7 Types Of Toxic Players In D&D 

🔥🔥The *Ultimate* *5e* *Expansion* is almost here! Get your free dice by pledging early, sign up to be notified when it goes live! www.kickstarter.com/projects/dndshorts/ryokos-guide-to-the-yokai-realms-a-5e-tome?ref=47fwp7 You can also sign up to get amazing, free materials from the book via email, links in description!🔥🔥

You missed secret #8: The Bleeder, in other words (the one who experiences character bleed). The player who takes things personally and will get actually agitated in response to something negative to their character).

Just started the video and I’m already prepared for one of them to literally be me

Theres also actually a reverse anti-adventurer, a player who bee-lines the main story so hard that no other interesting side events can occur. We had a moment in our game where we came across a lady offering us a place to sleep in exchange for a story, and the problem player told everyone no and kept going. We suffered a point of exhaustion because of it, which he got to ignore because he had a coffee-esque item

So much of this can be eliminated via a "Session 0". When I was informed of this concept after about 15 years of running games, I realized it was the best thing that could have happened to RPGs!

Great point about the "Extra dimensional jerk". 90% of all dnd horror stories "bad guys" are not bad players, they're just not decent human beings. Being somewhat mature and open to discussion avoid almost all problems in dnd.

The enemy isn’t bad if you all agree at Session 0. My college campaign was a power-gaming meat grinder hellscape where the GM’s goal was to kill us and it was our job to thwart their every scheme. It was great.

Bad habits can often be transformed into skills that benefit everyone. I can talk too much, but I'm also a fabulous note taker, so I've become lore keeper and constantly scribbling helps me balance conversation better. Player#2 can be a backseat gamer, so we made them our rules lawyer, but they're only allowed to rule when asked. Player#3 tends to be quiet and might unconsciously check out during conflict, but that means they had extra space to keep track of initiative/concentration/conditions.

I accidentally fell into the archtype of 'Enemy' because my 1st dm was a 'minimalist' & he likes to challenge us to surprise him, even going as far as rewarding the player for new ideas! Nowadays I realize the importance of talking to the dm, but it was hella fun to bring in stuff that can really surprise the table! Rest in peace Gray

While it can be hard to do, give problematic players the benefit of the doubt. Approach them assuming they have good intentions and just don't realize what's going on. It's the best way to make sure everyone can continue to have fun together.

Making your intentions known in a session 0 is so important. What you want in game. Get a feel of the party. Ask questions. Red flags? Try and resolve before you play. Or just don’t play with them”

As a GM, one thing I've seen bogging down combat the most is people not remembering the turn order. I made a simple system. I folded index cards in half for each character and monster, and I put them over the top of my GM screen, with the names on both sides. I put them in initiative order and shift it one entity as their turn passes. This makes sure everyone can see exactly how close they are to acting, who's before them, who's after them, etc. It seems to help.

Backseat gamer, here! This video genuinely helped me realize that this is my problematic behavior. 'Course, I'm going to apologize to the people I've done it to in my current campaign but it really got me thinking about the reasons why it happens. The campaign I'm currently in is really tough combatively, something we all knew when we signed up. A few of the players, though, are fairly new and so making mistakes in combat gets me really worried about character death - both for them and for myself. Losing your character which you care about because of someone else's fuckup is not fun. Thinking about this, I'll probably bring it up to the DM and communicate that concern to see if we can make combat a little more forgiving! Thank you for taking an empathetic approach.

I once had two "snails" in the same party of 6 PCs. Not only did they each take a very long time, as others were taking a turn they would take talk about what they should have done. I started using an egg timer to limit time, and after a few sessions they both saw the light and were prepared to act promptly.

I have to say that a yellow hat is a very nice accessory and you don't have to take it o-- MY EYES, IT'S BLINDING!!

"Possibly the most dangerous type of snail, is the shopping snail" *Commence Flashbacks*

The number of these that relate to players being afraid of how failing will affect their fun (for lack of a better word) suggests that GMs making sure that bad rolls and missteps are still entertaining experiences (and sometimes create opportunities, not always punishments) is generally good practice.

My group had a protagonist problem, only we didn't know just how bad it was. She was in a relationship with the main DM and would constantly complain in private about how she didn't do anything during that session despite taking over what was obviously intended for another player. It killed his desire to play those campaigns and so many fun stories have been lost. Thankfully he broke up with her so hopefully we might get to visit a few revamped versions.

The funny thing is that if you'd shown clips from extremely early episodes of a certain popular streaming play group, you'd have had the perfect example of both the protagonist and the snail in one person.

Ironically, I did experience that pineapple pizza thing in a way. We had a player who, despite being told multiple times that I was allergic to mushrooms, add them to our pizza orders whenever they were left in charge, and then offer me a slice full well knowing I couldn't have any. It took me basically dropping the ultimatum "if I can't eat, I won't pay" before the rest of the table even noticed this. Fortunately, they backed me.

4:02 That's one of the best things of DnD. I remember a great moment for a character of mine that was quite serious thanks to a bad roll on insight, where he ended up helping a goblin that had stolen from him to avenge their cat pal from the "purple worm" that had bursted their head. Long story short, that "purple worm" was in fact an intellect devourer that had attacked his friend. With my kobold sorcerer supporting the goblin (who was using my character's skillet and a torch to make a mace, and a strainer and a pot for the armor) to take this beast. He was like don quixote with the windmills, but due to some really funny rolls, the goblin, who would've probably died if the rolls hadn't been so good, kept dodging and critting with his "legendary weapon", so my character played a support role for this delusional warrior, so the goblin could deal the finishing blow, using bigby's hand to push them upwards for the finishing blow and Rime's binding ice so the enemy didn't move. When my kobold found his way back to the rest of the group, dragging the corpse of the intellect devourer, with the blood of the beast over his scales and a tired but happy face, and talked about this amazing warrior who defeated the beast to avenge his fallen partner, and after that fell unconscious due to being exhausted, since he had been lost on the desert for the whole night. It was a story that I think we will remember for quite a long time. Sometimes rolling badly allows for amazing roleplay moments (I'll admit, I wanted my character to roll poorly on that one, so when I rolled a 3, I was static.)

The reason Toxic Players seem so numerous is because they are always looking for a new game, having gotten thrown out of or ruining their last game. Good Players are playing in Good Games 😊

I think the snail is probably the most common type. I've encountered every subtype of snail multiple times.

I always enjoy seeing videos like this, because every now and then I see something and go "wait, oh shit I do that sometimes" and now I know to stop. Remember kids, you're not a bad player for doing these things, a lot of them are pretty normal, you're a bad player if you realize or are told you're doing it and don't stop

I’ve never had to put a timer on turns but the threat of adding one has certainly made my players speed up 😂

I totally forgot there was a D&D episode of Voltron. Man that was a good show. But onto the actual video, this is extremely helpful not only for spotting "problem players" but avoiding becoming that problem player yourself

The most important thing is talk to the players. Most behaviors can be adjusted by pointing out the issues and any solutions. I had this one player in my game where he was overpowered and basically taking out the enemies in a single hit. I had issues trying to balance because I was a new GM. I talked with him and the issue was fixed, he was a GM so understood how to help me. He ended up setting up other characters and had a great time. I don't allow 'lone-wolf' characters in any of my games. Had this one player that was a combination of Protagonist, Backseat Gamer, Subverter, Edgelord, and Extra Dimensional Jerk and he was the worst person to deal with, the scariest thing was he was a GM and a really toxic one. I talked with this player 4 separate times and it kept being a problem. Another problem is that he kept playing the same character a 'lone-wolf' that didn't like the work with other and kept high-jacking the game at every single opportunity. It was funny one game that player did that and the GM said 'ok the character wanders off make a new character. this time make one that actually wants to work with people'. The player ended up dropping that game.

I think it was very important and perfectly worded when talking about how some characters can play this type of story that’s truly just a fantasy to them back to somebody at the table may actually ring too close to home and reality, ruining the escapism, and bringing up traumatic events etc. people tend to do this quite often I’m multiple different situations

'The enemy' is interesting occasionally. Not about builds and combos, but about story beats and roleplay. My last character's patron turned out to be one of the BBEGs. They learned this, effectively stopped using any warlock features, got their hands on an amulet and ring to protect against mind reading and divination, and then made a subtle comment to the BBEG that she was still on his side and needed to play up the conflict. Here's the 'secret': Then she came up with a plan to 'defect' to the BBEG's side and ask what she needed to do to prove her loyalty. I wrote down and gave my DM what my plans were, but asked him not to open it. She set up a way to cast feign death on her best friend (in the party) when she uttered the phrase 'stupid, sniveling halfling'. With the expectation that the BBEG would say to kill them. Semi-fortunately, this plan never had to be used, and I told the DM he could read it as soon as it became irrelevant. To quote him: That's less so a read on the BBEG than it is a read on me, because that's exactly what I would have said in response to that question.'

I did fall into the second trap recently, though id argue fairly minor, but our sorcerer had taken True Strike as a cantrip. I couldnt help but suggest they switch away from that awful spell as soon as possible.

I worry sometimes that I am falling into the “backseat” habit. This is because I play quite a few games where I’m the experienced one and am in a mentor role now. So I worry if I’m overstepping when I bring up a rule or remind others about features, traits, magic items, and spells they have. Part of this is the I’m the note taker. Other part is the I have photographic memory and between that and my enthusiastic research of the phb and other important source books when I first started the hobby, I have pretty much most if not every single rule, memorized. Now, that doesn’t mean I will not abide by a ruling a dm makes or that I hold against a player a less than wise or inefficient decision, I don’t, I’ll merely ask them to clarify and accommodate. That doesn’t mean my intentions are perceived that way but I am well intentioned. However, I do worry, since at some of my tables, I feel the players and/or dm might be becoming over reliant on my input and I don’t want this to breed resentment done the line, even if the table finds it alright now. So I try to keep an eye on my habits and when I pitch in.

15:48 wow that was such a beautiful quote, didnt expect it at all tbh, great video!

DMing my first campaign and I incorporated the 1 minute between rounds for the party to discuss a plan homebrew rule, and they all love it. They get some time to plan as a group, and then once it's their turn, they aren't sitting there trying to figure out what to do. Has definitely kept combat fun and faster paced.

I have a home rule called "roll for role play" everyone rolls a d20 and high numbers go first. Everyone has 5 minutes to speak before moving on to the next player. It keeps going till everyone says what they want to say. It helps with talking over each other and helps the more quiet players engage more.

I always watch videos like this and try to apply what’s being said to how I conduct myself at the table. I know I’m not perfect (nobody is), and there’s always a chance to look back and see how to learn to handle the bad situations just a bit better. Also, your yellow hat looks amazing!

Very awesome advice. I am DMing in a couple weeks for the first time in 30 years. I have to re-learn along with my level 1 players.. Thanks for helping it all come back.

I've played months in a D&D campaign with a guy in the party who "roled" a Oath of Vengence Paladin, but drag the party in bad situazions, and he demanded to be right. Moral of the story, we stopped the campaign because we chased him away, but he was in a relation ships with the DM... P.s. He was absolutely the enemy

I have a recovering protagonist. It took a while, but one day I said the magic words and he's been gradually becoming more and more of a team player. Currently, the main issue is that he leaves the party behind to have one-on-one conversations with NPCs too often and most of them [the aforementioned conversations] don't require that much privacy. I've brought it to his attention and he's been toning it down with each session. For that issue specifically, I said "Your moment will come naturally as time goes on. Being alone will not accelerate that nor will it synthesize the moment. It only forces your party members to wait until you are done with your business. That feeling you may or may not get when I spend a decent amount of time focused on one other player? That is how everyone feels when you do this often. On occasion or when it's important to your character is fine, but it can't be all the time unless there is something literally causing you to be away from the party."

Your editing choices are like a wild magic sorcerer’s choices in magic.

Missed this video on release. But Man... your Ryoko's commercials are the best. i can't wait to get my hands on mine. I've already got someone trying out a Ronin ranger, and she's loving it.

Thank you for making this video, I’m a new player, and this made me more confident about how I played my first one-shot, and reminds me to continue being mindful of my behavior in the future 👍

This video has been very useful for me, thank you!! For context, I watched this and saw parts of myself in some of the "toxic players" you listed (not to any extremes but the traits are there). This video has pointed out those issues, so I can start breaking some bad habits. 👍

We've been experimenting with a 1 minute timer and I think it helps. It's a soft timer, though. Basically, you have one minute to get your plan in motion. Sometimes it takes a while to resolve the effects of a good plan! Catch 5 enemies in a carefully aimed fireball? That's just going to take some time to resolve the saves and damage, and that's without factoring in movement and bonus actions. You have 1 minute to ask a question or two for clarification if you need to, make a last second adjustment based on that information, and off you go. If you're still sitting there after 60 seconds, you take the dodge action and usually that only happens once in a session.

Fails can be incredibly funny...like when you cast the spell knock on a metal door while your party members all touch said door, then proceeds to cast crit fail on saves on a random trap also attached to said metal door...in my case, i ended up with 4 talking limbs on a stick (party "members"), my character class changed from sorc to bard due to failed save to trap interactions with various magic items on group and the door sunk into the nether realm, turning the stairs behind said door unenterable by just any means...a potentially great start to an adventure turned into a 1 session (6 hours) of belly laughing and no sequel session...it caused actual physical pains and memories I'll never forget. 😂

I really appreciate you making this video. As a new player I want to have the best experience possible for myself and other players. I think this video serves great as both what to look out for and a mirror as well.

3:43 Damn, it does bring out your eyes, now that you mentioned it 😂

6:46 Yes! Please! I have been wanting a video like that for years! I had a minmaxer that was actually a good sport, and as a new DM and even know adays, I still don't mind that kind of play style as long as their not being rude about it. That being said, I'm still trying to find that balance of letting them have fun, but still be challenging and not a complet stomp for everyone, and not having the minmaxer feel like they are just overshadowing everyone else.

i am very happy that most of my groups consist of shopping snails and we often have a full sessions just doing roleplay shopping and we are all having a good time. isnt it wonderful that these games fulfill our fantasy of having money so we can buy nice stuff?

Yeah, the minute hour glass is a DM's secret long lost best friend. I use it like this: if you haven't made up your mind you automatically hold your action until after the next player's turn

I love this chaps add reads - they genuinely have me watching and remembering them

I used the timer for a while and it helped with the general mindset both for my players and for me (bc I was a rather fresh DM when I used it). I play online, so technical difficulties are just normal, and I ran a campaign with six players which is a LOT when you don't see people's faces to read their intentions and people have to explain every single thing, and on top of that my players love to chat and discuss their options in great detail. All that strang the combat sooooo much even on levels 1-2 when combat is pretty straight-forward. So we played with the timer for a few sessions just to keep things a bit more dynamic. It was a bit too much, so now instead of a precise timer I just remind the players that their turn takes six seconds when I feel like they have a full-on strategy council in the middle of a fight or if they are not entirely certain which of two options to pick and take forever to make a choice. "You got six seconds, buddy!" is a powerful phrase)

Lol “the snail” is a funny way of putting it. I call them Rommels because they have to overthink and strategize everything

I run a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy RPG, everyone loved the game's heavier theme, however when playing it didn't take long until there were several subverters at the table, there was a character who was retired after getting married and living a peaceful life without wanting to venture out, or who ignored the main plot saying "I'll level it first".

My worst experience has actually come from a "snail" in roleplay with a dash of protagonist mixed in. They always make sure to tell everyone how their character is waving their arms, what face they're making, how they're hard to see in their robes, or what noises there are when opening their spooky book, or how fast they're writing in it every SINGLE TIME IN EVERY SINGLE ENCOUNTER AND SCENE. A one minute interaction becomes a twenty minute interaction. Every thing said within earshot of them has to be responded to and they become roped into the conversation. After the 100th time talking about how your tail flicks around in annoyance, you scrunch up your face, or wave your arm in exasperation, we don't need a description of it AGAIN! A 2 session dungeon becomes a 5.5 session dungeon, and I wish I was exaggerating, but the DM said was only meant to be a 2 session dungeon, given how small it was (1 session to get there with some roleplay, meet some characters in it and roleplay, some combat then session two would conclude the interactions with the characters after a boss fight and our group deciding what quest we want to accept next and some ending roleplay)! This is, of course, not to say role play is bad... just be aware of when you've spent maybe too much time in the spotlight, and if people really need to know what your character is doing, if it adds anything to the scene, and if you've already said it a dozen times before. And of course, when it's time to maybe move the story forward a bit.

I have not gm'd a time limited game but have been a part of a game that did this and it actually caused 2 TPK's.

Timer works great for large groups with 8+ party members (weird, but I've run then typically single sessions though). It adds the urgency that there is limited time that players tend to naturally make decisions quickly to the point where I stopped using it but just told them they're on a time limit.

The way to handle the last type of player and the explanation almost made me cry. This is a great video, thx. :')

I'm our groups forever DM and I've now realised that when I once got to play a PC in a oneshot I was a horrible backseat gamer. The problem is that I genuinly knew more about the mechanical abilities of the other peoples characters because I 1. helped them create them and 2. am our groups rules guru. It's still no reason to tell my bro to smite now (although that should have been a given xD). I realise my sin Mr. Shorts and will better myself!

I’m in a party with a guy who sorta craps on everyone’s ideas, yet never offers any solutions of his own. I asked him straight up, at the table, “do you poop on every idea so that if it goes wrong, you can say, ‘see, I told you so’?” I felt, even as I was speaking, that it was too confrontational, but he laughed and said, “yeah, I guess so, sorry” and that was that. It’s better now, particularly if we can manage to ask him his ideas first.

thanks for including my idea of the genie warlock + glyph of warding in a previous video. Really cool I have some more ideas ;D Creation Bard Lvl6 - Animating Performance (think about it, it is broken). If your opponent has any item of clothing that is not magical, they are immediately in trouble. There is no save for clothing/weapons/armour worn by others, it simply works. Your player animates boots and belts. You inspire a friend (with note of potential) while the enemy hip-thrusts or kicks his own allies in the head AND they lose movement speed as well (great visual). If there is an environmental danger, like lava or a large drop, you can fly them above it.. spend a lvl 3 spell slot to animate the next item. Rinse and repeat. Or just steal the enemy weapons out of their hands and start attacking them with it. They're unarmed and cannot run away effectively. Goblin balloons anyone? Wanna take out a mage?? animate their cape/shirt/robe and make it wrap around their head then stuff itself into their mouth as a held action. All this without concentration Oh yeah I forgot to mention something else with the genie ring. You slowly fill it up with gun powder kegs (or similar), throw the ring at enemies and cast a fireball at it - very big boom. Or you can use lots of Immovable Object spells (lvl 6) to construct a defensive area in the genie ring (lots of small metal barriers creating walls). Crush the ring and i now have a nice defensive area. (yeah, most of my ideas take time to set-up. Never give my player downtime or you will regret it later) Drawmij's Instant Summons, a familiar and creation bard Lvl14 - steal any item in the world, no problems bard makes sapphires with Creative Crescendo, familiar casts Drawmij's (touch spell) and you can summon any item to your hand later - ready to go shopping :D So far my favourite build ever was a lvl 1 forge cleric, lvl 2 genie warlock, lvl14 creation bard - soo many options Play the role of a genie to the max. Whoever wears the ring becomes 'master' and you do everything in your power to provide protection and comfort to that 1 person ONLY - watch as the party members try to steal it from each other for chaotic fun I love your channel and hope i have given you some more food 4 thought. Have an awesome day ps baldurs gate 3 - wild magic sorcerer + mask of many faces (or Mask of the Shapeshifter from collector's edition) gives unlimited wild magic in camp.

I've said it for the past 15 years. The most powerful tool the DM has, is the ability to say "No."

I use a sand timer both when combat is taking too long and when my players sidebar too much. Works great so far.

Something that may be of benefit to newer players is to have a player mentor--someone that can help answer questions about the game, the character stats/abilities, etc, that any new player to the table can approach with questions. Having a mentor GM for when someone is wanting to learn how to narrate the adventures would be helpful too. Often following what the big names on the screen tell you is very wrong for your group and it truly sucks breaking new players from those habits.

Was that a conscious Kids in the Hall Brain Candy reference!? Well done sir. Excellent video either way

I think one that you might have missed (or could go in the snail player): the oblivious player. This is the kind of player that has to keep asking what's going on because they're either not paying attention cuz they are bored or they are distracted by something else. These kinds of players are a problem for the group because they constantly have to be updated on what everybody else already knows which slows down the game play.

Lol, I suffered with "Main Character Syndrome." All it took was a polite conversation with our DM and a few of our players and how they felt about it. We were all friends anyway lol. So I listened.

Hell, the Edgelord section actually reminded me of a friend's horrifying experience with a GM. In session 0 he asked everyone what their triggers were and what things they had issues surrounding. My friend (female) said rape was a huge trigger and generally compulsions and loss of control were issues as well. She had thought that this was just the GM being good and making sure to know what to avoid and what to keep other players in check on (amazing behavior, everyone should do this), that is until session 1 when her character was immediately dominated and raped savagely. Apparently, the GM had decided that they were suddenly a qualified psychotherapist who knew for a fact that facing trauma and triggers in a TTRPG setting was the way to cure them. He was not a psychotherapist. He had no degrees or education beyond high school. He was VERY wrong about his assumptions and I ended up spending a few hours calming my friend down so she did not perpetrate real violence on him in the fugue state he had sent her spiraling into. It took her weeks before she was ok again. If I had been there I probably would have chucked a rulebook at his head the instant he said she failed the save against Dominate Person. Some people don't deserve dice.

The minute timer did indeed work for my first game I played in, the sense of urgency maintained the comedic beats of: panic to decide - the roll - the outcome in combat and so on so forth

I know your channel is called DnD Shorts. Ironically I enjoy your _longer_ vids that aren't strictly about _DnD_ the most 😅 Keep 'em coming!

This is a great summary of the majority of problematic player behaviour. I am guilty of at least two or three of these in my 25ish years of playing. Thanks to this and previous videos I have curtailed almost all of this behaviour at my end. That said, I regularly game with two people who exhibit multiple traits noted in the video on a regular basis. I will be bringing this to their attention as they are both longer term players than me, and also GM too.

I’m the protagonist of fumbles lol even in Baldur’s gate 3 my first dices ended fumbles 😢

Man I remember when "Edgelord" meant like, a super dark and brooding character. Not like, a psychopath, but just like Batman but also kills. Wearing red and black, all leather, low voice, makes every situation related to their personal trauma. I don't know when it started meaning "someone who has different lines that they're unafraid to cross" but now I have nothing to call my brooding, dual-wielding, randomly-stealthing and deeply traumatised characters.

The Sunny reference just earned you a sub 😂 awesome video my man

Oh god I’ve dealt with a non-adventurer, my group was playing city of mist and this friend of ours made a character who wasn’t fully aware of his mythic side so when we went on cool missions he just went to his job. I still don’t understand how someone would want to play something like that, gm was super confused too

I appreciate you using clips of Pierce Hawthorne as the enemy archetype. Six seasons and a movie!

On the Edgelord element, my tables have come up with an initial Pre Session 0 survey that helps identify potential triggers and subjects judged to be beyond the comfort level of a player. Each is submitted to the GM directly and the details are not shared but the GM can then use Session 0 to set the expectations of the table for the game in terms of allowed and banned content. I've found it quite useful for some of the edgier players to know what subjects should be left out or possibly just heavily obscured so as to avoid trigger situations that can make other players uncomfortable.

I’ve played with two-minute timers before. It worked fine for me since I know the game well, whereas others simply lost their turns as a result. Players do usually get faster as they play more on timers, however. Though, at least for me, a one-minute timer is simply too short.

Was kind of surprised to see that the Metagamer wasn't on there. I've definitely dealt with all of these problem players, and their version of those tropes were even worse that what was on this video. I found myself half finishing Will's sentences because the version in this video were Care Bear versions of what I've dealt with as both a GM and player.

I think all these players can be really common, but to a smaller extent. No one is perfect, and I think a lot of people have struggled with these traits, and it’s good to be self aware.

“Backseat GM” I just had a game where the GM did this with me, but he had a good reason. It was my first time ever playing the system, so I was uncertain about what I wanted to do and how to do it. He would remind me to have an idea about what I wanted to do, and when I spoke up about what I wanted he showed me how to make it happen according to the rules. For my first ever session? It was very informative! I appreciated a more experienced hand showing me “You add this bonus here”, “this is how that ruling works”, “you roll this to see if you need to do anything”, etc. Next session, I am certain he will hold my hand way less 😂

As a DM, a problem that i get is the "I'll talk bad to all your NPC and nothing wrong will happen because i will start to make a scene if you kill my character". The ploblem happen sometimes with one of my player and i get that i should kill character if they act with no brain but i also want that people get fun at the table. I think that i'll try the jail for the next time. But great video as always ! ;)

I would really appreciate the video about dealing with powerful combos. My players once unleashed the find familiar + dragon breath combo on me to wipe out a horde of zombies, and I didn't know what to do, thinking it would 'ruin' the encounter I shut it down. But I felt bad about it.

father was a dm for 2e and AD&D, he told me the timer massively helped with pace of the game and made sure people were paying attention during combat. of course this is from way older games back in the 90's so take it with a grain of salt.

Might have to disagree on "The Cheater". Doing it every once in a while wouldn't be too bad. I feel that doing it often would take shine away from players that are rolling fairly and would take away some roll-related drama from the game as a whole.

No-one - and I mean NO-ONE advertises products quite as well as you. I often snicker at your takes..............as that is not an easy thing to do.

for the main character part i totally agree i think it's so important to make the player interact with each other to create bond sharing their story and make their relationship evolve through this

I use a 1 min timer for combat, BUT player can call a time-out to ask a question (usually mechanics / rule related for some less used stuff). If time is up we jump to next player, then back after that to skipped player. Works (mostly) for us. I also tend to make preliminary rules interpretation after 5 min to avoid spending 10 minutes to look things up in the middle of combat. Then look up after game for how it will really work in future and let players know. No retcon, unless mistake lead to character death.

The moment I notice indecision is happening; i take out the 1-minute hourglass

I’ve found out that sometimes murderhobos are good, cus usually they have the combat based characters, I like to call these controlled murderhobos, kinda like the backup plan for when the talking doesn’t work, the party just sics the murderhobo on the guy lol

in my first campaign, there were 2 new players. Me and the fighter. We were slow in the beginning ofcourse and the others were patient. Then at session 4, we were still a bit slow in combat turns, since we were overthinking and not wanting to fuck up and going over our options. The DM introduced 1min timer in combat. He didnt say why but i think i know now. It was a great decision. It forced us to think ahead and stick with an idea instead comparing multiple. We got better and faster at combat really quick. Can highly recomend to give uncertain players a jolt and confidense in their ability.

Nice video. Really educative.

We have not used a timer however in combat we use the so called popcorn initiative which we learned from the Angry GMs blog. Where you roll to see who goes first and then you choose who goes next, can be an ally, can be an enemy. It sets up for interesting combos, strategic thinking because do you dare go all in the party first and then give the enemies uninterupted turns or dyou pace yourselves. With popcorn youre never sure if youre next so you have to be attentive to the game and also quick to make decisions, espicially since you can chime in with "can I go next, I have an idea!" which atleast for me is rewarding. Has done wonders for our combat pacing.

We have one that's a combo. He is highly competitive and as DM openly tries to kill the players and is mad anytime we get a good roll, turning any outcome to harm us. As a player he is murderhobo edgelord. We have all talked to him and nothing changes it. He is family (my teenage nephew) so we don't kick him. One thing we have done is the "team veto" if everyone in his team votes against him randomly lighting the NPCs house on fire to murder everyone (true story) then he has to pick another action. This way if everyone is on board with it have at it. We havent had to actually use the team veto since we started it, so it seems to have helped. Thank you for the video

The end advice come down to the advice that was mentioned time and time again in DnD/TTRPG communities: "Just talk with them" (your players, GMs, etc.)

1 minute hourglass timer is a good idea. If you have a 5-6 player party, it can help with out if combat situations that requires all players contribute. Keeps in-game conversations moving, reduces chances of protagonists taking over.

Before I run a new campaign, I always have a session 0 to discuss what I want in the game, what my players want in the game, things I will not allow in the game, behaviors I will not allow at the table, etc. I feel it’s essential to getting everyone on the same page.

That skit made me want the product more any any other commercial ever 😂

A well placed doppelganger or metallic dragon can fix most of those scenarios. The murder hobo slashes a npc or bunny and it looks menacingly at them as it grows and transforms into a Gold Dragon, or maintains it's form and rabbit punches the thug across the street.

I love these types of videos and would love to see more :DD

the timer is a very great way of keeping combat fluid. you don't have to end ppls turns because the timer went up, but the timer counting down and then going off, speeds people up, PLUS, this becomes a way of kinda giving other ppl at the table a chance to help them out, once they've passed the timer. so it's like...'becaquse you couldn't take ur turn fast enough, now your turn is open to the table. it's usually more gentle like 'what about xxx?' or 'you could do xxxx' and then if they truly had no idea what to do...they might be like "oh" and boom, turn over. The timer can just kind of keep ppl moving. experienced tables kind of do this already, just without the timer. Once it's been a certain amount of time, they know they need help and may profer it. it can be REALLY helpful for tables with a mixture of both new and experienced players. So experienced players don't profer their opinions too often/readily, robbing the new players of 'figuring it out' but also, gives the new player an understanding of the importance of pacing and, allow them to get help, when they don't know what they want to do. So a timer can get you the best of both worlds. And, also keeps ppl from leaving the table or losing attention, because they know their turn is xxx amount of minutes away. i HATE when ppl leave the table and then it's their turn and they're like "oh I b right back" like...bruh...come on... we don't all need to wait so you can grab a snack. just do that after ur turn so you have more time before it comes back to you. etc etc.