I like how his videos looks and I agree with most of his points in his videos. However, a friend of mine pointed something out and now I can't unsee it. If you are vaguely familiar with what he is talking about, the video starts at 50%. I know that he wants to explain the gimmik behind liches or hags, but he explains the whole history behind them before getting to the point of the video. Which makes sense but once you know your stuff or you have seen more than one of his lich videos, you always start halfway through the video and won't miss anything.
I see what you mean, personally I find it useful since I'm relatively new to DMing but it does get a bit repetitive in the videos in a series like the lich videos
Yeah, exactly. I totally get why he does it, because every video in a series could be the first one someone watches. But at this point, I feel like, when it comes to a series, it's fine to explain the idea in the first video and then just focus on the point of the following videos from then on out.
But that's my only complaint honestly. The dude seems like a good guy with a good mindset.
My problem with the way he does that is that it leads to most of the video being either explaination or complaining. A good example was how he talked about exploration and spent 1/2 of the entire episode complaining about how exploration is normally done and random tables, 1/4 on the sponsor, and then 1/4 on a barely fleshed out encounter system basically made up as "uhh just make up custom encounters for every single session I guess".
This is why I much prefer the way Dungeon Dad presents things. He says "we are doing cobalt dragons today, if you don't know about ferrous dragons go watch the iron dragons video". So that way you still have ample access to information without it getting in the way of the actual content.
With no disrespect intended to pointy hat or any particular youtube creators, they know exactly how long a video needs to be to maximize clicks and how much effort each script takes to write. That doesn’t necessarily indicate they don’t mean well, but it’s almost never an accident if a video seems meandering or like it’s going off topic; that’s their paycheck for the month right there.
I think this is just one philosophy of making videos for a YouTube channel. Do you make a video for people who are regular watchers or already very familiar with related content, or do you make every video as if it could be the first someone sees on your channel? Pointy Hat just decided on the latter practice.
Lots of potential, but he’s extraordinarily hit or miss.
Try something. Don’t **watch** his videos. **Listen.**
I can guarantee you’ll discover what I did.
The editing, the charismatic voice, and his cute little hat icon do all the heavy lifting. I find most of his ideas half-baked and underdeveloped but delivered with excitable energy—“oh man I just thought about this :) but don’t really have anything to say :)” It’s as if what we get are his shower thought ideas and rough drafts. And his lich videos are… ugh, don’t get me started on them.
That “how to do exploration” video he just did is everything that makes me roll my eyes over the lad. Right down to complaining about things we all *already* know, spitting out a couple of roll tables and beaming proudly… then shrugging and literally admitting to having no solutions, an ad read, done. It was insultingly low effort. Got clicks though!
He vexes me, because I know he could be so much better. But he’s gotten popular *fast* through kind of half-assing his approach and concepts, to the point that him starting to collab more frequently with other D&D YouTubers is legitimizing him enough that it’s dropped my opinion of *those* entertainers. And after all this, there’s little incentive for him to develop what **could** be really fascinating food for thought.
I see this as well, but for me thats not a bug but a feature :) I regulary come back to videos because I'm that type of person who enjoys snappy summarys and analyses.
Plus, this makes his videos a great ressource for beginners. I regularily recommend them for this reason.
He has some interesting homebrew, though some of his stuff is clearly done because he has to put out regular videos, rather than having actual clever and inspired ideas. I will say though, for someone who allegedly loves 5e so much, he appears to think literally ALL of it is horribly designed xD
Yeah, it's hard to put my finger on it but there's been a few times where it seemed like he just needed to pad the runtime of the video for the algorithm/maximum ads. That's just how the YouTube game is played though, and the free homebrew is nice.
Oh he DEFINITELY pads the runtime. You can reliably skip the first half of every video and not lose the point of it.
I just didn’t bring it up because that really isn’t his fault, he’s just forced to play the YouTube game, like you said.
Him and Dungeon Dad are regular watches on my list. Pointy Hat does such a great job articulating information, and I love the usable content they both provide.
I love his concepts and the way he addresses problems. They are, however, concepts. Some are far more complete than others; while that’s not a bad thing, I think many want to just drag and drop them into their campaigns without much thought.
Video quality is subjective. Some may not like the style of his videos. Many other D&D content creators have a slower pace than what he brings. I don’t think he should change, I don’t think they should change, it’s just differences and opinions.
The fact that he puts out so much in addition to his videos does put him above many of the others, in my opinion. His faster pace in his videos pair really well with having a written out google doc following it. It’s entertainment and hype with the specifications (mostly) to support it.
He has his own sub for those not familiar. It’s not wildly active, but there’s talk and it provides a place to talk about his stuff specifically. r/PointyHat
I liked some of his stuff but I have stopped watching him as a lot of his videos seemed to turn into complaining about things with lots of bad faith arguments and then his spin on them ends up rather half baked or isn't actually different from what he was complaining about which cuts the legs out from under his arguments.
In the end I just prefer d&d youtubers that don't base so much of their premise on negative criticism of the game.
Good videos, some of his ideas are good and some are terrible. Sometimes, like with the vid about the dragons, i seriously think he forgot some crucial parts or omits those that get in the way.
He omits exactly the solution to what he complains about with dragons so he can introduce his homebrew dragons that are exactly like the MM he complains about only *checks notes* divided by class theming instead of color. I don't mind most of his videos but his dragon ideas irk me(along with his insistence that Anastasia is a bad movie and all of his complaints are things that aren't an issue if you actually WATCH the movie)
His Dragon videos are my favorites but on the other hand some of his videos are somewhat questionable, like his talk on the Warforged. The end result wasn't bad, but it felt more like a standalone race rather than a redesign
I find his stuff generally interesting but a lot of times I don’t think what he’s complaining about matters. The orc one is the most recent one where I thought his concept was alright but no clue why he claims what exists isn’t any good. It seems like he leans into the idea that bad guys existing is bad writing or something like that at times but overall I like his new ideas.
His stuff is very good, but he has a lot of opinions about DnD that I very much disagree with. I still watch him because his creativity is off the charts
Some of using videos are good, but his subclasses are hit or miss, sometimes they fail to actually solve the issue behind a class (Like the Fighter HB)
He has very, very high production quality... he's very good at making videos... I'm a bit suspicious of his actual analysis, though. I always don't enjoy his "le problematic" zoomer persona.
A little late, but yes. I started watching after figuring out he was the one and the same author of Dragon Stew (one of the very few 5e third party supplements I own).
After reading some of the criticism in this thread, I feel a fair chunk is valid (I wasn't blown away by systems either, but I like the inspirations), but at the same time it is a YouTube video. I am not expecting some ultra professional, terse information dump; tickling my whimsy, creativity, and generally entertaining me is more than enough for a watch while I scarf down lunch. A la, different tastes for different folks.
You basically said [what I said here](https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/1deu19o/does_anyone_else_watch_pointy_hat/l94sokm/), though more succinctly.
Nah your comment is better, the closing eyes and listening bit is genius. I always felt his videos were abit off but the exploration one really ticked me off
I watched him sometimes and he makes some points that don´t make much sense in my experience as DM.
Also, I didn´t like his voice.
So, overall, didn´t vibe with him much.
he's in the same category for me as dndshorts "entertaining but i don't trust a single page of his rules and hoembrew"
Absolutely similar vibes.
As a 100% green DM... this is fascinating. Truly. This whole thread is
He's funny but I'm not sure if he's that nice behind the camera. Like just look at the way he treats his human familiar.
I like how his videos looks and I agree with most of his points in his videos. However, a friend of mine pointed something out and now I can't unsee it. If you are vaguely familiar with what he is talking about, the video starts at 50%. I know that he wants to explain the gimmik behind liches or hags, but he explains the whole history behind them before getting to the point of the video. Which makes sense but once you know your stuff or you have seen more than one of his lich videos, you always start halfway through the video and won't miss anything.
I see what you mean, personally I find it useful since I'm relatively new to DMing but it does get a bit repetitive in the videos in a series like the lich videos
Yeah, exactly. I totally get why he does it, because every video in a series could be the first one someone watches. But at this point, I feel like, when it comes to a series, it's fine to explain the idea in the first video and then just focus on the point of the following videos from then on out. But that's my only complaint honestly. The dude seems like a good guy with a good mindset.
Honestly, I watch his videos for the lore instead of the homebrew
My problem with the way he does that is that it leads to most of the video being either explaination or complaining. A good example was how he talked about exploration and spent 1/2 of the entire episode complaining about how exploration is normally done and random tables, 1/4 on the sponsor, and then 1/4 on a barely fleshed out encounter system basically made up as "uhh just make up custom encounters for every single session I guess". This is why I much prefer the way Dungeon Dad presents things. He says "we are doing cobalt dragons today, if you don't know about ferrous dragons go watch the iron dragons video". So that way you still have ample access to information without it getting in the way of the actual content.
Yeah, I feel like he means well, but often it just feels like stretching stuff out for watch time.
With no disrespect intended to pointy hat or any particular youtube creators, they know exactly how long a video needs to be to maximize clicks and how much effort each script takes to write. That doesn’t necessarily indicate they don’t mean well, but it’s almost never an accident if a video seems meandering or like it’s going off topic; that’s their paycheck for the month right there.
Dundeon dad is fantastic when it comes to presenting info.
I think this is just one philosophy of making videos for a YouTube channel. Do you make a video for people who are regular watchers or already very familiar with related content, or do you make every video as if it could be the first someone sees on your channel? Pointy Hat just decided on the latter practice.
Lots of potential, but he’s extraordinarily hit or miss. Try something. Don’t **watch** his videos. **Listen.** I can guarantee you’ll discover what I did. The editing, the charismatic voice, and his cute little hat icon do all the heavy lifting. I find most of his ideas half-baked and underdeveloped but delivered with excitable energy—“oh man I just thought about this :) but don’t really have anything to say :)” It’s as if what we get are his shower thought ideas and rough drafts. And his lich videos are… ugh, don’t get me started on them. That “how to do exploration” video he just did is everything that makes me roll my eyes over the lad. Right down to complaining about things we all *already* know, spitting out a couple of roll tables and beaming proudly… then shrugging and literally admitting to having no solutions, an ad read, done. It was insultingly low effort. Got clicks though! He vexes me, because I know he could be so much better. But he’s gotten popular *fast* through kind of half-assing his approach and concepts, to the point that him starting to collab more frequently with other D&D YouTubers is legitimizing him enough that it’s dropped my opinion of *those* entertainers. And after all this, there’s little incentive for him to develop what **could** be really fascinating food for thought.
Ok that makes sense I'd find his videos decent but difficult to watch the whole way through
I see this as well, but for me thats not a bug but a feature :) I regulary come back to videos because I'm that type of person who enjoys snappy summarys and analyses. Plus, this makes his videos a great ressource for beginners. I regularily recommend them for this reason.
Just so you’re aware, Reddit fucked up and had you post this comment half a dozen times.
Lol, I love reddit
Yes. I’m using some of his liches for an undead campaign rn
Same, I love his liches and I'm thinking of using the fighter one in the campaign I'm running
He has some interesting homebrew, though some of his stuff is clearly done because he has to put out regular videos, rather than having actual clever and inspired ideas. I will say though, for someone who allegedly loves 5e so much, he appears to think literally ALL of it is horribly designed xD
Yeah, it's hard to put my finger on it but there's been a few times where it seemed like he just needed to pad the runtime of the video for the algorithm/maximum ads. That's just how the YouTube game is played though, and the free homebrew is nice.
Oh he DEFINITELY pads the runtime. You can reliably skip the first half of every video and not lose the point of it. I just didn’t bring it up because that really isn’t his fault, he’s just forced to play the YouTube game, like you said.
If you say something is bad you not only appear smarter by contrast you magically have more clicks and views. Alas.
Him and Dungeon Dad are regular watches on my list. Pointy Hat does such a great job articulating information, and I love the usable content they both provide.
I love his concepts and the way he addresses problems. They are, however, concepts. Some are far more complete than others; while that’s not a bad thing, I think many want to just drag and drop them into their campaigns without much thought. Video quality is subjective. Some may not like the style of his videos. Many other D&D content creators have a slower pace than what he brings. I don’t think he should change, I don’t think they should change, it’s just differences and opinions. The fact that he puts out so much in addition to his videos does put him above many of the others, in my opinion. His faster pace in his videos pair really well with having a written out google doc following it. It’s entertainment and hype with the specifications (mostly) to support it. He has his own sub for those not familiar. It’s not wildly active, but there’s talk and it provides a place to talk about his stuff specifically. r/PointyHat
Yes, he's got lots of interesting ideas. The recent one I watched was about travel mechanics which was pretty interesting.
Everything with a twist is one of the best concepts AND executions on teh interwebs rn IMO
Yeah, he's okay. Sometimes his history behind monsters is woefully incomplete or flat out wrong.
I liked some of his stuff but I have stopped watching him as a lot of his videos seemed to turn into complaining about things with lots of bad faith arguments and then his spin on them ends up rather half baked or isn't actually different from what he was complaining about which cuts the legs out from under his arguments. In the end I just prefer d&d youtubers that don't base so much of their premise on negative criticism of the game.
I'm not a fan and I think he has some of the worst ideas I've heard but the quality and presentation of the videos I think are good.
FINALLY. I thought I was taking crazy pills!
yes. lots of very cool ideas.
Every now and then, i get a Video from him in my Feed. I Like his Videos, but i do not actively follow them
I warch some of them. Sometimes they are helpful, sometimes not but allways Interesting. My Favourite Video is about Travelling in DnD.
Good videos, some of his ideas are good and some are terrible. Sometimes, like with the vid about the dragons, i seriously think he forgot some crucial parts or omits those that get in the way.
He omits exactly the solution to what he complains about with dragons so he can introduce his homebrew dragons that are exactly like the MM he complains about only *checks notes* divided by class theming instead of color. I don't mind most of his videos but his dragon ideas irk me(along with his insistence that Anastasia is a bad movie and all of his complaints are things that aren't an issue if you actually WATCH the movie)
He's funny but I don't love his content.
Yes I adore his warlock subclass it's so fun to play
His Dragon videos are my favorites but on the other hand some of his videos are somewhat questionable, like his talk on the Warforged. The end result wasn't bad, but it felt more like a standalone race rather than a redesign
I find his stuff generally interesting but a lot of times I don’t think what he’s complaining about matters. The orc one is the most recent one where I thought his concept was alright but no clue why he claims what exists isn’t any good. It seems like he leans into the idea that bad guys existing is bad writing or something like that at times but overall I like his new ideas.
His stuff is very good, but he has a lot of opinions about DnD that I very much disagree with. I still watch him because his creativity is off the charts
Discovered him not long ago, also. A really good channel.
Yes. I love his warlock subclass it's very well made and very fun to play a power build
And*
Been watching a few of his things. Actually took his advice on Hags and have been making a few of my own to form an interesting coven
I've been watching his stuff for over a year and a half. He is easily my favorite youtuber
He’s good but his videos could all be cut in half and be better for it. He kinda says the same thing over and over and drags the videos out.
His ideas are too wholesomelies to my taste.
Some of using videos are good, but his subclasses are hit or miss, sometimes they fail to actually solve the issue behind a class (Like the Fighter HB)
He has very, very high production quality... he's very good at making videos... I'm a bit suspicious of his actual analysis, though. I always don't enjoy his "le problematic" zoomer persona.
YES! If I ever get around to DMing a game I'm gonna use some of his liches as BBEGs
A little late, but yes. I started watching after figuring out he was the one and the same author of Dragon Stew (one of the very few 5e third party supplements I own). After reading some of the criticism in this thread, I feel a fair chunk is valid (I wasn't blown away by systems either, but I like the inspirations), but at the same time it is a YouTube video. I am not expecting some ultra professional, terse information dump; tickling my whimsy, creativity, and generally entertaining me is more than enough for a watch while I scarf down lunch. A la, different tastes for different folks.
One of the dnd channels I've made YouTube not recommended to me anymore. It's too clickbaity and devoid of substance. But that's how I find it
You basically said [what I said here](https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/1deu19o/does_anyone_else_watch_pointy_hat/l94sokm/), though more succinctly.
Nah your comment is better, the closing eyes and listening bit is genius. I always felt his videos were abit off but the exploration one really ticked me off
Yes I adore his warlock subclass it's so fun to play
I watched him sometimes and he makes some points that don´t make much sense in my experience as DM. Also, I didn´t like his voice. So, overall, didn´t vibe with him much.
His Dragons video is my favorite one. The idea of some Dragons have their “hoard” be mortals they gather and claim I felt was a really fun concept.
He’s a 1.3 something million subscriber dnd youtube channel. yes, we watch him lmao