Ocarina is the Best D&D Campaign Blueprint 

I need to re-watch this video like 6 more times to have it fully sink in. I think this is the secret sauce for all the stuff you make for DnD. Fantastic.

A useful hint is that because you have a villain with a goal, who knows how to get to it, you also have the opportunity to have the villain react to the party's action and change strategies if they don't play into his idea of having them get the items for them.

This is essentially why I think Curse of Strahd is the best 5e campaign by a long shot. While other 'official' 5e campaigns have villains who are being summoned/woken, or disrupting the status quo, or working from the shadows. Strahd is the ruler of the lands and he enforces the oppressive status quo that you go around solving.

I've been using Majora's mask as my inspiration. The 3 day cycle is surprisingly effective, killing the party then sending them back to day 1 worked better than I hoped.

You don't need to specify it came out in 1998. Almost died of old age here, sheesh.

All that art you used looks AI generated🤨🤨🤨

I think a way that makes it clear how OoT structure works so well is to try randomizer mods, It really shows you how mechantically well the game is designed for you to find means to progress even if items are shifted all over the place.

Fun story - I ran a campaign in 5e from level 1 to 10 which took about 7 months to complete that was based on Zelda! While Link ran around to collect the Triforce pieces, the party was tasked with acquiring other relics which would be needed to power the Sages. Was a fantastic game!

This reminds me of the Curse of Strahd map of NPC interactions and how EVERY character in barovia is connected to Strahd von Zarovich in some way

"you are where you need to be" is legitimate life advice.

Another important lesson from Ocarina of Time:

tl;dw: connect lots of the smaller conflicts and challenges the party will encounter to the central tension of the campaign world so that no matter what direction the players go they are headed in the right direction. I learned this from Dragon of Icespire Peak where all of the worldbuilding is encountered through the various starting quests found on the village quest board: everybody's problems end up stemming from the dragon's arrival in the region. Orcs afoot? They were displaced by the dragon. Manticore in the area? Displaced by the dragon. Supply chains disrupted? Dragon. Someone's five year old got a splinter? Believe it or not, dragon!

I also like that if the antagonist is much older, he's had time to develop and spread rumors and urban legends! Hearing about a fabled mace that banishes all unholy creatures it touches from local people in different cities in an area makes it sound like a weapon from the gods! In reality, it's the liches unholy mace which he can't reach because it's kept safe on hallowed grounds and thus need to trick the players in to getting it for him :3

Amazing video, I don't normally comment but this makes DnD campaign crafting so much more digestible for me

My headcanon for the first LoZ game goes like this. The other 8 dungeon bosses aren't on Ganon's side. Before being captured, Zelda cleverly scattered pieces of the Triforce of Wisdom deep within those ancient temples, crypts, and caves knowing the eldritch demons would "guard" them from Ganon. While Ganon has dominated the land above, he still can't get to the Triforce pieces being guarded by these eldritch monsters. He has the Triforce of Power, but he lacks the courage to risk his own life trying to defeat these monsters. A mysterious young warrior emerges from the oppressed people and hearing Zelda's psychic call for help, he courageously delves into the shadows where Ganon dare not go, to retrieve Zelda's Triforce pieces. Inadvertently, Link gains or awakens his own Triforce of Courage and together with Zelda and her restored Triforce of Wisdom, they can subdue Ganon. I just think this is a great alternative to the typical "evil chain of the command" that so much fantasy fiction utilizes.

It is perfect for tabletop roleplay no doubt about it. My campaign starts when it is almost time for link to awaken from his 7 year slumber(few months before it). My players get their quests from Sheik, same as Link does. They are going through almost every location link has to go through in the game, trying to make it easier for him to cleanse every temple. For example: last session they actually managed to kill one of ganondorfs surogate mothers in the spirit temple. It is so much fun to try to adapt game dungeons for tabletop roleplay. I also made a new big city since the one in the game gets overrun by redeads and monsters. just for players to have a home to come to after every adventure. And since none of them played any zelda game, I just mix some things from other games aswell. works really well with WFRP4th edition system (i know that rules in that system are tightly bound to the Warhammer lore but i managed to make sense of it) For example all temples are a source of magic in hyrule from the sacred realm, so in order to make magic chaotic and ,more often then not, hard to cast, I told them that Ganondorf invading sacred realm resulted in temples corruption thus making all magic unstable. I could write here all day but i guess this covers the base of it.

Dude this was excellent. As long as there's a BBEG or similar thing, locations all need help with problems related to them/it, the solutions to which are in other locations with their own problems. It's like a circle of fifths that makes grand relevancy super doable without stressing.

Great video. The Zelda series has many excellent examples for DM's: story and encounter structure, monster design, quest items that are more than just plot coupons, practical weapons with helpful secondary uses, pc and npc motivations, dungeon layout, room and puzzle challenges, and fights, whether against minions, mini or regular bosses, or BBEG's. Nearly the whole spread. I don't think there's another series as close to the feel of good D&D (or whatever) as this, certainly not all those xp grinding games that look but don't play like ttrpg's. And you break it down very well.

There's also Hyrule field, which acts as a hub, granting each of the major areas equal access.

Hey LISTEN! I'm glad we agree OoT to be one of the greatest games of all time. Also that ocarina solo at the end, priceless.