Howdy how's it going? My name's Davy Chappie, and today it's time to look deep into the inner recesses of D&D into the clock-working brass that holds the whole thing together and go over the painstaking process of writing up a D&D campaign. I'm gonna talk about my own personal experiences that have helped me make games, and hopefully I'll be able to help you spin your own tales of might and magic. As always, keep in mind that a lot of this is just my opinion, so if you think that my story is weak and that my plots don't make sense, feel free to write your games however you want. What's this? A challenger approaches. It's... an ad! Now, I don't like to run ads on my channel unless they're about something that I can personally get behind, but I think that if I can get behind anyone's promotion, it's another D&D talk about her, so it is from within the goodness of my heart that I present Out of the Box, Encounters for 5th Edition, a labor of love crafted by the wonderful folks over at Nerdarchy, and currently being crowdfunded on Kickstarter. This big ol' book comes jam-packed with situations and story hooks designed to help all you fledgling dungeon masters get the ball rolling on your own epic adventures, or if you've already got the best story in the world all laid out but aghast! You're having a hard time coming up with encounters to pad out the fun, then BAM! This book has got you covered. You can just rip out a scenario from the pages of this tome and plug it right into your Saturday evening tabletop game. And if you pledge $40 or more to the Out of the Box Kickstarter, you can get your own physical copies so that you can rip the actual pages out of the book and plug them into your actual tabletop. Anything's possible with literature, so spread the cheeks of your wallet and slide into Nerdarchy's Kickstarter to help fund the best homebrew this side of the coast. Made for Nerds, by Nerds. But with that out of the way, let's begin. So, there's a certain level of preparation that takes place before you even start going to your friends with an idea, and while that varies from person to person, I think that everyone can agree that most campaigns stem from a small stray thought that was left to run and gather other stray thoughts until it turned into at least a basic framework from which a story can take place. You might want to do a mystery, and so you thought of one cool plot twist to turn the whole investigation on its head, or maybe you thought of one cool moment in an epic fight and now you're just working to get there. The point is that most of my own campaigns have a point that I'm trying to reach, and I'm just working outwards to get the players to that point and flesh out the things that came before and after it, sort of like starting the writing process by dropping an idea on the timeline and then working outward until I have the whole story. Now, to that end, it should be noted that a dirty little secret of DMing is that all campaigns are railroaded.  The trick with DMing that separates the chimes from the chums is how obvious the railroading is and how much you're willing to adapt your plot based on players' choices. A good story is something that has an outer framework that follows your own story beats, but the closer you get to the details of a particular session or an arc of sessions, the less the story needs to happen in the way that you want it and the more that it becomes more of a guideline. Sure, the players need to talk to the Fairy Queen so that she can send them on the next step of the story, but the puzzle, getting to her, shouldn't be a problem that's solved by the DM and the DM only. You can leave an obvious, or not so obvious, way for the players to get to her by using the Fairy Boat or something, but if the players are coming up with their own fun, let them do it, unless it's completely so impractical that it's unreal. You should let their harebrained scheme work, along with any complications attached to it that you can think of because it's important that they feel like they're contributing to the story as much as you are. Even if they're not really, you need to make sure that they feel that way, or else the symbiotic relationship between the players and the DM isn't going to work. With your story, you'll find that the less control that you demand over the players and the more you let them run around with their own concepts, the more creative storytelling that'll come as they rush to fill in the gaps of your logic that you didn't even know you missed. And for God's sakes, whether you're running your own pre-reading campaign or you're just adapting from a module, please try your best to take something from each person's backstory and include it in the game. I understand that not everybody's backstory is going to be the most impressive thing in the world. I understand that a lot of people have a lot of trouble fitting in their own character concept, and sometimes character concepts just aren't that interesting. But if you don't make them feel like their contribution to the game as a player is being felt, then as fun as the game is, they're going to wonder, why am I necessary to be here? Especially if you are using the backstories of other players and one person is being left in the dust. If you've seen my character backstory advice video, shameless plug, that is a very good resource I think to helping figure out how to get a character into the game, both as a player and as a DM. Honestly, the easiest trick in the world is to have one of the NPCs say, hey, I knew your father at some point, or hey, I am your father at some point. And sure, that is the absolute bare minimum that you can do, but you would be surprised how well that works and how much the players light up just because they feel like they're being included. Now, that's not to say that the players need to do all of the legwork and you're just here to reap the rewards of players making the game better on their own time. You should still have a cohesive storyline that runs through the entire plot from start to finish. I actually never begin a campaign officially without having written what I expect literally every session to be like, because I believe that humans can be lazy and incompetent sometimes, and if I just come to a session and say to myself, I'll just wing it, then I'm setting myself and my players up for a failure of a session. Writing the whole game out beforehand isn't meant for railroading. It's there so that I can prove to myself that this is something that I'm willing to sink my time into. I have to show that hard work to me because otherwise I will just lie to myself all the time and say that I'm so smart and talented that I can just fly by the seat of my skinny jeans and everything will be fine. And once the campaign starts as I go along, I'll rewrite those individual scenes to adapt what has happened previously in the sessions that have already taken place. Keeping that upkeep is how you maintain control over your own game, both externally and internally in your own mind. I think everybody can remember that one DM that was so great when it first started, but as the campaign went along, it felt like they just cared less and less. And as the DM, as much as you don't want to show it, it shows, it happens, and people will pick up on subtle clues even if you're trying to hide it. And if you do need a break from the campaign because you're having trouble writing, talk about it with your players. More often than not, players are very understanding of your plights, and if it's a campaign that they've enjoyed, then the worst that they're going to say is, Well, I'm sad, but I can't wait for it to continue. Now, the big stink of all this campaign preparation is that in the end, you are planning for all of your hard work to go to waste. Players will do what they do, and while you should work to make sure that your game can loop back around into getting the story done, you should also prepare contingencies in case the players get crafty and try to break the whole game ahead of time. Your best laid plans mean nothing if you let everything hinge on the one mystical amulet falling into the hands of the villain, only for the heroes to either kill the villain, steal the amulet, or seduce the amulet. So a good thing to do is write up many alternative possibilities for the story to go in that'll all lead to the same place so that the players will have their feeling of impacting the plot and you can still have your storyline. Think of it like a telltale game, except they can't go on YouTube and watch all the alternate routes so they don't realize how cheap a telltale game really is. Or if you really want to go off of the deep end, if your players have gone haywire with your adventure that you don't even recognize the notes that you're taking anymore, you could potentially go through the maximum effort required to write up a new story based on all of the new events. The biggest, biggest benefit to being a DM is that the players have absolutely no idea what goes on behind the scenes and in that head of yours save for what you present to them. So no matter how much writing and rewriting you have to do to ensure that the campaign is going in a good direction, your players will never know that there is a dumpster fire going on behind that screen until the very moment that you run out of things to save. So to conclude this video, I really want to hit on this last point, and it's a point that I've made before in different videos, but it's just so important. If you're a new DM, just getting into the cockpit and you're still wondering what all of these fancy knobs and switches do, you really, really don't need to be worried. No matter who you're playing with, no matter what plot outline you write on the back of an Afghan with a Sharpie, as long as your players are having a good time, you're doing a good job. And your story, as patchworked and made up as it may be, if your players are smiling through it, then it's a good story. When in doubt, let your players decide what they want to do and listen closely when they take time to role play with each other's characters because oftentimes they're telling you what they'd like to see and what story lines they'd like you to pick up on when you're working out the story of your own campaign. So yeah, as normal, I hope that this rambling video manages to catch somebody's ear and hopefully inspire them to make a great campaign. That'll about do it. Remember to subscribe, like, comment, ring that bell icon.  It's dumb. I hate it. It doesn't need to be there. But if you don't ring it, then you don't get my deep bassy voice. And hey, maybe support me on Patreon so that you can keep hearing my seductive bassy voice for years upon years to come. I hope this video helps you. But yeah, Davi out.


I have made a lot of YouTube videos, over 700 to be specific, but I'm talking about the weird Nintendo Switch accessory ones today. I've reviewed it all, from weird neck braces that bungee cord holds your Switch up in front of you while you're playing, or a more complex, durable wooden one that I had to screw together and accidentally screwed into this very table. But once I was done, you could put it under your pillow and then it kinda, you looked up at it and that was the thing. But it doesn't stop there. Switch knives, pointless sun visors, and about every kind of Nintendo Switch dock shape you can imagine. But a question I get asked a lot. Okay, two questions. One, do I actually use any of that stuff still outside of the videos where I laugh at them? The answer is no. I laugh at all of those for a very good reason. The other question is, okay then, so what Nintendo Switch accessories do you actually use? Which accessories can you not live without? Which ones are the absolute best ones? The Switch is almost five years old, so suffice to say, we've probably seen the best accessories come and go. Well, actually, maybe not, because this released about a week ago. I've been looking forward to something like this releasing for the last five years and this right here is the best Nintendo Switch controller yet. Actually, I'm making this entire video because of this thing. I needed a reason to talk about it, so we're gonna save it to the end, but there's a couple other things I use for my Switch and I can't imagine ever not using them. This is the best Nintendo Switch accessories. Now look, this might seem like conflict of interest, this might seem a little biased, but if you know me at all, you'll know that the Nintendo Switch Satisfy Grip does not leave my Switch ever. I cannot imagine playing my Nintendo Switch without this grip attached to it. It's so freaking good. Without this thing on it, I honestly feel instantly like I'm gonna get carpal tunnel. My wrists start cramping, it's disgusting. And I tell this story all the time, but when this company first approached me and they wanted to send me their prototype, I refused to even put the prototype on my Switch, something that the creator of the grip and I laugh about a lot now. I was like, why would I need that? Like, this is perfectly fine. It's perfectly fine the way it is. But then the finished model came out and Satisfy sent that over to and I decided, alright, fine, so I threw it on and I never went back. I even have Kim hooked on the Satisfy Grip now, she can't play her Switch without it. But I have to say that this video is sponsored by Satisfy, which is a good thing, trust me, because you're about to get a heck of a deal out of it. Right now, Satisfy is doing their Prime Week sale, which is 50% off. It lasts up until the 27th of the month, so usually you can use my code beat-em-ups to get something off the grips that's always active, but right now it's already 50% off. I mean, what, do you want it for free? I mean, yeah, probably, but that's still really good. If you could and you decide to grab one, still put in my code beat-em-ups or and click the link in the description because it still tells them that I sent you. They have not given me anything to say, there is no script, there is no words. I'm literally about to review this thing because it is the main Switch accessory that I can't live without. It would be in this video whether or not it was sponsored by Satisfy. Thankfully it is, works out great for me. The reason why I love the grip so much is the giant handles, the comfortable rubber handles on the back of it.  I can't even describe how comfortable it is. It's just comfortable, like the best of the best game controllers in your hands. When you're not using the grip, your palms are right up against the butt of this thing, but the thumbsticks are right here, like right next to where your palms sit. If I was actually to hold the switch comfortably, it's like this, right? This is so uncomfortable, there is no good way, especially with my giant man hands. You just kind of have to hover the switch in your hands. It's hard to explain because if you're used to it, you might be used to it, but as soon as you throw this on, it's like a whole new world. Also, if you hate the kickstand, you never have to use it again. The thing I hate most about the kickstand, other than it flimsily flying off, I'm half worried every time I put it down, it's just going to collapse. And you have to like actually make sure that it's not going to fall over. This thing, you just have to look at it. There it is. There's a ton of different colors you can buy. I got the see-through one because at the time I had just made this see-through switch, but even once I upgraded to the red switch, I actually still really liked the way this clear one looks. That said, you can get it in white. This is for the switch light. And yes, you can even get them for the switch light. You can get kits that come in these big boxes and have another switch accessory that I can't live without. For when I'm traveling, the Satisfye Grip case. This case may as well be bulletproof. My friend RGT tested it once even by putting a switch in it and then throwing it off a bridge and it was completely unharmed. A lot of switch cases I've reviewed on the channel, whether they were weird, wacky, had a fun design, they were always super flimsy. This is honestly hard to push in. You have to put a lot of weight on this thing for it to buckle and bend. There's a lot of padding inside. There's apparently another grip inside. I have so many of these grips in my house. This is actually a switch light grip, which would tell me this is actually a case for the switch light. Mine's downstairs, filled with games because you can shove games in all of these pockets. There's a zip here. I put my charge cord in here for when I'm traveling. You put your switch and the grip.  The switch could be in there right now and you close it with the grip in all and you're good. Another reason why it's good to get their case is because a lot of switch cases don't count for this specific grip. This will house everything and it's a nice little size. This is the ultimate one-two combo. If you're not a big traveler, I guess you don't really need to grab the case, although it's nice to have. But this is just necessary. I mean, you need one of these. The switch shouldn't exist without it and I mean that in every sense of the word. This is the ultimate Nintendo switch accessory. If you were to get one, this is the one and good news, it's the cheapest out of everything in this video. Did you know I have a podcast? I have a podcast. There's a whole channel that houses the podcast, catch up on all the episodes and we stream Sundays at seven o'clock the episodes live. We actually record them live for those thinking, oh, I don't need another gaming podcast in my life. Good news. It's not a gaming podcast. It's actually a relatively short about 40, 45 minute podcast where we put on a show essentially and it includes you, the audience. We bring you on. We call you. We play games with you. We just laugh. It's a comedy podcast and we would really appreciate the support. So go check it out. The next switch accessory I can't live without and I really, really mean that is this as weird as it looks. It's this. This is the M cable. I've had it for so long now, I lost the original box that it came in. So you're going to have to imagine. I've talked about it one time before briefly in my Xenoblade Chronicles remake remaster, whatever review. Essentially, you plug it into your dock, you plug it into your TV. It's HDMI cord. You also need to plug the USB in somewhere to give it power because this bad boy, this HDMI bad boy needs some juice. It takes your games and it, for lack of a better word or term, makes them look better. No matter what TV or monitor you're playing on, but I game on a 4K TV. And one of the worst things about the switch is so many of the games don't even hit 1080p even once you dock them. They're still like 720 and stretching that up on a 4K TV, you get those really rough jagged edges. And this just smooths those out so much as well as adding in a ton of contrast, a ton of color, blacks, boosting the look of the games. The cable does is it essentially adds anti-aliasing to your games. You can use it on any of your consoles, but I don't think you'd see much of a difference in any of the other consoles like the PlayStation and the Xbox. I'd say this thing is really good for the Switch and then even retro consoles too. If you are looking to use it on those bigger consoles though, it has one millisecond per frame speeds up to 120 FPS. It up converts HD or 4K game content upscales native rendered resolution up to super HD at 120 FPS or 4K at 60 FPS. Improves image depth, contrast and color rendering, analyzes every single pixel and adjusts it for an ultimate image and performs contextual anti-aliasing, eliminating jagged edges and shimmering textures without creating blurry artifacts. This is so good for Switch because if you've ever played a Switch game or one of the bigger AAA games or one of the ports that come from other consoles, the thing you'll notice is that classic Switch look of things looking rough around the edges, jaggedy, pixelated, maybe even muddy. And this cable goes a long way to clear up a lot of those issues, a lot of games that almost make it to looking good on Switch. This just boosts it the rest of the way. The cable does the work that the Switch and the dock doesn't have to, so it adds no extra pressure on the consoles and it just does it on its own artificially. It's really impressive. It's a similar technology that Sean and I talked about with the Switch Pro, how the GPU in a possible Switch Pro would essentially do what this cable does, just artificially upscale to 4K rather than actually upscale to 4K, which is a huge strain. It just artificially does it, making it so when you stretch up that image of a 720 game onto a 4K TV, this goes to work trying to smooth that out rather than it just being raw on the screen, you get what you're given and it looks awful. But don't confuse it with the M Classic. The M Classic is a USB HDMI, but it's not as good. I mean, this cable, it's $130. It's the most expensive thing in this video by far. It's worth it, in my opinion, but it's definitely a luxury item that's not necessary. But the M Classic is still $100 and I don't see the difference that M Classic claims that it does. Fortnite doesn't even look that rough on Switch. Fortnite actually looks pretty good on Switch. I actually have a sneaking suspicion and it's the same company, so maybe I shouldn't say it because it might put a bad image. But it honestly looks like they've pixelated the image themselves and then just showing you the better image on the right and they've gone seeing. It doesn't look like there's too much of a difference. For $30 more, I think you're better off getting the cable, but that's just my opinion. That said, luxury item or not, it's so good. It's not a gimmick. It works. It makes the games look so much better. They pop out of the screen so much more. I love it. All right, baby. If you've ever seen the Xbox Elite Controller, this is essentially that. But for the Switch, it's made by PowerAid. The same company that's made a ton of really neat Switch controllers. They've all been really quality. A lot of them are on the cheaper end. A lot of them on the more expensive end. PowerAid does a lot of different stuff. The one controller they did before this that would have been in this video if it wasn't for this new thing, it was a wired controller that was essentially a pro controller, but it had an audio jack on the bottom. And it was the only Nintendo Switch controller that had an audio jack, but it was wired. It was also pretty cheap. It was around like the $20, $30 mark. This is $100, but it's wireless. It has an audio jack. So it's the first wireless Switch controller with an audio jack. But on top of that, there are so many more features this thing has. And it's heavy and it's amazing. Just like the Elite controller, it comes in its own carry case. This might also be a little overkill. We are talking about the Switch here, right? A few hundred dollar portable gaming system that isn't really a pro elite best of the best gaming system. And yet here we are with a hundred dollar controller, a hundred and thirty dollar cord. But hey, it is so nice. It feels nicer than any other controller I've ever held. Maybe other than the actual Elite controller, which I do really like the Xbox Elite controller. But this is amazing. Everything about it feels really quality. Well, I don't even know where to begin. These buttons feel the most different. They feel more heavy duty. Like I actually feel weighted to push in. They're not flimsy like really every other button on anything Switch. Just like the Elite controller, there is a way to take out these thumbsticks because you can switch them with these larger thumbsticks. Not that I know why you would unless you just have really long thumbs. I've always found the default size for thumbsticks to be pretty comfortable. Oh, this is interesting.  And then you just have a nice comfortable controller if you have no intention of using those. I actually like that. Again, with the Elite controller, you can take them off as well one at a time. But that's pretty neat. It's pretty heavy, probably about twice the size of an actual pro controller. It just looks so nice. So there's a really long charge cord who cares. Also an extra faceplate, which looks like it's just magnetic.  I know I just unboxed this thing in a video where I'm saying these are the best Nintendo Switch accessories, but I already know on this one. I knew the second I held it. It is one of the nicest feeling controllers I've ever held. Definitely the best Switch controller I've ever held. It has an audio point and it's wireless. So it does everything and more. It feels like it's worth a hundred dollars. If it's worth a hundred to you, that's up to you. You know, I thought long and hard about what other Switch accessories were must haves, but I really feel like this is it. You have the grip for when you're playing in handheld portable mode.  Oh, and if you're traveling, which is another highlight of the Switch, you have the case.  I've come through a lot of accessories in my time and anything else was really just a gimmick. Sure, you can attach a giant magnifying glass to the Switch screen so you can see it a little better, but why would you? I can't think of anything else. Maybe if the Switch had inbuilt Bluetooth, I could come up with something, maybe a cool headset. I have always hated having to plug in a Bluetooth adapter to get anything Bluetooth to work. I hate it. I hate having something sticking out of my Switch for any of those. I think we got it right here. I think this is everything. And it's definitely everything that I couldn't live without. That said, I'm still going to buy all the weird, wacky, wonderful and ridiculous stuff that I buy because I love messing around with it and reacting to it in videos. So don't expect those to end. But hopefully this puts that question to an end. What accessories do I actually use? Also because the Satisfy Grip is on my Switch in every single video, I very often get asked the question, even though I've talked about it a bunch. What is that thing on his Switch and where do I buy one? So hopefully this video will help tame those questions too. If you want to buy one, again, links down below. This video was sponsored by Satisfy, but really didn't need to be. Don't tell them that, though, please. I hope you learned something. Let me know down below what Switch accessories you can't live without and what you think of the ones I picked. And I'll see you in the next video. I have nothing else. I don't have a way to end this. I'm just going to go. OK, bye.


When you're asked, what's it like growing up? Is your immediate feeling one of warmth, support, or wholesomeness? Or do you suddenly feel a little tense, remembering consistent criticism, feeling shame, or being a scapegoat for everything? That parental relationship could be troubled and toxic, which would leave you even now feeling confused, maybe anxious, or lost. We get that entertainment sources out there show nothing but the toxic turned gold story of parenting, and we're here to shed some truth on that. Namely, that reality isn't like that, and you aren't obligated to believe the Hollywood fantasy. Hopefully these next bits of truth will help all of you out there find some hope, or at least a starting point to healing. 1. Accept that they won't change Quick, picture ideal parents in your mind. We're willing to bet that details aside, the ideal parent loves their children unconditionally, meeting their child's needs, with all their actions firmly set to benefit the child. Toxic parents don't do this. They often don't even come close to meeting the child's needs for love and support, which has a lasting damaging impact. Even the idea that parents would willingly do this is abhorrent, so we hold onto the belief that once we become adults and succeed or present evidence of what they've done, those parents will be remorseful, changing their whole mindset. This expectation will provide nothing but disappointment. In fact, you may have already tried and been let down, so you thought maybe next time if I do this one thing, stop. It won't be the next time or the time after. You know why? Because it's not you that's the problem. They won't change, and that is neither your obligation nor responsibility. Those needs for love and affection weren't met by your parents as a child, and they won't be as an adult. So let it go. Yeah, sing it if you need to. The good news is though, you don't need them to do it for you. You can meet those needs yourself from another source of your choice. This will allow you to have a different relationship with your parents, based on reality and not wishes.  Your parents do not decide your happiness. They aren't the happy key, whereby if only you had the secure relationship, you'd be happy. If you're banking on this, you've given them all the power, and it doesn't belong to them. It's yours. Yes, we naturally desire certain things. However, we are the only ones who get to decide if that is something that is a part of our happy. Happiness is and always will be an inside job. Number three, acknowledge that you are not at fault for your childhood pain. Toxic parents manipulate, and a part of it is convincing the child that all the abuse is their fault. That's not true.  They're leaving out that if it wasn't that thing, it would have been something else. The abuse is because of their defect, not yours. Their inability to deal with their own shortcomings is why they blamed you. It wasn't your fault then, and it isn't now. Number four, you are not irreparably broken. When your past haunts you, it's easy to slide into the belief that the childhood wounds will never heal, forever thwarting your ability to have a healthy relationship. All right, Morpheus time. What if we told you that it's perfectly possible to heal? The caveat is that, well, it's gonna take effort on your part. We understand it won't be easy. However, the fact that you recognize the trauma is affecting you and your ability to form a healthy relationship means you're already practicing self-awareness. You see the issue and know it. If you know what it is, you can grab the little monster and deal with it. Like reach out to a professional for effective guidance. For example, talk therapy helps you process your past and increase your level of self-awareness. And number five, forgiving them is not required for healing to begin. As much as we all make ripe about adulting, there is one advantage. You have the capacity and freedom to care for yourself. Your nurture, comfort, and improvement are no longer dependent upon your parents. You are not required to forgive what they did. You do need to acknowledge that it happened though, so you can squeeze the release clasp, stopping their garbage from dragging you down. Having toxic parents may start in your childhood, but you're not obligated to let it haunt and guilt you for the rest of your life. Grasp your identity. Allow yourself to acknowledge your strength to accept what happened and heal.  Did any of these tips surprise you? Do you recognize any of this in others? Please discuss, comment, and give us a like. Catch you next time.