@@arsenelupin5424 He actually drew this character for us all to enjoy. Be amazed at this amazing quality and Be sad at the lack of watermelon-egg-potatoes.
When I was a new player, this exact thing happened. Me: So how many dice packs should I buy? Friend: Probably two or three... Me: Ok, how many do you have? Friend: uh. *starts counting in head* Friend: Twe- no.... Th- no..... 14 packs....... Me: Luke.... that's like 150 bucks....
After almost 2 years of playing I'm still borrowing dices from friends I play with. I need a lot of d6s as a rogue so fellow sorcerer is more than happy to toss me his - he rarely use them anyway.
Years ago I played a 20th level psion in 3.5, who had the Empower Power feat and my favorite power was Disintegrate. The base damage was 22d6 on successful attack with a failed save. Empowered and Augmented, the damage was 47d6 and I bought 48d6s so I could roll it all at once. My DM hated that one... On a successful save it was a measley 5d6, although I think the Empower bumped it to 7d6.
Web the Great . In my view players should have 2 sets of dice each. The DM could do with 4 sets. A cheaper alternative (but one that slows the game down) is for there to be a dice rolling tray and a couple of dice sets that all the players share by handing the tray and dice around as they’re needed. Saying that, I probably own at least 10 sets of polyhedrals........ collected them over decades though.
I remember this one game where a player (half-orc) kept drinking a flask of rabbid bats blood (took it from our first kill, just to drink it) and he kept rolling nat 20s preventing him from getting poisoned. But then when he goes berserk from a cursed item, my half-elf grappled him with a nat 20 when he rolled his first nat 1 in the game! He still rolled high on the bats blood and never got poisoned
Hey! Thanks for the shoutout. Love the vids. :) For battlemats I agree that there is no clear winner. I lean toward Chessex for most situations though. The old clear furniture vinyl was a great solution when I was on a tight budget, but nowadays I'm willing to spend a bit more on my gaming. For the Chessex, I usually just get two damp rags and I'm good to go for cleaning. I don't like messing with a spray bottle and I don't like wasting paper towels.
11:09 The die rolls they don't need to see... if they don't know what the roll is for then you don't have to hide it. 🤣 DM: Oooh, you looked in that urn? * Rolls a d20, then a few d6, writes in notes * Player: Uh... What's going on? * mildly concerned * DM: Huh? Oh the rolls? It's probably nothing. 😎 Player: * concern intensifies *
me and my friends used to make a mini map because miniatures and mats are too expensive here in Brazil. Now here's how we did it: we made a tall base with styrofoam or stacked cardboard sheets. On top of that we put graph paper. Sometimes we covered it in transparent plastic sheet so we could draw over it with markers and erase it later. To represent characters we used colored sewing pins, each color representing a character. We put the pins the through map and inside the base. It was small and we could pass it to the players when it was their turn. It was super effective and cheap and easy to lookup and lasted for several sessions. When it got old we just made another one.
I'm glad to see your face because one of my professors sounds *EXACTLY* like you and it was pissing me off because I didn't feel I could ask them "hey are you Puffin Forest?!?" just in case I had to explain who that is and that I play DnD and because I'm awkward and would be like oh haha, sorry I asked, _guess I can just never speak to you or in this class again_
1 and 20 Dis/Advantage roll was hilarious. Broke me into a cold sweat till I realized _ah no, not in gameplay right now_ Also, I really appreciate how 'low tech' your game system is, I personally hate dragging a mini around, I don't like bulk in terms of supplies either. Super great video!
Points at the blue die and says "advantage", points at the red die and says "disadvantage". Rolls dice, blue die gets a 1, red die gets a 20... do your players know you're playing with loaded dice?
For my first time DM'ing, I used a scrabble board and letters for people/board. It was super helpful as I didn't have too many things for now. For minis, I went to the lego store and made some minifigures and used those. Not too expensive and is fun to make them. I also used other legos I already had.
Well, you can certainly just write down your character info to a notepad, construction paper, cardstock, whatever. You could fit what is actually pertinent on a post-it note using a mechanical pencil in most cases.
@@johnjustjohn5866 I prefer using Character Sheets, but at least one of my Players prefers to use their Laptop instead. Drives me a bit up the wall, because they ONLY update their notepad version of the character, and I rarely get a copy of it. They don't cheat or nothing, but its hard to plan things when you have the wrong information and items that a Player has access too.
I would recommend the pathfinder mats. 2 double sided mats with quite nice backgrounds (sea, grass and two kinds of paving). It's nice and compact but when unfolded is quite big. It's quality is reasonable. Well worth it's price tag that's aroun 15$ (a 10$ one also exists without the backgrounds).
There’s an arts and crafts blog that shows how to imbed a touchscreen monitor into the table so you can digitally upload and edit the tabletop map as you play. It’s pretty cool!
Seems too expensive and it doesn't seem to be worth the hassle. Sure, using a mat is certainly not as cool, but it costs much less, requires way less setup (you just draw the thing on the spot, don't need to look for the right maps on the internet or make/edit your own on a software) and it does the same thing.
Your tips for tokens are very helpful! Thank you! I have a player who has nearly all the books with to much time on his hands. He always takes the books with him. I have the mat and everyone brings their own dice and a minis if they want. Otherwise we just use standard board game pieces. Since I usually play Dnd with the same people we can just bring the stuff. Edit: Also it’s kinda cool seeing people’s faces when you’re on the bus with a big tube for the mat.
I think with the wet erase Chessex mat you could just use a wet rag? Works pretty well for my games. I actually prefer the wet erase mats because they will stay and not rub off with a little friction, so if people are dragging their minis around/touching the mat, or if we don't finish combat/using the mat that session I can just roll it up for next session without any real impact on what I've drawn.
Pro tip: If you ever mistake your markers and use your permanent marker by mistake, use the dryErase and draw over the permanentMarker and it will make it dry-erasable
You can use a spritzed towel over your mats to gently iron it on low heat. We had to do that when Chessex wrapped their megamat too tightly and it had super waves. My DM uses Windex on the the mat to make it easier. I've also found that treating the ink like clean up crumbs (doing scooping motions towards the center of the image) helps reduce the amount of paper towels used. You could also invest in a small rag for just wiping the mat. It would probably get stained, but it doesn't really matter.
This took me so off guard. Kind of like suddenly hearing Hank Hill in a grocery store, only to find that it’s really Hank Hill. Great information, though. Grateful for the review of the wet erase mat.
Dude, I legit thought that your voice was a "fake" voice, like something you do only for your cartoon. I mean it isn't a bad voice, it's just really weird to hear it without the cartoon lol. Good videos though, you're one of my favorite content creators.
You should watch filmcow the guy who made liamas with hats and charlie the unicorn he does livestreams randomly now and it's weird hearing his voice too after watching those so I know what ya mean xD
Oh and just to say cheers dude I watched some of your videos and went out and re bought all the DnD books and ran my first game for 20 years to much amusement of my 20 year old players. So again cheers.
First, we had the Lazy GM. Then, we got the Angry DM. Now, the one that I've needed all this time...The Cheap DM! I can't see spending a ton of money on minis just so my players don't ever have to visualize orcs and gnolls. Great work with the large and huge tokens, too. I don't believe how many ideas I got from this short vid. Keep it up, Ben!
I struggle seeing how different you are than your animated character. Like don't take that in any way negativity, just so different. Love your content!
For playmat, several years ago i bought a large sheet of plexiglass from home depot. I then used painters tape to model lines on it and spraypainted with outdoor paint. Did that a second time the other way and it came out really nice. So one side is not ideal for markers as its got the paint but the other side is fantastic and easy to see the grid. Bonus is sliding printed maps or art under it and its an instant wet/dry grid on top of whatever art/material you have. It has served me really really well.
As a DM i have two other recommendations for battle mats that work great. 1. You can get a pad of 1" Graph paper from your local office supply store. It will be in the teacher supply section it tends to only cost about $15 - $20 for a large pad of them. You can write with marker or pen on them and your players can write on it too then after the game you can throw it out. (little wasteful) Additionally you can take one of the sheets and have it laminated at a stationary place which costs less than $10 and it will work for wet and dry erase markers. 2. I like the Roll 4 Initiative puzzle tile battle mats because they don't roll or crease and are dry erase and easier to transport imo. You do have a bit of a edge where two pieces join but they work good for pre-drawing maps and adding the pieces as the players move through the area especially with the smaller ones.
Very cool. I started playing in 1983 so we were stuck with the plastic die that you had to use the white crayon with to make the numbers show up. If you wanted minis you had to buy the lead melting pot, pewter ingots, and plaster to cast them yourself, but things changed rather quickly and all the stuff eventually became more available. I remember someone had a kit for making campaign buttons, small, medium, and large. For $10 we could make 100 button minis and they would last for decades. Over the last decade or so I've discovered the big bags of coloured replacement cubes and meeples for Eurogames. I like the real wood feel, but I love the convenience of being able to dump everything in a big bag at the end of the night. Anyway, good job.
For mats I use a quilting square thing. My mom and I both sew, so we use the squares to measure distance, and put on figures and items to make the scene. A cheap and creative way to make a mat. USE WHATEVER IS AT YO HOUSE.
This actually inspired me to get out an ancient d20 System Starter Edition I've had in a closet for almost twenty years. Still had some dice, cheapo mats and minis of different sizes in there! Dunno why I never thought of checking what's inside considering I've been playing in a few games with novice DMs that don't really have any materials yet.
I have been making my own mats, so here is another cheap alternative suggestion: I bought a large roll of cheap wrapping paper on clearance for less than $5, it has a 1" square grid for a cutting guide, and there are no brand logos, like some wrapping paper will have. You can use this as a disposable mat, but I have taken it further by finding a 35" square piece of pressed particle board, and I glued the wrapping paper to the board, then covered it with packing tape, being careful not to leave any gaps, and placing the tape right along the cutting lines. I now have a 35" flat, hard, square dry erase mat.
Everyone talking about the 20 and 1 on the big dice. But did anyone notice the OTHER 20 and 1 that were just chillin at 16:05 in the middle of the screen..? (The blue and white one)
Can you give some links to the different things you show here? Especially nice if they're amazon affiliate links so if I get anything you benefit from it.
That's exactly what I was going to say. It's also generally cheaper to mass buy baby wipes and the take a fair while to dry out which helps if you're making notes on the board like Ben does. It's what one of my groups do, I actually keep baby wipes in my gaming pocket of my bag because they also give a better clean to a dry wipe board after your finished for the day.
New-ish DM here. Running large battles with my group was always pretty tedious and ate up a lot of the session, never once did I think of putting all the enemies on one initiative to help smooth out the combat. Really cool idea and I'm for sure going to utilize it for our next game.
Hey Puffin, just wanted to say that your videos have really gotten me into the game :) And also my husband and I searched for 2 days everywhere in our city and online for a dry erase mat with squares and couldn't find one, ended up with some weird thing from Hobby Lobby that looked...ok. THANK YOU for showing us the evergame mat! It is exactly what we were looking for! Can't wait to try it out next week :D
Thank you for posting things like this! I was the person who introduced D&D to my friend group and started DM'ing so even when other people DM they mostly follow my style since it's what they've been exposed to. It's great being able to see the other things that can be used and watch your videos to see the kinds of encounters you come up with!
My kit also uses the NPC Codex in a zip bag - instant recognition. I use and really like the Pathfinder Terrain 2-Pack, as some others have commented about. I keep all my dice in a zip bag though, so I think it's time to upgrade to the workman's box. Great suggestion. All that I pack in the outer fold of a messenger bag with other peripherals (markers, a terrycloth rag, phone chargers, etc). In the main fold I keep a binder for character sheets and a binder for the current campaign/adventure notes, printouts, and GM resources.
*Spills storage bin of D6 and colorful clear aquarium rocks* *the number if the D6 indicates enemy type* “you are now surrounded in a horde of enemies” “What do you do” Mage:”I USE FIREBALL” Rest of party: *sweats nervously*
I actually managed to meet a DM who likes your stuff and used that as a point of interest to keep conversation going. Long story short, I got to play in my first session last night! :D
I had a buddy that would use a flat screen TV with a plexiglass cover for the board. He'd then make all of his maps on roll20. Bit more of an investment, but the utility was awesome.
Hey Ben, great video as always! I was wondering if you have an official Discord, or if you have an interest in making one? I feel it could be super fun and a good way to find like-minded individuals regarding DnD. Please keep up the good work!
And that's fine! I've seen a few videos from for example Matt Colville and taking20, who basically argue it's fine if you enhance the game with it. But you should never do it just becaue you don't like an outcome anyway.
As a long time DM I recommend using the Crayola washable markers - I really like the option of laying the marker on its side for a thick line (castle walls or such) They erase REALLY well, and the color options are unbeatable. Also they are cheap
As a GM I extensively use my lap top. My adventures, spells, some characters, plot outline, digital dice, etc everything is on my computer. We run pathfinder so the rules are...on the laptop/internt I prefer digital dice as a GM because 1 immediately have the number of dice I need. I also can add whatever modifer I need to the roll and it does the math for me. That's nice that it frees up the mental space and I have less chance to mess up numbers. We use the chessex mat but the hex grid. We also put a piece of glass on top to protect it. The up side is it's protected, cleaning is faster. Downside is there's now depth between your mini and the grid, which has never been a problem but I feel I should mention it. Players generally provide their mini but my roommate invested a lot of money into mini's so 95% of the time we're using his. For a shit load of easy to kill NPCs on the board I use white D6s. To keep track I keep them numbered 1-6. so it's easier to track their turn & death. To give myself a mental break and keep the players from zoning out during my turn. I break it up into specific groups get the same initiative. so for example if I have 4 musketmen, 3 psions and a fighter NPCs. The musketmen get a group initiative, the fighter her own, etc. I like the cardboard squares for large+ NPCs. My players are lazy impatient fucks so instead of writing down everyone's initiative, which they give me all at once. I get an Index card, write down the NPCs turns then pass it to the players to write down their initiatives. Saves me a lot of time and I can do more important things. I need to work on my combat narration. Something I want to do is when they miss by a mile, they straight up miss, if the moderately miss, the enemy dodges, disengages, side steps, etc. If they barely miss their armor protected them from your blow.
I didnt know all this went into being a dm. This has got to be easier than animating, but dont stop, I enjoy them too much. Have you ever thought of being a voice actor? You remind me of seth macFarlane.
Oddly it does for me. I am almost 50 and he looks and sounds like a friend of mine from high school in the 80s. I lost touch, so I would almost guess he was his son.
It's pretty cool to see Puffin's face after all this time, with no message given to tell his audience he will. Either way, it's pretty cool. Also, interesting video!
Nice versatile setup. I'm the type of person who loves to 3d print things for people, especially for tabletop RPGs like D&D and I couldn't help want to print a bunch of new fun stuff as I watched. I print off a set of condition rings in different colors to everyone in my AL games including the DM. I also enjoy flight stands, mounts that minis can sit on, minis for players, enemies, and NPCs. If you love to 3D print but are running out of things to print JOIN A D&D GROUP, but make sure you are the one to set the pace of what you print. Don't want to get the call the night before requesting a hoard of 50+ goblins plus everything for 3 new players. I would love to send you some stuff sometime. Maybe even a....Puffin Forest Mini.