I know this sounds cliche, but if you’re DMing for friends and everyone’s having fun, you are the best DM. Sure, it’s great to see voice actors, novel writers, and game developers applying their talents to D&D, but nothing beats good old fashioned friendship. That’s the best thing about D&D, and I think it’s too easy to forget that with all the hoopla about streams and podcasts.
It’s a game, and it’s not an objective, win/lose game like baseball or chess or even Fortnite. It’s just a straight-up game, and it’s 100% about having fun with friends (or soon-to-be-friends)!
Edit: if I had to pick someone “visible,” it would be Seth Skorkowsky, because he’s a published author who really understands that D&D is about a fun social dynamic, not rules or story. Despite his following, he doesn’t have a stream because he just runs private games with friends, and honestly I have a ton of respect for that. So I can’t say for sure, but I suspect if it’s anyone it’s him. Y’all should check out his RPG philosophy videos on YouTube!
I never, ever had that kind of innate mastery of D&D.... not in Basic/Expert, not in 1e, not in 3e, and definitely not in 5e. In fact, I feel like I have the least innate mastery of 5e.
I'm surprised you don't run Fantasy Hero.
Re: Gygax, he must at the time have been Amazing Awesome. If he and his collogues were not, then we probably wouldn't be enjoying D&D now. If his games were poop and players didn't have fun then the game would have died in infancy.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Nope, don't like it. I don't think the Champions system (now called the "Hero" system) is will suited to the type of game that Fantasy Hero tries to be. It violates the implicit basis of the original rules, which is that powers cannot be transferred from one character to another unless the other character pays points for them. It violates the rule that money doesn't matter in Champions. It had to be kludged 37 ways from Sunday to make it work as a fantasy game, and then to make matters worse, they tried to glom it all together into a big fat mess. Fourth edition did a fair job at keeping the mess separate from plain old Champions, but 5th edition and later have not done so, making the game more of a confusing hairball in since Steve Long and his bunch took over, than D&D ever was in any edition they have put out. Which is why if I ever play Champions again, I won't run anything after 4e. (I would be willing to run 2e for a group that wants it, or 4e otherwise -- but no other editions of it.)
So... no to FH. If I play fantasy RP, it's with a game designed to be fantasy, not a kludgey mess of a hack of Champions which was never designed to be a fantasy game.
Re: Gygax, he must at the time have been Amazing Awesome. If he and his collogues were not, then we probably wouldn't be enjoying D&D now. If his games were poop and players didn't have fun then the game would have died in infancy.
Not 100% sure of that. Arneson is probably the one most responsible for the start of D&D, with his Blackmoor game. Supposedly he's the one who invented the idea of the game master (dunno if it was formally called "dungeon" master yet). By all accounts *he^ was an awesome DM, and his players loved the Blackmoor game.
Once D&D was published in its little 3 books, small enclaves of D&D sprang up at Southern Cal, U. Chicago, and a couple of other places. Those folks didn't play with Gygax, so he could have utterly sucked as DM, and their groups still would have bought materials and played the game. (I know about this because Jim Murphy mentions it in his interview with Coleville -- he knew the USC guys.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Nope, don't like it. I don't think the Champions system (now called the "Hero" system) is will suited to the type of game that Fantasy Hero tries to be. It violates the implicit basis of the original rules, which is that powers cannot be transferred from one character to another unless the other character pays points for them. It violates the rule that money doesn't matter in Champions. It had to be kludged 37 ways from Sunday to make it work as a fantasy game, and then to make matters worse, they tried to glom it all together into a big fat mess. Fourth edition did a fair job at keeping the mess separate from plain old Champions, but 5th edition and later have not done so, making the game more of a confusing hairball in since Steve Long and his bunch took over, than D&D ever was in any edition they have put out. Which is why if I ever play Champions again, I won't run anything after 4e. (I would be willing to run 2e for a group that wants it, or 4e otherwise -- but no other editions of it.)
So... no to FH. If I play fantasy RP, it's with a game designed to be fantasy, not a kludgey mess of a hack of Champions which was never designed to be a fantasy game.
Re: Gygax, he must at the time have been Amazing Awesome. If he and his collogues were not, then we probably wouldn't be enjoying D&D now. If his games were poop and players didn't have fun then the game would have died in infancy.
Not 100% sure of that. Arneson is probably the one most responsible for the start of D&D, with his Blackmoor game. Supposedly he's the one who invented the idea of the game master (dunno if it was formally called "dungeon" master yet). By all accounts *he^ was an awesome DM, and his players loved the Blackmoor game.
Once D&D was published in its little 3 books, small enclaves of D&D sprang up at Southern Cal, U. Chicago, and a couple of other places. Those folks didn't play with Gygax, so he could have utterly sucked as DM, and their groups still would have bought materials and played the game. (I know about this because Jim Murphy mentions it in his interview with Coleville -- he knew the USC guys.)
They must have been inspired somehow. Whether it was GYgax or Arneson, somebody somewhere gave people a good time. Which made other people want to play and infect other people.
Like Champions. If every player had a shitty time, then we would have Villains and Vigilantes instead.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Putting my vote in for Deborah Ann Woll too. Her style is adaptive to player level/knowledge and can accommodate different player experience levels at the same table in a way I wish more "civilian" DMs would pay attention to. Awesome ambassador of the game. I really dug during some streamed events where she's got a table mixed between "pro" gamers and celebrities relatively new to the game, and she adapts her running to players who are clever and imaginative but not rules savvy AND the players who got the core books basically committed to memory, and it looked like everyone had a good time (of course they were all actors, so who knows?). I wish someone would give her a space to write a column on her DM philosophy, I think she provides more authentic "no pressure" DM advice than the more established DM brands out there.
Where can I find streams/youtube vids of Deborah DMing? Preferably some 3 hours each X 60 sessions campaign series I can invest in if I like the style.
Where can I find streams/youtube vids of Deborah DMing? Preferably some 3 hours each X 60 sessions campaign series I can invest in if I like the style.
How many streams actually go that many sessions? I only know of a few. Even Colville's is only about 25.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I guess I will cast my vote for Mercer though Deborah Ann Woll and Matt Colville are close second ones for me. I respect Colville for his vast knowledge and excellent "Running the game" series but some of his ideas in the Chain didn't quite sit well with me.
Chris Perkins - haven't followed his games but I hope he runs better campaigns than he writes them because holy shit that Dragon Heist...
I guess I will cast my vote for Mercer though Deborah Ann Woll and Matt Colville are close second ones for me. I respect Colville for his vast knowledge and excellent "Running the game" series but some of his ideas in the Chain didn't quite sit well with me.
Chris Perkins - haven't followed his games but I hope he runs better campaigns than he writes them because holy shit that Dragon Heist...
I guess I will cast my vote for Mercer though Deborah Ann Woll and Matt Colville are close second ones for me. I respect Colville for his vast knowledge and excellent "Running the game" series but some of his ideas in the Chain didn't quite sit well with me.
Chris Perkins - haven't followed his games but I hope he runs better campaigns than he writes them because holy shit that Dragon Heist...
Mercer also wrote some of Dragon Heist.
Yeah I've seen interviews and I've seen more or less what he was responsible for and those were not the elements that were bugging me.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I know this sounds cliche, but if you’re DMing for friends and everyone’s having fun, you are the best DM. Sure, it’s great to see voice actors, novel writers, and game developers applying their talents to D&D, but nothing beats good old fashioned friendship. That’s the best thing about D&D, and I think it’s too easy to forget that with all the hoopla about streams and podcasts.
It’s a game, and it’s not an objective, win/lose game like baseball or chess or even Fortnite. It’s just a straight-up game, and it’s 100% about having fun with friends (or soon-to-be-friends)!
Edit: if I had to pick someone “visible,” it would be Seth Skorkowsky, because he’s a published author who really understands that D&D is about a fun social dynamic, not rules or story. Despite his following, he doesn’t have a stream because he just runs private games with friends, and honestly I have a ton of respect for that. So I can’t say for sure, but I suspect if it’s anyone it’s him. Y’all should check out his RPG philosophy videos on YouTube!
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
I think Bill Allan deserves a mention -- he runs D&D with High School students and he is amazing at teaching kids how to play D&D.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I'm surprised you don't run Fantasy Hero.
Re: Gygax, he must at the time have been Amazing Awesome. If he and his collogues were not, then we probably wouldn't be enjoying D&D now. If his games were poop and players didn't have fun then the game would have died in infancy.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Nope, don't like it. I don't think the Champions system (now called the "Hero" system) is will suited to the type of game that Fantasy Hero tries to be. It violates the implicit basis of the original rules, which is that powers cannot be transferred from one character to another unless the other character pays points for them. It violates the rule that money doesn't matter in Champions. It had to be kludged 37 ways from Sunday to make it work as a fantasy game, and then to make matters worse, they tried to glom it all together into a big fat mess. Fourth edition did a fair job at keeping the mess separate from plain old Champions, but 5th edition and later have not done so, making the game more of a confusing hairball in since Steve Long and his bunch took over, than D&D ever was in any edition they have put out. Which is why if I ever play Champions again, I won't run anything after 4e. (I would be willing to run 2e for a group that wants it, or 4e otherwise -- but no other editions of it.)
So... no to FH. If I play fantasy RP, it's with a game designed to be fantasy, not a kludgey mess of a hack of Champions which was never designed to be a fantasy game.
Not 100% sure of that. Arneson is probably the one most responsible for the start of D&D, with his Blackmoor game. Supposedly he's the one who invented the idea of the game master (dunno if it was formally called "dungeon" master yet). By all accounts *he^ was an awesome DM, and his players loved the Blackmoor game.
Once D&D was published in its little 3 books, small enclaves of D&D sprang up at Southern Cal, U. Chicago, and a couple of other places. Those folks didn't play with Gygax, so he could have utterly sucked as DM, and their groups still would have bought materials and played the game. (I know about this because Jim Murphy mentions it in his interview with Coleville -- he knew the USC guys.)
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
They must have been inspired somehow. Whether it was GYgax or Arneson, somebody somewhere gave people a good time. Which made other people want to play and infect other people.
Like Champions. If every player had a shitty time, then we would have Villains and Vigilantes instead.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Putting my vote in for Deborah Ann Woll too. Her style is adaptive to player level/knowledge and can accommodate different player experience levels at the same table in a way I wish more "civilian" DMs would pay attention to. Awesome ambassador of the game. I really dug during some streamed events where she's got a table mixed between "pro" gamers and celebrities relatively new to the game, and she adapts her running to players who are clever and imaginative but not rules savvy AND the players who got the core books basically committed to memory, and it looked like everyone had a good time (of course they were all actors, so who knows?). I wish someone would give her a space to write a column on her DM philosophy, I think she provides more authentic "no pressure" DM advice than the more established DM brands out there.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I may have missed it, but someone might chime in.
Where can I find streams/youtube vids of Deborah DMing? Preferably some 3 hours each X 60 sessions campaign series I can invest in if I like the style.
All things Lich - DM tips, tricks, and other creative shenanigans
How many streams actually go that many sessions? I only know of a few. Even Colville's is only about 25.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
She does Relic and Rarities on Geeks and Sundry which I totally envy because of the props.
Also:
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Link: https://geekandsundry.com/shows/relics-rarities/
Five 2-hour episodes rather than sixty 3-hour ones, but it’s good stuff.
Want to start playing but don't have anyone to play with? You can try these options: [link].
Deborah is amazing.
And @BioWizard I have every book of the d20 Silver Age Sentinels run.
I guess I will cast my vote for Mercer though Deborah Ann Woll and Matt Colville are close second ones for me. I respect Colville for his vast knowledge and excellent "Running the game" series but some of his ideas in the Chain didn't quite sit well with me.
Chris Perkins - haven't followed his games but I hope he runs better campaigns than he writes them because holy shit that Dragon Heist...
Mercer also wrote some of Dragon Heist.
Yeah I've seen interviews and I've seen more or less what he was responsible for and those were not the elements that were bugging me.