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Cancelled! (Extended) (Patreon)

Published:
2024-04-05 01:22:18
Imported:
2026-06
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Videos

Content

Not about what you think. Actually serious TTRPG content--some of my best. And what may be the best Deathbringer outro ever. Enjoy.

Files

Previews only

Cancelled!

Comments

Bagel-Man

Excited to watch Professor!

samurguybri

Gonna watch this when I get home. Keep it up!

Brian Peters

I don’t think you are unreasonable at all. I am very much a guy who lives by schedule. Even on vacation. I like to plan it out to have maximum fun and get the most out of the time I get. I agree with you get one mulligan, after that no thanks. Especially for adults.

Stefan

You can tell players that cancel that their PC is going to be wearing a red shirt at the onset of the next session ;)

Elvis Ramone

Really relived that this took a quick turn to the better, or rather advice on how to handle the bad.

Scott

Good advice as usual!

Grendel

You are right on Professor! If a player can’t keep to the schedule and respect me and the other players, then they are no good for the game. I am not going to chase after players either. I’ve only ever chased after one person in my life, and I married her. No player comes close to that.

SJBehindtheScreen

It's tough, but my long-time group has established the norm: if 2p show, game is ON. Absent player's PC might get played by someone else, die, get resurrected as a robot (yeah, that happened), or be ignored, including XP awards. Every table and game is different, but I think PDM's position is absolutely fine. Love the outro!

Drago Russo

Great Deathbringer outro for sure. I love the screaming in the background. Well done. Again.

Bryan Stephens

Never had a player ghost. Ghosting someone for any reason is horrible.

John Doe

Great advice here. D&D is just like any other relationship: it only works if it's a two-way street. Both sides have to commit, then honor that commitment.

Jason Hunt

That is one of my big pet peeves with Gaming. Make the effort. Meet the effort of the others at the Table. It's not hard to figure out after a few sessions who is just goofing around and who is dedicated. If you can't manage to simply show up when needed, find another group. It's not a large commitment to just show up for 4 hours, 6 hours. Once per week. If your life cannot withstand a 4-6 hour Block of time being set aside then you have other things than gaming to be doing so don't drag an entire group for it.

Chris Baker

I appreciate the British spelling of cancelled. Thank you for keeping civilization afloat.

Bryan Stephens
>>134323444

Our youngest is 40, so different mindset. Now, we have had family aggro from time to time, but that usually comes with a day or so warning.

Peter Ferguson

I made it into a video!!! Awesome stuff yet again PDM!

Vlad Antipin

I'm not advocating for anything, just want to point out that if someone is behind on level-up - they have less motivation to continue the play. Given that the prime core of the game are combat encounters where the fun is everyone has the option to contribute equally. That might be the reason DnD levels up everyone equally. But business wants to make everyone play their game and it can be more about business needs not gamers needs.

Ron F.

Great community advice and great advice from you as always. Right now things are well for me in this arena. I have two groups: Friday night online with 2 players, and in-person alternating Thursdays for the parents of a Scout troop. The first group plays at a time when our kids are in bed, and the other group has to come to the game store anyway so they're a captive audience. Not so captive now because people are making it a priority to stay and play. When they're not there I know it's legit. AND, they communicate anyway like adults. I'm loving it.

steven bray

My current rule is, if 2 players show up, we're gaming. If you don't show up, you get nothing. My players love gaming and will only cancel at the last minute if they can't function. I used to run things differently, I used to try to work out narrative reasons why they were absent, give them bits of their own side story and xp. But it was a lot of work for little gain. I no longer waste creative energy on explaining why characters aren't present or why they suddenly show up. I'd rather play the game then come up with explanations on why characters of absent players aren't there.

Lee Dunning

I completely understand where you are coming from, Professor. I'm a planner; highly detail-oriented, and do not do well just winging it. When I participated in speech competitions in high school, I did very well in After Dinner Speaking and Humorous Interpretation, but I stunk at Impromptu and Improvisation. I also don't feel a player's character should gain XP if they are a no-show. They didn't contribute either game-wise or socially. That sounds like the modern-day gaming version of not failing anyone at anything for fear of hurting their feelings. It's a participation award that doesn't even require participation. One of the things I enjoy about Fantasy Hero is that you gain points not levels. You put your points into building new abilities. Not only does it give players goals beyond just reaching a level where they can get a preset (and often boring) spell, it also involves them in constructing a unique skill.

Anthony Johnston

Glorious extended episode as usual PDM. SO glad I became a patron recently. Especially loved Deathbringer's Gentleman wisdom at the end. Instant classic.

James C
>>134346776

You do make a good point but it is possible that the player was unmotivated from the start. If a player misses games and makes excuses all the time, they may consider TTRPGs as a casual pastime. That’s perfectly fine but it does hurt the players who do want to take it more seriously. In the end, people just need to be honest with each other and express their ultimate goal for the table. It saves headaches later. People don’t need to try to please everyone all the time. If you do, you end up pleasing no one.

James C

PDM speaks wisdom that comes from age and wisdom. As we get older, we learn that time is the most precious commodity. We are constantly losing it and it never replenishes. Common courtesy should value everyone’s personal time. Just because you don’t value game time as much as the next guy, that doesn’t mean how you use your time is better. Even worse, you impose what you perceive as more valuable to another. Thanks again for a good video.

Jay
>>134319327

I'm sure if they show up they will be wearing their brown pants too.

Drago Russo
>>134322599

Also, on a side note, do you know of anyone streaming a Deathbringer adventure? I could be interested in running/streaming that. If you have any thoughts please DM me. Thanks and take care.

Jay

This video completely coincides with one of my posts on the "Less Exposition, More Demolition" Dungeon Craft video. It is important to be courteous to your Host or Hosts as well as the other players at the table. Complaining about the way a GM runs is game in the middle of a session slows things down and breaks immersion. Yet, not showing up when others are counting on you is just as bad and should also be admonished from the get-go. This also goes for last minute cancellations by the GM. Extenuating circumstances or emergencies already mentioned, of course, might be set aside or considered exempt.

Jay
>>134357975

@Lee Dunning, I completely agree as I am also a detail-oriented planner as my profession demands it. Also, why it was important is that I have a backup plan for the no show players. Impromptu is something I can handle but I also understand why not everyone has a knack for it. I can’t do that in every situation but can with a TTRPG. Being was forced to learn to wing it more than once which was the catalyst for having a plan for those who did show up. If I ran the session as planned, those who failed to show up did not receive an loot or XP which I agree with you 100% on. A side note, I’m very interested in this Fantasy Hero game you’ve mentioned. My biggest complaint about games with ever increasing levels is the scalability problem. Hit points being the main concern. I’ve found a few games like Savage worlds where this isn’t as much of an issue as everyone gets 3 wounds and they are out. The character skills increase a bit, but it isn’t a problem to drop brand new character in with seasoned ones at all. The hit points don’t make sense to me either. You can lose all but 1 HP and don’t suffer any penalties to actions or combat even when the GM describes the grievous wounds the character has supposedly received. Yet I digress. I’m excited to check out the Fantasy Hero game you mentioned where you can “put your points into building new abilities. Not only does it give players goals beyond just reaching a level where they can get a preset (and often boring) spell, it also involves them in constructing a unique skill.” Thanks for the tip. Sounds like my kind of game.

Firstspear

Great advice. Stick to your word, commitments, and be reliable. It goes beyond TTRPG. One thing that I still cannot understand, is the behaviour of people who are in a conversation with someone yet look/interact with their phones while people are engaging them. Sure, there are some instances where it may make sense (e.g. looking up something relevant to the interaction). But I don't agree with the multi-tasking that often occurs. Be engaged. Be present. Be an active listener.

Jay
>>134357975

Are your referring to Fantasy Hero 6th Edition on DriveThru RPG by Hero Games? Just wanna make sure I'm looking at the right game.

MrGunn

Dear PDM: A gentleman's word is his bond. Great video, excellent advice, neat click-bait title. One tip I came up with was creating an Agenda, we will arrive at 1700, we will start at 1730 we will take a break from 1845 to 1900 etc etc. Helped to keep myself and the group focused. Another is to do anonymous surveys. People will often tell you what they think and what they want if you ask them. Keep up the fine work Professor! Best, MrGunn

Lee Dunning
>>134357975

So, the base system is encompassed in: HERO System 6th Edition Bundle: Character Creation/Combat and Adventuring (ugly blue cover with yellow text and flat-image dude), and then: Fantasy Hero 6th Edition (nice art of folks fighting a dragon) provides options that are specifically tailored toward a fantasy campaign. If you like the system, they also have a supplement to help you run super hero campaigns.

Bark Madly

A D&D group is more like a social club than just a random episode of "Hey, I'm bored wanna play a board game?" A Social Club takes commitment and attendance. Totally agree with you, PDM.

Evil Chad

This may be the best, Roll-playing advice video ever. If there has ever been a person who was just born to do this.. " it is PDM". Thanks yet again.

Jay
>>134357975

So, I'm reading some of the pdf's and whoa! That's a lot of pages. Still, I'm sure there is some good stuff in here. Gonna take some time. The Fantasy Hero 6th Edition book is a daunting 482 pages and still need a look at the Character Creation/Combat and Adventuring pdf's. Yet so far, I find it somewhat complex never-the-less very inspirational as well as useful. If the system seems too slow due to the mechanics in play test, I can still use the concepts from many of the chapters to home brew. This is still a win! Thanks again.

Lee Dunning
>>134357975

You are right, it's pretty granular. And not a fast system. But I love it none-the-less. Enjoy.

Daniel Defazio
>>134347823

THANK YOU for running for the Scouts. We need kind people to be RPG ambassadors for the younger generation.

Terra Jones

So funny enough, I ended that game. But now I have the opposite problem because the new game I launched which is Vampire the masquerade, has too many players and I don't have enough chairs. For the most part I think the players just wanted to play vampire the masquerade. I think that's what the root of the problem was. I had told them several months ago that when this game ended, I would be running vampire, a game they had been asking me to run for years

Daniel Defazio
>>134505595

I guess I'll have to make another video. What's the clickbait angle? "I'm More Popular Than. Matt Mercer"?

Kyle (saint)

Lots of good advice in comments. I run a game with 9 players. I can count on my one hand the number of times all 9 showed up. So from that we usually end up with around 5-6 on average.

Ben Waters

The first game I ever joined as a player had one of the players always cancelling on the day of the game. The GM was real friends with the player though so he always let it slide. It really made me not like the game. Keeping players like that kills the fun for everyone. The big lesson I took from that game was to be willing to quit games that aren't fun ASAP.

jnlsn family

Really good stuff PDM. One tool in my kit is that everybody in my group runs games. There is no better way for us to understand each other than when we have to occupy each other's roles.

Frederic Schmitt

My grandfather once said: "Ich akzeptiere keinen Krankenschein! Ich kenne nur den Totenschein!!" ~Greetings from Germany. If at least one player shows up, we have a game.

Moot Dundle

Flaky friends are not friends. Get rid of them. Play with those that show up.

Joshua Slavin

On principle I agree whole heartedly with this. Though I will admit I don’t make every session with our group. I’m a tax professional, and bookkeeper. Before I joined the group I let them and the DM know that during the 3.5 months of January to April 15th I will not be able to attend regularly (despite how much I would like to be there). This is a known thing and I work with the DM to find a narrative appropriate reason my main character can’t be with the party (Gandalf gotta do research etc.). Then if by some quirk of fate I can attend I’m perfectly happy to not have the spotlight; to play a different short term character/npc in a supporting role for the regular party members. My main pc doesn’t get xp, and the hireling I do play doesn’t last, and that’s ok. The main is a few levels behind the group and I accept that. I also do not assume that they count me in for the snacks and dinner plans and take care of that for myself, bringing something to share when I arrive. I’m aware my extreme workload during tax season is mine. But I try to make it so they are glad to see me when I attend; not disappointed because I flaked.

MrGunn
>>134505595

@Terra Jones My Masquerade game ended abruptly when I opened the curtains that one time... LOL

MrGunn
>>134774345

@Joshua Slavin Thanks for sharing your experience, seems to reinforce that good communication and flexibility is key.