Greetings, Adventurers! My Name’s Michael, and I’m New Here

Introductions are hard, so I’ll just say: Hello! You might have noticed me lurking about in the comments section of articles or caught me on this week's Dev Update. I’m a new content producer here at D&D Beyond. I’ll be working alongside Joe Starr and Amy Dallen to bring you new, regular content.

While you’ll see Joe and Amy most often on-camera, I’ll be heading the editorial content you find here. But enough of that — let’s get personal and talk about how the heck I ended up here.

How I started playing D&D

I can’t talk about my start with D&D without mentioning my husband, Ben. Back in 2010, I was invited to a Valentine’s Day singles party. I don’t remember much from the party, except that there was a handsome blond-haired man flanked by a couple of his friends on the living room couch. As they chatted excitedly about this and that, I nervously talked to a friend about how I might approach him. I wasn’t altogether convinced that he was gay, which complicated matters.

I never mustered the courage to talk to him at that party. But the next day, he added me on Facebook — so, I took a swing and asked him out for coffee. And he said yes.

After a few weeks of dating, Ben invited me over to his place to cook dinner together. At some point during the night, I wandered over to his bookshelf and found a copy of the Player’s Handbook from D&D 3.5. I’d always wanted to play but never had the chance, I told him. We talked about an old character of his, a sorcerer named Kiko, and how he had permanently turned blue after a mishap with a Rod of Wonder.

He invited me to play with his friends. They were just short of a Dungeon Master, he said.

We set a date to play and, over the following days, I spent hours at Barnes & Noble reading different D&D handbooks, trying to learn the rules so I could run my own game — and for a love interest, no less. I didn’t have money to buy my own books, but I spent a good deal on coffee. Despite my nerves, I was excited to jump into tabletop RPGs. But then, not long before I was set to run my first one-shot, I learned that D&D has had different editions over the years. And I had been studying fourth edition, not 3.5.

I don’t remember much of that first session. But I do remember the thrill of being in the DM’s seat, rolling weird dice, and seeing new friends chat excitedly about their characters. From then on, I was hooked.

Why I love D&D

Over these past years, I’ve spent countless hours thumbing through sourcebooks and adventures running campaigns with friends across various editions. My D&D Beyond account has an enormous backlog of characters and theorycrafted builds that will never see a session. I have watched hundreds of hours of Critical Role, spent far more money than I care to admit on miniatures, and even have a copy of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist on my nightstand to help me prep for the weekly game I run.

What has kept me hooked to D&D, though, is that it can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. You can spend hours debating over which spells you want to twin cast as your sorcerer or which maneuvers to choose for your Battle Master fighter — or you can sit down, throw together some abominable halfling wizard/monk multiclass character named Wonk and see where the dice take you.

At its core, D&D is about sitting around a table — digital or not — and getting into antics with your friends. I’ve met some amazing people playing this game and made lifelong memories with them. That’s the magic: D&D brings people from different walks of life together in a unique way.

Joining the D&D Beyond team

I’ve always been in editorial — as a writer, a first editor, a copy editor, or a managing editor — but aside from some temp jobs and side work I did, I never broke into the gaming space. Most of my career in editorial has been in the personal finance space. I was never particularly passionate about the industry, but over the years I’d made close friends within it. Leaving came with the high cost of no longer being able to work with the incredible writers and editors I’d befriended over the years.

But then this job opportunity came along, and I knew that I had to take the plunge. I’ve been passionate about tabletop gaming about as long as I’ve been working professionally. Merging my love for tabletop with the joy I have in developing content would be a dream.

And that dream came true.

Now I’m here, on this incredible platform and ... I’m breathless. I’m filled with as much joy in being able to ideate and create content around the game that brought my husband and I together as I am filled with terror in getting it all wrong. That fear will pass, though, as anxiety tends to do with time spent focusing on the good — and working my ass off.

Looking forward with D&D Beyond

As I get settled into this role, I’m taking a lot of time to reread our library of articles, to watch past D&D Beyond videos on YouTube, and to just sit and think and talk with Joe and Amy about what kind of content I think could best serve you. I’m talking to writers about what they want to write about and even musing over what I would want to read if someone else were in my place. A lot of this journey will involve me jumping onstage with some fresh copy and seeing what gets cheers and what gets tomatoes thrown at me.

Whether you’re a longtime D&D player or you’re new to the game and this service, my goal is to create content that starts meaningful conversations and that helps you experience this game in new and exciting ways. I aim to serve our diverse community, welcome new players to the space, and make D&D Beyond more accessible.

I hope that you will be patient with me as I get settled into this role and get our content back to a normal cadence. If you read our articles regularly, you’ll likely notice me trying out new things. I have an enormous respect for those who have come before me, but I will be approaching this in my own way and in my own voice.

I hope you’ll join me on this adventure.

Michael Galvis (@michaelgalvis) is a tabletop content producer for D&D Beyond. He is a longtime Dungeon Master who enjoys horror films and all things fantasy and sci-fi. When he isn’t in the DM’s seat or rolling dice as his anxious halfling sorcerer, he’s playing League of Legends and Magic: The Gathering with his husband. They live together in Los Angeles with their adorable dog, Quentin. 

Comments

Posts Quoted:
Reply
Clear All Quotes