Three Year's Anniversary
Great moments stem from good decisions
Backstory
In 2018, I found myself out of work in my career. We lost a lot of potential income and eventually was taxed out of our neighborhood. But during that year, I determined to play more games with my children - and found Dungeons and Dragons.
What a year!
Once we sold the house, we moved closer to family and rented a new place. I kept all my dice and books and played a home game with the kids - The Rise of Tiamat. Of course my kids enjoyed the time spent with Dad, but what I didn’t expect was how much I would enjoy it - the storytelling.
Eventually, my sister got wind that I was into dnd and told a friend named Ted. He was driving 2 hours every weekend to play a game in a guy’s garage. The game was good, but more of a 4th edition maps and minis tactical approach to the game. Boy, was he surprised at my approach!
I gave a lot of narration, I spoke in character voices, and tried to do the set up and pay off method used by so many stories we cherish.
The Crisis
Then 2020 happened. Well, I should say that “we” responded to 2020.. We made decisions and some made decisions for us. Lines in the sand were drawn. Many met online to continue play and some just shut down their games altogehter. Since I valued the in person experience and being tech - resistant, I was hesitant to start an online game.
But I also valued my connection to Ted. So, when he called and said, “hey man, I’m itching to play, can we make it happen?” - well, I went to work on a game.
We did our first game OVER THE PHONE. 2 hours on the phone. I was really surprised how much I enjoyed our style. Unlike many actual play podcasts, we don’t speak over each other - rather we give narrations and then respond to them one by one. It is very orderly.
After the first game’s success, I broke down and purchased a zoom account. After a while, we brought in 2 more, wait 3 more — we are now at 7 players in 2 ongoing games. Eventually, I started recording the games and found Tabletop Audio, added background music and ambience. Thanks Tim!
Three Years Later
I compiled all of my notes on worldbuilding (mostly spawned by player’s great questions). Now, we have produced The Sojourners Guide to Bonzarel.
My goal in creating this was to establish a compelling mythology that someone from the distant future might mistake it for actual events.
One can hope, right?
Thank you for reading this, hearing our story and I hope you enjoy many great moments around your table building your world and becoming the person you want to be.