I don't want to really get involved with all the problems regarding WotC but that doesn't stop us from playing and talking about D&D, which we can all agree is a great game.
So let's just chat. D&D in general. How's your campaign going? Have you been a DM before? What's your favourite race species and class? What are your overall opinions on the game?
Any talk of the OGL and other related topics will not be tolerated. I think we can all agree on that.
I'll start by answering my own questions:
A lot of my D&D friends are on holiday, so we're not currently in any ongoing campaigns. However, I am about to be a player in a campaign in a few weeks, and I'm also about to DM for a group of beginners a few weeks after that.
I've played for about 2 years, and I've been a DM for half a year. I prefer DMing to playing (only slightly though).
My favourite species is either Gnome or Halfling and my favourite class is Sorcerer.
D&D is not perfect, but I still love it. It's a fun thing that I love gathering around to play with my friends..................PLEASE FIX CHALLENGE RATING IN 6E
I'd like to get to know you all better, and we can just talk about this game.
Ran a 1-shot recently with 3rd party content (which is still in alpha testing phase) and had a blast. It was good practice for later DM stuff I'll be doing and really wanted to try out some of the unique things within the 3rd party content.
Was able to get a lot of information on the systems and am looking forward to the finished product.
My games are going good, most of my group left our mutual old job, so were all adapting, but weve decided we wanted to do some random bs when we start so ive been watching some crazy stuff, to see what they like
Nice. As a DM, do you prefer running official adventures, 3rd party adventures, or homebrew adventures? I typically run homebrew adventures in the official Forgotten Realms setting. For example, I've run a campaign set in an island kingdom a few miles off from Faerûn, and I'm about to run an adventure set in my own kingdom in the Feywild.
Nice. As a DM, do you prefer running official adventures, 3rd party adventures, or homebrew adventures? I typically run homebrew adventures in the official Forgotten Realms setting. For example, I've run a campaign set in an island kingdom a few miles off from Faerûn, and I'm about to run an adventure set in my own kingdom in the Feywild.
it depends on my group, ill run an official one if my party wants, wont pay for a 3rd party as all of us in my friend group are writers and prefer doing it ourselves, way more fun for us. the game im running atm starting in a homebrew world, but their now pretty much running through hamlet until they level up
Any talk of the OGL and other related topics will not be tolerated. I think we can all agree on that.
I'd like to get to know you all better, and we can just talk about this game.
I never agree with intolerance, but I am going to try and respect your wishes.
I am struggling to decide what campaign to go with next. I am a mostly solo player, so really, it is my wishes of what to play that matter.
I am thinking of running an Old School Essentials game in the Dolmenwood setting. Very fairy tale/Celtic wonderland. It seems interesting.
I am also a long time Dragonlance fan. I am not one of those it must stay as it was types, so the 5e conversion seems like something I might want to do.
I also have all the old Dragonlance modules and the 2e rulebooks, so there's that.
Lastly, on the campaign front, I have some of the Goodman games old modules reborn stuff and a Greyhawk gold box. That might be good, if I can decide what edition to run in. Edition decision fatigue is my current creative block. So many great versions of Dungeons and Dragons to choose from.
I have DMed for 2e, Cyberpunk 2020, Star Wars d20 and saga, D20 modern, Pathfinder 1e, 3.5 and once for 5e. Wizards of the Coat has renovated a few office suites on my money I guess, since most of my money has been spent on their D20 systems!;)
I have a weird predilection for Paladins and Half-Orcs. I myself have been a bit of an outcast most of my life, so I am drawn to that aspect of the species, half-elves too.
I have been on the search for a lower fantasy mediaeval setting that mirrors our own history in some ways. My own personal laziness has had me search it out from others, rather than make one myself. This has led me down a dark path at times. I purchased one that I did not realize was going to be problematic until after I started reading it. Then I looked up the author and found out I should have vetted him first. That, I guess, is why I support a 6f clause, if not the one as written. There is actually some negative stuff out there. It did teach me to be more diligent in finding out about a product and creator before purchasing from them, so that is good.
I am also in search of a VTT that will meet my needs. I need one that integrates 5e and older games. It seems like Sand Castle will not be good for me. I am vissually impaired in such a way as to make 3d environment very difficult for me to work with and process. Also, spell effects will definitely hurt my eyes and cause headaches. I do want measureing tools and effect radius overlays though. My eyes also make in person play difficult with drawn maps and such. If you have any suggestions for a VTT I would appreciate them. It is very hard to decide what will work without buying them first, and I don't have that kind of money.
I hope that helps you get to know me as a player better. Sneaking in the OGL stuff was not my intent, it was ortganic to the discussion, and I am not looking to argue about anything, I was responding to your questions in a respectful manner to your wishes.
Why the gnome and halfling? What about them intersts you?
Why the wilder, innate magic over the learned book worm magic? I happen to agree with you, I like the3 idea of force of character over the mysteries rather than study. Personally, I think wizards are more of a relic of past fantasy tropes that don't really make a lot of sense as game mechanics and styles have evolved.
Both my campaigns are doing well—just got started on the second arc of both and looking forward to the direction they’ll head.
Regarding DMing, I almost exclusively DM by virtue of that being the easiest way to be able to get a group together. I dabbled a bit as a player over the pandemic after being invited to an online group as a friend, but that group ultimately fell apart a couple sessions into a second campaign due to two of the players being asses, which is why I am DMing an online group for the friend who invited me and other mutual friends now.
As a player I do not have enough data to judge. Only played two campaigns in 5e as a player, and both had circumstances that were less than conductive to player enjoyment, so not great data for judging the races and classes.
As a DM, no real preference - I like using a good mix of options and think each offers something unique that can flesh our the world.
Overall Opinion: I like 5e in a lot of ways, particularly how easy it is for new players to pick up (I always have a few new players floating about). I wish it had more customisation options and more ways to differentiate classes (spellcasters can sometimes feel a little repetitive since there is so much spell overlap between classes). I think 5e is a little scant, particularly compared to the incredible customisation and differentiation in 4e, which 5e was clearly very reactionary against.
All told, it has been fun, but I am very much looking forward to OneD&D, and hoping it will add back in some customisation 5e very much needs.
Overall Opinion: I like 5e in a lot of ways, particularly how easy it is for new players to pick up (I always have a few new players floating about). I wish it had more customisation options and more ways to differentiate classes (spellcasters can sometimes feel a little repetitive since there is so much spell overlap between classes). I think 5e is a little scant, particularly compared to the incredible customisation and differentiation in 4e, which 5e was clearly very reactionary against.
All told, it has been fun, but I am very much looking forward to OneD&D, and hoping it will add back in some customisation 5e very much needs.
As a player I started my experience still in AD&D 2e, but most of the time I was DM, especially during the period of 3.X and 4e (my favorite editions). My opinion is very similar to yours, but unfortunately I have little experience with the 5e due to my main group never having enjoyed the migration to it.
Today I'm trying to rescue some of these groups by playing maybe the old editions, but unfortunately I'll probably have to create new groups to get back to playing these more modern D&D interactions (which I've been enjoying a lot)
I'm in three campaigns as a player currently, all with a group of my brother's friends that have been playing 5e together for a while. Until about 2 years ago, I had drifted away from the game for about 25 years, since I have been living in Hungary. My interest was piqued again when my son had a friend here that played and I helped him make his character for that game. Talking with my brother, he then invited me to join the game he was running with his friends, since they were playing online anyways due to covid. Fortunately, I work as a translator from home, so I can choose my own schedule, making it possible to play the game (which runs from about midnight to 5 in the morning my time every Tuesday night/Wednesday morning).
I have not GMed for a long time, and ran very few games in AD&D or 2nd edition back in the day, but I did GM several games of Boot Hill and Champions for my brother and our friends back in the '80s. I am working up ideas for a campaign that I might run sometime in the future when I move back to the States and have a bit more experience under my belt.
My character in the main campaign that my brother is running is a Gnome Arcane Trickster Rogue, which right when I saw the characteristics for the species and class struck me as a perfect combination of what I wanted. A couple of the other guys run more limited campaigns to give my brother a bit of a break from time to time. In one of those, I have a Tortle Pact of the Tome Dao Genielock/Shadow Sorcerer, which has proven to be quite effective and powerful. The other is a very RP heavy all-Dwarf campaign, where I play an Order of the Scribes Wizard.
From my perspective, having experience starting mostly from original Basic D&D through AD&D and up to 2nd edition before I landed up trotting around the globe (first to Japan for a few years and then to Hungary, originally with the Peace Corps), 5e is head and shoulders above any other version or any other RPG I have played (although I would still like to get back into Champions, as I also loved that system and the fun of playing/running a comic book superhero game). Other RPGs I played briefly back in the day include: Gamma World, Top Secret, Superhero 2044, GURPS, Shadowrun, and possibly a few others I have forgotten (in addition to Boot Hill and Champions, which I played a fair amount of as noted above).
Hi GMTheo, nice to see another off-OGL topic! I am currently in only one campaign as a DM, which I greatly prefer to playing. In fact in all my 8-9 years of play I've only played in maybe a dozen or so short campaigns and only really had fun in two of those (not counting an occasional great session). I like all races and classes both for the fluff and the mechanics, but I LOVE Dwarves and everything about them (though I would have liked Stonecunning to be a little stronger). I can always play a Dwarven Fighter, while I really need to come up with a good idea for any other race and class.
5e is by far my favorite TTRPG, and I've played all sorts of them (Warhammer, Cthulhu etc.) It just speaks to me in a way that isn't mechanical, objectively speaking 5e is good enough but not really good, and yet I never have as much fun on either side of the screen as with 5e. I really like the direction of 6e (5.5?) although with the Pathfinder PC games I have been reminded of my great former love for 3.5 D&D, which I still consider better in many objective respects, but in total the system was VERY player-unfriendly and without a computer to do all the calculations the game can be a real chore to play and prepare.
I prefer running my own homebrew adventures and worlds, but I suffer from a bit of an imposter syndrome and many of the adventures and setting made by 3rd parties look better than my own. I also consider all the official adventures pretty good (Avernus and Dragonlance being something I would really like to run) but they force the group to focus on something I didn't create and that makes me feel a little bummed out after a while.
In closing, D&D was probably the main non-therapy factor that helped overcome my severe depression in this past decade. I am really hoping One D&D continues on the course they have set so far (though I really, really hope crits and fails for skill checks will not be part of the game).
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DM for life by choice, biggest fan of D&D specifically.
I don't want to really get involved with all the problems regarding WotC but that doesn't stop us from playing and talking about D&D, which we can all agree is a great game.
So let's just chat. D&D in general. How's your campaign going? Have you been a DM before? What's your favourite race species and class? What are your overall opinions on the game?
Any talk of the OGL and other related topics will not be tolerated. I think we can all agree on that.
I'll start by answering my own questions:
A lot of my D&D friends are on holiday, so we're not currently in any ongoing campaigns. However, I am about to be a player in a campaign in a few weeks, and I'm also about to DM for a group of beginners a few weeks after that.
I've played for about 2 years, and I've been a DM for half a year. I prefer DMing to playing (only slightly though).
My favourite species is either Gnome or Halfling and my favourite class is Sorcerer.
D&D is not perfect, but I still love it. It's a fun thing that I love gathering around to play with my friends..................PLEASE FIX CHALLENGE RATING IN 6E
I'd like to get to know you all better, and we can just talk about this game.
Involved in one campaign right now, a highly customized version of Tomb Of Annihilation that a friend is running. Going well so far. Nobody has died yet, which seems to be a bit of an oddity, but we've definitely kicked over enough hornet nests of 'palace intrigue' and have so many enemies floating around (alsong with the endless hordes of undead) that it seems almost inevitable?
I've done a bit of GM'ing, but all Savage Worlds (Deadlands Reloaded and Weird War 2). I actually did enjoy it and would like to do more of it, but I'm rusty as Hell and currently just don't have space to comfortably host a group of friends over all that frequently.
I don't really have any set in stone class & species favorites. My character right now is a Half Orc Barbarian. I'd like to try a Warlock and maybe an Arcane Trickster Rogue at some point in the future. As for species, I'm pretty wide open on that front.
All in all, I quite enjoy the game. Not sure 5e is my absolute favorite (I love the whole Weird West setting of Deadlands), but it's great.
Hi GMTheo, I'm playing in a couple of 5E campaigns at the moment (Saltmarsh and Mines of Phandelver). I quite like 5E but haven't quite decided if I prefer it to he earlier versions I played mainly 1E and 3.5E (I can't remember playing 2E much). The groups I play in also play OSR and PF2 alongside the 5E, I think at heart I'm an OSR player.
I'm running a Dragons of Shipwreck isle game in 5E but those sessions are more off than on at the moment. It's a good introductory adventure but the boxed set really could have done with better maps, player handouts and tokens. I kind of went off track with some 3rd party stuff from Elven Tower and Raging Swan Press to flesh it out a bit which has extended the adventure quite a lot.
The door opened wide for my, very much in part, due to my 4th grade teacher reading The Hobbit to the class over several weeks. I remember just waiting for it to be time for her to read the book to the class. I hardly cared about anything else. After she was done, I checked out the book from 4th to 6th grade and read it well into the hundreds of times.
During this time, I was introduced to D&D in the 4th or 5th (probably 5th?) grade by my friend Sean, who had the Player's Handbook. He told me how D&D worked - so I got interested and went out and begged my parents to purchase the Monster Manual. And as I read it - I was enthralled. Went and got Deities & Demigods next if memory serves me right, because it had Norse mythos in it and I was very into the Thor comic back then (79 to 81, the years blur). I didn't even get into my first D&D game until the 5th grade - and I'd posted about the character in the other thread. But will repeat it here.
It'd been a Dwarf Fighter (might have been just a dwarf, can't recall what edition I was playing). But I was so freaking young back then, lol - and I remember I got him up to 5th level - and the guy I was playing with (Tim, was it?) - his brother (John?) was DMing. And I was really into the Thor comic, by Marvel back in the day - and I got a lucerne hammer that would return to me (had a range of like 15 feet? So it wasn't like I could throw it far). But I was in love with this character.
One day, John was mad at his brother, just before we gamed - and he had us entering a cave - which turned out to be a giant serpent, and he essentially killed both of our characters.
I was crushed.
Shortly after, I began DMing for my friend Chuck - just doing 1:1 games, where I made an NPC. The group slowly grew. But it was old school D&D - where I was running those old modules. I never cared too much for them because they were literally dungeons that were very random with monsters in every room every few feet from one another. It was a slash fest. So I started doing my own adventures (being in the 6th grade, these were not ground breaking stories, clearly). There was a few gaps in playing D&D in middle school, but over all tried to play once a month. High school, I began playing with a different group of folks - as a player, rather than a DM. This was also when I got really into Dragonlance, since Chronicles had just come out.
After High School, we'd D&D back with my friend Chuck and his wife, and a few people; then I moved out of state for two years, and D&D stopped as I got involved in the BBS (Bulliten Board System world...) And through there, eventually created a eGroup (which would eventually become Yahoo Groups) to do a play by email game that run for an incredible seven years with people who were strangers - a few of whom I still keep in touch with. Back in my home state, got married, met up with my friend, his wife, and their kids and the occassional D&D games resumed.
But when 5th Edition came out, a new friend of mine discovered I used to DM. Asked me to DM for her and her friends - and I did so. We gamed once a month in person at her house, until the Pandemic hit - but while that was going on, some work people also heard me talking about that game and wanted me to DM for them (they were all World of Warcraft players) and I agreed - which was originally monthly, became bi-weekly (then the other off week became an "off week" game with three of those players with new characters). By now, my homebrew world was pretty solid and developed. But I love allowing my players to impact the story and world - so it became a shared game. If one group did something (say burned a building down) - when another group came by that building would be burned or being repaired (just an example - no one burned any buildings down). Then the work game lost two people (one got a new job elsewhere; the other was a friend of that person so they dropped too). So we recruited two more people in - as well as had one of the players from the monthly game stand in when both clerics missed a session - and she ran a Cleric that was for that session - but she clicked so well with everyone, she was recruited and created a new character to join. Then her brother asked me to DM for him and his friends - that game is monthly and remote only (as they all live in Kansas).
I feel blessed to have the games that I do.
I also enjoy writing character backgrounds (see the signature below) and even wrote an adventure I sell on DMsGuild called The Secret of Havenfall Manor. The idea was it can be used as an "expansion" to Dragon of Icespire Peak - because one of the games I was asked to DM was picking up for Dragon if Icespire Peak that a DM was running - but his wife had a baby so the game was on hold. I didn't want to take away from the DM so I wrote up an adventure and just ended up putting it on DMsGuild after I was done.
The door opened wide for my, very much in part, due to my 4th grade teacher reading The Hobbit to the class over several weeks. I remember just waiting for it to be time for her to read the book to the class. I hardly cared about anything else. After she was done, I checked out the book from 4th to 6th grade and read it well into the hundreds of times.
During this time, I was introduced to D&D in the 4th or 5th (probably 5th?) grade by my friend Sean, who had the Player's Handbook. He told me how D&D worked - so I got interested and went out and begged my parents to purchase the Monster Manual. And as I read it - I was enthralled. Went and got Deities & Demigods next if memory serves me right, because it had Norse mythos in it and I was very into the Thor comic back then (79 to 81, the years blur). I didn't even get into my first D&D game until the 5th grade - and I'd posted about the character in the other thread. But will repeat it here.
It'd been a Dwarf Fighter (might have been just a dwarf, can't recall what edition I was playing). But I was so freaking young back then, lol - and I remember I got him up to 5th level - and the guy I was playing with (Tim, was it?) - his brother (John?) was DMing. And I was really into the Thor comic, by Marvel back in the day - and I got a lucerne hammer that would return to me (had a range of like 15 feet? So it wasn't like I could throw it far). But I was in love with this character.
One day, John was mad at his brother, just before we gamed - and he had us entering a cave - which turned out to be a giant serpent, and he essentially killed both of our characters.
I was crushed.
Shortly after, I began DMing for my friend Chuck - just doing 1:1 games, where I made an NPC. The group slowly grew. But it was old school D&D - where I was running those old modules. I never cared too much for them because they were literally dungeons that were very random with monsters in every room every few feet from one another. It was a slash fest. So I started doing my own adventures (being in the 6th grade, these were not ground breaking stories, clearly). There was a few gaps in playing D&D in middle school, but over all tried to play once a month. High school, I began playing with a different group of folks - as a player, rather than a DM. This was also when I got really into Dragonlance, since Chronicles had just come out.
After High School, we'd D&D back with my friend Chuck and his wife, and a few people; then I moved out of state for two years, and D&D stopped as I got involved in the BBS (Bulliten Board System world...) And through there, eventually created a eGroup (which would eventually become Yahoo Groups) to do a play by email game that run for an incredible seven years with people who were strangers - a few of whom I still keep in touch with. Back in my home state, got married, met up with my friend, his wife, and their kids and the occassional D&D games resumed.
But when 5th Edition came out, a new friend of mine discovered I used to DM. Asked me to DM for her and her friends - and I did so. We gamed once a month in person at her house, until the Pandemic hit - but while that was going on, some work people also heard me talking about that game and wanted me to DM for them (they were all World of Warcraft players) and I agreed - which was originally monthly, became bi-weekly (then the other off week became an "off week" game with three of those players with new characters). By now, my homebrew world was pretty solid and developed. But I love allowing my players to impact the story and world - so it became a shared game. If one group did something (say burned a building down) - when another group came by that building would be burned or being repaired (just an example - no one burned any buildings down). Then the work game lost two people (one got a new job elsewhere; the other was a friend of that person so they dropped too). So we recruited two more people in - as well as had one of the players from the monthly game stand in when both clerics missed a session - and she ran a Cleric that was for that session - but she clicked so well with everyone, she was recruited and created a new character to join. Then her brother asked me to DM for him and his friends - that game is monthly and remote only (as they all live in Kansas).
I feel blessed to have the games that I do.
I also enjoy writing character backgrounds (see the signature below) and even wrote an adventure I sell on DMsGuild called The Secret of Havenfall Manor. The idea was it can be used as an "expansion" to Dragon of Icespire Peak - because one of the games I was asked to DM was picking up for Dragon if Icespire Peak that a DM was running - but his wife had a baby so the game was on hold. I didn't want to take away from the DM so I wrote up an adventure and just ended up putting it on DMsGuild after I was done.
This was a beautiful read!
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DM for life by choice, biggest fan of D&D specifically.
Currently in 3 campaigns. A 1e Greyhawk where I’m a player. 5e Descent to Avernus with some homebrew stuff thrown in as a player, and DMing a 5e group with the old 1e Slavers series adapted to 5e. Always amazes me how the dynamics of each group is wildly different. Just love them all.
One thing I’m excited about is that my wife is the faculty sponsor of the D&D group at one of the local high schools where she teaches. The kids play on Friday afternoons from 3-4:30. The numbers keep increasing. This year she has 50+ kids every week and they take over multiple classrooms. The other teachers can’t believe she gets that many. Except those that used to play and want me to DM a one shot for them. I love seeing it.
I can always play a Dwarven Fighter, while I really need to come up with a good idea for any other race and class.
I prefer running my own homebrew adventures and worlds, but I suffer from a bit of an imposter syndrome and many of the adventures and setting made by 3rd parties look better than my own. I also consider all the official adventures pretty good (Avernus and Dragonlance being something I would really like to run) but they force the group to focus on something I didn't create and that makes me feel a little bummed out after a while.
In closing, D&D was probably the main non-therapy factor that helped overcome my severe depression in this past decade. I am really hoping One D&D continues on the course they have set so far (though I really, really hope crits and fails for skill checks will not be part of the game).
So I see we have a few things in common! A love for the Dwarves! And fighters!
You might like my Out of the Abyss post I made which I shared my MS PAINT drawings from the Out of the Abyss session as they happened. :D (You may also like my Neverwinter Nights web series which features a dwarf fighter in the party as well! All HD Episodes of Neverending Nights)
Now the one thing I want to talk about - about imposter syndrome. So when I first started my homebrew world it was very, very, very influenced by the games Realms of Arkania in many ways (a series I absolutely loved) - especially the deities of my campaign. However, as I DM'ed my campaign more - I made adjustments as I moved along. And soon enough, it "borrowed" a little from everything - but enough so that it feels unique in its own way. There are very few things that are "original" ideas anymore; you can look at something and analyze and say, "That's coming from XYZ" if you wanted to. So don't worry about your imposter syndrome - use it as a basis - and then as you DM and ideas come to you, adjust the world accordingly. That's the beauty of being a DM. "Well, remember how there were 12 gods originally? Well, you guys just found some ancient texts that show there were three elder gods who were banished." (And so on and so on)
And now for D&D therapy... I tell my groups I DM for... how absolutely thankful I am for them.
I have struggled to be an author for a very long time (which is why I do character backgrounds and DM, for that matter). I use any chance I can to write something.
But...
D&D is magical. Because....
When you're a painter - and you show someone a painting, you get an instant reaction ("Hey this is gorgeous!", "It's cool, but not my style of art", etc)
But when you're a writer and hand a 50 page story to someone they typically say, "Oh, I will read it when I get a chance."
And that day may be weeks... or never.
D&D?
You become a writer who is painting your words and your players are giving you that instant reaction to what you're doing.
So D&D is being a painter with words, is what I always say.
And the joy, laughter, and time together shared helps battle depression (and the every day things in my life that are not in a good place). For that time, while I DM (or even play) I am able to escape with wonderful company. And it is my therapy.
The door opened wide for my, very much in part, due to my 4th grade teacher reading The Hobbit to the class over several weeks. I remember just waiting for it to be time for her to read the book to the class. I hardly cared about anything else. After she was done, I checked out the book from 4th to 6th grade and read it well into the hundreds of times.
During this time, I was introduced to D&D in the 4th or 5th (probably 5th?) grade by my friend Sean, who had the Player's Handbook. He told me how D&D worked - so I got interested and went out and begged my parents to purchase the Monster Manual. And as I read it - I was enthralled. Went and got Deities & Demigods next if memory serves me right, because it had Norse mythos in it and I was very into the Thor comic back then (79 to 81, the years blur). I didn't even get into my first D&D game until the 5th grade - and I'd posted about the character in the other thread. But will repeat it here.
It'd been a Dwarf Fighter (might have been just a dwarf, can't recall what edition I was playing). But I was so freaking young back then, lol - and I remember I got him up to 5th level - and the guy I was playing with (Tim, was it?) - his brother (John?) was DMing. And I was really into the Thor comic, by Marvel back in the day - and I got a lucerne hammer that would return to me (had a range of like 15 feet? So it wasn't like I could throw it far). But I was in love with this character.
One day, John was mad at his brother, just before we gamed - and he had us entering a cave - which turned out to be a giant serpent, and he essentially killed both of our characters.
I was crushed.
Shortly after, I began DMing for my friend Chuck - just doing 1:1 games, where I made an NPC. The group slowly grew. But it was old school D&D - where I was running those old modules. I never cared too much for them because they were literally dungeons that were very random with monsters in every room every few feet from one another. It was a slash fest. So I started doing my own adventures (being in the 6th grade, these were not ground breaking stories, clearly). There was a few gaps in playing D&D in middle school, but over all tried to play once a month. High school, I began playing with a different group of folks - as a player, rather than a DM. This was also when I got really into Dragonlance, since Chronicles had just come out.
After High School, we'd D&D back with my friend Chuck and his wife, and a few people; then I moved out of state for two years, and D&D stopped as I got involved in the BBS (Bulliten Board System world...) And through there, eventually created a eGroup (which would eventually become Yahoo Groups) to do a play by email game that run for an incredible seven years with people who were strangers - a few of whom I still keep in touch with. Back in my home state, got married, met up with my friend, his wife, and their kids and the occassional D&D games resumed.
But when 5th Edition came out, a new friend of mine discovered I used to DM. Asked me to DM for her and her friends - and I did so. We gamed once a month in person at her house, until the Pandemic hit - but while that was going on, some work people also heard me talking about that game and wanted me to DM for them (they were all World of Warcraft players) and I agreed - which was originally monthly, became bi-weekly (then the other off week became an "off week" game with three of those players with new characters). By now, my homebrew world was pretty solid and developed. But I love allowing my players to impact the story and world - so it became a shared game. If one group did something (say burned a building down) - when another group came by that building would be burned or being repaired (just an example - no one burned any buildings down). Then the work game lost two people (one got a new job elsewhere; the other was a friend of that person so they dropped too). So we recruited two more people in - as well as had one of the players from the monthly game stand in when both clerics missed a session - and she ran a Cleric that was for that session - but she clicked so well with everyone, she was recruited and created a new character to join. Then her brother asked me to DM for him and his friends - that game is monthly and remote only (as they all live in Kansas).
I feel blessed to have the games that I do.
I also enjoy writing character backgrounds (see the signature below) and even wrote an adventure I sell on DMsGuild called The Secret of Havenfall Manor. The idea was it can be used as an "expansion" to Dragon of Icespire Peak - because one of the games I was asked to DM was picking up for Dragon if Icespire Peak that a DM was running - but his wife had a baby so the game was on hold. I didn't want to take away from the DM so I wrote up an adventure and just ended up putting it on DMsGuild after I was done.
I have to say we have a similar backstory. When I was younger I also loved Tolkien (and I still do) but it wasn't until a few years ago that I discovered I could jump right into a fantasy world just like that! I began playing in a generic campaign with my friends and I seemed to be learning much faster than all of them. I was so obsessed with the game that every day I would do hours of research to learn more about it, and soon that knowledge came in handy when my friend asked if I wanted to try being a Game Master. Months of YouTube tutorials later, I began DMing my first-ever campaign, and though the plot itself wasn't the best, we all had fun. Now that campaign has finished!
By the way, SirTawmis, you were the one who just wrote my backstory on Giant in the Playground - my character was Otto Glittergear. That backstory is amazing! Thanks!
I have to say we have a similar backstory. When I was younger I also loved Tolkien (and I still do) but it wasn't until a few years ago that I discovered I could jump right into a fantasy world just like that! I began playing in a generic campaign with my friends and I seemed to be learning much faster than all of them. I was so obsessed with the game that every day I would do hours of research to learn more about it, and soon that knowledge came in handy when my friend asked if I wanted to try being a Game Master. Months of YouTube tutorials later, I began DMing my first-ever campaign, and though the plot itself wasn't the best, we all had fun. Now that campaign has finished!
By the way, SirTawmis, you were the one who just wrote my backstory on Giant in the Playground - my character was Otto Glittergear. That backstory is amazing! Thanks!
That's the important thing to always gauge as a DM - are your players having fun?
So in the session I ran on Tuesday (which is what I call the "off week" - it's three players from my normal "work game" - which has six players - where they play 3 characters trapped on a cursed island). I mentioned this in the Creating Monster Lore thread I started - but I took the Groff monster (the plant-dog-monster) from Strixhaven and changed it to be some dogs that were infected (by the presence of this enchanted rot troll that was sent to spread disease and chaos rather than kill). And the idea was originally that the dogs would attack the town, all feral like, after the celebration at this small hamlet where the simple people would be celebrating the heroes for killing the troll. However, the game flowed in a way that the party ended up going to the river to wash themselves off - and for tension I had them spot the dogs in the bushes. But they tried to befriend the dogs - which didn't work out too well (they didn't attack but the dogs wanted nothing to do with them). Well when they got back to the town, and talked to the people of the hamlet, I ended up - randomly, for no reason - talking in a southern accent (very Tennessee-like) as the NPC - and suddenly these random dogs - turned out to be the hunting dogs for the people in this hamlet who became infected biting the rot troll, trying to defend the town ... this suddenly added way more compassion, rather than random dogs that had become infected... - and they asked the party to go and find their dogs - and if they are diseased, to help put them down. It became this whole thing where the combat I had planned for the night never happened, because there was so many fun character and NPC interactions. The entire 3 hour night - no combat. None. Zilch. And the entire time we were all laughing and having a good time.
So, stories can be weak, they can be weird, they can be made up on the spot - if everyone's having a good time, you're doing what you set out to do.
EDIT - And I forgot the address the flattering part! Thank you for making an account over there to ask for the story background! I am flattered! And I am especially flattered and happy to hear you enjoyed it! I look forward to any other character ideas - whether it's for a character you have or just one you have in your head that's not even in a game yet - I am more than happy to write it out. It truly does help me.
I don't want to really get involved with all the problems regarding WotC but that doesn't stop us from playing and talking about D&D, which we can all agree is a great game.
So let's just chat. D&D in general. How's your campaign going? Have you been a DM before? What's your favourite
racespecies and class? What are your overall opinions on the game?Any talk of the OGL and other related topics will not be tolerated. I think we can all agree on that.
I'll start by answering my own questions:
I'd like to get to know you all better, and we can just talk about this game.
If anybody would like my GMing playlists
battles: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2mRp57MBAz9ZsVpw895IzZ?si=243bee43442a4703
exploration: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0qk0aKm5yI4K6VrlcaKrDj?si=81057bef509043f3
town/tavern: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/49JSv1kK0bUyQ9LVpKmZlr?si=a88b1dd9bab54111
character deaths: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6k7WhylJEjSqWC0pBuAtFD?si=3e897fa2a2dd469e
Ran a 1-shot recently with 3rd party content (which is still in alpha testing phase) and had a blast. It was good practice for later DM stuff I'll be doing and really wanted to try out some of the unique things within the 3rd party content.
Was able to get a lot of information on the systems and am looking forward to the finished product.
My games are going good, most of my group left our mutual old job, so were all adapting, but weve decided we wanted to do some random bs when we start so ive been watching some crazy stuff, to see what they like
Nice. As a DM, do you prefer running official adventures, 3rd party adventures, or homebrew adventures? I typically run homebrew adventures in the official Forgotten Realms setting. For example, I've run a campaign set in an island kingdom a few miles off from Faerûn, and I'm about to run an adventure set in my own kingdom in the Feywild.
If anybody would like my GMing playlists
battles: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2mRp57MBAz9ZsVpw895IzZ?si=243bee43442a4703
exploration: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0qk0aKm5yI4K6VrlcaKrDj?si=81057bef509043f3
town/tavern: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/49JSv1kK0bUyQ9LVpKmZlr?si=a88b1dd9bab54111
character deaths: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6k7WhylJEjSqWC0pBuAtFD?si=3e897fa2a2dd469e
it depends on my group, ill run an official one if my party wants, wont pay for a 3rd party as all of us in my friend group are writers and prefer doing it ourselves, way more fun for us. the game im running atm starting in a homebrew world, but their now pretty much running through hamlet until they level up
I never agree with intolerance, but I am going to try and respect your wishes.
I am struggling to decide what campaign to go with next. I am a mostly solo player, so really, it is my wishes of what to play that matter.
I am thinking of running an Old School Essentials game in the Dolmenwood setting. Very fairy tale/Celtic wonderland. It seems interesting.
I am also a long time Dragonlance fan. I am not one of those it must stay as it was types, so the 5e conversion seems like something I might want to do.
I also have all the old Dragonlance modules and the 2e rulebooks, so there's that.
Lastly, on the campaign front, I have some of the Goodman games old modules reborn stuff and a Greyhawk gold box. That might be good, if I can decide what edition to run in. Edition decision fatigue is my current creative block. So many great versions of Dungeons and Dragons to choose from.
I have DMed for 2e, Cyberpunk 2020, Star Wars d20 and saga, D20 modern, Pathfinder 1e, 3.5 and once for 5e. Wizards of the Coat has renovated a few office suites on my money I guess, since most of my money has been spent on their D20 systems!;)
I have a weird predilection for Paladins and Half-Orcs. I myself have been a bit of an outcast most of my life, so I am drawn to that aspect of the species, half-elves too.
I have been on the search for a lower fantasy mediaeval setting that mirrors our own history in some ways. My own personal laziness has had me search it out from others, rather than make one myself. This has led me down a dark path at times. I purchased one that I did not realize was going to be problematic until after I started reading it. Then I looked up the author and found out I should have vetted him first. That, I guess, is why I support a 6f clause, if not the one as written. There is actually some negative stuff out there. It did teach me to be more diligent in finding out about a product and creator before purchasing from them, so that is good.
I am also in search of a VTT that will meet my needs. I need one that integrates 5e and older games. It seems like Sand Castle will not be good for me. I am vissually impaired in such a way as to make 3d environment very difficult for me to work with and process. Also, spell effects will definitely hurt my eyes and cause headaches. I do want measureing tools and effect radius overlays though. My eyes also make in person play difficult with drawn maps and such. If you have any suggestions for a VTT I would appreciate them. It is very hard to decide what will work without buying them first, and I don't have that kind of money.
I hope that helps you get to know me as a player better. Sneaking in the OGL stuff was not my intent, it was ortganic to the discussion, and I am not looking to argue about anything, I was responding to your questions in a respectful manner to your wishes.
Why the gnome and halfling? What about them intersts you?
Why the wilder, innate magic over the learned book worm magic? I happen to agree with you, I like the3 idea of force of character over the mysteries rather than study. Personally, I think wizards are more of a relic of past fantasy tropes that don't really make a lot of sense as game mechanics and styles have evolved.
Both my campaigns are doing well—just got started on the second arc of both and looking forward to the direction they’ll head.
Regarding DMing, I almost exclusively DM by virtue of that being the easiest way to be able to get a group together. I dabbled a bit as a player over the pandemic after being invited to an online group as a friend, but that group ultimately fell apart a couple sessions into a second campaign due to two of the players being asses, which is why I am DMing an online group for the friend who invited me and other mutual friends now.
As a player I do not have enough data to judge. Only played two campaigns in 5e as a player, and both had circumstances that were less than conductive to player enjoyment, so not great data for judging the races and classes.
As a DM, no real preference - I like using a good mix of options and think each offers something unique that can flesh our the world.
Overall Opinion: I like 5e in a lot of ways, particularly how easy it is for new players to pick up (I always have a few new players floating about). I wish it had more customisation options and more ways to differentiate classes (spellcasters can sometimes feel a little repetitive since there is so much spell overlap between classes). I think 5e is a little scant, particularly compared to the incredible customisation and differentiation in 4e, which 5e was clearly very reactionary against.
All told, it has been fun, but I am very much looking forward to OneD&D, and hoping it will add back in some customisation 5e very much needs.
As a player I started my experience still in AD&D 2e, but most of the time I was DM, especially during the period of 3.X and 4e (my favorite editions). My opinion is very similar to yours, but unfortunately I have little experience with the 5e due to my main group never having enjoyed the migration to it.
Today I'm trying to rescue some of these groups by playing maybe the old editions, but unfortunately I'll probably have to create new groups to get back to playing these more modern D&D interactions (which I've been enjoying a lot)
I'm in three campaigns as a player currently, all with a group of my brother's friends that have been playing 5e together for a while. Until about 2 years ago, I had drifted away from the game for about 25 years, since I have been living in Hungary. My interest was piqued again when my son had a friend here that played and I helped him make his character for that game. Talking with my brother, he then invited me to join the game he was running with his friends, since they were playing online anyways due to covid. Fortunately, I work as a translator from home, so I can choose my own schedule, making it possible to play the game (which runs from about midnight to 5 in the morning my time every Tuesday night/Wednesday morning).
I have not GMed for a long time, and ran very few games in AD&D or 2nd edition back in the day, but I did GM several games of Boot Hill and Champions for my brother and our friends back in the '80s. I am working up ideas for a campaign that I might run sometime in the future when I move back to the States and have a bit more experience under my belt.
My character in the main campaign that my brother is running is a Gnome Arcane Trickster Rogue, which right when I saw the characteristics for the species and class struck me as a perfect combination of what I wanted. A couple of the other guys run more limited campaigns to give my brother a bit of a break from time to time. In one of those, I have a Tortle Pact of the Tome Dao Genielock/Shadow Sorcerer, which has proven to be quite effective and powerful. The other is a very RP heavy all-Dwarf campaign, where I play an Order of the Scribes Wizard.
From my perspective, having experience starting mostly from original Basic D&D through AD&D and up to 2nd edition before I landed up trotting around the globe (first to Japan for a few years and then to Hungary, originally with the Peace Corps), 5e is head and shoulders above any other version or any other RPG I have played (although I would still like to get back into Champions, as I also loved that system and the fun of playing/running a comic book superhero game). Other RPGs I played briefly back in the day include: Gamma World, Top Secret, Superhero 2044, GURPS, Shadowrun, and possibly a few others I have forgotten (in addition to Boot Hill and Champions, which I played a fair amount of as noted above).
I made a cool level 2 one-shot a while back in case anyone is interested.
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.Hi GMTheo, nice to see another off-OGL topic! I am currently in only one campaign as a DM, which I greatly prefer to playing. In fact in all my 8-9 years of play I've only played in maybe a dozen or so short campaigns and only really had fun in two of those (not counting an occasional great session). I like all races and classes both for the fluff and the mechanics, but I LOVE Dwarves and everything about them (though I would have liked Stonecunning to be a little stronger). I can always play a Dwarven Fighter, while I really need to come up with a good idea for any other race and class.
5e is by far my favorite TTRPG, and I've played all sorts of them (Warhammer, Cthulhu etc.) It just speaks to me in a way that isn't mechanical, objectively speaking 5e is good enough but not really good, and yet I never have as much fun on either side of the screen as with 5e. I really like the direction of 6e (5.5?) although with the Pathfinder PC games I have been reminded of my great former love for 3.5 D&D, which I still consider better in many objective respects, but in total the system was VERY player-unfriendly and without a computer to do all the calculations the game can be a real chore to play and prepare.
I prefer running my own homebrew adventures and worlds, but I suffer from a bit of an imposter syndrome and many of the adventures and setting made by 3rd parties look better than my own. I also consider all the official adventures pretty good (Avernus and Dragonlance being something I would really like to run) but they force the group to focus on something I didn't create and that makes me feel a little bummed out after a while.
In closing, D&D was probably the main non-therapy factor that helped overcome my severe depression in this past decade. I am really hoping One D&D continues on the course they have set so far (though I really, really hope crits and fails for skill checks will not be part of the game).
DM for life by choice, biggest fan of D&D specifically.
Involved in one campaign right now, a highly customized version of Tomb Of Annihilation that a friend is running. Going well so far. Nobody has died yet, which seems to be a bit of an oddity, but we've definitely kicked over enough hornet nests of 'palace intrigue' and have so many enemies floating around (alsong with the endless hordes of undead) that it seems almost inevitable?
I've done a bit of GM'ing, but all Savage Worlds (Deadlands Reloaded and Weird War 2). I actually did enjoy it and would like to do more of it, but I'm rusty as Hell and currently just don't have space to comfortably host a group of friends over all that frequently.
I don't really have any set in stone class & species favorites. My character right now is a Half Orc Barbarian. I'd like to try a Warlock and maybe an Arcane Trickster Rogue at some point in the future. As for species, I'm pretty wide open on that front.
All in all, I quite enjoy the game. Not sure 5e is my absolute favorite (I love the whole Weird West setting of Deadlands), but it's great.
Hi GMTheo, I'm playing in a couple of 5E campaigns at the moment (Saltmarsh and Mines of Phandelver). I quite like 5E but haven't quite decided if I prefer it to he earlier versions I played mainly 1E and 3.5E (I can't remember playing 2E much). The groups I play in also play OSR and PF2 alongside the 5E, I think at heart I'm an OSR player.
I'm running a Dragons of Shipwreck isle game in 5E but those sessions are more off than on at the moment. It's a good introductory adventure but the boxed set really could have done with better maps, player handouts and tokens. I kind of went off track with some 3rd party stuff from Elven Tower and Raging Swan Press to flesh it out a bit which has extended the adventure quite a lot.
Enjoy your games.
The door opened wide for my, very much in part, due to my 4th grade teacher reading The Hobbit to the class over several weeks. I remember just waiting for it to be time for her to read the book to the class. I hardly cared about anything else. After she was done, I checked out the book from 4th to 6th grade and read it well into the hundreds of times.
During this time, I was introduced to D&D in the 4th or 5th (probably 5th?) grade by my friend Sean, who had the Player's Handbook. He told me how D&D worked - so I got interested and went out and begged my parents to purchase the Monster Manual. And as I read it - I was enthralled. Went and got Deities & Demigods next if memory serves me right, because it had Norse mythos in it and I was very into the Thor comic back then (79 to 81, the years blur). I didn't even get into my first D&D game until the 5th grade - and I'd posted about the character in the other thread. But will repeat it here.
It'd been a Dwarf Fighter (might have been just a dwarf, can't recall what edition I was playing). But I was so freaking young back then, lol - and I remember I got him up to 5th level - and the guy I was playing with (Tim, was it?) - his brother (John?) was DMing. And I was really into the Thor comic, by Marvel back in the day - and I got a lucerne hammer that would return to me (had a range of like 15 feet? So it wasn't like I could throw it far). But I was in love with this character.
One day, John was mad at his brother, just before we gamed - and he had us entering a cave - which turned out to be a giant serpent, and he essentially killed both of our characters.
I was crushed.
Shortly after, I began DMing for my friend Chuck - just doing 1:1 games, where I made an NPC. The group slowly grew. But it was old school D&D - where I was running those old modules. I never cared too much for them because they were literally dungeons that were very random with monsters in every room every few feet from one another. It was a slash fest. So I started doing my own adventures (being in the 6th grade, these were not ground breaking stories, clearly). There was a few gaps in playing D&D in middle school, but over all tried to play once a month. High school, I began playing with a different group of folks - as a player, rather than a DM. This was also when I got really into Dragonlance, since Chronicles had just come out.
After High School, we'd D&D back with my friend Chuck and his wife, and a few people; then I moved out of state for two years, and D&D stopped as I got involved in the BBS (Bulliten Board System world...) And through there, eventually created a eGroup (which would eventually become Yahoo Groups) to do a play by email game that run for an incredible seven years with people who were strangers - a few of whom I still keep in touch with. Back in my home state, got married, met up with my friend, his wife, and their kids and the occassional D&D games resumed.
But when 5th Edition came out, a new friend of mine discovered I used to DM. Asked me to DM for her and her friends - and I did so. We gamed once a month in person at her house, until the Pandemic hit - but while that was going on, some work people also heard me talking about that game and wanted me to DM for them (they were all World of Warcraft players) and I agreed - which was originally monthly, became bi-weekly (then the other off week became an "off week" game with three of those players with new characters). By now, my homebrew world was pretty solid and developed. But I love allowing my players to impact the story and world - so it became a shared game. If one group did something (say burned a building down) - when another group came by that building would be burned or being repaired (just an example - no one burned any buildings down). Then the work game lost two people (one got a new job elsewhere; the other was a friend of that person so they dropped too). So we recruited two more people in - as well as had one of the players from the monthly game stand in when both clerics missed a session - and she ran a Cleric that was for that session - but she clicked so well with everyone, she was recruited and created a new character to join. Then her brother asked me to DM for him and his friends - that game is monthly and remote only (as they all live in Kansas).
I feel blessed to have the games that I do.
I also enjoy writing character backgrounds (see the signature below) and even wrote an adventure I sell on DMsGuild called The Secret of Havenfall Manor. The idea was it can be used as an "expansion" to Dragon of Icespire Peak - because one of the games I was asked to DM was picking up for Dragon if Icespire Peak that a DM was running - but his wife had a baby so the game was on hold. I didn't want to take away from the DM so I wrote up an adventure and just ended up putting it on DMsGuild after I was done.
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
This was a beautiful read!
DM for life by choice, biggest fan of D&D specifically.
Currently in 3 campaigns. A 1e Greyhawk where I’m a player. 5e Descent to Avernus with some homebrew stuff thrown in as a player, and DMing a 5e group with the old 1e Slavers series adapted to 5e. Always amazes me how the dynamics of each group is wildly different. Just love them all.
One thing I’m excited about is that my wife is the faculty sponsor of the D&D group at one of the local high schools where she teaches. The kids play on Friday afternoons from 3-4:30. The numbers keep increasing. This year she has 50+ kids every week and they take over multiple classrooms. The other teachers can’t believe she gets that many. Except those that used to play and want me to DM a one shot for them. I love seeing it.
Thank you. I felt like I rambled a lot. :)
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
So I see we have a few things in common! A love for the Dwarves! And fighters!
You might like my Out of the Abyss post I made which I shared my MS PAINT drawings from the Out of the Abyss session as they happened. :D
(You may also like my Neverwinter Nights web series which features a dwarf fighter in the party as well! All HD Episodes of Neverending Nights)
Now the one thing I want to talk about - about imposter syndrome. So when I first started my homebrew world it was very, very, very influenced by the games Realms of Arkania in many ways (a series I absolutely loved) - especially the deities of my campaign. However, as I DM'ed my campaign more - I made adjustments as I moved along. And soon enough, it "borrowed" a little from everything - but enough so that it feels unique in its own way. There are very few things that are "original" ideas anymore; you can look at something and analyze and say, "That's coming from XYZ" if you wanted to. So don't worry about your imposter syndrome - use it as a basis - and then as you DM and ideas come to you, adjust the world accordingly. That's the beauty of being a DM. "Well, remember how there were 12 gods originally? Well, you guys just found some ancient texts that show there were three elder gods who were banished." (And so on and so on)
And now for D&D therapy... I tell my groups I DM for... how absolutely thankful I am for them.
I have struggled to be an author for a very long time (which is why I do character backgrounds and DM, for that matter). I use any chance I can to write something.
But...
D&D is magical. Because....
When you're a painter - and you show someone a painting, you get an instant reaction ("Hey this is gorgeous!", "It's cool, but not my style of art", etc)
But when you're a writer and hand a 50 page story to someone they typically say, "Oh, I will read it when I get a chance."
And that day may be weeks... or never.
D&D?
You become a writer who is painting your words and your players are giving you that instant reaction to what you're doing.
So D&D is being a painter with words, is what I always say.
And the joy, laughter, and time together shared helps battle depression (and the every day things in my life that are not in a good place). For that time, while I DM (or even play) I am able to escape with wonderful company. And it is my therapy.
Glad to see a kindred soul.
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
I have to say we have a similar backstory. When I was younger I also loved Tolkien (and I still do) but it wasn't until a few years ago that I discovered I could jump right into a fantasy world just like that! I began playing in a generic campaign with my friends and I seemed to be learning much faster than all of them. I was so obsessed with the game that every day I would do hours of research to learn more about it, and soon that knowledge came in handy when my friend asked if I wanted to try being a Game Master. Months of YouTube tutorials later, I began DMing my first-ever campaign, and though the plot itself wasn't the best, we all had fun. Now that campaign has finished!
By the way, SirTawmis, you were the one who just wrote my backstory on Giant in the Playground - my character was Otto Glittergear. That backstory is amazing! Thanks!
If anybody would like my GMing playlists
battles: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2mRp57MBAz9ZsVpw895IzZ?si=243bee43442a4703
exploration: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0qk0aKm5yI4K6VrlcaKrDj?si=81057bef509043f3
town/tavern: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/49JSv1kK0bUyQ9LVpKmZlr?si=a88b1dd9bab54111
character deaths: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6k7WhylJEjSqWC0pBuAtFD?si=3e897fa2a2dd469e
That's the important thing to always gauge as a DM - are your players having fun?
So in the session I ran on Tuesday (which is what I call the "off week" - it's three players from my normal "work game" - which has six players - where they play 3 characters trapped on a cursed island). I mentioned this in the Creating Monster Lore thread I started - but I took the Groff monster (the plant-dog-monster) from Strixhaven and changed it to be some dogs that were infected (by the presence of this enchanted rot troll that was sent to spread disease and chaos rather than kill). And the idea was originally that the dogs would attack the town, all feral like, after the celebration at this small hamlet where the simple people would be celebrating the heroes for killing the troll. However, the game flowed in a way that the party ended up going to the river to wash themselves off - and for tension I had them spot the dogs in the bushes. But they tried to befriend the dogs - which didn't work out too well (they didn't attack but the dogs wanted nothing to do with them). Well when they got back to the town, and talked to the people of the hamlet, I ended up - randomly, for no reason - talking in a southern accent (very Tennessee-like) as the NPC - and suddenly these random dogs - turned out to be the hunting dogs for the people in this hamlet who became infected biting the rot troll, trying to defend the town ... this suddenly added way more compassion, rather than random dogs that had become infected... - and they asked the party to go and find their dogs - and if they are diseased, to help put them down. It became this whole thing where the combat I had planned for the night never happened, because there was so many fun character and NPC interactions. The entire 3 hour night - no combat. None. Zilch. And the entire time we were all laughing and having a good time.
So, stories can be weak, they can be weird, they can be made up on the spot - if everyone's having a good time, you're doing what you set out to do.
EDIT - And I forgot the address the flattering part! Thank you for making an account over there to ask for the story background! I am flattered! And I am especially flattered and happy to hear you enjoyed it! I look forward to any other character ideas - whether it's for a character you have or just one you have in your head that's not even in a game yet - I am more than happy to write it out. It truly does help me.
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up