Sunday, 19-Dec-2021
The first time I played D&D was back in High school, with a group of my Stepdad’s friends. Everyone was awesome, and exceptionally welcoming… even though my character (an Elven warrior) got eaten approximately twice per session by various lizards, monsters, and ghoulies.
Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration. I can only remember one specific time he was eaten, by a giant bullfrog if I recall correctly, and he didn’t even die… so does it really count as being eaten if you survive?
I’ve played quite a few table-top RPGs since then; various systems, groups, and situations. All of them have been amazing though, and I’ve always been thankful for the fun that I’ve had… and the work that the Storyteller / Dungeon Master / Game Master put into crafting a fun event for everyone.
It’s time for me to take up the DM screen. To open my notebook, draw a dungeon on a grid board, and even print out roughly a billion different monster tokens for players to fight and slay.
On Sunday, I took up the mantle of Storyteller!
I don’t have any pictures, since the fun is really in the event and not individual snapshots… But I can tell you that I’m quite proud of how it came out. I prepped everything quite well, everyone had a good time, and the players ended up not only winning, but having crafted a pretty fun story for themselves in the process.
See, the fun of D&D isn’t whether you win or lose… because, in the end, the players should be winning. Inherently, the game is about everyone having fun, and not about whether or not the DM can “outsmart” the players. Instead, it’s about having fun while winning – creating a fun challenge, and having a good story come out of the game.
If I may add one bit that I’m particularly proud of… This game wasn’t with a group of peers. It was with a Coworker and his wife, both around my age… but also with their two kids, aged 7 and 4. I was definitely worried about keeping the kids interested – especially the 4 year old. D&D is traditionally exceptionally complicated, with large look-up tables, dice rolls, and optimization built into the characters… and I wasn’t sure if we’d just overwhelm the kids.
We did a lot to streamline the characters, and I’d prepped quite a few simple & fun encounters for the session… and I’m very proud to report that we were able to make it through an entire 4-hour gaming session with only a single short break!
Yep. If I wasn’t sure that I’m good at making up stories… here’s some proof. Kept a 4-year old entertained for 4 hours straight, without a video or gamepad to be seen.
