I will make you love random encounters!

Comments · 416

• TR

  @Trekiros · 1 year ago

  "What if it could be fun instead" is a magical question that makes your life better every single time you ask it

  722

• ZA

  @ZarbanDerek · 1 year ago (edited)

  We have, as a hobby, forgotten that in original D&D every encounter involved a reaction roll to help the DM determine how the creatures react to the heroes (and it was rarely "instant attack").

  316

• EN

  @enyoskyy · 1 year ago

  Absolutely LOVE that intro. "The rules are made up and the plot points don't matter". I'm definitely using this in my games from now on

  225

• BU

  @BummerJoel · 1 year ago

  My god, “running dm” and “prep dm” helping each other🤯 love this. So true.

  192

• CI

  @CitanulsPumpkin · 1 year ago

  The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe answered the 3d6 wolves problem decades ago.<br><br>One of the wolves is always leading the pack, awakened, loyal to the big bad, and spends the encounter trash talking the party.

  154

• MR

  @mrcomp1971 · 1 year ago

  Somehow every single one of your videos have managed to be EXTREMELY relevant to my current campaign and have honestly added so much value to the adventure.<br>Favorite DND channel by far.

  75

• XR

  @xr33tk · 1 year ago

  Rolling dice to cover whats written vs random isnt fudging dice. Its a tool to avoid telling the PCs &quot;well yes there is something going on here but your characters dont know it&quot;.

  10

• PI

  @pimpa1 · 1 year ago

  Love that you list the &quot;Whys&quot; and the &quot;why nots&quot;, that really helps me to better understand the concept.

  33

• JA

  @jaxsnjohnson · 1 year ago

  Sometimes it feels like you’re following me or something—your videos are weirdly well-timed. I just started a Curse of Strahd campaign in one game, and in another, I’m planning a hex crawl.<br><br>It’s like you’re reading my DM notes before I write them!

  43

• AB

  @ABWatt · 7 months ago

  As part of the &quot;wounded wolf pup&quot; it&apos;s also possible to imagine a wolf-pup pretending to be wounded or wounded but trained, in order to infiltrate the party as a spy. I was walking my dog once, and heard a screaming sound coming from the woods, that I thought was a human in trouble. I moved into the woods, and found a coyote pup crying out as though lost. The moment it saw that I was wholly in the woods (with my dog), it trotted into the woods... and I realized it had been crying to draw prey closer to itself... probably for its mates/pack. I got out of there in a hurry.

  2

• VI

  @vinniemidence4275 · 1 year ago

  Daði, idk how you always manage to put out a video of exactly what I&apos;m wanting to learn more about. I was just thinking about how to make random encounters better for my game

  32

• RE

  @RedRaggedFiend · 1 year ago

  This video hits brings up the common ignorance of WHY random encounters exist but brushes past it. Not anyone&apos;s fault, except those who write DMGs that don&apos;t explain the what, how, and why of basic concepts and elements used to run TTRPGs... <br> <br>Random encounters exist to do a few simple things: <br>1. Reinforce the world is dangerous, that the party shouldn&apos;t feel comfortable when they leave a safe haven <br>2. Give opportunities for players to diegetically interact with the world and learn about it through play rather than lore dumps <br>3. D&amp;D is a resource management game. THROUGHOUT the adventuring day it&apos;s important to harry the party with many small challenges that can be overcome through resource expenditures (abilities, spell slots, consumable items, etc.) and failing to spend them cuts into their HP/HD and time/torches/rations. So when you don&apos;t make those latter pieces matter in your game, you remove a gear from the machine that is D&amp;D&apos;s mechanics. <br> <br>It also coaxes players away from bad habits like going nova every encounter then resting, a la the 15-minute workday. <br> <br>4. It&apos;s the DM prod, to keep the group moving. They get stuck on a puzzle, interrupt them by having one PC hear the sound of approaching orc footsteps. Often the threat of a rewardless encounter will spur the party to action to go explore other parts of the dungeon, find a way around the puzzle or a solution written down somewhere by someone else who couldn&apos;t remember how to solve it. <br> <br>Notice, the reasons are NOT fill session time or give PCs something to do when traveling between locations. <br> <br>I have a video about it on my channel showcasing a 1d12 roll for random encounters as the party go about the adventuring day. <br> <br>On a 1, creature encounter (often combat but not always). <br>On 2-11, no random encounter. <br>On a 12, the party stumbles across a bit of wilderness dressing. Could be a natural hazard, a buried cache of supplies, tracks in the snow, or a scenic overlook. Things for the PCs to interact with and choose to further investigate, sometimes detrimental, beneficial, or neutral.

  33