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Past Ginny using a cell while Present Ginny is using the archaic landline. There's a metaphor here somewhere.

The "no d&d is better than bad d&d" part really hits home. Just had to leave a game that I just couldn't be a part of anymore. It's hard but it's worth it! Especially to prevent myself from falling out of love with the hobby

"Guess what their feedback is, assume it's negative, internalize the idea they hate your game and feel trapped by it, and then develop a feeling of deep insecurity around that" is incredible advice. I knew I was on the right path this whole time :)

"Real events sometimes make for shitty stories," reminds me of Christopher Walken's line in the movie "Man of the Year": "The difference between reality and fiction is that fiction has to be credible."

OK, I have been doing this (GMing) for over 40 years, and this is some of the best beginner advice I have ever seen. _Especially_ the part about letting go, which, trust me, you should also do in your real life. I would add only a single piece of advice: you don't have to make tough decisions for your NPCs, or the world, or supernatural events. Instead, if you don't know for sure what is the 'correct' decision for an external force that the players are dealing with, just figure out what the options are, and then roll the dice to find out which action gets taken. It takes tons of stress off your shoulders and gets you back into that impartial referee zone that one needs to be in for deciding these sorts of things. Excellent work, Ms. Di. I hope your players, friends, and family are proud of you. They should be.

"But what if they don't give me feedback?" "Assume it's negative, internalise the idea that they hate your game and feel trapped by it, and then develop a feeling of deep insecurity around that." I felt this in my soul.

"Start learning Latin" was probably the most creative "future weird advice" of the whole pandemic. Thank you for that line alone. (Also, big thanks for the last tip!)

"You're 30 and food hurts you." I don't think I've ever felt more called out.

"No D&D is better than bad D&D is the MOST important thing on here for me. This game is awesome, but sometimes it just doesn't work out. Whether it's just different styles, or problem players, or whatever. If you're not having a good time, there is point where the best solution for everyone at the table is to simply walk away.

Oh thank the forge you're back! My doctor was about to diagnosis me with a Vitamin Di Deficiency

Absolutely love how this video is formatted so it’s not just giving tips to a camera! Another video out of the park Ginny!

Ginny, I just want to let you know I'm REALLY enjoying the presentation and production level of your recent videos. The new background and transitions all work great, the scripts are tight, the delivery is charming as always, you're quick to jump in and quick to send viewers to something specifically relevant rather than just saying "hey, here's what I did last time." It's all working really well. ❤

My rule of thumb as aDM: I control the plot, my players control the story. Learning the difference between the two is the secret to being a good DM, and you absolutely nailed this with your first two points.

I really like the implication that 2019 Ginny apparently put 2022 Ginny in her phone as "Future Ginny" and then was surprised that they called?

"Your players are on your side." Some day, I hope to DM for a group that is like this. For me it has always been, "Your players get joy from ruining any plans you may have and frustrating your efforts."

I refuse to believe anything other than that Ginny *actually had recorded the “past” footage back in 2019* and had the script for “future/2022” Ginny written in response to said footage.

A one-person comedy crew! Love this so much, Ginny!

My, these videos are so amusing. They almost always put a smile on my face! (and not in a creepy Joker kind of way) Also, the metaphor I usually use for amount of DM control is; a hiking trail through a wooded park. You don't want to put the players on railroad tracks, and you don't want to dump them in a thick woods in the middle of nowhere either. With the hiking path they can choose to; follow the path (easiest travel & no chance of getting lost), plunge into the trees to explore (harder travel & risk of getting lost), or travel among the trees - but keep the path in sight. (harder travel, but no risk of getting lost) They get to choose what KIND of "hike" they want to go on & will be most enjoyable for them.

I might have mentioned this before. But I follow lots of youtubers and I always skip through their sponsor segments. But not you. Your sponsor segments are amazing and I love them. I actually look forward to them :-)

“No DnD is better than bad DnD” is a rule that applies to all ttrpg games and watching this reminded me of that. I’ve been in several games where I wasn’t really feeling it but stayed b/c I didn’t think I was gonna get my rp fix otherwise; big mistake. Don’t be afraid to drop out or leave a campaign/group if you aren’t feeling it. Talking about issues is good but even if it’s something as simple as not vibing with some of the players, it’s a valid reason and you shouldn’t beat yourself up over it. Do not subject yourself to a rp game if your heart isn’t in it, you will regret it!

I like the idea of the stars and wishes. Feedback can be tough. And the imposter syndrome is /real/

This video released at the perfect time! I’m DMing my first campaign, and we’re having session zero on Sunday.

It took my players and I about 4-6 sessions to really work out what kind of game that "we" wanted. Now we play a heavy combat Witcher syle RPG game and now the game is always an exciting highlight reel for the discord conversations later.

about to dm for 6 teenagers ONLINE... I'm terrified haha. This video is super helpful and at the perfect time!

STARS AND WISHES?!!? I'm stealing that for the game I'm going to run for my wife and her friends. NONE of them would want to think they're hurting my feelings by giving (constructive) feedback, but the Stars and Wishes system will get them to express themselves more easily! Thanks, Ginny! =D

I think as long as our 2019 self would be proud of our 2022 self, we did a pretty good job :) to the future of d&d! 🥂

These are my favorite videos. Emotional intelligence is HARD and demands vulnerability. You do a great job of breaking down complex ideas, thank you!

Ginny you've always been good at this YT thing and giving dnd tips but allow me to say it really shows how much you've grown as a DM, communicator, actress, video-maker, writer, and in all honesty, I think even as a person. Just wanna tell ya how much I 'preciate your content, for real. Kudos for another great vid! Rossana-

Trust me, real world experiences are often so weird that players you tell them to will refer to them as unbelievable if they occurred in a game setting. My personal favorite was the security measures taken among one of the top 500 companies worldwide to access the server room of their company's HQ. Access cards to even open the front gate; signing in at the front desk; a retina and fingerprint scanner at the door plus a keycard AND keypad. Plus a small jury-rigged wire and a plastic button soldered to the wire which circumvents all the security and buzzes open the entry door to the server room. Reason: the security had so many false positives alarms that often even the top level admins couldn't open the door. Until some engineers just opened the security box housing the scanners, drilled a whole through the casing, and fed this wiring through it. Happened in real life. When I presented this exact setup during a Shadowrun to my players they looked at me in full disbelief. One even said that this was not believable. I had to disabuse him of that notion.😂😂😂

"No D&D is better than Bad D&D" is also something I wish I'd learned early... would have saved me a lot as both a player and a DM.

I really like how Ginny manages to present her content in a unique way. I don't think I've ever seen a DnD video framed as a phone call with one's future self. It's engaging and... well, fun.

I love that the future Ginny is using a corded landline.

No D&D is better than Bad D&D is the best advise, it took over a decade of looking to find a good table and now I'm lucky enough to have a few groups and all the good DMs I've had do at least some of these things. These tips are all great, for me letting go of control was hard but something my players got me to do FAST and it has led to the most fun sessions.

yeah, I remember when I started DMing my first campaign there was a ton of content that pushed "don't plan your sessions!" which was misleading (for me at least). It was a flop of a campaign that lasted longer than it should have. I think what you've said where you prepare the NPC's and areas, and understand how the PC's actions will cause reactions is really where the good games come from.

Good advice It’s hard to balance sometimes but it’s all about having fun

thank you! this is helpful. I've been gm'ing a pathfinder game for just over a year now.

I definitely have learned to embrace the chaos, lol. But I did have to reassess when I got overwhelmed by how much I was DMing two years ago. I had to take a step back and make the decision to play less. Once I was less stressed, I could enjoy playing again. And the biggest thing I learned is if your players care about you, they'll understand and support you.

I love how much use that pink phone prop is getting.

"During the what" cracked me up

Ginny's conversations with Ginny are the highlight of my week. Also, does anyone else find it hilarious that Past Ginny is on a smartphone and Present Ginny is on a landline?

"What would you like to see?" is such a better framing for both sides than "What didn't you like?" :)

As a new DM nearly 10 months into our campaign, I love watching your videos! They’re always so insightful and have greatly improved how I run my games!

Yes. This was the video we all needed today. Well done Ginny.

I'll be 46 this year, and the Tums and Latin are VERY relevant to me! (I need antacids on-hand at all times, and I learned Latin starting 24 years ago and have never regretted it! I'm not fluent by any means, but it sure is fun to know a relentlessly regular language like Latin!)

I just ran my 1st session this week and have been SO down on myself. I needed to hear all this. Thanks for the help and reassurance 💙

As a DM and Player, my favorite part of every session is Stars and Wants. Once I was introduced to it, it changed the way I played DnD and boost my confidence in both roles.

I have to assume that you must constantly question whether or not the time you put into your commercials is worth it. And I can honestly say that your channel is the only one that I actually watch the commercials in. Great tips. Especially the "No D&D is better than bad D&D." So real.

I love this channel, there is always so much enthusiasm and creativity put into each video!

Thank you for this video, I'm first time DM'ing for my friends and this really boosted my confidence

all your dm videos have been sooooo useful! i watched them just over a year ago when I was preparing my first game! just finished our 20th session of the main homebrew im running - thank you!

This was so good! I wasn't sure about the format at first, but by the end it was like chatting on the phone with a friend. Great video!

I love how you filmed this!!! I’m always in awe of your creativity ginny 💖💖💖

This was very well done and it's great advice. As both a long time player and a long time DM, it's still good to hear some of these things and get reminded of them. I just found your channel and this cemented it, I'm subscribed

Thank you for these tips! And this was also a really good/clever video. I liked that you were giving advice to your past self

"During the What?" Seriously laughed out loud! 😎🤘🍻

Ginny, you are really good in what you are doing! I admire the way your scripts are coherent and your creativity used in it.

I just want to thank you, im getting very into d&d and have been working on my first campaign. Your videos have been very helpful and I appreciate that!

I’ve been binging these tutorials and I have to say that yours have so much useful information stated so succinctly. It makes them really helpful and easy to enjoy! Thanks!!!

I can say with 100% confidence that this is pretty accurate and good advice. You definitely touch on all of the important points. You even threw in a online resource for world-building thank you for going above and beyond

Realizing you first started DMing so (comparatively) recently is a huge boost for me! I'm running several campaigns in a row as a rather new DM, only two other games under my belt, and the most common advice is just that practice makes perfect so it's a real boost to know that you've gained so much knowledge and incredibly helpful tips in just a few years!

yayyyyy!! glad to see you still making awesome content with amazing quality. Keep it up!!

This is, as always, excellent advice produced in an entertaining and creative way. Ginny is the best and should never stop being her past, present, or future self!

Currently preparing for my first game as a DM... wish me luck!

Bonus advise: There is a thing, what sometimes present themselves in the game, what we just call as the "Will of the Dices". One specific character might nearly always roll high in some situation, or on the contrary, almost always bad with something. - In our party this is represented by several times with multiple characters. Our dwarven paladin with his heavy armor might be 3 times were rolled under 15 for Stealth, considering the disadvantage too. The dragonborn blood hunter's initiative usually between 1 and 7. And we had a generally made no-name seaman in a four person group (they were just called seaman one, seaman two, et cetera), who rolled three times critical 20 in a single fight, climbed up on the side of a ship with daggers, while pirates attacked him from the top, and made quite a work on them, before they surrendered before the party - it get so good rolls, that the DM gave him a proper character class (rouge), and made him from a random seaman into the captain's first mate. It originally was a joke from our barbarian, to explain, why was he so much better, than the other three, and the DM was "You know, thats not a bad idea!" Also, if you listen to your players, they often tends to write the story by themselves, even if you only have a few ideas, what you want in your story, but without proper scenes for them. They will begun to think after they get some information, and - if they are not the lazy type, who really doesn't even care about the game, they only there, because someone bring them there - they begun to ponder about the possibilities. You can take the idea, what you like the most (or the most likely to happen), and improvise a few thing on that line of thought. They will be happy, to found out something, what you "prepared" for them, and you need less work too. - W A R N I N G - This method only works, if you group up for a game rarely enough to work on the idea, what they gave you (or you are really good with improvisation)!

I doscovered your channel last week and it's an amazing one! Even the ads are funny!!!

Really loved the concept of this video, so creative and fun! and the tips are a+ thank you for sharing ❤

I think a reasonably precise phrasing of the common sentiment is, "Don't let prep feel like work. GM burnout ends groups." I'd like to add delegating work to the list of advice. There's a lot of work traditionally done by the GM that could easily be done by players, like scheduling, facilitating, and snack encouraging.

I agree with the lessons Ginny Di learned. It also shows in the channel content. As time goes on the channel advice is more insightful and easier to understand. Keep up the good work.

Im DMing for the first time and honestly, Im feeling really good, luckly my players are all amazing!!! I think I found the balance between preparation and improvisation from the get go! My only real dificulty has been with the encounter balance!!

just wanted to say that I really appreciate all the work you put into videos and they are incredibly helpful!!! I ALWAYS recommend your videos if someone I know is thinking of dming or wants advice. No matter what other people say, you are amazing and gorgeous and your videos are so helpful and funny and I always love your ad breaks!!!!

Your DM videos are fantastic. Thanks for putting so much effort into these quality videos. 😄👌

Some of the best DM advice I have ever heard made very concise and well explained.

Loveee this video. So insightful and everything I wish i would have known when I started! Amazing job, Ginny!

Your videos are the most helpful ones out here. You make DMing - and role playing games in general - feel less opaque and privileged. I get so much inspiration from your advice!

I like asking my players questions about what they thought of various specific parts of the session as well as how they think I can improve places that fell flat. It’s great to get the specific feedback on places I can try to work with and places that I need to emphasize and add more of. My players also give me ideas for things like backstory arcs and ways they want things to happen and playing off of those or incorporating them is amazing for engagement and making the game personal for everyone Also, I used to be so so impressed upon hearing that a friend at the time had a session that lasted a month. Now I’m dming and going on about five months on my campaign and I’m so proud of it

The advice is good and the cuts and stuff are great. Awesome video.

This is your best video yet and came out exactly when I needed it!!! I’m not a new DM but needed alittle affirmation.

Another wonderful video, witty, funny and informative. I know I had the exact same issues when I started out DMing a campaign for some online friends. This is the kind of info that really helps, great work Ginny. 👍

This was full of insightful, helpful tips, and presented in a very fun, clever way! Bravo!

That final really caught me up, lol. Despite that, I think the tips are really good to new masters and I will share this video to my friends who could desire to start a session in the future for the first time, while I find the suggestion about the feedback system very functional and I'll try it for sure, because I've still problem with feedbacks. Nice video overall!

That last tip is so true. I stepped away from a game with people I’m friends with as I just want different things from my games. So now I’m in some difference games and things are awesome.

The last twist of the video was very clever and brightened up my day ☺ thank you!

I just found your channel. I love your sponsor segments (surprisingly, I usually hate those in videos). I love the outfits and character make up and all the effort you put in to make the sponsor segments actually entertaining. It's so fun to watch. ♡

Really well done on the dye jobs between past and present you! Funny detail

Thank you for these DM tip videos from a a new DM prospective. I am starting out on my DM journey and these videos has help me better prepare. Thanks Ginny!!!

ginny! this could not have come at a more opportune time. i’ve been thinking of taking a crack at DMing for my friends and i’ve been so worried with prepping WAAAAY ahead of our actual start. the whole “type A overthinking control freak” bit hit hard LMAO. thank you for the good content always! 💚

I loved this format of you talking to yourself ! very engaging and fun

LOVE the advice about the stars and wishes. Also the last bit with the future phone call was a nice, unexpected touch. :)

Watching your journey has been really incredible.

Definitely a great video that I needed to watch as I prepare my own Disney Fairy Tale campaign. The 2 points about control are something I struggle with a bit still because I'm so used to mediums like film with a very controlled narrative.

One time I got so into a game I created key cards for the players with all the languages on them (dwarven, Elven, Orcish...etc) so when they found a scroll or writing on an item they had to translate it if they had the right language card, if not they had to pay someone or ask a party member to translate It. ( spell scroll, magic item,,,etc) It made the game so much fun!

This has been super helpful!!! 🤩🤩🤩 gearing up for my first time DMing soon ☺️☺️☺️

As a first time DM, your channel has been such an incredible treasure! I'm having a blast, and I think my players are too, and so much of that is thanks to what I learned from you. From advice like this video, to inspiration in the form of your side quests, npc's, the examples you give, and even just the characters you create for your skits and ads. I use your videos more often than I do the Dungeon Master's Guide. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, from a fellow type A control freak DM with ADHD! ♥

Great vid and great advice. About to run a session from another system and I needed to hear this.

You're so mean to past you! Love the video. Starting a new campaign soon and every time I do it gets a little better. We keep learning!

As someone who’s been a DM for aaaaaages this gave me some really useful tips! Especially “Stars and Wishes”! I’m definitely gonna use that when our campaign starts up again, thanks for a great video!

Two minutes and I literally paused and started a document for notes cause this is crazy good advice that made me see my dming totally differently

This is actually really inspiring and helpful. Thank you.

i really liked the stars and wishes part. in our game we have a similar thing named "roses and thorns" wich we do after every milestone. everyone gets to tell things they really liked and that they didnt like . dm and player wise. everyone can improve this way and i as the dm get a better feeling what my players want.