Tabletop Weekly Q&A

Tabletop Weekly - List of questions answered

All my encounters are too strong or to weak, never right!
Question: "My question is... How do you plan for future encounters that will keep the players on edge? I currently DM two fighters who miss a lot, a rogue/cleric and a warlock who never misses and it seems whatever I throw at them is either way too strong or way too weak." Answer: "I suppose you already are using the rules to build an encounter from the DMG page 82/83 (or kobold.club like Mark mentioned).However these rules are only a vague guideline. If you have 4 rangers fight against 4 melee fighters which start 2 rounds away from the party; the party has a great advantage.I personally just make every encounter hard, and my party plows through it, dotting in the occasional medium encounter, for my party to feel cool. If you really want to make something difficult (or easy) that it is, you could fumble rolls, or increase HP of a monster while fighting. (This always feels somewhat wrong to me though.) Comment-Link"

Anti-Magic items
Question: "how would you handle anti-magic (spell negating) items like a sword, lance, or staff? I mean like stats and availability." Answer: "This is mostly about the bigger question of creating own balanced items. If you don't have any experience you should just try something out, and err on the side of making the item too weak (making them more powerful if necessary), otherwise you'll have problems getting the item back from the player, if it's too powerful. Considering a normal setting of 'magic is abundant/nothing special' what I would do (without having tried this): I personally would give this item out as a very special, unique item, found in a very hidden dungeon or so a treasure. Stat-wise: A normal (+0) weapon. The magic neutralization effect may either be a continuous self-centered AoE with a range of ~5ft that completely mitigates all magic. Or a once per day 'debuff' that makes the person it's cast upon unable to use magic for 1 minute. Scale as necessary.﻿ Comment-Link"

Deity pantheon sources?
Question: "I was curious on how you (Mark) decided upon the deities in your universe and where they originate from?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=1m26s

Do I have to buy minis?
Question: "I don't have a lot of cash to splash do I have to buy D&D miniatures or can I use little toys from other things?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKZi1MmWYnU&t=18m8s

Enchanted jewelry class?
Question: "If I was making a DND character who makes enchanted jewelry what class would they best fall into?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=38m48s

Guns?
Question: "As we know guns aren't a part of the regular DnD universe rather more of a homebrew add in. How is it you go about making rules for guns?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=31m32s

High fantasy free form/simple system?
Question: "Do you know of any good high fantasy RPG's that play like either Star Wars Edge of the Empire or YogsQuest 2 & 3? Because I find that pseudo-freeform gameplay with flexible rules to lend itself very well to silly, light-hearted, comedic adventures." Answer: "You could try and take a rules light system and build upon that, like world of dungeons" Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCWwmIwlv8s&t=19m43s

How detailed should NPCs be (e.g. evil guys: create them as a player, or NPC?)
Question: "When it comes to NPC's do you create any as a complete character sheet or do you use the examples in the monster manual? Do you also do this for very important (and battle likely) NPC's"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkgz3cWKA_U&t=21m7s

How did Mark get into DMing?
Question: "How did you get into DM-ing? Were you a player first or did you go straight for it, because of your imagination and ability to create amazing worlds?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=26m3s

How do Feats work?
Question: "how do feats work in d&d? (5e) can they be earned?" Answer: "They are entirely optional/a variant, but if you play with them: Yes! Humans can choose to either have +1 to every stat, or instead take the variant written in the PHB p31 bottom right which includes one feat. And every time the players can increase their ability scores (when that is is described in the tables for each class, e.g. Level 4) they may choose to take a feat instead. Comment-Link"

How do players have a keep?
Question: "How would you handle your players owning a keep? And would you give them soldiers to help defend it?" Answer: "In the DMG on page 127 there's a table showing maintenance cost for a keep: 100GP per day. A keep has 50 skilled hirelings and 50 untrained hirelings. A hireling might as well be a mercenary/soldier. Maybe ask your players how many soldiers their keep should have/what percentage should be soldiers, and which should be servants to keep the keep up and running and react accordingly: 50 skilled soldiers and 45 untrained soldiers (which would be shitty commoners btw)? There probably aren't enough cooks to feed everyone, the keep would be dirty because there's no 'janitor', and so on.﻿ ... According to the DMG a Keep is a (small) castle - probably in the middle of nowhere - that needs to be maintained, defended, fed, and so on. This quickly adds up. If you want to run a keep on a budget you could probably have just 10 people which might all be skilled hirelings mainly tasked with running the keep - a skilled hireling is 2GP/day, that's 20GP per day. Or maybe 5 skilled, 5 untrained; that's just 11GP/day (see PHB page 159 on hireling costs). If the DMG suggests you run a keep with 100 people, and you run it with 10, think what that might mean. There are no soldiers, if there's an attack, and the party isn't there for protection … Well you got a quest to reclaim your keep. That's no matter for Vax Machina though; their keep is in the middle of a big city. Acquiring food/resources to work with might be hard, too, if there's one/no hunter and your keep is out in the wild. This isn't a burden, when there's a market nearby though. Another way to look at it: You can run a keep with the personal of a guildhall, an inn, or a fortified tower. (See numbers for these in the same table above/under keep) However, you probably think of a smaller keep with less that 100 rooms, so: 1. Tell your players: DnD's keeps are huge, meant to be in the middle of nowhere. How about a tower, or a guildhall? 2. Reskin the guildhall/tower to a tiny keep (which is probably what you want). Comment-Link"Answer: "There's also a document here (Not Mine) that's a a wonderful reference you can use for building and running a base. It's free and pretty cool." Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkgz3cWKA_U&t=26m12s

How much backstory should I have for a campaign?
Question: "How much backstory should I have for a custom campaign?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkgz3cWKA_U&t=13m30s

How much info to give to players (out of game)?
Question: "how much information should I give to my players in person (ie, actual me to actual them) and how much should I keep quiet about and let them look for it in-game? I find I have a bad habit of blurting out info the PC's wouldn't know inherently, but I also am not sure what would be a good way to give it to them in game." Answer: "This depends entirely on you. If you think your players should figure everything out themselves, you shouldn't tell them anything. If you have a great story, don't spoil anything. Don't spoil minor things too; I found, if I 'spoil' minor things, and players ask me a major thing they think is minor, and I tell them 'Well … I can't tell you …' they know it's major. Personal opinion: Don't tell them too much/anything out of character. I have one player who wants to know a lot and in hindsight I always feel bad for spoiling him (even though it's just minor things) What I've found is relatively safe are things that are of the past, things the players just can not find out anymore. Say they prematurely killed an evil side-quest guy, because the party had good tactics, so now his great plan, and his motifs can't be discovered. Then it's safe to tell them: He would have done X and Y, because A and B. Sort of like an epilog. You're not spoiling anything, so I think it's fine. Comment-Link"

How much setting information to give the players in a homebrew campaign?
Question: "when running a homebrew campaign, how much information of the world should I give my Players before we start the campaign?" Answer: "As much as the type of character they are would know. Basic education for everyone (very simple world history, a bit of folklore and religious teaching etc) and then consider giving characters with proficiency in skills like History/Arcana more in-depth knowledge based on their chosen field. :) Makes them feel special!﻿ Comment-Link" Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tpeMUxMnIA&t=7m59s

How much to intefere in character backstory?
Question: "How much do you meddle in character backstory as a DM? Like, the character choose a goddess, and I decide that the character has been favoured because the rest of her followers are crazy fish people with short attention span. What crosses the line when meshing your setting with their stories?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=32m25s

How to RP opposite gender (female) PCs?
Question: "For a tabletop RPG I'll be involved with next month I'll be playing as a female PC. Any tips on how to rollplay as the opposite gender, I've seen yourself and Matt Mercer rollplay female NPC's so any differences for PC?" Answer: "Personal experience (only with NPCs that travel longer with the party though): 1. Unless you're good at it: Don't bother with a high-pitch female voice (which is what my intentional female voices are …). After 5 minutes either your throat will hurt, or your players will get sick of squeaky McSqueakface. 2. Unless you are going to play a female character for a particular reason there's nothing to consider. Do the same thing you're doing when roleplaying as you always do: Consider what makes your character special, and build/roleplay on it. If there is a particular reason your character is female you'll be doing this already.﻿ Comment-Link"Answer: "I have an observation that might help you on the voice front: Relative tone does a great deal to convey the character feeling, even without absolutely adjusting your pitch. A male friend of mine who sometimes plays female characters doesn't attempt full on 'high' pitches, but when they speak for a female character, there is a tangible shift in their speaking range, to something softer and higher.  It's not a lit, and it's still very much within their normal comfort range, and to someone who didn't know them, it would be unlikely that they'd identify the voice as anything other than a soft-spoken male, but because we know what their normal voice is like, the impression of a higher, softer, and more effeminate voice comes across perfectly well, without them having to strain themselves.  The same goes in reverse, for players with naturally higher voices trying to pitch for deeper-speaking characters; selling the impression with a small shift seems to work very well on its own, mainly on the strength that we're familiar enough with the player's original voice that the shift feels very pronounced by contrast. The other thing I'd like to mention, and this one is from personal experience, is the importance of body language; the body language you display when speaking for them carries a great deal of the weight in creating the believable impression of a character, and their emotional state, or it will do if you're in a face-to-face setting with your fellow players."

How to award XP?
Question: "My question is... how do you award XP to players? I don't want to hand out too much too quickly, but i also don't want to be too stingy with it either."Question: "but then sometimes I'll have an encounter against creatures that I've altered or that I've used just because of where they are in he world. So I don't want to give the party the full XP because what they fight would give them like 2 full levels or something stupid like that." Answer: "You can actually calculate how many XP you have to award based on an encounter. In every statblock in the Monster Manual next to the Challenge Rating there is a number of XP in parentheses next to it. Unless you're just using one monster per encounter there's some extra multipliers to add, because in DnD more monsters=more danger. Rules for that are in the DMG on page 82 and 83. Comment-Link"Answer: "If your monsters have other stats than the one they have in the monster manual you have to recalculate the challenge rating using the rules in the DMG on page 274 and 275. So say you have a weak green dragon with AC13, 75 HP, +3 Attack Bonus, 8 Damage per round and a save DC of 13, this means (according to the table on page 274) a CR of 1 - it's a bit more complicated if you have something that's not just a row of that table - have a look at the text on page 274 on how to calculate the CR then. A CR of 1 means the monster is worth 200XP (there's a table for this in several places, on page 275 right next to 274, too!), so bam, 200XP for your CR 1 weakened dragon.  If you do NOT have concrete stats for your weak green dragon and just winged it you should then think how hard the encounter was and use the table on page 82 of the DMG for that. Unless you have just one monster you need to factor in multipliers for adjusted XP: Divide the XP every player would get by the Encounter multipliers (also on page 82). However this is WAY to nitty-gritty for me. Using the values as is isn't that bad either, giving them a bit to much XP in case you're unprepared doesn't insta-level them to L20. Comment-Link" Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCWwmIwlv8s&t=15m54s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKZi1MmWYnU&t=20m18s

How to balance encounters with a single overpowered PC?
Question: "How do you try to create balanced battles when you have a PC that stands out above the rest of the party? I don't want them to face off against something that'd be too challenging, but at the same time, this PC is making quick mincemeat of anything that should be an actual challenge under normal circumstances. Any advice on this is appreciated." Answer: "How does this character stand out? Is he higher level, than the other guys? Then the XP thresholds for encounters (see DMG p82 and 83) increase. Do they have too many too strong magic items? Maybe try treating them as one level higher. And try to get 'rid' of their magic items, e.g. the huge magic signature of this player draws a strong magic eating monster which eats all the items magic, but the towns wizard knows: To regain the magic properties go on this epic quest which makes you gain 4 levels, so the item isn't as OP anymore. Or something alike; if I remember correctly Mark already answered this question, how to get 'rid' of items. Alternatively have a monster that has resistance (half-damage) against magic weapons, or lawful good players, or paladins, or something that fits your player (and is story-wise reasonable) so the other characters get a chance to shine. Last but not least you might be able to build an encounter that targets the weaknesses of the OP player. Maybe they are especially well in close quarters: Have them be attacked from the other side of a ravine. Vice versa if they're good in ranged combat have them be in an ambush so they start of in closed quarters. Comment-Link"

How to become better at improvising?
Question: "So i'm trying to organise a D&D game with some friends, but this will be our first one and i'm DMing for the first time. I would like to know what are some of the most difficult skills to learn as a DM, and what do you think would be a good way to learn it." Answer: "To be more certain about improvising make sure you know how your world works. If there actually is a point where you are not certain what would happen just make a call based on your related notes and important write it down, to be consistent! If it's a minor (or maybe major - depends on you) thing you don't know the results to, you may also from time to time ask your players what it does (don't do that too often though). E.g. in my group a player cut out a ghoul's tongue. 'What can you do with a ghouls tongue??' 'Dunno, what CAN you do with a ghouls tongue? YOU tell me.' 'Whoever drinks a ghouls tongue potion becomes a ghoul themselves!' 'Okay - noted.' 4 Sessions later the player uses the ghouls tongue to poison an evil base water supply, and everyone there becomes a ghoul. Well remembered! If you want help in learning how to improv there's improv classes. However DMing is a great improv class too! As always, practice makes masters. Comment-Link" Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKZi1MmWYnU&t=24m38s

How to create interesting locations?
Question: "How do you make a location that intrigues or interests the players?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=36m33s

How to deal with "overflowing" out of genre references (e.g. russian mafioso player character in DnD)?
Question: "I started a new game recently and let the players make their characters. But when they make their characters they never take it seriously and sometimes make characters from other games that don't even come from the same genre. I don't mind the odd reference but It gets irritating having a Russian Gangster fighting goblins. Do any of you have any suggestions for future games?" Answer: "Your campaign will have a fun undertone, know that and play on that. E.g. have some other goblins which behave like a competing mafia family. And the Big bad evil guy? He's the goblin godfather MUAHAHA Unless you don't just want to tell your player: This shouldn't have happened, make a new character please. (This will probably annoy your players to shit, because you quickly bond with your character).﻿ Comment-Link"Answer: "Don't force a type of game onto a group who aren't interested, go with what they find fun and find a way to make it work for you. Lighthearted fun games can be nice, not everything needs to be mega drama serious RP, you really need the right group for that."

How to figure out attack bonuses?
Question: "How do you figure out attack bonuses in d and d" Answer: "Are you talking about damage bonus (e.g. roll 1d8 to see how much damage you do) or hit bonus (roll a d20 to see whether you hit)? Hit Bonus: This depends on 2 factors (or maybe 3 …?): 1. Is the user proficient with the weapon? If yes, add the proficiency modifier to the attack bonus. The proficiency-modifier depends on the level of the player. 2. Is the weapon a melee weapon or a ranged, or light-melee-weapon? Ranged/Light-Melee-Weapon: Add the DEX modifier to the attack modifier Melee Weapon: Add the STR modifier to the attack modifier In case of a light-melee-weapon (it says if it's light in the PHB table) you can choose which modifier to add STR or DEX, not both. 3. If it's a spell you still add your proficiency mod, but instead of DEX/STR you add your spellcasting ability modifier which is one of CHA/WIS/INT. It will say so in the class description. Damage Bonus: Spells: None Ranged Weapon: Add the DEX mod to the damage Melee weapon: Add the STR mod to the damage Light melee weapon: Choose either DEX mod or STR mod If you do a second attack with a light melee weapon as a bonus action you don't add any mod to that though! Also have a look at Mark's videos on how to create a DnD character, he'll probably talk about it somewhere. Comment-Link"

How to get 3.5 players into 5E?
Question: "I have several friends who play/played 3.5 rules, and they are fairly strongly against picking up or playing 5e, for reasons that don't seem... correct, to me. The usual criticisms I hear are things along the lines that 5e isn't complete yet, or that it's too limited, and doesn't cover X or Y or Z, or that it doesn't 'Let' players do various things ('Oh players can't craft things like in previous editions' is a frequent one I hear, along with 'It makes you give out fewer magic items') ... when the impression I've gotten in my past few months picking up and playing 5e is the exact opposite; that it's more free and less restricted than any previous version.  It just seems... I guess, that it puts more responsibility in your DM's hands, rather than having minutia for every possible thing.   What I'm wondering is, how would you recommends going about trying to communicate this to entrenched 3.5 players that you'd like to encourage to play with you?" Answer: "YouTube deleted my comment – here's a short version: Some old players seem to dislike it just for dislikes sake. They want rules for everything (even though without set rules you can make great stuff too, as mentioned). However, one of the 'advantages' of 5e I have read about is that some of the old playerbase which has formed the cliche of nerd in a basement 'mai fairebawl doez exaactly threee point faive points of daymage, so …' is still stuck with 3.5, so 5E is fresh and new being more appealing (not saying all 3.5 players are that, by any means). If you want to 'force' them, do what you do with new players who don't like to play, see the 'How to get friends into DnD?' question. Chances of success are lower than with non-players I guess though, so don't expect anything. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work … Comment-Link"

How to get Fight-Heavy parties more into RP (as a PC)?
Question: "I'm playing DnD with my dad and his friends son (to teach them 5e) but they are only in it for the fighting and they dont like to rp, at all, so is there any way that me as a fellow player can encourage RPing?" Answer: "Try to be a sane voice when your party plans their next assault: 'I don't think we should just head on fight them. Let's see if we can talk ourselves around it.' This somewhat depends on the DM though, and if you are only a PC, and your DM is only in it for the fighting, too there won't be much RP-plothooks/RP-ways to get around to start with. In that case you should probably just change your expectations for this game. See it more as a boardgame, maybe like playing descent, only more freeform. Comment-Link"

How to get friends into DnD?
Question: "I want to get my friend to play d&d with me but they don't think they would like it even though I know they would. How do I get them into it?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTPXyKka0To&t=472s

How to get people started in a campaign, when put in character-backstories?
Question: "DO you have any tips for getting people started in a campaign? For example, how do you judge what sort of plot hook to give them to get them invested, and how do you handle character backstories? (get them right away, or wait a few sessions for people to figure out their playstyle?)"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCWwmIwlv8s&t=22m19s

How to keep the group focused?
Question: "I DM D&D5e for my friends and we only meet up every two weeks as we are a bit busy, when we meet up we catch up first and have a laugh as friends do but when we start to play we keep getting distracted, as I'm a new DM I would appreciate it if an experienced DM such as [Mark] could give me a few tips on how to keep the group focused and the game rolling smoothly."

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=5m2s

How to keep your party RP-wise together/not start in a random tavern/they don't trust each other!
Question: "how do you keep a group of adventures to stay together and become a party (a reason for the party to stay together rp wise)" Answer: "1. Having everyone on their own and suddenly all working together without even knowing each other feels somewhat weird and forced to me. So make the characters already travel together/know each other for a while. Let's say they all have their places they want to go in the world: 'Hey, you need to go to X, yeah I need to go to Y, but X is on the way, let's travel together, it's safer.' Or they might have met on a caravan, and talked to each other. Work out how the characters might have met, what they would have talked about, and so on. This might be hard with the occasional 'I'm the loneish, cool guy'-character. Tell them that either they wouldn't be with the group this way (RP, but they're not in), or they'll just be thrown in without much introduction (less RP, but they're in, see No.3). 2. Give them all an overwhelming threat or huge reward that is worth for them all to stick together. An evil god descents on the city, and tells that the end is coming, because his cultists are nearly finished with his summoning ritual. Or the king has invited each member of the group to fullfil a big quest for them, in reward they gain chambers filled with gold. (Great example: The start of 'force grey giant hunters') This 'forces' the characters to work together, however they'll get to know each other along the way. And if your players don't care about 100% perfect RP this is a great alibi to continue together even after the 'first arc' is done. 3. Just throw them together and don't care. This isn't that good, but if no one cares (ask your players) it's okay, too! A dungeon crawl oneshot doesn't begin with an hour long backstory of how the adventurers met, but just starts. Pick one of the standard 'boring' introductions and roll with it: You are in a tavern, suddenly there's a brawl, and the bar catches fire. The players together bring down the brawl, and extinguish the fire. The barkeep is happy and gives them a quest to look for their missing daughter, because they are definitely skilled in fighting. And they gain a bit of gold as a reward, too. If the players don't care that much about RP they'll happily fight together. 'Bait' them from one quest to another, to the big main quest, and bam you're done. Comment-Link" Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkgz3cWKA_U&t=16m24s

How to make NPCs more threatening (RP sense, without a fight)?
Question: "How can you make your players (who are getting a bit cocky) fearful of a powerful but friendly NPC that they believe they could over power? Without resorting to shoving said NPC's sword in the players face."

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=23m53s

How to make social encounters enteraining?
Question: "I'm finding it a bit difficult to do some entertaining rp the most the most i can do is a conversation with the barkeep or some important npc." Answer: "Do your conversations with a random stranger around the street have to be entertaining? Conversations shouldn't be entertaining, but should be a gateway into the world; feel real. So your RP should be how the NPC your party is talking to would react - entertaining or not. If you are running a serious campaign they don't have to be. You can, dot in some crazy NPCs around like Gilmore from critical role, or thariz'dun from high rollers, to spice it up from time to time. These crazy ones are easy to entertain with, because they are by definition crazy and entertaining. If the premise of your campaign is that everyone is crazy however. Go crazy :D﻿ Comment-Link"Answer: "Broad question, but don't ever feel you have to be an 'entertainer'. Not everyone can be Matt Mercer. Run a solid game, create interesting and fun NPCs and run with them. This is where improv practice will help a lot."

How to prepare for a session as a DM?
Question: "I was wondering how you could plan for a session as a DM. Since anything can happen in D&D, how can you prepare? I just don't know what notes to make."

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tpeMUxMnIA&t=9m49s

I need ideas for my campaign!
Question: "I need some ideas for a next section of my campaign got any ideas" Answer: "Without knowing your campaign (and not even the system, I just assume it's DnD 5E): That's what the Dungeon Masters guide is actually really good at: Being inspirational, giving ideas. On page 73 to 81 there's a lot of tables for random stuff that might happen, so you could either roll on a table, see how to use the result, or just take a look at the table and use what you think is best.﻿ Comment-Link"Answer: "It's difficult to give people suggestions for their campaigns because it is a very individual thing. I don't know your group, what they enjoy, etc. Ask your group what they like/want to do. Read books and watch TV shows and take your favourite ideas and do your own twist etc."

Influences for Marks homebrew worlds?
Question: "What influences do you draw on when you are creating aspects of your home-brew worlds?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAGfpShmWj4&t=19m14s

Is the DMG worth it?
Question: "Is the Dungeon Masters guide worth buying for running D&D campaigns? What are the benefits of using it for either a pre-made adventure or a homebrew campaign?" Answer: "When opening the DMG 90% of the time I use the magic items section; it's 70 pages of premade magic items that are well balanced (if you give them out at the suggested levels), and well made, so you don't have to create them. 5% of the time it's 6 pages about getting the Challenge Rating of a homebrew monster. 3% of the time it's stuff of my campaign, meaning short/long term madness (which are really weird, I find: not cthulu madness but: 'I WANT TO EAT DIRT!!!') or chases which in my group resulted in 'You bang into an overthrown horse wagon, you get into a dogfight, you get into a maze of barrels' 'BUT THIS IS A LITTLE HAMLET; HOW?!'. Some of that stuff in there isn't thaaat great … Otherwise it's very much about creating a world, creating a campaign, spicing up your campaign (with moral quandries, etc), giving you some DnD lore, like the planes of existence, inspiration on how to create NPCs and Dungeons. Imho: Most of it is a big book of 'inspirational reading' and random tables for all sorts of world building stuff, in case you either have a writers block, or need to make something up on the fly. Comment-Link"Answer: "I think for a new DM it can be full of useful tips and information."

Low fantasy: How to keep it diverse/interesting/add variety?
Question: "When DMing a low-fantasy campaign where the characters are peasants, what can you recommend to keep variety in not only mini-events but also in foes."

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAGfpShmWj4&t=16m10s

Murder hobos.
Question: "How do you stop new players being murder hobos?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=11m1s

My PCs should have secrets, but they don't want any.
Question: "I was watching an RPG over at Geek and Sundry called Titansgrave. The GM (Wil Wheaton) gave the characters secrets about themselves and I liked this idea so I did it for my D&D but about half of the players want 'I want to kill the rest of the characters' as their secrets. If I deny them this they'll get angry. What should I do?" Answer: "3 choices imo: 1. Don't do it. I bet GnS picked a special cast which were very knowing that their session will be online, and has to be entertaining. This means, to what I've seen so far: Heavy RP, intrigues, and so on - I have yet to see a online DnD campaign with unexperienced DnD-is-a-videogame 'KILL EVERYTHING!' players. 2. Tell your players to pick something more serious. Probably won't work if your players aren't thinking of your campaign like a book/movie being written by playing, but more of a videogame. 3. Roll with it and marvel at the backstab-fest you party will become. Don't expect a lengthy campaign of that though. And maybe a fourth choice: 4. If your PCs have a bit of a backstory: You give them their secret based on their backstory. This could very possibly end in 'THAT'S NOT MY BACKSTORY!!' angryness, if your players already get angry by denying them 'kill everyone' as a secret. And considering you already told them you wanted to make everyone have a secret, but are now backing off and making their secrets yourself it'll probably feel very forced to your players. (Maybe even teacher-y: 'You don't know what a good secret is! I'll tell you, you stupid brat!' which would make it even worse)﻿ Comment-Link"

My party goes to a lot of dangerous places and often nearly dies, what do?
Question: "I just started my campaign so the characters are quite weak but my friends who are playing as them are new to D&D and are always running into dangerous places in my world that were meant for later in the campaign. They are all very close to dyeing, what should I do?" Answer: "I think there's 3 ways you could tackle this: 1. Scale the area down, if it's not that important. This assumes a bit of a sandboxy game though – or that the area your guys are going to isn't that important - or that you can easily reroute/rewrite your story to fit in that the players went to this place early. 2. Tough luck. Make it clear while fighting, that your party has no chance of winning, and give them chances to run away. If they don't run away, when they are nearly dead … their fault If you know beforehand your players are going to [dangerours place]: 3. Make it clear the place they are going to is really dangerous. Drop in random NPCs that say something like 'Where are you going?' 'To [dangerous place]!' 'OH NO! Be careful there's dragons there, they'll beat you up!'. If your party doesn't listen to this, continue with way number 2.﻿ Comment-Link"Answer: "Sounds like you have a very open-world/sandboxy game like Skyrim etc. Best thing is for them to learn by doing, which might involve one or two of them dying. A lot of new players do this, because they think the game is going to be 'on their side' like a videogame. Give them warnings like above. Not just from NPCs telling them it's bad, but visual clues. Bodies ravaged and torn apart, the stench of death, ghostly wails and screams. If they do get their asses kicked and feel a bit dejected, have an NPC ask them to take care of a problem you know is more their level and give them a couple of easy encounters to smash through to build their confidence again."

My players like DnD but don't attend the session, what do?
Question: "A very good friend of mine has recently decided to get into d&d. He says that he loves the game and is having loads of fun in the party. However, it's come to my attention that he doesn't actually want to go to our sessions, despite the game currently being focused on his characters backstory. He's finally decided that he is refusing to go to the next session because he 'can't be assed'. How should I react? He's a really good friend but I'm not willing to stand that kind of selfishness when everyone else is really looking forward to the game." Answer: "You should be open to him and tell him that this doesn't work. DnD to some extent is a social event, a social gathering, where everyone has their loose responsibilities. DM prepares the game, players attend, bring their character sheets, and so on. If your friend likes DnD, enjoys being with your party, and even has their own arc now, but doesn't want to play he doesn't fit into the party as a set player. Ask them why he doesn't want to come, maybe it's just something stupid like 'it's too far' maybe play online then? or if he seriously don't feel like attending every session ask him what he thinks of opting in from session to session and have him sort of like a 'reappearing guest' - he wouldn't get his big story, but he can be in and with the other guys when he feels like it. If all this doesn't work your friend and DnD (at least now) doesn't play together well, it's sad, but some people just don't (feel) like it. Comment-Link"

NPC stats?
Question: "I'm running my first campaign and i really need some help with creating NPC'S like how to get their stats and stuff like that please can you give me some advice" Answer: "Creating an NPCs that seem real and interesting is a bit of a bigger question, NPC stats is a simple one though: First of all: Does every NPC you encounter NEED stats? Do you plan that every town guard, every priest and every peasant in the city will eventually fight, or has to do any die roll at all? Probably not … Only decide on stats if you're sure you will need them, or on the fly, if your players decide to go nuts and kill the local barkeep for whatever weird reason. In the Monster Manual, there's a whole section of NPC characters from page 342 onwards that has 8 pages of NPC stats if you need them. Need a bandit? Page 343. CR 1/8, so if you have 4 of them that's a medium encounter for a L1 party. Need a town guard? Page 347. Also CR 1/8. Need an assassin? Page 343. CR 8 … Well, he'll one hit KO your party … Why not use the bandit from above instead? Make him 2 more dextrous and 2 less strong maybe, so he's more sneaky. If a statblock doesn't fit your needs either reskin an existing monster by making minor changes, or if that doesn't work you may alternatively scale an existing monster up or down using the Rules for that in the Dungeon Masters Guide page 274 if you have it. Comment-Link"Answer: "Back of the Monster Manual has stats for non-monster enemies and these can be used for NPCs as well. There's no hard and fast rule for making NPCs, but I would suggest you don't make them as powerful as a player character unless they are very special. Most of my NPCs are either based on one from the back of the Monster Manual, using their CR rating instead of a level."

Planning a sandbox campaign
Question: "Do you have any experience in creating a sandbox styled campaign and if so, do you have any tips on how to manage the planning and not overwhelming the players with all the choices of what to do?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=41m52s

Players hating each other!/Shouting at me for being a bad DM!
Question: "A couple of years ago, I did a Yogsquest style campaign. It all went wrong when the PCs got mad over some homebrew game mechanics. As a inexperienced GM back then, I satisfied then by giving the cool stuff. But after that they went back to challenge things which made them mad again, resulting in a loop of torment and shouting over the table for me. I felt exploited but how do you break out of this loop? Also, how do you deal with players that decide to break off from 4 to 5 PC groups into tiny groups of for mess? The groups both hate each other in-game and in real life." Answer: "I hope you told your players before playing you're not experienced. If they - knowingly - shout at you for this, I would tell them once, that you're sorry and they should be understanding, that you are not experienced, and you're trying your best. If they still shout at you I'd just stop playing. DnD should be fun for everyone including the DM. And neither you, nor the players have fun in this scenario. &gt; The groups both hate each other in-game and in real life. These people probably can't play together … DnD is a social interaction, a conversation, not a videogame where you can ignore that the tank is a dumbass, as long as he's soaking damage. Don't feel yourself forced to keep a group together, just because you'd like to see the end of the campaign. If the players hate each other it doesn't work. Always keep in mind: You are a human, your players are humans, DnD is a social gathering. If something doesn't work out: Talk to your players, and if that doesn't work then sadly DnD isn't the thing for these people. Comment-Link"Answer: "I would also like to add that as the DM, you're ALWAYS right. Too many people imagine DnD like a computer game and that the DM only is the 'system' that runs it. Your world, your rules. Do you like a set of rules you find in the DM's Guild? Then use them! Do you think a set of rules in the core book doesn't make sense? Change them! As long as you're clear with your players that you're using homebrew rules (you do not have to tell them what these rules are) it should be all be fine. With that said, I've had players call out mistake's i've made, and that's okay. As long as it's done respectfully and it actually was a mistake to begin with, there's no reason to not correct it. What makes the game so fun (in my eyes at least) is that even though the DM is the one deciding the rules, everyone, including the DM, then has to follow those rules. That's what make's it a game. (Except those rare occassions where you REALLY feel the need to 'cheat' for the greater good of the game, but that's a discussion for another time.)"

Pseudo-Classes (Sneaky cleric → Rogue)
Question: "What do you think of pseudo classes? ie, making a sneaky cleric as a stand-in rogue. Are they viable?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=18m33s

Restrictions on the wish spell?
Question: "I was wondering if as a DM you would place any restrictions on what the wish spell can achieve. My players are about to reach the level at which this spell can be cast and I'm worried about crazy ideas that my players will come up with. How do you deal with that spell."

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=15m44s

Sandboxing: How far should players be able to go/where should the DM intervene?
Question: "I've been running a homebrew campaign for a couple of weeks now, and I found myself struggling with how open my world should be. How much do you think the players should be able to decide for themselves where they're going and how much should the DM try to intervene?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkgz3cWKA_U&t=10m35s

Story based on characters or characters based on story?
Question: "Do you base your stories on the player characters or fit them into your story?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=2m30s

Too many magic items.
Question: "I am a bit concerned that I may have accidentally been to generous with distributing magic items to the party. Is there a good way to scale back on this so that they do not get too powerful too fast, but without making it seem like a massive reversal/disappointment...?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=27m32s

What about "evolving" magic items?
Question: "How do you feel about magic items that evolve with the character? by this i mean they could get a magic shield at level three, and it could have the base +2 AC of a shield, but when you get to say level 7, it has +3 AC and lets you shield someone as a reaction to add 1 AC to them for that attack, or impose disadvantage" Answer: "A magic item 'evolving' with the character is just flavour. Whether your player slays a dragon, and in it's treasure hoard there's a +3 shield, or goes on a a quest to collect some mystic metal which the wizard XYZ may use to upgrade his shield from +2 to +3, what's the difference? Nothing mayor, so yeah, it's cool from a game perspective. In general be careful with adding new features to your magic items though, to not make them overpowered (which is another topic - Shield someone as a reaction at Level 7 seems fine to me though).﻿ Comment-Link"

What about echoing spells/fireballs?
Question: "how do you deal with 'sound' that a combat situation will make echoing though a location? For example a fireball would make a lot of noise and surely alert enemies over 3/4 rooms away?" Answer: "There's no written rule about it, so I would say. Yeah! A fireball is loud, roll with it! However, if this was a topic of discussion: also talk with your players about this. Important: Outside of the game/session; While casting the fireball they'll say it's quiet, to not f- themselves and pull 3 more monster groups. Ask them on their opinion about it, if they all unambigiously say a fireball is quiet; well then it probably is, you all make the game. Enforcing a loud fireball while everyone thinks a fireball is quiet feels out of place.﻿ Comment-Link"Answer: "Casting usually involves a verbal component, so it's not going to be silent. The spell will have a V on it. The sound of the actual fireball probably depends on what it is burning. Like, a fwoosh as it suddenly consumes oxygen, and maybe crackling if there are impurities it can burn up on the way. I think most of the fire-noise is the fuel."Answer: "And absolutely I use 'sound' in that way, if the situation would cause enough noise to attract guards or other monsters, I would absolutely factor it in. Will require a judgement call on 'what makes noise' though, and you may want to start asking questions like; 'Are you moving in quietly? How loud do you say that exactly?' etc. Will cause your players to panic, but that can be fun. :)"

What is the underdark, how to get there?
Question: "What is the underdark, and how do you get there?" Answer: "The underdark is a sprawling network of caves mostly dug by monsters (a bit by dwarves and other humanoids, too though) deep underground. Many evil monsters live there, and the drow. Have a look through the PBH/DMG, if I remember correctly there's a bit of lore about the Drow in there. Entrances to the underdark can be everywhere, where you can enter the underground: * A tunnel in a basement in a big city * A cave, the front part inhabited by a bear * A chasm, created by a great earthquake, maybe splitting apart 2 tunnels in the higher part of the underdark There's some more literature about the underdark somewhere around (don't ask me where though :x). If you want an adventure that revolves around the underdark look for WotC's Out of the Abyss campaign.﻿ Comment-Link"

What program to use to make maps?
Question: "What programs do you know for CREATING maps on. I want to make some instead of using Google images."

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTPXyKka0To&t=10m57s

What should players/DMs prepare for their first session?
Question: "What do you recommend first time players to prepare them for their first game? What would you recommend first time DMs do for their first game (to DM) as well?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAGfpShmWj4&t=11m45s

What to do when constantly rolling 20s, destroying everyone unwillingly?
Question: "What do you do in a situation where in a fight, as DM, you KEEP rolling natural 20's and rolling max damage? To a point where you are just going to annihilate everyone? Would you ever lie about the dice you roll if it will spoil the game? Or roll with it and try to come up with a story for it?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Y0sbMRbrE&t=20m42s

What to do when something completely unexpected happens? (no notes on an area, e.g.)
Question: "As a DM how do you deal with a situation when something completely unexpected happens and you have no notes on a particular area your adventures end up in?"

Video answer(s) by Mark:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tpeMUxMnIA&t=13m41s

When is a battlemap required? What about 13 goblins?
Question: "Going to be DMing for the first time soon and in regards to using maps and mini/tokens to do combat, when is the point where it's more useful to use them in terms of the amount of creatures in the encounter. Like if there's like 13 goblins I'd imagine its easier to keep track of on a map and would save time explaining where each is." Answer: "There's a bit on AoE and Many Mobs (with or without miniatures) in the DMG on page 249 and 250. Might be of help (haven't read it though, lol). You certainly can try to run an encounter with 13 goblins and 4 players. However, don't be thinking of a grid in your head, trying to keep the distance from each and everyone in there, to map out exact movement; that's a battlemap notion. If you don't have a battlemap operate more on common sense, and have rough ideas in your head. Certain things with measurements you may need without a map: * If in closed quarters: Size of the battlefield (for ranged people). * Starting point for ranged attackers in relation to their enemies. Otherwise think/write who is next to whom, so melee becomes straightforward.  I have not answered your question yet, where the point is that maps become better (personal opinions here): * If you have more than 5 players a map might be useful. * If you have more than 2 ranged monsters at different points on the map a map might be useful. * If you have more than ~10 melee monsters a map might be useful. But this begs the question: Will there be 13 goblin encounters at all in your campaign? I recently had an encounter with 9 whimsy thugs, and it was a PAIN to run; when I started my turn my players just phased out, because it took a few minutes, many dicerolls, and every time some thug was hit I had to write it into my big HP list - having a map helped me run it, but even with a map it was a pain. If you have more than 1½ monsters per player, ask yourself why. There are exceptions, like big boss battles, or a battle in a city with civilians in the crossfire, where I make everything other than the PCs and main-monsters have 1HP and act on Initiative 0. Running these without a battlemap might be hard. However: To me this question seems like a justification (not in a malevolent way! might be reading into it too, though) to buy and use a battlemap, which is totally fine! A battlemap is optional, but adds a strategic/boardgame element to it. Comment-Link"

Why doesn't every race have darkvision?
Question: "Why do so many PC races in DnD 5e have dark vision (6 out of 9 in the players handbook)? Do they not want darkness to be a mechanic? It just bugs me because to me a racial trait should make the one player who has it feel special and important when it comes up, like the torch gets put out and the drow has to be the hero and lead the party out of the cave. As it stands it seems its always just one player who doesn't have it and then they feel like a burden. If I was to DM a group I would be worried about creating balance issues if I simply removed it, but it doesn't seem very well thought out. Any way if I'm way off in my judgement I'd be thrilled to hear why, otherwise what would be the best way to get rid of it and keep the balance?" Answer: "I find DnD focuses on going through the dungeon, and killing monsters, rather than managing what you see, how long your torch lasts, etc. Thus nearly every race has dark vision. Why they don't ignore it entirely/make everyone have some basic darkvision is a bit of a weird one to me too.If you don't want the human to be a burden for your group because they need to carry a torch, which means they are a beacon of light making stealth impossible, or something alike, just feel free to ignore it. If you want a campaign/game that does focus on torchlight, makes torches finite, and darkness 'scary' you could try out torchbearer (and I think mausgard, too?) - you could try to bring in some torchbearer mechanics to DnD, too; it might break things though.﻿ Comment-Link"Answer: "Darkvisions a hangover from older editions. The sort of thing that if they removed it, would cause a lot of fuss for no reason. So they leave it up to the DMs to handle. I don't have Darkvision in my campaigns, except for spells/abilities. As then it feels truly special and allows for interesting scenarios/encounters."

Why not 2 spell slot spells in one turn (action + bonus action)?
Question: "there are ways in which I'm finding magic use to be arbitrarily limited in ways that I feel are, honestly, a bit unfair; the key one being the restriction on per-turn casting. So... as I understand, The parts of a players turn are divided into action/bonus action/movement/reaction, and other factors that may give them more of these things under appropriate circumstances.  More or less, though, these parts are separate things, and you can perform one task which takes a bonus action, and then perform another task that takes an action, and that's generally fine.  Except, it seems, arbitrarily and without any real reason, in the case of casting spells...  Spells are all marked as what duration they take to perform, and in most cases this aligns with a part of a turn, if it's not longer, usually an action, sometimes a bonus action, occasionally as a reaction...  BUT, despite this, one cannot cast, for example, healing word as a bonus action (its listed cast time), and then charm person as your action (its listed cast time). It seems odd that the core book specifically denies this, without giving a reason or justification (with the exception of allowing a bonus action spell, and an action cantrip), when all other combinations of actions and bonus actions are considered free game..." Answer: "It's most certainly a balancing mechanic. Even though in the higher levels is doesn't make that much sense, heaven forbid you'd be casting L1 Healing word, AND L1 Cure Wounds on your Level 18 Barbarian with 200 max HP in ONE turn!! The way I RP imagine it, is that casting a spell slot spell is draining you, so you need to calm down, regain your energy, for a bit. Comment-Link"