2017-2021 Channel Recap
Member Only Articles, Direct Personalised Feedback, and Bespoke Worksheets for the Live Interactive Storytelling 10-Level Curriculum.
Join LIS10 to see the entire backlog of content I uploaded on YouTube (And Patreon) throughout 2017-2021!
What are these videos about? Who are they for?
I started making these D&D videos to try and lower the barrier of entry for those interested but intimidated by what were being held up as the “gold standard” of how the game should be played. I also wanted to demonstrate that there are always more ways to solve every problem, and that no one specific gameplay style , or way or doing things is more correct than any other.
If you haven’t seen any of these before, there are a few categories that might help you narrow your interest:
DM Breakdown: My most popular series, in these videos I walk you through a popular streamed game of D&D (Critical Role, Chris Perkins etc) and tried to explain the DM’s behaviour and preparation in an approachable and inspirational way that would encourage you to think a little bit more about managing player behaviour, and feeling a little bit more secure in your own abilities.
Creatures: Revealed & Redefined: These videos were about incentivising creativity when it came to using monsters in your TTRPGs, whether that meant using a common creature in an unusual way, or looking into the history that inspired an esoteric figure of mythology. It’s just about having fun and finding something you resonate with.
So You Wanna DM?: The most common video I made, where I discuss specific problems you face running TTRPGs and the options that might work for you. While plenty of these videos seem to walk on already well-worn ground (Such as Session 0 etc), I always tried with these to offer solutions or alternative ways the rethink these problems that some viewers might find more akin to their own preferences when compared to the most commonly accepted answers.
Homebrew Corner: These were a couple of alternate rules videos, some adding complexity while others tried to remove it, however the focus of each video was on the process of designing that homebrew rule change and the steps taken to judge it as a successful or unsuccessful design.
Other: There are some other videos that didn’t really fall into those categories, most of which being Patreon Update videos, glimpses behind the scenes, etc…
I’ve embedded the entire catalogue (including Patreon exclusives) and provided a short reflection for context under each as I pieced this together if you’re interested…!
DM Breakdown
The Dice Camera Action Breakdown had a unique perspective compared to others, in that it highlighted a published module and how actual author adapts it into live play with new players. Chris has always been my personal favourite DM for how well he is able to identify the personal styles and desires of his players to ensure they’re all having a good time, and this episode really highlights how he feels that out.
Of all the breakdowns, I find this the most motivational example of what a Storyteller needs to do and - more importantly - what they don’t. Chris is never under stress, if he makes a mistake it’s laughed off, and he doesn’t treat the book, his pre-written preparation, as something that must always be adhered to. He treats things very loosely, and adapts descriptions and characters to evoke the atmosphere the players find most engaging.
Critical Role S2E1 was the first DM Breakdown I created, I can’t believe how awkward I was on camera back then, the whole thing was written recorded and edited within a week so I could release it before the next episode of the stream released. This episode highlights how to bring a group together at the start of a campaign, how player management and direction can be gently woven into exposition, and how you can add energy and action to keep dense exposition from feeling too exhausting for your players.
The Breakdown of Critical Role S2E2 picks up immediately after the last Breakdown and covers how to run a murder/detective investigation story, but more importantly how even the best laid plans handled with the best of intentions can still be completely missed by your players. This episode focuses more heavily on guiding your players, and attempting to keep large numbers of players all feeling equally involved and heard.
This episode was picked out for a Breakdown because it highlights two real challenges a DM can face when running a TTRPG, travel and entering a new city that will have great importance in future.
This is a great session of streamed D&D, it’s a 90 minute one-shot I’d highly recommend… and nothing goes according to plan. I remembered this Breakdown quite fondly, there are several different large problems (communication, design, direction) but they’re all overcome and result in a hugely enjoyable session for everyone involved.
This is definitely my favourite of the Critical Role Breakdowns, and it continues the theme of nothing going according to plan, this time involving unintentional player character death. There are some valuable social considerations I cover in this one such as the novelty factor in players (even unknowingly) and how even the most enthusiastic amongst us aren’t immune to the effects of long sessions.
So You Wanna DM?
I still enjoy this topic, which boils down to the misunderstanding and misuse of Traps in Game Design, and how they should really be fairly solvable puzzles that treat the players reasonably and intelligently.
This can be taken as a broader thought about Game Design in general, to always apply systems through the lens of UI/UX first, weighing player intent, knowledge, and satisfaction.
This was the first video, Overpreparation is still a huge problem both for people already telling stories and running TTRPGs but also for those who want to start but see the “required” work too imposing and insurmountable. My intent with this video was to highlight some workarounds and details you can rely on to lower that pressure, but I think this is a topic that needs revisiting.
This Session Zero video focuses on the intent and considerations you should keep in mind when recruiting and matching up potential players. Rather than treating the Session Zero as simply character creation, it should be about diagnosing player personalities, playstyles, desires, and nipping conflicts in the bud before they can sprout.
I remember question of Homebrew vs Modules was quite a loud one online at the time I made this video with some clearly defined Pros and Cons. So here I was trying to disrupt some of those assumptions to make both options seem more approachable and more fluid, as really a module is just another source of inspiration.
This video offers a simple structural format for running your first session of a TTRPG with minimal preparation and zero stress. I’d still recommend this as an easy to follow place to begin spinning the tale of your world, and a reminder to add the small and absurd from the very beginning.
The Holiday Themed Session or One Shot is a concept I always like weaving into existing stories or concocting as an easy entry point for new players. Adapting something like a Betrayal boardgame into a Halloween is a great way to sneakily get new people enjoying cooperative storytelling before they realise it.
What is this thumbnail? While it’s called Notetaking, this video is really about triaging what matters, and smart use of audio recordings. But even if that sort of system doesn’t gel with you, the advice of using physical size limits (text boxes) on your notes about specific characters or periods of time is always a reliable way to stop the notes from overflowing.
This video covers how to run characters, including those you’ve had to improvise, in real-time when your players surprise you. I’m still happy with the advice in this one, it was a requested topic and I think this sort of character motivation can easily trip up someone without much experience. The key is to remove the pressure from yourself to get everything right, even if you make a mistake, or get nervous and stutter - guess what - that’s in-character!
The Town video was an fun balance to make, I wanted to keep the video under 10 minutes and disrupt the popular numbers-based approach of creating a town before its character. The general vibe here is to think about what made a town you’ve actually visited memorable, and what have you forgotten until you see it again in pictures? Translate that into the town you’re creating, and fill it full of life that exemplifies the feeling of being there.
This was one of the first Patron-exclusive videos. The way my Patreon was designed back then included an extra exclusive (Patron-only) video each month, which I was really enthusiastic about offering, but less than 25% of my Patrons actually watched the extra videos - which was a difficult thing to grapple with. Patreon-exlusives are a common go-to reward on the platform, but for me I don’t think it worked too well, in any event they’re all here now!
Here I tried to boil down the different types of maps to their simplest aspects that you might want to consider when building your own from scratch, and what purpose a map can serve in your story.
This was a Patron-exclusive where I tried to expand upon, and somewhat counter, another video I’d already released regarding keeping your energy high. However this video takes the stance of focusing on interest over energy, and offers some more casual, calm and collected techniques to maintain everyone’s focus.
I really enjoyed how actionable this video was on a rewatch. DM/GM Screens are one of the most intimidating and recognisable aspects of TTRPGs, four large boards covered in numbers and game rules. In this video video I suggest designing your DM Screen from the perspective of target audience - target purpose, who is it for, what is it for? The answer can be quite simple and freeing.
Most of the videos I made were targeted at beginners, this is perhaps the most advanced, but I’d still suggest it as a good reference point for the initial world-building in any storytelling project - not just a TTRPG. This process revolves around revisiting some core questions regarding your world, and its people.
This Patreon-exclusive holds your hand through some important considerations in planning and running a one-shot. There is a heavy emphasis on timing, and direct communication with your players, a good rule to always remember (in all of game design) is that something that’s obvious to the design, will not be half as obvious to the players. So be obvious, overly obvious, and keep your players informed of their goal!
The Patreon-exclusive discusses the challenges and problems you might be finding when running a game with experience and addresses the game design considerations in communicating progression.
This one may be the least searchable topic I covered, which makes sense for it being a Patreon-exclusive. The concept I’m discussing here can be boiled down to conveying the feeling of a real living breathing logical world operating outside of the players influence.
This is another obscure title, I’m discussing ways to keep well-known creatures interesting, and combat refreshing for experienced/veteran players. There’s a careful line to walk where you want to reward and build upon player/audience knowledge, subverting without punishing or devaluing their expectations.
Creatures: Revealed & Redefined
This was a Patron-only Creature video, the Peryton is a little-known and very unusual fantasy creature which, like most examples in European fantasy, have many conflicting descriptions over time.
I thought they would be a valuable myth to highlight due to their unusual shadow based quirks, that an enthusiastic Storyteller could adapt to take them from yet another winged beast in the air, to an eerie, looming threat that aims straight at your heart.
This was the first video I recorded, I still remember how many problems I had with the little camera overheating. The Remorhaz is one of those fantasy creatures I often saw under-utilised, simply being thrown in as a big thoughtless creature so I just wanted to challenge that with a bit of a spotlight here.
The Thri-Kreen were once a popular character players chose for themselves, but at the time of this video had fallen out of interest. Which is a shame because they have strong cultural characteristics and biological quirks that can offer a refreshing twist on the standard fantasy creature.
The Faerie Dragon is a very popular and well used example of a Fae/Fay fantasy trickster, but I wanted to offer some alternative, and more subtle, implementations for how they might behave.
Homebrew Corner
I still use this line of logic for interface design when bringing people into TTRPGs for the first time, though this example still looks too complicated to me now.
In addition to the advice in this video, a good place to start is to simply play an existing boardgame with your prospective players, and observe what they struggle with, what elements of the interface they gel with, before designing your own - everyone is different.
I really enjoyed returning to this video, these sort of mechanic design problems have always been a favourite of mine in game development. My goal here was to explain the steps and logic I followed in creating my own D&D combat homebrew system so that even if you disagreed and hated it, you could follow those steps and find an answer you’re more satisfied with!
Other
This video holds a special, disastrous place in my heart. I’d assigned this to myself as a challenge to teach myself a different piece of editing software from scratch in 5 days, and both audio recordings got corrupted so I needed to dub over everything.
I can’t say I’m at all happy with the result, nor with uploading it, but failure is an important part of learning anything and that should be celebrated just as strongly as the successes. At that time this video was a huge challenge for me, with that deadline, and it really forced me to learn a lot of new skills much faster than I otherwise would’ve thought possible.
It was a little bizarre to listen to myself retelling an anecdote I’ve since completely forgotten. The best advice from this video is simply that the players aren’t there to fight or challenge you as the DM. You don’t need to feel pressured to force their enjoyment, the players are there because they’re looking to have fun and will happily jump to whatever conclusions are necessary to scratch that itch. Don’t stress, enjoy yourself, and the company of your friends.