This will be a running chronicle of a D&D campaign among staff, contributors, and friends of the DorkWeb. I, your humble DM, will be writing up a running log of the game as it progresses from week to week and posting it here. I will be detailing the adventures of the party and story as it unfolds. I’ll also keep up a running DM’s commentary on how the game is progressing and how it looks from my side of the table. I’ll also likely be sharing my thoughts on DMing in general and offer any advice that I think could be helpful to other aspiring DMs .
As I’ll be sharing some behind-the-scenes stuff here, I ask that the players refrain from reading any sections that reveal information they shouldn’t have (honor system ladies and gentlemen). I’ll be putting these sections in a different font or something so everyone knows when I’m digressing from the story and getting into DM stuff. But before we begin, lets get some introductory stuff out of the way.
The campaign I’ll be running is an adaptation (lets just be honest here, I’m shamelessly copying) of a campaign that the blogger Shamus Young (https://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/) ran and chronicled (https://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=290) many years ago. I read his account of his campaign a long time ago and I absolutely loved it. In fact, I highly recommend Shamus’ D&D story and his website in general to nerds of all stripes. I have been wanting to try my hand at DMing his campaign for years and I’m thrilled to finally have a chance.
Unlike Shamus, the players and I will be using D&D’s 5th Edition rules. I started my D&D career with 4th Edition and I much prefer 5th. I know opinions vary but I never really liked 4th Editions system of at-will, encounter, and daily powers. It felt very video-gamey in a way that I didn’t like and made all classes too similar. I like what 5th Edition does and understand that it’s more of a return to older editions (never played them but it’s the sense I get from talking to people who played older editions and playing videogames based on those older editions).
We have a nice mix of players with different backgrounds and levels of experience with RPGs. Jon and I have been playing D&D for years with experience on both sides of the DM screen. We’ve got a couple people with experience as players, a veteran of the Adventure League, and a genuine first-timer. I’m enjoying having this mix of players. It’s nice to have some people with experience who can help with figuring out rules and who I can count on to understand the basics of the game. It makes everything run much more smoothly. On the other hand, it’s nice to have some players who are coming in with minimal expectations or preconceptions about the game. So far, I’ve found that less experienced players are far less likely to meta-game and just get into the moment.
Having said all that, let’s meet the group:
Jon – Your beloved proprietor of the DorkWeb. Jon and I have been gaming off and for years together. We actually got into D&D at the same time and were in the same group for our first D&D experience. Jon’s got plenty of experience as both a player and a DM and he’s one of the players I find myself expecting surprises from. As a DM it’s both exciting and terrifying when a player does something completely unexpected or comes up with a solution to a challenge that you didn’t anticipate. It’s great to see players really engaged and thinking outside the box but it also means lots of improv as you figure out, on the fly, how this will affect the story. I find myself keeping a close eye on Jon and expecting these kinds of moments.
Evan – The always charming cohost of the DorkWeb podcast. Evan got into D&D with Jon and I and has been with us through numerous games. Evan is an experienced player but hasn’t tried his hand at DMing yet. Evan is a player that is really good at getting into his character and playing a role. I don’t have to worry about Evan metagaming and breaking character based on expected rewards or out of character knowledge. I love having players like Evan at the table. They get into the story and setting and interact with the world in a way that makes it more vibrant and real for everybody at the table.
Adam – My awesome younger brother and occasional guest on my podcast. Adam has played D&D off and on for a few years but this is our first time in a group together. I’m still learning about him as a player but, so far, he strikes as similar to Evan. He is definitely getting into his character (he gave me a great, detailed backstory of his character before we began) and seems to enjoy interacting with the world and its characters. Being my brother, he also enjoys messing with me from time to time. He’s another player I need to keep my eye on.
George – My brothers friend and another person I haven’t played with before. George is a veteran of the Adventure League and one of the people I can count on to help me out with rules questions and keeping the game flowing. George has also enjoyed getting into his character but he’s also someone that’s keen to use his knowledge of the rules and the tropes of D&D to anticipate events and overcome obstacles. One of my hopes for this campaign is to catch is to really surprise George with something he didn’t see coming.
Brittney – Not new to nerd stuff but brand new to D&D. Brittney is still figuring out the rules and flow of RPGs but she’s had a contagious excitement for the game so far. She’s thrown herself into it and, at our first meeting, she was more prepared than anyone else (something I was sure to point out to the rest of the group). Brittney is the person whose least likely to metagame. As I said before, it’s been fun having someone who doesn’t know all the tropes and how to game the rules. She’s also a player who I can count on to get into her character (although she’s been cagey and mysterious about exactly who her character is and what motivates her).
Steve – Your brilliant, attractive, but, above all, humble DM and narrator. Host of the Social Science Fiction podcast, contributor to the DorkWeb, and guest of the DorkWeb Podcast. I got into D&D with Jon and Evan years ago and I’ve played on and off over the years since. I actually began my D&D career as a DM, running the first game Jon, Evan, and I ever played. I haven’t had a chance to DM for a long however and I’d feeling the itch to for a couple of months when I finally suggested to Jon that we get a game going. I pulled up Shamus’ old blog posts, got my DM Guide and Monster Manual out, and got to work. It’s taking me some time to shake the rust off but I’m hoping that I’m getting into the flow of things again.
That’s enough for now. Next time we’ll meet the players and talk about how we got the game set up. After that, we’ll dive into the campaign itself as we play session to session.
-Stephen Michaels