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October Patreon Q&A Thread for Upcoming Videos (Patreon)

Published:
2021-10-01 16:00:03
Edited:
2022-02-04 16:35:49
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:
Q&A

Content

Hello patrons of Sly Flourish!

We've had wonderful success with the Patreon questions feeding into the Lazy D&D Talk Show and  D&D Tip videos! Thank you so much.

I've hit the end of the last Q&A post so I'm starting up another and will likely fire up one of these posts every month.

So bring your questions! What D&D / RPG-related question would you like to hear me talk about on the Lazy D&D Talk Show or in a future D&D tip video?

Post your questions in the comments to this post!

This has been an awesome addition to the Patreon and my videos! Thank you so much!

Comments

Lug'shugoth

2 parter. 1) is there an IP that you enjoy that doesn't have a ttrpg equivalent that you think should? 2)is there a genre or niche in the industry that you are surprised hasnt been filled?

Gábor Hegedűs

Skip navigation Sly Flourish YESTERDAY Gábor Hegedűs 8:50 AM Hail to my pal, Mike! :) Question: how are you like to mix the CR's of the monsters in some encounters? Like if i have 5 player and i want to throw a few 1/4 CR Ratfolk from the Tome of Beasts by Kobold Press (btw i love that book) and a CR 1 leader Ratfolk Rogue how many mobs is your suggestion? I know, it's depends on the situation (meaningful or not encounter etc) and easily to modify "on the fly" but i like to know your opinion, what is the most likely medium/hard/deadly "starting scene". Best regards & roll the dice; Gabe from Hungary Gábor Hegedűs PS; I forgot to mention: the party is on lvl2 atm.

Adam Busenbark

Question: What can I do at level 20 to keep the party going? My party recently finished BG:DiA and they're level 13 with no inclination to slow down. Most of us also play MMOs so I think the expectation is to hit cap and keep on going. I'm sure we're going to restart someday, but I expect they're going to want at least one major story arc at lvl 20.

Gustavo Campanelli

I'm having thoughts of using the lazy encounter creation tables and creating some subtables to flesh them out a little more. I'm thinking the subtables should be campaign or location specific. What do you think about this? too much work, perhaps, even if some entries/subtables can be re used in other locations?

swingsetpark

Since most 5e adventures go from levels 1-8 or 1-10, it seems that most DMs and players have little to no experience with games in the higher tiers. How does DM prep change when you get to Tier 3 (11-16) or Their 4 (17-20) levels of play?

swingsetpark

What would have to be true (or, what would have to change) about 5th Edition D&D to make higher levels of play (11-20) viable, manageable, and just as fun as the lower levels of play?

Luciano Nigro

I can´t remember all spells details. I usually stop to read their descriptions during gameplay. Do you study your player' spells at some point before running a game?

PhD20

The steps of the Lazy DM are great for planning what MIGHT happen in a campaign. What does your process look like for tracking what DID happen? Ex: what is canon vs what exists only in prep?

Roy Altman

I've been using the Lazy DM method for several years now in several groups and all the players and I never had more fun in RPGs before. The stories are always epic and engaging -- so thank you :). The only note I get from players (more than once) is that they sometimes feel like there is no tension, since they figured out already that no matter what they choose to do, I roll with it and apply Lazy DM techniques to make the story works. They've figured out my technique, so like deep-down they know that they can't actually make a 'wrong' decision. Of course I can amp up the combat and other encounters difficulty to challenge them more, so they won't be sure they make it out alive or in one piece -- but story-wise, how can I make sure they retain the feeling they might be wrong? I hope I'm making myself clear. Sorry for the long question ;)

The Anti-Tourist Trap

How would you use the 8 steps for a megadungeon? For example, while running Dungeon of the Mad Mage, there was no way for me to remember what happens in each room. But since such dungeons allow PCs to explore down any ol' passage, I felt I needed to know everything, at least on that level. What might be the lazy way to prep for these kinds of dungeons?

kaemon bonet

I really like puzzle fights, but I'm lazy.... Any resources where I can steal almost everything I need or a big list of different ones?

Roy Altman

I'm answering my own question but how about also preparing a list of "Negative clues" or "Detriments" and then you can oscillate between them with each encounter. Or something like that.

DM

Hi, Michael. I'm directing some newbie groups and I'm having trouble finding situations for them to shine with their tool proficiencies. Also, themselves, as players, tend to strictly focus in their spells or abilities to try solving stuff, paying too little attention to their bags and tools.

MonsterVTpilot

What is your ratio of prepare time vs. play time for your games personally? For every hour of play do you think we spend 3 hours of prepare? etc... What do you think is a normal ratio.

Jayme Antrim

Hello, Mike! Recently you've talked about wanting to run a more lighthearted campaign for a change. Do you have any tips for making a D&D adventure feel more lighthearted? How does one run a campaign without the fate of the world on the line? Thank you!

Avery Chapman

Hello! Do you have any advice on running/preparing published adventure dungeons? How do you manage to keep all the information in your head as you run while also paying attention to players? Are there any Lazy Steps of Dungeon prep?

Urbanbusta

What do you think of changing up the Copper>Silver>Gold>Platinum for coins in the game? I did it with my players by discussing it in the session zero rules changes by making it silver>platinum at 100 instead of the 10 base. I did that and haven't looked back since.

Avery Chapman

Do you have any advice on lazy character creation for players?

Steven Whitton

Hi Mike, do you have any advice on running downtime in a long running adventure? I find it hard to decide when downtime starts and when to end. It feels very "gamey" in a normally pretty narrative game.

gerni

Hi Mike, could you talk a bit about what your in-person-games setup at the table looks like? Do you use a DM screen? A physical notebook? Electronic devices? A dry-erase mat? Do you use miniatures? If so - do you move them around or your players? Are you rolling dice openly?

Alex Gombach

I find the idea of secrets so powerful because it got me away from trying to railroad lore into the game. Can you maybe give some examples of how and when you

Matt Roy

What types of encounters work best for a session 1?

Against the '70s

(No question, but it relates it to the Lazy D&D Talk Show.) When I was a little kid in the early 80s, I was lucky to have an Atari 2600, and even luckier to have a subscription to Atari Age, the magazine. The magazine came out either once every two months or quarterly, I can’t remember. But I do recall that, even though I didn’t pay attention to calendars, I could always tell when it was about time for the next issue to show up. So every day, I would dutifully the check the mailbox to see if it arrived. I would sometimes even go outside and walk down my street to see if the mail truck was on the neighborhood. It wouldn’t come that day, so I would check the next day. Each day was a bust, but the anticipation would grow each time, because I knew it was coming soon. And then, finally, it arrived and I was the happiest kid on my block. The point of this anecdote is that, at 50 years old, I don’t experience that kind of anticipation and rush of pleasure anymore, not for movies, not for music, not for anything, generally. Except the Lazy D&D Talk Show. When a new episode shows up on my YouTube subscription page on Monday, I feel like that kid again. Not just because of the anticipation and pleasure, but also because the Talk Show, for me, feels less like a talk show, and less like a podcast, than a magazine, with 7-8 articles a week, that just happen to be read aloud by the author. And even better, I’ve one-upped my old self because I know exactly when the show is going to appear! So, Mike, thank you again for making the Lazy D&D Talk Show each week. It’s a fantastic resource and just an absolute delight to listen to.

Michael Shea

Hmm. Good question. I’ll have to think about it.

Michael Shea

I find dungeons much easier to run than other types of adventures. Good topic for the talk show!

Michael Shea

Never gave it much thought. I love giving away electrum just to dick with players.

Michael Shea

Oops! Looks like you got cut off. What did you want to know about secrets?

Michael Shea

That is so nice to hear. Doing the talk show is a big highlight of my week too. I love it and I’m so glad others like it too. Thank you!

Michael Shea

Hmm. Hard question. I’m not big into IP-focused RPGs. I like my own dedicated RPG worlds generally. On your second question, if I knew what it was, I’d probably be diving into it. Both are questions I need to think more about before I have good answers.

Michael Shea

Hi my pal Gábor! I follow my guidelines for building encounters outlined in this article: https://slyflourish.com/the_lazy_encounter_benchmark.html it works with different numbers of monsters at different CRs really well so you have a rough gauge of potential deadliness. Obviously more monsters are harder than fewer. Start by asking what makes sense in the world first and then take a look and see if it’s deadly. An encounter may be deadly if the sum total of monster challenge ratings is greater than one quarter of the sum total of character levels or one half if they’re above 4th level. Tune to suit.

Michael Shea

Wow! You’re one of the very few who have gotten that high! I know the DMG has suggestions for going above 20th level through boons and the like. There are also some excellent 3rd party supplements that take things to a higher level. Take a look at the books by 2C Gaming. Their lead developer, Ryan, is a friend of mine.

Michael Shea

I think it can work well. Take a look at my frozen north encounters in the Adventure Generators. That’s a customized list just for Frostmaiden. That said, for your own game, you probably don’t want to spend too much time developing it since a lot of it may not get used.

Michael Shea

Good question. I don’t know. I debate the topic often in the Sly Flourish Discord server. There’s a chicken and egg problem but I’m convinced it’s the chicken. I don’t think its a lack of support from WOTC holding things back. I think most groups just don’t get that high. 13th Age and Shadow of the Demon Lord both focus on games that cap at 10th level which may be one way to do it. I used to be very interested in high level play for D&D but now I don’t worry about it too much. Good topic for the talk show.

Michael Shea

Good question for the talk show. I think there are high-use spells whose details I remember pretty well. I know what banishment, fireball, lightning bolt, healing word, and the like do

Mat A

Question: With many products I have a tendency only trust the products the main company makes. But obviously WotC’s adventures haven’t been great. Without knowing all the different authors on DMguild or other locations, how does one learn which 3rd party products are worth looking at?

Alex Gombach

Ah! Oops I meant to say it would be cool to see examples of how and when you worked in secrets into gameplay. This secrets idea is perhaps the most revolutionary idea for me because it addresses how to work in lore and plot without forcing it on players. It’s changed how I run games.

Michael Shea

Good topic for the talk show but you may not like my answer! I'm not much of a puzzle guy =\

Michael Shea

Good question for the talk show. I think it generally plays out the same regardless of the environment.

Michael Shea

I'm pretty terrible at this. Good topic for the talk show!

Michael Shea

Can you talk more about which lazy encounter creation tables you're talking about?

Jordan Thompson

I'm running Blades in the Dark for the first time (and might have the chance to run Numenera soon) and I've been tweaking the eight steps from Return of the Lazy DM to work with the new system(s). I'm curious how you change your approach to game prep when working with non-D&D systems.

John Bryant

You mentioned independent creators having other avenues outside of DMsGuild in a previous show. Could you elaborate more on what those are or how you might suggest someone start publishing their own stuff?

Luciano Nigro

Thanks. I hope I can know the answer during a talk show!

Chris Bagg

Hey Mike! The chase rules in 5E aren't the best, and they tend to lead to clunky and boring scenes rather than, you know, the fun action of a chase scene. Have you changed how you run chases, and if so, what is your method to keep the action quick, fun, and player-focused? Thank you!

Cleric Ken

If you want quick character building for new players, then I say use standard array, start at level 1, and use Tasha's rules for adding racial bonuses to stats of choice. As far as background, ask the player what they picture their character doing before the adventure starts. Then pick one of the existing backgrounds that most closely resembles that. Also, using dndbeyond to create characters is much easier for new players than trying to use the books.

Cleric Ken

I too struggle with downtime. I create a sense of urgency and often have multiple fronts (villains). The characters feel like if they take time off, then one of the villains might advance their plans. I know I need to do a better job of limiting that, so that players have a chance to pursue individual goals with downtime.

Cleric Ken

Greetings Mike! Thanks for answering one of my questions about lore continuity in the realms in a previous show. Here is a new question: In your opinion, if running milestone leveling, is there a right number of sessions after which the characters should increase in level? My sessions are usually shorter, with one game having 2 to 2.5 hour sessions and the other usually 3 hours. Both groups are fairly RP heavy, so it sometimes takes them longer to get through content.

Cleric Ken

Chris, I have used skill challenges to run chases. I roll initiative, and each player chooses a skill to try to gain ground in the chase, whether they are the chasers or the chasees (is that a word?). I try to think of some skills the players might use ahead of time (such as acrobatics to parkour on rooftops, athletics to push through a crowd, or intimidation to make the crowds move out of the way). But I am also surprised at how players find other creative uses. You decide how many successful checks are needed before three failures, and you decide the DC of the check based on the feasibility. That intimidation check might be a 10 if there's only commoners around, but it might be a 15 if there are nobles or merchants in the crowd who don't take kindly to being given orders. Rolling athletics to row harder in a river chase might be easier, but trying to do acrobatics to jump to another boat might be much harder. Also, I have run chases in which each party member gets one check, and if they fail, they arrive one round later to the combat at the end. That makes it so there usually isn't complete failure, but there is still penalty for failing checks.

Jayme Antrim

Hello, Mike! When coming up with a campaign's Six Truths, what sort of facts should I look for? Judging by the examples in Return of the Lazy DM, it looks like "Facts about Locations" should be high on that list. But I'd love to hear more about what methods or advice you have for deciding which traits make for the best Campaign Truths.

Andrew Howard

Mike, I'm getting ready to run Dragon of Icespire Peak as a one-on-one game with my 10 year old son. I have run plenty of campaigns but this is my first solo adventure so I am grateful for all of the one-on-one and Dragon of Icespire Peak content you have created. I was particularly interested in the articles you wrote on balancing combat in a one-on-one campaign. My son really wants to play a bard. Since this is his first game I want to encourage him to build the character he wants. But I am nervous that his character will have a tough time in combat. I was wondering if you have any additional advice for running combat for character(s) that are not combat focused.

Michael Shea

That sounds so wonderful! I’d recommend a sidekick big brute champion fighter or barbarian just like Fafherd and the Gray Mouser. You roleplay the sidekick but your son gets to decide what they do in combat.

Peter S.

Roleplay pillar! I believe the lazy DM way covers well the other pillars, the tips helped me already with these. Roleplay pillar is hard, for example I am focusing on the negotiation side of it: any tips for keep the action and tension high even during a negotiation, please? How to avoid going into circles and spend too long for this pillar, while giving the chance to the players who want to play into it to have fun?

John Bryant

Having run 1-on-1 for a bard player, I second having a sidekick. My player swapped between a fighter and paladin companion, which really helped provide that front-line defense for the bard to focus on spells and support.

Tim Smyth

I love adapting published adventures from other game systems and genres to D&D (meaning an adventure written for Sci-Fi that I translate into D&D's High Fantasy and play in 5E). I have run a Star Wars campaign this way, a Cyberpunk game in Sharn, etc. Do you have any thoughts or best practices in running different genres/themes in D&D to make them capture the gritty noir of Eberron, or the epic science fantasy of Star Wars to make each campaign feel different?

Bill Kehrman

Does underwater combat (or any alternate environment) affect the deadly encounter calculation? Most of the characters in my current campaign do not have swim speeds, therefore they will be at disadvantage in combat. Wouldn't that make the threat more deadly?

Gábor Hegedűs

Hey my pal, Mike! I heard the last talkshow about "you cant trust in a company" and i think you are right. The WoTC hold the release of the fully transalated/edited hungarian language PHB since a year, bc they business issues with the Gale Force 9...it's very disappointing to our DnD fan base. They didnt answer the hungarian publisher's calls or emails, so when the official Dungeons & Dragons Facebook page show the release of the German, French, Italian, and Spanish verson we got feel ourself awefull (thats are major markets ofc than our little country) and we comment a lot of #releasetheHungarianPHB stuff to that post. I know, brake down the language barrier could make our hungarian DnD community better, the last (and the first) released edition was the 3nd loooong years before...I dont know honestly why i wrote this, perhaps bc i think you have the same passion for the D&D like many of us in our country. Thanks for you time and keep fight the good fight - like us; your pal, Gabe PS: #releasetheHungarianPHB

Michael Shea

Hey my pal Gábor! I'm sorry to hear it! That sucks. If I ever get a chance to talk to one of them again, I'll plant a big #releasetheHungarianPHB on them! I want everyone to play D&D!

Michael Shea

Good question! I don't think I really have much of an answer though. I'll have to ponder this one.

Michael Shea

The benchmark is really a loose guide at best so it doesn't take into account things like fighting underwater. You have to consider such environments to see if the benchmark is off. Good question for the show!

Chris Bagg

Thank you! Looking forward to it.

Gábor Hegedűs

Thanks for your moral support, it's means a lot for many of us! (BC you have some hungarian fans, pal 🙂)

Kevin Brown

Hi Mike. Thanks for answering my last question on NPCs! Not sure exactly how to phrase this as a question so maybe I have kind of a philosophical/ overall approach question. We all want to improve, but is there a point where watching, reading and online chatting just becomes counterproductive? Is there just too much advice — even good advice — to keep track of? I think one of the Lazy DM’s strengths is it’s relative simplicity. Can you offer any advice on how to sift through all the good stuff out there and identify a few good things to actually do? I fear there’s a risk becoming the DM equivalent of those people who obsess about fine tuning their elaborate todo lists instead of, you know, doing stuff. Your recent “pick three things” video kind brought this into focus for me. It was simple, actionable and clear. I’d love to be able to have a list of 10 or so tips like this I could keep coming back to.

Michael Shea

Great question! Maybe a short video or maybe on the talk show. Great stuff.

The Anti-Tourist Trap

If I could just say, the stuff on reskinning in Return of the Lazy DM was probably one of the most important pieces of advice I read about « lazy DMing. » I suggest looking at that chapter if you have the book.

Michael Shea

Yeah! Reskinning is one of the most powerful tools in a lazy DM's toolbox.

Tim Smyth

Yup! That's exactly what I do (and one of my favorite ways to use a rad adventure in a system I don't care for as much), but in an effort to continuously improve I wondered if you had any thoughts on reskinning on such an epic scale. No worries if it's just not something you do much (I know you seem to run mostly the official D&D settings and adventures). Thanks to you and Christopher Wilson both!

Rangdo

Hi Mike, I don't have an issue running scenarios vs antagonists with motivations and intelligence, but do you have any tips for designing and running ones that feature natural hazards or disasters, like earthquakes, storms, floods or fires? Any system.

Rangdo

I've found using your Secrets & Clues with Notion very helpful in organising my thoughts for a session. But what do you use to keep track of longer term developments like Fronts?

Broccoli

Hey Mike, how would you deal with a TPK in the final battle / boss fight of a campaign?

Joe Clarke

What books would you recommend on the subject of dungeon mastering. You mention "Your Best Game Ever" a lot, but I'm wondering what else I could read up on.

Joe Clarke

An absolute gentleman. Thank you

Peter Cuijpers

Hi Mike, me and my friends planned a RPG-weekend. Rented a house in the woods, fireplace, whiskey and probably a lot of bad humor :). Also: many hours of d&d. We’re in a long running campaign where we started with Dragon Heist and are now in a story that links Waterdeep with mind flayers in lower levels of DOTMM. So my question is: do you have any tips to prepare for this ‘marathon’? Should I prepare more or maybe less than for a regular evening session? Thanks!

Rangdo

I'm currently using it to run a L5R sandbox and, other than omitting Monsters and Loot, I pretty much run it as-is. It's an incredibly powerful structure.

Michael Shea

Hi Peter! I'd suggest trying to find a way to break the big adventure into big parts and then doing prep for each part as though it were like four sessions. Maybe, during the marathon, take an hour break or whatever and work on the next section based on what you have. Even if you just update some secrets between sessions that may help. Good luck!!

Michael Shea

If I think its going to be a TPK, I try to think about what might happen in the campaign after that. Maybe it's not the end o the campaign but a new arc in the chapter. What if Orcus wins? What if the second weapon of the Mourning is created or released? Basically, what happens if the characters lose? How can the story continue? Do the character wake up a year later dug out of a charnel pit and resurrected by a secret cult who wants them back? It's a fun exercise. Basically, always have a potential contingency plan should that happen. Good question!

Michael Shea

Good question! I usually set up a separate page in the notebook just for the fronts or I include them in my NPC block and update notes there.

Michael Shea

Sure! I think they can act a lot like a villain. They have destinations (goals) and they have paths they're taking (like quests). You can still have three steps. They might still be thwarted but come in from another angle. Think of them like an NPC where their desires are their natural paths.

Michael Shea

HI Peter! Thinking about it, I think the best way is to get in the shoes of the NPC. Think like they think. React like they would react. But don't tie everything up in one bad roll or one statement the characters make. Be flexible. Think about failing forward. Give some room for the characters to fail a few times before things get shut down. Hope that helps!

Alex Gombach

Nice! Thanks! Btw your write up on Isle of The Abbey was super helpful!

Joshua Brown-Clay

Hey Mike! It’s been a while since you’ve done one of your Kickstarter spotlights. There’s the big Level Up kickstarter, as well as the pretty maps from Atlas one. That’s in addition to the big WotC drop this month. Are you going to invest in any of those?

Michael Shea

Hi Joshua! I'm definitely going to talk about Fizban's. I'll add LevelUp 5e to the list. I think I talked about them in a previous episode but I can't find it. Thanks for the suggestions!

Matt Anderson

Q for your talkshow or short video: What motivational advice would you give a DM five minutes before their game starts? What's your pep talk?

Michael Shea

This is a great question. I can't help but start writing about it right now. Thank you!

Joshua Brown-Clay

I had a look, too; I don't think you mentioned it. There's too much great stuff, both first- and third-party, coming out all the time. More than I have time or money to consume! I only (re)got into the hobby recently, so I don't have some of the core books, like Xanthar's. But maybe Level Up could replace that? But then I'd have to make my player's repurchase their players guide? Ah, the logistics!

Michael Shea

It sounds like it might but I'd probably stick to the existing core books if I had nothing at all.

Joe Morris

Hi Mike, I love your relics concept and generators, but I’ve found that my players tend to hoard one-use magic items like non-healing potions and relics “just in case”, or they acquire so many that they get tossed in the bag of holding never to be thought of again. Do you have any advice for incentivizing the party to actually use them? It seems like you give out at least one per week; do you find your players usually use most of them?

Joe Morris

Hi Mike, I’ve run a 5 year campaign but only a couple one-shot adventures. What do you recommend in terms of getting the party to show up as a team instead of a random bunch of individuals who happen to be in the same place? Does that even matter for a one-shot? I know for campaigns it’s pretty important and that’s what session zero is for; is there a condensed version for one-shots, or should I just not worry about it? I found this article but it was pretty 4e-focused. 😄 https://slyflourish.com/tips_for_running_oneshot_games.html

Michael Shea

Good question! I'll talk about it in a show but the short answer is connecting the characters to a single patron up front so they already have the relationships wired together.

Joe Morris

Hi again Mike, my question is: How great is it that with the new Ruby Weave Gem from Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons, any spellcaster with access to a 6th level spell slot can cast Heroes’ Feast every day with no need for a gem-encrusted bowl? 😄🙃 (sorry, couldn’t resist) https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/ruby-weave-gem

Michael Shea

well there's something not to give out. I'll probably just house rule heroes feast anyway.

Chris Shaw

long time fan first time caller. Sunday is Halloween, in keeping with that theme I would like to ask a question about fear. Q: A risk can be a scary thing and running a Kickstart comes with a certain amount of risk. Has their been any moments, especially when you first started, that made you want to run for the hills? If so how were you able to overcome?

Michael Shea

Hi Chris! An interesting question but probably not one for the show. I'd rather focus on D&D topics. I've actually been pretty conservative with each Kickstarter, making sure I've built on what I've done last. This most recent Kickstarter was maybe the most risky because of the whole printing at an offset printer instead of print-on-demand which is what I was used to but I've been dealing with print numbers high enough that I should have done it a few years ago. That said, I was conservative with the REST of the Kickstarter; no stretch goals and a fixed volume length and all of that. I'm probably more risk adverse than I should be but it means I'm not going to drop the ball on a lot of customers. Hope that answers your question! I have a video on how the sausage gets made that might be interesting to watch! https://youtu.be/sOgJiqr5-rg

Chris Shaw

Mike, The PHB, DMG and MM are the core books. We also have settings books, and adventure books. Then we have books like Tasha's, Xanathar's, Volo, Mordenkaunen, and now Fizban's. Question: Of these last group of five which do you see having the biggest impact on the game?

Robert Scumaci

Is this thread still active for the Talk Show is is there one for November?

Michael Shea

Hi Robert! Nope! We've moved over to the November thread in a more recent post. I'll grab Chris's comment above though.