Traveling in D&D is Bad (and how to Fix It)

Get in y'all we're going traveling

That opener is fucking iconic.

Everyone: "Hey guys its pride month, show you prid-" Antonio Demico: Burns a closet

Ironically this is exactly how random tables were originally made to be used. They were a tool to be used when you're stuck on what to plan next, not really ever supposed to be rolled in the middle of a session.

"If there's no world,its hard to travel on it" Such wisdom,so good.

-> How many roads must a man walk down? -> However many the DM decides.

I had an idea similar to this I called the "Dora the Explorer method". Before the adventure starts, she pulls out the Map and describes all the different stops they'll make on the way to the end of the adventure. Each of those stops has a small story/encounter tied to them, maybe you'll meet npcs(diego) or nemeses (swiper), but those unexpected things spice up the adventure.

As a random tables enjoyer I was immediately invested when you say you hated random tables. I'm probably not using them the way you are, because I'm reading them and using them for inspiration during my DM prep and not rolling on them at all. But I love your method and I'm absolutely combining it with my method. I'm excited to implement it into my games

Regarding random encounter tables, the video has a point about them when we play traditional narratives with a main quest or narrative plots to be followed by the characters. When we play a sandbox game, on the other hand, this type of table is one of the elements that can bring the game world to life. Without a main narrative, a main quest or mandatory plots to be followed for the story to progress, the world can be structured differently. To be honest, travel and resource management are part of sandbox adventures. I believe that the problem with travel in many TTRPGs is much more connected with the purpose of the game and the way in which the group is playing than with the rules and travel structures themselves. Not that D&D's travel rules are perfect (they're not, and I don't quite like them, which is why a prefer other systems), but they're not a huge problem if you're playing a game whose goal is the travel itself and not a main quest or main plot. And this also depends on who plays and the interests of the group.

12:50 The shelf life of medium to highly cured cheese is about 12 months, if it has been kept cool, dry, and out of direct sunlight.

WE HATE THAT HE LOST HIS JOB BUT WE LOVE YOU AND CANT WAIT TO SEE MORE IN THE FUTURE

A great concept, Pointy Hat! This is very similar to the Tracking system from Heliana's! That system has Hostile ('red') and Narrative ('green' and 'blue' coombined) encounters. The GM writes them or, in the case of the book, there are ready-made ones pertinent to the biome travelled through, each with unique flora & fauna. It has one addition, the Tracking check. This is where your players get creative in how they use thier abilities and skill proficiencies to do wayfinding/get from Fantasylandia to Fanatasycitia/find a quarry. On a successful check the encounter is one of the Narrative ones. On a failed check, it's a hostile one. The hostile encounters are usually pertinent to the story, usually giving clues about the monster the party will fight.

Happy Pride! I came back to post after running 2 sessions with this video living in my brain, and it did WONDERS. I felt like I already strived for the same feeling as the color coded encounter system even if I wasn't as direct about it, but this time every time I was thinking about stuff that marks encounters between major points these ideas came to my head and I was able to mix them as described and it all just fell into place, and made the pacing feel better in my notes than I have noticed in prior entries. Not only that, but it genuinely felt like I could be less contrived on moving things forward, as I was more comfortable fast forwarding to the parts that either me (with surprises) or the party (with their end goals) were excited to get to. Both sessions had similar feedback: It was probably the best session I've hosted and run, and one of those tables has been very long running of a few years now! Every member, with their rather varying desires out of play, mentioned they felt happy and excited there was "always stuff to do" which made me reflect on how it must have felt prior, and I think I was leaning a bit too heavily on this idea of sandboxing things outside of the main events with the idea its all optional, and that just felt rather disconnecting for some of the players because the speed of pacing was shifting so much! So thanks Pointy Hat, you helped me a lot and Im excited to use this system more!!!

Antonio's take on random tables makes me realize he needs to play Ironsworn...

I have been doing something like this with custom role tables, just determining the amount of events per travel or by vibe and my players loved it, but, you have shown me the way. This is amazing and just saved me so much time putting a system in for it. You're amazing.

I'm really glad I stayed for the whole video! When I was listening to it, I thought "cool, but this is just writing encounters or using random stuff anyways," but then you actually have a document breaking it all down with a ton of good examples. 10/10

THE DUNGEON MESHI THUMBNAIL one of us... one of us... We shall relish in the act of eating, for it is only us understand its profound meaning.

I actually think having resting and required sleep can be really fun. Its a breather, moment to chat, and maybe a point of some tension. If you lack resources, something could show up in the night. Maybe you need refuge from weather, and are forced to stay somewhere not so safe, or maybe mysterious. It could be really spicy to add some rest with tension 100+ likes you guys are so great :)

This has been the travel video I’ve always needed but never had. This has been something I struggle with consistently as a DM. Your videos are incredible and your products are phenomenal, please keep sharing your gifts with this community. I at least am forever grateful

I’m so sorry you lost your day job. That’s always such a hard thing to overcome. I am glad though that you can find work here that’s personally fulfilling, at least somewhat sustainable for the time being, as well as truly inspirational for the D&D community. I seriously have a dedicated folder just to your homebrews so please keep ‘em coming. (Especially Which Lich and Drag-On Race because those kick ass.) So don’t despair and keep on keeping on. God bless. ❤