Matthew Mercer: Lessons in being a Good Dungeon Master

[XPtoLevel]

A few mistakes made it through in the final edit, the ending isn't supposed to have that 10 second delay for darkness, and some text and images pop up outta nowhere with no context. Sorry about that folks!

[AmGroot]

The ending makes it sound like Matt is no longer with us. Rest assured that he is alive, well, and playing D&D

[renthecrow]

Players: *does absolutely any action*
Matt: *describing intensifies*

[squared]

Player: Sneezes
Matt: As you feel a tickle in your nose, a sudden urge to release air through your mouth emerges. Your eyes close as you blast a deafening puff of out from your mouth and the tickling sensation is gone.
Player: bruh I just have allergies

[guyperson]

“A book sized tome”


Yes Matt, indeed

[BiggySnpr]

I've heard Matt say he is by no means a master of the rules. He gets stuff wrong all the time, but with 20 years of experience and bluffing, he can get by without getting caught by the cast.

[lammergeier]

Plot twist: Matt voiced this whole video

[lordskufberry]

Once when I was dming a game I wanted the characters really hate the villain so I made an npc called captain redbeard and he was a sweet goofy badass, and then I had the BBEG kill captain redbeard and my players where so pissed as they had to watch his heart being ripped out and his body burned while not being able to do anything

[naturalone]

Keep in mind, trying to imitate Matt will not work well for you at all. Instead, borrow some of his technique and find your own stride, and begin developing your own personal style of DMing. It may take days, months, or even years, but there's hope.

[raylordofkhalah]

"he is too focused on entertainment!" the people cry out.
a simple response rings out, "D&D IS ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT!"

[emilyaw]

"How does he do those voices and descriptions?"
I mean, he's literally a voice actor...

[KouriRyu]

He's special because he's passionate. He goes above and beyond what the average is. He's a showman and he's charismatic as fuck. His goal is to make other people happy.

[sarahf]

I like other DMs that once an enemy is defeated, he tells them to "Finish them" and the player gets to describe some insane way they kill them, without any checks of success because they've already won. It's awesome.

[meris]

What impresses me most about Matt is his improvisation.
You can tell his players frequently do things he never expected and he has to make things up on the fly which often leads to the funniest, most enjoyable and memorable moments :)

[Fulgrim_The_Phoenician]

Good DM goes hand in hand with Good players. Whenever I don't feel comfortable with a group, as in knowing they won't bite the plothooks, don''t care for roleplaying and just wanna go out and crush skulls, my skill as a DM just plummets down.

[geinrovaan]

2:30 Be The Master of Rules
3:10 Know the Rules and Garners Respect
3:57 Respect your Players & their Characters
5:11 No need for fancy words, Just involve your Players
7:14 Describe Players actions which will make them feel cool
7:52 Narrate everything you can, Make Players actions feel meaningful
7:56 Make Success Awesome and Failure Hilarious
8:02 Make Players feel important and let them shape the World
8:32 Make A Charming World
9:25 Making NPCs a little bit more Quirky
10:18 Stop making mean Merchants
11:57 Know your Players Character Stories
13:23 Heart (love ❤️)

[generalmars]

I feel like Robin Williams would have been amazing at DnD

[anactualpigeon]

I like that this is basically a n open love letter to Mathew Mercer.

[MsScudman]

Another good thing about him is that: He is a fair DM.

He doesn't make encounters out to just kill and be extremely dangerous to the players, he makes the encounters engaging, challenging but beatable, and entertaining. Entertainment is the name of the game for the DM, and he knows it.

He doesn't make unfair and unnecessarily dangerous traps or consequences because he knows the players would not enjoy having their agency thrown out the window as the trap simply turns them to dust with a delayed fireball at level 4.

And let's not forget: He rewards his players for doing good, for getting through encounters, and for completing quests, money, magic items, rewarding your players keep them engaged. Because some DMs think that throwing the characters against 6 stone giants at level 7 and giving them only 100gp as a reward a "fitting" compensation.

He tailors the story, and he keeps the players engaged, he challenges them, but he is not out to kill them like a lot of DMs think the game is supposed to be played.

[morior]

Also just as a note to new DM's or those that cannot memorize every rule and ability and do all the voices that Matt Mercer does. Don't feel bad, never let anyone make you feel like shit for not being at that tier. You do your game in your own way. That and Matt has at least 15 years of DM'ing experience.

I started DM'ing because of Matt, and I know I'll get good but time and patience and experience will help us all along. Critical Role is a perfect storm for D&D. It's good and bad for us lowly peons. But I think there's more good than bad by far. We're getting all sorts of new tools, books and resources for our craft. More than ever before.

TL;DR don't compare yourself to Matt Mercer, be your best, don't deal with asshole players that make you feel bad about your style and enjoy the benefits Critical Role will bring the community.