Dungeons and Dragons Player Expresses Frustration With DM Content Creators Who Claim 5e Is a Weak System

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Mar 12, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Yikes, someone is mad and isn't afraid to show it.

To be fair, I kind of get it. The trend I've observed in recent years involves DnD creators who are producing content that often begins with variations of the same premise: critiquing aspects of Dungeons and Dragons 5e and proposing solutions or alternatives. These creators typically segue into promoting their own products, which sometimes offer little more than repackaged content from the official books. Upon further investigation into these creators' channels, I often find a lack of actual gameplay content or sessions. And after reading u/NonsenseMister, I understand I'm not alone.

Is it annoying? Yeah, kind of. Do I care? A little bit. I think it depends on the day I'm scrolling. Did I have a horrible day at work? If the answer is yes, then I'm usually seething at these posts. Scroll down to read what this user had to say about it, and then read the rest of the comments. Next up, a Dungeon Master who banned a player's character from 'liking chickens'.

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  • 01
    I'm really starting to really hate content creators that make "How to DM" content. DMing
    via u/NonsenseMister
  • 02
    Not all of them, and this is not about any one creator in particular. However, I have noticed over the last few years a trend of content that starts off with the same premise, worded a few different ways. "This doesn't work in 5e, but let me show you how" "5e is broken and does this poorly, here's a better way" "Let me cut out all the boring work you have to do to DM 5e, here's how" "5e is poorly balanced, here's how to fix it"
    via u/NonsenseMister
  • 03
    "CR doesn't work, here's how to fix it" "Here's how you're playing wrong" And jump from that premise to sell their wares, which are usually in the best case just reworded or reframed copy straight out of the books, and at the worst case are actually cutting off the nose to spite the face by providing metrics that literally don't work with anything other than the example they used. Furthermore, too many times that I stumble or get shown one of these videos, poking into the creators channel either
    via u/NonsenseMister
  • 04
    uninteresting & s 3 hour session that most people watching their videos are trying to avoid. It also creates this weird group of DMs I've run into lately that argue against how effective the DMG or PHB or the mechanics are and either openly or obviously but secretly have not read either of the books. You don't even need the DMG to DM folks! And then we get the same barrage of "I accidentally k my players" and "My players are running all over my encounters" and "I'm terrified of running".
    via u/NonsenseMister
  • 05
    It's not helping there be a common voice, rather, it's just creating a crowd of people who think they have it figured out, and way too many of those same people don't run games, haven't in years and yet insist that they've reached some level of expertise that has shown them how weak of a system 5e is. So I'll say it once, here's my hot take:
    via u/NonsenseMister
  • 06
    If you can't run a good game in 5e, regardless if there are 'better' systems out there (whatever that means), that isn't just a 5e problem. And if you are going to say "This is broken and here's why" and all you have is math and not actual concrete examples or videos or any proof of live play beyond "Because the numbers here don't line up perfectly", then please read the go... nn DMG and run some games. There are thousands of us who haven't run into these "CORE ISSUES OF 5E" after triple digit s
    via u/NonsenseMister
  • 07
    Ramonteiro12 4 days ago edited 4 days ago All you gotta do is look around. This is the current approach for everything. "5 tips your English teacher will never tell you" "if you are not doing this, you are doing your studies dirty!" "Your investments are I and here's why!" "One secret tip that will change the way you sweep the floor forever!"
    via u/Ramonteiro12
  • 08
    It's how content creators communicate nowadays. And it's a sl how. Unironically: this is not a d&d problem EDIT: I am gonna go out there and say even though I like different DND content creators, there's that one guy that actually has some cool things to say, but his introductions are so long, his jokes are so repetitive, his characters are so annoying that it's VERY hard to go through his videos.
    via u/Ramonteiro12
  • 09
    I mean, I am sure he is a nice guy. But he's applying that content creation formula in this niche here and oh my God, his thumbnails, his video titles.... 1.4k Reply Share
    via u/Ramonteiro12
  • 10
    HomoVulgaris 4 days ago edited 4 days ago Reading the PhB should be a requirement for posting about the PhB. 428 Reply Share that_one_Kirov 4 days ago Reading the PHB should be a requirement for playing D&D. A 246 ▼ Reply Share
    via u/HomoVulgaris, u/that_one_Kirov
  • 11
    TE1381 4 days ago When I watch those kinds of videos, I just tend to steal the one or two good ideas they have and ignore the rest. I agree with the bulk of your post though. 111 Reply Share
    via u/TE1381
  • 12
    captainofpizza . 4 days ago The biggest limit on people playing is DMs. The biggest choke point on DMs is new players who want to start a group but don't know what they are doing. Therefore DM support content grows the hobby. It's not the worse thing out there. 98 Reply Share
    via u/captainofpizza
  • 13
    SatisfactionSpecial2 - 4 days ago · edited 4 days ago Idk, 5e does have a lot of oversights and problems, and it was rushed to be published. Heck, like I always say, they published a MM without a "Monsters by CR" table. Can I really be surprised that the chase rules are crude and unusable? Generally I see such videos as ideas and methods that I can filter and use selectively.
    via u/SatisfactionSpecial2
  • 14
    …..then again, I have blocked a lot of D&D channels because some of them just have no idea what they are talking about and/or just repack decades old knowledge. I am rarely interested in "WHY THIS SPELL DROVE MY DM CRAZY" or whatever lukewarm content is generated as a result of running out of ideas. 421 Reply Share
    via u/SatisfactionSpecial2
  • 15
    Rabid Lederhosen 4 days ago The CR system in the DMG is needlessly complicated at best. There are much better ways to do it. Xanathar's guide has one. I don't think pointing that out is necessarily bad advice. 166 Reply Share
    via u/Rabid_Lederhosen
  • 16
    Gerbieve 4 days ago This is not just a D&D 5e and DM thing, you see this all over the place and it's been like this for a long long time. Even before youtube, you had this, on a smaller scale on forums and such. Add in algorithms, clickbait titles that are pretty much required to get views and it can get kind of crazy. Especially with something like 5e or TTRPGs in general that don't have a single way of doing things, afterall most systems allow a lot of freedom for the DM (and the players) to p
    via u/Gerbieve
  • 17
    You gotta see for yourself what the value is you can get from a public figure talking about things you enjoy. following/subscribing to those you get value from and telling youtube that you want to "see less" of whatever you don't like helps a bit, but this doesn't always work since getting on feeds is more of an algorithm thing than it is having valuable content, but having both should prevail.
    via u/Gerbieve
  • 18
    That said, hating content creators because they make a video about something you see differently or perhaps rightfully think is not an 'expert view' even if they say it is, seems a bit excessive to me, but hey you can't deny how you feel. Don't underestimate the power of another point of view. Even if someone hasn't run a game for some time, and even if someone runs the game entirely different from you, they might just have some good points you hadn't thought about yet. Heck, even someone who ne
    via u/Gerbieve
  • 19
    up to you to take what you can from it and just ignore the rest, if you know what you aren't looking for it should be pretty easy to filter out and just ignore. 54 Reply Share
    via u/Gerbieve

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