Your game is FINE! You DON'T need help!

You are running DnD just FINE! You don't NEED to do anything to IMPROVE! You don't NEED to try any new TTRPGs or watch any more GM tip videos! You don't NEED to fix what ain't broke... but don't you WANT to tinker?

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"Crossing Those Hills" by Nobuo Uematsu
"Night on Bald Mountain" by Modest Mussorgsky, orchestration by Leopold Stokowski and his Symphony Orchestra

[plasticineofpower]

Super interesting video idea! I think part of the attraction to "Advice" D&D videos are a result of that creative drive to continually improve on your craft, though I'm a little too... hyperfocussed on D&D at the moment to verify this, I'd guess similar things can be found in plenty of other hobbies! There's plenty to be said about how great TTRPG's just... are. Ignoring the rules, ignoring anything else, gathering a group of people around a table virtual or otherwise to socialise and roleplay is awesome!!

As someone who has only recently (Within the last two years or so) started branching out into other TTRPG's, I can thoroughly reccomend it! And don't get too hung up on whats popular, whats recent, or even whats considered "good". Run what will be inspirational for you, and fun for your players! I personally don't run any of the low-fantasy, grim-type game systems that seem all the rage at the moment (I've just never really saw the appeal of dark fantasy other than in a few specific settings) and I have a great time with slightly older, less "Trendy" games that fit what me and my players like!

[Mothsaam]

I love the increasingly unhinged-yet-very-supportive energy in your recent videos.

[TitterpigRancher]

Why isn't this channel more widely known? I mean 75k subs is no joke, but with this level of commentary plus art it should be 750k. Keep doing your awesome tinkering man!

[direden]

I feel this!
I think most YouTubers content is well intended and helpful.
The thumbnails do set a "You're doing it wrong" or "You need to do better" tone.
I struggle when creating thumbnails... because I want the views, but I fight the "click bait" wording because I don't want to sound condescending.

[gusgreene]

that cover with gygax trying to push his tinkering made me cry. MapCrow, thank you for being so amazingly inventive and joyous, always. Youre a gem in this space, because the core of what you do is in itself a game. Keep it up. you inspire me always, man.

[tenchraven]

As an experienced GM, I watch videos like this for ideas. If I disagree with it, I discard it. My table, my world. What I am concerned by is a lot of noob players expect what they see on YouTube to be the "proper way" to do it.

[thenineofgossamer]

"It is a folk art."

God, this for some reason hit me so personally. There's a lot of unexpressed validation in stating that what we all do in this scene is essentially the creation of stories and lore. Man, that's so good. I'm cherishing this.

[bmckelvy]

Map Crow is moving in an increasingly punk-rock direction and I am here for it

[pavelurteaga]

the one thing that got me into rpg's back in 1985 was an idea i found in the DMG, that, in the end, IT'S YOUR GAME AND THE RULES ARE THERE JUST FOR YOU TO MAKE WHATEVER YOU WANT OF THEM

[ScavengerKing]

I think another hurdle new DM's run into is that this is a fundamentally collaborative hobby. There is a lot of pressure to make your games into a big production ala Critical Role, but unless you are very fortunate your friends aren't likely to be professional voice actors. Your game will feel awkward at times, it will feel janky, and that is ok! You don't want to end up in a situation where you are putting in ten times as much time and effort than everyone else at the table because of some imagined unrealistic ideal.

[thedabblingwarlock]

That guitar riff at the beginning sure brought back some Trigun nostalgia for me.

For some, I think there is definitely an element of "your fun is wrong and bad and you should feel bad" to their advice. For others there is that "Do this to have the most fun!" aspect to their presentation. For most, I think it's more suggestions and ideas. "Try this if you want to spice up" is the tone I feel most of your gameplay advice falls into . The mapmaking is more of how to approach making maps as gameboards, which comes with it's own techniques and rules.

The truth is all you need is a set of dice, some friends, and some imagination to play an TTRPG. Everything else is optional. The books, the settings, the art, the minis, the terrain, everything beyond those three essentials is a tool that makes the process easier, but it's not necessary. I watch these kinds of videos and buy the books as much to steal from them as I do to use them as is. Heck, I'm subbed to OPR for their minis and I have no intention of playing the game at this time. I just find them a good source of lots of minis I can use in TTRPGs. If someone wants to tell me that I'm doing it wrong, that's a them problem. I'm just here to have fun.

I liked the Lord of the Rings reference to Galadriel's speech when Frodo tries to give her the Ring you threw in there, by the way.

[Marcus-kien]

From an old grognard from 1979, well said! We tinker because we must, we view other's tinkering because we can, we borrow, adapt, and use their material because we choose.

[jesserosscom]

Thank you for the lovely Trophy Dark shout out, Kyle! And I love the sentiment of this being a hobby of tinkering and tweaking -- it's certainly what gets my engines going and keeps me gaming and making new things!

[gastonmarian]

The fact that the guy specifically called out your Building Better Monsters videos feels so silly to me because if I remember right, every single one of those videos started with an explanation that you just liked the alliterative title and didn't actually think yours were better, you just liked the creative undertaking

[croissant]

that basically my method to grow as an artist/dungeon master/person: I watch what peoples are doing, take notes of what I find interesting, then messing with it to see if it work.
if the person is giving the file of their creation (for musique, virtual drawing etc), that PERFECT. because I can tinker in it and see how things was be built, see if I can graps the intentions and process of said artist for my own shenanigans.
I found the process of tinkering something to be so much fun, because not only you learn SO MUCH, but then after that, you can appreciate the craft knowing how exactly it is made, instead of being just looking from afar.
and that is awesome.

[MemoristCed]

Just found your channel when "Draw Your D&D Map" was recommended to me, and I am enjoying immensely already! (Also, THANK you for quoting the book version instead of the movie. I like the movie but there's nothing quite like FULL Tolkien.)

[prollybee]

lmao the galadriel quote was perfect. i really appreciate your conclusion, realizing that the sharing and tweaking and community around it is part of what it's always been about

[slight_detour]

I cannot express how exicted I am for the Monstrous book. I have found your videos (like Building Better Monsters) to be great advice and inspiration to create some really interesting designs.

[SeeleSO]

As someone who plays a version of 4th edition D&D with homebrewed changes to the rules with their friends, this video is greatly appreciated. 4th edition tends to get some hate online, and not many people even talk about it, so it's nice to be reminded that so long as all the players in a group have fun, any game is valid.

[codyscharf]

In addition to tinkering, it feels like these games have also always been abour collaboration.

I got into DnD later, when 3.5 came out and I was like 9 or 10 years old. I didn't have zines, but I still have those core books with completely unbalanced homebrew weapons, races, and classes written on the inside cover by me and my siblings and friends. That's still the image that comes to mind when I think about getting into these games as a kid.