@havoc8600
“They all picked one of the blue ones!!!” I didn’t expect to be personally attacked
@Nurfarious
My DM Side: 'See! We should focus on the fun, not bloated rule sets and build optimization.' My Player Side: (Hisses loudly in optimizer)
@ChanJENI
As a Pathfinder 2 GM, I see a curious phenomenon among people deeply engaged with the game: The printed rules are treated as gospel. It's very strange to me, as I saw the big advantage of a rules-heavy system like Pathfinder to be that I can referee the game buffet style without needing to go hunting down a bunch of supplements or trying to be consistent about whichever homebrew rules I pulled out of my ass mid session. That extends to the feats system for character advancement. There are a handful of feats in the game that seem to indicate that you need to take them in order to have access to certain basic actions or abilities (I'm looking at you, shield block), but most of them just seem to give you a bonus to doing things. Gain proficiency in X. Great! That suggests that anyone can attempt X, but without a proficiency bonus. Perfect. And for those abilities that are binary options (you know who you are, shield block), I've just started gating them behind a reflex check. It hasn't caused any issues so far. But yeah, I see the appeal of rules light systems when people seem to treat first party rules as the word of god, rather than the opinions of the developers with respect to best practices.
@peterbillings3276
My wife and I recently started a D&D. One of the players (being completely new to TTRPGs) chose a totally weird, unconventional build: Dragonborn Wizard; main stat: STR At first, the DM and I were like, “uhh are you sure? You might not like that once you learn how this game works…” But then I heard myself and changed course. We should let him decide if it’s good or bad. So far, he was enjoying the heck out of his character, and his character is awesome. Who doesn’t love a muscle wizard? After getting past the optimized “correct” way to play, I realized his character was the most interesting and memorable in our party. It’s especially easy to tell someone they’re playing wrong when they’re younger or less experienced. Just remember that they’re ALSO less funneled into certain ways of thinking. New players can be super refreshing 😊
@brizzyvoices
Hey. You’re really fucking good at this. I don’t know if you had YouTube channels before this or work in video production in another realm— but you bring so much personality and knowledge to a wonderfully, tediously crafted but effortless feeling video! So just, yeah, it’s great, thanks for sharing it with us. :]
@ctboone1
I think one big reason players end up focusing on character builds is because that is their version of "lonely fun." The reality is that most folks spend less time actually at the table playing than they'd like due to life, work, and other responsibilities. So, most of us spend more time engaging with the materials of the hobby in our free moments alone - but that "lonely fun" is vastly different for the GM vs. players. The GM's solo engagement with the game world covers so much more - the setting, all the NPCs, the factions, the events in the world, all the mechanics, all the PCs, etc. Their portal into the game world is expansive because they're handling/creating everything of interest behind the curtain. On the other hand, a player's main portal into the world when they're away from the table is much narrower - basically just their character. I think this is why players fall down the "build" rabbit hole - that's what they have access to engage with when they're looking for some RPG "lonely fun." This is why I prefer being a GM. Both at the table and away from the table my brain needs more to stay engaged. My lonely fun is an entire world rather than just a single character. I got back into "D&D" a few years ago through a wonderful rules-light game called Knave created by Ben Milton over on the YouTube channel Questing Beast. Having no classes was liberating because it highlighted the fun and freedom of "tactical infinity" in TTRPGs. It was more immersive as a player and a breeze to run as a GM. Because it's so lightweight it was easier to get to the table with less prep and overhead. Two thumbs up for more rules-light gaming 👍👍
@camerakid76
Who in the hell is this guy? He knows what he’s talking about; he knows how to explain things; he’s really good at editing; or has enough money to hire someone that’s really good at editing; all while being funny as all hell. Kudos! I’m right there with you and entertained as hell! Five stars, would recommend.
@riptide3340
Ya know, you’re the first “anti-optimization” person I’ve seen that didn’t just respond with some variation of, “wHaT dO yOu ThInK tHe Rp StAnDs FoR???”, and I respect that. Your insight makes a lot of the changes over time make a lot more sense. Funny thing is though, I solved the problem for my group with copious amounts of duck tape lol. All of us, including me the DM, are min-maxers. In my current campaign, everything is almost as strong as they are, and we are using the custom crafting rules from Xanathar’s. I’ve seen more creative play in this campaign than many others, just because the players have the option to use new tactics, train abilities, or build equipment in response to an area’s specific threats. Overall, this prevented the “mid campaign boredom” because it was impossible to solve the game. The main weakness of this solution is that it requires a lot of time to do right. It definitely won’t be a good solution for incredibly busy people. lol that’s it for my Ted Talk. Love the videos my guy, keep up the good work👍
@ShioriWhitefeather
"I choose TTRPGs because they can offer strengths that no other medium can emulate - and combat is not one of them." Fucking THANK YOU, JESUS CHRIST.
@mariakutsy2178
I understand your frustration! My first DM ever unintentionally saved me from builds. In 2012, when I was in 8th grade, my friend introduced to me dnd 3.5 (and partially 4e). We were exited to play together, but I had a language barrier. Everytime when they tried to explain rules to me, I was confused. So they simplified the game for me to it's maximum: I was required to tell what I want to do and roll a d20. Nothing else! I asked to be an elf druid - sure! I asked if I can turn into an animal - sure! I asked if I can do it multiple times -they said no, once a day and tried to explain the rules. I didn't understand, but I agreed. They sighed and told me that i can wildshape as many times as I can. That is when I got that spark!!! Even though I barely remember these oneshots, I remember how much FUN and CREATIVITY there was at the table CONSTANTLY!!!
@lieutenantlobster6395
guys I'm starting to feel like he doesn't want me to play however I want
@conspiracypanda1200
Once upon a time my sister built a druid to participate in a discord guild. She was very happy with her druid. People liked her druid's personality and quirky actions. Then, someone else built a druid with a similar concept but it was better optimised. Suddenly, my sister didn't care about her character's personality anymore. She was upset because she wasn't as useful (optimised) as the other druid. "I built my druid wrong," she said. "I don't want to play as them anymore. But I really liked this character. But I can't fix it or it'll look like I'm copying the other player. I can't do anything." She abandoned her druid. Recently, she's joined a proper campaign. And she built a druid. Guess which build she went with: her original build that was created with enthusiasm and now had a chance to live a new life in a new setting? Or the other player's build which was perfectly optimised for combat? :/ Her guild druid deserved better than this.
@MalloonTarka
It's funny, that grognard type of play you described, where every object is a tool, is exactly how I like to play. My current character, a Fighter/Rogue who's going to take a few levels of Bladesinger Wizard next, is made to do exactly that: Use traps, items, tactics and general ingenuity to win. I took the level of Rogue to get Expertise in Thieves' Tools (for trap-making) and Investigation (to uncover as many monster facts to exploit as possible). In a recent fight against some witches, we tried to take them by surprise, but they noticed us and got a higher initiative. So, plan B: Set their lair on fire using oil, a lantern I made sure was lit beforehand, and Action Surge. They were busy using their lair actions keeping the fire in check and had to leave the lair to fight us. But I also really enjoy Builds. My reasons are not because I want to be a power gamer, but because they help me realise my character concept WHILE still being effective. I never stick to a build, I only take its interesting ideas and use them for myself. And to that end I really appreciate Colby of D4: Deep Dive's approach of pushing the concept to its limits, because it lets me alter it while keeping a decent level of effectiveness AND gives me the most amount of tools to use. A Build, for me, is a proof of concept. Not the character I want to play.
@DungeonPastor413
I had the exact same problem. My answer was a different ruleset. Found Basic Fantasy. Everything is free in PDF download, and if you WANT a physical book it's sold at cost. Very basic and rules light. It's not for everybody, but I liked it and as a father of 3 it worked for what I needed. Hopefully, should people hit that point, they can find the solution for them.
@felipeuseche332
DMs hate builds and not for the reasons many players think. It has nothing to do with winning encounters or butthurt combats. Players tend to tunnel into it, effectively boring themselves. The first time, having your sorlock do 100 damage per spell at level 5 feels great, but doing that every single turn, every single encounter gets old really fast. In my 15 years Dming, not a single of thos characters has seen a full campaign. They are not really characters, but gimmicks.
@tdawsmp1325
As a longtime, now retired 5e DM, I feel so seen.
@googiegress
The 1975 Thief skill thing is misunderstood. It was misunderstood then, and continues to be so. Look extremely carefull at the Thief skills, and you will find that "Move Silently" does not mean "Sneak". It means moving with zero sound. Anyone can be stealthy, with varying results. Move slower, crawl even, leave your armor and shield behind, pick which terrain to sneak through, create distractions. But a Thief can just boogie through silently if he passes his check, and cats don't hear him. That's a big difference. Traps were defined in various ways. Players would roleplay searching, by tapping with a 10' pole, looking for tripwires or ominous holes in the walls, etc. These traps could be found by anybody!! So why play Thief? Because many traps are too well-hidden to be found by this kind of descriptive exploration, such as a poisoned needle hidden under a chest handle, or a gas trap accessible only via the keyhole of the door it guards. And Thieves have a higher success chance than anyone else to find the bigger, cruder ones like pit traps. So the Thief does these things better. Climb Walls is NOT just a generic climbing skill with varying difficulties based on surface roughness and slipperiness. Instead, anyone can climb a tree by hand. Anyone can climb a rough mountain surface and pound in pitons and secure themselves with ropes because they'll slip sometimes. But Thieves can Scale Sheer Surfaces. A slippery brick wall for example. Nobody else has a chance to succeed. And Thieves are better at climbing the easier surfaces so they can reliably free-climb, faster and leaving no evidence.
@lorenzogeere1956
As someone who's only getting into D&D now, this video is super helpful. Having seen the optimised builds videos, I can't say they appealed to me very much. I can't imagine playing a role-playing game and making character build choices centred on optimisation rather than what your character would want, even if it's somewhat sub-optimal. Just found your channel, and I absolutely love it, been bingeing all your videos
@Vainisto
I remember building a Creation Bard once. Their Performance of Creation feature lets you conjure a medium or smaller mundane item into existence. It's a very open-ended feature. I imagined that this would be fun because I could make almost anything I could think of! I imagined having fun solving the DM's traps with a random broom, navigating roleplay by conjuring sentimental items for NPCs. I imagined it would make combat more exciting because I could create cover. I could barricade doors. I could always have just the right tool handy. I hated it. I did none of those things. EV-ER. Because when you take the guardrails away and ANYTHING is possible, I have no idea what to do. I was never sure how to use Performance of Creation, and by the time I had thought of something, if I did at all, a safer option had already presented itself. I just retreated into the reliable, the safe, the mechanically justified: Bardic inspiration. Vicious Mockery. Song of Rest. I knew how to use those things. The open-endedness of the subclass made me like it less than any other subclass I've ever played. All this is to say, for some people, guardrails enable the fun. They let us know what's possible and help us organize the possibilities that otherwise would just overwhelm us.
@Lich___