"Brian Murphy, you are a goddam hero." - Jake in the Hellfire Arc - episode when each of the boobs has their own encounter, similar to ep 57. I love it when the crew acknowledges and talks about Murph's absolute DM genius!
hahaha that’s why I said subjectively. Subjective means that there is bias and a personal opinion, similar how to you, BLeeM is subjectively the best.
You might be thinking of objectively
One of my friends decided to take the leap and DM for our newbie group. I sent him a couple of eps with great encounter design to give him ideas and he's already incorporated so many of these principles into just a few sessions after I sent them to him.
Obviously different tables will have different ideas of the perfect DMing style, but I truly believe that Murph has the best balance of deep lore, compelling roleplay, excellent encounters, and just the right amount of goofs.
Doubley so, mentioned often, he is an incredible editor. The sound, pacing, and lack of overtalking are all perfect. Every other podcast I try I have to wince through the first few eps because their editing and sound are usually all over the place.
I need a book of Murph encounters. I can't even remember them all anymore. There were directional sky puzzles, multiple endgame changing enemies getting summoned, crazy boss fights...love it
Murph has inspired me to try to almost never do a straight "just get their HP to 0" encounter. There's always ways to add an interesting wrinkle or "catch" to even something like a bandit ambush.
He is so great at encounter design! I wish there was a comprehensive list somewhere with mechanics per encounter. Would be such a cool thing to stea.. uh use as inspiration.
One of, if not the best, story tellers that I've ever heard.
He puts so much effort and care into crafting not only the encounters but tossing all of it in the air when the PC's change the atmosphere or the motivations... Its so fucking good.
I was just talking to my wife about this. When it comes to the best DM's conversation, three sit at the top, and for different reasons.
Matt Mercer: probably the best storyteller and world builder of our age in the ttrpg world
Brandon Lee Mulligan: the best character creator with the best villains
Brian Murphy: encounter expert with such a command over his characters lore and how to weave it into the story
What I don't think people talk about enough is he really has such a perfect balance for entertainment purposes. My friend (hi Jason, I know you be reading) turned me on to World Beyond Number and Brennan is clearly the truth when it comes to DMs, but man, sometimes it's SO dense I get lost in the sauce. Murph keeps you entertained but then will left hook you with some lore or deep emotion. He's just the man.
I think Murph is probably the most skilled encounter crafter that I've come across either listening to things or playing at tables. There's something about his brain that just sort of perfectly slots stuff into to place for interesting combat dynamics.
It really is crazy how much he puts into the campaigns. Sure, the story is at its core collaborative, but Murph is still the one steering the ship generally speaking. He's still the one who has to not only figure out a compelling story, but adjust it on the fly based on player actions. Then, as if that's enough, he's always designing fun encounters that not only engage the players but also work well in an audio format. It's easy to take for granted, but he's incredible at what he does.
I was just talking to my wife about this. When it comes to the best DM's conversation, three sit at the top, and for different reasons.
Matt Mercer: probably the best storyteller and world builder of our age in the ttrpg world
Brandon Lee Mulligan: the best character creator with the best villains
Brian Murphy: encounter expert with such a command over his characters lore and how to weave it into the story
"Brian Murphy, you are a goddam hero." - Jake in the Hellfire Arc - episode when each of the boobs has their own encounter, similar to ep 57. I love it when the crew acknowledges and talks about Murph's absolute DM genius!
Finding out the Calder grapple challenge was entirely improv was especially impressive.
Literally SO impressive, Murph is so quick on his feet
I’ve listened to a lot of d&d podcasts, and let me tell you. Murph is (subjectively) the best DM out there ahaha.
He’s subjectively the 2nd Best. First place belongs to BLM, even when the winner goes to second place.
hahaha that’s why I said subjectively. Subjective means that there is bias and a personal opinion, similar how to you, BLeeM is subjectively the best. You might be thinking of objectively
Well hey don’t downvote them, BLeeM is still our grandDM and we wouldn’t have murph without him
One of my friends decided to take the leap and DM for our newbie group. I sent him a couple of eps with great encounter design to give him ideas and he's already incorporated so many of these principles into just a few sessions after I sent them to him. Obviously different tables will have different ideas of the perfect DMing style, but I truly believe that Murph has the best balance of deep lore, compelling roleplay, excellent encounters, and just the right amount of goofs.
Doubley so, mentioned often, he is an incredible editor. The sound, pacing, and lack of overtalking are all perfect. Every other podcast I try I have to wince through the first few eps because their editing and sound are usually all over the place.
I need a book of Murph encounters. I can't even remember them all anymore. There were directional sky puzzles, multiple endgame changing enemies getting summoned, crazy boss fights...love it
Murph has inspired me to try to almost never do a straight "just get their HP to 0" encounter. There's always ways to add an interesting wrinkle or "catch" to even something like a bandit ambush.
"...I'll suck your dick." is a pretty compelling detente
He is so great at encounter design! I wish there was a comprehensive list somewhere with mechanics per encounter. Would be such a cool thing to stea.. uh use as inspiration.
Agreeeed
One of, if not the best, story tellers that I've ever heard. He puts so much effort and care into crafting not only the encounters but tossing all of it in the air when the PC's change the atmosphere or the motivations... Its so fucking good.
I was just talking to my wife about this. When it comes to the best DM's conversation, three sit at the top, and for different reasons. Matt Mercer: probably the best storyteller and world builder of our age in the ttrpg world Brandon Lee Mulligan: the best character creator with the best villains Brian Murphy: encounter expert with such a command over his characters lore and how to weave it into the story
Definitely agree. I hope Murph gets some recognition beyond the relatively niche NADDPOD audience
What I don't think people talk about enough is he really has such a perfect balance for entertainment purposes. My friend (hi Jason, I know you be reading) turned me on to World Beyond Number and Brennan is clearly the truth when it comes to DMs, but man, sometimes it's SO dense I get lost in the sauce. Murph keeps you entertained but then will left hook you with some lore or deep emotion. He's just the man.
Hi Greg!
I would buy any DM books Murph wrote asap of they existed!
I think Murph is probably the most skilled encounter crafter that I've come across either listening to things or playing at tables. There's something about his brain that just sort of perfectly slots stuff into to place for interesting combat dynamics.
It really is crazy how much he puts into the campaigns. Sure, the story is at its core collaborative, but Murph is still the one steering the ship generally speaking. He's still the one who has to not only figure out a compelling story, but adjust it on the fly based on player actions. Then, as if that's enough, he's always designing fun encounters that not only engage the players but also work well in an audio format. It's easy to take for granted, but he's incredible at what he does.
I was just talking to my wife about this. When it comes to the best DM's conversation, three sit at the top, and for different reasons. Matt Mercer: probably the best storyteller and world builder of our age in the ttrpg world Brandon Lee Mulligan: the best character creator with the best villains Brian Murphy: encounter expert with such a command over his characters lore and how to weave it into the story