by Shadomain Staff
NOTE: the opinions expressed in interviews are those of the guests, not necessarily those of shadomain.com.
Today we talk with David W., a longtime D&D and TTRPG player and fan, who runs games at area libraries. Let’s hear from David!
How did you get into Gaming, and Tabletop Role Playing Games?
A friend in college played 3.5e D&D. 4th Edition had just come out but nobody wanted to switch from 3.5e since they had invested in all the books already.
Those games were terrible. People were cheating left and right, players wanted to attack each other at any moment, the DM would give his crush super abilities, and a bunch of other stuff. My girlfriend (now wife) was so traumatized that she’s sworn off tabletop rpgs since.
But there was something about collaborative storytelling that was still so fun, I always hoped to get back to it.
You run games at libraries, could you tell us how that started and what inspired you to run games there? Are your players adults or younger players?
My players are adults, although we’ve had some supervised kids join us in the past. Libraries often have dedicated games for younger players, but they’re often at a time most people can’t make.
(In the voice of Sophia from the Golden Girls) Picture it: I’m 6 drinks in at a regional homebrew beer event. I’m laying on some grass and my phone goes off. It’s my wife, with a Facebook post from our local library about a replacement DM (the current one was getting a job at the library and wouldn’t have the time). With the confidence of someone who can’t be sure they can stand up, I reply that I’d love to be there. I realized what I signed up for a few hours later as I was sobering up. That was September in 2017, and I haven’t stopped yet.
It’s not the most glamorous story, but I’m happy it worked out. I think deep down I wanted to get back to playing a regular game and meet new people.
Do you run an ongoing campaign or one shots? Do you have the same players every session?
I like to think I run a series of connected one shots. If it’s a campaign, we’re talking 8 sessions max. People don’t always have the commitment to do year long campaigns. Also, all the libraries I’ve worked with over the years only book two hour slots at a time (and often close at the end), so it’s not worth dragging anything out. This is a “de-stress from work” game.
We do get a lot of people who show up every week. It can help with planning if you know a character is going to be there. That being said, the second you count on someone making it, that’s the day they have to stay at work late or take their family somewhere. Usually I’ll pivot or do a one shot as an aside or backstory adventure if we were in the middle of something.
We also get a lot of folks who wanted to try out Dungeons and Dragons and never have, so we’ve had all walks of life come by. College kids, people who come over from the local food bank, established families, you name it. Everybody is welcome.
Do you run pre-written adventures or do you create your own?
I create my own most times. Doesn’t have to be complicated since the time is so short. In two hours, with a party of 4 or 5 players, there’s only enough time for 3 encounters (social or combat) once everyone has gotten settled and the quest has been given. Fewer if there’s a player still learning their sheet or if there are more players.
Not to say I won’t steal from established adventurers. We’re in the Underdark now and I’m using Out of the Abyss as a guide.
What do you like better, being a GM or a player character?
I think I’ve been doing it so long now that I prefer to GM just because it’s more comfortable. Every week for years will do that.
Do you have a favorite story about something that’s happened at your game table?
There have been some memorable player characters: the monk who just was a talking horse, a paladin who called the rest of the party heretics, a fighter whose sole purpose in life was to do the most dangerous option given at any time.
My favorite table story is about a mysterious mage that sent for the adventurers. They had a wizards tower with a Van de Graaf type thing on the top to stop flying PCs from going right to the top. When they entered at the bottom, the party was met by a flesh golem wearing an apron. The players joked that since my description was so sparse that the golem must be otherwise naked. As the scenes and combat played out, butts became more and more of a theme until the mage just became “the butt mage”. Ended up making a very silly stat block for a boss later on. Also healing the golem with lightning was a treat.
Close 2nd is I had the PCs ready a town for a Gnoll attack. One of the players set up a net trap. The Gnoll who got stuck in the net couldn’t beat the DC 10 roll to escape for the whole night, and became a permanent npc named Netty the Gnoll.
What’s something you’ve learned through running games?
I’ve learned more about people than the game. I’ll often talk about my experiences online or at the FLGS and everyone will have opinions, especially about D&D. I’ve acknowledged that I’m in a situation that most people aren’t. I have a regular table of irregular players. I have no time for fluff or unnecessary bookkeeping. There’s no fallback of being good friends if someone gets uncomfortable and it has to be managed right then. And I actually have to know or look up the rules, because if I change any I have to bring it up every game.
A few years ago I convinced/forced a group of players who were struggling with D&D to try Dungeon World. They were hesitant at first but they quickly came around due to the fact that they didn’t have to know so many rules and had plenty of narrative freedom. It was a huge influence on my GM style and prep.
Do you have advice for running games for people you might not know?
- If you can start with a really strong hook, the rest of the prep doesn’t matter so much as long as you root for the players.
- A motivated character is worth a hundred setpieces.
- Don’t count out hexcrawls and point crawls. Doesn’t always have to be a dungeon, and sometimes the journey is the destination.
- Count damage dealt instead of hp left so you can be above board and still adjust if you have to.
- If you’re worried about tracking initiative, have a player do it. Or if you’re crazy make them sit in that order clockwise.
- Put all the bad guys as one initiative roll if you can.
- If you’re not using a map, use close (5ft), near (30ft), far (60ft), and very far (120ft). I love a good map but sometimes it’s not worth it.
- I love a good map, but don’t be afraid to just draw one. Ask the players to add their own details after you’ve put on the important bits. I carry a measuring tape instead of using a grid for this.
- Write the player’s name (or what they want to be called) next to the character name in your notes. The person’s name doesn’t have to be real, but someone should know what to call the players after the game.
- Use a safety tool if you don’t know the players, and even if you do. I have an X card I keep on the table, and to make it less awkward I also have a “MORE” card that gets regular use.
Running games is often a challenge. What do you find challenging about running TTRPGs?
There are different player types. Some people want to win in combat, some people are in it for the company, and some people want to roleplay. 4e D&D DMG has a great writeup on player types. No matter how you change your game, there will always be someone who doesn’t like it. I also get a lot of folks with autism, and they need the structure of initiative but may hate combat. Someone will always not have the game they wanted. I’ve often had someone who isn’t paying any attention because it was more about being with people than playing the game.
Also sometimes PCs don’t have motivation, and that’s hard. I had a table once who refused to save the day because they didn’t want their PCs to get in trouble.
What’s something that’s been an inspiration for you when running games (stories, movies, music, etc)?
I don’t watch much TV or movies, but I love over the top cheesy action movies. I also made it a point to read as many Appendix N books from the different d&d editions as I could. Comics and cartoons come up a lot, especially Green Lantern and Wile E Coyote.
Oftentimes I’ll come up with something and someone will say “that reminds me of this show”. It’s usually not a show I’ve seen, and I love listening to people try to describe the context of the show so we can work it into the setting. Sometimes the show is an anime, sometimes the show is an 80s crime procedural; I have no idea. Watching people talk about things they love is one of the great joys of life.
What else haven’t we asked that you’d like to let readers know?
Go run games for the public!
- It’s fun!
- People love it. We were actually booted from one library around the end of the covid mandates because we had 30+ people coming every week and the building couldn’t handle us. We had 6 tables running that day. And yes we all wore masks.
- Be part of the local gaming community! Adventurers League, Pathfinder Society, or a gaming group like ours are great ways to meet people and get out.
- In the hundreds of games I’ve run and been adjacent to, there have only been two players who had the audacity of spamming the dndbeyond dice roller to get two 18s on their sheet. I’ve never had someone knowingly cheat, and and unknown cheating has not changed the outcome of the game. There is always the risk of getting a player who will try to ruin the game, but the risk is low. I’ve never had to kick someone out (I have pointed people to the door but they changed their ways and we could move forward).
- Snacks, sometimes. Oreos are a classic since they’re vegan.
Thanks, David! If you’d like to do a Q&A here, please send an email to shadomainrpg@gmail.com. We’d love to hear enyone’s opinion form new players to grizzled veterans.
About The Author
