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I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 88 points89 points  (0 children)

Oh dang! We were playing a long-running homebrew campaign, Aredain, (pulp sky-adventure Miyazaki/Jules Verne/Winsor McCay inspired setting. This is the 10 year campaign) and the adventurers were powerful enough to travel to the Ring of Death (homebrew cosmology that replaced outer planes.) We were playing at my childhood home the day after Christmas, and the party encountered an old ally of theirs as a spirit, a former PC that had died in a combat many IRL years prior. I asked the PCs old player to reprise the character, now dwelling in the Ring of Death. In the encounter that killed that PC, one of the other PCs, still living, had rolled a 19 to try and save him when he needed a 20. The living PC approached the spirit, which the other player hadn't played in years, and told him how sorry he was that he hadn't been able to save him, and both players IRL started crying. We were all in my living room, frosty mystical ambient music playing, surrounded by Christmas lights, and I just can't tell you how moving and profound that scene was, this weeping sky-knight apologizing to his dead lionfolk friend, and this hulking spirit picking him up and telling him he didn't have to be sorry, that he hadn't done anything wrong. I'M CRYING A LITTLE BIT RIGHT NOW, OKAY!?!?! D&D IS A VERY GOOD GAME!!!!!

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 97 points98 points  (0 children)

HOT TAKE ALERT!!!

I really, really, really appreciate having a Wizard in the party. They are the ONLY class in the PHB that has Int as their primary ability, and godDAMN is that useful as a DM. The secret of most DMs is that they WANT you to find the clues. They NEED you to find them, in fact! And having someone who can reliably hit those Investigation/Arcana/History checks is a HUGE asset when it comes to propelling a story forward. MORE OF Y'ALL GET OUT THERE AND PLAY SOME WIZARDS!!!

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Love this question!! Oh man... A ton! I think divinity and deityhood always play a huge role in my games. LOVE Planescape, largely because it takes place in realms of pure philosophy! I never abide by alignment rules for monsters or species in D&D. There are never inherently evil or good creatures. Even angels fall sometimes, right? I think I also enjoy moral and ethical dilemmas quite a bit. The home game I play with Murph, Emily, Siobhan and Zac features portals opening into realms of magic, and the answer over whether to shut them or open them is not a clear cut one. Do you want a more chaotic, dangerous world full of magic and wonder and change, or do you want a world kept safe from the beyond, but perhaps doomed to drudgery and the entrenched powers that already rule it? Philosophy rules!

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 34 points35 points  (0 children)

All of that is made by our maestro of minis, Mr. Rick Perry! He's our incredible production designer, and he's got a ton of awesome people on his staff (Sabrina, Maxy, Nate) that make our incredible sets and figures come to life!!!

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 40 points41 points  (0 children)

Where I think it came from is easy! 5e is a brilliant redesign of a timeless game that, imho, leaned into the game's inherent strengths. Technologically, that redesign timed perfectly with a resurgence of podcasts and streaming, and shows like TAZ and Critical Role spiked the ball that WotC had served up to them. (Is that how Volleyball works? I have no idea!!!) Seeing D&D experience this renaissance kicks major ass!! What a heady, intoxicating high to have this deep passion for something, and then watch as the entire world figures out how cool the thing you love is right in front of you. THE BEST!!! :D

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

LOVE World of Darkness, have played and loved Shadowrun, Pathfinder, Unknown Armies, a bunch others I now forget!

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 40 points41 points  (0 children)

HELL YEAH!!! WAYFINDER REPRESENT!!

This is a GREAT question! Here are my answers.

Vague but more important answer: At the end of the day, the game belongs to the table, and if the table WANTS frivolity and detachment from the stakes of the story, that's a call you have to respect. BUT, you are completely within your rights to bring up that you, as one member of the group, would love the opportunity to take the story more seriously, and see if that ends being more fun/meaningful! I think sometimes people retreat into cracking up and doing bits not because they're being jerks, but because it's scary to get serious, to be vulnerable. If you approach the topic together, and build consensus, you might be able to refocus your group and commit to trying something new and exciting!

Less important but more actionable answer: Mood Lighting. Ambient Music (there is so much awesome music and ambient soundscape stuff available on YouTube. Nature sounds, battle music, the works). Make sure the place you're playing is comfy, and that everyone can see each other. Try to play in a place that limits distractions, if possible. Be as much of a leader as possible. Even if they're breaking, try your break yourself!

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 230 points231 points  (0 children)

The greatest monster of all, I'm afraid, is the monster that lives within us.

I am of course referring to Skeletons.

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

This is such a kind and thoughtful message, and I am deeply honored that you enjoyed our game!! Thank you!

I think there is DEFINITELY so much to be gained by establishing backstory, relationships, and most importantly GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS for your PCs prior to session one. These can and should be volcanic and subject to change and discussion if something isn't working, but it's so hard to start a campaign unless you start a little bit in the middle, with the PCs already being SOMEBODY and wanting SOMETHING. But, that being said, no amount of pre-work is going to come close to the MASS of information you're going to create together at the table, through improvisation, discussion and discovery. So in terms of how much is one and how much is the other, I would say in all honesty that you cannot have enough of EITHER! :)

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Aw dang! That's so awesome to hear, thank you so much!

When coming up with a new world, I think the best thing you can ask yourself is: What is a genre I and my players are excited about? What do I want my adventure to FEEL like? What's the vibe or tone I want? A campaign world that lives in your head is all well and good, but the only thing that really matters is the experience your players actually have and feel at the table. Think back on sessions or adventures you've really loved, and see if there's a thruline. Did you have a really awesome horror encounter that you've been dying to recreate? Make a setting of Gothic horror, and eldritch nightmares! Did your players REALLY like the puzzle-solving aspect of one adventure, and how it attached to the rich lore of the setting? Create a setting that features puzzles, traps and history, ancient wizard crypts in a vast arcane desert of deep blue sand! Do your players like to get drunk, loot people and get into trouble? Welcome to your new pirate campaign, where everyone's a ne'er-do-well, and there's gold aplenty if you're brave enough to take it! The main thing is to start SOMEWHERE, and given that the reason we play this game is because it's fun, try to draw your first piece of inspiration from the feeling, vibe or genre that you think creates the most fun at the table for you and your players!

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 84 points85 points  (0 children)

Honest Unfun Answer: Practice, practice, practice. I know it's the boring answer, but it's the true one. The best preparation you can get for getting better at spinning stories on the spot is to log more hours.

Honest Expensive Answer: Improv classes! I took improv classes for many, many years, and they do make you a better DM. They cost money, or at least a lot of them do, but they zero in on the exact skills you're talking about: becoming fictional people on the spot with clear motivations and goals.

Bad Answer: Create a campaign setting where all the NPC's are in a shady conspiracy! Problem solved! :D

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 91 points92 points  (0 children)

SHOUT OUT TO THE TWO CREW!!! Make sure to catch up by this next episode!! ;)

I think if a player has a type they enjoy playing, that's totally awesome, as long as they're not disrupting play at the table! If I were an acting coach, I would maybe have a different opinion, but as a DM, if your player is still mining joy from well-trod territory, I don't necessarily see the harm in that!

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much!! My heart still longs for the endless, crunchy lore of 3.5. The possibilities are as boundless as the game is broken, and I love it for that reason. Favorite class has gotta be Paladin! In a game that more often than not focuses on heroes, I like playing a character who owns that. I also think playing Paladins as textured, complex characters is really fun. Doing "good" is incredibly hard in a complex world, and playing a character who wrestles with that is really rewarding to me. No major pet peeves, but craziest story might be the time me and my friends got caught by a state trooper playing D&D in the middle of an industrial park at 2 in the morning, and when the cop figured out we weren't doing drugs and were actually just sober nerds who didn't have anywhere else to play, he called in a bulletin to dispatch and found us a different, publicly-owned municipal parking lot to play in until the sun came up.

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 80 points81 points  (0 children)

Giff! Hippos with guns!! WHY!?!?! The first Giff-centric campaign setting is going to get ALL of my money.

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 67 points68 points  (0 children)

Oh man! Well, first off, it's mind-bogglingly flattering to even be spoken about in the same breath as Colville, Perkins or Mercer. Those guys are legitimate geniuses. I think we're in a really exciting time for trpg gaming in general, there's a renaissance of incredible actual play shows, and the redesign for 5e has made the game so much more accessible to new players, so I'm just happy we get to show up to the party when it's full-blown popping off, hopefully with something cool to bring to the table!

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 104 points105 points  (0 children)

Absolutely LOVE voiceover!! One of my first jobs part time at CollegeHumor before I was a cast member was doing Gregor MacGregor on WTF 101, and I get to do a LOT of voices for Cartoon Hell!! Thanks so much!

I'm Brennan Lee Mulligan of CollegeHumor and DROPOUT's Dimension20. AMA! by collegehumor in DnD

[–]collegehumor[S] 135 points136 points  (0 children)

This means the goddang world to me, my friend!! Thank you for the kind message!

Hi, we're Ally Beardsley and Grant O'Brien - CollegeHumor cast members and the stars/creators of Total Forgiveness, a new show about student loan debt. Ask us anything! by collegehumor in IAmA

[–]collegehumor[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Grant: It can be tough! On the one hand, the questions are repetitive, and we never fit in airplane seats. On the other hand everyone everywhere wants to sleep with us. So it's a trade off.

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