Almost 17 years ago, my college buddy (a dude named “Munch”) dropped one of the greatest games in my lap when he offered the chance to play my very first Dungeons & Dragons adventure. The 4th edition of the game had just been released and this was a pretty big deal from what I could discern amidst all the talk of proficiency, at-will powers, AC, and other game-specific jargon that was being thrown around by all the other (more knowlegeable) members of my gaming group. We were all friends from college, but I was apparently the only nerd of our little entourage that had never played before. Since that time, 5th edition - which dropped in 2014 - has seen over 10 years of play and my taste for gaming has changed drastically in terms of which aspects I appreciate and how I show that appreciation. Some of it is just a (mechanical) change in the way I play the game… But the biggest difference seems to be my audience.
When I first jumped into the world of TTRPGs, it was hard enough to wrap my head around the concept of collective storytelling through roleplay (let alone any mention of running my own homebrew adventure/campaign). My focus was on having a bad-ass character and that meant taking the term “min-max” to its limits (which was actually pretty low, given the difficultly of breaking anything in 4th edition). Almost 20 years later and I’ve discovered depths to worldbuilding and personal exploration that dwarf my younger self’s understanding of the game by a significant margin. Unfortunately, that time for discovery came with some undesirable consequences… Namely, the loss of human connection that made those first few adventures feel so significant and meaningful. Granted, I have new connections, but -as we age - availability is not an issue relegated solely to matters of scheduling a game.
Watching shows like Dimension 20 has rekindled a passion for storytelling that I havenn’t felt this strongly in decades, especially with shows like Fantasy High and The Unsleeping City. For the same reasons that I love these shows (primarily the anti-capitalist messaging), I’m having a difficult time finding a game to play. Mind you, I’m not trying setting my expectations for DM performance on Brennan Lee Mulligan’s level. But I do - at least - want a game where the DM cares as much about their world as I do… A DM who’s outgrown silly notions of nobility and generally harmful ones like biological essentialism/determinism (which D&D has always been packed full of). Since I haven’t been able to find a DM like that, I’ve decided to write my own adventures.
I’ve got a number of ideas that I’m working on and they have kept/will keep my busy as I continue to work on them. I’ll release them on this site as I complete theme and I look forward to getting y’alls input.
Much love, y’all!