RPG Notes Enemies of Immersion Dungeons and Dragons 

Man, you're a big inspiration, found you through the BLG guys. I've been tweaking and messing around creating my own system and setting with the things I really enjoy. It started out with me trying to have something easier for me to dm, but has slowly turned into something more akin to what you guys talk about. Thanks for truly inspiring people into rekindling the greatest virtue of a child, pure umbriddled imagination.

I love this for so many reasons. First of all, here is a MAN speaking his mind without sugarcoating and lying on every detail to avoid offending someone. Sometimes people need to be offended to snap out of their delusions. Sometimes we need to be aggressive. I started playing AD&D 2E and Shadowrun 2E at a young age and I was the oldest in our group. There was no mention of minis, battlemats, condition cards, or anything. We had books, dice, and paper. That's it. These quintessential yet basic tools allowed us to play the game where it is best played: The Mind. Imagining every detail, flavor, smell, noise, pain , love. Literal tears at the table, epic triumphs and defeats and stories that go beyond what is possible with toys. And yet I am an explorative person. I said no to minis for many years and eventually thought perhaps I should at least try them. The magic was not there. I liked the minis and the ability to tactically view the battlefield, measure distances accurately, and so on - but it took me out of that sweet mental space. The games were not gripping. I could not truly be in the moment. And that's exactly where 99% players will never be - in the moment. How can they? Every sentence is "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Look how silly I am! I'm so funny." - Except you're not funny. You're afraid to open your mind, to expose yourself and be vulnerable, to take a chance, to immerse yourself fully. And for these reasons the overwhelming majority of roleplayers are novices, regardless of how long they've been playing. Roleplaying is a skill and art form, as many things are. Some people will read this and me mad, think I'm a dick, think they know better - but they don't know better. They wouldn't be allowed in my game because they'd bring the quality of the game down. They'd be too afraid to be in the game.

Good afternoon, Chief! And happy new Cycle of eternity!

It’s always awesome when you make a video man

I feel lucky to have started out with the immersive style even at 10 years old. We couldn’t afford miniatures or maps! So what did we do? We did what 10 year olds were best at: used our imaginations. I STILL remember that first session, going into a pyramid with sand traps and sand golems.

Hell yeah brother! Immersive roleplaying let's you, if for a moment, enter another world. That is infinitely more valuable and objectively a better use of your limited time than rolling your die and moving your piece around the board.

The standard of no standard resonates big time. Over the years I've found my games improving tenfold by simply telling some people "please don't come back" when I see they bring nothing of value to my table. If the group is going to take time off work, using their precious free time to play at our table. You bet your ass we're all gonna bring it in and tell the coolest story we can, and anyone who doesn't want to partake in that can find a new table.

I think immersion can come in a variety of different flavors. People talk about premade adventures being non-immersive or miniatures being non-immersive or what have you. The truth is that the maps can increase or decrease immersion in the hands of a strong GM. I've run some amazing games on roll20 that made use of battlemaps. You do lose something -- the ability to really see people's faces, to stare intensely at them in character, and so on. But you gain a better grasp of the positioning, the precise location of the obstacles and so on. You also run into very real problems when you rely on your maps and tokens to tell the story. Describe the world, draw your players in, get in character when you're playing NPC's. The maps and tokens should be a small part of a dnd experience (if you use them.) I'll be running a game in person a few weeks from now, and its been a long while. My players are all accustomed to 5e, and I've been seriously considering foregoing the chessex mat and plastic minis. Back in my day, we played with graph paper and dry erase boards. But it may be useful to sketch out an encounter here or there. I definitely have no tolerance for goofy hijinks that break character, though. And min-maxing always gets on my nerves. Much of the 5e community is just awful, and I hate it. But the game scratches a nostalgic itch, and it's simpler in many respects than 3.5 It's certainly simpler than AD&D or 1st edition. Definitely don't want to go back to using THAC0 charts or playing a character whose class is elf. I do agree that too much bullshittery can ruin a game.

Years ago I was running a Big West marchs game and roughly half of my players where role players and half of them where munchkins. There was a Dungeon that had a lot of Lore and History and changes to RP but also a lot of gold and combat. In this Dungeon there where many times when munchkins would sit board as the role players roll played. And After the session the biggist Munchkin of them all said to me. "Me and These other players Do not care one bit about the Lore or story at all, we only care for combat and loot, I think you could split this game in half, and run sessions full or RP for the role players and sessions full of just combat for us" And so I did split the players in half, And I did run sessions just for the role players, But not the Munchkins, I said good by to all them. I realized that they where a waste of time.

Amen, brother! This is sadly why I've basically given up on finding an RPG group I can enjoy. It's always cell phones out, min/maxing, power-gaming, and constant out-of-character foolishness. It's good knowing some people see role playing as a means of exploring the imagination, but everyone I've gamed with just wants an excuse to get big numbers and make fart jokes around a table. Sad.

this man works for the changlings

Amen! Immersive gaming is what makes this hobby stand out from all the other games in the world! 100% agree with what you are saying. This video should be an eye opener for many gamers today. Unfortunately it is very hard to find decent players nowadays. Lots of fools with an attention span of a toddler.

Tactical wargames with mini are fun, like Descent or Warhammer 40K but they sure as shit not as griping as an immersive rpg session

lack of deodorant! Ha! I was thinking that Critical Roll could start their own line personal hygiene items to guide those special hobbyist in the right direction of grooming. They can even come up with RPG themed fragrance names. Also shaving cream, there is always that guys trying to grow a long beard form about 40 strands of facial hair. Sorry, just calling it how it tends to be, and too be fair I went through some embarrassing phases myself.

I forgot about Jimmy Goldston and his edgelord ranger/rogue/fighter blackguard tiefling vampire... hate that guy.

There was a time many years ago, when MY Main man was the only RPG youtuber I knew. And then for a long time he stopped making videos, And I came to watch new RPG youtubers like the Dungeon Dudes and XP to LV 3. AND I LOVE those guys BUT they have always had a softness for the power gamer and so many other none Immersive players, they would say things like "every player at your table might each have there own wants but as long as they have fun thats all that matters" and they might put forth the idea that you can playcate these enemies of immersion so that they may get along with the role players. And I am not such much a fan of that idea.

Let me guess: this was provoked by something one of those jabronies wrote. The ones who didn't understand "3d6 Straight Down the Line".

I did buy ypur boook. I recieved it but haven't dive into it yet, but it was highly recommended by the black lodge games' guy.