters are doing off screen, be they villains or just important NPCs. It's gotten to the point when I don't have one everyone is very upset at me, lol

The "how do you want to do this?" equivalent I was first introduced to from my DMs was "Tell me how it dies"

When a player hesitantly asks whether something is possible I like to say "Let's find out!", for me it reinforces that the DM and Player are collaborating and discovering together. Over time my players have learnt that a question that prompts "Let's find out!" will often be followed by some very wild and/or silly scenes (which is our groups vibe), so it has also resulted in players looking for opportunities to try creative things more. I think this is an important addition to your video, these phrases are great, but to get the most out of them (and generate that excitement) the consequences need to be consistent. i.e "HWYLTDT?" should also be hype, "What you don't see..." must always prompt an "oh damn!!!" from the player etc.

A phrase I like to use when players ask things like "can I make a check?" is "what are you hoping to do/learn" or "what do you expect to happen?" It usually leads to a lot more clarity to their intensions, and gives me an opportunity to craft a story that leans into their desires in a way that I would otherwise miss just playing to my own favorite outcomes/tropes.

I have a rule at my table which is the first time you use a new ability or spell, I will always ask the player to describe how it looks and sounds when they do it. It's a great way to build more colour into the scene but also it's a great way of letting my players flaunt their new toys. Of course, I might ask them for a description another time as well, if it's a significant moment. But I always ask for the first time.

For that last one, I loved in EXU prime when Aabria got to throw it back at Matt. He saw the players light up and get celebratory over their accompaniment, but when he got to FEEL it himself, he realized “oh shit, this IS amazing to hear.”

Mine is "Seems fine" after checks with mid rolls. It gives the players a Schrodinger's box to play with.