Matt Mercer DM Tips: Preparing for the Unexpected!

November 7, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

THIS IS A AN AUTOMATIC CAPTION TEXT from YouTube, so it’s not “perfect”. My advice is to use it just to help people like me that are not english speaking, to understand the Video/Podcast MATT: Hey guys! My name is Matthew Mercer. I’m a voice actor and dungeon master for Geek & Sundry’s Critical Role, and welcome to my video series about tips and tricks for burgeoning and/or classic GMs and DMs. Today’s topic is going to be preparing for the unexpected, which is a large part of the actual GMing experience. [trumpet fanfare] Preparation is the key to not being prepared. I know that sounds crazy, but you can definitely be comfortable pulling stuff out of your ass. You’ll be doing that a lot. The best that you can think of alternative scenarios, or give loose notes as to other possibilities that your players might dive into, does help you be a little more prepared for the crazy. Especially if you’ve had some time with the party and with those players, you kind of get a feel for their game style and the type of questions they ask, the type of off the cuff actions they take and the type of directions they tend to veer towards. Once you get a feel for that you can start preparing a little bit some alternate paths from the main story that you’ve been developing. Even so, the players will always, always surprise you. You’ll be caught off guard, they’ll do things that make you go (bewildered) “okay!” and you’ve got to roll with it. You don’t want to deny the players their actions, unless they’re completely ridiculous, and over the top, and don’t fit within the world or the setting. For the most part you want to let them go along with their choices, as cockamaimy and weird as they may be. Because those will make for some of the best stories, for one, and will take you in some of the best places as a GM that are hilarious and fun. I get most of my fun when I’m thrown off the mark as a dungeon master. I like the mental gymnastics that are part of it, and the kind of back and forth with the players, creating this unknown future path. It’s a really exhilarating experience for me and it’s scary at first, trust me, I understand, but it’s really exhilarating. On that note too, you don’t want to try and railroad the players too much. I know you’ve built this wonderful story that you’re working so hard to get them through, and you will be able to keep them on that story path for the most part. Unless they’re completely insane. If they veer a little bit left and right let them steer out of the way. Let them find some weird side elements and you can always guide them back in slowly. Don’t try and force them on that particular path or get frustrated if they begin to veer from your set plan. Because that’s kind of what really makes RPGs its own special genre of gaming aside from other formats is you can do that it all is fluid and it’s wonderful. Don’t be afraid to roll with some of the stranger player choices, because it can be interesting. Make sure you can help justify in the moment how it would work in that world. If the player comes to a locked door and they’re like, “I want to unlock it” that makes sense. If instead they’re like “I want to see if I can get this vial of acid to slowly dissolve parts of the wood, then set up a barricade that can push and focus all the energy–” and you’re like “Sure, go for it. Give it a shot.” Let them build their strange idea and give that– especially if it’s very unwieldy, that very mildly slight chance it could function. And if it succeeds, fantastic, and explain the awesome, fantastic success that it was. If it fails, which is more often than not, explain the awesome, fantastic, epic failure that it was. These are the stories that you’ll continue to tell for a very long time. Just to reiterate on your preparation for the session, parallel avenues are a really good focus, and try and have those side pocket aspects at your disposal just in case they veer off to the sides. Ways to help with that, I find, keeping a list of fantasy names nearby. That you can find online, you can find– or sci-fi names if you’re using a sci-fi genre game, or if you’re using a modern game. Just having a list of names that would fit in your world or your setting near your session setup allows you to pull quickly if you have to spontaneously create someone that doesn’t exist. “Oh, you’re going to the hospital? Okay.. uh.. You run into a nurse. The nurse is named David. Can I help you? I’m David.” It makes it feel and gives the illusion that you know exactly what you’re doing. And that’s part of the fun. It’s the whole kind of Wizard of Oz element. “Don’t look behind the curtain!” You want to stay in control and having those resources near you really helps with that. Having a list of player names is really good. You can also create a small cache of unused random NPCs that you can flesh out a little. You can create bartenders, you can create policemen, you can create space bounty hunters. You can create all sorts of characters that aren’t really part of the story, and they’re just kind of in your box, waiting to be pulled out in case something like that happens. That’s a really cool thing to have at your disposal. You’ll be very thankful you kind of did that preparation for yourself. Also, you can make a list of small, minor story hooks. There’s a lot of great resources online that you can search, or look in your resource books for your various RPGs to find good story hook elements. There’s lists and tables you can roll up. Those are really cool if you have to create an NPC to try and decide what their story is. Dave, the nurse. You talk to him for a bit and you find out that he’s missing his left arm, and you ask him why, and he says, “Because it was taken by demons!” That would be a terrible story, but it’s a story that came out of nowhere, and now the players are like, “We’ve gotta find Dave’s arm!” It’s cool to have that resource at your disposal because it makes you more comfortable with the environment, more comfortable with the improvisation, and makes the storytelling more fluid. Also a cool little cache of rewards is also good to have in case they do some weird stuff on the side and succeed in an unplanned way. You can have a couple of magical items, or cool laser weapons, or some sort of bit of information about the story that is sitting in this amorphous pile for use in case the opportunity arises for you to gift it to the players. It’s cool to have those in your pocket as well. So overall, the key of improvisation for your games is comfort. That can come from taking improv classes, if you have the opportunity. Those are very helpful, even if you don’t plan to go into performance art. The improvisational skill is useful in all facets of life, I’ve found, and this is very much so. As you get more comfortable with it all these little notes, all these little things you can do to prepare for the unexpected are tremendously helpful in building your fast storytelling skills and to maintain a consistent narrative. Regardless of what the players throw at you, which is kind of fun. Thank you for watching, we’ll have other episodes of this you can watch of this up on geekandsundry.com and I’ll see you next time!

I’ve learned a lot about D&D from the Critical Role gang

August 1, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

I’ve learned a lot about DnD from the CR gang this past year. One of my favorite take-aways is that there is no “right choice”. When passed the ball, I very much like to make the fun ones. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that sequence born of my “mistake”. 😜💍 #CriticalRoleSpoilers

— Robbie Daymond (@robbiedaymond) February 11, 2022

One of us! One of us!

— Justice Ramin Arman (@justicearman) February 11, 2022

The amount of beautiful chaos that came from that choice was worth any momentary heart palpitations. The Traveler was definitely with us. but laura weren’t you seriously mad at me and super angry and that’s why you went to the bathroom, cuz you hated what i did and don’t like me anymore in real life? 🥺

— Robbie Daymond (@robbiedaymond) February 11, 2022

You do the best you can, and sometimes the dice are on your side. Other times… well, you get to make some different choices.

That was a blast!

— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) February 12, 2022

Ed Greenwood inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association Hall of Fame!

June 17, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

Thank you! I hasten to add that the beautiful smiling lady with raygun at the ready you see in the thumbnail is NOT me in a clever disguise, but Julie Czerneda, whose books every fantasy and sf fan should read!

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 16, 2022

We are delighted to congratulate friends of the con @julieczerneda, @TheEdVerse, and @HaydenTrenholm on their inductions into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association Hall of Fame!

Party hearty, me hearties.https://t.co/BkaNi5DNbv

— Can*Con (@CanConSF) June 16, 2022

Honoured! (Julie should have been HoFame YEARS ago!!!!) When I look back at inductees, I feel pretty good about Canada's little corner of creativity. Great company! Please tell me there's a secret handshake…

— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 16, 2022

@TheEdVerse was honored by the Aurora Awards for his incredible lifetime achievements. The most published man alive. You are an inspiration, and more to come brother!https://t.co/T8kEuByiBx pic.twitter.com/UwnoxGWla1

— The Inexorable WordNerd 🔥👻🔥 (@ryantylerpalmer) June 17, 2022

‘Ganax’ Dragon MtG:Battle for Baldur’s Gate by Aaron B Miller

May 27, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman read the first excerpt from Dragonlance: Dragons of Deceit

May 27, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

DRAGONLANCE: the opening pages of Dragons of Deceit

May 27, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

Read an excerpt from the new novel on Polygon!https://t.co/xjxHaykEV6

— Margaret Weis (@WeisMargaret) May 26, 2022

Introducing: Alan Moore – Storytelling!

May 25, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

[Music] if you wish to develop as a writer always listen to your characters treat them as if they are your friends albeit friends that regrettably you sometimes have to kill anybody can write this is not some divine calling that only settles upon a few special individuals books and writing are capable of changing the entire world of modifying human consciousness my intent is to simply make you a good writer a better writer which means basically devastating a male opponent with the aid of a pineapple i’ll be telling you what you need to create characters to create stories to create landscapes creating a place it is a godlike experience you create every person in it every interaction is all being created by you i will be talking about how to write about all of the thousand elements that go to make up a story if you’re writing a comic write it to the best of your ability as a comic so if you’ve got six panels on a page yeah roughly 35 words per panel should be your maximum five double beats five yams to each line now the bats and the skulls that is fantastic when i was starting the swamp thing series one of the first questions that i asked the comic company i said uh so which swamp is he the thing of plot is not the story the plot is not the structure it’s just the plot this greed and gore emporium is not how life was meant to be i want every one of you to get out there and to write me a better world because this one is completely i am alan moore and this is my bbc live stroke course on writing and storytelling

That face … where have I seen it before? Boo&Minsc!

May 20, 2022Zoltar Leave a comment

That face … where have I seen it before? #dnd #wotcstaff https://t.co/kUaedOFoKo

— Christopher Perkins (@ChrisPerkinsDnD) March 25, 2022

Hamsters and rangers everywhere, rejoice! It finally dropped, what an honor to paint such an iconic duo.#mtg #magicthegathering #MTGBaldursGate #MTGDND pic.twitter.com/aU1rabU8qY

— Bram Sels (@bram_sels) March 27, 2022

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Matt Mercer DM Tips: Preparing for the Unexpected!

I’ve learned a lot about D&D from the Critical Role gang

Ed Greenwood inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association Hall of Fame!

‘Ganax’ Dragon MtG:Battle for Baldur’s Gate by Aaron B Miller

Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman read the first excerpt from Dragonlance: Dragons of Deceit

DRAGONLANCE: the opening pages of Dragons of Deceit

Introducing: Alan Moore – Storytelling!

That face … where have I seen it before? Boo&Minsc!

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