The Story Behind Why I Became a Forever DM

Hey everyone! Today I talk about my not-so-great first (and last*) player experience. I go over the story of what started my journey as a "pro" DM, and where I am today! The art in the video is of that first PC, a sort of tribute to them. Hope you enjoy c:
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0:00 Setting the Stage
13:09 Secret Final Boss & Advice
15:04 What Happened After
17:40 Turning the Bad into Good
22:22 The Start of Something Magical
24:35 End + Something cool!
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[@CrazyEights78]

I know so many GMs (myself included) that got their start from having a terrible player experience, but turned that flaming into fuel for what a campaign SHOULD be and SHOULD play like. I also think that that is why TTRPGS get such a bad rap from people, is that for most, that is their first experience which is such a shame. That is why I made a similar pact with myself to create safe, fun, compelling, driven campaigns as a GM to help "un-poison" the well a bit. TTRPGs truly are the closest we've come as a species to real magic and sharing that with others is something really wonderful when it all works out. Thank you for sharing your story here and I totally don't blame you for not wanting to dip your toe back into the player pool, but what I will say is that being a great GM makes for a keen sense of who among your players would also make a great GM. Being a part of a fledgling GM's story as they grow into their content as a player is an amazing thing, especially if they seek your advice on their craft after the session. It helps the hobby grow in such fun and healthy ways!

[@raccoon3164]

Thank you for sharing this story, sound awful but you got on your feet and rock it !

[@tomgroves2939]

Loved allll of this so much. I had like 3/4 of the worst dnd campaigns/experiences before I joined a society and then made my own campaign. I have often thought about becoming a semi professional dm and was wondering if you had any tips. And also do you host these online or in person ?

[@Kei_subAstra]

this is why im nervous to get into d&d, ive wanted to play for a long time now but never had the chance/ the people. And playing with people i dont know makes me worried a situation like this would happen and ruin the experience for me. :((

[@ZagreusWinters]

That's why you just have to choose places you trust! They're not all bad out there, and most people in the D&D community will more often than not strive for comfort than what happened to me.
The community has come a long way since my first experience, and has definitely improved!

[@KefkeWren]

So, one thing I will say about this story - and I want to stress that what you did wasn't bad, but I'd like to use this as a way to demonstrate some player advice - while it's great to play your character according to what they would do, it can be very helpful to make it clear when you're doing so. If you're doing something stupid in-character, that's a good time to take a step back and _declare_ that what your character is doing is stupid. Again, the jackasses were being jackasses and shouldn't get a pass for it, but if you say, _"Now,_ out of character _I'm pretty sure this is a dragon's lair, but my guy is a bit of a dumbass and he doesn't know that, so he's going in."_ then you can be helpful to the party, while still getting to do your roleplay, and often head off table arguments of what should happen because you've already set expectations for that in advance. (As an aside, it's good table etiquette to do similar when your character is acting antagonistic or stand-offish as well. Plus you can use it to do "helpful antisocial" play, where your character's actions are fluffed differently from how they're played - for example yelling at a party member about how bad they are at something, but mechanically you're aiding their check.)

[@kaylieanne8993]

Hey there! You might want to adjust your mic settings--having to really up the volume to hear you well.

[@ZagreusWinters]

Thanks for the feedback!