This is the 1st of an 18 part series on How to be a DM.
Even I, Bitzy the Bard, thought I could never be a DM for most of my life. I had played D&D for over thirty years but thought being a DM was too complex. It would be too embarrassing to speak in front of a group! What if I got the rules wrong or forgot something important?
What I didn’t realize was that I had been in training my whole life for this role. And my friend, if you look back I believe you will see that you could run a campaign too. Let me share with you my background story. Perhaps your story is similar.
My Background
My love of fairytales and storytelling began at a very young age. Just like my daughter Rose the Ranger, I was an avid reader and had a very active imagination. I would make up plays and write stories and never hesitated to share them with others. I was young and unabashed.
My siblings and I would perform plays for the whole family. We would make costumes and props and spend days practicing. (This was the 70’s before cable TV or video games. We had the time.)
I loved to make crafts and learned to sew when I was 6 years old. I always enjoyed making Halloween costumes and outfits for my dolls. I especially loved making dollhouse miniatures and crafted an elaborate snow scene on top of my parents’ pool table.
Most of all, I was inspired by Jim Henson and the Muppets. I wanted to be a puppeteer to tell my fairytales. I could hide behind the pupper theater and act out the stories with my puppets. I remember how fun it was to use the different voices for each character. My favorite show involved a princess captured by an ogre and forced to be his servant. The princess saved herself in this tale and did not need a knight!
As I got older, I believed I could never really be an actor or puppeteer. I was too unattractive and who would want to listen to me? I focused on my schoolwork but always kept fantasy in my life.
First RPG Sessions
I remember Sister Nina leading the D&D group at my high school. She would sit on the desk after school as the students enjoyed playing 2nd edition.
When I went away to college, I still read incessantly and made many friends through our common love of Tolkien and fantasy. My D&D group was so fun, but I remained but a player. I never considered being a DM. I could never do that!
So when my children were born, I enjoyed spinning wonderful fairytales for them each bedtime. Rose heard stories about “Rose the Princess” and her adventures with unicorns and other magical beasts in the woods. Rose the Princess was good and noble and always was the hero. Carl the Cleric heard stories about a small Japanese boy named “Carl Ishakari” who was secretly best friends with Godzilla. Carl would convince Godzilla to save the earth instead of letting humanity be destroyed by the monster of the day.
I continued to play RPGs run by my cousin Nick. We played Shadowrun, 3.5e, 4e, and Star Wars. I remember so fondly the day my Emperor’s Hand character chose to turn to the light side and run off to be mentored by Yoda, abandoning her evil companions.
Parenthood and RPGs
My first husband ran D&D 3e campaigns for our children when they were young. I loved to play as a player, but I could never do that! Instead I crafted twenty-sided fuzzy dice for the car and made vinyl grid mats for us to draw the maps on.
I continued to craft and sew fantasy costumes every Halloween. For the children’s birthdays, I would design elaborate themed birthday parties for my children with games and costumes and integrated stories.
I could embrace my geeky, engineer side and express my love of fantasy, but was just too intimidated to take the plunge to be a DM.
Well one day, I realized that I wanted to go back to telling my stories and I couldn’t keep waiting for others to lead the adventure. I bought the basic manuals and researched things as we engineers are wont to do. I learned that I could do it myself!
I ran my initial campaigns for my family and realized that I loved being behind the screen. I was performing again. I could make up my stories and build my props and people actually enjoyed it. I learned that once I overcame my fear, I could embrace the creative storyteller I had always been.
And so my friend, if you wish you had the courage to step over to the other side of the table, I am here for you. Through my stories I will teach you what I have done and show you one way to become a good DM!
I hope it will give you the enjoyment it has given me! So let us Begin at the Beginning!
Bitzy the Bard
“Life is an adventure story and you are the star. Choose to play a hero!”
*Note that I use the term DM (Dungeon Master) in these stories but you could easily substitute the more generic term GM (Game Master).
