Baldur's Gate III's Opening Cinematic is the Perfect D&D Session Zero 

What other video games would you like to see Demystified series about in the future? Thanks so much to The Bloody Bellboots Boogie on Kickstarter for sponsoring this video! Visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/watcherdm/the-bloody-bellboots-boogie?ref=8pe6jn to back this project!

Bro you pulled so much context out of that opening cinematic. This is what makes good storytellers. Knowing what bits matter and what they mean to the whole of the story.

Haven't finished the video yet, but as soon as you said you wanted recommendations for video games, I wanted to pop in here to recommend Disco Elysium. It's genuinely a piece of art, not just a game, and it's DEEPLY rooted in TTRPG culture. It has some really deep messages, too, gives you a lot to think about

BG3 demystified is what I didn’t know I wanted but definitely do

BG3 setup denies the player agency at the jump, so that you're forced/motivated to stay together as a party. Then you're on a journey to regain agency by freeing yourself from the tadpole. This is what I want D&D campaigns to have instead of just the awkward "You seem cool. Let's hang out to fight the animated statues," thing that many campaigns open with. A setup like this actually helps with roleplay by taking the decisions out of the character's hands for a little bit. Yet we can still have our backstories and our personal goals in tandem or opposed to the main goal.

Good luck on a demystified! I've finished the game 4 times and still finding new areas I never even heard of in RU-vid videos.

Since you asked for game recommendations if you've never played the first Dragon Age I highly recommend it. Has a very classic dark fantasy feel to it as well as a lot of mechanics and things you'll like from BG3.

Congrats on your new baby goblin!

AHHH that character creation music....

Without getting into specifics, I will say one of the lessons I’ve learned from BG3 is the importance of terrain and specifically elevation in combat encounters. Because the battle mats most of us use are flat, it’s easy to think of the terrain in an encounter that way; seeing terrain rendered in 3D in BG3 really changed my perspective on that. (It also made me wish I could afford Dwarven Forge terrain, but I don’t have that kind of capital. Alas.)

Congrats on the new family member! I'd love to see a Baldur's Gate demystified series and I'm also looking forward to when you're able to start streaming again. But obviously family comes first, so take your time.

Would absolutely love a Baldur's Gate 3 demystified series when you have the ability to make it!! I've played the game through multiple times now and there's so much there that would work brilliantly in the tabletop game

This is the first time I really looked at that mural. That gives a TON of information about the plot of BG3, but you don't really find out how much until you play the entire game.

In my case, I have so few friends who are both in to ttrpgs and have free time that me pitching my campaign idea is an absolute necessity. My current campaign was only possible by intriguing my players enough to make time in their busy lives to play it.

A recommendation eh? How about Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura? The intro of that game inspired BG3s, and it's quite the RPG joy. With the darkest elements of the industrial revolution as a theme. BG3 demystified sounds lovely.

I had a new player in Icewind Dale who wanted to play a shadar Kai. My party is a bunch of lore nuts and said they were down as long as it fit within the lore of the world. One of the suggested backgrounds was a prisoner on a crashed nautiloid. So we just had it that the mindflayers grabbed him from the shadowfell. Was one of the most fun tie in characters for that game

The mass effect trilogy One of the best series ever.

I'd love to see a BG3 demystified series but I don't mind the wait. It's definitely worth finishing and then probably watching some videos to find details you missed. Good luck with the baby

Option Three was how I started my "Goblin Trouble" game with just 3 friends: asking for who wants to face difficult tactical combat, and rolling randomly on encounter charts for a "prep-minimal" campaign

Actually this makes me think of the intro to Rotblack Sludge - the adventure that comes with Mörk Borg. In it the players all start in the shadow kings prison dungeons and the only way to get out is agreeing to the adventure premise. It's a smart way to get the PCs together too.

youtube recommend me this video so count me in on wanting more content like this!

An Animorphs reference, truly we are blessed

If you haven't already journeyed through it, the original Mass Effect is a solid intro to a spectacular space fantasy setting. We can debate how its sequels did the material, maybe, I'm never in that mood. Mass Effect feels just as brand shiny new as Star Trek, yet lived-in like Star Wars. And it borrows generously from tabletop RPGs in scenario design and plotting. If you could demystify either the original or the remake, that'll be awesome. But, as a follower of your channel, I wouldn't personally expect you to take that on for a couple years; just looking at what you've got on your slate content-wise, on top of being a dad. Congrats again, sir. You're living the wildest adventure imaginable.

I would love to see you talk about this game as you experience it! Its very fun to watch people ask questions and pick up clues

Congrats Mike, I hope everyone is well! I'm excited for your take on "The Dark Urge" Origin character experience in Baldur's Gate 3 if you ever feel like giving it a shot. In a funny way, it felt like a michrochasm of how Larian brought their own ideas and passion to D&D, like fun innovative and also natural and something that feels like your DM might already have tried out in a homegame being spotlighted and fleshed out in a way that benefits from the video game RPG experience.

It is just funny, how for almost everything in the video, my favourite Campaign/Setting for 5e 'Odyssey of the Dragonlords' checks all the boxes. You start as your character follows the call of the Oracle as one of the chosen Heroes, there is no choice for that, it just is the premise of teh character you create. And all being chosen gives you a connection to these strangers. The premise of a greek mythology inspired world on the edge of a Gods vs Titans war and you are the chosen Heroes to make a difference, sets the tone of a Heroic adventure with many themes from greek mythology everpresent. There is this fetaure called Epic Paths that will tie the player characters backstory to the various locations that will be visited. The module has its balance issues for combats, with them mostly being too easy (gladly DMs can change up single sttablocks with ease, but the feeling of this epic quest you are on just is great and the overall story and plothooks just work.

2 videos in a row!? Awesome

Absolutely love this!

Some kind of deus ex machina that ties the characters together, like the tadpoles, is a great idea. Preferably something that's forced upon them. Something that they don't want and try to get rid of. But to do that they have to stick together and get out of their comfort zone and go adventure. Perfect.

I dooooo want to see more videos like this!!!

Excited for when you get a chance to play again!

The intro to Balder's Gate feels more like a Dungeon Crawl Classics module than a typical D&D adventure. Really cranks up the weird.

Keep up the grind man congratulations on the new baby you got this

Great idea for a seties

The locations from the BG3 cinematic, the city of Yartar (on Faerun, far North of BG, and east of the Neverwinter forest, near Triboar). Next is the Shadowfell and then Avernus. Sven confirmed the locations online. Just fun trivia I thought I'd share. I would be interested in a demystified of BG3. Though I've already played the game multiple times.

I love the idea of a BG3 demystified series! Even if you haven’t played all the way through, I think you could come up with some good insights

This is a good channel. This is probably going to be a good series. I like Mike.

someone else mentioned it, but disco elysium. one of the best storytelling games of all times, leans in heavily with t/crpg systems, requires no quick reflexes or innate game knowledge and is just al around excellent

I'm in the middle of the game right now and finishing it it's going to take quite some time. And while I'm playing it I can't stop thinking what I'm going to do on my next run.

Still at the beginning, but just wanted to say congratulations!! Ours is 8 months now and as I'm sure you know, there are no words for the immense amount of joy they bring ^_^ But I absolutely get the time constraints, and I definitely felt the sentiment of trying to find a quiet place to make sure to accommodate baby. I know everyone's situation is different, and every baby is different. We definitely had to cut back on our TTTPG playing and most other personal activities for a time.. but between family eager to spend time with baby, and her getting more independent as the months pass, we're almost gotten back into full swing with ttrpgs and our other hobbies ^_^ All that is to say, over the moon, happy for you! The adjustment period is likely to continue being rough, and I hope you'll forgive the cliche, but it absolutely gets better in time 💜 Genuine respect for doing all that you do while raising a baby 💜

"Before your eyes" is a story game that takes about 1.5 hours to finish Your webcam progresses the story by tracking your eyes as you blink forward in time. It was my favorite game of that year and everyone I've shown it to loved it. If you're looking for something short and powerful that is my main reccomendation :) Also thanks for all the stellar content

I can’t wait to see how your thoughts evolve as you play and made vids on the game. The game gives no initial explanation for the Guardian other than You Need One, and the mystery of them is very interesting, but was plenty confusing for me to start out.

banger

I believe that the first place the Nautiloid jumps to is the Shadowfell. Don't quote me on that though.

I generally don't agree with cut-aways, I think there are always ways to do them where the players can either see what happens or they can see the result and try to interpret what happened. Maybe the tadpoles show what is happening or a hole gets punched in the wall in the chamber the players are in so they can tell the craft is teleporting. Too often DMs use cut-aways to show stuff the players will never have known otherwise and I think that detracts from the game because it robs the players from finding out what happened themselves. In this case you could have the players feel that they've teleported and in empty pods, bodies start appearing. Players can ask questions, do they recognize what people are wearing? Oh, a guard with a BG tabard? So we're in BG? Then the attack happens, the ship wall gets pierced and players now can speak to one another due to the damage to the ship. They see glimpses of creatures outside, maybe another player recognizes that it's a red dragon and lets the group know, another player with a history roll puts together that the Gith hate Mindflayers and they put together that no way BG would employ dragons to defend themselves, then they teleport players can see through the hole the environment has changed, they then hear a big explosion, their pods fall apart and they can see they are in Hell. Still the same experience but the players "contributed" a bit to it, and they are part of the story.

When it comes to game suggestions for a new parent, i cant recommend Hades enough. Its a roguelike, so you can wrap up a full run in 40 mins tops, and you still get a long running story.

The game Gris short, heartfelt, and beautiful.

Would LOVE to see a Baldur's Gate Demystified Series! Take as much time as you need, though!

BG3 is a deep, beautiful well of really impressive lessons to be learned. Even if you can't start such a series for... months or more, I would happily watch every episode of BG3 Demystified. Get some sleep! :)

Take your time, but I would definitely love a demystified of this game when you get the chance.

They're less video gamey games but i really enjoyed Heaven's Vault - Linguistics and archaeology point and click puzzle game and Return of the Obra Dinn - a time travelling mystery game where you have to solve a series of mysterious deaths on a recently returned ghost ship. Also Stray Gods. Everyone should play stray gods

Really cool idea of new serie even if it will be quite sporadic with the baby. On that aspect I wish to you and mom the best (mostly undisturbed nights as soon as possible). As game recommendation goes, and to change a little from fantasy recommendation, I would REALLY invite everyone who can to play "This war of mine". It's a different approach to storytelling and war that i think you would be receptive to. The pitch is that you play a small group of civilian (no soldier at all) just trying to survive in the middle of a war torn city, scavenging for food and materials to get by hoping for a cease fire as winter is approaching. Oh and little bonus, it's not too long to play (and if you want, for lack of time or immersion, you can litteraly play one day at a time in game/IRL) !

If you have around 60 long hours, or 30 short hours for a 'quick' run through of Dragon Age: Origins, I highly recommend it!

It's surprising that no one mentions the Divinity series by Larian before Baulders Gate 3. I've only played Divinity: Original Sin and Original Sin 2 but I would recommend both and you may see where some of Divinity's DNA in Baulders Gate. (I know I did just watching some of a playthrough.)

Oh my god, BG3 demystified! I was thinking about, well, reconstructing some encounters, mechanics (a little thing known as "Radiant retort," if you know, you know 😉), and even plot elements. Well, since you asked about recommendations for video games, one of my favorites is Portal 2. It's got nice puzzles, nice dialogue, great characters, and a simple yet great story. And it's not that long! As for BG3, there are a lot of nice things that you can learn as GM by playing it (after 188 hours in my first playthrough, I will say that there are many things you can learn "how to" and far less "how not to"). I, for certain, pick up a few things for myself. From integrating the player's backstories into the story of the campaign (some origin companions have more revelance to the story than others) to just stylistic choices. I would not give specifics, but several locations have already influenced the battlemaps that I make.

Good for you to start your parentship campaign! I hope your DM won't be too cruel. On BG3: I do love how it starts, but I'd like to hear your opinion on origin characters back stories. I think they are great, but they do raise questions if they are appropriate for 1st level characters.

I love the way BG3 uses body horror and a ticking time bomb in your to create the semblance of connection. It's not perfectly executed. Some of the compamion characters are hatd pills to swallow, but sometimes your party can be folks who are similar.

I guessed you playing BG3 wasnt only for fun, but i really, really appreciate that you went "mmmh, what can i say that hasnt been said before about the game?" at isnt just an opinion but something we can learn. very cool video mike, congrats on the baby and i hope you get some sleep soon :D Ok, so videogame recomendations? I love games that have rich worlds, and heavy narratives with a lot of subtext and layers to read into, but depends of your time, with a baby is difficult to find time to sit and game but this are some that arent that long: Batman Arkham Asylum (because you are a comic nerd and will love it), Disco Elysium, The Last Of Us, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, Control, A Plague Tale: Innocence (and Requiem) Mass Effect 1, Diablo 2 and Dishonored. Whenever you have time to lean into more of the open-world i'd recommend going for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic 1 & 2, Dragon Age Origins (and/or every Dragon Age actually), Mass Effect (2-3), Red Dead Redemption 1 & 2, Assassin's Creed Black Flag (and maybe the recent ones) and Horizon: Zero Dawn (and Horizon: Forbidden West). I know my list is long and im sorry for the infodumping but believe me most of them are worthy.

I know you didn't make this specifically because I mentioned in a live that I was having an issue introducing mindflayers and my players panicking in character and in person threatening to burn everything to stop these things from existing while having no familiarity of them either. So how to fairly handle that. TLDR you neatly answered a question i didn't realize i asked.

Baldur's Gate III Demystified sounds great! But only if you have the time/ energy/ motivation obviously

Fab video! Game recs wise I highly recommend Pillars of Eternity 2 Deadfire. Its a really great CRPG and has the critical role cast as many of the principal characters.

Honestly, if we're framing BG3's Origin characters as PCs, then I think that Lae'zel' exists *because* the DM presented the knowledge that mind flayers were central to the plot, and a player went "hey, Githyanki hate mind flayers; could I be one of those?". At least, that's if we follow the idea that the finer details of the campaign are being deliberately tied into the PC's backstories, like Matt Mercer does. It could also be that they got the idea after the DM described the second half of the pitch, where the Githyanki show up and they were so cool the player wanted to ride the bandwagon. But yeah, I don't see Lae'zel as an NPC - more an assertive player with an interest in Githyanki the DM collaborated with a little to give them the info necessary to know what to do to escape.

Basically the same as the first Kotor game. Trying to escape from a ship that’s being attacked, fighting through enemies along the way and crashing down to the ground and saved by an ally.

Welp time for a 6th playthrough thanks a lot!

BG3 Demystified someday, please!!!

Baldurs openong cinematic is more important than people think. I'm not into CRPGs and that's because that throw way too much at me way too soon. BG3 starts with cool imagery that inspires the player to ask questions to themselves. 100 times better.

SPOILERS. The opening cinematic is, personally, one of the best if not THE best opening to any fantasy game I've played. It's a great introduction to the universe and the kind of campaign that's going to be told. But, personally? I'd probably consult the DM about if my character could eventually go through ceremorphosis and see how things progress. I might be obsessed with illithid (playing one in an Out of the Abyss campaign, and an illithid colony in Rimworld). BG3 stuff under the dooblydoo below: Playing BG3 with mods, I've had the fun of playing an illithid from the very beginning, and in another run starting at Act 3 rather than in Act 4.

I think for introductions horizon zero dawn does a good job, that could easily be adapted too. It gives bare minimum of information and you learn by playing. Just adapt it a little by making it multiple kids instead of just 1 and you need multiple of them or have some from the tribe that want to help. The introduction would probably end at the proving or shortly after.

Recommendations? The precursors of this game.

Phoneotopia is amazing indie game

"BG3 Demystified" at your pace, based on what you have had the chance to play, would likely work great even without finishing the game 👍

strong recommend that you play God of War 2018 and God of War Ragnarok now that you have the new dad feels going.

BG3 Mystified first please! You only get 1 first impression. Hearing your perspective as the player and where you think things are headed would be cool. (I don't watch live streams) You can always look back on the game for Demystified, but you only have one chance to look forward to it

while you're definitely right that hindsight helps with the concept of critical role/vm demystified, i would actually also love a similar concept for bg3 (as you mentioned), but from the standpoint of picking it apart AS you play it, not something in hindsight. honestly, i'd sit here and watch any bg3 content you decide to do lol best of luck w baby!!

MASS EFFECT!!!! 1-3 (best way is just to pick up the legendary edition that has all three games in one) and then if you are in to it then play Andromeda.

The not having any agency in kidnapping is why I never enjoyed the plothook of Pathfinder's Skull and Shakles AP. Characters are Press-ganged onto a pirate ship and nothing your character does will stop this from happening.

"Psychic alien parasite known as the RU-vid Algorithm" 🤣

If you have not played Outer Wilds yet, this game will be best played without ANY spoilers. This is more than just a game. I still think about it at least once a week.

I saw another comment reccomend disco elysium, which is a great game, but I think you’d also like the subtle storytelling of outer wilds :)

Oh I am totally down for a BG3 demystified... I think you are smart enough that you could discover at least one lesson each time you play... And treat those segments like a session. But if you want to play the entire way through first... I'm here with ya either way.

I think you should play all three baldur's gate games, and then do a demystirfied on them. But stream the first three so you can still create content and support your kid (congragulations btw)

Why are you uploading at 5am? Right, kid. Weird hours, carry on than. Hope everything's going well.

If you want a game recommendation, you can't go wrong with Skyrim.

I highly recommend The Witcher 3 if you have the time. It’s my personal favorite of all time and is a very in depth, open world RPG. Worth the DLCs too, both are fantastic. You don’t need to play the first 2 games, but having a Wikipedia understanding of who Geralt is makes the experience better. That being said, with a newborn, it might be too big of a time commitment.

A BG3 demystified would be incredible! But I do not envy the amount of time on the back-end it will take. Though really, it might be about equivalent to watching all of Critical Role...

I think it would be cool to get more videos like this, but also definitely don’t want you to feel like you have to play through the game. Cause if you feel like you are forced to play it that might affect what you can take away from it.

1000000% you should play the Nier series. Yoko taro is a nutjob

_Hollow Knight_ is one of the best games I've ever played, and is available on most platforms so weather you play on PC, Playstation, Switch or XBox you should be able to play it. Combat focused platforming-exploration game (the technical term for the genre is 'metroidvania' but that's literally meaningless if you aren't familiar with it) where you play as a little bug in a world full of adorable bugs and get stronger - both in terms of raw strength and new abilities - based on items you collect on your travels. _Undertale_ is another really good indie title, and takes a fair bit less mechanical skill since I don't know where you're at with your journey. Similarly broad scope of platforms released on (I think the console versions work on the current gen systems). Linear RPG where you're dodging enemy 'bullet' patterns as part of the combat system and some meaningful decisions, some of which through gameplay rather than in prompts. And if you want something a bit different, I really enjoy the _Danganronpa_ series. Comedy-horror investigation games in which a bunch of teenagers are kidnapped by a demonic teddy bear and forced to kill each other to escape (and catch the killers). Obviously there's child endangerment - and death - as a core part of the pitch. Also a fair bit of blood and guts in there. As a fair warning it's a bit... fanservicey... for my taste at times. ...Quest is a really interesting choice for prepublished adventures in, considering the 'tough choice' result of rolls in that game.

Snake kills Dumble door

Have you ever done an in-depth video on your Curse of Strahd campaign in any way, or have you just referenced it a bunch? I have vague ideas for a campaign featuring kids from our world as PCs, and I'd love to hear more about how you pitched and ran that. Ooh! Doing the cutscene *before* character creation so the PCs don't have powers to use yet is a really neat idea. It occurs to me that, even though it gets a lot of flak, the "You start in a prison," campaign setup accomplishes a lot of what you're praising BG3 for. Just, make the PCs able to get gear and use their powers before the players get frustrated. Also, game recommebdations ooh boy, there's so much... * The Zelda series is generally fantastic and seems like it could be your vibe. My favorites are the two N64 games, Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, but they're a bit rough if you don't already have the nostalgia for them; you have to either play the hit-or-miss 3DS remakes or emulate them with a normal controller rather than the supremely weird N64 controller they were made for, whoch is one hell of an adjustment. The two Switch games, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are both very good open-world sandbox games, but they feel less like classic Zelda games in my book. * Elden Ring, honestly anything by FromSoft, but Elden Ring is the newest, biggest one with the most opyions for a newcomer to the genre to overcome how difficult they are. Even if you can't get into the difficult action-RPG combat, it's definitely worth it to watch streamers play these games and watch lore videos just to see the absurd amount of lore detail baked into the game and how willing the developers are to trust you to find it if you care. Plus the epic dark fantasy with grotesque lovecraftian monsters aesthetics are positively inspiring. * The Strategy RPG genre is one of my favorites, though it's an acquired taste. My favorite is the original Final Fantasy Tactics, though good luck finding and playing it in this day and age. It was my introduction to highly political, dark, and morally complex fantasy; Game of Thrones before I knew what Game of Thrones was. Some modern entries in the genre include games like the Fire Emblem series, Triangle Strategy and Unicorn Overlord, the latter of which have free demos so you can figure out if it's a genre for you without committing to buying a whole game. * Castlevania, classic side-scrolling gothic horror usually with some RPG elements. The Switch has a collection of the three Game Boy Advance entries (of which Aria of Sorrow is the best, IMHO), and the Playstation store has a pack with the iconic Symphony of the Night and previously Japan-only Rondo of Blood. The games generally cast you as a member of the Belmont family who, generation after generation, must go into Draculas Castle and beat him to death with a whip to stop him from taking over the world (though the two that I recommended actually star someone other than a Belmont, oops).

1) Lae'zel is Dommy Mommy 2) I agree that this is a good way to start a campaign/adventure 3) game suggestions are difficult without knowing what genres you like, but, will provide a few below Survival/crafting: Valheim V Rising Empyrion 4X: Civilization VI Stellaris RPG: The Division (also a 3rd person shooter) Diablo 3 and 4 If you provide genres you prefer, I can amend the list.

Because you asked for video game recommendations; you should play Outer Wilds. It's great, the only video game to ever make me cry, plus it's not too expensive and the runtime is probably only about 20 hours. Careful looking it up though, it's pretty sensitive to spoilers, lots of cool moments and the game is kind of one big puzzle so knowing too much can ruin the experience.

One thing that would never fly at most tables with BG3's opening is that these players clearly didn't have a session zero. No, Gale's player, you CAN'T be a wizard so accomplished he got to meet and sleep with the god of all magic. You're level 1, you can cast sleep twice a day!

Mass Effect would be a great game to get some sci-fi goodness.

Need I even reccomand the Dragon Age Games?

If we like and subscribe, do we get a tadpole put in our head?

Hey parenthood is important take your time to take care of yourself and your family we can wait for vids

SPOILERS FOR BG3 . . . . . . . . Something that is also foreshadowed in the BG3 opening is one of the main NPCs of the story, the Mindflayer that puts the tadpole in your head is actually the Emperor, a character that you will only formally meet 2/3 into the story.

“No limit on how much you can spend on D&D” _glances sideways at my dice collection_ Also the notion of “video games will rot your brain” just in general is amusing to me when I think about benefits like improved hand-eye coordination from games like Mario or critical thinking/problem solving skills in games like Pokemon or Final Fantasy or Fire Emblem. Especially Fire Emblem if you’re playing the older games or classic mode in the newer games where death is permanent (as opposed to casual where defeated units just retreat) so you have to be very tactical in how you plan out your turns. The Ace Attorney games make you think and pay attention to detail. Those are just a few examples off the top of my head.

Acroding to spell jammrr nautaloids are made out of wood.. apparently... desipte obviously not being made of wood and being crafted from the shell of a creature in lore.