That's right, my old dungeonmaster told me he was gonna start taking college courses, and wouldn't have much time to plan out our games! This changed EVERYTHING.
Long ago, when I was a douchebag, (so, high school era,) I tried to be the DM for a Dungeons and Dragons group. I was awful, and had no idea what I was doing. In fact, I'm pretty sure you guys don't know what I was doing, either, so let me explain.
Dungeons and Dragons is a game where you and some other dweebs get together and play fake battles on a grid, using paper, pencils, and dice. Among these dweebs is one king dweeb, who is called the Dungeonmaster. The Dungeonmaster/DM/King Dweeb is in charge of all the enemies everyone fights, is in charge of placing helpless citizens in tall towers to be saved, is in charge of filling treasure chests with gold pieces and magic doohickeys, and is in charge of placing dragons in front of said chests.
The game is pure storytelling, at its best form. Everyone participates to create a story where everyone is a hero (or a total a-hole to each other, but hey--whatcha gonna do?). So, when my good friend, King Jared of the Dweebs, announced that the sessions were gonna be taxing on him, I did my best not to jump out of my seat and shout, "AND MY AXE!" (Roll a 12-sided die for damage!)
So, I took over responsibilities. I figured, Hey, I'm at home all the time anyways. I bet I'll probably even enjoy making these adventures. As it turns out, I was way way WAY beyond right.
Sure, it's hard to actually write out my ideas when I've got a baby strapped to my chest, who demands that I never sit down, and never stop bouncing, or else he'll attack with sonic damage (sorry, king dweeb here; that means he'll scream until my ears bleed). But when I'm just walking around doing household chores, I've discovered that my thoughts can't help but think about the fantasy world I hope to immerse my buddies in every third Monday at my place.
I've had two sessions so far. I've been nervous each time. I'm hoping the players couldn't tell that only half of my sweat was from the infant's warm, heavy snoring into my shirt.
This experience...probably ranks embarrassingly high as far as my "best moments of Woody's life" listing goes. They fought my monsters, we celebrated their victories, we laughed at their failures, and I totally tricked them all with a duplicitous character that they had come to trust in the couple hours before she stuck a poisoned sword into Jared's back! Take that, ex-king dweeb! There's a new DM in town!
If there's a lesson here, (which there should be, considering I need a conclusion,) it's this: As a parent, your hands are often incredibly full. But your mind is free to wander, as long as you don't forget to do all those things that keep your baby alive. So, why not fill your mind with imagination, with stories, or with fantasy worlds that you get to share with people you know?
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