Over the years I’ve written for a table top gaming startup as a lore consultant & world builder, I’ve designed my own RPG, I’ve played in several different systems and realms, and I’ve run multiple multi-year campaigns of my own. Some of those were set in established canons, like the Forgotten Realms, but the majority of them have been crafted in my own mind before being put to pen, paper, and dice.

This section is primarily focused on the latter of those, and specifically, on my most recent campaign: a D&D 5e campaign set in a realm of my own making, with its own mythology, multi-verse, and rich history full of diverse characters*.

That said, the stories I tell are less than half of what goes on during the game. My players**, four close friends who have stuck with this campaign for three plus years (and counting!) make the experience the true joy that it is every week, as they take my stories and … well, do what they want.

Sometimes they run with the hooks I give them, straight into the design I spent hours upon hours crafting, other times, they start a dungeon by breaking into a treasure room and fighting a boss before using the loot inside to quickly mop up the rest of the monsters through a series of ambushes.

I have some slices of the world I’ve built for your perusal, but more importantly, I’ve shared some of the sessions they most enjoyed or that they still celebrate, because it meant something to their characters, to them as players, or because something hilarious, epic, or epically hilarious happened.

A few notes regarding the sessions: these are my (normally confidential) DM notes, not strict scripts, so there are variations in formatting and language versus the actual player experience, since that’s an inherently dynamic relationship. Additionally, if you’re a D&D player and think any of these numbers are horribly cruel to my players, keep in mind that they’re level 30+ and have a bevy of magic items and homebrew stuff… keeping them in check as their power grows without being unfair or too easy is a delicate balance, but one that I’m proud to say I’m usually able to maintain.

*In all fairness, I do borrow a fair bit from base D&D 5e, but with heavy alteration. For example, Vecna exists in my multi-verse, but he’s not a god, he’s a fallen hero who’s traveling through the various cycles of reality. Orcus exists, but as a Prime Fire Elemental rather than a Demon Prince. So on and so forth.

**We’ve also had a handful of guest players, and I’ve run some side sessions with other folks, so I don’t want to exclude them either!