A Year in Review
We have now passed the first year anniversary of starting the Arvendon D&D campaign. I was looking through my emails and we must have had our first real session some time in early April of 2020. Man how far we’ve come. When we started not a single player (or the DM) had played 5th edition, and some hadn’t played D&D at all. For a first time DM this past year has been an incredible learning process. Trying to hone in on what the group enjoys and leaving little breadcrumbs to follow later while still maintaining internal consistency has been fun and rewarding. Having an excuse to paint some of the hundreds of unused miniatures I have laying around in drawers and boxes has been rewarding, especially when I can see the party react to a new monster or piece of terrain.
It had been so long since I really put my nose to the grindstone when it comes to tabletop that having a reason to consistently work at it every week has been very welcome.
We initially started with the plan to play once a month, as schedules allowed, but everyone enjoyed themselves so much we reduced the time between sessions within the first few games.
What started as a group of four grew to five as we brought Jordan into the fold and Plan B was complete( I didn’t choose the name)
We’ve taken weeks off and some players have taken sabbaticals upon occasion but I endeavor to run something every two weeks and some of our most memorable moments have been with one-off characters in side-story adventures. Like when the pyromaniac Wizard Alcandar and the Gnome Barbarian Gnar couldn’t intimidate a simple fisherman and wound up fireballing a tree while collapsing upon the ground.
Characters have had close calls and the party has come close to dying upon occasion but so far no player casualties to report.
The group is becoming more renown throughout the land as they make their way back into civilization. They’ve made some allies, discovered some enemies, and found a whole lot of treasure. They are a powerful party, even at level 6, and I look forward to challenging them more in the future.
One of the main things I’ve had to learn is how to balance encounters to be at the same time threatening, engaging, and rewarding without being stomps in either direction. Game balance is hard and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
I feel after a year that there is so much more we are learning every time we play, and I suspect that we won’t have fully understood all the characters and their abilities until long after the campaign is over, but thats okay. We are growing together as a group and everyone seems to be enjoying the time spent playing.
I look forward to another year of writing, painting, rolling dice and make-believe. We shall see if the players can keep up their hot streak when it comes to surviving, I won’t be killing anyone intentionally but I also won’t be pulling any punches. The groups actions and the dice shall decide!
Until next time my friends, here’s to another great year.
