Matt Colville - Roleplaying

I don't normally do this, and I know I posted a different Matt Colville video on Friday, but this video on Role Playing is very interesting. I don't agree with everything he says, but as a rhetorical piece discussing Role Playing and what it means it is very good. I'd love to hear or read your thoughts.

As a word of caution, this video is 45 minutes long. It's worth it in my opinion. He goes over a lot of stuff. And he does it in a very judgment free way.

Learning From Others: An Important Retcon

The above video is the most recent Campaign Diary from Matt Colville's stream. You don't need to watch the whole thing, but watch the first five minutes. In those five minutes, Matt Colville talks about an important retcon he made between sessions. The reason why he made it is what is important.

For those unable to watch the summary is he ended a session doing something he thought would be cool. After, one of the players came to him and told him that the thing made them less excited to play because it didn't seem fun and in fact seemed boring and not particularly dramatic or interesting. Matt then fixed the problem in a way that didn't put anyone in the spotlight to keep the gaming going smooth.

The lesson here being two fold: First, when you're doing something 'cool' make sure you pick the right player. Some players are down for anything and love being turned against the other PCs as it can be a lot of fun. Others don't, because it is robbing them of their character (or feels like it) or for some other reason of theirs. Second, and more importantly, your game isn't just about you having fun. It is about the players as well. If someone comes to you with a problem because it is not fun, not interesting, and makes them less happy to play the game going forward? That's a real problem and one you should fix.

Matt explains everything, including his thoughts very well in the beginning of the video. It's worth checking out. Frankly, I find the whole Campaign Diary worth checking out for perspective on how he GMs and how he thinks, but if nothing else those first five minutes are a whole lesson in and of themselves.

The Prisoner of Azkaban - Movies with Mikey

This video has nothing to do with gaming, right? Well, yes, and also no. Movies are a story telling medium. What goes into movies, and why it goes into them, is important. Just as important is how they can be dissected. Mikey has given me perspective on so many stories and movies I thought I understood, that I watch these just when I need something to kick my brain into analysis mode before making plans for anything be it a game, a story, or something else.

You can get more of these great videos here.

Power to the Players by John Wick

This video is from 2008. I've posted it here a number of times already. And yet, I find myself returning to it time and time again because it holds advice that resonates with the core of what I feel a GM should be. I'll let John Wick explain it. You can find other videos by him here, or just check out his company page here.

The 5 Worst Characters Good Players Make by Seth Skorkowsky

I found this video on youtube and thought it was an interesting discussion point. I'm currently going through the rest of Seth's youtube channel for other interesting nuggets of wisdom. You should too!

Learning From Others: The Bye Bye Box

Not all advice you'll get from other sources is things to do. Some of it is things not to do. I'm not sure where this video will fall for you, because most people I know either love the idea or think it's overly harsh. Personally, I think it's a solid idea but worry for the player in question not being able to parse what is going on - which could turn them off the hobby all together.

Still, I'll let you decide for yourself. Watch the video. Listen to the advice. Take what you can from it. If nothing else, it is a wonderful example of how to hurt a PC that you can't really hit in combat or with mechanics.

Learning From Others - Critical Role

I'm not sure if I've spoken about Critical Role before or not, but it's recently become something I very much like. I watch the youtube videos and not only is it very entertaining, but it's also educational. In a way, Matt Mercer is a professional GM (since I assume he gets some money out of Critical Role) but that aside, he's also a very good one.

If you have the time - maybe while doing some other things - give it a watch. Listen to how Matt handles questions and issues on the fly, the way he is always rooting for his players but making sure they're within the bounds of the rules, and the way he quickly, and efficiently, handles small disputes at the table. He's one of the better examples of a "tough but fair" GM that I've seen, though I'm only about 7 episodes in at this point.

It's also refreshing to see how even a group doing a game as a show hits some of the same pitfalls and snags with miscommunication, disagreements on rules, and GM second-checking/guessing that my own games have. Makes me at least feel a little less alone in facing what are basically universal problems.

So take a look. See if you like it.