I’m starting to get back into running a D&D Game again. I’ve assembled a group, I’ve been reading a pre-made adventure, and I’ve even bought the roll20 module. I think what I’ve learned is a couple of things, as to why I failed last time:
- I failed because my heart wasn’t in it. I’m not a fantasy writer at heart, and I essentially embarked upon world building… or at least campaign building. I started at a micro level, but never a macro-level. There was never a central goal of that campaign. I built some small adventures, but nothing which was really destined to be successful.
- It didn’t capture my imagination. There were a few characters which I liked, but really the world didn’t speak to me… probably because it didn’t exist.
- I didn’t have time to set up a roll20 game. I spent several hours creating my first map, and it didn’t get easier from there. That first map was a Tavern… A TAVERN. Like, not even a cave or anything like that. I thought Roll20 was going to eschew traditional tools, but it didn’t. There was a lot to learn to just build the game.
This time feels different. First of all, I’m starting with a pre written adventure (Tomb of Annihilation), which from page 1 had me captured. From the exotic locations, to everything which has been going on, I’m involved in the story. That’s going to help me bring players in, because I actually want to learn more about the area they’re exploring, and stay ahead of them. The characters feel fleshed out enough to where I can play them, but not too fleshed out where I feel like I can’t make them my own. I’m looking forward to bringing the players through this story, and getting back into the swing of things. It’s so nice to have a pre-written adventure which just kind of takes care of most of the detailed work. It’s even nicer since I’ve purchased the roll20 module. Everything is already in there. I’m still going to add some things, but really 99 percent of everything has been put together. It’s great, I can even use the built in abilities on the tokens to make everything work. I can’t imagine running an online campaign without this to be completely honest. It’ll be a real step up from even anything which I could put together. I can’t wait to get started!