What to do when your D&D players don't care 

The real point of DMing is to increase my capacity to procrastinate planning.

The dinner and drinks comparison was actually surprisingly helpful for me to visualize the concept in my head lmao

Session Zero is important to find the right types of players for different types of games.

"To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their dice."

In the game I’m currently playing, I gave my character the noble background and told the DM that the family’s rank was up to him and I’d flesh out her backstory and family history accordingly. We get to Session Zero and I quickly notice that my character’s family name is now on the DM’s world map as one of the major kingdoms on the continent. I was abruptly put in charge of a rather noteworthy chunk of the world building, probably because I’d told him ahead of time that I have a tendency to write too much for my characters and he decided to capitalize on that. Needless to say, I am very invested in this current game.

this was my experience in my first game. No one was invested, and I was criticized for "not making the game more fun". The problem was no one knew what they wanted, they just knew I wasn't giving it to them. It felt like I was putting on a show, not playing a game. I went through 2 dnd groups before finally gelling with my third. Even when first playing with my current group, I had to learn that there is a difference between investing and hardcore roleplaying. I finally feel like I'm with a group that really appreciates what I do for them, and it makes a world of difference.

I couldn't answer this question myself for a while, but eventually I found out that I really enjoy watching the player characters grow and experience new things. A player completing their personal quest, or finding that long-lost relative is just... *chefs kiss*

Between this video and Matt Colville talking about how short adventures are the way to go over long campaigns... Man I wish I'd seen these before I built out my last game. Thank you for this, Ginny! You make my games better.

One of the best campaigns I ever played in was a world where the DM created a port town and added some basic features. But then we players got to add our homes, bases of operation, and local features important to our characters. During the entire campaign we never ventured more than 100 miles from "our town". It was kind of an expanded "Keep on the Borderlands" type campaign. But we were invested in it. We owned businesses. We had to deal with pirates, bandits, corrupted grave sites and tombs, and eventually an invading orc army.

The hardest part I've run into is the 'kindness gap' where a player will sometimes prefer to not have fun and burn out than 'be mean' - and people often have a difficult time discerning the deference between rude and honest. I had a player tell me 'having fun' for 5 games, then heard 3rd party they were bored, addressed it with them (which initially was uncomfortable for them) then fixed it next session - but they had 4 'bad' games because of that communication gap.

The point of DMing - there will be a game. My sessions would drop to about 20% of what they are currently if I didn't DM.

Oof. I felt this one. I have a good friend who was so excited to run a 5e game for us with her own bespoke world. Spent months writing out backgrounds, interweaved plot points, fleshed out NPCs, and a Big Mystery. It was amazing....and it tanked in three sessions because our group just doesn't do that. We roleplay but it's more Monty Python than Royal Shakespeare Company. She wanted the latter.

My favorite bit of advice for involving players in the creation of the dnd campaign world is to make their back stories the main story of the game. I like coming up with a setting that sparks their imagination and then getting together with them in order to create their individual stories that will weave together. Sure the stories are usually clunky and a bit soap opera-y. But when the evil king is the fighter's long lost brother that he hasn't seen in decades it's immediately more interesting than it just being an evil king

Loved the metaphors to other activities! That's how it is in my experience. I'm lucky that a couple of my best friends really enjoy RPGs, but not all of them do. And different styles, more light and comedic vs more crunchy or dramatic, just appeal to people differently so it's natural for the group to shift a bit depending on the game/campaign.

One thing to bear in mind as a DM, is that you may have spent weeks or even months preparing the setting for a new campaign, while, apart from may be an overview before the campaign and maybe during session zero, the first session will be the first time they get to interact with the world, so it could take them a few sessions to get the feel for the setting and warm up to it. Also, as Ginny says, as DM, you need to set expectations and the feel for the campaign before hand, and if you do not know already, what the players expectations are.

"Fighting and Looting" That is more than my players do. I often have them stand around and DO NOTHING. >Hey, the city is burning down, there is a giant portal with demons flooding in. A young girl in a very expensive dress and 4 knights with golden armor run out of the city, right past you. >I look at them. >okay, they keep running. One of the Knights asks you to come with them without stopping >I don't do them, I watch them leave and then look at the city >Civilians are being cut down and eaten by demons as the city burns down, with the portal above them not closing they had no chance. You can see the Magestower within the city >I watch it

YES! This is something I've run into. I run a Ravenloft (Curse of Strahd) campaign for two different groups. Group A. are experienced RPG'ers , most of whom I've known for over thirty years. They love roleplay and emergent play, but also love slaying monsters, collecting magic items, etc. Group B. are most inexperienced with tabletop RPGs (for the most part) and have trouble, or seem to have little interest in roleplaying (one player even ROLLS A DIE to have his character make decisions), and rarely "engage" with the world other than to fight things, run from things, or fuck with stuff (i.e. "pranks" and goofy behavior doesn't really fit the tone of what's happening in game in that moment). It's frustrating, but I do think it has a lot to do with both experience with tabletop rpgs (which are very much not passive), and MORE experience with videogame rpgs (which are a more passive entertainment form). PS - During session zero and session 1, I tried to get the players in group B. to flesh out their characters backstories but barely got anything from them. Ten sessions in, they could barely even remember what they DID come up with, lol. They just have little to no interest in having their CHARACTERS engage in the campaign and treat the game very much as a passive type of entertainment. They never discuss what their characters plans are, never talk in-game or out-of-game about what they've learned, what their goals are (short term or long term, even with prompting) who they've met, what they've seen, etc. It's like starting from scratch every session, sigh.

Hey ginny I’m new to dnd and you have been so helpful. Thank you 🙏

This was eye opening, because I've always thought providing content was the GMs primary function. I did not consider that there were things both GMs and players could do to help one another make the experience better outside of session zeroes. Thank you for making a great series of videos that make me think!

I've had issues - mostly with inexperienced players - of players not really understanding that the DM is there to play and have fun too, and they're not just there to enable everyone else's fun. I've had a few campaigns fizzle out this way, but once I found a reciprocating group everything became much more enjoyable.

A friend rolled a homebrew otterfolk character “connected to the otterfolk mob” so now otterfolk organized crime will always be present in my games

Know your party. Reward all engagement with plot hooks. Solicit feedback after every session. I prefer to do so obliquely, for instance, asking my players in one-on-one text messages what they though of another player's actions. This can easily lead to honest feedback. Last, but not least, improv, improv and improv. When a funny idea comes along, justify it and put it in the actual plot.

Players building the world themselves is one of the best parts of being a DM; when new players suddenly do it's tremendously affirming, especially when it's different to what you've written.

I really agree with your point on world building with your players. I'm a huge fan of doing this. Some of my favorite tactics are to have my players come up with how their characters have interacted with places or events in the past and share it as an impromptu scene or story. For instance: "The last time one of you visited this town you got into a bad situation in the market. Who would like to share?" I try not to single out players since it sucks to be put on the spot and I try to leave the prompts fairly open. Maybe the rogue got caught stealing, maybe the barbarian got swindled by a snake oil salesman or maybe something happened to a character that lets them explore their character a bit. Maybe the cleric found their faith through this bad situation, maybe the warlock saw the love of their life with someone else and decided to bury their pain in their occult studies. Maybe the paladin lost her temper and trashed someone's shop, giving her something she feels guilty about. These are all opportunities to build up their characters and the world. The players remember the market where the bard got mugged and I now have a group of thieves that I can put into encounters, my market also now is dangerous to travel through at night. You just have to listen to what your players tell you and build off of it. "Yes and" the heck out of it. This works for traveling as well: "Two of you encounter something unusual while away from the group, you don't think the others will believe it but you're pretty sure you both saw it. Who would like to share?" This gives players a chance to roleplay to convince the others that they saw something wild or to be skeptical. Most importantly, it gives me as the DM something mysterious that two of the players have a reason to go after for future plot hooks. If the scene isn't great, that's fine. Not every scene will be a winner and you just move on to the next bit. But the more I've done this the more my players jump in and get creative. It takes some guts to take your hands off the wheel but it's a lot of fun when your players get to drive for a bit.

I have a great table, and generally, we don't have any issues. But I've recently been dealing with insecurities about my GMing, which makes me panic and try to take control of everything, which is obviously not fun for the players, making the situation worse, and a downward spiral begins. What I'm trying to say is, I kinda needed this video right now. Thank you.

Not all your friends are dnd friends. Best pointy hat quote ever

My last campaign was the living incarnation of this great advice. I ran a bunch of games, even some long campaigns, before I finally started one with a session zero and helped everyone create characters with the direct connections to the world and to each other that THEY wanted. Basically, "I'm making dinner for you. What kind of food do you like?" That was the best campaign I ever ran. NOT because I was a genius storyteller, but because the players handed me the ingredients they wanted me to use and I did my best to make a meal that surprised them but still appealed to their appetites.

Hell yeah - First time DM lately and gobbling up ALL the DM advice.

Corollary: If you are a player and love what your DM is doing: Please tell them! Repeatedly! Speaking of which, you always give great advice on your videos Ginny, and I always enjoy watching them :) And your music videos are the best. I had both of my children singing your TPK song at Christmas this year.

Added note on item 2 (engage in worldbuilding): Sometimes, players need enough world pre-built in order to make character decisions. They need context to play in for that spark of inspiration. Which is to say, world building might be best done in phases. Start with some basic themes, territories, etc, get player investment, then weave new details in as the characters are introduced to it. Which sounds good, until you get players who need that extra push. "Oh, I don't want to ruin your world" can be pretty common from considerate players. You have to remind them it's a *shared* world, and they have a hand in crafting a fun experience. If, y'know, they want to. Definitely invite ideas but don't bully for them.

Here to confirm that I don't post about my two campaigns which run absolutely great. I am way too busy prepping great content for players who actually care and are there for the same reasons as me. I already feel like bragging about it now so I wouldn't post. But we exist! Finding the right people takes patience, luck and as you said good communication about what you want.

As someone that was forced to DM or not play at all you are one of the most helpful people to help me learn what the heck to do and how to do it. Any tips for a baby silver dragon your party may have um adopted? Thank you so much for all your hard work and quality!

I use the "Start/Stop/Continue" method with my players: "What should we start doing that we aren't doing yet?" / "What are we doing that needs to stop?" / "What works that we need to continue doing?"

I definitely needed this video, great stuff!

Fantastic video, Ginny! "What's the point of DMing" is a super thought provoking question that you got me really interrogating my own choices and style when DMing, in the best way possible. Also, your advice is super solid! Especially involving the players in the worldbuilding. Even if they only want to be involved to a very small extent, such as by adding some details about a location or an NPC as part of their backstory, I think it's a must!

This video makes me appreciate both the tables I play with, one as a player, and one as DM. Both groups are invested in the stories and worlds, and want to play the content the DM has. My players, when asked, told me they want to play what I provide for them, which is a homebrew campaign. The other table is a module with an awesome DM and made it pretty clear what the expectations are.

Lemme get my bubble pipe, I didn't know we were doing TTRPG philosophy over here.

Hi Ginny, big fan. I bought the calendar for this year, and I just wanted to say that I really love the quests! They've been really fun and have actually gotten me to leave my comfort zone and do some stuff that is good for me to do, but I just haven't prioritized in past years. Mariska is this month, and I'm already planning to have some friends over to chat and play games. I hope you do the quests again next year! Keep up the great work, always love the videos and calendars.

I'm getting ready to run my first DnD champaign. I love yours and pointy hats videos. They have been super helpful ❤

My solution is a difficult non-combat encounter they can realistically fail: "You enter the grounds of the villa, and see guests entering inside, their invitations checked by a steward. There is a lot of armed guards around, as you suspected from intel. A direct confrontation is a likely TPK. The necklace will go on auction later in the evening, according to the schedule given. Good luck." Essentially - replace the direct game mechanics (spell slots, action economy) by different game mechanics (using inventory / tools / utility spells / etc.) to achieve a (difficult) objective, rather than getting rid of the mechanics. Most players (IME) will adapt and will have even more fun. The downside is that, if any future encounter isn't as engaging, they'll be disappointed (also from experience).

Thanks for the video. You make excellent points, especially the fact that not all friends make good D&D players. I have been DMing for about a year and 1/2 now, and I got fortunate with my group. I had played in a bunch of different games (as a player) with a lot of different people, and I knew a few people that best matched my play style, so when I started a campaign, I only reached out to those people. We built the world together, and so far, everyone has been very enthusiastic about the game, and the players are very invested in the story.

Compromise was a big part of me coming into my own as a GM. Finding the venn diagram between what my players what and what I enjoy delivering can be a difficult balance to find sometimes, but always worthwhile when you crack the code.

Loved this, gave me some additional ideas to keep my friends engaged! They're all newer players and I'm a first-time DM, so I've been giving them a lot of peeks behind the screen so they have some insight into why I'm doing what I'm doing. I also periodically check in with them because expectations can change. If they decide they just want a "monster-of-the-week" type game, I'm happy to shift gears with them.

This is all such solid advice. I'm gonna be DMing my first homebrew campaign in 5E soon and I'm gonna take all of this on board. I was already planning on having my players each design part of the world, but this video has given me more ideas about how to approach them with that, as well as giving people an out if they don't feel like getting that involving in the worldbuilding.

Just put up a poll for my bois: Combat, Rp, Story/World. They said they enjoy all of the above let’s go.

One year ago, I followed the guide you made about the session 0, before the start of my new custom game, with a whole new party. Well... On the 2 next sessions, we lost 2 players who said like "No thank you" and left the group. But, 4 other players stayed, and now we are about to play our 50th session together. The group dynamic is incredible, the backstories of their characters are amazingly deep now, and my world is very complete, thank to everyone's work. So yes, I have to say it : THANK YOU, GINNY DI ! Your guides are amazing, and help me a lot to dm my game.

Great video!! Awesome work!

I've faced these too issues in some of my games with my group. Campaigns quickly turned into players shuffling into the next room simply because it is the next or follow this lead because the dm wants us to go there next. What really helped me was shifting to a more open narrative/world. This has made my games far more collaborative, since I create set pieces/factions/the world and then the players use them to build their story. It has definitely made my time dming easier too since I don't need to supply my players with a grand movie-worthy story every week leading them from one plot point to the next. It's been a blast watching my players discuss whether or not to take a castle ruled by a shady lord, search for a rumored temple or join some raiders on their excursion inland. I can't wait to see where their decisions bring them (and the story) next.

Just because a player isnt engaging with something doesn't mean they dont appreciate it

As a DM, I don't have expectations of the outcome. I plan the framework of the scenario and let the players interact. I will attempt to react organically to the players' actions, adjudicating the situations. They can't go off-script if there's no script in the first place. If they go murderhobo and loot, then so be it, the world in context will react accordingly. If they want to chill out in town for a full RP session... then that's what the session will be. As a DM like to see what happens and I like to be surprised -that's where I get the most satisfaction, not so much of having players run through my meticulously crafted narrative.

Loved the video, especially the "The Players" segment! There's so much truth there. Sometimes, a player is just better fitted with a different GM, and you have to recognize when that's the case and communicate it in earnest. It was also nice to clarify that the world-building example is not a universal solution and is likely to not work at most tables, and it's true. Also, one fun fact - people are good at knowing if they liked something, but they're very unreliable at explaining why, and notoriously horrible at predicting what they'd enjoy before they do it. So, even if a player thinks they want X, there's a HUGE chance they're still disappointed and don't get invested. As a GM, though, you have the power to make everyone invested with almost anything you decide to run. Again, great video 👏

Great video as always!

Posts like the one at the start of the video make me feel incredibly grateful for my players. They've never shown any interest in DND until I mentioned hosting a game for them a while ago, but in the few sessions we've had so far they are trying every option and we've already had many funny moments. One of my players loves shopping and even though it's such a small thing it's let me build the world up in ways that everyone loves

Thank you! really needed this cuz I was going through a similar thing with a few friends recently as a heavily invested roleplayer DMing for a few players interested in combat and looting. It's hard, but I've figured out ways to adapt and help make everything interesting for my players, as well as them for me, so if anything this video only validated my thoughts!

Amazing video! My attention span isn't great for RU-vid videos, but I can always finish Ginny Di content, such great concepts and explanations ❤

I really needed this! ❤

This was helpful, Thank you, I'll share it. Also, Love your creative ad skits :-D

What a great video! I am just getting back into D&D with the goal of DM-ing my own campaign eventually, so I found this video especially informative and interesting! Brava! 🙌

Your videos are getting better and better!

The conclusion is so wholesome! :D I needed that! There's absolutely nothing wrong with "pretty good" DnD, and it's true that meeting somewhere in the middle is a likely outcome. I am looking forward to keep running "pretty good" DnD! Now there's a goal I can reach as the world's okayest DM! :)

You have completely described things I've experienced lately. I enjoy playing D&d. Period. I am in a few different groups, a couple very heavy role play, 1 very combat oriented. Two of the RP sessions are very different due to the player involvement in each. I dont mind changing play modes according to which group im with. But i do know that some of the other players could not exist in the worlds of the other sessions. So all that to say thank you. You are so intellectual and such an amazing person.

I DM because I like to. Also my current DM wanted a break.

Thank you so much this was really helpful to get me motivated

I love that you continue this conversation

The way you covered this topic was great, Ginny. Also that skit for this sponsor was great. I'm especially glad you mentioned not needing to burn people's flesh to get access to the maps. That's very important to me as a gamer.

LOVE your point about including players in worldbuilding! I've found this works even if you're using official content - my first campaign was a homebrew story but took place in Faerun, but I still added a few homebrewed towns and cities and let the players fill in on some of the details. One of them built her whole hometown from the bottom up and it really made her (and others at the table) invested in the part of the story that took us there. I would also HUGELY recommend The Quiet Year ttrpg by Buried Without Ceremony, which was used for TAZ Ethersea if anyone else is a McElroy fan here. It's literally a worldbuilding game, and I ran it twice with two groups of players for two new campaigns and everyone got SO crazily invested in not only what was happening while we played TQY, but also what would happen *after* when we jumped into the actual campaign. It's of course not a perfect fit for every game, but it's a really great jumping off point (and just a fantastic game by itself, too!)

3:15 I ran into this very early in my D&D experience; in middle school I had 2 groups, one was my best friends from forever before, and the other was friends I had just met and were interested in D&D. I planned a huge complex story for my besties and for the more recent friends I just improvised as I went. I quickly noticed my besties were more into the hang out and kill monsters aspect of it, and the other were getting really into the story; so, I swapped their campaigns (without them knowing) and then we all had a great time. Now, 15 years later, my best friends are into the story so I am fortunate have the best of both worlds, but we still have an occasional hack and slash one shot.

Nice. Right on all points, especially the expectations part. One thing to mention is to appreciate what you have too. I've got a great table - they're exhausting and frustrating, but fun. And while I am by no means the perfect DM, I do my best and they acknowledge that. This probably comes with experience, though, and the countless number of less-fun groups I've had to wade through to find the players that fit well.

I love your second point (Player investment) Each player in my current campaign originally came up with a homeworld idea for their character (ie: Scifi style campaign). They could include as few or as many details as they wanted (town name, organizations, etc). It also gave me ideas as a DM of what worlds/setting they wanted to play in. If someone included a criminal underground organization backstory on an ice-covered world? Great, we're doing a campaign arc with this!

i'm preparing my first campaign as a dm (i've been a player for 3 years) and your videos are so thoughtful and inspiring! creating a fun experience for me and my players seems so much more about communication that it did before, lol

(Sorry for the length.) The first ever campaign I ran was one that I took over from a friend after he was experiencing burnout. I imagined something more story-heavy with lots of lore and character arcs, because that's what I was hoping for when I was previously a player. The players... mostly wanted lots of combat and PVP and preferred to speedrun the RP side of things. I GMed multiple campaigns and one-shots for this group, and it sort of felt like a chore at times. I mainly accepted that this is what being a GM is like. These days, I GM for a new group actually enjoys the RP and storytelling side of TTRPGs. They give me a lot to work with and play off of with their backstories, read the setting lore, and are quick to befriend NPCs. It was sort of mind-blowing to me that running a game could be like this. As cliche as it is to say, the difference was night and day. My current group comes up with thoughtful backstories, and my first one sometimes they couldn't be bothered to give their character a name. Mild disclaimer: it might seem like I'm presenting by old players as a nightmare, but let's be real-- I was not a good GM at all when I was starting out. I feel like my current are better at having a mutual stake in the campaign, but I also feel that I'm better at facilitating that than I used to be.

I'm gonna send this to my dm as he seems frustrated with our playing, thanks for making this video!! ^^

It's either really unfrotunate, or really funny to know I got this on my homepage barely 45 minutes before my next session lol

Great advice !

Great message--and absolutely wonderful gas station review

Yes!!! My first step in starting a campaign is to play something other than dnd, we play dawn of worlds to make the map and some background events and lore that way they feel more comfort and grounded in the lore when they write their character! Its great!

Enjoying the D&D we have is excellent advice. Paying attention to the parts of DMing/session prep I enjoy helps to balance out those which feel more like a chore. Remembering things don’t have to be perfect helps when I’m feeling overwhelmed. Our campaign started in 2018- next session will be #134.

If there is one thing i've learned in all my years of DMing it's that sometimes hard to tell just how interested and invested your players are. I've had the opportunity a few times to stumble upon a player i thought didn't care about our last session telling a mutual friend just how much fun they had and how excited they are for the next session. Now yes, i wish they'd tell me that directly but i'm also glad they're excited about it and invested at all.

All great advice again. Thanks, take care and God bless. 😎🤘🍻

As a five course DM, I really needed this advice three years ago when running a game for one five course player amidst a bunch of cocktail players. Looking back, I'm kind of amazed that it lasted two years, although the price I paid was very steep both mentally and emotionally. Pointy Hat's "not all your friends can be D&D friends" was also sound wisdom that I sadly had to learn the hard way. I haven't run a campaign since our group broke up, and I honestly don't know when or if I will again. Losing a campaign your poured your heart and soul into feels like losing a part of yourself, and I'm still grieving for it. I don't know if I'm ready to be that vulnerable again. I do miss campaign prep though.

You have a good point. I was once in a game where I absolutely did not agree with the premise for why the group had assembled together. I spent the rest of the campaign derisively discounting the "established fact that everyone knows" to be a rumor created by a crackpot or one of the villains out in the world. This eventually evolved from grumbling on my part to being gleefully disruptive. However, for the person running the campaign who had sprung the premise on us, it became increasingly aggravating. The whole situation could've been avoided if he had floated the idea ahead of time. I would've asked "are you serious? This is why we're working together?" Upon learning that the answer to both questions was "yes," I would've said "No thanks. Not my cup of tea" and saved everyone time & the trouble of trying to convince my character that the "known fact" had really happened. In the future, when I set up a set of game sessions or a full-blown campaign, I know to ensure that the players are cool with the premise before investing too much time & effort in the planning. Anyway, thanks Ginny for the video and I hope that all is going well for you.

Great video Ginny. It's so hard to get people to understand these points but you do it so well. I'm at a strange place in ttrpgs atm. Hard to find players or games that fit me and unfortunately I'm at the "no game is better than a bad game" area. Anyway, thank you. Always entertaining.

I feel like your recent videos are leading up to talking about Player Agency. I'm here for it.

I introduced a cook off to our game. One of my players has the Chef feat and they played for the hand (literally and figuratively) of another player. The two characters have shown interest in a D&D romance, so this was an interesting mechanic. There were teams, they rolled to cut up dragon meat and magical veggies, and used combat spells to cook, or speed up the cooking process. They’re more invested in this than when they fought a two-headed dragon!

Yup, managing expectations. 'Nough said. Couldn't have said it better, even if I wanted to. Though, there is some value in trying out what you said minutes before that. Having my players design not just their characters, but their hometown as well. That might be worth a shot, actually. Dammit, if only this video had come out 24 hrs earlier. I had my session 0 with the new group today >< Guess I'll have to give them their 'homework' sometime later, after a few sessions then? :p Still, all in all - great video as usual Ginny! Always awesome to see how you're taking on the sponsored segment btw (I actually keep watching yours out of curiosity ^^, instead of zapping through, and hoping I aimed somewhere right after the segment - that's saying something, right? :p). Also, great content, you're making this stubborn DM think, and that's worth at least my like already (besides the SUB, which already had from day 1 >

I... got that experience too! I just kept adjusting my expectation about what my players want and now I'm perfectly comfortable with the games I run and I have more fun moments than frustrating ones (those are getting extremely rare, too).

Just came out of the experience of trying to pitch TTRPGs to one of my dear friend group (who's not the one I usually play with). In the session 0 I told them I only cared about telling a personal dramatic story together, and they said "yes", jumping on shooting character skeletons AND group ideas; flash forward 2 weeks (the deadline was 1 week) and noone has sent me their background yet. A month later noone had given me anything yet so I just let the whole thing die; I saved myself the trouble of wasting time doing pre-campaign prep and we are as much friends as we were before. I had seen the Pointy Hat video, so I knew beforehand! Not all your friends are D&D friends!

Great video. My favorite kind of D&D is collaborative story telling with lots of character development and roleplay (and some action). I have realized that some people, often from a computer gaming background, like a series of combats and obstacles and get bored with role play. They can be great people. But...they don't match well with my favorite play style. They are my one shot D&D friends.

One of the most active if not most active DM tip channels on RU-vid thanks 🙏

Excellent points!

I check in on this channel every now and then, as it's nice to see the journey of a TTRPG player and GM hasn't changed in decades.

Oof alot of these points made sense, I'm restarting my campaign after nearly a year break this month. Looking at my old notes made me realize i have an amazing group mainly cause i assembled my group of 5 of vastly different people but whom all love D&D for different reasons. It makes for sessions that vary wildly in tone, from comedy swamp adventure were only one player knows they are being tricked and resulted in the funniest character interactions i've ever had, Or our Druid fully immersing himself in roleplay but so low-key that only i noticed, leading to a complete overhaul of the campaign's villain because he played himself so vunerable in the moment that i took advantage of to ramp up the drama, the table was actually stunned to slience when i ended the game. Let your player's run one-shots in your world it helps everyone feel more connected to your story doesn't have to be woven into the main plot but might provide an new item for the main campaign or an understanding of a location espcially if a characters backstory mentions it.

It's my firstime playing Dnd, while our session 1 has yet to begin, our DM, and my dear friend, has been doing a great job at keeping everyone involved. Being a new player, I was overwelmed with worldbuilding and creating backstory. She helped me come up with a goal for my character (I'm a druid half-orc who lives in the forest and is besties with all the animals, yet I am looking for a cure as the forest starts to get sick with disease). Now I get the joy of making up tones of forest animals, giving them names and traits- all while knowing that she might kill them off and living in constant fear- sound insane, but I'm loving it! The big point in our session zero was discussing worldbuilding and our overall connections. Someone in our group is a soldier and they spent a lot of time diving into a battle between nations, another one got to makeup a diner he owns- it's just a great inclusion of all of us and the various feelings we all have about the game. All thus to say is that I'm loving my group (especially my DM, thank you Lara) and I will sob if any of my animals die, so tissues will be brought to sessions alongside my dice.

And you can also find and play games with more weakend, atomised or distributed GM authority, which in many cases fosters a more inclusive and collaborative game environment, from my experience. On the side note: Great channel and fantastic production quality!

I can definitely speak to the experience of having invested players being invested at different levels. A LOT of my players have been friends who are new players, like I was shortly before them. As a forever DM I’ve definitely gone crazy about it while most of my players have been more casual. But then, they have been new. A lot of the time, my games are focused on helping players learn how the game works by playing it, so being deeply invested in role-play usually comes later, and not yet in some. I love the idea of involving the players with world building! That sounds like it could work well for my groups!

Thanks for this video! I plan on using some of these tips in my D&D and fire emblem campaigns.

Number 2 was so big for our game. I had a map and some arbitrary lines of nations, and nothing else. So each player named their origin, the culture, and the people that most commonly populated it. It was fun, it game me some different perspectives, and got them really invested.

Hi Ginny, I just want to say your sponsor segments are always so spot on! They're too fun and creative to skip :)

Good video. Maybe people don't intuitively think of DMing as the same as "making or creating" but I think it congruent in at least one respect and worth warning people about. "Making or creating" for the sake of recognition and approval from others as the primary motivating factor will always be a gamble. You are setting yourself up for big potential disappointment. Even if you do get what you desire from others the first time around the pressure will always be there to do it again, every time, and even better than the last time. The first time you don't hit, you will feel it. Worst case scenario, you lose interest in a creative exercise you could've kept loving. When making anything its important to spend a little time introspecting about why you are doing it and what you are looking for in the act itself. If its precious to you, take care to make is sustainable less you inadvertently rob yourself of future-joy.

I've felt that pain at many tables. Both as a GM and as a player. But my current table (I'm the ST for a VtM game) is incredible! The players are all super invested in their characters and the RP interplay. They're even writing their own "fanfics" (which become canon, if the players and I agree it's reasonable.)