The Matt Colville Advice You Should Ignore

9.4K views • 11 months ago • 23:40 In this video I break down five pieces of Matt Colville dungeon master advice that I completely disagree with. 🐲 DM LAIR BLACK FRIDAY SALE: Enter discount codes BLACK30 and BLACK50 at checkout and 30% to 50% off will be applied to all products. https://thedmlair.com/ In this video, I react to five major pieces of dungeon master advice that Matt Colville often recommends—and explain why I strongly disagree with every single one. From collaborative storytelling gone too far, to random encounters that waste time, to fudging dice rolls, “orc attacks,” and cinematic cutscenes that steal player agency, I break down exactly why these GM techniques can ruin a D&D game when used the wrong way. If you care about player agency, authentic gameplay, meaningful dice results, and keeping your table engaged without railroading or pre-scripted story beats, this deep dive will give you better tools to run great sessions. Whether you run D&D 5e, Pathfinder 2e, OSR games, or your own homebrew TTRPG system, this video will help you improve pacing, avoid bad GM habits, and deliver a fun, dynamic tabletop experience your players will actually remember. Let’s talk about what actually works at the game table—and what advice you can safely ignore. 🧚 Feybound: Trickery of the Wilds | New fey-themed races, subclasses, mechanics, magic items, setting, adventures, and more! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thedmlair/feybound-trickery-of-the-wilds?ref=3dv965 ⚔️ See my current TTRPG game listings and become a player! https://startplaying.games/gm/thedmlair 🔴 Sign up here if you want me to email you when I launch new games I'm running. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf3K4CoXd3xYpA8Hrd270Qey3bmzYGANsEjvjE0o_Oe7vnlKA/viewform?usp=header 🔴 ASK ME YOUR QUESTIONS https://forms.gle/zKXscNMuUdbj4EAo6 🔴 SUPPORT & GM RESOURCES Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thedmlair The DM Lair Store https://thedmlair.com/ Feybound: Trickery of the Wilds https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thedmlair/feybound-trickery-of-the-wilds?ref=3dv965 Lairs & Legends 2 https://thedmlair.com/pages/lairs-legends-2 Lairs & Legends https://thedmlair.com/pages/lairs-legends The Secret Art of Game Mastery https://thedmlair.com/pages/the-secret-art-of-game-mastery-1 on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Secret-Art-of-Game-Mastery-Audiobook/B0D73ZN1D2?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp Newsletter https://thedmlair.getresponsepages.com/ Firelight Fables Candles Use promo code THEDMLAIR to get 10% off. https://www.firelightfables.com/ Start Playing Games https://startplaying.games/referral/clmrmo1bw000vl108aukekk2o 🔴 SOCIALS Discord https://discord.gg/thedmlair X (Twitter) https://x.com/TheDMLair ~~Convention Schedule~~ Please come up and say hi if you see me! Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo (PAGE) | Jan. 15-18 http://www.phillygamingexpo.com/ Gary Con | Mar. 19-22 https://garycon.com/ Gen Con | July 30 - Aug. 2 https://www.gencon.com/ #dungeonsanddragons #dungeonmaster #ttrpg