Toss a coin to your DM. Oh campaign of plenty. Oh campaign of plenty.

I'm freaked out by how smooth Zee's animation is this time.

Real life Zee looks like he's gonna teach us math while chopping wood

*Zee:* give them blade oils *Jocat:* _heavy breathing_

Huh, you actually look like your drawn character. I mean, less orange but still. This isn’t a puffin forest-esque reveal

BREAD FOR THE BREAD GOD

Loving the content shift here, can't wait to see more! Also you are a beautiful man

is your mans: A beefy lumberjack Wears glasses Is usually a cartoon wizard? that’s actually not your mans, that’s Zee Bashew.

One quick thing about the video subject: that type of specialization seems to me like it would fit well as a way to seperate different area's monsters, like maybe the direbears in the warm, lush forests aren't cold resistant, but instead poison resistant, so using tranquilizer darts may have worked in the tundra you first saw dire bears in, but not so down south.

I LOVE this video. Great job my man.

The only animator that looks exactly like their avatar

Here are some cool "folkloric" vulnerabilities. A virgin blade (Blade that has not been used to kill before). Or the opposite a cursed blade, a blade that has felled a 100 innocent lives. A metal weapon forged under the full moon. Or when harmed under a full moon. A spear made from the bones a human being. Or the antlers of an elk To the "resistances" I would like to add maybe as an alternative some "conditional regeneration" by making the creature regain a 10th of its total hitpoints if: Not exposed at least dim light for a round. Not fully submerged in water 1 minute after killed. Not being looked upon during a round. Not in the presence of an infant in the past minute. In other words make 1 of the suggested resistances or the vulnerability something that the players might have to work to get first, something so specific that becomes mystical but mundane enough so that a barbarian can get its hands on.

there's no way that's you, He doesn't even have a Wizard's hat!

First time I've seen your face. Definitely as magnificent of a beard as in the animated version. 9/10 not enough wizard hat

Using traps to kill monsters huh neat, Me playing as a kobold: FELLOW KOBOLDS MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS OUR TIME HAS COME!

"You know what to do" Me: "I cant believe I almost forgot" *hits like button*

The second avatar is very high detail 🤔

Zee: face reveal Audience: Me: OH NO HE'S HOT!!!!

That tip at the end about the 5hp “life bars” for monsters was so smart and makes managing several monsters a breeze. Thanks for that.

This is also a convenient circumstance to introduce new skills like "Monster Anatomy" and "Occultism"

I am fascinated by the number of 'zee's hot' comments. Like, come on, a person with that voice? It was practically guaranteed he's good-looking.

I did a Witcher style encounter in my game I'm running. I took a Manticore and gave the players some lore about what it could do, and things that it was attracted to. They were able to use this and make bait for it. They also knew that it was dangerous when flying, so they figured out a way to ground it. Bolas and fire damage would work, as would doing enough damage at range. I like the idea of using simpler items to overcome resistances, rather than just "magic weapon."

"2019 was the best year I've ever had" Man, what comes up really must come down, eh?

4:03 this stage is a great one to make your PCs use Int base skills like Nature, Arcana or Religion depending on the type of monster they will be fighting.

*Sees Zee's human self. *Confused, scared screaming.

So fast even the video hasn't finished uploading.

The last part was lovely. "2019 was the best year I've had yet, professionally and personally." cheers!

Re:"Happy 2020, guys, 2019 was the best year!" Found him. Found the hexer! On a how to Witch video.

I love how he kinda glosses over the fact that it’s kinda a face reveal

Am I the only one seeing how well kept and soft looking this mans beard is.

"What's the name of that one sauce that no one can pronounce? The one with the bottle that comes wrapped in paper?" "Oh you mean 0:13 "

Just imagine Zee Bashew as a non animated person.... OH NO HES HOT!

This is the first time I've seen Zee's face, and holy cow he's hot!

Loving that library, also, impressive beard

I've tried it! It was for a two-session one shot where my players went basilisk-hunting in a marsh full of water snakes. It was quite a lot of fun building the final encounter, though in the end the players plan was so effective the combat was over after two rounds. Also, this reminds me a lot of Vaesen, a RPG set in Victorian-era Scandinavia. It is all about investigating mysteries involving folklore creatures, and often ends up with the players performing some sort of ritual to appease them. It feels a lot like a crossover between The Witcher and Call of Cthulhu.

I feel like combining this with Matt Colville's action oriented monsters would be pretty sweet.

Huh, Zee looks to be 90% more my age than I expected.

Recommended channels: Seattle by night: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nJijoNZ10rzKk6M.html A cool vid from Adam: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gtCgoZihm8mbY58.html Matts newest video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mceem8SprdKql2w.html

For what it is worth, I really dig the post-notes section and interviews discussing the topics in a bit more detail, I encountered my first post notes recently and it drew me back in to watch more videos. Keep up the good work and make 2020 an even greater year for yourself!

Hey Zee, thanks for another great video. been watching for the past year now and i'm never disappointed, from your spell book videos to your advice on game mechanics I find each and every video helpful and entertaining. Thanks for the content.

Zee gets a beautiful beard win. He already had one, it's just now confirmed. Keep on keeping on! Love this, and every vid!

Never before has someone so perfectly matched their voice!

0:00 You had me at 'The Witcher'

Always great to put a face to the voice. Glad to hear you had such a great 2019. Hope 2020 tops it! Thanks again for all the wonderful content!

Looks like he slept off all those exhaustion levels!

It's content like this that confirms my bias that low-level D&D is best-level D&D.

Your ideas are consistently awesome and so well explained. Thanks so much for these videos!

This is why I watch every video you put out. Because you not only give an idea/nugget of wisdom, you take the time and help people understand the reasons/mechanics of doing it that way. All in a very well thought out and eloquently articulated manner. It's a nice personal touch that is all too rarely found these days.

The animation quality is so good now, especially after 2:30

"i will read them, i will!" me too

One of the absolute best ideas for D&D yet ! Thanks bro ,great videos, keep up the great work.

The second I stumbled upon your channel I fell in love as someone who has been playing about a year I’m looking into (have started) writing my own campaign and I love the input all of your videos have given me much much love my man

Rogues be like: welp that monster is immune to piercing damage ... guess i´m fued now

I love this video. I've just started giving lingering injuries to my players when they are knocked to 0 HP. One player lost a finger to a crocodile and are now owning that characteristic during role play.

This was a great video! I love that you are unafraid to mix up your style of videos. Can't wait to see the content you bring over the next year!

Really liked the longer form content, with an animated opening and a face on explanation, deeper dives into DM tips are always fascinating to me!

"You know what to do." *gets the ax*

"Happy 2020" *Nervous Chuckling*

I absolutely love all your videos. I got started on the animated spellbook series and I’ve watched quite a bit now. This is definitely something I’m going to do with my homebrew world.

This video alone has improved my DM scope twofold.

Zee’s hot!?

"I dont have time to proceed into the oil system I came up with" *proceeds to do 6 minutes of explanations that*

Liked the video, loved the concept, loved the post-script. Thank you for the content you share with us!!! Happy New Year! :D

Love the videos! And wouldn't mind seeing these post-animation notes again once in a while! Easily one of my favorite KZfaq animators and D&D animators.

"Happy 2020! 2019 was the best year I've ever had" *Laughs in 2021*

That's a BIG beard win!! also interesting video, really liked the creature scaling concept, might try it

I already watch all of those other creators you mentioned and I get a huge amount of enjoyment from your animations. Even if alot of creators have similar content I would like to commend you as you've really found a great "value add" to your videos entertainment. The sending spell one was personally my favorite. Keep up the great work.

Thank you so much for the awesome videos! So entertaining and genuinely funny and just EXACTLY the kinda content I love. And thanks for the great advice!

I've been so hyped from the witcher show, this video was perfect

For those not aware, there's an official Witcher TTRPG system out there. I've played it and it's super mechanics heavy but in a good way, at least in my opinion. It also has stats on a handful of the monsters from the games and books so if you want some inspiration for some D&D homebrew I suggest picking up the book.

I've been getting some people I know into rollplaying and while I'm not the biggest D&D fan it was the easiest system to talk them into trying and since they were also fans of Stranger Things I picked up the said themed starter kit. Now I haven't played D&D in over a decade so I needed to brush up on how 5th ed works ASAP and then I found this channel. Not only has it been a great help teaching me how 5th ed works it's done so in such a unique and witty style that I'd find these episodes entertaining even if I didn't know a dungeon from a dragon heh. Good job man, keep it up. Now my RPG system of choice is GURPS and so I'm kinda bummed that there's not a whole lot of content on the ol KZfaqs breaking GURPS down like this, definitely would help get they system the attention I think it deserves. Maybe after I start my new job next month I'll finally have the time and energy (to give you an idea, I go through such a long time between days off at my current job that the last time I had a day off my roommate freaked out and thought I lost my job since they are so used to me not being home lol) to take a crack at doing something to help spread the good word of GURPS.

I wish I could like this more. Thank you for well over a lifetime of great videos and story ideas that have come from watching your videos!

When the character actually looks like his real self...

So my first ever DnD character was based on the witcher. We had his as a cleric of Kord in 3.5 so he could be a caster that fights in armor. He died within about an hour due to drowning. Good old Jurras was replaced by his brother Surras(and later on Durras). It was definitely not the best intro to DnD and I still have a crippling fear of water in this game 10 years later.

Zee Bashew. Thanks for explaining a lot, the animation was great but the way you take time to clear things up means a lot. Thanks for being awesome!

I liked the end talk and the animations. This is one of my most favorite channels to watch and really helps me think outside the box with dnd.

"2020 has been the best year for me" DUDE WHAT ELDRITCH GOD DID YOU PACK WITH. THE REST OF US ARE SUFFERING HELP

7:33 You fool You brought this year down upon us !!! lol

Great video man, awesome content with some solid ideas on making encouters more strategic AND interesting. There will be a lot of great group stories to come from running a game like that.

Love your videos man they’re so fun. It’s a party for me whenever one comes out!

Not the flumphs!

I love how this came out well I'm making a homebrew witcher class for my friend group

Great video! Loved the post script, it was so wonderful to hear your extensive thoughts.

Huge respect for this channel and for the work you put in. Seeing you on camera is epic so keep it up 👍

He looks nothing like I imagined and yet so much better

This sounds like a really fun setup actually, if only my group still played consistently... (on a side note, damn you're handsome...) x3

Thanks, this video actually helped me a lot! This way of handling monsters feels like it would be a lot more fun with the current group I dm for, so I'm excited to try it out with them ✨

A really helpful video Zee. Among other things you've clarified for me why I miss the 3.5 damage reduction system. Having a monster completely no-sell an attack just worked so well. It makes such an effective piece of immersion and it genuinely makes the monsters work as a monster when the vampire ignores the fact that you stuck an arrow in its eye or the axe blow to the chest doesn't phase the werewolf in the slightest (plus damage reduction can be overwhelmed by a lucky hit or weapon skill so its not as harsh as a flat out immunity). On the other hand 3.5 system rewards players who are versatile, prepared and/or do their homework just as you describe in your video (as opposed to the 3.0 system where everything was on a linear scale so it just encouraged players to get hold of the most powerful magic weapon they could, which they were going to do anyway). With 5th edition half-damage system on the other hand in my (admittedly fairly limited) experience players just tend to shrug their shoulders, say "well at least I'm doing some damage" and continue battering away. In fact I'm thinking of testing 3.5 style damage reduction as a houserule the next time I run 5th edition. Zee, if you have the time and any suggestions on how to balance things out they wold be most welcome.

Can you please revisit this. This is pure gold content.

"I have to talk about it as a human being instead of as my avatar" I can't tell the difference. Aren't avatars supposed to be exaggerated? It's just your face.

obscure item weaknesses reminds me of a sidequest encounter i made involving a really scary monster. It did decent damage (but claws/teeth coated in a material that allowed it to ignore ac bonuses from armour), had decent speed, but the major fear factor was its resistance to damn near all damage mundane or magical, and a recharging invul save to just flat out ignore damage using a reaction. Coupled with a small, but hard to counter regen with good health and weirdly high ac, this thing was not the heaviest hitter, but hit often and shrugged off even cannon fire. It was a sort of daemonic creature that got a crucible of corrupted iron dumped on it before escaping to the mundane realm. Whenever it showed up itd try to eat civilians and the like, and the group had to either crit it for x damage or deal y damage normally to scare it off. To counter it the group learned of a sort of "craftsman's curse." It was typically used by those of little skill to invoke brittleness on their peers' creations. They needed a relevant tool (the hammer used earnestly by a failed blacksmith), a broken workstation (a cracked anvil), and a piece of the intended target or the same material crafted by the caster into a spike or nail, dipped in the caster's blood. Once applied, it turned crafted material as brittle as glass. Luckily a crit earned them a tiny scale from the creature, and they spent a few days researching burials and sourcing materials. Worked wonders too since once the nat-armour was brittle, blunt damage or a strength check to rip chunks off left the thing bleeding past is natural recovery threshold and vulnerable to most damage. It still managed to escape to the woods due to increased speed from less weight, but it was piss easy to track the blood. It didnt last the night

This was a very interesting video with great ideas to give a dnd campaign a different feel, you sir have just widened my horizon and I thank you for that.

Love this idea, I'm seeing a party traveling through a town and hearing about a monster terrorizing the townspeople. Maybe take a monster and give it a different ability, "it sounds like an umber hulk, but I've never heard of them breathing fire before."

(Zee Bashes face reveal) Me: "Holy dang I bet that guy is DROWNING in hot nerd babes. Geeze."

I'm a big fan of your animation work. That draws me in every time I see something new.

We need your potion and blade oil system now You can't rub this genie's lamp twice and go away.

"How to make fights feel a little more deadly and a little more folkloreish" OSR, my friends.

Zee: you know what to do My brain: you know what you doing My brain again: ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US

I really want to try this man, you make it sound so good. Thanks for all your videos Zee.

I absolutely love the ideas of things having both more roleplaying interaction as well as MORE VULNERABILITIES! It really opens up a lot of options for classes like the Ranger in particular to shine