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It’s probably time for a new thread, and again this is all related to combat. In the gelatinous cube case the rest of the party is assumed to immediately leap to the aid of their compatriot and start attacking the cube. All I’m saying is just because something looks like combat doesn’t always...

Except that ability comes into play during combat, and knocking someone out is completely unrelated to assassination? IMHO, this is where assuming the combat rules are always in effect overly constrains the game (and wreck improvisation, as you noted). Combat rules apply when a reasonably...

Only if you decide that it’s a combat. I would instead adjudicate the players declared action and if I deemed it had a chance of failure, the consequence would be rolling initiative. For me initiative is rolled when the fighting starts. Knocking someone unconscious is not necessarily starting a...

This seems overly cynical? The group existed before the stream. They were recruited to play live by G&S. Much to their surprise they quickly became a sensation, despite the quite poor quality of the early episodes. The revenue generated actually goes to paying for the facilities and crew and...

It’s also called pacing :)

I think what elevates CR is that the players actually want to entertain each other. In other words the primary audience is there in the room, yes they’re aware of the secondary audience, but it’s not dominant. Also you must have heard the late night comedians lamenting the lack of live...

I do think this is one of Matt’s great talents. He is always offering juicy hooks to the players.

That should be what they’re for, but LMoP fails miserably at least (and not heard glowing reports of the other one). The first encounter in LMoP, for example, is very challenging for a new DM and it makes no sense, making it hard to run narratively and mechanically.

She’s noted that numbers and math are not her thing, and I think that is exacerbated by having to do it on camera. I also think she’s one who has the more vivid imagination of the scene so the hard bump back to mechanics might be especially disruptive to her train of thought.

There is no mechanical connection, so no, I don’t find it useful.

Ha, I should have said I learned what not to do. For example: don't have a major NPC whose motivation is poor or entirely absent. Too many WotC adventures have two-dimensional baddies that DMs then have to motivate without really grokking what makes them tick. And I'm tired of navigating badly...

The great thing about the YouTube feed is there's a person who posts timestamps for the show and you can just jump into the actual beginning. But yeah, the merch stuff is wearing a bit.

This has been a painful lesson that I eventually learned and now feel quite liberated. Published adventures, IMHO, should be stripped for parts but never actually run. And, sadly, there's little to learn about adventure design from them either.

I see it as both a blessing and a curse. The streaming shows illustrate how the game should flow (in the best cases) and what the give and take between the players and the GM should look like. But you're right that, if your players have been exposed to the better shows, their expectations could...

This seems like a good way to get rid of the remaining GMs! :)

IMO, they’re the characters limit to performing those actions without an ability check. Want to push your limit? You’re going to need to make a check and risk exhaustion or injury (lose a hit dice or something).

And they are acutely aware that everything they do is being watched closely and every decision will be endlessly critiqued! I wonder how well any of us would perform under that kind of intense spotlight?! The entire group obviously have very vivid imaginations and are each living out the story...

I’ve been relistening to campaign 1 and you’re right, Grog is the star and Travis’s comedic chops are inspired!

The key is to listen, not watch. Then you can do other things. For me, as I work from home alone, it’s a nice thing to look forward to as light entertainment instead of only listening to music.

Absolutely, and why WotC‘s endless noodling around Faerûn is so uninspiring. There’s a whole world to explore (apparently) and they’re content with the Sword Coast and environs. (Random M:tG and Ravenloft one-offs notwithstanding :) )